7 Things I Learned This Week (updated)

1)  A man in the Netherlands built this replica of Noah's Ark which was on display there for several years and actually plans to sail it around the world and use it to tell stories of God's love.  I would love to go into it.  (See video on previous post.)

2)  Unfortunately our doctor passed away.  We've had him so long, I forgot how I even found him in the first place.  I liked him because he was funny and also, thanks to his quick action, got me to a surgeon who was able to remove my breast cancer back in 2009.  It's not so easy finding a doctor but after several calls I finally got one!

3)  When I went in our basement, I noticed a piece of the interlocking molding in the corner fell down.  I tried to snap it back into place, so far, so good.

4)  After trying to add Tracfone minutes using the phone several times without success (kept getting message that I should "try again later"), I went to the website and only needing the PIN for adding the minutes and the telephone number, had success after just one try!

5)  I didn't know adult coloring existed until I saw this post on Facebook:

6)  My bus is off schedule coming home - have to wait almost an hour for it going home.  It's very frustrating!  I wonder if I just miss one and if I left a few minutes earlier I'd make that.  Bus driver said traffic is all backed up because a main street is down to just one lane.  Who knows how long that will be?

7)  I was surprised to hear on the news this morning that Lyft is planning to test drive the first driverless taxi within the year!  Wow, this reminds me of a book I recently read about five teens being transported 30 years into the future in Future Shock by Elizabeth Briggs.

I'd love to hear about things you learned this week and which of these are most interesting to you!

Share this:

10 Friday Fragments: Things That Made Me Happy

Things To Look Forward To

1)  I am looking forward to baseball starting again--go tribe!  In the meantime March Madness will soon be here which is always fun to watch and I look forward to beating my husband with my bracket. The winner gets to choose where we go to eat--his choice he says would be Kenny Kings, my choice will probably be Cracker Barrel.

2)  So glad to see sunshine and warmer temperatures!  Snow, be gone! Bring on Spring! Did you notice I changed our header?

My Pets

Spunky on Computer Chair With Me

3)  Spunky Doodle hung out with me at the computer this week.  She hasn't really done that in awhile.  I always take time out to pet her when she does though.  Pets are wonderful!  They always make me smile. I've noticed that since Gerard is home all day, Abby comes and greets me at the door when I get home from work with her tail waving.

Taking Care of Business

4)  Glad our taxes are done and now we just wait for our refund which will go into savings to pay vet bills.  Manny Boy's dental is coming up and Abby's shots on the 25th.  Oh yeah, and need to get more Revolution for our pets too!  There goes our refund or just about.

Serving the King of Kings and Lord of Lords

5)  I love hearing how much kids like our Sunday School class.  I teach 5th graders and the one boy who missed because his parents slept in was so bummed because he didn't get the paper with verses to read each day.  His mom sent me a message asking for them!  I have been encouraging them to try to read their Bible every day and jot down what scripture they read an if something stands out to them to share.  One girl has done this every day for 5 weeks!  Still some haven't yet started, but I am not giving up.  Daily Bible reading is important if you are a Christian who wants to stay close to God.  Do you read the Bible every day?

Time to Chill Out and Relax

6)  Discovered a new TV shows we both like:  "Secrets and Lies" and "Football Tykes."  Anyone else watch these?

Reading Good Books

7)  Gerard and I read "American Sniper" and liked the book.  Maybe we'll go see the movie sometime.  Have you seen the movie?  Our favorite read for February was The Honest Truth by new children's author, Dan Gemeinhart.  It's about a boy who has Cancer and runs away to climb Mount Ranier to keep a promise he made to his grandfather when he died.  Only his best friend figured out where he was but struggles with if she should tell or not. I even learned how to write haiku poems from reading this book!

8)  Glad we got our car clock set--who knew we had to have the radio on to do it!  It was bugging me that I couldn't get it reset.

Finding Fun Things

9)  Found this St. Patrick's Day treat over at Divine Lifestyle:  Mint Oreo Cookies! I found this blog when I visited it after seeing the google anayltics on My Funny Dad, Harry blog showing she visited me.

Inspiration from New Memories

10)  I am so excited to be posting again on MY FUNNY DAD, HARRY blog.  I am trying to post two or three times a week there and would love for you to visit and subscribe.  I am also pleased that there's been some renewed interest in my book.  Thanks to all who have read it and written good reviews for it.  If you are on Goodreads, I'd appreciate it if you would add it to your shelf and perhaps recommend it.

