Five Fall Faves

It's Friday and time to post a "Fave Five" reflection.  It seems like my week flew by but without a lot of dramatic things to write about so I thought I'd tell you about five things I really enjoy about the Fall season which is creeping into our area.

1.  With the colder temperatures, we can start sleeping with more covers on at night.  Now, this isn't our bedroom but since we were speaking of "covers", I thought you might enjoy seeing the type of "cover" that my family in Asia has to sleep under to protect them against mosquitoe bites.  This is their current apartment in a poor neighborhood in a big city over there.  Bringing things back to Pennsylvania, I've always felt "uncomfortable" sleeping without any bedcovers.  It's the same feeling that I get if I have to ride in a car without a seatbelt (which is hardly ever, thank goodness).  It just doesn't feel right.  I like to snuggle under covers.  Now that it is colder, I can burrow under a sheet and blanket to my heart's content.

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2.  The colder weather moving in gives me more incentive to get going on my knitting.  Here's a pic of the latest project I just finished.  It's called the "Wrap Me Up" Shawl designed by Chris de Longpre.  It's a long rectangular shawl composed of quite a few different blocks in various stitch patterns.  I did this shawl in Noro Cash Island accented with two different Noro solid colored yarns and a bit of Cascade 220 yarn here and there.  I still have to block it but I really like how it came out.  Quite a unique look.  Now I'm starting on some Christmas gift knitting.

Photo courtesy of Photos8.com

3.  Fall brings a riot of colorful "mums" to our area.  We have a small Farmers Market near our house that always has a great display of colorful mums and pumpkins set up this time of year.  I'll try to get a picture of them to put in the blog sometime soon but in the meantime, you'll just have to envision yards and nurseries filled with these great Fall plants.

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Photo courtesy of Photos8.com

4.  Apple cider is beginning to make its appearance once again.  On a cold night, I love to sip a mug of hot apple cider.  I have a great recipe that I got from a Navy friend years ago for "Old English Grog" that is wonderful, non-alcoholic, and makes your home smell terrific. I thought I'd share it with you:
Cloves
4 oranges
1 quart orange juice
1 quart apple cider
1/3 c. lemon juice
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
3 sticks cinnamon

Stuff the oranges with 12 cloves each and then bake them for 15 minutes in an oven at 350 degrees.  Mix the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil on your stovetop.  Prick the oranges and add to the pot.  Let the grog simmer for a few minutes and serve warm.  Enjoy!

5.  It's the time for many of my favorite TV shows to come back from their summer hiatus.  I always hate it when I'm left with a cliffhanger and then have to wait months before I find out what happens next.  Thank goodness some of my shows are starting back up this week and next and some new shows are being introduced that sound promising.  That's when I do the bulk of my knitting.

If you'd like to write about your own Friday's Fave Five, visit Susanne's blog at Living to Tell the Story.  She hosts us each Friday and it's a great way to reflect back over your past week or to focus on the week to come.

On Bug Patrol

Photo from Baltimore Sun (Jerry Jackson)

They're coming soon, if they haven't already made it to your place.  I'm talking about the Asian Stink Bugs.  Ugh!  A recent newspaper article reported that we could expect to see them in record numbers invading our homes.  So far, there is no known predator to take them out.  The best they could suggest we do was to vacuum them up and release them outdoors.  Some help, huh?

I've run across these little "cuties" before.  Let me just go on the record to say that I hate them.  They are ugly, they fly, and they tend to land on you indiscriminately no matter how loudly you shriek.  They also release a pungent odor if you crush them.  I'm not really sure how to describe the smell.  It's not really a horrible smell.....more like a cross between pine needles and disinfectant but once you've smelled it, you know to start looking for a carcass when you smell that smell.

I have NO intention of vacuuming them up.  I plan to zap them!  Yes sir, I have my handy dandy bug zapper racket in hand and I'm ready to do battle with those things, should I come across one.  It's "swat" and "stir fry" for them.  Now my hubby is much more lenient.  He tries to gather them up in a tissue and flush them down the toilet.  Personally, I'd rather not take a chance on them crawling back out of the loo as I'm sitting on the throne doing my Yahtzee game.

So we'll see how the old zapper does with these critters this fall.  My daughter reports that these bugs are all over her house down in Maryland.  So far (knock on wood) we've been pretty lucky and I've not seen more than a few in the area.  However the article did say that the peak times of infestation would be in October-December.  Double Ugh!  So, until then, it's racket at the ready, Freddie!

