Tuesday the 28th of October!

Thank you all for the positive comments on the yard, I so needed them.

This is a picture I forgot to post yesterday of an area on the other side of the yard that we filled with pavers to the fence.  The sidewalk is in bad shape, but then the house is 100 years old.  This area was weed city with old wood laying in the area, just awful, now filled in with pavers.

Another taken from back gate.  Looks so much better.

The plan for today was to cut back trees, but it is just too cold and will be warmer tomorrow.  I also have errands to run for Sissy and myself so might as well get that done.

I spent the night at Sissy's last night and we had leftover beef stew, and my popovers were different but good.  I forgot to take a picture.

They did have a nutty flavor from the almond flour and were a bit eggy?  Also did not rise as much which I was forewarned, but they were dense and good.

One of our Friends stopped by while they were coming from the oven and she is seriously gluten intolerant and she loved them.

Said Friend is spending thanksgiving with us so I will make gluten free and almond flour popovers for Thanksgiving as we are having Prime Rib and not turkey.  The combination of almond flour and gluten free flour will give me a higher rise. While not as low in carbs, better than regular flour.

So, I am dressed and ready to head out the door.  I must put gas in Sissy's car, head to URM to check the price of sugar (stocking up for Christmas baking) then to the North Forty for a 10-gallon food bucket as one of Sissy's bit the dust yesterday when filling it with flour.  I then need to go to Petco to try and find a Halloween bandana for Roscoe, and if that fails, I will go to Hobby Lobby and buy a small piece of yard goods to make him one.

Then I will head back up to Sissy's to work on a project and then sauté up the 3 pounds of mushrooms in here fridge that need to be frozen before they go bad.  So good in spaghetti sauce.  then home to make my famous smoked salmon dip (freezes beautifully).  I have the cream cheese on the counter to come to room temperature.

I will serve this as appetizer for Thanksgiving with gluten free homemade pita bread.  So easy to make and you cannot tell the difference!

We are having brats and coleslaw for dinner, and I am so determined to eat the freezers down.  Like Anne, I have duplicates of everything and no room at the INN. 

There is a loss leader tomorrow for 80/20 ground beef for 3.77 a pound which in this day and age is fantastic, so I will buy nine pounds and put it in Sissy's freezer, and this will be made into spaghetti sauce and chili, when there is finally room.  Between Sissy and I we have nine pounds already, so this should get us through the winter months.  I have all the beans and sauce already! Go Kay!

Now I am off, like a Prom dress!

God is good!

Kay

 

Another busy week and so glad to be home!

It is now Monday the 27th of October!

I have had a busy time since I last blogged.

Got Home from Lil Sis's last Tuesday and Sissy got Home late Tuesday night.

I was so glad to be back in my own home, and it needed me.

On Wednesday I did a boat load of laundry and washed kitchen and bathroom rugs to dry outside.

Husb and I worked on put and take with yard tools and did more organizing in the garage.

Lil Sis came over and had brought me my favorite hazelnut chocolate bars from Aldi in St Louis!  I was thrilled.

On Thursday I spent four hours playing with pavers on the side yard and could just not make anything work to my liking.  It is a strange space and very shady, so I started to feel very discouraged.

I just went down into a depression which is rare for me?  We have worked so hard in this darn yard, and I just felt like it was not enough!  Not enough done and the weather is really changing. I have hauled those damn pavers into twenty different locations, and nothing was working in my brain. Sissy came over and looked at the pattern I had had designed and agreed with me.  Well sort of as I am a perfectionist and so is Husb.  This is why he kept putting the project off.  I now understood.  

So, I moved the 54 pavers back onto the patio and sulked.

 Here are the 111 (yes that many) that I have hauled all over the place for the last 5 months.  Here they will stay for the winter until the driveway is completed and I can build paths to the garage door and to the deck so we do not walk too much on the lawn.

I also want to build a pad where my gas grill will go.

What we don't use will go on Facebook Market place!

So, no more moving this stuff for a season.

The side path with I think the dead hostas (we shall see next spring). This area was completely overgrown and Sissy and Dan worked on it for several weekends.

