Betty's Blog

I have a long-standing problem with coffee drinkers. I have found that, as a group, they can be rather intolerant of anyone who doesn't drink coffee! My mother was a coffee hound. My dad always drank tea and he taught me how to make it and how to drink it. Many years ago I ordered hot tea in a restaurant. I was given a tiny metal pot of lukewarm water and a Lipton teabag on the side of the saucer. You can't make decent tea with lukewarm water! I never understood restaurants who offer fresh, hot coffee with free refills to the coffee drinkers and then treat us tea drinkers like second-class citizens. Do they have any idea how easy and cheap it would be for them to brew a pot of tea and then offer free refills? I believe that the cost of a pot of tea is way less than half the cost of a pot of coffee. Once, I attended a Lutefisk Supper. They offered you your choice of coffee or water to drink... nothing else! I never went to one of those again. There is no mystery a...

TEN MONTHS LATER! well, it's been ten months since i actively started dieting and eating better and i've lost a total of 68 pounds and am feeling just great! my doctor told me yesterday that she recommended that i continue to eat sensibly and to either just stay at the weight i am now or not to lose any more than ten to fifteen pounds more, maximum. my BMI is great and she said that i am now classified as "healthy" for my age and height and i am no longer obese!!! what i have taken from this experience? 1.) weighing oneself every single morning is a must. you have to know what happens when you cheat because it always shows up the next day. but at least then you can still feel in control because you see the results and can be motivated to DO something about it! 2.) eating enough protein is VERY important to feeling full and not wanting to cheat! 3.) drinking enough water is EXTREMELY important. i personally drink 3 liters or quarts every single day (whi...

October 2013 wow! that was quite a vacation i took, wasn't it! I had a family reunion in June. I had a 45th class reunion in July. I went to the Renaissance Festival near Shakopee, MN in September and had my first ever ride on an elephant AND on a camel! And here I am, about to turn 64 years old tomorrow. Those milestones are flying by. I also had a small skin cancer removed from my forehead in September. So now I have a cool badass scar. It's hard to not think about one's mortality at this point. Don't get me wrong. I'm not afraid to die. I just don't want to be a burden to anyone. I went to visit an old neighbor at her nursing home last month. She had turned 100 years old. omg! Almost all of her contemporaries are gone. Her mind is still pretty good, but she spends her days in a wheelchair and her nights in bed. I remember my mother-in-law, who died at 94, lying on her bed at the nursing home. One time I was there to visit and she rais...

Movie #2 in Buffalo Center So we have Eileen Fulton (Lisa) from As the World Turns in town today. Some independent film company is shooting a movie here in good old Buffalo Center! But it's not the first time that a movie was made here. About nine years ago my daughter produced and directed a horror film. She filmed it partly in our old motel before it was torn down. The plot had to do with people who were selling body parts. I remember coming up with a recipe for fake blood that was pretty realistic. Very spooky!

Happy Birthday, Buffalo Center! Quasquicentennial: A 125th anniversary. A celebration to mark such an anniversary. First organizational meeting tonight. Our Quasquicentennial (no one can seem to say that word) will be in 2017. I will be 69. The Buffalo Center Centennial in 1992 was amazing. I was 43. Our Sesquicentennial will be in 2042. I'll be 93, if I make it which I'm pretty sure I won't. I wonder if we will even be living in a Constitutional republic anymore by then. What am I saying... we are already living in a Post-Constitutional republic. Ameritopia.

July 2013 I've been going through all of my clothes and being ruthless. If it's two or more sizes too big, it's going in the box to go to the consignment store. I've already got eight boxes filled and there is still more to go! Some things I can sew off. It's not that hard to sew off jeans if you aren't going down too many sizes. The trouble is I'm losing so much pocket! I've got to have pockets to put my phone and my lip gloss in. Camisoles and tank tops are easy to sew off. So I've been making my sewing machine hum! I hate belt loops. They show under some tops so they are all getting cut off. And any pockets on the back can't have any flaps. Why would clothing designers put pockets with flaps on the back anyway? At least not on plus-size ladies' clothing! They make very unattractive bumps on your bum! And what the heck do we need fancy stitching or bling on jean pockets for? Good grief... we need the interest to be along the side...

June 2013 So, I've had my new car for five days and each day I love it even more! Of course it's yellow. But, when they transferred the windup key to this new one, it was obvious that it wasn't going to work. When the key is in the vertical position, it's only about a quarter-inch away from the back of the car and I just don't want to chance having it damage the paint. So I guess I'll be selling my windup key on eBay! Oh, by the way, the new one is a '13 Ford Fiesta! No more Government Motors car for me. It's the Titanium with all the goodies. I absolutely love the way it looks, the way it handles, and the way it feels. My personalized U. of Iowa plates (MY AVEO) have caused quite a stir now that they are being displayed on a Ford! I've had to stop and explain myself several times. "My new plates are ready to be picked up and I'll be getting them on Monday!" So, Buffalo Center is going to have to figure out a differe...