From the Frying Pan Into the Fire

At my diet group meeting yesterday, our instructor read an article from a local paper about obesity.  We discovered that the Hanover/York area (just south of where I live in Pennsylvania) ranks 4th in the country for having the most obese people.  Sheesh!  It's so bad that the EMS folks have had to change their rules to increase the number of technicians that they have to now have on a call so they have enough to lift the injured person without putting the technicians at risk from trying to lift a heavy "object."    Their EMS techs were getting too many back injuries from hoisting heavies.  Hospitals and ambulances are having to order wider and stronger reinforced gurneys.  Oh, my!

It didn't really surprise us all that much to find out that our area ranks pretty high up there for obese people.  After all, Hanover is one of the snack capitals of the U.S.  They have potato chip manufacturing and pretzel making down to a fine art.  And if you are at all familiar with Pennsylvania Dutch cooking, you know that it elevates one major food group - Carbohydrates!

Our instructor went on to read the rest of the "Top Ten" area in the country for obesity.  It didn't surprise me at all that Montgomery, Alabama was at or near the top of the list.  We were quite surprised that two areas in California made No. 2 and No. 3.  But my heart kind of sank when I discovered that Flint, Michigan came in at No. 5.  Oh, my!  I grew up in the Flint, Michigan area...spending my school months each year in that area but my summers on the farm in Minnesota.

It's no wonder that I seem to be on a perpetual struggle with my weight.  I went from the fifth most obese area in the country to the fourth most obese area in the country.  Personally, I think it is just one more good reason to move to Texas.  Yup, that just made so much sense to me as I was munching on my donut this morning over a cup of coffee.  Ah, sugar!  The inspiration in my DNA!

I Need a Viewing Secretary

I've been a delinquent girl lately.....delinquent in the fact that I haven't been blogging like I usually do. I'm blaming it on two things - books and DVDs.  I've discovered the joys of getting an entire TV season on DVD and going on a viewing marathon.  Yup, I finished up the entire (and ONLY) season of "Moonlight", worked my way through the first two seasons of "True Blood", got caught up on both seasons of "Vampire Diaries," (What can I say? I was raised on "Dark Shadows.) viewed Season 1 of "Being Human"  and the Commander and I are trying to start with Season 1 and work our way up to today with "Eureka."  I also have 3 other series sitting in my cupboard waiting to be viewed.

In addition to those, I have been enjoying reading on my Kindle and flew through an entire series by one author (9 books) in a week and a half.  Now I know I've shared with y'all that I'm a tad obsessive-compulsive and NEVER do anything just halfway so the only thing that stopped me on that reading binge is that I now have to wait for that particular author to write another book.  Humph!  Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on one's viewpoint) I have plenty more books to read.

And NOW, oh my......I sat down with the new TV Guide which has been full, just absolutely FULL, I tell you, of ravings about all the new shows coming out and the returns of all the old favorites and I tried to make up a list of ones that we plan to watch.  OK, here is what I came up with:

Dancing with the Stars - Mondays at 8
Castle - Mondays at 10
Hawaii 5-0 - Mondays at 10
Glee - Tuesdays at 8
NCIS - Tuesdays at 8
NCIS Los Angeles - Tuesdays at 9
Survivor - Wednesdays at 8
Vampire Diaries - Thursdays at 8
Mentalist - Thursdays at 10
The Good Guys - Fridays at 9
Eureka - Fridays at 9
Human Target - Fridays at 8
Being Human - Saturdays at 9
Amazing Race - Sundays at 8

Houston, we have a problem!  Thank goodness for FiOS and the fact that we can record 2 different shows while we watch another, I think.  Oy!

On the plus side, I AM getting a lot of knitting done when I watch TV.  This is the Dana Hurt square for my Great American Aran Afghan.  There are some boo-boos in it but that's ok.  It wouldn't be "me" without a few quirks.

Can't sign off without a pic of our little granddaughter, Mika, who is now pulling herself up and standing, according to our #1 son.  She also has two teeth.  Wow!  Can't wait to see her again.

Look Who Dropped in on Labor Day!

It's Labor Day here in the States and our little family overseas gave us a surprise call this morning (10 p.m. their time) via Skype.  The connection wasn't the best, hence the poor quality of the pictures but I'll take these over NO pictures any day.  It was so great to see the three of them.  Hasn't little Mika grown?

