Swan Family out for a Swim

We have a small pond in the area that was lucky enough to have been chosen by this lovely couple to raise their young. This was taken a week ago.  No one can call me "prompt"--LOL! 
Turn on your volume and enjoy the sounds of a peaceful morning.

Hit the Road, Jack................

Last Thursday I was checking out AutoTrader and Cars.com and there it was--- The replacement for Handy we've been searching for the past 3 years. We love our truck. There is NOTHING wrong with it--other than the 232,000 miles we've driven it since Don's retirement.  She still runs like brand new. She's been perfectly maintained.......but we're also not naive enough to think that she'll be as reliable and trustworthy on those remote logging roads for that much longer. So, off to El Paso we went. Not Texas, but Illinois. And no, we didn't take pictures. El Paso may be filled with friendly people, but scenic it's not!

New Handy

Old Handy

Yep. It's the same year and make/model. And the new one only has 27,000 miles on it. If it's even HALF as reliable as Old Handy---we have many, many miles ahead.

I don't know about any of you, but I always leave a dealership feeling I didn't get a "deal"....and I'm being polite.  No matter in this case.  It's over with and hopefully I don't have to go through that again for quite awhile.

And Deb T---here are the pictures of the Ace in Dubuque.  Woof.  If I hadn't blown all our savings on the truck, we'd be talking serious fund-drain there.  Sigh.

Dubuque Arboretum

Don and I snuck (sneaked?) down to Iowa for 5 days. Word was out that our favorite pie was available so we threw a bag together and hit the road. Coming from up north, where the nights continue to be in the low 20's, it was nice to visit the arboretum while in Dubuque. They had plenty of things blooming. What a nice surprise.

Loved these weeping spruce.

Beautiful gazebo.

A troll?

The pond was done in the Japanese style. Gorgeous!

Hubby and another great weeping tree. I don't know if these would work with our heavy snows.....but I sure do like them.

More From the Trip

We saw this semi while out on the road. A full size flat bed semi......carrying FOUR tires. And that's all that could fit on it. I'd LOVE to see the truck those go on. And my gosh, how much does one of these tires cost????

This was Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada. Awesome place. HUGE rock formations, great hiking trails. A fun morning for just a couple bucks.

I loved the odd formations. And I'm sorta fond of this guy too!

We were surprised to see Big Horn sheep there. I never knew Nevada had these. He was a bit on the thin side. Not much vegetation to nibble on in Nevada.

We saw lots of wildlife on our trip. The only thing missing were the huge flocks of cranes and snow geese we normally see. It's been a very odd spring.

And I've included THIS photo to show just how stupid I can be at times. In my defense, my eyes are NOT good....but I sat there trying to figure out what kind of an odd goose this was for close to TEN MINUTES. Yea. Duh. Some smarty pants had put a decoy out on a sandbar in the river. It was just out far enough that I couldn't focus on it. I snapped a pic for later reference. The camera sees much better than I do.

I'm SLOWLY getting caught up on blogs. Being computer-less was wonderful, but I did miss seeing what you all have been up to.
Have a great week!

Back Home

Well, didn't I just drop off the face of the earth! We're home from our trip out west to see the grandson and is it ever good to be home! 26 days of sun. TWENTY SIX. Enough to drive any good midwesterner mad, I tell you! It was raining when we pulled into the driveway. I could have cried---it felt so good. I loved Arizona, but my gosh, enough with all the sunshine!!

The grandson and a new friend he met at the Ostrich Festival in Chandler. I think this is the longest he sat still the entire visit. 2 1/2 year olds have a lot more energy than I do. I wonder if he could be taught how to dig perennial beds...............

Gorgeous spot for a picnic along Rt 77 near Pinal Pass in Arizona. The views were incredible and the silence --amazing!

Our newest favorite spot in the Tucson area---Tohonu Chul park . Beautiful gardens, and lots of hummingbirds. I could have spent days wandering the place.

Chiracahua National Monument in South eastern Arizona. Great hiking and incredible rock formations.

A deserted homestead in Utah. I'll take it!

