The Weekend Ramblings

On Friday night, Leon went night cat-fishing with Meri and Josh.  I set an alarm and picked him up at 1am so he could get a little sleep before Saturday's adventures.

He caught a big one and then released it.  and according to him, he had his first kiss that evening.  He kissed the fish on the lips!  ew.

On Saturday, Ryan, Leon and myself headed to Mason City to attend an Art festival with Maddy.  Had so much fun!  And bought a lot of artsy stickers.  

All of mine are on Aggie's Barbie Jeep right now.  She placed them.

Since Mason City is the home of the marionette maker that did the marionettes in the movie, The Sound Of Music as well as lots of other memorable events, there is a big display of marionettes there.  Leon tried out his hand at one.

Maddy and me

On Sunday, after church, I stopped by Sam's Club and took a lot of pictures of the antique cars that they had out on display in the parking lot.  I sent them to my brother-in-law, as I'd promised.  He's into that sort of thing!   I just want a car that runs, I'm not picky.

They had some doozies out there!  I could be tempted to drive some of them.  I mean, if it follows my criteria of having to be able to run.

On Saturday, I realized that my cheesemaking endeavor was not quite right.  So I turned the settings on my garage fridge down to the lowest setting, which is 47 degrees, by the way.  And I put in thermometers and humidity sensors.  I can access one of them with an app on my phone.  Cool.

So anyway, THAT is now my cheese cave and it's cheesing up nicely.  I sealed them with my vacuum sealer yesterday, but air is oozing into them...  Not sure what I'm going to do.  I might spring for the cheese wax after all.

While at Sam's Club, I also noticed that their pork butt sells for $1.98 per pound every day!  I've been waiting for Fareway's to go on sale, but if it's always this price at Sam's, I'll just do that.  As soon as I got home yesterday, I put it in the Instant Pot for 90 minutes with some seasoning and a bit of maple syrup.  Then when it got done, the meat just fell off, so I canned it up in 5 pint jars and the remainder of the broth (with the fat sucked out) with some beans for quick starts to a meal for me.

OH, I finally finished the Mickey Mouse dress for Aggie that I made from a thrifted t-shirt!

It turned out SO stinking cute!

And she refuses to try it on.  The story of my life.

That's exactly what she did for the dress I made her last week.

And since Mickey's a licensed character, I can't put it in the fair. sigh.

This morning, I canned up some sun tea I had out on the deck yesterday.  I made a simple sugar syrup for it and they're sitting on the counter now cooling down and sealing.  Leon likes sweet tea!  If I can get him hooked on this instead of pop, I'll be happy to make them for him!

I might look into making some with a no-sugar variety for me.  We'll see what happens.

My new riding lawn mower just arrived today!  It's still in a crate out in front of the garage.  I'll have Leon break it all down in a while and we can gas it up and try it out.  It's a beautiful cherry red!

Anyway, talk at you later!

A Battery of Issues

 My crazy schedule with kids/energy/car issues this summer have been winding down so that last week, I actually made it to church for the midweek Bible study!  However, I'd missed the note in the bulletin saying that there was NO midweek Bible study last week.  sigh.  day late and a dollar short. That's me!

So I decided I would go LAST night.  I made it to town, dropped off the hard drive for my data recovery and when I got to the car, the battery was dead. ???!!!  I called Meri and she was thankfully close by.  She and bf Josh jump started my car and then I headed to Walmart for a new battery and possibly have this one checked to see if it could hold a charge.

Meri said to go to the North Walmart as she was headed there shortly. okey doke.  So I did.

Unfortunately, as I pulled up to the store, it didn't look like they had an automotive area, like the other one does.  So I called their service desk without even turning the car off. Because you know what trouble that can bring. They confirmed.  Go to the South one. uggh!!!  It was 6:20pm and their auto section closes at 7.

I headed there and realized that I didn't have the right tools to get that battery out.  I'd been planning on swapping it myself (hopefully easily). nope.  and the battery posts were heavily corroded over. yuck.

Not my battery but a close facsimile. 

I went inside and waited for someone to help me. Thankfully two young men in that department took pity on me and came out with the right tools to get that battery out even thought they're not really allowed to!  I got the new one swapped, didn't even take time to have them test the old battery.  It was 3 years old.  I decided to just wing it and assume that was the problem. 

Who can say?  Not me anymore.  oh well.

They helped put it back on for me and the car fired right up!

