We have the neatest birds here!

I'm feeling better again, every day is easier.  Yeaaaaa!

All my appointments are getting done.  I finished up at the dentist on Tuesday - I go back in six months for another cleaning.  Next week I have my annual physical, then I'm done for the year with scheduled medical appointments.  I like to get them all done in one month.  My new glasses should be in next week. I ordered bifocal glasses for computer/TV, I hope I like them. 

On the way back from town the last two trips, I snapped more bird photos.  I was parked on the side of the road with my camera in front of me snapping some ducks when a giant "thing" flew into my vision and landed right in front of me:

 Blue Heron

I refocused and got a couple of shots, when another one flew in and forced this one out, and away he went:

 Blue Heron in flight.

 Another Blue Heron on the railing.

I FINALLY got my laundry done on Wednesday.  I had literally  not done laundry since December when I was in Quartzsite!  Everything needed washing.  All my clothes, bedding, towels, rugs, everything. I just haven't had the energy, and wasn't sure I'd be able to re-make  my up-bed with the pain at the incision site I had been having.  Then I felt better on Tuesday, and when I woke up on Wednesday, I felt really good, and knew I'd better to the laundry while I was feeling so good.  I put everything away, hung up the clothes, and piled the bedding up until later in the afternoon, then I made the bed and all was good.

But doing all that laundry really wore me out, and I didn't wake up until 11:00 am on Thursday!  I was really out cold.  I've taken it pretty easy since then.

This morning I made Valentine cards for my grandkids, got them ready to mail, and drove to the local post office to get them off in time for delivery on Valentines Day -  I think they'll make it on time.  Other than that, total resting for me the last couple of days.  

 There are islands in the lake that the birds hang out on or near.

I think this is a Great Egret.

More Snowy Egrets.  These birds crack me up.  Doesn't he look like an old man - a curmudgeon?

 I love watching these Snowy Egrets.

 Is this not the strangest bird you've ever seen?

I feel sorry for him.  Looks like an avian ET.

Every time I see these guys, I think of my granddaughter, Lauren.  When I was visiting them last July and staying at the RV park in Vacaville, I took Lauren and her brother Drew to the swimming pool.  She walked back with her life vest on, and her towel over her head.  She was walking along, and Drew and I were hysterical - she looked and walked just like ET.  That's what these Snowy Egrets remind me of.

 Lauren the Snowy Egret

 These guys are in the middle of the lake, standing on something just under the water.  The middle one kept opening his wings.

 How cute is this white duck with the tufted feathers on his head?

I don't know what this bird is - he is smaller than the egrets and herons.
(Thanks to my commenters:  This is a White-faced Ibis. 
Almost indistinguishable from the Glossy Ibis.)

He was watching all the ducks being fed, and slowly walked and few over them.

Hoping for some bread crumbs.

He has quite a beak, and iridescent green coloring on his back 

and brown and white on his neck and head.

I'm really enjoying seeing all the birds here.  The best time is driving in and out of the park, because most of the birds are in the first two lakes, where they are not as accessible to the day use people and RVers.

Early this evening when I was stepping out of The Palms to take Katie for her walk, a car slowed down in front of the rig, and I knew right away it was a blog follower.  I had no idea who they were, but it was obvious they knew me.  So funny. :)

It was Jim Murphy and his sister, Jean.  Jean lives in Santee, just a few blocks from Santee Lakes, and her brother, Jim, is a blog follower who has been reading Me and My Dog since the very beginning.  He recently sent me a message, and when I saw them and he started telling me who he was, I immediately remembered his message.

Jim's an avid follower of a lot of your blogs, too.  We follow a lot of the same blogs, but he reads blogs I've never heard of, too.  He isn't a blogger yet, but hopes to someday be a full-timer, and if he actually does it, he'll be an expert.

 Jean, Katie and Jim

They had two dogs with them and we had all the dogs on their leashes, so we walked to the lake and alongside it for a while.  When it started getting dark, we came back to The Palms and had a nice chat.  I haven't met many followers yet, but one thing I'm finding happens with each meeting I've had.  The conversation does not stop, sometimes we don't even finish sentences before the other person interrupts with their comment, then the other person says, "Yeah, I know," and interrupts with their comment, and it goes back and forth, each finishing the others thoughts.  (Does that happen with you guys, too, or is it just me and my visitors?)  Jim and I went on and on about other blogs, and things he's read in mine.  I'm sure Jean thought we were crazy, but not too crazy because she  invited me to her house for a visit. Super nice people.

