On Life and Living: Dec 14 - 20,  2010



Tuesday December 14th: worked @ RR today and the schedule is packed, now everyone wants to see the dentist before the end of the year. Why didn’t they think about that in October? Besides these patients are crazy…. I had someone today who wanted only the ultrasonic scaler, the one that sprays in a ton of water, only they didn’t want the suction at all, they just wanted to swallow all that water. I would have drowned, but I aim to please. Then this afternoon I had someone who confessed that they brush a couple of times a month. Yikes, I earned my salary on that one. We cancelled family dinner this month because of everyone having crazy schedules and now I am sorry. I miss the girls and I miss sharing my holiday decorations and using my Christmas dishes.

Wednesday December 15th: worked @ RR and there was not a minute to breath, a precious one to me had some surgery today and I have been praying all day. Every so often I would check my texts to see how things were going and although they were running very late but all went well. From work we all went together to PF Chang's in Bellevue (http://www.pfchangs.com/Locations/LocationDetail.aspx?sid=3700&checked=1 ) for the office Christmas party. I had made the reservation and I went in to the restaurant in person to talk to the manager because we wanted a window seat just like last year. I confirmed the reservation myself and confirmed the window table. Then that afternoon they called me to confirm and I again made sure we were getting a window table. Then when we got to the restaurant they tried to seat us in the middle of the restaurant, not even close to a window. As you can guess this did not set well with me. The reason I wanted the window table was because of the "parade" in Bellevue. Each evening in December, at 7pm is a Toyland type parade and it "snows" and there is music. Last year we had a window table and the whole thing was so much fun to watch during our dinner. We did finally get a table on the window row but most of it was next to a wall and I choose to sit by the wall because we had a couple of new people that I wanted to be able to see the parade well. The food was delicious and at least that was predictable. At the end of the evening the manager came over to apologize and ask us how he could make up for the confusion. Nancy the other hygienist said she was coming next week with her family and had also requested a window table and he said he would leave a note for the other manager and make sure that it would happen. We shall see, but my impression is that customer service is really lacking in the reservation department. So if you counting on something special I suggest you choose a different restaurant .



Thursday December 16th: I am still wrapping presents and the yarn room looks like Santa's Toyland or a disaster happened in there. I had physical therapy this afternoon and I know I am making real progress now. This afternoon I went to Trader Joes for groceries and took food to my friend that had surgery and the family to last for a few days. I am really enjoying Bill at home. We are enjoying each other’s company a lot. We are not necessarily getting more things done. I am so far behind in copying Grannies diary. I keep hoping to catch up but so far extra time has not fallen into my life. Maybe a snow day?



Friday December 17th: No snow today. Cold, but no snow. I had coffee w/ Leah at Starbucks. It was so nice to visit with her. She has two boys that are really turning into young men and she is a fabulous knitter. This afternoon the book club met at Whole Foods market and visited for about 3 hours and it was not enough. We exchanged Christmas gifts and three hours later we were still talking and I had to leave. I have been knitting a lot; hand warmers, hats, scarves, and other gifts so we have been watching television a lot too. We are watching a television series through Netflix called Doc Martin. We started with Season 1 and have watched each episode all the way through. Taken from Wikipedia: Doc Martin is a British television comedy drama starring Martin Clunes. It was created by Dominic Minghella, and is filmed on location in and around the fishing village of Port Isaac, Cornwall, United Kingdom. Clunes plays (fictional) Portwenn's local GP, Martin Ellingham, a brilliant and highly successful London surgeon until he developed haemophobia (an extreme fear of blood) that prevented him performing operations. After retraining as a GP, he applied for a post in the sleepy Cornish village of Portwenn, where he had spent childhood holidays with his aunt.

Much of the show's humor revolves around Ellingham's interactions with the local Cornish villagers. Despite his surgical brilliance, Ellingham lacks vital social skills and any semblance of a bedside manner, and often fails to understand other people. Dr Ellingham (referred to as "Doc Martin" by the friendly locals), much to his disgust, finds the surgery is in disarray, the medical equipment is beyond repair, and the patients’ records are a mess. He also inherits an incompetent receptionist, Elaine Denham, who resents Doc Martin's moving in; this character is replaced by Pauline Lamb in the second series.

Martin is joined by a cast which includes Stephanie Cole as his aunt, Joan Norton, who provides him with emotional support in the face of the disquiet among the villagers. Caroline Catz plays opinionated primary school teacher (later headmistress) Louisa Glasson. Doc Martin is attracted to her, but finds himself unable to express this. Louisa appears to share this mutual attraction, but finds their personalities often too different, while she is caring and nurturing (particularly occupationally), Martin is emotionally detached and at times neurotic. We have enjoyed the whole series immensely but you really do need to start in the beginning and watch in order the stories really do build on each other.

Saturday December 18: Christmas with Tamara, Todd and the girls. We had a great time. Halie loved the hat I knit for her and Hannah wanted one too so on the way home we stopped at the yarn shop and I picked up purple yarn for Hannah. They gave us Husky t-shirts and sweatshirts and we both put them on and didn’t take them off the rest of the day. Bill took me to “Five guys – burgers and fries” for lunch. They really do make a very good hamburger and I love a good hamburger. Bill liked the fries.



Sunday December 19th: I guess the season gets to everyone because I had a little crying spell today. I forgot to count my blessings for a bit and was dwelling on the "I want's". Mostly I was pouting because as things have happened this year, we are going to everyone else's for holiday events and not having any here, because of that I didn't decorate much but I like decorating and using my Christmas dishes and it is just more fun to share that with others. Maybe next year I will plan better for me.



Monday December 20th: Walked with JoAnn, I am all ready missing her and she doesn't leave for Florida for a week. I came home for lunch with Bill. He makes the best tuna salad and I love tuna salad. Then there were some errands to run; shopping at Fred Meyer, notes to deliver and packages to mail and more physical therapy for my arm. I am making progress every day.



Thank you for stopping by and visiting with me.  I would love to hear from you also so drop me a line at :  celindakot@yahoo.com    or my personal email address if you have it. 

On Life and Living                                      
Tuesday, December 7th; Time is just flying by and I feel like I am running a few days behind schedule. It is dark when I leave home and it is dark when I get off work. This morning on the way to work a car coming from the other direction made me laugh out loud. It had Christmas lights outlining all the side windows and the front windshield, just a little over the top, I thought. I have seen cars with wreaths on the front end and I have always smiled just a little more when I see them. The day went by fast as we were all busy and working hard. We have a new team member, Molly. Bill and I had a party to go to tonight and Amanda and Becky were celebrating their mom's birthday. December is so crazy we have decided to postpone family dinner until the New Year. I am just trying to find time to hook up with Chris and Ann and Tamara and her family, it isn't going to happen together and that was what I wanted at first, but I think separate is probably better for lots of reasons. I finally posted my last blog tonight and I was a full week late with that. Okay, I think I am ready for tomorrow, so it is off to bed for me.


Wednesday, December 8th Another Full day at work. Everyone needs to get their teeth cleaned before the end of the year. Sometimes it is to look good for the holiday parties but usually it is because they want to take advantage of their insurance or they are about to lose their insurance. When I got home tonight I was so exhausted I told Bill I didn’t want any dinner and I was lying on the couch when our neighbor called and ask us to come down and visit. Rich is the one person I share my affinity for tequila with and I had a new one to try…. So I put the tequila in my knitting bag and went down to visit. Funny but after a couple of tastes of tequila I was energized, I wasn’t as sore and I was all perked up. The really funny thing was that the burst of energy lasted for about three days.

