Week of 10-27-14 chatter

I meant stumbled, and I couldn't find the button that used to let me edit a post.

Going home now.

I noticed the spam posts, too.  Annoying, when I already struggle with the cluttered look!

I've also noticed the apparent disappearance of the Edit button.  And I tried to send a PM the other day with no success.  I had to reply to an old PM exchange with the member to send a message.

We had high, high winds on Saturday, so the yard was full of debris from the stuff blowing off the huge fir trees behind our neighbor's house.  Lights flickered, but luckily we didn't lose power.  Yesterday was quite nice, so we did some clean up, and DH mowed the lawn.  It won't be the last time; mowing season realily ends only in Janaury and February.

I've been fighting off a cold for a few days.  Felt lousy yesterday, took lots of Zicam and went to bed early.  A little better today.  

We saw an ad on TV last night for a jewelry store promoting Christmas jewelry gifts -- showed people choosing a Christmas tree in the snow.  Really?  On October 26th?  

What was in the casserole? I'm always looking for good recipes that are pretty easy.

The weather folks are using the "s" word for later this week! Yikes, I am not ready yet!!

Ronnie had a routine vet visit today and he's up to 64 lbs. Yeah! We were aiming for 65, and he looks great, so I'll take it.

I got a bit of yard work done over the weekend, but I need to mow one more time, too. (I didn't get that done on Sunday.)

Continued good thoughts and prayers for Mr. Jackie (Charles) and Jackie. Also, I hope Callie and Glenda are both on the mend.

Oh, ditto on the casserole fixings.  It's nice to have easy now and then.  Tonite was chicken picatta, which, aside from fileting and beating the tar out of the chicken breasts really is quite easy.

I guess there are advantages to not being able to find anything on the forum, and therefore not even trying!  And, only getting notifications on this thread!

Saturday was beautiful here, then yesterday was just flat ugly.  Cold, blustery and raining on and off all day.  Today was sunshine, but brisk, yet tomorrow is supposed to be close to 70.  Really wierd weather.

I'm definitely on the mend, but too darned slowly for my taste.  Have been relying too heavily on the pain meds and I don't like that.  I can deal with the ribs, but still feels like I'm wearing a bra that's wayyyy too small, even when I'm not wearing any.

Continued good thots for Charles and Jackie and Callie as well.

Kate, I will post the recipe when I get back from lunch so that I don't forget anything. It was chicken and noodles, but not made with soup as the gravy.

Speaking of Christmas, I was out last night and noticed at least one yard with red and green lights already up and lit, along with some of those net lights you put on hedges. I said pretty much what you did, Tracy. It's not even Halloween yet. Ugh.

It's warm this morning, like 68 degrees warm, but supposed to drop tonight and stay down.

I still can't log out of the forum without closing everything open in my browser, whether it's the radio station I'm streaming or the work program I'm using, so it's less convenient for me to pop in and post. Frustrating.

Must work now.

ETA: Yay for Ronnie's weight gain.

Now I'm working.

Hello all! Sorry about the spammy posts! Should be all cleared up! You can find the "edit post" feature in the grey + at the top of the post! Hoping that all of this snow talk is just a joke! I am not ready for the white stuff yet!!! We are having oddly warm weather here today and I wish it would stay!

I'm alive and mending.  Just slowly.  I'm able to sit up longer every day thankfully.  I was hoping to get the drain out Thursday (you know ... you'd think after dog puke, anal glands, etc that anything else would lose it's 'gross out' factor -- but nope -- when it's your own ... stuff ... "gross" has taken on new dimensions (I am laughing at myself.  Me?  grossed out??  yeah -- and it's pretty danged laughable!)

But the nurse told me on the phone today that since my body is obligingly still dumping fluid we may go into week 3!!!  (grumble, snark, complain)

But I gotta say -- October in Floor-daa is gorgeous, and this is a more gorgeous October than we've had in several years.  It was a blisteringly hot summer so don't be jealous folks.
12 dog feets just raced to the door -- it must be the evil UPS man or the mail lady. 
Hoping to hear from my boss in a bit.  I'd really like to start doing some work from home.  They say 4 full weeks minimum (usually 4-7) before you can return to work, but I'll go bonkers if I can't do something productive soon.

