Happy Easter

I know, it is almost over as I write this 

    I had a nice day today.

    We had a great dinner, nice weather, a Cubs win and good friends to share the day with.

    Emily made sweet potato pie, Julia provided some scalloped potatoes, Jen sent a huge bowl of fresh fruit, Sandy provided bacon wrapped sausages and Jackie directed me in the prep of some other dishes.

    All in all, it was a good time.

    And it may be time to buy a new printer.

    Julia hooked it up via cord so it does not print wireless.  Today it dod not print again, even with the cord.

    No rhyme or reason to its printing and not printing.  It printed yesterday just fine, but today.....no go.

    I guess that is life.

    Hope you all had a happy Easter and got a chance to enjoy family and friends.

    Blessings to you all.

Peace and Love

huh, I say, huh

This was a weird day in a couple of ways 

    I went to the library to return my DVD.  I parked in the parking area just east of the library, along the alley, across from the police department garage.

    There have been issues at times when police vehicles park in the library spaces.  That issue has for the most part been resolved and the police have been very good about not parking where library patrons can park.

    But today I noticed a state police squad taking up 3 spaces at the end of the parking lane.  I thought that was a bit out of ordinary, but I figured there were only 2 cars and there were still a couple of open spaces.

    I got out of my car and started in to the library.  I heard some yelling, but did not pay attention to what was being said.

    2 minutes later when I came out, there was a fire department vehicle there.  Then a Rochelle squad rolled up.  Then another.  And another.  And a siren was wailing in the distance, which turned out to be an ambulance.

    Meanwhile, everyone is looking in the back seat of the state police vehicle.  They would reach in, then pull back.

    I had not choice but to watch because I was blocked in behind squad cars.

    Another library patron came out with her daughter and we chatted a bit.  One of the squads moved, and I told her she could probably back out, turn into the funeral home parking lot, and get out that way.

    She said she wouldn't want to get a ticket and I told her I thought they were to busy to notice.

    So, she was able to leave and about a minute later I was able to leave, also going thru the funeral home parking lot.

    My curious mind wanted to ask what was going on.  But I realized it was none of my business and that I was not a member of the press anymore.

    I picked up a coffee at Cypress House and went home to remake the cookies that had been burned.

    Now, over the course of the past week I have been asked multiple times if we had flour.  Every time I have looked in the pantry, seen the Gold Medal bag, and replied no.

    Today I got the flour out and it was bread making flour!  It's not good for cookies!!

    So I got back in the car, drove to town, got flour, and headed back home.

    When I opened the bag, I saw a warning. that said we were not to eat uncooked flour because it could make us sick.  I had never seen that on a bag of flour.  Julia said there was probably a Tic Tok challenge where people eat flour and got sick.  I don't doubt it because there are idiots everywhere.

    We made the cookies, started the deviled eggs, made the pistachio salad and now I can look forward to folding sheets and towels because I forgot they were done.

    It's now almost 9:30, the Cubs have lost and luckily I did not watch the game.  I have some dishes to do, and I am tired.

    Plus I have one more load of laundry.

    My work never seems to be done.

Happy Easter!!

Peace and Love

Welllllll

 I watched an old movie today

    The Girl Can't Help It  was released in the late 50's.

    The Beatles book I am reading mentioned that some of "the lads" saw the movie in Liverpool and were blown away by the music.  The video features Little Richard, Fats Domino and other groups from that era.

    They were discovering rock and roll.  In the movie, and in the lads' lives.

    This movie seemed to be a big influence  on them, so I tracked down a copy and spent the afternoon watching it.  And burning cookies.

    Jayne Mansfield and Tom Ewell starred in the movie.  I had forgotten how beautiful Jayne was.  It was kind of funny, but it was neat seeing all the groups that played at some point in the movie.

    Jackie and I made Italian cookies for Easter, but due to a small misunderstanding, they stayed in the oven too long and burned.

    We will make another batch tomorrow.

    The recipe calls for the zest of one lemon.  I have lemon peel in a jar, which is zest, right?  But how much zest is in a peel?  A tablespoon?  Half a cup?  It's a puzzle to me.

