***The Senior WW Challenge*** - THURSDAY 12/28

My birthday was very nice. We weren’t able to get the tickets for tonight’s Bradley game as the Bradley ticket office and the civic center ticket office were both closed. But the Bradley ticket office will be open today so we will get there right when they open and hopefully can get them good seats even if they aren’t near us.

Mike had brought a game with them called Outsmarted that took us the whole afternoon to play and then we went to longhorn steakhouse for dinner and Mike wanted me to get the filet and lobster tail combo so I did and it was so good! I had a sweet potato and salad with it. I wasn’t able to get through the salad but did eat the filet and lobster and sweet potato. I had a little steak left that I had Fred finish and he agreed it was really good. They then brought out a sundae as my birthday treat but I just could not eat any of it as I was so full so they passed it around and everyone ate it. Then we came home and Fred had bought a small birthday cake which was just big enough for all of us to have a small piece and have maybe one piece left. Debbie was amazed as we’ve never had that happen so I think Fred finally gets it that a cake is nice but we don’t need anything really big.

After that we played one more game and by then we were all so tired we could hardly stay awake so Jim and Debbie left and we all were in bed by 10:30. Of course I was up by 3:45! Jim and Debbie did not get a hotel room as he has to work today and it’s a further drive for him from here so they drove back home and Debbie will come back today and Jim will meet us at the game tonight. Then tomorrow Mike and his family head home and Debbie and Jim will head to Indiana to see his Dad and stepmom and have New Year’s with them and Fred and I will relax and even though it’s been great we’re both ready to be on our own again.

Mike was so sweet as he reminded us that when we feel we can’t handle staying in our house any longer (which we don’t anticipate ever happening) they have the addition that was added to their house for Cindy’s Dad and they would be so happy to have us move there. I thanked him as you never know what the future holds. But again I don’t anticipate anything like that happening anytime soon.

Good morning. Possible snow today, but less than an inch.

I have another UTI so put a message to the Dr office. Hopefully they’ll take a sample and write a script. I was doing well not to have one since spring.

Jane your piano player reminded me of Joanne Castle on the Lawrence Well show.

Joan I trust you’ll be home soon. Be safe.

Ruth what a dilemma with your key fob. It’s always something it seems.

Wordle 922 3/6

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Christmas Day Kallie got a gerbil that repeats what you say. Someone said something and the gerbil repeated it. Kallie laughed, the gerbil laughed and Kallie laughed harder and we were all laughing. Tears.  Laughter is indeed contagious.

I’ve already heard back from my Dr and will be headed to the lab to give a sample.

Funny cat story.  Yesterday her squeaky mouse ended up in her water dish.  She was very upset and ran to us meowing.   I fished it out and dried it off.  This morning I hear her playing with it again.  Soon the squeak stopped.  I went to check.  The mouse was perched on the edge of the water dish and she slowly pushed it in.   So I took it and she was unhappy.  Now she’s content to watch the birds at the feeder.

Greetings:

I'm putting the lentil salad here, now, because by tomorrow ... who knows?

Bill doesn't like walnuts so we don't have walnut balsamic vinegar. However, We have a couple I thought would be good. Fig and then the aged vinegar which is good on anything. I figure it would make old shoe leather tasty.  DDIL had walnuts so I crushed a few and set in a separate cup for add-ons. The only greens at the store were collard greens, chopped, so I just cut away the ribs. The lentils cooked up nicely and they really hold their shape well. I can see this a year-round dish. I'd picked this recipe because I had the package of black lentils that I hadn't used, and I was conscious of making a dish for the Vegan family. They liked it, too.  The vegan feta was nice on top. I see this recipe stretching many ways based on what you have.

www.healthyseasonalrecipes.com/mediterranean-black-lentil-salad/ 

No snow last night, but it's 19* this morning. Should warm up to the mid-40s. I plan to walk to exercise and Mah Jongg today. I walked yesterday. Most sidewalks are clear, but the houses with lots of front trees have spotty walks. I understand. That's like ours although in our case it's the house!

