Exceedingly Mundane

Gobble, Gobble, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

We went to eat lunch with my husband’s extended family earlier today and had a really good time. My dad came along, as both of my sisters had other plans and were not in town. We tried to talk him into coming to our house to stay, but he is happier at his own home (and when you get to be in your 80’s, you get to do what you want!) and didn’t want to come spend the night. We’re trying to get him to go hunting with Tim, over the weekend. Tim is going, and Beau the wonder dog and I will probably tag along. I will do anything to avoid getting out at a store on Friday morning 😀 A family friend shot a 15 point deer on their family land today (where Tim deer hunts), so he’s a bit fired up about going hunting. That, and golf. He went to the driving range this afternoon when we got home from the family shindig. Can you say… obsession?! I think he’s obsessed with golf to go play on Thanksgiving Day. 🙄

Anyhoo, we had a good Thanksgiving, and are going to settle in and watch our CBS shows tonight (Survivor, CSI and Shark). We’d watch the nighttime NFL game, but alas, we do not get the NFL Network. Bummer.

I was cruising one of my favorite message boards the other day, Scrapbook Addict, and saw a great poll that someone had started. It is about your favorite jammies! Now, this is a topic that is near and dear to my heart this time of year! I posted the other day about changing my sheets out to warmer ones (read more about that here, and lodge your comment if you haven’t already!) and switching out to warmer, thicker, cozier pajamas this time of year is a big thing for me.

I have a ton more winter pj’s than I do summer ones. It’s something about the more comfy ones that are thicker and softer and more snuggly that really appeals to me. I have several pair of winter ones, but I have one pair that I just love. I snapped a quick picture this morning, but it doesn’t do them justice 😆

These are so warm and snuggly, and I have some big thick purple socks that I wear with them.

OK, so, I’ve come clean about my love of comfy pj’s in the fall and winter. That brings us to today’s Question of the Day:

Do you have a favorite pair of pajamas? Do you have a snuggly pair you like to wear this time of year to warm you up or just be more comfortable in? Do you just wear an old t-shirt and bottoms or maybe a gown or maybe you go all out with silk pj’s? Or something else? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Well, it finally feels like fall here! The temps have been getting lower at night, and I’ve finally turned our heat on. Tim lit a fire a couple of days ago (mostly to burn out the dust!), which is always more for atmosphere than actual heat.

We have been taking Beau for his long walks in the morning, and the temps have been in the 30’s (which is cold for us!) and this morning, the wind chill was below freezing. BRRR!!!

I think it’s time to take our “regular” sheets off the bed and put on my “winter” sheets. I would love to be able to put flannel sheets on there, but Tim despises them. He grudgingly agrees to have some jersey ones on our bed in the winter. I would prefer to have an electric blanket (since I’m so cold- natured), but Tim also does not like those. He likens it to sleeping with a microwave emitting stuff on you all night. Whatever 🙂 We keep our regular comforter on our bed, the one that stays on there year-round, and just add a quilt when it gets cold at night. I would like to have two sets of bedding, one for summer and one for winter, but I’ve not ever bought two sets. I do love adding the quilts though – we have two quilts we use on our bed in the winter. One is a handmade one that Tim’s grandmother made him when he was younger, and we both love that one. We have a really big, thick one that he got overseas when he was in the military that we use when it’s really really cold. I love nights like that, when we pile on the quilts and I get to snuggle up into a nice warm bed. 😀

So, that brings up today’s Question of the Day:

Do you change your bedding in the fall and winter? Do you go to flannel or other sheets? Do you change out your comforter or bedspread? Leave me a comment and let me know what you do at your house. 🙂

I’m always a bit sad today. Today would have been my mom’s birthday. She died four years ago and I still miss her every day. But certain times of the year, I miss her more and wish that she were still with us. This is one of those times. Mother’s Day and the time of the year when she was in the hospital and then passed away (June) are also really hard. But, her birthday in November, then Thanksgiving and Christmas are probably the hardest. I miss you, Dodie. 😥

Yes, this is a blog entry about a vacuum cleaner.