Finally got some Friday Fragments for Mrs. 4444 the host at Half-Past Kissin' Time.

Share this:

What We've Been Up To This Week - Friday Fragments

Friday Fragments is hosted by Half Past Kissin' Time for bloggers to post a list of short things on their minds that aren't really enough for a whole post.

Reading

First of all, at the end of the year we always review the lists of the books we've read and choose our favorites.  We post these over at our book blog (Grab a Book From Our Stack).  We had 18 books that we both loved this past your and listed them for you with links to our reviews.  

Cracker Barrel

We enjoyed several meals at Cracker Barrel recently and when I washed my hands in the restroom, the water wouldn't come on. It was those automatic faucets where you just put your hands under them and the water is supposed to come out. People next to me had theirs working so I tried that sink and it didn't like me. I finally asked a girl next to me how she got that to work and she showed me the sensors and said I had to have my hands lower across from them. So then it worked when I lowered my hands--felt stupid but at least now I know.

Abby's Leg

I am pleased to report that Abby's leg seems very close to normal now after being at the full dosage of Metacam for a week and a few days.

Unique Shirt

My husband found the perfect t-shirt for me for Christmas and I love it! He was right that I never would have guessed what it was. I will be wearing this to our Children's Worker Breakfast at church coming soon.

Laughter

Two things cracked me up recently: First was when my husband started putting on MY black pants by accident, thinking they were his. I had them laid out on the bed and he picked them up and started putting them on!

The other funny thing was when we were walking the dog, Gerard said maybe the Browns would put in "Thigpen" but I heard it as "Pigpen" and busted up laughing, thinking of the dirty Charlie Brown character.

Sports

Of course, we've been cheering for the Browns, Patriots, Bruins and Ohio State. I am pleased with the Browns season because they did better than expected, only had one really bad game, and Hoyer is not hurt. They really need to get rid of those all brown uniforms they sometimes wear that they NEVER play well in! Unfortunately, when they lost their center, that's when the running game fell apart and consequently, led to their downfall. I never realized how important the center position was until this season.

Patriots still find ways to win and Brady is just a real quality guy, both on and off the field. I'd love to see the Bengals and the Patriots in the Super Bowl with the Patriots winning.

Don't know what happened to the Bruins; Gerard thinks they are getting old.

And finally, our Ohio State Buckeyes came through last night against Alabama. What an exciting come-from-behind win! GO BUCKS!

When channel surfing, I discovered a sport I never knew of before--red bull bike racing in Colorado.  These guys are dare devils and amazing with how they can ride these bikes down mountain trails the go straight down with tight turns and drop offs.  This blew me away.  

Share this:

Friday Fragments

Friday Fragments is hosted by Half Past Kissin' Time for bloggers to post a list of short things on their minds that aren't really enough for a whole post. It's been quite a week so I have more than usual this week:

Politics

I am not big on politics so really got a kick out of the list about politics and politicians at Comedy Plus this week! Check it out for a laugh--it's so true!

4-Day Work Week

This was Gerard's first 4-day work week and what a productive day he had on Wednesday, his day off! See our Thankful Thursday post for details.

Dog License

The dog license renewals are supposed to go out in December but we never got ours so I finally called about it. Got the application and will get it in the mail tomorrow.

Returns

I got an offer in the mail for a small Heat Surge heater and thought I would be able to use it in our bedroom during the night. When I read the instructions though, it said it gets hot and you should not leave it unattended. If we are sleeping, we are not attentive so I called and made arrangements to return it for a full refund ($139).

NCAA Basketball

Sad, both our favorite teams lost in the first round, Ohio State and Duke! Duke's upset was even more unexpected than Ohio State's. Ohio State only lost by 1 point, so close. My only consolation is that others in our pool probably picked them too, but I had Duke going all the way to the final 4--very bad.

Pet Update

Abby finally got groomed this week and her fur is really soft again. Spunky Doodle's been sleeping next me through the whole night lately. Manny Boy will be going to the vet Monday to get his teeth cleaned. I'm told it is necessary to clean the tarter off and they can also get it from under the gums too which prevents disease. Do you get your cat's teeth cleaned?

Divergent

We are looking forward to seeing the movie "Divergent" on Monday when we are off. It takes both of us to get Manny Boy into the cat carrier!

