Getting Ready For New Years Eve

— Posted inEclectic — 1 min read

The weather is going to be awesome for New Years Eve and New Years Day with highs in the upper 80’s. That means we will be celebrating the arrival of the new year sitting around a fire on the patio with the accompanying snacks and adult libations. It being a nice warm day today. got out the pressure washer and cleaned off the outdoor chairs and tables which we hadn’t used since late spring because of our travels and lately the lingering effects of Covid. It is easy to tell from looking at the arms just how dirty they were.

All set up around the fire”pit”. The wood is split and Saturday night Linda will be a happy girl getting to play in the fire. Life is Good.

Gardening – Out With The Old

— Posted inOther — 1 min read

Removed the center raised bed this morning as the boards were rotting out. That’s the old boards piled at the bottom of the raised bed on the left. The soil in the bed just filled the bed on the right, We use what is marketed as raised bed planting soil and because it contains a good deal of organic matter it steadily decomposes.

While the work wasn’t hard, the fact that I have don’t almost no strenuous work of any kind had me paying the price. The muscles in my lower back were telling me to stop right now. Not one to pay attention to a “little” pain I kept going. When we were done it took two hours for the ibuprofen I took to take effect. As my dear late sister-in-law, Katherine, liked to say “Getting old is pigeon poop.” This story will continue tomorrow if Amazon delivers the new metal raised bed early enough in the day and the ibuprofen continues to work.

A Different Christmas Meal

— Posted inFamily, Food — 2 min read

Our traditional Christmas meal has almost always featured either ham or turkey. This year we had something different, chipotle-lime salmon, and was it ever good. In the past I have tried to “plank” grill salmon and this time I succeeded. The water soaked thin cedar board charred adding a slight smokey touch to the perfectly grilled salmon. Clockwise from the salmon is a cucumber dill sauce, peas and mushrooms, a fresh cranberry salad and finally sweet potatoes mashed with butter and topped with a sprinkling of brown sugar.

We had a leftover frozen pie crust from Thanksgiving, so not wanting it to go to waste we made another pumpkin pie just like at Thanksgiving. Stevia was substituted for the sugar and we used nonfat evaporated milk, but it tasted just as awesome as always. Christmas means family time and because we are still feeling the effects of Covid, we didn’t fly across country to be with our daughters and grandchildren. Still we had a touch of family with this meal. The paring knife at the top of the photo Linda used to cut our pie was the one her mother had used. Christmas is truly a special time in the year.

Christmas Comes Once A Year

— Posted inFamily, Personal — 1 min read

When one reaches a certain age, what goes out at Christmas time are things that have memories attached to them. They don’t show in this photo, but on the tree are two ornaments from my family that are some 100 years old. It is little things like those ornaments that make this view so special to me.

Posting Once Again, Post Covid

— Posted inHealth & Fitness, Personal — 1 min read

It seems as if everyone’s experience with Covid is different. Some test positive but never really have any symptoms or lingering effects. At the other extreme some die from Covid. Then there is the great in-between which is where we were. My wife has had lingering effects for some two months now, only having really been away from our RV for doctor visits and a trip to the hospital. I have been able to get out and about, taking care of her, doing all the shopping, meal preparation, etc.. It has been almost two months since we first felt the effects of the virus and life is closer to normal now.

I had started posting at the first of the year and had planned post everyday in 2022. Perhaps I can achieve that in 2023. Being out of shape writing wise it is likely some of my first posts make be a little discombobulated. My only wish is that may you never have to face that dreaded positive test, but if it be so, may the consequences be very minimal.