No Spying through My Camera

 

Things are slow here since the election - no more irritating phone calls to ignore. It really is nice

to know that when the phone rings, it might possibly be someone we know.

And then there is the possibility of hackers looking through my camera, even though I'm not

using Skype with someone.

Luckily my version came with a built-in eye patch!

No Respect for Clean Laundry

This is Jack - our black dog that we adopted on Halloween  three years ago along with Jill, an orange crate-mate. We didn't know that black dogs are hard to place. We were surprised that in October the shelter was giving half price to any dog of the black or "orange" persuasion. Two for the price of one! What a bargain.

They know the bed is where they sleep. They do not know that they should wait until the sheets are  replaced to climb up.

Sharpies

After yesterday's problem with the tough roast, we decided we needed some knives that would

actually cut something.

L. found a coupon in an ad for a local store - 50% off anything in the store not on sale and under $30.

Perfect! We found a set of knives for 19.95. Marching (shuffling) to the cashier, we

presented our coupon.

"Sorry, these are on sale."  She was so sweet and I know she felt bad refusing these two elderly

customers. So L. produces another coupon for $5.00 off anything in the store over $30.

Oops!

Still did not apply.

We gave here $21.57 (tax included) and came home with our bargain.

We have found that now that we are older, clerks seem so much nicer. We have our money

ready and our discount cards out at Kroger's. No waiting on fumbling helps a bunch.

Happiness is a New Apple Slicer

Old and bent blades but I'll miss your apple shape!

Eighty-Eight Percent Turkey

I just read (on the internet) that 88% of American households will have turkey tomorrow.

We are part of the 12%. We will have a beef roast with potatoes, carrots and onions.

And thankful to have it - with a representation of a blurry internet photo.

LATER:  We had the roast and it was really, really tough. A disappointment because I followed the directions for roasting a 3 1/2 lb. round roast - slow and for 30 min per pound plus!
We'll grind up the leftovers and mix in a little sweet relish and mayo for sandwiches.

The Big Eight-Four

Yesterday was L.'s 84th birthday. Here he is with our two little monsters when they were pups. Let's face it - he loves dogs and if we had room, we'd rescue more but I think there is a limit on the number allowed per household.

Anyway, late Happy Birthday to my DH.

Late Leaves

You cannot tell from the photo but these leaves are really blowing in a strong north wind.
This tree is in our back yard and blooms in the spring like a flowering plum. This is the first year since we've been here that the leaves haven't fallen after frost and snow.
I heard that if the leaves are still hanging on when the first snow arrives, it will be a cold winter.
No kidding?
They do seem to be gone from the adjoining tree. It blooms both pink and white and has little, inedible apricots that fall to the ground in late summer.

Foggy Days

We've had two days of fog around these parts. We are so happy the freezing rain did not happen!
Sometimes it's just hard to forecast Kansas weather.

A Round Tree

This tree was in a yard two doors north of our house when we moved in. Sadly, that winter we had a bad ice storm that destroyed this lovely shape and the owners had the tree removed.

I always wondered what the name of this tree is. We still aren't acquainted with that neighbor or I would ask him.

More Photos

And here is the twin to yesterday's framed collage. These are of my parents and other relatives and one of me missing some teeth.

A Bunch of Old Pictures

Ready to be framed and they have been since 2007. 

Internet Service Provider

We have had the same provider of TV, phone and internet for seven years.
Sometimes when it rains or a little snow falls, we lose the phone and internet. This happened Saturday morning.
Occasionally the connections reappears but that did not happen this last time. I used the cell phone to call the help number and after the usual press 1, 2 or 3 process, I just resorted to repeatedly pressing 0 and reached a live person. She was very helpful; we tried a few things but there was no service. She advised a service man would be out to test WEDNESDAY. Remember, this was Saturday.

What if I had a business to run (I don't.) What if I didn't own a cell phone (I do.)
After a quiet Sunday, I decided to try another call. This time I reached a tech in Arizona who had me try a completely different set of procedures. It restored the connection.

In addition, we will receive credit for the days we were "out" and the repairman will still come to check the outside box and wiring. This young man could not believe how long we were to wait for a visit from the local tech. He checked some sort of schedule and decided we must have only one repairman for this whole area!