Re-Decorating

After seeing episodes of "Sell This House" a desire is growing in me to do some painting and re-decorating in our house. The only reason I hesitate is that we have so much furniture to move that it is very difficult. That's why we still have our brown carpeting that is over 16 years old. It's still the carpet that was in the house when we first bought it!  There are a lot of things I'd like to change.

Books

We both read and liked The Deepest Secret by Carla Buckley. Share this:

4 Friday Fragments: TV, Exercise, Dog, Question

Friday Fragments is hosted by Half Past Kissin' Time for bloggers to post a list of short things on their minds that aren't really enough for a whole post. I have a few this week:

TV Day

When I was home sick on Monday I had a TV day with my cat and discovered an interesting show I never saw before:  "Sell This House." 

Exercise

I learned this week that there are even treadmills for dogs. Check out Amazing Girl Gets Shelter Dogs Moving to see a doggie treadmill.  I am so tired of waiting for warmer weather to go walking that I started walking around all of our 8 floors before work to get a half your walk in.  Not too many are there when I arrive so I can even sprint down some of the hallways! 

Houdini Dog

I put a jacket on Abby, our dog, when the temperature is below 20, but this week, she managed to get it off while on her walk. I have no idea how she did that because I had it under her harness!  She came back with the harness in place but no jacket. Guess she decided it wasn't necessary.

Which Fish?

For Sunday School this week, our lesson is on Jesus saying He is the "Bread of Life" after feeding the crowd of over 5,000 with just 5 loaves and 2 fish. Since the boys like to eat, I thought I'd bring some bread and fish. Should I bring tuna or sardines? I'm thinking the sardines look more like the fish the boy had.  UPDATED 3/9:  I used some rolls and sardines.  Half the boys actually liked sardines and ate them!  I only had six there when we split up the food among us.  Caleb said, "You should teach at my school because you have such creative ideas and there would be more kids." 



Share this:

6 Friday Fragments (Kindle, TV, Moon, Life, Brain)

Friday Fragments is hosted by Half Past Kissin' Time for bloggers to post a list of short things on their minds that aren't really enough for a whole post. I have a few this week:

Big News

Over at the Conscious Cat I learned about the Kitten Bowl that will be shown Feb. 2 on the Hallmark Channel. I am definitely going to watch this! It is part of Hallmark's pet project to help get more shelter cats adopted. We will be rooting for the Tabby Lions (Manny's favorite) and the Home and Family Felines (Spunky Doodle's favorite). There will be 70 kittens in this event!

Wi Fi Spot

Last week I was excited to discover that practically right across from where I work is a wi-fi spot where I can get my Kindle updated! I found it when the one farther down the street wasn't working one morning so I decided to give the other Arcade a try that is on the south side of Euclid Avenue and it worked!

Moon Names

I just learned last week that the full moons of the months have names! I posted about it earlier this week: Bus Stop Chit Chat Can Be Informative.

One More Hall Made a Difference

Last week at the nursing home, we were ready to leave but the lady that walks around with us wanted to show us the hummingbird puzzle she finished. Abby and Gerard stayed up by the nurses station but I went down the other hall with her and near the end of the hall we saw a woman lying on the floor calling for help. Good thing we went down that way! I went back to the nurses station told them about her falling and they came right away.

Brain Games

I got two DVDs of BRAIN GAMES by National Geographic for Christmas and really found them very interesting about how our brains work. I am very excited to find that this is an actual TV show and a new season is just beginning on the National Geographic Channel. Fascinating stuff!

 

 

Brain Exercises

I gave in and re-subscribed to Lumosity.com for individualized brain training--just 15 minutes a day for just $5 per month. I decided to use some of my Christmas gift money on this because it does help sharpen up my brain and some of the games are actually fun! I also like seeing how I compare with other age groups. I compare well with my own age group but very low to the 30 yr. olds. I do way better than the teen group which made me feel good. Check it out at lumosity.com. I think you can even play some of the games to try it without paying anything. It keeps track of your history so you are challenged to try to beat your previous high scores. Share this:

Friday Fragments (life, books, commercial)

Friday Fragments is hosted by Half Past Kissin' Time for bloggers to post a list of short things on their minds that aren't really enough for a whole post. I have a few this week:

Mailboxes

The two mailboxes closest to our home that we walked to when having something to mail are now gone. I wonder, are they soon going to be a thing of the past too?

