Whirlwind weekend....

This weekend we managed to get some things done around here though you wouldn't be able to tell by looking at the apartment. Saturday we got new shades for most of the windows. We had a slight measuring incident which resulted in us getting two of the shades slightly larger but they only cost a couple of bucks so it's all good. I made a killer dinner Saturday night. I made rib eyes steaks, corn on the cob and new potatoes. This is one of my favorite meals so even though I wasn't feeling great I ate like a champ! LOL We watched some horrible horror movie on Netflix. When I say horrible I mean stupid. I love horror movies and it's really hard to find one these days that can get to me. This one was a stinker. Also a stinker was Chronicle which we rented the night before. I had high hopes for this one but, alas, it stunk!

Sunday we did laundry. Now, that in and of itself doesn't sound like much but I hate, loathe and despise doing laundry. It mean packing up all our dirty crap and hauling it over to the laundromat and then sitting there for a couple of hours while we wait for it to get done. To me that's time wasted and I hate it. I wish I was wealthy enough to just toss out used clothes and buy new ones when I needed them! LOL But, alas, I'm not so there we sat. While we were there our friend Ren was working on the apartment. He's repairing and painting three rooms. He's fixed endless cracks and dings in the walls and mudded them. Today he was sanding all of that which meant our entire place was covered in a fine white dust. He covered everything but that stuff gets in where it wants to so it was everywhere. Can't wait til the whole things done. Later this summer, my sister/landlord is having the kitchen, halls and bathroom refloored. That will be monumental! And this little place will look brand new!

Tonight I also went through most of the dresser drawers, getting rid of stuff that doesn't fit, and putting the stuff that does in it's place. How on earth have I accumulated so much clothing? I don't know!

Oh, and the best thing we did was purchase our tickets to Sweden! We're going in August and though it will be a busy trip it will be a good one too! So, all in all, a productive weekend. Now, on to the work week...

Weekend at last...

Good lord, this weekend could not come fast enough for me. Work was something I can only describe as hellish and eternal. I wish I could just sleep in tomorrow. I need that. I need a Saturday with no alarms, no errands to run, no plans...just sleep. Unfortunately, I can't. So this weekend will run right into next week and I will not feel at all as if I had a break.

Such is life.

ZOMBIES!!!

Each year at this time Zombies infiltrate Kenosha, WI. They ride their bikes around the town, stopping at local bars for a brew or two, scare unsuspecting passersby, and just have a good old Zombie time. This weekend was the annual Zombie Ride here! I didn't participate but two of my nieces and some of their friends did. Here's some Zombified fun!!

At last...it's Friday!

This week was long and somewhat tense but, finally, the weekend is upon us! The weather here has blown in in true Wisconsin fashion. We've had cold, rainy weather for the past two days. I was/am hoping that at some point the sun will shine this weekend. I'm dying to get out and get some pictures of the changing colors to share. At the rate it's going now, the colors will change during this wet cold spell and there will be no pictures. Alas...

One things for certain, tomorrow I am going to partake of a seasonal ritual I've participated in since I was a kiddo. That is...drum roll please...a trip to Jerry Smith's Pumpkin Farm. If you have never been to a pumpkin farm at this time of year you have no idea what I'm talking about! This is a regular farm which throughout the year grows regular crops - corn, tomatoes and whatnot - but, at Halloween, transforms itself into a Halloween wonderland of witches, goblins, ghouls and screaming banshees. They have a petting zoo and a haunted bus. Yes, a haunted BUS run by this guy.



That's Dr. Destruction. He's pretty much a local celebrity. He has a local access cable show which shows weird, scary movies. He and his "ghoulies" do up an old school bus and creep out the locals each year. He also has a band and once ran for Mayor of Kenosha. Yes, all this in full make up!

There is a country store where you can buy all kinds of goodies. You can pick out your perfect pumpkin too. But the very best thing, the holy grail of the pumpkin farm, and the reason I am still going there now that I'm all grown up is this...


That, my friends, is a turtle caramel apple. It's a HUGE Granny Smith apple, covered in caramel and premium chocolate, dipped in pecans and drizzled in even more chocolate. It's soooo worth the $7 they ask for it too. The thing is the size of a soft ball and the taste is...well, the taste is worth going back year after year!

Here's a link to Jerry Smiths.
http://www.smithpumpkinfarm.com/

w00t! It's the weekend!!

One time, a long time ago, I had made a promise to myself that I wouldn't become one of those people who lives for the weekend but, rather, would be someone who lives it up every day of the week. Oh screw that! Ha! Being older and wiser, I now completely understand how important it is to get in gear for the work week, get through and then let out a huge w00t! for the weekend. So, here it is...Saturday! Can you hear me w00ting?

