Sunday Rolls

We had home-baked cinnamon rolls this morning with our coffee. Notice I said home-baked, not home-made.
The Pillsbury Doughboy provided them. As good as they are, I wish there was an easier way to get them out of that cardboard can.
There was some frosting left after applying it to the five rolls.
We had a few graham crackers so I used the frosting to make a treat from childhood.
My mom, grandmother and great aunts all made this for us for afternoon snacks.
Just a little powdered sugar and some milk mixed together.
At least there was a little food value in the graham flour and maybe cheaper than buying Oreos.

Brunch

If you have followed this blog, you know "we" don't get out much.
This morning I was a guest at a brunch celebrating three friends' birthdays. We were neighbors when our kids were small, living in three houses next  to each other. Between us we had eleven children and of course, that is how we became acquainted - through the kids playing together.
They are wonderful hostesses and we had all kinds of good things to eat. I met many people and saw some folks I hadn't see for years.
Although they requested no gifts, I thought it would be nice to take a bottle of wine. Thinking to myself, "After the women have left and they have to clean up, the three of them could sit down and have a nice glass of wine."
So L. offered to go to the liquor establishment for me. He told the clerk he wanted a really good wine for a special occasion. So he came home with a foil wrapped bottle of "excellent" wine.
Imagine my surprise when I took a peak at the label: Menage a Trois.

The three friends and the group all got a laugh out of that and one of the woman said she had tasted that label and it was an "excellent" wine.

Mystery Man

I have a new (since January) cell phone. I have a few photographs on it that I have taken and some that our sons have sent.

This photo appeared and I have no idea who it is or where the picture came from.
Very strange.

1940 Census

Well, the 1940 Census is now on the internet.

I had looked at a lot of the 1930 Census some time ago.

Either the people were losing their "neatness" gene or the job was much more difficult in the '40's.

The pages were messy and one page did not complete a street as they had before. Perhaps the methods changed but I went through about 65 page after looking up the location where we lived with a cross street listed for further defining. All the streets surrounding us were listed but in no logical order. I found the names of lots of childhood friends and their parents. Also listed is the value of the house if the persons own it or the amount of rent paid per month.

If you decide to do some searching, be prepared for a long session.

Fried Cabbage and Polish Sausage

 This was delicious, but I need to learn how to cook for two.

We will have left-overs.

Flags

L. took some pictures today of the few flowers we have this spring. Some were pulled up; some haven't bloomed and some just didn't reappear as they have in the past.
I blame the latter on the weird weather.

House for Sale

Some folks in our town thought this was a Frank Lloyd
Wright house but it's not.

I love the sentence at the bottom that "Houses were generally built of brick, wood and plaster."

I guess that leaves cement, plastic and canvas.

A Collection of Knives

 

 

This small wooden box belonged to my Grandmother Brown. The cover has the same design but it is quite faded. I believe the knives belonged to my dad.
The white knife is from Japan, the grey one Germany.
The tiny little one has
Czecho
Slovakia
written in two lines. I don't know if that's the way the country was spelled at that time (two words) of if they just didn't have room for it printed out as one!
The ivory piece may be a tooth pick, but what in the world was the tiny spoon-like tool used for?
The coins in the box are, from left to right:
From the Eisenhower Museum in Abilene, KS, a Masonic coin and a keepsake from the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City.

Connector of Dots

This is our younger son, PN, the other victim of the home haircuts. He is working at connecting dots which must be what led him to working with computers. He has taught me all I know about the  internet (I have absorbed just a little!) and with his technology he enlarged the TV Guide in the background. I hadn't even noticed that there was a magazine there. It is dated December, 1968. PN would have been seven.
The cover photo looks like Diahann Carroll but I can't be sure.
Ain't technology grand? From a Kodak slide in 1968, it's possible to copy a tiny bunch of pixels and put them on the www with just the typing skills I learned in 1947. (And the computer know-how from PN.

2nd grade

 

This photo was published in the school paper showing our older son with his artwork. The assignment was to make a portrait of a classmate. The caption says, "Can you see the resemblance?"

 I have since apologized to M. for the weird "done at home" haircut. His brother had one to match.

Bunny Visitor

 

Lots of barking in the morning from the front room window. The two dogs had spotted two rabbits. By the time I got the camera, one had vamoosed to the side yard but this guy stayed on the front porch. I'm guessing they were breakfasting on the coleus.