Christian Fiction Author

I found a great new author by taking advantage of a free Kindle book offer on Amazon: Angels Watching Over Me by Michael Phillips. I loved this book (click the link to read my review). It's about a slave girl and a daughter of a plantation owner during the Civil War era who become friends. Turns out, Michael Phillips wrote a LOT of books. I already loaded the sequel to this one and ordered the third in the series from Paperback Swap. There are four in this particular series and I plan to read them all!

Commercial

It's time to vote for your favorite Doritoes Super Bowl commercial. I voted for the Kid Cowboy one with the big dog because I thought it was funny! Time to go to work, maybe I'll add more later. Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work I go!
Share this:

6 Things I Learned This Week

Friday Fragments is hosted by Half Past Kissin' Time for bloggers to post a list of short things on their minds that aren't really enough for a whole post. I have a few this week:

Bones

I was shocked when I read ". . . Women who spend more than nine hours a day sitting down are 50% more likely to fracture a hip than women who sit for six hours or less in the course of one day."  (See Changes for my Bone Health that I posted this week).

Countries

From playing my "Around the World" game, I learned that Spain has a king and chocolate originated in Mexico.

Conservation Lunch

When I went to a conservation lunch yesterday, I learned that:
1 - gardeners should use native plants to the area;
2 - Butterflies don't produce caterpillars on just any plants, only certain plants will do because certain caterpillars can only survive on certain ones that they can tell with their feet (didn't even realize butterflies had feet). For monarch butterflies, it has to be milkweed;
3 - raccoons will eat pretty much anything, including turtle egg;
4 - earthworms in our area leave a chemical in the soil that keeps plants from growing and different species live in different layers of soil;

Pioneers

When reading Words From a Fearless Heart by Laura Ingalls Wilder, I learned that back in the pioneer days they thought sugar was nutritious for you and necessary for children's growth.

Forgetting

I got a couple DVDs for Christmas by National Geographic called Brain Games that are fascinating. I will be doing a post one these but for now just wanted to share one tidbit about short term memory. Our short-term memory is good for about 20 seconds before we start forgetting if we do not connect the new data to something we know.

Screwdriver

Screwdrivers can hurt you just by using them! When I was trying to screw in some wood screws to put my new lectern together, it actually tore some skin from the middle of my palm. I did a post about this: I thought It Would Be Easy!

Check out our book giveaway for Holding onto your Faith even when God Doesn't Make Sense by James Dobson. 
Share this:

Christmas Friday Fragments

Friday Fragments is hosted by Half Past Kissin' Time for bloggers to post a list of short things on their minds that aren't really enough for a whole post. I have a few this week:

Christmas

One of my new toys.

•  We attended a beautiful Christmas Eve service at Parma Heights Baptist Church with traditional carols, candle lighting and only an hour long.  I really enjoy the traditional Christmas carols and it seems we hear them less and less.  I was surprised to find out some of the fifth grade boys never heard of "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear."
• We had a very good Christmas with both of us getting lots of nice things from the other. We both love to shop for each other (even though I am hard to buy for) so opened gifts throughout the day. 
• I was very pleased with myself that I was actually able to assemble the reading lamp I bought for Gerard!  If I had known I would have to assemble it, I probably would not have bought it.
•  Christmas morning, after opening a few presents, we went to the West Creek park with Abby.  Even though it was pretty cold, we dressed warm and enjoyed walking in the peace and quiet, with a thin covering of snow all around--good thing I wore my boots.  It looks very different in the winter!
• Along with some very attractive and comfortable clothes, we also got some cool "toys" and gadgets which I will share about in separate upcoming posts.
• Our cats had a disappointing Christmas this year--no tree, no special food (because Spunky has a very sensitive stomach) and no cat nip.  We did get them the Meow cat toy that is battery operated with the little thing that spins around under a plastic crinkly cover for $20, but neither of them thought much of it so I returned it.  Our cats just like the simple pleasures of bags, boxes, string, ping pong balls and other household items.  
• Abby got special treats though so she was quite happy!



After about 2 min, I'm done

• We watched a couple cute Christmas movies, finished up our ongoing checker game which ended in a draw, and enjoyed a relaxing day with our pets getting some reading in.
• The day before we got our new garage door opener and now have keys to disengage it in case of a power failure--I can actually open it by hand very easily now!

Trying to get my treats out of the tiny bag.

Share this:

Friday Fragments (Pictures, help, banking, frozen, books)

Friday Fragments is hosted by Half Past Kissin' Time for bloggers to post a list of short things on their minds that aren't really enough for a whole post. I have a few this week:

Hi dad!

