Hallmark Hall of Fame

I set my DVR up to record the Hallmark Hall of Fame movie that was on TV last night.  I have enjoyed many of Hallmark's movies in the past, and I thought that last night's presentation -- "The Lost Valentine" -- looked like it would be a good one, too.

I decided that I would watch a few minutes of it while I ate lunch today.  Two hours later I had finished watching the entire movie....including all of the Hallmark commercials!

Obviously, I have seen Betty White in prior roles.  (Who hasn't?)  And I remember watching Jennifer Love Hewitt in the TV show "Party of Five" -- although I haven't watched her more recent projects.  I really enjoyed both of their performances in "The Lost Valentine."

I was not familiar with the actor Sean Faris, but I can see why he's a heartthrob!

"The Lost Valentine" is another winner from Hallmark.  Keep your tissues handy....

(Postscript:  My favorite Hallmark movie is "Back When We Were Grownups."  I think I even got Lew to watch it with me once!)

Another Dinner Story

When Lew and I got to the restaurant last night, we put in our request for a table for four and then sat down in the waiting area.  Our friends had not arrived yet.  There was another couple sitting on a bench, and they graciously squished together so that we could have a seat next to them.

After a few minutes went by, I noticed a lovely lady from our church coming toward us.  She made a beeline to the couple sitting next to us and gave the woman a big hug.  It was obvious they hadn't seen each other for a while.  Then another gal (who turned out to be our church friend's daughter) came up and hugged the woman as well.  Apparently they were friends as children.

Then Lew piped up, "What are we, chopped liver?"

Our church friend looked over, and then she excitedly hugged both of us, too.  I saw her daughter turn to her friend and ask, "Does she even know these people?"

After the Hug Fest, we all shared a really good laugh.

And we agreed that it is indeed a small world.

History Was Made Tonight

Lew and I just got home from a wonderful dinner out with some friends.  The food was good, but the best part of the evening was spending time with a couple people that we don't see nearly often enough.

Something happened after we were done eating our meal, and it was a first.

It had never, ever happened before tonight.

It was historical.

When our waiter asked if we wanted dessert, we all responded "No, too full" (or something like that).  But Lew and our friends decided to get coffee, so I ordered another raspberry iced tea.

Then, before the waiter left the table, Lew said, "Actually, I would like a piece of cheesecake."

I almost passed out.

When we go out to eat, sometimes we both get a dessert.  But usually, I am the one who wants dessert and I force Lew to take a few bites of what I order.

Tonight was the first night -- in 10 and a half years of marriage -- that Lew ordered dessert and I did not.

In the words of Bob Dylan:
"The times they are a changin'....."

What to Write, What to Write....

One major difficulty in blogging every day is coming up with the "perfect" idea.

Some days the topic is obvious -- like my father's headband yesterday.  I do enjoy writing about the little things of day-to-day life.

But today, it's about 10:00 p.m. and I'm not feeling any good ideas coming on.  My regular readers are probably saying to themselves, "Well, that's never stopped her from posting before."  (And that is correct!)

I do have a list of possible blog topics, but I'm not feeling motivated to use any of those tonight.

I have figured out the reason for my blogger's block.  It can be summed up in one word:

ItswinteranditscoldanditgetsdarktooearlyandIwanttohibernatelikethebearsdo.

Yep.  That explains it.

Fashion by Father

Lew and I are using our new elliptical machine on a regular basis.  Lew uses it Monday through Friday mornings before he gets ready for work.  I use it at least four times a week, but at no specific time.  It really provides for a good workout.

My father started using the machine a few weeks ago, too.  This is to supplement the new diet that he had to go on after his doctor read him the riot act.

I saw Dad on his way to use the machine today.  And he was wearing a headband!  Oh, where was my camera?!

But I knew immediately why he was sporting this accessory.  In fact, I've been thinking about wearing one myself.  I start to sweat -- a lot -- and the sweat drips into my eyes.  A headband would certainly help.

My sister Debbie dropped by the house shortly after Dad finished his workout.  The raise of her eyebrows indicated that she had noticed Dad's fashionable head wear.

By the way, the headband was black.  He also has a white one.

(Postscript:  In case you're wondering, Mom uses the elliptical machine, too.  I think she's up to a minute and a half.)

