Tuesday 4 and More

Good Morning from not so warm north central Florida! Looks like old man winter is catching up with us! It is 44 degrees right now as I write at 6:45 a.m., and the high will only reach 57 today.  Tomorrow morning it is supposed to get down to 37 degrees!  I know for many of you that is nothing...but for us here where we live, this is pretty chilly!  

It's time to pull out my "Christmas Flannel Shirt"...my normal house attire during the chilly days of December...

The birds have been quite active lately, gathering seeds to keep them warm...

Frankly, I love the cooler weather.  It helps get me more into the "Christmas spirit".  I am hoping to finally start putting away Thanksgiving decor and bringing out the Christmas things little by little.  I will have to wait for our son Scott to come this weekend to get everything out of the shed. It's a little too much and too awkward for us "old folks" to manage. 

I am still battling a lot of sore back muscles and other issues of that nature.  Last week I had a Doctor appointment to determine the progress of the healing of my torn bicep since having that stem cell procedure done a few months ago.  If there has been any progress at all, it is very very slow.  While in the office they put a "Tens unit" on my shoulder for a few minutes to see if that would help.  I'm not sure if it did or not as I've had a lot of issues since then.  However, they did send it home with me to try.  I haven't quite figured it out yet for myself, and I was too busy last week with Thanksgiving to take the time to study it. But after Sunday's episode, I'm thinking I may need some kind of intervention...

While at the Doctor's office he also prescribed a muscle relaxer for me to take. I have taken this medicine before, but this time the dosage was 2x a day instead of just once. I started out with just one a day, but on Saturday night I was really hurting so decided I needed to go ahead and take the second one as prescribed.  Let's just say that it was too much for this old gal to take. I was having terrible nightmares and had a hard time waking up. I actually had to miss church because of the effects of this, and the worst part is, I am still having the pain in my back/shoulder area like before. So no more of that stuff for me!   So anyway...I'm wondering if any of you have any experience with a "Tens" unit, and does it help? I would appreciate your input, and if you can come down here and help me figure out how to use it, that would be nice too. LOL.

Okay, so today is Tuesday and time for the Tuesday 4 meme.  I am not a big "fan" of Hollywood, but these questions are meant for fun and sharing our thoughts and experiences with our friends so we can get to know each other better.  So here we go!

Hooray for Hollywood!

Hello and welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4.

Per our hostess Annie: "Hollywood magic is well named. In Druidism the holly and it's wood were used in magic. Magic wands were often made of holly wood. Lightning will not strike holly so it is often planted next to homes to protect it. The word holly comes from the word holy and the holly tree was sacred in times past. Today Hollywood still churns out 'magic' and 'spellbinding' displays as well as 'stars in the firmament' who entertain, mesmerize and influence us."

I never knew this about "holly-wood", that lightning would not strike it! That's nice to know, since we have a large holly tree near to our house! (or rather a clump of holly trees grown together into one big tree!)

The birds certainly love the holly berries!

But that really isn't what we are here to talk about! LOL.

Let's talk about it....

1. Do you have a few favorite holiday movies you enjoy watching year after year? Do you make some popcorn to eat while you watch movies at home?

My favorite to watch during the Christmas season is "The Bishop's Wife".  We usually always watch one of the old Christmas Carol movies...I can't remember which one as there are so many.  No, we don't make popcorn while watching movies, but I think that sounds like a good idea.  There are other movies we watch too, but those are the ones I definitely want to watch.

2. Have you had a celebrity crush? Can we ask who it was?

Not really. I can't think of anyone in particular, and now I am too old for celebrity 'crushes'. LOL.

3. Do you have favorite actors/actresses whose movies you don't want to miss and what movie would you say is your all time favorite from those stars?

I loved the old Cary Grant movies, Gregory Peck,   Here is LINK to the last time we did this with a few similar questions that will answer this question. 

4. Have you met any famous Hollywood people in person or would you like to? Why or why not?

On my 10th birthday I met Gloria Swanson.

I even got her autograph on the photo above (which was in the newspaper!) and also in my little autograph book.  She was visiting at the grand opening of a new housing development in the area and it was quite a big event back in the day.  Strangely, that housing development today is probably pretty much a place you really wouldn't want to live...and definitely not movie star-worthy. LOL.

Okay, that's all folks.  It's time to get this chilly day started.  

Sunrise this morning

Before we go any further into "the Season"  of Christmas, let us never forget the "Reason" why we celebrate...

Internet Photo

Amen.

Tuesday 4: Books, TV, Movies and more...

 This week the Tuesday 4 meme was all about Books, TV,  Movies.  I didn't participate in the meme yesterday because I just couldn't come up with any interesting answers. But I enjoyed reading everyone else's thoughts on the topic.  You can check them out at the link above.  But the first question was...well, what the heck. I might as well play along. Better late than never...

"Hello Friends.. welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4. Just 4 questions each week. So glad you are joining in and the more the merrier!"