Even though it was late at night for them, everyone was in a good mood, including the baby and we had a fine chat.

Mika is now pulling herself up to stand on anything that will support her weight and this new-found sense of empowerment has given her a new case of the "wiggles."

"Who, me, Nana?  I'm not a wiggle-worm."

                                     

"Look, Mika!  It's Nana and PawPaw there on the little computer screen.  Can you wave at them?"

  "No, no....Mommy!  Let me go.  I have places to go and things to get into."

                                          

"Here, Mika.  Why don't you get up close and blow a kiss at Nana and PawPaw?"

            

"OK, Daddy.  It's your turn to entertain me."

"You are such an AWESOME daddy!"

"Ack, Mommy!  Where did my eyes go?"

 

"Ooh, these come off and I think I can make them into a toy."

"Or maybe I'll just eat them for a bedtime snack because it looks like Skype is shutting down.  Bye, Nana and PawPaw!"

Walking on the Wild Side

It's time for Friday's Fave Five already.  This week's five center around several things that are "walking on the wild side" for me.  Comparatively speaking, they are probably pretty tame for most people but a definite departure for me.  Then I've thrown in a few totally "tame" items, too.  Shall we begin?

1.  I started my course of the oral Typhoid Vaccine.  I have to take a total of four pills - one every other day and so far everything is going well.  I'm not experiencing any side effects that I can identify.  My doctor indicated that the "shot" version can sometimes have some nasty side effects so I'm more than happy to give this new version a try.  Once I'm done with these, I just have one more Hep. B shot to get plus my flu shots and then I'm good to go for my trip to Asia.  The rest of my shot series won't be due until I return.

2.  I purchased a "stylin' jacket for the fall.  Maybe it's the blonde hair or maybe it's the fact that I'm losing the weight, but I just feel like stepping outside of my normal comfort zone with clothes and trying some new styles. 

3.  To go along with the jacket, I had to get some motorcycle boots.  These Harley Davidson boots are incredibly comfortable.  Believe me, my feet are not easy to fit at all and I always go for comfort.  I was really pleasantly surprised at how good they feel on my feet.  Having zippers on both sides of the boot make it so easy to put them on, too.

4.  I went down another size in pants and splurged with some black denim jeans.  For years, I've just worn pull-on elastic waist knit slacks.  It's only been recently that I've started feeling svelte enough to wear normal pants again.  I decided..."what the hay?" and went for broke, purchasing black denim AND going for the straight leg pants style, too.

5.  Finally, my Kindle 3 arrived.  This set off a chain reaction.  I was able to pass on my Kindle 2 to the Commander and pack away our original Kindle (which the Commander HAD been using) for Jason and Laura.  I'll take it to them when I leave in December.   This new Kindle is smaller and lighter and holds an incredible 3500 books. 

If you'd like to join me in writing about your week, visit Susanne's blog at Living to Tell the Story and read how you can become a Fave Fiver yourself.

Triple A - I Love You!

It was supposed to be a quick trip to the local yarn shop to pick up some more skeins of yarn to finish my shawl.  That part went smoothly.  On my way out of town (and on to my next stop), I had stopped for a red light and as I pulled away, I heard a BAD noise coming from the area of my tires.  I know enough that I knew it didn't sound like I should keep driving.  Luckily, there was a little strip mall close by the intersection so I pulled into that parking lot.

I hopped out of the car as soon as I had parked and sure enough, one of my tires was flat as a pancake.  Ugh!  How did that happen?  Luckily, we have AAA Plus and have had this service for years.  Believe me, it more than pays for itself in times like this.  I first called the Commander.  Not real sure what I hoped to accomplish by doing that except to get a little sympathy.  He told me to call AAA.  I hung up on him.  So I called AAA and they said they could get a service truck out there within 45 minutes.

It was at least 92 degrees outside and not a cloud in sight.  Luckily there was a nice BBQ place in that little mall so I nipped inside for a quick bite of lunch and some A/C while I waited.  But lunch only lasts so long so soon I was outside again in the sweltering heat trying to wind my yarn into balls when the Commander pulled up.  Guess he decided he'd better come over and give me a hug as a sign of solidarity.  I DIDN'T hang up on him this time and I definitely appreciated the gesture.  Soon the service guy showed up and he didn't waste any time changing my tire.

