Fingerprints and my Basement Walk

It was a Fingerprint Ministry work day at church today.

We worked from 9:00 to 3:00 when we ran out of materials.
This was the last work day for this year.
Today we assembled, cut, and boxed up 5,044 Romans books.
Our goal for this year was to do 60,000 and we surpassed
our goal and did 79,000!!
Our goal for next year will be 60,000 again.

I didn't have to time to walk outside this morning
because it was too dark
so I walked 3 1/2 miles down in the basement before we left.
Walked the other 2 1/2 miles when we got back home.

Thought you might like to see my basement walk.
Ken's train layout is in the middle so I walk loops around it.
The layout is a work in progress.

My walk starts here at the bottom of the stairs

and I keep to the right

and go down this way.

Around the end

and this bend

and then back to the stairs which is on the left.

Each loop is about 75 step.
Every quarter mile I turn around and walk the other way.

It may not be outside but at least I get to walk.
For me it is a LOT better than a treadmill.
I've tried them but they are just not for me!!

Nice to be home now to enjoy a nice relaxing evening.
Reading, making squares and enjoying a bowl of ice cream.
Life is Good.

A happy day to you.
Thanks for stopping by.
happyone  🥰

Contentment is the more serene brother of Happiness.
Terri Guillemets

We finished

The sun was shining this morning and it looked like a perfect day for an outside walk.  Only thing the temperature was 12 below zero, so it was another basement walk for me.  I walked almost 6 miles. 

I don't usually listen to audio books because I prefer to hold a book to read it. When I read I get really involved in my book and live with the characters I'm reading about.  When I'm driving or doing anything else I can't seem to follow the story.

That being said walking loops in the basement was the perfect time for an audio book.  I got caught up in the story and wasn't in the basement anymore.  I was in the story and the time went by fast and before I knew it I had listened to the first disc and my walk was over.
I'm listening to The Inn at Rose Harbor by Debbie Macomber. 

We finished the puzzle by 12:00 last night so didn't get to bed too late.  Usual bedtime is 11:30.

After lunch I put a bunch of layers on and went outside.  Just had to get out in the air for a little while.  I made a path out to the bird feeders and put their seed out.  Then I just walked around the yard for a while.  When I see all this white snow out there I just have to put footprints in it. : )  It's pretty slow going walking in the snow.

The locals say that this is a normal amount of snow that we are having, just the temperatures are way below what they usually are.  The normal high for the day should be in the 20's, not 0. 

Hope your staying warm and your day is a happy one.
happyone : )

When you focus on being a blessing,

God makes sure that you are always

blessed in abundance.

~ Joel Osteen

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 My Three Thankful Things Today are

1. The video book for my basement walk
2. Walking in my yard in the snow
3. Ken's cooking supper tonight - A stir fry

Walking up the lane

 Guess what?  It was snowing this morning when I got up.
I have a new walking routine now until I can drive to town and
walk around there again.  Driving isn't the problem but where to walk is.
Sidewalks aren't clear and lots of icy patches around.

It is too dark to walk when I first get up so I walk a couple of miles in the basement. Then later in the day I walk outside up and down the lane for the rest of my walk.  Today my outside walk was mid morning.

It was snowing when I left but on the warm side at 31 degrees.
Walking down the driveway.

This is along the lane.
Before we moved up here horses were kept here.
It is empty now but once in a while some work goes on inside.
I think someone is converting it into a place to live but
not really sure.

Nearing the end of the lane here and soon I'll turn around and
walk back.

This driveway leads to a trailer but they only come up here once in a while.
Tried walking there but the snow was too deep to walk comfortably
with it coming more than half way to my knees.

Have to walk up and down the lane a few times to get my miles in
but it is such a nice walk that I don't mind.
Don't know what took me so long to figure out just to walk here
when I can't walk in town!
So unless the temperature is single digits or freezing rain 
I'll be walking up and down the lane.

🌨    🌨    🌨

Got some more cleaning done and then after lunch we drove down
to town to the library.  Ken had a book to pick up and we
got the first season of Hill Street Blues to watch.

This is the latest puzzle we've done - 1000 pieces.
This one was a challenge but a fun.

Knitted some more on the pink cable scarf but still have a long way to go.

It's been a good day and I'm thankful for it.
Thanks for stopping by.
A happy day to you.
👩🏻‍🦳 happyone ❤️

Comment Replies:
Tina - Yes, it's an outhouse.

