bow ties

With my top hat ready to wear I have been working on bow ties...to be part of someone's costume. All part of "Alice in Wonderland". 

My teacher/daughter is fashioning red and white roses for her head... wearing a black dress over black leggings embellished with roses and a floral wrap.

The other daughter is going as the white rabbit... one of the large bow ties is for her.

Not sure what Bob and I will wear aside from my top hat...

We had thunder... lots of heavy rain and WIND ! Here's hoping tomorrow will be better...

Phoenix Family has set up a link where one can see the items for auction ( The Mad hatter's Ball is a fundraiser)... one can bid online though the items will not "close" until the  fundraiser... we have placed bids on quite a few items. here's hoping we win a few!!

Alice in Wonderland Ungala

Phoenix Family 's annual event is next Friday. This year's theme is "Alice in Wonderland".. We are all going ... of course.. Well not all.. Lili and her husband have to work.

Our teacher/daughter bought a black top hat as part of her costume. It didn't fit any in her house nor did it fit Bob... must be that big Groh head  that came from Bob's Father's Irish side!! Bit it did..does fit me! So I added the sales tag that Mad Hatter's hat has!!

My attempt at a selfie

Bob's picture..

We are looking forward to the event... auctions, drinks, dinner... and so on!

Hamfest

Bob got up at the crack of dawn to head off for a ham fest.... picking up a helper  ( our grandson) on the way . He had a tables' worth of ham gear he wanted to sell. It was being held in the Ararat Shrine building in KC.

He was back earlier than I expected.. sales were a little slow and both he and Dominic were bored. But he made enough $$$.

The house was quiet without him and Jack ( the older gray striped cat) hunted all over house for him. I worked on things for my next online bear show and took a nap in the recliner. I woke up from a dream where I was being sick... the result from hearing one of the cats being sick?? So I had a mess to clean up! Glad it wasn't mine!

Everyone.. cats and people ... are feeling a little off. Today 's schedule has just been out of wack!!

A ham fest is where people get together to buy and sell ham radio gear.. no piggies involved

Plans botched

We were all set to do one of our round-a-bout chores trip when we discovered one of the tires was way low with a nail in it!!

Bob went off to the Goodyear place and I went back inside! Goodyear told Bob the tires were old and that they could plug the one with the nail but he should really replace all of them. The car is more than 6 years old.

Tire plugged and new ones ordered ( more than $800). Off finally to Aldi for groceries...So we will be able to do"chores" until the new tires arrive and are put on on Tuesday .

Ceramics class

 Not the greatest picture is it? I am glazing my pieces from Monday's ceramics class. It's been fun ( two more sessions to go) and I am looking forward to seeing them glazed.

The weather has been great... until today.. warm and sunny. Today we had rain, lots of wind and tornado watches. The area near my teacher/ daughter's home lost it electricity...  the high school did too and sent the kids home. Evidently a tree fell on some wires requiring a bucket crane but the wind is so great that things were postponed.

 

Marvelous Day

 It was 85 F at we sat on our daughter's deck. Our other daughter and her son joined us for a "lug up the stairs".... bringing up the big gas grill from under the our daughter's new deck to it's new place!

The grill was heavy and it took a group to get it up the stairs.

Our grandson ( the 6'5" trombone player) also helped get a lawn mower into our car's trunk! he's a willing helper but glad to finish and head home!

Our daughter's dogs were glad to see all the people and enjoyed the 85 F sun!!

Nice to get home ... naps for both of us and a pizza ordered for a 6.15 pick up! No cooking!

Visit to Podiatrist

I did go back to the Podiatrist over the pain issue ... Bob went with me to add his voice as to what was going on. The visit went well... have a plan and alternative plans if the first one doesn't work. Feeling optimistic.

I had my bi-annual cardiologist visit yesterday. It went well .He set up an echo cardiogram for next week and labs for this morning. Everything was quiet at St, Mary's so I was in and out for the labs. Test results back super quick and the cardiologist's nurse called and made some changes to my meds! Except for the echo next week I am done for anther 6 months!

Went to the grocery store where the checkout person and the bagger and I talked about getting old and/or being old...all done in good humor!!

Weather may make it to the 80's F this weekend!! Do I believe it... maybe... but I hope they are right!!

Shirts for fat foreigners

 Lili ( our grand daughter) came over to bring back our suitcases which she had borrowed for her trip to Japan... and to tell us all about it!

One place she did visit  was a store called "shirts for fat foreigners" ! She did find a shirt there for her 2XL husband!

Nice to hear everything from plane rides to security checks to  Japan itself!!

She is settled back into her life - school ... work... her husband etc. While she was gone four employees in the kitchen left for various reasons and replacements were hard to find. One newbie from Venezuela on a student visa doesn't speak ANY English and the person assigned to train him by the restaurant manager doesn't speak any Spanish! So Lili found herself put between the two translating and of course things weren't getting done on her station ( she makes salads and other things) !

Eclipse watching....

 Bob and I organized..( not really ... took out deck cushions so we would be comfortable) a place to watch the eclipse. We had our special glasses leftover from the eclipse in 8/2017 and a time table ....start, peak and end!

