Good Morning, Flowers! It has been sprinkling rain drops most of the morning and is a cool 66 degrees outside. As we drove to Sioux City yesterday, several farmers were in their fields cutting corn stalks for silage. A sad sight for sure. One of Bob's clients told him is we can get 1 1/2 - 2" of rain before September, our area will have a crop. It will be considerably smaller but they will have one. Bob is off making his Saturday morning rounds and I have been watching the Olympics while I putter around the kitchen and do some laundry.
Maggie -- Knowing WM I would think the baggies with school supplies would be higher priced. It's a good thing you checked your phone messages! I text more than I talk so try to check quite often. I did have a very strange message the other day. It was addressed to Patty so I knew it was a wrong number right away. The message was about someone being seriously sick or hurt. So I sent a reply saying they had the wrong number. When I checked the next morning, my message had never been delivered and when I checked the one I received, there was no name nor phone number after the message. I just assumed the number at the top was the phone number from another area code and never gave it a thought. Anyhow, I deleted both and hope I don't get any more. Do you use OPI nail polish? That is what I have on right now. We are getting excellent sweet corn right now. Because it was so mild this winter and an early spring, the guy plants his crop early, and plants on a rotating cycle. Normally he would still be having sweet corn in October but I'm not so sure about this year. His brother sells in Sioux City and my friend has bought from him for years. They farm between here and SC but quite a bit north of where we were driving yesterday.
I need to make some hamburger patties ready for the grill. Hope you all have a relaxing Saturday and enjoy!
We went to a town about 20 miles away to deliver a long gun and case that will refurbished for the Museum there. The drive was interesting for we saw deer and some other wild life that are usually napping at the time but we figured they were disturbed by something or other so were on the move. The buffalo were all huddled up under the shade in a lean to also. Gotta find shade where they can in this heat. After we got back in town Will stopped at Dairy Queen to get a small cone and I asked for a glass of ice water. In the glove box I keep fiber and water flavorings so I had a nice raspberry/lemon drink that didn’t cost me any points plus gave me some needed fiber. Life is good. I have a couple of pork chops thawing which will be for dinner. For tomorrows meal after church we will come home to a crock pot roast which I will have put in tonight in it’s frozen state to cook all night and tomorrow morning. I’ll also throw in some small whole red potatoes and quartered onions and pieces of celery. That’s the plan since we are making an effort to not eat out so much. Also we will have some yummy left-overs.
JEAN I do hope that your area will get the needed rain for that corn crop. So many farmers have lost so much of our food supply as it is due to the weather. Will was also surprised to find the Freezer Zip Lock bags cheaper with the school supplies but happy to buy them there none the less. I use fewer of those bags now that I have that "state of the art" food saver that sucks the air out of the bags for freezing. Food sure lasts a lot longer frozen that way. With this machine you pull from the roll how long you want the bag to be and then cut it off with the sliding cutter. You then put one end in a slot and it seals it ready for food to be placed inside then you put the other end in the slot and it sucks all the air out then seals it. There is a setting for dry or moist food also that you can choose before final sealing. When a bag is sealed I write the contents and date sealed on the white strip for that prupose on the edge of the bag. The bag rolls come in two different sizes and can be purchased from Wal*Mart. Also you can make any smaller sized bag you want with the sealing mechinism. There is no moisure or frost build up on the contents when you have sucked all the air out of the bag therefore it makes food last longer. If I am going to use an item "real soon" I don't vacuum seal it.
I hope all is well with you Magnolias ~ type at y’all later ~
Good morning to you all. We have been cleaning, shampooing carpets and such this weekend getting ready for Jay and Jackson to come. They should be here sometime Friday afternoon.
I am now finally at the heel of the sock. I really need to get going on it, but I guess I am bored and I have a bit of sore hands. I want to definitely finish it this week though.
