EXCURSION TIME!!!!!

The Novak’s are taking an excursion today .. heading for New Haven and Herman, Missouri.  What’s in New Haven and Herman?  Antique Stores .. lots of them!!!  We haven’t done any “treasure hunting” for a good while and decided it was time to get out and see what we could find.  We may not find anything we want or anything we can afford but we enjoy looking .. you never know what you’re going to see in those stores full of things that have been around for years and years and you know that some of them have been used and possibly even loved by somebody .. maybe even several somebodies over  the years!!!  And now my Cereal bowl is empty and my cup of Coffee is almost gone .. it’s time to hit the road!!!  I will be back to let you know how our Antiquing Day went .. and I’m sure I’ll have at least a few pictures to share .. LOL!!!!

This is now the next day .. we didn’t get back home from our excursion until about 4:30 and we were feeling pretty lazy.  I didn’t even get my steps in .. just spend the rest of the day being lazy!!!  Ken and I had a great time yesterday on our little excursion to Herman, we didn’t find a lot of treasures but we did have fun.  I took lots of pictures but I used my regular camera camera instead of my phone camera and sad to say when I took the chip out to download the pics to my laptop I can’t get them to download!!!  I am having all kinds of different problems with my laptop so I shouldn’t be surprised I guess!!!  I. Have some of the vintage glass jars with a wire bale on them holding the glass lid on ..  3 of them do not have lids and one has the lid but the lid has a chip out of it so when we go to Antique stores I am always on the lookout for those glass lids but hey seem impossible to find.  Well .. in the very last store we went in lo and behold .. there on the shelf among the glass jar as were a few glass lids!!!  I was able to get 1 clear one and 2 green ones .. I was thrilled!!!  I really didn’t think I would ever find any of just the lids to buy!!!!  That’s the only treasure I purchased but we saw some neat things we had not seen before!!!  

We’ve got a storm coming in and the skies have gotten dark ..  the trees are blowing back and forth and thunder is rumbling .. a lot of times they tell us the storms are coming and then we don’t get them but it’s looking like we just might get this one!!!!!  

Sad to say it’s looking like I’m not going to get my steps in today either!!!  We didn’t go to the Y this morning but we did go to the Center for lunch and visited with Mike and Gini there.  After we got home I started messing on my computer to fix some of the problems it’s having and driving me bonkers with .. worked and worked and worked but still haven’t managed to get things straightened out.,  I guess I’m going to have to have Jeff, Ken’s daughter Theresa’s husband, see if he can do anything with it.  Ken’s computer needs looked at too.   OH .. thunder is getting louder and we’re getting lightning bolts now!!!  Has now started raining .. Ken’s on the deck checking it out.  Guess I’ll shut this thing down .. don’t trust pecking away on it when it’s storming!!! 

Good niiiiggghhhhttttt!!!!

ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL DAY!!!

 Here I am once again pecking on the keyboard and thinking I SHOULD be down in the basement walking on the treadmill!!!  Promising myself I will go walk when I get finished here.  I have been wondering if I would be able to post on my blogs using my IPAD so I drug the hardly ever used IPAD out of it’s drawer in the desk in the kitchen and here I am and so far all is going well .. Hooray!!!!  The only thing is my cutesie pictures that I might want to post on here are all on the laptop .. if I want to use this often for my blathering I need to start collecting some neat pics on here!!!  

Tuesday and Thursday are Y and Senior Center days .. we stopped going to either one for a couple of months .. got lazy and started sleeping in and slugging around on those days.  Then we decided we would get our lazy butts moving and I would get back to walking and we’d get back to our old ways and start going back to the Y and the Center.  Our “Fit For Life” class at the Y starts at 9:00 so it’s an early start to the day!!  But the class is a good one!!  Our lunch at the Center was Sloppy Joes Sandwiches, Peas & Carrots, and Fruit Salad.  Not bad!!!  

I’m baaaccckkkkk!!  My needing to get my 4 miles in finally got the best of me and I left you and headed for the basement and the treadmill .. I had 2 1/2 miles to go to get my goal .. I got 2 of the miles and read my book while I was walking and decided to get my last 1/2 mile walking up here ... I’m happy to say that wasn’t that hard to accomplish!!!  Sooooooo .. I have my 10,000 plus steps and 4 miles!!!  Happy Happy!!

I have a picture I want to post but can’t seem to do it on here so will have to change to the laptop and see if I can post it from there!!!  Off I go to the computer room!!!!  

