Slowing Down

It's slow down and wait for the new year to come bouncing by.  We went to church this morning and enjoyed time spent with family and friends but returned home to our quiet place.  It appeared there was a party going on at the Rec Hall when we passed but didn't remember to check the calender when we got home.  Guess we just were not in a party mood today.
I know Ron wanted to watch football games on television even though his beloved Packers were not being shown out here, can't figure why.  He has learned to get the game on his computer so he watches it and one or two on television at the same time.
As we were leaving church this morning Ron opened the back hatch of the van and said "Merry Christmas".  When I looked around he had a case of Mexican Pepsi in his hand.  Now that made my day.  But there was more, another case of Mexican Pepsi.  Now that really made my week.  I've learned that even though Pepsi was my cola of choice as a kid I don't care for it anymore till I discovered Mexican Pepsi a few years ago.  It tastes just like I remember it from when I was a kid.  It's probably because Mexican Pepsi is made with sugar and USA Pepsi is made with fructose.  They say there's no difference but my discerning pallet can taste the difference.
I want to thank our nephew Nicholas for rustling it up for Ron.  You're a great kid.
Now most of the football games are over, I think Dallas and Washington are still playing.  Packers lost so that means the Bears aren't going anywhere but sitting in front of their TVs just like us.
It's raining and has been for a couple hours.  Moisture was in the forecast with a possibility of white stuff below 3500 feet.  It looks like we lucked out and are just going to get the clear stuff but I'm sure Mt Lemmon and Snow Bowl are getting what they need, the white stuff.
Hope you all have a safe New Year's Eve and a Happy and Healthy New Year.

Shopping, shopping, shopping.

If it's one thing we are really good at it's shopping.  Now some people shop to just look around and dream.  Not us, we shop and spend money.  Today was a trip to Sam's Club to pick up some items not available at a reduced price elsewhere.  Like potato chips and such......
There was a slight stop over at at furniture store and sure enough we found the kitchen chairs we wanted.  Now the fact that they happen to be cheaper that the ones we were leaning toward from the other day and better built than any we had seen didn't weight into the decision to purchase two.  We both agreed they were what we wanted.  Unfortunately for our pocket books this store also sold kitchen stuff, high end kitchen stuff.  We spent most of our time in the store devoted to looking at Cuisinart products and gadgets every kitchen should have.  Yes, we did succumb  to temptation and bought some other things.  And from the sounds coming from the kitchen maybe one thing to many.
The name of the furniture store is "The Table Place" on Broadway between Pantano and the wash.

We had a beautiful day with plenty of sunshine to enjoy.  That's one of the many things we love about Arizona.

I don't normally end with a laugh but I just have to share a post from our oldest Grandson who is in the US Marine Corp stationed at Camp Fuji, Japan.  "If I don't accomplish anything else in my life, at least I can say that Lance Armstrong and I are tied for wins at the Tour de France."

The Mouse Still Didn't Move

When I wrote the previous blog I hadn't really connected the title with one of Ron's gifts, a computer mouse.  But, sure enough, when he got around to opening it on Thursday morning, it wouldn't work.  He even put one of our batteries in.  So, I got on the computer, brought up Amazon, clicked on gifts given,   clicked return, told them it was broken and printed out a return mailing label.  Now that's the kind of people I like to do business with.  No hassle, no return postage to pay and refund back on my credit card.  I don't like places that give you cash back when you charged it.  I still have to pay off the charge but I've already spent the refund.  But that's a horse of a different color.
Christmas was nice and quiet, I did miss the kids and grand kids and friends but a quiet day enjoying good food and company was just what the doctor ordered.  No gravy nor tamales but that's ok.  I can make my own gravy and I have good tamales in my freezer.  I even had my first bite of prime rib in over 40 years and I liked it.  It was sweet and juicy and melted in my mouth.
Now we're off on a new adventure.  Furniture shopping.  We need two chairs and a bed.  Since our one of two kitchen chairs broke last spring while Ron was leaning back in it and we would like to invite people over for dinner, we need two more chairs.  The bed needs to be some type of hide away since the spare bedroom doesn't have a lot of floor space after my desk, the closet for the furnace, the clothes closet and the book case filled with my sewing stuff and topped with a TV  gets thru taking it up.  I'm up for a futon but Ron's leaning toward a day bed or a blow up mattress.  I say the mattress is for children, not adults, to sleep on.  So any input on this subject would be appreciated.

Not a creature was stirring, especially those Mice.

60 degrees today, Christmas Eve.  It was a beautiful day to sit out side for awhile and enjoy the fresh air.  I have to admit that I did don a sweatshirt.  But I sat on the top step and admired my purple and gold pansies and rose buds with a cup of Golden Monkey tea.  When Ron joined me outside it just doesn't get any better.  I do miss our family but we're not the only ones out of the area.  Grandson in Camp Fuji, Japan, granddaughter in Landing, NJ, great daughter and great grand daughter in Hawaii.  The electronics are wonderful for keeping us in touch with them and the ones back home in Illinois and Wisconsin and Indiana.  God Bless you all.
Tonight was Enchiladas in honor of grandson, Nick, the years he spent Christmas Eve with us and that was the only thing we could fix that he would eat.  See Nick, you started a tradition, Mexican on Christmas Eve.  Tomorrow will be breakfast with Ron's foster brother and his family.  A plethora of biscuits and gravy, eggs, bacon, tamales and what ever else that appears on the kitchen counter of their beautiful southwest home.  No swimming in the outdoor, in ground pool.  It won't be quite that warm.
Thank you Ma and Dad Metz for taking Ron into your home and raising him to be the good man that he is.  Sharing time and stories with your birth kids is one of the pleasures of the season.  They are filled with such caring and love.  We miss you both.

Merry Christmas 

to

ALL !

Snow on the Mountains

It's a little early this year but we have snow on some of our mountains already.  Enough that it can be easily seen from our place.  The Catalinas to the north and the Rincons to our east have snow.  The Catalinas with Mount Lemon have enough snow so that they sheriff's office closed the roads up to the top of Mt Lemon unless you live there AND have four wheel drive or chains.  We've never tried to drive it so I don't know if it's really that treacherous or just taking into consideration that people in southern Arizona don't know how to drive in snow.
I do know that it's even gotten chilly down here, 48 degrees was a high today.  It is supposed to warm up later in the week.
Unfortunately Ron wasn't feeling well this morning so we didn't go to church which caused us to  missed a closer view of Mt Lemon from the windows on the back of the church.  He was tired and just wanted to sleep.  When he did get up he couldn't do much or he tired easily.
Because of these circumstances I got to do something today that I have never done before.  I drove outside the park all the way to Fry's Grocery store and bought groceries and drove back to the park.  In the past years we've had the truck (I heard I was afraid to drive it).  Even when he had a bad tooth and needed a root canal he drove himself.  Guess what?  I didn't get lost or wreck the van or anything.

Christmas is in the Air

I woke this morning to the sound of rain falling on our roof.  What a relaxing sound that I almost went back to sleep.  But it's BBQ grill delivery day and I didn't want to sleep thru the excitement.  LOL.  It's 11:13 AM and it's still not here.  They called Ron at 7:30 to tell him they were putting it together.  Must be a children's Christmas present directions.
So after a bowl of cream of wheat I boiled eggs and made egg and tuna salad for lunch.  I'm in the mood to make dirty dishes.  Think I'll start with spritz cookies and then maybe chocolate fudge.  (Is that redundant?)
Since I ate my cherry pie yesterday for my 3 pm treat, I've been thinking of vanilla ice cream.  It was so tart, which in my language means yummmy good, it was screaming for a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  I have the ways and the means  and it won't go bad setting in the freezer till next time AND there will be a next time trip to Village Inn on Wednesday.
Guess it must be getting close to lunch time cause I can't get away from talking about food.  Last reference.  IF Lowe's get here before supper time the first meal will be hamburgers.

Wednesday's Wanderings

Wednesday, time for the Snowbirds to wander.  Leisurely breakfast of half a grapefruit, a sausage patty and a bowl of Cheerios, the breakfast of happy wanderers.  First stop Ace Hardware on 22nd at Kolb.  It's both a man and a woman's dream.  Half is filled with guy stuff, half is filled with gal stuff and the third they added on is filled with Christmas stuff.  So we split up and went our separate ways.  If it can be used in the kitchen or bathroom of your home, they have it.  Lots of it.  If you live in the area and haven't visited that Ace, you're missing out on a real treat.  

Next stop, Office Max, Harrison and 22nd.  Picked up shipping supplies, still got Christmas Presents to mail out.  

Next door to what I like to call BBB (triple B).  Bed, Bath and Beyond.  This stop required a real cart, one with four wheels that you push.  Finished up the list except for a couple things that I didn't think they would have and a couple things that weren't on the list.  By then it was after 2 pm and we were getting a little hungry and tired so we walked to the other side of the strip mall and enjoyed a late lunch at Village Inn.  We looked for our friends, Gerry and Larry, but they must have decided to wait till later.   I want to make sure Gerry knows about their delicious Ruben sandwich which I enjoyed.  I had to ask for extra Thousand Island dressing but only for the last half of the sandwich.  I had eaten the first half before she got back with the dressing.    I thought it was much better than the Ruben I had last week at Montgomery's.  And they have WiFi.  

We decided to take our two free pieces of pie home and enjoy later.  I brought home cherry and Ron brought home pumpkin.  I could definitely make The Village Inn a habit if not on Wednesday, I don't really need the free piece of pie, at least with a degree of regularity.  

Now I have to come up with another new place for next Wednesday.  I've been doing pretty good these past three weeks.  

