giving in, or up?

 I am so frustrated abut those stupid lights

    Last night I ordered a new light package.  Yes, it is expensive, but maybe my problems with the Dickens Village will be brought to light.  (clever pun, eh?)

    I don't know if you ever heard of them but once upon a time Tom Swifies were popular.  Sure, it might have been in the 1890s, but they were popular.

    And yes, I said 1890s, although I have no idea when.

    Some examples:

    The light now works, Tom said brightly.

    I think  the battery needs charging, Tom weakly said.

    The Earth is not round, Tom  flatly stated.

    I think we blew a circuit, Tom darkly muttered.

    Tom always spoke with an adjective that reflected the sentence.

    And while now I am a sophisticated adult, I can admit there was a time in my young life when several of us would gather and refuse to speak unless we spoke as a Tom Swiftie.

    Ah....... I mis those days.

    Maybe I should start a movement and call them Taylor Swifts?

    Jackie and I finished watching Man on the Inside  season 2 and I gotta say, I loved it!

    The final scene was so .... don't know the right word.  Sweet?  Endearing? Happy?  Satisfying?

    It's on Netflix and stars Ted Danson.  I highly recommend it.  You might start with season 1 for background.  

    

    

Peace and Love

Sunday fun

 This was a pretty fun day!

    I watched most of the Bears' game.  But it was also cookie decorating day, so that kept me hopping!

    Camryn, Sam and Jen were the main decorators, although Julia and I helped.  Well, I did 4.

    We had a fun time and I think the cookies turned out super!

    This weekend was a blast.

    Yesterday I cooked meat to almost perfection, today I made chili, and frosting for the cookies.  I assembled the ingredients and Sam mixed them.  We made a pretty good team.

    Camryn  let Emily's dogs out so I did not have to, which was a big help for us making the frosting.

    Almost everything went into the dishwasher, which made clean up fairly easy.

    But the night has ended on a bummer.

    We had trouble getting lights to work on the Dickens' Village pieces.  I had a box of 100, and last year we used 4 of that lot, but this year none of them worked.

    So I ordered, at a hefty price, bulbs from Dept. 56.  They come in packs of 3 for $9 a pack.  I have opened 2 packs and none of them work.

    Is it bad bulbs?

    Is it bad cords?

    Am I cursed because I did not read A Christmas Carol this year?

    I am really frustrated about this. It has never been this difficult!  We have always screwed the bulbs in and they work.  Now I have 4 unlit houses and I am vexed.

    The strip's power light is on, so I assume it has power.  

    I wish I had an answer.

    Sigh......

    I guess I will try again tomorrow.

    Oh....I did not win 1 billion $.  Maybe tomorrow.

Peace and Love

My snowman is upside down!!

Batman

Just a note....the cookie sheets look horrible because these are the ones we put under items in the oven that may overflow.  We do have clean cookie sheets.

56 years

 Today was our anniversary

    A lot has changed over the 56 years!

    Back then  no internet, cable, e-mail...... it was a simpler time for technology.

    There was a war going on.   Man had landed on the moon for the first time.  The Cubs went into a swoon and the Mets got hot.  

    We were married in St. Paul Episcopal Church in DeKalb, a church we still attend when possible.  That means not often, but our attendance is pretty good for evening services!

    We had a reception in the unfinished church basement.  For our 50th anniversary we had a reception in the beautiful fellowship hall.

    We are far past the day of buying  presents for each other.  Seems we both have enough.  We did exchange cards.  The funny thing is I got her the same card brother Bob and SIL Anita sent!  I know I bought mine a while ago,  but they are in Florida!  I don't know how location affects things.

    The girls came over for supper, along with Steve, Greg and MK.  I grilled meats outside, well, inside the garage.  I think the car will have a strange odor for a while.

    We had cake that Julia made,  and corn casserole Emily made, and cheesy potatoes MK made, and talk. and laughs...... it was a nice way to celebrate.,

    The big celebration will start tomorrow because I am winning the huge lottery tonight!  I say that every time, but you have to believe, don't you?

    When I did my Dark Stories history walk a few weeks ago, I told about the first Presbyterian minister in Rochelle.  He was walking during a rainstorm and got killed by a lightning strike.  I think those same odds apply to winning the lottery.

    But I gotta dream.

    Anyway, it was a good night.

    Especially a good night to stay inside.  The temp right now is +3 but it feels like -12.

    Damn cold.

    Maybe I'll just charter a jet Monday and head to a warm  spot.

    Or maybe I'll be hit by lightning.

    We'll see.

Peace and Love

brrrrrrr

 I think it is going to be cold

    Wind chills tomorrow could very be at -15!  And snow is possible!!

    Gotta love Illinois weather.

    By midweek the temps could hit 40.

    Sigh.

    Right now it is a balmy 25, but by morning it is going to be dang cold.  That cold will stick around Saturday and Sunday, meaning people at the Bears game could experience 4 degree temps.  I can't imagine sitting outside in that weather, leet alone playing football.  The ball, and ground, will be as hard as a rock.