Thursday, December 9th; I was at the LYS this morning when they opened at 10am for knitting circle and then headed into Seattle to my favorite Seattle Yarn Shop. I bought the most awesome button to go on a shawl I was finishing up for a Christmas gift. And I visited with Gretchen for just over an hour. I had not seen here in ages and it was so nice to catch up. Gretchen works as a project manager full time and has two young children. She is amazing. I have been helping her list her yarn on Ravelry and so I returned a bin of her yarn. It is so funny about a yarn stash. She took the lid off and looked at all the yarn and it was like she was saying “I missed you so much while you were gone.” I will tell you some yarn is never meant to be knitted, it is just meant to be admired. When I left Seattle I drove to Renton to Tamara’s house, just to hang out for a while. She had made Teriyaki chicken and rice in the crock-pot and it was delicious. I could have made a pig out of myself, but I used some self control. Tamara’s daughter Halie was making animals and things out of wadded up aluminum foil, it looked really great. I suggested she make a manger scene she is so good but a manger scene is a big deal and a little overwhelming. I think she stopped after making one oxen, it was a really good oxen. When they were all leaving for a music concert at school I headed home. It was a dark and stormy night.

Friday, December 10th; Bill and I had a plan to meet the Friday Night Dessert Group for lunch on Friday now that Bill has a more flexible schedule. We have all wanted to explore more places and this week we went to Julia’s in Wallingford; http://www.juliasrestaurantseattle.com/ I had a BLT, surprise, surprise. We all had a good time visiting and catching up and we probably won’t see everyone again until Christmas Eve. On the way into Seattle we left the car at our favorite mechanic’s; http://www.etireandservice.com/ As I left my car off I ask them to look at the tires and let me know if they look good enough to get me through a snowy winter, so the oil change turned into over $600 with 2 new tires, hoses, windshield wipers, and a list of other things but I do feel more ready for winter. My car wasn’t quite ready when we got back from Seattle so to kill a little time we went down the street to the LYS that was having a trunk show of a very local, Snohomish, spinner and dyer. In the spirit of supporting local industry I bought 3 skeins of her yarn and then 3 of another hand dyed yarn that I had not seen before. Bill really like these yarns also, maybe I will knit him something…. Someday.

Friday afternoon I worked on getting the Christmas gifts ready for Dr S’s office; for Dr S I had knit 5 baby bibs for him to give to patients, new moms or pregnant ones, for Donna I had knit a prayer shawl from the book she gave me, this one was called Heart Warmer. For the Girls @ Dr S’s office I made cold weather gift bags; deicer and ice scrapers. I know that will come in handy sometime this winter.

Saturday, December, 11th Look at today’s date; 12/11/10 counting backwards. It must mean something good to numerologist, but who knows what. When I got to work it looked like Santa had stopped by. It is my last day to work there before the New Year and there were packages for me as well as my packages for everyone else. Work was good, several challenging patients and I like that. Bill chose to miss a holiday party and hang out with me tonight. I usually can’t do much after work that calls for energy because all my energy is gone by then so we had a nice dinner and watched a couple more episodes of Doc Martin on Netflix. The television is working great running on the new computer. We are streaming almost everything and it is so much better quality television than what we were getting through the antenna.

Sunday, December, 12th I was pretty tired this morning too. I think Bill brought me 3 cups of coffee in bed before I could manage to get up. We went over to Bill’s sister’s house for dinner and to celebrate her birthday with a family dinner.        

Monday, December 13th This morning I shuffled through some paper work at the desk and then I ran a couple of errands. I had a doctor’s appointment at 11:30 and it really did take an hour and fifteen minutes. We went over my list of things that are bothering me, questions about medication and more stuff like that. Regence is my insurance company right now and they have cancelled every policy that covered any part of brand name drugs so we are going to be switching several of my meds to generic and lots of them are all ready generic. The problem is that if I don’t do as well on the generics then Bill and I will have to bite the big bullet and pay the $$$ which will be several thousand dollars extra. She said I am doing awesome, that I am in good health. We are both thrilled that I am doing so well on less prednisone. One of the side effects of the lower steroids is that I have much more pain, joint pain and muscle pain. To control the pain I have been starting to take more and more ibuprofen and I knew that was not a good answer so we are trying a few things different for that. I will do blood test the end of January and then we will know how I am doing. I came home for lunch with Bill and then headed out for Physical Therapy. It is now time to start working the shoulder and naturally it is so tight and seized up so the PT spent the first 20 minutes stretching the shoulder muscles from every direction and then working me out with that rubber tubing for exercise from every angle. I am doing great in most areas but I can barely put my right hand behind my back so the goal is to be able to scratch the middle of my back. At the end of the visit today I was starting to really hurt so he had me ice it for 15 minutes with that electric stimulation on it. That was a really good thing to do. Bill made tacos for dinner and I counted my blessings. I am starting to think about New Year’s Resolutions now. I am going to look back at last years and see how I have done and then think about what I want for goals in 2011. (Eleven knitting projects, eleven something about exercise, eleven something about ……..

Thank you for stopping by and visiting with me. I would love to hear from you also so drop me a line at : celindakot@yahoo.com or my personal email address if you have it.

November 23rd to December 6th

On Life and Living:   Life is crazy and I am very delayed in getting this together and I am still behind on Grannies diary maybe later.  I am dying to hear when my mom meets my dad,  she says it has to be soon so I will get back to it for sure.  The holidays and my travels have filled my time.  


Tuesday November 23rd: work was cancelled because of snow and ice today so I got to stay home. Before I got out of bed this morning I got a call from Debbie Youngblood and then Johnny a few minutes later. Their daddy had just then passed away. He has been sick for some time and this past week he had a serious stroke. This morning Debbie and Johnny were both with him when his breathing just slowed and he just passed on to be with his Savior. They both said it was peaceful and gentle, just what he deserved as he was an awesome man. He was my second father and I was blessed ‘beyond measure’ for having him in my life. It didn’t take long for me to decide I needed to go to Texas for the memorial service. I was so glad for the extra time because it took a little shopping to get an airplane ticket on short notice during Thanksgiving weekend. The prices were downright scary and I think that is why Bill let me do the trip by myself. It was a short trip and I promised to take good care of myself. Naturally there were no seat assignments so I will make a point of getting to the airport early enough to get a decent exit row seat.

Wednesday November 24th: work was cancelled today also because of snow and ice. Yikes the weather is much more like Christmas. Bill took a friend to the airport, she said when she called for a Taxi the night before they just laughed at her. In the afternoon Bill and I ran some errands together and I got a little more Christmas shopping done. I want to take all the Texas gifts with me when I go, that will save on shipping and I don’t have to be concerned about things getting lost in the mail.