And our place is looking more and more like our home as we add and subtract touches.  I'm definitely stocked up in the kitchen to take care of anything I'm asked to make.  Maybe some sugar cookies this weekend since it's supposed to be cool and rainy with snow on the mountains.  I'll see if I can get some pictures to post.

Thumbs up for early Christmas Present

Since our move from the 5th wheel to a mobile last February my cooking style has changed.  I have a full kitchen so I can cook the way I always did.
One of the things we missed about not being in a real kitchen during the Christmas season was cookies and fudge and all those calories.
I don't have the convection oven to cook three sheets of cookies at a time but I do have a large Wilton cookie sheet and it seems to have done very well with the oatmeal and raisin cookies I made.  But now, thanks to my cookie loving husband, I have a Kitchenaide Mixer here in Arizona.  It arrived this morning at the Rec Hall and he carried it all the way home by himself.  He was doing a little huffing when he came in the door.  He left it outside on the table but he did manage to bring home the library books he picked up at the book mobile too.
So, in honor of hubby's great toil, chocolate chip cookies are on the menu for this afternoon.  If anyone is in the area, stop by for a sample.  The chocolate chips will be Ghirardelli Chocolate.
Hope to see you this afternoon.

Lunch & Bingo

Actually church, lunch and bingo.  The pastor had a heart felt message to deliver, as usual, he delivered it with deep devotion followed by a baptismal service in the rear of the church.  What a blessed event.
We're still seeing friends for the first time since we been back so we managed to stay till the lights went out.  Got Ron's brother, sil, sil's sister and her husband together to go out to lunch.  I suggested Golden Corral and it got an unanimous vote so off we went in two separate vehicles to 22nd Street.  The parking lot was pretty full but this is a good size Golden Corral so there was no wait.  I'm sure we all had our fill of food and we did our share of catching up.  We had seen Wayne and Norma (brother and sil) last summer at the wedding/family reunion in Milwaukee but that was a long time ago.
We finally split up and we took Norma's sister and her husband home and then headed towards ours.  By then it was 3 pm and we were both not ready for our 3 o'clock treat but I decided I could use a cup of tea.  It didn't help, I got antsy but I didn't feel like walking, sitting wasn't doing it and taking a nap was just out of the question so I went hunting.
We had picked out some fat quarters from my stash at home to bring out to Arizona so I could make a quilt to hang on the wall at the head of our bed.  We haven't been able to find them and even talked about driving back to IL with some of the extra things we brought and bring back those pieces of material we had to have left behind.  After talking to our daughter while she was at the house checking on everything.  She guaranteed me that there were no boxes of material sitting around except for the large one next to the sewing machine.  I knew that was the stash and not the ones I was looking for.  SO I filled my glass with ice water and headed back to the "green room" via the bathroom to find those fat quarters.  The only container that I had not emptied out to check was the one with the crafts I brought to sell at the craft fair that's not to be.  So I started digging thru the dish clothes and BINGO, there they were at the bottom of the box along with the pins and plastic bags I intended to bring back and thought I forgot.
The green room is the name we gave the extra room in IL that has no closet but holds my keyboard, sewing machine, computer and at one time children's toys.  So when we bought this place last spring, the spare bedroom is painted green so it seemed like a good idea to us to name the room  green room as a way to distinguish it from the other rooms.  No keyboard but I do have a TV.

The Ladies and Hair.

The sister in laws(6), bride and her daughter and the

female nieces(3).  

Well, it was finally time for a hair cut and color.  Yes, I color my hair.  I know it's a shock.  It had been 4 weeks since it was cut or colored and it needed it.  So this morning, in our personal way of doing things we took off for Nellie's to get cuts and a color for me.  I miss Nell and her friendly family and shop in the back of her home.  She's a very talented artist.  Just not with hair but paint and wood.  She makes the most beautiful pictures and carvings from wood.  I'll have to remember to take pictures next time and post after Christmas.
Then a big treat, McDonalds down the street from Nell's.  I actually tried an Angus burger for the first time.  It was larger than Ron's and really tasty.  The fries were piping hot which made them delicious and the Coke tasted just like a fountain coke.  
There are more sister in laws and more nieces.  We'll get to the male side another time.  Sure glad I'm an only child.

Back to Normal Wednesday

We've been here in beautiful sunny southern Arizona for almost a month now.  It's been full of things to do but not part of our routine.  Today starts the first routine Wednesday.  Some grocery shopping, I know we did that Monday, to  pick up the single items Sam's Club and Costco doesn't sell.  To the discount Bimbo Bakery for bread and with a little bit of luck, no Entenmanns.
Wednesday is our late lunch day.  With Wednesday evening being big money Bingo, we try to have lunch late enough that it's the last meal of the day.  Of course, if you've been to Bingo you'll know that it isn't really true on my part.  The goodies that people bring, including sweet and savory, plus the free popcorn make it feel like another full meal.
BTW, the big money Bingo money has eluded me this season but I'm still going to keep going.  The friends are worth the price of admission.  OK, there's no admission and the price of the bingo cards is 10 cents a card for the first 9 games.  Last game is 25 cents a card but it's a cover all and they're all winner take all.
With the help of my friend, Larry, I finally figured out how to change my security so it's easier to comment.  Hope it helps my son and others and that I won't regret it.
Today's destination for lunch is "Sweet Tomatoes".  We have free meal certificates to use because we bought gift cards.  Sure hope our children don't think that they were bought for them.  Wouldn't want to spoil their surprise.

Easy Access

Well, I've been informed that some people can't respond to my blogs so I've tried to make some changes to make it easier.  Sure hope it works cause I love hearing people's opinions.
It's been another beautiful Arizona weekend with perfect weather unless you were in something that might blow away.  We did have a "breeze" for a day or so but I enjoy them.
This looks like it will be a normal week here at Cactus Country.  Coffee and donuts on Tuesday with quilting/sewing/crochet and knitting afterwards and bingo on Wednesday night.  I need to win one.  Haven't won one yet.
Please let me know if you still have trouble posting comments on my blog.

Black Friday

Not really in this house.  This is probably going to be a stay at home day.  I was fortunate this morning that the first e-mail was the answer to 9 Christmas presents.  Thanks Bob.  Only have two more to purchase.  That's my idea of a perfect Christmas Shopping .  Now we can relax and enjoy the real reason for the season.
Yesterday was a very good day.  After breakfast of cereal and sausage I made lemon icing for the lemon bundt cake.  The rest of the day was a breeze.  Walked to the Rec Center, Ron carried the cake.  The other Ron had saved six seats in an excellent section so we just roamed around talking to people.  Friends are coming in every day so when there's something going on at the Rec Hall you never know who's going to be there.
The Adventure Bound Corp bought the turkeys and fixings.  The Activity Directors with a little help from the residents made the turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing and gravy and were they ever good.  The only thing wrong was no left overs waiting at home.  The dish to pass consisted mostly of desserts but there was enough veggie dishes to allow everyone a serving.
We enjoyed out meal with Larry and Gerry and the other Ron and Dee.  After a quick dinner and cleanup (felt like they were throwing us out the door) we went back to our unit and relaxed for awhile before heading down to Gerry and Larry's new bus for a tour, conversation and pecan pie.
I am familiar with the manufacturer of their new home and knew it was going to be nice but it was more than nice.  It has all the bells and whistles you could possibly think of and then a lot more.  I loved it all but that electric fireplace sure made me jealous.  Happy for them though.
We came home around 9 pm and once we chilled out the bed was not far behind.  

No Hot Water Redux

Yes, you read it correctly.  No hot water.  I discovered it last night when I was trying to wash up after Ron ran the dishwasher and hand washed the pots and pans.  At first I thought I hadn't waited long enough but when Ron checked the hot water heater, sure enough, pilot light was out.  He started it and I waited about fifteen minutes to a half hour and tried again.  Water was luke warm and by all standards not hot.
I really didn't want to tell Ron that but wasn't sure how dangerous it was not to have the pilot light lit.  Out he went and sure enough the pilot light was out again.
If finally heated the water up enough so I could wash up for bed with an emphatic statement to call the Plummer this morning.
When I got up this morning Ron informed me that now the hot water heater pilot light wouldn't even light.  Before I knew it he was on the phone to Cummings Pluming with a request for a service call.   They obliged with an appointment between 10 am and 2 pm today.  Good thing we hadn't planned our usual Wednesday running errands and eating a late lunch.
Well, while Ron was occupied, his phone rang around 8:30 so I answered it after seeing it was the pluming company.  They had a tech on his way.
The thermocouple went out.  He replaced it, under warranty of course, and was on his way before 9 am.
So to celebrate, Ron stripped the sheets off the bed and is doing laundry.  Who said we don't live a wild and crazy life in Arizona?

Tuesday Morning Just not the Same.

Thought it was going to be a typical Tuesday morning here in the park but it hasn't turned out the way I'd planned.
Coffee and donuts were the same and so was the pitch from John from Freedom RV.  No he hasn't changed, he's still not a salesman and he doesn't work for Freedom RV.
They did bring a motor home but it didn't trip my trigger but it seemed to Ron's.
No Quilting today cause the leader hadn't gotten around to doing anything to get ready.  It's not on the calender and she didn't bother putting out a notice either.
So, I instructed Ron to pretend like I was a quilting and go about what he had planned to do.  Of course, just like a man, he didn't.  In stead he decided to wait and eat lunch with me.  I got tired of waiting for lunch time and started unloading kitchen cabinets and moving canned goods and dishes around.  Now we have more room than we had before and it's in order so I can find a can of purple sage berries if I want them.  BTW I don't have a can of purple sage berries nor do I know if they even exist but if I had a can of purple sage berries I would know were to find them.
Ron's off to "Harbor Freight" and places unknown and I'm here in the mobile all by myself listening to the sounds of planes flying overhead, thank you USAF, and silence in between.  I love the sound of the planes flying over, they give me a sense of security.  Sometimes it sounds like they are going to land on top of us but that's OK.   They're guarding our boarders.
As for me, when I finish this I'll start working on finishing touches to the 8 quilts I put together this summer for the Linus Project.

