Category: grandchildren

We Are Becoming S0000 Techy!

How’s your week going? This past week, we’ve added some savvy technological things to our house. First…you should know that we are NOT at all technologically inclined. If we didn’t have our son-in-law to help us, we would be still using our manual typewriters! But he and my daughter are very good at this stuff. My husband has always said that I’m a “technological void”. LOL Well..now HE is becoming that way!

Here are a few of the things we’ve added in the last month:

–A RING doorbell. The only problem is that my phone has a little delay on it, and I sometimes miss the person. –A WiFi extender….this was to help with the RING. –Two new OUTLETS with two USB ports for charging things. My SIL put one in the kitchen, in about 15 minutes. Yesterday, my hubby put the other one in the guest bedroom and it took about 2 hrs.. (Who’s the void NOW???) LOL –My SIL helped my hubby set up a new email address. Yes. –Today, my SIL brought over a SMART bulb starter kit, which included the port. There were two bulbs. He helped me set that up on my phone and now we can act smart and say “Alexa, turn off the light in the office.” Woohoo! We may not be real smart with all of this stuff, but we have a SMART house! –I ordered four more bulbs, and also a hand held vacuum. It’s especially good for pet hair. We definitely need that!

Tonight, my phone turned weird colors, and looks like a negative background with very colorful little symbols on there. (what do you call those dealies?)

UPDATE: I took the phone into T Mobile, expecting to have to wait an hour or more, while they tried to fix it. It took the gal approximately 3 seconds to fix it. She pulled down the things from the top, and pushed Color Inversion, and it changed it all back! Well…WHO KNEW????

I got sucked in to the wonderful advertisement that was on either Facebook or Instagram. Have you seen this? It’s LED Bars to put around places, that light up when you walk by, and go off after 10 seconds of no activity. Homedesignerbuzz.com had photos of them, and they looked big and fabulous. Well, they DO light up and then go off later. But they aren’t very long, and they take 4 AAA batteries. They don’t last very long. It helps though, when you walk into the kitchen. It would take a ton of them to light up the kitchen! Here’s a photo of one, with a pencil for reference.

Note how the size compares to the knife link. However, it came in handy, last night, with the big storm.

My hubby had to go to a meeting tonight. He usually takes Bill, our dog, for a walk. I decided to do that tonight. I’m basically a blob, who doesn’t like to exercise. Dick is an exercise addict. Anyway, when Dick came home, the dog had been walked, the counters were cleaned off, I was doing dishes, and there was nutbread baking in the oven. It smelled so good. I felt like such a proud little housewife! LOL

The nutbread was yummy! I added lots of nuts and some chocolate chips.

Tomorrow, we will be taking Bill to the vet, and learning how to give the injections that he will take for his allergies. They are expensive, and I’m scared to do this. Hope I don’t hurt my sweet dog.

AND…the Highlight of the day was having my Grandson, Isaac, poop in his potty! That’s only the second time he’s done that. Maybe it was because I just caught him at the right time. Or maybe it was because we had just read the book, before nap, “The Saddest Toilet In The World.”.

Hope Spring is headed your way. I bought some flowers to plant. I’ll be sharing that in one of my next posts. Please press the LIKE button, if you liked this post, and leave me a comment. Join my subscribers.

Grandma Sherry

Things Are Happening Around Here!!!

Wow! We’ve had quite the busy time around here, and it’s been very cold. Yesterday, it finally warmed up, and today it’s supposed to be above 70*. My whole outlook has changed. I’m going to buy some pansies and fill planters today, for the patio and front porch. I’m not fixing chili today, as I have the last few weeks, but thinking something more spring like. Actually…I’m thinking my hubby will take me out to eat! LOL

This past month, I’ve done some more organizing. There are SO many things that need to be done. So I’m doing a little here, and a little there. One of my major projects was cleaning out my pantry. That was no small thing! I did a lot of purging and bought new containers for things. My grandson, who’s 2 1/2, looked at the finished result, and said, “No more big mess!”

OK…my photos aren’t rotating or lining up, as much as I change them and save them. Weird day for my blog. Sorry. You’ll have to turn sideways to see the after picture…..Oops, it did it!

A small project was taking down the shower curtain and putting up a new one. I had washed and dried the old one, last fall, and it had shrunk. Looked crazy. I bought a new one last week, and my hubby put it up. It looks so much better! (of course, if you look closely, he put it up backwards.)

before
after

I am a piano teacher. The mess of music that was in the corner of my music room was driving me crazy. We bought a four drawer chest at Walmart, and my hubby put it together. I spent some time sorting through music,and now it’s all put away in the chest. I love the new look!

The messy piles
Looking better!