Abby With Santa

Abby visits her vet (the one that saved her life after being attacked) almost every day on her walk and they all enjoy petting her, giving her treats, teaching her new tricks and even photographing her. This week, one of the receptionists took her picture by their CHRISTMAS tree and emailed them to us.

Please give me the treat now.

This is the one I am using as my screen saver at work.  She is very still here because she is waiting for the treat she is expecting to get soon.  They are so nice to us there and they all love Abby! 

Banking

I went to the bank this week to deposit my bonus check. I fill out the deposit slips, a small portion into my checking, with the rest cast back which I put into my savings. I look at my checking balance which said I had a negative $1.46 available in checking (due to the hold placed on the check).  Good thing I noticed! This is so crazy, to make a deposit and not have anything available in checking because it was a big check? Good thing I went at lunch instead of on my break because the teller went to lunch and I had to get that hold switched to my savings instead.

Frozen

It got so cold that our garbage can lid was frozen closed! There was a layer of ice all around the lid so I finally went out and used the handle of one of our small summer clippers to chip it off.

Help!

Work got crazy this week with the pressure of sending out company "holiday" cards. (I hate that term, but that's what they were--no mention of Christmas anywhere!) Fortunately, when I put out a call for help because I could see there was not way I could get them out on time, five other secretaries came to help me out. What a relief I felt when I saw how fast it was going with their assistance. Look around, is there anyone you could help with something?

Books

Dark Justice by Brandilyn Collins (a Christian fiction suspense novelist) was one we both liked about mothers and daughters who accidentally come across a flash drive that makes them a target for terrorists. See our review.

And, for the "holidays" I read a thought provoking book about the war for Christmas by Sarah Palin called Good Tidings and Great Joy--Protecting the Heart of Christmas that I can't get out of my head.



Share this:

5 Friday Fragments (time, health, aging, life)

Friday Fragments is hosted by Half Past Kissin' Time for bloggers to post a list of short things on their minds that aren't really enough for a whole post to give Mrs. 4444 a break for the summer. Here we go:

Daylight Savings Time

When I googled "When do we set our clocks back in 2013?" I discovered that Arizona and Hawaii do not change their clocks for daylight savings time. I thought that was strange.

No Ballot

Gerard and I both requested ballots to vote by mail. I got mine but he never got his;wonder what's up with that. Fortunately everything he was going to vote for passed.

Department of Aging

I got my Golden Buckeye card this week even though I don't turn 60 until next month. (It's a discount card for 60+ people in Ohio).  My hubby wants to get me something special for my birthday, but I can't think of anything I want other than just a fun day with him.  I do not need more clothes, or an iphone or anything else.  You know you are old when you are hard to buy for. 

Yellow Flags

When we got home from work yesterday, there were little yellow flags in our yard and some of our neighbors yards apparently showing where the gas lines were. Don't know why they are there though.

Prayer Request

I don't usually ask others to pray for me, but I am struggling with a health issue, actually a treatment option for my osteoporosis. I'd like prayer that God would reverse the weakness in my bones and completely restore my health and strong bones before my next bone density test on Nov. 21. Getting two shots a year of Prolia is what my doctor recommends. Going that route seems to be relying on my own wisdom and not on God, plus it has some bad side affects. I experienced bad side affects of other bone strengthening medication before and do not want to go through that again.

Share this:

Friday Fragments--Frazzled (life, Purim)

Friday Fragments is hosted by Half Past Kissin' Time for bloggers to post a list of short things on their minds that aren't really enough for a whole post to give Mrs. 4444 a break for the summer. Here we go:

Frazzled

I'm feeling somewhat frazzled, busy week and not much time to blog. It seems there is so little free time to blog. Our weekends have been busy with things going on and normal stuff we need to do. We got our cell phone replaced, but also got an extra one which we had to return. I'm hoping we will get a credit for the shipping cost, but I won't be surprised if we don't.

Sunday: I let the kids draw on the whiteboard to illustrate the lesson as I taught about Elijah being fed by ravens and the widow sharing her last meal with him that God kept replenishing. I was going to take a picture of it but forgot.

Monday: I forgot my key card to get into work so had to get a visitor's tag. I hate when I forget it--just wasn't ready for another work week. Finally got the new cell phone activated when when George from tech support fixed the serial number--their records didn't match the phone they sent to us. Great Call hasn't been so great for us lately. Hubby went to his regular work place and then was told to go to the new place where they are moving to instead.

