20 of 365 Living thru Bloggers

I love reading blogs of people I do not know nor will have the opportunity to meet.  I go on the blogspot.com blogs and just click on "Next Blog" to see what it will give me.  It is fascinating to read about how people see life,  and what they write about it.  Some are depressing, some just boring. I enjoy the format of bloggers using poetry to tell their story.  Stories tell of happiness, pleasure and heart break.  I' m trying to pick out things that help me understand people and life. Travel and photography also interest me. 

18 of 365 Friends

Ada and Molly seem to be friends, but it is not always so. If Molly gets too close to Ada' s food, or if Ada
just gets too close to Molly there is batting or hissing.
As RM has posted on her blog I have been here five days nursing her back to health. Maybe not so but at least taking care of dog and cat, buying groceries and cooking.
I would have left this morning but a blizzard changed my plans. Will go tomorrow.

17 of 365 Bernie gets a new home

I have had this lovely pheasant for years. It is time for it to have a new home. My neighbor, R is the new owner. He had named it Bernie. Years ago as G and I were driving along a country road we saw this bird that apparently been hit by a car. Growing up in Minnesota there were pheasants all around. So it brought back memories of my childhood.

16 of 365 Dinner guests

G and I have decided to invite several friends or acquaintance to dinner.  Usually we see these people in a large group  where it is impossible to talk on a personal level. He was in charge of doing the actual inviting.  Somehow he invited people two nights in a row.  I was not happy and complained about it.  Seems it was a good idea.  I only need to clean the house one time and I will be serving the same menu.  They, of course, will not know it.  Only G and I will be having a repeat menu.  In addition to that, the casserole (chicken, rice, peas, carrots and cheese) can be made a day or two ahead.  I will make the dessert ahead which is a bunt cake with blueberries, banana, pineapple and pecans.

.

15 of 365 Taxes done

Until about three years ago I did our taxes myself.  Well I did use software such as turbotax.  I followed their instructions as best I could.  Then we had some investments where there was depreciation and some other things.  A CPA we were working with found mistakes I had made and it cost to have a revised form submitted to the IRS. We are no longer a client of this CPA so I was back to filing the taxes myself.  I figured it would take me many hours to do it, and then it probably  would be not be correct again.   So after spending 45 minutes with an agency here that does taxes, it is done.  I think I told G six times how happy and relieved I was.   (Just a note about my posts.  I am writing them for myself as well as sharing my life with others.  I know talk about taxes is that exciting. )

14 of 365 Memories

On Saturday we celebrated the 75th birthday of a friend.  For my gift I made copies of  pictures that brought back memories of things we had done together.  I will share just two.

When RM was moving to Md to start her grad work, she had rented a basement apartment and needed her belongings.  We rented this 20 foot truck because she was bringing a motorcycle. This size was also the smallest size where three people could legally ride in the cab.  My friend, M, myself, RM and a cat (in a pillow case) made the journey together.  M commented that I always called things an adventure.

M and her husband E rode their motorcycle with G and I around Lake Michigan.  On the way we stopped in Kankakee, Ill to visit friends.  It just so happened that they were hosting a "murder mystery " party. We had not brought appropriate attire so we  went to the nearest thrift store where we found just what we needed.   Obviously the theme was of Roman times. 

13 of 365 One hand only

When a friend broke her right arm she suggested I try using my non-dominate arm as she was doing.  When I polish my nails I find they turn out much better if I do one hand, let it dry completely and then do the other. Today I recalled what my friend had suggested and took the challenge to try it. 

To open the cheese package I tried using the scissor.   Hopefully they make a left handed  scissors as I had to use a knife holding it against the counter top. Next was cutting the cheese then putting it in a plastic bag and closing it with a twist tie. That was not easy either.

I wanted to take a photo of the hand I was not using. Holding it against my body I could not look thru the view finder. So I just took several until I got one that worked.  Then removing the memory card and putting it in computer,  and downloading it so I could post it here. Finally typing this is frustrating in that I need to look at the keyboard for all the letters I would normally type with my right hand.

I have seen people who have had strokes using only one hand. They have my admiration for the things they do. Like traveling  alone by air. 

Day 12 of 365 A white surprise

In the past winters the rabbits have eaten these Burning Bushes to the ground.  This year the wire around them has saved them.  

Eight hours after taking these pictures, the snow has melted from the branches.  

Since we had rain several days before this snow, the ground is saturated.  There are flood warnings near creeks and rivers.  Several roads near us are closed do to water flowing over them.  G drove up to one to have a look.  Fortunately he didn't try to check how deep it actually was!

Our basement  has stayed dry, for which we are grateful .

Day 11 of 365 - Marshall

In 1940, Thurgood Marshall is a NAACP lawyer travelling the country defending people of color who are wrongly accused of crimes because of racial prejudice. This movie is about one of the first cases of his career.  Besides the drama of the movie, it shows our country's treatment of black people back then.  We saw this movie, Marshall at our local Center for Older Adults.  They show  thought provoking movies once a month or so.  The cost is a donation for a root beer float.

G and I saw a one man play called Thurgood a few years ago. In this play the actor, as Thurgood was telling his own story.  Both were good history lessons for me.