It was warm enough and sunny enough - 71 F - that a hat was necessary and my sweater removed! I took a glass of iced tea too.

And we watched... commenting to each other on the changes....  At the peak 95% totality ... the shadows and light were different and it was a lot cooler! But not totally dark like in 2017. Lots of bugs flew around and the peepers  ( tiny frogs) started up!

Well.. all over. There won't be another here for 20 years at which point neither of us will be around to watch.

Tigger, the orange cat... meowed and meowed at the open kitchen window which  is on the deck. He managed to escape through the deck door once and went down the stairs. He came back up onto the deck and we worried about what he would do next so Bob snatched him and brought him back into the house. I have this feeling that escape attempts will be tried whenever we go out onto the deck..... we are afraid he will attempt to jump down from the railing which is a full flight of stairs to the ground.

When the grands were little we had a gate at the top of the stairs  but that's gone now. But I don't think it would deter Tigger

Update

 Life has had it's ups and downs this past week or so. Our elder daughter, Bob and myself treated ourselves to an Easter brunch at Ophelia's on the Independence Square... definitely a treat.

Lili is back from Japan ...she enjoyed it but found that the transplantation to Japan was a little hard. This is the "child" who was homesick every time she went to Girl Scout Camp!

A visit to the podiatrist left me in a world of pain afterwards which meant our trip to Branson for a ham radio convention was cancelled... Bob also had second thoughts about the 3.5 hour drive each way.

But the trip to the yarn store earlier gave

 me supplies to keep me occupied while I HURT!

 

My birthday ( 4/4/45) had been put off since we had planned to be in Branson... but Bob bought a cake and people dropped by anyway...  my teacher daughter stressed that this birthday I am a prime number...79 ! Teachers keep a multitude of factoids in their heads!!

Redbuds, cherries, crabapples, dogwoods, violets are in bloom nearby and my lilacs are covered with buds!!

Yarn store trip

Yesterday I went to Independence's double yarn store...Angelika's and Knitcraft. Two in one LARGE building. I hadn't been in awhile but JoAnn's, Michael's and Hobby Lobby didn't have what I wanted...fingering yarn (thin yarn) in great colors in wool blend and/or soft acrylics.

They have a wonderful selection of everything under the sun! Took my selections to the check out and found I had to pay each store separately!  Oh well... easy enough.

Afterwards I decided to take the long way home... back roads instead of the Interstate. It had been awhile and I was amazed at the changes that had take place but the section that goes through Burr Oak Conservation hadn't changed a twit!  My grand daughter and her husband hike the trails quite often.

Speaking of my grand daughter. She arrived in Japan yesterday for a week plus trip... meeting her unofficial uncle who is spending three months there. Lili cleared everything with her professors... getting her assignments early ( finished them). Her art teacher assigned her to take her sketch book and draw everything.. he will grade her!! She is also to take lots of photographs.

We all worried about her... she hadn't flown before and coping with airports can be a hassle. Lili told her Mother that she had told all the TSA people that this was her first trip and they walked her through everything and also made sure her camera's film was ok! Nice!!

Now we all wait for updates!!

Ceramics classes

 Another coldish day... the temps been have wonderful but then they dropped. We were supposed to have a hard frost last night but I don't think it happened. Bradford pears, red buds, daffodils are all in bloom!

Today we started our session of ceramics classes. They are held over in Johnson County ... at the parks and rec building off of 89th and Metcalf. We did pinch pots, coils and so on.. and some instruction on wheels and the clay rolling machine.

The teacher is good... classmates are all seniors like us and we enjoyed trying things.  looking forward to next Monday!

After some discussion about the eclipse the teacher arranged for us to skip that day and add a day on the end. I am looking forward it it.

It has been awhile since we traveled north from I435 to 89th street. Boy have there been loads of changes... many remembered buildings are gone and many new bigger ones have replaced them!! As usual traffic was dense... Bob used to travel that area everyday for work and was so glad he doesn't have to anymore!

just rain, thunder and a little hail

After all the weather people's warning we didn't have any tornadoes . Listened for the tornado sirens.. but nothing. We did have a few moments of hail. My daughter lives about three miles west and had some grape sized hail.

Then a warm over 70 F sunny day!

Today looks like a repeat even though my computer warns of plummeting temps... we'll see.

I have enough new bears and friends for the upcoming online show..April 12th... so sorting again has become a priority. I came across my knitting yarn and needles and directions so I have been working on knitting bear sweaters when watching TV etc.

Later .....Heard that Indiana and Ohio had the tornadoes we were supposed to get.... there were deaths in Ohio! That kind of reporting does make us pay attention when the weather people mention tornadoes around here. We have very effective tornado sirens and a plan what to do if they should go off. The sirens are tested every month on a specific schedule.

Yesterday was a typical Missouri winner

 Our day started out sunny and warm... just a nice spring day! But by early evening the sky turned black and our evening was thunder and lightening and hail!!  We were lucky .. our hailstones were the size of small marbles... though the storm lasted longer than usual.

A blogger I follow lives about 20 miles east and the hailstones around her were much bigger... some even baseball sized.

Another nice sunny morning after all that.. but this afternoon... tonight... the weather people are talking about more thunderstorm and possibly tornadoes. Leave it to Missouri..