After passing by at least a half dozen times over the past few years, we FINALLY made it to the Grand Canyon. I hesitated seeing it. It's one of the LAST places on my bucket list. If I run out of items on my bucket list, do I run out of time??????

Ah, but it was worth it. Magnificent. And, picture number 2 of Sue appears---this time minus the snowmobile suit.

Sedona was crazy---I believe the college kids decided to stay in the states for spring break this year. Bumper to bumper traffic. What a nightmare!

Tuzigoot National Monument .......beautiful ruins north of Phoenix.

I'm still sorting through pictures. What a mess. I'll post some more later.

I'm sorry I haven't been visiting your blogs. The computer died on the trip within the first week. On a bright note-I have a shiny new computer that isn't bogged down with too much junk. On a sad note-I never backed up the old one. I've lost a LOT of files. Will I ever learn?

Have a super weekend!

Nebrask-y....Oh, how I love you!!

I am SO behind now on posting and SO behind on reading blogs, I am officially giving up!
This is just a post to let a few neighbors and friends know--we are alive and well. We've been so so so busy. We've been to 3 states/6 parks and
wildlife refuges, I can't count how many antique shops and have eaten a small nation in PIE.


Gloomy Lake Anita in Iowa---gorgeous spot/not a soul in site. Good spot to eat pie.

The lonely back roads of Nebraska---searching for the millions of snow geese that normally pass here, but are nearly non-existent this year. What gives???????????????

A small flock near Kearney, Nebraska.

A gorgeous couple we met near North Platte, NE

The evil eye----Cody park in North Platte

The trip has been a bust so far in seeing wildlife. Normally numbering over 400,000--the Sandhill Cranes are estimated to be a quarter that amount right now.

We usually see flocks of snow geese every half mile or so------NONE.

Even the Harlan resevoir--normally a good pelican viewing area was devoid of birds--except for several eagles.

We are headed to mid-Kansas to see several wildlife refuges before heading into New Mexico.

The weather--sunny and upper 50's ---heaven for someone who hasn't seen much sun the past few months. The house-sitter said 10" due tonight at home. Ha. Haha. Hhahahahahhahahah!

Comments have been eliminated---I'm sorry---I just can't keep up.
Have a great weekend, all!

For my Good Friend Deb Arnold!

Hey girly-friend. Look!!! Sunshine!!!! If you sent it, thank you thank you thank you!!!!!!!!!!

You can see how I bagged those dinner rolls. Like I said, the recipe makes 48---which for Don and I is SIXTEEN servings...... (well, sometimes 12---these suckers are indeed the Worlds Best Dinner Rolls.) I may give you the recipe, but you have to come up here to get it-LOL!!!

I've still got plenty of vegetables left until end of summer. I don't know how that happened. We've been eating them. I must have screwed up counting??????????

I froze the parsley and chives this year and that worked WAY better than drying .
I ran out of celery early. I need to grow more. It's awesome. I bag it 2 stalks to a vacuum bag--just perfect for seasoning stews/soups/etc.

The meat basket gets smaller every year. The only thing I have been unable to find organically raised is pork. Having trouble locating that.

So, anyways, that's the deep dark depths of my deep freeze. I agree a dehydrator would make a good investment.......but my garage has been working wonders for drying herbs.

And remember-you promised to teach me canning. this fall. I know I said I wouldn't ever can, but those pears................OMG----so good!!

Miss ya girlfriend!

And Mama Pea-I just know you are reading this...........Have a great week!

:)

Turns Out--Mom Was Right!

When I was young, things were so different than they are now. Solidly middle-class, mom stayed home and spent the day cooking things from scratch and ironing dad's handkerchiefs while watching soap operas. Once a week, on Tuesdays, she met up with the ladies of the neighborhood for a "coffee klatch"--a few hours spent gossiping and laughing and enjoying each other's company while savoring some home baked goody. We took a vacation once a year--a weekend in a town 100 miles away. It meant packing up sandwiches and fried chicken into the picnic basket and savoring lunches at a table in a rest area. That was eating out.