Obviously, my pictures are not lining up with things. I’m so sorry.

We’ve had our black lab, Bill, for a year. He’s three years old. We adore him. He’s such a good dog. But he’s had such allergies, that he scratches and bites at his body so much that the hair on his haunches has almost disappeared. He’s been on steroids for several weeks, and the itching has completely disappeared. But he can’t be on steroids the rest of his life. The vet talked us into getting an allergy test for him. That was $500!!! Well, it came back with several pages of what he’s allergic to. My word. He’s allergic to our grass, to oak trees, to maple trees, to corn, beans, peas and beets, etc., etc., etc.. I’ve had to put him on a different diet…did you know most dog foods have corn in them? We will soon need to start giving him injections. This is becoming an expensive dog!!!

The weather was so nice, yesterday, that I was able to take my grandson to the park. It was so nice that he played and played. I enjoyed just feeling the fresh air, and having time with my little guy. AND…he took a two hour nap! Yeah!

A little windy for the hair, but oh, so much fun!

Life is good. The only blight, at the moment, and it’s a big one, is my church. I’m a member of a United Methodist Church. There’s been a big controversy in the church (the whole church, not just mine), about whether or not to allow LGBTQ ministers, or whether or not our ministers can perform wedding ceremonies for LGBTQ people. It’s still a big mess. It saddens me.

Enjoy your warm spell. If you liked this post, please press LIKE, and leave me a comment. Please add your name to the subscriptions!

Grandma Ruddell

Where In The World Have I Been?

Wow! It’s been awhile since I’ve written anything on here! I’m so sorry. I’ve been very busy with Christmas and Grandkids. Life has begun again, and we are on a normal routine. Let me fill you in on a few things we’ve been doing.

Christmas was wonderful, even though things were delayed because of sick grandkids. Doesn’t someone ALWAYS get sick during the holidays??? They sure do in our family.

Earlier in December, my brother, wife and my sister came down to visit us for the weekend. It’s hard for us to get together any more, because of jobs and living far apart. So this was really a fun time. I made candy and cookies and fixed goody boxes…my mom used to do that for all of us, every year. Of course, she also put a $50 bill in each one. I didn’t do that, but I did include my sister’s favorite candy…we call them Peanut Butter Crunchies. Some people call them Haystacks.

My sister, Toni, and I

We had the kids here for Christmas, but because of sickness, we barely had any time for all three grandkids to play together. We kept the two Oklahoma kids for a few days, so their parents could have a much-needed time together without children. A funny thing happened to me. I had entered a contest, and I won a matching sweater set for me and my dog! LOL Pretty ugly.

Now, we’re into January. Our highlights include getting my hair cut and colored….oh, the joy!…and taking Isaac to the new Happy Lark. He used to go to the old place, but they just moved and updated everything. He loves going there. We started out with nice weather, and now it’s really cold. Dick and I went to Main Event, and had some junk food and played pool. That was a fun way to spend the evening.

So…what do you do in January???? I am trying to eat healthily and lose weight. Tomorrow, I’m going to go to the gym to get some exercise. So far, I’ve lost three lbs…..count ’em..3!!!! We’ll see how long I can do this. I’m famous for starting and not following through. But I need to get my A1C down to a better number.

Also, I’ve been influenced by all of the January magazines and Netflix’ show, with Marie Kondo. My goal this year, is to create clean, clutter-free spaces. So far, I’ve moved the huge coffee maker, that Dick got for Christmas, into the Butler’s Pantry. I made a coffee bar, and freed up some of my kitchen counter space. (Of course, I have some crowded corners of the counter that you can’t see.) Yes, yes, yes….the new set-up sparks joy. LOL I’ll be giving you an update soon, on all of my projects. I think I’m a little too ADD…I have too many projects to do, and I keep flitting back and forth.

I’ve resumed giving piano lessons, and am delighted to see all of my students . They are so fun! I have two new students starting soon. Dick is about to start a new job, and Jessica, our daughter, is also about to start a new job. Life is good!

What’s happening in your life? Are you in the Snowpocalypse? Leave me a comment below, and press “like” on here, if you liked this article. Be sure and subscribe, if you haven’t before.

Grandma Ruddell

Odds and Ends

I’m sorry, it’s been awhile since I’ve posted.  We have had cold weather , rain, rain, and more rain, and now it’s finally feeling like fall.  Crazy weather!!!

I thought I’d just put some odds and ends here, of things we’ve been doing.   We have a vacation to Florida coming up next week.  I’m a little iffy about going through Florida.  Wasn’t the devastation awful???   And now we may be in for lots of rain, from the next Hurricane coming in through Mexico.

