another weekend in review

Good morning.
It turned out to be a productive weekend, as I did some more Cleaning and re-organizing.   :-)
I'm amazed at how much 'stuff' one accumulates over time. And we've been in this house 28 years.
The biggest project was yesterday, as I spent several hours working on piles of recipes I've printed out over the years, and stuck in a drawer. I went through and sorted out the ones we make fairly regularly, and some more that I think we might make at some point. The rest, which was over 3/4th of what I had in the drawer, went in the trash. We had so many, we didn't want to take the time to look through them to find something to make.
So now, I have them all hole punched, and in a binder, with labeled sections for appetizers, casseroles, vegetables and main dishes. And each section is also alphabetized.
I often go online looking for something to make, so you'd think I wouldn't even need to keep recipes, but there are many recipes we make often, and I want to keep them.
Now Sunday, I did go online to find a dish to use up some left over ham and a head of cabbage we've had for a bit. This is what I found....

It's called a ham and cabbage casserole, and it turned out very tasty. I'll post the recipe on Cooking with Craig when I get a chance.
We also got a new toilet seat for the bathroom, and a new water stop thingy for inside the tank because it wouldn't stop running after it was flushed without playing with the handle. 
And.......thanks to this very long, bitter cold winter, the bottom of my feet have gotten dry and rough, especially my heel and the side of my toe. So....I've gotten up every morning, and while I'm on the puter, slather on my Gold Bond Lotion and rest my feet on waxed paper, so as not to get the lotion all over the carpet.

 This stuff is great for dry skin. I've used it each morning for 2 weeks, and my feet are back to soft and smooth.   :-)
Also this past weekend, we ran the mo-ho, and the mo-ho generator, and backed out his Honda Accord and ran that for a while also.
And that was our weekend. Now time to get back to work. I need to stop and get more sidewalk salt, as more bitter cold and snow is forecast. Will it ever end????

back into the deep freeze

Good morning.
I've just returned from cleaning the Salon.   :-)
 We finished the week very busy, and after work, had an early dinner at Reno's.
On Friday, after work, while Craig was fixing dinner, he saw a Raccoon climbing along our split rail fence.

By the time I got the camera, he was crossing the driveway. He went out across the road and disappeared through the golf course. We were surprised to see one in the middle of winter. I thought they hibernated all winter.
Anyway, our 4 days of mid 30's is over, and we are heading back into the deep freeze.  :-(
On an interesting note......
I was talking to a customer about Craig's  check engine light, and the code it was giving. She had taken her car in to the dealer with the same thing last year. They found nothing wrong, and reset the code. With in a week, it was back on again and back to the dealer she went. Again, nothing was found.
Apparently, for some reason, and they haven't issued a recall yet, but in very cold weather, the air intake sensor triggers. When the weather warms, it goes off. Well, during our brief warm up this week, Craig's check engine light also went off, and has stayed off. We'll see if it comes back on with the return of frigid weather. If so, we'll use the code reader I ordered, and if it's the same code, we'll just ignore it.
So....not much else going on, so this is it for now.

mid-week post

Good morning.
It's been a crazy weather week.
We did manage to get above freezing this week, but not warm enough to melt much snow. The freezing rain forecast for yesterday morning, fortunately didn't happen. Instead, we got another inch of wet snow, followed by all day rain which made everything slushy. It's currently 36 out this morning, so the drive to work should be okay. Temps are forecast to drop through out the day, so our 3 days above freezing is over, and very little snow melt occurred.   :-(
And bitter cold is expected over the weekend and into next week.  :-(
In other news.....
It's been fairly busy at work, and I'm booked today and tomorrow.
Poor Craig has been under the weather all week with a nasty cold.
I've managed to stay healthy.....so far.
Craig's Hyundai has it's check engine light on. But he can't take it to the dealer to have it checked, because the only Hyundai dealer in the Lansing area closed last fall.   :-(
So.. instead of taking it to someone and paying a hundred bucks , we ordered a code reader tool.

 It's suppose to tell us what is causing the check light, and reset the code. Then we'll know what the issue is and then can decide how to deal with it. Take it to a dealer in Grand Rapids, since it's still under warranty, or go to someone here. The light originally came on some time ago, then after some time went off for a while. Now it's back on again.
Anyway, time to get to work.

