jrbanta Member

I haven't made Sourdough since my Christmas loaf and those crackers. I will after Christmas. I baked cookies for my cookie tray I will put together for Christmas Eve at my sister Becky's house. Today I made chocolate peppermint bark, ginger crackle cookies and short bread. Tomorrow I will pick up the frosted sugar cookies…

I wish you could find a new job that treated all of you respectfully and you enjoyed. It sounds so stressful all the time. That isn't good for any of you. The only positive sounds like the paycheck. I had my dental appt today and all is well. I told him I cancelled the implant appt because I'm not paying $2000 for an…

Class and hot tub felt good today. I went to a specialty cheese shop and found some good Asiago and aged Swiss to use in my next baking of sourdough. I was going through our bank statement and discovered I had been charged for learning kits I ordered two years ago for Miles in FL. I did not re order last year but they had…

Sloppy outside with temps around 40. Yuk! I volunteered at Power Books and just got home. Now they are closed until after the New Year. Russ and I booked our places to stay in New Orleans, Laurel MS, and Nashville. We will wait until it is closer to the time we leave and come home to book hotels to stop at on the way to FL…

Do you switch with your sister on who hosts? I need to bake cookies and put together a cookie dessert tray for our Christmas Eve dinner at my sisters. I ordered a dozen frosted Christmas sugar cookies from the local bakery. I will put a few on the tray with home made ginger crinkle cookies, short bread dipped in chocolate,…

Tree finally decorated. Drive way drifted in so no where to go today. Lots of drifts and blowing snow.

Winter Wonderland here today! I went to Power Books to help out and the director sent us home at 2:30 due to snow and the winds that will eventually pick up. It is beautiful today but visibility coming home was about 1/8th of a mile. We really need to confirm our hotels, etc. for February. I told Russ this weekend is our…

Congratulations to Z on his job!!! My heart skipped a beat when I read your announcement. I am so happy for him and he must be too. We have another storm coming through tonight through Thursday. Russ was suppose to do the a book delivery in the northern lower peninsula of MI for Power Books but told them he won't do it…

Baby arrived Friday Eve around 8pm. His name is Hayden Wesley Major and he looks just like Miles when he was a baby. He weighed 7lb 2oz. I can't wait to meet him. I visited Sarah today and took a meal to Lynn. She is so much better and the steroids have her pretty energetic and upbeat right now. Sarah seemed tired and…

That IV of steroids worked magic on Lynn. I talked to her this morning and she was hyped and chatty. She hasn't sounded so good in a long time. She said her back even felt better but not pain free. The steroid took the edge off the pain. I told her to mention that to her doctor and see if they can figure something out to…

Lynn and I were suppose to go to a sale and out to lunch this morning. I knew when she texted me earlier and told me to call her when I woke up she was in crisis. I took her to the ER this morning by noon, and we spent the afternoon there. She woke up with inflamed wrists, fingers and knee joints and could barely walk or…

Waiting to hear about the new grandson. Karah was induced this morning. They usually take their time letting us know details. My guess is they haven't chosen a name yet so are waiting to give us info. We went to my great nephew's 2nd bday party this afternoon. He was so in to it! Such a cutie. I went to the dermatologist…

Presents wrapped in packed to mail to AK and FL. I'm glad Rory and Hannah opened theirs with us and took them home. What a job. It will cost me a small fortune to send the boxes (3) but it is once per year. FL family gets two boxes since kids' toys are in them. We bought Halen and Ellis a Yoto Mini with cards, case and…

The snow keeps falling and the wind is blowing. Tomorrow wind gusts are suppose to be around 40-50mph which will create blizzard conditions if it happens. I haven't been on the roads in the past two days. Snow covered and lots of accidents. Winter came in like a lion. I started wrapping presents for FL and AK today. I will…

