My wandering mind... and an atypical day

Today has been a bit 'atypical'... in that I seem to have accomplished a few things that I've been putting off. It is only 1:30 in the afternoon and already I've cleaned out the cabinet under the sink in the bathroom, organized my writings into completed stories, not completed stories, short stories, essays, poems, thoughts, etc., showered, dressed, and am ready to get on with the next de-cluttering. 

It may not seem like a lot, but believe me... it isn't easy at 80 for me to get a lot done... and it's frustrating. I want to do so much (and so much needs doing) but I tire easily or get distracted. Yes, one can say, there's always tomorrow (but at 80, you can't be sure...).

Anyhow, I'm in the process of putting together all my old writings. I've decided to put them all into a book... not for publishing (well, it will be self-published) but only for me. I've decided to call it either "In Loving Memory (of me)" or  "In Remembrance of a Life" (Title  could/may change later).

And with this agenda, I've been able to get a little further into my decluttering mode. I even took a large Tupperware container of costume jewelry that had belonged to my mother to the Salvation Army recently. It's been sitting in my room for almost 20 years. I'm not much of a jewelry person, but my mother loved jewelry... and I simply could not throw it away (couldn't sell it either). At least this way, possibly someone could enjoy it.

DH and I have been in Texas for 55 years as of this past Sunday (March 15). We moved here from Florida on the Ides of March 1971 during a sandstorm with a 2 yr old son and a 10 month old daughter... and we were both 25 at the time (#3 surprised us in 1973).  

We rented for a few years, then bought a house, then built this house in 1985... a little over 40 years ago. (Kids were 17, 15, and 12 when we built it. Now they are all in their 50's, and married)  So yes, there's a lot of closets, drawers, and cabinets (not to mention attic and garage) that need cleaning out. 

I'm not a hoarder... but I do have trouble throwing out stuff that is either sentimental or still useful. I know the rule: divide it all into "Keep", "Donate", or "Throw out". But what about "May be needed later?" Yes, I know, if you haven't needed it in the last few years, you probably won't... right? 

I have to add this here as I just read it in an article entitled "30 Days to a Decluttered Home" in the AARP Bulletin. These were the first 2 Mistakes they mentioned:

1. Holding on to things because you feel guilty, thinking that a dead person would be mad if you got rid of them. (how true... and probably why I kept my mom's costume jewelry for 20 years)

2. Saving "stuff for someone else" who may never want it - your kids. (True also... to some extent)

Ok, this is getting boring even for me.  Going to say "Happy St. Patrick's Day!" (late, I know) and close. 

I know this isn't really a St. Pat's Day pic... but it's so darn cute!

One more thing before I close this, I made those British Flapjacks again. These came out great! This recipe is definitely a keeper. I won't post it as Lyle's Golden Syrup (a key ingredient) is probably hard to fine unless you have a British Emporium close by. 

Hugs (virtual),

Rian

 

 

Flap Jacks! and no, not the kind you think...

These are just my latest purchase from the British Emporium near us. DH and I watch The British Baking Show on Netflix almost daily. Love it! I have tried several of their bakes (both savory and sweet) and it's an educational (and fun) show to watch (if you like baking). I find Paul and Prue (the host and hostess) a perfect blend of judges. 

Anyway, they recently made something called British Flapjacks  (nothing like what we Americans call Flapjacks). These are similar to granola bars made with oats, butter, brown sugar, and syrup.  Since I eat oatmeal almost every day, I thought I'd try to make these with my gluten free oatmeal. And I did. 

But I first googled if it was OK to use regular pancake syrup or maple syrup to do this... and I was told that I could (could even use honey), but they wouldn't taste the same. Using Lyle's Golden Syrup or Royal Syrup would be best since it has a caramel flavor.  

So DH and I went off to the British Emporium (luckily there is one close by) and bought those items I pictured above.  This is really a cute store and I should have taken pictures there to post... but didn't think of it. 

There are so many other items there I would have loved to get, but it's not cheap and I will curtail my wants till another visit later in the year (there was an adorable Douglas stuffed rat - I know, I know, who wants a rat... but it was so-oo cute). And of course, besides the normal British baking food items, there is also stuff relating to Downton Abbey, Harry Potter, Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry cook books, etc. 

OK, well I made the British Flapjacks and although they taste very good, they came out way too chewy. So I googled if there was any way to fix this. Told to wrap them (as needed) in a wet paper towel and microwave for a few seconds. We did... and it works! Still chewy, but softer and not likely to take out your fillings. They also recommended not cooking as long next time and possibly adding a little flour to the recipe. We'll see.

If you noticed, besides Lyle's Golden Syrup, I also bought some caster sugar (hard to find) and PG tea bags. Caster sugar is just super-fine and best to use in some baking recipes. Also we drank a lot of PG tea when in England years ago... so I just thought I'd revive the memory.

That's it. Hope I didn't bore you too much. If you're not into British stuff or baking, I'm sure this wasn't of much interest. But since I can't do much sketching, painting, or things that take good vision, I have taken to doing more cooking, baking, etc. - experimenting and trying some new things.

