Father's Day Weekend Extravaganza

It was a great Father's Day!

Since Meri and Shub were social distancing, they asked if we could serve lunch on the deck and they'd eat on their end of the deck and we could have the table.  I cleaned up the table, brought out a table cloth and china.  It looked beautiful!

Then the clouds parted half way through the meal and suddenly it got really hot out there.

We moved the party to the dining room with Meri and Shub outside the window.

Robb loved the cooler full of meat that I gave him and was so surprised that he hadn't seen all the packets of meat in the freezer!  I had hidden them all under a bunch of homemade chicken broth... :)

Meri and Shub gave him a really cool cooler  with lots of marinades and meat injector style marinades.  He's going to have a blast with his grill and smoker this summer...

Other happenings at the McVal residence.

My mini roses are in bloom!

ignore the weeds.  been busy elsewhere on the homestead...

I found an empty nest in my hanging basket on the porch...  So I pulled it out.  The bird came back apparently, a little perturbed that her nest was gone and made a quick one and laid her eggs.  Of course I didn't realize this when watering my plant every day and I think I've scared her off.  I took a pic of it then and then again a week later.  No development on the eggs.  I think they've been abandoned...  Darn.  

I got my lawn sweeper delivered last week and got it put together finally after several wrong turns.  It's not EXACTLY like LEGO instructions and I got turned around a lot.  sigh.  But it's together now and after I mowed down some hay mow in the back yard, I dragged this around to pick up the remains.  I probably shouldn't have mowed as low as I did as there is still plenty of hay mow out there, but I did pick up a LOT of grass.  It's on the gardens and in the composter.  Looking forward to a nice dry day to pick up the rest.  But not today.  Thunderstorms galore today.

Oh that's my new mini van btw!  

My MIL has enjoyed watching this little cutie out our back yard every morning.  Of course, when I was mowing I found a lot of deer poop back there...  Now that the big dogs are not living here anymore, I thought we were over that, but not so...

The gate got left open by me moving branches and this little one helped herself to our clover.

I got the gate shut in order to mow easily and lo and behold, the deer jumped the fence to eat more of our clover grass...  I'm a little worried about my grape vines back there.  But we'll see what happens...

 Oh!  I forgot to tell you about my composter!  I found one on the local swap page and splurged on it!  It was from two doors down from our house!  It's already full of house scraps, lawn clippings, etc.  Can wait to see what it will do for me this summer.  I'm trying to make sure it gets turned every day.  Supposedly if I don't put anything more into it, it'll be good dirt in about 2 weeks.  

I doubt that.  But we'll see.  Maddy gets my old one if she still wants it.  It's a square plastic box with a lid.  

We had Leon's brother Finn over for the evening and took him back to his mom's on Saturday.  My new mini-van has dvd screens in the back seat and he turned into a Scooby Doo Zombie...

 Next time I'll recline his seat a little more...

Found this on the siding one day when I arrived home.  Leon came out to look at it and gave me some good information on how it's able to stick to the walls with it's tiny feet.  Such knowledge from that kid!

My Clematis has given us one bloom so far this year!  I'm trying to encourage it to climb the post, but just realized that I should have painted it first...  Oh well.  I'll work around the blooms when I finally pull out the paint.

We had a nice DUO call with Maddy, Matthew, Meri, Shub and Robb on Sunday.  Maddy had Robb and I tell about early father memories of him and our own fathers.  Of course I only remember the times I got in trouble and Dad got after me...  When you put me on the spot, that's what you get.

But it was really sweet and we threw out lots of memories.

Then I went to see Ada and then stopped at the DQ for a Diet Coke Float.  I was hot and sticky from sitting outside her window.  It got hot...  I sat at a park in the shade to finish it off.

The DQ gal said that this was a first for her.  "What?  A Diet Coke Float?"  

Well, I googled it and the calorie count popped up for a small Diet Coke Float as 220 calories...

So SOMEONE else must have done it before me.