Thursday November 25th: Thanksgiving: We woke up to fresh snow and ice this morning. There was a lot of talk between Bill’s sister and Bill and Amanda and Toula. We all agreed that the weather was too bad to risk getting Toula from Mount Vernon and bringing her to the city for Thanksgiving. Bill’s sister-in-law lives in Mount Vernon and she volunteered to take Toula a plate of Thanksgiving food and visit for a bit. She is just the sweetest thing, she is always thinking of others and she is so good to her own mother. We are blessed that she is in the family. The meal at Barb’s was delicious, my favorite is the gravy. I like the gravy on everything; the turkey, the potatoes and the stuffing. I could call it soup and eat it with a spoon. Barb said something about being irreverent about thanksgiving, I can’t remember exactly but I said and I will say it a lot, “I am so thankful that I am here to enjoy this Thanksgiving.” I am so glad to be here each day. I want my life to have value and meaning to others and I hope I am open to seeing the opportunities that are there for me to bless others. We left Barb’s in the early evening and got home for me to pack and get to bed at an appropriate time.

Friday November 26th: It was snowing like crazy again this morning but nothing about the weather daunts Bill. We got to the airport just fine. The freeways were open and not much traffic but when we drove past a couple of malls they were solid parking lots of cars. All the shoppers were out early doing their Black Friday shopping. The flight was nonstop and easy. I knitted all the way there and had made a baby bib and a hat by the time I got there. David was waiting in the baggage area and Bobbie Ann and Kimberly and her husband John, the Marine, and their son Wyatt had all come to pick me up. Wyatt is just over a year and oh he is so cute. They have taught him baby sign language and I am so impressed. I really believe that he was much

 happier and less frustrated and fussy than many other babies I have seen because he could express himself so well. They had fresh smoked brisket for dinner and then I went over to the Youngblood’s to visit for a while. When I got back Bobbie Ann showed me all her Black Friday shopping, she is totally amazing. Turns out she is an awesome Black Friday shopper. She says it is like going hunting and that there isn’t any ‘bargain’ she cannot walk away from. She had ‘adopted’ two families who were ‘in need’ this Christmas, 6 children total. She was allowed to spend $50 per child and with her daughter Jennifer’s help they had ‘bagged’ goodies for all. Each child was going to get new quality shoes, high quality jeans, a nice sweater or pull over top, 3 pairs of socks, gloves, coloring book and colored pens and a game and the moms in the family were getting gift cards to a grocery store. I was so impressed and inspired.

Saturday November 27th: When everyone got up and around we just visited and caught up with each other. Mostly it was about Wyatt and how cute and smart he was, but my vote was for David my brother-in-law. I told him I thought he was ‘channeling Bill Yeager, my daddy.’ David had made fresh hot biscuits and sausage gravy, one of the very best southern breakfasts. We all enjoyed it very much, even Wyatt. After breakfast I dressed and someone took me to the Youngblood’s house where I spent the day with all the family, Cousins and Aunts and Uncles came in and out, some I hadn’t seen since my high school days. Do you think I had changed much? Debbie has a grandson and a granddaughter and they were lots of fun to watch and cheered up everyone around them. Debbie’s brother Johnny and his wife Anita were there too. They have two of the most beautiful, inside and out, daughters that I have ever met. What I mean by that is we have been together precious few times over the years and they are so kind and loving to me. I know Nita and Johnny have taught them to love me but I don’t care, they do and it means the world to my heart.

I missed Tabitha’s wedding this summer when I was sick and not traveling and so I got to met her new husband Jordan, very nice and lots of help all day with the food and flowers and even the kids. It was fun to watch. The service started at two and we all left about 1:30 for the church. Johnny promised me photos but I don’t have them yet, just the few I shot with my iphone. We all had a good time remembering what an awesome man Mr. Youngblood was and I am so glad I was there to here all the stories. At the reception afterward my job was to be ‘cupbearer.’ I loved that job. All the family and especially Debbie needed to greet and talk to all the guests. I on the other hand didn’t know so many people so I stayed right by Mrs. Youngblood and held her plate of goodies and her cup of water. She would get so dry from talking and I would just hand her the cup of water for a minute and then go back to just being nearby. Every so often someone would come and ask if I was Debbie and I would say no and point them in her direction. Debbie/Deborah Kay is an amazing woman. How many women do you know that have close lifetime friends? She has 3; Janet she met first when they lived in Corpus Christi, then she met Karen when she lived in Waco. I met her in 7th grade when her family moved to Austin and right into my neighborhood. We were best friends forever more. All three of her special friends came to Dallas for the memorial service and for the very first time we were all three together.



Top Row:  Janet and CeLinda
Bottom Row:  Debbien and Karen



Sunday November 28th: I went to church with Bobbie Ann and David, Johnny and Anita were there also, they had all ready gotten their girls off to their respective homes. Bobbie Ann and David and I went out for a delicious Mexican lunch, I packaged up my leftovers and ate them later for dinner on the airplane. After lunch we stopped by and visited the remaining Youngblood’s for a bit and then it was back to Bobbie Ann’s where I packed up (including one smoked brisket) and flew home. Bill was waiting in the cell phone lot when I landed and was there to pick me up in just a few minutes. It wasn’t raining, what a surprise.

Monday November 29th: I was up about 10 and unpacked before lunch. Bill and I went out, that was fun. He needed the break and there wasn’t anything interesting in the fridge either. We decided to go to Olive Garden for soup and salad, it was a good day for soup too. I don’t care if you are republican or democrat the medical insurance situation is crazy. If you don’t have any insurance the government pays, you just have to know how to work the system, that’s what my unemployed patients tell me. But trying to figure out what is the right policy for me has been quite the challenge. Bill figured out his plan pretty easily but I take a lot of prescription medicines. Regence is the company we have been looking at mostly because we can choose our own doctors, but they have discontinued all of their policies that pay any part of brand name medicines. They will only pay a percentage of generic medicines. This is a very big deal so Bill’s spread sheet is getting very complex as he considers all the policies and which one will best suit my needs.

Tuesday November 30th : Bill is still working on that spreadsheet, he adds new parameters to it all the time, things like deductibles, co-pays, medications which gets into generics and brand name drugs. The paper work said they covered a group of nonformularly drugs, so he called and asked what a nonformularly drug was, turns out it is aspirin. When he said the paperwork mentioned a list of nonformularly drugs and where could he go to see the list, he was told the list is aspirin. The whole maze is like that. I worked today and I feel like I am getting back in the routine. We cancelled family dinner tonight, Amanda is still sick and Becky and her boyfriend were celebrating his birthday.

Wednesday December 1st; I only worked a half day today. We were having staff training at lunch, so I stayed through that. The Kerr representative and brought in lunch and had a PowerPoint presentation about all the products he is selling now. I found it very interesting because there are some amazing new products available these days and most of the time they are used in the ‘dentist’ side and so I don’t always keep up with that information as much. It was also pretty cool that he had a big TV screen, a big one, 36 inch is my guess and he just hooked a cable up to the monitor and ran the whole show off his ipad. I left after lunch to go home and get ready for the teen feed. Yes, it was the last one for this year and Phyllis my ‘partner ‘ in this volunteer effort had done most all of the work this time. I just brought in the condiments and chips so it was way easier than usual for me. I had chosen to take a low profile because I didn’t have a clue how my health would be and especially my shoulder, but it is doing well and Bill washed the crock pots I brought home and Phyllis took the other two with her to clean up and get back to me later. Can you believe anyone has 5 crock pots and uses them all and actually has to borrow others from time to time.

Thursday December 2nd : knitting day. Yeah, I was so tired I could barely get up and dressed by 10 am for knitting circle at the LYS. I am trying to start a new sweater for myself and I have gotten distracted when I should have been counting and had to start over two times now. I think I am progressing this time, but then I put it aside to work on another Christmas present. I am getting most of my Christmas presents finished and then I decide that I should do one more project.

