Happy New Year!

 The project for today was to clean the refrigator.  It turned out to be a bigger project than I anticipated.  In order to get one of the drawers out we had to take two shelves out (because the door is blocked from opening all the way).  It was really dirty under the drawers and took some scrubbing and then the process of putting it back together.  Glad Don was helping me.  I did pull a muscle in my side trying to reach some of the mess.  We also got rid of a few items of food in the process.

In the afternoon I worked on understanding my new security cameras.  Now to get them set up and ready to do their thing!

We got salads from Panera for dinner and then watched "Hamilton".  It is a long show and we have not had that amount of time before.  In the middle of the show our electricity went out and came right back on.  So the internet had to reset and we had clocks to reset.  The movie started up right from where it left off thankfully.

After the show we had some shrimp and cheese along with wine and watched the new year being ushered into our lives.  Got to bed about 12:30.

Snow plowed

 By 7AM this morning the streets, driveways, sidewalks and porches were cleared of snow.  Good job snow plow people!  

Today was shower cleaning day, it had been a while so the soap scum was built up.  I got the doors done and one wall and decided I needed a rest.  Don was good to take over and finish the job.  I got the new Christmas card pictures on the refrigator and straightened the magnets, etc.  Right after lunch Don went back to the DMV to get the trailer license tabs.  The line was not as long as yesterday so he waited.  He was home in about 40 minutes with the tabs.

For dinner we had boneless barbecue chicken wings and then we watched a movie on Netflix in the evening."Saving Mr. Banks".

Errands in the AM, Snow in the PM

 We had 5 errands to run today, got 4 done.  The fifth was to get the license tabs for our trailer which is in Florida.  When we got to the DMV the line was out the door, through the parking lot almost to the street.  We will try another day or send it in the mail.  Florida requires that anything with wheels on it has a current registration.  

We did get to Fleet Farm, Aldes, Cub Foods and our bank.  We were anxious to get all this done before the forecast snowfall in the afternoon.  About 2 PM it did start snowing and snowed into the evening, about 4 to 6 inches.  Right after we went to bed I could hear the plows clearing our street.

Today is our grandson's 25th birthday!.

We had frozen pot pies for dinner and then watched the movie "Prom" on TV.

Getting stuff done

 Now that the Christmas tree and other Christmas decorations are down we did a good job cleaning the house.  Don moved the living room furniture and vacuumed underneath.  I polished the living room stands and the things we put out and mirrors, etc.  Took most of the morning but good to have done.

For some reason my right knee is stiff and sore.  Super hurts to stand up.  All I need along with my sore left foot.

We finally started reading the Sunday newspapers but only got about half done.  In the evening we watched the last two episodes of High Seas.

For dinner we picked up steak with au gratin potatoes, salad and French bread.  Was a good change of pace for us.

Getting back to normal or whatever

 We took down the Christmas tree and other Christmas decorations.  It always seems a bit soon but we have to now get things done and together for our trip to Florida next week.  We got tired before actually getting it all done, there is always tomorrow.

Also looked again at our great gifts from our family.  Put things away and decided what would go to Florida.  

We had some fish from the freezer for dinner along with salad and Texas toast.  Too tired to even read the Sunday Newspaper so watched the last two episodes of The Crown.

My great-niece is still missing - almost two years.

Saturday after

 A day to rest up from all the Christmas celebrating!  And that is about all we did!!!

We had ham and baked potatoes for dinner and watched some TV in the evening.

More pictures from Christmas:

Christmas Day

 Back to our daughter's house this morning for coffee and stocking stuffers.  Then daughter Brenda and husband Scott came.  We had brunch with egg casserole, roasted vegetables, fresh fruit, monkey bread and more.  Following brunch we all opened gifts from each other.

Don and I were given many fine things which we will enjoy throughout the year!

Christmas Eve

We spent the day getting last minute things ready for Christmas as well as doing some laundry, etc.

In the late afternoon we went to our daughter Sheila's home for Christmas Eve with her and her family.  We had a fun time with a game MC'ed by Ken.  He even had nice prizes.  We first had appetizers and then a meal of fondue and crepes.  They had many items to fondue - shrimp, scallops, steak, "bacon bombs", jalapeno poppers, etc.  We had a great time and good conversations.

Blizzard!!!!

