It's a Keeper!

Well, Christmas is over and New Year’s Day is just around the corner. Our Christmas Eve get together was great! Everyone pitched in and helped. We had some great treats – macaroni and cheese, shells, cookies, banana pudding cake and an abundance of spinach snacks (we are all quite strong, now). Dinner was three types of fish with several side dishes. Desert was much later as we were all stuffed. Then we all sat in the living room for the gifts.

There were several popular gifts that got “taken” several times. A car polishing kit with a small folding chair (I guess to sit on while you polished the car). Also of interest was a small dip size crock pot and two rather large bottles of hot sauce. The strangest things….we never can determine what will be the “keeper” of the night.

Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves – I know we did.

It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas

Here it is a few days before Christmas, and still WARM! Last night we had dinner at a friend’s house and came away feeling more “Christmassy” as their house looked so nice – live tree, fire burning just kinda Ho Ho Ho. Here we ended up with what I refer to as a “Charley Brown” Christmas tree. To replace the white tree we brought the tree in that we had outside – a bare tree with alternating blue and white lights. So, hung some ornaments on it and it really doesn’t look bad… but not what we will do next year. I’m hoping we opt for a live tree but this is still open for discussion. The concern is that the sun is quite intense in the living room and any tree will have to deal with that as we put the tree by the windows. We think that’s what discolored the white tree. The important thing is there is a tree.

We are gearing up for Christmas Eve B’s family comes over. There should be 20 or so for dinner and gift exchange. Everyone pitches in and I get a lot of assistance in the cooking detail. Christmas Eve has always been spent with his family. We picked up the tradition when my mother-in-law passed away several years ago. We have made a few changes but there are some things that just have to stay the same. Fish for dinner – and that includes snackies before. We put several long tables out in the living room so we all sit together. Food is put out on the dining room table and after dishing up we all sit for dinner. Then on to the gifts. That’s so much fun. Packages under the tree are somewhat “generic” in nature. Everyone draws numbers – we usually have enough gifts that everyone gets 3 or 4 numbers. A duplicate set of numbers is placed in a bowl and a number drawn. Whoever has that number goes to get a gift and opens it amid ohhh or groans. (we get lots of different stuff including toothpaste, pots and pans, knives and DVD’s) Then a second number is drawn and that person can either get a wrapped gift from the tree OR take a gift from someone else. If someone takes your gift then you can go to the tree for a gift or take another person’s gift. Some try to hid their “good” gifts while others display in hopes that someone would want it! (really, when a guy gets a bottle of perfume, he tries to encourage one of the ladies to take it) Everyone laughs and they “fight” over the funniest things. B and I enjoy this sooooo much. This is the most fun we have had at Christmas. We buy the gifts all year long looking for mark downs and sales. So included is seasonal gifts for summer and spring as well as winter and Christmas. The “best” gifts are referred to as “keepers” and are often the ones that go back and forth. A fun time for all.

Check back on the blog to see what this year’s “hot gift” was!

MERRY CHRISTMAS from the Lake.

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I've been fooling around in Blogger and switched over to the beta version which has more flexibility. So, I made changes in the format. Now, the question is, what do you think??? Please let me know. You can click on the email to send a message. Thanks!

Winter is Here

Here it is, the third of December, and it finally feels like winter! November was often quite warm with temperatures last week in the low 60’s! Today it’s in the 30’s.

The house is decorated minus a tree. We had planned to again put up our white tree and use a theme of red, silver and black (black and white is the “in” color) However, when we took the tree out of storage, it was quite discolored on one side – probably a victim of sun tan. It was so noticeable we opted to throw it out. Checking out trees the prices are outrageous particularly when you know they will be at least half price December 26th. So, we are thinking no tree. We may change our minds – if we do we will get a live tree. Since I’d never put a live tree up until the week before Christmas, we have some time to decide. We have a lot of decorations and blinking lights and two trees outside so the house doesn’t look barren.

We are both up in the loft on our respective computers. I’m updating our Christmas card list and addresses. I’ve opted to use mailing labels as it not only makes life easier, it is also clearer. (my handwriting is not always neat)

Rump roast for dinner and I want to come up with something different for the meal…. I’m tired of the same old thing. Thank goodness I have so many cookbooks.