Both he and the Commander looked at the tire but couldn't see any sign of damage.   However, I drove on my spare over to the tire shop and dropped off my flat for them to inspect and hopefully repair.  Then I drove myself on home.  Now I'm trying to cool off.  Winding wool in 90 degree temps in full sun will do that to a person.  I'm sure the mechanic is hotter than I am, though.  Thank goodness he did the tire-changing.  I would still be out there reading the manual, if it had been up to me.

Curious As a Cat Monday

I stumbled across a nice little blog "meme" today that is called "Curious as a Cat" and features three different questions that you can choose from to answer in a blog post OR one picture that you can "show and tell" about, either saying what you think it is or what memory it brings to mind.  Well, I'm a sucker for fun activities and this one looked like fun.

Pug, my little Himalayan cat who has since passed over the Rainbow Bridge, seemed like a good pic to illustrate this  writing exercise so there he is, on the left.    In the meantime, I've just endured 2 hours of Fresca, the Wonder Dog growling and barking in my computer room as the air conditioning technician did a tune-up on our air conditioning for the season so I'm ready for some peace and quiet.  I also have the Commander at home today, first for the A/C guy's visit and then later for a doctor's appointment that he has and frankly, he's driving me nuts.  He keeps on poking his head in the computer room.  I'm not used to having someone at home during a weekday.  It feels intrusive.  I like my privacy.  Goodness, whatever will I do when he retires?   But on to our "Show and Tell" photo:

When I first looked at this picture, I thought of chicken cages.  But after I looked at it for a few minutes, it reminded me of a World War II Army barracks filled with beds and THAT brought back a pretty vivid memory of my Army accommodations at my first Service School attended after my initial Basic Training.

It was back in the early 1970's in Ft. Polk, LA and I'd been sent there for Clerk-Typist school, which violated the agreement of my contract for Air Traffic Controller School which is how I ended up at Ft. Benjamin Harrison in the Defense Information School for Broadcasting, but that's a story for another day.  Back to Ft. Polk.....

It was mid-winter and I was assigned to an old wooden WWII barracks with an open sleeping bay filled with beds.  There was a meningitis outbreak going on while I was there so because our beds were in long rows and close together, we had to take certain precautions.  Every person alternated the direction that they slept.  In other words, if I slept with my head on the headboard end of the bed then the next girl had to sleep with her head at the footboard end of the bed and on it went down the line.  In addition, we had to rig up sneeze guards.  We did this by taking our sleeping bag covers and tying them from the top of the bedpost where our head was located and then angling them down to the bottom of the bedpost where our feet were (at mattress level) and tying them off there.  That way, if I should happen to sneeze while lying on my side, presumably any germs would go into the sneeze guard and not into the face (or feet) of the person in the bed next to me.  It was quite a sight to see.

The other memory of that barracks that I have is that it was incredibly cold.  The barracks were supposed to have been torn down but they were still being used and they were very drafty.  I don't think the heat was turned on although it was January.  If it WAS turned on, it wasn't working very well.  I would go to sleep at night fully dressed and wearing my fatigue jacket.  Some nights, I'd even have my gloves and a watch cap on, I'd be so cold.  I was never so glad to get out of a place, even if it meant heading to Indiana in winter.  At least I had heat at my next barracks.

If you'd like to participate in the Curious as a Cat meme, head over here and read all about it.

And Away We Go!

Time for another Friday's Fave Five week in review.  I'm rather late today in getting mine up on the blog so I'll try to be brief.

1.  I finished my crocheted prayer shawl.    I don't know who this is going to yet but I'm sure that God has just the right person in mind to receive it.  I just have to keep my eyes and ears open to find out who that is.

 2.  I received THREE of my fiber club shipments this week.  They include my first shipment from Southern Cross Fibre, a gorgeous offering from Bee Mice Elf,  and another great fiber from Spunky Eclectic.  Can't wait to spin these up.

3.  Our daughter and son-in-law came up this past weekend with their dog for a visit.  We had fun dogsitting while they visited Cabelas' sale and then we all went out to eat (well, the dog had to stay home with Fresca, the Wonder Dog).

4.  Mika's package arrived in Indonesia.  This means she has new books to enjoy plus a new stuffed toy.  But poor little Eyore was gutted by the Customs folks before the package was delivered.  I guess they wanted to make sure I wasn't trying to smuggle any drugs inside him.  At least they partially stitched him back together before putting him back in the box.  Looks like he's none the worse for wear and Mika is enjoying him quite a bit.

