Merry Christmas & Happy New Year 2023

Greetings from South Dakota! Kevin has been busy at the school fixing things & moving snow from around the school, around the house & around town.  I've been busy at the Post Office helping Santa get all the Christmas presents delivered. The mail didn’t move for days due to I-90 being closed due to a little dab of snow that was blowing around all over the midwest causing a blizzard. Snow around our place was 0 to 8 feet deep due to drifting.

The perfect gift for those (me) that
like to have picnics.

We had a restful Christmas Day at home due to the Sheriff saying to stay home. There were reports of black ice on the roads & no travel was advised along with wind gusts predicted of up to 65 mph making snow drifts.  A time or 2 the Sheriff put it like this “stay off the freaking roads”. We decided that was a good enough reason for us to just stay home instead of taking our camper out & going camping as we had originally planned. We had just came out of a blizzard that left traveling through families & truckers stranded in town for a couple nights. A shelter was set up in the Rec Center that accommodated about 40 people one night & about 60 people the next night. Santa was able to make it to the shelter for a quick little visit & give out goodies.

Our Christmas special cooking project was trying our hand at making an old-fashioned gingerbread cake to use up some molasses we had in the pantry.  Kevin remembers having a sweet bread when he was a boy, so he searched for a recipe online. The recipe he chose turned out pretty tasty with a serving of snow cream & chocolate syrup. We talked that we might make another cake using the same recipe someday soon to use up the rest of that molasses before it goes bad. 

We’ve done a lot of camping & exploring this year, going out every chance we got on the weekends & holidays.  In the spring & early summer we were able to have a few little campfires to roast hotdogs & make smores, then the weather turned too dry during the rest of the summer for lighting up.

Toney

We enjoyed having the Grandkids visit during the summer.  Austin, the oldest, is all set to graduate high school in the spring.  He is working at KFC & seems to like it pretty good.  He has a girlfriend & they have plans to move out on their own after graduation & take courses at a community college. The middle teen & tween boys are playing all the sports. The girls are doing cheerleading & dance.  The babies are growing so unbelievably fast.  We welcomed our 9th Grandbaby in October.  He was a little feller, weighing just under 5 pounds.  He had a little trouble at the very 1st wanting to start breathing & taking in oxygen, though he is healthy & fine now.  I went to North Carolina to be with the family & help out during the week of delivery & recovery.

Kevin got the garden all cleaned up just before the cold weather & snow set in. We were able to keep the deer out of the garden this season by putting up a netting fence around the entire garden area.  We planted a couple rows of sweet tators this year that produced a good crop.  We put the tators & onions downstairs where it’s dry & cooler.  They seem to be keeping good down there. We put the carrots in the crisper in the refrigerator & they are doing good in there. We like to make french fries with the carrots & sweet tators.  Mmmmmm!  We put squash & pumpkin in the freezer.  I made a couple pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving & we have a squash casserole recipe that is good

Kevin got a deer during hunting season. We ground most that meat for making sloppy joes & such. He took a shot at a deer with his bow to fill his archery tag but didn’t get it yet. Kevin did a little bird hunting too & brought in some doves, grouse & a rabbit or 2.  We went fishing quite a bit & have fish in the freezer that we’re still eating on. Kevin went on a little camping trip in the Big Horn Mountains of Wyoming & did some fishing over there. It seems a lot of our activities involves food of some sort.

                                                                                       

 We look forward to seeing what 2023 

has in store for us, Karen & Kevin.

These are some of the things that's been going on in my neck of the woods, how about you?

Fish & other June Happenings 2022

Hello there Adventurous Friends, greetings from South Dakoka.  How you doing?  We did a lot of camping, enjoyed a couple campfires & did some fishing.  This is Sentence a Day where I join others & write a little something about each of my days, wrote in one long drawn out sentence or 2. 

Celebrating the 1st - Mother nature gave us plenty of much needed spring rain for the garden & yard, we were able to have a campfire while camping, got the garden planted & a fence built to keep the deer out.

* Thurs 2nd - Got groceries & gas, my name was drawn for a $10 in store grocery coupon, got a few things for Grand's visit, M&Ms to go in popcorn & mozzarella cheese sticks, Kevin got the sweet tator plants that he ordered, we planted them after supper.

