Weekend Business

My last blog was a “throwaway.” I’ve had a lot going on, yet I was struggling to find something to write about. I stepped away for a couple days and now I have a few things worth sharing.

We Have a Street!

They finally blacktopped the street this weekend! They finished the driveways and sidewalks a couple weeks ago. They were out yesterday laying the final coat.

Of course, every one of us now has that “hay” on our lawns in hopes that it will grow into grass by next spring. They better be back to lay our walkway bricks back down. They took them out to dig up our yard and they are still stacked next to our porch.

Puppy VS Table

Those who have been following this blog know that before Ella was born, we turned our dining room into her room. The huge dining room table was moved to the basement for a bit. We brought it up for a short time, but with all of the toys and such in the living room, we took it back downstairs.

The kids have a little picnic table they eat at. Well, the puppy can jump up and grab all their food, so I mentioned that the old table should come back upstairs so the pup couldn’t jump up there. Sam reminded me of how big that table was and how we hardly have room, so we went out and bought a smaller table, which works fine and doesn’t take as much room.

Putting that table together was project #1 this weekend. Naturally, it is all put together with those Allen wrenches. The instructions said not to use power tools to put the table and chairs together, but I did anyway! I cannot stand what those wrenches do to my hand!

It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like ….

My wife decided that since Halloween was over, it was time to put up the Christmas tree. So I dug through the boxes and such in the basement and found the tree. I drug it upstairs and put it together. No ornaments yet, but I did string the lights.

With the puppy, the cats, and the kids, I had to find a way to keep them away from and out of the tree. Sam reminded me that her dad bought us this play pen type thing that is meant to keep babies in when you’re outside. The tree fits perfectly!

Book Ordered

Finally, Shemp Howard of the Three Stooges gets a book! My pal, Geoff Dale has completed it and it is now available. Larry, Moe, and Curly all have books, and I cannot wait to read this one. He was, as the title proclaims, much more than a stooge! He starred in many solo shorts and appeared in many Abbott and Costello movies. This should be a very interesting read!

Testing, Testing

I haven’t talked much about it because I’d been so busy with other things (a poor excuse), but I have been back in my Bible classes. Over the past week and a half, I worked on tests for two classes. I was so glad to see that I passed both of them. Just started a third test today, and will chip away at it over the next day or two. Praying for similar results. I won’t be but a couple more weeks and I move on to the next semester.

Upcoming

The next Turntable Talk topic has been selected and I will be participating in it again. I’m not quite sure what angle I am going to take, but hope to know soon.

I hope you had a wonderful weekend!

Thanks for reading

A COVID Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving 2020 is now a memory. It was very different from Thanksgivings of the past, to be sure. It was, however, a very wonderful day!

Thursday – Turkey Day

Ella was up bright and early! I had to put the turkey in water to finish thawing it. We got her dressed and ready for her “First Thanksgiving” pictures, which came out great!

Once the turkey was thawed, prepped and in the oven, I realized our meat thermometer was broken. The last thing I wanted to do was head to the store. I didn’t even know if there were stores open! I lucked out and the little grocery store down the road was open. I walked over to the aisle with the kitchen stuff, only to find that all the meat thermometers were gone. Someone had even stolen some from the packaging and left the open package on the hook.

I went to the deli and asked if there would be any other place in the store that there might be a meat thermometer. She said no. I began to walk out of the store when a guy tapped me on the shoulder. He asked if I was looking for a meat thermometer, and I said yes! He had one in his hand and told me to follow him. He explained that they had just moved to the area and they actually had one, but they couldn’t find it because it was still packed in a box. He said it was his only reason for being in the store! He took me over to the candy aisle, where there was a small rotating rack with a few kitchen utensils on it – and two meat thermometers! I was so grateful! He wished me a happy Thanksgiving and we parted ways.

While I let the turkey cool, Sam finished up the mac and cheese and mashed potatoes. Ella sat in her high chair and anxiously awaited her first feast!

By the time she finished, she was wearing her meal! She had mashed potatoes in her ears, her nose, and her eyes!! She really enjoyed her dinner!!

Thanksgiving was typical in that the Detroit Lions lost miserably! This led to the GM and head coach being fired. One can only hope that someone will finally hire the right people. I would love to see them reach the Super Bowl (and hopefully win one) in my lifetime!

Friday – Black Friday

I am not a Black Friday shopper! However, I was this year – not by choice! I needed to get tires for our car. I shopped around getting prices and found that Belle Tire had some Black Friday rebates, and had the best deal. I used to go to this mom and pop tire place who did great work, and had great prices, but sadly, the Covid-19 pandemic has put them permanently out of business.

I was shocked at the line of people waiting to get in at 7am! I was lucky to be fourth in line and I was in and out in just over an hour! Kudo to those folks!

When I returned home Friday, I checked off another project I had on my list. We bought some canvas pictures to hang in the baby’s room months ago. They have been sitting in the box, awaiting me to hang them. Before I went to pick up my son, I measured it all out and got them hung up on the wall. I just love these pictures!

We spent the evening last night watching Christmas movies. My son and my wife had both mentioned that the sequel to The Christmas Chronicles was now on Netflix. We had all enjoyed the first one (Kurt Russell stars in it) and we decided to watch the first one again before watching the second. I found that I still enjoyed the first one very much. I can see it easily becoming a Christmas tradition.

Recurring Dream With a Twist

I am closing in on test time for my Bible classes. I have a week’s worth of classes to finish and then four tests to take! I mentioned this to my wife, so it must have been on my mind when I went to bed. At any rate, I often have a recurring dream where I am at school and I sit down to take a test and my mind goes completely blank! I panic! I freak! I usually wake up with my heart racing.

So I had a dream last night that was similar. Sure enough, I am sitting in a classroom (which is odd because my classes are on DVD and I take them at home) and the teacher passes out the tests. The first thing I notice is that the tests are about 45 pages stapled together! I open the test and I can’t even read the thing. I turn the page and there are some words I can make out, but nothing makes sense. With each page turn, I feel more and more scared. I have no idea what I am looking at! I begin to pull my notes out and try to cheat!! The teacher comes over and obviously has caught me . Needless to say, I wake up at this point with heart racing and glad it was just a dream!

Now I’m wondering how hard these tests are going to be!!

I hope you and your family had a wonderful holiday!!