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5.  Last, but not least, I have my tickets now for my trip to visit Jason, Laura, and Mika.  I'll be flying via Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific Airlines, which just happens to be one of the top 5 rated airlines in the world.  I'm looking forward to enjoying their hospitality.

What are your five highlights for the week?  Head over to Susanne's blog at Living to Tell the Story and join in our Fave Five fun.

A Parallel Universe?

Last weekend our daughter and her husband were up visiting.  While they were here, they made a side trip to visit my mom.  When they returned, I asked Laura how the visit went with her grandmother.

"It was fine," she replied.  "We had a nice visit."

"Did she recognize you?" I asked.

"Sure," she answered.  "And she remembered Jason, too."

So when I went to visit with Mom this week I said, "Mom, I hear you had some company over the weekend."

Her face lit up.  "Sure did," she said.  "Norma Fay came to visit."

Now Norma Fay is my mom's cousin and Norma is probably in her early 80's.

"She did?" I said.  "Are you sure it wasn't Laura?"

Mom thought for a minute.  "No, " she said.  "It was Norma Fay."

I decided to go with the flow.  "Well did she happen to say anything about her brother, Rome?  I haven't heard from him in awhile," I asked Mom.

"No, I don't believe she did," Mom replied.

Well, I had to chuckle about this when I got home and relayed it to the Commander.  To think that our Laura was mistaken for my mom's cousin.  I joked with Laura that maybe she should invest in some new skin cream.

So now, two days later I went to visit Mom again.  I asked her if she had any news.  She said, "Well, I had some company this past weekend."

"Oh," I said.  "Was it Norma Fay?"

She looked at me like I was nuts.  "No," she said.  "It was Laura."

Oh boy!  Sometimes I feel like I've fallen down the rabbit hole or gone through the looking glass and entered a parallel universe.  I'm never too sure what the facts are going to be on any given day with Mom.  One thing's for sure though.  She keeps me on my toes.

Bowling with Baby

On our last Skype visit with our son and daughter-in-law, I discovered a new sport quite by accident.  I think I'll call it "Baby Bowling." 

1.  First you need to get a baby walker - one of those contraptions that are on wheels and are powered by the baby's leg movements.    Put the baby in it and familiarize the baby with the walker controls, such as the steering wheel.

2.  Set up some intriguing targets at the other end of the room.  You may arrange these in the typical bowling pin "V" shape if you prefer or just bunch several items together.

3.  Point the baby and walker in the direction of the targets and make sure that you have his/her attention before you give the "Go" command.

4.  To make the game more exciting, you can assign points to the different "targets" and give extra points for target retrieval.

5.  Depending upon the attractiveness of the targets you have set up, the baby may become distracted by a target after it has been retrieved or knocked over and you may have to resort to more aggressive measures to get the baby to return to you, such as calling their name or waving baby biscuits at them.

6.  Eventually the baby should come back to you (extra points if they actually give you a target that they've picked up) and you are ready to reset the targets and send the next baby in walker down the lane.

Happy Bowling!

The Count - It Is A'Rising!

Just had to share the good news that our daughter-in-law, Laura was released from the hospital  today.  Her blood platelet count started to rise yesterday from 60 up to 83 and today it shot up to 128.  Hooray!  The doctors had told her that if she had two days of consecutive rising platelet count results, then they could release her after this bout with Dengue Fever.    Praise the Lord!

Now Laura, Jason, and little Mika have gone to the apartment used by the team for rest and rejuvenation and retreat so she can rest and recuperate and start to get her strength back before they head back to their place in the slums.

I did want to show you something that I've never seen before but it's got to be one of the neatest inventions.  Jason showed it to me on our last Skype visit.  He asked me what I thought it was and I guessed a tennis racket.  Well, no!  Turns out it is some type of electronic mosquito zapper.  You turn on a little switch and then wave it around and if it comes into contact with a mosquito, it fries it.  The hospital staff had noticed a mosquito in their hospital room so they brought in the "zapper" for Jason to have handy.  You see, if that mosquito should happen to bite Laura who has Dengue and then have gotten out into other hospital rooms, it could have bitten other patients and possibly transmitted Dengue Fever to those patients.  So they wanted the mosquito dead.

Not to be bloodthirsty, but I've got to get one of those.  In fact, I just ordered one for myself from Amazon.  Here's a link to the one I ordered.  My son-in-law said they were selling zappers at Cabelas when they were over there yesterday, too.