updates

We have new credit cards 

    Our old ones expired.

    In the old days that was not a big  issue.  But now days, it is.

    We do a lot of donations, subscriptions, and regular payments on line, using our credit card.  So today, I spent most of my afternoon, well a lot of my afternoon.....ok, some of my afternoon trying to notify people of the change.

    Some were easy.  I called, talked to a human, and made the change.

    The worst one was Sirius.  I needed my radio number to make th exchange, or my account number.  I figured the radio number was easiest.  Go into the car, turn on the radio, hit 0 and get the number.  

    First off, I could not figure out how to hit 0.  I know, everyone in the world can figure that out but me.

    Next, I had to read the number and write it down.

    Well, let me tell you, that was no easy task!  I used a magnifying glass (thanks Darci) and wrote the first 4 numbers down and it shut off.  So I did it again, wrote the next 5 numbers down, and it shut off.  I finally got all the numbers written down, but it was a challenge.

    I went back into the Sirius website and entered my number only to find out my number does not exist.

    Back to the car.

    Checking the numbers what I wrote as a 3 was actually a B and my 5 was really an 8.

    Back inside, enter the numbers and ...... my number does not exist.

    Back to the car to double check and I discover I wrote one number down twice in the sequence.

    Go back inside , enter it again and voila!  Success!!

    That single change took probably half an hour, but it got done.

    Today we made refrigerator pickles.  

    I have a cucumber problem.  I let them go too long and they get huge and yellow.  I know I should go out every day and check, but I don't.  If I go out once a week it's a miracle.

    Jackie wanted to make 5 or 6 small jars, but we only. had 3 lids.  So I went to the store and bought lids.

    I boiled the lids today not realizing there were 2 difference sizes....one that fit our jars, one that did not.

    I bought the ones that did not.

    The next challenge was to find 3 jars for the new lids, sanitize them, and use those jars, which we did.

    It is really a challenge being me sometimes.

    If anyone wants giant, yellow cucumbers, come on over.

    Or if you are looking for some delicious tomatoes, I can help with that too.

Peace and Love

rabbit holes

 I can't control myself sometimes

    Ok, I can't control myself most of the. time.

    For example.  I was looking at FB today and clicked on the reels section at the top.  

    I watched a couple of floods, then a snow avalanche that seemingly buried the person filming it.  But I don't know what happened to the guy.  Did he survive?  Did they just recover his phone and discover his last words were, "Holy shit...I'm in trouble?"

    And then there are the people playing piano somewhere and someone asks them if they can play a certain song.  When they start, another person whips out an instrument, steps up to sing, or in some other way creates a magical musical moment.

    But I keep seeing the same guy playing the piano!  Is it possible that every time he sits down a magical musical moment happens?  (Notice the repeated use of alliteration.  It is the mark of a true genius.). Or is it all prearranged just to create a Tik Tok moment?

    I was also struck by a photo of the Falkirk Wheel in Scotland.

    I thought it was a fake, so I checked Wikipedia and by golly, it is real.

    The wheel connects two canals.  But the canals are a different height. The wheel opened in 2002 and is 79 feet up.  Boats enter the wheel at the bottom, using a basin constructed for the wheel.  The wheel then turns and lifts the boat up while lowering boats from the upper level at the same time.  The boats at the top enter through a man made canal.  This way the 2 natural canals can be linked.

    Google it.  You will be impressed.

    Finally, I found an article in the Trib that talked about Hobby Horse Championships.

    True.  People use the stick ponies and run obstacle courses, do jumps, and other tricks.  There are American champions and European champions.   Go figure.

    I was looking forward to a good football game tonight.  But to be honest, I think the Bears offense stinks.  They can't complete long passes, run the same failing wide receiver screens, and run the ball up the middle too much.

    It's going to be a long season.

    I guess I might have to pass on looking for Super Bowl tickets.

    Clever, huh?  Pass.  You'll laugh at some point.

Peace and Love

the end is here

This is the end of a hectic week for me 

    It seems there was a lot of stuff to do this week.  Pedicures, doctor appointments, guests for dinner, wine with friends, big trains, laundry, foundation meeting, museum meeting. first play meeting.......  just a lot of stuff to keep me busy.

    Tonight was Whose Live Anyway in DeKalb.

    This is basically Whose Line Is It. the popular improv tv show from years ago.  I love improv.  I love to be a part of an improv group, Exit 99, but we have not done a show in a loooong time.  Too long.

    So tonight we all went to see the Ryan Stiles led group perform at the Egyptian.

    Now, some people may think it folly to spend money on a seat at an improv show when one can't hear out of an ear.  I missed a lot of the dialogue, it's true.  But I heard a lot too.  I put off the sometime garbled sound as part of my hearing problem. but it turns out others had a hard time understanding the show because the words were garbled.  It wasn't just me!

