10-28-12

6:15am

Ok, where is the snooze alarm on cats?

I kept petting his head this morning looking for a button

and it wouldn't let me sleep in a little longer.

What I want to know is how in the world do

cats know what time it is?!!

It was 5:56am this morning when

Boo Boo comes and jumps on the bed

and starts meowing right in my face.

Usually I get up at 6:00am during the

week days and he's waking me up

a couple minutes before then every day

wanting his food.


8:00am


Got a loaf of bread dough going in the bread machine.
The only difference that I made different than
what I told you about yesterday was that I put
some onion powder in it

Before everyone gets up I got some pancake muffins
going in the oven.  I made the pancake mix
according to the box directions.
Line cupcake pan with paper cups and spray with cooking spray,
add 2 tablespoons pancake batter to cups,
then add peanut butter crumble mix,
(mix together 1/4 cup- flour, peanut butter, brown sugar
and 1 teaspoon cinnamon) 
and then add another tablespoon of pancake batter.
I had a little peanut butter crumble left over
so sprinkled it on the tops.
Bake 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
Serve with maple syrup.

I'm reading on Facebook about
Hurricane Sandy and how it will impact us.
Now I see there was a 7.7 earthquake off
the coast of British Columbia, Canada and
now tsunami waves are hitting Hawaii.
We're falling apart!


8:50am


Put bread into oven to bake.
I split the top and slathered soft
butter on the top.
On the bottom rack of the oven I
added a dish with water in it.
This allows the bread dough to stay softer
while it rises.  If it crisps too fast on the outside
it won't rise as much.

I've got 20 pounds of potatoes so figured I'd
fry up some for breakfast, maybe make some
fried eggs along side them with the pancake muffins.
Everyone is still in bed.

 
9:05am


 I see the winds are starting to pick up outside
like they said they would.  Nothing major though.
I do not look forward to what
Sandy has to offer us with possible power outages.
We don't have a generator and have talked
about getting one sometime when the money ain't funny.
They cost an arm and a leg for a big one.
Right now they say that winds at 65 knots
will create waves 14-19 feet tomorrow 
night on Lake Erie.
Batten down the hatches.

9:20am


Fresh homemade bread straight out of the oven!  Yum!

Ya think there will ever be a morning I will awake
to someone making homemade bread and breakfast?
Probably not.


10:15am


Now they are saying we could possibly get some
rain & snow mix tonight.
Wind gusts tomorrow could be 50 miles per hour. 
Gotta keep tabs on this stuff as it is constantly changing.
At first I thought they were calling for this
for Tuesday evening into Wednesday.


11:45am


I think I'm gonna go lay down and take a nap.
I only had 4-5 hours sleep.  Then once I get
up I will start laundry and find all the Winter jackets,
boots, thermals, sweaters, sweat jackets, etc. 


4:00pm  


Went and got $30 worth of gas in the suburban.
Usually I get $20 in it for the week but hubby
put an extra $10 in case of the storm.
I was thinking I would get it for the $3.09 price
I saw yesterday at Turkey Hill, Wrong!
It went from $3.09 to $3.45 since yesterday evening.
I also picked up a bag of cigarette tobacco
and stocked up on some pop to last through
this storm.  I'm good for everything else with this storm.
If we lose heat then we'll have to figure out a plan
of action when it happens

I do not think the furnace has come on since getting
up at 6:00am this morning when baking bread.  Not long ago
I boiled up a pot of spaghetti so that added humidity
to the air along with baking some garlic bread in the oven. 
I have the thermostat set for 72 degrees and it's
been 74 in here most of the day so far.

For supper I made up a half package of spaghetti pasta.
I had found a bowl full of homemade spaghetti
sauce in the freezer and another bowl of alfredo spaghetti to go with it.  And I made a half of
a loaf of garlic bread which was buy 1 get 1 free
at the store and will last for 4 meals since the
loaves were so long.

Well I gotta go down in the basement and 
change the laundry over.  I should only
have maybe two loads to do.  
I didn't get a nap earlier like I wanted
so are running on empty at the moment
with only 4-5 hours of sleep.


4:50pm


Got laundry switched over and some more
laundry brought up.  This isn't doing my left
shoulder any good!  I think I'll go lay down after this
but first wanted to show you some pictures of my kittes
today which have pretty much done nothing
but sleep their day away.

Synchronized Sleeping Kitties

Earlier Boo woke up and I was playing
with him with this stuffed lion toy
that vibrates when you press it's paw.
He must of liked the toy because
I just looked over to see him cuddling
and sleeping with it, awwww.

8:10pm


I finally got to take a little nap.
While napping hubby changed the oil in my truck.
It needed it as I could hear the engine clanging a little
upon starting up in the morning because the oil
had no consistency to it anymore.
We splurged to get some oil and filter at Meijer.
When I say splurge I really do mean it.
It's a matter of what do we really really need
and what can we do without.
 We got a 5 quart container of oil for $12.99 Mobil
and a filter for $5.49.  Now they did have Meijer
brand for $12.49 and you could get a
Purolator oil filter for .49 cents more.
We didn't go that route because we didn't know
how good Meijer oil was.
Sometimes the cheaper items aren't the best route to go.
By the time I used my Meijer 10% discount
I ended up paying around $15 to $16 for the oil and filter. 

Got the last load of laundry in the dryer.
Hubby's been asking why there hasn't been 
hardly any clothes in our closet.  I told him
I've been keeping them in the laundry room
hanging off the bar I put up over the washer and dryer
due to my shoulder hurting so bad.
Well today I tried to start bringing up some of those
clothes and my shoulder feels like it is on fire.

I recommend for those who have arthritis,
or other injuries where you can't lift things,
to hang a bar in your laundry room or even
a bookshelf to keep your freshly laundered clothes.
I would rather walk down the basement steps
each evening or morning to get our daily clothes
right now than to have to carry them all upstairs
after washing and drying!!! 
I sure am paying the price for it.
I was actually starting to see improvement
and are now back to square one. 


8:45pm


Right now it is 40 degrees out with a wind chill of 31.
Our furnace has NOT kicked on all day!  Woo Hoo!
More money saved.
To try to keep it warm in here a little more
I have now got a pot of water boiling with
a little salt on the stove top.
By increasing humidity to your air you
increase the temperature.
So I'm trying to hold onto some of this warm
air a little longer between today and tomorrow
and will boil pots of water here and there.
You could also use a tea kettle which I do not have.
I used to run vaporizers to keep the air moist
but currently do not have any. 
You could also throw some vanilla and/or cinnamon
into your boiling pot of water to make your 
house smell good :0)
I added cinnamon, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice
and nutmeg to my pot.


9:45pm


I boiled my water in the pan for about an hour.
I took note of the temperature in the house
before boiling and it had dropped to 72,
the temperature I have it set at.
Boiling water for an hour brought the temperature
up another degree to 73 and kept the furnace from kicking on.
Plus it helps from getting a scratchy dry throat
by adding a little moisture to your rooms.
16 hours + today without the furnace running!
If you notice in the Summer if you have dry heat
it doesn't feel as hot as those days with high
humidity which intensifies how hot it feels outside.
That's where the heat index goes into affect.

My left shoulder hurts so bad.
I have two medicated patches on it.
You know how you can take your right hand and place
it on your left shoulder with your palm resting on the top
of the shoulder and fingers resting on the back, well I can NOT
do that with my left hand to right shoulder.