Ann's Weblog

It has been another little while since I talked with you.

The bitter cold spell broke, as we knew it would, and the last few days have been balmy! For us, that means just a few degrees below freezing, or right at freezing… completely acceptable. We have had a few incidences of drifting snow, or big fat flakes falling and accumulating a bit, but not weather that represents a hardship.

A bonus of the warmer weather is that the boarding dogs can be outside more of the day. In the extreme cold, I had my “long-term” canine guests in the new kennel building a lot. Every evening after their suppers, I put the two outside, a Newfoundland and a shih tzu, long enough that they could have their night time “constitutional”. Then, of course, I would let them out first thing in the morning, however, sometimes I wasn’t fast enough, or they didn’t do their “business” the late evening before: OH my goodness, what an awful mess to clean up I had a couple of times. It made my eyes water at the time, and I gag just to think of it… the sheer volume of the output of a giant breed. At least they weren’t boarding in the house!

For all the weeks that I babysat those two dogs Cabott and Teddy, I did not get a picture taken for you. I have been paid for part of their stay, and have no reason to believe I’ll not get paid for the rest, but when the owner showed up yesterday to collect his beloved family members, I was relieved and grateful. If I wore one, I would have thrown my hat in the air. Gary and I had made a decision to help this person while he was ill, and I was aware that the dogs’ stay might be for quite awhile. We empathized with the man that he was separated from his pets and happy for him that he has managed to get re-established. The Newfoundland dog was gentle and easy-going, though he barked quite a lot for his own reasons, and the little guy was unpredictable and would growl and bite at times, for HIS own reasons. Something new every day at the Pet Hostel!

I have such a happy life. A TV ad reminds me of myself… I forget what it is advertising, but the video also circulated on YouTube some months ago. A child of about 4, with a large crowning glory of curly blond hair, is yelling into a mirror, “I LOVE my house, I LOVE my hair, I LOVE my sister, I LOVE my life… “, you get the idea. I might have the words mixed up, but the clip has always made me smile.

Today was rather busy. My grooming work got cancelled due to a conflict in someone else’s schedule. I rebuilt the fire, fed the horse and the few darling boarders as well as administering meds. I drank most of a pot of coffee and then went out to feed livestock at a friend’s stable, then for a mammogram (the waiting room was FULL of women I enjoy visiting with… who knew it could be such a social event), then for lunch with friends. At the post office there was a nice little haul of gifts for myself and loved ones and no bills, and at the craft store they had beads on sale (which is what I’ve been working on/sorting out lately).

Now it’s only 4:20 and the horse and dogs are fed again and I’ve accomplished a few miscellaneous tasks as well. I have TV to watch and some beading to do. Thank you for coming by to read this blog post… I’ll bet each of you would be surprised to know how often I think of you.

Love, Ann

Winter has set in in earnest now. Even now that it’s noonish, the temperature is close to -30 C..

We’re not suffering. We’ll count our blessings that waterlines and sewage systems are all still “a go”, we have enough accommodation for our animal guests and lifers, and we are warm enough also. We have many conveniences to be grateful for… power, television and internet service, an upgraded wood heater and enough wood. The larders and freezers are full, AND we don’t have to work outside for very long these days.

Gary is doing some woodwork out in the kennel building; I’m glad he can use that space and hope he’s proud of the project at hand. This will be another bookcase, this time to replace a particle board one that has bowed under the weight of books. It will coordinate with the one he built before Christmas. In the meantime, I have stayed out of the way, as I do not want to send pet hair or dust flying while the finish dries on the shelves.

I’m hanging out in the house in Gary’s recliner, trying to stay away from eBay and Bidz.com. Feeling overwhelmed by collectibles has not kept me from looking at gems and jewellery online. During these “indoor” days, I have been trying to sort things, all the while wondering what my darling daughters, nieces and nephew might want me to keep. If someone else keeps something for decades, does it mean that I have to? Where do I put all this STUFF? What happens when you inherit something from someone you never met? I was awake until after 3 a.m. pondering these types of questions.