Tuesday: Got to catch up on some taped episodes of Cedar Cove.

Wednesday:  Rush at end of the day to get out on time, the rushed off to Bible study at church.  No TV time or blogging time.  Felt bad I didn't get to join in the note card party, but just didn't have time to get it together.  Had to enjoy the beautiful weather outside Saturday.

Thursday: Typed up some fragments but feeling like I just want to kick back and watch The Biggest Loser that I taped and some of the Red Sox game.  Doing the Beth Moore Bible study on David takes me longer in the morning so have much less time to visit other blogs, but am really enjoying this study.

Friday:  Time to apply Revolution to our pets and do the laundry.  Rush, rush and then off to work.

image source:  Wikipedia

Sunday School

Found a video about Queen Esther that I might use in my Sunday School class this week, "Queen Esther Saves The Day" on Jewish TV Network. Also found out what a gragger is. It's a noisemaker kids twirl when Haman's name is mentioned during the reading of the Book of Esther for the Purim celebration.  I think it might be fun to give the kids some noisemakers and have them hiss, boo and make noise whenever I mention Haman when I tell them the story.  Yup, think that's what I'll do. 

Share this:

6 Friday Fragments (food, sports, surgery, movie, cats)

Friday Fragments is hosted by Half Past Kissin' Time for bloggers to post a list of short things on their minds that aren't really enough for a whole post to give Mrs. 4444 a break for the summer. Here we go:

Easter

Easter in autumn? I guess it is in Australia. I discovered this when reading The Husband's Secret. I don't understand why this is though. It puzzles me.

Best Buy

Last week I bought some chocolate Enteman's doughnuts at Giant Eagle (8 for $4 something) for my Sunday School class. The price wasn't shown anywhere so I didn't know how much they would be. As it turned out, they were almost as much as if I bought the freshly made ones from their bakery--just a couple dollars difference. Then the next day, I saw the same doughnuts at Walmart for about $1 less per box. Then next to those were some Krispy Kreme filled ones. They were six in a box. Think next time I buy doughnuts, it will be from Walmart!

Browns

I am sad to see Trent Richardson (RB) go to the Colts and sad that Weeden is not going to be able to play this week. We are going with our third string QB so am hoping he will surprise me and be good.

Recovering Nicely

We got good news when Gerard went to the doctor this week for a follow up visit after his surgery. I was afraid he may be overdoing it, but it is healing very well. In fact, the doctor was surprised at how fast he is healing! He can start back to work on Monday but limited to LIGHT duty, no heavy lifting yet. He enjoyed his extra time with Abby while he was off. They got in lots of walks!  He's anxious to get back to vacuuming (we have a 7 lb vacuum), washing the car and working in the yard.  Just can't keep a good man down--I decided not to fight with him because it's no use.  He does what he wants anyway.

Movie

I finally watched "Gone With the Wind" for the first time. I didn't realize how long it was and how sad it was. Scarlet was a real piece of work! I enjoyed it though, finally had time to watch it on my day off.

Spunky Doodle is our "Queen"

Queen

I knew a male cat is called a Tom cat, but I just learned this week that a female cat is called a "Queen."

Share this:

4 Friday Fragments (blogging, vacation, Bible Study, Sports)

Friday Fragments is hosted by Half Past Kissin' Time for bloggers to post a list of short things on their minds that aren't really enough for a whole post to give Mrs. 4444 a break for the summer. Here we go:

Most Frustrating

The most frustrating thing this week was when I went to change my blog color. It showed the changes in the preview but would not save it! GRRRR! I tried saving it four times and it never worked! What's up with that?

Vacation

Last week we were on vacation so I didn't do as much blogging as usual and missed doing Friday Fragments for the first time in ages. In spite of Gerard's hernia operation on Thursday and four other doctor appointments between us, we still had a good time together enjoying our club seats at the Indians game on Monday, walking Abby at West Creek Reservation, going to both the Akron zoo and the Cleveland zoo, and watching TV together (OSU football, Indians, Red Sox, Browns and Patriots).

New Bible Study

I started a new Beth Moore Bible study last week, "David, Seeking a Heart Like His" and am really enjoying it! In my Sunday Sharing post this week, I'll share some things that I learned from it so far.

Sports

We are happy! The Patriots and Browns are both in first place! The Patriots won 2 so far (the only team who has) and the Browns are tie for first in their division even though they lost to Miami last week.