 We needed a few groceries so we went to the store early thinking we would beat the crowds and impending bad weather.  It started raining as we drove to the store, the parking lot was packed.  Once around and we found the best parking site in the lot!  It was wall to wall people in the store and we couldn't find what we wanted, finally asked an employee who had to ask another employee, only to find out they were out of stock.  We found a good substitution and were on our way out of the store as fast as we could.

The rain turned into snow about noon.  In a very short time the ground was covered with snow.  It kept snowing and then the wind began blowing - we had ourselves a blizzard.  This kept up into the evening.  We got 6 to 8 inches of snow, hard to measure because of the drifting.  About the time we went to bed we heard the plows opening up our street.  (They do one swath for emergency traffic.)  We could hear plows on the major street a block away.

Our granddaughter had a long way to travel to get home but only made it a short distance and wisely decided to check into a hotel for the night.  The Interstate road was soon closed.  It took our grandson two hours to make a one hour trip but at least he got home.  It has been nice weather this winter but waits until Christmas to turn on us!

Visiter and no dinner for me

 Brenda came for a visit this morning.  She was all decked out in Christmas sweater and stocking cap!  

In the afternoon I got sick to my stomach,  I have been no place to pick up a bug so figured it must be something I ate.  I checked the pop I had at lunch and it had aspartame as an ingredient.  I have had other problems with aspartame so that will be something I need to keep away from.  I couldn't eat dinner.  Finally I started feeling better in the evening.

At least I have no problems like this:

House, liquor and tossed recipe

 Like any other Monday, clean house and do wash.  Always glad when it is done.  We made a liquor store trip to get our Holiday cheer!  We picked a good time, around noon, as few people were there.  

I fixed a hamburger casserole for dinner.  Not too good, will toss that recipe.  We watched some recorded TV and a episode of The Crown.

We had too many clouds to see the conversion of the planets.

Visiter, Newspaper, Dinner, TV

 Another Sunday having breakfast at home.  We have always gone out for breakfast on Sunday but with the covid restrictions on restaurants that is not possible.

Sheila came for a visit in the morning.  Always good to see her!  We read the Sunday newspaper in the afternoon.

We had chicken Kiev for dinner and watched the recorded Sunday morning news shows in the evening.

Slow Saturday

 A slow day, which was fine with me.  We worked some around the house.

We picked up pizza for dinner.  Still a lot of people out and about - Christmas shopping probably.

Out and about

 We went to HyVee for groceries later in the morning than we usually do.  Neither of us were at all motivated this morning.  The store was busier than usual.  I have been walking the stores lately rather than take the electric cart but today my foot was hurting a lot so I took a cart.  Glad I did because I forgot a couple things on my list and had to double back.

In the evening we decided to get sandwiches from Arby's.  Don wanted bagels from Walmart so made the third Walmart stop in three days.  Then Arby's and then Panera for our "free" coffee.  There were many, many cars around.  People must have been out Christmas shopping.  Finally an hour later we got home.  We had enough rain on the front car window to activate the wipers.  40 degrees out so not freezing rain.

I didn't plan to go along as I had a headache all afternoon but I thought the fresh air would help.  It didn't, the headache finally gave up in the evening.  

Doctor, glasses, Walmart and eggs

 Don had his doctor quarterly doctor appointment this morning.  Then he got his new glasses, they are different than he had and took some time for me to get accustomed to seeing him with them.  I like them and he says he does as well.  After that he stopped by Walmart and picked up what I forgot yesterday!

He was gone most of the morning which left me alone with the computer and I got a bunch of stuff done.  

We had "camper eggs" for dinner with cinnamon rolls from a tube.

Walmart today

 We went to Walmart this morning fairly early.  Not many people there.  We didn't have much to get - I had four things I needed.  When I got home I realized I had purchased 3 on my mental list and something not on the list, so yes I had four items.  One important item I forgot.  Now need to go back, darn.

Then we picked up some "free" coffee using our Panera coffee cards and came home to drink it and watch some Today Show.

For dinner we had boneless chicken wings and garlic toast along with a salad.  The refrigator seemed very cold so I put a temperature gage inside.  It was cold, probably because it sits on two outside walls and it is cold outside.  I turned up the temperature, now it will probably be too hot!

No more popups

 I worked on the computer to get rid of popup ads, they were the type Google wouldn't eliminate.  It was malware we accidently downloaded when using a motel's internet.  I finally found the culprit, deleted it and all is good!  Took awhile.  Lesson learned - don't use public internet.  Will use the internet on our phones in the future when we are away from home.  Is sure good not to have to fight the ads off anymore!