Happy Birthday

Today 237 years ago a group of men met in a tavern and declared the United States of American would be protected.  The United States Marine Corps was founded in that tavern and some say that's still the place you can always find one.
If you get a chance to be at a Marine Corps Birthday Party, consider yourself blessed.  I have had the honor of being at three of them.  One being the 200th Birthday.  It's a beautiful ceremony conducted by Marines, for Marines.  The Marines (they are not soldiers) are in "Dress Blues" with blue wool trousers and a "Blood Stripe" down the outer seam.  With white gloves and swords it's a moving tradition.
So with that I say a personal Happy Birthday to SSGT Gregory Cummings, 20 years retired, fought in lands unnamed.  SSGT Ronald Cummings, 10 years, fought two tours  in Vietnam,  left his beloved Marines to take care of me in my time of need.  Wayne Metz,  medically retired Marine at 18 from a land mine in Vietnam.  Robert Darr, black shoe Marine (air wing) tried it but decided not to make it a career. SSGT Michael Darr tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, present duty, Mount Fuji, Japan.   Michael Schiek, served without public knowledge of his whereabouts.

Semper Fi

Another day closer to NORMAL

It's a beautiful morning in Tucson.  Sun is out, 76 degrees at 10 am and my water heater closet has walls and a floor.  Just waiting for the plummer this afternoon to install the water heater.
The floors in the hallway and bedroom are the same height.  That means the part those nasty men tore out last Friday has been replaced and they are in the process of putting new paneling on the walls they tore out.  All this thanks to our handyman, Glen, and my wonderful husband, Ron.  They worked all afternoon yesterday after a trip to Home Depot in the morning to purchase their supplies and bragging on the deals they got.  Now this morning they're at it again.
After one entire week since we arrived in Tucson our lives are getting back to normal.  My sanity was at stake when they were tearing it all out and the climbing over and around the fans and dehumidifier was a bit  unnerving but I learned to adjust.
Looking forward to enjoying those beautiful desert sunsets.  There's none like them anywhere else, so I say.
I even went to bingo last night and saw some friends that are back for the winter.  Really enjoyed myself despite not winning a dime.  I did bring good luck to a friend who hadn't won a game all summer so that was as good as winning myself, maybe even better.

They're out of here......

Well, the restoration person showed up unannounced this morning and Ron signed a waver so all the machines are gone.  5 + days, can't wait to see the bill.  Ron and a handy man he hired are off to Home Depot to buy supplies for the reconstruction.  I doubt if we'll have hot water by the weekend since we'll have to depend on the plummers to put in the new hot water heater.  But the sound of silence is overwhelming.  I'm wondering if I'll be able to sleep tonight without the sound of two commercial fans and a dehumidifier running.  Ha Ha ! That was a joke.

I'm not happy about all the election results from last night.  Some I voted for won and some didn't.  A late surprise came this morning when a push for a Constitutional Amendment we thought passed had actually failed.  The failure was a good thing for a lot of our friends who work for the State of Illinois.

So we're on the road to normal......

Day 5 and counting

The  restoration person came Saturday and today (Monday) to check the moisture content of the floors.  They flunked on Saturday but by then the sound of the blowers and dehumidifier were "normal".  Today's visit the outside dehumidifier in the hot water heater space passed and it was removed.  The two blowers and dehumidifier inside still haven't don't their job so they stay another day, at least.  This guy rolled the carpet back so the bare floor is showing so maybe it will be removed on tomorrow's visit.
The sad thing is I'm getting used to the noise of the fans and sleeping pretty good at night but crawling over the fan in the bedroom doorway and bathroom doorway plus the hose going from the dehumidifier thru the bathroom into the shower drain is a little tricky so I try not to get up in the middle of the night.
Tomorrow one guy is coming to give us an estimate to restore the floors when they finally dry out.  Ron got a number from a neighbor who had a similar problem last year plus had their doors replaced and called him for an estimate but he hasn't called back with an appointment time.
Things actually feel back to normal in the rest of the house.  I cook and Ron does dishes.  Tonight will be Mexican night, as usual, but Ron cooks the beef.  Tomorrow is pork roast, sauer kraut and potatoes  in the crockpot.;    Wednesday is bingo so on goes our life in sunny Tucson for the winter.
I'll try and remember to keep up on how our mini disaster cleanup is progressing.
Nothing like the one one of our Grand daughters is going thru in New Jersey.  They were Blessed in that the trees all fell away from their home on already dead power lines.  They haven't had electricity since last Monday night but they have their home and two fire places with wood and a gas generator but gas has been difficult to obtain because of Hurricane Sandy.
How's it going at your home today?

Water, water where's the hot water.

I'll warn my readers now that this isn't going to be a funny blog today.  We arrived in Tucson with smiles on our faces and a promise of a wonderful winter.  The water heater wouldn't start up and Ron said it looked like it was leaking.  Well, that was the understatement of the month.
We called the plummer right away to come out Friday morning and replace the original water heater with a brand spanking new one.  He was to be here between 8 am and noon and call first.  He fulfilled the last two promises but brought bad news for the new water heater.  It had leaked for a long time rotting out the floor underneath it and into the mobile as well.
He called a fire and water restoration company who promptly came out and declared to Ron what all needed to be done to make ready for the repairs.  Not even talking about a new water heater yet.  It's down the road aways.
We gave him a deposit with the balance do upon completion of the drying out and the amount depending on how long it would take to dry out.  The actually workers showed up in short order, I think they were all setting on the drive in waiting their turn like the cement trucks do at a construction sight.  They tore out part of the outside wall and some of the flooring inside, set up dehumidifiers in the space where the water heater was and one inside the back door on the other side of the wall from the water heater.  Then they installed two huge fans to help dry it out, one in the bathroom door and one inside the bedroom door, turned them all on and left.  To be continued when the next step comes up.

Tucson, we call you home.

Again, sorry I didn't keep you up to day but we're in Tucson for the next 5 months or so.  Everything went well from Lordsburg, NM this morning.
I want to say if you need to spend the night in Lordsburg or any where near, I highly recommend the Best Western.  We had a huge room with a king size bed.  Table and two chairs, desk with a office chair and a double bathroom with a long counter top and sink in one room and another sink with a good sized counter in the ample sized bathroom.  There were night stands on both sides of the bed.  If you stay at a motel with any degree of regularity, you'll appreciate all the things I've mentioned.  The price was they cheapest we paid the entire trip out.  Believe me when I say it was the nicest Best Western we stayed in.
Enough said.
The mobile looks pretty good. The plastic storm protectors on two of the windows were ripped but they're saying they had some bad storms.  There were a couple large dead bugs on the floor and of course, little ones here and there that we sweep up with no hassle.
The only problem we have is a broken water heater.  Upon close inspection, Ron determined it was the original one that came with the mobile in 1980, if Google is right.
Of course we brought to much clothes but we'll get that straightened out eventually with what stays here and what stays in IL.  "My room" as Ron calls it has plenty of "stuff" on the floor but in due time it will be put away.  Had a little glitch with my laptop but got it straightened out and working.  DUH.  I haven't figured out how to use my smart phone for blogs yet.
Since we didn't have anything thawed out for dinner we decided on a hamburger at the new restaurant off of Houghton.  Very interesting.  It's one of a kind but if it succeeds, there will be more.  It's hot car themed and has cars being worked on and built in the garage next to the dining room with a large glass window in between.  There is a list of the cars on the tables.  The food?????  Well the shrimp bacon wrapped poppers were fantastic.  Don't order your hamburger well done unless you want it black.  The onion rings with chewey but I'm spoiled since we just left Illinois, Crest Hill to be precise with Merchikas home made onion rings that they have been making for 70 years to perfection.  Ron said his bacon cheddar burger was good and so was the fries but he wouldn't tell me if it wasn't.
I did notice they had a Ruben sandwich on the menu and it sounded really good till I got to the choice of meat.  Pastrami, black forest ham and turkey.  I'll leave you with that.  You decide.
Wish we would have gone with our friends, Gerry and Larry, to Guadalajara.

Well, we at Lordsburg, N M for the night and headed to Tucson in the morning.  We decided to stop for the night, even though we could have made it this afternoon.  A fresh start in the morning with time to unpack the car and fix any problems waiting at the mobile.
It's been an interesting trip and I wished I would have blogged each day.  Monday we saw a caravan of electric utility trucks headed east.  Which brought our minds back to the weather we were leaving behind.  Betsy sent us texts about the 25 foot waves from Lake Michigan onto LSD.  (Lake Shore Drive)
We chose to take a different route this time.  We followed the GPS in the van.  After crossing into Iowa on I-80 it instructed us to go south through Missouri to Kansas City south thru the Oklahoma and Texas panhandle to meet up with I 40 in Tucumcari, NM. Then off of I-40 at Santa Rosa south the usual way through Vaughn and Mount Aire and out on 25 at Bernardo south thru Hatch and Deming to Lordsburg.
We've seen some new sights and old ones we haven't seen in a few years till we got to 25 and 10 and that never changes.