I phoned someone in Calgary today who deals in coins and estate jewellery. I explained that I have a curious assortment of old “things” that I am prepared for any information about. He chuckled, “Oh, don’t worry, we’re used to breaking people’s hearts!”. On the other hand, he went on to relate a few anecdotes about items that turned out to be worth a great deal more than expected. We should be so lucky… I rather doubt that will happen.

a frosty "Bud"

Here’s Gary’s riding horse, Bud. He’s not afraid of the -30 ! Though Bud has a shelter, he seems to prefer standing outside, rain or shine or sleet, and today the frost has gathered on him from his eyelashes to the tip of his tail.

Stay well, everyone! Love you for visiting here.

~ Ann

Weeks ago, we told a friend that we would take his kitty when he felt too ill to take care of her. Actually, we told our friend’s best friends that we could do this.

Last night we had a phone call from W. who asked if it was really true that I “would take this kitten”, and I said that I was serious when I sent the message to him. My heart was in my throat, because his call meant that he is unwell. I simply replied that if he was “ready”, Gary and I would come out for a visit and pick up the little cat today.

We went to W.’s today and had the greatest visit, with good, strong coffee, real German gingerbread, and fancy shortbread made by our friend’s daughter. Johanna had been with her dad for three weeks at Christmas, and he feels lucky and loved. He had plenty of profound advice for those of us who are somewhat younger and very well at this time.

I didn’t expect to adore this cat so much! While we humans visited, the kitty just waited in an airline kennel padded with straw. She also waited in the crate while I made lunch and ate with Gary, then I gently lifted her out. She looked so wild-eyed that I believed I would have quite a time getting to know her. Instead, she was purring while she came out; I sat with her on my lap here in the kennel building, my feet on another chair. I combed out her heavy coat and she didn’t mind at all.

W. tells us that he only ever called the little creature, “Kitty”, from the time he found her cold and hungry on the road. At the time she seemed not old enough to be weaned. He saved her and tamed her.

I was recalling a discussion, many years ago, while I was at an animal health technicians’ convention. The topic was cat behaviour or cat restraint, and I asked a vet why he thought some cats born in a barn, or abandoned for months, could be so gentle and loving, and some pampered felines turn out psychotic and intractable. His answer was that cats are born either WITH the “friendly gene” or without it. This explains everything! It answers why I have had great luck with adopting “barn cats” which are patient and even tempered, and why I sometimes find household pets of loving owners… fractious!

I’m sure this concept has a parallel in human behaviour. Think about it.

I’ve made the tentative decision to keep this little cat and call her Smokey. Soon, I will have to shell out the money to have her spayed, and then I will have four fixed females here again. I’m hoping the two cats that I have in the kennel building now will accept the young one, though the old biddies seem to hate each other. Our friend had been keeping Smokey outside because his allergy to cats compromised his already poor health, but I want to keep her indoors at least for the winter.

Smokey

Okay… must go do a little work around here.

To the person who comes into the Chat Room showing the name of my favourite coffee shop: Please have the decency to spell it correctly!

Love, Ann

It has been another awesome day.

We had our regularly scheduled breakfast in town, with our friends. I took it easy most of the rest of the day, mostly sewing. We only have a couple of doggy boarders at the moment, though of course they are very important.

It was our anniversary today… 11 years! We’re a pair alright:

Here's to us

For dinner tonight we had cornish game hen (with rosemary and garlic), and swiss cheese fondue. Rice pudding for dessert. I filled our great “wine cups” with water, as that’s what we wanted. Thank you, Susan, for these special goblets.

I was just sewing for two of the “grand-dogs” today. Though the pups might not really care if their name is on their bed, it gives me an added sense of fun:

a mat for Seltzer

Seltzer

A matt for Maya

Maya

It has been windy and snowy all day. I was out on the highway for just a short trip after breakfast today, and a competent friend was driving, but the condition of the road was horrendous. I was glad to stay home sewing.

I’m tired so I’m already done chatting. Hope you’ve had a most pleasant weekend.

Love, Ann

It has been a good day, unremarkable in so many ways. Today, however, happens to be the one year anniversary of my stepmother’s death.

I should have phoned my grown children, but they are so busy. This morning I picked up the phone and called an aunt and an uncle and got answering machines, and then I phoned another uncle, who seemed thrilled to hear from me. Now those relatives are all on my mother’s side, but I believe in letting people know when you are thinking of them.