Sunny morning... now what ?

It's sunny!! Tigger the orange cat has found a super sunny spot on the family room carpet and is fast asleep.

I think a trip to the grocery store is coming up ...

Went and returned... should be all set for a few days!

We went to the Disabled Vets Thrift store yesterday to drop off bags of stuff... back to work today on sorting  things. I now have one bag filled !! Need a few more bags before we head off for the thrift store again.

While sorting I came across some unfinished projects... finished a bear sweater last night while we watched  "Outlander"... a  freebie on Stars (streaming channel). Guess Stars will entice us with a season or two for free then no more freebies for the rest ( 8 total).

The rest of the day went slowly as usual... made spaghetti sauce and a green salad for dinner. Finally cleared off most of the dining table where I had been crafting ... cast on stitches for another bear sweater...

busy-ish day

On a foggy cold day that turns into a wet rainy one being busy is a good idea. Bob has been sorting through stuff upstairs in what had been our son's room when he was a kid. I worked through my mohair fabric stash and then through my patterns to find one that fit the piece..Then cut out the pattern! I put the pieces in a ziplock bag..label it.. add thread etc. That way I can grab a bag and get to work making a bear or a bear friend.

We are heading to one of the local thrift stores tomorrow to donate ...sorting  stuff led to bags of unwanted/needed things.

Bags of bear parts will be packed for our trip to Branson in April. Bob has a ham radio convention there and will have a sales table so I will need something to occupy my time. There is supposed to be a room for "wives" to do crafts while the hams do their thing. The last time we went the organizers said the same thing but it didn't happen. Hopefully this time it will...

The convention will have a banquet Friday night, sales tables, kit building and a raffle  Saturday and  then we will head home . 

Maybe I should take some knitting supplies as well... small sweaters for bears are an easy project.

 

Sangria plus beer

 I actually liked the combo and I am not a real beer drinker. The beer was one of their craft beers.. soft and not hoppy at all and fairly dark.

Today was a quiet one.. very foggy this morning. My teacher daughter stayed home sick... infected sinuses and lots of coughing,  She dropped by this afternoon with our grandson's tuxedo shirt. His jazz group is giving a concert  tomorrow down at UMKC and the shirt needed ironing. Our daughter couldn't find her iron so I got the job. 

It was like ironing a tent! Luckily for me a was a nice combo of cotton and polyester and very easy to iron!! Dominic is all set.. will add the pants, jacket, cummerbund and tie . The bus leaves the high school at  8 am!!

Bob baked bread again and this time he added a small amount of whole wheat. Came out great and Carolyn came just in time to try it !! Nothing like new bread , warm from the oven and butter!!

Another task he gave himself... new shower head...One with possible hand holding and change in flow.. it is up and he has tried things... tomorrow he will really give it a test run by taking a shower!! Fingers crossed..

forgot to post yesterday!!

Spring flowers

Even though today is gray and cold, we have had days of really nice warm weather!! All of a sudden daffodils are in bloom all over! Grass is getting greener and the lilac bush below my office window is covered with small green leaves.

Sunday afternoon was spent downtown KC... the four of us - daughters and Bob and me - at a Phoenix Family ( non-profit) event where we enjoyed drinks and making friendship bracelets. Our daughter's co-workers were there too.

It was held in Casual Animal Brewing Company... so we were joined by people with lots of dogs of all sizes, colors and breeds ( or mixes) !

I really liked my drink ... a combo of one of their beers and sangria! 12 oz. too much to finish!

 

 

 

Eclipse in Kansas City

We are looking forward to seeing the partial solar eclipse on April 8th.  The last eclipse was a total one  but this one is a partial one. Our neighborhood sat out on the circle on deck chairs for the whole thing!! 

When an email popped up about getting eclipse glasses I went on a hunt for the ones we used last time.  Found them!!

The eclipse ( April 8th 2024) starts at 12.37 pm.

     Hits maximum at 1.54 pm

    Ends  at 3.11pm

These times are all Central Time zone!

Dominic had his audition at UMKC's music conservatory today. He's in... Music Education dept! His Mother was a wreck just like I was when his Mother had her auditions or performances!!

 

kitchen experiments

DrumMajor commented on my kitchen experiments,,, nowhere near as many as when the kids were small and money was tight ! 

But I ended up with three kids who love to cook. My son Robb ( deceased) even went so far into bbq-ing for  some of QuikTrips's events and learning how to can! We made all sorts of tomato things , pickles and jams and jellies.

The girls will try anything!  Laurel brought back recipes from Morocco ( Peace Corps) ! 

 

Today , really last night, winter came back. The temps dropped and there was a dusting of snow. It is currently 22 F and if we are lucky it will go above freezing this afternoon. The next few days may not be much better... then back to Spring!  The lilac bush below my office window has small green leaves.

More blueberries

 I did another run through at the grocery store hoping to pick up more blueberries! There were more but the price jumped $2.00 a pint. Oh well... bought some anyway! Not the thing shoppers should be doing when trying to convince stores to lower their prices!

 My brother-in-law is still in the hospital. The doctors are still trying to find out what it wrong aside from the pneumonia. Lots of tests, a transfusion ( which made him feel better) and a shift to a single room which also made him feel better.

