The New Water Cooler
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Snak, nope
Doing pretty good getting some house stuff done. Still working on getting the bedroom finished up and going through things to clean out the small third bedroom upstairs and maybe get the floors done in there.0 -
We need to get going on some projects inside and outside the house. Russ is rebuilding the split rail fence that divides the garden from the yard. It looks nice, half done. I want to pick out new entry doors this summer and get them installed. We need to get estimates from roofing companies and choose a house color, then hire and schedule a painter for next spring. Kitchen will be after that, I think. Good for you for moving forward on your Reno.
I've been lazy all day. I took a short walk on our paths on the property and took pictures of the blooms. It is a beautiful day here so I sat on the porch reading for a long time. Now I'm watching the Olympics.
I visited Sarah at the nursing home yesterday. Rode my bike to see here so I got some miles in. I will ride to Suttons Bay tomorrow if I volunteer at Power Books. Too hard to find parking spaces this time of year with all the tourists. Easier to ride and get exercise too.
I saw a snake skin next to our house in the grass today. Yuk! I haven't seen any in the yard since we moved here. I hope I don't.
I stripped the sheets off the bed today to wash them. I pulled the extra set of sheets from the closet and laid them on the bed to put on later. Then I took the sheets to the washer. It turns out, I washed the clean sheets! So now I am washing the dirty sheets and drying the clean sheets. I've never done that before. I hope I'm not losing my mind.
Summer is 2/3's over. So hard to believe how fast the days are passing by.
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Nope nopeity snakes are a hard no for me.
Good for you getting miles in on your bike. Hopefully that means you are feeling mostly healed from surgery. I know it was harder the second time.
I’m not sure how much we are really getting accomplished, but even the little bit is more progress than we have done in years. Years! So much more to plan and work on. The deck is a wreck. The side door in the garage needs to be replaced. I am more than ready to replace the counters and sink. Floors in two other main floor rooms and one in the basement. New vanity and lighting in my bathroom. It would be a smart investment (imo) to pull out the fiberglass shower in my bathroom and install it with tile. If I had access to the right skills trades I could do some stuff!
This whole week is excessive heat warning. Bad deal0 -
I hear ya on the Reno projects. Our MN house showed its age at 20-25 year. We managed to update the kitchen, two bathrooms and put in wood floors throughout. It helped with showings when we went to sell. Huge number of offers since it was in an affordable price range in a good school district. Now to get some things done on this house! Finding the skilled people that will show up and not over charge will be a challenge.
I am going to the pool in a bit for my class. I haven't been in a few weeks and my knee and muscles need to move and get stronger.
Today is our 31st anniversary. Wow! We never get our act together to plan anything and some years we one or both of us has forgotten the day. It's always a busy time of year for us. I will bake a cake later. Russ has been craving a chocolate cake. I will make a double chocolate cake with cherry filling and cherry frosting. We may go out for an early dinner somewhere.
Stay cool. It is hot and humid here too.0 -
Another month over
A “derecho” moved through parts of Nebraska just now. Straight line winds 80-120 mph. Nebraska having a terrible year
Happy anniversary. Your cake sounds delicious.
Hump day
Go USA volleyball. They pulled off a win against Serbia today. This team is struggling a lot compared to Tokyo. I doubt they’ll be able to repeat the gold. Hopefully they’ll find their rhythm0 -
It has been fun watching the Olympics. I saw the US play China but haven't seen them since. I love the gymnastics and swimming.
Lunch at friend's house today, Mary, Lynn and I. They are childhood friends. We had lunch, took a boat ride and got some sun, then took a dip in the lake since it was so hot.
You have had horrible weather this year. Any damage in your town?
