MARCH 2022

MARCH  2022 !


Spring is doing its best to get here!

I'm here.............I got up go to the bathroom and took Nell out..........she peed just fine and came back in.

Good Morning All.

No news is good news today. It's a little warmer and Spring is closer. Yeah!

Great pictures, Ark. I look forward to seeing what you will add each month.

It's 51° at the moment. A very nice change from the last two months. We still have lake ice, but a few more days will see it start to go away.

I had a good laugh on Monday I thought I would pass along. On Monday, I went out on my lunch hour and ran a couple of errands. Went to the bank and the library drive up made a deposit and picked up a book I had on hold, then decided to go through the Taco Bell drive thru while I was out. I ordered the $2 burrito from the value menu and pulled ahead to the window. A very nice and upbeat young man asked for the $2.14 and I gave him the exact change after digging in my change holder because I didn't want to break a $20 and he cheerfully asks if I would like the free Senior's drink. It's free. I was dumbfounded. He must have thought I was poverty stricken because I ordered a $2 meal and paid with exact change. I choked back a laugh and quickly agreed to a lemonade. I figure I've earned every gray hair he must have been basing his question on. At 57 I don't consider myself a senior citizen yet, but to this young guy I am.

Indy, I expect that AARP considers you to be a senior too. LOL

Yesterday morning, I got an early phone call from the fraud department of my bank. Apparently, someone had tried to use my debit card 4 AM for a limo service in PHILADELPHIA! I've never been to Philadelphia, let alone at 4 AM. They had declined the charge (thank goodness). They instantly blocked the card. I immediately drove to my bank branch and got a new card. Within an hour after the first call, I was good to go again. I love my bank.
I do check my account online every morning, just to make sure that nothing odd is showing up. While nothing did show up because the errant charge had been blocked, it did make me resolve to keep checking every morning.

Now when we call Nell, we have to have cheerios in our pocket as she likes to run and play
too hard.............LOL. Naturally, I think she is cute but have to make sure she isn't running toward
the road...............

Continuing to pray for peace or the elimination of the devil himself............

Happy March everyone.  We made it thru the worst of the winter months now onto spring.  I had my first fight with the birds yesterday who try to make nests on my kitchen porch window tops.  A sure sign of springtime.

I've been on a tear doing my spring cleaning.  Only this year the entire house has to be done before the family shows up for Missy's memorial service on the 19.  Strip all the beds and wash sheets that haven't been slept on for a long time, dust and vacuum every room. Move all the Christmas decorations and my huge stash of Covid paper products outta the back room. 3 1/2 rooms cleaned and ready for company.  WHEW I'm worn out already.  I tried to hire my friend as a helper and she just laughed...She said "you know how fussy you are and I wouldn't do it right and you would be behind me cleaning anyway."  She is probably right.  She knows me too well.  LOL  

ARK:  Love those photos you find to put in the forum.  

GRAYMARE:  How wonderful you have a new puppy.  I'm so jealous...puppies are so much fun.

ELLEN:  Thank God for wonderful banks that keep us safe from the hackers.  We have given up using our bank card and only use the credit card to purchase anything.  Old school I know, but so far our bank account has been safe.  The credit card always blocks any strange charges.

INDYAPP: Good to hear you had a negative test and are back to work.

Stay safe and healthy and pray for our country and the people in Ukraine.  

Good Morning,

I'm late getting up this a.m., its snowing AGAIN! No school as there is a lot of the white stuff expected before mid morning. Right now it is just softly falling and yet it is small stuff, you know the saying......small snow, BIG snow. Not sure if Im going to the gym yet or not, i'll see by nine. I have to go later this afternoon anyway so might just stay home this a.m.

I had an MRI on my right knee on Tuesday, will have to wait for a while for my report I suppose. I have a lump at the top of my tibia, on the outside, just in line with my knee. I had a CT scan in the summer and the radiologist wanted an MRI to have a better look and it has taken all this time to get in. I dont like lumps anywhere but after Tracey with her Lump I worry at times. It is not sore, doesn't stop me from using my leg or losing sleep. At one time it would ache at rest but that went away. We will see.