Five Deer Came to Visit

I was in the bedroom hanging up clothes and looked out the back sliding doors and saw two deer on the septic mound - here is one of them. They were just relaxing - chewing. I ran up to get the camera and the telephoto lens. Back to the bedroom to take several pictures but too many branches were in the way as I was shooting down on them. So, got my shoes on and "snuck" outside tiptoeing around the driveway to lean on the edge of the house by the garage - great spot as I could keep the camera still. As you can see by this picture - I had a good location.

And suprisingly enough another deer showed up - here is number three walking out of the woods. I was him coming and just kept taking pictures. The two on the grass just kept chewing and this one walked around eating but never did lay down.
And then......




another deer came out of the woods... WOW four. A fifth one joined the group and I just kept taking pictures. They were so majestic... just walked so slowly and kept eating.... suddenly, as though they made a group decision, they started to move off back into the woods one at a time.



Below are the four walking away.. the fifth lead the group and is already out of sight.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is about family – and we were fortunate enough to have dinner at B’s brother John’s house. It was a rainy gloomy day…. But NO snow so who could complain? We got there around 4:00 and the turkey sure smelled great! More people came in and by the time we had dinner we were over 15 people. We start the meal with tortellini soup that is a much requested recipe. The turkey was so good – John and I did a great job of cutting and placing it on serving plates! Eve cooks a “mean” turkey with stuffing, veggies and mashed potatoes. We all managed to find room for the multitude of deserts including pumpkin and apple pie, Good food and family – we thank all for our blessings!

A Tree Comes Down

When the leaves fell off the trees, we realized we had a rather large, dead tree that, if the wind blew in the "right" direction, could fall on the house. So, we were able to find someone to come and cut it down. First they removed the branches as well as branches caught in surrounding trees.

Then he cut the top of the tree. I took this from the porch because it was a good angle to see - but the sun was too bright.

I then moved to the driveway and street to get the final pictures. The tree is trimmed and a long rope attached. One guy cut and the other pulled.



And......



Down



It



Came - just where they planned on it landing!! 

Things are busy

I used to worry that when I retired there wouldn’t be anything to do. All my retired friends said that wasn’t so, but it was hard to imagine. THEY WERE RIGHT.

We have been busy doing “things”… the stuff that life retired is made up of. Today we stayed home for breakfast… and had cold cereal… which I really was hungry for. Then B read the paper and I puttered around – a load of laundry, some general cleaning, put the dishes away from the dishwasher. B was working outside and I went back to work on our storage stuff in the heater room where I have been working for the past two days. Today was concentrating on the freezer room where stuff needed to be moved, donated or used. I worked on that all day, on and off. Then lunch… where was B???? Visiting a friend so I ate and made him a sandwich. At 1:00 I was due at the health club, which we have set up here. Sheila, Dorothy and I were going to try out equipment so we were familiar…. And support was a good thing. No B… and Sheila stopped to pick me up (THANKS). We tried most of the equipment, had a bunch of giggles and after 90 minutes decided to pack it in. That’s going to be a really nice place to go to!!! Back home and as we drove up in the drive… there was B with the sling shot… WHY????? Well, looking around there was a dear eating our bushes!!! Woooo Woooo I yelled as I jumped out of the car. The poor deer…… off he/she ran. (I’d be scared, too) and my noise worked better than the sling shot!

Escarole soup and a cheese steak sandwich for dinner. Though I must say, the rolls here are NOT like what we are used to in Jersey!! There are some things we REALLY miss!!!

They are calling for snow in some areas… just a flurry or so. Don’t think we will be getting any; then warmer later this week.

The Winds of Fall

It’s been gloomy all day – started out “warm” and was due to get colder. This morning’s 57 degrees was the high. We stayed home for breakfast and then just puttered around. I worked on generally cleaning things up and also was on the computer. After lunch I came back up to post on the blog. Suddenly it got darker, and the wind really kicked up. Rain poured down and it looked like we were getting hail but upon closer inspection – no - just lots of wind and rain. The trees really lost a lot of leaves in a very short time.
We have had frost on two different nights then for the past several days it’s been warm with the afternoons getting up to the high 60’s or 70. The leaves started to really fall and lose their color at the start of the week.

With all the wind we are having... more leaves will be down. Right now it's 47 out.. and dropping. 

The Pictures from Wednesday!