RK - The cabin has electric but no running water.  It is about 300 square feet.  Stairs lead to a small back stoop to a door into a small foyer area.  A step up takes you into the room.  There is a bump out for the bed and another bump out where a small table is built in with built in benches which open for storage.  I made the table out of a huge slab of wood. I sanded it, seems like forever, and then stained it natural and then put several poly coats on it.  There is a sink in the kitchen area which also has a small refrigerator, a microwave oven, and hot plate.  Liz is very creative with cooking with what she has.  A slow cooker come in mighty handy.  They are both just so thankful that they are finally living a dream of theirs. They are both really excited about their adventure!

Sweet and Sour Chicken

It was only 8 degrees and windy so once again it was a basement walk for me as I listened to the next CD.  I walked 5 1/2 miles.

Karen was wondering about the clothes I wear when I walk outside in the cold and thought maybe others might be interested too. I've talked about it before but it's been quite a while.
I just wear lots of layers.  On the coldest days I walk I wear sweat pants over two of those stretch leggings.  On my feet, a pair of trouser socks and then a pair of regular socks.  On top I wear two long sleeve turtle neck tee shirts, a regular sweatshirt, and a hooded sweatshirt.  If its really cold I wear another hooded sweatshirt OR my jacket.  On my head I have on a thick headband that I put over my ears and the two hoods.  I don't wear mittens or gloves because they make my hands cold.  I just tuck my hands up inside my sleeves and my hands stay nice and warm.  That is until I take my camera out.  : )  The cold doesn't really bother me but I don't usually walk if it gets 12 or below because it is just too cold for my face.  Where I lived before it rarely got that cold but here it does and I've missed a lot more days than is usual for me.  I'm looking forward to the time when I can just get up every morning and just be able to walk outside.  Not being able to walk every day is really hard for me.

I hate to disappoint some of you but I decided NOT to finish that puzzle.   I just wasn't enjoying it.  The colors all blended together and the picture seemed a big blur. So I slid all the pieces off the table right into the trash can.  It was nice to have the table back to a regular size too.
With that puzzle gone, we did one of the ones we bought last week.  It was an easy one with only 500 pieces.

After lunch we headed up to Happy Trails to see what's going on up there.  We couldn't even get up the driveway so we parked the truck and walked in and walked around up on the land for a little while.  There is a powdery snow on top of an icy crust which made it difficult to walk so we got a good workout.

 I tried a new recipe tonight for supper, Sweet and Sour Chicken and it was delicious.  Both Ken and I loved it.  I think it is my new favorite meal.
If you like sweet and sour chicken you must try this.
Here's the recipe.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Ingredients

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

For the sweet and sour sauce

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Lightly oil a 9 x 13 baking dish or coat with nonstick spray.
To make the sauce, whisk together sugar, vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce and garlic powder
in large bowl' set aside.

In a large bowl, season chicken with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in cornstarch and gently toss to combine.

Working one at a time, dip the chicken into the eggs.

Heat vegetable oil in a large saucepan.
Add chicken and cook until golden brown, about 1-2 minutes.

Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate; discard excess oil.
Add chicken to prepared baking dish. Top with sweet and sour sauce.

Place into oven and bake until the sauce has thickened, about 55 minutes, turning over every 15 minutes to evenly coat the chicken.  ( I only had to bake it 45 minutes)
Serve immediately.

Here it is cooked and ready to eat with some white rice.  

My mouth waters just looking at it again.

After supper I walked over to the library for my book club.  There were 8 of us and we had a nice time talking about the last two books we read and then just talked about this and that.

This evening we watched some television and I had some chocolate fudge ice cream for my snack.

Hope your day has been a happy one.
happyone : )

Love is the thing that enables a woman 

to sing while she mops up the floor 

after her husband has walked across it in his barn boot.

~ The Hoosier Farmer

Today's Three Thankful Things

1. Happy Trails
2. A delicious new recipe
3. A nice time with my book club friends

Basement Walk

 No outside walk for me today, had to make due walking
loops down in the basement around Ken's tains
because of the weather - snow, ice, and wind!
Thankful though to have an inside track to walk because
treadmills are just something I can't do!

Every time I walk in the basement I will take a picture
of some part of the layout.

Most of the buildings that Ken makes he gives them names of
people we know.  Jeanne was Ken's mom.

I walked my usual 6 miles
2 before breakfast
2 after breakfast
1 before lunch
1 after lunch

Knitting on my pink scarf this afternoon saw that there was a mistake in it
so had to rip out about 5 inches of work.
Then spent the afternoon getting back to where I started.
Happy though I was able to rip it out and save as much as I did.

Got a few more weave-it squares done too and of course read
for a little while.

It's been snowing all day and not the nice gentle kind of snow that
is calming to watch.  The wind is blowing and the snow is
swirling all over.  Makes me glad to be inside where its nice and warm.

