Hi All! Network seems a little faster tonight. I'll try to post a little. Everyone out fishing. I'm at the trailer fixing supper, cola crockpot chicken. Hope it's good. Lazy day. Cooked, watched basketball on TV, walked the dogs (a zillion times-LOL), didn't do much of anything productive. AHHH!

Just found out I will have to go to Washington D C on business the end of April. Wish it were earlier so I could see the cherry blossoms!

Well the crew came in before I finished this post so now, dinner is over. The cola chicken was good but nothing special. Oh well, everyone was hungry and appreciative that I fixed it. tomorrow we are going to town for dinner. Thee local cafe has fried catfish, oysters and shrimp every Fri. night. It's GOOD but doesn't do much for the waistline LOL.

Gayle, your trip sounds so relaxing!! And here you go traveling again.......and to Washington, DC!!! Wow!!! Now do you just go on these business trips or do you speak at them?


Judy, since I have low thyroid it makes me have cold feet without being in the snow so I can't imagine going out in flip-flops this early but ......you go girl!!!!


And, Janet, head my way whenever you're ready!!!

I've been trying to keep things done up here lately so I could start cleaning this week. Yesterday (Sunday) I gave the dogs a bath so all I would need would be a quick combing to keep them looking good this week.

This is how my week is starting already..... woke up about 4:30 am to a dog barking. Didn't get up to check on her...I just went back to sleep. I mostly just dozed, but she did quiet down. I didn't hear Ricky's alarm go off so I had to get up and make sure he was getting up for school. I then went to let the dogs out of their crates so they could go potty and I guess I should have gotten up when I heard the barking. Gidget must be pregnant, because usually after a week or two of being bred, she gets sick. AND she did...all over the crate. So another bath for her and now I'm waiting for daylight to hose the bedding down and then I'll throw it in the washer. What a way to start off....LOL.

Well...I need to get started if this cleaning gig is going to happen.

Hope your week improves Janet. I'm sure it will. This must be your spring break.
Poor Gidget, hope she feels better soon.:)

What a way to start your week. I hope it gets better. How exciting that Gidget is pregnant again!!! Enjoy your week but make sure you take time out for Janet!!!!

Oooh! You have a week off? Is it Spring Break already?

Sorry you woke up to a mess, but, puppies are on the way! That is nice!

Yes...spring break has arrived...yay. I did get started on the cleaning though. My bathroom just sparkles and I got rid of a lot of meds that had expired and put some old stringy towels in the whelping supplies. Got my dresser and closet cleaned and put away my winter clothes and got out my summer attire.

While I was scrubbing my tub/shower I got down on my knees and then when I went to stand...my right knee popped out or something, but I couldn't straighten it for about 45 minutes. I just hobbled along...lol. Wasn't gonna let it stop me. I'm still having trouble with my right arm also. Got the last of my hepititis shot series last week and it's been sore and achy since.

I can sure tell I don't get a whole lot of physical exercise...I'm so sore already. I still have Rick's dresser and closet to clean out tomorrow and then the rest of the room. Hopefully I'll be able to get it all done.

Hope I'm not as sore tomorrow, but I'm sure once I get my self moving I should be okay.....I hope.

WOW Janet!!! You've gotten so much done! I wish I could get motivated like that:rolleyes: I hope you wake up feeling great in the morning!

Slow down Janet! Popped knees and aching arms are not good for you!

Knowing you though, nothing will stop you from your spring cleaning. There is nothing like a clean, organized house!!!

Well my bedroom and bath is finally done. Feel like I'm dying, but it's so clean and organized again. Gee only 7 more rooms to go. I really hurt. Guess I really don't get any exercise. Once I get up and moving I'm fine until about 4 in the afternoon. Then I start getting really sore again. I'm getting too old for cleaning... LOLOL

Hey everyone, I am home now and back in the work groove as spring break is over. UGH! I posted some pix of wildflowers, etc in the pictures thread!

Hi Gayle! So glad you're back and that you had a wonderful time on your spring break! Now I will go look at your pics.:)

I'm glad you're back safe and sound Gayle. I've already checked out the wildflower pictures...they're beautiful!


I got the living room and family room done today. Basically I just switched the furniture in each room and totally cleaned anything and everything. Right now I'm sitting in my recliner and everything looks so nice.

I think I'm stopping though. I've only got 3 days left of spring break and I'm ready to get out of the house if the rain will ever stop.... that and if I can move without pain....:D

Wow, Janet, you've been on a cleaning frenzy!!!! I'm glad that you're not going to spend your whole spring break cleaning because you deserve some "you" time!!! Get Lynne and GO SHOPPING or something!!!

Janet, I am completely amazed at your cleaning frenzy. I don't think I have cleaned that much in my entire LIFE! :p

Well, I hadn't really 'deep' cleaned since I painted last year. It needed it soooo bad. I feel much better now knowing the dust bunnies are not going to unite and start a rebellion. Just makes me feel safer... :)

I kind of relaxed yesterday morning and then in the afternoon I went grocery shopping. Since Ricky lost his job it's been a little (well more than a little) tight financially. Our tax check was deposited so I had to get some groceries. We were out of everything. I did well though...bought quite a bit and bought healthier items. Salmon, Tilapia, some fruit and lots of veggies and no 'white' stuff. No...I'm not dieting...I always fail at that, but I'm going to try and take a more relaxed look at the way I eat. Hopefully I'll lose some weight, it not, maybe I'll feel a little better by eating right.