But you know what the BEST floats are?  Lemonade floats....mmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Waiting for a day when I have a bunch of calories to spare....

Have a great Monday!

Never Enough Garlic OR Time to Sew

Last week, Leon attended a "strings" event at the local library.  It was an introduction to stringed instruments and he decided that he likes the violin and the cello.

I'll have to pull out one of my old violins for him to try out. 

In the afternoon, the library also had a pixels craft project.  Cool!  Leon loved it so much that he came home and dug into the pixels that his great-aunt gave him a few weeks ago.  Wow, he loves them!  As soon as he can figure out my iron, there is no stopping him.  At this point, I have at least one of his projects that needs to be ironed together before someone else knocks it off the counter and the pixels go flying.

He did it over breakfast.

Anyway, the weekend... what did I do? hmmm

Friday night I scrambled and made a navy top that is identical to my black flowy top.  I needed something to go with my crazy pants that Meri didn't want.  I'll find a copy of a pic that someone took of me at the sewing meeting and chop my head off the photo.  I'll tell you why in a minute.

Saturday morning, I stopped by Meri's work and showed off my outfit.  Reject MY handmade clothes, will you??!  She admitted that she liked how the outfit turned out.  Well, she can't have it.

After picking up a pop and some fence screws to go, I headed to my ASG sewing meeting.

I've been there all of once since I think November.  It was great to see so many new faces and other friendly ones.  I had a few friends ask me what I've been up to and what I've been sewing.  

"Um... I'll get into that at share time."  that seemed to appease them.

So I stood up in front of everyone when it came my time to share.  I'd brought my cell phone and two patterns that I've made over and over and love.  I started out saying, "Ok, you all know I'm weird.  Look at these pants!"  Then explained why I hadn't been there for such a long time.  "Well, in January we found out that my mom was dying."  and that's where I lost it.

Shoot.  I'd practiced the whole way there with what I was going to say and didn't calculate in tears.

Well, they came anyway.  darn.  I finished my story with as much control over my quivering chin as I could and tears streaming down my face.  Don't fight it.  Explaining my sewing projects of two coffins and tons of tops and leggings to keep my mind busy.

I had given out my cell phone with pics of the coffins and it made the rounds around 5 tables of women and I got lots of hugs afterwards.  Those women are great.   One of my closer friends of the group lost her husband a week or so before Dad died.  Another one said that one year, she lost 5 members of her extended family.  "please God let's slow this down a bit more!"

It's going to take time and even then, you don't know what is going to trigger grief.  The other day I was working on my puzzle...  sigh.  I did get one of Dad's puzzles about the attack on Pearl Harbor so maybe I was thinking about starting that after this one.  don't remember.  But it hit hard.

Anyway, Father's Day was another hard one.  I kept busy though.  After church, we drove a ways and had a great lunch at a restaurant when Ryan's Jen works weekends.  We hadn't been there before and they have a Ms Pacman and Galaga game in the corner...  Next time we'll bring more quarters!

Maddy called us on a DUO call on the way home!

We've GOT to plan a trip out to see them soon!

Came home and worked on prepping for Father's Day dinner that night.  Had to debone a bunch of chicken I made a couple days ago and froze some in bags for future use.  Then made bone broth in the Instant pot with the remnants and several cups of water.  I also cut up an onion and some celery and tossed it in too.  I set it for 60 minutes.  While that was cooking, I pulled up a bunch of rhubarb and made a rhubarb crisp and then packaged up the rest in 3 cups baggies for the freezer for later.  I need to do that again.  The patch is getting big.

Then while those things were cooking, I left Robb and Leon in charge of pulling out the rhubarb crisp when the timer goes off and I went to look at houses with Meri and a realtor.  She's looking to buy a house!  It's NOT going to interfere with her dream of moving to California as she plans to rent it out while she's gone.  We visited a couple, then stopped in to see Ada and her hubs for a few minutes before the last one.  

Whew!  The last one was full of animals and smelled SO strongly of cat urine.  Yikes...  It made my eyes hurt.  They're going to need to bleach that house a few times before they catch a buyer.

