Toasty warm

Now that we are moving back to the cold country I just told you all about recently. It gets me to thinking about the type of heat we will have in our house. I enjoy being cold outside but when I am in the house I want to be toasty warm. So I have actually been checking out various ways to heat your house.

I am one of those people if my feet are cold then I am cold all over. So I think I have found the perfec solution for that. That would be what is called Radiant Floor Solutions from Pexheat. With the radiant floor heat says lower to the floor where you are as opposed to having all of the heat up toward the ceiling. I don't know about you but I don't walk on the ceiling I walk on the floor so that is where I want most of my heat to be.

Also with the Radiant Heat you can probably keep the radiant panel type heating systems completely out of sight. So if you construct it with either hydronic tubing or electric cable in your floors, walls and even in the ceiling you can conceal them. So it is much easier to place your furniture around the room and not actually be heating the underneath side of your couch. So yes for me I actually think this is what I am going to try to look for in the way of heating our new home.

On the road again

Well we are doing it again. That is Randy and I are. We are in the process of packing and moving. We have decided that we are going to move back to PA. We left there to come back to Florida but have decided well it is just too hot here. I do not like to sweat and in Florida it seems like that is about all I do. Guess we will be leaving here about the end of October to head back North. Hopefully we will get there to still enjoy some Fall weather. Last year I loved all of the fall colors on the trees and to be honest I actually loved the snow in the winter.

The sound of music

Take just a minute to watch this video it will certainly brighten your day. I have seen this many times but every time I watch it seems like the first time.

Green is the color

I have recently started going green. I have discovered that this is not something that you just wake up one morning and say "today everything in my life is green". This is a process, I started out by trying to completely do away with the plastic grocery bags and I have a stainless steel water bottle I use every day instead of bottled water.

So no I am thinking ok where do I go from here? I think the next step is to start finding ways to save water. I have just discovered that there is such a thing as dual flush toilets until today I never new such an item existed. I do not want to have to completely replace 3 toilets in the house with totally new toilets and then what do you do with your old toilets? Send them to the landfill.... Now you don't have to you can simply purchase A dual flush conversion kit and retrofit your existing toilet. In a years time you can save enough water to fill an entire swimming pool. So just think of the money you will save plus helping the environment.

They have this cool program in place to help you raise money for your local school program , scout program or an after school program. It is really pretty simple you just sign up with them and start to tell people about their fantastic product and then you use the code that you are given and as people purchase they receive 5% off their purchase and your cause receives 5% as well. So the way I look at this it is a win - win situation for everybody including the earth. Living in Florida I know that the public school do not get enough money so what better way to earn money for your school and go green at the same time when you save water.

It's That Time

YES!!!! It is that time of the year and the grandchildren are going back to school next week. I actually think they are ready to go. They will go today to meet their teachers and to find out who will be in their class with them. They are hoping to have best friends back this year and to actually maybe meet some new friends. They have had a lot of fun this summer I know but they do miss the routine of school and lazy time on the weekends.

It's That Time

Angel's Food vs. Devil's Food

I found this online an just could not resist sharing it with you.

In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth and populated the Earth with broccoli, cauliflower and spinach, green and yellow and red vegetables of all kinds, so Man and Woman would live long and healthy lives.

Then using God's great gifts, Satan created Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream and Krispy Creme Donuts. And Satan said, "You want chocolate with that?"

And Man said, "Yes!" and Woman said, "and as long as you're at it, add some sprinkles." And they gained 10 pounds. And Satan smiled.

And God created the healthful yogurt that Woman might keep the figure that Man found so fair. And Satan brought forth white flour from the wheat, and sugar from the cane and combined them. And Woman went from size 6 to size 14.

So God said, "Try my fresh green salad." And Satan presented Ranch Dressing, buttery croutons and garlic toast on the side. And Man and Woman unfastened their belts following the repast.

God then said, "I have sent you heart healthy vegetables and olive oil in which to cook them." And Satan brought forth deep fried fish and chicken-fried steak so big it needed its own platter. And Man gained more weight and his cholesterol went through the roof.

God then created a light, fluffy white cake, named it "Angel Food Cake," and said, "It is good." Satan then created chocolate cake and named it "Devil's Food."

God then brought forth running shoes so that His children might lose those extra pounds. And Satan gave cable TV with a remote control so Man would not have to toil changing the channels. And Man and Woman laughed and cried before the flickering blue light and gained pounds.