Though only 10 years old, I remember when the first mom in the area went to work. We were ecstatic---SOMEONE had the house to themselves. It was every preteens dream come true. We'd all gather over at their house, watching tv , rummaging through cabinets and cupboards and all those secret hiding places parents have. A few of us tried smoking. Some even got into the liquor stash. But the BEST part of working parents was the appearence of "junk food"..... oh, heavenly salty snacks and carbonated delights. We were hooked.

As the moms all went off, one by one, to join the workforce, junkfood was joined by Restaurant Food. Sundays, when mom worked at JC Penneys, dad would run off to the local fish and chips joint to pick up dinner, knowing mom would be tired from work. Once a month or so, we'd order a pizza. Eventually, even mom broke down and bought soda pop and potato chips, but these were doled out on Friday nights. Something special.

I grew up like that. I raised my son like that. But yet, year after year, more junk crept into the diet. Problems started cropping up. A bit of heartburn here.....an "off" feeling there. And now, it's full time meds and weight problems and all kinds of things happening that can't be explained away. It's the food, plain and simple.

Don and I have been trying for several years to get rid of the junk. It's not easy. I have always cooked the majority of meals at home. We don't eat snacks. But yet, convenience foods have really made a major inway into our lives. So much easier to pop open a can of crescent rolls than to take the 3 hours making them from scratch. So much nicer to pop open a can of ready made chicken broth. And on the really lazy days--how handy to have a box of cheesy shells to eat. I do NOT mean to in any way offend anyone,... it is what it is. I am going through HELL right now because of the way I ate and if I can prevent this from happening to even ONE person, I am glad to "offend".

I have just eliminated the LAST processed food from my grocery list. It's been a long time coming. And it has not been the inconvenience I imagined it would be....because there are still days when I have hours of free time (especially THIS winter with not much in the way of snow!) and making a batch of dinner rolls or a few gallons of stock and freezing them in single use containers is actually a relaxing way to spend a morning. And a freezer crammed full of ready to re-heat "Mama Meals" is a lot cheaper and a LOT healthier than anything manufactured for my "convenience".

http://bossip.com/541341/smh-this-is-your-body-on-ramen-noodles-video/

Yea, mom--you were right. It's really NOT good for me.

I just wish I hadn't had to learn it the hard way

Modern Life : Pros and Cons

Pros:

Internet-what a great way to meet like-minded people

Internet-for people that HATE shopping-what a great way to get that chore out of the way

Internet-what a great source of information for those with an insatiable curiosity.

Internet-incredible trip-planning resource. No more writing letters to many many places for info

Are you seeing a trend here????

Internet-all the garden seeds you could ever possibly want!

Internet-able to order ANY book and get it sent to my local library

Digital Cameras-Yes, Deb Arnold-I'm GLAD you FINALLY got me to try one.

Electronic Pianos-no more tuning needed. And headphones to save "significant other" hours of torture!

Energy Star appliances. Despite having way more electronics than 20 years ago, my electric bill is under $40 in the summer/$50 in the winter

Cellphones--what a godsend to those with medical conditions. I used to be terrified to drive alone. Nothing like a cellphone in the glovebox to put my mind at ease. And you'll see this one in my "cons" list too!


Cons:
Corporations running our country. Buy a congressman--get what you want!

Shoddy products / poor workmanship

Low moral values

Drugs...EVERYWHERE!. Schools in particular are full of kids "trading" prescription drugs.

Death of the family.

High crime rates and a shortage of police to deal with it.

High Fructose Corn Syrup

Food with ingredients you need a degree in Chemistry to decipher

Round-Up ready crops- Plants that can be sprayed with a herbicide that KILLS everything. Us too?

Low-water usage washing machines. I haven't had CLEAN clothes in years! I've started hand-washing everything and using "the machine" to rinse. Silly.

Cell phones ---in restaurants/theaters/libraries

Big Brother--he's watching you and every day you lose more and more freedoms. SOPA/PIPA

What did I miss?

I would LOVE to hear your ideas and thoughts.

For Mama Pea....-My Junk Drawer

*****A DISCLAIMER******

Hubby got in to the drawer and straightened it out without me knowing it. It usually doesn't look to neat. Well, the potatoes ARE always in the basket but everything else is usually a HUGE mess. He must have needed a tool (MY tools, I might add!)

