Saturday, June 16

A Look Back to 2010

This is a post from when we were in Michigan. I enjoyed a look back.

https://brooker3.blogspot.com/search/label/Art%20Fair

If I can remember...Can I?

Tuesday was JIGS. Jefferson Iowa Girls (?) Hey, we were once!! Circumstances have kept me from attending for quite a while so I looked forward to it. All of us were part of the class of 1961. We have a standing meeting at the Casa de Oro restaurant in Jefferson and whoever can remember and is able can attend. I took my camera but had a devil of a time getting two people to not blink at the same time.
Janet

Sue and Mickey

Jayne

Carol

Donna

Pat looks like she found something in the bottom of her glass!

Last Wednesday we were off to our bi-weekly trip to Ames. This time to get the stitches out and find out the pathology from Butch's cancer removal. And the news was not as good as we would have liked. He has to have more done because it was not all clear in the biopsy. So he is scheduled for more on the 13th of July. Cross your fingers as we are getting impatient to have the trips done with for this season so we can plan some different activities. Something a bit more fun!

I have been doing trivia at the Elks Club and those attending have had a good time. It is a slow growing thing, much slower growth than at Magnolia Park last winter. I am hoping over time that it will pick up. As long as there are at least two teams playing we will continue. Wednesday nights at 6:30 PM if you happen to be in the vicinity and want to stop in, please do. Butch has been helping me with the math. Oh and if you are not an Elks member you can be our guest for the first time or two so do not let that stop you.

Thursday morning, very early, 6:00 AM we took our good friend Colleen to the airport for her return flight to Florida. She gave her accommodation in our MoHo a 5-star rating! The time flew by while she was here. Both of us are hoping for a longer visit next summer.
Since we were going to DesMoines and Costco we touched base with Myron and Susan and met up with them at The Machine Shed for a visit and breakfast. Both were top notch!

The heavens opened up with a downpour on our way to Costco and we waited in the car parking lot for what seemed like forever hoping it would let up. Once we got in there Butch talked to them about new tires and we had a most pleasant tire buying experience and drove away with 4 new tires on the car. They were reasonable, thorough, professional and efficient in all aspects.

We came home on our comfy new tires and I was able to catch a nap before HyVee trivia time. We always have fun no matter how we answer the questions. We did decide the guy who makes up the questions needs a vacation and our host Chris verified that yes he did. Despite the difficulty, we came in 3rd once again.
Moving on to Friday...remember that I needed to have more removed from my left ear because the biopsy did not catch it all for me either? Well, Friday was the day, so off to Ames we go to see our new best friend Dr. Poag.
Just as we are pulling out of Ames the hearing aid people called and said that Butch's hearing aids were back from the factory and ready for pick up so we stayed on highway 30, zipped right past Jefferson and ventured 25 miles further on to Carroll. Really it was not a big deal as the hearing aids were still in warranty and we were listening to a book that was interesting so
we were happily able to continue listening. The book is "Before We Were Yours"  by Lisa Wingate

About the book:
Two families, generations apart, are forever changed by a heartbreaking injustice in this poignant novel, inspired by a true story, for fans of Orphan Train and The Nightingale.

Memphis, 1939. Twelve-year-old Rill Foss and her four younger siblings live a magical life aboard their family's Mississippi River shantyboat. But when their father must rush their mother to the hospital one stormy night, Rill is left in charge - until strangers arrive in force. Wrenched from all that is familiar and thrown into a Tennessee Children's Home Society orphanage, the Foss children are assured that they will soon be returned to their parents - but they quickly realize the dark truth. At the mercy of the facility's cruel director, Rill fights to keep her sisters and brother together in a world of danger and uncertainty.

Aiken, South Carolina, present day. Born into wealth and privilege, Avery Stafford seems to have it all: a successful career as a federal prosecutor, a handsome fiancé, and a lavish wedding on the horizon. But when Avery returns home to help her father weather a health crisis, a chance encounter leaves her with uncomfortable questions and compels her to take a journey through her family's long-hidden history, on a path that will ultimately lead either to devastation or to redemption.

Based on one of America's most notorious real-life scandals - in which Georgia Tann, director of a Memphis-based adoption organization, kidnapped and sold poor children to wealthy families all over the country - Lisa Wingate's riveting, wrenching, and ultimately uplifting tale reminds us how, even though the paths we take can lead to many places, the heart never forgets where we belong.