    Speaking of puzzles, Julia got a postcard from a friend today.  They had visited Kenya and I told Julia they sent a postcard.

    Julia was surprised because they were in Kenya last October and hadn't mentioned going back again.

    But when I read the postcard, the last lines were "Have to back t o work tomorrow....boo.  Speaking of boo, Happy Halloween"

    (Don't criticize me for reading someone else's  postcard!  Postcards are fair game in the nosey person book.)

    I guess sending a card to Florida with our postal system and expecting it to get there in 4 or 5 days is pretty damn good considering this card took 5 months.

    Jackie and I went to Good Friday services in DeKalb and stopped at Popeyes for a shrimp dinner for her and a fish sandwich for me.  They were darn tasty!

    And that's it for me....can hear thunder, I think.

Peace and Love

Play Ball!!!

 Baseball has finally started

    I know.  Some of you are rolling their eyes.

    But we enjoy watching the Cubs.  Not the Cards.  Not the Sox, red or white, but the Cubs.

     I hope they win another World Series in my lifetime.  The Cubs and Sox combined have won 2 World Series in the last 114 years.  That is not good.

    Anyway, the pieces are all in place.  And not that I agree with all of the pieces.

    For example, I liked David Ross. He was replaced  by Craig Counsell as manager.  And I liked Peter Crow Armstrong, who is back in the minors because the Cubs were able to resign Cody Bellinger. 

    Aside from that, it's the pace of the game I enjoy.. Yes, they have a pitch clock but it is still a leisurely played game.  The pace is not frantic, like basketball; or stop and go, like football.  It is just a nice, steady pace.

    I don't find it boring, but a lot of people do.  

    Now I have to go get my Cubs flag out for when they win in Texas tonight.

    Kind of a quiet day around here.  The sun was shining, the wind was a little calmer, but the weather was still a little chilly.  I am sure it will eventually warm up to where I don't have to wear a coat.

    I met a former student at the store today.

    He said, "Hello, Mr. Dickow."

    I asked him what his name was.

    He told me and as he said it I could see his 11 year old face.

    I mentioned he was a little chunky when he was in fifth grade.  He countered with telling me he lost about 100 pounds during high school, mainly bike riding and exercising.  

    I told him that was great, and maybe I should try that instead of feeding my face with stuff.

    That would be a goal to shoot for.

Peace and Love

whirling

Today just seem like a gigantic whirl 

    Jackie had a doctor appointment in Sycamore.

    We stopped at a pharmacy to pick up some supplies, but no one was at the counter.  A lady sitting in a chair went "psssst" and I turned toward her.

    "They are in the back. It will be a few minutes."

    I said thank you, and had a. strange vague feeling of familiarity.

    Minutes later it all came together when I recognized her partner and realized the person who went "psst" is someone I have known since my newspaper days!  I just did not recognize them because of their hair color or the fact they were not in a place I would expect to see them.

    Anyway.  Went to the doctor, stopped at a grocery store, visited Portillo's to pick up Jackie's free piece of chocolate cake for her birthday, stopped at 2 libraries and finally made it home.

    Julia, Emily and t long time friends Mary Kay and Steve came over for a birthday dinner and some bundt cake desserts.

    Around 7 Kevin, Jen and Sam came over so Sam could sing happy birthday to Jackie, playing her guitar and doing the song in English and then Spanish.

    For a day that didn't have anything big planned, it was a pretty busy time.  I didn't even get in a nap!

    I just have one load of laundry to put in tonight and my day will be complete.

    Hopefully sleep will come easy tonight.

    And tomorrow I will give you answers about books written or not.

Peace and Love

windy, windy, windy

 I just want to emphasize it is windy out there

    And cold.

    And damp.

    And muddy.

    And wormy.

    Today was recycling day.  I did not take out my containers because I knew they would be all over the neighborhood and I did not want to be that person.

    When I went out to get my trash can, which was halfway in the road, causing drivers to have to do  slalom like maneuvers to get past, I noticed the recycling truck coming down Skare Road.

    So I quickly grabbed the wagon with my 2 recycling bins.