I bought a pair of hush puppy sandals for the cruise so now I am definitely done buying shoes for this trip. I bought two pair of backless sneakers from Easy Spirit for the excursions, but because I am totally flat footed, but feet tend to slide towards the toe of any shoe. So, I bought a good pair of sandals to replace the worn out pair I have and will probably wear them on the excursions. The two I bought recently wouldn't hold up walking around on terrain and stuff and the black and white flowered ones are for dinner only.
I guess Royal Caribbean is going through a dining room menu change and they will have changed the menus in August before we cruise in Sept. I had looked at a couple old menus someone posted and they looked decent, but I guess they did this big survey and people complained a lot so they are changing them. Hope they don't get too weird or we will be eating buffet all the time!
Jean: I thought I had told everyone, but I guess I hadn't. A few months ago Jack had a nuclear stress test, routine as he has them every couple years. Well, they found a bit of blockage and so he is scheduled for a catherization on Friday morning. If Dr. Anderson feels the blockage is more serious once he gets in there, they will put a stent in. I hope it isn't anything much though as the stent he had put in a few years back is why he had to have open heart surgery. His stent got blocked from the bottom. They can't be removed once they are in or replaced so if an artery gets blocked that has a stent, then the patient has to have bypass surgery. I feel so for the farmers. It is all or nothing with them and they can get into horrendous debt with a couple bad years for sure.
Maggie: Jack was able to look at a couple other cruise websites that use the same photography company and we can get a cd of 10 photos for $150. If you want all of them, it costs you $300 and I think Jack says that is about 40 photos. I just want some nice professional shots of us. We will just take the cd to Walgreen and have prints made more than likely. We are taking our video camera and our digital camera so we hope to have lots of memories.
Well, gonna check on Jack. He went to bed late watching the Olympics and I heard him up and around at 5:30 or so. Have a lovely Sunday. Faye
Good morning, ladies! Another 100 degree day - more than that with the heat index. We had another round of bad thunderstorms - one had 69 mph winds. It rains so hard and fast for a short time that it really isn't doing a great deal of good. At least my grass is still green. Gardens have suffered greatly due to the heat.
Last week was a busy week with all my md appointments and English Paper Piecing Bee. When the Dr. M (chiropractor) x-rayed my back, it showed the L4 vertabrae had been pushed out of alignment nearly 3/8" and my left leg is 1 cm shorter than my right leg so my spine is curving slightly to the left. I felt a bit better after that first adjustment. He will give me a prescription for a heel lift for my left shoe after my spine is fixed. He doesn't think it will take but 4-6 treatments to get everything straight and in place again. The echocardiogram and nuclear stress test didn't show anything but some premature heart beats so I'll be getting a halter monitor on Wednesday to wear for 24 hours. I haven't heard from the mammogram or bone density yet.
My boss wants me to make changes to our database program and add some new features so I'm working from home on that this weekend and probably for the next few weeks. I can't work on it when others are on it so its an after hours project. Always good to have extra money.
Faye, I hope everything is okay for Jack. Stan had 5 shuts in his left leg (the one they ended up amputating) from PVD. I hope your cruise is even better than you think it will be. Won't it be fun to see Jackson!
Jean, the bags may or may not be different prices. It could be one shelf price didn't get changed. If they have the same UPC code, they will ring up the same at checkout. We'll be having so sales tax on clothing and school supplies so I'll be shopping that week because the list of covered items is huge - including small appliances, sheets, towels, etc. Our tax is 4.5% so it saves some.
Maggie, I got a buffalo steak at the Farmer's Market yesterday so I'm making that for dinner tonight. I've only had the ground bison before. We have a huge buffalo ranch in the area now. I got some sweet corn there, too, and it was good.
Good Afternoon, Flowers! It's a beautiful day in my neighborhood, sunny and a pleasant 80 degrees. We got .38" of rain yesterday afternoon. I can tell the humidity is higher today but still have windows and doors open. We went to church and in the bulletin was a space to voice our requests for a service time when school starts. We are going from two services on Sunday to just one. We both like 9:00 with no band! It will be interesting to see what some of the other people have to say.
