CLOSING OUT MARCH

Unlike the rest of the year, this month has flown by.  I guess it's because I was so busy.  March included getting my hair cut, beginning to teach Bible study again, running to the hospital twice to get Joe's hands x-rayed, and seeing my primary doctor because of all the dizzy spells I've been having.  There was an Elders Meeting that Joe attended in spite of not being able to get our car out of the snow packed street.  We ended up getting a taxi to take us to the hospital for Joe's follow up doctor's visit that day.  Joe also went to an Pastors and Elders Conference for a weekend. Last week I went to urgent care for pains in my chest that turned out to be a strained muscle.  Joe went to a doctor's appointment at the VA Hospital and began physical therapy which will continue for 6 weeks.  I saw my cardiologist this week and finally got my new dishwasher delivered today.  It will be installed tomorrow.  It's been a very busy month with little time to breathe!

My temperature afghan is coming along.  As you can see the month began with a yellow stripe of 70 degree weather, but ended with lots of cooler blue and dark green.  The extended forcast makes me think that next month will be almost entirely green.

The entire afghan so far.

Here's a look at my Breathtaking Views calendar for March.

Highway 163 approaching Monument Valley on the border of Utah and Arizona

And the end of my MARCH @ 6 P.M. shots.
 

March 26

March 27

March 29

 

March 31

Goodbye March.  We'll be saying hello to April in a few hours.

BRITISH BOOK CLUB -- THE FINAL CURTSEY by Margaret Rhodes

I joined a book club for the very first time.  And the one I joined is an on-line one that is held in Shropshire, England.  I found it when I subscribed to a vlog called "Royal Reviewer."  Elliot who owns the vlog is a lover of the British royal family and posts all sorts of interesting things about them.  Every Saturday night at 10:00 p.m. for him (5:00 p.m. for me) he does a live chat.  Most of the time I am able to catch at least part of them.  One week about a month ago he said that the next week would be the beginning of the Book Club discussion and this was the book they would be reading.  Wow!  I was intrigued.  Not only was it British and American people who would be reading the book, but Australians, New Zealanders, Canadians and Indians.  Some are from Bermuda.  Some from Ireland or Scotland.  Two are from France.  When else would I get the chance to join an international Book Club?  So I went to Amazon, got the book for my Kindle, and began reading it.

What an amazing book!  It is the autobiography of Margaret Rhodes who was the first cousin of Queen Elizabeth.  She recently died and that is what made Elliot think to read this book.

Margaret Rhodes led such an interesting life.  She traveled all over the world not just for her own pleasure, but as an ambassador for the Queen.  She became a lady-in-waiting in her later life for her aunt, the Queen Mother.  Margaret's mother was the older sister of Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mum).

Here is the Google synopsis of the book:

Filled with charming anecdotes, fascinating characters, and personal photographs, this intimate and revealing autobiography of Margaret Rhodes—Queen Elizabeth II’s first cousin and niece to Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother—offers unparalleled insight into the private life of the British monarchy. Detailed and often touching, this account chronicles Margaret’s birth into the Scottish aristocracy, her years working for the Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service, and her appointment as Lady-in-Waiting to the Queen Mother. Describing the Queen Mother’s final days, this edition also celebrates happy occasions, including the weddings of Princess Elizabeth to Prince Philip and Prince William to Kate Middleton.

So if you like autobiographies, or the British royal family, or both I would recommend this book to you.

THE PAST WEEK

Even though here and there I still see snow, it's nice to know that Spring is finally here.  Most of our temperatures have been in the 40s and 50s but yesterday it got up in the 70s.  Nice!  Today it is colder again.  Ah, well.  It won't be but a few weeks until all is green and blooming.  Then my allergies start!

I can't believe it's been a week since I posted.  Every day I was going to do it but life got in the way.  I humbly apologize for not even reading any of your blogs.  That is something I am going to do this afternoon.  I do want to know what is going on with my friends!

