Apricot Cocktail Poppers

Apricot Cocktail Poppers


Everyone loves finger foods for camping. Gather ‘round the potluck table or patio and dig into these sweet and tangy bites. Serve with toothpicks plus napkins to catch the finger-lickin' drips.

2 bags, 16 ounces each, small meatballs, thawed
16-ounce can of tomato sauce
1 cup water
1 packet apricot gelatin dessert mix
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon each cinnamon, ground cloves
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
10-ounce jar of apricot jam

Pile the meatballs into a slow cooker or other container for heating and serving. In a saucepan, whisk everything else together and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, stir to dissolve gel and sugar and pour over meatballs. Heat through.

See more of Janet Groene’s RV-ready recipes at http://www.campandrvcook.blogspot.com

Busy doing not much again!

It does seem as age creeps up on us that it takes longer to get anything done. I am sure my peers would agree. Maybe it is because we have the time and wherewith all to let things go. I am a big list maker and I am ready to make another one. There is a great deal of satisfaction putting it up on the fridge and marking off the projects as they are completed.

ToDo list:
1. Make a list
2. Sand and paint new pantry
3. Repaint little bicycle yard art.
4. Redo west side of garage flower bed

5. Prepare north side of 3 season room and house for planting of hostas
     a. Dig holes for hostas
     b. surround holes with landscape fabric
     c. Plant hostas
     d. Mulch around plants

6. Lay out path for walk to 2nd RV site (Spring/Summer 2018)
     a. Determine number of pavers needed
     b. Cut sod out of path
     c. line path with landscape fabric
     d. Bring in sand
     e. level out spots for pavers and lay them
     f. fill in with sand.

This morning I rode the trail instead of walking. It was cool and still so it was easy riding. I planned to go to Winkleman's Switch but a truck was coming as I was ready to cross Roger's Road so I turned around instead.
On my way south as I was approaching the trestle bridge a bike was on the bridge so I stopped. I pretended I was taking pictures. Well, actually I was but it was an excuse none the less because I do not like to share the space on bridges. Yes, I know logically there is plenty of room for two bikes to pass. I just do not like it.
Here are the pics I took.

Momma and Poppa wren are getting the babes set to live a life of their own. Flying lessons were not going particularly well for this wee wren when it got a grip on the window screen. It wasn't too keen on letting go of it either.

Wanted!

For being the very best grandfathers of all!

Crazy Days of Summer

This has been a wild and crazy week. Wednesday, Classmate Bob Maddux and his wife Kay touched base with Denise Van who sent out the word that we could meet and greet at the Uptown Cafe. So a few of his classmates visited for an hour or so that morning.

Bill Figenshaw, Dee Van, Carol Zwicky, Pat Rusnak, Bob Maddux and Kay Maddux

 Barb, Bob M and Mickey

On Friday our Missouri kids came with the camper for a mini reunion with the Iowa kids and other family.
Nana Susan was playing SlapJack, Go Fish, and Concentration with the kiddos before their cousins arrived on Saturday.

 Rich and Donna Fetterman, Ann Cortes and her children Nina, Scarlett and Skylar arrived and the fun began!
The guys all played golf in the morning. The five children met for the first time and it was a perfect match. They hit it off big time and played nonstop until long after dark!
Skylar, age 3 soon to be 4 took a few minutes out to watch TinkerBell.

Aunt Myrla brought Silly Putty for the kids to play with and Scarlett got it in her hair so her mother Ann was trying to remove it with Mayonaise. It was slow going.

 Patio conversation

GreatGrands- Elise 7, Nina 8, Leo 4, Scarlett 6 and Skylar 3.
(Four Strong Women and a Ladies Man)

The kids had the best time of all! Leo taught them how to get anything they wanted from Papa Gary and Papa Jason by making big puppy dog eyes or big kitty eyes like the cat in Shrek. It did work a fair amount of the time and soon everyone was doing it, including Jason and Gary.

Nana Barbara, Papa Butch and Skylar.

Ann making big kitty eyes.

Laura

 Skylar with Nana Donna

Ann

 Scarlett

The girls work at getting Jason to twirl them

 Gary, Rich, and Jason

Karla was here for the afternoon and Leo and Keri stopped by in the evening. It was a great and memorable day.

Leo was asked how he was doing with all those girls. He said, "Fine." " How many are there? He said, " There are 3 friends and oh wait, my sister so that makes 4."

