Apple fritter bread & other September Happenings

 Hello there Adventurous Friends, greetings from South Dakota.  How you doing? September is National Preparedness Month, so I thought... what would we actually need to be prepared if the electricity went off for several days due to a snow storm or such.  

Last winter there was that unusual unexpected snow storm that hit Texas.  Kevin & I survived the Blizzard of 93 in North Carolina, being out of power for about a full week.  Daughter was about 5 years old back then.  We had a wood heater at that time & used it to cook on as well as for heating the house.  Snow out on the back deck was used to keep things cold for refrigeration.  

Reading the disaster list of supplies, 1st thing on the list, water.  We would need drinking water.  We did have a couple gallons of  drinking water but used it up this summer camping.  While shopping at the grocery store mid month, I got a case of bottled water to have on hand to add back to our food stock.  We'll have the water available to use on picnics next summer then replenish again next fall.  

This is Sentence a Day where I join others & write a little something about each of my days, wrote in a long drawn out sentence or 2.  Last September is when I joined the Sentence A Day bloggers.  WOW!  I've stuck with it & have been participating for a year.  I've looked back from time to time to see when certain things happened.  Kevin was asking when was the week we went camping in the Big Horns last year & I was wondering when we went leaf looking, I was able to look back & remember.  Yay me, the person my family says never remembers anything.  Here is what happened last September, lets see what happened this September.

Happy Birthday to Grand Tripp.

* Wed 1st - Changed the sheets on the bed, worked on laundry & did a few other cleaning duties around in the house.

* Thurs 2nd - Got groceries & gas, made a pumpkin crunch cake.

* Fri 3rd - Gave the dog a bath, watched some tv, there was another season of Manifest.

Week 36

* Sat 4th -  Caught up on stuff around the house after work, did a couple loads of laundry, cleaned here & there.

* Sun 5th -  Went along with a fellow Lions club member as drivers to his grandson's wedding, Kevin drove & I did the mapping that took us off course around the scenic loop.

Good thing we still had 2 1//2 hours to find the place
before the wedding was supposed to start.

* Mon 6th - Wedding anniversary, 36 years of marriage, walked down to see the parade, had the chamber's BBQ for lunch, checked out the car show & voted for my favorites.

* Tues 7th - Back to work after 2 days off, seemed like Monday, brought in the patio table & dumped out a fall scene puzzle to work on since it's getting darker earlier.

* Wed 8th - Made supper before work, mixed up BBQ pork for sandwiches, seemed like Tuesday but was already Wednesday, the week is going by quick.

* Thurs 9th - Got groceries & gas, got a case of bottled water to have on hand to be prepared for the unexpected, gave Rose a bath in Dawn dish liquid to see if that gets the fleas off.

* Fri 10th - The air was smokey & smelled smokey, the worst smokey day yet, watched Mistletoe Promise on the Hallmark channel, gave Rose a treatment of Steelcoat, it's compared to Frontline.

Week 37

* Sat 11th - Did some catching up on laundry & opening the mail, made a tator tot casserole, niece got antibody infusion for Covid.

* Sun 12th - Moma, Sister & Great Nephew have Covid, helped with Lions club Golf & Horseshoe tournament, delicious ham salad sandwiches for lunch, good turnout.

* Mon 13th - Moma went to urgent care & didn't have to be admitted to the hospital, she got scheduled for the antibody infusion, that was good news, back working in town for at least a couple weeks, made a purchase agreement to buy a camper that is a toy hauler.

* Tues 14th - Moma's infusion was postponed, rumor they were out, felt good walking to work for the fresh air & sunshine, helped Kevin cut up & prep 2 turkey breasts to cook in the crockpot.

* Wed 15th - Moma got the antibodies, picked pumpkins, a coworker stopped by, sent squash & melons home with her.

Having good thoughts about making a pie or 2.

* Thurs 16th - Got groceries, talked to Sister, Moma was feeling better.

* Fri 17th - Kevin brought home the camper.

It seems HUGE compared to the truck slide in.
The side by side is too big too fit, what to do?

Week 38

* Sat 18th - Facetimed with Moma, she was very weak & sad, her brother died of Covid, she can't go to the family gatherings, the funeral or prepare any food.

Bingo time!  Have I mentioned that I go for the snacks?

Made apple fritter bread, might have
overfilled the pan a smidge, the side
broke off.

* Sun 19th - Stayed around home catching up on stuff, did a little baking, washed the shower curtain, ordered next year's planner, got Moma set up for a video chat with a cousin so she could virtually attend her brother's funeral.