21st Century

We may be in our 60's but we try real hard to stay up on current events.  We both know who Sponge Bob Square Pants, old hat, and Honey Boo Boo are.  And a few in between.  We're both pretty  computer literate along with wi-fi and air cards.  We've had cell phones since 1990 and no hard line phone since 2008.  Digital cameras are old hat.  DVRs and HD TVs are a part of our lifestyle but today we topped the list with our second smart phone.  Yep, Ron followed in my footsteps today and we went to Verizon to pick him up his own smart phone.  So after lunch we sat at the table and sent oral text messages back and forth till he decided that he's better get his outside work done while it wasn't raining.
The last two days every time he decided to go rake leaves or clean out the lower gutters it started to rain.  BTW anyone know anyway we can pay to clean out the upper gutters?
The stacks of "stuff" that needs to go to AZ is growing and shrinking.  Especially the clothes part.  Right now the rack is shrinking as I try to remember which clothes have doubles in AZ and need to stay here.  I've added some clothes to my wardrobe since we've been back and I'm sure some will be put in the "good will" stack when we get to AZ.  I'm fighting the weight gain, not as hard as I probably could, but Ron's alright with it.  He says he'd rather have more of me than not at all.  I'm not sure if the drug is doing any good but it's putting on weight real well.

With the internet, almost anything is possible.

Surprise, it's only been one day since my last blog but I wanted to share some adventures
.
Ron decided he wanted tomato cabbage soup for dinner tonight.  That's fine my me.  I love cabbage and hamburger and kidney beans so I only had to deal with the big chunks of tomatoes.  Which I pushed to the other side of my soup bowl and Ron snapped up.
We needed to buy cabbage.  That was the only ingredient we didn't have but I didn't have the recipe that Ron liked.  You guessed, it's in Arizona.  I knew the name of the cookbook it was in but I couldn't get the internet to let me inside the book.   I figured I remember the recipe pretty much and would just play it by ear.  No No No.  I mentioned to hubby that I didn't have the recipe to which he turned on his laptop and went to work.  AND of course, the more I tried to explain to him that the Fix It And Forget It cookbook wouldn't let me in the harder he worked on it and, if you know Ron, he managed to bring up the recipe and send it to my laptop to be printed.  All you have to do is tell him you can't and he will by hook or by crook.  Gets on my nerves sometimes.  But that's the subject of another blog.
Hope everyone had a nice Sweetest Day today.  It's just another day for us.  Everyday is a sweetest day.

More Catchup

I haven't been inspired to write lately.  It's not that I haven't had the time, I just didn't feel gabby.  We've been busy fulfilling some social obligations and such.  I finally got my new smart phone all set up for what I think I want.  We'll see later on if I add more.  I'm pretty sure I won't be adding any games.  That has become my pet peeve with smart phone users.  How Rude !!!!  They basically tell you that what ever game they are playing is more important than listening to what you're trying to tell them.
When I'm home my phone sets on my computer desk unless it's recharging.  If I'm somewhere else in the house and don't hear it ring, they can leave a message or I'll notice someone called when I get back into the room.
I try to take it with me when I leave the house but for my safety more than anything.  It's not like you can knock on a strangers door and ask for assistance and there aren't any pay phones anymore,thanks to cell phones and drug dealers.  See I still went into a rant.  Sorry about but that's how I feel.

Today was #3 grandson's 25th birthday.  I don't know how many years it's been since we've seen him but I do know it's been way to many.  He's in our prayers and says he's getting his life together on on track.  Happy Birthday Daniel Kristian.  We love you.

Looking forward to dinner with our daughter and son in law on Sunday.  I picked up the parsnips at the store today.  Now I have to remember to take them with us.  LOL.

One last dinner with son and family is looking doubtful.  It has to be a weekend since he works nights and we haven't heard from them about this Saturday or next.

Weddings and Funerals

I realize I haven't been keeping up with my blogging.  For that I apologize but I have been reading everyone else.
We're home from the last of three weddings this summer.  Nephew/Godson got married Sunday afternoon in Arlington Heights.  It gave us a chance to see some of Ron's side of the family.  They are spread out over northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin.  Three brothers and one sister and their spouses were there.  Some nephews and a niece in attendance too.  The niece and youngest nephew were flower girl and ring bearer for their uncle's wedding.  They did an excellent job.  The reception after wards was small, refined and nice.  The DJ played enough music to keep us old folks dancing and happy.  The sad part was back at the hotel nothing was open for us to sit around and talk since the reception ended at 9:30 pm.
Monday morning came with 8 for breakfast, including the bride and groom, and a lot of talk.  The restaurant closed at 10 am so they swept and cleaned around us till we all decided it was time to head back to our separate homes and a honeymoon..
We discovered that the street the motel was on was also called Kingery Road or Route 83.  We decided to head south on that and stay off the toll roads.  It was a pleasant drive on a sunny day.  We stopped at Oak Brook Mall to pick up a couple things at Williams Sanoma  and Crate and Barrel.  Then to 75th Street and Sam's Club for a couple more things we needed and home.  We're very glad we choose the scenic route.
Now that the three weddings and funerals are over it's time to get ready to heat south and west.  A few meals with family and friends before we leave.  But we have run out of weekends so some family won't be included this time.  The summer went so quickly.  Glad we got to have supper with Bob & Tara and the kids before the wedding cause it looks like it won't happen again before we leave.

Catchup

Today is our 38th wedding anniversary.  Can't believe we've been together that many years.  It's been quite a journey.  We've stood by each other thru it all and I'm darn glad we did.  We've got history.
When we were at the wake last Sunday where I noticed how old my friend, Mike Webb, had gotten.  I know, he's not going to get any older.
I got in touch with my former hair dresser and after 9 + years I asked her if she would like to do my hair again.  She said yes.  So Tuesday morning I left the house, without telling Ron where I was going but would be back after lunch.  It took two hours but I don't look quite so old.  I'd take a picture and post it BUT......
My phone died, dead as a door nob.  I think the battery needed replacing but since I wanted a new phone anyway and was in line to get one from Verizon, I decided not to put money into a new battery.
Got my toes and nails done on Wednesday morning.  For any of you my toes are back to Ruby Pumps red.  The purple/lilac is gone.  It was a pretty color but I ended up having it on my toes for almost two months.  The nails are clear, natural.  Then home to catch a quick lunch and off to the Verizon store.  Going to get a new phone as my anniversary present.  BUT as all good mothers know, the one thing everyone does before they leave the house.......I went into the bathroom forgetting my phone was in my hip pocket.  Yep.  You guessed it.  Now my phone really doesn't work.....Good timing?  I don't think so....I thought my anniversary date was September 8 but it's October 8th so the Verizon store wouldn't sell me a phone.  Had it all picked out and was ringing it up.
Obviously we left the store empty handed.  And even more obviously I was a little upset.  Not only didn't I have a new smart phone, I don't have a phone.
Did you know you can order a phone over the phone or thru the internet without adhering to the store rules?  I didn't either but you can.  I don't have the phone yet but it's ordered.  I'm still without a phone but that's OK.  I'm sure the CUBS are still loosing without me getting the text messages and the grand kids are still making comments on Facebook without me reading them.
It's kind of nice that when a phone rings I don't have to pick it up.  LOL  I'll let you know when I have a phone again.

Again

Well, we attended what we thought would be our last wake today.  This morning brought news of the death of a dear friend.  I'm sorry to say I haven't seen him in a long time but maybe that's a good thing considering all the drinking we did when we worked out of the same insurance office almost 40 years ago.  I do feel bad that we haven't kept in touch better but we each went our separate ways after the company we were selling for pulled all their business out of the state.  He ended up having to close down our office while I was in the hospital.  I'll never forget his wife bringing us a big pan of chop suey after my surgery.   She's a very nice lady.  Good bye Mike.  I'll keep a smile on my face whenever I see a "Snap on Tool" truck.

Catching Up

It's been a few days since I've written.  Not that there hasn't been anything going on in our lives but just got in the "not today" rut.

I'll make this short......One of Ron's brother's  and family down for a visit.  Didn't arrive till 4 pm, he worked late the night before and needed to get some sleep before the trip. We took them to Beggars Pizza  They had planned on spending the night but we only have one bed and there was 4 people.  I wish we would have known, we would have set up a tent outside for the boys. The toilet seat broke..  It was old and not real expensive.  Daughter in law had surgery on Monday morning and came home that afternoon.

Friend from work's mother died so we went to the wake Monday evening.  Friend from teen years and the Moose died, went to wake Tuesday evening.  Friend from Moose died.  Wake is Friday evening.

As I said, we've had a busy time, just not anything anyone wants to read about.
We have had beautiful Fall weather.  It's my favorite time of the year.

No plans for the weekend.  We'll see how we feel. Ron did pick up some Glasscock corn last night.  I was surprised  they were still selling it.There was 14 ears to a dozen so we'll see if that compensates.  The one I had last night was a perfect ear.    At least one of my meals in the near future will be corn on the cob, baked acorn squash, sliced tomatoes and maybe steamed broccoli.  I'd love to be a vegetarian..  Supplementing my veggies with pinto beans would make it a perfect meal.  But then throw in a piece or two of fried chicken and a slice or three of bacon once in awhile.