For some reason, I wasn't able to upload these pictures yesterday... so here they are. I cropped this picture and enlarged it... you can just about see the antlers. A longer shot is below.

We had deer today too, but I didn't see this guy.

We were working on cleaning out the garage to make room for my car (the convertable) before the snow. Since it was such a nice day, we spent about three hours and really did a lot. Not only cleaned things up but threw things out!!! YEA!

Don't think we will have any trouble falling asleep tonight.  

Nice Weather

It’s been really nice out the past two days. Temperatures in the mid 70’s and sun!! I planted the grasses that I got in the mail in two large planters. We were outside yesterday doing some other things around the house. Then, Shelia and I walked down to the health club to let the rug guy in to measure. Today he dropped off the samples and we decided on the color. This health club is exciting… there are a group of us and we are renovating the lower level of the club house…doing most of the work ourselves. Just about everyone has pitched in and we are hoping to get it all set up by November. That way we can be “healthy” over the winter!!!

We are going to a wedding this Saturday and yesterday I looked in the mirror and said “yikes”! So this morning I dropped into my hair dresser for HELP and got a wax and a cut. Now, if I can just style it as well as she did for the wedding.

This afternoon I got ambitious and made an apple pie. While I do make pie crust from scratch, I used a refrigerated crust – it’s really OK. Had Granny Smith apples and cut them up, added sugar and spices and plopped them in the crust and added a top crust which I popped into the oven. As I was cleaning up – I looked out the window and saw a buck out in the woods off the septic mound. So, I ran up to get my camera and telephoto lens and went out “hunting”. I’ve posted two pictures of the buck… I hope you can see him.

Rain tonight and cooler tomorrow. Hot dogs for dinner tonight…. With apple pie for dessert. Good day! Hope your day was good, too.

Cool weather

We woke up to temperatures in the upper 30’s. Right now I’m in the loft and it’s kinda chilly – no heat up here. The view is nice – with vegetation dying I can almost see the stream.

We worked outside some this week. I pulled out flowers from planters on the deck and stored the planters under the deck. I still have several planters out full of colorful flowers; including the hanging basket Nancy gave me. (Thank you Nancy!!) Last year I didn’t really winterize my plants in time. This year, I’m not making that mistake! I also cleaned out my dryer vent. Got up on a step stool and, using long tongs and a fork (hey, that grilling stuff is good for more than one thing) got a lot of lint out. Will vacuum it out soon – maybe tomorrow.

I’m just about done changing clothes from summer to fall/winter. Also I’m getting rid of things either we didn’t wear this summer or I know I won’t wear this winter. We are very relaxed in what we wear all the time. We are going to dress up for a wedding we are going to next week but that’s unusual. I enjoy not dealing with suits and heels.

I’m going to try making lasagna with the noodles you don’t cook first. It’s a good day to do some baking and the recipe sounded interesting. Off to the kitchen!  

The Boat Leaves the Water - Fall is HERE

No doubt about it…. Fall is here! We took the boat out of the water yesterday. It was a beautiful day. We had taken just about everything off the boat earlier so all we had to do was remove the lines and off B went… I drove the car over to the haul out place and waited… And, along came B steering around two ski jets with much skill!! Then around to the ramp where he only had to wait a little bit before the truck with the trailer came to lift him and the boat out of the water. He did a really GREAT job of running the boat up. Something I know I couldn’t do!! And as you can see, the ramp was quite busy. The boat was out and we went home… while the boat went to storage until next year.
 

A weekend to enjoy!

Several weeks ago, we decided to replace some of the glass in our windows. We have lots of windows!! And the seal on several has been broken between the two panes of glass. So we got all the front windows done (the house is a prow front and has 11 windows – floor to ceiling and we replaced 5. However, we realized we needed to replace a sixth. Originally we also had them measure for the windows in the loft as one is REALLY bad. They came, measured, gave us a price and we said OK. Then they came about a week ago to install the glass. Up in the loft, my desk and “stuff” is up against the windows. So, being the “prepared” person that I strive to be, I cleaned off my desk – including my computer, scanner, files I was working on, laser printer and other things I use on a regular basis. So they came in the afternoon and did the 5 downstairs windows and measured for the sixth. It was late – they left. OK, there is always tomorrow. Well, they haven’t been back. I believe they will be back when the sixth window comes in. B isn’t upset – we only paid a deposit and they left the loft windows leaning up against my desk (blocking the drawers with my files).I’m at loose ends…. And I’m NOT going to set everything up because you know they will come the next day. So, I moved the laser printer down to the kitchen and installed drivers on the lap top and so I’m computing full time in the kitchen or, as I am now, in the living room on battery. I AM NOT COMPLAINING… I am just simply saying, things are really different up here!! At least they came!!!

