Halloween at our house...

 

see cat's eye inside pumpkin?

These are some past pics of Halloween at our house... 

We didn't put the pumpkins on the porch this year, but out on the lawn - so I don't have any pics of cats with pumpkins. 

pumpkins on front lawn

However, our oldest son sent us this porch heater to put on the back porch. We usually hang up heat lamps in the winter for the ferals, but this year they'll have their very own porch heater.  Here is a pic:

We have taken it out of the box and put it on the back porch, but it uses a propane tank and we haven't gotten one yet.

I'm also in the process of making bat and pumpkin cookies to put in our grand daughter's and next door neighbor's Halloween bags. 

And...

some Halloween bats and pumpkins:

and a Halloween custard pie:

So, you see... although we don't do much Halloween decorating or anything too spooky, we do enjoy a little Halloween baking!!

Happy Halloween 2022!

Hugs (virtual),

Rian

Choices we make...

Now that the pandemic threat has gone down (still around, but seems less dangerous due to vaccines, etc.), we can now worry about inflation going up and investments going down. My grocery and utility bills have almost doubled. 

We can simply buy less groceries (that's a choice), but I don't think we can make the utility bills go down as it seems like we aren't using more, just paying the companies back for back usage?? I have the feeling that we're paying back what-ever happened with the Arctic freeze in the past... not sure how that works.

And of course our investments are taking a hit (not that we're heavily invested - we're pretty cautious in retirement, but still losing). Something will have to be done soon... just not sure what (another choice). 

We're happy about the possible student loan lessening... as we're still paying back the student loans we took out to put our 3 kids pretty consecutively through college. So yes, we're part of those retired folks who have been paying back our kids student loans since the 80's... and figure we'd probably do it for the rest of our lives. And could the kids pick it up... possibly, but we tend to think that our kids' education should be on us.

OK... enough with the concerns, let's get on to something of a lighter nature. 

Well, first I have to mention this as we streamed this movie last night and it was definitely a bummer (bad choice). You'd never know by the title "Silent Night".  Thought it would be an uplifting Christmas movie - NOT!! It was a very strange Christmas Eve somewhere in England where a deadly fog (toxic gas) was taking over. I won't say more... only DON'T WATCH IT! 

And there is a lighter side to grocery shopping - 

I'm good with this...


and

All of our grocery stores are now in the process of re-arranging everything. People are walking around shaking their heads and looking lost. DH and I take 2 carts and we usually meet somewhere to say "I can't find...???"  It's not like the shelves are empty these days, they've just moved!  (so now it's not just that I can't remember what I needed, but once I do remember, I can't find it 😖).

Closing with an uplifting thought:

If this is true... and I'm pretty sure it is to some extent... then we need to really up our game! 


Closing this now...
 Have a good day!
Happy Sunday!

Hugs (virtual),
Rian

waiting for the Aga man...

This little cat looks so much like Squeaky...

Lately we've been having a little possum come by to eat with the feral cats in the evening . Sometimes he comes early and lies under the cat tree on the back porch waiting for DH to feed and for the ferals to eat... then he comes out and eats on his own. We're guessing he's only about 6-8 weeks old... but definitely on his own.

Here's a pic I got of him under the cat tree...

Isn't he cute?

The weather has been downright chilly these last few days. Woke up to the temp being 37 F.  It doesn't take much for me to be cold, and we haven't turned the heater on yet... 

This morning I hated the thought of getting out of bed and being cold, so I stayed snuggled up after DH got up. He usually gets up around 8 am to feed the ferals who by that time have gathered around the back and front doors. Well, this morning they had to wait for a short time as DH got me a cup of hot tea first to drink in bed - so I could get myself up and about. Wasn't that nice? 

It's usually me that gets his coffee on and my tea made while he's taking care of the cats, but I don't function well when cold...

And at the moment we are awaiting the Aga serviceman. He is supposed to be here today to hopefully replace the part that's needed so our kitchen can be warm again... (as well as cook normal meals). 

I watched Martha (of Martha Bakes) make a gluten-free cake roll that looked so easy to do... and one that can use any kind of fruit jam inside (I would use strawberry). It's definitely on my 'to try' list. And when I say gluten-free, it's just that you use a different flour (oat flour, not wheat).

off the video screen  /  doesn't that look good?



Also I'm drinking a cup of Cajun mocha coffee at the moment. It's a simple recipe:

3/4 cup of fresh black coffee
1/4 -1/2 cup evaporated milk
(I use lactose-free)
1 tsp cocoa powder
1/2 - 1 tsp sugar
sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top

(on a cold day it gives me a little pick-me-up)

Also trying to think of some nice things to do to perk up people's lives. Nothing big... just little things like sharing lemon curd cookies with our neighbors or hocus pocus crescent rolls for DH and grandson. 

