tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83898661557304915522024-03-15T21:09:09.637-04:00Confessions of a Grandma"A grandma is just an antique little girl"...unknownOlgahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00692441479616299920noreply@blogger.comBlogger1831125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8389866155730491552.post-17628806414254297732024-01-28T16:25:00.000-05:002024-01-28T16:25:04.165-05:00Walking I have always been a walker. Now that I have a high energy dog there is no excuse for not getting out there. And the weather is not an interfering factor here. Early morning and early evening are our preferred times so even when it gets hot we should be okay.We can get quite a long walk going around the neighborhood, greeting neighbors out working in their yards or walking their own dogs. Olgahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00692441479616299920noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8389866155730491552.post-85285518356585655612024-01-12T11:22:00.000-05:002024-01-12T11:22:17.510-05:00New Furniture We went shopping for a new couch. I liked this one, the first store we went to. Of course it would be an impulse to buy the first one so we trekked around to other stores -- something we liked more, a better deal?No surprise that we ended up going back to that first store the next day and purchasing that couch for our living room.Also a matching love seat for the den where we watch TV. Olgahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00692441479616299920noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8389866155730491552.post-36591273821831151842023-12-27T09:10:00.000-05:002023-12-27T09:10:48.531-05:00Luminaria I went for a walk on Sunday afternoon and noticed there was a pile of white paper bags in the driveway at the end of our street. I mentioned to Don that our neighbors were going to line their drive with luminaria. He'd never seen that done before -- thought it was something made up for the movies!It turns out, at dusk, the couple lined the whole street with the bags and put tealights in Olgahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00692441479616299920noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8389866155730491552.post-33464657876294473842023-12-24T09:18:00.004-05:002023-12-24T09:18:41.231-05:00Naughty or Nice? No matter where your name falls on the list. Happy Christmas.Olgahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00692441479616299920noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8389866155730491552.post-87151058000421347902023-12-19T16:15:00.002-05:002023-12-19T16:15:37.214-05:00Cookies The UU church I attend in Florida had a cookie decorating/carol singing gathering this past weekend.I made some sugar cookies on Saturday morning. I don't remember if I blogged about making cookies last Christmas. Don had asked me to make some Christmas cookies so I made the cookies I associate with the season -- rugelach and Scottish shortbread. Don was startled since he meant sugar Olgahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00692441479616299920noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8389866155730491552.post-29392718738809650042023-12-14T18:01:00.000-05:002023-12-14T18:01:08.936-05:00Ready for Christmas I found Christmas decorations. I have downsized each year for a few years now. I have some candles in the windows and a few other touches around the house.I do have some Santas, but angels are a theme as well.A gift from my niece.A gift from my friend, Donna.I made paper cut trees a few years ago.I found this fungus on a forest walk and turned it into an angel.I bought this in a craft shop Olgahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00692441479616299920noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8389866155730491552.post-58950494256318835312023-12-09T08:14:00.003-05:002023-12-09T08:14:55.811-05:00Levi Our puppy turned one in October. He is such a sweet boy -- playful, super friendly, affectionate. My friends and family were all flabbergasted that I got a dog. It was Don's idea and he thought Absolutely Not would make a fine name but he named him Levi after his paternal grandfather.I've lived with dogs before, but they were never "my" dog. Levi is definitely my dog.People constantly stop Olgahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00692441479616299920noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8389866155730491552.post-11393516738976133222023-12-05T09:31:00.002-05:002023-12-06T07:15:25.908-05:00Foggy MorningMonday morning fogdid not deter the pickle ball players.Who knew that sandhill cranes were fans?But here they are watching from the sidelines. Olgahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00692441479616299920noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8389866155730491552.post-35288657860577239752023-11-27T06:35:00.001-05:002023-11-27T06:35:08.469-05:00My Thanksgiving Thanksgiving here in my house was very quiet. It was a beautiful day and Levi and I had a great long walk. I made myself a bowl of popcorn and watched an old movie -- Death of a Salesman with Dustin Hoffman and a young looking John Malkovich.I had made the traditional dinner ten days before because it's one of Don's favorites. He has been having a great deal of pain and had an infected Olgahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00692441479616299920noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8389866155730491552.post-74787653268719920062023-11-22T19:44:00.001-05:002023-11-22T19:44:28.164-05:00Thanksgiving Greeting “We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.” &Olgahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00692441479616299920noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8389866155730491552.post-27579190978005167082023-11-06T08:05:00.000-05:002023-11-06T08:05:28.559-05:00New House Slowly, slowly, we are getting settled in our new home in Florida. We are getting rid of some of the old furniture that I had down here and replacing with new. Don is still trying to find homes for all his stuff -- tools and collectibles and books galore so the boxes are not disappearing as quickly as I would like, but progress is being made.There is yard work to do and a few fix-ups to Olgahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00692441479616299920noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8389866155730491552.post-73065674524860805022023-10-09T11:49:00.001-04:002023-10-09T11:49:10.851-04:00Updates On September 29, I had the closing on my condo. Everything that was not going to the buyers was out and packed in the ABF moving truck which had by the been taken over to the storage units. Don thought it would take him until Wednesday to finish packing the truck with the help of his son. It took him until late Thursday with Chris' help and mine. Kevin was supposed to help load as well but Olgahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00692441479616299920noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8389866155730491552.post-91223505189439538042023-09-24T17:17:00.002-04:002023-09-24T17:17:27.931-04:00Busyhttps://www.agdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/bg-honeybees_pollinator-003.jpg I am just a busy bee these days.The ABF (load it yourself and they drive) arrived and we are loading it up over the weekend. Then it will go to Don's storage unit and be loaded some more.I had already packed quite a bit but there is still what we need to carry on a bit of normal