And someone was thinking of me today. Chris, who is the adult daughter of my stepmother’s cousin, phoned me tonight and said that I had been on her mind all day. I was glad to know that she was not calling to tell me bad news, as her mother is dear to me and in poor health. Chris wanted me to know that she always knew my teen years with Myrtle were not easy (nor the years since), and that my stepmother was “not the warmest person”.

Myrtle

I found myself enthusiastically defending Myrtle on some levels, but then sharing some horrendous tales of rebuke and criticism. I confessed to Chris that when I read the cards and letters that she wrote to Myrtle over the years, full of great love and admiration, I felt somehow smaller, guilty, and not such a good person, for NOT offering such unconditional affection.

We were hours on the phone, talking about our children, our experiences with Myrtle, and the meaning of life. We wished aloud that we didn’t live so far apart, and hope to meet in Calgary again one day.

The phonecall was more welcome than if someone were to have phoned and, acknowledging that it has been a year since Myrtle died, said, “Oh, wasn’t she wonderful?” and so on. She was smart and successful, sometimes humorous, and she was loving toward our dad. In her late years, she was more accepting, warm and generous, as we all tried to support and help her. I do focus on the positive aspects of our lives with Myrtle, the things she taught me and a certain sense of bravado she instilled in me in the early years. I try to forget the times she belittled me, or scoffed at an effort or a mistake and I believe those experiences must have been character-building; Myrtle was a perfectionist and did so many things very well with little instruction or effort.

Never did I have an idea that Chris and her sister knew anything but the positive aspects of knowing and living with Myrtle. I believed that they felt Myrtle was unfailingly understanding and kind. Somehow, tonight’s lively discussion validates some of my harsher opinions about my relationship with and my memories of my stepmother, and this without damaging the fondness and admiration I DO have for her. Chris understood how all those emotions and perspectives could exist together.

So…. HERE’S to MYRTLE! She did the best she could, and we did the best we could. CHEERS.

To all of you…. remember that someone is thinking of YOU today.

~ Ann

Yes, I know it’s January 2 already. I’m sure it’s not too late to wish you a safe and joyful year ahead, 2012. Remember too, when times are tough, that someone else somewhere is struggling just to LIVE.

I typed another paragraph on my DELL laptop just now, keying at high speed, and some stroke suddenly highlighted and then deleted the whole block of text. Even “Undo” command in the Menu did not recover my words. I looked up the phone number for DELL support again, and averred to an answering machine that I needed more help with the touchpad, that the DELL was continuing to cause me problems, that I am starting to HATE the machine and that I wanted a new one. What are the odds that DELL would simply send me a new laptop? Slim to none. I have never had this much trouble, nor this type of problem, with any computer, including the last DELL laptop, which served me well until it ground to a halt. One of the technicians told me, in his own diplomatic way, that the problem with the touchpad is likely to be operator error, that my fingers or heel of my hand are resting on the pad as I type, which would explain unwanted keystrokes, cursor jumping about, and programs opening without intention on my part. As much as I hold my hands ABOVE the keyboard, avoiding any contact with the stupid touchpad, I am still getting this erratic behaviour from the computer, and I’m sick of it. I’ll keep you posted!

Yesterday was pretty much a day of rest. Several dogs went home, in fact, all except a sort of “mercy” case left here, so we have only two boarders. We had a simple supper of glazed roast chicken with wild mushroom couscous and broccoli, with banana cream pie for dessert. A quiet evening was what we needed to mark the New Year.

What fun we had at our friends’ home for New Year’s Eve! We had the invitation mixed up in our minds; we thought we were invited for an afternoon Open House, but really, the expectation was to come anytime and stay all day and half the night (or so I HOPE, because that is what we did!). In the early afternoon, we had herbal tea and baking/sweets, and for dinner we had “raclette” , which was a completely new experience for us. Sometime during those hours, the alcohol drinking started in earnest, and many more people came, and we were pleased to be included in what was a sort of tiny community outside our small town, though we live across the valley. I was still feeling quite run down from my cold, and occasionally suffered coughing fits and hoarseness, but I still had a great time. We were out later than we had been in years for any reason.

Last night, following a pattern that I’ve set for myself, I let Lady out while I went to fill up our wood heater for the last time. I put as much wood as I can in the unit before retiring, then let the dog back in, and shut “things down” (TV, receiver, computer). On this occasion, at midnight, I slammed my beloved cat, “Gilbert” in the heavy wood door. What a sickening hiss and howl I heard, and I had given the door such a hard push so that it would catch. I threw the door open to see the cat leaving the step with one backward glance of reproach, holding one paw in the air before she leaped. She would not come to my calls and I could not find her last night.

