Patriotism from the past

This photo was taken sometime in the 1990's during the first gulf war. Makes you realize how long we've been "over there."

Notice the changes on the northwest corner of 1st and Main....Pablo's is gone and the Strand building is now Carl's bar with the aluminum removed; Brown's shoes has moved north. I don't remember what is there now.

I heard today that today is the date in 1991 that the administration (Bush '41) declared the war was over. What happened? Somebody forgot to tell the other side.

Flags

I guess technically the flag holder on the right should be higher than the holder on the left. Hope the flag police don't notice.

Barbecue

We haven't been getting out much - mainly because of the cold weather. The sun was out this morning and even though it is not warm, it looked bright enough to be warm.
I thought some barbecue sounded really good for lunch so with three places to choose from, I chose Roy's. It's the most distant and the best. Imagine seeing Roy's with no cars in the lot. . .
well, there it was - deserted. Big sign in the window, "We are on vacation." Dang! Back to the city and our second choice, Hog Wild. We brought a sack home and enjoyed pulled pork and beef sandwiches and curly fries.

Maybe we'll think up something a little more healthful for supper. I cannot call the evening meal "dinner." That is a BIG meal in the middle of the day, as opposed to a sandwich which is lunch, according to my upbringing.

Waiting -

This is Wally, waiting with us patiently for news of our refund from the IRS. We filed electronically for the first time. The schedule showed our refund would be nine days from the date of filing. Conveniently, there is a site called "Where's my refund" so we went there. Oops - date moved back four days. We waited four days and checked again - our deposit date has been moved back another week. I don't believe I'll check again.

big news

Somebody shined their shoes and the sun came out. The two big events of the day.

Ice

Rain and temperatures around 30 degrees mean ice on everything. Most churches cancelled services today. One month from today will be the first day of spring. Something to look forward to without wishing our lives away!

Marketing

Saw this item advertised on television; saw it at the store. Bought it, prepared it and ate it for lunch. A different way to have pasta. The container is the cooker, strainer and sauce holder. If you only have a microwave and want a meal in four and a half minutes, this is for you. Tuscan Style Chicken was only one of several varieties. Surprisingly good.

What will they think of next?

Sunset

Nothing is going on. Waiting for warmer weather.
But we did go out and take a look at the sunset.

Mention large!

This musical "shake, rattle and roll" card is huge.
Found it on my desk this morning! Thanks L. and Wally.

Happy Valentine's Day to everybody. . .

more building goin on

Another renovation. We are lucky to live where there are positive things happening. A shopping center for offices and small businesses is being built from the shell of a Food For Less building. Can't wait to see what the pillars here will hold.

Gamma Glob Day

This was the day to receive this....from 8:00 to 1:00. It's a slow process but wonderful, friendly, efficient nurses.

Lunch

We actually got out today. Had a very good hamburger and onion rings.

It's Time

This morning we spent about an hour with a professional who e-filed our income tax form. She was pleasant, efficient and we are so grateful to her. Nothing in these forms is easy unless you know what you are doing. And if you make a small mistake, you can become lost very quickly. This can happen when you are simply trying to get all your figures ready for the appointment! Thank goodness for folks who do these things to make our lives easier.

some color

One spot of color noticed in the endless number of gray, foggy days. Come on, Spring!

February 7th

Today was my mom's birthday. She was born in 1904 - 106 years ago. She was only here sixty years. I miss her. Not feeling sad because there are good memories - she was a happy person and loved her grandbaby boys!

Leaning Walls

Various places around town are depending on rather flimsy looking props to hold up their walls or awnings.
Let's hope the brisk winds hold off till the repairs are made.

The sun

This is to prove that we have had one sunny day in the past three weeks. It was on Tuesday, the 2nd. The temperature at the top of this tree must have been below freezing. Everything on the ground was melting but the frost was still shining up above. I'm very thankful that our forecast is NOT for the storms that are happening from Indiana to Washington DC.

Window View

More snow this morning, very light, but making things beautiful and slick. This is our strange separated tree. When spring arrives, we'll have both pink and white blossoms on those branches.
Wish I knew what kind of tree it is.

Waiting for Water

The pitcher with the charcoal filter. . .I actually remember when we just turned on the faucet and got a drink.

Now we have to pour water into the container, wait for it to dribble down through the filter, refrigerate pitcher, watch for the indicator to tell when to replace said filter - what ridiculous things we do when the water coming from the tap is perfectly fine.

Sewing Box

This old metal box belonged to my mother. She kept her sewing supplies in it. Now I do the same. On the bottom it is embossed with NBC Uneeda. I wonder if that stands for National Biscuit Company. The picture reminds me of the weather we've been having - a little snow and lots of fog. No carolers were out around here during the Christmas season though.

Clock repair

Somehow the middle weight became disconnected after the winding process. A small screw at the bottom gave way and the weight dropped inside the clock base. Pulling on the chain did not lower it far enough to replace the weight. So with Rube Goldberg's theory in mind, L. rigged the hammer, vice grip pliers and some string to pull the weight down. Hope this works. We love our grandmother's clock given to us by Violet about twenty years ago. It has a beautiful chime.