Category: lifestyle

Birthdays and Projects

The Pandemic Summer is almost over! It’s really hot and dry, here in Texas. We are in North Central Texas and we are not close to the coast, or to the hurricanes. That’s something to be thankful for , and we are praying for all of those who have been affected by that tragedy. There are so many things happening around the country….hurricanes, fires, riots, covid and politics. And now the kids are heading back to school. It’s a whole new world out there, for teachers and students. I’m glad I’m no longer teaching. My grandchildren are negotiating these changes and so far, they are doing well.

August was our big month of celebrating birthdays. We went to Kansas, to celebrate my brother’s birthday. His wife has been quite ill and he has been her caretaker for the past year. My sister, my hubby and I, and my niece went for the day and had a great time. I had not seen my brother or sister since January. All of us have been carefully avoiding crowds . So it was fun. We had Mexican food, and tropical decorations…ok..we didn’t quite coordinate on that! LOL My niece had brought a tropical cake.

The birthday boy, Mike!

My husband, Dick, and my sister, Toni.

They have pulled out every blanket and pillow, and multiple toys. Lots of cleanup, but they have so much fun!

I bought this apron at The Merc.

Two weeks later, we celebrated my grandson’s birthday, mine and my granddaughter’s. They came to our house, and we had cake and gifts, and the grandkids had a great time playing together. Love it when my kids can be together with us. My granddaughter got a tea set, and we had a tea party. My daughter, Jessi, and my DIL, Crystal and I were invited to the party. My daughter was the Prostitute, my DIL was the Church Lady, and I was the Socialite. So fun!

Feeling perky!

It was a popular cake!
The birthday ‘kids’..Sherry, Isaac and Libby

Projects…oh, I have many that I need to do. Some of the few that I’ve done lately, include cleaning out and organizing my freezer, cleaning out the medicine and toiletry shelves in my closet, and recovering my breakfast nook chairs. That was a new experience for me. I’m not very good at the corners!! But they look better.

Before
During
After

old chair

New Chair covers.
The messy freezer

New freezer containers
Organized with new containers.

I haven’t felt very well lately, due to lower back and leg pain. The Dr. put me on Steroids for a week, and I’ll start physical therapy tomorrow. The steroids gave me a lot of energy. That helped me get some things done. Yeah for steroids!!!

I hope you are doing ok during this trying time. Actually, I’m becoming a homebody. But I’m tired of cooking all of the time. I usually get take-out for lunch. I need to see my friends!! But we are blessed to have our children and grandchildren fairly close. We are so much better off than so many people!

Have a great day,

Grandma Sherry

This Unusual Spring

Welcome to the fourth month of Covid 19!! What a Spring! This has been such a different year. I am just now, with mask on, starting to have a few piano students return to my house. I gave a few on Zoom. Mostly, I’ve missed my students. Four of them are Seniors, so I won’t see them much.

I feel so sad for the Seniors. They had such a weird ending to their high school years. And five of them also graduated, at the same time, from the Community College. So cool! But not much in the way of celebrating. I have nine seniors that I’m sending cards and gift cards to. I’m so impressed with these students and how hard they’ve worked!! What would I REALLY like to do??? Give them all a big hug!

What has everyone been doing during their Covid 19 time? I’ve organized a bit, here and there. My friends have joked that we need to tour each others’ closets, when this is all over. I’ve done a lot of cooking and eating. Still kept my Grandson, Isaac, three days a week, during this time. His mom worked from home. He didn’t go to his other babysitter. We’ve pretty much stayed in, except to pick up things from a store or two. Yes, Dick has still gone bike riding, swimming when he can, and golfing. Hasn’t slowed him down much. He bought the extended time use of Zoom, and seems to have been in charge of lots of meetings and get-togethers on Zoom. He just went back to work last week.

Looking good.
Cucumber gone wild!

I have done some gardening. In my Casket Above Ground Planter…yes, it looked like that, when Dick was making it….I planted some plants. I also planted one cucumber plant and one watermelon plant. Remind me NEVER to do that again! That cucumber plant has taken over the world. I finally bought a tomato cage to wind it up in.

Another thing I’ve done, is sit and look at different store sights, on my computer. Yes, I decided to start wearing some dresses, and I’ve kind of gotten carried away, buying some from Penney’s and Steinmart. You can see a few here. With my last order from Penney’s, they somehow included three tee shirts. I didn’t order those. Anyway, the photo of the polka dot shirt, with the jean skirt, is one of those shirts.

Isaac came this week, and had watched Toy Story 4. He wanted to make Forky. So we found the materials needed, and today we made Forky. He loved it. We are also working on a construction paper flag. I’m teaching him the” Pledge of Allegiance”, and all about the flag. Sunday is Flag Day. We will all stand and salute the flag, before dinner. Looking for our flag attire.