Background: There’s a joke in our house about the time that Tim bought me a vacuum cleaner for Christmas. Yes, a vacuum cleaner. I even made a scrapbook page about it 🙂 Tim took pictures of my face when I tore the wrapping paper off the box and saw that it was a vacuum. It was not a pretty sight. Never mind that he had gotten me some other nice things, and never mind that I didn’t notice that he had put a bracelet in the vacuum bagless canister. I was just appalled that he would give me an appliance for Christmas. We hadn’t been married long and back then, I didn’t want household appliances for my birthday or Christmas. Thankfully, those days are behind us and now I don’t mind it. Well, most of the time.

I pulled out that same vacuum cleaner last week to clean up the carpets, and it ran for about 20 seconds, then made the most horrible noise I had ever heard. Even Beau was scared, and he’s not normally bothered by sounds or loud noises. I turned it off, and it continued to make the noise for another 15 or 20 seconds, after the power was off. The thing was possessed! I showed it to Tim that night when he got in from work and he said it was the bearings, and we would be better off to buy a new one. So, we went this weekend to look for vacuums.

Any of you that know my husband in person probably realize one thing – the man does not like to shop. He doesn’t like to look around, he doesn’t like to comparison shop and he doesn’t have a problem with walking in the first store, seeing something, buying it on the spot and never looking back. No going to multiple stores, no looking at different models. We bought the first vacuum he spotted. To be fair, I had read a little online and this one seemed like a decent one. We got a Hoover Fusion Plus. Apparently, Hoover makes the Fusion line exclusively for Walmart, and we found this “Plus” version at Sam’s. I think it will be an ok vacuum, and if it lasts a few years, then we’ll just replace the thing (it was only $110). Originally, I had thought I wanted to go “all out” and get a Dyson. But, then I realized that when we replace our carpet in the den and dining room with hardwood or laminate (which we hope to do soon, maybe in the next year), then there really won’t be hardly any carpet left in the house. Just the bedrooms, which are small and full of furniture, so very little open area to vacuum. So, I bypassed the Dyson because of the cost, and went with this one. Here it is, in all its glory 😀

The pluses to this vacuum are that it has a cyclonic action, like a Dyson, and it has a permanent filter that can be taken out and cleaned and washed, so no extra money to buy replacement filters (our last vacuum did, and they were 20 bucks apiece). The bad news is that it is NOT self-propelled, like my other one was. Conversely, the good news is that it is NOT self-propelled, so I get more of a workout when vacuuming, hehehe! Plus, the self-propelled tended to have a life of its own and half the time I would end up banging the bottom of the coffee table and nightstands with the vacuum, so maybe I’ll dent the furniture less with this one!

OK, that was a lot to blab about a vacuum. Time for a Question of the Day:

What kind of vacuum cleaner do you have? Upright or canister? How old is it and how often do you use it? Do you use it on just carpet or all floor surfaces? What do you use to clean your other floors, like tile or hardwood?

Can you believe I would actually ask about a vacuum cleaner?! This blog ain’t named “Exceedingly Mundane” for nothing, folks

OK, thought it was time to do a Question of the Day again. 🙂

We went down to see my dad and sister Suzanne this weekend, along with my sister Gail, her husband, and our dog Beau. We learned the hard way not to feed Beau a couple of hours before putting him in the kennel to ride in the back of our Explorer. Poor baby gets car sick 😥 Anyway, I brought my book, and was hoping to read in the car. I wasn’t really able to concentrate though, since the guys were talking or the radio was on.

So, that’s today’s Question of the Day – can you read a book or magazine while there’s noise and commotion? Or are you like me and you prefer to have it quiet while you are trying to read? Can you read while the TV or radio is on, and while people are talking? Leave me a comment and let me know!

I usually do the Friday Feast meme on Fridays, but they’re still on a much deserved vacation. I wish that I had time to blog about other things (yes, I actually have a couple of things to say!), but I don’t have a lot of time. We’re going to be very busy today and tomorrow. We have family coming in, and are also going to see other family, and we’re going to be running pretty much non-stop. I’ll try to catch up on all that later, for anyone who is interested.

In the mean time, I saw over at Stacy’s blog, Vader’s Mom that she did the “Booking Through Thursday” meme yesterday, and I liked the questions. So, a day late, I do believe I’ll play along. 😆

Mary wants to know…

Do you keep a list of books to read? YES! Most definitely yes. I have several lists. I have a list of books I want to check out at the library and a list of books that I want to look for at the bookstore. I get lots of great book ideas from message boards, and mostly from other people’s blogs. I have read several books that I have seen reviewed or recommended at blogs that I would have never known to read, and I love that!

