B is for Bread

Welcome to my second installment of An Alphabet "Soup-er" Idea. I started this quest almost a year ago in attempt to combat "bloggers block" but I haven't done all that well, have I? 😏

Anyway.... 

B is for Bread

Bread is yummy. (Exception: Rye bread.... Blech!)

I like soft, warm bread with butter melted into it. Too bad I can't really eat a lot of bread on my diet. Something to look forward to, I guess.

Lew is a bread connoisseur. He scours the grocery store to find the best bread.

My sister Debbie and Lew have a special "bread" connection. Debbie usually does quite well making her bread-type items. But the first few times she made it for a dinner Lew would be attending, something always went wrong. (One "something" was burning!) They don't joke about it as much as they used to, but every now and then it comes up in conversation. It is, after all, part of our family history.

Fried dough is bread, right? Oh, I'd love to have some right now with butter, cinnamon, and powdered sugar.... 😋 .... But unfortunately it's time for sleeping instead.

Putt, Putt

Lew enjoys watching golf on television. I will watch with him sometimes, especially when it's the final round of a tournament.

Today we watched the end of the BMW Championship. It was pretty exciting.

Dustin Johnson forced a playoff by sinking a 43-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole. The putt was off to a slow start but picked up speed when it hit a downhill portion on the green. Then it looked like it was going to be right of the hole, but it swerved back to the left and went in.

It was probably the most bizarre, clutch putt I have ever seen....

Until Jon Rahm made a 66-foot birdie putt on the playoff hole to win the tournament. His putt had to be aimed to the left, since he knew the ball would eventually break right. It was a big, curvy route! But that little ball went in the hole. Pretty amazing.

And that's my description of the two putts. I don't think I have a career as a sports writer!

Two New Household Items

 Lew and I recently purchased an iron and a bathroom scale. We ordered both on Amazon.

The old iron was making funny noises after using it. The new iron arrived today, and Lew has already tested it out. He's very happy with it. He also announced, "I never liked that old iron." This was news to me! We had that iron for over 15 years. I asked him why he didn't get a new one earlier, and he said he couldn't justify buying a new one while the old one still worked. I now will point out that Lew is the only one who irons regularly. The wrinkled look is okay by me!

As for the bathroom scale, it lost one of its light-up-bar-thingies in the display (what are those called?) and a new battery didn't fix the problem. When our new digital scale arrived, Lew tested it against the old one. His weight on the old scale was 0.7 pound less than his weight on the new scale. Close enough, although I like the old scale's measure better, ha ha! But the new scale is pretty slick, and it cost us only $16.83.

A good thing about both of these purchases is that we were able to follow the guideline of "one thing in, one thing out" for our belongings. I guess it helped that the "one thing out" didn't work properly!

Two Birthday Wishes

"Happy Birthday" to my sister Kim tomorrow! I won't mention her age, but she is about 16 months younger than I am. So I can't really make fun of her age, can I? 😁

"Happy Birthday plus one week" to my hubby! Lew's birthday was actually last Friday, so at least I have the day of the week right and we are still in the same month. 😁

More about Lew's birthday.... We had dinner at the diner with Dad. (Nice alliteration, huh?) Then the next day (Saturday) Lew had a "boys day out" with Matt, Eli, and Adam, after which they all came back to our house for a visit. I kept Eli and Adam occupied for most of it (see below), giving Lew and his son a chance to chat. It was a fun afternoon!

Lew's attempt at a "boys day out" selfie.

Adam (cool glasses!) and Eli . . . LEGO Masters in the making.

A pause from work to pose for a picture.

Late August Weather

It was chilly here today. Had to wear a light coat when I left work tonight. I can't complain, though, especially since parts of our country are experiencing dangerous storms. Praying for some relief for the people living in those areas.

Changing the subject just a bit.... When I took the kitties over to say "Nite-Nite" to my father, he and I talked about how it is getting dark earlier. It wasn't too long ago that it was still light outside during "Nite-Nite" time. It was completely dark tonight!

Lew and Dick played golf today. Lew told me the weather was perfect. Not too hot, not too cold, and the sun wasn't beating down on their heads. ("Baby bear" weather.)

Lew also told me that today they played their 2nd-best day of golf ever. Kudos! 😊

It's after 10pm. I need to start writing my posts earlier.  Zzzzzzzz....

Good night!

Dad 529: Virus Woes

("Frustrated" is the norm for a lot of us at the moment! Dad writes today. ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! Enjoying another beautiful summer day. About 70°.

 

Thinking about the people of Texas and Louisiana who are about to be hit by Laura. Supposed to hit land as a category four hurricane. Will pray for the citizens that are about to take on this storm. Take heed!

 

Well, I finally have a date to renew my driver's license. It will be at the DMV next Thursday at 12:30 PM. Must have $27 to pay for the license which was due on July 20.

 

I'm frustrated with this COVID-19. Let's open everything back up and treat this like what it is. It is a new virus that the experts said would probably be over come warm weather. Well, here in Maine I saw that we have had 15 days above 90°. That would seem to be hot enough to shut COVID-19 down. I guess that the experts don't know as much about how a virus works as they would like us to believe. Keep your masks handy for the next year or two!

 

Enough complaining for now.

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

Reset, Day 3

This will probably be my last post with "Reset, Day #" as the title. But I did want to do this particular post to list some of the other aspects of my "Reset."

My niece Kaelen and I decided to start learning Greek. We are using Duolingo and a beginner's Greek book, and we both now have a Greek New Testament. Looking forward to when we are able to read portions of it!

Although I have piles of books I want to read (physical piles and virtual piles), I do have a list I started a while back that I am trying to get through. There are currently 21 books on this list. Going to tackle them in earnest.

