Cold again! We both have been doing things to get ready for the big trip next week to Florida. Don has also been working on the computer on eBay end of year and taxes end of year.
He picked up Chinese dinners for dinner. Just before midnight we had some cheese and crackers and shrimp with some Champaign to toast in the New Year!
I got stew started in the crock pot for dinner tonight. Then decided I should have a list of things I need to pack so I didn't have to think and pack at the same time!
It was a bit warmer today and we got just a little snow.
It was minus 2 when we got up but still we went to Panera for our Wednesday bagel and then to Medard's and Walmart. I picked up a few Christmas things on half price at both places. Now have to get them put away! It got up to 7 degrees later but with a bright warm sun.
We had fish for dinner, again cleaning out the freezer.
We tried to watch a movie in the evening but couldn't find anything we liked. We started one, 30 minutes into the moves there was no plot so we decided not to spend any more time on it.
It was cold out and snowed on and off all day. I heard the roads were slick, we stayed home. We decided today was the day to put away Christmas - sadly. We have to get ready to head to Florida next week so no time to spare. We both worked hard on the job and got it done in good time. Until next year -----
More odds and ends to put away during the afternoon. We had chicken Kiev for dinner and watched the movie Rumer Has It which was on the silly range.
Good old house cleaning day and a day to put away more gifts. Overnight it snowed 2 - 3 inches. They started plowing our street and driveways about 2 AM, heard trucks and back-up alarms the rest of the night on and off. It was 38 degrees when we got up but slowly got colder all day.
I did some odd jobs in the afternoon and made something? from a frozen bag for dinner. It was actually OK. We watched the show "Don't Look Up". Was good, but could happen.
Kids ?? table
We went out for breakfast at HyVee. Good as always but cold out. Came home to read the Sunday newspaper. After a nap we went through our Christmas gifts to admire them again and put things away.
Got a text that our granddaughter tested positive for Covid so we will see how good our vaccinations and booster are to keep Covid away. We will deal with it if we need to.
It was just warm enough to grill the last steak for dinner that we had in the freezer.
Up and out to the Dennis house for brunch and gifts. Brenda and family were there also. We got many fine gifts that we will enjoy throughout the year!
Went home for a quick nap until I had to put my broccoli casserole in the oven. Then it was to son-in-law's Dads house for dinner hosted by Ken's brother and his wife. It was delicious!!!
We were exhausted, not accustomed to so much partying! It was a great Christmas Eve and Day and good to sit back and relax.
What my home town, Belle Fourche SD looked like at Christmas when I was growing up:
We went to Panera for bagels again today. I made the broccoli casserole for tomorrow's Christmas dinner and made another mess in the kitchen!
In the afternoon Don made a trip to Sheila's house with a box of stuff for tonight and tomorrow. Too hard to remember everything in one trip!
We had a great time at Dennis' house Christmas Eve. They had fondue as well as other food items and beverages!
Don was off to Fleet Farm to get a refund on the old dead car battery. I stayed home and made my cheese balls for tomorrow evening. Also got my wild rice cooked for my Christmas Day casserole. I made a mess in the kitchen, don't think there is a neat way to make the cheese balls!
It go up to 40 degrees in the afternoon with bright sun. Snow was melting.
We had waffles for dinner and then watched the show "Red".
Today was Panera for bagels. There were a lot of women with their little kids, think it might have been a neighborhood group. One boy, about 1/1/2 to 2 years old kept running to the gas fire place. I'm sure the glass front was very hot. His mother would catch him just in the nick of time - made us nervous.
Then to Walmart, it wasn't as busy as I thought it might have been. We didn't have much to get but still spent over $50!
We went to Perkins to take advantage of their BOGO coupon. We had their good shrimp.
We finally got hair cuts this morning followed by a trip to the liquor store for Christmas spirits.
Lexi behaved great when we left her home alone. I check my security camera and she was just sleeping.
It snowed some this morning, snowed hard for awhile and then there was snow in the air most of the day. Also cold.
