Obviously I recuperated from the "revenge of the toilet gods". It was bad. My appetite did not return for a week. Every time I ate I felt nauseated. 

One of the first meals I enjoyed after recovering was this grilled banana and peanut butter sandwich. We channeled Elvis. It was one of his favorites. I drizzled ours with honey. 

Easter decorations are in place. 

My March chalk board messages were only slightly behind the 8 ball. 

The Super Carrot looked perfect for her ballet photo shoot. Daughter shared this photo with me. She also shared one of Merritt with her hair in rollers getting ready for the shoot. They were the same rollers my sister had used in high school. Then deeded to me when she no longer used them. Which I used. Then bequeathed them to Daughter. Who used them. And still finds them useful. Three generations using the same set of Clairol hot rollers. Who' have thought it?!

Friday I drove over to pick up 2 of the grandchildren after school. Daughter accompanied Son-in-Law to his doctor's appointment. Some pretty serious electrical issue with his heart. Their appointment was on time and they arrived back home quickly. I took my leave and made a few stops on the way home. First stop. Boiled peanuts. The Peanut Man can be seen on the roadside between here and there many a sunny day. Always on game weekends. I selected the original, salty version. 

Stop number two. Boiled crawfish. In Gordo. And. They were pretty good. Salty and spicy. 

Macho was glad I had picked up supper. 

***

The weekend went too quickly. We leaped forward with all our clocks. Sunday afternoon we took a drive and viewed the local Great American Bald Eagle nest. We actually got to see one of the adult eagles fly in and land. We were not too close and wished we had brought binoculars. But we could make out the head of the juvenile eagle in the nest. That was good enough for us. We had a good visit with Sister Paulette, made a quick trip to replace a desk light, and stopped for a chocolate milk shake ad some pickel-o's on the way home. All in all a good weekend.

Monday has been dreary but I have done laundry and cleaned bathrooms. That is good. Now. On with the week. Classes. Lunches. More classes. And a trip to the coast next weekend. 

Diving right in. 

Namaste. 

Day 4.

I am finally feeling a little normal today. This stomach bug was the worst. Even today I feel slighted nauseated around/after eating/smelling/thinking about food. I have ingested more calories today and am thinking clearer. I have had more energy.

It was a gorgeous day. I went on a slow, measured walk this morning. The sky was unbelievably blue. The temperature perfect.

I even cleaned two bathrooms this morning. And later put on a pot of red beans and rice. I do plan to eat a few bites. Maybe.

I have luxuriated in watching some old favorite movies the past two afternoon. Yesterday I enjoyed "Good Will Hunting".  It was good all over again. Robin Williams. Need I say more?

Today I dove into "Under The Tuscan Sun". Diane Lane. I just want to be her. And wear those clothes. And have fabulous gay friends that gift me tickets to foreign lands. And live in the villa. And cook gourmet meals for my laborers. Oh geez! In another life.

Macho deconstructed again today. The house is almost gone. Board by board. Bit by bit. He comes home dirty and tired. It is good.

I wish I could keep off these 5 pounds that I've dropped. I know. It will be back.

By the skin of my teeth I made it to both my gardner classes this week.
I am on track. Trying to stay there.
Namaste.

In like a lion.

Whew. Not a good start to this month.

Son-in-law was hospitalized with some pretty darn serious heart issues on Tuesday. Tests were run to figure it out. He will be released today...with good/bad news. Good news is there is no significant blockage. Bad news is there IS something the matter that he will see a doctor next week about a course of action. It is an electrical problem. We anxiously await the next step.

Tuesday, when Daughter called to tell me the news, I had planned to go be with her for the heart cath procedure on Wednesday. But. (Someone always has a big but.) I awoke at 3:00 in the morning. At first I thought I was just overly worried about SIL. Until 4:00 when the diarrhea started. Then the vomiting started about an hour later. They both lasted well into the morning. Throwing up is so un-fun. I mean. Really. It is so gross. This morning I still have the basement issues, though not as frequent. But I am popping peto bismal like candy. Smells are hitting me pretty hard. I couldn't even stomach the smell of coffee yesterday morning, and that is one of my most favorite aromas in the wide world. I did keep down a few crackers, water, a cup of mint tea, and about 4 bites of ramen noodles last night. This morning I have had 1.5 pieces of dried toast and half a cup of coffee. I had an errand that I needed to run this morning, and I accomplished that. Stopped by the Piggly Wiggly to pick up bread and bananas...and almost gagged on the smell of cigarette smoke when I walked in.  I have never noticed that smell in there before. I think I am just uber sensitive right now. I did tell my cashier but I don't think she appreciated my comment very much.

The day is cool and gorgeous. Thank goodness for that.
Namaste.

Catching up.

I am happy to report that my second shawl is complete. Don't know what I'll do with it, but I am slowly using up my leftover - excess yarn. 

I continue to work on another crochet project - a basket weave stitch afghan - still using leftover yarn. I didn't realize I have so many skeins of green yarn until I was well into this afghan. I am calling it "compliment the green". I'll post a picture another time. I admit that I am liking it, so far. 

Last weekend we worked out of doors. It was warm. Mr. Macho moved a box into position to be my new compost receptical. We moved the compost material that was in the wire basket that I had been using. It smelled very 'organic'. And. There were tons of grubs. The picture doesn't do the numbers justice. 