life -- cooking, cleaning, Olgahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00692441479616299920noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8389866155730491552.post-78482362045434139092023-09-17T19:28:00.000-04:002023-09-17T19:28:00.582-04:00Texas Falls My brother holds a gathering at his home every year about this time. It was yesterday and it was a great time with family -- even a cousin who drove all the way from Rochester, NY -- but that's not what this post is about.My brother's place is at the edge of a National Forest area which includes Texas Falls. Dane said he had never been there before. Amy said she had never been there either Olgahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00692441479616299920noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8389866155730491552.post-62750052045213749432023-09-11T08:58:00.000-04:002023-09-11T08:58:09.840-04:00A Break from Packing and Planning Saturday morning I woke up unable to settle into the idea of packing/cleaning. I decided to take a trip to "surprise" my daughter and grandkids. Levi and I packed up some travel supplies and headed out in the car. They live about 70 miles south of us, takes about 90 minutes.Everyone was still asleep when we got there! They are all night owls/second shift workers. Dane, of course, is a Olgahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00692441479616299920noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8389866155730491552.post-60723371311739231112023-09-04T09:16:00.002-04:002023-09-04T09:16:44.137-04:00Let the fun begin . . . I have just in the past week or so started seeing those first tinges of changing leaves. It seems late because I used to be aware of the beginning changes in early to mid August -- a sure sign of a new school year beginning. Maybe I am finally just not that tuned in to the school calendars anymore.Other fun is ahead, though. My condo is under contract and if all goes well, we will be Olgahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00692441479616299920noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8389866155730491552.post-21275782004455098822023-08-24T10:55:00.001-04:002023-08-24T10:55:33.633-04:00Medical CareLate last December, Don started experiencing severe pain in his leg (thigh) and in his lower back. When it happened that he tried to stand and ended up falling to the floor, barely missing hitting his head on the corner of a marble table top we made a trip to the Sarasota hospital emergency room. He was there for six hours, had an Xray on his back, never actually saw a doctor but was give five Olgahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00692441479616299920noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8389866155730491552.post-35164736138720535812023-08-21T17:03:00.001-04:002023-08-21T17:03:17.186-04:00Puppy LoveLevi is still a puppy at ten months old, but he is almost full grown at 40 pounds.Saturday night our next door neighbor had some company and one of the guys had this tiny bulldog puppy. I'll bet it didn't weigh more than five pounds, if that, and it was 7 weeks old.Don caught sight of it in the yard and had to go out to see and that meant Levi was going to follow.The two dogs sniffed at each Olgahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00692441479616299920noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8389866155730491552.post-66656692996317016232023-08-14T14:24:00.000-04:002023-08-14T14:24:06.109-04:00Walking in the Rain My sister and I went to the pie social fundraiser for the Rokeby Museum. A beautiful sunny Sunday when we left, a sudden deluge before we even got five miles from home. Nevertheless, we kept on going and the rain stopped shortly after we arrived. We had our pieces of pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream each and listened to some folk musicians who were able to set up. We Olgahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00692441479616299920noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8389866155730491552.post-14123181702402930202023-08-07T08:02:00.000-04:002023-08-07T08:02:00.244-04:00Summer DoldrumsThis has been a strange summer with a definite lack of summertime fun. My grandchildren are off on various travels. The rains fall almost daily here. The packing up to get ready to sell the condo is poking along. Don has been experiencing some medical problems -- a lifetime of working in various construction trades catching up with his knees, back, feet. Then there was the whole thing Olgahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00692441479616299920noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8389866155730491552.post-40315508352762298642023-07-25T08:47:00.000-04:002023-07-25T08:47:23.436-04:00Rest In Peace In a summer that has been so wet, Sunday was a reprieve. The humidity dropped and the sun came out. It was a day that could have been special ordered by the family of a friend's husband. It was the day they had arranged his celebration of life ceremony set on the shore of Lake Champlain.I was not looking forward to the gathering, even couched as a celebration. This is a family fraught with Olgahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00692441479616299920noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8389866155730491552.post-15168523779206378612023-07-11T19:20:00.002-04:002023-07-11T19:20:25.071-04:00Green and WET Vermont has made the news -- a disaster area from flooding. Of course there are localized areas that are just devasted with rivers overflowing flood stage and dams threatening to fail. Hundreds have been evacuated to higher ground.The news might give the impression that the entire state is under water. It has been rainy and I wish we could share with the places that need it so much.Mother Olgahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00692441479616299920noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8389866155730491552.post-30249834143568934102023-07-06T10:31:00.001-04:002023-07-06T10:31:16.482-04:00Green Mountain StateAlong a local walking path two weeks ago. It's rained almost every day since -- showers more than persistent downpour. I expect today's walk will pass lush green vistas. We stopped here a week ago -- a spot of sun between a quick shower and a brief downpour. We used to camp here, a favorite spot.Red clover, VT state flowerOlgahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00692441479616299920noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8389866155730491552.post-64070482973121069012023-06-26T13:45:00.002-04:002023-06-26T13:45:27.943-04:00Bedside Table Reading Don gave me some books for my birthday. Lanais are common in Florida but the origin is Hawaiian.The author is best known for her cookbooks. She had a newspaper column for a number of years. She also writes children stories and weaves the history and culture of Hawaii into her writings.I call this bedside table reading because it is interesting without being so captivating that it keeps me Olgahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00692441479616299920noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8389866155730491552.post-49611346460535112712023-06-18T10:11:00.000-04:002023-06-18T10:11:14.296-04:00I Dream of a Simpler Time A better timeA time without passwordsOr UsernamesI have all these situations happen -- so not even funny!Does anyone really believe technology has made life easier?Olgahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00692441479616299920noreply@blogger.com7