Friday December 3rd; Today Bill started working on the roof. He had to wait till it warmed up because at first the roof was a sheet of ice. (lots of moss + moisture + below freezing temps = ice) When he did get up on the roof he worked with a new power spray nozzle for probably three hours. When he finished he was totally exhausted. He could barely climb down off the roof and then he sat down to rest and he couldn't get up off the couch for the rest of the evening. While Bill was working on the roof I ran several errands. I am doing physical therapy twice a week for my shoulder and I needed to go to Costco to return a couple of things. Since I was there I pick up a couple of roasted chickens and some ribs also a piece of round steak to cut and freeze for later, in the crock-pot. When I went in to Costco it was daylight but when I came out it was pitch black and I'm thinking, I hope Bill is not still up on that roof, fortunately he had come in and was resting. I just served his plate and brought it to him. (Broccoli and mashed potatoes and roasted chicken) After dinner Bill said he was so wishing for mashed potatoes but he was too tired to call me and tell me that that's what he was hungry for. I am glad I could make him happy that easily.

Saturday December 4th; I worked at Dr S’ office today. My first patient came in with pink eye and glasses, thinking that would be protection….. Dr S told her we would have to reschedule her and then Donna and I spent time cleaning every surface in the office; the chair arms in the reception area, the counter at the front desk, stuff like that. The rest of the day was busy and uneventful. I went home at lunch and the roof was so frozen that Bill couldn’t get up there to finish his project. But the whole hose was frozen and his new nozzle was broken, split from freezing. He was pretty sad, but he thinks he can fix it. Bill was gone when I got home, he had a Christmas party to bartend so I turned on the electric blanket and got in bed and knitted to Christmas music for a while.

Sunday December 5th; Well today we went to McClendon’s, Bill’s favorite hardware store and he was able to find the exact part that had broken on his new power washer for about $12. I think he will be more careful next time. He was so glad to be able to fix it. So as you might guess he was back on the roof spraying and cleaning. We must have and awesome roof. This evening we watched another couple of episodes of Doc Martin this British television series we are streaming off of Netflix. It is cute and funny and we are getting a real laugh out of each one. Did I mention the television is working really well, the antenna seems to be good and streaming off the internet is great with the new computer and so far it has been pretty easy to do. Cool huh?

Monday December 6th; I woke up this morning about 7 and I didn’t hurt, not much and not anywhere. That was such a shock. It is just that I pretty much hurt somewhere all the time. I don't know why I felt so good today but I enjoyed it while it lasted, till lunch time. I met two girlfriends for lunch and something about sitting in that booth set my back to hurting and then after lunch was physical therapy and he did a lot of stretching to help release my shoulder muscles that are stiff and now I am sore all over again. Just the way it goes sometimes. This afternoon I decided it was time to do the holiday decorations. So I got out the Christmas dishes that were my mother’s before me and then dressed up the house for the holidays by spreading around my collection of Santa's. The nieces often help with this the weekend after Thanksgiving, but I had to go out of town so it didn’t get done at the normal time. Bill help put lights around the trunk of the big tree in the front yard and I have big lighted ornaments for that tree too but I didn't get them out today.

Thank you for stopping by and visiting with me. I would love to hear from you also so drop me a line at : celindakot@yahoo.com or my personal email address if you have it.

November 16th to 22nd, 2010

Sorting and Organizing: Bill has cleaned the library. Last week it was a staging area for everything he was moving home from his office. This week it is all clean and looks great again and I think 6 boxes of 'important stuff' went to the attic. Now he has started in on his desk that has always had 6 or 7 piles from 4 to 8 inches high. Now I discover he isn’t really messy at heart he just never had the time to clear it off and sort all that stuff.

Sight, Sounds and Smells: It has been dark and stormy and they say it may snow. I hope so for Dr V's sake, he wants to go skiing in the worst way. The good news for me was it was finally cold enough to wear my Einstein coat. I think I wore it maybe two times last winter and I am going to wear it that much this week. I am finally going to have a better photo for that project on Ravelry.

Tuesday November 16th: Okay, today I had to get up and go to work and Bill didn't. He was up first anyway and brought me coffee in bed. Then he was at my office at lunch and ate in the staff room with all of us. He had never been to see my office and I have worked up there four years now. Bill cooked the salmon and I had the potatoes ready yesterday. I had steamed yams, purple potatoes and Yukon gold’s, then sliced them and lay them in a stoneware pan in a swirl of color, then brushed them with olive oil and sprinkled Italian seasoning on them. Tonight we baked them with the salmon and they were delicious and really pretty too. Gosh we had so much to catch up on this week it was almost 9 before any of us looked at the clock.



Wednesday November 17th: We had a full schedule today and all of us were busy all day. We only had about a half hour for lunch and then we were at it again. When I got home Bill was lying on the bed and didn't even get up to greet me. Turns out he had been working under the desk in the computer room trying to install a drawer when he got a good case of vertigo. He has that on and off but he said he turned his neck funny and pinched a nerve and the world began to spin. Truly he was nauseous the rest of the night and had ginger ale for dinner. I was sad for him because he had picked up a roasted chicken and we had potatoes and veggies to go with it and he was to dizzy to eat a thing. It took a few hours for the feeling to pass and by bedtime he was getting better.



Thursday November 18th: Knitting: at LYS in the morning and at Crossroads with the Grandma knitters for lunch. I had not been there in ages and they were all so nice and glad to see me that I was almost overwhelmed. Also I got to eat my favorite BBQ special for lunch. It is called the triple slider; three little slider sandwiches; one with brisket, one with turkey and one with pork and a side of coleslaw. Yummy, yummy. Bill is still nesting and needed a drawer under his desk. After yesterday; I volunteered to help put it in and now he has a nice drawer for more of his stuff. Tonight he went out with friends bowling and I started Halie’s Christmas hat.



Friday November 19th: This morning I met a knitting acquaintance at the LYS and we caught up for a while. We had both driven all the way to Tacoma for a class, we sat beside each other and discovered that we lived only blocks apart. How funny is that? She is a awesome knitter, so much to learn. At noon I met up with 3 girlfriends, my book club group, and we went to lunch. Not one of us had read the book for this month and we decided to just visit and catch-up and enjoy our friendships and that is just what we did. When we got back to the area I called Bill to meet at Cindy’s house because she wanted us to help her get her generator in the trunk of her car. My ‘knight in shining armor came driving up on his white horse, I mean Honda Civic and pushed that generator right into the car, well it did take a little figuring but in the end Cindy was off to the shop with her generator and Bill and I went home for a peaceful evening.



Saturday November 20: I got up and cleaned a little. Bill cleaned a lot. Then I did a Trader Joe run for groceries. Tamara and Halie got here at noon and we had lunch, then we started cooking. Tamara made all the pumpkin breads, and brownies and I made the breakfast casseroles. When we finished cooking and cleaning up, I made a run to the liquor store and the grocery for a couple more things. Then I was exhausted and went to bed. I listened to podcast and knitted for a while. I finished Halie’s Christmas present tonight. Bill went out tonight to a TDOR service: Transgendered Day of Remembrance. There were 30 people on the list this year. It is the list of people murdered for being transgendered. I don’t think it included all the people who committed suicide because they couldn’t deal with being transgendered or how others treated them for being transgendered, that list is probably much longer. The bottom of the program he brought home said: The Emerald City Club would like to thank all of the transgendered community, allies, and would-be-allies of the transgendered community for gathering with us to mark this solemn occasion and stand in unity against the violence inflicted on people simply for being who they are. They handed out sheets of paper with a person, their photo and cause of death, and the people who got them, all around the church, would read out loud.