That's it for today.
A happy Tuesday to you.
Thanks for stopping by.
👩🏻‍🦳 happyone ❤️

It's Tuesday!
And since its Chooseday:
Choose to Smile.
Choose to be Happy.
Choose to Love.
Choose to Bless.
Choose to be a Blessing.
Choose to be Humble.
Choose to be Patient.
Choose to be Kind.
Choose God to guide your Life.
HAPPY TUESDAY
- unknown -

Comment Replies:

Bill - My rain coat does have a hood but after walking in the rain a few miles, the rain drips off my face and makes its way down inside.  The umbrella is just another thing to help keep me dry.  Don't really like using an umbrella though.

The basement route : ) Happy New Year and Thanks

It's still snowing, very windy and cold here today so once again I walked in the basement.  This morning I listened to The Greatest Hits by Abba.  Thought maybe you'd like to see my walking route in the basement.  : )
I start out at the bottom of the stairs and walk down the hall here to the guest bedroom.

I walk through the guest room make a left and go through the drying room.

Then down the long hall way (laundry room is on the right, and Ken's train room is straight ahead.)

I turn left and it brings me back to where I started.

I don't just make loops around in the same direction.  Sometimes I walk the opposite way or make figure eights in the rooms.  Once in a while I'll stop and run in place or march.  At times I carry four pound weights and do biceps and triceps curls as I walk.
Though I'm glad I now can do the Leslie walking tapes and they are nice once in a while I prefer just walking listening to music.
Of course I would MUCH rather be outside walking but this will just make me appreciate my outside walks even more when I get out there. : )
I walked 5 miles.  That seems to be my limit at one time down there.

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I never did do any cross stitch yesterday.  I ended up reading the next book for the book club which is The Midwife of Hope River by Patricia Harman and find it very good so far.  The book club isn't till next week but the book is due on the third so I'd better read it now.

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Today I got my office all cleaned and neat to get it ready for my bulletin board.  I don't know why I thought my office had to be neat and clean for a bulletin board but I'm glad to have it done.

We are going to go out supper time for a pizza and salad at Brenda's and then stop at Walmart before coming home.  We need a few things and I want to pick up some colorful duct tape for my bulletin board which should be hanging up tomorrow.

A picture of the snow we are getting today.  I stuck my head out the window of my office and took this of our side yard with our shed in back.

Ken said the nicest thing to me this afternoon.  He came up from the basement and said, "I came to check on the sunshine and the only one I found was you." : )
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We are not doing anything for New Years Eve.  Just a nice quiet night at home.

It has been quite a year of change for us.

Ken retiring, buying a house, moving to Garrett county and finding a great new church all of which was unexpected!!  It's been a joy living here, meeting new friends, walking in a new area, and having Happy Trails near and just enjoying small town living.  We thank God for our many blessings this year and can look back and see how He worked all things out for us. : )
I'd like to say Thank You to all of you who read my blog and for those kind comments you leave.  Thanks for sharing all you do on your blogs and even though most of us have never meet, Thanks for being my friends. : )  You make my life happier. : )

May you all have a happy, healthy and wonderful New Year.
happyone : )

We spend January 1 walking through our lives,

room by room,  drawing up a list of work to be done,

cracks to be patched.

Maybe this year, to balance the list,

we ought to walk through the room of our lives...

not looking for flaws,

but for potential.

~ Ellen Goodman

A closer look

I took this picture Monday morning on my walk before the snow.

☃     ☃     ☃     ☃

Another basement walk for me today.  More snow this morning and the temperature was only 7 with some gusty winds.  Walked  3 miles in the basement while a load of laundry got done.

 This is my winter drying room when I can't hang the clothes outside on the line.

I've walked some laps around the house upstairs too today.  Something different to look at walking around and around.  Upstairs I get to look out of the windows.  : ) 

I have these two needle point pictures I made years ago hanging on the wall in our bedroom and never really see them anymore.  Today walking around I took notice and stopped to look at them.  Maybe I can find a winter one to do too.

This morning for breakfast I made us French toast with the bread I made yesterday.  I won't even make it anymore if I don't have home made bread.  It was delicious.

This morning I baked another Yum Yum cake.  I had half a jar of the mince meat left that I had to use up.

After lunch I went outside to shovel off the driveway.  Just got a few more inches of snow so Ken didn't bother with the snow blower.  Today the cardinal came back with two friends - a male and a female.

I walked around the yard again and got the rest of my walk in that way.  I walked a picture in the front yard. : )  I drew a house and a tree by walking in the snow.  Took a picture but you couldn't really tell what it was.