1905

This is a picture of my paternal grandmother's sister and her husband and daughter.
The little girl was born in 1904 so I wonder if this was maybe taken on her 1st birthday.
Fred and Eliza Pringle Hampton and Violet Ruth.

In the relation-ship puzzle, this was my great aunt and uncle and my first cousin, once removed.
Many pleasant memories of watermelon pickles, graham crackers with white frosting between them, and rides with Violet's daughter Marcheta in the old car. Uncle Fred could never refuse us anything - resulting in the root beer, mulberries, ice cream and watermelon incident.  http://marylourambles.blogspot.com/2012/03/watermelon.html

Cheeseburger

 Does this look well done?

Not to me, it doesn't.

When I say well done, I want NO pink slime showing.

I believe the answer to this is to buy beef in bulk, grind your own and cook it one's self.

Lilies Of the Valley

 

This little area of plants has a big mashed down center. Something has been sleeping there or maybe just circling to smell the little bells.
I miss the moon flowers (gone); the roses (gone); the iris (gone). I hope the echinacea reappear and the garden flox. The lilac bush was cut back close to the ground so maybe it will bloom next spring.
The peonies are looking good but they usually get so tall that the weight bends them to the ground.
Can you tell we really aren't gardners?
Oh yes, the morning glories are also gone.

Honeysuckle?

This is the most unusual honeysuckle I have seen. Maybe it goes along with the wilted leaves on the maple trees.
This whole spring has been strange.

Later: The storms yesterday were on both sides of us. There was lots of damage, several injuries but no fatalities. The report says almost 100 tornadoes were reported in the state of Kansas.

I hope this is an unusual thing and we see no more of this!

Event of the Day

Our neighborhood is usually very quiet. However, today we heard sirens that came to a stop  just west of us.

I hope this is the biggest event of the day since the tv guys are following many storms in western Kansas and we've had this bad news warning for two days. Usually we just have to be prepared for a few hours but this must be a humdinger of a system.

Bones

Five pieces of bones of various sizes but she wants the one that he has. . .

Typical.

Spirea

The bush is in bloom. L. decided it would be nice to have another one at the south corner of the house.










So the little green sprigs in the background are the new spirea. It may take a few years to get them to "match."  The coleus will look good in pots on the porch.

A Busy Morning

Oh Joy! The day of the early check-up at the medical clinic....

Up early to get to the lab by 7:30.  A line clear to the elevator greeted me. Those folks got there earlier and waited in the lobby.  Actually, the process goes rapidly and I was out by 8:00. A 10 minute drive to McDonald's for coffee with three wonderful, athletic friends. (I really don't belong in this group.)
Back to the clinic at 9:30 for x-ray and breathing tests. That "blow as hard as you can for as long as you can" is an eye popping experience. Then on to fast breathing which I call hyperventilating. I asked her if anyone had ever passed out. "Close," she said.
The EKG was fun. The machine kept wrinkling the thin paper which wasn't loaded correctly. I felt sorry for the operator! I hope three times doesn't mean more electrical volts were used than usual. (I know that nothing is projected into your body during this test. At least I hope not.)
Then the final wait to see the physician. I actually got in early because someone had canceled. Everything is fine so we'll wait another year for all that stuff.

Sultan?

Since nothing is happening in our house worth writing about, I have permission to use this picture. I don't know the feminine form for sultan but I think the mop is very becoming. Or is it yarn?  We love you, Miss M!

Dead Pine Tree

Across the street our neighbor has a row of pine trees beside his home. There are also two in the front, not visible in the photos.

The one nearest the street died. Yesterday was removal day.
After removing all the branches, theworkers cut the trunk and trucked it away.
This morning was branch removal.
I hope whatever caused its demise is not a disease or a pine beetle that is loose upon the land! There are five left. I love the sound of the wind through those branches.

Beached II

 Picasa has some new choices in its new version! 

Beached?

 

This elderly boat is "parked" in front of the green house.
I'm sure some flowers will be added soon.

Kitchen Failure

One of our favorite meals, Chinese Pepper Steak was ruined tonight when I let it simmer at a high temperature.
Burnt beef and green peppers. Ugh.

Wireless Printer

I recall when we bought this, the clerk reminded me it was wireless. I told him, "I don't have WiFi."  He said, "Maybe some day you will."
Well, that day  is now. I have wireless printing thanks to set up by son on left coast.

Spring is Here

I don't know if this is a snowball bush or not, but it resembles one. This is in front of Stutzman's Green House which I forgot to mention in yesterday's blog. Linda and I signed up for prizes at each place we visited so maybe there is more luck in our future