Maggie -- It sounds like you had a nice day yesterday. to you for not indulging at the DQ!
"Gma" -- I hope all goes well for Jack. I'm sure you probably told us about the procedure and I had a memory lapse. Our crops right around our area aren't too bad compared to some a little further away. Bob was explaining crop insurance to me, and I'm glad I don't have to figure that out for anyone. How long will Jay and Jackson get to visit with you? I know you are looking forward to seeing them.
Susan -- Our few and far between rain spurts have been hard and fast also. We could use an all day gentle shower at least once a week. I hope your back is feeling better after each treatment and the heel lift will be comfortable. We have a 7% tax except on food which I think is so dumb because everybody has to eat! Some cities add a local tax above and beyond the state tax so it keeps one guessing if they shop out of town. Anyhow, the tax free weekend is next weekend (I think) but they have exclusions if the outift is over $100, etc., etc. Originally it was just on kids clothing but now includes adult clothing and school supplies.
Bob is cooking fish on the grill so I need to get my salad going for a late lunch/early supper. Enjoy the rest of your day!
Not much going on this day here in the ♥Land. It was 110º’s when we went out for a nice drive in the country after lunch today. So glad that the air conditioning works great in the Jeep. Times have sure changed in years since I was a kid when air conditioning was with the windows down in the car going 55 MPH with a spray bottle in hand. The buffalo were all under the shelter again today soaking up what shade they have. It was so good to come home from church today and have lunch ready in the crock pot. We are sticking to it (so far) by not eating out so much. Tonight we will have toast with roast beef and a bit of gravy over it and a tossed salad. Lots of ice water gets taken in during these hot days, which is a good thing. Don’t want to get dehydrated for sure. Right now I have a tall glass full of ice and water sipping it through one of my glass straws.
DONNA FAYE Hush Puppies are so comfortable I have found. Certain kinds of sandals I can wear with this foot brace which is nice. I like sandals. I think it is more fun to have pictures you yourself have taken for "show and tell."
JEAN We would love a nice gentle shower once a week also. Pray for rain. We were talking to a rancher today and he said that hay from Texas next year will cost @ $500 a ton where now you can get it @ for $300 for the best and $180 for a lower grade. Last time we bought hay in TN it was $80 a ton ~ alfalfa mix. That was 10 or 12 years ago.
SUSAN I certainly hope your doc can get you all fixed up in that amount of time. You will notice a great difference when you are back in allingment. I just wear extra liners in my right shoe to keep myself straight for if I didn't my brace on my left foot would throw me off kilter. My brace isn't very thick but just that little bit . . . So something your doc gives you to put in your shoe will help you be on an even keel.
It’s Monday and weigh day time comes this evening. I sure hope I show a loss this time. I have hope but I just never know for I stay off my scale. I am seriously thinking of weighing on Monday mornings here when I first get up and then I will have a better idea if I will show a loss at the meeting or not. My scale is as close as a whisper to theirs. Too late to start that today for I am drinking my coffee now. The dogs are at the groomer and Cecil doesn’t know what to do with himself. I am thinking of making burritos out of that left over roast and getting them in the freezer for a quick meal later. Shredded beef and rice burritos with some cheese to bind it together with the salsa. They are so good and I can know how many points that they cost for sure for I know what I put in them. I use my kitchen scale for such things as those. It’s is hard to believe but this month is almost gone. Two of the students from church are leaving in two weeks to report back to collage in different states. And we have some here that go to the local collage which is an excellent school especially for those going into the medical field. There are quite a number of students that go here that come from countries far and near.