On Monday I tried another new recipe.  This was supposed to be a quick and easy swiss chard leaves stuffed with ground turkey, rice and veggies.  You put the mixture on the leaves and roll them up as you would for stuffed cabbage.  Then there was a chicken broth sauce to put on top and they were baked.  Quick?  NO.  Easy?  NO WAY.  It took me over three hours to make.  I was almost an hour just chopping up all these veggies -- carrots, celery, onions, mushrooms.  Give me a break.  Then I had to blanch the swiss chard, cook the veggies, cook the rice and make the broth before I could even begin to put it together and put it into the oven to cook for 20 minutes.  To make matters worse, I hated it.  Joe said it was OK but I couldn't stand the taste.  Guess what I am not making again.  But if you don't try new things, you don't know.  I'll have to see what ShopRite's menu of the week is this week.

Tuesday's Bible study had two new ladies from church show up.  We did the first eight verses of Colossians and it was really good.  Everyone got involved which is how I like it.  I understand that some people are shy and don't talk.  I used to be that way.  But even if you don't say anything, it's good to be there and take in other people's ideas.

Tuesday afternoon Joe had his first visit to Physical Therapy to get the use of his hand back from that terrible fall he had.  It went really well and I like his two therapists Matt and Monica.  They are great and both specialists with just the hand.

Wednesday we were supposed to get our new dishwasher delivered.  I have been cleaning this mess of a house like crazy.  It is still a mess, but so much better than it was.  Home Depot never called and they never showed up.  I finally called them and they said they called here and we hung up on them.  Uh... no!  So they rescheduled for Saturday morning.  OK.  At least my house is getting cleaned.

Thursday morning we headed to the VA Hospital's Sleep Clinic.  Joe needed an adjustment to his CPAP.  Most of the time I sit in the waiting room and read.  Then he comes back and tells me everything is fine.  This time it was a woman therapist and she insisted I come back to the office with him.  She said if there is a man and his wife or significant other is there, she does not go to the office alone with him.  Good thinking.  She said the wife is the one who gets them to do the right thing with their equipment anyway.  Her name is Sue and she was wonderful.  He has a new schedule, new mask and we go back in a month to see how he is doing.

From there we got something to eat and headed to Physical Therapy again.  The therapists always bring me along to sit with Joe as he goes through things.  So there I am at a table with him watching him going through everything.  At the end Matt gave his finger and hand a massage that broke up a big knot in a muscle and even though it hurt at the time Joe now has a little more movement in the finger.

Friday morning Joe and Pastor Ralph headed off for a two day Pastors/Elders conference at Pinebrook which is our denomination's conference center.  So for only the second time since we've been married I was left alone.  It was a strange feeling.  But I lived alone for 27 years before I got married so I kept telling myself it was just like that.  Sheesh I've become such a baby.

Late morning I had a doctor's appointment.  Yes, for me for a change.  I knew by the way I was feeling I needed the dosage of one of my medications changed.  And I was right.  Taking less of anything because my body is starting to work again is good to me.

When I left there I picked up my friend, Donna, and we went to East Coast Wings for lunch.  We both love it there.  I got wings with honey garlic sauce and chips.  Donna got a Cowboy burger and fries.  We were both starving so we also got pub pretzels as an appetizer.  They are so good!  Soft pretzel sticks (more like bread sticks actually) covered in melted butter with a pepper jack cheese sauce.  Oh my!  That could be my whole meal.  I was so full that I didn't even eat dinner that night.  I just munched on a few snacks so I could take my medicine.  But I could have done without the snacks if I didn't have to have food in my stomach for the meds.

So that brings us to yesterday when the dishwasher was supposed to be delivered.  As with all week I was furiously cleaning the very messy house.  I wasn't finished, but finished enough that they could get the dishwasher in.  I got a call from a guy saying he would be here in 30 minutes.  OK.  A quick go through the house moving things to the side to make sure everything was great to get through.