Our plan was to put down a paver path and then mulch around them and then were told (after I bought 20 bags of mulch (most stored in the garage except for what you see at the end of the picture) that we should not put mulch up against the foundation.  Lewiston is very buggy, and these critters can enter the home. The first thing I did when we bought this house was to get a monthly contract with a pest company as I had learned this the hard way at sissy's various homes, she has lived in.  I would clean the garage of all the spiders and webs, and it would be beautiful and turn around the little bastards were standing at the door of the garage with their suitcases ready to move back in!

Now look at the trees overhanging the fence form the abandoned house property.  This is part of the problem as this area is very shady. The concrete pad the A/C unit sits on is part of the problem laying a path as it is crooked to the rear gate. Just not what we want, we are striving for balance. Or we are just too particular.  I was just so damn down on Thursday!

Now onto Friday...Husb and I got up and donned our ragged work clothes and headed to the other side of the house and finished putting in the pavers there and it turned out nice, or as nice as we could get it.

I also cut back all the rose bushed and the large hydrangea out front.  WE spent five hours outside and were spent.

I felt a little better about things.  We decided to go to alate lunch/early dinner and went to Ace hardware and bought a very expensive tree saw.  Our plan is to go onto the abandoned house property and trim everything back before the snow flies.  I will have to fill the yard containers at least four to six times to get all the crap out of there, but this will give the area lighter, and I hope help with the damn bugs that were eating the hostas.

Our new plan is to use driveway gravel that we will have to haul in in fifty-pound bags and place pavers willy nilly to create a steppingstone path.  This will happen next spring.  We can easily blow the leaves that do get into this area with our blower out to street in front.  Why we did not see this sooner is beyond me, but when we started this past spring, it was so cold, and nothing had blossomed yet.

Live and learn.

Saturday Sissy and I spent three hours shopping together and stocked up on flour and sugar for Christmas baking.  We had a lot of fun and a lot of laughs just tooling around Costco looking at everything.

Sunday, I pulled everything from my upper freezer and reorganized and set my menu for the week.

There is so much food in this house, and I must stop buying and start using.  Last night we finished the last of the spaghetti sauce and I will not make more until I finish other things.

It is now Monday morning and tonight, I will take beef stew up to Sissy's and have dinner there and will make almond flour popovers. Almond flour has a very low glycemic index which we be good for Husb.  Never tried this before and I will keep you posted.

I also swapped my summer and winter wardrobe as it is time and culled another bag of donations for Salvation Army.

I have a doctor's appointment this afternoon and this morning I plan on getting all of my ironing done.  Oh joy!

Saga to be continued...

God is good!

Kay

We are still alive...almost!

 Husb and I are still busy working on the yard!  We finally got all the red lava rock dispersed and found yet another stump! Damn!  Called my Stump Guy and he came within two hours and ground it out!  Yep, People love cash!  Cash is king around here! This is a picture of Husb burying the hole!  Still a lot of work to do out on the Boulevard, but it will get done.  At least we can almost open our car doors.

Now where did the red lava rock go (this took us five days three hours a day) Well let me show you!  Remember I will not pay to dump rock!

Well, it went across the street under the trash can dilemma that we solved several weeks ago! I had permission front DOT compliance to move it there! No way an alley has to be ugly, and I have to look at it! All this cost was our labor!

Moving on....

Our back yard, three weeks later with a second mowing!  It looks like a golf course lawn, and we could not be happier!

Now onto other Family things!

Sissy has done something to her back and hip, and she has been in agony.

I know this came from she and Gusb pulling the garden beds, and it just got worse and worse, until she was almost 

worthless and in a lot of pain.  Then Her beloved MIL passed away, and this was very sad but also a true blessing.  Joyce was 97 and a half.

She wanted to go when Joel passed. She got her wish. Sissy left yesterday morning after I packed her, and she had been on a muscle relaxer for two days.  It was helping.  I so wanted to make the trip with her as I loved Joyce.  Being an Identical twin (the strict Morman Family always understood, that Sissy and I were a package deal), however we have other family obligations that we had committed too, and I was not going to leave my Husband with those obligations to make the trip. (He also pulled his knee AGAIN helping Sissy pull the garden.  So, they were both GIMPS!)  I love my life!

Little Sis is in St. Louis helping her oldest Daughter (who lost her Husband of only one year last September at the age of 41) move into a new place and her Husband is flying out today to help her.

