Greys & Things

I will not be going to the coffee house today.  I found out yesterday afternoon that the office I work for will be open today after all.  I have worked on New Year’s Eve before and I have found it not to be productive, but I need to work and make any money that I can.  Honestly, I was looking forward to having the day off.  I will be off the next four days, so I’m happy about that.  I will try and make it to the coffee house on Friday.

My husband is working today and tomorrow, so no New Year’s Eve plans for us.  I fixed us a nice dinner on Sunday night and called that our New Year’s Eve dinner.  I fixed grilled steaks, baked potatoes, cooked apples, salad and Texas toast.  It was very good.  We may have burritos tonight, but I am not sure yet.  My husband gets tired of burritos, but I love them.

I prefer to stay home on New Year’s Eve.  I think it stems from my childhood.  I get nervous being out around drinkers.  My uncles used to drink and then get in fights.  I clearly remember one night where they fought in our yard and one uncle knocked the teeth out of the other.  My Mom was screaming, my cousin was crying and my Dad was trying to break up the fight.

I don’t like being on the roads on New Year’s Eve.  These country roads can be dangerous enough without adding an impaired driver to it.  I know, you can get hit by an impaired driver at any time, but the chances go up on New Year’s Eve.  This is all my opinion, of course.

Happy New Year to you.  I hope you have a nice time celebrating.  It will be a regular night for us.  I will probably be in my warm bed by 9 p.m. 

Today has been a quiet day here.  I’ve been working, but not making much money.  It’s hard to make money at my job when people do not answer their phones.  I verify employment and check education on applicants.  Schools are closed, so it’s a waste of time calling them.  We have to do it though.

It’s another warm day, but that will change tomorrow.  I took the dogs for a quick walk on one of my breaks.  It is much easier walking one dog than two, but we are getting better at it.  I sometimes hold both leashes in one hand and that keeps them together.  Normally, I hold Jack’s leash in my right hand because that is my stronger hand and Scout’s leash is in the left hand.  The problem occurs when they both decide to go in the opposite direction.  I tell them I am not a rubber woman.   They both want to walk on their own side of the road and I can only stretch my arms so far.   

Tomorrow, I am going to take my laptop to a coffee house and try out the wi-fi.   I am not a coffee drinker, but I’m sure they will have other beverages.  I think I will be nervous walking into a place and sitting down and working on my computer, but I know that’s silly.  It’s just something I have not done before and is a little out of my character.

It’s back to work day for me.  The weather is really nice today.  It’s sunny and 57 right now.  I should really take the dogs for a walk.  We took them to the state park yesterday and they loved it.  The park is not far from here, but I never take them there by myself because it is a pretty isolated place.  We’ve never had a problem, but it’s still a place that I wouldn’t want to go on my own.  I guess it’s possible that an attacker might think my dogs are a threat to them, but I know my dogs are not protection.  My dogs give kisses and head butts.  Yesterday, Scout was so disappointed that a family didn’t want anything to do with her.  She just wanted to be petted and they were scared of her. She doesn’t understand that she is large and has big teeth.  The family passed us by and Scout stopped and just watched them. She really wanted someone to pet her. 

The dogs didn’t want to get in the work mode this morning.  They wanted to play.  I ended up giving them a homemade frozen treat and that settled them down.

It’s almost the end of the year. Have you thought about a new year’s resolution? I have. I’m just trying to decide if I should publish it here.

I received the results of my mammogram yesterday.  I was nervous to open the letter.  I know they send a letter to my doctor first, but since it’s a holiday week, it’s likely that she was not in this week.  My results are fine.     That’s a relief!  I didn’t really expect anything to be wrong, but I saw the x-ray or whatever it is called and it didn’t look normal to me.  I have no medical training, so I know nothing.  I asked the technician and she said she doesn’t read results, so she couldn’t say anything.  I’m sure that is what she is told to say, but it made me nervous.  I had a suspicious spot two years ago and breast cancer is in my family, so I’m always nervous waiting on results.  I’m fine for now though.  I get to stay in the “12 Month Club” as I call it.  I was in the “6 Month Club” for a year.  I had to have two mammograms in a year to be sure that the spot hadn’t changed and after what was really 18 months, I was able to move back to the “12 Month Club”. 

