Just Another Snow-Filled Day

Hiya, everyone! I've been so lax in writing, I must apologize. I've been very busy studying, trying to stay warm and keeping up with the kid's activities. Brittany is in basketball again this year, and I MUST say she's getting really good. She's one of the best players on her team. She's aggressive and handles the ball really well. As a matter of fact, she scored the majority of the points her team made in yesterday's game. (They lost, however.)

Josh has all kinds of activities as well: Storytime, school activities, etc... And, Chris sprained his ankle at school last week. He has a brace and crutches and was told to stay completely off it for at least a week when they want to see him again to make sure he didn't tear any ligaments. He was playing a game in gym and tried to "slide" to a base, but ended up in a fight with a mat. (We told him not to pick fights with mats, they always win.) lol

I'm also teaching again on Wednesday nights. I'll be having Wednesday night class for the entire spring semester, and hopefully also be teaching my web design class as well. This is going to be a very challenging semester. My classes this semester require a LOT of reading, so keeping up is going to be the biggest challenge.

Well, it's getting late and I've got stuff to do so g'day to everyone, and until next time "Hang in there, gang!"

Another Year is Almost Gone

We had a good Christmas, and hope you all had a good one, too. We ate too much, bought too much, spent too much and stayed up too late! LOL

But seriously, folks, we tried to tone it down as much as possible this year. We got a few things for the kids, wished everyone a very Merry Christmas, and had a relaxing day. We got some nice sparkling wine, Barefoot Sparkling White Zinfandel, and had a small meal – we still had turkey! We also tried a new recipe that I found in a magazine and it turned out great! I'm posting it below because we liked it so well, and also because I promised Grandpa that I would post it so Steve could try it out.

Grandpa, I know you're not fond of brussels sprouts, but give it a try and tell me what you think.

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Roasted Brussels Sprouts
With Pecans
2 lbs. fresh brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved (we could only find frozen so we thawed and drained them in a collander so they wouldn't be soggy)
1 c. pecans, roughly chopped
2 T. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Kosher salt and black pepper

Heat oven to 400° F. On a large rimmed baking sheet, toss the Brussels sprouts, pecans, oil, garlic, 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper. Turn the Brussels sprouts cut-side down. Roast until golden and tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Serves 8. (But we 4 demolished it!)

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We aren't planning to do much for New Year's Eve. We'll toast the new year with some more Barefoot sparkling white zin and have a couple of glasses of tawny port and maybe watch a movie or play some cards.

How did we get to 2009 so quickly? The year 2000 was supposed to be far into the future, a futuristic world with flying cars and people living on Mars... But, here we are, no Enterprise to explore strange new worlds and civilizations... no flying cars... no colony on Mars... not even one on the moon. I guess mankind's dreams have always exceeded his reality.

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A couple of quotes to leave you with:

You know you're getting old, when Santa starts looking younger. -- Robert Paul

I stopped believing in Santa Claus when my mother took me to see him in a department store, and he asked for my autograph. -- Shirley Temple

Merry Christmas and
Happy New Year everyone!

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Things I'll be doing today: Wondering where in the heck I'm going to put all the Christmas decorations, dreading packing up all the holiday stuff, housework, figuring out something for supper, and enjoying the fair weather while it lasts.

Thanksgiving At Our Place

We hope your Thanksgiving was as nice as ours. We spent the morning cooking, watched live webcam feeds of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and listened to some beautiful classical Christmas music on Pandora.

Our menu included roast turkey (of course), Volcano Potatoes, Roasted Glazed Vegetables, Turkey Stuffing from Simply Recipes, Pumpkin Pie and Apple Cranberry Currant Crumble Pie also from Simply Recipes. We also had a nice Malbec from Argentina. (No award winner, but it wasn't bad.)

We have a family tradition of going around the table and sharing with one another what we're thankful for. It's always nice to hear what each one of us has to say.

I thought I'd include the recipes for Volcano Potatoes and Roasted Glazed Vegetables in case anyone is interested.