Bill had this one: Estrella (Jose Angel) Venegas Location: Mexicali, Mexico Cause of Death: Shot in the chest and forehead Date of Death: December 13, 2009 Estrella was 32 years old. Source of the Information: Estrella’s brother.

Sunday November 21st: The ‘family’ retirement party went well. Tamara and Halie came first and helped so much. Before the day was over we had seen Becky and Ryan, Barb and Steve, Chris, Anne Savanna & Luke, Priscilla and Jeff and Linda and Jerry. Everyone love the food and the Seahawks lost. We had a good time visiting with everyone and most importantly Bill felt loved and respected at the end of the day. All the time Tamara and Halie have been helping me, Todd has been with Hannah while she has been doing volleyball tryouts. She has finished volleyball for this year on the school team and now she is trying out for the clubs in the area. They tell me the experience with clubs is what will help get her a college scholarship. She played on and off on Saturday and Sunday but it was worth it, she was selected by the club she was hoping for and she is thrilled. She worked really hard for this, I am glad her work paid off for her.

Monday November 22nd: Okay, call me lazy. I was in bed by 9 last night and I didn’t get up and get dressed until 10am this morning. I talked to both my sister’s, mom was travelling and not available for phone calls. I told Bobbie Ann that I might just stay in bed forever and she reminded me that I had to go to the bathroom sometime and sure enough I did. Today I started exercising on the wii, just the balance things and easy stuff. I start PT for my shoulder next week and I am not allowed to do Curves until January but gosh I am turning into mush, I have to do something. I don’t know how long ago it has been but I think it was before the cold in April that started the whole thing. Any way when I got on I did the body test first and it told me I have lost 14.1 pounds since the last time we played so I guess I have lost some weight after all. I did a half hour today and I hope to keep up the effort. It has snowed on and off all day. The world is black and white outside and tonight we are expecting winds and into the teens. Well, the longer this day goes on the crazier it gets. Amanda left work in Seattle at 4:45. She did not get a bus in the city until 5:30. It is now 10:55pm and she is still on the same bus and still a long way from her bus stop and then she has a couple of miles to drive to get home. The good news is she has already got permission to work from home tomorrow and tomorrow I work. I wonder who wants to get their teeth cleaned in this.


On Health and Healing: what can I do or be for anyone else if I haven’t taken care of me.



What's Cooking?

Tuesday: family dinner: Good bread, hummus and feta spread, salmon, roasted potatoes and steamed greens.

Wednesday: Roasted Chicken, and potatoes and veggies from yesterday.

Thursday: Bill’s night out

Friday: date night

Saturday: Chef’s Salad with lots of veggies and cheeses and shrimp and or turkey for lunch and Bill had an event to go to this evening so I had more shrimp.

Sunday: Retirement Party: Champagne and Orange Juice, Hot Apple Cider and Sparkling fruit juices, Scones w/ raspberry jam, lemon curd, honey and whipped cream. French Toast Breakfast casserole and Hashbrowns and sausage breakfast casserole, veggie tray and dip, pumpkin bread and whipped cream cheese, smoked brisket, sourdough bread, mustard and dill pickles, chips, salsa and guacamole, crackers and feta cheese spread, varieties of seasoned nuts, and chocolate brownies.

Monday: Lunch: tomato soup and turkey sandwiches Dinner: lemon pepper talapia, broccoli and rice pilaf. 





Favorite Recipe this week: French Toast Casserole

1 loaf french bread
8 eggs
2 cups half and half
1 cup milk
2 tbs sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Dash salt

Praline Topping (follows)

Cube all the bread into cubes (not to small, not to big)
Arrange all the cubes in a generously buttered 9 x 13-Inch baking dish
In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half & half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
Beat w/whisk until blended but not too bubbly.
Pour mixture over bread cubes. Make sure all are covered evenly, I mash them down a little and they absorb more of the mixture.
Cover w/foil and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Spread praline topping evenly over the bread & bake for 40 minutes,  until puffed and lightly golden.
Serve w/maple syrup.

Praline Topping
2 sticks butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
2 tbs light corn syrup
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl & blend well.

The first time I ate this casserole was at my Nashville sister’s home. It is even delicious left over and even cold, leftover and it is awesome hot.



On being Productive, experiencing Pleasure and Living Positive

What's on my needles: A lot of started projects that I seem to be ignoring and I keep starting new stuff. 

What's off my needles? I made several snowman hats.... for Christmas ornaments at the office, I have finished Luke’s Vest, Savanna’s Cardigan and Halies hat and almost finished a warm and snuggly prayer shawl but I need an awesome button for it .

Have I seen any good movies lately? We watched The Family Stone tonight. A Christmas Story. A Story about a family at Christmas time. Sarah Jessica Parker, Diane Keaton, and Craig Nelson (Coach) make the line-up amazing and the story has some great twists in it – often like families. We liked it.



Podcast of the week: I am listening to a new podcast and it came to me recommended by other podcasters. It is called the Knit Wits and it is funny. The husband and wife are talking to each other and he doesn’t know much about knitting but he used to be in radio and he has a great radio voice. It is worth a listen if you’re working on a project and want some company.


Counting my Blessings: How do you say thank you to the doctors that saved your life. I want to give two special doctors a gift this year. I would love some suggestions.



Thank you for stopping by and visiting with me. I would love to hear from you also so drop me a line at : celindakot@yahoo.com or my personal email address if you have it.

November 9th to November 15th, 2010

 

On Life and Living:


Sorting and Organizing: Bill has cleaned out his office at work. Every night for the past couple of weeks he has been slepping home stuff and now the library looks like this: I guess this will be on his list of things to do soon, I hope.

Tuesday November 9th: I worked on Redmond Ridge today. I had one hole in my schedule and I clocked out and ran down the road and did some last minute grocery shopping for tonight’s family dinner. Bill took off right after lunch and drove up to Mount Vernon to pick-up his mom so she could be at the party tomorrow. Tonight’s family dinner was the beginning of the festivities for celebrating his retirement. Barb and Steve, Amanda and Becky and Toula all came and we had a great time together.

Wednesday November 10th: Today is the day. Bill went to work as usual but I took off today and stayed with Toula. We ate a leisurely breakfast and got dressed for the party. The party started at 1pm. When Toula and I got there we heard Bill’s laugh coming from down the hall. The room was well decorated and people were starting to arrive. The party was a big success and it made Bill so happy to see and hear from all his coworkers that think so much of him. His mom ask us several times if he was the only one graduating today.





Bill and Toula
Bill is wearing his special SAP outfit
with all the 'bell's and whistle's







 Thursday November 11th: Today

was a training day at work with a focus on marketing to get new patients and to grow the practice. It was interesting, but I am always talking up the dentist I work for anyway, because I choose to work for dentist that I believe in. (Well except for just a while after Dr Kitchel, when I stayed in the practice because I had such a loyalty to the patients.) After the training day we all went to a local endodontist that was having an open house party. I met staff from a couple of offices that we work with and I also met a couple of new specialist in the area that we are working with. It was nice to put faces to names.