* Fri 3rd - Kevin reseeded some seeds in the garden, mowed the yard & changed the oil in my car, I folded laundry & put it away, paid a couple bills & balanced the books, we cooked shrimp for supper then rode out to the lake to check out a camping spot.

Week 23

* Weekend 4th & 5th - Went to Friends moving sale, got toys, books & movies for the Grands, several blankets for picnics, a camo shirt for Kevin, spent almost all of the $20 bill I took to shop with, went camping out at the lake, built a campfire on the lakebed, roasted cheddar dogs & made smores, did a lot of fishing between the rains.

* Mon 6th - Got new tires put on my car, went to Club meeting, meal was at #3.

* Tues 7th - Planned Luau party for August when I go visit family in NC, ordered supplies & decorations to be sent to Sister, grass skirts, leis, ring toss game.

* Wed 8th - Read the newspaper, the school has several job openings, Summer in the Streets & the Fishing Derby are coming up in a couple of weeks.

* Thurs 9th - Got groceries & gas, gas was $5.299, packed us a picnic supper, we drove down to the Gulch to check out a camping spot & the lady slippers. 

(Previous year's lady slipper in bloom) - No good camping
spot in the Gulch for our camper & the slippers weren't blooming.

* Fri 10th - Went fishing out at the lake, Kevin caught 3 fish, I caught one, Kevin turned the gas heat off for the summer, I had turned off the baseboards last week.

Week 24

* Weekend 11th & 12th - Went camping up at the pond, did some cooking, reading, riding & walking, not as much walking now that it's snake season, Coworker had almost stepped on a rattlesnake during the week that was at the bottom of her steps, had a couple thunderstorms that produced hail, there was a tornado watch.

Found several areas to walk with
thinner shorter grass.

Seems one of our favorite camping
activities is eating.

                  

Rose seems to enjoying camping & exploring just
as much as we do, she often sniffs the flowers.

Happy Birthday to Grand Gracie.

* Mon 13th - Prepared for tornado weather, Kevin unhooked from the camper, we put all vehicles in the garage, I brought in the deck chairs, glad the storm missed us, halleluiah.

* Tues 14th - Made a pie for supper, tuna pie that is, have another shell to make a tomato pie when the matoes are ready in the garden.

* Wed 15th - Worked more hours covering for  Coworker having an allergic reaction to something, chilly & windy evening, did some reading & watching episodes of The is Us. 

* Thurs 16th - Got groceries & gas, gas was $5.539, cooked eggs & tators to make tator salad for weekend camping.

* Fri 17th - Finalized the camping menu, filled the water jugs, made ice blocks to put in the drinking water, did a little weed eating around the office, felt like my arms were going to fall off.

Week 25

* Weekend 18th, 19th & 20th - Went camping over in the buttes, the sunshine was hot, the clouds & rain were cold, made a sloppy joe shepard's pie with leftover sloppy joe mix.

* Tues 21st - Cleaned the bathroom, did some laundry, vacuumed, prepped for Grand's visit.

* Wed 22nd - Facetimed with Moma & Sister about our August Luau, cooked a pork roast in the crock pot, met Friends out at the lake for fishing, swimming & picnicking, Kevin & I had pulled pork sandwiches along with leftover tator salad from the weekend, Friends made smores & mountain pie sandwiches.

* Thurs 23rd - Went to Summer in the Streets, the clinic hosted the food for customer appreciation, we got hamburger plates with the extra root beer floats that were available.

* Fri 24th - Went grocery shopping up the road, got a carload.

Week 26

* Sat 25th - Spot cleaned the carpet here & there, wiped & dusted out my car, spot cleaned the seats, organized food for the Grands, Friend brought over firewood since they are moving & we're planning a hotdog roast a couple days after the 4th.

* Sun 26th - Stopped in Cabalas to get Kevin a pair of work shoes, picked up the Grands at the airport, went to the city park, ate the lunch I packed, toured the historic fish hatchery & feed the fish, too cold for tubing, got blizzards, a smoothie & a milkshake at DQ on the drive home.