Dad: Unedited XXIX

(Dad asked me to add a photo of some campaign buttons at the end of this post.  So I pinned the buttons to a piece of paper.  I then put the entire thing into a plastic sandwich bag, as I did not want to damage the glass on my printer/scanner.  I scanned the buttons as a photo.  And -- thanks to the magic of Picnik.com -- I was able to edit the photo so that it actually looks pretty good.  Also, I must say that I hope the statute of limitations has run out on my father's delinquent driving.  Times sure have changed.  Enjoy Dad's post!  -- Tracy)

Derf Here!  Another week -- Another storm!  Please turn off the snow machines!

Another storm coming tonight -- hoping for a miss!

Josh's team wins again (shutout)!

Yippie!! Jets LOOOOOOSE!!

Back to Earth now.

The year was 1952.  I was 14 years old.  It was fall.  Dwight D. Eisenhower (Ike) was running for president with Richard M. Nixon as his choice for VEEP.  Ike's opponent was Adlai E. Stevenson.

The candidates were crossing the country drumming up support.  Richard M. Nixon's itinerary had a date in my hometown of Sanford, Maine.  An elaborate parade was planned to get Mr. Nixon from the airport to the Memorial Gymnasium where the rally was to be held.

Dad was a fairly well-known Republican and also owned a fairly nice Cadillac (Fleetwood) at the time.  He would be picking up some staff members at the airport and be part of the parade.  Also joining the parade through town would be our 1939 Bantam Roadster.  I do not remember who drove the Bantam, but it was not me.  I was not old enough to be a licensed driver.

The "Event" (rally) took place and now the Bantam must be returned to our home.  This was a trip of about one-half mile on Main Street.  I remember driving the car home, but I don't recall how the original driver disappeared.  I was more than happy to drive it home.  This trip started me on a series of driving around with no license (mostly motorcycles).

Dad still had to take two "press staffers" back to the airport.  I was able to ride to the airport with Dad (even though I was kind of "grubbily" dressed).  When we arrived at the airport the very friendly "press staffers" asked me if I wanted to come inside the plane.  I readily accepted the invitation.  This was the first time I had been in an airplane.  This was not the highlight of my evening, however.

The highlight was as follows.  Upon entering the plane, I met the future Vice President of these great United States.  Mr. Nixon would persevere and eventually become President.  He was very gracious to grubby ol' me and asked if I would like to see the cockpit.  I accepted and was introduced to the pilots.  I shook hands before he wished me well as I left the plane.  I will never forget the graciousness of such an important person in the history of the United States to a 14-year-old boy.  He called me by name!!

From that point on I followed Mr. Nixon's political future as he finally made it to be President.  I recall the 1960 election when JFK won, but a vast number of people suggested Mr. Nixon won the debate but was not elected because of JFK's looks and family name (among other things).  Hmmmm....

As most of you know, Mr. Nixon resigned in the early 1970's due to "Watergate."  I believe he was a very smart man who was a good president but tried to cover up a serious "breach of ethics" by his underlings.  I'm sorry for his involvement in the cover up.  He resigned and this probably led to the election in 1976 of Jimmy Carter, as President Ford pardoned Mr. Nixon.

Mom was not happy with my attire that evening, but it was a night I'll never forget.

Until next time.

Toodle Pip!  Derf!

Google-dee-Good

Another quiet day for me as I continue to recuperate from my cold.  Hopefully I will be able to participate in normal life tomorrow.

I just "Googled" a few things, and may I say that Google is one of the greatest things on the Internet?  I don't think I've ever failed to find what I was looking for when using Google.

I watched a silly teeny-bopper movie a few years ago.  A couple lines from the movie run through my head every now and then, but I haven't been able to remember the name of the movie.  Today I finally put one of the lines into Google, and what do you know?  The name of the movie is "Jawbreaker."  (This is not a recommendation for the movie.  It's got a creepy kind of plot, in my opinion.)

I went to bed fairly early last night.  I didn't get up early, but the following quote came to mind today:

"Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise."

Hmmm...who said that?  Thanks to Google, I have been reminded that it was Benjamin Franklin.

One of my church friends posted on Facebook that she found a yummy recipe for Banana Whoopie Pies with Peanut Butter filling.  She didn't indicate which recipe she found, but my Google search came up with quite a few recipes....even a gluten free one!

