Better day

Today is a much better day.... we decided to get a new sewing machine.... someday. Soon I hope, it all depends on what we need money for in the near future.... we don't like charging so we pay cash when ever we can..... it won't be long if I have my mind set on it....I looked at Wal Mart today and their machines are so cheap I could get one today but I want a better one so will wait awhile...
I got 2 DVD's today.... Walk The Line and Bambi ll. I have a list of movies I want to see and they were the first ones out that I saw....
You know it almost seems like spring but it's cold and there is snow. I think the sunshine does it all by itself don't you. Nothing as uplifting as a nice sunny day. Last night Gary was looking at the calendar and he figures it will only be 2 weeks before he can go golfing again.... that will be nice for him and Leo too.... maybe I will be cleaning up my gardens in a couple of weeks too. I usually start when some snow is still left because i cannot wait to get out in the fresh  Springtime air..... I'm more excited than a kid at Christmas time and it is hard to wait.... :)  Leo is trying to get everything done in the house because the fish are calling him too. Good old summertime....... yipee. Soon I will be complaining about the heat and all the weeds again.... What a complainer Iam. I will try not to this year ...... just grin and bear it if I must.
Hope you are having sunshine by your house too, Sandra

What a day

What a day Iam having..... anything you hear about Monday that is not good is how my day is going. The only thing right about today is the sun is shinning. I'm trying to smile and be happy but I am almost crying...... first thing today I thought I would get some things done today and I started to make a pair of pillow cases for my Grandsons birthday tomorrow.... I almost did too. I cut them out and sewed up the side and bottom seams and then decided to iron them and fix an end.... so you know what happened... the darn iron spitted out some calcium stones and when I brushed them off it left a spot on the pretty gold satin pillow case.....I decided it would come out in the wash as they are washable so I continued to sew.... I almost finished too before the machine jamed.... I fixed it once and got the cases all finished and when I was going to put the fancy stitches around the bottom it jammed again and this time I couldn't fix it.... that was 2 hours ago and now Leo thinks he can fix it.... I want a new machine..... I will just be quiet about it until I save enough money for one I think as Leo isn't in a mood to talk about spending more money just now...... we did just get the new tile floors and dishwasher after all. I guess I won't be doing any more sewing for a little while. Spring is coming and I really don't want to spend the money on a sewing machine.... darn darn darn...... :(
    I don't think I will try to do anything else today because it doesn't seem like a good day for me..... I feel so frustrated. But yesterday I had to get some cat food and while there I found these little St Patricks day things for my sweet pets and made them sit still for a picture.... I guess they didn't really want to but I will get a good one soon.
Hope noone else is having a day like mine..... It's one of those days I just know supper won't be turning out right either..... Maybe soup would be good ~ how could I make a mistake with that? except Gary doesn't like soup and I don't know if Leo does either..... and I will have to make chicken and rice soup because Iam not going out in the car when I feel like I do today. If I were a drinker it would be a good day for it I think, lol Oh well if things get better I will be back ..... Sandra

My stress reliever

Today I finally got everything in order that wasn't ,because of the floor..... I finally got the linen closet back in order. that is always fun because I find table cloths etc I forgot I had. I will be using a different one today I think. I love putting table cloth squares on my table with some sort of decoration in the middle... today it is a small pot of yellow mums I got at the grocery store for Valentines day and it is still very pretty.
It's not completly sunny today but it is trying to peek out so we will take what ever we can get. The weather persons are mentioning snow again. This time it may only be an inch or two and not 13 so thats not so bad. It's cold again today but we know the warmer weather is coming soon so we can manage it.
Hope you are having a happy day and keeping warm and dry, Sandra

The snow is melting

This is what Leo saw yesterday when he went to his fishing spot... not what he hoped for but it is starting to melt way out there...Maybe another week..... no longer he hopes and Iam beginning to also. When he is gone I don't have anyone watching everything I do.... that is nice.
It is another beautiful sunny day here today. I just looked out and noticed it is getting windy so I suppose that means some front is going through again. It is not supposed to be a nice weekend as far as being cold is concerned.... but after the week end it will warm up again ( I hope)
yesterday I took  a picture of my anti stress grip and Leo took this picture but I couldn't put it in because my Card reader broke and I didn't want to putz around with the cable from my camera to the computer. I thought I might have to download the program etc etc so we went shopping today and I found a card reader for half the price I paid for my last one.... $19.98 I was lucky to get it at Wal Mart because we had to go there anyway. I got my exercise this morning because I had a list and a hard time looking for some of the things on the list.... didn't get everything but most of the things we needed. I wanted to get a white kitty litter pan and they are all dark ones so I passed for now and Leo was looking for a certain kind of cheese and we finally found it but got a lot of exercise in looking. Leo found some stuff to fix the crack in the bathtub and he is in the middle of fixing it..... my tub is white and the stuff is red..... oh my gosh. I hope he knows what he is doing. I won't say anything. He knows it should be white. LOL
Well I have to finish the laundry and make supper so I had better start or we will be eating at midnight,
Sandra