It's Time

Checking my blog daily to see if anyone has commented with negative results is boring so I figured I'd write another blog.
It seems like I've been busy every day, doing what?  I don't remember.  Seems like I go to a store a lot.  Yesterday was one of those long days of going places.  First to our retiree's meeting, which way to many members didn't show.  How embarrassing to have more candidates than members.  It was definitely their loss.  All 20 of the candidates were very respectful and informative.  They had five minutes to tell us why we should vote for them so they didn't have time to dis their opponent.
Then to JoAnn Fabric for a 40% off sale but that was a bust cause their was a lady in line with a basket full of bolts of  material to be cut so I figured I didn't need any material that bad.
Then to Sweet Tomatoes in Aurora for a late lunch.  I make the best salads when I'm there and they had French Onion soup with a side bowl of shredded cheese to add to it.  I always feel like I've pigged out when I leave there but I manage to convince my self it was in a healthy way.
Then to Oak Brook and Williams-Sanoma  and Teavana.  If you haven't been to Oak Brook recently you're in for a big surprise.  They have torn out almost all the courtyards.  Walls of plywood surround it with cross overs every 2 or 3 stores.  I'll have to put a return to Oak Brook on my list of things to do when we get back to in the Spring.  From the wording I have guessed there will be some type of people movers.  You know how us old people are having more and more trouble getting around.
Finally home around 6 pm.  Nice long day but nothing accomplished.
Today was a County insurance meeting in the morning that we were unable to make.  They keep raising the premium for the retired over 65 and haven't been listening to requests for help, especially the ones who have been retired so long that their pensions are at poverty level.  I'm looking forward to talking to some of the ones who did attend the meeting.
It's getting a little chill here, a nice change from having to run the air conditioning most of the summer. It was supposed to rain but it hasn't yet.  I hear that it's raining in Wisconsin.  Should make Thursday night football interesting, especially for the family attending.

GO PACKERS

Air Card, Final Chapter........I hope

Well, all that stress two weeks ago returned briefly yesterday when the desktop VZAccess Manager read "dormant" and the air card stopped blinking.
Because I had other things to do, I let it all set and stew, with hope that inanimate objects have feelings and will correct it's mistakes while I'm gone.
Off to Sam's Club for "stuff" and then home for lunch.  Finally after lunch I checked it out again and it still wasn't working so I huffed and I puffed and I verbalized that if I had a gun, I'd shoot the air card.  By the way, the gun would be pink and of course have to wait for however many days the State of Illinois  felt necessary in order to prevent me from doing anything rash.
OK, that's not going to happen.  It worked, I'm not waiting to buy a gun.  So I went to the bottom of the list, I told my husband what was wrong.  His answer was "Did you check the air card out on the laptop?  It might be the computer."
Damn, I hate it when he's always right.  BUT  I didn't asked him for an answer, I ask for sympathy.  Men just don't get it.  We don't want help.....we want pity.  BUT not all the time, just when we want it and you're suppose to know the difference.
Yes, the air card worked perfect in the laptop.  He did volunteer to bring it all upstairs for me.  So I guess he's a keeper.  He not only brought it all upstairs, he plugged in and connected everything but the printer.  Three printers in this house and none of them are connected to a computer with internet access.  That's a topic for another blog another day.
I did take time to place the laptop at different places on the desk until I found a comfortable position.  I'm trying to break the habit for reaching for the keyboard from the desktop but I'll get that done pretty quick since it's the same situation as AZ.

Drew Peterson

I know we've all heard that name more than most of us wanted.  Today sitting on a step at the 4-H exhibit building at the DeKalb County Fair in Sandwich, IL, my daughter and my phone started to announce text messages.  My first three were from the Chicago Tribune, WGN radio and The Herald News.  All three were warning us that the jury was back and there was a unanimous verdict on the Drew Peterson trial.
Not much time passed till three more text messages came in one right after the other.  All three from the same sources as before and all three announcing that Drew Peterson had been found guilt of felony murder.  It was a shock.  I truly didn't believe they would come back with a guilty verdict.
I'm sure his attorneys already have the paper work ready for the appeal.  I know I sure would.  It's going to go all the way to the US Supreme Court.  There is no other way for a fair trial.
Drew has set in the Will County Jail for four years and will probably set in a state prison much longer before this is settled.
I can not imagine any court in the land will let the "Drew Peterson Here say Law" stay on the books.  All someone has to do is get mad at someone and swear he/she heard them say something and that person lands in prison.  That doesn't even sound like something a well educated person would even try and pass and the State of Illinois did.  My regards for this state is about as low as it can get.  There are still a few pluses but they are getting fewer and fewer.
I am not defending Drew Peterson.  I think he's a scumbag and deserves all he gets but he is a citizen of the United States of America and deserves a fair trial.

Batting and wire.

Nice quiet weekend for us except for a short visit from Grandson, Eric, and his new bride, Julie.  We love them both and think they make a good couple.  Can't wait for the beautiful babies.  Mom, they paid us back so you can stop worrying about that.
After they left we remembered something we wanted to show them so today I sent Eric a text to stop by for a couple minutes if they had the time.  I knew they were planning on getting a lot of the post wedding errands run plus a trip to the doctor for Eric's back.
They stopped by around noon.  One of these days I'll have food made up so I can invite them to stay for a meal or just plan on a meal.  What we had to show them was one of the favors from the reception table that was filled with green and purple M & M s had two pieces of wire in it.  They were surprised since they are the ones who made them all up.  Oh well, another mystery that will go unsolved.
After they went on their way we ate lunch and after Ron cleaned up from mowing the lawn we headed out to JoAnn Fabrics.  I had 2 40% off coupons and I needed thinner batting for the Linus Quilts.  The stuff I bought last spring was to think for the small quilts.  12 yards later at 40 % off back to home and enjoy the piece and quiet.  Tomorrow starts another.  Our retirees group is having their picnic, rain or shine at the New Lenox VFW.  Then Thursday is the Sandwich Fair.  I'll tell you more about that later.

Empty Chair Day

Because of the unfulfilled promises, made by our current president a group of friends started an "empty chair day".  It is a followup to Clint Eastwood's speech at the RNC last week.  I'm a fan of Eastwood but not real happy with his speech that night.  But I do agree that our current president isn't doing his job and we need to "fire" him so we've placed an empty chair on our front lawn.  It's a red, white and blue chair, which seemed appropriate.
I will defend to my death your right to disagree with my belief but I also have those same rights.  

Air cards and computers and nails. OH MY

Well, my new air card arrived via Fed X while we were eating lunch.  I did finish my BLT made with home grown tomatoes before I set out to install the new one.
First I tried to install it on the desk top, like Ron suggested, and it installed fantastic but wouldn't work.  Still showing "dormat" on the VZ Access Manager.  So down stairs to the laptop.  The CD wasn't talking to the computer right.  In this frame of time I've been on the phone with a tech from Verizon, because of a slip of the finger, so she is trying to figure out what's wrong.  Her suggestion was to find a WiFi and download a different disk onto a thumb drive.
Well, we may be nearing old age but we're no hicks.  I logged onto Ron's air card, which is WiFi, and proceeded to open up my stash of thumb drives.  TWO, one I know is a back up for Quicken so I'm not going to override that and the other doesn't appear to have been used so I put it in the pc and it already has something on it and the pc won't override.  I've condensed this from the two and a half hours it lasted till the clock showed 2:30 pm.
Now it's time for me to think about my nail appointment at 3 pm.  So the Verizon tech gives up and says all she can do is send me to the Verizon store with the air card and pc.  I agree with he cause I need to hit the road in a few.  As we disconnect my pc begins to make a noise, new windows flash on the screen and it starts going thru the process just like it did with the desk top.  It managed to finish in time for me to try it out and it works.  Don't ask........I won't tell.
I must admit 4 g is nice but not that much nicer that I would ever want to go thru this again.  I have promised myself I will never tell anyone how long we've had Verizon air cards and not had a second's trouble again.
The nail appointment went really well.  My tech was out with allergies so I had a different tech.  She did a fantastic job, so much so I think I like her better than my regular tech.  We'll see.
During the course of the conversation I mentioned I had been to Merichkas the night before.  One asked where it was and one of the other people asked what a poor boy was.  I guess I've lived in Lockport a long time.  All these people I'm running into know nothing about Lockport or the surrounding area.  They're all Chicago transplants and aren't interested in our heritage.
Merichkas is a family owned restaurant in Crest Hill, IL.  It's known for it's poor boys, double baked potatoes, salad with house dressing and to die for onion rings.  They do have other foods and I'm told that it is good but when most people go to Merichkas it's for a poor boy.
Before you ask, a poor boy is a strip of steak that has been put through a tenderizer machine and fried with garlic butter served on Italian bread grilled with garlic butter.  If garlic butter doesn't roll down your chin on the first bite you ordered it without the garlic butter.  I can talk about this because I have half of my poor boy in the refrigerator waiting to be heated up for lunch.  Yes they can be reheated.

