New Years Eve 2019

Last day of 2019!

We went for a bagel at Panera this morning and then to Walmart.  Walmart was packed with people, could hardly get thru the aisles.  People would stop right in the middle of an aisle to talk on their phone and no way would they move.  We got what we needed and got out!

I fixed Chicken Kev for dinner.  Before midnight we had shrimp and cheese ball with champagne to celebrate the new year.  We managed to stay awake until midnight and then off to bed.

Snow, snow and more snow

Today we got about 15 inches of snow, it snowed all day.  That made it a good day to stay home.  We got some things done but I got lazy in the afternoon. 

We had waffles for dinner and watched TV in the evening.

Sunday thaw

It was in the upper 30's when we got up so we decided to go out for breakfast.  We went to Perkins as we were both ready for some of their excellent potato pancakes.  The to Menards where I bought some Christmas wrapping and bows for next year.

We read the Sunday newspaper and a nap.  Brenda and Scott came over in the evening for a visit and to bring Don boxes for his ebay habit.

We read on Facebook that a good friend and neighbor from Sumter Oaks RV Park had died.  He had been suffering for a few years from demimeta. 

An icy world

We woke up to an ice covered world.  There were pictures of people ice skating on the streets, of a school bus going sideways down a hill, car wrecks, etc.  We made the good judgement call to "stay home".  It did warm up during the day and turned the ice into slush which is about as bad. 

For dinner we had leftovers and then watched television.

Tums for the tummy!

Breakfast at HyVee today, had a nice BYGO coupon.  Then we did grocery shopping, didn't need much as we are anticipating emptying our refrigator in a week or so when we head south.

We came home and got some things done, read the newspaper and generally caught up.  We went out for hamburgers and also got malts.  We had not had malts for a long time.  We both ended up with upset stomachs and the need for Tums.

Christmas plus 1

I declared today a "Stay at Home Day".  We had plenty to do and just needed to rest, not accustomed to so much activity!  We went through and admired our gifts.  Put some away and sat some on the table to look at some more!  I did some laundry.  Don took down the outside lights as today looks to be the last nice (?) day for awhile.

For dinner I fixed spaghetti and garlic bread.  We watched the last of the current episodes of "The Crown" and started on "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel".

Christmas

We loaded up our gifts for everyone and took all to Sheila's house.  We had a good brunch.  The kids distributed the gifts and we all opened our gifts.

I got many fine things; shirts, jewelry, cosmetics, Amazon gift cards, etc.

We came home, I was so tired I laid down for a nap and fell so soundly asleep that I had trouble waking up.  I had to get my vegetable casserole cooked so stumbled around for awhile.  Then we went to Ken's brother's house for Christmas dinner.  They always do a great job and there is always plenty of food.  We always enjoy ourselves.

Christmas Eve

We went to Panera for bagels and then to Sheila's house with food and drink for tonight's festivities.  Came home and made a vegetable casserole for Christmas dinner tomorrow.

We took a nap as we knew it was going to be a long day!

Church was at 5PM and then we went to Sheila's house for fondue, etc.  Some of Ken's family came over a bit later so there was a good group.  There was a lot of food to fondue, steak, shrimp, bacon, appetizers, etc.

Day before the day before Christmas

Clean house, do laundry.  I made my cheese balls for tomorrow evening. 

We ate leftovers from two dinners for dinner.  Then continued to finish getting things ready for Christmas.

Sunday

We tried a new place for breakfast.  It was OK, not great - there are other places we like better.  Don talked me into going to Menards to get Christmas wrap, bows, etc for next year at half price.  I picked up a number of items, but when I went to checkout they were not on sale.  Only the decorations like lights and ornaments were on sale. 

Brenda came for a visit in the morning after she did some flying.  Has to take advantage of the nicer weather, never know how long it will last.  Sheila came over in the afternoon (with more Christmas cookies).

We had ham and sweet potato fries for dinner.

First day of winter!

It actually warmed up to 45 degrees today!  What a change from the negative numbers. 

I finished wrapping a couple more Christmas gifts and started to clean up my wrapping area.  Otherwise we worked around the house doing odds and ends.

We went to dinner at Panera's.  At first we had a problem finding a parking spot but the second time around someone moved their car.  It was in front of of the Pizza place but oh well----

There was a massive line-up at our favorite car wash so that will have to wait for another day.

HyVee and the lost credit card

Why not go out for breakfast the third day in a row?  We went to HyVee for breakfast and then did our grocery shopping.  It was getting crowded by the time we left.  We then went to the liquor store for beverages for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  Don was going to pay but he couldn't find his credit card.  I had paid for the groceries and he paid for breakfast so we guessed he left the card in the folder where they present the bill.  So it was back to HyVee and fortunately his card was there.  (I have the card set up so that I am notified on my phone whenever it is scanned so we knew it had not been used.)