    Jackie heard on the news tonight that the field is actually heated.  There are heat coils under the sod, and the grass stays at about 25 degrees.  Players who get tackled may stay on the ground a little longer just to warm up!

    I do know a couple of people going and I hope they dress warmly.  Just thinking of it makes me shiver.

    We baked cookies today and I did not burn them.

    Sunday is cookie decorating day with Camryn, Jen, Sam, and Jackie gathering around the nook table and frosting and decorating the sugar cookies.

    We have sort of drifted into that tradition.  It started several years ago and I actually look forward to it.

    I think Emily works, and Julia may stop over, and maybe others will pop in....we don't really know.

    What I do know is we have about 5 dozen sugar cookies that need frosting.  

    And yes, the workers get to take some home!

    It's a fun day for everyone.

    And I just may go and buy a couple of lottery tickets, since the prize is over $1 billion!  Holy cow, would that be a blast to win!!

    I will dream about that tonight.

Peace and Love

yip, yip, yippee

I saw my first coyote. tonight 

    Julia and I were heading to the Community Action Network shopping night.  We were just at about the light on Flagg Road near the high school when the coyote crossed right in front of the car!

    Julia hit the brakes and missed it, unlike the deer a couple of weeks ago.  The animal looked perfectly capable of carrying off a dog Beth's size, all the more reason why I go out with Beth at night.

    Years ago, pre pandemic, I was a mentor for a little second grader.  As Julia and I were standing around in the church hall this young boy came up to me and stopped and stared.  He said, "I know you!"  I said "I know you too!  But I don't remember your name!"

    We had a nice conversation.  5 years ago I would not have thought that.

    He was a little hellion!  He would crawl under the chairs or table, hide in the hallways, make noise...but I enjoyed meeting with him at school.

    Today he is an eighth grader, planning what he wants to do in high school,  and can converse with an adult (well, at least with me) without sounding like an eighth grader. I was impressed.

    Julia and I took 3 kids shopping.  One of the little tykes was a bit, shall we say, active.  I felt like I ran (or walked) a marathon tying to keep up with him.  His older bother was pretty matter of fact, laid back and very calm. Their sister had such neat facial expressions when she talked....it was fun to watch her.

     It's always a good night.  A lot of families are struggling  and a night like this can help  them.  Our group had pretty much basics on their lists:  underwear, socks, pajamas.  Of course they each got a toy and some candy, with the instructions not to open anything until mom gives it an ok.

    Before going  kids had a chance to pick out shoes, a coat, hat, and gloves.  

    So if you have a chance to support CAN, do it.  Lots of kids will benefit.

Peace and Love

oh my

This could be a short night

    Not a lot to say about today.

    Miserable morning, weather wise.  Snow/rain, wind, cold; not a good day to be a bird.

    I had 2 loads of laundry to do.  When I went to dry the first load, I found the sheets still in the dryer from Monday!!

    I dried them again because they were cold.

    It''s now almost 9 and I have 2 loads to fold!  I should have done them during the day, but I napped and then watched the second episode of The American Revolution by Ken Burns.  Darn good show.  I don't know how it ends.

    So, a priest, a monk, and a rabbit go into a bar.

    Bartender looks at the priest and says, "What will you have, father?"

    Priest orders a glass of wine.

    Bartender turns t the monk an d ask, "What will you have, brother?"

    Monk thinks for a second, and asks for a mulled wine.

    Bartender turns to the rabbit and asks, "And what will you have?"

    Rabbit answers, "Nothing.   I'm only here because of spell check."

Peace and Love

dough redo

 Normally I don't pay attention to expiration dates

    Sometimes that causes extra work.

    Jackie likes to make crescent cookies for Christmas.  (And I like to eat them.)  They need crushed walnuts.  I found some walnuts in the pantry, they were good until September 2025.

    Now, that is not too bad.  It's only a couple of months. 

    They were sitting in the pantry.  Opened, but sealed. 

    So I used them.  OK, hey had a strange smell, not walnutty  at all.  (Honestly, I have no idea what a walnut smells like, but these did not smell right.)

    I put them in our chopper and chopped them up.  Then we made the cookies.  

    But the cookies had that same "off" smell.

    I tasted one, and it wasn't bad.  It just didn't seem right.,

    Yesterday I bought new walnuts. and we made the cookies again today.    

    This time they did not smell off, did not taste off, and I was much happier.

    But what to do with the old cookies?

    I put them in our dicer and chopped them up.  My thought was to put them out with the bird seed.  Is that a bad idea?  They didn't make us sick, so they probably should not make birds sick, right?

    The last thing I want is a yard full of dead birds. Or birds with the runs.

    I wonder if I scatter the crumbs on my raised gardens if I will have crescent cookies growing next year.

    Speaking of expiration dates, here is a puzzler.

    I like quart size milk.  We don't drink a lot of milk, and usually end up throwing away much of the half gallon jugs.

    I noticed on the quart bottle the expiration date is in January!  

    Why is that?

    It's the same milk, right?

    Does it last longer because it is in a smaller container, thereby getting less oxygen and not spoiling as fast?

    Inquiring minds want to know!

    I am just glad I don't come with an expiration date.

Peace and Love