Who knew feeding the fish at this age would be so much fun,
along with listening to each other's ringtones on our cell phones.

* Mon 27th - Basketball & wiffle ball for the Grands, Circus after supper, there was cotton candy, candy bars & snow cones, Kevin mowed, showers, popcorn & episodes of Camp Cretaceous before going to bed.

* Tues 28th - Grands up early for Strength & Agility at the gym, there was a selfie photo scavenger hunt, played a couple rounds of Boom Boom Balloon, baseball after supper, watched Hustle on Netflix.

* Wed 29th - Lake Day - swimming, fishing & a picnic, found some cactus in bloom, a thunderstorm came through, we sat in the car & waited for it to pass, there were several drops of rain.

* Thurs 30th - Grands up early for Strength & Agility, basketball in the evening, they had friends spend the night, tacos for supper.

These are some of the things that's been going on in my neck of the woods, how about you?

 

Blooms & other May Happenings 2022

Happy Birthday to Moma.
She's wearing the shirt I sent her.

Hello there Adventurous Friends, greetings from South Dakoka.  How you doing?  March gave us some much needed rain & moisture.  Lots of mowing the grass going on.  The smell of fresh cut grass is one of my favorite smells. This is Sentence a Day where I join others & write a little something about each of my days, wrote in one long drawn out sentence or 2. 

Celebrating the 1st - Got a lot of decluttering done, ordered supplies to organize pictures, got some much-needed moisture for the area having rain & snow.

* Mon 2nd - Club roadside trash pickup canceled due to snowdrifts in the ditches & possible slippery slopes, went to Club meeting, got fundraiser Happy Day Award tickets to sell, meal at #3, got a BLT & tator tots.

* Tues 3rd - The circus is coming to town, full vacation time back on, got plane tickets to visit family in NC & take Grands home after their visit, made a few activity plans with Daughter - amusement park, picnic & tubing at the creek, ordered a snow cone making machine & supplies, had it sent to Sister.

* Wed 4th - Started working in one of the other offices, will be there till someone is hired, sad drive seeing cows & calves that didn't make it through the blizzard, Kevin grilled a couple of the fish we caught over the weekend, yum, froze the others.

* Thurs 5th - Full day of work going back & forth between offices, dropped off the water bill before work, put gas in the car during lunch break, station under new management as a ranch supply place, there was lots of different colors of roping ropes, got a snack, too tired to get groceries after work.

* Fri 6th - No long johns & a short-sleeved shirt, 1st hot day of the year, got groceries, planned & packed for camping, 

Week 19

Saw lots of turkeys.

* Weekend 7th & 8th - Put together Grand's birthday box, 2 birthdays coming up in June, went camping up at the pond, forgot the coats for riding, Kevin had some shirts & a rain coat that we made do, a wheel bearing went out on one of the camper tires on the way home. 

Found a couple bunches of bluebells blooming.

Having my morning coffee while walking around the pond, watching the ducks,
green grass everywhere, seeing several patches of snow, listening to the frogs croak,
found the remains of a goose nest, eggshells, feathers & all.

Ham, egg, veggie &
cheese breakfast rollup.

* Mon 9th - Cooked up the 1st bunch of asparagus from out of the garden this season, looked up recipes with more protein & less sugar, got to eat healthier for our health, Kevin's high sugar, my thyroid, cholesterol & weight.  

* Tues 10th - Tried a new recipe for a breakfast rollup, it was a hit & fun cooking with Kevin, we talked about different ingredients to put in it next time, I ate one & had the other for morning snack, vacuumed, not been in the cleaning mood & it showed, helped put up the stage for graduation.

* Wed 11th - Early morning rain showers, decorated for customer appreciation activities, got my shingles booster, stopped in to look at the flowers in the greenhouse while waiting for appointment time, joined several diabetic recipe groups to get ideas for healthier eating, lights out at 9ish.

I like the purple 
cattails.

* Thurs 12th - Rained about all day, customer appreciation day at the office went good, didn't have a sherbet float, didn't have a craving for it, so proud of my will power, got groceries, walked home in the rain, declined 2 ride offers, read ideas for healthier eating meal plans using the plate method. 