Trying to stop and wave at Mom through her window on my way home from work every day. We wave and blow kisses at each other, It is a nice few minutes.

I got behind on my devotional books during the pandemic. (Yes, I know the pandemic is still going on, but I'm doing a "Reset" on how I'm coping with it.)  I am all caught up now, and I aim to stay caught up. It's good for my soul.

One other thing I need to do is get to sleep earlier. I haven't done so great at that yet, as you can see by the timestamp of this post! So....

Good night!

Reset, Day 2

 I received a box last Friday (three days ago):

The box contained items that are already playing a significant role in my "Reset" plan.

Q: What was in the box?

A: Nutrisystem!

I used Nutrisystem a couple years ago and met my weight-loss goal. But I gained some "pandemic weight" recently, and I decided to address it before things got too out of hand.

I probably won't blog much about this part of my "Reset" after today. (Last time I think I mentioned it only once — after I met my goal!)

Here's to good health!

Reset!

Today I have designated as my "Reset" day.

I have developed some bad, lazy habits as a result of the pandemic. (Shouldn't totally blame the pandemic, but let's go with that.)

So today I am catching up on a few tasks that I put off for too long. One task was to copy my iPhone photos to my computer. That was fun. 😕

Another "Reset" item is to start blogging more consistently. I know I have threatened to do this several times already, but this time I mean it.... I really do.... I really, really do.

Because this post is rather boring, I will close by posting a couple photos from an outing Lew and I had a week ago yesterday. We went to see Glen and Debbie's new boat. Didn't go for a ride (I have to work up the nerve for that), but we did have a lovely evening visiting with family while sitting at the dock. The first photo is from the ladies' room — funny! The second photo is of some lovely ladies most readers of this blog will recognize.

Reset!

Dad 528: Josh's Big News

(I wouldn't have much of a blog these days if not for my father's posts. He writes again today! ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! Weather these past few weeks has been quite nice. Just as I finished the first sentence the rain is coming down. We need some rain! Rain stopped!

 

Our Illinois families are now back home in Illinois. We were fortunate to have them here for a few weeks. They all visited Mary Lou through her window. Kim, Kelsey, and Bode met with her outside, staying six feet away for a short while one day. Then visitations were closed down as some residents and workers at the nursing home have the Covid.

 

It seems that we are qualified for compassionate care visits with Mary Lou to help her mental state. But visits are not allowed by the experts at the home. Told them how to do the visits, but what do I know after living 82 years!

 

Just got a phone call from Josh, who graduated from Maine Maritime Academy this spring. He will be working on an oil tanker starting August 24. Very excited for him. Congratulations, Josh, and have a great time at sea!

 

Tune in next week for more info.

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

Sisters!

 

Dad 527: Winding Down

(Dad writes today. Yes, summer does go by way too fast! ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! Summer weather has been great. Today is no exception. Very warm and sticky!

 

There have been four more positive tests for Covid among the patients where Mary Lou is in long-term care. That makes it seven now, along with three workers. All residents are restricted to their rooms now. I believe that there have been some mistakes made by management. Not sure what is going on. Until two weeks ago there were no cases.

 

Zachariah, Kelsey, and Bode are now back in Illinois. It was a quick two weeks. Joe, Kim, and Kaelen will be with us until Monday. Time surely goes by fast in the summer. We are fortunate to have family visitors. And we did not have to travel at all.

 

While family visited, they were treated by Glen and Deb to outings on their new ocean boat. I call it a yacht. Also went to the lake a few times. I stayed home eating meals from Tracy and Lew's kitchen!

 

The visit sure has gone fast! A good time was had by all!

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

Family Night

Last night we had our annual family gathering with the Illinois crowd and all the local gang.

We had pizza, garlic knots, chips & salsa, plus soda and ice cream from "Fred's Fridge."

Except for a broken vehicle side mirror and a head gash requiring staples (two unrelated incidents), the evening was a fun success!

Until next year.... 💗

Due to an unfortunate meeting with the edge of our porch,
Adam was the recipient of three staples.

Dad 526: A Downer and a Dinner

(Family dinner tonight to celebrate Joe's birthday! Dad writes today. ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! Perhaps a summer day today that can't be beat. Don't see how it could've been better weatherwise. It was a 10!

 

Got a call today from the nursing home that they tested all workers and residents. Last week they had two positive tests for the staff. Today I was told that there were two positive results for residents, although not from Mary Lou's area of the facility. So they are now room-bound, and the every-other-week outdoor visitations are now off. Another setback for face-to-face meetings. It is another downer to deal with.

 

Solution: Open the whole country up and deal with the virus just as we do with the other viruses we have. Please!

 

Had a good dinner tonight at Deb & Glen's house. Maine lobsters as well as steak from Illinois. Steak cooked by Zachariah (with help from Bode).

 

Enough for today.

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

Say What?

So the tropical storm started to affect us this afternoon. When I looked out the window before leaving work, I thought I would be driving home in near-Hurricane conditions! But it wasn't even really raining (just a heavy mist) and the wind wasn't as bad as it looked. Perhaps it won't hit us as bad as it has other parts of the East coast.

One added difficulty of this storm is how to pronounce its name, which you probably know is "Isaias."

I've googled how to say it. Most sites are giving the pronunciation as ees-ah-EE-ahs (four syllables).

But here is what I came up with as I listened: ee-sah-EE-us.  My way is probably inferior to the above, but it's close.

Rain, rain, go away!

Hot!

I had a good and very busy week at work. I'm not quite caught up from being on vacation, but I'll get there.

It has been hot the last few days. I guess that's what happens in the middle of the summer!  😎

The Illinois family has been busy with visiting, boating, and eating.

Stay cool everybody!