AH .. posted at last!!!  This is  my erasable board hanging on the wall by the treadmill .. I keep track of my progress .. or NON progress on this!!!       I think you know what numbers are  the steps and the miles.   the number in the right hand corner of each day is my stair climbs.      The number in read or green  is my weight .. as you can see I bounce back and forth quite a lot!!!    The numbers over to the right are what I weighed at the beginning of each of the months in 2018.  Not getting anywhere in my effort to lose pounds right now!!!  BUT .. I was going through my old papers   and saw that about the middle of June 2017 I got up to   145 … at least  I seem to have lost  a few pounds and kept them off .. so far!!!!         My biggest problem when it comes to weight is SWEETS as I'm sure you all know.       If anyone has tips as to how to ignore sweets let me know!!!!!  

 I found a great pic of the Bread Company Bunch together!!!  

Now let's see .. Front row .. First person on the left is Mel .. Ken .. Carl .. Paul .. Liz .. Pat .. Nancy O .. Jane.  Back row starting on the left .. Gary .. Jerry .. Rich .. Ken's son Steven from Arizona ..  Nancy B ..  Shirley .. Sharon .. Anne Marie .. poor Sylvia is on the end and you can bearly see her .. her grandson Logan is by Jane!!!  Now see if you can get this straight .. LOL!!!  Mel is married to Sharon.  I think you know who Ken is married to .. LOL!!!     Carl is married to Sylvia.  Paul is married to Jane ..  Pat is married to Rich ..  Nancy O is married to Jeff O .. AH OH .. I'm wondering where he was when we took this pic????   Already told you Jane is married to Paul.  Gary is married to Anne Marie.  Jerry B is married to Nancy B .. Rich is married to Pat .. Steven was here visiting alone .. Nancy B .. Jerry B.  Shirley married to Bill but sad to say .. Bill passed away in 2017 and is very much missed by all of us.  Sharon and Mel  Anne Marie and Gary.  Shirley sold her home in St. Louis just a month ago and has moved to The Villages in Florida to be by her daughter so we are missing her too!!!!

  Well,    Ken's got the Cardinals game on in the Living Room and I'm missing it .. time to head for the other room!!!!  Good Night!!!  

MONDAY .. MONDAY!!!!!

      
     
     How nice it is to be retired .. you no longer hate to see Monday come!!!!!  There are a lot of  bad things to grumble about as you are getting  old  but there are an awful lot of good things too!!!!!   The aches and pains of older age are nothing compared to the freedom you have  each day   to just  do  what you want when you want and enjoy the day!!!  Ken and I often talk about what a good life we have  and how thankful we are  to  have lived long enough to get to this life and to have found each other to share it with!!!

     I don't have to feel guilty tonight as I sit here pecking away on my keyboard .. I got my 10,000 steps already.. Woooo Hooooo!!!! I was even good and ate a Salad for Lunch today .. not something I usually do .. LOL!!! Maybe one of these days I'll learn to eat so I'll lose the weight I want to lose!!!   Going back and forth between 137 and 138 right now!!!    Monday is Bread Company Day and  we're back to going to the South County Mall to walk a mile before going across the parking lot to Bread Co.   That is a big help in getting me going!!!  We used to go to the Arnold Rec Center on the way home and walk a mile but we went a couple of weeks ago and they had it so cold  it made my chest and jaw hurt to breathe the air in as we walked.   I think I'd like to start walking another mile at the SC Mall when we leave Bread Co.   Jerry and Nancy  (one of the Bread Co couples) does that.   Actually Jerry walks .. Nancy goes shopping .. LOL!!!  After walking our mile at the mall ..   and walking thru the aisles at Target on the way home and just general walking I only had 1 1/2 miles to walk on the treadmill and I read my latest book while walking!!!   It's great to get my steps in early in the evening because then I can enjoy flopping on the couch watching TV or reading or pecking on my keyboard without the Fitbit nagging at me!!!!!  I always feel so much better about myself when I get those steps in!!!!  

       We found out that  our Bread Company friends who live up around St. Louis … that's pretty well all of them .. got around 3 inches of rain yesterday!!!   Anne Marie said there back yard was flooded with water it had rained so much!!!  Ken said we just had 3/4 inch in our  rain gauge!!!  We got lots of sunshine and   94 degree temp today!!!  

     Earlier I mentioned going to Target on the way home .. I managed to find a 9 X 13 pan  with  a plastic lid to go with it  and grabbed it before anyone else could for it was the  only one among all the baking pans!!!  So  next time I bake something it will be in THAT pan and we'll see how it does!!!  I have a confession to make … There is something else I might have done wrong with my Mayonnaise Cake ..   it takes 1 cup of Water .. and when  I was beating it with the mixer I  was wondering if I had put the cup of Water in because the batter was a little thick!!!  I convinced myself I had put it in .. but again as I was scraping the batter into the pan I wondered because of the thickness of the batter .. I've pretty well convinced myself now that I did NOT put the water in because the Cake is very dry and it is always  very moist .. that's one of the things I love about it!!!  Oh well .. we all knew I wasn't perfect, right?