* Fri 13th - Found a recipe for roasted veggies with a new to me spice to try - Old Bay, stopped in the grocery store again for more veggies & they didn't have the spice, wrote it on the Walmart list, put gas in car, $4.699 a gallon, worked in the garden.

Rose & my job was to fill the buckets with fertilizer
(seasoned cow manure), Kevin turned it into the
dirt with the tractor.

Do you see the hole in the rock?

Week 20

* Weekend 14th & 15th - A perfect weekend for camping up in the hills under the big pines & trail riding, not to hot, not to cold, a little windy that rocked the camper like riding in an airplane, Kevin had got parts & fixed the camper wheel during the week, still no breaks for some reason so that's still a work in progress, forget the mess kit for cooking lunch out on the trail, pb&j sandwiches made do, forget the dish rag to wash the dishes, paper towels made do.

A beautiful blue sky on Sunday, lots of
dandelions in bloom. 

Saw lots of wildlife - deer, antelope turkeys,
 2 porcupines, a grouse & a snake, found
a goose egg, a roll of tape & a golf ball.

Still drifts of snow here & there, Kevin
wanted to take my picture, I told him 
that I was too clumsy, low & behold, my
 shoe rolled on a rock & I fell while
walking to get around it, gracious.

* Mon 16th - Seemed to have more energy after a week of less sugar & carbs, hope it continues, made an egg & sausage bake to have for breakfast for several days, made a protein bar, worked on freezing & packaging the applesauce we made over the weekend, went to Club meeting, turned in my 2 packs of Happy Day Award tickets, now to help Kevin get his pack sold, meal at #3, got nacho tots, ate 1/2 & saved the other 1/2 for lunch.

Protein Bar - the way I made mine, recipe shared from Coworker

- 2 cups peanut butter

- 1 cup honey

- 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Mix ingredients, heating over medium/low heat, then add

- 2 cups of oatmeal or rice crispys ( I used oatmeal, Coworker said she used rice crispys)

Spread in greased 9X13 dish

Sprinkle with 

- handful of chocolate chips

Let chips melt a few minutes & spread to cover a thin layer on top of the bar.

Put in refrigerator to set.

 

* Tues 17th - Made 2 lunches out of the leftover tots, added salad fixings along with a piece of the protein bar, ordered net fencing to keep the deer out of the garden, Walmart order of jellos & puddings sitting in MO unable to be delivered & damaged.

Bomgaars moving all their plants 
inside getting prepared for the 
weekend freeze forecasted.

* Wed 18th - Went with Kevin to the dermatologist, stopped in Bomgaars, got 4 tomato plants in gallon containers, trying bigger size plant starts for our short growing season, shopped at Safeway, a new to us grocery store, ate at Culvers for supper, got ice cream at DQ, Kevin tried their new fruity blast dipped cone, I got my regular hot fudge sundae.

* Thurs 19th - Saw a baby antelope on the drive home from work, stopped in the grocery store, Rose needed dog food, got the photo storage/organizer box ready to start putting pictures in, still waiting on the label maker.

* Fri 20th - Relaxed & did some reading.

Week 21

* Sat 21st - Club hosted bingo night, won $3.50 & a tomato plant, kept up with the card counts, Kevin was the number caller, emptied the coffee pot & helped clean up.

* Sun 22st - Had a good day of fishing, walking & a picnic.

There was still a little snow
around the lake here & there.

Chicken salad on crackers
for lunch.

* Mon 23rd - Helped Kevin gather posts to build a fence around the garden to keep the deer out, 1 post by it's self seemed lightweight, I could barely carry 3 posts together, got sore places on my arms where the posts laid.

* Tues 24th - Got a down pour of rain just as I was coming home from work, ordered magazine subscriptions to take camping, Women's World for me, Backwoods Home for Kevin, Kevin cooked fish for supper then I helped him put in the posts for the garden fence.

* Wed 25th - Tried an avocado for the 1st time, didn't care for it, made avocado toast with an egg for breakfast, helped Kevin put netting fence to the posts, watched yellow finches came to the dandelions in the yard while Kevin went to the hardware store to get ribbon to mark the fence.