I hope all is well with you Magnolias ~ type at y’all later ~
Good morning ladies. Been busy, busy trying to get cleaning done and ready for the boys on Friday. Friday morning is shot as I have to take Jack to the hospital and be with him so everything has to be done by Thur evening. I worked on the upstairs and have part of it done and will finish it Thursday morning, including changing the sheets for them to sleep in our bed. We will just sleep in the double recliner. The extra bedroom only has a double bed and it is way too hot in there. Even when the central AC was working, the front two bedrooms, (the extra bedroom and Jack's office) never cool off as the sun shines straight in most of the day. So, though he will say something, I am putting Jay and Jackson together in our bedroom in our king bed and we will just sleep in the double recliner. We do that a lot on the weekend anyway.
When I get done posting I am going to go out and wash off the deck and move the chairs and umbrella out to the corner for the trash men to pick up. I will then have Jack help me put the table into the garage until we can get it taken to the dump as the glass tabletop is completely loose on it and no way to fix it.
I made coleslaw this morning and it came out pretty good substituting lowfat mayo and Splenda. Didn't seem to effect the taste any of course. Jack won't eat slaw so it is only for me, but it gives me a veggie option. We are having sloppy joes tonight so slaw will be great to have with it. I like vinegar slaw too so will make it sometime.
Susan: Glad you are getting your back in shape again. Sounds like you have been a very busy lady lately. I am really looking forward to seeing Jackson. I haven't seen him since November of last year except in pictures. The only reason I get nervous about the stents is when he had the stent put in the very first time, it clogged at the bottom within just a few months and because it can't be removed or anything the only solution is bypass surgery. We sure don't want that to happen again for a lot of reasons. So, it makes me nervous, but since the stress test was several months ago and gave him the option of scheduling the procedure whenever he wanted so it can't be too clogged or they would have scheduled it immediately like they did last time.
Jean: They will come in on Friday and go home Mon or Tues. It is just the boys coming over the weekend. Alicia takes Jackson to her mom's a lot without Jay so he didn't feel too bad that she isn't coming along. We had such a wonderful time when he was up here earlier in the year. We sat around and talked a lot and just had a great time.
Maggie: Have you ever made beef and potato burritos? They are really yummy. Jack, though he loves Mexican food doesn't eat a lot of burritos, but your burritos sound great.
Well, I am wasting time and need to fold laundry and get things finished as Jack will be home in about an hour. Have a great start to your week. Faye
Good Afternoon, Flowers! It's a hot humid 95 degrees as I am typing. There is supposed to be rain somewhere west of us so I hope it finds us. Counting was fast this morning and I need to take the gift shop deposit to the bank. I made a WM run looking for a Justin Bieber (?) notebook or folder for Maddie's birthday. There were super heroes, sports, cars, and plain. Stupid store!
Maggie, I hope it is cooler for you today. It's hard to believe it's time for school to get started again. I can tell fall is on the way as it's darker in the morning when I get up, and getting darker a bit earlier at night. Good luck at WW tonight!
"Gma," I'm just sure you could get by just hitting the high spots in your cleaning. Sloppy joes sound good since we haven't had those for quite awhile. We had restaurant leftovers this noon so I'm not sure what's for supper.
I need to head out for the bank. Enjoy the rest of your day!
Good morning to you all. It is overcast and on and off thundering but not much rain so far. It hasn't helped with temps though. It was seriously hot yesterday and going to be mid 90's for at least the next 10 days.
I finally got Fortune's Thundershirt. I bought it strictly for separation anxiety when we kennel or send him to Kelly's but I read some reviews and one person said it stopped their dog from chewing on himself and licking, which Fortune has gotten terrible about. The darn thing works!!!! I put it on him when I notice him licking furniture or chewing on his paws and he stops! So, this just may work for him not to get upset when we leave him. I sure hope so because we always have to deal with blood in his urine when he comes home everytime and our vet says it is strictly was anxiety and stress. I think it will be especially bad with Marty being gone now as their cat has no one to chase around and Kelly says he hisses and such at Fortune because she is afraid of him. Well, Fortune is scared of their cat too so I am hoping it works. Our vet raves about them and I have a friend who has an old yorkie who vomits when she rides in a car over and over. Lynne bought one and put it on Maggie and said they drove to Indy and she didn't throw up once and a trip like that would have her throwing up over and over.