All of us - those of voting age - are heading to a petition signing this weekend... one to add a resolution to the Missouri Constitution  concerning abortion rights. The signing has to be done in person. 

Our dinner tonight will be an experiment... I bought some ground turkey when it was on sale . It is currently thawing in the fridge... a some sort of chili is going to be the result. I hope. Thank goodness Bob is pretty flexible about food and will even eat leftovers until they are gone.

Our teacher/daughter's students will be enjoying recess outdoors!! It is 64 F already (10.30am) !

Later... went up to 76F and the kids had a ball outside for recess!!

Divided up the meat, peppers and onions after cooking them. One half for chili tonight and the other half for something else. A little of "Better than Bullion" is making the chili more beef like... and lots of chili powder.... the final consensus was that it was ok, not great, but ok. So I will stick to beef for chili next time!! 

Family..

 First just a quick word about the blueberry crostata... it was wonderful! Only thing that could have made it better was wild blueberries from Maine!

Bob's youngest brother went to the ER in Rochester the other day and was admitted with pneumonia which has all the Kansas City family worried. Due to the spread of Bob's siblings way back when, Jamie has no one left in NY... and he has has medical issues before.

Bob and I have talked about Jamie's future but... 

 especially since Jamie has not told us of what he wanted/planned etc.

Joann's blueberry crostata

Blueberries  have been on sale this week and so I picked up a pint container! I decided to make Joann's ( Cup on the Bus blog) crostata for tonight's dessert.  It just came out of the oven and looks yummy. Bob was all set to ask for some until he saw that the blueberry filling was still bubbling away!!

So dinner is all planned.. green salad, jello with fruit, applesauce, fish and little roasted potatoes. Pick and choose... a little of this or a little of that!

Bob's Mother made fruited jello all the time and ever since his heart attack I have been making it for Bob.. comfort food!

Thursday's jaunt

 I decided it was a good day to get out of the house and do a little shopping. I went first to Hobby Lobby looking for some ideas for accessories for my bears and friends. Found lots of clearance displays but nothing I wanted/needed. Did find two rabbit scrapbooking papers...sum total of $.89 ..Big spender.

Then it was Aldi.. bananas, mushrooms, butter, Swiss cheese,  eggs and so on. Everything on my list! Was heading home when a huge SUV backed out of its parking spot almost into my front passenger door! If I had been sitting there I could have reached out the window and touched it! He/she stopped when I "laid" on the horn and drove back into his/her spot.

Went on home and collapsed! Bob unloaded the groceries!

Just as I arrived my grand daughter called and a nice phone call settled my nerves. She told me her Spanish professor wants her to go to Buenos Aires on a 6 week summer program. The professor will help her apply, get scholarship money and fill in details. All in all... Lili has lots to think about. Evidently Lili has an aptitude for languages ( Just like her great grandmother who knew 3 languages and learned a fourth - Russian- in her 50's)

BTW... aside from taking college Spanish Lili is learning colloquial Spanish from her kitchen coworkers! Gosh darn it... she finds learning a language to be easy! 

Winter is back

 It has been snowing , but tiny tiny flakes, since I got up this morning. And it is colder than it has been lately. We have about 2 -3 inches.. so far.

The trees have started budding and daffodils are about 3 inches tall...hopefully this bit of winter won't be too bad on all this springtime growth. 

Later in the day... the snow is gone from the street of our cul-de-sac and melted to about half on the grass!! 

Car ride downtown

 Bob and I drove downtown this morning... No, not to go to the KC Chiefs' parade but for my hair cut appointment. We were a little apprehensive... afraid that traffic would be awful but we were early enough that traffic wasn't a proble.!!

Actually the reason for this posting was not the traffic.. nor the Chiefs' parade... but all the litter along the roads. All roads.. not just small Blue Springs roads, larger Kansas City roads and worst of all I70 (the interstate)!!

I was appalled... the worst place looked like a whole truckload had fallen to the side of the road and the trash bags had burst and  scattered all over.

It seems to me that there used to be more trash pick-er-uppers taking care of things. Yes there still are some and some charitable organizations do it .... but it seems like there is much more litter now !!

WELL...the KC Chiefs' celebratory parade turned into another mass shooting. Latest I heard was one dead and up to 20 injured including quite a few children.

visitors.. hooray

 My elder daughter's work has a soup day. She made loads and texted us and her sister about the leftovers. We love her lentil stew so of course everyone said "yes". 

My daughter learned to make the stew in Morocco when she was part of the Peace Corps. She makes it every so often and whoever is lucky gets some.The stew has croutons made from bagels . Good bagels are getting hard to find here. One of the best ones to use were  pumpernickel but they definitely aren't available .here anymore.

My daughter dropped off the leftovers and we had a nice long chat. We haven't seen her in awhile ... she had a wicked case of bronchitis... slept and slept.. only getting up for bathroom breaks for herself and her dogs.

After she left daughter #2 and our grandson dropped by for their stew. We had nice chats with both of them. Our grandson is taking the ACT today and has two auditions with the Conservatory of UMKC March 1st.  His high school graduation is May 4th ( I think.. it's on the calendar somewhere so we won't miss it!)  