We worked outside today for a bit. It was gloomy but no rain. The stream in the back was quite noisy and full… racing down to the Lake. We had over 2 ¾ inches of rain over the past several days. It’s supposed to be nice Sunday and Monday.

Fall is here – leaves are turning and falling. The flowers are not growing any more. I’m starting to clear them out. We stacked the outside chairs up today. We left the table out due to the hope we can continue to use it for a bit. Last year we were going back and forth between Jersey and here as we prepared to sell our house. So, this is really the first time we have been here full time in the fall (even if officially Fall arrives later this week).

And I still love it up here. We are making new friends and some of our “old” friends came to visit. Hope all of you are doing well…..

More rain

It was really gloomy today. We woke up to rain… and it continued on and off all day. It was milder today as the temperatures were in the mid 60’s. It has been quite cool… and overnight temps in the mid 40’s. FALL IS HERE!! Even if it does get warmer over the weekend. The leaves are starting to turn and the plants are starting to droop.

We had planned on taking the boat out of the water… but the rain caused us to put that off until next week. We have everything off the boat but two life jackets. But with the rain it was smart to wait.

We have been busy around the house…. Putting away summer things. We have started to clean out the garage and plan for winter.

We tried out a new place for pizza yesterday and really liked it… We had leftover pot roast for dinner tonight.

There isn’t much on TV tonight.. thank heaven for books!!!!

Huricane Winds and Boats Don't Mix!

We had an exciting afternoon! Rain started last night and this morning the wind picked up. We had some errands to run in the morning and were sitting in the living room finishing lunch and looking at TV…and a car drove up and D came to the door – the lake was very rough and our boat had snapped a line. So, we quickly got ready, found some line, and took off to the docks. The view was incredible. The wind was coming right at the docks and kicking up white caps. The docks, which are floating, were bounding up and down and our boat is on the end of the dock. Armed with line, we careened down the dock waving back and forth to keep our balance. No time to be nervous…just get to the boat. When we got there, it was the bow starboard line that had snapped – the spring line had held. As the waves rolled in, the boat was lifted and was hitting the finger dock on the port side and almost up and over. We jumped on board to try to figure out what to do…knowing we needed to replace the snapped line. However, getting it off the boat cleats was the hard part as it was below the spring line and that was keeping the boat somewhat away from the dock. All this with the wind continuing, rain pouring and D and John, and George, another neighbor, offering suggestions and help. John had a heaver line. I got in the bow of the boat while B held on to me – couldn’t loosen the snapped rope… so, he handed me a knife, held on to my pants, and I used two hands to cut the line untie the spring line and attach the heavier line. All this with help in getting and tying the line from our friends. We all had trouble keeping our balance but by working together, the boat was “lashed down”. WOW!!!

So, we are back home, it’s still raining and blowing..and we are so grateful for the help of our friends…. THANKS!!!!!

A visit last week with friends

The past several days we had company – Walt and Lil who we know from our boating days on the Chesapeake. Since we moved up here we have kept in contact by email but it was about time for a get together. They arrived Sunday and we had really GREAT weather through Wednesday. Sitting out on the middle deck was lots of fun.





We took a boat ride on Monday that was really fun. It was cool and windy but the sun was out and with jackets we were quite comfortable. We stopped for gas at Walt’s Landing, a rather appropriate place, and our Walt helped us gas up! After the boat ride we went to Cooper’s for a late lunch/early dinner. We took a ride Tuesday and went to get pizza for dinner. Wednesday was spent relaxing around the house, looking at the food channel and talking. I cooked dinner which was rather good! They left early Thursday. Really a great time!

For some reason, when I thought I posted this, I didn't... oops!! So here it is - late but not forgotten.

Pasta Fagioli

The weather has been rather icky - and B shared his cold (how kind?) so soup sounded good. This is adopted from The Soup Mix Gourmet...and was really GOOD!