We are still hoping the Indians make the playoffs and are pretty sure the Red Sox will be in it.

Share this:

Friday Fragments

Friday Fragments is hosted by Half Past Kissin' Time for bloggers to post a list of short things on their minds that aren't really enough for a whole post to give Mrs. 4444 a break for the summer. Here we go:

Anniversary

Today we are celebrating our 16th wedding anniversary! We bought the wind chime I've been wanting for several years to replace the one that broke that was given to us as a wedding present. For a while we didn't have a porch awning so had no place to hang one. It's funny though, I ended up hanging it on the gutter which we could have done even before we got the awning! We are on vacation today and all next week!

Funniest Video This Week

I laughed all through this Funniest Dog Video over at Comedy Plus this week and had to share it! It was a great start to my week. Just go watch it--I guarantee it will make you laugh!

Sad News-Cat Dies

I got teary eyed when I read A Tribute to Homer, the Blind Wonder Cat over at The Conscious Cat. This was a very unusual cat, who was a great entertainer in spite of its blindness. Both Gerard and I read the book about him and liked it: Homer's Odyssey by Gwen Cooper.

Yellow Means Caution

Getting pet at the school during lunch time.

Did you know that if a dog is wearing a yellow ribbon on it's tail, it is a warning to people that they should leave the dog alone because it isn't friendly? We saw this at our vets Apparently there is a campaign afoot to get owners to get a yellow ribbon for their unfriendly or shy dogs. Abby will not be wearing one of these--she loves greeting strangers and being pet!

Share this:

Friday Fragments with Feline Friday (UPDATED) (cats, decisions, food, zoo)

Friday Fragments is hosted by Half Past Kissin' Time for bloggers to post a list of short things on their minds that aren't really enough for a whole post to give Mrs. 4444 a break for the summer. Here we go:

Feline Friday

My two cats do not mind sharing the bed with Wolfee for their morning nap time.  I couldn't help but think Aww when I stopped in to say good-bye to them before going to the zoo yesterday.  I was off work and it was a beautiful day!

Zoo

See how far that one on top popped its head out?  It has a long neck!

At the zoo if heard a donkey actually hee-haw for the first time ever!  By the time I got my camera set to video, he stopped of course and I couldn't get him to do it again.  The leopard was high up in his cage growling and two turtles were swimming in the water on piggy back.  When I went to inquire about our zoo membership renewal, I was surprised to see an old friend from church behind the desk!  

Decision

After taking off a couple of years, I am going to start teaching Sunday School again--fifth grade boys, a fun group.

That's all folks, gotta get the laundry out and go to work!

UPDATED 7:30 P.M. 8/16/13, In my rush this morning, I forgot to include this:

Sad News On Yum Yum

The update on Yum Yum is not good. More problems developed and Tim has decided to put his poor cat out of its misery, sending it off to the Rainbow Bridge. It's very heartbreaking to have to do this, but the poor cat is in pain with a terminal illness so there's not much choice. Prayers would be appreciated for Tim and his family. Here is the latest update: Yum Yum Update 8/14.


P.S.

Dear Anonymous

(1) Please stop leaving comments regarding Darren Palmer on my blog which make absolutely no sense! (2) I do not think the green background on my blog is the color of vomit. This comment hurt my feelings and stuck in my mind even after I deleted it. I chose green for spring--you know, green grass, green leaves on the trees. I tried changing it to yellow for summer but for some reason it didn't work so left it this beautiful deep green! If you don't like it, please feel free to stay away!!!! (3) Don't be asking me questions if you don't bother to leave an email so I can respond to you privately.

Find more cat pics at the Feline Friday hop.

Share this:

Friday Fragments (reading, sleeping, pets, sports)

Friday Fragments is hosted by Half Past Kissin' Time for bloggers to post a list of short things on their minds that aren't really enough for a whole post to give Mrs. 4444 a break for the summer. Here we go:

Goodreads

Here is an email we got from Goodreads:

On behalf of the Goodreads team, I want to say thank you. You’re in the top 1% of reviewers on Goodreads! Your many thoughtful book reviews help make us a vibrant place for book lovers.

Books

Last week I forgot to share our favorite reads for July. I'm sure you all are wondering, right? Anyway, Gerard's was a YA science fiction, Proxy and mine, a collection of mail-order bride novellas by four different authors: A Bride For All Seasons. You can click the links to see our reviews.