Friday November 12th: Today I took all the chicken enchiladas from the freezer to Dr S’ office to Debbie. Her sister died a week ago and the memorial service and celebration of her life is tomorrow. So here is the story as I know it, Debbie's sister was healthy and 51 years old but she got diverticulitis and went to the hospital. The surgeon did a colon resection and told her they did not need to do a colostomy, A couple of days later on Friday November 29th she went home feeling great with a new lease on life. Then the toxins in her system flared up and she had so much infection that she went back to the hospital on Tuesday November 2nd. They could not get the infection under control and she died on Thursday November 4th. Now you can guess that this hit Bill and me pretty hard because it was so close to my story, and again I ask 'What on earth am I here for?' Bill's boss took him out to lunch and then he was officially finished with working at PSE. He went with me to the dermatologist to get the stitches out of my had. We both really like that doctor and my hand is looking great. The pathology report was back and it was some skin cancer but all the edges were clean so all it good there. The Friday night dessert group came over for soup and blueberry pie. The pie was a gift to Bill at his retirement party. I made Cream of broccoli soup and Pasta e' Fagoli and we got some good bread at the bakery to go with it. We had a nice evening reminising about his party.



Saturday November 13th: I worked at Dr S today and always have such nice patients. Amanda came in before lunch to get a new nightguard and she and I went to lunch together. I got a BLT (at the Brown Bag) the sandwich was good. They use thick slices of fresh baked bread and half a sandwich is a full meal. When I finished work and pulled in the driveway, Bill was pulling out, he was going to a friends 60th birthday party. I was pretty tired and took my knitting with me to bed. I actually got up later to eat something and I had slices of grilled steak, from the freezer and baked a potatoe. The freezer is really getting cleaned out now. We have made some good progress in eating from the freezer. There is still quite a bit of shrimp, I need to be making shrimp....



Sunday November 14th: Bill and I took a nice walk this morning and then we went to Office Max for some boxes to store his work stuff in. We met Mick and Christie in Everett at lunch for Mexican and then listened to a quartet do music after lunch. It wasn't a 'string' quartet, there was a violin, an accordian, an obo and and chello. They were pretty good and it was a good listen. Sunday night we got several phone calls all wishing Bill a nice retirement and not having to do his 'sunday night' chores. He enjoyed that too and stayed up a little later than usual



Monday November 15th: Bill's first day as a retired person, he was up early and went running. He spent a lot of the day sorting and organizing all the books, paperwork and files that he brought home from work. he got it into 6 book boxes and stored it in the attic.  Now the library looks great again.  This afternoon he went with me running a few errands and we went to friends down the street for dinner tonight. She had decorated the table so beautifully, I was getting the urge for new dishes before but now I really am. Some that look like fall. Maybe the ones I like will be on sale after Thanksgiving. I say them at Pier 1 and they were called Crysynthium.

 

On Health and Healing: what can I do or be for anyone else if I haven’t taken care of me.  

What's Cooking?

Tuesday: family dinner: Shepherd’s Pie, Steamed broccoli and cauliflower, big green salad, spinach and cheese pasta w/ olive oil and seasonings and some good bread

Wednesday: ate @ the Purple Café with lots of Bill’s friend’s

Thursday: Bill’s night out; I went to a party with my office group and there was lots of food there

Friday: date night: our house: Black bean and pasta soup, Cream of broccoli soup, good bread and blueberry pie

Saturday: Steak and Baked Potatoe and spinach salad

Sunday: out for Mexican w/ Mick and Christie

Monday: went to friends for dinner



On being Productive, experiencing Pleasure and Living Positive

What's on my needles: Luke’s vest, I started it Thursday morning while I was in the training class at work and it is almost finished. I just needed to put the shoulders together and do the finishing ribbing around the armholes and the neckline.


What's off my needles: snowman hats for Dr S. We have always given out handmade Christmas ornaments at this office to all the patients durning the month of December. Dr S has a niece who has made them for years. This year she is all grown up and not making the ornaments so Donna is making snowmen and she has others of us making the hats for the snowmen. The top hats she made are sooooo darling.


Counting my Blessings: I am here to celebrate Bill’s work career and to look forward to many new adventures. It is just too amazing if I dwell on it too much I get overwhelmed. (and it makes Bill cry)



Bill is greeting Savanna (out of photo),
 Luke,  Anne and Christopher



We got to introduce Tamara,
Hannah and Halie.  (Todd couldn't make it.)





There was a great crowd of friends.








Me, about to talk.  I'm wearing
the skirt I knit. 



Thank you for stopping by and visiting with me. I would love to hear from you also so drop me a line at : celindakot@yahoo.com or my personal email address if you have it.

November 2nd to November 8th, 2010

On Health and Healing: what can I do or be for anyone else if I haven’t taken care of me.



What's Cooking?

Tuesday: family dinner: chicken and broccoli alfredo, green salad and good bread

Wednesday: BLT’s (Bill made them while I ran errands, yummy)

Thursday: Bill’s night out: I had pizza, from Trader Joe’s

Friday: date night

Saturday: Split Pea Soup and good bread

Sunday: Penne Pasta with Turkey Bolognese Sauce

Monday: Black Bean and Pasta Soup cooked in the crock-pot

On Life and Living:

Tuesday November 2nd – I worked today and I was so busy I didn’t get any chart notes written, so guess who is going to work early tomorrow. I usually leave the house at 6:30am. Family dinner was just us an Amanda tonight and we had a good time catching up. Bill and she spent a good part of the evening working on problems with the new computers. I know dinner was really good when Amanda chooses to take home leftovers. Oh I put out my fall decorations today.



Wednesday November 3rd – Wednesday mornings are hard because I am all ready tired and Tuesdays are long days and today I went in early, only about 20 minutes early but it did help me get a little caught up on the chart notes. I was all caught up and finished with Wednesday also at the end of the day. By the time I got home Bill had done several outside chores and was making dinner, BLT’s. You know I love a BLT.



Thursday November 4th – I went to knitting group on Thursday morning and then had a quick lunch and ended up at the dermatologist office to have a skin cancer removed from my hand. I watched. It wasn’t huge, but it wasn’t small either. He did an under layer of stitches that will dissolve and then 7 stitches on top and I get those out next Friday. One more thing, hopefully this is it and I am all taken care of and on the mend again.



Friday November 5th – We got up and did a walk around the neighborhood and then did a few things around the house. We met our ‘Friday Night’ friends for lunch and did a lot of talking about the election and how much things will change or not. It was a good discussion and I wondered how many people at the tables around wanted to join in, but didn’t. The place was packed for lunch, we have been there in the evenings and there was never a crowd like that.



Saturday November 6th – We were just messing around the house this morning when a woman from Bill’s work called. She wanted us to meet for lunch and go to flower world. It seems Bill’s work group wanted to get me a gift for his retirement too. I picked a bay plant for my herb bed. Then I took 2 leafs off of it and took them home with me and made split pea soup with them. I can’t believe I haven’t had a bay plant before. I am going to plant it in the center of the second tier of the herb bed. It says it is slow growing but eventually it will get pretty good size. Later in the day Tamara came over and I tried on clothes until we decided what I should wear to the retirement party. The Sasha skirt is finish but it took a little doing to find just the right top. I hope it looks nice when I wear it.