I know that there are other search engines on the Internet.  Are any of them better than Google?  If so, please let me know!

Bleahhhhh....

When the radio alarm came on this morning, I heard the announcer give the current temperature outside:

-12 degrees

Yes, that is a negative sign in front of the 12.

And to top that off, I woke up feeling quite icky.  I had a little bit of a sore throat starting Saturday morning, and I thought I was successfully fighting it off.

Nope.

I spent today exactly how I should have spent it -- resting and drinking fluids.  I also did a little bit of reading.  And my parents treated me to take-out Chinese food for lunch.  (Mmmmm....sweet and sour chicken...the perfect meal when you have a cold.)

So, not quite the day I had planned on having, but it was still productive.

Taking care of one's self is a good thing.

Pittsburgh Steelers 24, New York Jets 19

In baseball, I root for two teams:
1) the Boston Red Sox, and
2) whoever is playing the New York Yankees.

The football equivalent of this is:
1) the New England Patriots, and
2) whoever is playing the New York Jets.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Thank you, Steelers.

Now I can actually enjoy watching the Super Bowl!

A Must Read Again

Lew and I just finished watching The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.  We enjoyed it.

I read the whole Narnia series during the winter break of my senior year in college.  After watching the movie, I think I would like to read through the series again.  I have a nice hard-cover set that I bought over 20 years ago, and maybe it's time to dust those books off.

Other than the Bible, there are very few books that I have read more than once.  This is not to say that I have a good recollection of the books that I've read.  When I read non-fiction, I am the type of reader that reads for the "gist" of what's being said.  (I think that's one reason why I'm terrible at trivia.)  When I read fiction, it's for enjoyment.  I can pick up a novel that I read ten years ago and kind of remember what it's about.  But I could read it again and be totally entertained once more.

Besides the Narnia series, I can think of several other books that I would enjoy reading again.  To name a few:  Gone With the Wind, Crime and Punishment, and the entire Little House on the Prairie series.

But I doubt that I will do any of this re-reading soon.  Why?  Because there are still so many other books that I need (and want) to read for the first time!

Unplugged

I brought my laptop down to my dining room table this morning.

As the day progressed, it just sat on my table.  I've been using my computer a lot the past few days, so I think I was ready for a day to be "unplugged."

I did fire it up a few minutes ago to check my e-mail, Facebook, and to write this quick post for all of the fans of "Mainely Tracy."

We had quite a bit of snow this morning, and the sun finally made an appearance this afternoon.  It was a great day to be lazy and relax.  But I wasn't a total slug -- I did do three loads of laundry.

Thanks for checking in!

Until tomorrow....

Delusional TV

The 10th season of American Idol began airing last night.  I have written in the past about our approach to watching this program.  We record it and watch it later. Being able to skip the commercials saves a lot of time.  A lot of time.

Lew and I just watched last night's show.

The first few episodes of the season (when they show the good, the bad, and the ugly) always leave me wondering if some of these people are really serious.  They come out for their audition, sing (and stink at it), tell the judges that all their friends and family compliment them on their singing, and then cry when they don't make it to Hollywood.  And then they deliver tearful, parting remarks for the camera:

"They've taken my dream away!"
"I just have to sing!"
"My music is how I share my heart with the world!"

Really?

Gag me!

Dad: Unedited XXVIII

(The spelling is "Roethlisberger."  Is that so hard?  Enjoy Dad's post!  -- Tracy)

Derf Here!  Another week -- Another storm!

I finally received the bill for my truck repair.  Almost enough for a home equity loan but not quite.  Whew!

Josh's team finished league play going 8 wins and 0 losses.  He had two good hits and while catching threw out a runner at second.  Now we get ready for another session.  Hopefully when this is over spring will be in the air.

Well, what can I say.  How can a team win a game 45-3 and just a few weeks later go out and lose a game to the same team as lopsided as the Patriots did last Sunday evening?  Disgusting!  I've concluded that "trash talk" works and the talk got into their heads.  Ever since the loss to the Giants when the Pats were going for 19-0, they can't win a playoff game.  I thought, at times, that Tom Brady looked scared and confused.  At times there was a faraway look in his eyes.  It was TV time at its worst.  So there!