Volcano Potatoes

• 5 lbs. Yukon Gold potatoes, quartered
• real sweet cream butter, as much as is needed
• milk or stock, as much as is needed
• salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste
• 1 cup shredded havarti, american, gruyére or other favorite cheese
• 3/4 c. cream

Cover potatoes with enough water to cover them, boil until fork tender, drain. Mash potatoes with butter, milk or stock, salt and pepper to taste. Turn potatoes out into a baking dish big enough to hold them with a bit extra room. Use spoon to move potatoes to sides of dish so there's a hole in the middle.

In small bowl, beat cream to soft peaks. Fold in shredded cheese. Pour cheese mixture into center of potatoes.

Bake in 375° oven 30 minutes or until top is lightly browned.

Roasted Glazed Vegetables

• 8 medium carrots, cut into chunks
• 8 medium parsnips, cut into chunks
• 12 baby beets, or 4 small beets, quartered
• 2 medium turnips, cut into chunks
• 1 small to medium winter squash, cut into chunks (any favorite winter squash)
• 1/4 c. butter
• salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste
• 1/4 c. brown sugar

Cook carrots, parsnips and turnips in boiling water 10 minutes, drain. Mix all vegetables with melted butter, salt and pepper in baking pan. Bake at 325° for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Remove from oven and mix vegetables with brown sugar, coating well. Return to oven and bake 15-20 minutes more.
_________________________

Happy Thanksgiving, all, and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year while I'm at it!

Another Windswept Scene Out My Window

It's another windy day here on the Great Plains. And cold! Just stepping out the door might give me an earache! (I don't like wind, especially cold wind, blowing in my ears. OUCH!) We even saw some tiny little spits of snow this morning!

I found a Boxer wandering around outside this morning. He was about half the size of my boxer and really sweet. He had a collar, but no tags. I called the dog catcher to come pick him up and, hopefully, get him back to his owners. Poor thing, he was so cold and looked half starved! Reggie, our local dog catcher, thought that with all the wind we've been having some fences have come down and maybe that's how he got out. He jumped right into the police truck, warm at last!

The sun has finally come out, though it isn't doing anything about the temperature. The wind just takes that warmth and sweeps it away. I really am not ready for winter.

The fall semester is almost over! I've got 8 exams left to study for, 4 papers and just a bit of homework left to do. Next semester is going to be interesting. I'll be taking: Technology in Society, Intro to Leadership Behavior, Currant Political Issues, and Industrial Management. So, I hope I've learned enough this semester to help me through my next round of classes.

Mike and I have noticed two places where the plaster on our walls is bulging out. Dad tells me it's water damage, so we've got to do some damage control. One of Mike's coworkers has recommended that we take down the plaster walls, insulate and put up drywall. This sounds like a really bad idea to me, but Mike is thinking he wants to try it. I've done a little bit of research online about doing this, and from all I've read it sounds like a very big mess. I'll keep everyone posted.

Things I'll be doing today: Studying for exams, trying to stay warm and getting ready for the weekend.

And Time Moves On

Hi, folks. It's me, again!

I've spent the morning making Chex Mix for Josh to take to preschool for snack, reading the news, responding to email and being incredibly ill because I ate a Wendy's cheeseburger last night for supper. (It's the cheese – EVERY TIME I eat fast food's version of cheese, I get sick. Why'd I do this to myself. SHEESH!)

We (Chris, Bee, Josh, Mom and I) spent the day yesterday in Garden City getting tooth work done. Chris and Josh were easy - no cavities, no problems. Bee had a missing filling, three teeth that needed to have sealant put on them and two small cavities. (She didn't even need any anesthetic.) I, lucky me, had to have a crown put on my back molar because it was cracked and giving me a lot of trouble. (I can't believe how much crowns cost! YIKES! Our loverly Blue Cross/Blue Shield doesn't pay for major dental work. Nice, huh.) I didn't think the dentist was ever going to stop drilling.

I've approved my classes for the Spring semester and they don't sound too bad: Technology in Society, Intro to Leadership Behavior, Current Political Issues (that one should be interesting) and Industrial Management. I'll have a busy semester, but I'm looking at that for the next three years anyway.

I think I'll end here, as I seem to be rambling, with an interesting recipe: Mrs. Paxton's Raw Apple Cake, it sounds really good for this time of the year. Let me know if any of you try it and how it turns out.

Things I'll be doing today: Homework, housework, finishing up Josh's Halloween costume (he's a ghost) and pulling out our now dead tomato plants.

