Friday 6-29 Fourth of July Barbecue

Doing the Friday Happy Dance

We had a wonderful day.

The other day Larry organized some of the electronic wires in the kitchen so they don't look a mess. He did a good job but he wanted to make it even neater so he decided to make a box to cover the wires. We actually had everything we needed to build the box but he also wanted to change the shelving in his workroom and he didn't have everything he needed for that so off to The Home Depot we went. 

Larry has this shelf with built in blue tooth speakers that he never uses so he decided he would remove that shelf and put another one in its place. The shelf is mounted next to another one so he decided he would make one long shelf instead of two separate shelves and move the old short shelf down lower to give him more storage space. First he removed all his stuff off the shelves. Then he located a stud in the wall and installed an upright bar for the brackets that are going to hold the shelf. When we were in town we bought a few brackets and a board. After the brackets were hung we screwed the shelf to the brackets. Then he moved the old brackets down and screwed the old shelf back to them. Then he put everything back on the shelves. Now he has a lot more space for his stuff.

Screwing the upright bracket to the wall

The new shelf installed

The finished project

Every year the City of Belton starts the Fourth of July week out with a Kick-Off Lunch at Yettie Polk Park. In the past we have not attended, always thought it would be too busy plus it is outside in the heat but this year we decided to give it a try. We were surprised, the line wasn't long, there was shade and a nice breeze. Schoepf's Bar-B-Que sold the barbecue for $5.00. You could get either a chop beef sandwich or a sausage wrap, a bag of chips and a soda or water. There were tables set up under the trees or you could sit on concrete benches. The event was very well organized and everyone was having a great time.

Schoepf''s Bar-B-Cue

Volunteers making the sandwiches and serving people when they arrive

People sitting under the trees enjoying the barbecue with friends

After lunch Larry started on building the box for the kitchen. I helped when he needed me. After determining the size he used his new saw to cut some thin plywood into pieces. He needed a hole in the back and slots on the bottom to allow wires to go through, after getting all the pieces properly cut he used an air stapler to assemble the box. He applied stain and will need to apply a urethane finish tomorrow. The box looks great.

Sawing the plywood

Assembling the box

While Larry worked on this I worked on my puzzle and book.

  

In the evening we watched the first episode of the fifth season of Endeavour on PBS. Then I worked out with Gold's Gym and Just Dance for an hour. We had a great day.

Thursday 6-28 Hip Hip Hurray!!!!

Hip Hip Hurray!!!

Why am I excited? The wind was down a bit so after not going to the lake for the last 17 days we loaded the boat up and headed for the lake. When we got there the ramp had a couple of people launching. One of the boats was just being worked on and the other lane had a jet ski being launched. Once the jet ski launched we launched our boat. The jet ski wasn't on the lake long. It was just warmed up and then it was taken out. The lake was too rough to ski but we each did a set of air chairing and swam for a bit. Then we took the boat out of the lake and wiped it down. We were at the lake about an hour and a half. We had a great time.

Larry having fun air chairing down the lake

In the afternoon I did my weekly house cleaning and worked on my book and puzzle. Larry read.

Doing my weekly housecleaning

It's Thursday so Larry and Patricia met up with us and went to Sun City for an evening of A dancing. We were short one person to make three squares. The tapes were very challenging. We had a super time.  

Wednesday 6-27 It's Hot!!!

It's hot!!!

We had another 100 degree day, that makes day seven. The wind has continued to blow keeping us from the lake.

Larry did a small project this morning. We keep the Fire Tablet plugged into the charging station all the time. When I bake cookies I pull the recipe up on the tablet and either unplug the tablet and bring it closer to me or I walk back and forth for directions. The other day Larry bought a mount to hang it under the kitchen cabinet to make it more convenient for me. It looks great.

New bracket for the Fire Tablet installed

Larry didn't like seeing all the wires from the tablet and phone laying around unorganized so off to Walmart we went to see what we could find to help. While there we picked up a few grocery items. When we got home he organized the wires, they look fine but he may still do something else.

I worked on and off on my puzzle and annual book. Larry read.

The other night I tried baking some Butterscotch Chip Shortbread Cookies, they came out flat and didn't look like shortbread cookies but they tasted ok. This evening I tried baking them again, this time they came out excellent. There were a couple of things I did different, I chilled the dough to make sure it was firm and I put the dough on a cold cookie sheet instead of a preheated pan. 

    

 In the evening we finished watching Case Histories. I like the series very much but there's only two seasons. Then I worked out with a Jazz routine I learned. We had another laid back day.       