Where do you keep your list (computer, PDA, paper, etc.)? These days, on my PDA. I love this thing and use it for every kind of list imaginable. I used to keep a little notebook back by my computer, where I would write down books that I saw that piqued my interest. When I got my PDA, I sat down and typed that list into my PDA, and now I update that as I find new books I want to read, and remove them from my list once I’ve bought them or checked them out of the library.

How often do you refer to your list? Every time you go for a new book to read? When book shopping? Or? I refer to my list often. Just to see what books I have on there. I use it every time I go to the library or bookstore. I use it when I want to check online at my library’s website and see if they have a book available.

We’ve had a lot of rain lately, and poor Beau doesn’t understand why he can’t go out and play in the rain and the mud. From what we know of his background and what we saw at the foster home, Beau has probably always been an outside dog. He was outside in a kennel with other dogs at the foster home, and so he is accustomed to being out in the rain and weather.

I want Beau to be a part of our family, and my pet, and so I want for him to be like our last dog, who stayed inside (albeit, in the kitchen, on the tile floor) for the majority of the time. Beau has taken to this change pretty well, overall. He’s learning his boundaries and that he can’t come on the carpet. He tolerates us wiping his feet with a towel every time he goes out and comes back inside the kitchen. But, a lot of the time, I think he doesn’t really get it, and just wants to go back out and be an outside dog. Especially when it’s raining and muddy, like it has been a lot lately.

Here’s a couple of pictures I took of Beau earlier in the week, when it was raining or still muddy in the backyard. He was, of course, inside the kitchen with me, but he really looked like he wanted to go outside!

So, after it stopped raining, I opened a window so he could smell things outside. I think he likes it when I do that, but I also think it tortures him too, smelling everything and being stuck inside:

We just got back from voting. It always feels really good to get out and do your civic duty, and exercise your right to vote. Tim and I both think of it as both an honor and a privilege. Part of being an American and living in this great country.

Anyway, we walked to our polling place. That’s another one of the pluses about living where we do. Our polling place is on the outskirts of our subdivision, so we can just walk. It is so pretty out today. It’s still muddy from all the rain yesterday, but really nice and sunshiny, and in the mid 60’s today. Great fall weather.

We have finally entered the 21st century in our neck of the woods. We graduated from old style ballots to new electronic voting machines. It was really nice, especially for two geeky people like ourselves. They had to “show” us what to do, and they were all really nice and it was a lot quicker with the electronic machine. 🙂

Last week, I posed a what-would-you-do question that I stole from an online website. The question was – would you sneak a peek into someone else’s medicine cabinet in their bathroom (or drawers or other cabinets)?

My blog buddy Deb, over at Sugarfused suggested that I ask another question along the same lines… would you weigh yourself on a pair of bathroom scales in someone else’s bathroom? I probably would! It’s not nearly as nosy, and hey, you can say it’s for research, comparing your scales to theirs to see if they weigh you the same!

So, today’s Question of the Day, would you sneak a quick weigh-in on someone else’s bathroom scales?

P.S. Thanks Deb, for suggesting the question!!!

I posted a few pictures I had taken in our yard yesterday, but I didn’t post one because I have no idea what this is! I was hoping someone could help me out.

We have a small line of trees behind our fence, in our extra back yard. Tim hits golf balls there, and Beau runs around having a blast smelling all the trees and shrubs. There’s a tree that has been dropping these huge green ball things the last couple of weeks. I have absolutely no idea what they are. If you do, please drop me a comment and let me know! Thanks 🙂

Anyone know what this is?

I have taken a few pictures over the last few days of things outside in our yard and neighborhood, and thought I would post them here. We’re not having a lot of fall color, since we are so far south, but we are starting to see a little. The cooler temperatures we’ve had the last few days are really starting to help, I think.

