Cup a coffee

These cups are purchased at the local grocers and we use them when we want to take some coffee with us.
Yesterday I fixed one to take on the "dog walk" and when I took my first sip, there was no coffee.
I looked at the opening and it was closed - even with the little snap closure open. I tried to press it in with my thumb nail but no luck. L. loaned me his money clip which has a small knife included. I tried to punch it out with the blade. Still nothing.
Finally, I took it off the cup. The problem? Two lids nested together with the snap closure on the bottom one closed.
No spilling allowed but no sipping either.

Chimney, moon and star

L. called me outside to see the moon. It looked large.
Without a zoom lense, this is the picture I got with the flash. I didn't mean to have the flash on, but it did pick up the chimney! If you make the picture larger by clicking on it, you might be able to see whatever planet that is just above and to the right of the moon.

No Discount

These weren't selling well but L. brought them home in memoriam - wait till next year.

Re Lax Sa Shun

Here is Wally, relaxing at the foot of the bed.

The red color is what happens when you have half of your left hand in front of the flash . . .

At Last

L. discovered the daffodils are blooming!

And the answer is:

Some days you wake up ok and some days things look different. The eye doctor says this is nothing but a broken blood vessel and nothing to be concerned about.
It has happened to me several times but this is the first time for L.
Eventually, it went away.

modern art ?

This looks like a blurred, red Star of David. Any guess as it what it really is?

Watch this space. . . .

Trimmed and Tidy

Wally is ready for summer. His undercoat is brown with a dark stripe down his back. The groomer left enough gray for us to recognize him.

Shaggy Dog

This is Wally who has been with us for seven years. Tomorrow he will be trimmed and tidy.

Driver Error

How can anyone approach a car (truck, really) open the door handle which is seen on the left in the first picture, and not notice the gas cap cover is open?

I don't know, but I did. Perhaps if I had walked to the car from the back I would have seen the "traffic cone" orange funnel sticking in the opening.

It seems L. was adding some additive to the gas tank. We backed out, drove merrily on our way to the first stop sign and a kind man pulled across the intersection on his way north, slowed and told us our gas cap cover was open. How thoughtful and nice! We pulled into a church parking lot and
removed the funnel, replaced the cap and closed the cover.

Perhaps we should take an observation walk around the vehicle like pilots do before they take off.

(These photos were staged to illustrate the incident.)

Buds in Danger

Early this morning these buds were looking good. The temperature is on the way down from 44 to who knows where. At 6:00 p.m. it's 34 and there are reports of snow at Great Bend and Salina and it is headed this way.
Weatherman says that no matter what falls, it will be gone soon because it's late March - HA. Memories of last year's blizzard on the 29th linger on.

A Two Event Day

This morning was Third Thursday Coffee at the Cosmosphere. This is the first time we had gone. The speaker was J. Oberg who has written several books about his work as a researcher. He has helped NASA answer those who think our astronauts did not go to the moon.
Oh yes. The coffee and the goodies, some made by Patsy, were delish.

His talk and the slide show were great except for the times when the information was a little technical for me. I did understand the explanation of the shadows on the moon, why the flag appeared to "wave in the wind" and the photo of the earth in relation to the stars as seen from the moon!

This evening I went to the library for a new class on Mini Memoirs. Sheila Lisman, a retired English teacher, is in charge of the class. She has funny stories to tell (and write about) and a sense of humor that I admire. The object of the class is to have us write down our memories. It sounds like it's going to be really fun. We have an assignment to write about a photo that shows a scene from our youth. This will go way back!

The Works

This whole morning was spent at the clinic - another day - another doctor. Don't misunderstand; I am so grateful for the wonderful health care we have here in our small town.

This was the annual checkup and overhaul. EKG, chest x-ray, fasting lab. Not quite the whole list but near enough.
Feel much better since potassium has climbed to normal in two days (how many bananas can one person eat in 48 hours?) We discovered, however, that the most potassium available in the least amount of food can be obtained in meat. So we immediately left the doctor's office and went to Skaet's and had a steak.
Please notice that Skaet's is steaks spelled backwards. The local story is that the sign painter at the new restaurant was painting Steaks on the front window and got it backwards. Works for me. They have great breakfasts, delicious hamburgers and outstanding pork chop dinners. So now I'm stuffed and trying to avoid a nap.
It's still cloudy and chilly but tomorrow may see 64! Can't wait.

Winter blahs

I am tired of cold weather and clouds and windy gusts. This afternoon the sun has come out.
Over the week-end I felt like going to bed and just waiting for 67 degrees - that's the temperature that Captain Kangaroo said the thermometer had to reach before the kids could go out without a coat.
There is a national junior college basketball tournament in town. The local school is not in it so I imagine there are plenty of available seats. Maybe we should take in a game or two to break the boredom.
Maybe I'm not bored - just disappointed. Looking forward to some classes at the library this month. Maybe I'll make some new friends . . . .a person can never have too many friends and I'm down to only two that I can count on. I hope they know they can depend on me.

