Daily Peeking - Tuesday and Wednesday

I hope everyone is having a good week so far. I have been fairly busy but not with anything that is fun. Just working around the house, etc. I found some pictures on the internet that show what I have been doing. They are not my own but I think you will get the gist of what I have done the last two days.

Tuesday was laundry day. Oh joy, one of my favorite things. LOL

I have pretty much been inside the last two days because it is too hot to be out. As I am writing this, it is 94 degrees F which makes it about 100 degrees F on my patio (due to the metal roof).

 

Yesterday I also spent some time going through some drawers where I store greeting cards we have received from family and friends along with some pictures. I have a question for you all, do you keep your cards? I always have due to sentimental reasons but now that we are thinking of moving out of the country, I have to do something with them (I have years worth of cards). It breaks my heart to think of throwing them away. Does anyone have any suggestions?

 

 

 As far as the pictures (which I have not made a dent in), I will give a lot of them to my children but I have so many photo albums along with loose pictures of mine, hubby's and my mom's. These are mostly all family photos along with school photos of the kids over the years. I have checked into having them scanned but it is too expensive. Our scanner is way too slow. It would take me an hour to do three pictures!

 



Today besides finishing up my laundry, I put a Beef and Beer Casserole in the crockpot. By the time Thadd gets home it should be ready to eat. I've never made it before but it sure smells good. I tweaked the recipe a little to make do with items I already had. I will let you know how it comes out. I think crockpots are one of the best inventions to come along since the microwave! I got the recipe from Pinterest. There are some great ones on there if you have never checked it out.

I'm not making the mashed potatoes you see in the background as I put some diced potatoes in with mine to cook.

I hope you have enjoyed peeking into my last two days.  Take care! xxxx

Daily Peeking

Our challenge this week is peeks of our day. It can be any of the following:

 'a photo a day'

'free choice'

Show us what is happening in your day..

I had all of my fun on Friday and then had a quiet weekend. I went to my daughter's house on Friday and we took Henry and Spencer to the local splash park. Henry loved it but Spencer is too young to participate and boy was it hot to just be sitting and watching! I was tempted to go out and play with Henry in the water! Here is a picture of Henry playing and then and a picture I took of Spencer after we got back to the house.

My grandson in Arkansas, Zach, has been taking Karate for a while now. He has his yellow belt and on Friday they introduced him to nunchuks. I think he is probably more of a danger to himself rather than anyone else since his Mom told me he hit himself in the head with them (no damage done)! LOL! Here is a picture of him with his nunchuks tucked into his belt. He looks quite the little warrior doesn't he?

My son and his family spend every weekend at the lake in Arkansas boating. Zach has loved the boat and water ever since he was a toddler. He is only seven but look at him ski boarding with a family friend! I am not brave enough to attempt this but he is not afraid one bit.

Well, that will do it for me today. I will have to see what I can come up with tomorrow to give you a peek into this wonderful life of retirement I have! Take care everyone! xxx

July Quote Challenge

Our July Quote Challenge from Lynne this week is from Voltaire.

“Appreciation is a wonderful thing: It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.” ~ Voltaire  -  French author, humanist, rationalist, & satirist (1694 - 1778)

So this week what do you appreciate?...The weather? Your family? Friends? Collegues?  Let’s see lots of photos this week!

I have thought about this and I guess I have to say, I appreciate my life period! That includes my family, friends and the fact that I wake up breathing  everyday. I appreciate the days my arthritis and fibromyalgia don't make me so sore and stiff that I can hardly move. I appreciate that I have such a thoughtful and loving husband. I appreciate the time I get to spend with my grandchildren even if it is just Skypeing or talking to them (thank you modern technology).

I appreciate that I was able to retire and that my husband continues to work so I could stop. He is older than me but we have to have health insurance so he keeps on getting up everyday so I can stay home. That is true love for you!

And I appreciate all of you lovely people that I have met on this blog. I feel like I am liked and accepted by you all. I appreciate learning about your families and lives and enjoy seeing all of your lovely pictures. It is so different here from where you are and I love seeing it all. And I can't express how appreciated you all make me feel.

Here are some pictures I thought I would share of the family. The first one is of me and Thadd on an airboat ride on the St. John's River.

 

This is one of Henry playing outside.

 

 

Spencer just turned four months old.

 



 

A collage of Zach. He is a little ham and loves being on the boat.

 

 

This is Erik, Reidar and Henry.

 

 

Morgan, Madi and their mom, Traci (Thadd's daughter)

 

 

Everyone have a good rest of the week.  xxxx

Nostalgia Challenge: Food Glorious Food

Our challenge this week is to: tell us about your nostalgic memories of food! I could probably write a book about this subject but I will try not to be too long winded!

I always thought my mom was the best cook there ever was but I guess most of us feel the same way. Growing up we didn't have a lot of money so we very seldom ate out but I didn't care. My mom was a stay at home mom so she would be up every morning making sure we had a good breakfast before we left for school. It would usually consist of a half of a grapefruit or orange juice and either scrambled eggs with toast or cereal of some sort.

During the school year I usually bought my lunch at school but I have to say the school lunches weren't all that great. I ate them because I was hungry but I never really liked them. Of course, I am not sure we were supposed to like them! LOL

My mom always fixed good dinners at night and then on Sundays we would have the best meal of the week when she would fix fried chicken or a roast of some sort with all of the best side dishes. We always had lots of vegetables to go with whatever meat she chose. Sundays were also the day we would have dessert. She wasn't keen on giving us sweets so it was always a treat!