******************************************************************

There are "taters" in my junk drawer because it's right next to the kitchen sink--makes it easy to grab a few to peel when cooking. Beats running to the "cold room" to grab some. Weirdness explained-LOL!

New Year's Resolutions/Goals/Whatever

Last year, I listed four resolutions for the year and I was going back through them this morning, because that is what people do that get up at 3 a.m. every day.

I had kept them simple:
1.Relax
2.Buy only products made in the U.S.
3. Lose 20 pounds
4. Get back to daily bike rides/walks/some sort of exercise

How did I do?
Well....I did score well on learning to relax. Really-I did! I still have a way to go, but last year, I really made myself take more time for myself. The neighbors think I'm rather goofy, sitting--just SITTING in my garden watching the hummingbirds and bees and all the wonderful critters that dine in my garden, but I've certainly had fun just doing nothing.

As for buying only products made in the U.S.---Ran into some snags there. Seems a LOT of books now are published in China....good grief. And fruit---fruit is a big problem as a lot of it comes from our friends to the south. But yes, basically I did OK on this point. I certainly blocked a lot of aisles at stores reading "Made in" labels.

I did lose weight last year, though it was only 14 pounds--not the intended 20. So I still will be working on that one this year. I feel better, but still have a LONG way to go to be where I want to be and where my "No Fun" Doctor says I SHOULD be.
:(

I did get out a LOT more last year also---but not DAILY as I had intended. We took TONS of walks, lots of hikes, but just a few bike rides. I'm going to try harder for more bike rides.

So, for this year---I am continuing the above goals and adding just one more--and for me, it's a biggie.

Anyone that KNOWS me knows how very very grateful I am for the life I have. I've never let a day go by that I don't let my wonderful husband know how much I appreciate him and the life he has given me. We share so many interests and have so much fun together. I adore him. And because of that fact, I often "get lost" in my little world. I neglect other relationships, especially the long-distance ones.

So---New Year's Resolution (two weeks late--maybe another thing I should work on-LOL?)
Every Single Week this year I resolve to WRITE a REAL LETTER (!!!!) to a friend.
This is going to be not only good for me, but maybe the Post Office too??
:)
And who knows---it might start a trend of real, handwritten letters once more. Not that email isn't great, but wow--letters!

And yes, Dr. P---I will work on 20 more pounds. Sigh.

Bwa-ha-ha!!

Hi Mama Pea
Thank you so very much for letting me borrow some snow.
It is much appreciated!
Sue
PS--See? There IS a picture of me in existance!

Christmas and Miscellany

Is there anything on earth to match the excitement of getting a HUGE box of books in the mail?
This is why I will NEVER get a Kindle. I love books--the feel of them, the gorgeous 2 page picture spreads, just everything about them. Oh my. There is nothing to match that .

Especially when 17 books only set me back a whopping $71....including shipping.

Book Closeouts--I love you!

And Merry Christmas to ME!

This year, I'm decorating for Christmas with "naturals". Imagine my surprise looking at a few magazines at the grocery checkout and seeing this is the big thing this year. I was trying to save a few bucks and use what I have. I believe this is the first time in my life I've ever been in style.

My Norfolk Pine sporting some cheap plastic stars.

But, lit up--cute!

My "everything" room---I love to sit early mornings reading blogs and drinking coffee with my

star lights on. Such a comfortable light first thing in the day.

A jar of pine cones we've collected. We always pick up pinecones on our travels as reminders of places.

Our tiny Christmas tree. Don't laugh. It actually looks cute in "real" life.
And a LOT easier to put up/take down. I hate that part, don't you?

Putting all those pines out back to good use. An old galvanized bucket of pine clippings . A few sprigs of berries, and few spray painted and glittered pine cones.

Total cost------$2.

I saw something similar (no bucket--just a cheap plastic pot) for $29 at the store.

And Mama Pea, you made mention of Martha the other day. Well, this is a tile that sits in my kitchen. She really doesn't, ya know!
:)