We are getting a Christmas card or two each day.  I really enjoy them!

For dinner we had some frozen fish Don had bought some time ago.  (I am emptying my freezer slowly)  I found a recipe on the internet and it worked well.  

Cards in the mail!

 Cleaning day again.  

In the afternoon I got to work on the Christmas cards, my goal was to get them in the mail on Wednesday.  I had the labels ready to print and return labels ready so it didn't take long and I was done.  Don had to go to the post office so with his help in getting the cards stamped and sealed they were ready for him to take.  The post office was very busy, a woman employee met him by the door and offered to take his things.  Everything had postage on them so he handed them over.  Quick and easy! 

We then stopped at KFC for chicken.  This time we got good pieces of chicken.  If we hadn't I fear we would have not gone there again after twice not being thrilled.

It was a cold day.  It was 12 degrees when we were out.

New tree ornament

 Our daughters came for a visit in the late morning.  Sheila brought us Christmas cookies and Brenda brought us a 2020 toilet paper tree ornament!

We read the newspapers in the afternoon and later watched the Sunday news shows.

For dinner we had pork chops cooked in mushroom soup in the crock pot for hours and cauliflower roasted in the oven and a salad.

We got a skiff of snow this morning.  Enough to make the roads slick as there were many fender benders.

Technology day

 After washing some clothes and picking up stuff around the house, we had a mostly lazy day.  I got my new security cameras and spent some time setting them up, need storage cards.  I also installed new security in my computer, that took awhile as the old had to be deleted and it was stubborn!

We had Chinese food for dinner, it had been awhile.  Then watched TV.

More wrapping and probably done!

 We went to the grocery store in the morning.  In the afternoon I continued to wrap Christmas gifts and got done!!!  (Unless I buy more.)

All day it felt like it was going to snow, but it didn't - too warm.

For dinner we had leftovers from two meals.  Worked out!

The Republican Supreme Court refuses to even hear this stuff.

Wrapping, wrapping, wrapping

 Today I wrapped Christmas gifts like crazy but I am not done.  I did them in two sessions, when I got up I was stiff and sore.  My knees would hardly bend.  Looks good to have gifts under our tree!

I am enjoying my little bluetooth speaker, play in Christmas music from Sirius radio app on my phone.  

We had leftover barbecue ribs from last night for dinner, tasted as good tonight!

Flamingos, taken from a drone.

Ribs

 We hadn't planned on going to Walmart but Don thought of a couple things he wanted.  I was  going to just sit in the car but I had a good coupon for some hair stuff so I went in also.  $50 later we were home.

It unusually nice weather today, way above average at 50 degrees.  No snow on the ground!

I set up my Christmas gift wrapping station.  (With Don's help.)  Now to get going.

Don was anxious for barbecue ribs from a place a ways away.  So we ordered them and picked them up.  It must be a popular Wednesday special as many people were waiting.  The ribs were very good!  And we have leftovers.

He still thinks he has a chance to be the next president!

Hair Cuts

 We got hair cuts today.  The stylist did a good job on mine this time, I was a little worried as she went at it a totally different way than others do.  It takes a couple days to lay right again but it is a good cut.  Don's hair looked good as well.

I had a lot planned to get done today but the day went too fast.  I fixed Don's favorite meal for dinner:  tater tot casserole.  Tried to catch up on TV in the evening.

Pearl Harbor

 Pearl Harbor was bombed by the Japanese 49 years ago today.  "The day that will live in infamy".  

Would have also been my Dad's birthday.

House cleaning day.  Takes a lot of energy but got it done!  Read and relaxed in the afternoon.

Visits, news and food

 No going out for breakfast but Don did go to McDonalds and brought breakfast home.  Then we watched the Sunday news shows.  In the afternoon we read the Sunday Newspaper.  

Our daughters came for a visit in the late morning, we covered a lot of topics!

For dinner we had ham warmed in the microwave and baked potatoes baked in the microwave.  Also a salad (no microwaving).

Saturday

 Finally a day to stay home and get stuff done!  We slowly drank coffee in the morning before prioritizing the day's jobs.

We got dinner from Panera, brought it home of course as there is no inside dining in Minnesota.  Watched some TV like usual!