When she got older and lived on her own, my mom was always cutting recipes out of the newspaper. After she passed, I inherited them all. I pull them out every once in a while and make one of them. I also have oodles of my own cookbooks because I love to cook. Hubby likes to cook as well so he takes over on the weekends. He got a new Belizean cookbook for Father's Day and made this for us on Saturday. It is Belizean Tenderloin with Mestizo Vegetables.

I made this dish a couple of weeks ago. It is Kielbasa with potatoes. Sort of a one pot dish but it was very tasty. Hubby loved it!

I don't normally take pictures of food and any others I did have I have deleted now. But I can still tell you more about our family and food! Growing up in Tampa there was definitely a Latin influence in our food. We had chicken and yellow rice, black beans and rice, and Cuban sandwiches. I still love them all. I fix them at home (except for the Cuban sandwiches) and try to always make it to one of the local restaurants whenever I am in Tampa.

We do have our traditions when it comes to food. On Thanksgiving we always have turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, cranberry relish, gravy, rolls (bread), and a relish tray (sliced tomatoes, green onions, green and black olives, pickled beets, and pickles). For dessert we always have pumpkin pie with whipped topping.

Christmas dinner always consists of ham, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, rolls, fried corn, and again, a relish tray. Dessert varies depending on who makes it.

I always fix New Year's Day dinner which consists of blackeyed peas, hog jowl, steamed cabbage, corned beef, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole (for those who do not like cabbage), rolls, the ever present relish tray and a variety of desserts. I am from the south and hubby is from the north. We always had the blackeyed peas, etc. and he always had the cabbage and pork. So I combined a little of both not to leave anyone out.

A lot of food I considered 'comfort food' such as macaroni and cheese is still eaten but not as often since we do try to eat a little healthier (not as much as we probably should though). We eat very little fried food anymore (my Mom made the best fried chicken!) because it is not good for us. It seems like everything that is good is not good for us! LOL

Hubby eats salads and I do love them but I cannot digest them well anymore so I stay away from them. Hubby loves popcorn as a treat. Alas, I cannot eat it either but I do love my pretzels!

Guess I had better go. I have clothes to fold and put away. I will try to write more later in the week. Take care all. xxx

Let's Not Forget Spencer

I added new pictures of Henry (who is my 'view challenge') but do not want to forget little Spencer who is now 3 months old (closing in on four months). Here are a couple of pictures of him. He is such a sweet baby and I love babysitting him (and Henry).

As you can see, he is a healthy eater (just like Henry).

Let's Reflect - July

We are now at the letter L in our challenge and the word we have been given is LUCKY. I can tell you right now that words does not apply to me. I have never been lucky (except for meeting my husband) and I am sure I never will be, but you know, that's okay. I have survived all of these years without it so I must not be missing out on much. My Mom used to tell me (and I am sorry if I have told you this before) that if I didn't have bad luck, I wouldn't have any luck at all. I have to say this has been pretty much the truth my whole life. I don't equate luck with gambling or those sorts of things since I don't participate much in that sort of thing. I mostly think it applies to everyday things that can happen to you as you go about your life.

My husband and I joke about how we both must have used up all of our luck when we met each other and that is fine by me. Each other is all we need!

I will tell you a funny story that shows what kind of luck we both have (not just me). We were at a county fair and there was this big tent set up for people to play Bingo. It started raining so we ran in there to get out of the rain. We decided, heck while we are here, we might as well play Bingo. We were the only two people there so we figured we would have a pretty good chance of winning. Well, let me tell you, the man calling the numbers had just about called them all before one of us got a BINGO! He kept looking at us, waiting. That means he called almost all 24 numbers (25 with the free space) before either one of us won.  Needless to say, we don't play bingo anymore. LOL

I know people who seem to be what I consider to be LUCKY. My nephew is one. He seems to just always be in the right place at the right time and things just fall in his lap. His sister, my niece is the same way. She moved to Arizona for one job and hadn't been there very long before a headhunter came to her and offered her an even better job with a huge signing bonus to boot. Heck, if that had been me, that would have never happened.

But, like I said, I am perfectly happy with my life and wouldn't change any of it (except maybe to have my Mom still be alive). Anything negative that has happened in my life has only made me stronger and makes me appreciate what I do have.

Hope I haven't rambled on too much. Take care! xxxx

View Challenge - July

I'm sorry I have gotten so far behind with my postings. It has just been one thing after another and I couldn't seem to find the time or have the energy, etc. to get on my computer. I think I am now on my way to normal again, so hopefully there won't be a repeat. Our internet has been down which is very aggravating especially since we are paying to have it!

Then I got sick with something (the doctor's are not sure what it was) but I spent over 12 hours in the ER getting fluids replaced and tests run. That had me on my back for almost two weeks. Then my sister who lives in Tampa fell and broke her ankle in two places so I went over to spend a few days with her and to help out. Can you believe in this day and age she still has dial up internet? Forget that! It is so slow it almost runs backwards! LOL!!

But now I am home again and like I said, hopefully can stay caught up. These are some pictures of my view for the month of July which you know, is my grandson Henry. He is getting so big and he is so smart. It amazes me nowadays at how smart they are. He knows how to play games on his Mommy's cell phone and tablet! He is not even two and I think he knows more about them than my sister with the dial up internet knows! LOL

Henry loves to be outside. This last picture is one my daughter took when they were in Tennessee over the Fourth of July. She said this was the Hillbilly Henry because he only had his diaper on (he was playing in some water) but insisted on having his shoes on! He is such a delight to be around.

That'all for this post. Now on to the next one!