A sign that daughter #1 is better is her request for her Dad to help her replace the ceramic light bulb holder in the basement tomorrow. They took it down last fall to do "something" and she needs more light. The washer, dryer, ironing board etc are down there  The new light fixture will also have a place to plug something in.. handy.  As a reward she is taking us to the Chinese Buffet in Oak Grove... I won't have to cook.. hooray

Cats' health

The cats are following us oldies by needing to see the vets more often, just like we see our cardiologists and primary care physicians ... LOL.

Tigger seems to be over whatever he had. Eating normally etc. Jack's claws are ( or rather were) a mess. He refused a paw check on his last visit and so now they are ( were) thick and curved almost all around and somewhat painful.

So this morning it was a very early trip to the vet. They planned to sedate him and take care of the problem. When we arrived there was lots of paperwork and a decision whether or not to DNR him. After that we went home after stopping off to vote ( single issue.. $1,000,000 school bond ... no tax increase).

When we arrived home the vet called. Jack was all done no sedation necessary... yay.. no super high vet bill either . Bob went and picked him up and Jack has been napping ever since.

BTW we will be voting again in April.. mayor this time and a few other issues. 

Later... Bob decided to try a raisin bread loaf today! Even though he napped through the  timer it came out great... I used the hot oven to make JoAnn's blueberry crostata.. It looks great..we each had half a slice of the bread but the crostata has to wait for after dinner tonight!!

Bob and I worked on developing an ad for a physical doll and bear show in Philadelphia this spring. It will be in the website and the brochure handed out. Wish we could go but Bob refuses to drive that far nowadays.

Grocery store prices go down?

 I went to our Price Chopper grocery store this morning armed with a list... everything from bananas to soup to milk and so on. With prices as high as they have been, I do keep track of what is on sale when I write my list. 

Today's total surprised me... I don't think I have seen a total so low in a long time. Especially one that included meat. The sale items helped!!

Tigger still not back to normal... He did spend most of the night on Bob's bed but when it was breakfast time he was nowhere to be found. Called and called and he wandered out from somewhere. Ate breakfast and went back to sleep on Bob's recliner. He and Jack did have a kerfluffle about who was going to sleep there but Jack finally left it to Tigger.

Still watching bear sales...the sale closes tomorrow evening so there is still time...

Unhappy Tigger

Tigger, the orange cat , is having a terrible day and we don't know why. Both cats were piggies yesterday and ate lots and lots. Today Jack is fine but Tigger yowls loudly.

For absolutely no reason he attacked my ankle with both claw and teeth. Yes I applied iodine since we couldn't find anything. He also attacked Jack who was sleeping in Bob's recliner. I used a soft pillow to separate them and noticed fur bits on the chair and in Jack's claws.

Tigger then followed the two of us upstairs to the computer room.. nothing happened! Thank goodness.. We will keep an eye on things...

Bob is baking bread ( again) ... this time with Italian seasoning and Parmesan cheese . Looking forward to it!!

LATER:

Tigger is feeling a little better... ate dinner and wants to sleep on any available lap.... 

The bread is great... tomato soup, fresh bread and butter, pears and coleslaw  for dinner!!

Here I sit

 The online bear show opened at 10 am this morning.... so here I sit at my computer watching for sales. Two so far ( hope I didn't jinx it by saying this). When I sell something I do go to my sales page and add "adopted" and delete the PayPal button.

Behind me the shredding machine whirs and grinds. Bob is still getting rid of old tax stuff.... and filling trash bags with the shreds!!

Yesterday we went out to lunch !! Hooray!! One of Bob's coworkers from his pre-retirement days phoned and said he and his wife would be in town around lunch. Did we want to get together! Sure....Nice lunch at Applebee's. I hadn't met either of them but it went well! The men both talked and talked about ham radios and electronics.. the wife and I talked about hobbies and keeping busy...?

Still checking things on my sales page... then things went wonky. Couldn't log in anywhere.. Firefox, USPS, PayPal, Weebly. Finally I decided to shut everything down... when I turned the computer back on, all was fine. Thank goodness!!

After that I printed out all the necessary paperwork, packed the bears up in boxes and printed out USPS Click and Ship postage labels... now its wait and see if anymore sell...

Nothing doing... till tonight

 It has been another quiet day...Bob is organizing things so he can do our taxes. Yesterday he bought the software necessary.. I don't envy him this "job"....The computer room floor is covered with old paperwork, receipts and bits of paper from the shredder!

We tried this morning to cut Jack's front nails.. they had gotten so long they curled back on themselves. Bob held him and I tried snipping. No go! He didn't even like the snippers touching his foot. So we now have a vet appointment ( next week) so he can be put under and they can take care of it. I think he is in pain and we just didn't notice... poor Jack ( the grey striped one).

I started working on another bear for the upcoming April show... and cut out several more. 

My daughter will be picking me up around 6.30  for our quilting/stitching meeting. The weather has settled down enough that we didn't have to cancel tonight's meeting!! Everyone is eager to get together!!

later... the"meeting" went well. We are all caught up ( we hadn't met since December what with the holidays, illnesses and weather!)