Eyeglasses and Fish

 First we got groceries, more than I had expected to buy!  Then we went to pick out Don's new eyeglass frames.  I didn't think there was a lot of choices and about to give up when I found a pair we both liked.  He can't see how they look when he tries them on so needs me to help.  (Plus I can't trust that he will make the best choice.)  I think we will be happy with the new ones when the lens come in two weeks.

Not many people in either store but then it was early, a good time to go.

Don was hungry for fish from "Caspers" for dinner.  Caspers had a call ahead and drive up system that works well.   The fish came with a large salad, French bread and potatoes - we chose al gratin potatoes.  Was a good meal, couldn't eat it all.

Don's eyes

 Don had an eye doctor appointment today, I stayed home as I had things I needed to do on the computer.  Sometimes he takes over the computer and I don't get a chance!  His eyes hadn't changed much but we decided he should get new glasses as it has been about 5 years, he wears his glasses 100% of his waking hours.

For dinner we had frozen pot pies.  I am running out of dinner ideas.  (Or maybe just tried of fixing dinner every day since restaurants are closed.)

More shopping

 First we went to Target where I got several items.  They had 10% off everything and I got an extra 5% off when I used their credit card!  Then we went to Walmart for a few things.  Neither store was busy at all, I think it helps to go fairly early in the morning.

We had some frozen chicken dinner from a bag that I heated in the electric frying pan and the last rolls that Don had bought on Sunday.  I had gotten another small pumpkin pie so we had a small slice for dessert.

Watched some TV.  Don also watched a series I'm not much interested in while I read.

December

 We went to Menards this morning.  They had a lot of good Black Friday deals and still had many of the items on hand.  There was no need to fight the potentially covid 19 infected crowds on Friday!  Then we went to my favorite Dollar Store, I got a lot of things which came to $13.

We had waffles for dinner, watched another "Crown" and some recorded shows.

House, book, food

 Cleaned the house again.  It is cold out (thankfully no snow) so I'm not anxious to get outside.  

I started reading the new John Dean book "Authoritarian Nightmare" about trump and the people who follow him.  I have read most of the John Dean books on Nixon, he seems to have a good insight into what is going on in the government.

We got taco salads from Taco John's for dinner, a nice change in what we usually eat!  Then watched another episode of  The Crown.

If it is Sunday, it is news day

 Don went to McDonalds' for sausage egg McMuffins for breakfast along with the rolls he bought yesterday.  Every eating place is closed to inside dining so have to do what we can.

We watched the Sunday news shows and in the afternoon read the Sunday newspaper.  Hopefully we are all caught up on the news now!

For dinner we had a ham slice and the remaining Thanksgiving leftovers.  Ended up being a lot of food.  We watched some TV in the evening.

Puppy

 After drinking coffee and procrastinating we finally decided to start our Christmas decorating.  Mostly Don got the boxes inside and I started going through them.

Our daughter Sheila invited us to come over to see our grandson's new puppy.  It is darling of course, all puppies are darling but none cuter than a golden retriever puppy.

When we got home we earnestly started and finished decorating inside for Christmas.  It's a lot of work and I always think "what goes up has to come down".

Don bought some steak to grill for dinner as it was a nice day and probably the warmest until spring.  

Black Friday

 Today is known as Black Friday as this is the day business' have enough sales to end the year in the black.  They got no help from me as I'm already about finished Christmas shopping.  

We did go to the grocery store, hardly anyone was there so a good day to shop except we didn't have much to buy.  We picked up hamburgers at McDonalds for lunch.

We got our Christmas tree sat up but not decorated.

For dinner we had leftovers that our daughter sent home with us.  We still have more for another meal or two.  We are done with the current "season" of  The Right Stuff so watched The Real Right Stuff.  Was interesting.

Thanksgiving Day

 We watched some of the Macy's Thanksgiving parade on TV before deciding we need to get some stuff done.  I needed to put together the corn casserole we were taking to dinner at our daughter Sheila's house.  We took a hour nap so we would be bright for dinner.  

Dinner was great, good turkey and ham and all the desired side dishes.  Pie for dessert.  Lots of good conversation. (No political in fighting that some families have as we are all on the same page.) 

Java and Olie

 Don went to Walmart for a few things while I sat in the car.  Don't want to subject ourselves to anyone with covid 19.  We had a couple other stops before picking up McDonalds' for lunch.