Do you know what hocus pocus crescent rolls are? Saw them on Facebook and thought, that looks fun and interesting - and easy! You just roll a marshmallow in melted butter, then roll it in cinnamon sugar, then roll it up in a crescent roll... and bake. The marshmallow disappears - thus, hocus pocus! And the guys like them... unfortunately I can't eat them myself, but that's OK. (Do use parchment paper under them as some of the marshmallow can leak out and get your pan all sticky)

I also like to send out cute cards or notes sometimes. This is limited to friends/family (online and otherwise) that I actually have addresses for. Guess that's a bit old school, but hard not to be at my age. I can adapt, but the old ways don't just disappear. And I still love to get/give cards and letters even though most use texting and email these days.

Closing this now, but if any of you have any ideas of how to perk up lives in small simple ways, I appreciate your comments. I do think that despite all the turmoil that is going on these days, I've found that people are actually 'trying to be kind'...  

Well, the weekend is almost here again. Wishing you a good one!

(BTW, I stopped watching the news a few weeks ago - can't watch all the political talk and commercials - since I don't believe half of what is being said anyway. DH and I just vote the way our gut tells us and ignore all the political babble.)

Hugs (virtual),

Rian

 

my 2 day post...

Here it is Saturday again... the weekends seem to come around so fast these days... not like when we were working... then they couldn't come around fast enough. But that's OK, I still enjoy the weekends (not sure why since after retirement, they aren't really any different from the weekdays ). 

But I try to do things a little different on the weekends, do you? Maybe bake or cook something special or plan a special outing or get-together with family, etc. My daughter always asks when she calls if we have any plans for the weekend. Usually we don't... we're not even half as social as she is. They are always working on some project on their acreage as well as going out with friends or having people over. But to be honest, we are pretty content being home-bodies. Not that we don't enjoy occasional lunches or outings with friends and/or family, but it's just not our norm.

This weekend I'm hoping to get more of the clutter out of my computer room. I went through boxes of old recipes (ones cut from magazines and newspapers or handwritten by family or friends) recently and now have condensed these down to about 1/4. These I plan to put into a binder marked "someday??" And Debbie gave me an idea as to what I can do with all the cards that I want to keep. I plan on trying that. 

Also this week is my oldest son's birthday. He loves rum cakes and I planned to send him one before our Aga went out again. Now I'm down to cooking with the hot plate, toaster oven, and microwave. So until the part comes in, I plan to send him a tin of whiskey balls (another favorite) and Halloween ghost cookies. The whiskey balls don't need to be baked and the ghost cookies should do OK in the toaster oven (I hope).

Oh, we visited a new grocery store (HEB) that opened up in Frisco (about 25 mins away). It's a gorgeous store... so huge and stocked! Only problem is that it was extremely crowded! (We were probably the only ones in the store with masks on - but we didn't care) But I don't like crowds, so we didn't stay long.  I did find my lactose-free evaporated milk that I use in my tea! This has been hard to find anywhere else. Walmart says they have it, but it's never on the shelf.

Also I just saw this posted on Facebook... and thought 'how appropriate' with cold weather coming. We check even in the warmer weather and have found kittens in there many times.

Sunday: 

Two things to mention today... both trivial... but still. One is that I have had 2 jars of lemon curd in my refrigerator since this summer when I made my favorite lemon ice-box pie. I needed some recipes calling for lemon curd. I found one for lemon curd cookies... which are a bit similar to my tea cakes but more like shortbread cookies. Anyway, I made them and they were a big hit with the boys. Here is a pic!

couldn't see the sugar sprinkles on the first pic...

Another thing I did was purchase a new game for Switch. 

my Nintendo Switch

It's called "Dreamlight Village" and it's interesting in that it interacts your avatar with Disney figures in a village. What caught my attention was the graphics which are animated and 3-D... very easy to see and manipulate (in some ways like Animal Crossing). I'm not a game person (don't even play cards), but these are not competitive games, just sort of daily life in a different setting. And they can be creative as you create your life and your environment (to a point). Most digital games tend to be combative... these aren't. 

me in my house in Animal crossing

me in my house in Dreamlight Village

As you can see, the new game is more life-like and less cartoon setting. But I'm just learning it, so not much has been done yet. 

This is probably enough for today. Hope I didn't bore you too badly with my recent activities - nothing too exciting. I will say that the outside cats have been hanging around the back a lot lately... even Olivia with her 2 kittens (one black, one siamese markings - so cute).

I've gotten to be really fond of black cats. Some of ours are so handsome! 

Hugs (virtual),

Rian

It's Sunday evening and I have no idea what I'm going to blog about. I do know that it's almost time to think about supper, so whatever I start now will probably have to be continued tomorrow... 

I've spent the better part of today (and yesterday) organizing files, moving old files, and trying to keep recent ones updated. When someone once said that computers make for less paperwork, they were way off the mark. I can never count on being able to get to something on the computer when needed. The Internet might be down or the WiFi having probs, etc. So almost everything has to be backed up in paper and filed away. And if you say, "but it's backed up in the cloud".... I have to say, I don't understand or trust that either. Such is life in this technological age.