It won't be Meri.

Then I got home and the bone broth was done.  Pulled that out and then put in frozen chicken tenderloins and set it for 10 minutes.  While that cooked, I got lots of desserts done.  I made several cups of chocolate and white chocolate mousse (meese?) (mice?) from a box mix and got them stuck in the garage fridge.  Then chopped up an onion and after cleaning the instant pot again, I put in a little oil and set it on saute.  Fried up the onion along with about a 1/4 cup of minced garlic.  I don't know if that is equivalent to 2 cloves of garlic (or to the 2 bulbs of garlic that I accidentally made this with the first time, 30 years ago) but it turned out good.

Here's my recipe.  It started out as a Better Homes and Garden cookbook recipe on page 301 30 years ago, but it has been tweaked since.

Chicken Cacciatore

Cooked chicken (however many you think you need) (I used the rest of my tenderloin packet of probably 8 or so.)  (Probably 3-5 chicken breasts would be good)  Once cooked, cut up into chunks and set aside.  It can be fried.

Saute a chopped onion and however much garlic you can handle. (see above..  According to Robb, I could have put in more.)

Stir a lot.  Once that is translucent and smelling up the house REAL good, turn off the saute button.

BTW: This was my first time using the Instant Pot for this.  Usually I do it in the crock pot or on the stove or oven.  depending on my mood and how much time I've got.

Add a 15 oz (approx) can of chopped tomatoes in sauce.  

Add a large can (probably around 24-30 oz) of crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce.

When you wonder if this is enough to feed the crowd with, add another can of chopped tomatoes.

Then add a teaspoon of salt, basil and oregano.

Add a few shakes of pepper and one or two bay leaves.  If you don't fish them both out at the end, then whoever finds one in their dish wins a prize.  We had to explain to Leon that there isn't really a prize.... It's just the honor of finding it.

Chopped up a green pepper and tossed it in too.

Then tossed in the chicken chunks.

Set the Instant Pot to 15 minutes or whatever you think.  It still takes 10 minutes or so to bring it to pressure, so that gave me almost 30-40 minutes to finish up everything else.

You're supposed to add 1/4 cup of white wine when the cacciatore is done and then cook it for a few more minutes, but I didn't have any and usually make it without.

Did a quick release on the Pot when it got done.

I made rice in a big pot on the stove.  If I'd had a second Instant Pot, I'd have made it in there.  Oh well.  1.5 red solo cup of rice to 3.5 - 4 red solo cups of the above mentioned bone broth with a little water.  Brought it to a boil, then set it to low with a tight lid for 20 minutes.  Not opening it until the 20 minutes was up.

The chicken mixture was served on top of the rice.

I also boiled up some baby carrots to serve along side.  

If I'd had a third Instant Pot, I'd have made use of it.

With the kids help, we set the table with china and served.  Everyone was stuffed.  Good.

Robb got an air fryer from Meri and they're plotting out when they'll play with their next toy.  

Ryan got a Best Buy card from Leon and plotted out what he was going to buy with it.

Leon gave Ryan and Jen some of his pixel creations and they loved them.

I was so exhausted I left ALL the dishes until this morning.  And when I came downstairs this morning, I found Ryan and Leon doing them!  Not all of them...  there were a lot.  But a good chunk filled up the dishwasher and I did the rest by hand.  The kitchen has been reclaimed!

So that's my weekend.  I hope to get some sewing done this week.  I'm working on a maxi skirt out of the L.A. fabric and wondering what to make to match it for a top.  It has the potential to be cruise clothes...

What'd you do this weekend?

That's how we roll

On Thursday night,  Robb rented a UHaul and Matthew, Maddy, Robb and I got it and two other cars loaded to the rafters with their furniture, gifts and other belongings.  Enjoyed some Portillos Italian beef sandwiches for supper that Robb's brother had brought us from Chicago.YUMMMM...  I think I know what I'm having for lunch today...