Trivia Treat

The trivia group has been functioning for about a year now and they have accumulated a sizable amount of winnings. 3rd place gets $10, 2nd place gets $20 and 1st place gets $40 in HyVee gift cards. We are often in 3rd place. Modern song lyrics usually trip us up and most other teams have some younger folk who are into that but 3rd place does okay for us over time. Over $500 had been accumulated and it was decided to use it for a HyVee catered gourmet dinner.
Last night was the night and it was all very fine and very rich. Beef loin, lobster, baked potato, and salad was the main course. Wine, cheesecake, ice cream were all a part of it too and I almost left out the appetizers before the meal, shrimp, and brie with crackers.
It was all very nice and delicious but this low-rent body of mine said, "What the hell are you doing?" and I had every intention and indeed tried to take it easy

It's a Post

I have seen many Indigo Buntings on the trail but when they land in a tree they disappear! This morning I resorted to taking a shot of a fence post.

I rode out to Bullhead Farm again. 9.4 miles

First photos

We have finished the front side of the house, getting things back in place. You can see how bad we need rain.

 And then Peggy Cunningham sent me these photos she took when Eldon was fighting with the wrens. Thanks, Peggy!

House is painted

Eldon was putting on the last bits of paint when I took this photo. He was dive bombed by the wrens because they are feeding babies now. Eldon said she warned me yesterday and she had enough of me today and pecked him on the head. 

The house took 5 gallons of paint. We purchased it at Diamond Vogel in Fort Dodge. Permacryl Exterior Latex semi-gloss. For the record.

Not in the mood...

...to herd cows. Beautiful calm day, moderate temperature, abundant sunshine and a bike trail that beckons. I planned to ride to Winklemans Switch but as I approached the trestle bridge this is what I encountered.

And I was not in the mood to herd cattle. I have in the past. I ring the bell on my bike and they trot along in front of me until they can find an escape route. I had visions of getting them on the trestle bridge and then what!?
So I turned around and came home with the idea of getting busy. That didn't happen. It was a day of fits and starts. Maybe tomorrow can be more productive.

Bullet hole update

Butch calls it my bullet hole. This is the biopsy scar and it is healing okay but there is more to come. Surgery date is set for September 1. It is an in-office procedure. I thought I might have surgery this summer but this is not the one I thought.  But I consider it a small bump in the road. Or maybe a small bump to the head. On the upside, the plastic surgeon told me I didn't have many wrinkles for my age. Not something I had thought about.

Donn's birthday celebration

Our friend Donn Gordon celebrated his birthday with son Adam and grandson Austin. That birthday treat sure looks good!

Leo and Keri's Okoboji vacation

Leo sent me some pictures he took while vacationing at Lake Okoboji. Marlene and Bernard live near there so it makes it easy to get together with extended family.

Baby time at the lake. Bernard with his great-granddaughter Reagan Kelley.

Marlene with Clara Davis, Leo and Keri's grandaughter.

Marie Kelley and her youngest daughter Reagan.

Marlene and Clara share a laugh.

Leo and Keri's daughter, Erin holding Reagan

And finally Leo's first tomato. It does look yummy!!

It is coming together...

 Riding morning

 Southern bound rider

Woodpecker down by the riverside

Parasite

Today is our 58th anniversary. We ate out twice. Chicken day at the casino and Farmers Market uptown on the square. On top of that, the painter came and started painting. He works very fast and by days end is half done. It looks very nice. Better than it ever has. Pictures will be posted once we have everything back in place.
Tomorrow we go to Ames and the plastic surgeon will be doing his magic on my forehead.

And Then

Saturday morning was a bit cooler but also cloudy, foggy, dark and damp. It was a riding day so I rode to Bullhead Farm 4.8 miles from our house. It is past Winkleman's Switch a quarter mile or so.  So my ride was 9.6 miles total. I didn't take my good camera but used the one on the phone. Anymore I am fussy about the light and the quality of pictures you will get with poor lighting.

Today, Sunday, Butch and I have been getting caught up on the little things that take a short time but get overlooked unless you get right on it. We are about halfway done with a pantry that will fit in the slot between a cupboard and the refridge. It has been on the list for at least a year. Butch has his part mostly done. I have to get it sanded and painted. One of these days soon I will be taking many new photos.

