Mom the Errand girl

Let it not be said that my Mom is not resourceful, and will have a very planned out circuitous route for her errands of the day.

On Monday January 31,2011 Mom started out on her errands. Having baked her famous biscottis for the neighbors who shoveled her entire driveway on Sunday and the Sanzaro's, as she cannot make biscotti and not take some to them! She has her list in hand she was ready to go. Now remember is was about 20 degrees this day, yet sunny and clear.

1. Stopped by the neighbors 2 doors down and dropped off a perfect selection of biscotti for the snow shovling family.
2. Found a Honda Key, walked it to Kroughs to ask them to post it on "that list serve thing for Oberon Street" to see who may have lost their Honda key.
3. Drove to Sanzaro's to drop off biscotti on the front porch.

Here is where her day got interesting! She left the car running as it was 20 degrees out and she would just be a minute to leave the tidy package on the front door. But as her norm when she got out of her 1998 Saturn wagon she locked the door by holding up the handle........key inside and car running. Hum! Delivered biscotti, knocked to see if anyone home. No. Hum!

Cell phone usually in pocket, but tucked safely in locked engine running car. So waited for someone to drive by the car in the neighborhood to call AAA. Called AAA and was told "at least 2 hours". Smart thinking little 87 year old pulled the "I am 87 and out in the cold with the car running!" card.

Dispatcher: "Are there children in the car?"

Mom:"Don't you think they would unlock the door?"

Dispatcher: "They could be in car seats."

Mom: "Again, I am 87!"

Dispatcher: "I'll send someone, but it may be 2 hours"

At this point the lady who stopped insisted she come home with her and wait in the warm of her home, but no she could not see the car from her house, and if AAA came and no one was there they would leave. So Mom just leaned on her warm engine and "enjoyed the crisp air"! Not 15 minutes go by and up pulls AAA to rescue Mom. He gets in the car in less than a minute and Mom offers to get her AAA card and identification. The guy said to her: "Mame if you were going to steal a car don't you think you'd go up the street here and steal a Ferrari or a Jaguar or a Mercades? I am sure this is your Saturn! You have a good day and be careful!" So off she goes on her merry errand list.

4. Further on the same street she visited a dear friend suffering from the long term affects of Schtzophrenia.

5. Drove up to Kensington to the bank. No one in line, deposited a check.

6. Drove to Wheaton to get her toes done and found a meter with a hour and 15 mintues on it, just enough time to have her toes doen and be home for lunch!

She is one errand running girl. She may want to ammend this. But it is the best I can remember.

Time for kitten #2

Mom and I went back to the home where I picked up Smokey from her adventure from North Carolina. It was time to find a playmate for her. Melissa (the foster Mom ) said she would have 2 yellow kittens, which she did, they were sweet, but were skin and bones. BUT she also had a litter of 5 kittens: 4 gray males and 1 black and white male. And a 7 month old black and white she was holding for a friend at work that I convinced it was time for a kitten for her too. I was sure I'd fall in love with the yellows. But was drawn to the black and whites. I snapped photos of as many as I could and brought them home for Tim to pick. He (un-coached by me) chose my favorite too. The one little black and white male from the Montgomery county humane society. So, he has to go to the vet this week, but he will be mine soon.

He is the last one above, with the cute little black on his nose.

Kittens are fun. This lady is a saint.

No Power

So it has snowed again and we have no power. This was a heavy snow that snapped big tree limbs like tooth picks. Tim is in a hotel in Gaithersburg. I came home from the hospital under the auspice that the power had come on. Pepco called Tim's cell to tell him so. This is false. So, I've made the best of a bad situation. Boiled some water, made some hot chocolate and have lit some candles and will hope for the best.



I will resort to Mom's tonight if it does not come on soon. It is getting chilly. But Miss Smokey is warm and learning to come and get some loving!

Finished!

We did it!

I think this is the final little thing we had to do to our lamp. We "re-patina ed" the color of the solder to a more brown to match the base better and put little blue beads on the pulls. We had to drill the holes bigger in 3 perfect little blue beads with a little diamond bit on a dremmel tool. That in and of itself was a project! We've had the beads since before Thanksgiving! But now it is done and Mom can check that "little project" of her list! I think she is now on to a side panel for Kate's front door. I'll try to document it with photos too.




Mom truly was the inspiration and motivator for this project. I did the little blue top pieces and the blue borders. She did the very intricate flowers. We have 662 pieces total in the lamp. Not sure if you can see our little blue beads on the pulls, but it truly makes the final little detail to our year long project.

I am so proud of our efforts. Mom is an amazing inspiration. She enjoys her lamp every night at 5:15 it pops on and gives her a little thrill. Spring is pushing hard here. Soon it will be time to adjust her timer for her lamp to come on later! Love the longer days. Come on spring!

The kitten comes home!

Here she is in all her glory! She is a bit shy, but loves the sink! So of course I've put in a blue towel to make it soft for her. I have her in the downstairs powder room as I am sure she would hide somewhere in the house. She is slow to warm up, but will play in the sink and does like yarn.
Names, not sure.......Diva, Shadow, Smokey.....she is a love, and I am so happy to have a kitten!

Look what I found on petfinder!

A little kitten for the Kuchta household!
I am so excited!
She is a rescue from North Carolina named Georgia.
I think something like Cat-o-lena from Carolina, and call her Leena! Any other suggestions?
This is on my first visit, more photos this weekend I am sure.

I love numbers

This year we have 4 unusual dates: 1/1/11, 1/11/11, 11/1/11 and my personal favorite: 11/11/11. A special Veteran's Day.

It is also a coincidnce that you can take the last 2 digits of the year you were born and add it to the age you will BE this year and it will equal 111!