I am reading a lot about sourdough bread making. I will perfect my baking skills and make a decent loaf at some point.0 -
Columbus missed the worst of it. Lincoln and Omaha got nailed - again. Caleb said their place wasn't majorly damaged - but without power. Nephew Josh, place ok - had power. Niece Caitlin - many trees downs, one on roof - no power. Largest power outage in Omaha history. West Omaha may be without power for 6 or 7 days. It's still over 90 here for at least another week. Dang! Mother nature. Ease off already.0
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And all I can see is dollar signs and dollar bills flying away at what this will not only cost now - but in future premiums.0
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I thought you had been having success with your sourdough bread baking?0
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Wowzer on that storm. I'm glad everyone is ok.
My loaves are up and down. I really don't know the ins and outs of breadmaking so am trying to read up on it to get better loaves. I've learned a lot from my reading and will try another loaf Sunday/Monday this weekend.
I went to Aquafit and water yoga today. It felt good. I did the deep water Aquafit and then to the therapy pool for a different water yoga class than I typically go to. Now I am heading over to the cemetery to water the flowers. My sister has been doing it for several weeks so my turn.
We talked with our grand daughters in AK through Portal today. They are so cute! Chantrelle, DIL is alone with them until mid September. David is down in OR working on the cabling ship. Good money but she has the girls all the time. She said she found a sitter and has had some time to herself too. That is good.
Stay cool!0 -
well - I bet the loaves still all taste pretty good -
Bernie claims we are doing date night tonight. I don't want to get my hopes up, but I also want to get my hopes up. We'll see.0 -
Is Bernie making an effort? I hope he follows through. Enjoy your night out if it happens.
I zoomed with retirees today. I also picked veggies and pulled out my sugar snap pea vines. The lettuce is growing back for a 3rd time! I can even eat all that I've already picked. The cherry tomatoes taste wonderful.
I am baking oatmeal cookies with sourdough discard. I dumped in raisins, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips and coconut. We will see how they taste...
Very humid outside. I couldn't face the humidity in the pool area at the Y for water yoga today. I still feel good from yesterday's classes.
I need to remember to make more hummingbird food and water my front pots of flowers.
TGIF!!0 -
Yesterday we went to the Lions Fly-In Breakfast and then bought our first sweet corn of the season. I visited Sarah at the nursing home and then we had Kathy and Steve, farmer friends, over for dinner. They just finished shaking cherries and the season was somewhat of a bust. They just hope they aren't going to have to declare bankruptcy soon. They still have apple season but don't have the money to pay the additional 9 workers that will come up from Mexico to help. They may have to do apple season with only 6 of 15 workers which means they won't be able to pick all the apples they have grown this season. We had burgers, funeral potatoes, watermelon and chocolate cake. Then we played Five Crowns card game. It was a nice evening.
Today I am working on a loaf of sourdough bread using the info I have researched and a new recipe and process. I will bake it tomorrow at some point.
Russ went to pick up pizza for dinner.
How was your weekend?0 -
I’m sorry your friends farm is not doing well. Ag is such a hard way to make a living.
How did your sourdough cookies turn out?
Well, Friday night was an effort. I guess. It was better than nothing, but he didn’t plan anything. Just rolled out and asked where I wanted to go. Pretty disappointed. I did try to tell him that me having to plan it doesn’t count. Because that’s just another thing on my plate. I don’t think he gets it.
Watching quite a bit of the Olympics. Another horrible hot days coming. Feeling so bad for the folks in Omaha still without power.
Back at it tomorrow0 -
That must be Bernie's way of making an effort to go out but doesn't want to plan it. Irritating for you I'm sure.
I had a doctor check up this morning to get meds renewed. I told her that the Ortho team wanted me to have a sleep study for apnea. She made a referral to the local sleep study clinic but I guess they take awhile to call to make an appt. I'm fine with that.
I went to a happy hour going away party at the local brewery for Gabrielle, the young woman that worked at Power Books. I volunteered every week and got to know her. She is about Rory's age, 29. She is leaving to get her masters in architecture so they hired a new manager, Maria. She is very nice and I will enjoy working with her.