Creamy Chicken Noodle Casserole

6 oz (2.5 c) egg noodles

1 TBSP olive oil

1 8oz pkg fresh sliced mushrooms

2 ribs celery, chopped

3 medium carrots, peeled & sliced

1 small onion, chopped

1 TSP garlic powder (I used one small clove, chopped)

1 quart chicken broth

1 thyme sprig

1 8oz pkg light cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 1/2 TBSPs all-purpose flour

2 cooked chicken breasts, chopped

Topping: 1 cup bread crumbs, 1 TBSP butter, melted. Salt & pepper to taste

Combine topping ingredients & set aside.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Add olive oil to 7-quart stock pot and sauté mushrooms, celery, onions, and garlic for 3-4 minutes over medium heat. Add chicken broth and thyme, bring to a boil stirring occasionally. Add cream cheese, parmesan, and noodles. Sir until well blended. Sprinkle flour over top of mixture. Stir and cook for 1-2 minutes or until mixture begins to thicken. Fold in chicken. Pour into 3-quart casserole dish, sprinkle on topping mixture. Bake uncovered 15 minutes, remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes. Enjoy!

Hi everyone! Just a quick note to let you know we're ok. Charles will probably start chemo on Nov 10th. He had to have a tooth pulled Tuesday and has to heal up before chemo. After chemo he'll have radiation. It's all scary and sometimes overwhelming. we're doing a lot of research and keeping notes on everything the doctors tell us. He feels ok. He's lost quite a bit of weight and I'm sure he'll lose a lot more. He has a good attitude and is staying positive about everything. Hope everyone is ok or on the mend. Tina, that casserole sounds yummy.

Jackie -- I will keep you and your DH in my prayers and good thots.  Isn't it amazing how getting a tooth fixed can suddenly out-rank most anything??  No, I can't have chemo today I have to go to the dentist.  (hopefully he can see the light side of that -- and remember, I'm the root canal queen *sigh*.  Trust me -- I feel his pain!!)

YAY -- got my staples out **and** the drain out this morning!! Whoo hooo!!!

Jackie, you and Charles are continuously in my thoughts.  Along with the steady flow of strong vibes heading from OR to TX, I'll add some "good dental healing vibes" to the mix.

Callie, so glad you are staple- and drain-free.  I'm sure that feels 100% better and is probably a big step in your full recovery.  I hope it speeds up from this point on so you can try to do some work from home and feel a bit more productive!

I've been dragging all week -- still on the edge of a head-cold and sleeping poorly, so I feel crummy.  Looking forward to a relatively quiet weekend -- after the trick-or-treaters come and go, of course.  I think a couple night's of good sleep will work wonders!

Work is really slowing down.  It's seasonal, so was expected.  I called my boss about a call I had finished and got him in the middle of a corn field chasing pheasants.  I took Wed off and will be off tomorrow due to lack of work.  May just have to exercise Sky  in a WMA.  Life is good.

I found this one 10 minutes down the road-after living here 17 years.  About a half mile square with water, brush, food and cover plants.

Ran Sky for about three hours Wed.  He is a superb mouser and loves to chase the tweety birds.  It left him a little tired.  Then, an hour of training class and he slept very well.  The little twerp hit 36 lbs and outgrew his first collar.  He looks really beautiful moving through the high grass and is quartering and using his nose .    His obedience in the field-with no distractions- is really good.  He watches me, goes where I point, and recalls quickly.

Weather man is using the snow word more frequently now, but usually for up north.  It's amazing how cold 40 degrees can feel when the wind comes off a lake at about 30mph.

Uff da!!

That's a beautiful picture, Doug.  What a sky!  You've got some wonderful places to enjoya walk, with or without a dog, that's for sure!

I'm going to send Ruby to your house for a week or two -- she has no hunting skills (that I know of), but the opportunity to run and sniff and chase critters would be heaven for her.  It's hard to tire her out, but I think you could do it!

Hope everyone has a happy Halloween.  We've got our candy ready.  Only 4 bags this year.  Some years we have 100+ kids, others we have 50.  I end up eating the leftovers, so I got about 75 pieces, hoping that's the right amount.  If we run out early, the porch lights will go off!  I'm just hoping Ruby can be well-behaved and not scare the kids with her barking and chortling.

Wow, Doug.  You could start a second career as a photographer!

Could NOT believe that in one hour and 36 minutes the kids wiped out over 200 treats!  And they all got only one.  I had packages of bat and pumpkin shaped pretzels and tootsie roll pops.  Trick or treating here is limited to 5-7 but we ran out well before 7 and had to turn off the porch light.  I was very glad to see that almost every child, even the young teens, had an adult with them.

We are getting the S word thrown around for tonite....up to an inch which isn't much, but, dang it, NOT YET!