Not sure what I'm going to do today or tomorrow. I should go see Mom and maybe take her somewhere, I haven't seen her all week, but I've spoke with her everyday...sometimes twice. It's suppose to be a pretty day so I do need to get out. Tomorrow is suppose to be rainy all day long. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Gorgeous day here too, Janet! Sunny, 80 degrees this afternoon. I went to the nursery and bought my tomatoes and peppers. I'm watching women's basketball right now, and have one more game to go this afternoon, then its off to planting before the games start up again this evening.

There's a big garden festival going on downtown and I'd love to go, but alas, too many BB games to watch and too much to do here. Maybe tomorrow....

It's beautiful here today too!
I have been outside trimming the grass around my tulips. They haven't bloomed yet but it won't be long! I can't wait to see them in bloom.
I even had the puppy out there earlier, she ran around the yard like she was a big doggie lol. She's had 2 rounds of shots so I thought it was safe to let her in the grass.
You all have a great week-end too!! Enjoy the wonderful weather:)

Well, I got my tomatoes planted and one little jalapeno pepper plant. After planting, we celebrated by going to Red Lobster for crab legs :D Janet, wish you were here!

Here's a couple of pictures of my tomatoes.

oops! I hit the wrong button, here's the pix

Oh and here's a picture of a nice bass that Gary caught a couple weeks ago at the lake.

Very nice Gayle. I saw a piece about planting box gardens on the news. It was so interesting; how to adjust your soil and so on.

If I wasn't too lazy this year, I could do it on my deck. Maybe next summer.

I hope you get a great crop!!!

What a nice bass Gayle. I miss fishing so much...there just isn't that much fishing around here anymore. I like fishing from creeks, but they are just too dirty and polluted. All the lakes are farther away.

Gary fishes from the Colorado river too. He and a friend set out trot lines for catfish and then bank fish for them too.

Oh and I forgot to say that a critter got in my garden last night/this morning. I have a little fence around it because without the fence (put up last year) both Yorkie boys want to get in the garden and "water" (ahem) the plants.

This morning I went out to find tracks and a few small holes around in the soft dirt. None of the plants were disturbed, but the newly turned dirt sure was (between plants). I called Gary out to look at it because we occasionally have an opossum that comes up from the creek and I thought he might have gotten into the garden.

However, as Gary and I were looking in over, he said it looked like maybe a big cat had tromped around. About that moment, I realized that I had left the plant flat that I used to carry all the new plants from the car to the garden, laying up next to the bed and it made a perfect step for a little Yorkie boy to step on it and jump right into the bed.

So, I think my opossum/cat was actually a Yorkie! :D

The plants look so good Gayle. We are putting us out a little garden this year too.
Nice bass. Did you all eat it? I love fresh fish.
The story about the critter was too funny. So do ya think one of the boys watered the plants? lol

Gardening is so relaxing for me - I just have the little 4X12 raised bed so it is very easy. Every morning and evening I say to the boys, "Let's go check the garden" and they hit the doggie door before I can take one step! We go out and I look over every plant - it's make me feel good!

Yes, we eat the fish. They caught crappie, catfish and bass. Crappie is my favorite. We love fresh fish too!

Do I think one of the boys watered the plants? You betcha! :D

we plan on having a small garden tis year also, will have to fence it off from the dogs to. I use to have yellow cherry tomatoes and had 1 dog that would pick them off the vine and eat them, hope i can find some volunters in the yard this year, the birds would eat them and the dogs and they would deposit the seeds all over the yard, yuk!!!
I am suppose to have a guy (an old school teacher) come today and look at my KOI fish, it's been raining all day and kind of chilly. we are filling in our pond if we can sell all of the fish, some are well over 12" long, i have sold some over the past couple of summers to another old teacher. we are just tired of takeing care of it and worrying all the time about the pump clogging up and the dogs take up so much of my time, we have had it for over 10 yrs. it's suppose to be nice later in the week maybe i can see if he will come later to fish them out, last time i ended up on my butt in the pond, i will not be getting in it today though!!!

Gayle, i love crappie, my g-father lived in Okeechobee FL and he loved to fish and if we went there or they came home he always had fish for us, i miss my g--pa, he was my mom's dad and they are so much alike!!!

whew!!! well he's come and gone, he wants a few fish but we are waiting till warmer/dryer weather. Thank you!!!!

Well...it's decided. As soon as yard gets dried out the neighbor is going to come over and disk our garden area. It's been a few years since I had a garden so it will take the disk to get it worked up. He also has a tiller on the back so that will help with the initial work up. We have our own smaller tiller so we'll be able to work it the rest of the way. I'm so excited the decision has been made. I loved working the garden so this is something to look forward to. I've already started writing out what I want to plant. I always canned and froze the veggies so now I will have to buy some more jars. I sold them at a garage sale....LOL.