 The snacks were great! Chocolate drizzled popcorn was a hit. Pink pineapple looked strange but tasted wonderful. The store doesn't sell them with the tops on to prevent people from growing their own! Guess they are a really new item ! The watermelon and strawberries were great too! Finished up with cheesecake!!

glasses fixed

Headed out fairly early to the place where I bought my glasses last October for repair!  Left with new nose pieces and an adjustment of the frames. We'll see how well things work!!

I stopped at the grocery store on the way home. Price Chopper advertised chicken legs for $.49/ lb ...but you had to buy a 10 lb bag ! The sale ends tomorrow so I wanted to pick up  the bag full!

The couple in the check out line  before me had a cart ful of groceries... and I mean full. I don't think I have seen such  full cart before! Luckily another person opened a check out line and I was done in a flash. Bob helped me divide up the bag of legs...two legs in each freezer bag and then two bags in a second freezer bag. That should do it. My freezer is now pretty full!!

Time for some new chicken legs recipes?? 

The temperature has reached 59 F ! And it's sunny!! Poor Punxsutawney  Phil is not going to find it so nice out when he pops up on Friday the 2nd.

We've ... well mostly him... have munched our way through his last loaf of bread so he will bake again tomorrow.

 

sun... shadows... no snow

 The sun is actually out... no more fog ( at least for now)... shadows abound and no snow except for the piles left by the snowplow!

My online bear show starts Friday morning. The promoter wants to check out  "my page" tomorrow. So I spent this morning checking things out myself and adding PayPal buttons! I think I am all set.

My "quilting/ stitching " group has been postponing meetings for weeks. People have been sick One person's job as dispatcher for the electric company has worked non-stop with all the downed power lines due to the cold. Others just don't want to be driving late at night with all the snow, ice and cold! 

We are hoping that nothing interferes this week!

The nose piece on my newish  glasses - 5 months - came of last night. So off to the glasses place tomorrow morning. Not happy. Never had that happen before.

later ...Fireworks going off all over the place... The Kansas City Chiefs won and are on their way to the Super Bowl

 

Division of tasks??

I headed out to the bigger Blue Springs Walmart this morning. We have two WalMarts... the bigger one and a neighborhood one that just has food, cleaning stuff, a pharmacy and usually a person on the checkout lines not just the self-checkout!!

Anyway I had a list of food things and I wanted/needed Polyfil ( fiberglass stuffing stuff) for my bears. Found what I needed and an actual check-out person ( hip hip hooray)

While I was gone... Bob started on the laundry, vacuuming the downstairs and eating a slice of the bread he made yesterday ( Another successful bake!) And he helped me unload the car when I returned!! Successful division of jobs I think!!

This winter and its cold and snow has left many many potholes. Yesterday there was one on the Interstate which left 5 cars at once with flat tires. MDOT - Missouri Dept. of Transportation - closed down part of the interstate to make repairs today. People are complaining on Facebook!! I really watch now!!

later... the laundry is done, beds made and clothes put away! Tasks we do together. Looking out the window.. the ground is wet, still lots of oak leaves left and tiny bits of snow. Everyone is wishing for some sunshine!

Pools of melting snow

It got quite a bit warmer today... 40 F - and snow has been melting all around. Water has been dripping everywhere and it has been super foggy as well! With all this melting we have pools of water all over. The ground is so saturated the water has no where to go!

Neither of us has any tasks requiring us to leave the house... so  we didn't!  We have been reading or "working" on our computers. Bob helped me send off paperwork to Missouri's Dept. of Revenue - sales tax reporting. The website for the Dept. had been "updated" since last year and luckily he was the one to wade through the changes.

He also was working his way through OLD tax paperwork  - IRS stuff. The shredder worked full force and trash bags were filled ready to go into the trash bin for next week's pick up.

While he was doing that I worked on my Weebly website for the next online bear show...pictures and descriptions of bears.

During a reading period my grand daughter called to tell me all about her classes. She is taking her first actual in person drawing class.. and is enjoying the techniques the class is working on... and the compliment she received from the professor. Her college graduation is getting closer and closer. 

Her Spanish class and her drawing class are actual physical ones... other classes are online. But these two meet with a two hour break . She has found a student space where she can work on her laptop and get her homework done! I really enjoying listening to her talk about all her classes and work!!

Out of the house

 Yes... the back streets were icy this morning. My daughter mentioned , in a text, that she had slid in spots on the way to her school.

Her class of first graders were glad to be back in school! She brought out Prof. Blue ( a big bear I had made her as she went off to college in '93). The kids were delighted to see him again . My daughter reminded them he was old and that I had made him. One little girl was surprised to hear I was still alive since I am her teacher's Mother!!  She wanted my daughter to tell me!! Aren't 6 year olds something else? She also wants me to make another.. a friend for Prof. Blue.

By noon... the temps had reached 39F and though the streets were wet, there was no ice! So off I went to Hobby Lobby for some bear Valentine accessories and then to WalMart for groceries!! Nice to be out! WalMart's parking lot was packed and the store was busy. There were even several manned check out lines!