I have suddenly become a huge fan of Pittsburgh, Chicago, and Green Bay.  My sister-in-law, Dalmetta, was a huge Steelers fan before her death a few years ago.  She would get her Steeler jersey on while watching the games on television.  I believe her jersey was Jerome Bettis (The Bus).  We were always at war as I wanted the Steelers to not be a factor in the playoffs.  They have done well with "Big Ben" and I want them to play their best game of the year when the "loud-mouthed Jets" come to town.  I do not want Manning, Brady, and "Big Ben" to all be beaten by the Jets!  Notice I didn't use Ben's last name as I can't spell it.

If the Jets should beat the Steelers, I will admit that they earned the trip to the "Bowl."  Three wins on the road in playoff football is quite an accomplishment.

A month ago I thought maybe Boston would have four championships.  The Celtics, Bruins, and the revamped BoSox all look good.  Maybe the Pats will be in the "Bowl" next year and complete the four championships then.  Surely I jest!  I can dream, can't I?

Go Pittsburgh!  The winner of Chicago vs. Green Bay will be my hope to win the "Bowl."

Until next time.

Toodle Pip!  Derf.

Tricky Typewriter Task

I taught myself to type the summer before I started high school.  I used an electric typewriter that had belonged to my grandfather.  This was before the days of the personal computer, so typing was not a skill that most kids my age had conquered yet.  It was one of my better initiatives.

This morning I went out -- in a snowstorm -- so that I could use a friend's typewriter. I needed to complete a couple forms for the church, and I had put the project off long enough. So, there was no "no go" despite the snow.

When I got to her office, my friend escorted me to a nice little conference room so that I could do my typing.  One of the forms had multiple copies (carbons), so I confirmed with her that the "ping" would be hard enough.  Then she went back to her office.

I sat down and realized that the typewriter was not on.  A couple minutes later -- after I had pressed the wrong button several times -- I finally found the power switch.  Progress.

The forms that I had to fill out needed to be typed perfectly, with no corrections.  This was due in part to the carbon copies.  But mostly it was because the typewriter had no correction ribbon.

I had enough blank forms to get four shots at the first form.  That turned out to be a good thing.  Before I started my fourth and final attempt, I prayed "Please God, this is my last chance."  And, voila!  Perfection.  (There was an uncomfortable moment when I realized that I had reached the right margin and I still needed to type on that particular line.  Fortunately I knew there had to be a margin release.  It took a few minutes, but I figured it out.)

I had two shots at the second form, but I only needed one.  I owned that typewriter by then!

Yeah, baby!

A Novel Beginning

Lew and I were chatting in the kitchen this evening as he prepared our dinner.

I announced that I was going to finally start writing my novel, which resulted in the following exchange:

Lew:  May I suggest the first three words?  'Once upon a time'....

Me:  That's four words.

Lew:  Once up on?  Upon?

Me:  Once upon a time.

Lew:  Is "a" a word?

Me (well, what I wish I'd said):  It depends on what the meaning of "is" is!

(Postscript:  For the record, Lew knows that "a" is a word.  But I think that the dinner preparation must have been affecting his counting ability.)

N-o-o-o-o-o-o!!!

Patriots, where were you today?

I hate football.

Does That Add Up?

After breakfast with our friends this morning, Lew and I made a trip to Staples.  I purchased our 2010 tax preparation software and some adding machine paper rolls.

While working on projects at home recently, I wished that I had an adding machine.  So, I bought one about a week ago.  But I needed some paper rolls, hence today's purchase.

I used an adding machine quite often at my recent job.  Yet the machine that I had on my desk was this teeny little thing -- kind of like a Tinker Toy version.  And it didn't work very well.

I asked a few times about getting a "big girl" adding machine, but I never got one.  I guess the company didn't want to spend the money.  I find this amusing, as the machine I bought for myself cost a mere $30.  Isn't that a small price to pay to please a "valued" employee?  (I've stopped trying to figure that one out!)

Drama Queen Moment

Lew had a big lunch today, so we decided to "eat light" tonight.  By the words "eat light" we mean that we each figure out our own meal.  He decided on cereal and toast.  I decided on a Lean Cuisine.

After I put my meal in the microwave and started it up, I began jumping up and down in the kitchen like a hysterical teenage girl.  Lew was standing in the kitchen as well and I not-so-calmly told him, "I'm using the microwave!  I'm scared!"