2 tbl. extra virgin olive oil (EVOI)
2 strips bacon, 1/2 inch dice
1/2 to 3/4 pound lean ground been
1/2 cup chopped onion, celery and carrot
one 15 oz can diced tomatoes in tomato juice
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 envelope Knorr Tomato Beef Soup Mix
3 - 4 cups water
freshly ground pepper to taste
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary (or 1/4 tsp dried)
1 16 oz can small white beans
2 cups cooked pasta (small such as elbow)
grated Pecorino Romano cheese

In pot, heat oil and brown bacon. (I used leftover bacon which worked fine - just crisped it up) Add ground beef and cook until no pink shows and drain off fat if needed.

Add onion, cleler and carrot and cook until softened - about 4 minutes over medium heat. Then add tomatoes and juice, rosemary (dried for this one) and soup mix and bring to a boil. Add water(start with 3 cups), pepper, fresh rosemary chopped well if you have it and beans(I drained them). Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 20 minutes or more. This is where you judge if you need to add more water as it's supposed to be thick.

Add cooked pasta and simmer about 10 minutes. Serve with the cheese.

We each had two bowls and enough for leftovers the next day.. so it would serve 4.






diced celery and carrots - onion was next



take the rosemary off the stalk and chop well. I haven't started to chop yet - took the picture before my hands got messy!

Here it is simmering... smelled good!














The finished product!! Really good!!!! 

Cook Out Chicken

This is sooooo cool!! I’m outside using the laptop on the patio while I have some wine and the chicken cooks. Retirement is a good thing as it’s Sunday late afternoon and before we would have been on the road if not already back in Jersey getting ready for another day at work.

It’s been really nice – cool at night and warm during the day. It was in the upper 40s this morning… and didn’t get out of the 70s today. Right now there is a light breeze blowing and the sun is shining, but not on me… I’m in the shade. B is putting the sprinklers on the shrubs. We don’t have in-ground sprinklers here but rarely need to water so it’s not a problem. I’m trying a new dish… beer can chicken. We got a Perdue chicken this morning and I made a rub that I put on and in the chicken. Then I took a can of beer and drank some to empty the can about a third…hey, cooking ain’t easy J I had gotten this contraption that the chicken sits on that holds the can. So picture this, the chicken is sitting upright on a can – kinda looks like a rocket ship about to blast off. I have it in the middle of the grill where the burner is off – with two burners on high. So, we shall see how it tastes.

B is back and he brought snackies… how nice!!! Snyder’s of Hanover Home style pretzels our favorite. He also brought some Ritz Bits cheese. Yum

We really have been doing things around the house. B started washing off the house. Our house is made of cedar. What you see on the outside is really what you see on the inside. The outside of the house looked dirty – and so he decided to clean it. Using Murphy’s Oil in a bucket, he cleaned an area in the back that really looks good. The water was so dirty we dumped it several times. When you look up, you can tell what was cleaned. This is an on going project.

I’ve just started to go through our pictures. I have a tote full of pictures that I started to deal with. I have a Cannon scanner to scan the pictures and am working my way through. It is a bittersweet task… pictures of mom and dad and B’s family. But I want to scan them and then save to a CD and then give several people the CD. I’m concerned about back up in the event of a National Emergency which, it would seem, could happen.

Well, back to the chicken… it is so lovely out here. The dinner is cooking and the temps are so comfortable. It’s a good day – hope it is for you, too.

A Pocono Day

It was, for want of a better statement, a Pocono day. We had rain last night… boomers and heavy rain. We woke to cloudy skies. We went to breakfast and then home by 8 AM. B read the paper and I busied myself on cleaning stuff… put away dishes in the kitchen and so forth. I just kept busy around the house. It was in the 70’s. We had an early lunch and went out to do some yard work. B mowed the grass – mostly over the septic hill. I raked and moved more tree branches. The yard looks good. We took a break ‘cause we were really hot. After lunch I moved chairs around and wiped the tables down… The decks and patio really look good!

Went to the Library (B drove) to pick up a book I had on request – Julia Childs about her time in France. Started reading it and it is really interesting.