Tomorrow I will meet my friend Laurie at the lake to kayak and go boating on her pontoon. I need a nice lake day. I also have to get the downstairs room ready for our weekend visitors and get some toys out for the boys.
Lots of bad weather patterns this summer.
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Parts of Omaha still without power. Insane. Makes me feel like investing in a generator needs to be considered.
It’s good power books will continue!
USA volleyball makes it to the semifinals!0 -
Laurie woke up sick this morning so no lake and boating day. I went to the pharmacy, went for a walk on our property, picked veggies, watered my flowers, read my book and Russ and I went out to an early dinner.
Sunny beautiful day too!
Yay for USA vball!
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Hump day!0
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USA Women's volleyball takes down Brazil in five sets. They will play for GOOOOLLLLLDDDDDD!!! Holy crap. Talk about peaking at the right time.
USA, USA, USA0 -
I saw the last part of the game. A nail biter!
Today we are going on a boat ride on my cousin's pontoon boat. He calls it the cousins' cruise. My sisters and cousin Polly will be on board too. Bill will drive but I don't know if his sister Sally is here or not.
Russ and I cooked hot dogs over the fire last night. It was warm but I had to wear pants and long sleeves in case mosquitoes found me. I didn't stay by the fire as long as Russ did. I am trying to finish the book club book for Monday night. Our friends and their two kids arrive tomorrow afternoon and leave sometime on Monday. I won't be reading this weekend. I hope to finish it tonight.
I just finished washing all the bed linens for the beds downstairs. We will vacuum, dust and make beds tomorrow before they arrive.
I hope you have a good weekend.0 -
Friends are due here any time now. They drove up and went to the sand dunes first. Unfortunately it is a rainy day. The weather forecast said morning rain and clear by afternoon. It is a down pour outside at 3:30 here at our house.
They are done climbing the dunes and didn't have rain until they got to the bottom. Now they are skipping rocks at the beach and no rain, partial sun on that side of the county. I hope tomorrow is nice.
I am cold, in the low 60's here. Amazing how that feels cold after winter months.
Enjoy your weekend.0 -
I could do 60s all year long. I hope you are enjoying the beginning of your visit with your friends.
Had a nice weekend and now back to reality
Onward0 -
Friends left this afternoon. We went out for dinner Saturday Eve and grilled at our house last night. Yesterday I went with them to Lake Michigan beach and to some shops in Glen Arbor a small town across the country from us. This morning we went to the Suttons Bay Marina Beach and Melissa and I went to some shops on Main St. while the kids swam with their Dad. Then we joined them to get some sun. They didn't leave until 3:30 this afternoon. The kids had fun and it was nice to see them all. I'm tired!
Tomorrow I will go to Aqua Fit and we have a fundraiser event tomorrow night that we purchased tickets to support.
Did you have a nice weekend?0 -
Another severe weather day here. I mean good grief - the storm chasers are back in the area - enuff Mother Nature
Do you have more visitors coming right away - or do you get a bit of a break between? I remember last year it seemed you were pretty busy for awhile there with friends. I'm sure it's fun - can really be tiring.
Have a good swim!0 -
Rory, Hannah, their dog and Hannah's parents arrive on the 23rd. Her parents stay 3 days and fly back to Mpls and Rory and Hannah stay until the 30th. In September I have two friends coming at different times. They've been here before. One of them is going to help me wallpaper the accent wall in the laundry room.
Some critter is stealing plants out of my flower pots! Nature has beat me this summer.
I have washed towels from guest use this past weekend. I need to go down and gather sheets from beds and wash those, then remake the queen bed for next week.
I made a pasta/veggie salad for dinner, visited Sarah at her nursing home, and got my hair cut today. I finally scheduled a pedicure for this Saturday. My feet are a mess. It has been almost a year since my last one. The docs don't want pedicures and dentist work too close to surgeries.