Right now I'm going by what we use to plant and that will be radishes, green onion, lettuce, carrots, green beans, peas, brussel sprouts, tomatoes and who knows what else. I have video of Ricky with a pacifier in his mouth and wearing a diaper planting the garden....so darn cute. Also of him sitting on the kitchen floor breaking the beans and shelling the peas. Oh the memories. We don't plant corn because the neighbors always plant rows of sweet corn in their fields and tell us to take what we want. So nice.


Way to go Lynne on selling some of your fish. Now you won't have to worry about the dogs getting in it anymore. I didn't know you landed on your butt in the pond.....where the heck is the picture of that?????

YAY! Now I'll have another gardner to share stories with!

I don't know the size of your garden area, Janet, or even if this is feasible - but, if you till areas that are only 4 foot wide but as long as you want, you can reach into the four foot wide garden area from either side and never have to step into the garden soil. You could till a 4X20 area, leave a 2X20 space untilled, and then till another 4X20 space. The trick is to not make them more than 4 foot wide so that you can walk between the four foot wide rows and not have to step into the planting area. I didn't come up with this brilliant idea - it's recommended in some of my gardening books. Of course, this might not be at all feasible in your space.

Janet, that is good news! You are going to have a really fun summer, and a good time canning too!

Gayle, I love your little garden!!! I would love to have one that size or a tad larger. My husband thinks that if you're going to garden you do enough to feed everyone!!! It's a lot of work and waste! I think that the kids are talking about getting together and planting another one this year.....we'll see. Our garden is at the end of our long driveway and not very handy. I much prefer one that I can run outside for a few minutes to pick or hoe weeds. We have some yard work to do then I think that I'll get a raised garden put in but, who knows......that could take years!!

Janet, it will be interesting to hear how your garden's doing and what you're canning. I used to can a lot when the kids were little. I really can't say that I miss it!!

I know Diana....I'm beginning to rethink this whole garden thing. I've been thinking and remembering just how much work it was. In the morning with the dew (before it gets too hot) it's too wet and of an evening, I'm usually done in, plus it stays so warm late into the evening. I just better think on it for awhile before we get the garden tilled again.

Even if you just have a small garden with tomatoes, potatoes, and a couple of other things you'll enjoy it. Just don't make it too big and maybe just plan on eating what's fresh and not worry about canning.

Oh and Gayle.....tell Gary that he has a nice "bass"!!! LOL Did I just type that????!!!!!

Good idea Diana. Maybe a small one wouldn't be too bad. Oh the things I fret over....lolol

A small one is wonderful, just perfect for going out and visiting every day, but not so big that it causes any stress, in fact it is really relaxing.

It is so beautiful outside today. I went out yesterday to get the Easter baskets
done, and ended up taking a ride over to a nearby town that is known for antique shops. I had such a nice day, but I am so tired today, I just don't feel like going anywhere. I think it's allergies. It's just a shame to stay in on such a beautiful day.

I think I'll do what needs doing, and then relax on the deck. I have to clean it up a bit first. Max has been having fun out there, if you know what I mean! It's much too early to bring up the deck furniture. It really could snow again. It certainly will rain! I have a couple of plastic chairs that I can wash down and set out, then I can grab a book and relax out there. Max and Annie can run around too.

It is really beautiful here today too! It's supposed to be a little warmer than normal, maybe 82, but there is NOT ANY WIND! We have had so much wind this spring, I am so tired of it.

I got Easter basket fixins' today. I took Papa (Gary) with me and THAT was a mistake! We ended up buying waaaaaay too much stuff! LOL!

I just baked a blackberry cobbler and cutt up LOTS Of strawberries. We have a new organic grocery store (Sprouts) close to our house. They run ads every Wednesday and blackberries and strawberries were on sale this week, so my wonderful hubby LOADED up on them. Now, I have to figure out what to do with them. I bought some vanilla ice cream and cut up some strawberries to eat on top of the ice cream as well as putting the ice cream on top of the blackberry cobbler. I'm going to make strawberry shortcake for Easter dinner tomorrow.

Gary and I went out to breakfast at Cracker Barrel this morning (where I did most of my Easter basket shopping) and then we did a spot of shopping, him at the sporting good store, me at the department store. He bought some fishing stuff, and I bought a pair of pants and some pajamas. Since I've been home, I've been out admiring my garden, and talking to my tomatoes. I have to go to a volleyball game at 3:00 and that will probably consume most of the rest of the day.

Gayle, if you have a lot of fruit then you can make a real easy fruit salad. I just cut up my fruit (use what ever you want) then sprinkle a package of sugar-free jello over it. I use strawberry but cherry flavored is good too. When cantaloupe is in season it's really good in this too!

Glen's family has a picnic the day before Easter and I made a fruit salad for Glen to take. It's a good picnic salad because it doesn't have mayo in it plus everyone loves it!!!

Judy, it does sounds nice to just sit in the sun for awhile, doesn't it? Enjoy your time in the sun!!!!