Travelling out

 Today we have things "to do" ... so we made a list. Bob needs printer paper  (Office Depot) and I want a look-see trip at Hobby Lobby. They are next to each other. So each can do what he or she wants.

Then it's off to the grocery store. The weekly sale flyer was in the mailbox yesterday  so I have an idea what sales stuff  we want/need in mind.

If these  mean enough steps we will head home...if not, we'll think of somewhere else!! 

Bob got waylaid ... replacing the oven's heating element... actually a reasonably easy job except for putting the oven door back onto its two hinges.  Bob purchased it online for $60.00 and the thought of what it would cost for someone else to replace it makes me shudder.

He turned on the electricity back on... set the oven for 300 degrees ... and we waited to see. Everything OK! 

Then we did our running around... both of us found what we needed at Office Depot and Hobby Lobby... and at the grocery store too! 

We treated ourselves to a Dominos Pizza... which means I didn't have to cook though I did make a green salad. 

Drum Major... it took both of us but we did succeed. One because it was heavy and two to keep the door balanced over the hinges!! 

Couldn't stop

 Just couldn't resist working on my needle felted bear!! And I finished him!

For some reason the house was colder today  even though the temps outside were higher. Bob was going to work on the pile of snow left by the snowplow but ended up in front of the tv playing XBox...

so all in all... it was a lazy day. Even dinner ( leftovers) didn't take much trouble!! 

Another day

 Today is a little warmer... we appreciate sny extra degrees we get!  Bob shoveled a lot of the driveway's pile left by the snowplow! And so off to the grocery store and Ave Hardware we went.  I shopped for fresh veggies, trash bags and tissues (for our runny noses).  Bob picked up another 20 lb bag of birdseed at Ace.

Still couldn't resist needle felting. I am working on a jointed bear... hopefully without much needle poking!

My grand daughter called on her way home from work at the DMV. Guess it was slow..people are staying home. So she is going to work on her taxes... good thing to do if you don't have to work!!

My teacher/daughter's online class went well... but she is ready to go back to the physical classroom.

Dinner was a nice green salad, carrots and leftovers.Tomorrow is another leftover night... and then we start all over again... LOL. At least that will be a new recipe I am going to try.

The new heating coil/ element with arrive tomorrow. Bob will replace it and I'll have a useful oven again!! 

 

 

no more snow....

We are still COLD... currently my computer says 6 degrees! It is lovely and sunny !

Our tortellini, spinach and Italian sausage soup last night was great... big bowls in front of PBS's  Sunday night programs!!  Much more enjoyable than any news programs!!

It seems like almost all the local school districts are either closed or set to AMI ( alternative methods of instruction). 

My daughter/teacher has kindergarten - first grade  gifted students on Mondays and has already figured out how to switch her planned program to online! She started out with emails to the parents preparing them!!

No needle felting for awhile... my hands are really "holey" and sore. But it was fun and they will be back to normal shortly.  Just heard Bob leaving the house with my Missouri yearly sales tax report!! In the mailbox it went!!

As I read about what is going on in Minnesota I wonder where the next "hot spot" will be.  Newspapers and news shows talk about an ICE  detention center in the southern part of Kansas City. So far, the city of Kansas City has added a prevention "rule" but I am not sure it is sturdy enough to keep ICE out.  Scary... lots of diversity and poverty in the area being considered. 

My daughter will be teaching online tomorrow again... too cold for school. 

Did some more needle felting...super sore left index finger. Poked with a needle too many times!

 

 

 

 

 

Overnight

We woke up this morning to more snow. I guess we have about 4 to 5 inches. Bob decided he needed to blow the snow off the deck...to make it easier to put out more birdseed. But... not as easy as he thought it would be... not plain snow but with a crust on top which he had to break before he could blow.

The birds were delighted when he was done and more seed was dispersed.

My little felted mouse  (yesterday) has gotten me going again!! Now if I could just manage not to poke my fingers! The needles are sharp!!

  

 

Hunkering down...

 When I woke up at 4 am for a bathroom trip we had maybe an inch of snow. When I gt up at 7.30 it was to the sound of my neighbor using his leaf blower on the little more than an inch of snow!

Yesterday's trip to the cardiologist went well... I really like him and he was interested in my 3 weeks of "illness". We're both glad I'm well... though he did find a small area that was still not over the pneumonia. Was told to get more steps in to "move things along".

Decided I really needed to do something... in this case I put myself into needle felting a mouse while sitting in front of the TV and a "Hunger Games" marathon! Finished him before the marathon was finished ( Bob switched the TV over to PBS' Create).  I haven't done much needle felting in awhile and managed to poke myself LOADS of times. But it was good practice for the Felted Fungi Week coming up.