    But I digress.

    I had a great time, saw a good show, and had a lot of laughs.

    It was a wonderful wayto end a hectic week.

Peace and Love

This creature was hanging out at Emily's when I went to let out the dogs

Cinderfella

 I tackled our kitchen floor again today

    If you don't know, it was covered in watermelon juice yesterday after a melon exploded on my counter.

    We Bona mopped it several times.

    Today I took some water, put a little Dawn in it.... like 4 drops....and got on my hands and knees to wash it.  Again.

    Well, it isn't sticky.  But it isn't slick either.  

    Any suggestions would be appreciated.

    We took Jackie out to see Julia's house today and met the next door neighbor.  She seems very nice and explained some of the rules for the subdivision.  Julia has a copy of the covenants, but the lady just wanted to make sure Julia knew to look them over.

    I think they have a quiet hour, but I am not sure.

    That's not a bad idea.

    After 9 p.m., no loud noises, barking dogs, fireworks, screaming.

    But I would like to see some other covenants. 

    By the way, for those of you not sure, covenants are not enforceable by a city or township.  In Illinois they are only enforceable by residents of the subdivisions. If someone breaks a covenant, the subdivision association or a homeowner can sue, in civil court, to be sure the covenants are enforced.

    Covenants I would like to see include:

    No mowing day.  One day a week, decided by a vote each November, will be mower and leaf blower free.

    Wine day. Every Friday evening, from 6 to 7, a neighbor will host a wine or refreshment night in their driveway. ( I actually got that idea from Dan and Linda.  Their new residence has something like that and they really get to know their neighbors.  We met at Acres Bistro for a glass of red yesterday and spent over an hour catching up.  It was a lot of fun.  Theirs might be once a month though.  Digression over.)

    The subdivision will have names that reflect the area accurately.   We once lived on Mill Pond, but there was no mill or pond.  Our subdivision is Hickory Ridge, but finding a hickory tree takes a bit of looking once your get past the first road.  Emily lives in Cherry Hill.  No cherries and not much of a hill either.

    Across the road from us is Indian Creek.  No creek and certainly named prior to the PC emphasis in our country.

    So be honest.   Former Cornfield Estates.  Soy Bean Acres.  Crabgrass Acres.  Honest.  Real.

    Digression 2.  Julia is building in a wooded area.  There are 3 or 4 huge trees right next to her house.        They all hang over the house.  I don't know what kind of trees they are, but I looked at them and said, "I love threes....but these have to go."  With the severity of storms increasing, the likely hood that one or more of these trees will come crashing down on her house also increases.

    I think the builder has reached the same conclusion.  A crew is coming out to remove the ones hanging over the house.  It's a shame, but for safety sake it needs to be done.

    Hopefully she will get some firewood out of the removal.

    That's my covenant for tonight.

Peace and Love

Boom!

 We had 2 minor explosions at home this week

    No, do not fret.  We are not harmed.  The house is fine.  

    I bought a new toy at HyVee on Monday.

    It works on the same principle as the apple slicers.

    I also bought a watermelon Monday.  I told Julia I wanted her to take a video of me cutting the melon this afternoon.

    At 6:30 this morning, she woke me up and told me to come into the kitchen.

    Here is what I. found.

    I have never seen a watermelon explode!  For  some reason, this one did.  It was fine last night!

    After it exploded it seeped down he front of the cabinet and into the silverware drawer, the towel drawer, and the foil and wax paper drawer.

     And it covered half the kitchen floor.

    And it smelled.  A terrible smell that still lingers in the house.

    So, Julia and I started cleaning up.  I realized  the silverware had to be washed, the silverware divider tray had to be washed, and so did the towels and other linens in the second drawer.  The bottom drawer also had some juice, but not as much.  All we had to do was toss out some packaging.

    We mopped up the floor with rags.  While I cleaned out the drawers, Julia mopped the floor with our Bona cleaner.  Then she mopped them again.  Then she went to work and I mopped again.  And again.

    Meanwhile, 2 loads of laundry were done, one with the rags, the other with the soiled dish towels.

    The dishwasher had been started.

    The drawers were cleaned;  wiped down my Julia, waxed by me, and the fronts were wiped off and waxed.

    And I did the floor again, this time breaking the Bona mop.

    The floor still does not feel right.  It is not sticky, but it is not smooth either.  I think tomorrow I will get on my hands and knees and do it again.

    The other explosion happened Tuesday night.  Jackie and I were watching the Cubs game from bed.

    The Cubs' pitcher put a Dodger on base in the ninth inning.  The runner made it to third in a 6-3 ballgame, so he really didn't matter much.