The hummingbirds are eating a lot now. They tend to buzz in front of our faces if we are outside, telling us they need a refill on the feeder. They must be pretty smart.
We had torrential rain on the weekend and high winds on Sunday. Yesterday and today were beautiful and sunny. You can't seem to get a break in NE.
Stay safe!0 -
I had my eye exam today. I need a new prescription so I spent a boat load of money and bought progressive lenses with transition to sunglasses and new frames. Then I had them make lenses for an older pair of frames that I love. A tiny bit of cataracts but will be years before I need surgery if ever. Yay!
I visited a friend who is two weeks post knee replacement. She looks pretty good and seems to have a lot of energy. She had robotic surgery so it will be interesting to see how fast her recovery goes.
Tomorrow we are meeting friends at a tractor show! LOL! We are country bumpkins.0 -
Raining today and we are suppose to go to that tractor show this afternoon. I hope it clears up.
I am going to do some baking this morning. I found a recipe that I add sourdough discard to a store bought brownie mix. I'm wondering what it does to it. Also, I want to experiment with a sourdough sandwich bread recipe I found last night on Youtube. It looks easy. I will put the dough together tonight so I can bake tomorrow.
TGIF for you!0 -
Friyay!
How was your brownie experiment?
Hope you enjoy your new glasses -
Not sure about the weekend. It's Caleb birthday Sunday - I texted him if he would like to go out to lunch and he said maybe next weekend.
When Bernie ran the rugs down to him a few weeks ago he (Bernie) told me what a terrible looking neighborhood they have moved to. Like drug deals on the corner bad. Wonderful. Because I needed more to worry about. I asked him if he thought Caleb as doing drugs, or any of the others in the house. He didn't know. I have asked Caleb a couple of times, but of course he says he would never. Tell me again that they will come out ok. It's getting harder to believe every day.0 -
I know you're worried about C. Has he always been an honest boy or did he tell you white lies when he didn't want to own his choices or to get you off his back? I know Rory was clean through high school because he was planning on the military. Once he changed his mind, he started drinking and smoking a lot of pot in college and after until he joined the electrical union. My guess would be that as part of his household with the guys, they at least smoke pot but I can't say for sure not knowing C. It's a phase he needs to grow through if he is doing it. How old is C now? I still believe you gave your boys a good foundation of values and they will figure out their lives at some point. They are still young and considered adolescents according to psychologists. I think they've extended adolescence to the thirties for males now. Frontal lobe development is slower in males than females. Read up on it and see what you find out. That neighborhood may just have cheaper rent. I always worried about housing because David chose to live in fire traps with no smoke alarms, etc. Total dumps for very cheap rent. Slum lords...
We went to the tractor show and met Kathy and Steve there. I don't need to see another one, LOL! It was huge and very good people watching but also hot, smelly and noisy. We looked at the flea market, some tractors but never met up with our classmate that has at least 4 tractors on display every year. We went out for dinner and had a nice chat with them and just got home.
My brownies are very gooey and good. The sourdough starter gives them a tang and cuts the sweet somewhat. I added mini semisweet chocolate chips that may have made too gooey. I have a small plate for Sarah and her husband and the rest are for us.
Pedicure tomorrow! I'm looking forward to it. My feet are in awful shape. I need to ride my bike this weekend if the rain passes us by.
I hope you have some relaxation time or something fun planned.
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I believe Caleb was honest and clean in high school. There was limited going out for him due to the pandemic so that was part of it. But he was really focused on school so parts of me has to wonder how he went from being so academic to so not. But when I do see him I don’t feel like he’s using, but that could be wishful thinking.
Caleb’s birthday is Sunday. My baby will be 20. Yesterday was the Facebook memory of dropping Caleb off at UNL It made me tear up. That day felt so bright and hopeful. It’s hard to find the hope now. But, Bernie found a new lead for Zach. I am trying to be hopeful, but it’s hard getting my hopes up too
Have a good weekend0