MANYGATES, you are way ahead of your spring cleaning. When the family gathering is past you will be able to spend your time outside and not worry about getting it done. I have someone that will do mine when weather changes to resemble spring. When covid closed us down two years ago I did the whole house, scrubbed walls, floors, window, doors, did all the closets and drawers. I was so proud of myself as had it done before the good weather started and I could sit out on the deck. I spring houseclean every year and most times in the fall but that isn't as intense as the spring one.

The awful situation of the war on Ukraine has everyone around here feeling very sad and angry. I come from a city that has a HUGE number of Ukrainians that came over in the '30's-40's to work at the steel plant that had opened in Sydney. They are still living there with most of their extended families. I went to school with many of the children. Our friend SVETLANA has relatives still living there, prayers going up for all of them and wishing for peace.

You all have a great day.

Spring is trying really hard to make an appearance. Yesterday was rather chilly, but today is going to be better and tomorrow will be nearly 70°! There is still ice on the lake, but it is getting darker which means it is getting thinner.

Yesterday I went to Ft. Wayne to pick up Friend Sherry from the airport, and then to dinner. She had spent a couple of weeks in Florida being Grandma to two little ones. Some of you might disagree, but she thinks they are the cutest little kids ever born. LOL

My freezer is completely full of food that should last at least the next 4 weeks and beyond. Some will require the Instant Pot and some will only need the microwave or a skillet.

I am having to not watch much news lately. It makes me so angry and frustrated. We are looking at the face of Satan in Putin.

DONNA:
Please let us know how the MRI comes out. It's probably just another one of those lumps like arthritis makes on fingers and such. You may have bumped it hard, didn't think about it too long, and made a calcium lump. I vote it is nothing to worry about!!! It's going to be 70 degrees here Sunday, no snow for us this weekend!

ELLEN:
Do you have someone to give you a hand for a week or so? A neighbor or cousin? Good idea having the freezer full of cooked dinners. The tv news is terrible. Videos from Ukraine are heartbreaking and terrorizing. You are right about the devil you mentioned.... I hope he keeps his hateful finger off the red button, for the entire world's sake.


INDYAPP:
Take the senior drink and run!!! Some places around here have 55 as the senior discount age. We have a local theater that lets seniors in for $5. As soon as we turned 55, we were happy for the discount! And remember, to a teenager, everyone over 30 looks old.

TRUDY:
Come clean my house, please! After I get the barn done, I have no interest in cleaning the house. That has got to change, it is catching up with me. I keep the kitchen clean, the laundry clean, but the dust bunnies are taking over and have teeth.

GRAYMARE:
Cheerios, what a great idea! I get those little doggy snaps treats and carry a few while going down to the barn with Shadow. He makes sure to stick right with me to get his daily treats. If Cactus Jack gets to me before Shadow gets them all, he demands his share. He likes dog treats.


I need to give Ivan a bath on Saturday. He hates getting a bath and the water will be chilly. If all goes well, we will be taking Ivan to the New River Trail on Sunday for a trail ride with my pony/donkey farrier lady. She just got a shot in her elbow on Friday and hopefully it won't give her trouble on Sunday and make her cancel. Ivan is so dirty he looks a dirty shade of yellow, too embarrassing to be seen in public. Brushing alone is just not enough. Ivan will not be thrilled with his bath.

Ark, my cousin is coming up for a few days to help me out. When she goes home, I know that my neighbors will help too. Since I've been through it before, I think it will be a little bit easier this time. I hope.

I've been trying to do some cleaning too so that it will be clean for a couple of weeks until I can get to it again. One of my neighbors is in Florida. When they get home, she said she has me on her schedule for cleaning my house for me. I've been getting their mail and checking their house while they've been gone.

Today was a good retreat at church........lots of talk about Ukraine and Putin, all with negative
feelings and prayers for the citizens...............

Nell is getting wild and funny. She loves to play outside and ran toward the street today......she can really move for
such a tiny puppy. LOL. She loves to bark at our other dog and he just sits there and laughs at her as
he walks away.

