Lakeside

As most of you know I live seven houses from a lake one way, and three houses from a different lake the other. I have visited Lake Jennie Jewel--the seven house one--for a few evenings to capture the sunset. It is really beautiful, and my neighbors, the Sims, have been kind enough to allow me free access to their property. Tonight I had a nice little visit with Walter Sims who used to be a State Representative, now he is in his 80's. I really enjoy old people; when you listen you can learn a lot. I found this little shell lakeside. As well, I posted pictures of their dock, and boat house, on flickr, along with the sunset. I've found out most people can be very friendly when you want to take pictures.

Despite my brains best intentions, my body fails to respond. However today I did manage to reclaim our dining area from it's chaos. I have been using the table to frame things and there were boxes of frames under the table, and just everywhere. I do not typically like a mess so it was good to get it more organized. I've sent an e-mail to my sons pleading with them to come and get more of their stuff as I could seriously use the storage spaces their archives are currently claiming.

My flickr friend Paige commented on how clean my stovetop was in a picture I took of a quiche I had made. The top may have been clean (you remember the vinegar trick, right?), but I was embarrassed by the back splash. I used another old-fashioned trick to clean that today. I filled the tea kettle with water and let it steam the area; it looks much improved. I also cleaned the microwave using the water trick there as well. You fill up a two cup measure with water and a tad of dish soap. Cook for about three minutes on high, voila--everything gets loose as a goose, and wipes right off. Mine wasn't too bad, but somehow everyone's seems to get some crud in it.

My sister-in-law Judy will be thrilled to know that I have begun The Book Thief. She recommended it and I bought it around Christmas time but had yet to start it. After reading 100+ pages I can tell it is going to be marvelous.

The aforementioned cleaning was a bit much for me resulting in a two hour plus nap this afternoon. As I mentioned earlier, my body just will not cooperate.