     We are watching the Cardinals game as I sit here pecking away .. funny .. the nights that there isn't a Cardinals game we are a little bit lost .. LOL!!!  Seventh inning and so far we are ahead .. 7 to 1 .. Wooooo Hooooo!!!!  

     Before I bring this blathering to a close I thought I might dig through my Bread Company Bunch pics and find one to post to introduce you to the Bread Company ladies so when I mention them you  have some idea of what they look like!!!  

This was one Christmas at Nancy and Jeff Olson's house!!   The two in front are Jane and Sylvia.  Second row from left :  Anne Marie, Nancy B, Laverne and Judy.  Santa Claus was a surprise at the gathering and as far as I know nobody ever figured out for sure who he was!!!  Back row left to right:  Sharon, Bev, Nancy O and Me!!!   One of these days I'll get a pic of the guys on here!!!

GRANNY'S GOTTA' BLATHER!!!!

Yep .. this is Raggedy Annie's Granny ..  I felt like doing some blathering  but for some reason  "Blogger" won't open up my Blathering Blog for me so I'm just going to sit here and blather on Annie's Granny's blog!!!   Instead of sitting here on this chair in front of my computer I should be in the basement walking on the treadmill or at least walking with a video or something .. too darned hot right now to be walking outside!!!   Going by what's on Facebook  it's storming and even hailing in Greenup and other areas of Illinois but it's bright and sunny and very hot over here at Sawyers Ridge!!!!  

      You might call me Raggedy Annie's crotchety old Granny because I am very irritated with myself!!!   This is Sunday .. I don't know why but for some reason on Sunday I always feel like I should be fixing a very nice meal  and making a dessert of some kind.  (Mom's fault I think!!)  I don't always do it but I feel like I should.   I did fix a pretty decent lunch .. BBQ Ribs (bought from the store already cooked), Green Beans and Fried Potatoes .. also already cooked on another day and left over so they were in the freezer!!!     Then  this afternoon I decided I would bake a Mayonnaise Cake .. haven't made one for a long time.  I always have memories of Mom when I make a Mayonnaise Cake of course .. plus I was using the slotted spoon that  she always used when stirring things up!!!  Well, I don't know if  it was the glass 9X13 pan I used or my ELECTRIC oven but  the cake was not 1/2 as high as they usually get and  is dry!!!  And on top of that .. I put too much powdered Sugar  in the Brown Sugar Icing I made for it and the Icing was too thick and wouldn't spread out to cover the whole cake!!!  BUT .. that actually turned out for the best because the first thing Ken said when he came in the kitchen and saw me frosting it was .. where's the Chocolate Icing!!!!    Soooooooo … I got out the can of Chocolate Icing we already had and put  Chocolate Icing in the middle .. LOL!!!  

Notice it is not very high .. only about halfway up the pan .. Arrrrggghhhh!!!   It seems like every time I bake something in one of my glass cake pans it does not do well!!!  I've got metal 9 x 13 pans but they don't have a lid .. sooooo .. I am going to be buying one with a lid.  I will use it next time I bake something and see what happens!!!  

AND if you need a chuckle listen to this!!!  We  met out friends Gini and Mike and Marsha at Pogolino's in De Soto yesterday evening for Supper then went to Gini and Mike's to play cards.  I made a Banana Split Pie  to take.   Thank Goodness it turned out better than this cake .. very good and tasty .. too bad I didn't take a picture of it ..     everybody said it was delicious .. I even thought it was!!!   When we were getting ready to leave I was putting the lid back on the pie and then you have to crimp the edges of the foil around it and I was crimping away and ended up dropping the thing and of course it dumped all over the place .. so no delicious goody to bring home!!!  Mike liked the dessert so well he grabbed a spoon and got down on the floor and started gobbling the part that landed back in the pan instead of on the floor .. LOL!!!  You have to know Mike .. that's just the kinda person he is .. LOL!!!   That was the main reason I felt I needed to make a dessert today .. Ken was whining because he didn't get to eat another piece of that delicious Banana Split Pie .. LOL!!   It's the first time we've gotten together to play cards for a long time and we had a great time .. lots of laughs!!!

Oh my goodness .. it's 7:30  and  I have only walked 1 1/2 miles  .. I am trying to walk 4 miles a day .. that's a little over 10,000 steps for me!!!  I did very well at it for a good while then got lazy and stopped even trying and now I'm trying to get back to it again because I felt a lot better when I was doing that.  I have done pretty well this month until this weekend .. I only got a couple of miles yesterday  and as you know 1 1/2 so far today!!!  Too hot and muggy to do it outside so guess I'll do the treadmill.  The good thing about doing the treadmill is that I can read while I walk so that makes it not quite so bad!!!  Soooooo better get off of here and get to it .. don't know if anybody will read this or not but if you do ..  have a Great Night .. or a Great Day .. depending on when you're reading it .. LOL!!!