Norm Thoughts and Contemplations
*names have been changed to protect the innocent...*
Updated 3/26/24
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March 2, 2024 -
I finished the Lord of the Rings books.
Barely...my eyes fell out twice. Smile.
Today when I had breakfast with my boys,
they suggested audio books. I shall look in
to that. I enjoy the Tolkien books, but
Peter Jackson did bump it up a notch in the
movies! Made it more exciting as it were.
I just changed the water filter upstairs and
I am always afraid it will leak, if you
don't get it just right - it will. However,
when I left it, it was not leaking. The O
ring was changed last month. When I was
reading the directions on the filters, it
says to change the O ring every third
filter! This made me laugh, because I'm
pretty sure my husband only changed it once
a year if even that... Yesterday would have
been our 44th wedding anniversary had he
lived. I was a bit down, I must say.
I made a lovely Italian sausage soup the
other night. I could TASTE IT! Yay! I got
the idea from my BFF who described how she
made hers. It was kind of like a fancy
potato soup. I gave some to my neighbor
Justin, who said it was awesome. I have had
it every night since I made it and I will be
finishing it up tonight, and I didn't mind a
bit. I put in a hot pepper flakes which I
liked. I was making it in my new soup pot
and with my new knives. I only cut myself
six times. (Pretty good, I thought, since
I've never had a really decent set of SHARP
knives. Only one stab needed a band aid,
really...) Wow - a sharp knife makes a
difference in the 'chore' of chopping!! I
will have to practice my knife skill,
avoiding damaging my hands. It did look like
a feral cat got a hold of my left hand there
for a day or so...
Off I go to finish up the soup. Have a
wonderful weekend! Seize the day!
March 17, 2024
- I am sitting here eating a plate of heated
up scalloped potatoes. Yesterday afternoon I
wanted 'real food' and spent an half hour on
line searching for a place that would
deliver 'real food' but there was nothing
around here. I finally told myself, "Get off
your fat ass and MAKE SOMETHING." I had all
the fixing for scalloped potatoes, so I made
a dish of those. Taters, ham, onions, cheese
- it turned out very good. I can even TASTE
it! I thoroughly enjoyed that supper last
night and there was enough to share with my
neighbor and my sister in law, PLUS still
have two dinners out of it! I am getting
better with my new knives and only cut
myself once this time!!
Hahahaha.
I had breakfast with my boys on Saturday and
my sister in law came for lunch today.
Wednesday is the second anniversary of my
husband's passing, so I am meeting two
friends for supper (they are also widows)
and we will 'toast the ghosts' as it were.
On Tuesday I have my six month cancer check
up. It's been five years I hope they tell me
I only have to go once a year now, but we'll
see. Next weekend my daughter and son in law
and my grandson come for a visit. I hope to
have the whole herd here for a visit. My
daughter called and had a video visit with
me and Irving and I did so enjoy that.
Irving actually seems to try to talk to you.
He has the cutest faces in the world. (I'm
not just saying that because he's my
grandson - her really DOES have such cute
faces.) He is growing like crazy and you can
tell he has more and more control over his
arms. I bet he rolls over soon...
The other day it was 73 degrees here and
sunny and beautiful. (Mind you, it is 30
degrees today and snowing...I have come to
accept this in Michigan now. Mother Nature
is bipolar.) When it was so nice out, I sat
outside letting Norman meander and pee on
things that needed peeing on apparently, and
just sat there enjoying the turkey buzzards.
They were high over head just riding the
updrafts. They always look like they do this
for fun - not just to search for road kill.
They seem to ENJOY this so much -no wing
beating needed - just riding the 'waves' as
it were. Such a huge wingspan! It is
peaceful to sit there and admire their
agility in the sky. Kudos to them for
enjoying life.
I GOT MYSELF A KINDLE! I have to say it is
marvelous. You can make the
print as large as you want and it's takes the
strain off my poor old eyeballs. I've been
reading like crazy. I always loved reading - now
I can do it again with little eye strain!!! Yay!