Tuesday 6-26 Still Windy

Hold on tight!!!!

The wind was suppose to be calm today but unfortunate that did not happen. I'm beginning to wonder if it's ever going to slow down. The official temperature today was 100. 

Due to the wind we haven't been going to the lake. We don't have any projects to work on. I worked on my annual book and a couple of hours on my jigsaw puzzle. Larry read. I almost forgot I took a nap for a couple of hours.

In the evening I made another cookie from scratch called Crispy Butterscotch Cookies, they came out the best of all the cookies. They have rice crispy cereal in them which makes them crunchy and they tasted delicious. While munching on the cookies we watched another episode of Case Mysteries, we have one more episode. Afterwards I worked out with Gold's Gym for a half hour. We had another relaxing day.

Crispy Butterscotch Cookies

  

Working out with Gold's Gym once again

Monday 6-25 Doing Errands

Just having fun

We started the day out by going to the dentist. A couple weeks ago Larry had an implant placed and the dentist put in a couple of stitches, today they removed them. It only took a few minutes and everything looks good.

Visiting the dentist

Next stop was HEB to fill up the car and buy a few groceries. After shopping we went across the street and picked up our mail at the UPS Store and then to the Dollar Tree to buy a couple containers of bleach for our septic system. 

While we were in town a little rain front came through. We got enough rain to activate our rain sensor so the irrigation system won't run. 

During the afternoon I worked on my annual book and Larry read.

In the evening we went to Sun City to dance with the Sundancers. There were enough people for four squares. I like the new format because you can decide when you want to go dancing depending on the skill level you want to dance. The last hour tonight was more complex and we had a great time. We also had enough people for an A tip. We had a super night of dancing.

Having fun with friends

Sunday 6-24 Just Another Day

Smile and be happy. For us it was just another day, I worked on my annual book and Larry read. I baked another no bake cookie, this time it was called Peanut Butter Drops. It was very similar to No Bake V Cookies. They came out great. 

In the evening we started watching the second season of Case Histories. This season has three episodes instead of six but they are twice as long so it comes out to the same amount of time. So far the second season is just as good. Then we watched a PBS movie called Man In An Orange Shirt. The movie was about the changes and challenges of gay lives in England in the last 60 years, from jail terms to the onset of dating. It was very well done. After the movie I worked out with Just Dance for a half hour. We had a great day.  

Saturday 6-23 Special Square Dance

Hold on tight

It was hot and windy all day, the temperature got up to 99 degrees. 

Today I worked on my annual book and Larry read. I took a break from working on my book and made another new no bake cookie called Haystacks, they are made with butterscotch chips, peanut butter, peanuts and chow mien noodles, we bought some chow mien noodles but didn't like how they tasted so I used pretzels. Yesterday I fed the birds half of the leftover noodles in the backyard. We weren't sure if they would eat them but when I got up this morning they were gone. I put the rest out this morning and we watched a deer walk up to where they were and started to eat them. Maybe the birds didn't eat them after all, maybe the deer did. 

Butterscotch Haystacks

The GizWiz is usually recorded live on Thursday and sometimes it takes a week before it is released on YouTube. This week they recorded on Friday and we watched the live stream, it was neat to see the difference in the unedited live stream vs. the recorded version.

In the evening we headed to Georgetown for a domestic violence benefit dance for our friend Ruth Ann Brown's daughter. It was at the Christ Lutheran Church. Brad Caldwell and Dan Clairmont did the calling for the square dancing, Lucy and Jerry Pate did the cueing for the round dancing. The format was 2 square dancing songs and 2 round dancing songs. There were three sets of two mainstream tips and two plus tips. We had enough people for 11 squares and a lot of round dancers. For refreshments there were cookies and other desserts, water, tea and coffee. We had a good time dancing with friends, some we don't dance with too often. The dance was a great hit, Brad and Dan did a super job of calling and Lucy and Jerry did a good job of cueing. 

Betty and Howard Wagoner having fun round dancing to Lucy

Brad, Paula, Kathy and Dan having a great time round dancing

     

Friday 6-22 Summer is Here

Summer is here

Yesterday was the first day of summer. It is definitely hot. It got up to 101 degrees today. 

It has continued to be too windy for us to go to the lake and this is suppose to continue for the next few days. Today I worked on my annual book and Larry read. I finished the Harbor Master jigsaw puzzle the other day so I took it apart and started a new puzzle called Summer Pier by Cobble Hill. It is a 2,000 pieces puzzle. The pieces are thicker and bigger. I only got the frame done so far. The puzzle is going to be challenging, it doesn't have a poster, the colors are similar and the pieces are cut so that they don't exactly line up.