Forky from Toy Story 4

It’s been such a hard week and a half, with the senseless death of George Floyd, and the fallout from that event. So many protests around the country. I believe peaceful protests are great, and I’m happy to say that Ft. Worth protestors, for the most part, have been peaceful. But I am appalled by the looting and destroying of property. There are a lot of young people, fighting for their cause, and they’ve been cooped up with Covid 19, not getting out, and needing to have a cause. I don’t know why some think the looting is going to help matters. Good grief. It will be a surprise if we don’t have a lot more positive cases of Covid 19.

It’s getting SO DARNED HOT! I miss playing Bunko, Poker, going to church and seeing my friends, strolling around the stores,going to the casinos and hugs. But, we shall move forward and get past this. Everyone stay safe. Stay cool. Stay in. Try a new recipe. Get a new hobby. Remember to love yourself and others.

Love,

Grandma Sherry

MEXICAN VEGETARIAN CASSEROLE…A FRIDAY FREEZER MEAL!

I’m excited to share this recipe with you. This is a yummy recipe that my family loves…especially my daughter, who isn’t a fan of a lot of meats. This is also a good recipe to use right now, when grocery supplies are low, and people aren’t wanting to go to the store. Is the Corona … Continue reading “MEXICAN VEGETARIAN CASSEROLE…A FRIDAY FREEZER MEAL!”

Yummy!

I’m excited to share this recipe with you. This is a yummy recipe that my family loves…especially my daughter, who isn’t a fan of a lot of meats. This is also a good recipe to use right now, when grocery supplies are low, and people aren’t wanting to go to the store. Is the Corona Virus taking its toll on you and your pantry? I had everything for this recipe, in my pantry or refrigerator, except for the bunch of green onions. I purchased that. I’m not sure of the origin of this recipe, because I typed it up for my files. I will tell you that this is not my original recipe.

This recipe says to spoon into a greased 13 x 9 inch baking dish. I decided to use two 8×8 pans. One of the pans, we had for dinner. The other one went to the freezer. Be sure and label the recipe name, the date, and instructions for baking. It’s so nice to be able to pull out a meal from the freezer, when you have a busy day planned. I usually thaw mine over night. I covered mine with foil, for the first 30 minutes, and then removed the foil so the cheese could melt nicely. Enjoy!

Ingredients…plus the rice was cooking.

MEXICAN VEGETARIAN CASSEROLE

1 c. uncooked rice

1 – 15 1/4 oz. can whole kernel corn, drained

1 – 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 – 10 oz. can tomatoes and green chiles (Rotel or store brand)

1 – 8 oz. Carton sour cream (you can use low fat but not fat free)

1 – 8 oz. jar picante sauce

2 c. (8oz) shredded Cheddar Cheese

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Cook rice according to directions. You should have about 2 1/2 c.. Cool slightly. Combine rice with above ingredients in a large bowl. Spoon into a lightly greased 13 x 9 inch baking dish or two 8 x 8 inch pans.

One for tonight, one for the freezer.

Sprinkle with:

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1 – 2 1/4 oz. can sliced ripe olives

1 – 8 oz. pkg. Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

Bake one at 350* for 50 minutes.

TO FREEZE: Cover the pan with foil. Label with the recipe title, the date, and cooking instructions.

TO COOK FROM FROZEN: Remove from freezer and thaw overnight. Bake as noted above. I sometimes add extra minutes to the cooking time. Remove the foil for the last 10 minutes of cooking.

It’s hard to mess up this recipe. The last time I made it, I started putting in all of the ingredients and got carried away. I put the green onions and sliced ripe olives in with the rest of the ingredients. Then I looked at the recipe for the topping, and went OOPS! So I dug out a bit of green onions and a few olives, and put them on top. I also added some whole ripe olives, and then the cheese. It all tasted good.

Leave me a comment to let me know how you liked this recipe. Subscribe to my blog.

Have a great day!

Grandma Sherry

A DOSE OF GRANDKIDS, AND A DOSE OF ORGANIZING

Wow! The world is changing so much! It’s rather crazy out there. Have you washed your hands lately?? Sterilized your light switches and door knobs? Are you under a Lock Down or Shelter In Place? We are learning a whole new way of life, and we are under a Shelter In Place mandate.

The empty shelves at the Grocery Store

We can go to the grocery store, and stay 6 ft. away from other customers. Many of the shelves are bare, because people are hoarding toilet paper, sterilization products and various kinds of food. I tried ordering, online, at our local HEB store. I went and picked up my order. Luckily, I had to wait on the car in front of me to get their order. Meanwhile, they brought another load of groceries out, and called my name. WHAT? I already had my order. The gal had given me the wrong order, and so they unloaded my trunk and put in the new order. They’re doing the best they can, but having lots of people from other departments help them out.