Sure enough, these two young men came with the dishwasher.  They went out to the kitchen and said, "Uh oh.  You have a wooden kickplate under the appliance.  We can't take that off because it will ruin your cabinets.  We can't install your dishwasher.  We can leave it here in the middle of the room, but you will have to have someone install it.  We'll refund your money though."  What?!  I told them there was no way I was able to take that kickplate off by myself.  So they told me to get a friend or a handyman to do it.  Uh huh.  I told them to take the dishwasher back with them.  So they gave me a number to call to reschedule when I was ready to have it installed or to cancel the whole thing.  They will hold the dishwasher for 30 days.  What to do?

When Joe called me at lunch time from the conference I told him what was going on.  We decided I should call our regular plumber to see if he could help.  So that's what I did.  I told the lady who answered what the problem was.  She told me that they do free estimates and they could come on Wednesday to see what was going on and if they could help me.  But it's almost certain they can.  So that's where it stands.  The dishes are piling up because with my bad back I can wash only a few at a time.  I do this several times a day to keep up with things.  It's always something.

Joe came home last night around dinner time.  I was so glad to see him.  My next-door-neighbor, Chrissy, called and asked what we were doing for dinner.  I said probably calling out.  She said she was in the mood for sushi and did we want to go to the Hibachi Grill.  Yes!  I am always up for that place.  So the three of us headed there for dinner.  Chrissy and I loaded up on sushi and tempura.  Egg rolls and chicken on a stick.  Oh so good.  Joe had meat.  Lots of meat.  He said he hadn't had any for days and he was craving it.  Of course he also had veggies, but he was loving that meat.
 
So now I have to get going and get to church.  I have the treat for Fellowship Time today and I didn't bake anything.  I think I will stop at Dunkin' Donuts on the way over.   Sorry I've been so busy I haven't even taken any pictures this week except for my 6 p.m. pictures.  And I didn't even get that taken last night because we were out.

MARCH @ 6 P.M.
 

March 20

March 21

March 22

March 23

March 24

I hope you all have a great day today.

Kathy

THE LAST DAY OF WINTER

And I am so happy.  Spring is a wonderful time of year.  Everything is coming back to life and the air is warming up.

I am glad our weather is warming up here.  It's supposed to be in the 40s and 50s for the rest of the month.

I spent 7 hours yesterday cleaning the house.  I am feeling so much better about things.  But today I was really worn out and spent most of the afternoon napping.  Well, that's what Sunday afternoons are for.  Back to work on the house tomorrow.

I made two really wonderful dinners last night and tonight.  Yesterday it was lemon chicken, broccoli and cauliflower and Irish Soda bread.  That bread was so good and is gone now.  *sigh*  I wish they sold it all year round.  Tonight I made poached salmon, rice and mixed veggies.  We ate hours ago and I am still full.

Tomorrow I am going to try the next new dish from Shop Rite's meals to go.  It is turkey and rice stuffed Swiss chard.  I'll let you know how it is.  

Joe wasn't able to go to church again today.  I hope he is able to come next week.  We did have three visitors today.  And another new child.  This is so exciting seeing what God is doing in our congregation.

There's really not much to tell you because I slept the day away.  I hope to decorate for Easter this week so I will be showing you those pictures.

YOUTUBE VIDEOS:
We finished another series:  Victorian Farm Christmas.  It was filmed a year after the Victorian Farm series but instead of spending a year there, they spent 5 or 6 months.  It was so interesting.  They begin in the late summer with the hay harvest and end with a wonderful Christmas celebration.  We are on to the next series which I will tell you about soon since there are only four parts to it.

I also watched myself a single video called "BBC's Pompeii The Last Day."  Wow! It was incredible.  The research they did was just unbelievable and it made the whole thing come alive.  Allthemed Docs has done it again.  They always show the best documentaries.

MARCH @ 6 P.M.
Again, no clouds in the sky and so no beautiful sunsets.  But here is a cloudy day yesterday and a sunny day today.