It's still above freezing... wonder what tomorrow will be like!

warmer today

 It has been warmer today but the beginning began with icy roads and accidents so schools ( schools called at 4.30 am to let everyone know) were closed and everyone did the same thing as last week.

My s-i-l leaves early for work ... roads still icy and he slid his way there.  I decided to stay home! 

Now. looking out the windows, we have wet streets and puddles. They are forecasting rain and ice overnight . Tomorrow morning it will be icy again!! 

Irish colcannon potatoes

 I was really tempted by the recipe below. Tempted enough to go grocery shopping this morning. I needed a leek and cabbage plus some other things.

The grocery store was packed.Was it because today is a little warmer? Or customers getting ready for the KC Chiefs and Buffalo Bills game this afternoon. Who knows but the store had lots of check out stations open and all sorts of game snacks available.

Found everything on my list and when I got home Bob helped me unload. The list had yeast on it .. thanks to all his bread making and there is a new loaf in the oven right now!

Looks like the schools will be back to their normal schedules this week!

We enjoyed them... maybe more leeks next time??

 

Irish Colcannon Potatoes Recipe

Servings: 4

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

4 large potatoes, peeled and diced

1/2 cup unsalted butter, divided

1 cup green cabbage, finely shredded

1 cup leeks, sliced (white and light green parts only)

1/2 cup milk

Salt and pepper to taste

Fresh parsley, chopped (for garnish)

Instructions:

Place the diced potatoes in a large pot of salted water.

Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are tender, approximately 15 minutes.

In a separate pan, melt 1/4 cup of butter over medium heat. Add sliced leeks and shredded cabbage to the pan. Sauté until vegetables are softened, about 5-7 minutes.

Drain the boiled potatoes and return them to the pot. Mash the potatoes using a potato masher or fork. Mix in the sautéed leeks and cabbage.

Heat the milk in a small saucepan or microwave until warm. Add the warm milk and the remaining 1/4 cup of butter to the mashed potatoes. Mix until smooth and creamy.

Season the colcannon with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with freshly chopped parsley for added freshness.

Scoop the Irish colcannon into serving bowls. Create a well in the center and add an extra pat of butter if desired.

Calories: Approximately 300 kcal

Left the house!!

I had an eye doctor appointment this morning so actually left the house. It is warmer today and the roads were clear... school is back in session so there were loads of school buses on the roads!!

The appointment went well but as soon as we arrived home, the phone rang. It was our grand daughter. It turns out that she has a severe upper respiratory infection. The doctor did a covid test which was negative but Lili needed Grandpa to go to the WalMart pharmacy and pick a prescription.

He ran into a few glitches... like whether she is using her maiden name at the pharmacy... her birth date.. and which WalMart!!

Everything worked out finally. He left the prescription on her back door and called her on the phone to tell her. He didn't want to catch her bug! She opened the door, got the bag and gave him a wave!!

With a little hint and a nudge, Bob has started on another loaf of bread. A new recipe using milk instead of water. It is rising...  As it rises he is on his XBox with a new game.

later.. house was a little cool for good bread dough rising. We tried the oven but even with that it was slow going. BUT... the result was a brown tasty loaf. I'm looking forward to toasting some for breakfast.  BTW no school tomorrow... too cold!

BTW...  For Donna... Bob is still experimenting with bread recipes... no favorite one so far!!

Tiny bit warmer

Well... today has been a tiny bit warmer. It actually is still above 0 F at 10.30 pm. But it's still cold. We have done a few things to block the wind . Our front door has a full length window ( single pane glass)  next to it. Bob found a sheet of 1/2 inch Styrofoam in his shipping stash and covered the glass minus a small look out section! Really helped!!

We didn't go out at all and the local school districts are back to AMI because tomorrow will be just as cold and very windy! Too cold and windy for kids to be waiting for the bus!  AMI is alternate method of instruction...ie everybody will be online!

Guess we'll be staying home again! By the way... Bob turned down the furnace a bit so it didn't run ALL THE TIME!

dropped to 2F while I was writing this!

Wow!!!! COLD

 The temperature is -9 F right now!! Luckily I did my running around early mid-morning. I was all out of polyester fiberfill for stuffing bears and friends and so headed off to Hobby Lobby for a bag , some more pins, scrapbook paper. tissue paper ( for wrapping when sending bears and friend off in the mail!) and craft glue!!

It was cold but not bad. When I walked out of Hobby Lobby it started to snow and the temp dropped. But we needed a few groceries so I stopped at Price Chopper just to make sure we had everything just in case.

When I left PC it was even colder. I tried putting things in the trunk but it was frozen shut... put them in the front on the seat and foot well. As I was about to head home I noticed two cars had had some sort of accident and the owners were talking about who was going to pay!! Right in front of my car!!

When they had things settled and the one at fault drove off, I headed home....I was really cold by then. Traffic had increased... the road was getting slushy.

Bob and I unloaded the car and I put things away... very glad to get home and warm up!!

So all day ( it had stopped snowing) it got colder and colder...and it will get even colder overnight. Neither of us wanted to go out and get the mail!!

Obituaries... and saved by the cooks

 Does that title draw people in??  I have been messaging back and forth with a cousin on Ancestry. She is the great grand daughter of one of my grandfather's siblings. We have exchanged family stories .. correcting at times! lol She is really into genealogy !