warm sunny day

It's such a beautiful day today!!!!!! sunny and 40 degrees .... Leo just came in and told me what it was. Snow is starting to melt :)
We went to pay for my new dishwasher and look at the kitchen rugs etc.... I came home with a rug and an anti stress finger squeeze ... it tells you how to do 3 different finger squeezies.... a thumb squeeze and Finger flex and a finger squeeze...hahaha  I will have fun tonight watching the olympics and American Idol while exercising. :) I was looking at all the different exercise things and came home with this.... hahahahahahaha... well it should help the arthritis in my fingers a little anyway. My mother used to have one she used in between knitting and crocheting so her hands would stay nimble..... So I should be able to type faster on the computer too when I have exercised for awhile too... what do you think? :>) It is also called an anti stress grip.  So then I got a few groceries etc etc and came home and we ate lunch and Leo fixed up a little nick the dishwasher installer did while taking the old dishwasher out. Leo said he was so happy to have it out and the new one installed he didn't say anything to the guy... Someone said others complain and expect a whole new counter top but that is silly and besides I don't want any more work done in the house for awhile and Leo did a great job and if you came in you wouldn't even notice the spot.... he also repaired a small spot he burned about 20 years ago.... finally. You see when he burned it he was working a lot and now he is looking for things to do..... But not for long because he went to his fishing spot to see if anyone was there today. I could look at the site in the computer but he likes to go and see for himself. I gave him my little camera to take a few pictures to show me how the water or ice looks today. If they turn out I will put one in later. I hope he remembers to take one.
So now I think I will look over the new seed catalog I finally got in the mail today..... My very favorite one ~ "Thompson and Morgan"  I haven't gotten one in a couple of years from them and thought they stopped sending them because of the internet but I was happily surprised this afternoon. There is free shipping on my first order too. I wonder if I have to order $50 though to get that as is the practice on so many other catalogs. the trouble with me is I want too many and don't have enough room. I wonder if I can convince Leo to make me another little area for my seed garden.... Iwill have to think of that for awhile. They say you should be careful what you wish for... I will be careful ( maybe) If I am then this will be the first year for me with my flower gardens.... Soon I  will be watching for buds and the crocus and daffs peeking out of the ground again. :) 
Hope everyone is having a happy day today, Sandra

Floors are finished

The floors are finally all finished. Dan has to come and seal the grout in the main bath and the spot in the kitchen but its really finished now and ok to walk on.... It has made me taller by almost an inch and that is handy for when I try to reach for things in the cupboard. I think I'm taller until I go in the other rooms but then when I go into the baths I get taller again.... its so fun.
  Today I have been putting up new curtains and drapes and that is nice too. I will wash the old ones and send them to Good will probably as they still have some wear in them but I don't want to store them... I have to many things already. I have to wait yet to put the sheets etc back into the linen closet and can hardly wait to get that finished. I hope I find some more things to send along to GoodWill there too. I got an early start on Spring cleaning. Actually I will probably just try and get the windows all washed now and then spend the rest of the time in my yard once the warm weather gets here. I'm happy we got the work finished in the house so we didn't have to waste any good weather working. I just can't wait until Spring. What is it now? 29 more days? Yipee...... my favorite time of the year and then there is so many nice warm days to look forward too.
The sun is shinning here again today and it is not below zero so that is nice... hope the sun is shinning for everyone in journal land. :>)
Sandra
Oh boy, you will never guess who just got interviewed for tv..... yup you guessed it. I went outside to get my mail and Channel 2 tv pulled up in the driveway behind me.... A really nice lady got out of the car and asked if she could interview me about how I'm going to vote tomorrow about the schools in Howard here where I live... I thought she was just going to ask questions but no they had a camera on me too.... oh boy. I bet I said something really really stupid too. I don't think I will answer the phone tonight. She said it should be on at 5 and I'm hoping people will be driving home from work at that time so no one will see it. Guess what I said.... I said I wasn't going to vote.... I don't want to spend so much money when the schools are all so nice already...... I said maybe they need them in Suamico but I don't know much about that as I live in Howard.... but Howard and Suamico are together in paying forall the schools.... I didn't say it but I should have said I didn't like that .... but it is too late because we have already jumped into that frying pan ~ if you know what I mean.... soooo maybe I will go and vote no..... I really should, shouldn't I? We will see. I just hope I didn't imbarass myself and my family too much.