* Mon 20th - Made blueberry cobbler to take to Lions club meeting, Daughter & Son in Law have Covid

* Tues 21st - Ordered snack "junk" foods from Walmart grocery pickup for the Grands to enjoy during their quarantine, in the mix was apples, strawberries, bananas & clementines. 

* Wed 22nd - Kevin solved our camper dilemma, he traded for a side by side 10 inches smaller.

 Thankful for Daughter's mild symptoms.

A little spooky at the grocery store.

*Thurs 23rd - Got groceries & gas.

Pretty mums at the town office.

* Fri 24th - Went to the electric & telephone company's tailgate customer appreciation cookout at the football game for supper, there was brats, hotdogs & chips; watched the last episode of How to Get away with Murder. 

She'll be wanting her 2 
front teeth for Christmas.

Week 39

* Weekend 25th & 26th - Facetimed with Daughter & the Grands, went camping up at the pond with the new set up, didn't like the windshield on the side by side, it had too much glare, sucked in too much dust & made the inside too hot, Happy Birthday to Sister Sharon.

Camp

Inside the camper is very spacious with lots
of storage spaces.

Rose likes to facetime too.

Entertained a friend of Grand's.

The leaves seemed to be at their
peek fall color.

* Mon 27th - Wishing we were still camping, hoping & dreaming of an early retirement offer soon, got off work a couple hours early, rode along with Kevin on a work call to get an ice cream cone, watched Reluctant Nanny on Hallmark.

* Tues 28th - Went to Dentist appointment, got 2 crowns, seems waking up with clenched teeth is not a good thing, hopeful it is stress related & will cure itself with some simple techniques.

* Wed 29th - Worked on releasing stress, started the day with a good cup of Maxwell House coffee made in the Keurig, walked to work for the fresh air, sunshine & exercise; thanked the good lord for things I was thankful for, good conversation & supper with less talk about aggravating things at work.

* Thurs 30th - High school homecoming next week, brainstormed ideas to decorate office windows with a Game Shows theme, rode up to the dollar store to get totes, hooks & other supplies for the camper, got more Halloween candy thinking about the trick-or-treat parade around town for our office, grabbed chicken & tator wedges for super.

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

Goldenrod & other August Happenings

 Hello there Adventurous Friends, greetings from South Dakota.  How you doing? This is Sentence a Day where I write a little something about each of my days, wrote in a long drawn out sentence or 2.  We got to go camping most every weekend, though I had to postpone my visit to family due to being short staffed at work.  I've joined up here with others if you'd like to see what they've been up to.  

When the goldenrod blooms & the
kids go back to school, it's fall.

* Sun 1st - Had a good overnight camping trip, got to do lots of trail riding, it was hot during the day, had to wear my jacket in the evening & morning, clipped Rose's toenails & gave her a flea treatment.

Patiently waiting while I take
pictures of flowers.

* Mon 2nd - Started working in another office till someone is hired, it's a nice drive, the bridge was still being worked on, going to miss walking to work for the exercise, went to Lions club meeting, the meal was pizza, cream puffs & ice cream, got a new member, talked about the golf & horseshoe tournament coming up next month & Labor Day activities, canceled bingo this month since it's the same weekend as the county fair. 

* Tues 3rd - Cleaned out my email folder at work - delete, delete, delete; picked tomatoes from the deck container garden to have with shrimp veggie kabobs Kevin cooked on the grill, started watching Outlander, not into it yet.

The deer can't get to these up on the deck.

Squash, tators, onion, peppers & shrimp.

* Wed 4th - Changed the sheets on the bed, got Grand's cot beds set back up with all the sheets & quilts washed, worked on laundry, did cleaning & yard work at the office, the gravel road out front makes a lot of dust, did some weed eating, got my driver's license in the mail from using the online renewal system.

* Thurs 5th - Planned the camping menu & gathered ingredients, paid the water bill, it was up a bit due to watering the garden, put gas in my car, Kevin did the grocery shopping, planned to have a pizza picnic out at the lake & maybe do a little fishing & some walking, it was hot & we were tired so we ate inside in the coolness, had good conversation about nothing & everything.

* Fri 6th - Did some more yard work at the office, put pine cones for decoration in the flower planter that didn't get planted this year, lots of motorcycles rumbled by, 1st day of Sturgis motorcycle rally.

Walking out in the garden with Kevin,
he says the pumpkins are turning
 orange, & sure enough, look at that.

Would you say that's a black sunflower?

Female & male squash blooms.

Week 32

Found some petrified wood while taking
a walk out a ways from camp.