 Butch was working in the garage a few minutes ago and the painter stopped by to see if he could start tomorrow with the power washer and the answer is "YES, YOU CAN".

A tidbit- At 4:30 AM on Saturday I awoke with a start to a loud sound. But after I awoke all was quiet and I could not discern the source of the noise. I got up and looked to see if there was a storm brewing but there was not. So I went back to bed and laid awake trying to figure it out. Maybe I had been dreaming? You know what it is like when something like that is on your mind? Suddenly sleep is a long way off. So I laid there for another hour...awake. Finally, I decided to get up and get on with my day since I wasn't sleeping anyway. I made coffee, got dressed, took my morning pills and readied myself for a bike ride. As I was headed to the garage I noticed a can of cat food on the floor! Butch has been feeding Leo and Keri's cats because they were not home and the sack of cans was sitting on a kitchen chair. One of those sneaky cans had made its way loose and tumbled off the chair. Mystery solved! 

Another tidbit- A month or so ago a friend here in Jefferson asked me to look at her computer because it was doing odd things and running very slow. I usually enjoy these kinds of chores because in no time at all I can have it much improved-usually. I had minimal luck with hers getting the bugs out. Yes, it improved but it was a long way from where it should have been so I suggested she get things backed up as best she could because it was obvious her computer was terminally ill. She put her files and pictures in Dropbox and Google drive and since most of her other stuff such as apps etc were in Chrome she was in good shape. Well, this past week her computer bit the big one. She thought she might like a Chromebook because she does very little on the computer that she would need more than that. There are pro's and cons of course and I made sure she was aware of them and offered her my Chromebook to use to make sure it was something she would want before committing to it. It did not take her long to decide and purchase one. She was amazed at how seamless the transition was first to my Chromebook and then when she received her own another seamless transition. It is very gratifying to me when it turns out as expected.

Yesterday...

It was really really hot again. Stepping outside for even a bit you felt enveloped by a large hot, wet blanket and your first reaction was OMG! Butch is feeling the pressure of being housebound and for those who know him...well, you can imagine. He has gotten better in his old age but still a ways off from taking it in stride.
In the afternoon I got the dreaded call on the biopsy. The doctor had said you will not hear from me if it is okay. I heard from him. I now go back for additional work next Wednesday. I googled it and felt better about it all.
http://www.skincancer.org/skin-cancer-information/basal-cell-carcinoma/bcc-treatment-options
This and talking with a couple of friends who had it too.

It looked like we were going to get a downpour last night. Lots of lightning, thunder, and dark, dark clouds resulted in 3 tenths of an inch of rain. The grass is brown and flowers and plants need lots of attention. Then this morning it looked like a storm was brewing so I checked radar before heading out to the bike trail. I passed on going and we did get another sprinkle or two, barely enough to wet the pavement. They are getting rain all around us but not here. Frustrating.

There is a wren peeking back at me.

Yesterday getting a break from the heat

"So where is the food dish and why isn't it full?"

Hotter than Hades

Butch hates being housebound. The dew points have been high and that is a pretty good indicator of unpleasant heat and humidity. I have been walking or riding in early AM and that doesn't work for Butch. Even then the temps have been in the 70's. It was 75 this morning and the dew point was about the same and there was not even the hint of a breeze and this was at 6 AM. The nice thing about bike riding is that you make your own breeze.
My plan was to ride to Winkleman's but south of the trestle bridge a tree was down across the trail. I could have gone around it but the thought of picking up a tick changed my mind. So I headed home and as I glanced down the river I spotted a deer getting a drink. I didn't notice she had a fawn with her until I downloaded my pictures.

On Monday we went to Costco. Butch was tired of being housebound. It had been awhile since making a Costco run so we had the back of the car loaded down pretty good. Butch has decided he likes the Costco (Kirkland) beer. It is listed as one of the top ten things people like at Costco and he is on board with that, unfortunately, it is not available at the Costco in south Texas. I do wonder if the separate liquor store attached to Costco could get it for him. We will have to check that out.
Tuesday we went to the casino for the now famous chicken buffet. $5.34 for seniors. And we were pleasantly surprised to see they had expanded the choices of veggies. Well worth the money. They were busy. After our meal we went to Ames for a doctor appt. Had a biopsy done on a place on my face. Small area near my right eyebrow. Been there awhile and not really concerned. Just a precautionary thing.
I could think of many things to prattle on about but maybe next time.