This has been a pretty good day. This evening I discovered that I still have a program on my old computer that I thought was long gone. I had backed up one of my programs last August; then an over-zealous computer repairman decided to take off Windows Explorer and replace it with Firefox. I lost a database that had been pre-installed on that computer when I got it, but which I didn't have the installation disk for. I lost access to information that had taken me weeks to put onto that computer. Now I can put in my flash drive and bring it up on my old computer. I will need to update it from last August to the present date, but I can handle that.

Luckily instead of going to bed early last night, I remembered that the Fiesta Flambeau Illuminated Parade was being televised. I watched that for two hours and it was really neat. This is the first year that it has been streamed live to other areas.

After church this morning, I came home and fixed myself a chicken sandwich for lunch. I have sirloin steak in the crockpot for supper. I will wait and have that ready when Sis gets home from her trip this evening.

I put the meat in this morning, sprinkled some bay leaves on top and poured a mixture of 1 can of cream of chicken soup and 1 cup water over it. It sure smells good. I have it turned down to warm now.

8:00 p.m. now: Sis got home a little after 6 p.m. We had the steak, steamed broccoli, carrots & cauliflower, and sliced homemade bread. A very delicious supper and we'll probably have the leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

She was very tired after the long weekend. She had taken a lot of pictures while down there, with her digital camera, so we looked at those.

I put ingredients in the bread machine for yogurt bread this morning:

3/4 cup water
1 cup plain yogurt (I used Greek yogurt)
3 1/2 cups bread flour
2 tsp salt
2 1/4 tsp bread machine yeast

Pour it in, turn it on. How easy is that?!

Then I went to Wendy's and had a sausage biscuit and cup of coffee for breakfast and read the morning newspaper.

I was going to go on to Wal-Mart from there and pick up my prescription, but I realized that I would get there before the pharmacy department opened. So I came back home. Around 9:15 a.m. the pharmacy called and left a recorded message that my prescription was ready, so as soon as the bread was done - at 9:30, I took it out, then went to Wal-Mart.

My vacuum cleaner has died, so after I picked up my prescription, I looked through theirs and picked out a Eureka Upright that advertises that it won't lose its suction. It was on sale at what seemed a reasonable price, so I bought it. I haven't opened the box and tried it yet, but I plan to do that later this afternoon.

I did try a slice of the homemade bread after I got home and it is very good. I hadn't used that recipe before. I had a chicken sandwich and a dish of Greek yogurt with blueberries, blackberries and sliced banana stirred into it for lunch.

Well. . . I opened the box and was intimidated by the instructions for assembling the vacuum cleaner, so I think I'll wait until the first of the week.

I had a small chef salad and coffee for supper. I've got to wash my hair and put it up tonight and I think I will just go to bed early.

Sis should be home from her mission trip sometime tomorrow.

After I got off work at noon, I went to Wal-Mart to pick up my prescription and get some groceries. I had called yesterday and specifically asked the woman if the pharmacy if I could pick up my prescription today - as I wasn't sure it was long enough since I got the last one. The insurance company won't pay if they give it out too soon. She said sure, I could get it this afternoon. But when I got there, the girl behind the counter said I can't get it until the 28th (tomorrow). It's not that I was out of pills, I was trying to combine trips and save gasoline. So I will have to make two trips anyway. While I was there, I went ahead and got groceries and a couple flash drives that I was needing for my computer.

After I came home and ate some lunch and rested a little while, I started doing laundry. That pretty much took care of the rest of the day. I didn't realize I had so much to do.


I just finished watching "Who Do You Think You Are" on NBC. Rob Lowe was featured in this segment. I really enjoy watching that program.

Somehow, the instructions popped up on how to do line breaks. Good thing, as I was running out of pictures to put between paragraphs. LOL

What do I do when I wake up and can't sleep? Why, get on my computer, of course, my window to the world. These little pictures that I share have two purposes: (1) I find them on the internet or they are emailed to me and I want to save them; and (2) since I haven't figured out how to separate my blogs into paragraphs, I just put a picture in when I want to start a new paragraph. Whatever works. . .