If it's the alternator, I guess we'll find out.  I do have a tester somewhere that can tell me that.

Do I know where it is? 

nope.

Oh and I missed Bible study again.  

I did use the Bible gateway app tho on the way into town and had it read to me for several chapters in Genesis.  Ooohh  Joseph and those Egyptians!  I guess THAT was my Bible study for this Wednesday.

Tonight, I'm picking up someone at the airport in the middle of the night.  I hope to get enough sleep before and after.  We'll see.  

I'm going to be dragging tomorrow.

CatchUp Wanna Be Irish Style

 I had a weird day yesterday.  A feeling hit me that I haven't felt in 20 years and it knocked me off my feet.  It was not a good feeling.  

So once I got home, I got busy with work, folded some clothes, got ready for a cooking class last night and the feeling subsided.  I felt "in control" again.  MUCH better!

If that's an anxiety attack, I'm going to do my best to avoid them.

Anyway, the cars have been in and out of the shop with major issues for the past few weeks.  I'll be glad when all cars are functional again without the engine lights coming on or weird noises from under the hoods or near tires.  

In the market for a new or new to me lawn mower.  My dear brother drove here from western Iowa and mowed my yards a week ago Thursday and they're about due again.  What an awesome brother I've got!

While I tried out his mower, finishing the back yard, he used his gas powered trimmer and started in around my garden.  He accidentally trimmed up two of my 3 tomato plants that I grew from seed before he realized there were "wanted" plants mixed in with the tall weeds! :) I asked him to leave the last one as it was my favorite anyway.  They are NOT being productive plants anyway this year.  I guess I don't know what I'm doing with the garden.

His mower is a zero turn and I think I may be sold on that idea now.  It was very awkward to figure out and I almost drove over him a couple times yelling, "How do I stop this thing?" "PULL BACK!  Like WHOA NELLY!"

oh!  Treat it like a horse, huh?  okey dokey.  I've always WANTED a horse!  I'll name her Nelly, of course.  Or Mr Ed.  It depends on what name hits me as appropriate when I finally pick one out.

Aggie turned 2!!!!  We had her party at the Des Moines Science Center with all the major players of her life in attendance.  So much fun!

Then cake with just the immediate family and grandparents.  Her other grandma made the cake and it was SO good!  It had a raspberry filling! mmmmm  I went off my pre-diabetic diet and enjoyed a half piece.

OH - my A1C got tested again this morning and it's 5.5!!!  Dropped from 5.9 in 3 months!  yay!  I'm still pre-diabetic though and will have to consistently watch what I eat.  Keeping it low carb as much as possible.  I think I'll wait a few more months before I bring a few more carbs into my food though.

I got 2 things entered into the State Fair that just started.  Thank goodness my son-in-law takes such good care of clothing I've made for him!  I've been out of the sewing mojo for some time now.  I've STARTED a ton of projects but haven't gotten very far in actually sewing them together.  

That might be my new hobby.  Dream up and starting projects.  I need a friend whose hobby is to complete unfinished projects and we'll be the dream team!

I've got several ideas for Christmas gifts and once I push all the already started projects off my sewing table, I'll get going on them!

Wednesday night, I attended a cooking class in town nearby and learned how to chop veggies properly with knives!  It was so much fun and I've got 2 quarts of chopped veggies that I'll eat tonight.

Thursday night, I attended the cooking class again with a widow friend and we learned how to make Spring Rolls!  OOOH!!!  Those rice paper rounds made it so easy!  However with 8 carbs per wrap, I only ate one and made two other rolls using lettuce leaves for the wrap.  They were messier and I should have had a fork, but oh well.  The peanut sauce was DELISH and the chef deliberately left out the brown sugar!  So now we know we can!  I was too shy to ask, but someone else did. Whew! Thankful for their boldness!

Oh!  Last weekend, Leon and I met up with Maddy and Meri in Waterloo for the Irish Fest!  

We watched knives being forged from railroad ties

Bohran, tin whistle demonstrations and Myth telling

Maddy and Meri were the only ones who enjoyed authentic Irish cuisine.  Leon ate up most of my Food dollar bucks on lemonade, corn dogs, gelato, burgers, fries and fried cheese curds.  No, I wasn't keeping track...  But I did end up with a burger and a few curds.

We saw the Trinity Irish Dancers from Chicago!  And reminisced about when Meri took Irish dance classes when she was really young.