Spring is almost here. I was trying an experiment for an upcoming garden club event. The rye grass grew well but I decided it wasn't what was needed on the table scape we have planned. So. I just drew faces on the eggs. They are on my kitchen table right now and look at me while I eat my meals. 

I want to try more things from seed this spring. Will let you know if/how that turns out. 

This meal was just too pretty. Sugar snap peas, carrots, and spinach/ricotta stuffed ravioli with fresh parmesan cheese grated on top. No. I did not make the ravioli. But I did boil the water and dropped them in. Doesn't that count? It was pretty delicious. My gourmet friend gave me another idea that I will try soon. Baked ravioli served with marinara sauce. 

We have so many fun things on our plate over the next few days/weeks. Tonight we are going to celebrate a special birthday. One of our sweet DIL's is celebrating 30! 

Two more nights of special events to attend, then Beach Boy and his family will spend one nigh with us. I am looking forward to that. 

Next week I start a new adventure. I am starting the Master Gardner Course. One of my bunko playing friends looked at me like I had two heads when I told her I was planning to take the course. Why? She asked. Well. Why not? It will satisfy one of the categories posted on my refrigerator..."learn a new skill". So there. 

BTW. We didn't win the lottery last night. Since my state doesn't sell the lottery tickets I had to enlist the help of out of state sisters. The first didn't get a chance to buy the ticket. But the second one ran right out and bought 4! For a few hours we spent the money in our thoughts. We woke this morning to find out that someone in Indiana won our money. Ah, well. C'est la vie. 

There were good '80's songs on my car radio today while I was driving home from the grocery...I was grooving. Then I heard some lines that remind me of my daughter..."her confidence is tragic, but her intuition magic..." She will call me when she reads this. 

(EDIT: Daughter did, in fact, call. She corrected me - it was not '80's music. It was the '90's.)

I must be off. I am baking cookies for the Cookie Patrol delivery next week. Making hay while the sun is shining. May not have the time next week. Will freeze until delivery.

Namaste. 

Best laid plans.

Happy St. Valentine's Day. You just have to know by now that Mr. M. is not a shopper. Therefore a gift giver he is not.

His Valentine present awaited him at the breakfast table this morning. I found a nice long sleeve MSU shirt in his size that I thought he would like. It was in a Christmas gift bag. I didn't have a Valentine bag. The card is several years old, but is not a recycled card. I bought a box of children's Valentines and it takes me years to use those up.

We had agreed to spend a nice gift certificate that we received for Christmas and go out to eat tonight. Welllll...plans have changed. Mid-morning he calls to tell me our contractor can finally meet with us. This evening.

Plan B. Bottle of sparkling wine. Check. Two nice ribeyes from the Piggly Wiggly. Check. Red Box movie. Check. And voila! A perfect Valentine date and he doesn't even know it yet. Surprise!

I don't think he remembers that Valentine's Day and Mother's Day are the two worst days of the year to eat out. Problem solved. We can spend the gift certificate another night.

And. I won a box of Valentine candy at my luncheon today. Win!
And. Our contractor is finally coming over. Win.
So. It is turning out to be a great Valentine Day.

XOXOXO

Clouds.

Last evening I made a quick trip into town. To be a groupie. One of our local authors had a book signing. I have been looking forward to this book release for quite a while. I have read one of his other two books. I am getting the marrow out of this book. Really enjoying the read.

On the way home the sky had the remnants of the rain clouds that had soaked the day. There were grays and purples and pale yellows. I thought they would break my heart. Not often do I really miss living at water's edge. Then I see a sky like last night's and I just want to be on the sand with an unending skyline stretched before me. 

This morning we woke to thick fog. Dense. So I grabbed my camera and made a spontaneous detour to my local lake to snap a few. 

Usually you can see the other side of the lake from this vantage. 

My YMCA is struggling. Financially. I will be a bit devastated if it closes. We are community. We are family. It is much more than a work out spot. We have supported each other through the death of parents, spouses, through surgeries, through recovery. We have witnessed to one another in our daily struggles. We share laughs. And cookies. And years. And bad hair. These old farts are my peeps. I am them. We need some action.

I need to find my cape. 

Namaste.

Working for the weekend.

Not predicted. We have sunny skies. Slipping into the weekend on happy feet.

Had the senior brunch at church this morning with a full house. Father Robert blessed Sister Paulette and her friend, Mike S., as they will depart for a mission trip to Haiti in the morning. 

One of our couples was celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary today. That is the happy part. The sad part is that the husband has alzheimer's. And. He is fading. And. It breaks my heart. 

Two weeks ago I bought two bunches of flowers on the sale rack at Kroger. They got a little brown around the edges the last few days. So...

I bought two more bunches this morning. On the sale rack. $4 worth of happiness. 

I am making my own weather. And. Its sunny skies this weekend.

Super Bowl Sunday. I am cooking a big pot of chili. Leftovers will be served at our sop kitchen on Monday. Neither team is our favorite. I guess I will cheer for the Falcons. I just hope there are good commercials. Last year was a bust. I do like Ga-ga, so I hope half time is a fun show. 

Macho will help with the Habitat de-construct project again tomorrow. I have lots of dusting to do and toilets to scrub. In fact, I can get started right now.

Namaste.