Oh, by the way, here's a couple of sites with really wonderful, amazing carved pumpkins: Masterpiece Pumpkins, Ray's Sculpted Pumpkins, & Pumpkin Gutter. Wish I had talent like that, don't you?!

It's October Already?!

Wow! Time really flies! I know I keep saying that, but I am just so amazed that it's October already. I didn't really have the time to appreciate September like I should have.

Sadly, we will have to start closing the windows, fire up the furnace, and by Halloween we usually begin having yucky weather like frost, sleet, fog... brrrr!

Don't get me wrong. I do enjoy the change of the seasons. Who knows? I might even be bored if it were warm all year around.... yeah, that's not really true. I'd love it to be 80 degrees and sunny everyday and 50 degrees every night. Perfect. (When is that Geodesic Dome kit going to get here, anyway?!)

How to live in a bubble:

• Buy a multi-dome kit
• Install the largest dome over your house
  
• Install another dome over your yard, adding a tunnel in between the two domes
  
• Install artificial grass under your domes in your "outdoor-like" spaces
• Spray to rid the house and "yard" of all annoying bugs
• Work from home
• Have all your groceries delivered
• Make sure your kids are all enrolled in online school
• Have your doctor make house calls
• Either invite everyone to YOUR house for dinner, or do "video-dinners"
• Rent movies using Netflix
• Go shopping online

Ah, well... if only life were perfect.

Well, while the housework goes undone and everything begins to fall down around my ears, I am going to sit on my duff and do some homework. I have 4 exams to study for, along with the regular weekly homework and reading I must do.

But, before I go, I'd like to leave everyone with a short video of Bee scoring a point during her game last night. (Sorry the video is so blurry, I took it with my phone.) They didn't win, but she played an awesome game!

Things I'll be doing today: Homework, homework, homework! LOL!

Mom, Wife AND Student

Well, I've started my classes. I'm still waiting on 3 books so I'm a bit worried about getting the first week's assignments done on time. Virtual college is quite different than anything I've done before. I continually feel like I'm forgetting things. I've got everything laid out in my calender organizer (online), but I usually still feel like I'm missing something.

I consistently use the Google tools such as calender and documents for organizing, and creating and storing easily accessible items. I've also started using a site called Remember the Milk to make lists (such as grocery lists) to print out. I like the site, too bad Google doesn't have the same thing in their tools.

It's going to be quite a challenge for me to keep doing what I've been doing (keeping my household running and kids taken care of) AND get my schoolwork done. I've only got 4 classes, but there is quite a bit of reading and writing for all of them. Too bad we can't afford a nanny and housekeeper! LOL

I wanted to share a recipe I found not too long ago that has become a favorite of mine (and Josh's). It's easy, quick, fills the kids up and it's not too expensive if you can get a good price on chicken where you live:

Parmesean Chicken Nuggets

Ingredients:
1/2 large chicken breast per person
garlic butter (enough to dip all chicken pieces) – tip: it's best to use unsalted real butter
italian bread crumbs mixed with garlic powder, onion powder, grated Parmesan cheese, salt & pepper (enough to coat all chicken pieces)

I usually buy split bone-in chicken breasts. They're cheap when they're on sale and have a LOT of meat on them. After I cut the breast off the bone, I use the bones for a chicken soup stock.

Cut the chicken up into bite sized pieces – nuggets. Dip the pieces into the melted garlic butter then roll in the seasoned breadcrumbs. Arrange chicken on a large baking sheet (try not to crowd the chicken too much) and bake for 15 minutes (yep, only 15) in a 450 degree oven.

The chicken will be very tender, toasty brown on the bottom and much lighter on top.

I'll never buy chicken nuggets again. You can serve them with dipping sauce if you want to, or ketchup... but they really don't need anything. I found the recipe at Simply Recipes, but it's not the only really good recipe on that site. I hope you try them and like them!

I'd better get going with my day. I've got a lot to do and the morning's already well under way!

Activities I'll be doing today: housework!, schoolwork!, housework!, schoolwork! lol

Artwork in Children's Books

I've been reading books to my little one for at least 3 years now, but I was never struck with how wonderful and beautiful some of the artwork in these books is until just the other day. We were reading a book called Circus Train by Jos. A. Smith who is a fine artist and art professor. He wrote a note at the beginning of his book that tells all about the paintings telling the story.