The Dennis family got home from their Denver trip to a funeral. Sheila came to get Lexi who was very happy to see her! We miss having her around.
We had pork chops cooked in the crock pot for dinner.
Another house cleaning day. Poor Lexi didn't know where to go to be out of our way and we move in different directions!
She got to chase a rabbit when she went out this morning and again in the evening!
We had Italian food for dinner from a frozen bag.
Don brought home McDonald's for breakfast. Sheila soon brought over their dog Lexi for a visit while they are in Denver for a funeral. Lexi is a sweet, well behaved dog. She thinks we are boring.
For dinner we had leftovers from last night and then watched the Sunday news shows.
We watched some morning TV we like to see on Saturday and they dove into some things around the house. Didn't get everything done that I wanted to finish.
For dinner we called ahead to for prime rib dinners to pick up. They were very good and a good break from the food we have been having. We had leftovers.
Was good to get back to our warm home for the rest of the day.
We had frozen fish (cooked) for dinner.
Today was predicted to be a wild weather day. And it was but not as bad as the forecasters forecast.
The temps got up to 58 degrees breaking an all time record high. We had a little rain.
We had breakfast at Perkins, had their potato pancakes that we always enjoy. Was very busy when we left. Then we went to Walmart for a few groceries and did a couple other errands.
For dinner we had left over BQ pork sandwiches.
Don left early for his annual doctor appointment. After I drank my coffee I went to work on the Christmas cards which I want to send tomorrow. Our printer had been working again but of course today it decided (has a mind of it's own) it would not work. So I spent time finally getting it convinced to work again.
Don had good news from the doctor, A1C at a level the doctor approves.
I fixed dinner of what I call goulash. Not Don's favorite but I like it once in awhile.
Sad news today: Son-in-law's sister passed away today from a long battle with cancer.
Another house cleaning day. My heart and energy was sure not into the project but got it done - again.
Don fixed the broken handle on the shower that broke yesterday. I am surprised that there was a "fix", I was seeing a new shower door in our future.
We had purchased BQ pork for dinner in the sandwich form and leftovers.
The day started by me breaking off the shower door handle. It looks like the screws have rusted. Hope there is some repair for this.
Don got the car started by jumping the battery so we went to McDonalds to bring home some breakfast.
Sheila came over later and Don commandeered her car so he could go buy a battery. We hope that is all of the problem. The car did start right up with the new battery. We'll know tomorrow.
Brenda came in the afternoon with some good pumpkin dip. Then we read the Sunday newspaper and watched the Sunday news shows in the evening.
For dinner Don grilled some steak we had in the freezer. We have some food we need to use up in the next 3 weeks before our trip to Florida.
We woke up to bright blue sky today! Seems even brighter with the sun reflecting off the massive piles of snow. Our streets, driveways, etc. were plowed overnight. Usually we hear the trucks but neither of us did, either they were quiet or we were sound asleep.
Again the car refused to start. Hard to know what is wrong. So we just stayed home all day.
For dinner we had pizza we had purchased from HyVee, a step above frozen pizza.
One look I hate on guys:
It was lightly snowing when I first opened the drapes but a little later it was 32 degrees with blue sky. Just giving us false hope that the "weather" is over. A big snow storm is forecast for tomorrow.
I am having trouble getting motivated to get the Christmas stuff done. Packages are wrapped, house decorated but still have cards to do. Then a couple more ugly things to do.
Since we have an impending snow storm tomorrow we decided tonight to bring home something for dinner. We got KFC, it had been a long time. They were unusually busy.
ZERO degrees when we woke up this morning. I was all for staying home but no, Don insisted we go to Panera for bagels and then to Walmart. Not many people at Panera wisely enough.
Since the inside of the car had warmed up we sat in the Walmart parking lot and did the 4G update that Honda wanted us to do to our system. It went well even though the instructions were not the same as on our car.
It warmed to 15 in the afternoon. We stayed home the rest of the day. Had leftovers for dinner.