In the afternoon daughter Brenda and granddaughter Becca came for a visit.  We hadn't seen Becca for a very long time as she lives out of town.  They brought their dogs Java and Olie.  Olie is Becca's dog which we had never seen, he is about 3 years old - a rescue and a good dog.  Brenda's dog Java got stuck under the sofa so Becca had to crawl behind and rescue her!

We had leftover spaghetti for dinner.

Dark day

 What a dark, dismal day.  We had freezing rain in the morning and then the clouds hung around all day.  We didn't do much, caught up on things and computer work.

I made spaghetti and meatballs for dinner.  Then we watched some TV.

Monday and KFC

 Monday, the only good thing is the afternoon when I can sit back and think "the house cleaning is done for a week".  A lot of the job is putting things where they belong, wouldn't be such a job if we put things away after we used them!

We had KFC chicken for dinner and we were lucky.  The crew at KFC seems to be lacking on IQ.  We had to tell them several times at the drive-up speaker and at the window what we wanted.  Then they tried to charge us too much.  Two cars in front of us were waiting for their orders.  Good thing they don't have a lot of people wanting to eat at KFC, maybe customers are distressed with the lack of intelligent help.

Pancakes and pork chops

 No breakfast out today a usual as all restaurants are shut down for a month.  So I tried out my new electric skillet and made pancakes.  We read the Sunday newspaper and watched the Sunday news shows.

I received a text from a friend that her husband had died early today from pancreatic cancer.  He was diagnosed just three weeks ago.  He was a very nice, friendly man.  He will be missed.

Sheila came over in the afternoon for a visit.

I put stuffed pork chops in the crockpot for dinner.  This time I put some gravy on top and they were much better.

Menards and Pizza

 In the morning Don went to Menards home store.  He had a number of things he wanted.  After looking at all the big box stores' online, I found an electric skillet at Menards so Don picked that up also.

We picked up a pizza in the evening for dinner.  I went along just to get some fresh air.  Then we tried to catch up on recorded TV shows.

Big flamingo from daughter Brenda and plaque painted by friend Carolyn 

Last meal out - for awhile

 Ate breakfast at HyVee.  Our last meal in a restaurant for at least a month due to the covid shutdown - again.   Then we got groceries at HyVee.  They had a lot of specials and were loading the shelves as fast as people took the products off.  One thing I really wanted was out, but I looked around at the boxes sitting in the asyle and found the item, opened the box and took what I wanted.

The temperature outside was Ok, but the wind made it feel cold.  So after the grocery store we just went home.  Don went out to bring home dinner at Pancheros.  They have burritos that you tell them how you want your's filled.

Equipment Problem?

 This morning I had a podiatrist appointment again for the cyst on my foot.  It is getting much better.  The doctor removed some built up scar tissue causing it to bleed and hurt but probably for the benefit of healing.

Don went to Panera to pick up salads for dinner.  Our nearby Panera was closed so he went to another one not too far away.  We called to see why the close one was closed, we thought maybe permanently closed due to the impending shutdown, but they said they had an "equipment problem".  Should be open Saturday.

We enjoyed weather in the 50's today.  Most of the snow is melted except where it was plowed into a hill.

We watched some TV we had taped in the evening.

Potato Pancakes

 We went to Perkins this morning for potato pancakes.  They are always good but today one of mine looked over done, when I cut into it the middle was raw.  Obviously something happened in the kitchen.  I sent it back and got two replacements.  I usually don't complain but I didn't want to miss out on my third pancake.

Then we went to Walmart, didn't need so much this week.  From there Don wanted to go to Harbor Freight for some tool thing.  We had a slow afternoon and had leftovers from last night for dinner.  Watched some TV, we are getting many weekly shows we have taped lined up to watch.

It was another warm day, warm for us - around 50 degrees, but the wind was really blowing!

Our state's governor announced today that he has decided to do a partial shut down because of covid 19.  All bars and restaurants will be closed to inside service.  They can still do carry-out.  A few other restrictions.  

Internet is my shopping buddy

 Again I spent considerable time on the internet Christmas shopping.  I also made a list of things I want to buy at Walmart or Target.  Put in another Amazon order as today I got two things I ordered Saturday!

It is warmer out today and snow is disappearing from the streets and driveways at least.  Suppose to be a warmer than normal week.  I'm not talking hot but in the 40's, warmer than average.

The news is bad about the corona virus.  More cases and more deaths.  Government is talking about some closedowns.  No one wants that but what else can be done?