Then we went to Walmart for something HyVee didn't have available.

Back to HyVee in the evening to get Chinese food for dinner.  All parking spots were taken but on the second trip around we did find one and right up front.

IKEA

Today we went to IKEA.  We started with their good breakfast and great coffee and then we walked the entire store.  We picked up a few things to buy.  It was noon by then so we had their salmon balls with green beans and mashed potatoes for lunch.

On the way home we dropped some things off at charity and went to the DMV to renew our trailer license.

We were really tired when we got home!  Also had enough to eat during the day so opened a can of soup for dinner.

Impeached

We went to Panera for a bagel and then to Walmart for some groceries and other things.

It is a little warmer today, sure feels good to not be in the deep freezer.  We stayed home for dinner.  During the day and evening we watched some of the Impeachment hearings.  Glad it is done and Trump is officially Impeached.  He well deserves the distinction even if he won't be removed from office.

We also watched the finale of Survivor.  We have been watching the show all fall and wanted to see how it ended.

Wrapping it up!

I spent about 3 hours total wrapping Christmas gifts.  I couldn't take it any longer, I was tired and my arms and hands hurt.  I did get a lot done!

Don got good reports from his doctor visit. 

It has turned cold again and so we decided to stay home for dinner.

Monday

We got the house cleaned and laundry done.  I worked on getting some stuff done on the computer.  I set up my Christmas wrapping area so tomorrow I can wrap like crazy while Don is at the doctor.

We had leftovers from Saturdays dinner out for dinner tonight and watched some more of "The Crown".

Treats

Colder yet this morning, minus 12.  We went for breakfast at Cracker Barrel.  As luck would have it we sat next to a table with a man and woman.  The woman talked non-stop.  I mean non-stop!  She talked loud enough that we could hear every word.  They didn't seem to know each other well, we would have like to tell the man to leave while he could!

From there we went to Fleet Farm and Menards (again) and home.  Sheila came over in the afternoon.  She brought homemade Christmas treats - so good.   In the evening our doorbell rang and it was FedEx with a gift for us.  I couldn't imagine who it might be from but I should have known it was from Brenda.  It is a "tower of treats"  from "Harry and David"  including 6 pears, popcorn, candy, nuts, etc.  We will enjoy!

Cold Saturday

We had bagels at Panera and then went to Harbor Freight and Menards.  It was ridiculously cold outside and snowing some.

In the evening we went to Chili's for dinner.  They were really busy. 

Friday the 13th brings more snow

We ate breakfast at HyVee.  We hadn't been their since September but they still remembered us!  We must make an impression - good I hope.  Then we got groceries, there were a lot of people at the store buying a lot of stuff.

It started snowing mid morning until mid afternoon.  They finally got out to do our streets and driveways, they didn't do them after yesterday's snow.

We picked up sandwiches for dinner.  By then there was a light rain.  I don't know how it can rain at 18 degrees.  It was messing with traffic but we didn't see any wrecks.

Tried to stay home

It snowed most of the morning and still too cold.  We tried to stay home all day but ended up going out to pick up dinner and mail the Christmas Cards that I had been working on all afternoon.

Still cold

Still cold but can't stay home forever!  We went to Panera for bagels and then to Target.  I much needed a Target visit for Christmas odds and ends.  The store was not busy.

I had made an eye doctor appointment in October for today having no idea it would be so cold.  It was a new doctor for me.  He did a very thural job but gave me a headache which lasted the rest of the day.  Turns out all is well.

We came home and stayed home.

Minus one

It was -1 when we left this morning for the bank and to do some other errands.  We wrapped up in layers but still we got cold.  The poor car even complained.

We got our hair cut, we had delayed last weeks plans to get hair cuts not knowing it would be so cold today.  They dried our hair well so we wouldn't get icicles!  We stayed home the rest of the day.

Ice and snow

Clean house day.   We had rain then snow during the night and it snowed until mid afternoon today.  Made the road terrible (I heard on TV).

We also got some bookkeeping done and other botherson things.  We had Chinese food leftovers for dinner.  Good not to go anyplace on the slick roads.

Visits and food

We went to Baker's Square for breakfast, it had been awhile.  We had a good breakfast and good service. 

In the afternoon Sheila and Brenda and Scott came over for a visit.  Always great to have them come!

I fixed a beef roast in the Crock Pot for dinner, good on a cold night and good leftovers!