Another thing I've just been working on is all the greeting cards we've gotten and given over the years. I have 3 boxes of cards that are just from each other, our kids, and family & friends. I know most will say just throw them out. I can't! Some have things written on them from family or friends that are now gone. When I read them, I feel like they're still here. Some were written by our kids when very young. It's hard. I know they will be thrown out by someone one day... but it won't be me. Interspersed among the cards are letters and notes - some from my brother or sister before they passed away. They make me laugh... sometimes they make me cry, but they make me 'feel'... and I find that important.  

I guess I've been trying to get rid of so much 'stuff' that has accumulated over the years. Our grandson who lives with us decided to do the same. He found closets full of old clothes that were his when he was much younger and filled 2 large garbage bags with t-shirts, jeans, etc. I called The National Kidney Foundation to come pick them up later this week.

Someone told me that one can also donate old phones. I'm not sure where to do this, but I'm going to check into it. We have all our old phones going back to the iPhone 3. Don't know if anyone wants or can use them as they are 'old' and probably no longer supported... but will check.

                             🙈                       🙉                         🙊

                     See No Evil           Hear No Evil        Speak No Evil

Cute emogi's... (didn't know emogis were even available here)

These are totally unrelated to this thread... just playing!

Now it's Monday!

And here's a meme that probably fits me:

but I'm trying...

 

This morning DH and I walked around the neighborhood. Trying to add to our Vitamin D. It is sunny, but fairly cool this morning. 

Nothing new or blog-worthy has come up, so I'm going to just share a few pics of my granddaughter... since it's her 21st birthday this week.... and I find it hard to believe that so much time has passed.

Home from the hospital

Granddaughter (on right) with college room-mate and Moose

Wishing you all a wonderful week! 

Thanks for visiting...

Hugs (virtual),

Rian

I'm old... I admit it

Things that remind me that I'm old.... there ARE some. Recently DH and I were standing inside a restaurant waiting for a lunch table (and yes! we are finally doing that again... of course we want a booth and not a table, but still it's progress).

Anyway, there was a bench with about 4 people sitting on it and we were only standing there for about 5 minutes when the young couple on the bench stood up and offered it to us. I said, "oh no, that's OK...", but they insisted so I sat. DH didn't. I think he didn't want to look like he needed it. But I felt like I should take it because it was so polite of them to offer. It's a bittersweet feeling... a combination of 'so nice of them to offer' and 'just how old do I look?'

This was just a recent occurrence. I'm sure I could think of others if I put my mind to it. It's not that I don't think I look old... I do. But it's these little reminders that give you a 'heads up'.  

Another is the constant questioning by the medical staff of whether I'm afraid of falling?  It's such a weird question to me. Who isn't afraid of falling? But do I worry about it? No... so far that hasn't been my problem (yet).  I know it is for lots of folks my age... my very good friend is very afraid of falling... and uses a cane or a walker. But again, the question is aimed at old people and they definitely ask me. (Another friend in N.O. who is approaching 80 once told me that a doctor asked her if she 'leaked'? Her answer was "No, I've not had that pleasure yet.")

Then there's the neighbors (good hearted as they are and appreciated) that came by during the pandemic asking if we were alright and did we need them to grocery shop for us. Very appreciated and kind of them, but non-the-less another reminder of our age. 

How about the one done probably unintentionally, but still a bit  demeaning when a man calls me (definitely many years his senior) "young lady". I find this uncomfortable... just an unnecessary  subtle reminder of age.

And lastly when I recently went shopping for an update on my iPhone 6 (which is no longer supported by Apple, won't download some apps, and has to be charged fairly often as it doesn't keep the charge). The young man told and showed me all the available phones - from iPhone 14 (Pro's, Max's, etc.) to the lowly iPhone 11's (which weren't available on display). They all looked alike to me... except some were bigger... and some had more color options .  

He seemed to know that I just wanted a phone that worked to transfer all my info on - especially appointments and reminders. (I do use my phone for everything - except talking - don't talk on the phone much) and that probably this will be my last update. He also seemed to know that I wasn't interested in all the bells and whistles.... like an extra fancy camera and/or beaucoup memory.  Anyway, he recommended the iPhone SE (which is a form of the iPhone 13, but it kept the home button) and that's what I got. So,  was he catering to an old woman? Maybe. But he did it well.

Anyway, I was thinking about this today and decided that I'd share my thoughts. I'll bet many of you have similar experiences that have made you feel your age. Actually, my youngest granddaughter (9) gave me another one just yesterday. She was busy putting You Tube on my new phone - and I asked her if I really needed You Tube on my phone. She answered very matter-of- factly "Of course you do, Grandma".  That showed me!

granddaughter

  

Hugs (virtual),

Rian

Rabbit! Rabbit! White Rabbit! Oct. 1, 2022

Rabbit! Rabbit! White Rabbit!

 Couldn't let this Oct. 1st go by without a Rabbit! Rabbit!

Hugs (virtual),

Rian