* Thurs 26th - Finalized the camping menu, made a shopping list, packed some things in the camper, renewed subscription to the newspaper, the station ordered tires for my car, helped Kevin finish the fence & plant tomato plants.

* Fri 27th - Got groceries, went to the greenhouse with Kevin, I chose red, white & blue flowers, he got pepper, cabbage & tomato plants, planted the plants as soon as we got back home.

Week 22

* Weekend 28th, 29th & 30th - Went camping up at the pond, it rained off & on, we still had a good time, went riding, walking, cooking, reading & watching DVDs of Dainel Boone & The Brady Bunch, didn't forget anything other than Kevin saying he forget to get the leaf blower to blow the dust off the side by side, it rained so didn't need it, Rose got the 1st tick of the season on her leg, Kevin said his favorite thing was the hamburgers, my favorite thing was walking to explore & seeing what flowers were in bloom, grateful & thankful for those who severed so we have freedoms to enjoy the things we want to do this Memorial Day.

28th National Hamburger Day.

We had popcorn & hot chocolate sitting
by the campfire.

Do you see the fairy ring? 

* Tues 31st - Got a surprise during 1st morning walk with Rose, the wild iris had blooms, yay, thought they weren't going to bloom this year, put away picture organizing stuff till next winter, time to finalize activities & menus for Grand's summer visits, met with Club to get Happy Day tickets ready for the drawings.

These are some of the things that's been going on in my neck of the woods, how about you?

Decluttering & other April Happenings

Hello there Adventurous Friends, greetings from South Dakoka.  How you doing?  I think I got a little homesick this month after visiting the family in March.  I kept busy decluttering to downsize in hopes to move closer to the family in 2 years when I retire.  This is Sentence a Day where I join others & write a little something about each of my days, wrote in one long drawn out sentence or 2.

* Celebrating the 1st - Had a fun time with family & friends during my trip to NC, announcement was made that Grand #9 will be born in the fall.

Week 13

* Weekend 2nd & 3rd - Camped at the vendor show, 1st campout of the year, hooked up to the electric, camp fee $25 per night, got $55 from Kevin selling my decluttered what nots.

Rose saying hello to the giant creatures
out behind camp.

* Mon 4th - Club meeting, forgot to take the bowl set donation, talked about having burgers in the park & maybe have an outdoor movie, the May meeting is the annual roadside trash pickup, ate at #3, BLT with mashed tators & gravy.

* Tues 5th - Sat with Kevin at the dermatologist while he had Moh's surgery, ate supper at Culver's, got chocolate sundaes at DQ.

* Wed 6th - Snowed about all day with lots of cold wind, school was a 2 hour delay, cooked supper with Kevin making shrimp fried rice.

* Thurs 7th - Worked in one of the other offices, nice sunny drive even though the wind jerked me all over the road, got groceries, picked up some icing for baking Kevin a birthday cake.

* Fri 8th - Made a list of things to do inside during the weekend since Kevin said bad weather's predicted - put together Daughter's birthday box, get fishing stuff gathered up, decided to go ahead & make Kevin's birthday cake while he was out helping work on a garage door, had good thoughts of having cake & eating it too.

Week 14

* Sat 9th - Worked in one of the other offices then worked in the main office, did one thing on the weekend to-do list - a load of laundry, relaxed & watched tv.

* Sun 10th - Weather was decent, went for a ride in the side by side, made turkey wraps for a picnic lunch, saw deer, turkeys, sharp-tail grouse, a porcupine, ducks, geese & a pair of swans, scouted out places to camp with the Grands.

* Mon 11th - Work schedule changed to accommodate those that might not be able to make it into work due to blizzard conditions, made some of Kevin's favorite foods for supper for his birthday, corn on the cob, mashed tators & gravy along with leftover tuna tetrazzini.

See the deer out there in the garden?

Up the road a little ways - Neighboring
county sheriff's department, 15 vehicles
stranded behind blocked bridges.

* Tues 12th - Blizzard warning, no school, Rose didn't want to go outside, hitched a ride to work with Kevin, he helped clear the sidewalks, pizza at #3 for supper, no cleanups after a tiring day, watched videos of truck camper reviews, leaning toward the Bigfoot 10-4, seems a little more pricey though has more features we like, seems structure & value holds up good, Kevin talked with a dealer in Boxman MT, requested manufacture's brochure.