I am working on the downstairs today cleaning glass surfaces, all the countertops, cabinets, etc and a few other things. Tomorrow I tackle the rest of it including the dreaded sweeping and mopping. I know my son won't notice, but it makes me feel better anyway. In fact, when he called a couple months ago about coming down for a visit he quizzed me about it being too much for me, too much work and all. He knows me and what I would do before he gets here.
I connected up with a school friend on FB a couple years ago and we emailed and such and really got to know each other. A couple months ago I posted a link to an article about a Notre Dame quarterback who got caught drinking and drugging and he is underage. I do stuff like that all the time about all kinds of things. She flipped her darn wig and went nuts about it saying all kinds of horrible things. We were supposed to go to dinner with them on Saturday before the cruise, but I backed off that and have been considerably cool to her since then. Well, last night she posted a poem on facebook with a post that said, "To my lying, cheating husband, no explanation is necessary." Wow, they have been married over 30 years. She is a physically gorgeous woman so it isn't always a case of the wife getting too fat or whatever for sure. I posted to her that whatever was going on, I would pray for her and I will, but it rocked me. I had another friend who was a closer friend in school and she left her husband of many years just a couple months ago though I don't know anything about why or whatever. I just know she bought a little house by herself. I just do not understand people going out and looking for something else instead of working on what you have, especially if you have been married a long time. If Jack and I hadn't worked hard at it, we would probably have divorced a few times. The Navy was very hard on us financially and was a huge burden that spread through everything, our marriage, our home life, our kids. I guess you have to love each other more than you love something else. Sad.
Jean: I know you. You were laughing at me saying, "yeah, right she needs to clean her whole house." I ended up with no sloppy joes as I didn't have what I needed to make them so it was a hamburger each for us. Jack had tater tots and I had my coleslaw. I have to say the coleslaw turned out fantastic. It tastes like the stuff you get at KFC and doesn't have any regular sugar in it at all and lowfat mayo. I think the secret is putting it in the fridge for a couple hours though before eating it. I made it yesterday morning and it was in the fridge all day so the seasonings and such blended.
For those of you who like mayo slaw and don't have a recipe:
Easy Coleslaw
1 16 oz bag of slaw mix
1c lowfat mayo
1/4 c Splenda
1/2 tsp onion powder
2 Tbl vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
Whisk all ingredients except slaw together until smooth, add slaw and mix well. Refridgerate at least 30 minutes, the longer the better. 3/4 c 2 pts
Well onto housecleaning work. Have a nice Tuesday. Faye
Good Morning, Flowers! It's a beautiful cool morning in my neighborhood, only to get hotter as the day goes along. After lunch I'm going to the church library and put an "in memory" plaque on the custom made oak book shelf, take a picture of it, and send it to the deceased's daughter in Virginia. I've been working on this project since February so glad it is almost done. Now to get the eternal lamp hung before our "free" electrician goes back to school. He gets home tomorrow and I plan daily phone calls because they don't usually answer their phone, and his wife is a dizzy dingbat; she won't remember to tell him I called.
It's hard to believe another month has flown by. Where do the days go?
"Gma" -- I sure hope Fortune's thundershirt works well while you are gone. I had to laugh at Kelly's cat being afraid of him and he's afraid of the cat. Maybe without Marty they will become friends. I had the same thing (friend divorcing) when we moved to Ohio and would be only a few miles apart. They hadn't been married long, maybe 10 years, but still. I sure don't want to switch partners at this stage of the game! We will have our 45th anniversary coming up. KFC is my most favorite cole slaw so I will have to try your recipe! Does it keep very long or do you make a half recipe? Our KFC is now owned by you-know-who, and they have altered all of the recipes so we don't eat there anymore.
I need to get moving and chase some dust/fur bunnies around. Enjoy a terrific Tuesday!