Then God brought forth the potato, naturally low in fat and brimming with nutrition. And Satan peeled off the healthful skin and sliced the starchy center into chips and deep-fried them. And Man gained pounds.

God then gave lean beef so that Man might consume fewer calories and still satisfy his appetite. And Satan created McDonald's and its 99-cent double cheeseburger. Then said, "You want fries with that?" And Man replied, "Yes! And super size them!" And Satan said, "It is good." And Man went into cardiac arrest.

God sighed and created quadruple bypass surgery.

Then Satan created HMOs.

Family times remembered

My Mother-in-law played the piano and organ at our church for years before they retired and moved from Indiana to Florida. So needless to say she was always on the lookout for new sheet music. Let me tell you if you knew my mother-in-law she was most happy when she was able somehow to find some Free Sheet Music that was when she was at her best form.

I do have to say even though I am able to read music myself I was amazed at her ability of sight reading. You could hand her a sheet of music and she could sit down and play it just as if she had been playing it all of her life. I loved to here her play different Piano Cords especially when she would play minor cords. They would sound so strange yet beautiful.

That was always part of our family get to gathers such as Christmas and other special days. My Mother-in-law would get on her very expensive organ that my father-in-law purchased for her and she would play a lot of the old songs that we all remembered and we would sing the old songs together. We had a lot of fun doing that. I have to be honest that is one of the things that I really miss about her since she passed away.

Just shoot me now

Well last night after supper Joy said hey we are going to make a quick run to Staples to get the kids school supplies. You want to go with???

Well being the age I am I should have picked up the key phrases. "quick run" Staples" "school supplies" Because hours later we returned to the house with a trunk full of bags and they still don't have everything that they were supposed to get.

I have never in my life seen so many people in staples and they all had that "deer in the headlight look" I actually think the ones that I feel the sorriest for is the men. Cause we all know men do not know how to shop on a good day let alone on the "back to school" days. Well after running the cart over several slow mothers to get to what we needed before it was all gone. (hey it's a dog eat dog world out there) We get to the check out lane. Joy purchased 3 bottles of Elmers Glue cause of the fact that she has 3 children (hence 1 bottle per child) and they were only .25 cents per bottle. Well the cashier looks at her and says you only have 3 of these? Duh do you see more? So Joy politely says yes. And said cashier says they are buy one get one free. Well you think they could have said that on the sign but nooooooooooo!. So Joy looks at me and says "Mom can you run back and get one more bottle?" Sure send the oldest person with the troupe back in to the mouth of the lion just for a .25 cent bottle of glue. So back I went and sure enough I managed to find one more bottle of the precious glue.

Then when we walk out of the store Joy says well we didn't get everything we needed so we will just hop across the parking lot to Target. So off we go with the granddaughter and one of the twin boys. "One boy was smart enough to say he wanted to stay home" So the only thing that could make it worse is that if possible there were more people in the aisles and I think the aisles were not as wide as in Staples. Cause I got stuck in one aisle for 3 hours. (OK maybe not 3 hours but sure seemed like it)

We finally make it back home way after my favorite programs had been on for the night only to discover they were still missing a few items. I think if they mention going out for the rest of the itms I will just start drooling or some other thing that they will not want to take me out into public so that I can just stay home.

I won't even go into all of the trauma that we went through in the lingerie department explaining that part of growing up for a girl means wearing a bra every stupid day of her life. Yep the granddaughter has reached that age and let me tell you to put it mildly she is ticked off at the reality of it.

Read Music

One of our grandsons took violin last year in school. They had some different techniques to teach them how to play the violin that when I was in school. But I was very pleased with the outcome by the end of the year. I think that they are teaching them some sight reading tips which is something I believe is very necessary for a musician.

I would love to see one of my grandchildren go on to learn to play the piano. As a child I took lessons but I think my piano teacher was about 150 years old and to be honest I didn't learn much from her. So for me to learn piano I would have to start all over at a beginner level which is something I am actually considering doing.

If I do follow my dream and learn to play the piano and practice, practice, practice who knows maybe in a while I will actually achieve reach the advanced level. It is something for me to think about. I believe that you are never to old to learn something new. I really think trying to learn new things actually keeps you younger.

Watercolor test

You Are Highly Inspiring

You believe that your life has a higher purpose, and you do all you can to achieve it. You are wise, and a lot of your wisdom comes from self discipline. You try to live as moderately and modestly as possible. You make room for rational, small indulgences... while living as ethically as you can.

The Watercolor Test

I think this sort of describes me. I do believe that I have a higher purpose and I try to do all that I can to achieve it. We do live moderately and try to live within out means. I have a few things that I like and when I have extra money that is what I get as my small indulgences.