* Sat 7th - Made chicken salad & deviled eggs for camping, gathered the trash for Kevin to haul to the dump then gave the trash can a cleaning with a little clorox, worked in 3 offices, lots of drive time, listened jammed to uplifting music on the radio, got a soft serve ice cream, arrived at our camping spot a little later than usual.

* Sun 8th - Slept in, felt good snuggled inside the flannel sleeping bag getting some extra rest, woke up to cows mooing, took a trail ride after a breakfast of cheerios, saw golden finches & pretty purple flowers, hobos on the grill for supper using garden veggies & leftover hotdogs from the freezer, fixed leftover bowls for lunches, gave Rose another flea treatment, watched another episode of Outlander, just not into it, forecasted hottest day of the week.

* Mon 9th - A chilly morning, wore jackets while having breakfast, forgot to take my lunch, a good reason to always have a stash of peanut butter, crackers & pretzels, picked out pictures to have printed from Daughter's family photo shoot.

Happy Birthday to Grand Austin.

* Tues 10th - Went to clinic appointment to get a Covid shot, was told to come back Thursday when there was a schedule, picked enough tomatoes to make soup, need to look up the recipe & gather ingredients. 

"Hay Nana, look at me,
I'm at the beach."

* Wed 11th - Put 2 bags of okra & 2 bags of corn on the cob in the freezer, okra from the garden & the corn was given from a friend, played with Rose, she's rough, we need a new toy.

Taking a walk with Rose when it's hot outside,
be like this:  "You're going to have to carry me if
you want me moving around out in this heat".

 

* Thurs 12th - Went to clinic appointment to get the Covid shot, still no schedule, will try again Monday, had a pork chop on a stick meal & a snow cone for supper from the 4-H fundraiser at Summer in the Streets, talked with friends.

* Fri 13th - Made Gail's tomato soup, put 3 dozen ears of corn in the freezer along with a bag of okra.

Making soup using tomatoes out of the garden.

Week 33

* Weekend 14th & 15th - Facetimed with Daughter & Grands, they showed their new school shoes, went camping, took a couple trail rides, put 2 packs of tomato soup in the freezer, took a nap, worked on laundry, put together Grand's Sept birthday box & care package.

We watched grouse in a field for a time,
then rode off into the sunset, wanting
to get back to camp before dark.

Grand's 1st day of school went something
like this:  "We exercised and we sleep’d and
 we ate chicken nuggets and there were puppets
 but they forgot to learn us anything today.”

* Mon 16th - Got the Johnson & Johnson Covid shot, went to Lions club meeting, the meal was eating out at #3, I had nacho tots. 

 * Tues 17th - Injection site a little sore, went to the dentist for a cleaning, the hygienist seemed a little rough, hopefully that means I got a thorough cleaning, made an appointment to get a couple crowns, went to bed early feeling achy, flushed & tired, watched several episodes of How to get away with Murder.

* Wed 18th- Injection site still a little sore along with a slight headache & stuffy nose, went back & forth between offices.

* Thurs 19th- Got a nice midday shower downpour of rain, got soaked coming out of the grocery store, went to the high school football game season opener for supper, had pulled pork sandwich meals from the student council's tailgate fundraiser.

* Fri 20th- It rained all morning & throughout the afternoon, started watching Northern Rescue.

Week 34

Used these items from out of the
garden to make recipes.

* Sat 21st- Made chocolate zucchini bread & a chicken bacon ranch tator tot casserole.   

There was enough leftovers for several days.

* Sun 22nd- Went to the county fair, Kevin pitched horseshoes, he brought home a trophy & some cash for winning his division.

I voted for this mosaic for the "People's Choice
Award" in the crafts division along with a pair
of moccasins.

I had to have a caramel roll even though we
had already ate breakfast at home, these
cabbages are giants compared to the
ones growing in our garden.

 

 * Mon 23rd - Grand's 1st day back to school, worked on shredding old paperwork at work, leftovers for supper, fell asleep watching episodes of How to get away with Murder.

New backpacks for the Grands.

* Tues 24th - Cleaned light fixtures at work & changed some of the light bulbs, leftovers for supper, fell asleep watching episodes of How to get away with Murder.

* Wed 25th - Drizzled cold rain during morning dog walk, Rose didn't want to go back out for her 2nd walk before my going to work, I didn't want to have to get back out either though forced myself.

* Thurs 26th - Got groceries & gas, continued subscription to Frndly tv to get the Hallmark channel & the Outdoor one.

* Fri 27th - Made coleslaw out of one of the cabbage heads in the garden.

Week 35

The long range views were clearer then they've
been for awhile, that's our camping spot
down there.