This morning I did see Gilbert from our bathroom window, looking quite well, and not limping that I could see. She was drinking from the horse’s water trough, and then scampered off over the snow drifts. It seems that there is a speck of blood on our threshold, so I have gone back looking for my cat several times, for closer inspection, but now she seems to be eluding me, and who can blame her?

Gilbert

This reminds me of a time, more than 25 years ago, that I discovered our cat Sunny with a deformed and painful paw. There was not a veterinarian within 100 miles, and though I can’t remember the circumstances that morning, I knew I could not travel to get to a clinic. I obtained casting material from our local hospital and carefully constructed a cast for Sunny. I do remember thinking that the only way the poor dear could have received that injury was that I had crushed her paw in the door as I left my kennel building. I can find more things to feel guilty about! I also recall that I had to hide this injured cat from my then father-in-law, as he would have probably grabbed a pipe and  “put her out of her misery”, as he “hated to see an animal suffer”. He berated me for years about saving a beautiful dog which had received a dreadful eye injury; according to John, he would have shot the dog immediately rather than subject it to so much more suffering, surgery and recovery. Oh! Don’t I have such baggage? At any rate, Sunny the cat lived to 23 years old, and the dog Brandy also spent another few happy years with us.

So many memories pinging around in my brain; sometimes I wish I didn’t remember so much.

I have been promising to share some pictures. There is a new “camera app” on my iPhone, and though it seems to work very well, I did not realize it was storing the photos in a completely different place, separate from the file where the others end up. Now that I have “found” the missing pictures, I’ll post a random bunch.

Here are my beloved friends’ beloved dogs, Daisy and Mailbox:

Daisy Mae and Mailbox

Another great favourite of mine is “Giles”. He most closely resembles a bearded collie, and he has a long, straight coat with very little undercoat. To groom him is like combing out 100 barbie dolls, and he enjoys the process and seems to love us.

Giles

I think this is my “blah blah blog” for the day. I have lots of photos I could share, but I’m boring myself and think I should be doing something rather than talking about myself. I might also simply go back to reading my Ann Rule book.

Hope you are having a good day too, good year, good life. Love you for visiting this blog (this bears repeating).

~ Ann

p.s. I have located Gilbert, who has no blood on her, nor any injury that I can find. She loves me still, and hopefully will stay back from the door in the future! We once encouraged her to live in the house, but she always wanted to be outside, so there it is.

The Christmas Season is coming to a close. I can’t say I’m very sorry; we have had a quiet and pleasant week, but I have been under the weather with a cold for days. The boarding dogs have needed me more than anyone or anything, and of course I’ve been “here for them”.

We had a most wonderful visit from daughter Shelly and niece Sarah. We wanted to make a good Christmas for them, though they were here the Sunday before. We all opened presents and stockings, went out for breakfast, read our new books and ate lots of turkey and the trimmings (and candy and chocolate). We went for a sleigh ride at Zev-and-Sharon’s. As the girls left, I admit to shedding a tear… I worry about all my children and my sister’s children too, though they are all adults now.

This week has passed quite quickly. We’ve done some socializing with dear “old” friends and also some new pals with whom we don’t usually “party”. Everyone seems to enhance our lives in some way, and I hope we do the same for others. Tonight we’re going for drinks and snacks, and tomorrow we’re attending an “open house” which is outdoors, with bonfire and drinks and snacks.

I keep promising to get back with pictures. I start a “post” and save it to draft, and then a week later have forgotten what I thought I might say.

Now I have a customer driving in… back another day with pictures.