Batman and the Princess…they kind of fought over the magic wand.
Such pretty rainbows!
And then they mixed the paints together. Oh brother!
Teaching them to play Mother , May I?
Finally, even Batman needed a nap!

At the beginning of our Shelter In Place order, my grandkids came and visited from Austin area. They stayed the week with us…they were on their Spring Break. My youngest grandson, Isaac, came for a couple of days to join them. They were delightful and playing and playing. We did some Nana school, made green pancakes for St. Patrick’s Day, and Batman took care of the Princess. He finally wore out. Boppa and Nana were also worn out. But it was entertaining for us, and it was so quiet after they left.

I sold this for $65.

I discovered Facebook Market Place, about a week before our mandate. I was excited to sell my old milk can to a guy from Wichita. He was so excited! I also sold some old VCR videos that I used in the classroom. Since then, I haven’t tried much to sell anything.

Organizing on the futon.
The futon also serves as the garage for the cars.
oh dear. Toys everywhere.
The mess.
I feel calmer now. My daughter painted the big monkey. It’s little bitty dots.

I was thinking about selling the futon, that folds out into a bed, in the playroom. It is a small room, and it just took up too much room. The grandkids don’t usually sleep on it anyway. But when I folded it up, it made such a difference in the room, that I kept it. It was a good place to sit. I organized the playroom, recycling a stacked drawer cart that we had in the garage. I put it in the closet, and put extra things in those drawers. Sent a bunch of things to Goodwill. It all looks a lot neater. Now…just to keep it that way.

We just bought paint to work on the inside of our house. That, and working outside in the flower beds, will be our next project. I’ve started on a closet that is driving me crazy. I gave a couple of piano lessons over Zoom. I have much admiration for teachers, who are using Zoom for their lessons. What a neat app!

How are you doing? Everyone have enough essentials? I’m missing my friends. Need to play some poker!!! Need to play some Bunco! But I’m blessed to be able to walk the neighborhood, and have enough food. Everyone stay healthy! I know it’s hard to respond on here…let me know on Facebook or Instagram as to how you are doing.

Thinking of you,

Grandma Sherry

JUST CALL ME SUCKER!

I AM A SUCKER! Read on to find out why this happened. Oh my!

OK….I’ll get to that part in a bit. I am totally humiliated by the idiotic thing I did. Never let me go shopping again, in a port of call!

We’ve had a good January and February. I’ve done some organizing, and am STILL organizing. We had a Super Bowl party at our house, enjoyed our grandkids, celebrated our anniversary, and went on a cruise.

ORGANIZING…I threw out 3/4 of my tupperware type of containers. Then I bought some new ones, with matching lids. The problem with my containers, is my daughter and family come over for dinner, and then they take home food in one of my containers. Somewhere along the way, things disappear. So now I have less things and everything has lids. Woohoo!

Cleaning out and getting in new stuff.

This week, I watched “Jamie’s Journey”, on You Tube, and admired her clear plastic bins that she had for her refrigerator. I thought that could be a big improvement for mine, so I ordered a set. When my husband saw the box, he said “where are you going to put them? The refrigerator is full of food!” Silly man. I cleaned out the fridge, and organized things in my containers. You can’t see them very well, in the photo, but it’s so much nicer.

We had the Super Bowl party at our house, and I won $80. Woohoo! Had several young teenagers here, plus Isaac. Good game and ads, but we felt the half-time show was pretty risque. Suddenly, during half time, I looked up and it appeared we had our own half-time show! My daughter was riding the tricycle. My word!

Our half-time show!

We used to live in Toledo, OH, for 14 years. About 16 years ago, we moved to Texas. But we still keep in touch with the fun group we used to hang out with. When we lived in Toledo, our “gang” took a cruise together. We celebrated our 25th Wedding Anniversary on that cruise. Last week, we toured again, and Dick and I celebrated our 44th Anniversary. We had so much fun! We miss having a fun group like this to hang out with.

My good win, in the casino!

Well….here’s my Sucker Moment on the cruise. I went down the main shopping street in Nassau. There was a gal, standing outside of a store, with a sample of a skin care pad. I took one, and she lured me into the store to try out a cream to fix the bags under my eyes. She put on some nice cream, and then the pressure started to have me buy it. It was ONLY $1,000! WHAT??? No way. Well, she could make a deal with me….(she whispered this)…she had a pkg. that had a torn area in the celephane covering. She could sell that to me for $130. So…SUCKER…SUCKER…SUCKER…I bought it.

Oh my gosh! What was I thinking? It doesn’t look like the same stuff, though it’s in a pretty container. When we returned home, I looked up the company and the reviews. Everyone said that it was a big fraud and it wasn’t the same thing that they thought they were paying for. So I say unto you…don’t let them sucker you into the store! DON’T BUY IT!

Have a good week. Let me know what time, if any, that YOU got suckered into something.

Toodles,

Grandma Sherry