Two Ripe Bananas

I rescued/repurposed two ripe bananas this morning. I used the recipe I posted the other day. I have a hard time throwing overripe bananas away when these muffins are so easy to put together and good for you too.

Milkweed Vine

This morning I pulled a vine out of our evergreen in the front of the house and these pods were attached. So I had to find out what they were and they are a milkweed vine. Didn't know there was such a thing but I do now. You can find out more here:
http://www.walterreeves.com/gardening-q-and-a/climbing-milkweed-vine-honeyvine/

Failed

I failed to get all my list done. I didn't get to my outdoor plans. Some days are like that. Today I went with Mickey to Fort Dodge and Menards so I didn't fulfill my today's list either. Some days are like that.
Virginia and I walked this morning despite the mosquitoes. They are saying West Nile is on the rise here in Iowa and early morning is the worst time of day to be outdoors. I know what you are thinking. That is when I am out there. I have been spraying up before I go. Virginia will be gone next week so I may switch to biking. I can outrun them on a bike.
I took some pictures this morning.
Here they are: At the Fairgrounds in the Early Morning

Baby Beggar

My to-do list

My to-do list

1. Cook a Turkey-
Jason brought me a turkey from their freezer that needed to be cooked. Sometimes being retired has extra benefits. Basically, I have the time. It is in the oven

2. Divvy up the hamburger I purchased yesterday at Costco. It is in a 10-pound tube and that is way too much to deal with in one hunk. LEAVE HERE WITH A LAUGH
Q: What do you call a cow with no legs?
A: Ground beef
3. Use up the two too ripe banana's I have by making Greek Yogurt Muffins. Oops! Requires a trip to store for Greek yogurt first. This one may slip into tomorrow's to-do list.

Greek yogurt muffins

Ingredients

1 cup plain Greek yogurt

2 ripe bananas

2 eggs

2 cups rolled oats

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup brown sugar

blueberries

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and prepare muffin pan by spraying with cooking spray or lining with cupcake liners. (You may want to spray cupcake liners with spray so they don’t stick to the liners).

2. Put all ingredients except blueberries into a blender or food processor and process on high until oats are broken down and it becomes a smooth and creamy batter.

3. Pour batter into prepared muffin tins.

Push 5 or 6 blueberries into each filled muffin cavity and bake for 15-20 minutes until tops are set and a toothpick comes out clean. Let muffins set 5-10 minutes before removing and placing on a cooling rack. Makes 12.

Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container or baggie.

http://www.iowalivingmagazines.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Greene-Co-July-2015.pdf

4. Cut the tops off the iris out front. If I do this in the Fall it makes cleanup so much easier in the Spring.

5. Read the clue for tonight's trivia. Each week we can go to and read up on the info about one of the questions. First- https://www.facebook.com/woodystrivia and that leads you to  https://woodystrivia.com/ We do not have the specific question but the answer will be in there somewhere.

5. Post this website so people can see all the neat RV ideas. Many can be used in other places too.

http://rvcoutdoors.com/37-rv-hacks-that-will-make-you-a-happy-camper/

Attention crocheters!!

I would be greatly tempted to buy a couple of these if you were tempted to crochet a couple. Need one for each side.
https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/bicycle-skirt-guard