Reuben

Another nice day, relatively speaking.  It is in the 30's with sun, it is going to be a whole lot worse next week.

We ate at Culvers, a favorite place but tonight our Reuben sandwich had little meat and less sauerkraut.  We were disappointed and should have said something.  Instead we vowed to go elsewhere for a Reuben.  We did have their little dish of free frozen custard! 

Grocery shopping - again

No alarm clocks waking us up today!

We went to HyVee for groceries, don't know how they add up so fast!  Later went to HyVee for Chinese food for dinner.  Always very good.

We kept checking for my orders to be delivered.  They were set for delivery on Thursday but still didn't get anything today.  Must be a big bottle-neck someplace.


We don't have to cook Thanksgiving or Christmas
dinners but feel for those who do:

6 AM Mystery solved - mostly

6 AM Mystery solved (mostly).  The muffled alarm went off again at 6 AM this morning, we both got up to try to trace the alarm down.  It was in our living room, muffled as it is the farest place from our bedroom.  It was a clock that has been sitting there for ages, never sounding an alarm.  So the mystery remains "why did it suddenly start alarming at 6 AM".  Of course we turned it off and set the alarm time to 8 AM in case it starts up again it won't wake us.

It turned out to be a stay at home day, I didn't get near all done which I wanted to do.  I made dinner and we watched another episode of The Crown.

6 AM mystery

We ate breakfast at Perkins, we love their potato pancakes.  Then we went to Menards, Don wanted to go and I went along to get in some walking.  He bought nothing, I had numerous things in my cart!

We have a mystery; at 6 AM we wake up hearing an alarm clock.  It is a muffled ring.  We have looked around but can't find any ringing clock.  I checked with the woman who lives above us and she said she had no alarms going off at 6 AM.  Tomorrow we will investigate further.

I got Kohls and Amazon delivers and I put in a second big order to Kohls today.  I will keep the packages coming!

Leftovers from Red Lobster for dinner.

Panera, Aldi, Walmart, Red Lobster

We went to Panera for bagels this morning and then to Aldi and Walmart.  We got a few things we needed and I did some Christmas shopping but found very little.

We went to Red Lobster for dinner, they had a shrimp special.  We got way more shrimp than we could eat so leftovers for dinner tomorrow!  Their parking lot was an ice skating rink - it had melted during the day and refrozen into a layer of ice.  I was in fear every step I took that I was going to end up on the ground.  Don drove the car to the door to pick me up when we left.  We told the hostess about the ice, she said she would have someone spread some salt.  That hadn't happened when we left.

We watched the first episode of the third season of The Crown on Netflix in the evening.

Cyber Monday

Don had an eye doctor appointment in the morning (good news, no changes).  I stayed home and cleaned house, he vacuumed the floors in the afternoon. 

I got a big order off to Amazon from my phone, my contribution to Cyber Monday.

We had waffles for dinner and caught up on some TV.

Getting out finally

Enough of staying inside, we went to Denny's for breakfast.  A sign we go there too much - they know what we want to drink!  Then we went to HyVee grocery for "a couple things" and ended up with a $44 basket full.

Sheila came over in the afternoon for a visit.  After she left we continued to work on getting Christmas decorations out and the tree trimmed.  We finally got done and the boxes taken out about 5 PM.  Looks nice, a lot of work for a few weeks.

Snowy Saturday

Snow again today, just makes us want to stay inside.  The people who plow snow are so slow to get it cleaned up.  Brenda and Becca went to the Mall of America today and then came over for a visit.  We hadn't seen granddaughter Becca for some time.  They said the Mall wasn't too crowded, probably because of the weather.

We had leftovers for dinner, still not anxious to get outside.

We started to put up our Christmas tree!

Black Friday

Black Friday = the day merchants hope to get their books in the positive.

We went to Menards Home Store in the morning - they have a lot of stuff on sale for gifts, etc.  I got three huge bags of stuff.  Then came home and put orders in on my phone to Kohls' and Amazon.  I still have plenty more to order but good to get a start.

The snow removal people came again this morning to finish up, I'm sure they got a lot of complaints.

We got hamburgers from 5 Guys for dinner.  They are usually very good, but the buns were hard and the hamburger just didn't taste the same.  A dissapointment.

Happy Thanksgiving

We watched the Macy's parade on TV and I spent time on my phone looking for Christmas presents.  I made a version of the famous Green Bean Casserole to take to Thanksgiving dinner at daughter Sheila's house.  There were 19 people for dinner, it was very good as usual! 

We had good visits after dinner.  We were really tired when we got home!  It was a nice Thanksgiving!!!