Now since I've been up and on the computer for an hour and a half, I think I'll go back and try to get some more sleep. Here's a u-tube address I am putting here so I can find it again. Awesome card trick: http://www.youtube.com/v/Uh0CMcLiRkw%26feature%3dshare

Oh come on!. . . All I had to eat yesterday other than that omelet for supper was a couple small pancakes without syrup for breakfast, black coffee, a small pack of peanut butter crackers and a chicken sandwich for lunch, and an unbuttered cinnamon-raisin bagel in the afternoon. Now how did that cause me to gain a pound overnight? However. . . if I step on the scale tomorrow morning and gasp in horror, at least I will know why. We went to Cracker Barrel restaurant for supper this evening and I had the special - shrimp & grits skillet with a side salad and a wedge of cornbread. It was delicious, but way too much to eat that late in the day.

Our yard man came and mowed this morning, so it looks a lot better.

I called my new doctor's office this morning and made an appointment for next month for my first visit.

I fixed myself a microwave omelet for supper (2 eggs, 1 tbsp water, a bit of crumbled cheese, a shake or two of bacon bits) and stuffed what I could of it into a croissant. The rest I ate by itself. Delicious!

I called my doctor this morning and got an appointment for 3:45 this afternoon. I had received a letter from my HMO that my doctor would no longer be a provider for them after the end of April, so I wanted to get one last appointment with him.

I told the lady working at the desk when I checked out that I wanted to switch to a different doctor than the one the HMO was assigning to me, one that is located much closer to my home. She told me to be sure and call right away – today if possible – as the changeover needs to be simultaneous. So when I got home, I called and was able to get the switch made with no hassle.

I had already called the office of the doctor I want to be sure he was accepting new patients from that HMO and he is, so I will call his office tomorrow and set up a new patient appointment.

Sunday evening

Another beautiful warm day. After church this morning, we went to Luby's for lunch. Their spaghetti was great, and I had black-eyed peas, greens, and a roll with mine. Then we stopped at Big Lots. I got a new pillow there.

Sis's church is having their rummage sale so she went there early this morning to help.

I went to the grocery store and got a few things. We got our city brush pickup notice the other day, so after I got home from the grocery, I set out a pile of limbs and twigs that had accumulated beside the garage. It wasn't too large a pile, but I am amazed at how much less strength I have than just 5 or 6 years ago. By the time I got them out, I was so worn out and out of breath that I had to come inside and sit in the recliner for a few minutes.

Then at 9 a.m. I went over to the church to the sale. They had just opened and had quite a few customers. I bought a couple small items and sat around there with them for about an hour, but then came home. The sale is just going to run from 9 till 1 and then the workers will pack up everything and have sandwiches and sodas and tea before they leave.

After I rested awhile, I mopped the kitchen, dining room, living room, and my bathroom.

We tried a restaurant we had never been to before - very good southern home style cooking, served cafeteria-style. I had pork chops, corn, greens, breaded okra, corn muffin, and coffee. Sis and I also shared a piece of sweet potato pie. We don't get over that direction very often, but really enjoyed our meal.

Goodbye, Old Paint!

A couple pictures of my Geo Metro taken over the past few years. I took it to the recycling company this afternoon and sold it to them for scrap. Actually I got more for it than I expected. But it was kind of sad anyway. I am happy with the Chrysler that I bought to replace it.

Today was Sis's birthday. We went to Denny's Restaurant and she got a free Grand Slam breakfast. I got one too for the regular price. They were delicious.

My "new" used car - a 1991 Chrysler LeBaron - purchased this morning.

No rain yet this morning, but I hear the rain doves calling to each other in the back yard, so won't be surprised if we get a downpour in a little while. Sunday evening We didn't end up getting any rain. Turned out to be a very nice day. We ate lunch at El Tipico's. I was tempted into getting the Mexican plate. It was delicious, but I just can't handle some types of food the way I used to, and spent the rest of the afternoon wishing I had ordered something else.

We ate at Bud's this morning and I had my favorite potato and egg tacos. Then we went to Wal-Mart so I could get new cartridges for the printers at home and the office. Of course I can't go into Wal-Mart and not get something that wasn't on my list. After we got home I did laundry, cleaned the cats' litter boxes, swept, and by then my back was aching badly. The osteoporosis causes that before I do much. So I lay down and rested for a few minutes. That was enough to relieve it. The clothes aren't dry yet, but I've got a second load in the washer.