My bread machine is getting a work out this week.  Today I made pizza dough.  The bread machine is starting to make a strange noise.  Hope it isn't breaking.

Waiting for the dough to get done and then Ken will make the pizza.
I'm almost done with my book and hope to finish it tonight.

That's it for today.
Hope all is well in your world.
A happy day to you.
happyone : )

The heart of a mother is a deep abyss

at the bottom of which you 

will always find forgiveness.

~ Honore de Balzai

Basement Walk

Our driveway was icy this morning and it was 20 degrees.
Ken persuaded me not to go walking so I did my walking
down in the basement doing laps around the train layout.

Walked 2 miles when I got up
2 miles after breakfast
1 mile before lunch
1 mile after lunch
Have to break it up because that's a lot of loops to walk.
Each loop is 75 steps.
No, haven't figured out how many loops it takes for 6 miles
because I don't want to know!! 🙂
It's a lot! 

I didn't get to walk around the cemeteries but did pass by
this one many times.

Well this afternoon was pretty much another puzzle one!
I did knit a little bit too.

This evening for supper I fried up some onions and red peppers
in a little olive oil.
Put them in a burrito shell with rice, salsa and a bit of sour cream.
Haven't had that in a while and it sure was good.

That's all I've got for today.
Hope your Wednesday was a good one.
Thanks for stopping by.
👩🏻‍🦳 happyone ❤️

Our anxiety does not come from thinking about the future,
but from wanting to control it.
- Kahill Gibran

Cold

It's even too cold for Mr Snowman to go out so he sits inside today.

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This morning it was only 10 degrees, snowing and very windy.  I was going to give walking outside a try but Ken suggested a walk in the basement might be a better idea.  I took this picture looking out the dining room window on the way to the basement.

I walked three times in the basement.  First time walking 2.5 miles, second time 2.5 miles and the last time 1 mile for a total of my usual 6 miles.  I go down with the intent to walk 2 miles and put 8 clothespins out.  For each 500 steps, which is about a quarter of a mile,  I put a clothespin back in the basket.  It breaks the walk up and 2 miles go by pretty quickly.  When I get done I put 8 more out for next time and like today sometimes I go a little farther so the last time I only had to walk 2000 steps.

Thanks everyone for the kind comments about the baby sweater.  I've been working on the hat now and I might even finish it today.

I've started the next puzzle.  Have all the pieces spread out on the table and the border is done except for a couple of pieces.  I'll take a picture tomorrow when I have a little more done.

It's been snowing on and off all day and very cold.  About 3:30 we bundled up and went outside to clear the driveway and clean off the truck.  It was only 8 degrees and we could see some blue sky but as soon as we got outside it started snowing again and we felt like we were in a blizzard.  There's Ken with the snow blower.

This is at the end of the driveway looking up the road toward town. 

With such cold weather and more snow coming we decided to stay home this evening and not go to church.

I'll be reading and knitting sitting right by the pellet stove.
I have a feeling I'll be having another inside walking day tomorrow.
Hope you've had a happy day and are keeping nice and warm.

happyone : )

The true measure of a man 

is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.

~ Samuel Johnson

The warm weather

 continued today with a temperature of 48 degrees

when I started walking this morning.

Didn't feel like waiting for it to get light so drove the Jeep

to town and started my walk at 7:00 from the pond parking lot.

A mix of sun and clouds and a bit of a breeze.

Sunrise again was at 7:37

Walked to the library to drop off some books down the slot

and then the post office to mail a few things.

Went back to the edge of town and walked around the lower cemetery.

Then continued through town and out the other end 

and over to the industrial park and walked around there.

This seed pod of some kind caught my attention.

It almost looks alive.

Then back to the main road in town.

A gas station of the past.

And across the street one of the present.

Walked around the ball park loop and

then around the cemetery at top of the hill.

Back to the Jeep and drove home.

 

Saw a couple of rabbits on the way to town.

A couple who I've never seen before were walking in town too and

we passed each other a couple of times.

Many of the cars and trucks pass me while walking each day

give me a toot as they drive by and I wave back.

Can't really see the people inside their cars so I just

know the cars but not the people.

 A red pick-up truck that I recognized pulled in at the gas station

and when he got out he called out

Hi, Good Morning, and gave a big wave.

If not for his red truck I'd have no idea who he was.

Makes me wonder just how many people see me out there walking!

 Walked 6 miles. 

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Weather so nice and warm that I could hang my laundry

out on the line today.

Finally took the bandage off my thumb to take a look at it.

It is healing nicely but did put another bandage on it.

We went to town and went to the library again.