Books.. TV.. Movies are the topic of the week.

1 A movie theme song will play every time you walk in the room.. what is it? (consider asking family or friends)  I finally came up with a song as I was looking out my window at the little Bluebird house in our yard...

Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay

My, oh, my, what a wonderful day

Plenty of sunshine headin' my way

Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay!

Mister Bluebird's on my shoulder

It's the truth, it's "actch'll"

Everything is "satisfactch'll"

Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay

Wonderful feeling, wonderful day!

Yes, sir

2. What movie, book or TV program could you live in?

Anne of Green Gables....

Most of you have heard that I was named after Anne of Green Gables...my middle name is Anne, spelled with an "e", because I was a redhead and my mother loved this story, and when she saw me for the first time she knew she had to give me that name...

3. Is there a book/movie/TV quote you often think about or that effects you in some way?

Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music

4. OK friend, its your turn to organize our Blogger Movie Night where we get together as a group for snacks and movies! What movies have you planned for us tonight and what snacks are we going to have?

Well, based on all of the above answers, I guess we will watch those three movies:  The Song of the South (zippity doo dah!), Anne of Green Gables, and The Sound of Music.  Snacks...We will have fruit cake and cherry preserves and raspberry cordial, in honor of the famous tea party that didn't turn out so well that Anne of Green Gables had with her best bosom friend Diana...well, maybe we won't have that exactly, but we will have popcorn for sure because I think we should always eat popcorn while watching movies. And maybe a delicious homemade pizza.  Drinks? Well, probably sodas and/or iced tea or coffee if you prefer. OR how about a Root Beer Float??? Haven't had one of those in ages!!

Okay, I did it. Sorry I was so late. I just needed some inspiration from the rest of you.

Speaking of bluebirds, Mr. and Mrs. Bluebird have been quite busy lately...apparently the babies have arrived and the parents are coming back and forth with juicy bugs for them all day long.  It's hard to get a good picture because they are in and out so quickly, but here's the latest today of Mrs. Bluebird:

Maybe she is singing "Zippity doo dah!"

On another note, I started my physical therapy yesterday for my neck.  I will be going 3x a week for three weeks, and then we will re-evaluate my progress. I am also scheduled for the epidural in my neck later this month. Praying that will help.   Yesterday at the PT appointment I was being asked to think about all the things I can no longer do because of this pain and discomfort in my neck.  I guess I hadn't really thought about it that way. But when faced with the question the reality hit me...there are things that I have not been doing or find difficult to do because of decreased strength in my arms, which is caused by the pressure on the nerves in my neck.  One thing I've noticed is that it is very painful/difficult for me to lift a full pitcher of iced tea and to put it back in the refrigerator:

Lifting a gallon of bleach or milk or anything that size is also very difficult:

Even lifting this teapot full of hot water to make a pot of tea is difficult because I can't use two hands on it when it is hot:

The therapist also asked me about reading..."Can you sit and read a book?"  I hadn't thought about it like that. I just knew that I have not been doing much reading at all in quite a while, and when I do try to hold up a book I have to hold it up in front of me at eye level so I don't bend my neck down to read, and that is why I am finding it difficult to sit and read anymore for any length of time.  

It is also why I sit at a desktop computer rather than try to use a laptop. Thankfully that is what I have and what I prefer anyway.  I've tried to use my hubby's laptop, and I find it very difficult.

But the thing I thought about the most that made me kind of sad was realizing that I no longer feel like inviting people over for gatherings at our house, which is something I've always loved to do. Our house has always been the gathering place for family holidays, etc., and now, with the exception of our immediate family here for a meal now and then, I just don't feel like going through all of the work it takes to clean/cook/ and clean up after for larger groups.  That actually makes me sad. But in reality, since last year's pandemic, no one really wants to travel and come anyway so I guess it doesn't matter. If we get together we have to find a place half way where we can meet at a restaurant or something. Or someone else has to do the cooking and cleaning...which is a nice idea, don't you think?

So, my goals in getting better is not to focus on what I can't do, but what I can do.  I don't want to be a person who just says I can't do this or that anymore. I want to be a person who CAN do.  Even though with something like degenerative disc disease my neck and spine will probably not really ever get better, but with proper exercise and PT the goal is to hopefully strengthen the muscles that support those areas and fight this thing and not let it define what I can and cannot do or who I am or will become. That is my hope and prayer.  

Remember this song?  Maybe this should be my theme song:

"I'm only human I'm just a woman

Help me to believe in what I could be and all that I am

Show me the stairway that I have to climb

Lord for my sake teach me to take one day at a time

One day at a time sweet Jesus that's all I'm asking from you

Give me the strength to do everyday what I have to do

Yesterday's gone sweet Jesus and tomorrow may never be mine

So for my sake teach me to take one day at a time

Do you remember when you walked among men

Well Jesus you know if you're looking below it's worse now than then

Pushing and shoving crowding my mind

So for my sake teach me to take one day at a time

One day at a time sweet Jesus that's all I'm asking from you

Give me the strength to do everyday what I have to do

Yesterday's gone sweet Jesus and tomorrow may never be mine

Yes just for my sake teach me to take one day at a time"

Thanks for sticking with me here friends.    Oh, one more thing.  Our dear blogging friend Martha Jane Orlando from "Meditations of My Heart" lost her dear mother this week after a prolonged illness. Please remember her in your thoughts and prayers.  