Summer Pier

For breakfast we tried something new. Awhile back we tried Duncan Hines Perfect Size for 1 Cinnamon Coffee Cake so the other day we picked up another Perfect Size for 1 called Cinnamon French Toast. We had it for breakfast and it was good.

In the evening we watched a movie off of Amazon called The Music Never Stopped. It was based off a real story about a friendship a father and son had after the son developed a brain tumor. It was a slow moving movie but it wasn't bad. The acting was good. Then I worked out using Just Dance. We had a laid back day. 

Thursday 6-21 Taking the Minnie for a Spin

The Minnie

Once a month Larry tries to take the Minnie out for a spin to keep its batteries charged and to make sure it stays running well. After breakfast we loaded up into the car and off to the storage center we went. We got the Minnie out of the storage bin and parked the car in it. Larry started the generator and off for a ride we went. We didn't go too far but far enough that everything warmed up and the batteries charged a bit. Everything sounded great so back to storage the Minnie went.

On the way home we stopped by Walmart to pick up a few things. While there we ran into Jeanne and James from Sun City. This was a great surprise to see them. We visited for a little bit and then let them do their shopping. You never know who you will run into in a Walmart. After shopping we headed for the house.

In the afternoon I worked on my annual book and did a little Sudoku. Larry read. When I got tried I took a little nap.

It's Thursday so in the evening Larry and Patricia met up with us and we all went to Sun City for the Thursday night A dance. We had enough people for two squares plus and extra person. We had a fabulous night of dancing with friends.  

Wednesday 6-20 Why am I excited?

I'm so excited!!!

We had a muggy day and it rained once in awhile. I finished my puzzle and Larry read. It took me sixteen days to assemble Harbor Master jigsaw puzzle.

Harbor Master Jigsaw Puzzle by Buffalo

Last week my glasses got damaged. We were boating with our friends in Marble Falls and I had wrapped my glasses in my tee shirt and put them on the seat, the shirt fell on the floor and Larry thinks he might have stepped on them. Anyway one of the lenses came out, Larry was able to get the lens back in but my glasses were kind of crooked. We buy our glasses from Zenni Optical so we got  online to order me a new pair, they didn't have the exact same glasses so we chose a new one that I liked. We were amazed to find that my current glasses were six years old. Zenni Optical is located in China so we didn't expect to see the glasses for awhile. We were notified that they had been shipped and today they arrived. This was a pleasant surprise, it only took a bit over a week. After lunch we went to town to pick up the glasses at the UPS Store. On the envelope it said they shipped from Novato California. The glasses fit perfect and I see great. The lens on the new glasses are oval and the frames are a little thinner, they are quite a bit lighter than my old glasses.

Old glasses

New glasses

Old glasses

New glasses

Yesterday, Larry called the Alexa help desk to see if they could help with why our Fire Tablet wasn't showing recipes. The lady told him to install a new update and if that did not work call back. I was very surprised when he called back that he got the same person on the phone. She tried to help him but couldn't so she sent a note to the programmers about the problem. Before we went to town today he tried the show recipes command with the Fire Tablet, he was surprised when it worked. We found a couple of no bake recipes that sounded good so we made a list of ingredients we needed. After picking up my glasses we went to Walmart and picked up the items we needed. 

When we returned to home I made No Bake Cookie V, which were oatmeal peanut butter cocoa cookies. They were easy to make and took about a half hour to prepare. We let them setup for an hour and tried them out. They came out excellent. They are very rich in flavoring.

No Bake Cookies V

In the evening we finished watching the first season of Case Histories. I like this series very much. It's not like some of the detective series I watch, it doesn't just concentrate on the case it gives a personal touch. LIFE IS GOOD!!!! 

Tuesday 6-19 A Rainy Day

Playing in the rain

It sprinkled on and off all day and the temperatures stayed in the 80's.

Larry has wanted to work on the duct system to try and balance out the air flow a bit better but the attic gets too hot too quickly. He had all the materials and and today was the perfect day. He spent the whole day working on the duct system. He added some dampers and rerouted a couple of ducts. He took a break for lunch and went back to work. By the time he finished it was getting hot in the attic. He is slowly adjusting the dampers to get the rooms balanced. If this doesn't get everything where he wants he might make some other changes this winter. 

While Larry worked on this I worked on my puzzle and did laundry. The puzzle is almost finished.

Doing laundry

In the evening we watched a couple of episodes of Case Histories. Then I worked out with Just Dance for a half hour. Larry had a busy day but mine was very laid back.