Now, the story itself is not the best, but the artwork is really wonderful! After reading that book, I started to pay more attention to the other books we had checked out from our library (which is hard to do with an impatient 4 year old wanting to continue the story!) and discovered that I've really been missing out on some great artwork.

Check out some of these artists and see what YOU think:

1. Jos. A. Smith
2. Helen Oxenbury
3. Anne Mortimer
   
4. Tad Hills
5. Macky Pamintuan

Great stuff!

I know there are those of you out there who would say, "How could you be so blind?!" Well, I dunno.... just blind, I guess. LOL

Looking at all this great artwork has made me want to get out brush and paper and get back into is myself. Only... who's got the time and money to do it? Maybe one day I can do it... when I'm retired.

I've been talking a lot with my good friend, Doug West, who is a phenomenal artist. He lives in Kansas City with his wife and 2 (soon to be 3) children. Doug does a lot of paintings working in oil and even takes requests. He wants to try sculpting in bronze someday and I hope he gets to do that. (He's also very reasonably priced since he's still trying to break into the market.) So, if anyone is looking for a custom painting, give him a holler.

School is just a very few days away. I think Chris and Bee are beginning to look forward to it. They're tired of being "bored" at home. LOL And they're both really looking forward to their art classes this year. I did try to talk them into home schooling, but neither one wanted to do that... for different reasons. That's ok, it's still an option when/if they want to take a deeper look at it.

Josh also starts school soon. His open house is the 21st and I can't wait!!! This is terrible to say, but "Peace for 4 hours a day!!!!!!" LOL I'll be able to study!

Activities I'll be doing today: Pulling weeds in our small vegetable garden, getting ready for dinner tonight (hosting Mom!), hopefully reading more books with wonderful illustrations!

It's Cool and Cloudy Today

What a wonderful break from the 3 digit temperatures! We've got clouds and possible rain from yesterday through the weekend. It's so nice, I wish it would stay this way for the rest of the summer.

School is just around the corner... for all of us but Mike. We are planning to do our school supply and school clothes shopping this weekend. I don't like crowds, so I'm not looking forward to the experience.

I tried looking into home schooling, but Chris and Bee didn't like that idea. They enjoy being around their peers, even with all the problems they complain about, and didn't like the idea of having to do all their schoolwork solo. And then there's sports... we don't have a program here that would let Bee be part of the sports she wants to participate in this year. So, that was another black mark.

We'll just keep on keepin' on.

Anybody want to contribute to the school clothes fund? :O) Click DONATE!

Activities I'll be doing today: Organizing my office, enjoying the cool weather outside!

Forgive Me My Time Away

Hi, everybody. Sorry I haven't posted a blog in such a long time. There are a lot of excuses running through my mind, but I admit it's mostly procrastination getting in the way.

I've enrolled in classes at Ft. Hays State University and am taking 4 classes this fall. I'm excited! (although my classes aren't the most exciting ones around.) So, I am a full time student and a part time teacher! How's that? lol

I've been looking into Internet Marketing recently. Since I'm going to be doing my classes online and working on the computer anyway, trying to make some money along the way would make sense. I'll be letting everyone know how it's going with that. I do know people who make money doing it.

We are also in the middle of county fair week. We entered several things for the kids yesterday morning (Josh did some crafts and drawings, Chris and Mike both entered "doodles" and Bee entered a three dimensional portrait of a Spartan and her quilt. Josh won 6 blue ribbons and 1 red, Chris and Mike both got 1 blue ribbon each and Bee got 2 blue ribbons. (Blue ribbons pay $3, red ribbons pay $2 and white ribbons pay $1.) Congratulations to them!!!

We also enjoyed looking at the chickens and rabbits. They even had a funny looking duck and two turkeys this year.

Looking through all the pictures was quite confusing. Some of the photos that didn't place very well were, in my opinion, very good while others that won blue ribbons were, again in my opinion, just awful. Thinking back on it, though, I guess that's what happens when you enter something in a county fair... family votes for family, amateurs don't know what to look for in quality, etc... Even, or maybe especially, in a small town it's all about who you are and who you know.