Husb and I are taking care of her neurotic dog and three cats (which means I will have to stay at her house) and Husb will take care of Kim's dog the chickens and our cats!)  This is what Families do although the timing can sometimes be horrible!

We have so many plans within plans for the yard, but the weather has really changed, and we are pushing the very cold to us!

So, we are just going to take a break I am tired and I mean very tired of the work and being dirty all the time and my house needs love! (I mean the interior).

Today I managed to pull the last of the basil and made three beautiful servings of pesto which I have frozen, Husb and thoroughly cleaned the back patio and put many yard tools away in the very clean garage!

I have packed to spend the next four days at little sis's, and we are taking my BIL out to dinner tonight as he flies our very early tomorrow morning.

Sissy made it safely to Nampa, so I can breathe easy, and hope she gets better day by day.

Now I am going to sign off and will fill you in the coming and goings.

Life is strange, but it is a wonderful strange!

So much going on and it is hard for me to wrap my miniscule brain around it. 

On a side note, Sluggy had a jiffy knee replacement yesterday and Her Husband texted me that they were keeping her one night and I must text him and find out how my girl is.

When the dust settles, Sissy and I are planning a trip to PA to visit her.  So those of you who pray, please do, and those of you who don't send positive thoughts!

Stealing from Sissy!

God is good!

Kay

Allergies are kicking Husb and my Rear

 So strange that Husb and I both are so congested and plugged up and we know it is allergies, so we are both back on meds. It takes a couple of days to get to a medicated level.  Sissy says it is the wheat smut from harvesting, and we will get used to it!

Last summer it was July and August that we suffered and this year the end of September...so strange.

Our back yard is looking great and grass is really growing, so exciting.

I was up very early this morning as zi went to bed at six last night.  I was so plugged up and had a massive sinus headache, but it has abated.

I did my morning chores and then made two tiramisus, one for dinner tonight up at Sissy's and one for the freezer. (Yes, it freezes well if properly wrapped and thawed in the fridge for 24 hours).  If I am going to make a roaring mess in the kitchen, I might as well do two. And I did make a roaring mess, which I have now cleaned up.  I also need to make a salad for tonight but will do that later this afternoon.

Sissy is making a shrimp pasta (so good, I could eat it every night) and homemade French bread.

Little Sis and her husband will join us, and we are going to pow-wow the plan of attack on setting up the green house on Sissy's property.

I need to text Sissy to tell her I am feeling better and call little sister.  I then will go to Winco for a few more salad fixings and run to Home Creepo to look at the Mums.  Not crazy about Mum's but Husb loves them.  It is time to pull the flowers from the large pots out front as I have cut them back for a second bloom and they are now getting too shaggy.

Need to put some makeup on as I scare my public.

Off to set the world on fire!

Have a blessed Sabbath.

Kay

Drum Roll please!!!

We have grass coming up!

Hard to believe, but true!

Please note, the two pieces of metal art on the back of the garage that my Husband painted and hung. We have one more piece that I ordered for the space between the door and the downspout that will be here the first week of October.

It has been a challenging week in many ways, but I have accomplished for the most part what I wanted to do.

I did get another coat of herbicide on the front yard and thought I could plant grass seed this week, but no I must wait three weeks!  Bummer, I wish I had known that.  I made another visit to the Ag Center and they told me to go ahead and plant as the weather should stay warm enough until the end of October.  We shall, see?

Today the sisters and I are going to lunch and then back to Lil Sis's for a swim if it gets warm enough, again we shall, see?  My new favorite phrase!

Accomplished a Mission I have been on for months and the squeaky wheel does work.

Across the street and kitty corner to us is a duplex that houses seven people on one side and six on the other.  They are all basically adults.  The duplex has one trash can and recycle bin for all.  Simply not enough for that many people and recycle is only picked up every other week. So, there is trash overflowing everywhere.  And of course, does anyone break down a box?  The crows get into the overflowing garbage, and it creates a mess that blow all over.

My husband and I are constantly going over there and picking up trash, and it is driving our 88-year-old Neighbor across the Street nuts.  Her yard is pristine, and she should not have to live with the mess.