It has been an entire week since the sweet potato incident.  I had not operated a microwave since then.

Lew and I stood in the kitchen, hugging each other and watching the microwave do its thing.  He asked me if there were any potatoes in my meal.  Ha ha.

My dinner turned out just fine.

Baby steps....

(Postscript:  The microwave still has a bit of a smoky smell, which we believe will be remedied by replacing the filter.  That's on the "to do" list for next week.)

Dad: Unedited XXVII

(It was fun to have a little trip away for a few days, but it's especially nice to be home.  Apparently we missed some excitement as Dad plowed the yard out.  Enjoy his post....a day late!  -- Tracy)

Derf here!  From the Blizzard-bound Northeast!

The weathermen were correct.  We received a good snowstorm.  The wind blew.  The snow was blowing and drifting in blizzard-like conditions.

If the storm was a day earlier we would have missed a seventh-grade band concert, which Josh was part of playing trumpet (a man after my own heart).

Tracy and Lew will be home from Avon, CT a day late due to the storm so I'm posting a day late.  According to reports they received close to 30 inches of snow.  We received about 12-14 inches with 'white out' conditions.

I did hear from sister Deb about our ride in the Studebaker to the top of the snowbank after passing through the snowdrift failed.  She reminded me that she told me not to do it and, to this day, she doesn't like to ride in snow unless she is driving.  I didn't realize I made that much of an impression on her.

I didn't need to call 'Bapa Bob' to plow me out today as I have my truck.  I still haven't received the bill but I'm considering a bank loan to pay for it.

I got my yard (lawn) plowed today and also got stuck.  I went a little too far on my lawn plowing and could not back up as I have no weight in the back of the truck.  Luckily another plow truck pulled into my yard.  He told me he thought he saw me shoveling (which did no good) and returned to help me out.  I did not know him.  He told me he lived across the street down the road.  A chain (his) from his plow to my trailer hitch did the trick in short order.  After this I was careful to not put myself in that position again.  I thanked him but didn't offer a 'ten spot.'  I should have!  Not good on my part.  He also told me he had been stuck in his yard before.  A fine neighbor indeed!

Enough rambling so I'll close with "Go Pats."  I do not like the Jets.  Very close to hate!

Until next time.

Toodle Pip!  Derf.

P.S.  Perhaps you've seen the promo on TV that says one in three over age 65 will fall this year.  Well, while shoveling to get my truck unstuck I became a 'one in three.'  I got up quickly and proceeded to hook up the chain.  Perhaps more embarrassed because a neighbor saw my miscue.  No harm, no foul!

Snow, Snow, Snow

Oh, boy.  Did it snow!!!

When Lew looked out the window of our hotel room this morning, he announced, "We're going to be here until April...."

That was a slight exaggeration, but we are here until tomorrow morning.  We were scheduled to leave today, but the snow had other plans for us.

For those of you expecting a "Dad: Unedited" post tonight, please know that Derf has been postponed until tomorrow as well.

(Postscript:  I hear that the local news folks are saying this is the worst snowstorm this area has seen in a century.  That's what Lew heard at his training sessions, anyway!)

Instant Replay

Other than a few minor differences, today was just like yesterday!

We went out for dinner tonight, and then we stopped at a Big Y supermarket.  It's looking more and more like tomorrow is going to be the worst snowstorm of the century (according to the locals).  So we decided to get a few items in case we're still here tomorrow night and want to eat in our room.

And instead of college football, we are going to watch a movie tonight.

Relax, relax, relax....   :)

(Postscript:  The date is 1/11/11.  I love it!)

Relax, Relax, Relax

I am enjoying my mini-vacation.

I had a very productive morning with breakfast, skimming a couple papers (and doing the puzzles), using the elliptical machine, showering, and completing some tasks on my laptop.

After lunch, I tried to do some reading.  But for some reason my eyelids became very, very heavy.  And I thought, "Why fight it?"  So I took a nice nap.  I have decided that naps are very good.  I think I should take more naps.

I got up in time to do a little bit of reading before Lew got back from his class.  On Monday nights, our hotel has a complimentary dinner.  We like free food, so we were happy to participate in this weekly event.

This evening we are planning on watching the college football national championship, which will be starting in about an hour.