finished another puzzle today

These are the 3 puzzles I put together while sitting in my room waiting for the work on the floors to be finished... It's almost the end. Hip hip hooray. I should be able to take pictures in a few days. I would like to hang the curtains first etc etc etc.... I have some putting back and cleaning up to do. The new pad was put in the floor yesterday and the floor adjusted where the tile met and then Dan came and finished laying the tile in front of the dishwasher. He is coming today to grout it and then we have to wait 3 days to get the grout sealed... They found out if you seal it you don't have to worry so much about cleaning the grout so I want to make sure its sealed good..... as I really don't like to clean more than I have to. I guess no one does though. :)
We had a nice sunny day today but it is too cold to step out side. My daughter came over and didn't stay very long because she wanted to make sure her car would start. Leo had a heater plugged in his last night because it sat outside. Garys did too but they both started just fine today. I think the sun must have warmed Garys up even if it is soooooooo cold out. I don't know just how cold but the wind chill was way below zero. so far that if you were outside longer than 10 or 15 minutes you would get frost bite... One thing good though by next week it will be back in the 30's they say so maybe the snow will be gone if that continues and I guess they are saying it will. spring is only 30 days away so it won't be staying too long. I'm looking forward to spring! Sandra
PS it was -18 this morning with a wind chill of -30 or more... now that is downright freezing isn't it? It is only supposed to go down to -9 tonight. It is still going to be hard to get out for church tomorrow but I will, I will think of something really really warm to wear and bring my mittens and nice warm scarf and hat along too.

After the Storm

I thought I would add some pictures this morning of our snow.... for anyone that wanted snow and didn't get it yet... this is what it looks like after. It wasn't pretty yesterday though when it was snowing and blowing etc. We had very high winds and they are supposed to come back I heard but now its nice with the sun shinning and not much of a wind to speak of.... Blizzards are not fun. Glad its over now. 
Today is the day the floor is supposed to be torn up in the dining room. you know with the table and chairs etc in the living room and everything all mixed up again...... its been 2 weeks ....... I can't believe it. Why does it always take so long for me to get things done I wonder. I will think twice before I want anything again. Maybe it will all be worth it but I don't really like my house being torn apart for this long. Now what am I supposed to do today while they are doing the floor????? sit in my computer room again or maybe I should go down the basement this time. I don't want to drive with the roads in the condition they are in so I guess I will just grin and bear it one more time. I know I will be happy in the end but you know when family does it it is slower because they have work to do in between and then there was the problem of installing the dishwasher. That is done now and it works good. A week from now I will not even remember how long it took .... everything will be finished and the house will be back in order .... Yipee
  Dan just came over too so that muct mean we will get the rest of the tile installed today etc.... now if I could only just sit still and take it easy it will all be done in a blink of an eye. :)
hope your having a nice day, Sandra

Snow storm coming

Hi,
  I thought its time I put a few words in here to let you know I'm ok... Tired but ok... seems when the house is torn apart it makes me tired. Not much I can do about it but wait I guess. as soon as I can I put a few things back but it is not all in order yet. The man is supposed to come and put the dishwasher in tomorrow afternoon but we are expecting a really big snow storm so I wonder about that. If he does and if Dan can make it all will be put in tomorrow including the tile that was left out in front so he can get it installed easier. then after he has it installed the we have to wait for the grout to dry and then it has to be sealed.... all should be finished by Sat or Monday...haha... Gary is going to put a new pad under the carpeting on Friday so that will be torn up too... seems the pad isn't thick enough anymore and then he has to fix the doorways so they match up with the tile.... and the trim has to be put back on... oh the stories I have to tell... makes me tired. Leo cut a door too short and then he put a new threshold in.... he is sooooooo slow you wouldn't believe.... took all day yesterday. Now today he worked on a small piece of trim for at least 4 hours and now it is drying after he stained it.... then tomorrow he has to do another piece. Iam so glad its not fishing season or I would look at it undone all summer I'm afraid.
So now I am going to go and finish supper as it's already 5. I can't wait for it to be over so I can relax and watch the olympics tonight.
Hope the snow isn't 10 or 12 inches like the man said.
Sandra

