A Sentiment

God knew what He was doing when He sent a gentle breeze and brought a lovely butterfly to set my heart at ease. The happiness of your friendship and the gentleness of your words have touched my life in special ways and now I feel assured. Thank you for your loyalty and for reading everyday. I only hope you find things to make a happy day.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Beating the February Blahs


I'm trying to beat the February blahs. It's getting near the end of the month and since I believe that February is the cruelest month...I always try to do some special things to make it go faster. When I was a schoolgirl, we always celebrated the president's birthdays...more than they do today. I can remember making silhouettes of both George and Abe out of black construction paper. One year we made stovepipe hats out of the same paper. We would have cherry treats in February. Mom always made a cherry pie or a maraschino cherry cake. Well, I'm no longer a child so what to do to make this month go faster? The blizzard on Groundhog's Day started the month out and then Joe and I got sick, so by the time those were about over, February was starting to wind down. Yesterday was the first day that I got out of the house. Joe came home from a meeting and said, "Let's go out for dinner." He didn't have to say that twice. We were out the door and heading west to a favorite restaurant. I felt like a kid in a candy shop...We had heard that eagles have taken up residence down in the trees on the river. They are there most days...looking for fish. We looked for them after dinner, but couldn't find any. Maybe the fishing was bad :) After shopping a bit...we headed for home. We were both tired and took a short nap. I got up and got back in my car and went to town to the library. If we are going to be in this weekend with more snow, I wanted a couple of books to read. I picked up an Anna Quindlin book and a book called Ah Choo! Here's what Amazon says about this book.....Some colds are like mice, timid and annoying; others like dragons, accompanied by body aches and deep misery. In AH-CHOO!, Jennifer Ackerman explains what, exactly, a cold is, how it works, and whether it's really possible to "fight one off." Scientists call this the Golden Age of the Common Cold because Americans suffer up to a billion colds each year, resulting in 40 million days of missed work and school and 100 million doctor visits. They've also learned over the past decade much more about what cold viruses are, what they do to the human body, and how symptoms can be addressed. In this ode to the odious cold, Ackerman sifts through the chatter about treatments-what works, what doesn't, and what can't hurt. She dispels myths, such as susceptibility to colds reflects a weakened immune system. And she tracks current research, including work at the University of Virginia at Charlottesville, a world-renowned center of cold research studies, where the search for a cure continues.

When I checked the book out, the librarian said, "Everyone who has a cold has checked this out." I came home and wiped the cover down with an antibacterial wipe...LOL
I went over to the grocery and bought some sweets...a German chocolate cake mix and raisin bread. I got Joe and myself a treat for that night...a candy bar each. After not being able to taste for several days, I would say that my sweet tooth is back. I looked for the new Country Almanac magazine that I had read about on a blog, but couldn't find it. By now I was tired again, but it was a good tired. I had been outside and it did me so much good. I came home and we watched the news and the weather...more of the same...snow about everyday. I guess that I can get through the next days of snow. Soon the cruelest month will be one for the history books and we can break out the T Shirts... I Survived February 2011.
Balisha
I couldn't end this post without saying that today would have been my Dad's 96th birthday. We always celebrated my Dad's birthday with a big family dinner. His favorite meal would have been pork tenderloin, mashed potatoes, canned La Suer peas, green jello salad and the meal wasn't complete without Mom's apple pie. I had many meals like this during my growing up years and we continued it at my house in later years. He was a special Dad and I miss him. Balisha

4 comments:

Lona said...

LOL! I hope you cleaned that book up very well. LOL!
Glad to hear that you are both feeling better.
My in laws always had me make homemade German Chocolate cake every year for the Christmas dinner and exchange. Yours looks so yummy and this cold weather makes me crave chocolate more. LOL!
I remember the black construction paper hats and silhouettes too. Do you think every school did the same things back then?
"Back then" makes me sound so ancient. LOL!

Anonymous said...

Hi Balisha, I would have dropped the book immediately if she had told me that. lol. I bet it is an interesting read though. Your dad sounds like he would have been a man after my own heart. His birthday meal is just my kind of meal. Hope all your goodies and getting out made you feel much better.

Barbee' said...

Oh, that cake looks so good, and your father's favorite meal sounds wonderful. Now I'm hungry! and nothing's fixed around here. Hmmm, what to do about that...

Barbara said...

96 your Dad is doing well.

Glad you are now feeling better. I am sure viruses hit us worse as we get older.

I rarely get a cold but the last week has been quite unpleasant. Did not leave the house for 4 days. Severe sore throat, runny eyes, exhaustion and lots of aches and pains. One night of feeling I was getting a cold but it did not materialise. I am on the mend now but still some sore throat.