jrbanta Member

Kris and I had a great time. She flew home tonight and is on the plane now. We finished the laundry room wallpaper, rock hunted on the beach, painted one rock each for my rock bed, knitted and I finished Halen's poncho, shopped and went to one winery. We visited two yarn shops too. Fun week! Tomorrow I take my sister Lynn…

I hope Bernie did not get fired but your intuition of his behavior may be right on. My experience is that our intuition is always right. Has Z heard anything? Why are you sore today? Are you feeling sick?

Kris arrives tomorrow, Sunday. I am all ready for her visit. Russ did the plum line on the laundry room wall for our wall paper project. I have sourdough bread proofing and will bake in the morning. I visited Sarah at the nursing home today. She looked good and seemed really up beat. We had a few laughs which is always a…

I read that the hummingbirds return to the same feeding places every year. I assume we get the same ones because they know where we are and that we feed them. Covid is going around up here. We are going to try to get shots again tomorrow morning. A lady in the pool today was coughing. She said she had just gotten over…

Russ never started or did not complete projects when he was still working. Drove me crazy. Now he has his long to-do list that he made and tackles the items. However, his priority on what gets done first is not always mine. I don't know the teaching regulations for NE. My niece's husband went to school for web design…

I rode my bike to town to visit Sarah but she was napping. I left and did 13 mile ride. It is about 85 here so a little hot on the ride. I had a hard time pedaling at first. I hadn't ridden in a while so my knee hadn't had that degree of bending even though I try to bend it other ways. It finally loosened up and felt good.…

I have been on a 12 seater one time when I was in my early 20's. The plane was full so everyone was cozy and chatting. I hope you can avoid Covid. I take a statin due to my Type 2 diabetes. I don't like it and am not always consistent but I know it is to keep arteries and veins flowing and ward off heart disease. I wonder…

We leave here on the 6th and arrive in Anchorage on the 7th. We will fly to Homer on the 8th in a small plane, 12 seater? Should be interesting.

I'm sorry to hear C has Covid. I hope he will be fine and of course you should mother him. I hope Bernie doesn't get it and bring it home. Russ and I have had every Covid vaccine and will get another next week along with our flu shots. We want to protect ourselves since we are going to AK in October. Travel on planes,…

Kristin left at noon. I'm tired! A lot more walking than I am use to since my knees went bad but good for me now that they are replaced. I need to build strength and endurance in my legs, heart and lungs. I went to Costco after the airport (right next door) then came home and sunned myself and read on the deck. I fed my…

We spent the afternoon at Lake MI beach looking for Petoskey stones. I found more than I have ever found in the last 45 years. We took a walk on the beach and then at smoked trout Kristin bought at the fishery. We took a cooler with a few snacks. Russ has been cooking vegetarian/vegan meals to accommodate Kristin. I have…

I feed starter once per week. Equal parts starter, flour and warm water. It stays in the fridge when I'm not using it. If I am going to bake I pull it out, feed it again, and let it double in size and get bubbly. Before feeding, I dump it all in a small bowl and put back in only the amount of starter I want to feed. The…

Happy Anniversary! How many years? Russ can be picky about what he likes to do too. He certainly does not hesitate to say "no" and not want to do something that he is not interested in doing. I on the other hand will say "yes" if he wants to do it so it isn't all about my interests. Men! Kristin, my friend from Mpls is…

The picnic was interesting to say the least. Most of the adults except Russ, me and my niece were in their late 60's to mid 70's, all women except my cousin Bill. My niece was with her children, ages 5 and 18 months. The two grandmothers of these kids were fussing the whole time about what the kids were doing, where they…

Today we go to my cousin's beach house for our family get together. There will be 7-8 adults and two kids if all attend. My desserts are done and ready to go. I imagine it will be a hard wait for Z. Two weeks is a long time when you are hopeful this is the job. Did he like the people? What is the job? I received a vmail…

Meal planning for my friend's visit this Thursday through Tuesday. She eats Vegan/Vegetarian so we plan accordingly. She visited last summer and we had some good meals. Russ and I aren't going to give up meat but eating veggies and grains for 5 days does make the body feel good. Windy, but beautiful day.

Rory and Hannah made it over the Mackinac Bridge yesterday morning and then stopped for gas. They couldn't get their car started again and had to call a tow truck. Luckily it only needed a new battery rather than a mechanic. They got back on the road after a couple of hours and made it home last night by 7pm their time.…

Sounds like it went well. Does Z know how many people applied and are being interviewed for this job? Did they say when they would let him know? Are there more levels of interviewing? I will keep sending positive vibes and prayers to NE. Rory and Hannah leave early in the morning. The house will be so quiet again. We will…

Sending positive thoughts and prayers Z's way! Kids went kayaking this morning and went out to lunch together. Hugo is staying with Grandpa and Grandma and isn't so sure about it. They have been putting him in his kennel while they are gone but we said leave him out so he gets use to us and knows we are ok too. He is…

Sending good vibes to Z. I hope tomorrow's interview goes well and he gets good feedback. I can't even imagine job hunting in these current times. I wouldn't have a clue. Today we went winery hopping outside of Traverse City on the Old Mission Peninsula. I hadn't been to any of the wineries out there. We chose 3 and did a…

Hannah's parents left last night. The kids dropped them off at the Traverse City airport at 5:30. After they left them her parents learned their flight was delayed 3 hours. Then it was delayed again until midnight. I've not known that to happen with Sun Country Airlines from Traverse City to Mpls. We think it had something…

My first sourdough sandwich loaf is in its final rising stage. I will bake this morning and fingers crossed it works out. It is a different texture than a sourdough boule loaf which has a chewier crust and more artisan like. This is baked in a loaf pan and will be shaped like sandwich bread. Hopefully it will be tender…

Accomplished my tasks today. I received a surprise text from my AK daughter in law this morning. They are available in October after Oct 3rd for us to visit them in AK. I booked a VRBO from 8/8-8/18, now to figure out our flights. We could fly to Chicago and fly non stop to Anchorage on AK Air. We have enough miles that we…

Your meat choices sound wonderful. It's nice to have a place to get quality meats for less. We have 4 pickle ball racquets and balls but have yet to play since I had surgery. I want to learn. Hannah's parents play so I'm hoping they will give us a lesson this weekend when they are here. We have a park down the road that…

Costco trip today for paper products and a few other things. I fed my sourdough starter and it is so healthy. I need to bake something with the discard and I also plan to make a sandwich bread loaf which is softer and shaped normal for sandwiches. My sisters are coming for dinner when Hannah, Rory, and her parents are…

It is windy and rainy today so no bike ride. I picked veggies in my garden and am relaxing and reading. Our neighbor's father who farms the orchards near us, dropped off a huge box of peaches. Russ has been cutting and freezing them so we can make smoothies, cobbler, pie, milk shakes etc. We don't want a fruit fly…

I don't know about what C is doing but I do know several people who did not experiment with drinking and drugs in high school but did so in college when they were away from home. It is normal for some to be curious and try it out. I hope C is not doing so but you know he is a good kid who may just be pushing his…

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…

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…

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…