    Yes, 2 bins.  One for paper, one for plastic, glass and cans.  I know I don't have to separate them, but it gives me more capacity if I do.

    Did I mention it was windy?

    I was rolling down the driveway when the can with plastic and glass fell off the cart and spilled all over the driveway.

    And with the wind, all over the road.

    And all over the neighbor's yard across the street.

    I started to pick up when the wind attacked the second can.  I saw papers rising out of the can like haunted spirits on Christmas Eve.

    I grabbed the papers and shoved them into the can as the garbage truck approached.

    Plastic was flying.  Glass was broken.  I was frazzled.

    It was windy.

    Good neighbor Trent was in front and started helping me pick up the debris in his yard and on the street and in my driveway and still blowing everywhere.

    The guy driving the truck helped pick up.

    I had a handful and turned to go to the bin when my foot caught on something and I went face down in the mud.  And worms.  And wet.

    I can hear the young guys thinking, "Shit!  Old man down!  Old man down!"  

    I was ok, even though the driver called me sir, and finished picking up.

    I even got up by myself.

    After seeping up the broken glass, thanking Trent for his help, and putting all the now empty containers away, I went in the house.

    Jackie looked at my wet pants and asked if I fell. 

    I did not hit my head, but I have had a headache all day.  And a backache, which may be related to the fall or just because I do a lot of lifting.

    Last night when I was taking out the lidded garbage Volkswagen, I noticed hundreds of worms in the driveway and on the porch.

    I tried to not roll over them, but in the dark that was impossible.

    Now I wonder what is the typical worm population of a front yard?

    Sounds like a Google rabbit hole to fall into.

Peace and Love

wanna be

I wanna be an author

    I have some great ideas for books.  In fact, my ideas are the greatest that have ever been ideas in the entire universe!

    For example:

    Printers....Who Needs Them?   This epic volume will tell the interested reader the fascinating history of printers.  From The ancient Egyptians to the modern day computer printer, printers have been a heavily relied on source.  The book details how in the olden days a printer not functioning correctly  was often fed to Nile crocodiles while in modern times printers that don't work are often sworn at and thrown through a still closed window.

    The Fickle Side of Mother Nature.  Explore the side of Mother Nature we don't usually see.  Examine how weather can go from really cold to really mild in one day, with rain or snow or sleet going along with the weather.  See the difference between partly cloudy and partly sunny.  Explore the world of mostly sunny and mostly cloudy.  

    Laws.  Who Needs Them?  This work would explore the dozens of laws we have on the books that we don't need.  For example:  Headlights should be on when wipers are working.  Who needs that?  Sure, it may improve visibility to other motorists so they can see you as they attempt to pass on a badly crumbling state road.  But hey!  Turn signals required?  What a bunch of baloney!  We don't need turn signals.  We can just assume the person stopping in front of you has a reason.  Maybe they dropped their cell phone, or hamburger, or just got tired of going forward.  It's a useless law.  Same with speed limits, stop signs and mandatory auto insurance laws.  What good do they serve?  This book will explore all aspects of the issue.

    Wonderful World of Autocorrect.  Learn how autocorrect maid it easier for people to right books without having too worry about spelling mistakes.  The book will cover thy history of autocorrect and it's future.

    World.  I am currently doing research on 5 letter words.  I plan to publish this work in 2028 and list every 5 letter word in the English language alphabetically.

    Dreamland. I have kept a journal of dreams.  When it is published, you can actually see the warped inners of my mind.  You will be astounded at the weirdness of my nights.

    Travels with Terry.   Certainly not to be confused with Travels with Charley, Travels with Terry will put the spotlight on how not to visit foreign places .  From advice on how to be pick pocketed to running afoul of proper bicycle behavior, this book will surely make you laugh.  And wonder about me.

    First Love    Everybody remember their first love.  Join me on this lovely romp in romance as I experience love and heartbreak at the same time. 

    Accidental Serial Killer    What happens to a mild mannered school teacher when he accidentally kills someone?  The bodies pile up in this semi funny mystery.  

    OK.....all seriousness aside.....do any of these sound like something I would write?  I am curious about what you think.

Peace and Love