I also bought a few more pansies yesterday, that I just finished planting. I *think* I’m through with planting pansies for this fall, although I have one more small flower bed I’m considering putting some in. My problem with flowers in the spring and fall is that I see them in the stores and nurseries and get all ga-ga over them… I love buying them and taking them home, and then I absolutely dread planting them! Isn’t that silly?! 😆

OK, here’s a picture of my Confederate Rose that started blooming about the third week of October. I don’t quite understand how this thing blooms so late in the year, with big huge blooms that are such a pale pink. These sooo look like spring bloomers to me, but they bloom in late October and early November every year. I love this one, because there was a bee buzzing around the bloom, look on the right:

Click on the extended entry for another picture of my confederate rose, some of the fall foliage on our street, and some of the pansies I just bought and planted 🙂

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Well, all is right in my little world today. Mostly, anyway! I just discovered that Beau, the wonder dog, has chewed and scratched on some of my kitchen chairs. Oh well, it’s just furniture, right?! Other than that, everything is pretty rosy around here. I “survived” my doctor visit yesterday, and Tim got home really late last night. I’m so glad he’s back and didn’t have to stay the entire week on his business trip. Yippee! Plus, I got to watch the Dancing with the Stars results show last night, and Lost, both in HD. And tonight is another great TV night for us (CBS Thursday – Survivor, CSI, Shark). And…

Gosh, it’s just great weather here today!!! How about where you are? A storm front moved through yesterday, bringing us some rain, and a great drop in temperatures. It actually really feels like fall here. I love it! The high today is only supposed to be in the upper 50’s, which is great for us. Next week, it’s supposed to get back up near 80º again! This weather really makes me want to bake, and make a lot of soup and chili. Now that Tim is back from his business trip, I am revising my menu for this week. I think tonight I’ll make some homemade black bean chili to go along with the sourdough bread I have rising. I’ll post the recipe tomorrow as my entry into Favorite Ingredient Friday (last week’s recipes and links are posted here!)

I was blog surfing yesterday, and someone referenced a magazine I had not heard of, called Quick and Simple. I found their website, and was rather surprised to see that they had a poll up on their home page. The current poll is “Have you ever peeked inside someone’s medicine cabinet?” — which I thought would make a great Question of the Day. So, I’m hereby stealing it.

Today’s Question of the Day: Would you ever peek inside a bathroom cabinet or drawer at someone else’s home? Only if it were a friend or close family, or not at all, or do you do it all the time?!! Inquiring minds want to know 😆

Halloween night was fairly quiet in our house… how about yours? Beau, the wonder dog, did surprisingly well. He got really worked up, hearing the doorbell ring so much. He kept looking around for people to play with, after all – he heard the bell and their voices! (We are training him to stay in the kitchen and not in the parts of the house that are carpeted… it’s going semi-ok, he does pretty good MOST of the time!). I don’t think we had nearly as many kids as last year, maybe 20-25 or so. I have tons of candy left – anybody want some?!

I watched Dancing with the Stars, and man, that show is getting good! I really hate to see any of them go. I really like all of the dancers that are left, and they all did so well last night. I tried to call in and vote for Emmitt, but I never could get in, just got busy signals. I hope that’s a good sign!

Well, today is the day of the dreaded doctor visit. I dodge it as long as I can during the year, then finally give in and go in October, usually. Although this year I managed to push it to November I’m sure it will be fine, but I just hate and loathe every part of going. Hate needles and taking blood, hate having a mammogram and hate the rest of the exams too. Blech. I am always so relieved when it’s over and want to hear those words that everything is okay. I’ve had so much trouble through the years, and tests and doctors and specialists and drugs and surgery, that I’m always afraid they’ll find something else or new wrong with me.

So, here’s a Question of the Day – which do you like the least, the doctor or the dentist? If either! 🙂

Well, I guess we’re as ready as we’re going to be for Halloween. Halloween is really not that big of a deal in our house. I love the candy, and I love all the fun aspects of the holiday, but since we don’t have kids, we really don’t do that much anymore. When we were first married, we carved pumpkins, and we used to dress up. Tim has dressed up several times in the past and scared both adults and children alike inside and outside our house. But, sadly, those days appear to be over. These days, Tim can’t really even be bothered to get up and go answer the door. Which is a moot point this year anyway, with his business trip.

So, we’re really not doing anything very Halloween-y today. I have some fall decorations out front, and a big bowl of candy ready to give out. I guess that’s about as good as it gets around here this year!

Happy Halloween Everyone!