Moving on- Mickey had a ceiling fan she needed to have installed in her bedroom so once we arrived home and gathered up the tools we went to Mickey's. I have been wondering how she slept last night with her new fan.
We are in the middle of a heat wave. Record-breaking high temps with weather alerts about taking it easy in the heat. We are watching out for old people, children, and pets and you should too!

So here we are on Saturday and I can say I remembered most of the happenings for this week. This morning instead of biking or walking I decided to tackle the weeds around here while it was a
cool (?) 73 degrees at 7:00 AM. Didn't get them all by any means but I did make a dent and a sore back. Butch decided it was time to burn weeds, twigs, and, papers. We do not have a shredder but burn papers instead. We have a burn barrel and a long hose in case you were wondering about safety issues.

Miscellaneous pics from this week:




A new heyday for Jefferson~a column by Colleen O’Brien

A new heyday for Jefferson
June 13, 2018Greene County News Online
~a column by Colleen O’Brien

It is the middle of June, and Jefferson is lush with spring. It is a rain forest of fifty shades of green, flowers blooming in the jungle, birds crazy with song dawn to dusk. On the edge of town, the corn is two feet tall, and people are as busy as the environment – prosperity in the soil and along every sidewalk.

I’m surrounded by the feeling that Jefferson has crossed some hurdle in its forward movement since designated a Main Street town in 2012: the vision is coming to pass.
Downtown, new-old storefronts look spiffy even as they mimic 1888 rather than 2018. The style is old, the wood and paint and lots of the bricks are new. Are there more people and more autos?

Yards are mowed so often in this growing season that the whole town looks like a park. The trees seem suddenly to have leaped skyward like Jack’s beanstalk to become the giants of my childhood. It may be an illusion that they’ve all grown 20 feet. It’s nearly the summer solstice and we’ve had lots of rain and early hot weather – the sycamores and silver maples, a Siberian elm near me, the oak hammock of Chautauqua Park, all these trees tower along the streets.

Ideas have taken hold that promise hard work but much optimism. Along with the new-old of the buildings is that lively spark of a new-old of the pioneer spirit. A nation known for the endless individualism of its citizens is showing off in Jefferson the country’s two and a half centuries of working together for the good of the whole.

Because of our oft written about “rugged individualism,” history has less to say about our asking for and offering help of and to one another. It ignores that a nation made up of all other nations couldn’t have turned out this well unless people came together in groups and clubs and co-ops and granges and councils and volunteer organizations galore.

In the way of all things, I’m sure not all is right with everything in this town (we can all count the ways), but with the spirit in the air that I feel as I walk around town, many problems will get fixed and some will go away as people chip at them. The difficult problems are being considered, talked about, aired both casually and pointedly; things will happen because the ideas are in the air, ideas that abound regarding our children’s education and attracting newcomers – two issues bound tightly together.

The plethora of artists, writers, musicians, actors, gardeners, builders, returning residents, entrepreneurs, farmers and businesspeople are eager to sustain the past and the future They are near to bursting with ideas to draw outsiders, townies, country folk and passersby into the orbit of a town rightfully proud of its beauty and its past and hoping to make these years a past to be proud of.

There is new art on rooftops and fresh murals on the sides of buildings. There is poetry in the alleys and a piano on the square. There are ideas afoot for artists-in-residence, hopes for new businesses both exotic and everyday practical.

What little town do you know that has two newspapers, a movie theater, a skating rink, a bowling alley, a famous bike trail, a library, a municipal swimming pool, a golf course, tennis courts, historic buildings of well-kept architectural integrity and purpose, a Chinese restaurant, a Mexican restaurant, a donut shop, an ice cream shop . . . really, folks, we’re doing fine and are on the way to finer.

To all who’ve made it shine, Jefferson, Iowa itself at this moment in its history sparkles with gratitude at the chance for renewed prosperity in a safe place. For those who get to live here, be proud, relieved, happier than you are impatient. Things are moving right along.