Here are my tips for a great photo:

1. Make sure your focus and lighting are optimal.
2. Pick a subject that speaks to you or that you know the judges will like.
3. Always remember the 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 rule. (Don't center everything!)
4. Don't afraid to be creative.

I've noticed that people in Scott City like certain things: Agricultural themes, nice or pretty images, feel-good subjects. Some of the better photos this year weren't the "pretty" ones, but ones that evoked emotion that wasn't necessarily happy. None of these photos won a blue or a red ribbon.

Last night we had watermelon at the Watermelon Feed sponsored by Farm Credit. (They do this every year.) Tonight will be the Beefiesta which is roast beef sandwiches, baked beans and potato chips along with water or iced tea sponsored by several Scott City businesses. And then, on Saturday, we will have the County Parade, Tasting Booths (lots of free food, but also lots of standing in line!), the Kids Pedal Tractor Pull (Josh is old enough this year!) and Kids Day at the Grandstand where the kids run races and win prizes. (Last year Bee tried to catch both a greased pig and a chicken... she missed! lol)

I'll have some pictures to post after Saturday's fun, so be sure to check for them!

Activities I'll be doing today: Researching Internet Marketing, housework (YUK!), pulling weeds and County Fair stuff!

It's Hot, Hot, Hot!

It is hot (in case you didn't catch that, it's HOT!). We finally broke down and turned on the A/C. Mike asked me yesterday how folks managed before air conditioning. My answer was, "I suppose since it wasn't an option they had to manage as best they could, and they were probably a bit more acclimated to the natural temperature than we are."

Actually, I'm guessing there were lots of factors determining how people who lived before electricity stayed cool in hot weather:

1. Housing was built differently
2. People were used to the outside temperature
3. People weren't in and out of A/C and outside air
   
4. People wore layers of clothes that helped to keep them warm in the winter and cool in the summer
5. There weren't any air conditioning units and other mechanical equipment heating up the atmosphere (this doesn't mean I agree with global warming)
6. There was less asphalt and concrete to reflect heat
   
7. The overall pace of life was slower

I don't know if any of these things are valid. I came up with them on the spur of the moment. So, if anyone has anything to add or if anyone disagrees let me know. Be sure to use the "comment" link so others can see your comments as well.

And now, as a treat, I will share a couple of pictures I took of Bee at the softball field.

Activities I'll be doing today: Trying to stay cool! Paying bills (YUCK!), and grilling some yummy burgers with potato salad and a very nice wine for supper.

We'll be drinking:

• Castle Rock 2006 Mendocino County Pinot Noir which I think is an excellent wine for hearty foods – like burgers for example. It's a dry red from Sonoma, CA. ($14.95)
  
• Bolla Chianti 2006 from Italy. This one really should age a bit before drinking, but I'm going to open it (decanting it, of course) tonight anyway. Also, it's a new one so I'll let you know how I like it. ($8.95)
  
• And, finally, Forest Glen 2005 White Merlot from California which I LOVE! This wine is an off-dry fruity red that is one of my favorites. ($9.95)
  

Now, I have to tell you I've only just got interested in wine. I'm reading Wine for Dummies and it's quite interesting. I don't know how much of an expert I will eventually be, but wouldn't it be grand to be a Master of Wine?! Hm... wonder how much that pays. LOL!

Enjoy your weekend everybody!

You Know Kansas Means "Big Wind", right?

We had a dust devil in our front yard the other day. I could only see it because Josh had pulled several flowers apart and scattered them in the grass and the dust devil picked them up and whirled them around. I wish I had had my camera to capture it, but it was very quickly gone.

In Kansas the wind never stops. I can remember only a handful of days out of all the many years I've lived here in which the wind was barely a breeze. Most of the time it blows 10 - 20 mph. A lot of the time it blows a lot stronger than that. And with that much wind day in and day out, it tends to dry out the ground and surely you know what THAT means... it means we have to deal with a lot of blowing dirt.

Yes, I've just about given up on dusting. We live directly behind a parking lot and next to an alley. We have the windows open to cut down on A/C use. You can imagine just how dusty our horizontal surfaces get.