Monday 6-18 Happy Monday

A couple of weeks ago Larry got a new Alexa switch to replace one in the workroom, this left him with an extra Alexa switch. Yesterday he installed and configured it to work in the garage. He didn't have a plate to cover the switch so this morning we went to The Home Depot. While we were there we bought some more drain cleaner. For years we have used a ZEP product that is a powder but The Home Depot no longer carries the powder, they now have the liquid. I'll try it next time the drain starts to smell to see if it works just as well.

We spent the rest of the day hanging around the house. I worked on my puzzle and Larry read.

In the evening we went to Sun City to dance with the Sundancers to Brad Caldwell calling. This week was the second week of their new format, which is 6:30 to 8:00 Mainstream and announced Plus (easy pace), 8:00 to 8:45 Mainstream and Plus (faster pace) and 8:45 to 9:30 (more complex Mainstream, Plus and Advance depending on demand). There were enough people for four squares and a few sitting out. The first hour there were a few couples for round dancing. We had enough people for one tip of A. We had a super time.

Square dancing with friends

Sunday 6-17 Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to everyone.

My father is no longer with us but he is still remembered not only for being a great father but also for some of his great talents. Today my sister Alexis put a post on Facebook about how talented our father was and included a photo of  four, 6 inch Kachinas that he had made for her, they were beautiful. Over the years he had given Larry and I four of his larger Kachinas, I added a picture of them to her Facebook post. Dad had adopted the Native American name of Silver Fox for his creations.

Mike, one of my brother-in laws was also extremely talented, he especially excelled at metal work. He made us a couple items to thank us for our hospitaly when they would come and visit. He is no longer with us but we will always be able to remember him through his great art. 

Alexis's collections of Kachinas by Silver Fox

 

Our collection of Kachinas by Silver Fox

Stallions running free by Mike

A lizard by Mike

Larry started the day out by smoking a pork roast on the gas grill. We hadn't done this in a long time. When we smoke something we have to stay around the house to monitor the temperature of the grill. Larry kept the temperature between 220 and 225, it took 3 hours. The pork came out extremely moist and had an excellent smoke flavor, really good. We had it for lunch and dinner.

Smoking pork on the grill

Larry cutting up the pork

While the meat was smoking I worked on my puzzle and Larry played with the Fire Tablet. As he was playing with it he realized that the recipes wouldn't show up on the tablet so he reloaded the tablet. It didn't take as long as he thought it would but it started showing adds. Larry called the help line, he got right through to a person who was able to remove the adds, she gave him excellent support. The recipe application still doesn't work correctly but that's ok, we really didn't need them.

In the evening I baked more of the oatmeal peanut butter cookies. I cut back the amount of butter and cooked it on the pizza pan. I also forgot to put in the oatmeal. I baked them for 15 minutes, I think I over cooked them a little but they still tasted good. We watched a BBC movie called Suspicions of Mr. Whicher, it was an investigation of a murdered child in the 1890's by investigator Mr. Whicher. It was based on a real story but wasn't that good. Then we watched an episode of Case Histories. We had a very nice day. LIFE IS GOOD.

Relaxing in front of the television

 

Saturday 6-16 Baking Homemade Cookies

Baking Homemade Cookies

Larry has been playing with the Fire Tablet for the last few days, he thought it would be fun to try one of the cookies recipes out. When I bake desserts I normally purchase a box mix, if I am baking cookies I usually purchase the break and bake cookies. We looked through the cookie recipes on the Fire and decided on oatmeal peanut butter. I haven't baked homemade cookies in a long time so I didn't have all the ingredients. We did not have: peanut butter, baking soda or oatmeal so off to HEB we went.

Doing a little grocery shopping

The recipe made 48 cookies. We did not want that many so I cut the recipe in quarters. The recipe called for shortening but I substituted butter. Before getting started Larry read some of the recipe's reviews and found some people said the cookies came out a little flat. One lady wrote that this could be caused by the cookie sheet being too warm or the butter being too soft. Lately I have been baking cookies on a cast iron pizza pan and have been having good luck but today I decided to use a cookie sheet. I mixed the ingredients and baked the cookies for 15 minutes using the countdown timer on the Fire Tablet. The cookies came out flat but tasted delicious. I think maybe the next time I will use less butter and cook them on the pizza pan to see if they come out looking better. I had fun making the homemade cookies.

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies

In the evening we watched an Amazon movie called An Inspector Calls. It was a British movie and was very good. Then we started an Amazon series called Case Histories, it is about an ex-police office being hired out as a private investigator. It is good so far. 

We had a super day.