My eye is coming along... just not there yet. Think the Eye Specialist said it could take months. 

A few funnies:

Now... know that I also love coffee!  Very much! But to me tea is for comfort and relaxation (it also warms me, I tend to be cold a lot). Coffee is a pick-me-up. So I have coffee usually in the morning... and tea to relax in the afternoon. 

(I find that when I sit still a lot - reading, working on my laptop, etc.  I get cold... icy cold and need a cup of tea or a warm shower to get my body temp back up. Perhaps this is a symptom of Hashimoto -which I do have. Anyone else find this happens to them?)

Well, as usual, thanks for reading. Enjoy your Sunday!

Hugs (virtual),

Rian 

March 1, 2026 Rabbit! Rabbit! White Rabbit!

Rabbit! Rabbit! White Rabbit!

 

Can you believe that March is here already? I went with this white rabbit as he/she seems to be a lucky rabbit... and with St. Patrick's day coming up soon in March, it seemed appropriate. 

I've nothing special to blog about. My eye is still tearing and sore on occasion, still hard to read, but it's only been a week since the doctor took out the stent, so  I'm giving it time... 

When DH and I went to our friend's 80th birthday luncheon about a week ago, she and I were talking about our childhood (born in 1945) and what we remembered about the neighborhood and schools, etc. 

We both lived off Canal Street before the age of 8, but she and I met when my family moved from off Canal Street in New Orleans to Lakeview (an area out by the lakefront... not on it, but only a few blocks away). We were 8 years old... became best friends that lasted through grammar school, high school, and college. Stood in each other's weddings (2 weeks apart), etc., and are still bff's (best friend's forever) at 80. 

Elaine (left) and myself (right) at her wedding

Anyway, I digress.  But what I wanted to post here was a picture of something we both remembered that always brought us joy as children when it came down our street - the Roman Taffy wagon! 

It sold taffy... in long strips (like a candle) wrapped in wax paper, pink, white, and chocolate (I always got chocolate).   

I found this picture in an old book about Louisiana history and cooking. You can see the Street car in the background which we rode to go to downtown Canal Street back in those days. And back then, everyone dressed up to go to Canal Street. Nowadays the streetcars are still working, but no one dresses up... and downtown has gotten a bit shabby... 

Anyway, just wanted to share this tidbit of memory from my childhood. I'm sorry to say that we haven't been back to New Orleans since before the pandemic. Family (mostly cousins now) is still there. I'd hope to go back this summer, but this eye issue stopped that... (maybe in the spring?)

Anyway, wishing everyone a wonderful happy healthy March! And as always, thanks for reading. 

Hugs (virtually),

Rian

Eye update... and other stuff

doctor with sense of humor (not my eye)

DH and I went to my 5 week post-op Eye appointment yesterday. I'm going to tell you how it went... could be TMI, so be prepared. Actually it wasn't pleasant, but not too bad.

me these days...

First of all, I didn't think the Doctor would take out the stent yet... but he did a few tests to see if my tear duct was open. This involves putting a long needle like instrument into the eye and irrigating it with water. They do use numbing drops first. Apparently since the water came through my nose and mouth, the tear duct was open.

They also sprayed some numbing stuff up my nose before putting another instrument up my nose to check on the stent (I guess that's what he was doing). Then he proceeded to use a tweezer like instrument to pull the stent out through the inner corner of my eye. Did it hurt? Yes, but not too bad. 

DH (who stayed in the room with me) said the stent was a long thin tube that was attached to a cord. When the doctor pulled it out, there was a pop.. and after pulling it out, he looked again and said that the knot at the end didn't come out, so he went back in and pulled that out. 

Done and Done! Said that I didn't need another appointment... unless I was worried about something. Said everything looked fine.

Told him my eye was still stinging a bit. He said that it probably would as pulling that stent out was like popping a rubber band in your eye... to use Systane as needed. 

This morning eye still watering quite a bit... and sore. Some swelling. But I'm thinking it will take a little time to get over the trauma (both the eye and me).

At one point he said to "try to relax... nothing bad is happening". I thought 'not to you'... but didn't say anything.

But hopefully this 6 month Eye ordeal is almost over. Now if my eye will just stop tearing and being blurry, I may be able to get back to reading (actually still reading, but it's a struggle), sketching, painting, etc. Perception is not good with one eye.

Hope I didn't bore you too much. Writing down what happened is really just for me - so I can go back and remember if needed.

Thanks for all your prayers and good wishes along the way. I'm sure it helped. I know it helped me to stop being so fearful. I've never been good about having people work in my mouth (dentists used to be top on my fear list). Now I have to add not liking people in my eye either. 

But I will say that this Eye Specialist is very good. At least everything he did or said worked out as he said it would. He doesn't have the best bed-side manner as he tends to be a little brusque... like saying "Stop talking!" or telling me the horrors that could happen if treatment is not taken, etc. But like Doc Martin on TV, he starts to grow on you, and we ended up liking him/trusting him despite it all. 