Snow Storm

It started snowing during the night and continued until about noon today.  It made streets slick and a mess, fortunately we didn't have any place we had to be so just stayed home.  The snow remover contractor made one swype down our street, didn't come back until about 5 PM to finish the road and clean the driveways and sidewalks.  I'm sure they got a lot of complaints including ours.

Tree outside our window:

Anticipation

We went for coffee and bagels this morning and then to Walmart.  We didn't need much at Walmart and that was good as there was a mob of people.  Probably some people there getting their Thanksgiving food and others getting food in anticipation of the winter storm coming our was tonight.

It looks and feels like there is a snow storm coming our way, places are canceling in anticipation.  We plan to stay home tomorrow.

We got Tacos for dinner.

Visit and house

Brenda came for a visit in the morning.  We later cleaned the house. 

We still are tired from the trip or the cold weather or both.  We fixed dinner at home.

Breakfast, shopping, reading and eating

We went to breakfast at Denny's this morning and then to Menards Home Store which is Don's favorite place to go.  We bought just a few things.  Came home and  read the Sunday Newspapers.

Daughter Sheila came over in the afternoon for a good visit. 

I fixed baked pork chops for dinner.  Good to have access to an oven again!

Saturday

Still getting stuff done around the house, putting stuff away, etc.  We still have newspapers to read and also getting the Minneapolis Star Tribune delivered.

It is somewhat warmer today, thank goodness.  We brought in salads for dinner.

Cold

We went out for coffee and bagels and then to Walmart where we got some groceries and several other things.  From there to HyVee where we got about $100 worth of groceries!  We SHOULD be good for awhile but will probably think of things we still need.

In the afternoon we took naps, well deserved as we are still tired from the trip.  Then we took turns on the computer and tried to get some of our newspapers read.

We got a pizza for dinner.

A cold day when we are accustomed to much warmer weather!

Home

Up early again.  The hotel had a many choices for breakfast and we took a bag with muffins for later.  We got into some rain, the only weather of the trip.  Our only problem was we stopped at a McDonalds for lunch and there were NO parking spots, went around the parking lot twice and left.  We found a McDonalds further down the highway.

We got to our home about 2 PM, tired but glad to be here.  We unloaded the car and took a nap.  Later we got most of the stuff put away.  Not wanting to go out again, we had some soup for dinner.

A long 3 day trip, 1600 miles, lot of highway hours.  It will take a couple days to recover!

Run around

This morning we were up at 5:30.  The motel breakfast left a lot to be desired, we had a English muffin, juice and coffee.  Took blueberry muffins to eat on the road.  

We got into rush hour traffic in Nashville.  We drove in their HOV lane (for at least two in the car) for a long way.  Then we got into the area of multiple highway switches, being in the proper lane is critical as to not end up somewhere one does not want to travel.  Thanks to the GPS and our experience in traveling thru Nashville all went smoothly.

Finding a place for the night proved to be a challenge.  We wanted someplace near our route and all we could find were places where people had bad experiences.  Finally we found a good hotel in Davenport, Iowa, much further along than we had planned.  We reserved and set the GPS, all was going well until we were detoured as the highway we needed to take was under construction.  We had gotten two exits away, our GPS started taking us around in circles - guess it was tired as well!  It was dark outside to make matters worse.  Finally we pulled over and decided to retrace our route and take another that went north of the hotel.  That worked but couldn't find the place, it was not where it was supposed to be located.  We called the hotel, the person answering didn't know how to give directions.  When we were about to give up ---- we spotted the place.

We hadn't eaten dinner but decided we were not going out again and hoped there was a vending machine with maybe crackers and cheese or microwave popcorn.  We registered and were told "there is 30 minutes left of happy hour, we have chili and cornbread, beer and wine."  That was the best part of our day!!!!

After we ate, we brought our stuff in from the car, watched a little TV and went to bed.

On the road

We got up at 5 AM to get ready to hit the road.  It takes awhile to get the trailer ready.  Things have to be cleared so the slides can come in smoothly, the water heater drained, hoses put away.  Electrical unplugged, etc.

Finally at 7 AM we were on the road.  The day went well and thanks to good roads and no slow downs we got further than we expected to Athens Alabama, just south of Nashville.

We stayed at a Best Western motel, it was an old motel but somewhat refurbished.  It was clean and comfortable.  We got in the car to find a place to eat, went around the corner and there was a Applebee's restaurant so we ate there.

Back at the motel we watched a little TV and went to bed early as we were tired and getting up early the next morning.

Getting ready

The final packing and getting stuff ready to leave.  Getting the trailer ready, cleaned and stuff put away.  It was a busy day.  We went to Arby's for a sandwich for dinner and then to bed early.

Sunday!