Dinner put  dent in the leftovers... I think we are both looking forward to tomorrow's meal!

The final snow total isn't deep... maybe 3 -4 inches..  A late night text from our daughter said that picking up our grandson from work (10 -ish) made for a much more interesting trip than dropping him off at 3 pm.

  

 

Starting this afternoon??

 Aside from the cold...so far nothing has happened winter storm-wise. Yay!! But no guarantees!

Bob took Jack... the older gray striped cat to the vet for his three month check up. He is not as far up test-wise as the vet would like but he has gained a bit of weight. BTW he's almost 20.. Jack was fine in his carrier but when he realized where he was he freaked out!! Yowling etc.

My 6 month cardiology check up is this afternoon ...will we get home before the snow starts?

Most of the local school districts are open... but are beginning to worry about Monday .

If  anyone is bored... I came across this...  https://feltedfungiweek.com/   It's free  so I signed up...

 

Felted Fungi Week workshops are hosted all week from Monday 2nd to Sunday 8th February. With replays available here in the hub through 12th February. 

There some great projects!!

Dinner was supposed to be scalloped potatoes... but the heating coil in the oven burned out about 10 minuted into it!! I managed to salvage them so dinner wasn't wasted... but Bob will not be able to replace the coil until the winter storm is passed and he can get a new one!  RATS ! 

 

 

 

Weather alert posted in my emails

 FORGOT TO POST LAST NIGHT 

well.. who knows what we  in the east of Kansas City will get.

My teacher/daughter is thinking that Friday will be an online school day. Luckily she has fifth graders on Fridays and her gifted class can easily switch to online.

I am planning a grocery run early this afternoon... Bob has to take one of the cats for his checkup tomorrow morning. I have my own cardiologist check up Friday afternoon... car has plenty of  gas...

after all that we should be able to hunker down ... of course Bob has taxes to keep him busy!

Surprise... we received a text from our older daughter ( at work)... she was afraid she hadn't locked  the back door. The door to the deck and backyard and Harper ( the black and brown hound) would find her way out and might not be able to get back in...

so shoes, socks and coats on we drove  to Oak grove ( doggie biscuits in pockets as a treat) ... found everything was ok. Gave the dogs their treats... made sure everything was closed and locked  and headed off, grocery list in hand to Price Chopper. We joined a large number of older shoppers! Now we really can hunker down this weekend ( after the cardiologist check up) !

 

 

Getting busier

 well... getting better means getting busier and going for steps at the antique mall. Remember when seniors could be found at the mall doing laps??

We are having shrimp for dinner so I spent time de-shelling a bag full. I buy them frozen... thaw in the fridge and then do what's necessary. Only my hands end up "frozen"... but all in all , it's worth it. And dinner  later was delicious!

After that I dragged the box of "Sculpey" supplies up to a table and made a few items for my little mohair mouse.  I also decided that he needed some whiskers.  BTW I also made two red Sculpey hearts which Bob noticed and was about to eat!! They did look like chocolates! 

One of the warmer days

 Today was on of the warmer days. It actually reached 40 degrees... and since we really need steps we went off to the Brass Armadillo Antique Mall....We finished the rest of the rows.

When we left Bob suggested we head home in the opposite direction! So our loop home was much longer than usual and we went through Grain Valley! We hadn't been in this direction in  awhile so saw what and if there were changes!

Dinner was left overs... we do need to empty out the fridge! 

COLD COLD COLD... still

 Yesterday was reasonable but when I turned on my computer this morning it told me that it was 13 degrees outside. Way too cold!  Luckily today is MLK Jr. day... a holiday so no one ( the workers) has to leave his or hers nice warm home!!

Tomorrow is supposed to be warmer again... and warmer for a day or too.

Bob is working on my Missouri sales for 2025... I found him up before 7 am at work on them. Much to the cats' unhappiness. He hadn't fed them breakfast!

I read on the local Blue Springs Facebook page that a local pair of eagles is back. No eggs last year but there are hopes for this year. 

I did try a roasted brussel sprouts recipe I'd watched on Create. Bob had bought me the test kitchen cookbook for Christmas but I ( nor he) could find it . My version turned out ok but an actual recipe is better... at least for the first try.

If it's warm enough  another trip to the Brass Armadillo for  "steps" might be in order

 

 

Warmer today after a quiet day ( except for laundry)

After a quiet day( except for laundry) we decided another trip out would be a good idea. So we headed of to the Bates City Emporium. Bates City is about 15 miles East just off I-70. The Emporium is a  small but kind of fun antique mall.

We passed the Brass Armadillo  where we has gone the other day...Their weekend  sale meant a super full parking lot! Glad we went earlier!

