I call this picture..

...Annie Hall meets granni39. This is the pair of shoes I wore to a very special meeting Friday! Received the boot on Thursday and the 'little' shoe is part of a favorite pair of mine. With a pair of black trouser socks and black slacks, it doesn't really look all that bad. Trouble is to get around I'm using a walker - you know - the one I used early in recovery when the new knees were installed.

The bad news? I broke my right foot in two places - actually the end of a metatarsal on the bottom and and a tibial something or other just above my ankle.

The good news? After a miserable day and a half with crutches and a temporary (split) cast issued by the emergency room I needed no cast at all. The breaks were unusual but quite minor and I just have to keep the foot immobile and keep my weight off it. Doc told me he has seen both of those breaks before - but never both on the same foot!

In three weeks I will see my doctor again and it should be healed in six weeks. Meanwhile, I'm a little more dependent than usual... very grateful for a helpful family and some special friends... but more independent without the crutches.

How did it happen? ...stepping UP a small, well-marked curb in the garage where I took my truck for maintenance. My right foot was just shy of where it should have been as it slid down the side of the curb - twisting the ankle as I came down. Got a pretty good shiner on my right eye... with some minor dark spots on the other and my 'regal Roman nose' aka already kinda big - well all I can say is when I saw it all I needed to add was a little Groucho Marx mustache!

My little 4-wheel drive truck? Ready to go!!! Me? Not yet.

Stop over at sherle's photos where I posted my Favorite 5 Photos - and you'll get a chance to see the dainty feet that match this lovely pair of shoe-ware! Meanwhile, I'm keeping a leg up - per doctor's advice!

Where've I been???

You' d think a retired lady would have more time, wouldn't you? Well, obviously that's not the case. I have been checking some of my favorite blogs but haven't really sat down to write here at my blog. I did blog at Tittabawassee River Voice a time or two and have more to say there... maybe tomorrow.

I'm behind on the Fotopherrets photo challenge... Lady Starlight's challenge this week is 'memory' and I'm sure I can find something suitable! Also need to pull together my Favorite5 photos for the month. Been taking pictures every day!!! Got lots to choose from... and this past weekend I even saw a delightful version of Cinderella at one of my granddaughters' high school... got a few good shots there too.

I did get over to Monday Madness and here are my answers:
OttO says, How about some 'fill-in-the-blanks' this week? Thanks for playing, everyone! =)

1. When driving in my car, my radio station is usually tuned to WSGW, a local am station, mostly featuring 'talk radio'.
2. When I turn my television on, even if I'm not really paying close attention to it, it's usually on Fox News.
3. If I owned a pet, I would own a total of five cats (actually they own ME), because most of them just stopped by because they needed a home.
4. I own an Epson printer. I bought it because I wanted to print photos.
5. You can find all kinds of books in my bookshelves, but mostly this type: scarey or adeventure novels.
6. I take about a dozen or more pictures every day.
7. I blog about 5-20 times a month.
8. I've been really busy learning to be even more independent than I was lately.

Yup... it was another birthday.

I'm just glad I had another one. It's a good habit to get into. No, I'm not as old as the years would tell you so I'm not telling either. It was a biggy though! My mom and some of my sisters & sister-in-law celebrated by going out to dinner on The Day. It was fun. The next day one of my daughters hosted a celebratory get-together for the occasion at her house. More good food - two cakes: a homemade ice cream cake and a big chocolate covered decorated sheet cake. Yummy! It was all worth gaining a few pounds. This weekend - another celebration with more family members - and another birthday cake!!! Gee, I LOVE birthdays.

I just put a picture up on sherle's photos - to meet the photo ferrets challenge from last Wednesday. The subject was dinner, one of my favorite subjects. Oh by the way, don't forget to stop by at Favorite5 and share your favorite 5 photos for this month.

...and here's a bit of Monday Madness... on Tuesday - not that bad really, is it?
Using the letters in the word 'MONDAY,' list things that you do (or would like to do) in your spare time.
Meander through parks with camera in hand.
Operate my pontoon boat with family & friends as passengers.
Nails - trim 'em up - I don't do the polish thingy.
Drive to some of my favorite places to go for a walk... like the Dow Gardens or the Saginaw Zoo.
Arrange flowers for the table and decorations for special holidays.
Yell at my kids - not really - what's a good "Y" thing to do?

I'm 39...

...in case you're wondering. Every day I get online and ready to blog... then I distract myself with one thing or another... online or off. There's always something that needs doing. Been getting caught up on things outside of home... things that icy roads and nasty weather caused me to postpone.

I AM, however, taking photos every day... yes I am! Gonna be all ready for Favorite 5 Photos - the March choices. If you didn't see them yet here are my five for February.

Well, see ya later... It's gonna be a busy week... and I'm not getting any younger.
Today I'm feeling Yes... the weather is jacket-y instead of many layers-y and got a river in my backyard again. Guess I'll go fishin' & catch a few dioxin laden fish for supper.

ooooooooo! I missed a day...

...been trying to blog every day. Well I guess that way I'll at least blog more often...right??? I actually am taking photos every day now.

Today I want to talk about ladybugs. It's been mentioned that some of my blogger friends are 'ladybug friendly' people. I used to have a set of 4 of these cute little glasses... was devastated when one broke. I used to just LOVE ladybugs! I still like them - outdoors. They are good for the garden. A few years ago people in our area began to be invaded by these little critters - or a very close relative - inside our houses! I finally blogged about this issue in December 2003. Here is that blog entry.