Then I headed for the airport.  Meri's plane was an hour late, but we were glad she even MADE that flight in Chicago.  Her previous flight from Florida was delayed also so it was touch and go to see if they'd get on the connecting one.  So at 10:20 something, Meri's plane finally landed and all the parents waited patiently until the kids started coming down the escalator.  

Whew!  THERE she was!!!!

She has some great stories to tell about her trip, but the one that cracks us up the most, I can't talk about.  Let's just say "BEAUTIFUL!!!!" in an Italian accent, shall we?

Bright and early the next morning, we headed off to move Maddy and Matthew to Wisconsin.   Meri couldn't come along so we left her in charge of the dogs.  Several members of their new church arrived and helped move all their things up the stairs to their new apartment.  

Maddy planted me in the kitchen and said, UNPACK!  So that was my job.  This is their kitchen after we'd attempted to sift 100+ wedding gifts into it.  They've arranged and rearranged the furniture and will probably continue to do so until they hit on the right arrangement.  

They made lists of things to pick up on their next jaunt out.  

What a great apartment and what a great couple!

 AND they're within a mile of this...  SUCH a beautiful place.  They're going to love it here and we're going to consider every trip there our vacation.  We found all the stores they'll need and do you know there is a pub on every corner in Wisconsin?  It's TRUE!  And I thought they were famous for just cheese...

 The next morning we showed up at 6am, as Maddy had instructed us and woke them up. Made a quick breakfast and we all hit the road again.  Matthew off to a wedding in Minnesota for one of his best friends growing up and Robb, Maddy and I off to a wedding of a niece near Minneapolis.  The ceremony times were different and it just made sense to drive separately.  We did stop to get photos of the lake. AND an old school selfie before leaving town.

The next morning, we took Maddy to Matthew's parents town for church and a quick lunch before they headed off with more loads of Matthew's things to Wisconsin and us to home.  It was so good to get home and nap...  It's rare we do that.

But that was Robb's Father's Day celebration.  

Happy Father's Day (a day late) to the man who is the best part of our family and home.  I love you.

I wonder what crazy things we'll dream up to do THIS week...

Made and Missed Opportunities

 Here is a bit of my sewing from last Saturday.  I know it's hard to make out just what this is...  BUT, this is the overblouse for the dress.  I intentionally left a large swath of fabric on the bottom that I will cut around and be able to gradually merge down onto the grecian skirt.  

I need to move the skirt up the satin bodice about a half inch too.  

But I've got a list of things to do and will get to it as time allows.  

As for the rest of the photos...  I picked up a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle costume last weekend and Leon loves it!  I didn't know why the brown strips of cloth were on each sleeve and assumed the turtles liked fringe.  Leon knew what to do with them though...  

Last night, Meri and I attempted to take Leon swimming at 7pm and unfortunately the swimming lessons have begun...  The pool closes to the public at 7.  There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth stemming from that so I took Meri home.  And Leon too.  

We dug out the water balloons and since they were the old fashioned kind 

and I didn't have the proper tools to make a hundred in a minute, I made them ten.

And after Leon threw the last one at me, 

I realized ten was exactly the right number.

Robb's Dopp kit got waxed and thrown in the dryer this morning.  It's going to be pretty slick!  I just need to attach the handle.  That Highschool Musical pillow case is toast though with wax bits inside now.  Probably a good thing.  The kids were with Robb when he saw that set of queen-sized sheets on sale for $5 and bought it for me for Mother's Day one year.  Ryan said that he wanted to live with me after the divorce.  BUT no divorce and the sheets were actually used!  All that's left of that set now are the pillow cases.  And NOT even those anymore!!!

And this is Leon's project that he did for Ryan for Father's Day this coming weekend.  I bought a cool framed photo at the Salvation Army for a pittance.  Took the print out and flipped it over.  Leon painted his masterpiece and after it was completely dried this morning, I put it back in the frame.  This photo was still when it was drying.  It looks so nice in the gold frame!  I'll show you after Sunday.  I wrote a small label on it so he'd know when, for what and by whom it was made.  Leon DID write his name on it also... Just not his age.