Bill walked home from poker yesterday. It was brave of him because two houses haven't removed the light snow, but he has sturdy boots and wants to remain independent as possible. I will be so glad when it's lighter in the evenings! My inability to drive at night really limits us. 

AOTD: Describe the last time you laughed so hard you cried.  Actually, not that long ago. It was something on TV and it just struck me as so funny I started laughing and tears fell. I wish I could remember what it was! Maybe it will drift back through my mind. I find that happens a lot if I want to remember something and nothing comes, that sometimes it drifts on in later. I will see. But I like that. I believe that laughing is good for the entire body.

I admire my insurance company for doing new things. I don't know if they are at the forefront of what they do or if they are bringing up the rear, but they are bringing new information to people. I signed up for that webinar on Meditation yesterday. I'm always looking to be sure there isn't something new or different out there that has just popped up. They had nearly 4,000 people on the call. I'd say there was interest, but the speaker spoke fast, and because she was trying to say Mindfulness Meditation it came out as Mindless Meditation. I sent a question asking her to just slow down. She was slurring other words, but she was just off and running. It was good information and I'd have appreciated some references to share. I guess that's just in my mind.

Good morning all!

Glad it was a great birthday, Sandy. So nice that your son has offered you a place to stay and that you don’t need it.

Ruth, it’s gloomy and rainy here, too. It will rain all day but it’s in the high 40’s so can’t complain. Reading sounds like a plan but I promised myself that I would swim today.

Sharon, your kitty sounds so fun and mischievous. That Gerbil sounds hilarious.

Geri, how nice that Joe is cooking for all. It’s nice that you have a break though I know you enjoy cooking.

Laughing, the littles laughs are so infectious. When I visited BF in CA over Thanksgiving we were laughing so hard as we looked back on many fun times growing up.

Happy Thursday to all!

Marlo

All right, Sharon. I am NOT suggesting anything about your bathroom. However. A friend of mine here who was having trouble with her cleaning lady, not actually cleaning the house thoroughly, had a few UTI's. Coincidentally she fired the cleaning lady and cleaned a few times herself. She discovered a pink slime under the toilet rim, looked it up and discovered a possible source of the UTI's. Then thoroughly scrubbed the bathroom.

liveaco.com/pink-mold/

She since has had no UTI's and hired a new cleaning lady. Actually, mine went to work for her, too. Anyway, this might be something to closely check out.

Sun is shining! 

Cinnamon rolls are about gone. I made a caramel sauce for baked apples. Quite good. I'm trying to be sneaky here. Bill loves desserts. I've made a few over the holidays. I want to try some low sugar ones so he's getting used to fruit desserts. I hope I can find a few fruit recipes that meet my needs and that he'll like them. When I've just made recipes from that book he hasn't wanted to try them. Makes no sense to me. 

Sharon, I love the cat story.

DGS-10 is getting a hamster. I said, really? because they aren't wild about animals in the house over there. But he's worn them down asking. They aren't up to a dog, but willing to give a hamster a try. I'd rather have a dog than a hamster, but if I said that they'd expect us to get a dog!

Good afternoon!

Wordle 922 2/6

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We had some sunshine yesterday but that's gone now and so is our 50 degree temps. We're in the high 30s today and we might get some snow overnight and into tomorrow morning.

Sharon, I hope you're feeling better soon. Look into getting some cranberry tablets. Since I've been taking them, I haven't had a single UTI.

Jane, I watched the videos you posted yesterday. I remember him and hearing about it when he passed away on that cruise ship. He certainly had a God given talent for playing the piano. Thanks for sharing the links to the videos.

AOTD: It's been awhile since I've laughed so hard that I've cried. It was probably over something funny in a movie I was watching. Laughing is so good for the soul and I always enjoy a good laugh.