Tile is getting installed

It was a big day today and also a nice one. I guess..... After I saw that they were started with the floor and everything seemed to be going just fine I came in here (my computer room) and started a new puzzle. before I knew it the edges were finished except for 2 pieces I couldn't find but My Grandson Tyler came in and saw them in the box and I was off and running. I got lots of "company" today. Julie came over twice and Shari came over twice and we talked. I had to pick out what color grout I wanted and I did but everyone wasn't on the same page with that.... finally I picked out 2 for the bathroom and 2 for the kitchen. I wanted the lighter shade I picked for each room but I decided to go with the darker shade  ( its really not all that dark) and the white shade for the bathroom... Every one wanted a deeper shade but I explained why I wanted the white in the bathroom and finally they all agreed with me. It seemed they didn't have a sealer on their grout and they got tired of cleaning it.... I will make sure I get the best sealer so it doesn't get dirty looking... I HOPE. If I would have picked the darker color in the bathroom it would have made my tile look grey and I wanted it to look blue and the white seems work for that. So far the underlayment is in in all the rooms and the tile is in in the kitchen and small bathroom next to the kitchen... Tomorrow they will grout it and put the tile in the other bathroom and then we have to wait 3 days for the sealer. But and a big but we have to wait until Wednesday for the dishwasher to be installed so there is a square in front so the man can do his work and then that will be put in.... so I suppose it will be a week before it all gets sealed... sure hope we don't spill anything in the meantime, LOL but then I have learned from experience nothing ever turns out perfect so I don't expect it to be perfect but I would like it to start out that way. Heaven knows there is enough in my house besides these floors that need attention.
Anyway I enjoyed the day and it was a fun puzzle to make... Just 500 pieces and I really enjoyed having someone in the house all day besides just me and Leo.
Hope everyone had a nice day and you didn't get too much snow or cold. Sandra

Puzzle

I had a pretty good day today! Lots of company and I finished my puzzle and went to Sears and got a nice new dishwasher! I got a Kitchen Aide .... hope it lasts as long as the Kitchen Aide mixers do. I will try to take good care of it and maybe it will.... My 2 son in laws came over to check out the old dishwasher and we decided they would take the old one out....... tomorrow. they did bring along the underlayment and cement they need and said they had to go back and finish up a job that was more than they thought... they said the kitchen would be all tiled tomorrow.... I wonder. My new dishwasher won't be installed until Wednesday. They measured and measured and we decided they should leave a piece of underlayment where the dishwasher will be but not cement it down in case it needs to be removed and they will leave some tile in case it needs to be even higher ... I think we are all on the same page now. Gotta have it done right I think so I don't need to worry or think of it anymore. The son in laws and Grandson know what they are doing though so in case of any problem they will be able to fix it... I think they enjoy talking about it and solving any problems.
Now to figure out what to have for supper... I think its going to be Mickey D's tonight..... LOL
Sandra

New Floors

Another sunny but cold day today... the sun is nice!
We spent the morning getting ready to have the tile installed, starting tomorrow. I am finally getting excited about it. Leo took all the mop boards off and burned them in the fire place. the bathroom will have tile edges and he will buy some new ones for the kitchen. It will look nice and new.... just hope the rest matches it so we don't have to do anything else for awhile... I want a new dish washer because mine is really old and sometimes it leaks.... not good. :) and besides I was looking at the new ones and they are much nicer. Mine must be 20 years old or more by now so I think it's time. Gary pulled the carpets back last night so the tile will be able to go under and then he will fix that back up too. My job is to put all the "stuff" back where it belongs.
I won't have to cook for a few days either... maybe he will take me out to eat or order in.... sounds good to me. The grocery store has a nice deli if we get there on time( before they sell out) We also have a nice oriental buffet I have wanting to try that is only blocks from home and also a nice Italian place we haven't been to yet... now will be a good time if Leo doesn't have to help more with the floor. Time will tell and I can hardly wait to post the after pictures.
Hope you are having fun with your house this winter too...
Sandra