It bothers me most on the dining table and the dishes in the drying rack. (We don't have a dishwasher.) The kitchen sink is under two windows facing our backyard and, beyond, the parking lot. So, a lot of dust blows into our kitchen. It's just far too hot to shut those windows.

Well, dust aside, Bee has two games tonight. Her last three games were rained out. They called them early this year. Last year we were still out watching them play with lightning and thunder raging in the sky above us. (Metal bats and lightning... bad idea.)

She was very disappointed about the cancellations, but nothing we can do about the weather. They made up one game, but I don't think there's time left to make up the other two.

Josh's Blastball games are over. His coach made cookies for their last game (chocolate crinkles) and all the kids were thrilled! He starts swimming lessons next week.

Chris has been running every morning early. He likes to run through the neighborhood instead of on the track because he says it keeps his mind off the fact that he's running. LOL! Other than that, he's been a hermit this summer.

We're going fishing this weekend and hopefully we'll catch some fish this time! Maybe we can even use the tent! I'll have to go buy a new coffee pot to use over the fire. My old one disappeared.

Wish us luck this weekend!

Activities I'll be doing today: Keeping house, grocery shopping. (My two favorite activities, NOT!)

I'm Back!

Turns out it was the hard drive that was the problem. I had a local computer repair shop look into the problem for me, though if I knew then what I know now...

It's always interesting to see the inner workings of a so-called professional establishment. I brought the computer up to the shop, after calling to make sure I could be present for the repair, and stayed to watch the shenanigans.

First of all, they are a PC shop, so you can imagine the reaction I got when I brought my mac in. They began by using Google, but since they didn't know anything about macs, they couldn't ferret out much of an answer.

The next thing to come was calling in the clown... ah, I mean expert. The "expert" they brought in was the local undertaker, who so very luckily for us was just across the alley at the funeral home! (I actually went to school with him.) He began by using apple's online tech support. (We'll cover apple's extensive idiosyncrasies on another post.) But after running around in circles there, again Googled an answer.

Finding answers to his questions, the next part of the adventure took place. He determined that the hard drive was bad, so needed to take it out to replace it with a new one.

The hunt was on for a screwdriver!

Now, you would think, being a computer repair shop, there would be an abundance of tools needed for repairing computers. (Hence the name "computer repair shop.") Alas! Though they searched high and low for nigh unto half an hour, no adequate screwdriver could be found. 

Enter the owner... who had a multi tool on his belt.

So, I've been at this computer repair shop for over an hour and we finally get to the actual "repair." Or not.

In his infinite wisdom, the undertaker decides to make absolutely sure the original hard drive is the culprit and so uses a gadget to hook it up to his mac (yes, he has a mac) and try to reformat it that way. The attempt fails.

Then he takes another used hard drive, mounts it in my mac and starts up the computer, ostensibly to make absolutely sure it's the hard drive and not something else that's the problem. (Really, I appreciate this thoroughness, but they ARE charging me $50 an hour.)

At this point, I have been hanging around the circus... ah, I mean computer repair shop for almost two hours. I've got things to do. So, I leave... apprehensively.

I get a call about another hour later. He's absolutely sure now that it's a failed hard drive. The replacement is a bit bigger (from 80 GB to 120 GB) and costs right at $99. Of course, I tell them, put the new one in. After all, the computer won't function without a working hard drive. 

It takes all of about 2 minutes to mount the new hard drive and about 45 minutes to format it. They tell me they don't charge for the working time of the format and OS installation. Gee, thanks, since that's all automatic and you can start it and walk away, I would expect that to be the case.

They ended up charging me for the hard drive and two hours of work. $213.

Now, I was pretty sure, almost positively sure the hard drive was bad. And, as I said at the beginning of this post, if I knew then what I know now... I could've saved myself $100.

Let this be a lesson to all.

Crap and Double Crap

Sorry, folks, but I won't be able to keep up with my blog for awhile. My beautiful Mac crashed yesterday (I think it's a hardware problem) and I will probably be sending it off for repair in the next few days. I'm looking at $300 for the repair and another $197 for an upgrade to Leopard if I choose to do that. (Don't know if I will.)

It'll be the end of the month before I get the computer back, so I won't have Internet access at home until then. I'll be able to check my email periodically, so keep talkin' to me!