* Wed 13th - Active blizzard continued, shoveled lots of snow, a losing battle, tired & achy, ibuprofen & early to bed.

* Thurs 14th - The sun came out, blue sky & a clear day, Sheriff's office said to stay off the roads while crews cleaned up.

* Fri 15th - Schedule change 15 minutes before leaving for work, had a 2nd cup of coffee, cleaned out clog in Keurig, worked in 2 of our other offices, started watching season 14 of Heartland. 

Do you see those eyes that I see?  
A snow ghost.

Week 15

* Sat 16th - Lots of snow melted, it don't hang around for long this time of year, decluttered several things to the trash, work was good, cooked a pizza for supper, went to bingo.

Bingoed twice, won $5 & a
pack of cookie mix.

* Sun 17th - Chocolate gravy & biscuits for breakfast, watched videos of RV kitchen essentials, compared nesting cookware & metal bowl sets, meatballs sandwiches for supper.

Happy Easter!

* Mon 18th - Watched videos with Kevin comparing truck campers, Bigfoot still top choice, forget about Club meeting till got a call, remembered to take the bowl set donation, elected officers, meal at #3, several ordered the nacho tots including me, 2 said no black olives, 1 said extra black olives, I said the regular amount of black olives.

* Tues 19th - Balanced check books, opened mail, filed papers, trashed papers, recycled papers into scratch/notes, wrote check for property taxes, dusted desk, ordered year's supply of toilet paper, 72 rolls of Scott 1000, decluttered pictures & emails.

* Wed 20th - Another winter storm watch, sorted more pictures, took the stitches out of Kevin's elbow where he had Moh's surgery, he did fine, my stomach got queasy, don't know why, had to take breaks in between.

* Thurs 21st - Cleaned, decluttered & organized a little something in every room of the house, printed updated pictures & changed out the frames, got the toilet paper, that was quick.

Happy Birthday to Daughter, Kasey.

* Fri 22nd - Slept in a little, full day of work, watched episodes of Alone with Kevin, some had good survival skills, some not so much.

Kevin made us breakfast sandwiches &
brought mine to me at work.

Walking to work, coffee in hand,
calm before the storm.

Week 16

Kevin worked on moving snow, I put
grouse in the crockpot then added
some things from out of the garden.

* Sat 23rd - Thunderstorms & rain throughout the night produced about 2 1/2 inches of rain, turned into snow, turned into a blizzard, Kevin cooked burgers, I made cookies, checked Kevin's elbow, found 2 more stitches, watched decluttering photo ideas, ordered a photo storage box & label maker.

* Sun 24th - Had troubles with the gas heat vent freezing up the last couple of days due to snow & ice stuck to it, decluttered a few books & some stationary, watched Recused by Ruby, napped with Rose.

Not having to go outside because there is
a blizzard, is so exhausting.

Roads getting cleared, hopefully for the last
 time this season, 14'' of snow reported.

* Mon 25th - Finished a training module at work that was due, oldest Grand got his driver's license, abundance of green grass appearing from underneath the snow, lots of robins & black birds scavenging the yard.

* Tues 26th - Worked in one of the other offices, saw turkeys along the way, good to see potholes & green grass, caught up on all the active training modules in my queue, helped with inventory counts, stopped in to give condolences to Club member for death of mother, she said to grab some sandwiches to take home so I did. 

* Wed 27th - Later start time to work, decluttered more photo albums, anticipated getting the photo storage box, decluttered several desk drawers, took extra pens & sharpies to work, more wet weather coming. 

* Thurs 28th - Didn't have to work, did more decluttering, where did all the stuff come from, gave Rose a flea treatment & clipped her nails, ordered work uniforms, got a pair of shoes.

* Fri 29th - Sent in the Neilsen radio survey, full day of work, got notified an employee quit in one of the other offices, modified August vacation time, breakfast for supper.

Week 18

* Sat 30th - Good day of work, wind had a chill to it, relaxed in the afternoon watching Alone with Kevin.

These are some of the things that's been going on in my neck of the woods, how about you?