Saturday, March 18

Sunday, March 19

And that's all I have for you today.  Hope you have a good evening.

Kathy

Sunrise:  7:05 a.m.

Sunset:  7:12 p.m.

12 hours and 7 minutes of daylight

Sunny

Temperatures:  51*/29* F.

(11*/-2* C.)

ST PATRICK'S DAY AND THE DAYS LEADING UP TO IT

Dunluce Castle, Ireland

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  It's almost over now.  Thought I'd take a minute to catch everyone up.  This picture was taken on Wednesday.  There was ice on the flowers.  I thought it looked kind of pretty.  The ice is all gone today.  That's good news.
 

 The sidewalk is clear, but the car is snowed in.  Prayer Meeting ended up being cancelled.  We weren't going anywhere.

However, we had to get out on Thursday.  We got into the car and tried and tried to move it.  I got out and shoveled some around the tires.  Joe threw down rock salt.  No luck.  Joe had an Elder Meeting to go to and one of the elders came over and picked him up.

But that wasn't all.  He had an appointment with an orthopedist at Pennsylvania Hospital.  It was important he show up.  When I knew it was almost time for Joe to be home I tried to move the car again.  No luck.  So I called for a cab.

I have not ridden in a cab in over 20 years.  It was way different than I remembered.  It was really interesting.  The cab driver and Joe started talking.  He was from Nigeria and is working on his Masters Degree from Drexel.  He is an engineer.  And he was also a Christian.  So we had a great conversation on the way down.

Joe had a good appointment.  His right hand is just about healed except he now has arthritis in that thumb. The pinky on his right hand that was dislocated is back in place but he needs physical therapy to gain the use back.  That starts next week.

When we got out of his appointment, Joe called for a cab to take us home.  We didn't have to wait long at all for someone to show up.  He ended up taking us along I-95 and I ended up taking pictures.  You can do that when you aren't driving.

Here is the Benjamin Franklin Bridge.

And a close up of it.

I never grow tired of looking at the Delaware River.  That's New Jersey in the background with the tall buildings.

Joe took this picture for me.  Philly has lots of murals and this is one of my favorites.  When I first saw it many years ago, I thought it was a real flag hanging there.  It was painted right after 9/11.

And here's Joe enjoying his ride.

Actually the driver on the way home was traveling fast, weaving in and out of traffic and squeezing through small spots.  I was a little scared.

When we got home the young man who lives a couple of houses from us and his mom were coming home.  Joe asked if he could dig out our car and we'd pay him.  But he wouldn't take any money.  Joe gave him our shovel to use since it is good for ice and he dug his mom and dad's spot out so that they could park there and then dug out our car.

So today I was able to get to the drugstore and get my medicine.  Then Joe and I went to Shop Rite and got a few things that we needed.  It wasn't much because we had done our major shopping for the month a couple of weeks ago.

Here's what our street looked like when we got home.  It's really melting.  I'm glad.

It seems strange to celebrate St. Patrick's Day and not be at work.  We always were anxious to see what each other was wearing and took pictures together.  Oh well.  What I was wearing was the Irish shirt I bought in Tennessee last year.

I made ham, potatoes and green beans for our "Irish" dinner.  It was good!
 

While we were at Shop Rite Joe found some Irish Soda bread.  We both love it and it was perfect with dinner.
 

And what is St. Patrick's Day without Irish Potatoes?  Yum!  Too bad you can only get them once a year.  We are each eating only one a day to make them last.
 

Joe's wearing his "Lucky Shirt" that he bought in Tennessee.  We want to go visit again.

MARCH @ 6 P.M.
What a difference a day makes.  It's nice to see the sun again.
 

March 15

March 16

March 17

 It's very late and I have to get up early tomorrow and get the house ready for the new dishwasher.  So exciting.  Until later...

Kathy

Sunrise:  7:08 a.m.