I just got though cutting up 5 bell peppers and 2 onions and put them in 2 C bags so now I have 2 quarts more of frozen mixes like that. I use them in lots of dishes and having them on hand sure is helpful. The bell peppers were 2 green, 1 red, 1 yellow, and one orange. That makes a colorful mix for beans and omelets and such. I also have some fresh asparagus to cook the way Donna Fay posted awhile back which I will make soon. Will also got me a bag of Werther’s Original Caramel Chocolates that are 1P+ apiece. They are rich creamy caramel covered in smooth European chocolate. They will last me a long, long time and are now in my candy container. The serving size states 6 but my serving size is one. They are actually better than the Hershey kisses that are 2 for 1P+ with caramel in them. I can have this stuff in the house and never touch it for long periods of time then I only one. If you can’t handle sweets then don’t buy them for some folks would enjoy eating the whole bag then feel guilty for it.
I don’t know what is going on for I write what I bite but I did find out something that I have been eating that causes me to pack water. Of all things it is watermelon which makes me retain water. I showed a gain of 0.4 at weigh in last night and was surprised for I had a good eating week but did eat a lot of watermelon. The weigher inner asked if I had been eating watermelon ~ I will stay away from it this week and see if the scale goes in the right direction. Point 4 of a gain ~ not even a half pound. Good grief.
DONNA FAYE Thanks for the recipe ~ I have 3 good 1 p+ slaw recipes now I have another to add to my collection. For the dressing one of mine uses a mixture of yogurt and mayo and another that uses buttermilk and sour cream, and another that uses mayo and vinegar. Each have other veggies beside the cabbage in them. If you want any of my recipes I can easily type them out for you. The Thundershirt sounds like a real neat thing for dogs such as yours. I am so glad that some smart person came up with that idea to help calm the prone to nerviousness pooches. Ragg Mopp used to chew his feet and the vet said there were nerve endings that were acting up in there for some reason or other. He has since stopped that chewing behavior so I guess the nerves in his feet have calmed down.
JEAN Ah Justin Bieber. Little girls love that guy ~ teen idol. Remember James Dean, ah James Dean, rebel without a cause. That book case sounds neat. Memories ~ some are very precious.
I hope all is well with you Magnolias ~ type at y’all later ~
Good morning girls. I am catching you inbetween cleaning jobs this morning. I am not feeling well, but I am now at a time crunch and have to just work pain or no pain. It started yesterday afternoon, cramping and my back was killing me really low. I even ended up taking a pain pill last night and it didn't help. It doesn't hurt as much as it did last evening, but still "catches" when I get up out of a chair and reminds me it is there. Don't know what that is all about, but I am sure it will go away soon.
I talked to Jay yesterday and he said Jackson is all excited to see Thomas and Nonny and Granddad so we are all excited to see him too. I just hope Jack doesn't have to stay in the hospital overnight on Friday. That would only be if they put a stent in.
Maggie: I imagine the slaw would be 1 pt if I used ff mayo, but I think it tastes like motor oil so I use low fat instead! Do you ever make vinegar based slaw? I grew up eating that and really like it. If you have a recipe for it, send it on.
Jean: Ask Maggie about how long it keeps. This is the first batch I have made! I would imagine it would keep a week or so but not much more.
I am up just a smidge weight wise, but I figure it is going to bounce around until I can quit taking the meds permanently. I am retaining water just a little with this excessive heat and that is my only concern as I won't be able to get my sandals on if my feet swell!
Well glory be we had a smattering of rain during the night and it is only 77º but expected to get up to 103º before the day is through. I’ve got 4 trays of dried apple rings to get bagged and in the freezer today and more to fix up to dry. Today I think I will make snacking apple rings. I will lightly sprinkle sugar free Jello on the slices before drying and then the next batch sprinkle some Splenda® mixed with cinnamon on them. We have lots of apples to dry and I want some for snacking. Giving the slices a 2 minute bath of lemon juice prevents them from turning brown. The process sure goes well when two people are doing it. Will pealed, cored and sliced the apples and I soaked them, blotted them after 2 minutes and placed them on the trays. In awhile we will start the process again. I have a little gizmo that peals, cores and spiral cuts the apples that we are going to try to use today. I think we can cut the spirals apart to make rings. It may be easier than the method we used yesterday.