Also, another dear blogging friend, Mildred from Laurel Wood is having some health concerns and I know she would appreciate your prayers as well.   Thank you dear friends. You're the best!

Tuesday 4: The Best!

 

The BEST!


Here is an older Tuesday 4 from Toni Taddeo.  Why not play along with us?

I was having difficulty coming up with good answers, so I decided to ask my hubby these questions to see what he would say.  I found his responses interesting, and they helped me come up with some of my own. So here we go:

1. What was the best thing you have ever bought?

He said: The electric Tea Pot!

Yes! It's so much fun to watch the pot boil!!  Hubby insisted on buying this for me after my numerous occasions of letting the teapot boil dry on the stove.  We tried whistling tea kettles, tried setting a timer...but I hate to tell you how many teapots were ruined on top of the stove by my neglect.  I'd set the full teapot on the stove and turn on the burner, and then I'd get distracted by...well, life! Children, phone calls, laundry, the computer, a good book, a knock at the door...you name it, they were all good excuses...but since he bought me this electric teapot there have been no more incidences of teapots boiling dry because it shuts itself off when it is done boiling.  Now, I must confess I have let the water sit there and get cold again before remembering to pour a cup of tea...but, well, what can I say? 

That's life!

And the electric rice cooker is another miracle invention that hubby discovered when he was home doing the cooking after his early retirement and before I retired.  Bless his heart, he who had never really ever cooked more than hot dogs before decided he would cook supper every night while I was still working. It was the best thing that ever happened in our then 40+ years of marriage! I would come home after a long day at the office and a 45 minute drive to walk in the door and smell the wonderful aromas of supper being ready to eat!! To me, that was just the best thing ever! 

Sadly, once I retired he forgot how to cook.  But in the meantime, he bought this rice cooker because again, you can put the water and rice in the pot, plug it in and turn it on and in about 20 minutes you have perfectly cooked rice! No boiling over, no scorched bottoms...a great invention I must admit!

 2. What was the best book you have ever read?

So I asked my theologian husband this question, and I disqualified the Bible, because, obviously, that is the BEST book anyone could EVER read, so he had to come up with a 2nd choice. I was surprised by his answer of Billy Graham's classic "Angels, God's Secret Agents". 

It truly is a great book, highly recommended. Sadly, we no longer have it on our bookshelf. We purged a lot of books over the years as we made our many moves.   

I also thought of a favorite book or two, but these were from childhood:

I was just sharing these stories with Lily Grace...  (Lily asked me to apologize because she hasn't had any new adventures lately. We've been a bit remiss in going places where she can go and have an adventure, but I've promised her something special soon)

I am sure you all remember this classic "The Little Engine That Could"... I always thought this a great little book to encourage children as well as adults.  Sometimes all we need is for others to believe in us and encourage us to try!!

"I think I can, I think I can, I think I can..."

And it's always good to hear from our friends and loved ones some words of praise and cheer as we do accomplish our goals in life...something we should also remember to do for others who may be struggling with their load...they may just need a little cheering on their way!

3. What is the best food you've ever eaten?

Hubby had to really think about his answer and be very careful not to insult his wife sitting there beside him waiting for his answer.   He very diplomatically responded with something that we both could agree upon: my mother's coconut cream pie!  And he quickly added that I make it just as good as she did...but he explained that he'd never had a real coconut cream pie until he tasted my mother's, and he's never forgotten it!  This is a link to a post I wrote about her pies with a picture of my attempt at making it just like hers.

4. What was the best movie or TV series you've ever watched?

Hubby's answer was "The Ten Commandments", "El Cid", and "King of Kings".

For me it would have to be "The Sound of Music".  I will never forget watching that movie in the first ever cinema theater in our area. It was so awesome!! I learned every song and thought I could sing them all just like Julie Andrews.  (I was about 15 when it came out).  I used to sing the songs in the shower, and one time when I came out of the shower to go to my room, my parents were sitting in the living room  and had been listening to me sing.  They said, "we didn't know you could sing like that! Maybe we should get you some voice lessons!"   I wasn't sure if I should be insulted or complimented! But I never took the voice lessons at that time. I did have some later as an adult, and I gave it up because every time I'd practice the scales, the dog would start howling.  Besides, my voice kept dropping from soprano to low alto...can't do the Julie Andrews routine at all anymore! LOL. But I do love to sing and make a joyful noise to the Lord. That's what really matters most.


So now you have our answers!  

So what would your answers be? Get blogging and let us know.