I've had a really tough day!  :)

(Postscript:  May get a snowstorm here tomorrow night through Wednesday.  Won't that be fun?!)

Road Trip!

Lew and I are in Avon, Connecticut.

He has to attend a training session (for work) tomorrow through Wednesday.  So I decided to come with him, because I can!  Yet another advantage of my current unemployment status.

There is Internet access in our hotel room, so I am glad that I brought my laptop.  It makes it much easier to keep all of my devoted readers informed.

I brought some workout clothes.  I located the hotel's exercise room -- there is an elliptical machine, so I'm all set.

As for what else I will do to occupy my time while Lew is in class?  I will do lots of reading.  I may even take some naps.....

And I will keep you informed.  :)

(Postscript:  My parents are holding down the fort at home.  A reminder to them to please remember to give Pepper her nite-nite goodies!)

Shopping With Emily

After yesterday's mishap, the microwave needed some cleaning.  So....while Lew did that and the laundry, I went shopping with Emily.  (That's fair, right??)

Emily and Matt gave me a gift card to the Dressbarn for Christmas.  If I used the gift card today, then I got an additional 15% off of my purchase, so today seemed like the right day to go.  Emily and I met there around 2:00 and spent only about an hour in the store.  In that time I found what I was looking for (jeans and black dress slacks) plus a few more fun items (like socks and polka-dotted PJ's).

The real point of the shopping trip was represented by the other gift card I received from the newlyweds.....Friendly's Ice Cream!  Emily and I topped off our successful Dressbarn outing with a late lunch.  I am still thinking about the delicious Sundae that I had for dessert.

I really like shopping with Emily.  She is good at helping me find just the right thing, and she believes that shopping must always involve ice cream.  :)

Why I Shouldn't Cook

Today I was going to have a sweet potato for lunch.  I have had success before cooking them in the microwave.  Here is how today's attempt turned out:

With all of the windows and doors open, it only took about half an hour to clear the house of the smoke.  The smell still lingers.

Lew and I just got home from getting a new smoke detector.  The old one needed a new battery after its workout today, but I couldn't figure out how to change it.  So, of course, I ended up breaking the unit with all of my attempts.

Oh...and by the way...I did not eat the sweet potato.

Reengineering

I recently finished reading the book "Reengineering Health Care: A Manifesto for Radically Rethinking Health Care Delivery" by Jim Champy and Harry Greenspun.  I decided to read this book for a couple reasons:

1)  Health care is a big topic in the news these days.
2)  The Kindle version of the book was free for a limited time.

When I download free Kindle books, I'm pretty good about archiving them quickly if they don't hold my interest.  I did read all of this book, so that's saying something!

This post is not a review of the book.  I just want to mention one point that was made.  (I believe it originated with one of the doctors that was interviewed for the book.)

The point (to my best recollection):
If something is the right thing to do, then make it the easiest thing to do.

To accomplish this may take a lot of investment (time, money, etc.) up front.  But once your lean and mean, efficient, straightforward process is in place, you will reap the benefit!

Why does this matter to me?  Because I enjoy and am quite effective at developing processes.  The above "point" validates this skill.  I will keep this in mind as I contemplate my next career move.

Dad: Unedited XXVI

(I don't like driving in the snow, so I have never intentionally attempted what my father describes below.  I wonder if my Aunt Debbie has a different recollection of what happened that day....Hmmmm.....Enjoy!  -- Tracy)

Derf here!  On a sunny 'shorts wearing day' in January from the great State of Maine (which now has a new down-to-earth governor as of about 5 minutes ago)....

In the saga of my 'plow truck' -- It has returned and ready to go when the next storm arrives (perhaps as early as Saturday.)  Let it come!  I'm ready!  I still feel pretty good as I have yet to receive the cost of repair.

A short time ago I wrote the story of travelling with Dad to Massachusetts and retrieving stuff from sister Jean's apartment.  I will now relate another story about me and the Studebaker 'hand-painted' truck.

It was mid-winter and for some reason (which I don't remember) sister Deb and I were headed for Grammy and Grandpa's farm.  As we turned from Route 202 on to Grammar Road I noticed a nice snowdrift further down the road.  Well I decided to go through the drift.  So naturally, I pushed the accelerator towards the floor.  Our speed increased and into the snowdrift we sped.  The results were not what I expected.  We hit the drift with good speed.  The drift won the battle.  The truck lurched to the right and we ended up on top of the snowbank.