We are getting ready for Pledge Sunday,  at our church.  That will be next week.  It will be the culmination of a month long campaign.  Dick and I have been co-chairs, along with another couple, in manning the “Freely We Give, Freely We Receive” campaign.  (Notice we’ve never said the actual word, PLEDGE.)

Our job, as co-chairs, was to stand up in the service, and talk about the different things, and rev up the people.  The first Sunday, Dick talked about the Devotional Booklet.  I was “Vanna White” and showed the booklet around.  The next Sunday, Dick did the talking, and I was “The Opera Lady”, with my mink stole…Isn’t it GORGEOUS!!!…and I had a few quality items that I put in individual packages to hand out to the congregation for “Freely I Give”.   This past Sunday, I talked about the Giving Card that they would be getting in the mail, and we also did a Stair step of giving units.  Dick came out as “Ross Perot”, and brought out a huge chart to fill in.  It was the first time he’d ever had hair gel in his hair, and we tried to make his ears stand out a bit.   We haven’t figured out what we’ll do next week, but I’m sure it’ll be more serious, since it’s the culmination week.

It’s been fun having my two-year old grandson discovering Halloween.  He’s kind of scared of some of the things, but he was really getting into getting some candy.  We’ll go to a pumpkin place tomorrow.   Yesterday, I joined him and his mother to go to Grapevine. We met my nephew and his girlfriend, and had lunch and wandered around.  If you’ve never been to Grapevine, TX, you need to go!!!  It’s a very happening place.  They have the cutest little shops.

The weather was nice for a day.  I found a beautiful butterfly in my garden.  Then it was cold enough for a fire.  Seemed like a good time to make chili.

What do you do, when it’s cooler and you’re feeling like it’s FALL??  I like to cook.  Today I made a pumpkin pie.  Nice to have the house smelling like fall, with pumpkin things, baked breads and cookies.  Yummo.  Because, truthfully, Texas doesn’t have a lot of cold weather.

I’m considering having a lady come and clean my house, once a month.  She’s coming tomorrow to give me a price, or tell me it’s too gross and she won’t do it.  I have lots of recommendations for her.

 

Bill, our 75 lb. black lab, has suddenly decided he’s a lap dog.  It’s pretty funny.  He barely fits, but he needs some lovin’ and scratchin’.

And finally, I want to show you my corn maze.  Do you think you could make it through?   LOL

How is your fall going?   Do you celebrate Halloween?   Will you dress up?  Do you have a child or grandchild, or neighbor child to enjoy the holiday through their eyes?   I firmly believe it’s a fun celebration to have fun dressing up and getting candy.

Press the Like button, below, and leave a comment below.  I hope you will become a subscriber!

 

Grandma Sherry

 

Random Thoughts Coming From My Random Brain

Random Thoughts

I’m loving the feeling of Fall.  Of course, my furnace is on at night, the windows are open during the day, and the air conditioning is on , during late afternoon.

I’m kind of worn out from all of the September Happenings.

It’s becoming apparent to me that I have an addictive personality.  I’m glad I never tried a cigarette or beer.  I’d probably be a goner!   But I MUST have my diet coke,  I need my morning routine,  I love gambling, and I’ve become quite addicted to Words With Friends.  I stay up until the battery becomes dead on my phone, to play WWF.  I love the Lightning Round.   When I play cards, I could just play on and on and on.

I joined the gym at my Local Community Center.  Bought some new clothes to work out in, plus some other clothes.  I’m going to get buff!  Yes, I’ve tried this before, plus y0 y0  dieting.  This time it’s going to be my new lifestyle.   I need to do this, so I won’t go over the line with Diabetes.

Though it’s not a great deal, I’m now getting my Spousal Social Security.  I feel like I have a new life!!  Time to buy a few new things to wear.

It’s a new season, and time to get back to organizing.  Yesterday, we took a clothes basket plus two big bags full , of books, to Half Price Bookstore.  They gave me $30.  And…I only bought 3 new books.  That should hold me over the weekend.

I splurged and bought 4 new bras!!  Woohoo!!   It’s really an uplifting experience.  (ok…I know there are not any men reading this blog, so I’m just putting it all out there. LOL)

I’m going to stay all night in my Comp Room, at Winstar Casino, tomorrow night.  Hope to win some big money, and I’m going to try to talk to someone about the Counterfeit $100 I received last time I was there.  It either came out of the ticket redemption machine, or it was given to me by the cashier.  Proof?  I don’t know how to prove it.  It is of the old style, and doesn’t have the line down the center, but very well done.

I’m excited to be back in the choir at my church.  I missed that way too long.  The choir is like a little family….we laugh and sing together.

My grandchildren are awesome!!!

Toodles,

Grandma Ruddell