They got home safe but were delayed by accidents on Hwy 94 as they entered St. Paul. Long trip! I had two wisdom teeth pulled that had popped through my gums. They didn't bother me but the dentist recommended they be pulled due to the possibility of cavities/rot since they are in the back of the mouth and not easy to…

Hannah and Rory are on their way home:( It is always hard to see the kids leave knowing it will be months before we see them again. We also worry until we know they are home safe. Luckily they had an alternate route to get to the Mackinac Bridge. Hwy I-75 where they would typically use to get to the bridge is in a snow…

Did you use Elfster? We did that the last two years but aren't exchanging gifts/choosing names this year. David is in Guam and Japan for work over Christmas, Karah is due any day with the baby and they are trying to stay low key, but we did exchange gifts with Rory and Hannah this past week which was fun. Getting the boys…

It sounds like a nice Thanksgiving all around. Ours went well except my middle sister Becky sat down on a dining room chair and it collapsed and she fell and bumped her head. The chair is a goner too. Luckily she is ok as far as I know. She has fallen off her bike a few times when she continues to ride on rough, gravel…

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope Z gets the job. It must be so discouraging. Is he doing any other work right now? Prayer always helps! Hannah and Rory have been here since Saturday. We are having a nice visit. Hannah went with me to Aquafit this morning. She and Rory are doing errands today. Russ is brining the turkey, I will make my gravy base,…

It is helpful to shop as much as possible ahead of time. Russ will do his main shopping on Monday or Tuesday but he has been to the store a few times because Rory and Hannah arrive today. I will spend my afternoon stuffing manicotti shells and making 3 pans of manicotti. We will have the big pan for dinner tonight with…

I will pray for Z and his interview. They are calling him back so that is a great sign, isn't it? Fingers crossed, best wishes, prayers, and good luck! Yesterday I hiked a nice trail nearby with my niece. She took the china, and I have to repack the punch bowl and Halloween costumes she will take off my hands. Yay! I did a…

My niece took my grandmother's china! Yay! It is in her car, not my pole barn. She is interested in my Mom's punch bowl and cups. I just need to get it out of it's box and see its condition first. Abby, my niece, and I hiked a trail outside Suttons Bay I did not know existed. It is preserved land by the Leelanau Nature…

Garlic is planted! It should come up by August if it grows. I volunteered at Power Book Bags today for a couple of hours. I was there last night for 3 hours. We got a lot done for the holiday give away of books. Tomorrow the guy from the roofing company is bringing out shingle samples for us to look at and we will have him…

Russ doesn't hunt. David does up in AK and Rory really hasn't hunted either. Lots of gun shots around here too. I volunteered for Power Book Bags today for 3 hours. They gave us pizza while we worked. I will go back tomorrow afternoon for my usual time. I also visited Sarah at the nursing home. She was really slurring her…

I hope you feel better and have a good weekend. Rest and watch Hallmark movies or something lazy. I'm working on Christmas gifts for the grand kids. Next week I will go to a great book store in Traverse City and choose some books to put in the Christmas box. 29 rows left to knit and then I sew the poncho pieces together.…

Gargling with hot salt water always helps my sore throat. Icky but effective. I did a little Christmas shopping for the littles this morning after swim class. Rainy day here. Hope you feel better soon.

We've chosen a house paint color (dark dark green) and now to choose the roof shingles. We decided on a roofing company so they will bring out larger shingle samples to compare with paint so we can choose and put money down on materials. Prices may go up after new administration gets to Washington so we want to lock in on…

I don't like the Wars or cookie shows either. I also can't stand the Halloween themed baking shows. We only watch the adult and kids holiday baking championships this time of year. I went to aqua fit and then bought more exterior paint samples. The second roofing company came today to give an estimate for re roofing our…

We got up early and took my car into Traverse City to get the brakes worked on. Russ and I went out for breakfast and to Menards to look for new kitchen lighting. He will drop me at Power Book Bags to volunteer this afternoon and then pick me up to go get my car. Luckily the original estimate for cost and what was wrong…