We woke up to snow and snowing out. Don's poor bunny came for breakfast in the snow. On TV they had video of all the car crashes and slowdown on the Interstate roads. Glad we don't have to be out and our daughters can work from home.
In the afternoon we had big snow flakes, all in all we got 4-5 inches.
We had Sheila over for dinner as she has was alone for dinner. I made vegetable soup, tasted good for a cold night.
Good old house cleaning day. Somehow wherever I went Don was in my way. One of those days!
It was cold out with a wind. The wind blew all night, we kept hearing a banging sound during the night. Today we figured out it was our neighbors flag that was blowing in the wind and hitting the house. Who would think it would make so much noise. I woke several times to the noise but there was NO way I was going outside to take care of the problem.
We had a tomato that needed to be gone so we had Bacon, Lettice, Tomato sandwiches for dinner. Seems more like a summer meal but it worked on a cold night as well!
We got up to snow covering the ground, not much but enough to cause many wrecks on the roads. We just (safely) traveled a couple miles to have breakfast at Denny's. The wind was also blowing which made it feel very cold outside.
Later Sheila came for a visit.
We had left over BQ ribs from last Wednesday for dinner along with left over Cole slaw and left over blueberries.
After watching morning TV and drinking coffee we finally got some things done. I mostly finished wrapping the Christmas gifts.
We went to Arby's to pick up Ruben sandwiches for dinner - voted (by us) the best Rubens around.
We went to Panera for bagels this morning. They were OUT of coffee, all the pots were empty. Finally they got a couple pots filled and people we lined up to get some. Probably empty again. They have 4 kinds of coffee. The place was busy but still ---
Then we went to HyVee. They had carts full of empty boxes sitting in some aisles. Guess they aren't anxious to have people shop their store.
In the afternoon I wrapped more gifts.
Then it was back to Panera for their Flat Bread Pizza and salads. We had a coupon the expired today.
I finally got some Christmas gifts wrapped. Wrapped until my back hurt and got about 1/3 done. We did other stuff around the house.
For dinner we had left over Tater Tot casserole. Tasted as good as the first time.
We went to Panera for bagels this morning. It was about as empty as I have seen the new place. Then to Walmart, post office, Fresh Thyme and Target. By that time it was noon and so we picked up lunch at McDonalds.
It had rained overnight. We had a little sun before it turned cloudy again, but it got up to 50 degrees. Very unusual for December 1 in Minnesota!
We picked up BQ ribs for dinner. They came with a big salad, al gratin potatoes and bread. We could eat only half the ribs so they will make a good meal another day.
Highlight of the day - President Biden came to visit the Technical College that is just a few miles from us. It was closed to the public!
I got out all my Christmas wrapping paper, bows, bags, boxes, etc. Double checked to see if I had all the gifts I thought I had purchased. That is as far as I got in the big wrapping job.
For dinner I made Don's favorite - tater tot casserole.
House cleaning day, again. Now I have the week to do the many other things I need to get done for Christmas and preparing for our trip to Florida after New Year's Day.
I finished reading a book in the afternoon. We had frozen "bowls" for dinner along with Cole slaw and bread sticks.
We went to HyVee for breakfast. Now one of our favorite places. They have good food and it is not difficult to get a table.
Sheila came for a visit later. In the evening we watched the Sunday News shows, now all about the new Covid variant Omicron. Doesn't seem like the experts know much about it but can find plenty to say anyway.
We had smoked pork chops with a salad and broccoli for dinner.
We went to Menards right away this morning, even before we had coffee. Nothing much I wanted from their big sale and Don just got a couple things.
Then we forgot the other two stops we needed to make. Don went to Panera to get dinner and made the missing stops at that time!
Don got out the Christmas tree yesterday, some lights were out so he worked on that until he ran out of bulbs. We got more today at Menards and finally assembled the tree. We went to work and got and the house decorated. Took a dinner break and finally got stuff put away.
Panera again this morning, busy when we got there but much more busy when we left. They had a long drive thru line and full parking lot. People were hoovering to find a table inside.