I tried out the used car I was mentioning. It is a 1991 Chrysler, and is in good shape, but the ignition switch has been replaced and evidently something broke inside. The man had no trouble starting it - he knew just how and where to push, but as much as he tried to show me, I couldn't start it. So if he replaces that switch and gets it to where I can start it easily, I'm ready to buy it from him. The price is well within my reach. But not the way it is now. He is the son of a friend of mine and a very good mechanic. I think he will fix it.

I picked up the new desk chair this afternoon and I am very pleased with it.

I ordered an ergonomic desk chair from Office Depot - just like the one I use at work. This one is for my desk at home. After work yesterday I went in and paid for it. They will assemble it for me and I will pick it up after work today.

Then we went to the nearby IHOP and had salad for supper.

This morning a friend is bringing a used car by my office for me to look at. My car is so bad it isn't really worth fixing. I hope this one turns out to be what I want.

Just finished supper a little while ago. I had a bag of microwavable breaded chicken patties in the freezer, so fixed us each a patty and topped it with mayonnaise and mashed avocado on multigrain sandwich thins. Delicious! Now Sis is baking cookies. The smell is intoxicating.

Sitting here at the computer listening to the birds outside, singing their early morning songs. It sounds so neat to hear them singing just before daylight. In the distance I can hear the city traffic noises, but I am trying to ignore that and just listen to the softness of the bird songs.

Happy Easter!

The churches in our group divided up the services during Holy Week. One had the Wednesday night Seder meal; another the Maundy Thursday service; our church had the Tenebrae Good Friday service; and another is having Sunrise service this morning, with breakfast afterward. The other churches will have their regular Sunday morning services at their usual times and places.

LATER: We had a better than normal attendance at our service this morning. After church Sis and I went to Cracker Barrel for lunch. It was crowded, but beat buying all the things necessary, then cooking and cleaning up just for the two of us. We had ham, mashed potatoes, macaroni & cheese, cole slaw, biscuits and cornbread, and I also had coffee.

Then we went to Wal-Mart and I went to the office and showed them my receipt where they had charged me twice yesterday for a large bag of cat litter. They were very nice and credited my credit card for the overcharge.

Then we came home and took naps.

The above picture was taken when Sis went on a day trip to visit the Bluebell Ice Cream plant. The picture shows blue bonnets. The peak of the bluebonnet season is over, but there are still lots of pretty ones.
Yesterday Sis and I rented table space at a yard sale set up behind a fabric store. We set up there both yesterday and today. This picture isn't great and shows how much they needed to mow and trim, but we did sell a few items.

Today a young man came and picked out several items and wanted to pay with a $100 bill. We didn't have anywhere near that much cash on hand and so he went to the next booth and picked out two large Easter baskets and paid for them with the $100 bill. Later they found out that the bill was counterfeit. I wasn't surprised.

The picture below is of a potholder that Sis made, in the shape of Texas.

It got up to 90 degrees this afternoon and tomorrow is expected to be hot too.

The office will be closed for Good Friday.

I reinstalled my printer software on my laptop at home to wireless so that I can send things to the printer from either the laptop or the desktop. Since I keep the laptop in a different room from the desktop computer and the printer, I’ve been carrying the laptop into the computer room and hooking it up to the printer each time I wanted to print something from it. Now I can skip that step.

I slept so little last night that by 8 this evening I was totally wiped out and went to bed. But I woke up about a half hour ago and watched the late news. A lot was on about the tornadoes around Dallas. What a terrible time for them!

Sis went on a bus tour today to Brenham, Tx. They toured the Blue Bell ice cream plant, went to the Washington on the Brazos State Park, a nice restaurant, and more. They left around 7:45 this morning and she didn't get home until after 6 p.m.

After I got home from work this afternoon, I made a loaf of bread in the bread machine. It was a little different. I used 2 1/2 cups of bread flour, 1 cup of yellow cake mix, 2 tablespoons butter, 1 1/4 cups warm water, 2 1/4 teaspoons of bread machine yeast, 1/2 cup dried cranberries, and 1/2 cup slivered almonds. It raised nicely and tasted good when it was done.

A Sleepless Night

I woke up in the middle of the night, unable to sleep. We are expecting rain early in the morning and I am wondering if the atmospheric changes are causing me the sleeplessness, as I have sinus-like pains in my eyes, teeth and head.

The rain is expected to start about time for the morning rush hour and move out of the area by this afternoon.

I got up and did my daily Bible reading. I started reading the Chronological Bible this year. It has 365 daily readings.