My BFF has used a Kindle for a long time as well
as my neighbor Sue. I am glad I finally broke
down and ordered this. I could kick myself for
not doing it sooner. The thought of audio books
didn't make me happy, so I had to find another
way to read. Viva Technology.
I am off to do dishes and READ SOME MORE!! YAY!!
It's the little things...Have a good week!
March 26,
2024 -
Burrrrrrr. It has
dropped almost 10
degrees throughout the
day and the wind is
gusting. We got a
barrage of showers
earlier. March showers
bring March mud.
Norman wanted to go
out a bit ago, so I
took him. He chased he
ball for me a few
times but he was ready
to come in. He isn't
sure about the
wind...that kind of
wind normally
indicates thunder
boomers and he was not
taking any chances.
The kids came for the
weekend. I got to
spend Saturday with my
grandson. What a
marvelous time. It is
good for a grandma's
soul. He rolled over
on his own for the
first time, but you
could tell he had no
clue how that happened
or how to correct it.
He seems shocked -
"HELP, WHAT JUST
HAPPENED!!" I blew
bubbles for him and he
was amazed and stared
at them with wonder.
He 'talked' to me and
he has the cutest
smiles. He was also
out of his normal
pattern so when it was
time to sleep, HE JUST
CONKED OUT - BAM.
Hahahaha. Poor little
dude. My daughter said
he slept a lot on
Sunday and Monday -
catching up and
getting back in the
groove. They switched
him to a bed 'sack'
instead of swaddling
him since he had
rolled over and all.
So far I've not heard
if he's tried rolling
again or not. I think
the look on his face
after he rolled was
the same look I had on
my face after my first
roller coaster - AIN'T
DOIN' THAT AGAIN EVER!
I really wish I could
post pictures of my
grandson, he's so
damned cute - but I
respect their attempt
to keep him off social
media. However, it
kills me I can't share
with the world. Smile.
To me it feels like
time is going faster
since the whole
'spring forward'
thing. Sigh. Time goes
faster as you get
older anyway - but
this time change has
thrown me for a loop.
One of my coworkers is
leaving me (yes, I
take it as a personal
thing....) so we'll
have a department
lunch for him on
Thursday and have a
beer Friday night
after work. He's a gem
and I will miss him
horribly, but he is
young and can shape
his own future and I
wish him well. It just
makes me sad, though.
There were 20+ crows
out back in the trees
yesterday. They were
having a meeting or a
funeral or something.
I researched it and
crows will gather to
look for mates and/or
share information.
They are smart birds.
They are also loud
birds. I wish I
understood bird calls.
I bet there were some
very interesting
conversations.
I made salsa last
Friday and have been
eating it every night
for supper ever since.
I gave a lot to my
neighbor Justin since
he came over to fix my
toilet. (He ended up
having to make two
trips to the hardware
store to fix it so it
would work again.)
Tonight I will finally
finish it off. I think
homemade fresh salsa
has to be one of the
best and healthiest
things for you except
when you eat it every
night for five nights.
Sunday I will have
Easter dinner here for
my sister in law and
my sons. She has
surgery next week, so
I figured she could
use a decent meal. She
thinks she is coming
to have a sandwich. I
will surprise her! The
boys are not ones to
turn down a real meal
- so they will eat
anything I produce.
Smile. My oldest
couldn't be here this
last weekend - he was
stuck in Omaha. Being
a semi driver can suck
sometimes, especially
with the winds today.
I hope he does OK. (I
am glad he was not
Baltimore when the
bridge went down...)
Normally when there is
an incident where
semis were involved,
he will send me a text
to tell me "that's not
me" which I do so
appreciate.
Apparently Norman is
hungry for supper
since he just
slobbered my keyboard
and zoomed in the
screen - so off I go
to feed the beast!
Stay warm!