And now we are done dinner and it’s still really nice outside. No humidity and really going to get cool tonight. We are going to the Doctors tomorrow… just one of those “normal” visits you do every so often. At first we planned to eat breakfast home… but B just said maybe we would go early and eat at the diner. Fine with me…. I guess my coffee doesn’t compete with the Hawley Diner!!

Hope it is cooler in Jersey…. You guys would really love it here!!!!!

Maxine

Don't you just love Maxine???

Retirement Year One

Here it is August already…and I’ve been retired one year!! Hard to believe.

I was worried that I wouldn’t keep busy – but that hasn’t been a problem at all. I find that I really enjoy doing things around the house. Yes, really. The fact that we have less “stuff” now, and are reducing it further each month does help. I think it’s also that there is the time…I tend to focus on one thing and when I worked, all my energy and thought went toward my job. So much that I would wake up worrying about a problem. So cleaning was not a primary concern although I was aware the house was not super clean (I hasten to add that I was never a pig and the house was cluttered but I did vacuum and dust and clean the bathrooms – just not as often as I do now). I’m enjoying trying out new recipes as well as doing things outside. Then there is the computer, taking pictures, reading and looking at movies and TV and catching up on shows I missed. B and I go shopping or take a drive or go out on the boat. We also work outside on various projects. We are very fortunate and know it…and are very thankful we can enjoy our retirement.

It’s much cooler today… we were in the upper 90’s – it felt like we were back in Jersey. It cooled off late yesterday so we turned the air off. Right now it’s cloudy but we are supposed to have a comfortable weekend with clear skies!

A really nice day

It was, without a doubt, one of those really nice days when the weather is GREAT!!

We had breakfast and then, on the spur of the moment, decided to check out Home Depot. B is looking for some tools so we drove over there - about 7 miles - and he looked while I checked out the plant section. Just looking. At this point it was overcast and cool… had been in 59 when we got up at 6:30 AM.

Went home to read the paper and then I went out side to do some repotting of plants… and B was busy doing something inside. I have several ivy hanging baskets and was transplanting them. Wal Mart had some new planters in…had hooks that were metal and turned. Also had a saucer attached that watered from underneath the plant. Really great so I got some the other day and went back for more… and had three to transplant. I also went through the pots I had back off the mound…hidden from view. Found several with cracks that I’ll throw out and scrubbed out several more… and also cleaned up some saucers. In the meantime, B came out and drilled some holes in several of my pots that wouldn’t drain. So I got all the stuff transplanted and also worked on the herbs and other plants. In between this we had lunch and looked at some TV.

Dinner was chuck roast which I put on around 3:30. Turned out really good!!! I also worked on some financial stuff on the computer.

All in all it was a really nice day with no humidity and very comfortable.

I think the nicest thing about retirement is the ability to enjoy a day like today. It’s Sunday, and we would have had to get ready and travel back home by noon. Instead we just really enjoyed the day!! NICE!!! If you can retire and aren’t sure…. Go for it!!

Doris visited us this week along with Neil and Brian, her grandson. We had a nice time but not enough time. Doris is a long time friend…we both worked at the same school for over 20 years. Doris was in and out of the offices I was in over that time and we have kept up our friendship even after I left that job. We email regularly but hadn’t seen each other for around a year…so there was lots to catch up on and four hours was NO WAY enough. They promised to come back for a longer stay and maybe we will get out on the boat. The weather was not good this past week and we never made it to the boat when they came over. They were up here for several days visiting Doris’s son who was had rented a cabin near the Lake. It’s nice to see them again and we are really looking forward to a longer visit. This picture proves they came!!!

Right now it is POURING rain…I mean so heavy that it is quite noisy up here in the loft. We are under a severe weather warning and I can see why. No thunder - just RAIN.It was raining when we got up. We decided to take a ride to the mall to check out the sales. That is always a good thing to do. I found two outfits that will be for cooler weather and B got some knit shirts. We then did the mall but didn’t get anything and then went to Sam’s for a chicken which we had for dinner. Good!!!

Rain is slacking off now for the time being. I really hope this wet weather pattern doesn't go into the winter. We lucked out last year. 