Oh, and if anyone is feeling generous and wants to give me money for the repair just 'cause they want to, I won't turn you down! Just click the "Donate" button on the bottom of the right hand side of the page!

Our Fabulous Fishing Weekend

This is terrible, I know! I haven't left a post in THREE DAYS! lol Well, I've been working on putting together a short video of our fishing trip. I've got to work with imovie more so I can get faster at it. (It actually crashed on me once and I had to start all over.)

We had a great time! I got sunburned pretty badly; on my shins of all places. All in all, it was well worth the effort to go. Next time I'll remember to put sunscreen on me as well as the kids!

I hope you enjoy the short movie. It's my first effort, so don't expect a Hollywood production, LOL. Next post will include some video of Josh and Bee's first ball games, so tune in next time. lol

Friday Again!

It's Friday! It's also sunny for a change! It's time to break out the ice chest, fishing poles and (hopefully) tent! We are going to have a great weekend!

Bee finally got her softball schedule last night and her first game is June 2 in the evening. She's going to have a busy day since Monday is also the first day for the weightlifting she's wanting to participate in. (Hopefully she won't be too sore to swing the bat!)

We also got a call about Josh's first Blastball game which will also be Monday – in the morning. His team is called the Tigers! Monday is going to be a full day!

Mike had a close call at work yesterday. Apparently some of the equipment broke down and he and his boss, Larry, were working on it when a cable snapped and a heavy, solid steel bin fell hitting Mike on the back and nearly knocking him down from his perch about 15 feet off the ground. He has a red mark on his back that almost looks like a burn and he's very sore. He said that if his head had been just two inches to the left, the thing would have hit him in the head. He was VERY lucky.

He's back at work today, working away like a good little dwarf.... (He's Grumpy). The things we do for money.

Activities I'll be doing today: Getting ready for the weekend, grocery shopping, re-organizing my office.

Rain, Rain, Go Away...

Ok.

Thunderstorms are exciting.

Rain means I don't have to water the lawn.

Cooler weather means I don't have to use the A/C.

But, enough already! I'm ready for warm, summery weather.

I'm having a hard time getting things done with all these clouds hanging around. I seem to be tired and listless. (Josh has even been taking naps!) I'm getting behind with EVERYTHING!

I've made a list, starting tomorrow, of everything I want to get done before the weekend. (I'm hoping we can get out to the lake this weekend!) So, tonight, we'll be having a family meeting over the dinner table to prepare for the activities of the next two days.

I am so thankful I don't live in Seattle! LOL!

Activities I'll be doing today: Um................................... lol.

Memorial Weekend

What a weekend!

We spent our weekend doing some spring cleaning, planting hostas and visiting both the Scott County and Pence cemeteries.

It was quite interesting when we got out to the Pence cemetery since it's surrounded by dirt (mud after all the heavy rain) roads. We almost got stuck once, but persevered until we found a passable road.

When we got to the cemetery, we found that the silk flowers we put out last year were still there, a little worse for the wear. We pulled out the worst of the old ones and added the new ones.

It's so sad to see all the baby graves in that old cemetery. I think there's more babies buried there than adults. There are about four rows of graves, probably forty graves or so in total, and grave upon grave of headstones carved with "baby." We've made guesses as to the cause of all the infant deaths, but haven't gone seeking answers.

There's a lot of gravestones made from sandstone that are now nothing more than lumps of soft stone. No nothing to mark them as anything more than a rock lying on the ground. Someone has set out new stones to mark several of those graves, but they are blank granite stones. Maybe, someday, there will be something on them.

In contrast, the graves in the Scott County cemetery are very well taken care of. And, of course, the newer ones are marked with granite headstones, not sandstone. We placed flowers at all the family graves and were on hand for the ceremony they have every year. I tried to get some video of it, but I only had my phone and it's limit of 15 seconds just isn't long enough. I must remember to take my camera with me from now on.

The weather is insanely cold! 62 for the high today with brisk north winds. I had to turn my heater on today and June is just around the corner! (And they say we're having trouble with global warming?!)

There were several people injured and at least 2 killed in tornadic activity across the state of Kansas over the weekend. Reports of close to 20 tornadoes occurring in central and western Kansas were given on several of the weather sites I read.

Needless today, we didn't attempt camping in this weather.