When I had my mammogram done last week, there were a few women who definitely had some issues. One woman had to have additional test and another one just completed a biopsy.  It’s really humbling to sit next to women who are facing or have cancer.  I hope everything turns out okay for them.  I noticed that all the women in the waiting room seemed very nervous waiting to have their mammograms completed. 

I have really been worried about money lately.  My job is very slow right now.  I’m doing what I can to make more money, but it’s tough right now.  I really hope things pick up soon.  After I received my mammogram results I realized that I have my health and that’s what matters.  I will get through job and money issues.  I guess it really hit home when I learned that a young mother who has had breast cancer for three years died yesterday.  I feel for her family. They have gone through so much trying to save her.  I shouldn’t stress so much over money issues when I have a good health.

Christmas is officially over at our house.  I took the tree down yesterday.  I leave our tree decorated and just store it in a closet in the basement.  The hardest part is carrying the tree down the basement steps.  I did it this time with only two ornaments falling off. 

I’m always happy to get my house back to normal, but then I feel sad at how the house looks.  I mean, it just looks rather plain.  I usually feel this way for a few days after the decorations come down. 

Is it just me or is there always one or two decorations that are missed?  I thought I had everything taken down, but then I went into the bathroom and there were two snowflakes hanging from the mirror.  I can’t store them with the rest of the snowflakes because they are behind the tree and it’s just too much work to get to that box.  Okay, it could be done but trust me, those snowflakes will remain in the spare bedroom until next year. 

We have to return Jeff’s atomic clock. It quit working.  I am so disappointed.  We hope to make it out today to return it.  I just hope they have another one in stock.  We were getting ready to leave to make the return, but decided to wait. There are severe storms headed our way and since tornadoes are possible. We decided to wait until they passed. The Weather Channel says the storms are headed for St. Louis, so we continue to wait.  It does look like a really bad line of storms and I would rather be at home with the pups than on the road.  My biggest concern is a tornado.  It’s 66 degrees here, so anything is possible.

I went shopping this morning.  I think this may have been only the second time that I have been able to shop on the day after Christmas.  I didn’t buy much, but I’m pleased with the purchases I did make. 

I was surprised that Walmart had Milk-bones on clearance.  They had a huge box for large dogs for only $2.50.  My dogs love these, so I bought two boxes.  They also had some very nice dog toys on clearance.  I bought each dog one since they did not get anything for Christmas this year.  I bought myself some perfume, some bath salts and candy.

The best buy of the day came from Linens & Things.  They are going out of business and today the items were 80% off.  I bought a king size set of Liz Clairborne sheets for $5.99.     I also bought a mattress pad.  We needed a new one.  It was $7.99. 

I stopped at the Dollar Store and stocked up on fabric softener since I decided I liked it.  I ended up spending $18 on various items there.  The store was basically empty today and it was a relaxing shopping experience.

My final stop was at Walmart.  It was my first stop of the day and then I went back to buy groceries.  My plan is not to shop for food at all next week.  I should be able to do this.  I have enough dog food, enough soda for me and I think enough snack and real food for my husband and I.  I will save a lot of money if I can cut down on my shopping at Walmart.

I hope you are having a nice Christmas.  Our Christmas has been quiet and relaxing, so far.

I fixed French toast for breakfast. It was okay, but I think my vanilla needs to be replaced. It didn’t have much flavor. 

 I have a peach pie in the oven right now.  I will put our turkey in the oven after the pie is done.  We will have turkey, mashed potatoes, corn, rolls and maybe salad with peach pie for dessert.

We rented moves last night and will watch those later today.  My husband will split a some wood and bring it up to the screened porch so that we have wood to burn for the week.  He made a system to transport the wood up the steps to our screened porch.  He built rails that the wagon fits on and he attaches a cable to the wagon.  The cable is attached to a motor that pulls the cable which pulls the wagon.  It makes moving wood up the steps pretty easy.

Jack and Scout are both sleeping.  Jack is next to me on the couch and Scout is on our bed.

Last night. we went to Olive Garden with my in-laws.  It was very good.  Santa left presents while we were out.  My husband received a camouflage blanket that he wanted.  He also received an atomic clock.  He is very big into knowing the outdoor and indoor temperatures, so he’s happy.  We also received a new laptop, but that came last week.  It has been a nice holiday.

Merry Christmas everyone!