Lots of quality time with my girls!

Leon climbed 3/4s of a wall!!!  The last time he'd tried this sort of thing, he only got a few feet off the ground.  So he's improving!!

Maddy wove some fabric and may have just struck on her NEW hobby!  She's got a lot of them too.  Like Mother, like daughter!

Enjoyed the Highland games!  They're throwing a 28 pound rock as if it's a discus throw!  Some got it as far as 34 feet!  Mine would have landed on my foot.

The girls got to pet some Irish dogs!

It was a fun day and I put in over 5 miles in walking. My watch confirmed!  Leon was beat!  And now he's thinking twice about attending the State Fair with me because of the walking...

:) Maybe I'll bring him in with a stroller! LOL!

Well, back to work.  Meri's car is in the shop today and I'm working from my bestie's nursing home library for at least the morning.  Trying to be inconspicuous and quiet.  She and I have lunch plans but I'm working and she's got her morning schedule.

I've got a mile in so far today just walking from the car fixing place!  

THAT should work off any carbs I picked up last night or decide to eat today.  sigh.  I have no idea how this whole thing works yet.

Boxy but they're good

Back in the day, Robb saw that the Volvo wagon was THE used car to get and lasted a super long time.  

Remember the movie Crazy People! LOL!  We quoted from it all the time.

So even before we were ready to purchase another car, he did all the research.  

He and I did a road trip several hours away to test drive one.  It had a wasp's nest inside it and was really run down inside.  We ended up passing on the test drive. :\ 

Another time, we finally got a test drive in one, again, a couple hours away and it looked good inside and out.  And wouldn't you just know it?  It felt super uncomfortable for him to drive.  The seat just hit his back and butt wrong.

All the research just doesn't pay if you don't even know if you're going to like the feel of the driver's seat!

Anyway, we're looking to add to our fleet!  Jen found this model on Marketplace and while I was waiting for the owner to get back to me on the size of motor and gas milage question, I googled the gas milage for that style of car.  

Google says 22 as a max, which is not terrible.  My minivan ranges from 18 - 24 depending on if I'm letting it warm up on a cold day or driving on the interstate. 

But the owner got back and said 24.  Not sure if she's lying or what.  I guess we'll know more when we try it out.  Probably not until next week.

Wish us luck!

Peonies, cars and grands

Well, the peonies are gone again.  Those ants were busy early and I enjoyed the blooms for about a week.  Eh - the peonie bushes are nice too.

I've done a TON of landscaping this week too.  FINALLY doing something with the weed patch under the living room window, behind the garage.  I've rigged up some automatic watering but not sure if one of the soaker hoses is going to work.  Maybe dabble with it later.

Had some "what I thought was serious" car problems last week.  Turned out that the battery just decided to be toast all in a day.  It took me 2.5 days to figure that out, what with the charging and swearing over it.  I even used science to clean the corrosion off the positive battery post!  Thanks to my brother-in-law, who is a car genius, I was able to diagnose the problem and replaced it.  Also at his advice, I sprayed it down with some red stuff so that the corrosion won't happen again.

And now that the car was working again, I attended an Iowa Cubs game with the college gang on Saturday night. FUN!  The Cubs won!

I went to the pool with Leon over lunch one day this week!  The water was super cold but he didn't care.

And yesterday he felt ill.  He just laid around on his bed and the couch saying he had a cold and couldn't POSSIBLY make his own microwavable mac and cheese.  Um, your legs aren't broke!  For the most part, I gave him a pass as he's going through a lot right now.  But he DID make his own mac and cheese.

He's got some goggles coming today so I'm sure he'll be back at the pool this afternoon.

And then there's THIS girl!  *pardon my messy house*

She is squatting, standing from the squat and playing with washclothes, pretending to fold them.

adorbs!

I can't even do that!  The squatting, I mean.  I do know how to fold and don't just pretend.

AND able to reach the piano keys now!

My bet is that she'll be walking by next Friday.

What's your guess?

Catching up JUST a little

 Hi all!  I survived Covid. No symptoms but got a lot cleaned and sorted in my bedroom and closets.  That may be the last thing I talked about since the Christmas letter.

So much has happened since.  Ryan and Jen are expecting a baby in July!!!  Here is a photo montage of what I missed posting.  Maybe an explanation now and then.

Thanksgiving reunion! Me and the sisters that were able to come this year.