The Bates City Emporium was also having a sale.. s few people but not too many. We enjoyed out traipse ... no purchase though we both laughed at a sign which said... 3 stages of life: want things, accumulate things and get rid of things. We actually are at the last!!

Missouri's MODOT is doing a big road work project - widening  I-70 to three lanes in both directions from Blue Springs to Bates City. There are all sorts of road things and very few exit signs. Bob actually missed our exit! We had to go to the next!! 

....It will be interesting to see what tomorrow ( Martin Luther King Jr.)  day brings .. though they are talking about -7 early in the morning...

 

 

cold cold and a bit of snow on the ground

 So we decided not to do much of anything but a load or two of laundry

Made the trip out

 We headed out to the Brass Armadillo Antique Mall this morning. It was fairly empty when we arrived but when we went home the parking lot was full and plenty of people.

Then it was off to CVS  ... yes, Bob was going to go yesterday but didn't. Nice chit chat with pharmacy workers about the increases in drug costs this January.

Then off to our "Neighborhood Wal-Mart" ... wanted to make sure we had everything "just in case:... We are due for snow squalls etc. this weekend.

Then home to put everything away! Chili for dinner...

Off to CVS at Target

Jack ( the gray striped cat) and I have prescriptions waiting at CVS ( Target) so a trip is in the future...

The temperature really dropped again.. when I first turned on my phone it read 21 degrees. The computer now says 31... much better. Though the weather person says Sunday morning will start at 6 degrees... Yuck

The Brass Armadillo ( the KC branch... there are quite a few) Antique  Mall is having a sale this weekend. Not that we need anything but a "walk-a-round" would be good for both of us. And if we are still "up to it" going to the much smaller Bates City antique mall would be good for us. So maybe you'll find us at one or the other tomorrow!

 

 

Vivien Howard... "Kitchen Curious"

Much to our delight Bob and I discovered a new Vivien Howard program ... Kitchen Curious on PBS' Create!! We've now seen #1 and 2... hope we can catch the next ... We had so enjoyed her earlier programs!

Spent the day picking things up and reading...I am going to have to figure out what to do with myself. No online bear shows until April and I really am not interested in making more.... at least not right now. 

 

Did the grocery shopping

Armed with my grocery list Bob dropped me off at the grocery store doors... He went and parked, then joined me. I know he just wanted to make sure I was ok. 

Anyway... the list was done... things put away! I am pretty much back to being the chef!!

Now I just need to "clean".... We've kept things tidy but not everything in is place etc.

Today reached almost 60 degrees... but tomorrow will be much colder.... 

 

 

January

 By the end of January Bob and I have to get Missouri's tax stuff finished and mailed off. Not much fun!

 I have decided which online bear shows I want to do....retirement(?) means less shows...hooray. But it also means deciding what to do instead of bear making and I really haven't come to a decision.

In the mean time Bob and I have packed up the Christmas decorations and managed to get the storage boxes stacked in the attic storage area. Bob is going to have to add a few light strands to the tree... or we will have to replace it. 

Tomorrow I am going to make my first foray out to the grocery store since before Christmas. Bob has kept things full... like milk etc.  but it is time for me to get back into the routine. I've written my list and Bob will go along with me.

 

 

 

Joanne Noragon...Cup on the bus blog

 I haven't seen any postings from Joanne ( Cup on the Bus) since August 1st... has anyone heard anything???

It is a wonderful sunny day ... still coolish 35 degrees... but so much nicer than gray rainy ones. Still getting Christmas stuff boxed up and put away... but since we were sick the whole time I  really miss the decorations!!

 

 

 

baby steps

 We are both enjoying baby steps toward getting better. Actually cooking dinner last night was another of those steps. 

Tonight dinner will be SOS ( Sh** on a shingle)... salad and so on. Neither of us had had SOS before we were eating in the dining hall at Syracuse University! But it's become a comfort food ... even my daughter and her kids love it!!

This morning Bob went to work taking down the Christmas lights both out front and on the deck. Each length is rolled into a loop and bagged.. all set for next Christmas.

I have all the table runners, cushions, Santa hats, gift bags  etc. put into a storage box for next year... hope I remember which items are in it!!

House is looking a little empty ....

Finally... getting better.

 It has been a rough Christmas season.  Bob and I have been sick the whole time... pneumonia for me.. probably flu for Bob.

We finally are feeling almost normal. We both lost 10 lbs ... food just didn't seem necessary. Luckily that seems to be ending. Bob went to the grocery store and made the fridge full!  Tonight it is salmon fillets, baked potatoes, peas and tomatoes with mayo... hmm...