Love you all, Ann

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

As Maria Robinson once said, “Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” Nothing could be closer to the truth. But before you can begin this process of transformation you have to stop doing the things that have been holding you back.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

1. Stop spending time with the wrong people. – Life is too short to spend time with people who suck the happiness out of you. If someone wants you in their life, they’ll make room for you. You shouldn’t have to fight for a spot. Never, ever insist yourself to someone who continuously overlooks your worth. And remember, it’s not the people that stand by your side when you’re at your best, but the ones who stand beside you when you’re at your worst that are your true friends.
2. Stop running from your problems. – Face them head on. No, it won’t be easy. There is no person in the world capable of flawlessly handling every punch thrown at them. We aren’t supposed to be able to instantly solve problems. That’s not how we’re made. In fact, we’re made to get upset, sad, hurt, stumble and fall. Because that’s the whole purpose of living – to face problems, learn, adapt, and solve them over the course of time. This is what ultimately molds us into the person we become.
3. Stop lying to yourself. – You can lie to anyone else in the world, but you can’t lie to yourself. Our lives improve only when we take chances, and the first and most difficult chance we can take is to be honest with ourselves. Read The Road Less Traveled.
4. Stop putting your own needs on the back burner. – The most painful thing is losing yourself in the process of loving someone too much, and forgetting that you are special too. Yes, help others; but help yourself too. If there was ever a moment to follow your passion and do something that matters to you, that moment is now.
5. Stop trying to be someone you’re not. – One of the greatest challenges in life is being yourself in a world that’s trying to make you like everyone else. Someone will always be prettier, someone will always be smarter, someone will always be younger, but they will never be you. Don’t change so people will like you. Be yourself and the right people will love the real you.
6. Stop trying to hold onto the past. – You can’t start the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading your last one.
7. Stop being scared to make a mistake. – Doing something and getting it wrong is at least ten times more productive than doing nothing. Every success has a trail of failures behind it, and every failure is leading towards success. You end up regretting the things you did NOT do far more than the things you did.
8. Stop berating yourself for old mistakes. – We may love the wrong person and cry about the wrong things, but no matter how things go wrong, one thing is for sure, mistakes help us find the person and things that are right for us. We all make mistakes, have struggles, and even regret things in our past. But you are not your mistakes, you are not your struggles, and you are here NOW with the power to shape your day and your future. Every single thing that has ever happened in your life is preparing you for a moment that is yet to come.
9. Stop trying to buy happiness. – Many of the things we desire are expensive. But the truth is, the things that really satisfy us are totally free – love, laughter and working on our passions.
10. Stop exclusively looking to others for happiness. – If you’re not happy with who you are on the inside, you won’t be happy in a long-term relationship with anyone else either. You have to create stability in your own life first before you can share it with someone else. Read Stumbling on Happiness.
11. Stop being idle. – Don’t think too much or you’ll create a problem that wasn’t even there in the first place. Evaluate situations and take decisive action. You cannot change what you refuse to confront. Making progress involves risk. Period! You can’t make it to second base with your foot on first.
12. Stop thinking you’re not ready. – Nobody ever feels 100% ready when an opportunity arises. Because most great opportunities in life force us to grow beyond our comfort zones, which means we won’t feel totally comfortable at first.
13. Stop getting involved in relationships for the wrong reasons. – Relationships must be chosen wisely. It’s better to be alone than to be in bad company. There’s no need to rush. If something is meant to be, it will happen – in the right time, with the right person, and for the best reason. Fall in love when you’re ready, not when you’re lonely.
14. Stop rejecting new relationships just because old ones didn’t work. – In life you’ll realize that there is a purpose for everyone you meet. Some will test you, some will use you and some will teach you. But most importantly, some will bring out the best in you.
15. Stop trying to compete against everyone else. – Don’t worry about what others doing better than you. Concentrate on beating your own records every day. Success is a battle between YOU and YOURSELF only.
16. Stop being jealous of others. – Jealousy is the art of counting someone else’s blessings instead of your own. Ask yourself this: “What’s something I have that everyone wants?”
17. Stop complaining and feeling sorry for yourself. – Life’s curveballs are thrown for a reason – to shift your path in a direction that is meant for you. You may not see or understand everything the moment it happens, and it may be tough. But reflect back on those negative curveballs thrown at you in the past. You’ll often see that eventually they led you to a better place, person, state of mind, or situation. So smile! Let everyone know that today you are a lot stronger than you were yesterday, and you will be.
18. Stop holding grudges. – Don’t live your life with hate in your heart. You will end up hurting yourself more than the people you hate. Forgiveness is not saying, “What you did to me is okay.” It is saying, “I’m not going to let what you did to me ruin my happiness forever.” Forgiveness is the answer… let go, find peace, liberate yourself! And remember, forgiveness is not just for other people, it’s for you too. If you must, forgive yourself, move on and try to do better next time.
19. Stop letting others bring you down to their level. – Refuse to lower your standards to accommodate those who refuse to raise theirs.
20. Stop wasting time explaining yourself to others. – Your friends don’t need it and your enemies won’t believe it anyway. Just do what you know in your heart is right.
21. Stop doing the same things over and over without taking a break. – The time to take a deep breath is when you don’t have time for it. If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting. Sometimes you need to distance yourself to see things clearly.
22. Stop overlooking the beauty of small moments. – Enjoy the little things, because one day you may look back and discover they were the big things. The best portion of your life will be the small, nameless moments you spend smiling with someone who matters to you.
23.Stop trying to make things perfect. – The real world doesn’t reward perfectionists, it rewards people who get things done. Read Getting Things Done.
24. Stop following the path of least resistance. – Life is not easy, especially when you plan on achieving something worthwhile. Don’t take the easy way out. Do something extraordinary.
25. Stop acting like everything is fine if it isn’t. – It’s okay to fall apart for a little while. You don’t always have to pretend to be strong, and there is no need to constantly prove that everything is going well. You shouldn’t be concerned with what other people are thinking either – cry if you need to – it’s healthy to shed your tears. The sooner you do, the sooner you will be able to smile again.
26. Stop blaming others for your troubles. – The extent to which you can achieve your dreams depends on the extent to which you take responsibility for your life. When you blame others for what you’re going through, you deny responsibility – you give others power over that part of your life.
27. Stop trying to be everything to everyone. – Doing so is impossible, and trying will only burn you out. But making one person smile CAN change the world. Maybe not the whole world, but their world. So narrow your focus.
28. Stop worrying so much. – Worry will not strip tomorrow of its burdens, it will strip today of its joy. One way to check if something is worth mulling over is to ask yourself this question: “Will this matter in one year’s time? Three years? Five years?” If not, then it’s not worth worrying about.
29. Stop focusing on what you don’t want to happen. – Focus on what you do want to happen. Positive thinking is at the forefront of every great success story. If you awake every morning with the thought that something wonderful will happen in your life today, and you pay close attention, you’ll often find that you’re right.
30. Stop being ungrateful. – No matter how good or bad you have it, wake up each day thankful for your life. Someone somewhere else is desperately fighting for theirs. Instead of thinking about what you’re missing, try thinking about what you have that everyone else is missing.