Of course, the duplex is owned by a Slum Lord and He pays for the containers, and said Neighbors do not want the rent to be raised, and I understand.  Seven poor college students and a single Father with five children and barley scraping by!  Now these people could bag the overflow and take it to the dump (which is free), but they are not going to do that.  Sissy and I have bagged overflowing recycle so many times and taken it to the dump ourselves.

So, I called the city of Lewiston and asked if I could pay for two more containers on my bill and was told no.  Hmmm! Here I am trying to be a good Neighbor and can get no cooperation. I finally said to the young woman on the phone, is this how you would treat your grandmother?  She told me to call code enforcement, and I did!  The Officer came, and I explained the situation and the very next day the duplex had two large trash cans and two recycle bins!  How he did it, I do not know and I do not care, but problem solved!

Color me happy.  Now I must go and clean out my fridge and head to Sister's lunch.

Planning my next yard project and will fill you in next week!

Have a wonderful weekend.

Kay

Another Monday and the first day of Fall!

It was a busy week last week and a lot was accomplished!

The backyard has been hydroseeded and watering has begun.

We should have grass ready to mow in about three weeks.

I got to the dump with Sissy, and the garage has been cleaned out and we can move in it!

The front yard is still a work in progress as I could not put the herbicide on, this past Sunday for the second time because it rained heavily for an hour and the ground is still too wet!  Hopefully by tomorrow I can do this and then get the grass seed planted by Wednesday! We shall see.

I was so disappointed when I got up yesterday and realized that rain was upon us so I used the 1.5 hours it would have taken me to spray and did a major clean out of several cupboards and some work on my closets.  I have a large bag of donations to go to the Salvation Army.

On Friday, Sissy Dan and I went to lunch and then to an Antique Junk store as Husb and I were looking for metal wall art we could spray black to hang on the back of the garage.  WE found two pieces that we absolutely loved and they were dirt cheap.  Husb has sprayed them and they already to hang sometime today.

On Saturday I tried a new chicken pesto recipe, and it was so good.  Husband loved it and I now wish I had grown more Basil. Will do so next year and only in large pots! Lori is right it grows so much better.

Sissy cooked last night, and it was wonderful. We had very thin cut rib eyes with purple smashed potatoes from the garden along with garlic green beans!  So good.

Lots of left over rib eye that I will process along with many bones and bits of steak and make a beef stew this week as we are craving it!

The weather has turned very cold in the mornings, and fall is officially here. Still getting quite warm in high Sun.

I spent the night last night at Sissy's and now must take her car back up to her along with Her dog Roscoe who came home with Dan.

I will then go to Salvation Army with my drop off and then home to vacuum and dust my basement. I also have phone calls to make and some other business on my desk.

Will pull beef broth from the freezer and start cooking down bones for more broth. Also want to make two loaves of French Bread.

So, I am now off to conquer the world!

Hugs,

Kay

We have leftover pesto chicken, so I will make more pasta and dinner is done.
 

Tired, just plain tired....

This is me! This is also Sissy, both of us bit off more than we could chew! 

But the good news is we did it! Now we can collapse.

The Party went off splendidly despite the massive rain fall (which we desperately needed), but so much work, and I had a lot of help! Thank you, Lord, for that!

Now that is done, and Sissy and I can both relax for a bit! 

Really, I mean really, when does that happen.
 

So today, all the cousins left, and Husb and I dropped my Neice off at the airport at noon after taking her to lunch as she will not land until eleven tonight her time and came home and just sat looking at our mud hole back yard that is way too wet to seed on Tuesday.  Our Lawn Guy stopped by and we greeted him with "it is way too wet to seed on Tuesday and he about fell at our feet with gratefulness and said, so you do understand!  Well, yes, we have both worked outside the last twenty some years and understand that Mother Nature is going to get you!

It now looks like it will be Thursday, and we will take it!  This gives me time to get a few other projects done in the House as it is way too wet for me to work in the front yard also.  I got to spend the weekend and today clean of dirt and mud!

I did manage to process two pounds of mushrooms today and grate black olives for pizza and froze several batches Husb and I will be having a pizza tonight which I will be putting together shortly, and this will feed us for two nights.  I am then going to clean up and binge watch Netflix and go to bed!

After all, " tomorrow "is another day. (Scarlet O'Hara)

I am out of here and going to conquer a pizza, it is all I can handle.

Borrowing from Sissy!

God is good!

Hugs.

Kay