Then we went to HyVee for a few things, they were not busy. We got what we wanted and were out in quick time.
Don brought in the (artificial) Christmas Tree in the afternoon. Some of the lights weren't working and he didn't have extras so it sat half put together until he got bulbs.
We had Chinese food for dinner.
We watched some of the Macy's Thanksgiving parade, I had to take a break to put together the broccoli casserole that I was taking to Thanksgiving dinner at the Dennis'.
Then a short nap before time to put the casserole in the oven and get ready to travel a mile to their house. They had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner. Lots of people, two dogs. We ate too much, but that is what the day is about!!!
We came home full and tired.
We went to Panera today for bagel and coffee. A man was sitting by us in front of the fireplace. I noticed someone from the kitchen come and talk to him. A little later a woman came to join him and the kitchen woman brought out a plate with a bagel AND a ring box. He asked her to merry him and she said "yes"! Fun to witness all this!
Then we went to Walmart, the grocery part was very busy - people getting their last minute Thanksgiving groceries no doubt. Later Brenda and her dog Java dropped in for a visit.
It was a nice warm (for Fall in MN) day. We had waffles for dinner.
We went to breakfast at Denny's. When we went into Denny's it was nice and sunny, when we came out it was dark and cloudy. It looked like it could snow any minute (but too warm). Later the sun came back out and so did the wind.
Sheila came for a visit in the morning. We read the Sunday newspapers and watched the Sunday news shows later in the day.
For dinner we had salads, salmon and cauliflower cooked in the oven which turned out very good.
Well today my arm where I got my Covid booster is very sore. Hope that doesn't last too long.
Good to see the sun today and not much wind. It has been so windy recently.
Lots of stuff to do around the house. Don got the remainder of the outside Christmas lights up. We picked up sandwiches from Arby's for dinner.
First we went to Panera for a bagel. Panera wasn't as crowded as it has been, maybe the newness has worn off.
Then we went to HyVee for our covid 19 booster shots. My appointment was 10:00 and Don's was 11:00. They were running behind but we both got our shots at 11:00. That worked out and now it is done until it is decide that down the road we need another booster. Whatever it takes. My arm is a bit sore, but that is all the reaction I had.
While at HyVee we picked up some groceries. Don went later for pizza, we had a coupon for "buy one, get one". They were not baked so we baked one and froze one. Good pizzas.
This morning we went to IKEA, had a couple things to buy but didn't buy much. The shopping area was mostly reset since the last time we were there a couple months ago. Back then they were clearly understocked but today they seemed to be well stocked.
We had lunch at IKEA: Meatballs, mashed potatoes and gravy, vegetables, cranberry sauce and garlic bread. And of course coffee which we get free as we are members of their club.
Before going to IKEA we dropped off another load of things for charity at CHAPS.
Again today the wind made it seem extra cold.
We had leftover chicken for dinner, weren't too hungry!
We went to Perkins for potato pancakes this morning. They were so hot! Then to Walmart for a few things. It wasn't that cold but the wind made it seem awful.
In the evening Don went to HyVee to pick up a bucket of their fried chicken. We had never had their chicken before but with a $5 coupon it was worth trying. It was good.
Warmer today but with a wind which makes it seem colder. I spent some time evaluating my "cruise clothing". I paid for the remainder of the cruise yesterday, 95 days out.
Then I did some more going through files and getting stuff shredded. Hard to know what should go so I probably keep too much.
Our only outing was to get Tacos for dinner.
Another house cleaning day. Not much fun ever, but my back was hurting today for some reason. I noticed a few snow flurries when I opened the blinds this morning but that was all for the day. It didn't warm up much.
Don took the car in to get the tires balanced and rotated. They said we need new tires, a couple weeks ago Honda said we had another year on them. We'll go with Honda.
My new Kindle Paperwhite was delivered around 8PM. Not expected until tomorrow. I spent a few minutes setting it up and linking it to my Amazon account.
We had bacon, lettuce, tomato sandwiches for dinner with some purchased Cole slaw.