I feel very fortunate to have reached someone who really knew things to try that might solve the outage. I requested to speak to his supervisor and left a message that I hope will give him some extra points on his record - or a gold star. . . whatever their method is for recognition of a job well done.

Tire Tracks

At six yesterday morning I was at our front door,  picking up the paper. Our neighbor was just

backing out to go to work. I waited for him to turn south so I could see if it was snowing.

It was.

Later when the sun came out, I noticed the patterns made when he left. At first I thought they looked

like upside down Egyptian Ankhs...no -  Peace signs.

It's just an interesting sight that stayed there all day because it never got warmer than twenty degrees!

One More from Madison, IN

The extreme tilt came from picture taking while riding by in a car. I was not driving!

This house just fascinated me. Look at all those windows!

My Tavern

We didn't go inside. This was on the trip to Madison, IN, but I'm not sure if it was in that town or

another we might have passed through.

Madison, IN

This is a mansion in Madison, IN.  I saw a much better photo of it today on another blog.
(http://farsideoffifty.blogspot.com/
I've learned from that it's the Lanier Mansion, built by a railroad tycoon in about 1840.  Madison is a lovely town that looks like a town should look at the turn of the 20th century. I wish we could have spent more time there.

Dogs

Our grand dogs, Wisket and Chili.

And our two, Jack and Jill. They have their winter coats on....it's going to get colder tonight.

Embroidery

Each year our quilters' group drew names and made a gift for one of the seven in the bunch.

Roberta drew my name once and I was so happy to get one of her embroidery beauties.

Most of our efforts were quilts so this was a nice surprise.

We don't meet any longer. Four of us are still here.  Two of us are still quilting and two who gave it up after stiff joints and old eyes became a problem.

We miss Regina, Roberta and Barb.

 

It was a great group and there are lots of happy memories of good food, laughter and sewing.

 

 

Thank You for Your Service

This is my Uncle Lloyd. He was in the army in WWI. He never talked about  his service when he was around the nieces and nephews. I think veterans didn't discuss their memories then.
And many still do not today.

Squirrels

I hope these guys can find a warm spot tonight. It's supposed to get really chilly!

Street Vendor

I'm not sure what is on the menu here but I see chicken and teriyaki and some hot sauce. This is in Portland, OR.

Hutchinson used to have a street vendor that sold tamales when I was a kid. There were unkind remarks about ptomaine tamales. We never had the nerve to buy any. I'll bet they were delicious.

Steps

 

These led to a lovely old house in Portland.

What a way to get exercise daily.

Big Dog - Small Car -

and our younger son in 1981. I believe that was an MG Midget.  I do remember a large repair bill for such a little vehicle.
There were many cars in the background; all belonging to the neighbors. I think at the time we had three. One for each son and one for us. Who can afford three cars now? I keep noticing that new prices for most automobiles are higher than we paid for our first house.

The curse of living a long time and remembering stuff.

Women's Civic Center

This was a family's  home and then a place for women to meet. I remember playing in recital there on the piano.
It has been destroyed. There were conditions of safety but with money it could have been restored.
Instead the library next door acquired the property and now there is a grassy, shaded area for outside activities.

Cousins

All these boys  were in Kansas at the same time in the '60's. All turned into vey handsome men!

Kale

 

Kale seems to be in the news a lot. Articles in newspapers and magazines, recipes on food shows and health nuts all seem to be pushing it.

Today it was on sale at our huge store near the celery and green pepper that I was selecting.

I had seen several recipes for potato kale soup. I had everything I needed except the green leafy stuff.

Bingo!

 

After we put the rest of the groceries away, I started on the soup. Not being sure if  L. would try it, I cut the recipe WAY down.  Potatoes, onion, garlic, chicken broth, milk and Kale.

 

It's not bad at all. The surprise?  Kale tastes just like spinach.

Spy Dog

This is Wally. We had him for eight great years, rescued from the Hutchinson Humane Society. He was a sweety. And when we trimmed him for summer, he looked like a different dog. He could have been a secret agent.

When we were temporarily living in an apartment complex and paying an extra $$ amount to have him with us, they wanted a photo of the dog. So I took them both of these, in case they were tracking dogs by  sight. The hair cut did not change his gentle personality.

Still miss him but have two more rescues to tend to now!