Josh was a bit upset. He really wanted to go fishing. He hasn't yet had a chance to use his new fishing pole (it's green! – his favorite color) and he really wanted to roast marshmallows. He said, "Now we can't make 'em black and eat 'em!" :O( Poor kid. There's always next weekend...

According to the Farmer's Almanac, the central USA is supposed to have above normal precipitation this summer. Hm... maybe we already reached that "above normal" part. I hope the 4th is clear.

Activities I'll be doing today: Staying warm! Visiting the library, that good 'ole housework and fixing a nice warm homemade chicken noodle soup to warm everyone up tonight.

Yesterday and Today

I ended up spending the day yesterday in Dodge City. A friend called and asked me to go with her to test drive a new truck. We ate at Montana Mike's, stopped by Wal-Mart and Bath and Body Works in the mall and, of course, test drove a truck. (I was the test-rider.)

While we were busily eating our lunch, I got a call from my Mom asking me if I knew we were under a severe thunderstorm warning and tornado watch.

Nope, I didn't know that.

So, on the way back we changed our route and tried to avoid as much of the storm as we could. We did a pretty good job going between the rain and hail although when we got within thirty miles of home we began seeing a LOT of storm chasers, gawkers, video-tapers and even the KAKE News van. Not sure what they were all looking at, but I grabbed my phone and took a picture of the area of clouds they were all watching. (See image above.)

We got home safe and sound, no problems. No nothing as far as we could tell.

We got some more rain this morning and lots of wind this afternoon, but at least the sun is shining...so far. (Blog update: The sun didn't last long. We're back in severe weather. Rain, hail, possible tornadoes...)

Mike had an interesting afternoon at work yesterday. He told me the mill broke down and they had to scramble to get everything working again. I'm not sure what exactly the problem was, but he said he had grain pouring down all over him for about 4-5 hours. When he came home he had grain stuck to his clothes and in his hair. (And when I say stuck, I mean it was like cracked wheat that had gotten wet, stuck in his hair and on his clothes and dried. It was a mess!)

When I talked to him earlier he told me they were having the same problems today and his boss told him it would probably be a late night. What a great way to start the weekend.

Well, at least it'll be a three-day weekend. Maybe time for some fishing, camping or at least playing frisbee at the park!

I also, FINALLY, got the plants I ordered from Gurney's and need to get them planted as soon as I can. I ordered a mix of hostas for a total of twelve plants I'm going to line my front walk with. They came bareroot and are sitting in my refrigerator as I type, awaiting their new homes in my front yard.

And now it's back to watching the radar...

The Morning After

Today is the first day of summer vacation so I'm going to let the kids sleep in and treat the rest of this week like a weekend.

Bee told me yesterday that she wants to be in Middle School Summer Weights which will be Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 8:30 to 10:00 in the morning and from June through August. This will be supervised weight training and if the kids get a 90% attendance they will get a free t-shirt at the end of the summer. (I wish I could go!)

I'm glad she's going. It'll help keep her busy and help keep her in shape over the summer. Plus, she's very excited about getting muscled! LOL The two coaches are going to have the kids work on their speed and endurance through weightlifting and then their strength (according to the letter sent home from school).

Mike's allergies and asthma have really been bothering him at work. Since he works in a mill where they process all sorts of grain it's been very difficult for him to manage. (He works at Heartland Mill.) The company buys respirators for everyone who needs them, so he's been using one and taking allergy medication and using Primatene Mist inhalers to try to keep things under control. Ultimately, he's going to have to see a specialist, be tested and probably get regular shots.

We have a two-month waiting period for insurance, and since his last job didn't offer insurance, we're going to have to wait the two months for him to see an allergist. Hope he makes it.

It's supposed to rain the next few days (30% chance) so I may be house-bound. So far the day is beautiful and cool, a bit of a breeze (but nowhere near as windy as yesterday, YIKES!) and cloudy.

We had a Kite living in one of our trees last year and I've been hoping and praying we don't suffer that again this year... so far, so good. (In case you don't know, Kites scream... I mean SCREAM starting at about 5 a.m. until the sun is good and up. It gets very old after awhile.)

Activities I'll be doing today: The usual (housework, blah!), running errands around town and trying to keep an energetic kid occupied indoors.