A relaxing Sunday

It was really hot today! Weather forecast called for highs in the upper 80’s. We decided to do some outside work after breakfast - before it got too hot. B washed a car while I continued to work on clearing leaves and such from above the driveway. We both worked about an hour and then, took “a break” and decided at that point it was getting too hot to continue. So, we read the paper and ate lunch then worked up in the den for a bit. Then a trip to the store for a few things such as bread and back home to relax and have dinner. We ate outside…it was really nice. It’s not that muggy here and the back patio is in the shade in the afternoon. We had potato salad using the red potatoes I bought. After boiling the halves I skinned then holding the potato on a fork…something I saw on the food channel. Then some Italian dressing and after sitting (onions and celery were mixed in) I added mayo and some cheese mix. I usually add sour cream but, wouldn’t you know it, I was out and forgot to buy any. Vanilla yoghurt was not an option so I used this cheese spread - kinda like a borson cheese. Just a spoonful and some spices. Added it to the potatoes along with a cut up egg and into the refrigerator for around 30 minutes. B cooked the hamburgers and we enjoyed the patio…. No bugs and good views. Then back inside for some ice cream…
It’s supposed to go down to the upper 60’s tonight and while hot the rest of the week, nights are comfortable. We may not need to put the air on.
All in all, it was a nice day! We hope to go out on the boat tomorrow.

A Boat Trip on the Lake

It was a beautiful day and we finally got out on the Lake. We were out for over an hour and after tying up just sat around for a bit. The pictures tell the story!!

 

A visit from Mama Deer and her babies

I was busy when B called to me…there were baby deer on the back septic mound. So I quickly ran up to get my camera and the new telephoto lens. And crept out the back door to see what I could see.
There was a mama and three babies… and they were SOOOOO cute! The fact that they weren’t eating our shrubs helped, too!!! I took 100 pictures… and here are some of them. They were having such a nice time and mama just kinda watched… until I went too close and then, she stomped twice. At which point I retreated!
It was so nice out today..in the 80’s but not muggy. Overcast in the late afternoon but no rain. Tomorrow is to be clear and warm. Lows still in the 50’s and we are enjoying it!!

 

Final electrical upgrades

Yesterday Jimmy came to put in the new light in the laundry area. This was the last update we are doing for a bit. The “small” things do make a difference. I can finally see in the laundry area! There was a 40 watt bulb in an outside fixture on the back wall which really did NOTHING. This light is mounted on the ceiling and provides so much light…saw cobwebs I hadn’t noticed before. I’ve also included pictures of the fans we had installed which really make a big difference. Thank you Jimmy!
 

Gooey Cake Recipe

The other day we went to a cook out and I brought deserts. I had wanted to try Paula Deen’s Gooey Butter Cake - but didn’t. Then, when Nancy and Carol came I made the cake and boy, was it good! And easy! So, I’ve listed it below…enjoy!

One 18.25 ounce package yellow cake mix
1 egg
1 stick butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350. Combine ingredients and mix well (I use hand mixer) Pat into lightly greased 13 X 9 baking pan (I use no stick pan and don’t grease)
Prepare filling

One 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 stick butter, melted
One 16 oz box powdered sugar
Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla. Add butter. Add powdered sugar (I sifted it first as I had a 3 pound pouch from Sam’s and it was lumpy - and I weighed it) Spread this mixture over the cake mixture. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. It will puff up quite a bit. You want the center to be a little gooey (well, that’s why it’s called gooey cake!) so don’t over bake. Let it cool before cutting.

I cut it in small pieces because it’s really rich. I also put the pieces on muffin paper to make picking them up easier. I refrigerated it covered and it kept quite well - well until everyone tasted it and then they ate it so storing was NOT a concern!

Enjoy! Let me know how it turned out.

A Visit from a Deer

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Nancy, you will love this…. We were visited by a deer tonight.
The day was overcast and we got rain around 5:30 PM. I shut off the computers. The rain ended and then we ate dinner… and were finishing ice cream in the living room and looking at TV. And B said, “Look at the deer”, and I grabbed the camera and went outside.. And this is what I saw.
Nice way to end June. 

The Day After the Rains

The access to the docks was under water yesterday - and now can be reached.

Yesterday the water was churning out of the pipe under the road. Today the area under water is wider but the water is calm.


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Yesterday the water was racing down the road and down our property at this area at the end of the drive...today it's just damp



The last picture is from the dam lookout. I've taken it across to where the public launch is located. You normally can see the ramp...but not today. The Lake is still high but better than yesterday. The sun is out and looks like things are drying up!