Sunday November 7th – Today we ‘fell back’ time wise that is . Now it will be dark all the time, when I go to work and when I come home from work. This morning we met some friends I had not seen in years and years. I knew them back when I was an active glider pilot. We met up for breakfast and then Bill went home to get more work done and Sharon, Norm and I went to a quilt show in Issaquah. Sharon has been a quilter for years and knew a lot of the vendors and had a really good time seeing the show. Norm had an appreciation for all the work and talent that goes into quilting and enjoyed the show also but he met a man playing the harp and had a bag full of his CD’s when we went to the car. I had a great time too, I loved the quilts and again had to remind myself that I don’t get along with machines and to ‘not go there.’

I did find some awesome buttons that I am going to have to knit something for them to go on. Football stinks this year. The Huskies, Longhorns and Seahawks all lost and lost big. Those games weren’t even good enough to watch while I was knitting. I am almost finished with Savanna’s Christmas present. I really hope it fits her. Now to start Luke’s vest…..

Monday November 8th – Woke up way to early because my body didn’t fall back as far as the clock did. I turned to look at Bill and there he was playing on his iphone. I met a dental hygienist/family friend for coffee and shopping and then later lunch and a good visit and catch up time. On the way home I had the usual errands to run, banking, mail packages and today I went to Borders. Bill is still getting a present a day on his countdown to retirement and I picked up a couple of books for the last couple of gifts. He has had a lot of fun opening a present each day and I have no idea what I will get him for Christmas because I have given him almost everything I can think of. He wants a guitar and to take lessons but he was very clear he wants to pick it out and not even a gift card to a music store because he wants to look around and not be tied to one place. As if I would try to pick out a guitar anyway.

On being Productive, experiencing Pleasure and Living Positive

What's on my needles: I am casting on two things this week, one I had a dream about and had to go up in the attic and find the yarn and then download the pattern. It is a really simple top and I just can’t begin to tell you why I ‘need’ to make this top right now, but it is on the needles. Then I am casting on for Luke’s Christmas present. I am making him a vest with cables up the front and I need to make that happen. I cast on yesterday for the swatch to make sure the gauge is right. I am really trying to make things that will fit. My fingers are crossed.

What's off my needles: Savanna’s Swing Cardigan is off the needles but I still need to do the side seams. It is looking so cute. Now I need to find the perfect button.



Thank you for stopping by and visiting with me. I would love to hear from you also so drop me a line at : celindakot@yahoo.com or my personal email address if you have it.

Grannies’ Diary: Bobbie Ann Maxwell 1945: For a few years now my grandmother’s (my mom’s mother) diaries have been sitting on a bookshelf above my desk. Now that others are reading this, I think I will take things from her diary and tell you what was happening at her farmhouse also. I have started with the first complete looking diary and the year is 1945. I am telling her story, in her words as best I can.


Friday, November 2nd – Well Chy got on to me this morning. She asked me if I cut Annie’s bangs. Of course I said I did, came near getting me. Well, I just ought not to have done it, but I believe if Chy loved me she wouldn’t get mad at me so much about the sweet little Ann. Dad and Bill went to gather pecan this morning but dad got home about 11 o’clock. Bill, Hilly, dad and I went to see the deaf and dumb football boys play the San Saba boys. The score in favor of the deaf boys 38 to 0. Lovely and Nancy stayed with Chy and Ann.


Saturday, November 3rd – Well, I ran up to the bazaar with Mrs. Gay and Mrs. Lewis. Bought my dinner at the bazaar which was $0.50. Dad and Bill put a concrete floor in the smoke house and the wash house. The kids were really selling things this evening. Nancy came home with me. Jessie Trent brought me home. Mrs. Gay and Mrs. Lewis stayed to go home with Mr. Gay who had gone out to Cardwell’s. Nancy came off with her daddy’s store keys and Lovie , Em came after them. That Chy got Bill on to me. He’s not my Bill any more since he married that sweet little Chy. Think the kids are going to the midnight show.


Sunday, November 4th – Well, the Bill, Chy, Ann, Nancy, dad and I all went to Elsie’s today. Had a nice day. All went to see the Maxwell’s. All but Gordie, Elsie and dad. I could not get dad to go. Shame on him. Ma and Pa are sure feeble. We saw all the Sheppard boys and wives and children but Joe and his family. My little pigs all died. I sure tried to save them. Richard Taylor’s little boy ate a poison pill and died instantly. Poor little boy.


Monday, November 5th – Well, I went to town with Chy, Lovie, and Em. Chy and Lovie washed. We ate dinner with Gordie. Then, we all went to town. Gordie took care of little Ann. She was asleep. I went up to see about the taxes. Paid Son and got a $3 bottle of Melgas $6.50 in all. And the girls all had their ears pierced and had ear screws put in them. Chy was the first, Lovie next, then Emma. Dr Pense wanted to pierce mine but nothing doing. No Sir. Bill helped Hilly all day. I saw Wilma Light in town and she paid me dad’s $12.50 for work. And I brought Mr. Gay his check that she sent him, but I gave it to Lester. Glory be, I had a letter from Son.


Tuesday, November 6th – Well, I ran into town with Eula. Lovie, Emma and I went to stay with Gordie as Jim was gone, and the girls went to Richard’s little boy’s funeral. So, very sad. Poor Jane is ready to have another one.


Wednesday, November 7th – Well, Gordie and I sewed, made her two shirt waists. Went to the show. Saw the Call of the Wild. Sure was good. Gordie, Gordon and I all went. Elsie and Tom came also. Tom bought our tickets. Old man Butler has bought Hilly’s store building out from under him. Told Hilly it would be.

October 26th – November 1st

On Health and Healing: what can I do or be for anyone else if I haven’t taken care of me.

What's Cooking?
Tuesday: family dinner: Indian; Chicken Masala, curried peas and potatoes, steamed rice pilaf, stir-fry cabbage w/ coconut and peach crisp bread

Wednesday: Chinese chicken Salad w/ roasted chicken, almonds and chow mein noodles

Thursday: Bill’s night out; I had Trader Joe’s pizza

Friday: date night (Lunch) @ Greenlake Bar and Grill

Saturday: tilapia, cabbage salad and sweet potato fries.

Sunday: turkey meatloaf, baked Yukon gold’s and green beans

Monday: salmon patties, asparagus and baked Yukon gold’s.



On Life and Living:    Just for fun:    Sorting and Organizing:

Sight, Sounds and Smells: It is definitely fall. We have had wind, and rain and sun breaks all week. The rain was so heavy at times the weather person called it a ‘river in the sky’. You could see it on the weather maps coming from Hawaii and headed straight for us. Aunt Jeanne says it has been totally windy in southern California. She said that is the one type of weather she really hates. Mom Avo hated that wind, in the desert also.

What's up at the dental office? We had a team training day on Monday and a team meeting on Wednesday at lunch. I have the job of making the reservations for our Christmas party. Mostly we all want an exact repeat of last year, we had a great dinner and the setting was perfect. The team wants a repeat performance. I hope it is. Then I worked this Saturday also. I can’t say how much I look forward to work, even when I am tired.

In the news: Tomorrow are the political elections for this year. Oh, I am so tired of the ads on television and the phone calls to the house and the signs on the road. Does all that really help anyone decide who to vote for?


Tuesday October 26th: got off work about an hour early so I came home and took an hour nap before I started cooking (heating) family dinner. I did most of the cooking last night. Debbie Y. called while we were eating and I excused myself and took the call. I had been missing her and thinking about her so it was nice to hear her voice. We have decided to get web cams so that we can knit together. My new computer that we got yesterday does have a web cam and so I will have to learn how to use it.