Sunset:  7:09 p.m.

12 hours and 1 minute of daylight

Temperatures:  45*/27*F.

(7*/-3*C.)

 

SNOW DAY

The storm came roaring through here Monday night and when I woke up on Tuesday there was a lot of snow on the ground.  It snowed constantly for hours.  Then the sleet and freezing rain began.

It lasted until early afternoon before it stopped.

And then it was done.  The storm had closed businesses and stopped the buses from running.  But in the end the 16 inches we were expecting turned out to be 6 inches.  I am very thankful.

A young man came to our door and asked if we wanted our sidewalk cleaned.  Joe said yes and the neighbor each side also because they had both just gotten out of the hospital.  He charged us a very reasonable price and cleaned our car off for free.  Joe told him any time it snowed to just come over here.  Now I have to get some money out of bank when I go to the doctor tomorrow because I gave him all the cash I had.

Around dinner time one of the neighbors had gotten stuck in the street and had almost gotten sideswiped by someone trying to go around her.  So Joe got out there and shoveled her out.  He has such a servant's heart and couldn't see this young lady just sitting there spinning her wheels.  I didn't want him to do it because I didn't want him to get hurt, but I also thought how I would feel if I were in this girl's place.  I know how thankful she is for the help.

Joe decided to give me a break and get pizza for dinner.  After all it WAS Pi Day (3.14).  It was a nice break.

I am so glad to be going to the doctor's this afternoon.  I don't know what I did to my right knee but I am in a lot of pain and can hardly walk or drive.  Hopefully she can give me some insight on what to do besides a knee brace and pain killers.

I got a little bit of cleaning done, but just keeping up with laundry and dishes on this bad leg is taking up a lot of my time.  Going up and down stairs to the basement is not a good thing.  Neither is standing at the sink.  Joe wants to help me, but with his hands he can't.  Oh, we're a good team.

Here's what the street looks like tonight.  I took it through the front door and you can mostly see the screen, but I hope you can get an idea of how deep the snow is.  Not that bad.  According to the news my sister got about 24 inches so I'll take the 6 inches we got.

MARCH @ 6 P.M.
Here's your picture for today.  I turned on my Kindle to see what time it was and Joe said, "Getting ready to take your 6 p.m. picture?  I read your blog."  Ha!

Even at 6:00 it was still cloudy and you can see some of the snow on the bushes.

A busy day today so I'm going to get off of here.  Hope you all have a good day.

Kathy

 Yesterday's weather

Sunrise:  7:13 a.m.

Sunset:  7:06 p.m.

11 hours and 53 minutes of daylight

Snow!

Temperatures:  35*F/24*F 

2*C/-4*C 

THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM

This will soon be the scene here.  Except I don't have evergreen trees.  Or live in the woods with no other houses around.  I do live by a creek.  Does that count?

We are holding our breath here on the east coast as a major snow storm is headed our way.  Here in Philadelphia we are predicted to have 12 to 16 inches.  We don't have snow all winter and here it is heading for Spring next week and we are having major snow.  Not just a few flakes like last week that lasted only a day.  No, this will be around for awhile.

This snow never even covered the sidewalks.

I feel sorry for the feral cats that I feed.  Joe put some food out for them tonight and I hope they find it before the snow begins.  To top it off I just found out that one of our neighbors hates cats and has been poisoning them.  He even admitted it and laughed.  Several of us are reporting him to the SPCA and hope he is fined or jailed.  Poor things.

Joe's doctor appointment for tomorrow has been moved to Thursday.  I am expecting to be able to get around much more easily by then.  There will be time for the city to plow the streets.  My doctor's appointment is on Wednesday.  I'm hoping to be able to get out by then.

I'll be taking pictures of the storm tomorrow so hopefully will have a few to show to you.