The bug man was here today and sprayed well..............we have him about every 8 weeks in the winter and every
4 in the summer. It seems to work for us. Do any of you have bug men?

Pizza for dinner.........woohoo.

God bless, everyone have a good evening.

I had a bug guy for about 10 years until his prices got too high. He would come for the 5 warm months. I decided that my neighbor/handyman could do the job for a lot less money. It has worked out well.
The biggest bug problem is with spiders and those little tiny ants. Home Defense Max works well to discourage them.
Graymare, I assume you have to work to keep scorpions out. I saw a new Dirty Jobs show where they were eliminating a few hundred of them from around a property with small dogs. It was interesting to see that they glow in the dark. So, they were out catching them at night. Within a couple of hours they had caught about 300 of them.

Scorpions? yikes

My cats take care of most spiders. Spiders too high catch the occasional stinkbug...good spiders. Stinkbugs are the bane of my existence. They moved into our region eight or nine years ago and absolutely swarmed us. I lived in abject horror for quite awhile. We couldn't figure out how they were getting into our house....by the dozens every day. After a couple of years of freaking out, we discovered the carpenter who put in our microwave oven vent didn't screen it and the stinkbugs were cruising right on in unobstructed. Now we get the occasional stinkbug, but nothing like it was. The only good stinkbug is a dead stinkbug, but you can't just stomp them or their stink lingers....on and on.... So I catch them in a tissue and they either get flushed or tossed into the woodstove. If they get in my house, they don't get any mercy. Unfortunately, our cats won't touch them. Stinkbugs are the only bug pests we have. shudder, shudder..... I get fly predators for the barn and they do a pretty good job.


Ivan got his bath and wasn't nearly as freaky about it as usual. I think even he was embarrassed at his yellow coloring. After he dried, I put a light sheet on him to hopefully keep him clean overnight. So far my riding partner hasn't cancelled on me.

Good Sunday morning everyone.

DONNA:  Thanks for those wise words, I am taking that to heart about when spring does get here and all my friends are busy doing their cleaning, I'll be sitting on the patio drinking sweet tea and watching the wild critters play. Great positive attitude, I started sharing that with my girlfriends..

GRAYMARE:  Yup we have a bug guy, otherwise we would be overrun with HUGE black spiders & those darn stink bugs.   I already found 2 stink bugs and a couple wasps.  I'm with you Ark...Hate those darn stink bugs!!!!!  EWWWWWWWWWWW

ARK:  Thanks for the offer of helping you clean but once I am finished here I think I put my cleaning supplies away until Christmas.  I only have the kitchen, patio and bathrooms to clean and I will FINISHED..

ELLEN:  We stopped watching the news a long time ago.  It's too upsetting and I'm trying to keep George from having a PTSD attack, he has enough on his plate right now.  So sad about the things that are going on.

On Friday we went to the funeral home to chose a urn for Missy. It's beautiful blue with marble like markings.  On the top will be a plate with her info on it and the words "always in our heart" and a little angel on one corner and intertwined hearts on another corner.  Man that was difficult, neither of us slept Friday night.  I'm afraid there will be a lot of sleepless nights until this month is over.

Have a blessed Sunday.

Good Morning All,

I'm up, having my tea and checking my mail but before I do that I am here checking in on all of you.

Its an overcast stormy looking morning, going to have rain and freezing rain, drizzle for the day. That will take away a lot of the snow. Hopefully we won't have any more storms and spring can happen on time.

I was at a hockey game last night, I have season tickets to our Junior A games. The visiting team came all the way from northern New Brunswick and the score was 10-0 for our team.......not much of a game although the other team were fast skating and kept our guys on their toes. I always feel so bad for the other team when they have such a big loss. These guys at between 16-20 and you forget that they are only kids when you are a fan. It could be the NHL on the ice with all the fan support they have. Loud, cheering people for a couple of hours is just what I need a lot of the time to put me in a great mood.