* Weekend 28th & 29th -  Facetimed with Daughter & Grands, they were going to a track meet, football game & birthday pool party; went camping when all done with work, nice weather, took several walks & did some trial riding, saw, turkeys, deer, muskrats, ducks, geese, a pair of swans & the buffalo herd.

The pines smelled so piney.

* Mon 30th - Went shopping at the dollar store, got Halloween candy for trick-or-treaters, tried a new place for supper, their specialty was burgers, got the prairie melt, grilled onions & mushrooms sandwiched between American & Swiss cheeses on sourdough bread.

* Tues 31st - Folded laundry & gathered things for Grand's October birthday box before going to work, supper was my homemade mater soup from the freezer, salad & the other half of the prairie melt, fell asleep watching episodes of How to get away with  Murder.

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

Stink & other July Happenings

Hello there Adventurous Friends, greetings from South Dakota.  How you doing?  July is my birthday month & it was time to get my drivers license renewed.   We had Grands visiting, dry weather conditions continued, there was a BIG stink & the deer ate on things in the garden they've not ever bothered before.  This is Sentence a Day where I write a little something about each of my days, wrote in a long drawn out sentence or 2, somedays there was lots to write about & other days not so much.  I've joined up here with others if you'd like to see what they've been up to.  

* Thurs 1st - Planned meals for camping, went grocery shopping after work, pizza for supper, had root beer floats while watching episodes of Camp Cretaceous, town implemented a fireworks & open ban burn.

* Fri 2nd - Double checked that we had all ingredients for our camping  meals, got some rain from a thunderstorm that seemed to have started a fire south of town, the fire trucks went out, ate ice cream & watched episodes of Camp Cretaceous.

Week 27

* Sat 3rd/Sun 4th -  Found out information about friends that were in a motorcycle wreak, she passed away & he was in ICU fighting to live, went camping in the buttes, did lots of 4wheeler riding & looking at wildflowers, noticed there's plums growing, got covered with ticks down at the grave, watched the last episode of Camp Cretaceous & told ghost stories.

* Mon 5th - Went to the lake, all the boys have caught at least 1 fish, Kevin heated up pulled pork for sandwiches for our picnic lunch, baseball got rained out, made cookies, watched the 4th Harry Potter movie.

* Tues 6th -  Seemed like Monday since it was a long 4th of July holiday weekend, did a couple loads of laundry before work, Grands folded & put away their own clothes, went grocery shopping for a few things we were out of such as ice cream & root beer, Grands had friends over for a game of whiffle ball & root beer floats, watched 5th Harry Potter movie.

* Wed 7th -  Misting rain & low 60s F during 1st dog walk of the day, later start time for work, relaxed for a while in the coolness of the open window before doing morning routine stuff, did some blog work & reading while the Grands slept in, a busy afternoon at work kept me hustling to get everything done, went to the youth rodeo in the evening, had supper from the concession stand, watched 6th Harry Potter movie.

Ranch was chosen the overall favorite.

* Thurs 8th -  Tracked down where Kevin had got his mower blades, he desperately needed new ones, cooked supper while Grands split up going to basketball & baseball, watched the 7th Harry Potter movie.

* Fri 9th - Grands helped prepare supper making 3 different seasonings for chicken breast stripes; BBQ shake & bake, ranch dressing & butter.

Week 28

* Sat 10th - Grands packed their bags, tidied their rooms & said good-byes to friends, a coworker announced she was pregnant, I love baby showers, went to the arcade for supper, had burgers & wings, kept the Harry Potter movie series so I could watch the last one, lots of stuff to be mailed to the Grands.

* Sun 11th - On the road at 2 am to get Grands to the airport, did a little shopping on the way back, got a new microwave since the old one decided it was going to stay on all the time, good news update on friend - had surgery on broken leg, had knee replacement that had already needed to be done & got out of ICU. 

Glue seems to be kind of
expensive this year for
back to school shoppers.

In line waiting to get the
Grands checked in for their
flights home.

Got the new Grand some dresses
& a pair of sandals for church.

Christmas items were being stocked.

 

* Mon 12th - Back to the cleaning schedule, washed sheets, put away toys & games, dusted & vacuumed in the living room, mailed a box to the Grands of their left behind belongings, need a box big enough for a couple of skateboards. 

Taking apart Legos, at least 1 set a day.

* Tues 13th - 

Got several cabbage heads growing.

Washed some more sheets, cleaned in the kitchen, got our 1st harvest of the season from the garden, Kevin fried up some summer & zucchini squash for supper & made a rhubarb strawberry cobbler, organized the freezer & made meal plans to get things eat up to make room for this year's garden stuff, threw out several packs that were frosted & freezer burnt, laid out ribs for Kevin to smoke during the weekend.