Anyway, that's what's going on around here...  My sister won't come for her visit until tomorrow afternoon instead so the house was clean for no good reason.

Sorry she'll have missed it...

Tombstones and Father's Day. They just go hand in hand.

This photo was taken in 2005 at the Rock of Cashel in Ireland.  LOVED this place! And the reason I'm showing an old cemetery is because of my dear friend Michelle at It's a Small Town Life.  She enjoys long walks in the woods, fishing with her kids and strolling through old old cemeteries.  

Her photos are phenomenal!  She has a much better camera than the ones I've had...

Michelle - I'll see if I can find the older photos I've taken of snails all over the tombstones.  

It'll be another post.

Last night, Leon and I did a project for his dad-dad-daddeo!  Earlier this week, Robb, Leon and I went shopping for t-shirts and last night, we dug out the paints.    

Look!  He's going to audition for the Blue Man Group! 

He took his work very seriously and I just noticed he was sticking out his tongue...  Silly kid.

 

Once gooped up with paint, he put his hand over his daddy's heart.  

 Blue for the pale one.

And sparkly silver on the darker one.

Then I let him play and soak it off in the bath.  It was mostly gone by bed time.  WHEW!  If he doesn't spill the beans, Ryan will be in for a sweet surprise.

 

Thankfully, Ryan doesn't read my blog!  I don't think.

Have a great Father's Day weekend!

Everybody's working for the weekend!

This was a busy week. I didn't get around to all the usual blogs this week because I've been so swamped with work and puppy doo-ty. I just wrote up my schedule and to do list for next week and there are meetings every day. They're all phone conferences so I don't have to even wear make up, but still! I've got remember when they are and get on the calls.

The puppies need their 6 week shots on Tuesday and I may have to report for jury duty that same day.

hmmm. This could be tricky.

But before I start planning for next week, let's take a peek at the weekend. Because that's what keeps me going!

Tonight we're going to get to see Maddy in her jazz band camp concert. It's the final night and it'll be so nice to have her home again. NOT that she's home much when she IS at home... But I like knowing where my kids are and who they're with.

I keep wondering if she'll accidentally find her twin there and they'll swap places and try and trick us... But I really don't know what the motive would be since we're not living the lives from The Parent Trap... But that never stopped anyone in my family from pulling pranks!

On Saturday, a girl from our 4H group, Meri and I will be attending our ASG (American Sewing Guild) meeting where we'll be doing our Community Sewing project! We'll spend the morning making pillowcase dresses for the Dress A Girl Around The World project.

My cousin's daughter went to Haiti a couple weeks ago and sent back some pictures which her mom posted on Facebook immediately. Elaine is holding a little Haitian girl who was wearing one of these very dresses! Apparently that was the day that Dress a girl around the world people were delivering the pillowcase dresses. Some little girls would strip off right there and change into them. Some took their dress and ran for home to hang it up for special occasions. It's so great to see them being put to good use. I can't wait to tear into this pattern and see how many my group can get done tomorrow!

And then Sunday is, of course, Father's Day. I won't tell you what we're giving my hubby, since he reads this blog every day. But let's just say, I hope the kids poked holes in the box!

We'll have a quick Father's Day lunch after church and then tell him to hit the road!

Actually he has to... He's attending a church convention this week where he's a delegate and he has to register by 5pm. The kids and I used to go with him every year, but ever since I started this new job (has it been almost 6 years?) it hasn't worked out for me to take that week off from work.

While he's in meetings all day, the kids and I would explore the college campus where it was held. Or go to the Minneapolis zoo, Mall of America or anything else we found online to visit. Did you know there's a safari type place you can drive through up there? We couldn't find that... We didn't have a GPS at the time or I'm sure we would have.

Visiting Mexican Village restaurant in Mankato and the Mankato petting zoo. And yep, that was the year of the stuffed kitten con...

Have a wonderful weekend and tell us all about it on Monday!