Good Day/Bad Day

We'll start out with the good.  Actually it's been a good week up till today.  Sunday the honeymooners arrived back safe and sound.  They had some effects from TS Issac during their stay in Santa Domingo but had to bypass it coming back to the states.  They landed in North Carolina only to have a lay over while the airlines dealt with some problem the pilots had during the flight.
The Marine finally got off the ground in Seattle heading for Japan on Monday morning after the threats of typhoon passed and arrived in Japan.  In fact, we got word today that he was in Camp Fuji and excited with his assignment.
Ron was nice enough the past two days to do all the running for groceries and supplies so I could get some much needed sewing in.  I got the muslin bags made for the "Corn Hole" game but ran out of dried beans.  While he was off getting the bulk pinto beans I cut out the outside pieces for the bags and sewed them all up three sides.  I even tried the one muslin bag that was full and sewn but I couldn't get a neat top stitch so I took it apart and started sewing it without the beans.  THREE times.  Each time my new sewing machine didn't like what I was trying to do and managed to make a mess for me to rip out.  Sure glad we bought sturdy material.  Thus far it still looks good.  After the third time when the machine started flashing unrecognizable codes and making strange noises is when I turned off the machine and the light.
While all of this was going on we were unable to get the desktop computer to work.  Even Mr Know It All failed.  The air card was flashing blue instead of green and about 15 seconds after we logged on the air card went dormant which meant nothing would load.  SO..... after lunch when I went upstairs I found Ron on the phone with Verizon.  He was swapping war stories with some dolly about the pros and cons of track vehicles.  Beats me.  She ended up transferring him to a guy who actually knew nothing about track vehicles and did know something about air cards.  Not enough to fix it but he put on a show of trying.
Since my MiFi is so old I agreed to get a new one that will be faster and more up to date.  After listening to all the BS about what my liabilities were he transferred me to an automated operator who went thru another schpeel  and if I agreed I was to put in my Verizon billing password.  Well gosh dang, I always carry that information with me but I left it in my Sunday dress.  DUH  With that lack of information, they disconnected the call.
I left the house and sat on the front porch.  If they called back fine but I wasn't going thru that again.  Poor Ron got on the phone and after three tries, he brought me out a cup of tea and news that he finally got a person and the new air card was on it's way.
We've had air cards in one form or another for over 10 years but the other night I bragged to someone about how well they worked and POW this is the first time we've ever had a problem with Verizon air cards.
Looking forward to the rest of the week going back to good.

The Last Day of Quilt Shop Hopping

We had 5 more quilt shops to hit before the end of August so this morning we took off to finish them up.  The first stop was supposed to be in Willowbrook but the store had moved.  There was a sign on the door giving the address of the new shop.  My feelings about that were still under advisement when we arrived at the new location.  The women, whom I have reason to believe is the owner, informed us that we wouldn't be allowed to register for their drawing since we didn't purchase anything.  She did change her mind and let Ron fill out the book but no drawing forms were offered.  Needless to say, I would have never gone back there again but now I'll bad mouth the shop too.
Off to Bensenville and then Downers Grove and Lisle with very polite and happy people.  In Lisle we ran into a fellow quilt shop hopper and since we were having problems putting the next stop in Naperville into the GPS the nice clerk at Lisle gave us precise directions.  We thank her very much.
After Naperville the other hopper went on to Cresthill before going to Lockport.  We went north on Rt 59 and had a late lunch at Sweet Tomatoes and then on to Lockport for our last shop and purchasing of two quilt backs for my Linus quilts.
We're both glad it's over.  I won't do this one again.  I don't even remember what some of the stores looked like.   We've had positive results from other shop hops and will continue to do those, just not this long a one.

Wedding day plus one

We all survived yesterday and on a scale of one to ten it went very well.  9 at least.  It was a beautiful day, no humidity and gentle breezes.  Bright sunshine and no rain.  It was a long day.  Daughter and her husband got her hair appointment done early so they came down and waited for my Mary Kay lady, Judi Tapella.  Judi arrived on time in her new pink Cadillac SUV.  Nice car, her 18th new Cadillac.
Judi took the time and did my daughter and my makeup, a beautiful job she did.  Then I put out some ham and hard roles and fresh fruit for a quick lunch.  Daughter was supposed to be at the church by 1:30 pm for pictures.  While she and her husband were getting dressed, problem number one.  Husband didn't have a shirt.  Off to Target to buy one real quick.  In the mean time daughter left with Amber and Tim and Sam so she could get to the church on time.  Left Nick and Elie at our house to ride with us.  Son in law comes back and the shirt he bought is to small.  Back to Target.  We got dressed, loaded up Nick and Elie and headed for the church.  Made it early enough to be in some pictures before the service and son in law made it in time for the service.

There was a couple hours between the wedding and the reception so we came home and relaxed.  Sure glad we made that decision as we were ready to head to the reception and enjoy the evening.  Eric and Julie made a beautiful couple and will make beautiful babies.  Love being a grandma and having little ones around again.

25 hours

Can't believe it's finally here.  I know I'll be glad when it's over with and life can get back to normal for a few weeks.
Tonight is the rehearsal and pizza after wards and then tomorrow afternoon is the time.
Today has been up in the air between my daughter fretting over her husband's tan line and her step daughter and family's luggage being lost by the airline, I'm ready to go sit on my front porch and chill out.
Before I do, I'll try and explain the two major problems.  One, son in law's tan line.  You see he rides a Harley/or any other kind of motorcycle and his head is so hard he doesn't have to wear a helmet or as he says, statistics prove that it's safer not to wear a helmet.  The next stereotype is since he doesn't wear a helmet, he wears a dew rag, hence the tan line.  Which my daughter is planning on hiding with makeup.
Second, Daughter's step daughter and her son and baby daddy flew in from New Jersey this morning for the wedding.  Great flight, much easier than driving but the airlines lost their one and only piece of luggage.  No carry on or anything.  I was really looking forward to seeing how they were going to look at the wedding when I just read the luggage has be found but not delivered to them yet.  I'm glad for them but I'll just have to imagine how they would have looked.
Now having rid myself of frustration, I think I will go and sit on my front porch swing and read a Sue Grafton novel.  Then off to the store for some lunch meat and fruit for lunch tomorrow now that I know how many people will be at my house getting makeup.
By the way, if I stepped on any ones toes enough to upset them.  Don't call me.  I merely expressed my opinion and, like everyone else, I have the right to have one.

W minus 2

Actually it's one and a wake up.  That military terminology never leaves.  Today is a dark and dreary day with some thunder and lightening and rain but we won't let that dampen our spirit.  No we won't.
Today is pampering day with nails and toes this afternoon and a facial mask this morning.  In fact it's on now so I don't have on my glasses.  If anything is terribly wrong I'll try and catch it later.
Purple nails, we'll be on our way.
Well, the day took a left turn.  That is left turn out of my driveway and back to the hair dresser from yesterday.  Of course she wasn't in today so I trusted my head to another and she managed to do some repairs.  When I went to dry my hair this morning I discovered a hunk of long hair in the middle of my forehead.  Long you say.  So long it appeared that it had never been cut, which the person this morning confirmed.  It looks a lot better, still a wave on the right side, but I'll deal with it.
Hope the manicure and pedicure person doesn't use two different colors polish.  Well maybe that wouldn't look to bad.  After all the wedding colors are purple and green.

W minus 3 and counting

Two more days and a wake up but who's counting.  Our second oldest grandchild is getting married Saturday.  Since the first got married in Maryland by a judge this will be the first wedding and we are all excited.  We've purchased the dresses, men only have their suits cleaned and pressed, made the necessary beauty appointments and are starting the count down.
I've already blogged about my daughter and I buying the dresses.  Today is my haircut day.  The nice lady who usually cuts my hair was trying to get me to let it grown out.  I tried for three weeks. Just isn't working.  I have naturally curly hair.  It looks like I stuck my finger in a live light socket or got a fuzzy perm.  If I work with it I'm in the roaring 20's with wavy hair.  Just not a frizzy/wavy haired person.  We'll see how the session goes in a few minutes when I get back from the beauty shop.  Wish me luck that I have some hair left but not a lot ,


 

Quilt Hopping

It started on Tuesday but I've already told you about that so we're going to skip to Thursday morning.  Not real early since none of the quilt shops open before 10 am.
First stop was Oswego, IL.  Nice shop downtown where we bought several craft patterns.  Then Batavia, Winfield, St Charles, Hampshire, Carpentersville, Huntley and Woodstock.  We ended up in Rockford with one last stop at a shop that stayed open till 6 pm.
We bought some quilt backing and craft patterns in some of the places and a couple sewing supplies.
After spending a free night at the Clock Tower Best Western in Rockford,  including a free breakfast of bacon, eggs, hashbrowns, cereal and fresh fruit, we hit the road.
Three more quilt shops in Rockford (big quilt town) it was off to Pecatonica and Orangeville.  We had been warned about the problem finding this shop so we stopped at the BP gas station for directions as soon as we got into town.  Glad we did.  The employee was extremely familiar with the shop and gave us precise directions that got us there quickly and directly.  No further explanation will forthcoming.  Then it was on to Pearl City and Galena.  Heading back south and east Leaf River and Clare were our last two stops.
Home was the next destination.  After two days, over 600 miles, 18 quilt shops when the owner of the last shop asked me which shop was my favorite, I couldn't even think of one to answer her.
I don't think I'll ever do this Quilt Shop Hop again.  It was just to much traveling in one day and no time to enjoy the different shops.
Almost forgot to tell you we're not done.  We still have six shops to hit in our region.  They are close so we can do them a little more leisurely before the end of August  deadline.

Quilt Shop Hopping

If you haven't quilt shop hopped I just don't know if I can explain the thrill.  This one started in June and lasts till the end of this month (August) so, naturally, I'm just starting now.  The object is to hit a designated group of Quilt Shops and shop and buy and have them stamp your "Passport" that you've been there.  When you have all the shops stamped, you turn in the passport and become eligible for some really nice prizes.
I've only been on two shop hops before and they were just 4 days long.  This one covers most of northern Illinois and is broken into three regions.  We decided to save our area till last so we headed north today.  Up I-355 as far north as Grand Ave and as far west as Woodstock, IL.  Barrington, Crystal Lake and Arlington Park were a few of the places.  I had finished seven quilt tops for the Tucson Linus Project so I was searching for backings.  The added incentive was 15% off what ever you bought while you were there.  Some of the places had nice selections of bolts of cloth at reasonable prices and others had nice selections with high prices.  I tried to find ones with the discount bolts and did pretty good.  I got four backings, three pin cushion kits, and one 4 1/2 X 4 1/2 block pattern.  And all at 15 % off.
Now the remaining stores that were already closed plus heading west to catch those 9 and then back to this area for the remaining region.
We enjoyed the drive with views of areas we'd never been through but I miss the smaller ones where you run into the same people at different stores.  I also miss the little gifts they give out in the AZ one.  I did get a purse tissue holder with tissues.