Bodacious Big Batch of Dip

Tuesday, June 12, 2018
Make a Bodacious Big Batch of Dip
Janet Groene's
Big Dipper

    Make a big batch of this delicious goo while you’re at it because it keeps well in the RV refrigerator. You'll use it time and again as a dip, salad dressing, topping for baked potatoes and even as a sandwich spread or burger topping. Keep it cold for up to 5 days and stir before using.
     Canned Mexicorn is a colorful shortcut to add texture and taste. And, because this corn is cooked, it keeps better for the long term. Chopped fresh red and green pepper, onion, cucumber and other fresh vegetables are a plus in dip you're going to use quickly but they tend to wilt and weep after a day or two.
       
1 pint (2 cups) sour cream
1 cup bottled ranch salad dressing
1 pint (2 cups) plain yogurt
1 packet dry ranch dressing mix
4 drops Tabasco sauce (optional)
10- to 12-ounce can corn with green and red peppers (e.g. Mexicorn), well drained

    Whisk sour cream,  bottled dressing, yogurt and dry dressing mix until smooth. Stir in Tabasco, sriracha or other hot sauce to taste. Fold in corn.
    Mix everything well in a large bowl. Serve in smaller bowls surrounded by raw vegetable sticks, crackers, tortilla chips, etc.  Makes about 6 cups. 

See more of Janet Groene’s shortcut recipes for RV meals at https://campandrvcook.blogspot.com

Friday, June 15

Homemade mosquito spray

Our city sprays for mosquitoes but thought someone else may want to try this recipe.

The recipe consists of three household ingredients: Epsom salts, beer, and Listerine.  Combine a third of each in a garden sprayer, then wet everything in the yard.  One application lasts the season. 

Wednesday, June 13

Chuckling Still

Thanks, Peg!
Down memory lane! This is cute! Your laugh for today!

Murgatroyd, remember that word?  Would you believe the email spell checker did not recognize the word, Murgatroyd?

Heavens to Murgatroyd!

Lost Words from our childhood: Words gone as fast as the buggy whip! Sad really.
The other day a not-so elderly lady said something to her son about driving a Jalopy and he looked at her quizzically and said: "What the heck is a Jalopy?"

He never heard of the word jalopy! She knew she was old, ... but not that old.       

Well, I hope you are Hunky Dory after you read this and chuckle.

About a month ago, I illuminated some old expressions that have become obsolete because of the inexorable march of technology.
These phrases included "Don't touch that dial," "Carbon copy," "You sound like a broken record" and "Hung out to dry."

Back in the olden days, we had a lot of 'moxie'. We'd put on our best 'bib and tucker' to 'straighten up and fly right'.

Heavens to Betsy! Gee whillikers! Jumping Jehoshaphat! Holy moley!

We were 'in like Flynn' and 'living the life of Riley'.

Even a regular guy couldn't accuse us of being a knucklehead, a nincompoop or a pill. Not for all the tea in China!
Back in the olden days, life used to be swell, but when's the last time anything was swell?

Swell has gone the way of beehives, pageboys and the D.A., of spats, knickers, fedoras, poodle skirts, saddle shoes, penny loafers and pedal pushers. And don't forget Saddle Stitched Pants.
Oh, my aching back! Kilroy was here, .. but he isn't anymore.

We wake up from what surely has been just a short nap and before we can say, "Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle!"       
Or, This is a 'fine kettle of fish'!

We discover that the words we grew up with, the words that seemed omnipresent as oxygen, have vanished with scarcely a notice from our tongues and our pens and our keyboards.

Poof, go the words of our youth, the words we've left behind
We blink, and they're gone. Where have all those great phrases gone? Long gone: Pshaw, The milkman did it. Hey, it's your nickel!           Don't forget to pull the chain. Knee high to a grasshopper. Well, Fiddlesticks! Going like sixty.           I'll see you in the funny papers. Don't take any wooden nickels. Wake up and smell the roses. It turns out there are more of these lost words and expressions than Carter has liver pills.         

This can be disturbing stuff! ("Carter's Little Liver Pills" are gone too.)  We of a certain age have been blessed to live in changeable times. For a child, each new word is like a shiny toy, a toy that has no age. We at the other end of the chronological arc have the advantage of remembering there are words that once existed and there were words that once strutted their hour upon the earthly stage and now are heard no more, except in our collective memories.  It's one of the greatest advantages of aging.  Leaves us to wonder where Superman will find a phone booth.

See ya later, alligator!      Okidoki!