Looks like there will be 
plenty of zucchini to share.

* Wed 14th -  Cleaned in the bedroom, put away Grands books & movies, a perfect day walking to work, overcast & mid 60s F, long tiring day, watched episodes of Manifest & Atypical.

* Thurs 15th -  Discovered hamper full of Grands clothes, washed those up, started another box to mail, paid due bills, did bank business, renewed drivers license through the online process, went to Summer in the Streets, got burger meals from the booster club's BBQ fundraiser, good turnout.

* Fri 16th -  Cleaned in the bathroom, took another look at balancing the check book, found the missing numbers.

Week 29

* Sat 17th - Facetimed with Daughter & Grands, they were going to the park for a picnic, mailed oldest Grand's birthday box & goodies for everyone, went to Lions club bingo. 

BINGO!

Christmas gift idea for
the Grandgirls.

    

* Sun 18th - Went for a ride in the side by side, had a picnic early before it got too hot, relaxed inside in the coolness in the afternoon, watched tv the rest of the day.

* Mon 19th - Felt down & out about so many things, struggled to put on my happy face, kept busy doing house work in the morning & on the job, went to bed early to recharge, relaxed in the coolness & quite, wondered if there would be more seasons of Virgin River.

* Tues 20th - Happy birthday to me, ate cake & ice cream for supper, the town's sewer lagoon has been stinking up the whole town off & on for weeks, phew.

* Wed 21st -  Read the newspaper, the clinic is giving free sports physicals to student athletes, the town board president retired after 34 years of service, new water meters are going to be installed over the next few months.

Hollyhocks behind the old motel that's
 schedule to be demolished.

Balloon flowers at the bank.

Roses beside the grocery store.

* Thurs 22nd - Scheduled day off work, facetimed with Moma, we had coffee together, she had canned a run of green beans & been working in her flower gardens, rooter was out in the street, inside smelled like the sewer lagoon, got a haircut, helped prep the kitchen & dinning room floor for a waxing, pulled out the fridge, stove & freezer then cleaned underneath, icky, Kevin put down the stripper/scrubber, I mopped it up.

* Fri 23rd -  Kevin waxed the kitchen & dinning room floor 1st thing after our quick breakfast of leftover Thursday pizza; puttered, cleaned & organized around in the basement till work time, decluttered boxes & shipping supplies, ate out for supper since the kitchen wasn't accessible. 

Week 30

* Sat 24th -  Went camping after work, found a shady spot with a view, went walking with Rose, finished reading the last book of the Little House series, rode the side by side after supper when the weather was cooler, saw turkeys & deer.

The long range view during camping was hazy due to the wind blowing

in smoke from wildfires, though we didn't smell any smoke.  Our area 

has been really dry, some places dryer than others.  

* Sun 25th - Went for a ride in the side by side after breakfast, saw lots of flowers & some beavers, cut the camping trip short because of the heat, made turkey salad for sandwiches using leftover lunch meat, moved everything back to it's place in the kitchen & dinning room, the floor looked so clean & shiny after the waxing.

Sunflowers are one of my favorite flowers.

 

* Mon 26th - Did a couple loads of laundry, broke down boxes, took some priority packaging supplies back to the Post Office, cut up old paperwork with blank sides to use for scratch paper, the AC was out at work, Kevin brought a fan & iced drink.

* Tues 27th - Another hot day in the office without AC, a part had to be ordered, cooked a stuffed pork roast in the crockpot for supper, got a birthday box from Moma - towels & some of her canned goodies; green beans, relish & cranberry blackberry jelly. 

* Wed 28th -  Took a longer morning walk with Rose while the temperature was cooler, made some lists - camping stuff, groceries & to-do, shared squash from the garden with coworkers, had to evacuate the office due to an electrical burning smell, probable cause was a ceiling fan, Kevin covered the pumpkins & melons due to the deer already eating on them.

* Thurs 29th -  Had the day off work, sipped on a 2nd cup of morning coffee, checked things off lists as stuff got done, enjoyed the respite from the heat, weather was cloudy with a chance of meatballs high temperatures in the upper 70s F, got several gentle rain showers in the afternoon, made squash pizzas for Thursday pizza night.

* Fri 30th - Haze from smoke was about 100 yards in viewing distance, some could smell it, funeral of friend that was killed in the motorcycle accident, watched the last episode of Manifest.

Week 31

* Sat 31st - Went camping back to the shady spot underneath the big pine tree, took a late evening ride in the side by side, saw deer, antelope, grouse, a skunk & lots of grasshoppers, got back to camp after dark.

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