I can't recall what sister Deb said about my experiment, and perhaps if I could remember I wouldn't dare print it.

Fortunately, we were very close to our grandparents' house so I had a solution to our problem.  We proceeded to walk to Grammy's house (I'm sure all the while listening to Deb's comments about my choice of challenging the snowdrift).

Upon arriving at the farm I proceeded to hop on Dad's 'Farmall H' tractor.  Back to the truck we went -- pulled it from its perch about 3 or 4 feet above the roadway.  Problem solved.  I never challenged another snowdrift to this day (some 50 plus years later).

The score for the day:  Snowdrift won -- I lost -- Farmall won.

I hope sister Deb remembers this event.  I probably added a little to the event to make it more interesting.  I hope not too much!

Until next time;

Toodle Pip!  Derf.

Achy

I had a little bit of a headache earlier, but the rest of me has been slightly achy today, too.

Why is that?  Some thoughts follow....

I've been using the elliptical machine pretty regularly.  I think I heard once that people my age should take a "day off" every now and then so that their muscles can heal.  But I already do that.  More days off?

Lew and I have a sleep number bed.  It has allowed us to be happily married -- I set my side on 95 and his is on 40 (or 45).  That's a pretty big difference, as the highest setting is 100.  If my bed is too soft, I get achy.  So, I just checked my side and it was at 70.  Oops.  I reset it.

I've been doing a lot of computer work lately, given the year end.  This tends to tense my shoulders up a bit.  So, maybe tomorrow I'll work a little less on the computer.  Maybe.

My aches and pains are probably due to a combination of all of the above.

Lew gave me a "white noise" machine for Christmas.  It has 12 different sounds -- four sounds for each of three different categories.  The categories are Relax, Sleep, and Renew.  I need the "Sleep" category the most, but now I shall go enjoy some "Relax" time.

Here's to a hopefully less achy day tomorrow!

Lew's Doctor Appointment

Lew had his annual physical today.  Here is what he posted on Facebook last night:

Told Tracy I was a little nervous about my physical tomorrow. Several men I know have had to make serious life style changes recently. Her comment: "Well, you've had a good run". Is that what is known as "tough love"?

I just checked Facebook and so far he has 3 "likes" and 9 comments regarding the above.  People were so helpful.  Someone suggested he should begin worrying if I start boxing up his things.  A couple other suggestions were to increase his life insurance and cancel his appointment.  My friend Anne-Marie wrote that "Tracy was never one to mince words!"  (Thanks, Anne-Marie!  LOL!)

I am pleased to report that Lew had a great appointment today.

His "good run" continues.

Chronologically Reading

I read through the Bible each year.  Last year I used The Message, which is a contemporary language translation by Eugene H. Peterson.

This year I am reading the New International Version (NIV).  But instead of reading it in the "regular" order, I am reading it chronologically.  I have never approached my yearly Bible reading this way.  The idea intrigues me, and I decided a couple months ago that I would do this for 2011.  So, I purchased The One Year Chronological Bible and I am now two days into it.

For my devotional time with Lew, I am selecting a passage to share from my daily reading.  Yesterday I shared Genesis chapter 3, which is when Adam and Eve sin.  Although we did have a serious discussion, Lew and I also shared a couple chuckles:

--  Earlier in the day Lew had been pondering what to eat, and I suggested an apple.  He reminded me of this during our devotional time!

--  My written comment (which I read aloud to Lew):  "Genesis chapter 3....The first documented account of a man listening to his wife does not end well!"

Lew and I are very thankful for God's Word.  If you are not in the habit of reading through the Bible each year, I encourage you to try it in 2011.  It's definitely not too late to start!  And it is so worth it.

Another Cool Date

Today is the first day of the year 2011.

1/1/11.

I like it!

Today I did some things that I have traditionally done on New Year's Day....sleep in, watch the Rose Parade, watch college football, and eat what I feel like eating.

But I also did some things that I don't think I've ever done before on New Year's Day....exercise, take a shower, and laundry.  (The exercise necessitated the shower.)

The rest of the day will be taken up with more football and some reading.

Yep.  A good day.

And thus ends the first post of the second year of "Mainely Tracy."

Thanks for checking in!