Anyway she had purchased some obituaries of family members. I learned what my grandfather had died. from from one of them...hypertrophic cardiomyopathy ( genetic). When I told her my family's heart deaths she bought more obits and laid out the family for both of us, Some probably would not have died today... medicine  has changed...But I am going to pass on some of this to my cardiologist.

ps... did not know one had to buy obits!! Maybe that's only true in the UK?? My husband says "no".... for actual official papers one has to purchase them, here in the US too.

My grand daughter called this morning...She is on winter break from college so has been working double shifts in the kitchen at Houlihan's. She said going to work yesterday wasn't bad but no servers showed up. So just the bar and the kitchen were open. So slow that the cooks taught her how to make Creme Brulee's and to do the topping with the small blow torch.

But when it was time to go home , her car's tires just spun. She tried salt and the restaurant's snow shovel but "no go". The five cooks came out and told her they were going to push her out. Success and home she went! No work today.

what's ongoing

 Went to our local hospital Monday morning for a sonogram... checking the circulation in my legs and feet. The weather outside was gray but no precipitation. But when I was done two hours later it was pouring.

Off to the grocery store with my "stuck in the house" grocery list. Bought more milk than usual "just in case" and three strips of rapid rise yeast in case he's bored and wants to bake again!

When I was done it was still pouring but the store set things up so I could go out to car and drive to the drop off area and a bagger would have brought my cart and would unload into my trunk ... big help!

Bob unloaded at home and I put things away... but by then the rain had changed to big  flakes of snow!!It snowed off and on all evening. By morning all schools were on virtual snow day - everyone stays home and works from online classes! Teachers without students do zoom meetings.

My neighbor - the one that owns a local trash company- put our bin at the end of the driveway so it could be emptied. By 10 the trash company was closed. No emptying today!

I had a doctor's appointment to go over yesterday's test results... but no way. The doctor's office is closed. The doctor called to tell me!!

It's actually very pretty out. We've gotten about 4 inches of snow. With no wind and everything wet from the rain, everything is coated - railings , ground , trees ...even chain link fences! And it is still snowing... tiny flakes!And it's not very cold - 31 right now.

We had a bit more snow and it did get a little windy... From the weather reports we may be hibernating for all of this week... Friday is supposed to be the worst.

One good thing about online snow days is that the the school calendar doesn't get lengthen next May

Bob's bread making

Bob has taken to bread making. The other day it was a UTube/Facebook bread. It had no recipe or real instructions so he slowed the video down until he could actually make the bread. It was good.. first time he had used olive oil instead of vegetable oil. Taking it out to our daughter's house for baking meant it's rising was interrupted. Tasted good!

Today he made bread from the James Beard Bread book... the dough rose dramatically and the bread had great texture and taste. I think this was partially due to his using a  smaller bread pan... 

Other than bread making and teddy bear clothing making it has been a quiet day. They ( weather people) are talking about snow tomorrow afternoon and more off and on ending with a big snow on Friday... we'll see..

Teacher daughter's school district has prepared for snow with online snow days...

Daughter's tasks

Our elder daughter asked if we could come to her house Saturday and help her assemble a new table and chairs for her kitchen.... sure was the answer.  They look really  nice and it is great to be able to sit and "eat" . The box containing the table was super heavy. The UPS delivery person managed to get it up half (13 steps) the front door steps. Not sure how our daughter managed the rest and got it into the house!!

After assembling the table was the task of bagging up the packing material - the dogs really wanted the Styrofoam ! - and the cardboard box. Anyway.. all broken down and into the trash bin for Monday's trash day!!

As we were leaving she asked if we could come today and help put up a ceiling light in the basement. Sure.. we were given dinner and Bob's  (he baked bread that morning) bread! Great ! But no light was put up ... too much time talking around the new table and chairs! Who cares... we'll do it next time.

Wonderful visit

Today I visited a friend I hadn't seen in quite some time ....lots of talking.. lots hugs... lots of catching up!!  What a delight! Why do we sometimes put things off?  We've been friends since our daughters were in 9th grade...

Afterwards I went to the grocery store with my list...found everything but  only milk went down in price. Too many things made a big jump up in price. This makes me shop with sale price tags hanging on the shelves!  One of my favorite baggers came running so she could bag my groceries!! Nice!

Then it was back to a book I am reading mixed in with a bear I am working on!! 

New Year Open House and FIREWORKS

We received an invitation to an Open House to be held today. The hosts do this every year... we've missed several due to Covid and Bob's heart attack . So it was doubly nice to go today and see people we haven't seen in ages. It was catered so food was everywhere  .. and delicious. People were munching, talking  and moving around !

We had a latish dinner due to the munching and finished last night's bottle of bubbly wine!!

And then the fireworks started.. some small booms and lots of huge ones. Tigger, the orange cat, was not happy!!  I have no idea why.. the Chiefs' win was yesterday and NY Eve was last night. It was loud enough that I almost wished to police would show up... it's only legal in Blue Springs over the Fourth of July !

I received and paid for the invoice for the next online bear show .. first weekend in February. Better get going and make some bears!!