We had breakfast at Cracker Barrow.  A waiter friend was there so we got to catch up on his summer.  Came home and read the Sunday newspaper.  In the afternoon started packing for our trip north.  Somehow it's easier to park in the trailer, nothing too far apart I guess.

For dinner we had a ham slice, last thing in the freezer and ate up some other odds and ends.  The refrigator is getting to look empty - which is good!

Saturday in the Park

A cool, dark day.  Never happy with the weather!  We went to breakfast at the clubhouse, they had omelettes which were good.  They had a good turn-out.

We worked around the trailer, getting stuff ready to leave on Tuesday.  For dinner we went to Zaxby's.  They were packed, no place to sit but then some friends saw us and invited us to sit with them.  It isn't usually too busy but I think some kind of team was there, got nice and quiet when they left.

Funnel Fries

It rained all night and some of this morning.  A front came through bring in cooler temperatures which feels good after all the hot weather we have been having.

We went to 10 AM coffee this morning as it will be the last until we come back in January.  Dinner was at Beef O'Brady's.  Don had fish, I had shrimp.  It was a 2 for $20 meal that also included a shared appetizer or dessert.  We had the dessert, Funnel Fries with chocolate and camel sauce dips.  They were really good.

Hot funnel (like funnel cake but in the shape of fries) fries:

Honda dealer day

We went to Chapel Hill today (40 min. south of here) to get the car's oil changed at a Honda Dealer.  I usually don't go along but Don said they had good coffee and they did.  And a cookie.  We went to Best Buy for a heater they advertised but they were sold out, a good time for me to look at computers and Don to look at huge TV's.

Then we stopped at McDonalds for some sandwiches to bring home for lunch.  We had dinner at home.  It started raining in the evening.

Slow day

Don attempted to change the oil in our car but he didn't have the correct tools.  That was good as far as I'm concerned as I don't like him under a blocked up car.

Was a slow day, we ate at home.  Stuff is disappearing from the refrigator!  Cooler but still very humid.

McDon's, Wally World and home

We went to breakfast at McDonald's and then shopping at Walmart.  We didn't need much in the food section but did need a lot of other stuff.

When we came back there was still time to go to 10:00 coffee.  It turned out to be a nice day, had to turn on the AC in the afternoon.  We had corn-on-the-cob and salsberry steak for dinner at home.

Veterans' Day

It started out cool in the morning, a good day to clean house.  By mid afternoon it was hot and humid so turned on the Air Conditioner, it was amazing how much water ran out of it - like someone turned on a hose.

I read most of the afternoon, found time to do a Sodaka.  Don was on the computer.  We had leftover Chinese food for dinner.

Today is Veterans Day.

Waffle, steak but no newspaper

Breakfast at Waffle House, we got the last table.  There was a waiting line but not too long as they kept pumping out the food as fast as possible.  It was good as always!

Don went to the store to pick up a Sunday newspaper but they had none - said they hadn't been delivered.  We tried a couple other places, same result.  So no Sunday paper to read.

We grilled a t-bone steak for dinner which was good.  Talked to my daughters later.

Waffle House

Cool

It is much cooler today, feels good.  We did stuff around the house - inside and outside.

We picked up Chinese Food for dinner.  We called ahead and they said 30 minutes but it was at least an hour by the time we got ours.  The place was packed!  It is good Chinese Food but not as good as we get in Minnesota.

Water, rain and heat

We went to morning coffee today, always interesting.  Of course the topic was the fact that we have to either boil water or buy bottled water until the water test results come back from yesterday's problem.  We have enough water for a few days for drinking and coffee, etc.

In the evening we went to Zaxby's for dinner.  It was raining when we came out and it continued to rain most of the night.  A weather front coming through which is suppose to bring us cooler temperatures!

No water, plenty of ants

We went to our Escapees RV Club chapter meeting today in Clermont.  We went to get ready and NO WATER.  The campground water had sprung a leak.  We did have some water in a filter picture so we used that for brushing teeth, etc.

The luncheon was fun as usual.  Still too ungodly hot when outside.  We picked up a subway on the the way home for dinner.

When we got home we had water but an email saying not to drink the water until it is tested, so we went into Bushnell and bought two gallons of water.  It will be a couple days until the test results come back, probably have to buy more water.

We have been having problems again with ants, just when we thought we had won.  So after a lot of spraying and putting poison out we are holding them at bay.  A lot of people in the park are having ant problems.

Eggplant

Breakfast at McDonalds and then to Walmart.  We didn't need much, but what we did need was important. 

It was depressive hot out today.  I will be so glad when it cools down.

We had eggplant that we bought yesterday, for dinner.