At the Fair-Part two

We were pretty busy at the Fair so we didn't get much computer time and after the campground filled up the Internet would go wonky frequently. I did get some pictures though. I love taking pictures at the fair. Norma and I had entries in the fair and we both did well. She got a first place on her painting and a couple of firsts on her photo entries. I had only photo entries this year and I got a couple of first places too.

Dale C. reading the morning paper. He did not have any idea I took this picture.

The Guys

Norma & Butch

Headed off to the fair

Norma's painting

                                                                Sunflower Fair entries

Corn entries

Judging of Tomatoes

Greasy Fair Food

Left too long by a tree

At the Fair - Part one

Yesterday at the crack of dawn Butch was up and ready to go. I do not like it when he gets up too early. I have my things I like to do in the quiet and peace of the early morning. And when he gets up too early the day seems to get off on the wrong foot for me. Like waking up on the wrong side of the bed. So we were up and on the road by 7:50 AM headed for Spencer IA and the Clay County Fair. And so the rest of the day was taken up with meet and greets, visiting and too much food. You see the fair does not start till Saturday but many gather early for good camping spots and reduced price entry tickets and we are among such a group.
So perhaps I will get my ducks in a row today and be a better reporter of what is happening all around.

Tip of Texas

Drought picture of Texas. Looks like the tip is abnormally dry but most of the rest is exceptionally dry.
Click on picture for larger view.

September is a beautiful month

Reply

The temps get a little cooler and our thoughts turn to different things. Like cooking and wrapping up the loose ends of summer and heading south. Although the heading south is still a month away and my memory is good enough to know it is plenty warm down there yet.

We have the west storm door on and Butch has a few finishing touches to do to it. I know, I know, PICTURES. Maybe later today.

I have a funeral to go to this morning. A classmate of mine. Karel Johnson Bane. We share cousins. My Uncle Jack and her Aunt Gar married and produced our shared cousins. It took me awhile to figure out how to word that effectively and it will most likely take you awhile to decipher it.

The recipe below is a definite on my To-do list and I have the roast in the freezer to do it with.

Slow Cooker Italian Pot Roast

8 ounces sliced fresh mushrooms
1 large onion, cut in half and sliced
1 (2 1/2- to 3-pound) boneless beef chuck roast, trimmed
1 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 (1-ounce) envelope dry onion soup mix
1 (14-ounce) can beef broth
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
Hot cooked egg noodles

Place mushrooms and onion in the bottom of a 5 1/2-quart slow cooker.

Sprinkle roast evenly with pepper. Brown roast on all sides in hot oil
in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Place roast on top of
mushrooms and onion in slow cooker. Sprinkle onion soup mix evenly over
roast. Pour beef broth and tomato sauce over roast. Cover and cook on
HIGH 5 to 6 hours or until meat shreds easily with a fork.

Remove roast from slow cooker, and cut into large chunks; keep warm.

Skim fat from juices in slow cooker; stir in dried Italian seasoning and
tomato paste. Stir together cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water in a
small bowl until smooth; add to juices in slow cooker, stirring until
blended. Cover and cook on HIGH 20 to 30 more minutes or until mixture
is thickened. Add roast pieces back to slow cooker. Cover and cook until
thoroughly heated. Serve over hot cooked egg noodles. Makes 6 servings.

Laboring on Labor Day

I have cleaned house and caught up on laundry while Butch is still laboring away on the west side storm door in the breezeway. We are in a bit of a push as we would like to get things tied up a bit before going to the Clay County Fair next Thursday. We really like the Clay County Fair. It has most of what the state fair has but it is so much easier to get around. I have a few photography entries, thanks to my friend Norma Cooklin who takes them to the fair before the deadline. We will be meeting up with the Cooklins and the Cleavelands when we get there. We have heard that Jefferson friends Bert and Everett Beebe will also be there. Keri is bailing me out again by preparing Crockpot Pizza for me to take for a joint meal contribution. I am so lucky.
Yesterday we went to breakfast with Leo and grandniece Anna Kelley who stopped by for a visit. She is new to college and was finding it lonely on campus as most of the students do not stick around for the holiday. She needed to stay due to a work study program she is in. But the distance to Jefferson was close enough to get back to campus before she needed to be there. We had a great breakfast and a nice visit.

I have been hot and heavy on bracelet making finishing about one a day. I took some photos of them yesterday but only one was worth keeping. This is the brides bracelet.

Elise at a festival

Santa-Cali-Gon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyQPvB2kyLU

Red All Over Coleslaw

I was telling Keri about the following recipe and she thought it sounded really good. So do I! And then she suggested I put it on the blog. It helps to have these recipes on the blog. Then if my computer should go belly up I will still have many of my favorite recipes.


Red All Over Cole Slaw
10-ounce package grated red cabbage*
Medium red onion, diced
½ cup dried cherries or cranberries
½ cup red pistachios (optional)
10-ounce can shredded beets, well drained (optional)
10- to 12-ounce jar strawberry or raspberry jelly, jam or preserves
1/3 cup raspberry vinegar
In a small saucepan, gently heat the jam or jelly until it softens and stir in vinegar. Fold
into a mixture of all the other ingredients. Stir again before serving.
*If you prefer to grate your own red cabbage you’ll need about 6 cups 


PS Butch would not touch this recipe in a million years. I do not think I could sneak it past him no matter how hard I tried. Still it sure sounds good to me.

Todays entry...

I have been meaning to get some new pictures to update our work on the house but other stuff kept getting in the way. Maybe tomorrow.
I succumbed to peer pressure and did not use Roundup on my flower bed. I pulled all the weeds, flowers etc to start over with a clean slate. Neighbor Bill across the street asked me if I wanted some iris. Since mine did not bloom this year I said I certainly would like some iris. After digging mine all up I did think I might try replanting them to see if their problem was merely needing a new place to bloom. Maybe....still undecided. Friend Denise offered me some seeds from her really strange but beautiful plant named "Love Lies Bleeding"
Here is a picture of it taken from Google images.

I was hot tired and very sweaty after tackling the flower bed. Took a shower and got into dry clothes and then the mail came. With a bill for $106 . Butch and I have very good health insurance and we have paid dearly for it. We have not had one medical expense not paid for in all the years we have had it until we moved here. I swallowed hard and paid the first small bill from the clinic we now deal with, knowing full well that it had to be incorrectly submitted or it would have been paid. But then we got a bigger bill today for a tetanus shot given to Butch.  So I called billing and was told that Blue Cross/Blue Shield never pays for tetanus. I told her ours does and always has. She said you had better call them because they are not now. I was more than a little pissed off. So I called them. They informed me the problem is the way it was submitted. The clinic needs to send them a  paper from Medicare stating the  denial  and then they will pay it. This seems very fundamental to me. Apparently the clinic is submitting the bill to BC/BS BEFORE they have the denial from Medicare. Of course they will not pay it before Medicare denies it. If this issue cannot be resolved we will be going somewhere that can handle our insurance issues. As it is I cannot get it resolved until Tuesday morning. I am hoping it is a simple thing. When things cannot be resolved for several days it is hard for me to put it out of my mind until it can be resolved. 

Thursday

They say we may break records today for high temperatures on this date. Probably. It was 71 when I arose this morning. There are roofers on the Habitat for Humanity house 2nd house north of us and two have shed their shirts already and look kinda shiny. My friend Colleen told me she thinks that guys who choose that line of work are a different kind of guy and I agree. I do not think that is exactly how she said it but the meaning is close.
Butch says the Beef Nacho Casserole is a keeper. Just so you know.
Butch has started on the west door in the breezeway by building a new wall. At least I think that is the plan. I have started the brides bracelet and after the really wide one this seems to be zipping right along.
I am feeling the push of the heat and really MUST get my walk in so maybe I will chat more later.
Bye 4 now

Link of the day

Into genealogy then you most likely already know about this site, if not then take a look.


FamilySearch.org
https://www.familysearch.org/

"Search the Family History Library's genealogy database, which contains
millions of names from thousands of family trees. A project of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints."

Latest bracelet

This one is for a wedding gift. It measure 1 1/2 inch wide and 8 inches long because it is for the groom. I have another to get done for the bride. It seems like I have been on this big one a long time but if you take out the house construction I have done in between it is probably not as long as I think. I sure hope the giver and the recipients like it. I know I do!

There is gold in them thar hills! I put one gold bead (Indian Spirit) in the bracelet. If you click on the picture to enlarge it you might find it. I did. 

And then...

Sunday I went to the conference center on Lake Panorama for a J.I.G.'s gathering. For those who do not know, JIGS is Jefferson Iowa Girls. Jigs meets about once a month and it is made up of women who grew up in Jefferson. It is a great time to visit and see old friends and acquaintances we do not have the opportunity to visit  with regularly. There were seven of us in attendance and it was fun.
While I was thus occupied Butch was home trying to install a new shower door in the motorhome. He was still at it when I returned home and we continued to be at it until after 8:00 PM that evening. Now we have a new shower door and I can get in and out of it unassisted ...and that is a good thing.
Yesterday Butch went out to Leo and Keri's to help Leo with a Direct TV satellite dish. He was not successful and it is a sore and painful subject for Leo and Keri. We have been very successful in getting assistance from Direct TV. Let's just say Leo and Keri have not.
While Butch was gone I ran across a casserole recipe and I happened to have all the ingredients on hand. It was for Beef Nacho Casserole so I decided why not make it for lunch. It is still warm enough that I did not want to use the moho oven so I baked it in the garage stove. Worked out great and the casserole was sitting on the table when Butch came home. I asked him if he would like some. He said sure. Now Peggy and Kay S. are going to love this and roll on the floor laughing. His next statement was ..."Who brought that?"
Would you guess that I rarely turn on an oven?

From Grandpa Gary

When you have some free time I uploaded 5 new videos. Grandpa and Grandma had a great weekend! We got to spend over 48 straight hours with Elise Teeter.

 

Eating Watermelon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5as1AZ5xXo
Foot Ring: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeeGGRaSKiE
Elise reading: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFIuzr4DT3g
Cry for Broom: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOz37Vp3cVM
Playing "Piano": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJ3DFH7i0Ec

Visitors

Yesterday friends Bill and Bev Gunderson  from Atlantic IA came to see us and we did lots of things. There were city wide garage sales and a Flea Market and Crafts sale. There was also a quilt show but there was not enough interest among us to pay the entry fee. So after looking over the house and discussing our progress we went to the fair grounds to look over what all was being offered at the Flea market/Craft sale. We moseyed through the historical museum and that prompted much discussion about the olden days. When we tired of that we went uptown to enjoy a another wonderful meal at the Tea Garden, still my favorite place to eat in Jefferson. I had turkey and broccoli quiche and it was super. Everyone enjoyed their meal.
Then we went on a tour of the area golf courses. We also stopped at Leo and Keri's and saw that Leo was struggling with his lawn machinery. And then back to our place for a sit and visit.  Great day with old friends.

Off to see the tractors...Big whoop

Caught by surprise...sorry Bev.

At the Historical Museum

Log Cabin Kitchen

Hey there is one we missed!!

Yesterday

A very enjoyable day. We went to Ames with Estel and Pat for a meeting with Alliant Energy people about our health insurance and the changes being made. I almost titled this "Don't Cry Until You Are Hurt". For some it will be more costly but for us wonder of wonder and joy of joys it will be a big annual raise. We are still in a bit of a shock about it. Other long ago retirees have been paying little or nothing for their supplemental insurance whereby Butch and I have been paying a tidy little sum per month. The pendulum  for us has swung the other way. Come January we will be getting a raise.

Taken while sitting at my computer in the early morning. I love the way the light comes through the tree. Hard to capture but that was my goal in taking this photo.

My work on the path has commenced.

The installation of the east breezeway door looks great . Still need to get some siding and paint the trim but we are very happy with the final product.

RV backing? Get on same signal "wavelength."

A Lesson for us all...Rvers that is. But could be useful for anyone who needs to guide someone into a parking space.

RV backing? Get on same signal "wavelength.": 'via Blog this'

One door down

Yesterday Butch and I were able to get the storm door on the east side of the breezeway hung in place. There is a little finishing work to be done but for the most part it is installed. Now when we get the other one installed on the west side we will be somewhat secure.
I have two more pieces of walkway done with just 24 to go. I have to do them a few at a time or suffer the consequences. It is cloudy today which would be a help but we are obliged to attend a meeting in Ames about changes in our health insurance. Alliant Energy is telling us we have to do it in different manner. We are fairly certain it will be to the companies advantage of course so we are merely going to find out what we must do to deal with it. 

Today on Facebook I saw this little ditty and copied it. Cute!
"I have been to a lot of places, but I've never been in Cahoots. Apparently you can't go alone. You have to be in Cahoots with someone. I've also have never been in Cognito, either. I hear no one recognizes you there. I have, however, been in Sane. They don't have an airport; you have to be driven there. I have made several trips, thanks to my friends and family. I would like to go to Conclusions, but you have to jump and I'm not much on physical activity."

Yesterday I decided to tackle the pathway from the Moho to the house. Leo planned to do it but lately he has become super busy so I thought there is only one way to get it done and that is to start. I started at the house and the finished work it is not as nifty as I would like but struggling with those 16 x 16 slabs of concrete is no easy feat for me. And speaking of struggling Butch is struggling with the doorway prep in the breezeway. We hope it was just a day for struggling and that things will go better today.

We have three couples that we met at Snow Mountain Ranch now working at Thunder Bay Resort where we were last summer. Naturally I have been thinking of them quite a bit, wondering how things are going for them, knowing what they are seeing and most likely doing and envying them just a bit. They must be busy as I am not seeing much posting from any of them. It will be fun meeting up with them this fall and getting their take on things.

Leo called us last night and told us his dog Lexi had a mishap. Leo was roughhousing with Lexi on the bed and Lexi fell off dislocating a joint in a leg. The vet came out and something clicked putting it back together and Lexi seems to be fine now. But no more roughhousing for Lexi. Leo called to warn Butch as he too likes to roughhouse with Lexi.

This afternoon I have an appointment for a "real" haircut. I have Butch cut my hair much of the time and he does a good job but every now and then I need a professional one. So today is the day. Butch needs a haircut too and if I can ever get him to sit still long enough and the sweat isn't running off his forehead I will get it done. Have you ever tried to cut someones hair when they are perspiring excessively? It isn't easy.

Sunday Ride

Sunday I went for a bike ride in the morning. Sunshiny perfect weather for a ride. I went a little further than the last time. As I am riding along with birds singing, crickets chirping, wildflowers blooming and the sunlight playing in the shadows of trees, I was wishing I could share the time, place and conditions with every one of you. That is what brought me here. 


Butch continued working on the breezeway wanting to get it closed in asap. Yesterday we made a run to Des Moines with Leo's pickup to get some storm doors for the breezeway. We were also lucky enough to find a new shower door for the moho. Ours went bad and there was no fixing it. Really...we even called the manufacturer of the motorhome and the company that made the shower door is no longer in business and we had looked in all the usual shower door buyng places. Then yesterday we stopped at Plumb Supply and they could order one that would fit and we were happy. Then by chance we stopped at Menards and wonder of wonders they had one in stock that would fit. I am saying all this with the hope that it will fit as it isn't installed just yet. The measurements are correct so we will see. I will be happy. When I shower Butch has to help me and yes I do know how that sounds. The door has to be lifted in order to settle into place and I am unable to do that so I get into the shower and he shuts the door for me. I can get out after my shower but he once again has to close the door. It is a pain for me and I am sure for him too. Grateful and happy I will be when we once again have a shower door that works. AND that was the third thing to go amiss on the motorhome so hopefully we are back in a smooth place.


So now- Do you see the howling Coyote in this cloud?

Taken yesterday while waiting for Butch at Plumb Supply.

Firemen of long ago.

Ken Pederson ( upper right) lives across the street from us and he brought this copy of a newspaper clipping over for Butch to see. We enjoyed it very much as it brought back many memories of when these fellows were the young bucks in town..

A special Day

I was busy cleaning house and Butch was busy with the east wall in the breezeway when the phone rang and it was Jason. He said, "Wanna go to an auction?'. I said that I would check with Butch and see if he was up for it. He was. So we cleaned up a bit and met Jason and Laura at the auction in Grand Junction. This was a big auction and at one time the people who lived there were among the very rich. The house was set in a wooded area at the end of main street. Three acres of land with a servants house besides the main house. The house was 4 stories tall if you counted the basement and attic. The attic held an old-fashioned pool table with three  2 inch plus thick slabs of slate. We had one very similar when we lived in Aurora Ne. We moved it from Jefferson to Aurora. It had been in the pool hall in Jefferson years ago. I bought it from Beachy Kendall whose father owned the pool hall. I am sure it is still in the house in Aurora because they are extremely hard to move. We all do things in our youth we wouldn't dream of doing in our old age. Moving a slate-topped pool table is one of them. 
This house was wonderful and so many things to see in it. Like tapestry on the walls. At first you thought it was wallpaper but closer looks said it was a fabric. The many details of this house were extraordinary.  And it had been filled from basement to roof with antiques.. The roof was tiled by the way. So was the servants house and they perhaps will take tiles from it to repair the main hose. The house was not kept up so the young folks who bought it will be many years and many dollars getting it all renovated.  They paid $75,000 for it. It will be even more remarkable when they have it all finished if it does not kill their bodies and souls.

The servants house

I remember what this chair brought-$275

Baby buggy

An old pump organ.

The electrical worms nest

Sinks in the basement

This does not give you a true size of the house.

Part of the auction crowd

Old trees have a beauty all their own.

The elves live here. I am guessing the elves wear fur coats.

After the auction we all came back to our place. Jack Lewis brought us some tomatoes and corn and stayed awhile to visit.

After Butch and crew had margaritas we went to the Mexican restaurant  Casa de Oro for supper. Butch and I had Nachos and they were very good.

Then after supper we drove by Colleens house because for a long time I had wanted Jason to see it and it seemed the time was right. We stayed for a good long time and the conversation was wonderful. It was getting dark by the time we left. It was a wonderful and surprising day all round. A serendipitous day.

Hummers in Alaska

 But Alaska isn't the only place this can happen. We did the same thing in Colorado at Snow Mountain Ranch. We didn't get the fancy photography however. It is amazing and so special to experience.

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=EUEZkwJulBY

Breezeway

Butch tore out the east wall of the breezeway and is reconstructing it. Poorly done to begin with and not at all weather proof.
The assessor came down this morning and is reassessing our place. Of course the devalue of it will be temporary but will save us a few dollars in the meantime. And then the city has a revitalization program that will save us a few more dollars for 3 years but that will be after the renovation is complete. So we are learning the ropes and saving some future money.
I was alone on my walk this morning but took my camera and got a couple of shots

On west side of square facing southeast.

Russell Street Squirrel

On our walk today...

We received our tax bill a few days ago and noticed that the homestead discount was not on it so we stopped at the courthouse to check on it. It is a timing thing just as I suspected so it will be on there next year. In the conversation Butch talked to the assessor and she is coming down in the morning to look at the house to perhaps readjust the assessed value. I am looking at Butch like he is out of his mind knowing that in short order it will look considerably different  and the value will most likely be much higher than it is now. Just not sure we needed to stir that bucket of worms but she did mention something about applying for a 3 year revitalization tax break of some sort. So perhaps we will find out more about that tomorrow.

A little further down the street Butch and I stopped for an extended conversation with Duane Ogren. After 15 or so minutes it was on with our walk.

Then I remembered that Estel and Pat Ott  told me that if I wanted some tomatoes to stop down Thursday or Friday and it seemed like a good time to do so.
Estel and his first wife Joann were good friends with my Mom and Dad so I have known Estel my whole life. My very first babysitting job was for Estel and Joann. Going back even further when I was in kindergarten we only went half days and since my name started with a bee,Brock, I was in the morning group. My friend Jean Bartley ran ahead of me one day and I became lost, so recognizing Estel and Joann's house I stopped there. Joann called my Mom but then I had to wait for my Dad because Mom had little ones at home and no car. It was a different life in 1948.
Estel was a bit younger than my Dad. He is now 85 years of age. His mind is razor sharp and no one would ever guess he was even close to 85. In his youth, he would have been labeled as hyperactive.  He is only a little less so today! I remember being at their house when the Friday Night Fights were on TV. Estel would sit on the very edge of the couch and he would fight each and every round of those fights right along with the boxers. It was something to see! And after the fights were over he would be exhausted. Yup, Estel was and is quite a guy.

Vintage ads

These vintage ads from long ago are interesting to look at. And if you really want to you can buy one.
http://store.vintagepaperads.com/servlet/StoreFront

Fact finding

Butch and I went on a fact finding trip yesterday to the Des Moines area. We needed to find out more about pocket doors. Of course we stopped to see Mickey and go to lunch. Kinda got stuck there but that was okay. Mickey gave me a clump of a flowering plant from her yard. I had seen it flowering in the past and taken a picture of it. Seen here

The ones Mickey gave me were drooping pretty well by the time we got home so I quickly stuck them in some dirt and they look perky this morning. They are the ones closest to the camera. The other is a hosta that stayed too long in the pot so looks a little haggard. I hope it comes into its own next spring.

Here is some more info on this clever little plant.

After we had our enjoyable visit with Mickey we stopped at a lumberyard in Grimes and picked their brain about pocket doors. They were quite obliging and I think we know enough now to proceed.

We stopped at the Farmers Market when we arrived in Jefferson because I wanted some tomatoes and to look over the other offerings. We ran into Jack and Denise right away and the guys had their picture taken with the Farmers Market Fairy, Chris Henning.

All in all it was great get-away day. And we had not done that in awhile.