Surprise

We got a great surprise this afternoon.  A visit from our two oldest grand children, Michael and Eric.
Eric is getting married 3 weeks from Saturday and Michael is in the wedding.  Michael is one of The Few and the Proud ready for a new post after the wedding, Fuji, Japan.
He flew in from California this afternoon and Eric picked him up from the airport and after dropping his sea bag off at Eric's and a stop at Portillo's for food, they came over to visit the grandparents.
We all had a great time discussing many different subjects in the general category of guns and politics, which we all four agree on.
After several hours, we decided it was time to eat so off to Merichkas for poor boys and onion rings and more conversation only a little less controversial in a restaurant full of people.
We even ran into some old friends from work.  Ray and Kathy Mutz.  It was great to see them.  They both looked great.
We got to ride in Eric's new truck, it's nice but it took all I had to climb into the cab.  He needs some step rails.
Nice way to spend Friday with no plans. 

Monday Monday

It's Monday again and it's not raining.  Of course it won't rain or storm now that we're some what ready for it.  Considering the humidity has been a little high and not much of a breeze, today has been a pretty good day.
One of the guys we used to work with drove by and stopped to chat. That kept Ron busy for awhile.  Thanks John.
Then after a yummy lunch of leftover meatloaf sandwiches.
My day was even better till about 2:30 when Ron came into the green room asking if he went to the library did I want to go with him.  The answer was no.  The regular library is closed for renovations so they loaded up two thirds of the books and stored them somewhere, packed up some fiction and moved to the Gaylord Building.  The Gaylord Building was part of the I & M Canal's hay days.  Its a large quarry stone building with national heritage designation.  Or something to that effect.  There's a restaurant on the ground floor, a museum on the 1/2 floor, a banquet hall over the restaurant and the library over the museum.  Yes they have an elevator but no, they really don't have a library as we know it.  Hence I don't go to the library till they're back in the renovated real one.  And that depends on how much they do to it.  I know they're putting the adult library on the second floor so all of us old patrons have to walk up the stairs or take the elevator and the children's library on the main floor.  Obviously, they didn't ask my opinion before they made that decision.
Anyway, no to the library.  So he changed his question to if I go to the ice cream store will you go with me.  The answer was yes.  A complete horse of a different color.  And since I still had some money left on a gift card, I figured we would splurge.  I got a small one scoop strawberry cone and Ron got a small one scoop orange fluff cone.  I'm telling you, we go whole hog.  The quality of the ice cream was excellent, not real hard, no ice crystals and tasted great.
So, in a nut shell.  Monday, today, was an excellent example of Retirement.

We Made It

Today is the day that the natural gas generator arrived.  Yes, it's here, was already here when I got up at 7:30 am.  By lunch it was installed and working except for the tie into the well pump and they are working on that now.  We didn't even know they had made the switch to the generator while we were fixing lunch using the electric stove and microwave.
I don't really want to loose our power since our good neighbors would suffer but I feel so much better having it "justin case".

Almost Made IT Part 2

As it turned out, that was not the end of the story.  The power went out while we were out and came back on before we got home but our neighbors across the street still didn't have power.  One was running a large generator full time on her concrete driveway in front of her house.  Needless to say we were glad we could shut our doors and windows.  

About the time we were deciding whether to invite any of our three neighbors without power to spend the night, our power went out.  I'm telling you, there is no excuse for this, we've reached the end of our ropes.

Outside we go to keep an eye on what ComEd is up to and listen to the damn generator.  If you know me pretty well you'll be shocked at the next thing I have to say.  I had Ron get his radio and turn it on to any music he could find, full blast so I didn't have to hear that generator.  

In this age of modern time saving devices, ComEd keeps us informed via text messages.  About 10:30 pm Ron got a text that the power would be back on by 11 pm or 7 pm on 7/25/12.  Don't bother getting out your calender, today is 7/25/12.  Really cheered us up.  Thank you, Com Ed was off 24 hours.  They came on again just before 11 pm 7/24/12.  

There is a debate on whether they went off again during the night but it's not worth repeating cause I know I'm right.  ROTF LMBO

Today is the 4th anniversary of my cancer surgery.  Thank you Lord Jesus for another year with the people I love.

We Almost Made It !!!

Today, Tuesday, July 24th.  We'll remember today for a long time.  One cause it's one of hubby's brother's birthdays.  He's a nice guy so we're glad.  LOL
Second, we got woke up about 6 am this morning with a storm blowing through.  Sounded like "things" were blowing but I didn't hear any thunder nor lightening.  After the initial slam, I contemplated returning to the land of nod but hubby put a halt to that idea when he spoke one word with venom.  Now I don't remember what the word was but it did cause my brain to open my eyes and say "what".
His answer was, "we lost our electricity".  Now you say, then just roll over and go back to sleep.  Nothing you can do now.  My brain just didn't work that way this morning.  It said you better get up cause you'll miss something if you don't.  Dumb brain.
I found a half a glass of water from last night and filled it with what little ice that was left in the separate ice maker.  That will get me going for awhile.  No coffee or juice.  Keep all refrigerators closed tight.  No coffee cause we have everything electric.  Hubby finally took a ride to Dunkin Donuts and brought back two cups of coffee.  Besides our neighborhood the rest of town was business as usual.
I'll tell you, the 50 years I've been associated with this house and neighborhood, it doesn't get any easier to deal with the lack of electric on a much to frequent basis.
Saying that along with the title of this blog.......We're scheduled to have a whole house gas generator installed Thursday.  Two more days and we would have been home free.
Six plus hours later we got our power.  A line was down behind a house across the street.
We showered (no electric - no water) and left our neighborhood.  The bank was having problems cashing a check because of their power problems and when a neighbor got home from work, she called to let us know she still didn't have electric.
When we finally got back home around 5 pm, the mailman hadn't been by and we had lost our power at least once while we were gone.

COME ON THURSDAY

Utilities

It rained last night.  Over an inch of rain fell on our parched lawn.  Not enough but some.  There was a lot of thunder and lightening but no wind, thank you God.  The lightening struck the National Weather Service Dopler Radar at Lewis University.  We kept our electricity.  I was holding my breath that we're able to keep it till at least next Thursday.  After that we should be prepared to handle Commonwealth Edison's power failure.  We're having a generator installed with a direct hook up to NICOR.  Sure hope NICOR keeps the natural gas flowing.  Always something to worry about.
More good news yesterday.  Yesterday was mammogram day.  All went well.  Can't say it was painless though.  The nice lady operating the machine managed to find a sensitive area but because of the new innovations in medical equipment, it was a short frame of pain.  The end results were worth it.  "See you next year".  Made it through 4 years.
We went out to celebrate our good news and chose Red Robin, I had a free birthday burger coming.  They've changed their menu, dropped the french onion soup and added hot relish and such to their burgers.  I'll probably wait till next year to go back for another free burger but maybe not.

Another Monday Morning

Sorry, if I'm falling into a pattern of the day after blogs.  It just seems like a good time to relax and retell my stories.
This weekend was a busy one.  Ron's brother, John, and his wife, Pat, came for a visit.  As usually it was a weekend of food and talk but this weekend we added shopping.  Pat needed a new dress for her nephew's wedding.  It seems her sister's three children all decided to get married within a year AND she can't wear the same dress to all three weddings.
Thanks to my son in law, I've rediscovered York Towne Center.  I remember going there at Oak Brook with my friend, Caryl, when were were late teens early 20s but had lost track in the 45 + years since.
I really believe York Towne and Oak Brook are, by my standards, the classiest shopping centers in the area.  Von Maurs had a gentlemen playing the baby grand piano while we were there.  They had a rather large area in the center of the first floor by the escalators designated as the place for the piano with easy chairs placed around the outside perimeters.  Not a lot of chairs as to appear to be an auditorium seating but just a few different ones to make it feel like your living room.  Oriental rug on the floor and the sound carrying all the way up to the 3rd floor.  Now that was a shopping experience.  No doubt it was live music from any where in the store.
BTW, we did even have good luck in our shopping.  Pat found a dress she didn't think she'd like after trying on bought.  Ron found some "things" for me on the 3rd floor to make my sleeping more comfortable.
We managed to maintain our level of shopping throughout the entire mall and ended up walking out with the men's hands full of shopping bags.  Of course they did contribute to the bundles.  We wouldn't want them to miss out on the experience.
A quick trip to Macy's at Oak Brook where Pat found some blouses on sale that she couldn't live with out.  Then back to The Weber Grill for dinner.  My steak was perfect and the garlic mashed potatoes were more abundant than I cared to partake.  Ron and John said they enjoyed their meatloaf dinners and Pat's filet disappeared so I'm guessing she enjoyed her meal too.
On Friday night, after they arrived, we decided to try out a new restaurant, new location to us.  Charliehorse in New Lenox.  I can't believe it but I had steak Friday night too but it was just a rib eye and baked potato with salad.  The guys had Ruben sandwiches and Pat had the shrimp.  Now if any of you are shrimp lovers you'll understand when I say, the shrimp were so large and plentiful besides being fried to perfection that she couldn't eat them all.  We all helped but she was right, they were delicious.
Sunday was a relaxing day after I fixed breakfast of bacon, eggs and hashbrowns, juice and coffee. We always enjoy our visits with John and Pat and are looking forward to heading up north next time.