We both had a couple more books to pick up that were on hold.

I started reading The Gown and surprisingly I really do like it!!  🙂

Going to try a knitting later.
I'm adding thumbs to my thankful list!!

That's been my Saturday.

Thanks for stopping by.

A happy day to you.

happyone 🥰

Comment Replies:

Sue - If you click on 'Walk' below the header picture it will answer your questions about my walk.

Gretchen - My basement walk is walking around my husbands HO model train layout that is is working on.  Did a post on it which you can find HERE if you are interested.

Happy Day

19 degrees this morning so I was in town walking at 6:40.  

A dusting of snow during the night and a few flurries while walking.

I can't tell you how much I enjoyed being in town and walking.

Sunrise 7:22

There was a lot of snow around and the sidewalks were piled with snow but I did find enough places where I could walk.

Headed over to the long barn which I haven't been to in quite a while.

Farmer Marvin was there checking on all the new moms and their babies.

22 have been born so far.

The most recent calves born had little coats on them.

He was telling me that when they are first born they are brought inside where it is warm and they get dried off with a blow dryer.

It takes about an hour.

Then they get little coats on and brought back to their moms.

After a couple of days their coats come off.

Farmer Marvin says the cold doesn't bother them and they are healthier being born in the cold. 

He comes by the barns every single morning to check on the cows to make sure they are all fine.

Then I walked down to the other barn by the Drane house.

I walked back and forth to the barns a couple of times and then up and down some of the side streets.

Stopped to chat to the town worker Bill who was working on some water problems in town.

Someone dropping off their child at the day care commented that it was good to see me out walking again.  I told him I just couldn't take another day walking loops around the basement!! 🙂

(though I am very happy I have that place to walk)

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Got another load of laundry 🧺 washed and put on the drying rack and then we were off to Walmart to get the weekly groceries. 🛒

Made a stop at the library before getting home.📚

After getting everything put away it was time for lunch.

This afternoon has been a happy at home one.

David's Bronco got picked up and towed away at 6:00 last night.

Now it is at the dealers finding out what is wrong.

Hopefully I'll be able to walk in town again tomorrow.

Right now it is snowing so I'll have to wait and see.

That's been my day.

Hope you had a wonderful Tuesday.

Thanks for coming by.

HappyK 💕

✏️Comment Replies:

Deb - It's not that our basement is big for me to make loops, I just make LOTS of them.  Ken's trains take up the whole middle and I walked around the edge.  It is 85 steps once around.

Debby - No, don't listen to music when I walk around the basement.  I guess I just have an active mind and just do all my thinking and planning when I'm walking.

Pigs on my walk : ) and a package in the mail

The temperature didn't get down to minus 18 but it did go as low as minus 13.  It was up to minus 10 in the morning but I felt that was still a bit chilly for an outside walk : ) so once again I had a 'basement' walk.  5 miles today listening to The Wallflowers.  Oh yeah and though I didn't see any wild life, cows or horses I did see a couple of pigs on my walk thanks to Kenny. : )  I came down the one hall and there they were.  The next loop I spent laughing.

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After breakfast I decided to bundle up and go outside just to see how cold it was.  I fed the birds (poor things out in this cold) and cleared the snow off of the truck.  Let my tell you, minus 10 degrees is pretty darn cold, especially with the wind blowing as hard as it is.  I was only out for about 10 minutes and the tears (from the wind) on my face froze. 

I started the third and last puzzle that was under the Christmas tree.  I usually look at the box when I do a puzzle but this time I'm not going to have box help and do it without looking.   It might take me a few days.

Ken bundled up and took a turn outside and went for the mail.  He came in with a package for me.  It was the Bible cover.  : )  I love it.  It has a pocket on the outside too.

It is just perfect for my Bible and even has a place to hold a pen.

I've been going back and forth today from working on the puzzle to doing counted cross stitch.  It's been a fun kind of day.  I think one more real cold day and then Thursday things should warm up a bit.

A taco supper tonight for us.  We usually have the hard shells but tonight we're having the soft shells.  It's a bit too early to start that yet so I'm going to go back to working on my cross stitch.  It sure would be nice to finish it.  I do enjoy working on it though, it's just that I've been working on it for years. I'm sure it will take me a few months longer. I'd like to finish so I can start on another.  : )

So that's been my day so far. 
Hope you're staying warm and enjoying your day.
happyone : )

What good is the warmth of summer

without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.

~Author Unkown

Comment replies:

Cheryl - The wind chill here is minus 32.  It is cold!!

Thinker -  My house is nice and warm.  We have a pellet stove which works great.  I love it and couldn't imagine living here without it. : )