I'd say 111 is the 3 digit number to play this year, IF I were a 3 digit number player!

Happy 2011!

All Junk no personal mail

So, the Christmas season spoils me for real snail mail. I love to get and send Christmas cards/greetings. Today marks the end of my official real mail extravaganza. I picked up the mail in anxious anticipation for those last mailers only to find all junk mail. Not one piece of mail I wanted to open or read. It all went directly in the recycling, did not get opened or looked at.
OH
Time for February and Valentine's day cards!

Happy Winter blues!

my number one commenter is internet-less...oh NO!

Who will step up to the plate and comment? After all, what is a blog without a comment or two! Who knows who is even out there reading my mindless blithering!

So today was my first day back at work in 11 glorious, don't set an alarm, go to bed when you want, get up when you want days! And it was not so bad. Tim got up BEFORE me and had 2 blood red oranges sliced for my breakfast. Yummo, thank you Tim and thank you Florida.

Work was fine, really fine. No major problems to solve, just the usual gone a week ones. We have a new student for 8 weeks, I think she will fit in just fine.

Tonight I came home to dinner on the table, brats with mustard and a bit o left over bean soup from the weekend. And for dessert the last of Glenn Birdsongs "Putin"? Not sure of the spelling there, but I had the fruit one and it was excellent!

Since our huge TV in the addition died on our trip. (Tim actually accused me of having it done in cause I want a flat screen TV so bad! Had I thought of it I might have, but I did not. It just has died after 20 years! Imagine that. 36 inches of HUGEness needs to be catapulted to the dump, and it will take 4 grown men to wrestle that thing in the back of the Ram. And Tim and I will be able to carry the new flat screen in together.....after he gets a job......and Karen is giving us a TV for the addition until we get Tim employed........but I digress) I started knitting a scarf on our drive south so I knit a bit on a scarf I started on the road trip o Rama. See below, if anyone is in love with it let me know and it just might be yours! See that will get you to comment! Ha, I figured it out, offer stuff and then I have to get comments! It is actually prettier in person, and very soft. I am only about half way done, so it won't be instant gratification for comments.

Then last night I spent way too much time playing with a toy magnate from David M. in Washington state. I you tubed these things and was quite inspired! Of course I had to stop the 4 minute video to work with the magnates that the person so effortlessly did. It only took me about 30 minutes! But here is my current design, it will take a while for me to be willing to destroy this one.




The you tube is below! I am getting to modern and technical!

Happy Monday everyone. Get those fingers typing and send me your comments! A scarf just may be in your future!

Day 2 of 2011, a pajamma Sunday.

I thought of a few more things I'd like to do or resolve to do.......should I put them on yesterday. HUM.
Blog more often. I see last year I blogged 73 times, and the year before, only starting in Sept it was 32. So perhaps a bi-weekly blog would be good! A recap on Sunday and a mid week of how pooped I am!

I know I go to my family's blogs in anxious anticipation of what they have been doing, as I am sure their life is far more exciting than mine. Only to see the same post for 3 months. I am so tired of Halloween for the Todd Kestners, and David and his Idaho spandex, but he is back with new year resolutions too. Perhaps he could go for a weekly blog resolution to let us know how the units of sales are going (I presume those units are what we would refer to as car units!) and how the 4 little David and Marcy's are doing as well as their parents. I've discovered that just a few lines will do, and photos are not always a must. And once you start, sometimes you can't stop!

Minnner ninner is now the bishops wife, mother of 4, puppy trainer, Aunt extraordinaire to those who will let her, etc., etc., etc., so I am sure she will not be blogging much.

Bethany is in La Center in Internet withdraw, she said it won't be till February that we see her.......maybe she could blog at Kelly's house! Not that she and Andy don't have anything much to do now....find a place to live, find a good school for the 4 young Kestner men, find their ward, unpack and set up house!

Holly is busy with her 3 and school, she is better at changing her blog, though I did get tired of her canning tomatoes, great photo, but her quilt inspired me to finish a jeans quilt I started.......30+ years ago, I think that is safely zip locked away in Mom's closet, or maybe it was Mom's, but now I want to finish it! Maybe at Rehoboth Beach while Tim studies in his last 2 classes in this LAST semester! YEA!

And Susan I can only keep up with via Facebook and hidden messages in her facebook postings that I don't understand, but she is constant. AND she has taken up knitting! I am so proud of her. She decked out Sandy in very cute red and white striped hat, scarf and mittens. I've never made mittens.

So, I'll snap a photo of my scarf that I started on our wonderful road trip to Florida. (See 1-3-11) See December 31, 2011 for a trip monologue......it is still in the making. I am working on the photos.

2011, a new decade

A new year is here and time to make those resolutions. These are off the top of my head, so who knows what I'll come up with as the year goes on. Then Maybe I'll get to figure out how to put that ----------- through words and have the words still show and get a few things done. Another to put on my list!

So the usual to loose weight. A shocker to get on the scale today. That is the reality I need every morning. I suppose I have the usual resolutions.
1. Loose weight
2. Organize my office
3. Finish some projects
4. Read more
5. Clean junk drawers
6. Clean out under the house
7. Get a kitten or 2 or a puppy.

Then there are the life goals still lurking in the back round, or bucket list (things to do before I kick the bucket)
1. See baby turtles emerge from the sand and scurry to the beach
2. Along the same vein as #1, see the female turtle come ashore to lay her eggs.
3. Go to the Galapagos before George the last tortoise of his kind dies.
4. See the great wall of China

And just general to do:
1. organize photos, a life long job
2. organize recipes
3. organize files

Watch less TV, do more hand crafts, garden more.
And last as first, loose some (a lot) of weight.