The Day After my Birthday

First of all, let me say, that yesterday, my birth day, was probably at the top of the list of best birthdays ever.
Started out the day with a single, long stem, red rose and a beautiful card that brought tears to this lady's eyes.  He could have written it himself and it wouldn't have been any truer.
Fresh donuts and coffee and juice for breakfast.  I'm telling you this man was up early and getting it done.
Road trip to Milwaukee for a family reunion of hubby's foster family.  The youngest brother and his family usually have one every summer but this year was special since one of the nephews got married last Saturday and all the brothers and sisters were still in town.  Not much talking at the wedding, to many other things going on.  Not all the nieces and nephews came to the reunion but a good time and plenty of food and talk was enjoyed by all.
Since our contribution was bread and water we really appreciated everyone else's.  Young Daniel brought his fabulous home made salsa.  It is so good that I could have just had it and chips but I'm glad I didn't cause the rest of the meal was great also. Then games with chocolate candy bars as prizes and the chocolate birthday cake for Marilyn and me.  Marilyn's was last month.  
Before we knew it it was after 7 pm and time to start the start heading home routine.  Goodbyes said and food shared and repacked for taking home.  Folding chairs stowed away in the back of cars.  Then more hugs and good byes.  Thanks to all the family for the wonderful birthday.

The Day After the 4th of July

Talk about a heat wave....That's what everyone is doing these days.  Talking about the heat wave. Definitely a different 4th.  Oh, we had hot dogs and brats on the grill but we ate them in the comfort of our air conditioned home.  Actually my idea of perfect 4th of July food is fried chicken. That's what I remember from the celebrations when I was a wee baby.  Hurdland, MO, local entertainment and a blanket on the lawn.  Lots of friends and relatives and all the pop you wanted...grape, orange, strawberry and creme soda.  A whole six pack.  No kayo though.
 It was an even greater holiday the first seven years of my life.  It was the day we celebrated my mother's father's birthday.  Grandpa's birthday was the 5th but we celebrated it on the 4th along with my birthday, the 7th.  Don't remember any cakes or such, just plenty of fried chicken and what ever else Mom made but we were always told that it was to celebrate our birthdays.
Fireworks weren't a big deal in our lives, they were legal in Missouri so I got to throw a few firecrackers off the front porch and run through the yard after dark with sparklers.  In retrospect, I probably learned to write cursive using sparklers.  LOL
I started this blog with another subject in mind but this is what came out of my brain.  Memories are good.  Hope you had a good 4th and hold a lot of good memories.

Day after THE WEEKEND

This past weekend's memory will probably linger on in the diary of our lives.
Friday night there was a severe thunder storm warning.  Didn't really want a severe storm but we really needed the rain.  Just as I started to shut down my computer for the night and the storm the lights went out, flickered a couple times and then out for the count.
Before we could get to the candles, already in place because of the frequency, the wind picked up and it did blow.  When it finally quit, we ventured outside, careful not to walk on anything that might hurt us.  (Electric wires are in the back of the house).  The back deck contents was all along the west wall of the deck with the cushion storage box open and all the cushions soaked.  The 5 hanging baskets were all till on their hangers but looking much worse for ware.
The front was another story.  The two plants were on the floor, furniture moved some and the cushions all soaked but still on the deck.  The watering can was where I had left it that morning.  The three hanging baskets under the tree were still on the shepherd's hook but also looking the worse for ware.
Tony's tree did it's part in the process.  From what we can figure, since we had a very large diameter branch on the front porch, it had first flown off the tree hitting the house 3/4 way up to the roof, putting a hole in the downspout and knocking a NASCAR M & M's clock off the wall inside and breaking it, hitting Ron's truck above the rear passenger door and then depositing itself on our porch.  Now we're probably wrong because Ron's truck was parked between our tree and Tony's tree 10 feet south of our porch.  But that's what the final results were.  We didn't see the truck damage but Tony did and told me.  Then I had the duty to forward that to Ron.
Friday night wasn't to bad sleeping, the house held the cool enough to make it comfortable and Saturday morning brought another challenge.  We had a wedding to go to in Wisconsin that afternoon.  If you live in a city or town you may not realize that no electric, no water.
We stay at Best Western's when we travel so I called the one we had reservations at for Saturday night and they offered us a noon check on which we hit on the dot.  We were able to take showers and relax before the 4 pm wedding.
The wedding was beautiful and went off just fine as did the reception.  The bride and groom stayed  till all was over but found their vehicle covered in plastic wrap and the inside full of styrofoam peanuts.  The best man had special surprises, besides the wedding vehicle, throughout the night.  We both had a great time visiting with relatives and making plans for next Saturday picnic.
The trip home Sunday went well with a stop at the Pleasant Prairie Outlet Mall.  We got there 45 minutes before it opened and got a good parking place.  Then we walked to the farthermost  store we wanted to visit.  We chatted with the other people in line until they opened and shopped till we dropped.  I can't tell you what store it was or one of my birthday presents wouldn't be a surprise.
Five stores and two birthday presents later our road trip started and ended without any problems.  From what we've heard, we missed a very large storm between Wisconsin and Lockport.  We thank God for His watching hand.

Finished

Finally, the last step toward perfection.  Yea, right.  Today was manicure and pedicure day.  Two hours at the day spa goes fairly quickly because of the chatter, even though the most people in the room is 4.  The number one topic for the day, and most days, is the 50 Shades of Grey trilogy.  Some have read it, some are reading it and some can't decide if they want to read it.
The amount of wedding gifts, should it depend on how much they couple spend per plate or should the reception entertainment make the call.  Some said they've heard people take their envelopes back and put more money in and some take some out.  Very interesting since we have three weddings this summer, should we wait and see how we like the festivities and then decide how much?  Grooms, maybe you'd better keep an eye on us to see if we take our envelope back and head to the kitchen to steam it open.

Pre Wedding Prep Work

Got to get ready for the weddings.  Today was Mary Kay morning and hair cut afternoon.  My Mary Kay lady is the best.  She's been with Mary Kay, as near as I can figure, 39 years.  She has her 18th new Cadillac.  I know it's a Cadillac cause it has the emblem on the front but the metal tags on the side say Mary Kay.  It's a beautiful SUV keyless entry pink vehicle.  So much for pink Cadillacs, I've been with her most of those 39 years so I've seen them come and go but this one is the nicest, I think.
She worked with me on minimal makeup with some special highlights.  I even get to use what I already have with a couple added items.  I'm going to wear eye shadow and part of it is going to be blue.
Hubby says I'm always beautiful but when he got home this morning he said I was especially beautiful.  He knows which side his bread is buttered.
Off to get a hair cut.  As I can't seem to find anyone who wants to cut my hair on a regular basis I've been going to one of those walk in places.  I lucked out today and got the same stylist that cut my hair before and she remembered me and my cut.  Now I just have to try and get her the next times I need a cut and I'll be in like flynn.
It's getting a little muggy here but I have managed to spend some time outside today.  Sitting on my porch swing reading.  After finishing the 50 Shades of Grey series it's hard to get into another book.  50 Shades was an excellent written trilogy.  Even without the explicit sex it would have been a good read.

Weekend at the Framnes

I know I'm slow but wasn't quite ready to blog yesterday.  The weekend in WI was great.  It went really fast tho.  Saturday afternoon was a trip to a brewery to learn how they make beer and pop.  However it is made, the PA system the guide used was of such poor quality that I couldn't understand most of what he said.  But it didn't take long to get to the free beer and soda room.  SIL's brother is the accountant for the business so he got us in for free plus his employee discount on our after purchases.  For that we thank him very much.  Thanks David.
The beer was limited to 4 glasses a person and was strictly maintained by the four patches on our wrist bands.  The pop was unlimited.  We ended up buying the orange, root beer, grape and cream sodas.  The others were excellent but decided we probably wouldn't want a lot of them though the cherry coke was really good.  Sorry Betsy.
Then it was time to come back to the house and get things ready for the evening meal.  Well relax first the get ready.  John marinated boneless chicken breasts and boneless chicken thighs and then cooked them on the grill till done, dipped them in BBQ sauce and cooked them some more.  The thighs were excellent but I didn't try the breasts.  Mary's German potato salad and taco dip were both fantastic. Kim's veggie tray and slaw were too.  Pat made baked beans and bought fresh fruit and cookies.  Not one went away hungry.  A lot of talking and world peace was reached.  Good thing their politics are pretty much all the same.
Sunday was a lazy morning with four showers to be taken and coffee and juice to be consumed to tide us over till breakfast.
Breakfast was at Blues Egg.  I believe that's the spelling.  I've never eaten in a gourmet breakfast only restaurant before but I'm sure this one would qualify.
Fancy Bloody Mary's with a thick slice of apple wood cured bacon and olive for siring.  AND since it was Wisconsin, a pony of Miller Lite for a chaser or a mimosa to keep you till you were seated.  I opted for water.  I know, I'm a party )(*&.
When we got seated the two guys got coffee with a jigger of Bailey's, doesn't everyone?  I did taste Ron's and it was really pretty good.  The usual breakfast fare was ordered with a high end up kick. I opted for that apple wood smoked bacon, two eggs and hash browns.  I know, Party (*(*&.  I did take a bite of John's Dublin eggs Benedict and Pat's pancakes and they were both really good.  Ron wasn't in a sharing mood?  Definitely a treat for the eyes and pallet.  
The afternoon was topped off with a trip to the mall dress shopping but it didn't work out.  The Macy's and Boston Store didn't have any selection so we'll try Oak Brook and Yorktown here in IL next month.
We had a pleasant drive home on Sunday evening with hardly any problems from Wisconsin road construction.