Yum Yum

Good news, Yum Yum seems to be feeling better. This cat needs surgery and Tim is asking bloggers to help by chipping in. He is about half way to what he needs. Here is an update: Yum Yum Update 8/5. Can you help?

Street Cat

Not at all surprised this guy got more donations when Bob, the street cat, was with him! We have his book on order from our library!

Book Crossing

Released HER at this bus stop.

Over at It's Just LIfe I read a post: "Releasing Books Into the Wild" where you can read all about it. It introduced me to www.bookcrossing.com, a website which seeks to turn the world into a big library by having people register a book, then release it by just leaving it somewhere for someone to find. Some may even enter the book number on the site to let you know who got it. It's a fun way to share books. My user name on the site is "BookDumper" so if you sign up, you can list me as your referral. Both books I left were picked up quick.

Toothbrushes

I read this week that people should replace their toothbrush every three to four months. I know we don't come anywhere close to this. Do you?

Sleeping Couples

Just heard on a morning news show that to get a restful nights sleep with a partner who snores or tosses and turns, 40% of couples sleep in separate beds! I was surprised it was such a high percentage. I tend to snore if I sleep on my back and Gerard tosses and turns, bouncing the bed but usually it's just when he first comes to bed. Sometimes I feel like I'm on a boat but so far we have both managed to weather through and stay together.

Fruit for Dogs

Aww, c'mon, give me some more treats--the vet said it was OK..

Our vet confirmed that a few blueberries, cranberries and watermelon is okay to give to dogs. Does your dog like any of these We haven't given our dog, Abby, any yet thought because I think it's better she doesn't eat any people food because she wouldn't understand why some is okay and not others. Raisins and cranberries look an awful lot alike and raisins are harmful. Maybe I'll share some watermelon with her on a hot day though.

Baseball

This is an exciting season with so many hot teams, unfortunately, the Indians are now on a 4-game losing streak thanks to Detroit, putting the tribe 7 games behind. I am disappointed, but the Indians played tough the first three games, the third going 14 innings! Boston is on a roll too which is my husband's favorite team so that is good. I hope the Indians will bounce back! Francona (Indians Manager) Reflects on Tough Series. Here is a silly video Gerard made with two of our stuffed animals, Leo and Benny in honor of the Tigers win:

Cleveland Browns

The bright side of Cleveland sports is the Browns pre-season game win this year--they looked very good and I have high hopes for this season. It was fun watching them and they scored way more than I thought they would! I usually wear my Indians polo shirt on casual Fridays to work, but today I am wearing my Browns polo shirt. I like the coaching staff too!

Share this:

5 Friday Fragments (news, blogging, books, vacation)

Friday Fragments is hosted by Unknown Mama for bloggers to post a list of short things on their minds that aren't really enough for a whole post to give Mrs. 4444 a break for the summer. Here we go:

Iranians

I was surprised when reading Iranian-Americans and Expatriates Vote In Election (Yahoo News) that the U.S. Census figures show about 414,000 Iranians live in the U.S. California has the most. This seems quite high to me and made me wonder how that compares to other nationalities. After reading The Blood of Lambs, I am a lot more interested in the activity of Muslims in our country.

Feeling Discouraged?

Sometimes bloggers get a bit discouraged or at least disappointed when we don't get many comments; however, I suggest that at these times, you take a look at your page view stats. Just because there are only a few comments doesn't mean that those are the only people who took time to read your post. So, cheer up fellow bloggers and blog on! Also, look on the bright side, few comments mean less time for you spent in responding to them. Don't get me wrong here, we love getting comments too, just like anyone else, but I do not base the value of my blog on the number of comments we get.

Our Mayor

Our mayor's favorite genre is nonfiction. His favorite novelists are Tom Clancy and John Grisham; however, his favorite book is Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss. He said "It's fun to read and it's inspirational." He even has a copy in his office! I'm adding this to my "books to read" list.

Book Giveaway

In honor of Father's Day, I am doing a giveaway of the book I wrote in memory of my dad, My Funny Dad, Harry over on our book blog.  Just be the first to comment saying you would like it.

Busy Week

5 gr. boys basketball

I had a great time helping in our Sports Camp this week coaching 5th grade boys basketball and assisting the 1st and 2nd grade boys soccer coaches, but am tired and recuperating today with a relaxing free day. We had the largest attendance ever--over 900 and for the first time had to turn people away because all the sports were filled to capacity, in both the morning and afternoon sessions.  


Share this: