Single minded

We do seem to be single-minded with stuff getting done around our little cottage.
I saw this project in a Lowes magazine we get and decided it was something I wanted to do.
Here is the website for it.
http://www.lowes.com/creative-ideas/lawn-and-garden/birdbath-planter-urn/project

And here is my finished project:

Of course mine does not look as cool as the one in the link but then I just planted it today. I have hopes for it when it becomes established. It was surprisingly easy and fairly inexpensive (around $25). Its home will be in the backyard when the room is finished but for now I want it out of harms way.

Butch, Jason and myself are working on getting Gary's tires on his camper in working order so he can have a safe trip home with it when he takes it back to Missouri. He has plans to take his grand kids camping. They will so love it!

We have been getting timely rains so Butch has been busy mowing. Before you feel sorry for him, remember he loves to mow!! 

And I have had some happy news- My lifelong friend Mickey will be moving to Jefferson! We have been friends since grade school. She qualifys as a JIG (Jefferson Iowa Girl) so she is adding to the number of returnees coming back to the old home town.

I also have some trail pics from today's walk. 

The old elevator is still running.

 This plant intrigues me and no I do not know what it is.

These two walk their dogs every morning around 6:30 AM

June on the trail

Me and my shadow...

And finally...this is where the construction project is on June 2nd, 2014.

Today's Ride with Butch

Jason's Trellis

Jason, a creative and artistic guy put together this trellis. It is better seen in person where you can pick out the details. 

Picture taken with the new phone. 

We stopped in Boone on our way to Lowe's in Ames where we purchased an old fashioned screen door for the front door. I missed not being able to open the front door to let in fresh air and sunshine. Butch installed the door when we came home. Wa-la a dream come true!

Great Grands Birthdays

Papa Gary sent birthday videos!

The youtube video for Elise and Leo

Elise Birthday

http://youtu.be/uaQPA5nnZtY

Leo Birthday

http://youtu.be/b0yp3M-We-U

First Ride of the season

First bike ride of the season. I found it easier than walking but I plan to do both.

Raccoon River from the trail. Out to the bridge and back is 5 miles. It took me about the same amount of time as walking the 2 miles.

Also I have the new phone and these pictures are taken with the phone. It is much easier to take it along than my old standby. Another learning curve....but you all know I thrive on it!

Productive weekend

I feel like I accomplished a lot this weekend. Laundry is caught up including bedding. Got a new-to-me desk and chair. Did a couple of minor repairs on the new-to-me chair. Sprayed around the outside of the house for bugs, mainly ants. The peppermint spray inside seems to be helping for the spiders. New webs have not appeared where I sprayed, at least not yet. Have potted and planted all the plants I purchased. I have started organizing over a years worth of pictures on the computer. About half done with that chore. I got a bleeping smartphone ordered and will receive it tomorrow, I think.

Other stuff: We left magnolia park on the 10th of April and I had my haircut a few days before we left thinking I would have plenty of time to get one when we arrived in Jefferson a few weeks later. I did not count on the popularity of my Jefferson hairdresser!! I could not get into see her until the 30th of May and then my appointment had to be at 7:30 AM. I am okay with the 7:30 AM but I had Butch trim me up a bit when I heard how long it would be. To keep it simple I can hardly wait to get my hair cut!!! It is driving me bonkers!! I plan to schedule all my haircut appointments ahead of time for however long Marcia will let me from now on.

Jason and Laura stopped by yesterday and we invited them to stay for supper which they did. This is why I wanted our tiny house. It is big enough to do some entertaining on short notice and some bigger entertaining with a little planning involved. It was great having them here and having me do the cooking for a change. Butch grilled but in my book that is a small part of putting a meal together but I will give him credit as he does well with the grilling.

Things are beginning to look nice around our tiny house. It looks like someone lives here who cares and we do!

Two hours to order a phone!! and other stuff...

I spent over two hours on the computer this morning and went through two Verizon "chat masters" to get a phone ordered. I ended up with an LG G2. I saw a random  Facebook post from one of Butch's nephews, Bradley Brooker on how much he loved his new LG G2 and I had just been considering one. So I took it as a sign and went with it. An added bonus is that it was FREE. And my bill is lower than it had been!!  I feel that I am much better off than I would have been with the Samsung. Sometimes obstacles are put in your path for a reason. I have 14 days to decide if I can live with it.

After that hurdle we went to buy memorial flowers for two cemeteries. Talk about sticker shock! $25 and they did not look that healthy. I needed two. So I went with a different plan and used my plate flowers we had made in crafts. Butch said what if they are stolen. I said we would at least not have lost $50 in flowers. And I can always make more plate flowers. In fact it sounds like fun!
So we visited both grave sites and paid homage to those we miss so very much. All of them left us with great memories and many stories.

Last night Leo and Keri brought in a desk and chair Leo was willing to loan me.
The drawers behind the chair are not attached to the desk and have actually been separated from the desk I used to have. It is so handy having a handy man for a husband. Yes, I do appreciate him. Thanks Butch.

I didn't take the time to clean up the area before taking the picture but regardless I am very happy with it and the comfort level is greatly increased. Thanks Leo and Keri!!!

I will get a better picture at a later date.

This afternoon we decided to chill out. After the morning I had, I needed a nap and I took one. 

Papa Gary sent Grandkid pics.

Sweet Baby Leo

Our little fashionista

Make no mistake, she IS a princess.

Handsome little dude

Nana Susan looks happy but I see a nap in the future of the youngins.

Today's photos

This is where I store my canned goods. When you live in a tiny house you become creative with places to put things.

This Spring when I cleaned out the flower bed I discovered that I had covered some of my tulips with bricks so I took a picture and marked where they were so it would not happen again

I do not know what this delicate little flower is but I like it.

Neighbor Bill gave me some Iris a couple of summers ago . He said you will do fine as long as you remember their "eye" must see the sky. So I did the best I could and last Spring I didn't think they were going to be any good but this Spring they look gorgeous. You can see them in the second picture too. Only one is open so far

And here comes the cement! Leo was able to come to help between clients for a few minutes. Jason took the day off to help too. That helps me out tremendously. I am not overly qualified for this kind of work but I sometimes have to fill in, in a pinch

Weed-Be-Gone

Things they are a changing

I cannot believe the last time I posted was Monday! It certainly has been a busy week. Tuesday Butch lined up an excavator from Boone Rental because it became difficult to find fellas who like to dig dirt. We needed a ditch dug for a total of 32 feet, 4 feet deep. Thus the excavator. On Wednesday I got my lesson in how to communicate with a machine operator. Lets just say it was not always a smooth conversation. We did however get the job done and the excavator returned to Boone, 28 miles away, in a timely fashion.

 We are now ready for concrete and it will be here late afternoon tomorrow.

While we were in Boone we decided to visit the Verizon store. My current phone is 6 years old. Long story but here goes- Two years ago I decided to go with a Smart phone. Big mistake. I could not answer the d--- thing. I would have to swipe up on it 5 or 6 times and may still not be able to answer it. After trying to deal with the frustration for 2 months I gave up and went back to my old phone. So that is why I am using a 6 year old phone. But I was stuck with a two year contract and a lousy smart phone that was unusable. The contract was up today. So we visited the store and I set my sites on a Samsung Galaxy S 5 but our contract was not up till today. Oh and by the way there was a $150 rebate on this phone at that time making my cost $100. So today I went in to get it and the price was no longer $100 because the rebate now was only $50 making the cost of it $200. So I backed out on the deal. Had I known you can get a phone if it is within 7 days of your phone contract expiration I could have done the deal the first day we were there!  So now I will watch for a "deal" before getting a new phone.

So trying a "smart phone" for the second time will have to wait till the time is right.

So back to the first subject. Concrete tomorrow- block laid next week and then we will be ready for the carpenter, our friend Russ to work his magic. So this room could come to fruition soon but you have heard that expression about the best laid plans... So hold our breath and hope for the best.

I am also working on flower beds but I do hope to get a few minutes for a post to keep you up to date.

Springy

Last Christmas Peg gifted me with this decoration. She had appropriate Christmas gel clings on it. I decided to multipurpose my gift and make it appropriate for other seasons. Thus the bird. I like it all over again! Thanks Peg. Oh and by the way... I am missing Costco.

Beading Supplies

If I had kept my head about me this is what I would have...

But then I went awry...

Grandmas don't know everything....

This one really did make me LOL!


Little Tony was 7 years old and was staying with his grandmother for a few days.
He'd been playing outside with the other kids for a while when he came into the house and asked her :

'Grandma, what's that called when two people sleep in the same room and one is on top of the other?'
She was a little taken aback, but she decided to tell him the truth. 'It's called sex, darling.'

Little Tony said, 'Oh, OK,' and went back outside to play with the other kids.

A few minutes later he came back in and said angrily,

'Grandma, it isn't called sex.    It's called Bunk Beds.
And Jimmy's mom wants to talk to you.'

Recipe du jour Guys

I have to tell you about my guys- the recipe du jour guys. There are three of them, Rich, Tim and Walt. Those three have been friends for years. Writing and cooking are the passions of these three. I have followed them since 1998 or thereabouts and then I lost them for the past year or so. Well, I recently went on a search for them and  now they are back in my email life and I am very pleased. They brighten up my email in the best way.
And they can brighten up yours too.

http://rdjour.wordpress.com/

Sign up for their newsletters and find out what all the hoopla is about.
Here is today's offering. Go to the website above to sign up.

Welcome to Rich’s Recipe du Jour

January 10, 2013 by Recipe du Jour

After 14 years as an email newsletter (ezine), we’ve made the transition to the blogosphere. That said, you can still expect the same qualities and features that made you fond of Recipe du Jour in its previous incarnation. In fact, there’s a button on the right side of your screen where you can click to receive notification every time there’s a new issue posted (it’s labeled: FOLLOW US VIA EMAIL).

We’re going to keep the same familiar format with only minor changes, we’re also going to try and make it a bit easier for you to find previously posted recipes — see the categories over on the right, and we hope you’ll tell others about the Recipe du Jour experience. We’re your friends and neighbors as you are ours.

–Rich

Posted in Admin |

RDJ– Bloody Mary Steak, 05-14-14

May 15, 2014 by Recipe du Jour

_______________________________________
Volume 17 Number 85

RECIPE DU JOUR
Simply the BEST daily recipe E-zine on the Web!
Delicious recipes delivered daily via blog/email.
Recipes, columns, and nostalgia.

To subscribe: Go to http://rdjour.wordpress.com/
and if you wish to receive email notice when new issues
are posted, click on the FOLLOW US VIA EMAIL box
(on the right side), and type in your email address.
_______________________________________

Bloody Mary Steak

1 cup tomato juice
1/2 cup vodka
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon Worcestershire
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon prepared horseradish
1/4 teaspoon celery seed
1 beef flank steak (about 1 1/2 lbs.), fat trimmed
4 large red onions, cut crosswise into 3/4-in.-thick slices

In a bowl, whisk together tomato juice, vodka, lemon juice, Worcestershire, salt, horseradish, and celery seed. Add flank steak and red onions to marinade and chill at least 4 hours and up to 16 hours.

Prepare a hot charcoal or gas grill. Grill steak and onions, turning once and basting halfway through cooking, until onions are browned (6 to 8 minutes) and meat is done the way you like it, 10 to 12 minutes for medium-rare (cut to test). Makes 4 servings.

. . .
(nutritional info not available)
_______________________________________

Rich’s Note: I Found It

Last Sunday one of the women at work borrowed my pocket knife to cut the sealing tape on a box.

I like my knife. There’s nothing remarkable about it, but I like it because it’s small and flat and fits comfortably in my pocket and is stainless steel. My mother-in-law gave it to me one Christmas over 25 years ago. In all that time I have never lost or misplaced that knife. Until last Sunday.

We were busy. I didn’t notice that Victoria had not returned my knife until the next day. She was off. Then I was off the next day, but I called. She didn’t know where the knife was, thought she had given it back. I didn’t panic. I didn’t cry or scream or go out and squish stray worms. I decided to be an adult and accept that nothing lasts forever. THEN I cried and screamed and went looking for stray worms to squish.

The next day I found my knife in a drawer at work where we keep staples and pens and other such things. Someone called Victoria at home to tell her she could stop praying. Stray worms were once again safe.

All was right with the world.

. . .
The above column is copyright © 2014 by Richard Rowand. All rights reserved worldwide.
Rich can be reached at rrowand@gmail.com
______________________________________

Link of the Day:

Incredibox is an inventive, addictive website that can swallow up your afternoon if you let it. It’s incredibly simple to use: just drag and drop a looping melody or beat onto each animated character and let the groove take over.

You can experiment with twenty different beats, melodies, effects and voices, all composed by the musician Incredible Polo. Each sound loop is represented by a cartoon animation to add some visual flavor to savor.

As this is an intensive website, it might take a while to load depending on your connection speed.

http://www.incredibox.com/en/#/application

from Wendy
_______________________________________

Do You Remember?

Crying Time
Ray Charles 1966
Music & Lyrics : Owens

Oh, it’s cryin’ time again, you’re gonna leave me
I can see that far away look in your eyes
I can tell by the way you hold me darlin’ Oooh
That it won’t be long before it’s cryin’ time

Now they say that absence makes the heart grow fonder (fonder)
And that tears are only rain to make love grow
Well my love for you could never grow no stronger (stronger)
If I lived to be a hundred years old

Oh, it’s cryin’ time again, you’re gonna leave me
I can see that far away look in your eyes
I can tell by the way you hold me darlin’. Yeah now
That it won’t be long before it’s cryin’ time

Now you say you’ve found someone that you love better (better)
That’s the way it’s happened every time before
And as sure as the sun comes up tomorrow (‘morrow)
Cryin’ time will start when you walk out the door

Oh, it’s cryin’ time again, you’re gonna leave me
I can see that far away look in your eyes
I can tell by the way you hold me darlin’. Alright now
That it won’t be long before it’s cryin’ time
(That it won’t be long before it’s cryin’ time)

The Ball is Rolling...

Maybe rolling is not exactly the word but some things are happening in getting our 3 season room started.

 The two stakes that are not attached will be the west wall . May be a bit easier to see in the bottom picture. The ell shaped boards are merely to help the builders keep things online for the digging, footings etc.

As you can see from the top picture my view from my computer area will be greatly changed. But then I can go into the new room with all the windows and see everything in 3 directions.

And then there are BEADS!

What else is happening? I have started on the bead sorting and OMG!! Way back when I started beading I said I was going to stick with peyote because I did not want to give up the space, time or money to invest in a larger bead inventory. I knew that if I spread my wings into other beading it was going to take a much greater variety of beads. My instincts were correct! My peyote inventory is very small compared to what I classify as all other beads. Too late now! But it is going to tax my brain in the next few days to get them all organized.

I also need to get started on my outside work, getting flowers planted and weeds under control etc. But I have a couple of days reprieve as it is too cold to be out there anyway. This mornings temp at 6:00 AM was 35 degrees!

When we are in Texas the weeks roll around so fast. I thought it was because we are very busy down there but I am finding out it does not matter where we are or what we are doing they simply fly!

Hey all, I am always interested in what you are doing too. Don't forget to keep me informed as well. Either by email, facebook, phone, text, or commenting on the blog entries.

Happy Birthday Elise!!

She is officially  four, unofficially twenty. 

Today's Project

People frequently ask us about our bed. After living 10 years in an RV and sleeping on an RV bed I decided that was the way to go in our tiny home. That and I could not fathom giving up all that storage space under the bed. Butch took the measurements from our RV bed and duplicated them in the house. And the result is what you see here. The IKEA headboard works very well too.  I do think I need some artistic feature above the headboard and will keep that in mind for the future.

Journal entries

I keep this blog as a journal and on occasion I refer back to it for info concerning time, places and events. I also use my google calendar for that.

Yesterday we had the carpet cleaned in the motorhome. We used the same fellow this year as last. He asked me to give him an evaluation online and I agreed to do so but could not remember his name and all he did was initial my statement. I eventually found it using google search. Business name is Heavens Best and his name is Loren Turner. He did an excellent job. Motorhome is clean and ready for its next excursion whenever that may be.

Next I finally managed to get some organizing done. I worked on inventory and organizing my Swedish Weaving supplies. Next is doing the same thing with my beading supplies. That one will take longer.

Butch has been taking the beginning steps in getting the 3 season room started by contacting the right people for the many steps it will take. He is also getting some golf played in between rain showers. Last year we had a rainy Spring and then it did not rain the rest of the summer. It will be interesting to see if that pattern repeats this year. It would be helpful to us in room building but not so helpful to the farmers.

Panora and Lake Panorama were hit hard with the Sunday night storm. We used to live on Lake Panorama and still have friends in that area. We have been thinking of them and wondering how hard they were hit. The area has been deluged with storm lookers so we have not gone down and added to the chaos. Might today though.

Jason and Laura brought me a big bouquet of flowers and this small one. Jason made it from a light bulb. So save those old light bulbs! Jason has also become a fan of Pinterest. This is my noncomputer son so this was a surprise. All it takes to become computer/Internet interested is the right button!

Safe and Sound

It was a stormy Mother's Day but we made it through unscathed. Not so true for Panora and Lake Panorama, located 26 miles south of us. It is a big plus that no lives were lost. Just things.
We did go out to Leo and Keri's where they have a cozy basement but only because the news guys were telling us to take cover. Our cover spot is not as comfy as Leo and Keri's. We went out and visited for a time and then came home.
Earlier in the day Jason and Laura came over for a visit and flowered me up for Mother's day. Having the kids here is always a treat.
Just a quick note to assure you we are A-Okay.

Butt Roast revisited

First night we each enjoyed sliced roast beast and a salad. The next day I cut up and froze a fair portion into cubes to be enjoyed later either in a stew or beef and noodles and we enjoyed a few more slices of roast beef and au jus along with another salad. So tonight we had quinoa and brown rice.
I first sliced and chopped onion, carrot and green pepper, about 2 cups of it and sauteed them in olive oil until tender. Then I added the package of quinoa and brown rice I purchased at Costco. Lastly I added the final slices of beef and broth to the mix and heated through. Very delicious!