Yesterday (and the day before...) I swept up a dustpan full of the little buggers. I'll do it again today and beyond. Mostly they get into the house and then they die... usually around a window or a door... where they look like they are trying to get back outside. I try to keep them from landing on my carpet where they get squished when you walk without seeing them and they actually leave a tiny reddish orange stain. They stink when you squish them - thus the alternative name for them - stinkbugs. During a fairly heavy infestation I've had them land on me. They bite - and yes, it hurts! Anyway, yesterday I took a few photos of my indoor supply of ladybugs... one bug was on a plant doing it's thing - eating insects I suppose... or at least looking for them. I even have photos of the dustpan full of them.

The bugs that get in the house vary in color... most of them are more of a brownish orange color, not the pretty red ones we traditionally saw in our gardens. Perhaps that is the color of the imported version.
I still like ladybugs... I still like ladybug things..... but imported asian beetles? I squish 'em!

Ha-ha-ha!!! Did you see what I said yesterday?

Here I am today - grounded again! See the blurriness? That's NOT the camera - that is SNOW! I took this picture this morning. The road is somewhere in the middle of the photo and my driveway is the lower portion. Last night at bedtime I heard clatter on the ceiling windows in my living room; the clatter of icy little beads hitting glass. What a perfect base for the snow to follow.

I had an appointment this morning... couldn't even see the road AFTER the snowplow went by, so I phoned and postponed the appointment. Bummer! Things like that shouldn't happen to procrastinators like me. The guy I talked to said he came to work from the south and had to drive to work through 10 inches of snow! The woman I talked to said she lives right there in the city but the roads were icy!

Given a new lease on the day, here is a little job that should have been priority today. All of that wood is trim that Windy's hubby will install for me in that room where the trim is situated. That room will be my master bedroom, complete with exercise equipment and a computer when it's done. Meanwhile, the wood leaning against the wall has been given a second coat of Minwax Wood-Sheen, a rubbing oil stain and finish. The wood on the table should have been my project for today. All it needs is a second coat and I'll be ready for Dave! I really AM looking forward to completion of this job so I can get on with the next step.

Frank and I were remodeling this part of the house and I'm looking forward to seeing it done. No, I don't expect my talented and busy sons-in-law to do it... I will hire somebody to do it if I have to get a job as a WalMart greeter to pay for the job.

Well then, here it is - time for my afternoon post-shingles medication; what did I do all day? Lots of blogging, I guess.

• After cancelling my appointment I had to get out the camera. Took lots of photos. You can't take just one, don'tcha know?
• I read something in the news this morning about the alleged dioxin problem in my town and had to respond to it at TRVoice.
• Fiddled around with the photos on my computer, played with PhotoShop - lightening the snow to look like it really looks and wanted to frame a few photos.
• Posted a photo on sherle's photos - this one met Lady Starlight's photo challenge at Foto Pherrets.
• Blogged here on Grumbleeze.

Gotta go. It's not snowing at the moment and the sun is shining. I need to clean snow off my deck so it won't get all choppy and nasty when I have to walk on it! It's much safer to clean it off first. If it turns out to be slippery under all that snow I might just change my mind. See ya!

Hooray! Spring is on the Way!

I finally put my Favorite 5 Photos for February up. Here they are. It was more difficult than usual for me - probably because of the weather - so it was a job finding five worthy enough to be my favorites.

Well today is a new day... and the beginning of a new month. Frank always tried to take at least ONE photo every day... and pretty much did that. Of course, like potato chips, you can't stop at just one photo, so that's a pretty good goal, don't you think?

The sun has been shining for several days in a row. I love the sunshine. It even pushes me outdoors on these cold days. Days around here have been pretty much in the 20's - that would be fahrenheit, don'tcha know? The other good news about sunshine - it makes my house warm and the furnace does not need to work as hard. Why? I have a solar wall. It has solar panels on the outside and 20+ inches of masonry covered with beautiful bricks on the inside.

For those who gave up on visiting their blogs, Jan and Sharba have both blogged recently! Go visit them before they get discouraged. After all, even those who don't blog often keep checking back for comments... which reminds me...

I actually answered Monday Madness on Monday... but then I distracted myself... so here it is:

1. What time of year do you blog the most? no special time of year - I blog most when I don't have a lot of extra projects, meetings and appointments.

2. What time of year do you seem to blog the least? When it just feels like I'm too busy...

3. What time of DAY do you do your most blogging? I usually blog early in the day... even though sometimes I don't get it done then and go back to finish in the afternoon.

4. When blog-hopping, do you tend to look at your blogroll list (or fave blogs) to see which ones have been updated, or do you visit your faves on a regular basis regardless? Yes I do check updated ones first... but not all of my blogroll list shows when they are updated so I randomly check the others.

5. Do you change your blogroll often? No but I should - I think I will soon.

6. How many times a day, after writing a new post, do you check for new comments? I have comments sent to my email so I check whenever I go online to check email.

7. Do you leave comments on others' blogs, or are you more of a lurker? I comment on those I visit often... and usually lurk at the ones I visit occasionally.

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"Sometimes you've got to let everything go... purge yourself.
If you are
unhappy with anything... whatever is bringing you
down, get rid of it.
Because you'll find that when you're
free, your true creativity, your true
self comes out."

-- Tina Turner, Singer

I'm not sure about the 'everything' part of it but basically this is wise advice, don't you agree?