Florida weather

I has been said many many times that if you don't like the weather in Florida just stick around cause in 15 minutes it will change. Well this summer that is WRONG! This summer it has been hot, hot and more hot. It is like 11:30 AM here right now and the temperature is 85 degrees. I know you say that isn't bad but the heat index or the "feels like" temperature is 109 degrees. Now let me tell you that is hot. I usually try to go out on the front porch every morning to read my Bible and this morning I went out a little later than I usually do and is is so hot that I came back in to read in our room with the AC on. There is not a leaf moving on the trees and the humidity is terrible. We also need to do some work in the garage with going through some of our stuff we have stored out there but there is no way I am getting out there now in this heat. I think we will try that early in the morning tomorrow.

Our Home Alarm System

We have recently moved into a new home and it has a home alarm system built into all of the new homes in this sub division we live in. I believe that our home alarm provider is an excellent company. So we are in the process of checking into it so that we can have the alarm system activated for our security. I really believe that in this day and age every home should have a home alarm system installed. I have heard many good things about the benefits of home alarm systems. They not only protect you in the event of a break in by a thief but also in the event of a fire. To me having 24-7 protection for your home and family is a wonderful thing to have. I really believe that an alarm system is a small price to pay for your security and peace of mind.

Nap time

My husband called me into the family room yesterday afternoon real quietly and there I found one of my twin grandsons laying on the love seat asleep and along with him was my liitle chihuahua "Snoopy" laying across him taking a nap too. It was so cute I had to run to get the camera and snap a few pictures.

Castles and Knights

This is a picture from the back of the lego castle the boys got for their birthday and they along with their sister worked all day to build it. I am here to tell you that they have more patience than I have. This is a picture from the front of the castle. The men's were having a hard time standing up on the carpet.

This is the final object they received guess it is some sort of catapult that throws those things with the red on the end.

Well they had a good time putting it together.

Quiet Day

Today has been a pretty quiet day here at the house. I did not see much out of the grandchildren which some days is a good thing. That means they were pretty quiet themselves. I think tonight after we eat dinner we are going to make a run to Ikea. That has to be one of my favorite things. The only complaint I have with them is that they have started closing so early in the evenings. I guess with the economy they are trying to save money just like the rest of us. But I do love Ikea. We got a catalog this week from them and there are a couple of things in it that I want to pick up and they are relatively cheap which is always good. So ta ta for now.

We have babies

A few weeks ago I saw a pair of sand cranes and went out and took the usual pictures of them. They seem unusually tame which means someone is probably feeding them, which by the way is against the law in Florida. You see if you feed them they become dependent on humans and cease to look for food for themselves. But back to the point yesterday I noticed not 2 for 4 sand cranes. When they got closer I noticed that two of them were smaller and younger than the original pair. So therefore we have babies.

I Love Sandals

Anybody who knows anything about me knows I have several things I love to shop for. One of my weaknesses is shoes. Right now living in Florida I wear sandals every day of the week. So I am always looking for just the perfect pair of them.

Now I have to be very careful and keep close track of my sandals because my granddaughter has discovered that she can fit into my shoes. So I guess she is going to be just like me in the fact that I love shoes. It is something I came by honestly I guess you could say. My mother loved shoes and my daughter loves them so my granddaughter is a fourth generation shoe lover.

Right now I am looking for a new pair of Skechers sandals. The reason I no longer have my Skechers is that my granddaughter talked me out of the pair that I had and loved dearly. Oh well at least she is happy with her new sandals. So for me this is a very good reason to buy a new pair of sandals.

Happy Birthday - Happy Birthday

No I didn't studder in my title. I have two fabulous grandsons that just turned 10 today and their "Nannie and Poppy" want to wish them both a very happy birthday. I can't believe that they actually turn 10 today. As their Mother tells them they hit the double digits today. They have to be the two best grandsons that I could ever ask to have. There is not a day goes by that one of them or even perhaps their older sister comes to me and says "Nannie are you OK?" Yeah I know sometimes it is just being nosey they want to see what I am doing at that particular moment. But they also want to be sure we are ok. They have grown so much in their 10 years it is unbelievable. I have no idea what they will grow up to become but I know that they will both succeed at whatever it is that they set their eyes upon. I just hope that they are neater when they eat their birthday cake than when they turned one. I am sure they will since they are much older now and much neater. Yeah right. Love you boys!!!!!!!!!!!!