Better close this as it's getting too long.

Ending this with 2 pictures:

recent bobcat sighting (Isn't he handsome?)

and... 

Hairy Coo on my laptop (so cute)

and... (a reminder)

Hugs (virtually),

Rian

Valentine's Day! Feb 14, 2026

 Happy Valentine's Day!

Hugs (virtual),

Rian

Thundering and raining here... 

Planning to make some lemon squares for the guys

Nothing else going on

💓

Playing Catch-up...

African chicken peanut soup

Thought I'd try to play 'catch-up' a bit here. Made this soup last week, ate on it for 2-3 days and froze the rest. We really like it! Sent a pic of it to my cousin in New Orleans. She asked for the recipe and made it herself yesterday. 

Vic (one of my followers who doesn't have a blog - I think) mentioned in her comment that the cheese biscuits sounded good and was looking for some recipes. Here's the one I use... it's so simple and good thought maybe I ought to share:

Great Cheese Biscuits

Ingredients:

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup melted butter

1 cup sour cream

2 cups self-rising flour (which I normally don't have... but can make by substituting 2 cups AP flour mixed with 2  teaspoons baking powder and 1 teaspoon salt)

Preheat oven to 425. Mix all ingredients. Then either spoon into well greased mini-muffin tin (makes 24 mini-muffins) or cut with biscuit cutter. Bake for 10 mins (till golden). Cool on wire rack for 5 mins.

I have also halved this recipe to make 12 mini-muffins for just the 3 of us.

There's not much to tell here as since my last eye surgery and the Arctic freeze we haven't gotten out much. 

Ferals doings fine. We have one raccoon that comes by every evening around 9pm... looking for a hand-out. He stands up on the Kitchen French doors and basically says "I'm here!" (sometimes he even bangs on it) We give him bread or cookies or whatever is on hand that day. One day he got a left-over cream puff... he was excited. I think raccoons have a sweet tooth... 

And we still have the 2 feral cats (the gray we call Shadow and the black we call Missy). They come by almost daily... and are usually waiting by the door in the morning. And if it's really cold, sometimes they will sleep under the heat lamps on the back porch. 

But we still get an occasional coyote in the yard... even though we had coyote rollers put on the back 6 ft fence. We think one comes in from our next door neighbor's retaining wall. He scares away easily, but it's still a concern for the ferals. 

However, it is mating season and our local newspaper says to be alert for seeing more feral activity (coyotes and bobcats). They recommend keeping a close eye on small pets when outside and not to call Animal Control unless an animal is acting sick or weird. Clapping your hands or banging a pot (we use an air-horn) will make them run away. 

And our crows have gotten quite comfortable... both in the front and in the back. They 'caw' whenever they see us and hang about the trees waiting for their peanuts or cheetos. Some are a bit greedy and try to get 2-3 peanuts or cheetoes in their beak at one time... occasionally one does it, most give up and take just one.

Our youngest son came by yesterday afternoon and said that the crows are all cawing and hanging about in the front when he came in. We said we know - they have gotten to know that we are OK with it.

Closing this before it gets too long and boring. Will post a few memes or pics I like.

and

I would buy this coffee...

and lastly I'm going to post 2 poems that have been running around in my head lately... not sure why. But both these poems I read years ago and they somehow made a point with me.

"Loyalty" by Berton Braley.

HE MAY BE six kinds of a liar,
He may be ten kinds of a fool,
He may be a wicked highflyer
Beyond any reason or rule;

There may be a shadow above him
Of ruin and woes to impend,
And I may not respect, but I love him,
Because — well, because he's my friend.

I know he has faults by the billion,
But his faults are a portion of him;
I know that his record's vermilion,
And he's far from the sweet Seraphim;
But he's always been square with yours truly,
Ready to give or to lend,
And if he is wild and unruly,
I like him — because he's my friend.

I criticize him but I do it
In just a frank, comradely key,
And back-biting gossips will rue it
If ever they knock him to me!
I never make diagrams of him,
No maps of his soul have I penned;
I don't analyze — I just love him,
Because — well, because he's my friend.

and

"Outwitted" by Edwin Markham

He drew a circle that shut me out—
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
But Love and I had the wit to win:
We drew a circle that took him in! 

OK, yes, I know I've jumped around a lot here... but that's just how my mind works. (Deal with it! - no, just kidding)

Really closing this now. Wishing you all a good weekend. Thanks for being still here - if you got this far.  

Hugs (virtually),

Rian

 

 

Rabbit! Rabbit! White Rabbit! Feb 1, 2026

 

Rabbit! Rabbit! White Rabbit!

Well, here it is February 1, 2026 already.  This little bunny looks like he has a static electricity problem with his bunny fur!

The Arctic Storm has played havoc with the weather across the country. Please stay inside, stay warm, stay safe, and don't try to walk on the ice! 

I recommend a cozy fireplace, lots of warm blankets, hot tea or hot chocolate, and fresh baked cookies to get you through it... or a huge pot of home-made soup... and cheese biscuits! 

Hugs (virtual),

Rian