Beautiful sunny day

Notice the snow on the tree in the window by Charlie. When I took the picture the sun was making the snow sparkle on the tree but Charlie was in the way...anyway just trust me it was very beautiful. Charlie loves laying in the sun and he wouldn't move.... but you can still imagine how pretty it was... It is pretty cold out so the snow is still covering the branches and everything else too. Good mulch for the plants though. I can hardly wait til spring but that is probably 2 months away yet. Maybe we will get a little more excited about that around Easter time. We have 2 months to go yet..... oh maybe I will say sometime in March..... thats only a month away. They say the temp. changes around the ides of March so that is what Iam hoping for. :)
   We are going to be getting our floor installed this coming Thursday if all goes well.... we bought it in October but when you have family that works in flooring it seems to take longer..... like the plumber with the leaky faucet..... Now I have to go and look for  a new dishwasher because we need one and they are debating if we should put it in before floor or after its installed..... I wish i could go away for a couple of days so I don't hear anything about the job..... maybe I will go shopping, lol
Today is the last day for Pogo to have games for free..... I hope somehow I can still find a canasta game free on the web somewhere. I hadn't played it for several years but it came back so easy and I have been playing in my spare time.... can watch tv while Im playing too.
  I started another puzzle today. Its one with a bunch of flower seed packets spread out on a table with flower petals.... pretty one this time I think.
So hope everyone is having a nice sunny day.... doesn't seem to matter if it is cold as long as it's nice and sunny.
Sandra

Snow Day

We have been shoveling again.... everything is covered again, there is a blanket of snow covering all my plants so I can rest easy knowing they should be good to go when spring finally arrives. I didn't take any pictures of the snow but of my flower instead as I think this is the prettiest thing to take a picture of today. :)
I got a little exercise this morning shoveling the patio and doing the normal household chores and now I can sit and putter a little. Leo is taking off the mop boards etc in the kitchen, getting ready for the day when Shari's husband will put the tile in. It was ordered in October and he has been too busy..... now he is laid off from one of his jobs so maybe it will finally get in. We can only hope. I will be taking pictures I think when the time gets here....
So since I have my work finished I think I will play canasta in the aol games.... it said it will not be free after Feb. 7th and I don't like paying for things like that... don't get enough time in to pay for it.
So away I go, have a nice day, Sandra

MY GREAT GRAND Daughters

My daughter Shari baby sits for my Great Grandchildren while everyone is working. Shari is a wonderful babysitter in her home and now she gets to care for these darling great neices of hers.... She bought them these sweet sweat shirts for Christmas..... aren't they just the sweetest girls... Such joy they bring to everyone and they don't even know it....
It's snowing today..... I mean snowing. When it first started I don't believe I have ever seen flakes as large and I figured it was getting warm and it would stop but it didn't and is supposed to get a little colder and the snow should be staying.... actually I hope so, that is after the streets get cleared and its safe to drive again. I think that is the only bad thing about the snow. We needed it for a insulation for all the plants and flowers if it is going to get colder. I guess Spring is a little way off yet, LOL  So now it's back to the hot chocolate weather and the crocheting etc etc etc.... Hope you are enjoying what ever weather you are getting.... You never know what tomorrow will bring, do you?
Sandra

GROUNDHOG DAY~ MY BIRTHDAY

Leo got me the pretty flowers and the amerillis is just starting to bloom... I must have started it at just the right time this year. :) I had to get myself a cake too because a couple of the kids said they were coming over tonight... also got some ice cream... what a good idea and then tomorrow I will start my diet... no sense in starting it today. That angel food cake looks just too good.
The ground hog didn't see his shadow here if he is an early riser but if he likes to sleep (and I figure he does) we will have 6 weeks before spring... we will anyway but it is a fun thing and a nice reminder that winter is on the downsize.
I'm lazy today and went back to bed to sleep another hour.... I'm allowed since its my birthday. :) Now I hope I can come up with something fun to do today and not just waste it away. Hope you are having a nice day today, Sandra

My February purse

Here it is~~~~ my new February purse. Everything fits in and has its own place.... I think Iam going to like this one. for $12 you can't really go wrong. It looks like leather doesn't it. I suppose I will have to be a little more careful what I wear this month though with a red purse but it will be fun. Thanks Ma for the good idea.

Its a cloudy day today but already 36 so we can't complain. Hope its nice where ever you are too, Sandra