This feels like a strange day.  I am off work until Monday.  I really don’t have any plans, but I have lots of things that I should be doing today.  I could work on bookkeeping, clean out a closet, clean out the refrigerator, organize something.  None of that sounds like fun.  I did trim my hair this morning.  It looks better. 

It is a very foggy, rainy morning.  I took my Jeep out of the garage in hopes that the rain would wash away some of the mud from it.  My mother-in-law asked the other day if we had been 4-wheeling.  No, that’s just the mud from our road.  The Jeep will get dirty again when we drive down the road, but I’m hoping the rain will wash away some of the dirt.  It has been too cold to take it to the car wash.

My husband forgot his cell phone today.  I’m sure he is not happy.  The phone keeps ringing.  I’m sure he is checking his voice mail for any missed calls.  He relies on his cell phone for work.  I really don’t have any way to contact him without his cell phone.  He is working a short day, so hopefully he makes it okay without having it. 

Jack and I are sitting in the living room enjoying the Christmas tree and the warmth of the fireplace this morning.  We are listening to the scanner and watching TV.  I’m working on the laptop.  I think it’s easier using the desktop, but it’s nice to be in the living room instead of the office.

I plan on making a turkey tomorrow, but it is still pretty frozen.  I put it in the refrigerator on Saturday.  I may be putting it in a cold water bath today to help it thaw.  It’s really not that big of a deal if I don’t fix it tomorrow.  We are not having company.  I had planned on renting movies, but that may not happen.  I can see my husband wanting to split wood.  Yes, I have split wood on Christmas Day before.  My husband is not a holiday type of person.

We are going out for dinner with my in-laws tonight and I think that is it for our holiday celebration.  I’m not complaining.  I enjoy having a day or two to myself.  I’m not thrilled about the possibility of splitting wood though.

Merry Christmas!

I haven’t always lived in the country.  I was born in St. Louis and lived there until I was four.  Our house burned down and we moved to the country.  I moved back to the city when I married and then we moved to a smaller town for 13 years. We moved to this rural area five years ago.  

We purchased a scanner when we lived in the smaller town.  I enjoyed hearing everything that was going on around me with the police scanner.  After listening for a while, you begin to recognize the officer’s voices.  I thought when we moved out here, there would be not be much activity on the scanner.  I was wrong.  I turned it on the other day and was shocked to hear how much is going on around me.  I only see the mailman, my one neighbor and on rare occasions, the UPS man, so it is easy to slip into your own world and forget that there is a world outside of “two greyhound town”.  It is amazing how much police activity is occurring here.  I’m 20 minutes from the nearest town, so that is what surprised me.

If you have never listened to a police scanner, I highly recommend it.  It can be very funny at times.  There was one time that I will never forget.  The police chief came on and asked if anyone had written any tickets for the day.  He said the new computer system was up and he wanted to test it.  An officer responded and said “No, I haven’t written any tickets, but give me a minute and I’ll write one.”   I felt sorry for the poor driver that was going to get pulled over so the computer system could be tested. 

There are times when you are pulled into the action that the police are experiencing and it can go on for hours.  An officer was trying to catch someone who ran from him and the officer ended up getting stuck in the snow.  Several other officers were called in to assist, but after two hours, the suspect was still at large.  I’m not sure what happened in that case because I had to turn off the scanner because I needed to work.

Do you have a scanner and if so, have you ever heard anything funny on it?

Christmas feels like it is over and it hasn’t really arrived. As you know, we had our Christmas celebration yesterday. The food was delicious. I actually prefer appetizer type of foods instead of a regular meal. We had wings, deviled eggs, rye bread with dill dip, ham, little smokies, pizza, chili cheese dip and chips and veggies. I think that’s everything. We ate and then went into birthday mode for my nephew. We then had birthday cake.

We switched to Christmas mode by playing Christmas bingo. That was fun. We then opened gifts. I received some really nice kitchen towels, a lottery ticket, bubble bath and a subscription to All You. My husband and I received a gift card to Lowe’s and also Applebee’s. I have been craving Applebee’s, so we may use that this weekend.

It looks like I will have to break my rule about going to town only once during the week. I didn’t realize that I was getting low on dog food. Bad weather may come in tomorrow, so I will probably go out today. I really had not planned on going to town today, but dog food is a necessity.

I only have two days of work this week. I’m an independent contractor, so no work means no pay. I really hope that work increases next month.