I had a really fantastic Friday night. It was spent the usual way - dinner with family and then cards to please my card shark mama. But I got there earlier than anyone else so my mom and I had time to have a heart to heart talk. I find it hard to talk to my mom sometimes because I know she doesn't always agree with the decisions I make in my life and she worries (needlessly) about me. But we had a great talk. We talked about how we felt about what was happening with my sister. We talked about the recent raise I got at work. And then, we talked about the plans Alex and I have to get married next year and all that immigration stuff and the long range plan for us to move to Sweden. All of this was difficult for me to present to her before because she's 91 and I thought the idea of my leaving the country would upset her a lot. Even though she did express a sense of worry about that she also expressed that she has always wanted me to be happy and she knows Alexander loves me and I love him and that makes me very happy. So she completely surprised me with her responses and just made me know that she loves me very much and always will.

Mom's are great for that. I was reading Van's blog and he was extolling the goodness of his own mama. I so know what he means.



I love this picture of my mom and Alex. Not that it's a great picture. It's not. It's a horrible picture. But I love the way my mom is looking at Alex trying to look so interesting in what he's saying. The truth is, she can't hear very well so she's not catching a word he's saying! But, honestly, does that woman look 91 years old to you? Damn, I come from good Polish stock!

Lazy Saturdays...

Went to the Farmer's Market...bought fresh oyster mushrooms, new potatoes, tomatoes, and blueberries. Went to the store...bought crackers, and a couple of food storage containers. Went to the Daily Dose...had a berry smoothie. Went to my sister's house...swam for a couple of hours. Went to the grocery store...got some chicken, bread, yogurt, cottage cheese, asparagus, and bananas. Came home, cleaned the cat box, played with kitties, made home made chicken soup, watched some Olympics, read some more of "Blink", wrote in my journal.


That's about it.

Long weekends, too much booze and the amazing Favre...

Hello, my name is Mary and if I have another weekend like this one I may need AA!

Well, really, who could blame me! Yesterday the Greenbay Packers beat Seattle and are one step closer to the muthafuggin' Superbowl! AND...today Dallas lost! Wheeee HOOOOOO!!! I went to watch the game at my sister's house with a bunch of other out of their mind fans. I imbibed...much. But c'mon it was a party! And what a party! It was like watching great art seeing the Pack play at Lambeau in the snow. As a cheesehead, I can honestly tell you, we were in church worshipping at the altar of Lombardi. And it was loud...cuz' we imbibed...much. Hehe!

Today I went to my mothers house for lunch and to get some laundry done. It was just one of those days, you know...household chores, homemade French toast, oh...and martinis. Apparently my mom got this great Martini set for Christmas so we decided to break it all in today. We did our best to make sure that it worked. You know, it was all in the name of quality assurance and after several tests I can say with confidence that it is truly a high quality little set. Then Dallas lost. ( I just love saying that... Dallas lost... Dallas lost....yeah, that's pretty sweet to say... )

So this was one of those weekends that felt gloriously longer than usual. Saturday felt like it was Sunday and that made Sunday a nice surprise. And there was booze, which helps and Dallas lost (hehehe) and life is good, my friends, life is good.

Here kitty, kitty!

I'm getting a cat! My sister/landlord finally came through for me and said that I could get a cat! So, tomorrow afternoon I'm going to take a trip to the local shelter and fill out an application to adopt a kitty! I'm so excited about this. I have always had a pet but I haven't had one for about two years now. I had a great rabbit named Ozzy (after Ozzy Osbourne because he did bear a remarkable resemblance) for about 13 years which, if you know anything about rabbits, is a very long time. I hope that they have a cat at the shelter that has the kind of lovable, cuddly, fun loving personality that I'm looking for. I don't want a snooty cat. I want a person cat. Okay, now I'm sounding weird...I'll stop.

It's freaking COLD here. The weather man keeps threatening us with snow and so far he's just a big fat liar liar pants on fire about that. I'm hoping for snow! What's the point of living in the mid-west if the seasons don't really change? So, for now, all we have is cold without the snow. If it has to be this cold, it might as well be pretty too!

Tonight was actually kind of fun. I went to one of my sister's homes for dinner and a deadly serious game of Canasta. My sister is the worlds best bakery chef but unfortunately tonight she made a less than appetizing dinner and bought a day old cake at the grocery store. But we had a good time and that's what really matters. My mom is the "professional" card player among us. She doesn't speak while playing and gets increasingly annoyed at those of us who do. We never play cards without a friendly wager so there was some money on the line. A whole whopping $6 which was won by my sister and brother (we played teams). It was a devastating loss for the rest of us but we will be victorious next week! It's my brother's turn to cook dinner which means its Pizza Hut night. Always a very good thing!

Weekend plans:
1. Get up and clean the kitchen...yay.
2. Go to the shelter!! Cat!!
3. Rent some movies.
4. Go home, make some home made split pea soup.
5. Make a Bloody Mary, eat soup and watch movies!

oh and...
6. Pray for snow!!