    The batter was Max Muncy, who is a power hitter.  The pitcher got 2 pitches into the at bat and had a panic attack, grabbing his chest, bending down, breathing hard.  After the trainers checked him out, he threw a really bad pitch.  His next pitch was cranked in the air.  Everyone thought it was a home run.  Fans in the stands were reaching out to catch the ball.

    PCA, or Pete Crow Armstrong, came out of center field, leaped in the air like he was going for a dunk, and grabbed the ball right in front of a fans hands!  I gave a yell, followed by a loud "holy cow!"

    I told Jackie I was putting the W flag out right then, and clomped through the house, turned on the lights, and stepped outside.

    I found this.

    Only it wasn't on may chair, it was sitting right in front to the door.  So I said, "Hey little,buddy!  You can't sit here!  Don't you have a home?  You'll get squashed here."

    Julia came out of the bedroom and  asked, "What's wrong?  Who are you talking to?"

    I then explained the PCA catch.  She is not a baseball fan.  And I told her I was talking to a frog.

    She said, '"It's after midnight I was asleep.  I thought something was wrong. with all the yelling and stamping around."

    She went to bed, I went to bed.  I don't know where the frog went.

    Tomorrow I'm buying another watermelon.

Peace and Love 

sadness and hope

 I can still see the images on tv

    A jet hitting a tower.  Then another jet into the second tower.  Then the collapse.  And the Pentagon.  A field in Pennsylvania.

    The worry about friends and family living in NYC.  The tears as the death toll of civilians, fire fighters, EMTs, and police rose.  

    The horror of seeing bodies falling out of one tower, those seeking a faster death than the one they faced.

    The messages from people aboard a doomed jet to their families, friends, or loved ones as civilians fought terrorists and winning, willingly put the plane into a field.

    The feeling of unbelief  as it all unfolded.

    Students in my class would be in their early to mid 30s by now.  I doubt they will forget the days of fear and uncertainty that followed.  I know I never will.

    It changed our lives forever. 

    But it also showed an America that was united in the sorrow and in the anger.  

    We made flying safer.  We regulated what can be brought on board.  Changes were made to how security operated at airports. No fly lists were expanded.  We started taking off our shoes.

    I hope you took time to remember those whose lives ended that day, and those who lost family members, and those who developed cancers and other diseases because of their exposure to the dust and smoke.

    Let us never forget the heroes and the victims of that day.

Peace and Love

    

    

    

excuse me

I love to travel 

    I have been to places I had never dreamed of visiting because my daughter lived in Europe for 20 years.

    I went down a slide in an underground  salt mine in Salzburg, visited David in Florence, saw the Last Supper in Milan, visited Paris, Amsterdam, Barcelona, and beloved Switzerland.

    I have walked Omaha Beach, visited the Verdun battlefield, riden in mountain gondolas, walked in Cinque Terra and sat in St. Marks square in Venice.

    Twice I biked through the Holland countryside. Once I hiked to the top of a mountain and stayed in a hut in Switzerland.  I sledded down a mountain in the summer in Switzerland.

    Last year I went to London and Liverpool, and Switzerland.

    If I could, I would go someplace tomorrow.  But life changes.

    And if Julia didn't live in Switzerland, there is a 95 percent chance I would never have gone to Europe.  I am fortunate.

    I have been reading a lot about tourists and how they are overwhelming towns.  Even some cities in Alaska are looking at ways to minimize the number of tourists visiting.

    Earlier this year residents of Barcelona, armed with water pistols, squirted people they suspected of being tourists.  Venice is charging a  fee to visit.  Today I read that Austria has more visitors per resident than any other country, and it causes problems.

    Traffic.  Litter.  Crowd congestion. Inflated prices.  Shortages of available affordable housing for the locals.  All these seem to be complaints about tourism.

    I am glad I went when I did, because that was not as much of a concern as it is now.  Seems since Covid people have begun to travel more and farther.  And the cruise ships have gotten larger and larger.

    Even Rochelle faced some problems Sunday, when an estimated 60,000...... yes, 60,000!  people came to see The Big Boy steam engine.  Roads were packed, the tollway had cars lined up for miles on the shoulders as they inched toward the entrance ramps.  Back ups on 251 extended for miles.

    Getting across town was a nightmare.

    And when I tried to order a Starbucks, my drink was sold out!  That has never happened!!  It wasn't even pumpkin, just a plain vanilla latte.  Imagine.

    I wonder if the stores that stayed open on Sunday benefited from all the people.  I certainly hope so.  I especially hope someone bought my box of train stuff at Pickin Station.

    But I think a lot of Rochelle residents were glad this happens once every 4 or 5 years.  I can't imagine what it would be like more frequently.

    Go Cubs.  Go ,la!

Peace and Love