It was really nice meeting you both, Jim and Jean!  I hope we do get together again!

From Me and Katie, have a great Friday evening, everyone!   :)

Just a quick update

Just wanted to post a quick update.  There's not much going on, but I didn't want anyone worrying about me.

 Snowy Egret

I've been improving a bit every day, then I hit the wall, as they say, and my recovery has stalled.   Everything is fine, but I'm still in some pain when I move around, and getting tired of it.  I know it's just a matter of time, but jeez, it's been a month and I'm getting tired of resting, you know?  Anyway, enough complaining, but that's why things are so quiet in The Palms. :)

 Snowy Egret

Katie and I have been walking to the lake every day. Not a long walk, but enough.   I've also been continuing on with my planned medical appointments for the month of February.  The new dentist last week was great, I liked him, his staff and the office location, but after all the x-rays were taken and they went over my intake info, they wanted me to pre-medicate before the periodontal check and teeth cleaning.  The dentist wrote an Rx which I filled at Walmart for $4, and I go back tomorrow (Tuesday) to complete the testing and cleaning.  They did say I don't have any cavities or cracks or anything that needs attention, and I floss a lot, so I'm assuming all will go well and I'll be done for another six months.

What are they all looking at?

 

This morning I went in for my vision test, and my eyesight is almost the same as it's been for a few years.  I got my prescription for reading/computer glasses at Kaiser optometry, but my insurance doesn't pay for glasses.  Kaiser had about five frames that were only $150 for the total package of frames and lenses.  These few frames were their cheapest, but I didn't like any of them, so I checked Walmart and Costco, and found Costco had the best prices.  I ordered my new glasses there, and they'll be here in about 10 working days.

Wood Duck on bench back, and Mallards

That's about all that's been happening around here.  The weather has been great, then today we had cloud cover and a little rain is expected tomorrow, which will be nice and cozy and will bring out more of our feathered friends.

From Me and Katie, have a great Monday evening, everyone!  :)

Yesterday's bird photos

Yesterday when Katie and I took our late afternoon walk, we went a bit further and closer to the lake nearest our area, and there were some pretty ducks, coots, and a beautiful egret - I think it's a Great Egret because it has black feet.  I couldn't believe I got so close and also got a clear photo when it took off over the lake.

 Great Egret - he's so graceful looking.

 Look at those beautiful feathers

Great Egret in flight.

 Wood Duck - these are the cutest looking ducks!

 Wood Duck

Male and female Northern Shovelers.

They have bills that are long and wide at the ends.

 Northern Shoveler

 We have LOTS of these Eurasian Coots

Male and female Mallards

Just bird photos today, but aren't they gorgeous?

Tom's coming this morning to bring me the Ford Escape, and I have a dentist appointment this afternoon with a new dentist - wish me luck!

From Me and Katie, have a great Thursday, everyone!  :)

Photos of my new curtain :)

Welcome to our newest Follower, Pace_A!.  Pace_A does not have any information listed, or a blog shown, so I can't tell you any more.  We're happy you are following along with us, Pace_A!  I hope you enjoy our adventures, especially when we're back on the road in a few weeks!  Welcome aboard!  :)

Here are the photos I took yesterday of my new curtain.  I couldn't put the spring loaded rod in front of the sleeping cushions.  I tried it the first night, then slipped and fell onto the couch because the rod was in the way.  Not good!  So I brought the rod under the cushions, where it works fine and actually doesn't show as much.  At least I'm not minding the white color as much.  Maybe because I'm getting used to it?

 New curtains - open

 New curtains - closed at night

Anyway, the curtain is working out well, and is so easy to close at night and open in the morning. What do you think, any comments or other ideas?

Here's last night's dinner - I'm finally getting my appetite back, and I make this a lot - easy and good!

Six layer dish

It's actually a 6-Layer Dip, but I make it for lunch or dinner a lot.  Re-fried beans with grated cheese - warmed in the microwave then topped with crushed Fritos, guacamole, sour cream and chopped tomatoes.  That's a small dessert plate, just the right size to finish every bite.  Yum!!!