McThankmas!  They played Apple Schmear off the porch of the hall.  

Leon was really good at it!

Oh yeah, in between those two events, my younger sister, Kristin came over with her daughter and we hung out for the day!  Her daughter Brooke helped put up our tree. yay!

Kristin and Leon watched in awe.

Playing games with the kids when BeReal chimes in.  You've GOT to stop and photograph what you're doing!  It's the law.

I took Margaret to a doctor's appointment and then back in time to the home for lunch.

Another time I had lunch with her. :)

She's wearing the scarf that Maddy knitted for her for Christmas!

Lucille, the new kitten, made the Christmas tree her playground.  She'd climb up inside of it and push off ornaments.  Scamp! but cute.

I watched A Christmas Story with my bestie at the nursing home. Fun!

I gathered up all the wool I could find and made blanket saris for my girls for Christmas. Basically a wool blanket with a big pocket and velcro to close it easily. PERFECT!  Matthew liked Maddy's so much and was calling it a kilt, that he asked me to make one for him for when he took the dogs out.  You bet!  He preferred to call it a "Maxi Kilt".  One that goes down to your feet.  Gotta keep those legs warm!  I still need to make one for me.  It'll happen.

I made a failure of a fudge batch.  I was using my sister Tammy's recipe from the 70s and apparently did something wrong.  I'll figure it out next year.  Dieting now.  I gained 10 pounds over Christmas, 30 total pound gain since Robb died.  yikes!  Comfort food has been great though.

Oh and this is a pan (has matching lid) that Robb and I got for our wedding from my Grandpa. :) It's a favorite pan and used often.

The girls and I had a goodie making weekend at Maddy's in December!  We made a ton of goodies and crafts, thus more reasons why I gained 10 pounds in 1.5 months.   

Ask me how I did it!  

Go ahead!

Two words.

Christmas Crack. and cookies and candies and lots of things that I shouldn't eat all in the same day.

Ok, 19 words.

 

Here one of our crafts!  Maddy's is the one with the Christmas trees.  I accidentally let it roll off the counter and it was smashed into billions of pieces.  SORRY MABS!!!!  So since then, she is always pointing out my cute ornament on the tree and saying, "I wish I had one like that!..." sigh.

Oh and I almost died.  God has his hands full with me!  I ignored a knocking sound that kept getting louder.  You shouldn't do that! The back tire had ALL of the lug nuts sheered off and I could have careened into a ravine or hit another car but I didn't!  I was able to get it to the shoulder and stop before too much damage.  If you don't have AAA, get it!  They towed me to my car guy's place that Sunday morning and showed me what the problem had been.  Super nice guy and I gave him some Christmas cookies.  Instead of costing a fortune, this cost me a mere $130.  Still some change, but it could have been worse.

Our Christmas with just us.  The only pic I took.  It was a lot of fun and I love having everyone together.

I met up in Des Moines with my favorite cousin, Julie!!  We could have talked all afternoon but both had things to do.  It's so great to get together with her!

I spent some time housesitting for Maddy and Matthew when they had an emergency trip to Michigan.

Got a leaky toilet fixed for them.

I got to spoil my poochy girls!

Meri got a surprise gift for her birthday dinner and that's how Ryan and Jen sprang the news on us!

Yay!  Grandma Val hugs are pretty good too.

The "girls" here at my house, watching Witcher with me.  

Yikes that show was steamy.  I'm glad it's over.

Snow time on the piled up heap next to the cemetery. Leon's favorite hangout besides the computer.  I'll take him here any time!  And the sky was pretty beautiful too!

After a blizzard a while back.  Robb's stone was completely drifted over!

Isn't it beautiful?

I canned 35 jars of broth from the Thanksgiving turkey carcasses.  Whew! and YUM!  I've discovered drinking bone broth and it's pretty tasty!

The Christmas puzzle FINALLY got done!  If you buy a puzzle at the dollar store, you get what you paid for.  The entire right side of the puzzle from the green bottom/yellow top boat to the right wasn't pictured on the box at all or if it was, it was a tiny replica on the side of the box and you couldn't tell what was what. Well... I guess I'll be GUESSING where this boat should be...

Leon and I had some good bonding times over Christmastime.

And I finally took the Christmas tree down two days ago.

YES, it was January 17th.

and 

YES, that's the Full Monty on the TV while I pulled it down.

If you can't laugh...

What's the point?