Last night I put all the dinner dishes in the dishwasher, loaded up the detergent, turned it on and went into the living room.  In a few minutes there was the smell of something burning.  We had the fireplace heater on and thought it was that.  So we turned it off.  We could still smell the burning and it was getting worse.  I went out to the kitchen to see if it was one of the neighbors and the smell was really bad.  The dishwasher was making a strange sound too.  I opened the door and black smoke came out.  I quickly turned it off and shut the door.  In a few minutes the smell was gone.  I ended up washing the dishes by hand.  I can wash only a few at a time because of my legs and back, but I am almost caught up.

Today Joe and I took a visit to Home Depot.  We had looked online at different places and found one we wanted that we could afford at Home Depot.  But we wanted to see it in person.  It turns out that though we liked it, we found one we liked even better.  It has options we think will work for us.  So we bought it.  Because this week is so busy for me, it is being delivered on Saturday.  Now I have to pick everything up and clean the kitchen before the weekend.  It's one way to get the house clean.
 
YOUTUBE VIDEO:  On a different note, Joe and I finished another youtube series.  This was "The Victorian Farm" made in 2009 and set in 1880.  The things Joe and I are learning from these historic farm series!  It's amazing.  If you like history, I highly recommend them to you.  

We also watched a video called "Inside the Body of Henry VIII" which was wonderfully informative.  Of course there is no body to do an autopsy on, but a group of historians and physicians take documents from the time and analyze them to come to conclusions as to what happened.   Fascinating.

MARCH AT 6 P.M.  I am starting something new since the time change.  I am taking a picture out of the kitchen window of the sky each evening at 6 p.m.  It will be interesting to see how the sky changes.  I waited until the time change to start this series.  Hope you like it.

Sunday, March 12

Monday, March 13

You can see the storm clouds already moving in.

So that's it for today.  Hope you are all warm and safe.

Kathy

Sunrise:  7:15 a.m.

Sunset:  7:05 p.m.

11 hours and 50 minutes of daylight

Cloudy

Temperature:  42*/22*

THIS WEEK

Did you all remember?   This is the day I dislike most of all the year.  Changing the time made sense in the past, but not now.  Just leave it one time or the other.  

So here's what's been going on this week (besides Valentine's Day).

On Monday I went to Target.  I needed ink for my printer and also wanted to get some washi tape for my planner.  I'll be showing that to you soon.  You know how I love the dollar spot at Target but would you believe there wasn't one thing there that I bought.  I liked some of the things, but not enough to buy them.

Tuesday was the first Ladies Bible Study of the year.  We did an introduction to the book of Colossians and I told them all I could find out about the city of Colosse.  I always say there is nothing new under the sun.  Those people of ancient times could be us.  It's so interesting to see that although they lived differently, they still were more like us than we often imagine.

I had bought a rotisserie chicken last Saturday.  After having it then, on Monday I made chicken salad with the left overs and had sandwiches for dinner.  On Tuesday I took the carcass and made chicken stock.  With that I made chicken rice soup.  It was so good.  So I got three meals out of a $4.99 chicken.
 

Yummy chicken rice soup

On Wednesday I took Joe back to the hospital to get the last of his x-rays done.  In the waiting room I saw this HUGE poinsettia.  It was beautiful.  Joe thought it might be fake, but I looked and it was real.  I had to get a photo to show you.
 

Also this week when I went grocery shopping I got a shamrock.  It's tiny, but I'm hoping I can keep it and it will get bigger.  It was only $1 so how could I go wrong?  So cute!
 

And that's what's been going on.  Hope you have had a good week.  This coming week we are predicted to have a major snow storm on Tuesday.  That's the day Joe has a doctor's appointment at the hospital to see about his broken fingers.  *sigh*  I'm praying I can get us there and back safely.  He is still in a lot of pain so he has to go.

Have a good Sunday, everyone!

Kathy

Sunrise:  6:18 a.m.

Sunset:  6:04 p.m.

11 hours and 46 minutes of daylight

Clear with periodic clouds

Temperatures:  32*/21*