Didn't mean for this to be a pity party but I've always tried to be kind and outgoing but maybe others don't see me that way. I learned a long time ago not to say what pops into my head as a fast retort. I wouldn't hurt anybody's feelings for anything. Guess it hasn't worked in my favor!

Better day tomorrow!

Puffy Pancake

I really like to try new recipes. There have been some successes (Mama's Potato Salad) and some failures (think sausage cake - it still tasted like sausage.)
This sweet pancake recipe was in a supplement to the Hutch News and I had to try it. It rose around the edges and climbed above the skillet in the 425 degree oven. The reason the middle didn't puff up was that I didn't see the added note at the bottom of the recipe that the eggs needed be out of the fridge for at least ten to fifteen minutes.
Even without the lemon juice, powdered sugar and berries, it was delicious!


2 tbsp. butter
1/2 cup 2% reduced fat milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs (removed from refrigerator for at least 15 min.)
1 tbsp. butter, softened
Pinch nutmeg
Lemon wedges
Powdered sugar (optional)
Fresh berries (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 425 F.
2. Melt 2 tbsp. butter in 10-inch skillet over medium heat, tilting skillet to coat bottom and sides of pan.
3. Whisk together milk, flour, sugar, eggs, softened butter and nutmeg in bowl. Pour into skillet. Cook 1 min.
4. Place pan in oven and bake 12 to 15 minutes until puffed and golden. Squeeze lemon over top and sprinkle with powdered sugar and fresh berries. Cut pancake in pan and serve with a spatula. Serve immediately. Serves 4.
Be sure to use an ovenproof skillet and remember the handle will be very HOT!

Lunch

Went out to lunch today with a good friend. We tried Jillian's...a first for both of us.
I've decided it's my new favorite restaurant. It's stylish, comfortable and the food was great.
Wonderful wait person and friendly manager/owner all made for a delightful lunch.
Advice from manager: arrive early. They get busy around noon.

Wrong way?

I just heard the weather man say winter is back - temporarily - very chilly and some snow flurries.

These geese heading north may have been headed in the wrong direction. T. took this picture last week-end.

If you look really close, those dots really are geese.

More footwear

Before our visitors left Monday, we checked the house for anything that might have been overlooked when they packed up. Found nothing.

Last night L. found these under the dining room table. These were probably removed while we were playing Scrabble in order to ease the feet. We'll have to see if she wants them shipped to her -

Long, long train

We waited on a very long train last week (notice the clear sky.) We saw lots of cars that needed paint. Don't they ever maintain them? However, one was white before some apparently short persons with spray paint cans managed to put graffiti on it as far up as they could reach.

Too bad they didn't attack the rusted car.

T's four dollar boots

We were surprised Saturday with two guests from where they wear these boots! The Texas granddaughters arrived while we were away from the house. The youngest, M, was texting me while the older was driving and we thought they were together in Texas. We arrived home and they followed us into the drive. Very happy and surprised that they chose to spend part of spring break here!
Speaking of boots, T. went to a shop in TX where they buy and sell clothing. She had some shorts and t-shirts to get rid of and she saw these boots. Her items came to an amount just $4 short of the price on these boots.
What a bargain- good shape, broken in and comfy. They are a deep red - I think it used to be called ox-blood.

We just wish the Oregon family could have been here too!

Do we like garlic?

Yes, we do. Too many times we have bought fresh garlic and found it to be dry, yellowed and just generally no darn good!
The first time I realized the garlic we buy here is inferior was when we shopped in Portland, OR. There we saw (and ate) REAL FRESH garlic.

So now we just buy the minced in a jar. I guess L. thought we were using it so fast that we didn't need to bother with those little bitty jars any more. Now we have a matching set of parsley and garlic. http://marylourambles.blogspot.com/2009/12/large-economy-size.html

Green!

The old white stalks of the hen and chicks were long and ugly. L. started pulling them during the warm afternoon we had today. And look what was hiding. The first green thing we've seen. I think everybody is ready for spring and new growth.
This has been the longest winter I can remember. That is probably because I stayed home in order to avoid the flu. That was successful - so far! Not so lucky with colds - had about three of those. How did I get them when L. didn't have one and he's the only person I saw! (oh, and some doctors!)

We need to find a way to prevent colds or cure them in one day.

Chinese meal

We went out to eat for the noon meal. So many choices in the chicken category! Garlic, peanut, General somebody.
Too many options. There are actually two vegetables hidden - zucchinni and potatoes. This was the first time I had seen a yeast roll in a Chinese restuarant. Doubt that we'll go back. Too much water on the floor with no signs saying Caution - Wet Floor.

The fortune cookie had this message for me: "You will inherit a large sum of money from an unusual source." Hmmm, we did get our refund from the IRS Saturday.