Here is one of my slaw recipes that uses vinegar and we like it a lot: You can, of course use all one kind of cabbage and bell peppers can be just green. This is one I like to make for 4th of July. It does keep for a week for sure and doesn’t last longer for I have never had any left to see how long it would last. We eat it up in a couple of days. For the miracle whip you can use mayo or leave it out and increase the vinegar. I have made it both ways and each is equally as good as the other.
COLESLAW ~ FIREWORKS Combine in medium bowl & stir well:
¼ Cup low fat miracle whip
2 Tbsp cider vinegar
2 Tbsp grated onion
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper Add and toss to coat:
2 cups sliced green cabbage
2 cups sliced red cabbage
½ cup red bell pepper cut in strips
½ cup green bell pepper cut in strips
½ cup shredded carrot
Cover and chill 2 – 3 hours.
Serves 5 (1 cup) ~ 1p+ per serving
I, in fact, am going to make some today for I have a head of green cabbage in the fridge and all of the other ingredients. Instead of the grated onion I think I will chop up a green onion.
DONNA FAYE I certainly hope by the time you read this post you are feeling much better. This on top of the opressing heat certainly can get a body down. Give the recipe I posted a try for I think you will like it. What fun you will have when the guys get there ~ hugs and kisses all around. We neither one like mayo so use rc Miracle Whip for all mayo tastes like motor oil. Different tastes for different folks. We are both up just a tad bit this week weight wise ~ must be something in the air don't ya think.
I hope all is well with you Magnolias ~ type at y’all later ~
Good Afternoon, Flowers! I stopped in this morning thinking I would have time to write and the phone kept ringing. Bob has a "lives far away, doesn't get home often" school friend that he hasn't seen in years. He was going to be in Sioux City today and several of the classmates were meeting for lunch. I had a board meeting, with lunch at the hospital, so we went our separate ways. It's hot again today, 91 degrees, but I don't think the humidity is quite as high as it has been. That or I'm getting immune to it.
Maggie -- I am surprised that watermelon causes weight gain. You will have the small gain gone, along with a friend or two, in no time. Lucky you to get some much needed rain.
"Gma" -- I'm sending positive vibes that all goes well for Jack. It's so easy to add the pounds and so very hard to get them off again. I know you will see a difference once you are off the meds. At least I hope so! I hope you are feeling better this afternoon.
I have a load of laundry to fold and put away. Then think I will see who is playing on the Olympic channel. Hope you all enjoy the rest of your day!
It's a good thing you checked your phone messages! I text more than I talk so try to check quite often. I did have a very strange message the other day. It was addressed to Patty so I knew it was a wrong number right away. The message was about someone being seriously sick or hurt. So I sent a reply saying they had the wrong number. When I checked the next morning, my message had never been delivered and when I checked the one I received, there was no name nor phone number after the message. I just assumed the number at the top was the phone number from another area code and never gave it a thought. Anyhow, I deleted both and hope I don't get any more. Do you use OPI nail polish? That is what I have on right now. We are getting excellent sweet corn right now. Because it was so mild this winter and an early spring, the guy plants his crop early, and plants on a rotating cycle. Normally he would still be having sweet corn in October but I'm not so sure about this year. His brother sells in Sioux City and my friend has bought from him for years. They farm between here and SC but quite a bit north of where we were driving yesterday.
Simply Sunny Hot Saturday
GOOD AFTERNOON MAGNOLIAS 
We went to church and in the bulletin was a space to voice our requests for a service time when school starts. We are going from two services on Sunday to just one. We both like 9:00 with no band! It will be interesting to see what some of the other people have to say.
to you for not indulging at the DQ! 