Most unusual

OK, Yesterday I told you about a cat on a fence post. Today I have another strange story. Virginia and I planned on walking this morning. And As I neared the gazebo at the end of the trail, I noticed someone sleeping in the gazebo. He had a sleeping bag, a bicycle, and a trailer that looks like a full-time RV thing. Small trailer. One you would pull behind a bicycle. It had lots of stickers on it from the places he has been. It was a well-used vehicle. I was rather surprised to see someone laying there. But even more surprised was I to see a cat snuggled up to this person also sleeping. I thought how strange to be traveling with a cat.
So I met up with Virginia And we continued on our walk. I look ahead on the trail and I see an animal and I cannot quite discern what it is. We came to the conclusion it was a fox and it was far enough ahead that I could not get a good picture with my phone. As we got closer you could see there was a fox and there were 2 of them. Quite a surprise! Earlier in the summer Virginia had seen a baby fox near the culvert where these 2 were standing this morning. So we think that this family has been there all summer. They skedaddled when they saw us and headed into a field south of the fairgrounds.. Those were the only living things we saw on the trail this morning. All of them unusual.
Back to the cat. When I turned around and came back home I noticed that the cat was missing but the person was still sound asleep. So I'm not so sure this is a person traveling with a cat. I'm thinking maybe it's a neighborhood cat that found this warm spot to sleep. Even more strange. I think I will take my camera for tomorrows walk.

Also this morning I was reminded of a feature in Windows 10 that many people do not know they have or like me, they forgot they have it. I used the program to dictate this entry.
Here is more info about it.

How to Use Dictation in Windows 10 

Did you know that beginning with the Windows 10 Version 1709 (April 2018 Update) it’s easier than ever to use your voice to take a note, write your thoughts or it’s now easier than ever to take a note, write an email or even write a story or an essay, just by using your device’s microphone and your voice?

To use the new and improved dictation feature in Windows 10 Version 1709 (April 2018 Update) and newer versions of Windows 10, press and hold down the Windows Key and tap the H key, then place your cursor in (almost) any text field and start talking. It works with almost any app including MS Word, WordPad, and Gmail.

Here’s an example of Windows 10 Dictation being used with MS Word. See?

Above: You can see Windows Dictation is “Listening…” and in Word, you can see what I’ve dictated. You can add punctuation by saying comma, period, etc.  And you’ll find that the more you use Windows Dictation, the better it does at understanding your voice.

When you’re done dictating just say “Stop dictating”.

Car fixed and Party time!

Butch took the car to Stew Hanson Hyundai in DesMoines to get a warranty job done on the car. As luck would have it they were still missing a part so they sent him home with a loaner car. A 2018 Hyundai Elantra. Don't want to trade for one of those. Actually, as long as we are towing we don't want to trade for anything. I think that was on Thursday. As I look back there were all kinds of things I wanted to remember to tell you.
So we'll see how it goes. With the rainy week it was hard to get a walk in but we managed a few days. I think it was Wednesday when Virginia and I walked and on the way home I saw a guy or gal sleeping on a couch outside a church near the trailhead. I didn't notice him or her until I was walking home. I took a picture with my phone. With my camera, it would have been much better but here it is.
This was at 7:30 AM

One of the cartoon clips this week that held a special meaning for me.

Friday we went down to Jack and Jan Tallmans so Butch could mow and then we could party. We had so much fun playing cribbage with the Tallmans and Marv and Judy Smith that we all wanted to repeat it. It was just as much fun.
Backing up a bit on Tuesday night the McQuillens had us over for a deck party. It was supposed to happen on Labor Day but it rained out so we tried Tuesday night but it rained again. We had to move the deck party inside and it worked out. We had a really good time despite the downpour. The party commenced at 4:30 and didn't break up until after 8:00. That is always a sign of a good time.

Butch went to Des Moines on Saturday morning to pick up our car and return the loaner. Saturday evening we went to Paton to eat supper at 209 Main in Paton. The food was quite good as it usually is. Butch had Broasted Chicken Breast and I had Chicken Alfredo. It was very tasty.
On the way up to 209 Main, Butch and I saw a cat sitting on a fence post. This was 2-3 miles out in the country. It was sitting there watching the traffic go by, The nearest house was quite a distance.
We remarked that neither of us had seen that before.
Today we hosted a biscuit and sausage gravy breakfast for 16 members of our Deja Vu group. We ran it for any time after 8:00 am. It really worked well with people trickling in and leaving when ready. Much easier than trying to seat everyone at the same time in our tiny home.

 Flower of WWII