I haven't gotten my son's car yet - I kept the original key and remote and left Tom with two other keys, one that came with the car when I bought it that will open the door, but doesn't start the ignition (it isn't "chipped") and one that I had made that does have the ignition chip that will start the car.  Unfortunately yesterday morning he put in the one that doesn't work (we didn't know which was which, I should have just thrown out the bad key, but didn't), and it screwed up the computer chip mechanism and the car wouldn't start.  So he drove all the way down here to deliver the box of mail that my daughter had mailed to his house.  Lots and lots of mail as well as Christmas cards and birthday cards. 

I gave him the key and remote I had for the Escape, and when he got home he tried that key and it worked - yea!   Tomorrow morning he is going to come back down here and drop off the car, so I'll have it for my stay here in Santee Lakes. 

I went to a couple of medical appointments this morning, blood tests and mammogram in preparation for my annual physical in two weeks.  Tomorrow the dentist!

From Me and My Dog, have a great Wednesday, everyone!  :)

Happy Birthday party for Kennedy

Welcome to our newest Follower, Rex Kusler.  I checked out your blog, Rex, and found it an interesting read.  Rex is an author, and his current Las Vegas Mystery Series has two books published with the third in the series due out soon.  I love mysteries, and will be checking his out on Amazon.com.  He is currently writing his ninth novel.  Welcome aboard, Rex!  I'm glad you are following along with Katie and me! :)

On January 16, my eldest granddaughter had a birthday - she's 9!  The following Saturday was her Birthday Party, which was held at Dave and Busters.  If you don't know that place, it's kind of like a Chuckee Cheese, but for kids who are a bit older and adults.  I had never been there before, and had a great time.  We had a long table, food and drinks were brought out, and each child received a "credit card" that had a set amount of money on it to play all the games.

 Kennedy's beautiful chocolate cake.

 Waiting to blow out the candles - Make a Wish!

 Brother Gavin, enjoying the food and games!

 Brother Graydin, race car driver!

See the blur where his hands are?  He's driving fast!

Kennedy with Dad and Mom - Happy Birthday!

Everyone had a great time, the kids love those games and won tons of tickets which they turned in for prizes. I was tired and left to go back to tom's house and rest right after the cake was served, so I didn't see what the prizes were, but I'm sure they loved what they got.

Tomorrow I'm getting my old Escape SUV back to use while I'm here in Santee.  My son is bringing it down to the RV park, and I'll drive him back to work.  He has a car there he wants to bring home, so everyone will get what they need.  I have two medical appointments (annual checks) on Wednesday, so it will be nice to have a car to drive.

I am making a mystery dish in my slow cooker tonight.   This is the first time I've used this slow cooker.  I cut a filet mignon into three slices and seared them in the frying pan.  Then I put some olive oil in the bottom of the cooker, added the meat slices, put half an envelope of onion soup on top of that, poured in some Marsala wine, water, added marinated artichokes on top, and topped it all off with sliced apples.

I'm cooking it on high for 4 or 5 hours, then I'm going to add some sour cream to make a rich sauce, and put the whole thing over rice.

I think this might be delicious if the meat was chicken, but I didn't have any chicken defrosted, so I decided to use the meat.  This is a round filet mignon that was wrapped with bacon that was in a 3-pack from Costco.  I love filet mignon, but I didn't like this meat, so I decided to try something different.  Even if I don't like the meat, I figure the artichokes hearts and apple slices might be good side dishes, and hopefully I'll have a nice sauce for my rice.

I'll let you know if it was a HIT or a MISS.  Usually my mystery dishes are HITS, but I'm not betting on this one.

UPDATE:  I ate dinner before I published this post, and it was delicious - except the meat.  It was still tasteless and tough.  I won't be buying that at Costco again, but the apples and artichokes, in their thick wine/onion/sour cream sauce over rice was really, really good.  Second helpings good.  I think next time I'll try a chicken breast and throw in some baby carrots; that would complete the dish and give me a couple of leftover meals, too.

Yesterday afternoon, and then again in the early evening, Katie and I took a walk to the closest lake and walked along for a bit.  The sun was down, and the sky was so pretty.  The ducks were still swimming around, they seemed to be coming to the edge of the lake where they could sit by the reeds.  I wonder where they sleep?

 Sunset - Santee Lakes

 

The Palms at Santee Lakes

Time to get that second helping, and then take Katie out for our last walk of the day.  It's overcast this evening, no sunset shots today.

From Me and My Dog, have a great Monday evening, everyone!  :)