Our crops right around our area aren't too bad compared to some a little further away. Bob was explaining crop insurance to me, and I'm glad I don't have to figure that out for anyone. How long will Jay and Jackson get to visit with you? I know you are looking forward to seeing them.
I hope your back is feeling better after each treatment and the heel lift will be comfortable. We have a 7% tax except on food which I think is so dumb because everybody has to eat! Some cities add a local tax above and beyond the state tax so it keeps one guessing if they shop out of town. Anyhow, the tax free weekend is next weekend (I think) but they have exclusions if the outift is over $100, etc., etc. Originally it was just on kids clothing but now includes adult clothing and school supplies.
day here in the ♥Land. It was 110º’s when we went out for a nice drive in the country after lunch today. So glad that the air conditioning works great in the Jeep. Times have sure changed in years since I was a kid when air conditioning was with the windows down in the car going 55 MPH with a spray bottle in hand. The buffalo were all under the shelter again today soaking up what shade they have. It was so good to come home from church today and have lunch ready in the crock pot. We are sticking to it (so far) by not eating out so much. Tonight we will have toast with roast beef and a bit of gravy over it and a tossed salad. Lots of ice water gets taken in during these hot days, which is a good thing. Don’t want to get dehydrated for sure. Right now I have a tall glass full of ice and water sipping it through one of my glass straws. 
for I am drinking my coffee now. The dogs are at the groomer and Cecil doesn’t know what to do with himself. I am thinking of making burritos out of that left over roast and getting them in the freezer for a quick meal later. Shredded beef and rice burritos with some cheese to bind it together with the salsa. They are so good and I can know how many points that they cost for sure for I know what I put in them. I use my kitchen scale for such things as those. It’s is hard to believe but this month is almost gone. Two of the students from church are leaving in two weeks to report back to collage in different states. And we have some here that go to the local collage which is an excellent school especially for those going into the medical field. There are quite a number of students that go here that come from countries far and near. 
Counting was fast this morning and I need to take the gift shop deposit to the bank. I made a WM run looking for a Justin Bieber (?) notebook or folder for Maddie's birthday. There were super heroes, sports, cars, and plain. Stupid store!
It's hard to believe it's time for school to get started again. I can tell fall is on the way as it's darker in the morning when I get up, and getting darker a bit earlier at night. Good luck at WW tonight!
so I will have to try your recipe! Does it keep very long or do you make a half recipe? Our KFC is now owned by you-know-who, and they have altered all of the recipes 
I’ve got 4 trays of dried apple rings to get bagged and in the freezer today and more to fix up to dry. Today I think I will make snacking apple rings. I will lightly sprinkle sugar free Jello on the slices before drying and then the next batch sprinkle some Splenda® mixed with cinnamon on them. We have lots of apples to dry and I want some for snacking. Giving the slices a 2 minute bath of lemon juice prevents them from turning brown. The process sure goes well when two people are doing it. Will pealed, cored and sliced the apples and I soaked them, blotted them after 2 minutes and placed them on the trays. In awhile we will start the process again. I have a little gizmo that peals, cores and spiral cuts the apples that we are going to try to use today. I think we can cut the spirals apart to make rings. It may be easier than the method we used yesterday.
This on top of the opressing heat certainly can get a body down. Give the recipe I posted a try for I think you will like it. What fun you will have when the guys get there ~ hugs and kisses all around. We neither one like mayo so use rc Miracle Whip for all mayo tastes like motor oil. 
Bob has a "lives far away, doesn't get home often" school friend that he hasn't seen in years. He was going to be in Sioux City today and several of the classmates were meeting for lunch. I had a board meeting, with lunch at the hospital, so we went our separate ways. It's hot again today, 91 degrees, but I don't think the humidity is quite as high as it has been. That or I'm getting immune to it. 