Heading to church this a.m. This is the first time for in church service since before Christmas, it has been zoom for the winter. Now that the restrictions are being lifted its time to get back to regular services. Still have to wear masks and sit six feet apart but I sit with friends and we bubble much to the chagrin of the minister. She stares at us from the pulpit and secretly we are giving her the finger, She is kind of a dictator!!! After church I'm invited for lunch at a friends. It's going to be a good day.

ELLEN, when is your surgery? You are ready for your return home but will there be someone with you for the first while?

MANYGATES, picking out urns is not an easy chore. It has to suit the persons personality, I think, and sounds like you made a lovely choice.

I'm reading about all the bugs you people have. We do have stink bugs once in a great while but nothing bad. My biggest pests are earwigs!!! They are everywhere during the spring, summer and fall. I dont know how they get in the house, think they can get through the smallest crack. House flys drive me crazy and I'm always after them. That and ticks. This end of the province seems to be the tick capital. Bloody things, I would rather snakes, at least I could see a snake......I hate snakes too, lol. I get Fergie vaccinated against tick bites every year and it seems to work. She doesn't go anywhere like tall grass, everything around the house is mowed weekly. The deer carry these pests and they drop off and animals and people pick them up.

OK, Im off to have my breakfast and get my mail read.

ARK, have a great riding day on your clean steed.

Donna

Donna, I've been watching "The Curse of Oak Island". What do the local people think of that treasure hunt? From the artifacts they have found, it seems that over the centuries that island has been the Grand Central Station of the North Atlantic.
It also seems that those who created the tunnels and hid the treasure were absolute geniuses. They hid something that nobody else has been able to get to.

DONNA:  I had to really laugh out loud when I read your church comment.  I even shared it with my rebel friend Sharon.  A bunch of us girls (and George) sit in the front row and the Pastors are always looking directly down at us, sometimes they call us out to make a point.  We always laugh about it after the service and say "that was definitely for us" and sometimes during the service we give each other a little poke...Our church only closed for a couple weeks back 2020 and has been open ever since.  No masks and we sit together.  There are a few people who still wear masks but that's OK, it's a personal decision.  We probably have about 600 people in each service (we have 3) and we do on line too. Last Sunday attendance was 1,945.

We have earwigs too.. Another ewwwwwwwwwww creepy little bugs...

A friend of ours who lives about 20 miles away had a snow geese invasion.  He said his fields were white with snow geese.  It was a unbelievable sight.  People were pulling off the road and taking photos and videos of the geese.  He said he has never seen so many probably about 8,000 and they kept coming.  He showed us his videos and WOW....

It's raining here this morning but it is 50 degrees.  

Good Morning All,

Just popped in to see what you all have been up to. It's great to see that so many of you have a great group of friends to get you through difficult times.

Today is going to be a hard day at work what with all that is going on overseas. I pray for peace.

ELLEN, good luck tomorrow................God bless and post when you recover enough to
have energy.

ELLEN:
How ya doing? I hope you are up and running around on a pain-free hip!

DONNA:
I forgot about ticks. yuck. We have them, too. They are in some hay we buy from other people and I find ticks on the horses off and on all year. I thought they were inactive during winter, but nope, they are still around. A few years ago Virginia Tech did a study on Lymes disease in horses in our area. Ivan and Areion both got tested and Ivan had signs of infection in his blood, but no symptoms at all. Areion, at that time, didn't have any markers for it. I hear of horses around here having Lymes disease all the time, but so far we have been lucky. Ticks are nasty.


Rain here, all night. It's supposed to end this afternoon. More mud! Better than snow, but tiring.

My farrier cancelled on our ride at the last minute...sigh... Said her arm was numb. I don't see how she can be a farrier with all the injuries and joint problems she has, but she says she loves it. So I rode my clean steed at home in the arena. He is covered in mud this morning.

We bought seed potatoes and onion sets yesterday. Once again, we are going to try to make a garden. We are the worst gardeners. This year we are going to get serious.....again.

Surgery is done. Everything went well. I'll go home tomorrow.

Surgery is done.  Everything went well.  I'll go home tomorrow.