Wednesday October 27th: a full day of patients and too tired to run any errands. I came home and took all the garbage to the end of the road, did a couple of loads of clothes, unloaded and loaded the dishwasher again. Bill did a Costco run on the way home and when he got home we put away stuff and then I mixed up a nice salad for dinner.

Thursday October 28th: slept good last night but woke up stiff and sore. I am looking forward to starting to exercise again. I say the physical therapist this afternoon. My exercise to take home is to roll my eyes. If you roll your eyes in just the right way you can train yourself to be aware of certain neck muscles. The PT’s observation was that my neck is a mess which may have caused some of the other problems. I did a lot of chores around the house today and the day flew by.

Friday October 29th: We each did a few chores around the house and then we met B&C for lunch. It was great to meet at lunch, I went home and about 3 took a 3 hour nap. I tell you I am still sleeping a lot.

Saturday October 30th: I worked all day and then came home and knitted for a couple of hours and we watched the second disk of the “Long Way Round.” What and adventure even if I am not the one on the motorcycle.

Sunday November 31st: No Halloween at our house and all the kids were busy. I never even buy candy because we just eat it in the week after Halloween. Bill and I went to see “Hereafter.” It is a story about three people who have experienced mortality in different ways. I was wondering how they were ever going to bring the story together, when they did the movie ended, that was just wrong, I wanted more. A lot more I think.

Monday November 1st: I met BK in Bellevue and we gave Cindy her gift. Bill wanted to give her something special because they have worked together so well and supported each other so much. So I knitted her a hat and scarf. I think she really liked it. It looked great on. I did some cooking after that and put a couple of things in the freezer and got ready for family dinner. Then I had an appointment to see my dermatologist and after that physical therapy for my shoulder. The dermatologist is going to do a small surgery on my hand. I have had a ‘sore’ for about 6 weeks that has not healed, he is going to remove it. He said it could be a skin cancer but it is not something to worry about. Physical therapy turns out to be more of a caution – what you shouldn’t do yet than anything about pushing on. So I got some basic stretches and will go back on Thursday. He said I can’t go to Curves for another month or two to let this heal. That is looking like January now, if nothing else happens.




On being Productive, experiencing Pleasure and Living Positive

What's on my needles: I am still working on that skirt, I took the lighest grey ruffle off and I am making headway on the black ruffle at the bottom. I am also  working on a cardigan for Savanna for Christmas, pink of course. This one is knit from the bottom up; you make the back, two front panels and two sleeves then you start knitting them all together and the yoke is done in the round. I am liking it, I sure hope it fits. Right now I am on the second sleeve and have not started the yoke yet.

What's off my needles: I finished the blue seaside cover-up, but no photos yet, it is raining like crazy and I just haven’t gotten any photos taken. It is a little longer than I really wanted but I think it is going to be okay.



What I am reading; magazine, book: I am almost finished with Ann Packer’s “Songs Without Words.” It is the story of a lifelong friendship between two women and the power of the friendships we create when we are young. I have been thinking of Debbie Y so much as I read this book. Boy she sure has always been there for me.



Have I seen any good movies lately: Bill and I saw ‘Hereafter” yesterday. He said he thought it was going to be more ethereal from looking at the previews. I thought it ended way too soon. So soon it left me a bit confused. If you see it I would love your opinion.

Thank you for stopping by and visiting me. I would love to hear from you also so drop me a line at : celindakot@yahoo.com or my personal email address if you have it.






Grannies’ Diary: Bobbie Ann Maxwell 1945: For a few years now my grandmother’s (my mom’s mother) diaries have been sitting on a bookshelf above my desk. Now that others are reading this, I think I will take things from her diary and tell you what was happening at her farmhouse also. I have started with the first complete looking diary and the year is 1945. I am telling her story, in her words as best I can.

Friday October 26th - Well I sold my turkey hens for $6.50 this morning. I called Mrs. Lewis and she told me I didn’t have any word. Guess I have as much word as she has where a dollar is concerned. Boy, she will sure paint me black but I called her and told her what I was going to do and she still wouldn’t give me $6 – the old tight wade. Ann has just walked up. Chy, Bill, and Frank have gone to town. Chy has a letter from her mother. I sent the checks in for Gordy to deposit tomorrow. I sent the checks in by Bill and Chy as they were going to the football game. Edgar light owes Bill for 3.5 days work and he owes dad for 2.5 days work.



Saturday, October 27th – Well, dad has gone to help Light. Clarence and Bill are helping Mr. Smith with his corn from the creek. Well, well Tom, Albert, and Frank all came by this evening to invite Chy and Bill to a ham supper at Franks tonight. Albert sure looks good but is so changed. Gee, but I was glad to see him. Chy and Bill have gone up to Lovie’s and Hilly’s. Nancy called saying they were going to the midnight show. Mrs. Gay called me and said Mr. Alex had a baby pig for me. So, dad went up after him, but he is mighty poorly as he won’t stand up. I couldn’t go as Ann was asleep. Albert thought Ann was the stuff. And of course we do too. We washed some this evening.


Sunday, October 28th – Well we had a lovely day. All the children were here but Son and family. But he would not have been here even if he was in the states. Albert came but he is so changed. Ann was the center of attraction. We all had such a nice time. But I can afford to say that as I’d do anything but clean the chicken and made the rolls and corn bread. We paid Albert $65 for the $850 he loaned us when dad was sick. My pig is still alive but awful poorly. Wants to stay on one side all the time. Elsie washed the dishes. Lovie, Emma and Chy fixed the dinner.


Monday, October 29th – Well, nothing much today. Bill went to see Allen W. Dad went to help Mr. Gay haul in the rest of his hay this morning Then, he and dad, and Mrs. Gay all went to San Saba. Mr. Gay sent me down two more baby pigs but the first one died. It never could get up. Mrs. Gay went to see her new ice box. The dealers will bring it out tomorrow. Gee, but I know she is proud of it.


Tuesday, October 30th – Well, nothing doing today. I ironed. Chy and Bill and Ann all went to Cherokee. The Burt Mc came for Mrs. Gay’s turkeys. Took 13 of Mrs. Smith’s. Mrs. Lewis got Mrs. B, Mrs. J, Shelly Fay’s turkeys this morning. My other little pig died. Just have one left. Old Tipper cut two of our goats throats Sunday. I’d sure like to kill him. Bill and Mr. Gay have gone buck hunting tonight.


Wednesday, October 31st – Well, our precious little Ann burned her little arm this morning. Bill, Chy, and Ann all went to Cherokee this evening and the girls all ran over to Llano to shop, Emma got Ann the sweetest little dress. Mr. Brown came and fixed my phone. I can ring Cherokee now. My little pigs all died. Bill helped Hilly this evening. Gee, I’m in real debt. I owe Hilly $8.95.

Thursday, November 1^st – Well, another month has gone by. The Bill and dad have gone to gather pecan out at Gray’s. And Chy and I have washed. Chy started the Maytag. Well, I got my glasses this evening. I sure was glad to get them. Dad and Bill gathered about 55 pounds of pecans. Made $2.60 a piece. Mr. and Mrs. Gay came tonight and brought me two more nice baby pigs. And Bill and Mr. Gay went hunting tonight.