A LITTLE OF THIS AND THAT

This is my favorite chair for reading in the family room.  I spent a lot of time here last weekend as we did absolutely nothing, which was nice!  The Husband busied himself watching the Bears and Notre Dame and I pretty much behaved like a cat...reading, stretching, yawning, napping and sniffing around for food!  The temps reached a high of 65 but it rained the whole time.  Sigh.

My plants are blooming like crazy.  I think they like it here.  Maybe I won't take them back to the lake in the spring!

I do baby them a lot and they probably thank The Husband for keeping the heat cranked up high.  Every time we walk by the thermostat, he turns it up and I turn it down.  I sneak and open windows and he closes them  He clearly does not understand a menopausal woman!

Tuesday he had to have some tests done downtown and I went with him.  It takes about 20 minutes for us to get to downtown Chicago.

It was sunny but cold but I had dug out my winter coat and I had mittens. 

I ended up sitting in the waiting room for 3 hours.  I am really a very patient person, I brought the newspaper and a book and of course, there is always people watching.  Don't let them see you staring though, Midwesterners LOVE to talk.  One lady next to me was crocheting on a plastic round contraption and I was entranced.  Anyone know what these things are called?  Someone else was talking endlessly on their cell.  Normally I wish people like this would step out into the hall, but I'm nosy by nature and totally got into her conversation.  Just killing time.

By the time we left the hospital it was dark and we were hungry so we walked a few blocks and had dinner here...The Elephant & Castle.  It's an Irish restaurant that I have been to a few times before.  They serve a lot of lamb, fish and chips, bangers and mash and shepherds pie.

We sat by the fireplace which was very nice and cozy.

I had the shepherds pie which was out of this world, and The Husband had a steak.  A glass of wine each and we were feeling a little sleepy so we didn't hit any shops.

His tests went well but he has to have surgery some time after Thanksgiving.  I can't really go into any more detail out of respect for him...it's him, not me.  Heaven knows if it were me I'd be posting away in a morphine induced fog!  But I will certainly let you know how he does.

After my lazy weekend I hit the ground running on Monday; cleaning, laundry, errands, grocery shopping, dinner and the gym.  I'm like a one stop convenience store...I like everything done at once.  Today is the first time I've been able to sit and post.  I truly want to get back into the habit of posting more than once a week.but I have so very little going on most of the time and I don't want to bore you.  And I lack a lot of privacy.  Most days all of my kids are in and out and it's like a zoo with the TV blasting sports and them raiding the refrigerator, messing up my bathroom with showers and such, and I just can't concentrate.

When I was  at the grocery store I picked up everything I needed for Thanksgiving except for the turkey (I like to wait and get the best price from all the stores I shop at), and my veggies which I like fresh.  I was thinking of making roasted sweet potatoes as a side dish.  Does anyone know how to make these or have a recipe (no marshmallows please)?  I usually just peel and boil them and then pour hot butter and brown sugar over, but I'd like to try something different.  If you have a good recipe and don't mind, can you email me it?

I also found this cupcake mix at the store.  Doesn't it sound delicious?  I don't usually use mixes unless I'm in a hurry but I couldn't pass this up and I'm sure everyone will love them.  I'll be sure to share with you (pictures and my opinion, not a real cupcake).

Well, I have four little projects to take care of today.  If you follow Marty and Kathy, you will see that they did a super duper job organizing their bathroom vanity cabinets.  So I'm going to tackle that, my vanity, the top of The Husbands armoire and my kitchen junk drawer.  Everyone has a kitchen junk drawer, don't they?  Maybe I'll take before and afters, it might just make you fall off your chair!

Have a good rest of the week everyone.  I'm partying with Claudia over at Mockingbird Hill Cottage for her Favorite Things Party.  Join in, it's fun! :)