WE ARE THE CHILDREN OF THE FABULOUS 50'S.  NO ONE WILL EVER HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY AGAIN.  WE WERE GIVEN ONE OF OUR MOST PRECIOUS GIFTS, ...
OUR MEMORIES!

Tuesday, June 12

Top Notch Bike Trail Ride

This morning Colleen and I finally took off on a bike ride. And we enjoyed every minute of it riding out to Bullhead Farm and back. It took us an hour and 15 minutes to ride the nearly 11-mile round trip.
We stopped several times on the ride out but non-stop on the way back.

 I know this one is blurry but I like it anyway.










 Goats at Bullhead Farm




Jefferson Roots

Roy Burgess lived across the street from a childhood playmate of mine. I knew his name but that was about it because he was younger than me by about four years. You know how it is growing up, paying attention to those younger than you was not a normal way to be in those days. But Roy was another of those Jefferson people who have moved back to town after being many places and doing fantastic things for many years.
Colleen, her sister Denise and I went to visit Roy. Butch joined us later. It was a most pleasant and fascinating afternoon.

Here is probably the most recent interview with Roy and explains so much about him and his talent. He is so worth the read. 
 Click here: http://beeherald.com/news/leaving-legacy

And here is the next best thing to an in-person visit with him. Spend some time on this website and you will soon know why I think he and his talent are so special.
http://royeburgess.com/Welcome.html

We visited a fair part of the afternoon away, sharing childhood memories and the events that brought us back to Jefferson.

These are pictures taken yesterday.
Roy


 Colleen
                         Butch


And I caught Denise off guard but got a very good picture. 

Sunday, June 10

From Peggy G.-Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings

This looks like a recipe that has all the right stuff. It is easy. May have most of the items on hand and looks mighty tasty. So thanks, Peg for posting it on Facebook.

CROCK POT CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS
Easy Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings. Juicy chicken breasts cook to tender perfection in the slow cooker in a rich creamy sauce. Shortcut dumplings make this delicious comforting meal effortless.


INGREDIENTS:
1 large onion , diced
1 can (10.5 oz) cream of celery soup
1 can (10.5 oz) cream of chicken soup
1 tablespoon fresh parsley
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
black pepper to taste
4 skinless boneless chicken breasts
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
2 cups frozen vegetables or peas and carrots , defrosted
1 can (8 pieces) refrigerated biscuits (Buttermilk, Country or Homestyle)
DIRECTIONS:
Add onion to 6 qt crock pot and top with chicken breasts.
In a small bowl, combine cream of celery soup, cream of chicken soup, parsley, poultry seasoning and pepper. Spread over chicken breasts. Top with chicken broth and cook on high 5 hours.
Approximately 1 hour (I allow 60 – 90 minutes) before serving (after 4 hours of cooking time), roll each biscuit thin and flat. Cut into 4 strips. Add vegetables to the slow cooker and stir. Add biscuit strips on top. Replace lid as quickly as possible.
TO SERVE
Remove chicken breasts and slightly shred. Add back into slow cooker and stir (this will break up the dumplings somewhat which is ok). Let cook an additional 10 minutes and serve.
NOTES:
My biscuits were perfectly cooked after 60 minutes however some slow cookers have required extra time to cook the biscuits.

NUTRITION INFORMATION Yield: 4 servings, Serving Size:
Amount Per Serving:  Calories: 506 Calories

K.I.S.S. Control Key Shortcuts

Keep it simple, sweetie. You know me well by now and this is my motto. So here you are.

Control Key Shortcuts
Ctrl+F = Find something on a page – in a browser, text editor, PDF editor, ebook, etc. To
remember this easily, think F = FIND.
Ctrl+P = Print the document you have open. Whether it’s a web page, a Word doc, PDF file,
text file, etc. Think P = PRINT.
Ctrl+N = Opens new window in the program that’s running. Think N = NEW.
Ctrl+S = Saves the document you’re working on. Think S = SAVE.
Ctrl+H = Shows your browser’s history. Think H = History
Ctrl+J = Shows a list of downloads in your browser. Think J= ? I give up! J=Downloads! Junk?

And let us not fail to mention these basic Ctrl Key shortcuts:
Ctrl+A = Select All
Ctrl+C = Copy
Ctrl+V = Paste
Ctrl+Z = Restores deleted files instantly when used immediately after deleting a file.