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Of course I have gleaned the preceeding bit of wisdom from the Internet, but it fits with what I try to keep in mind. The trick is remembering the advice while negative tapes play in one’s head and old feelings threaten to become habit.

Love you for reading my blog. ~ Ann

Though I haven’t been an especially touchy feely person, I do appreciate the affection shown by others and any heartfelt embraces offered to me.

Very recently I was shopping in a store in our cozy town, on a little “mission” and deep in thought. A friend who was minding the shop wandered over and asked how I was, and I determined that she also was fine, and we passed the time with smallish talk, shared news of family, and so on. She was by no means bothering me and the conversation was most welcome, then she suddenly said, “Actually, Ann, I mainly came over here to get a hug from you.”

I exclaimed that I was sorry that I hadn’t caught on, and of course gave her a warm hug. We were both laughing. It made my day that my friend could simply state what she needed from me, and that it was so easy a request to fulfill. Sometimes it costs absolutely nothing in effort or currency to help another person, build them up or salvage their day, and benefits the giver even more.

Today Gary and I went to the elementary school Christmas Concert, written, directed and produced by our friend Sharon. There were more than 100 children with parts in the plays, a lot of singing and dancing, and everyone seemed to have a great time. All with whom I spoke after the event was duly impressed and appreciative. We stayed awhile after the concert to help pack up chairs and stage, backdrops and sound equipment.

Despite that I feel quite tired, I will take myself tonight to a “Ladies’ Tea” at one of the churches in town. I’m not a religious person, so in some ways I feel like a big fat fraud, but I enjoy the fellowship and Christmas Carols. I pray that God forgives me for neither attending church nor praying convincingly.

Dinner needs finishing… tonight it’s beef stroganoff with mashed potatoes. For some reason, spell check doesn’t like my word “stroganoff”, but too bad; I already know it tastes scrumptious.

Love, Ann

Gary Skates