Well it ever quit

Good morning.
I've just returned from clearing the driveway, yet again.....
We just can't get a break!
It started snowing again yesterday afternoon, and this morning, we have another 6-7 inches on top of the already deep snow.

 The top pics were taken yesterday afternoon during the snow. The bottom this morning after I cleared the driveway. Yes, the snowbanks are now higher than the cars. I believe this is one of the snowiest winter we've had in the 28 years we've lived here.

Our split rail fence is nearly buried.
But, it's been a productive weekend so far.
Sunday, I did a backing up of files on my puter. I know, I'm suppose to do it in January, but I forgot.
I also made another batch of wings.

Italian Parmesan on the left, and pineapple barbecue on the right. Mixing pineapple juice with the barbecue sauce thinned it so it wasn't so thick and gooey, and baked in really nice.
Monday, we picked up a new garbage disposal and I spent the afternoon installing it.
And I'll now tell you why you should ALWAYS read the directions before doing any type of installation. I got the old one off, the new one wired and put in. Hooked back up the plumbing, and plugged it in. Turned on the switch, and it worked. Later, after dinner, I started a load of dishes.
I went out in the kitchen later, and the dishwasher sounded funny. It was in a draining cycle, but I heard no water coming out. I turned off the dishwasher, and tried to figure out what was the matter. I know I hooked the hose back up, so I got out the directions. Sure enough, I didn't even think about it, but I never popped out the plug in the dishwasher drain intake. I forgot, they sell these like this in case you want a garbage disposal that isn't also hooked up to the dishwasher. So... today I get to un-assemble the disposal, pop out the plug, and put it back together again. I just hope I didn't damage the dishwasher running it like that. We'll see. So, because I thought I knew what I was doing and didn't read the directions first, I get to do the whole thing twice.
We also used another Christmas gift card, and had lunch at the Outback.
And as for the warm up this week the weather men promised us last week, of course, that's all changed now. Instead of the near 50's they were telling us, we are only going to reach the upper 30's.  :-(
Better than below 30's, but it won't melt much snow.
Never trust car salesmen or weather men.
And we, like I'm sure a lot of you, have been watching some of the Olympics.  Saw Bode Miller get a Bronze. The oldest person to get a medal, and he's only 36. Enjoyed seeing Meryl Davis and Charlie White win the Ice Dancing Gold, although I thought the Canadian team looked better. Good thing I'm not a judge!  :-)
And that's it for now.

so much ice

Good morning.
I've just returned from cleaning the Salon. It was dicey driving, as we're getting more snow this morning.  :-(
We actually had 4 days this week with no snow, and 3 days of sunshine.   :-)
Our forecast is showing a warm-up next week, as temps may get into the 40's.  :-)   We'll hope they're right.
We are right now experiencing Michigan's 5th coldest winter on record! We've had 3 straight months of below normal temps. The great lakes are closing in on a record also. The most ice coverage. The combined great lakes are 88.4% covered with ice. The record, set in 1979 is 94.7. This bitter cold weekend may push us past that.
The average ice cover is 51.4%, and last year managed only 38.7%.
In other news.....
The work week was steady and uneventful.
While cleaning up after dinner yesterday, the garbage disposal died. So tomorrow, we'll go out and get another one.
And that's all I've got for now.

and....... back to work

Good morning.
We've actually have gone 2 days in a row without snowfall, and today should be #3.  :-)
We actually have roads to drive on that aren't snow covered.
We've just surpassed our season average of 51, and with at least 6 weeks of winter left, I suspect we'll go way over that.
It was a quiet weekend. Did some house cleaning, web surfing, and game playing.
I also ordered some more suckers. We have a bowl on the front counter at the Salon with these, and it's amazing how many people like them. I'm not a sucker fan myself, but more adults take them than kids. I order Saf-T-Pops from Spangler Candies. The only place I can get them.If you like suckers, you might want to give them a try.
Now, I'm off for another work week.

snow, snow, go away.

Good morning.
I've just returned from cleaning the Salon. I know, your tired of hearing this every week. I'm tired of doing it every week too.  :-)
It was a fairly slow week after all. With almost constant snowfall and bitter cold temps. I image a lot of people just stay home. I would, have if I could have.   :-)
 Friday, while we were standing by the front window, waiting to take a pic of Air Force One, (see my last post) I saw this group of Bluebirds all huddled on one little branch of my Purple leaf Sandcherry. I zoomed in the best I could.

The van and SUV behind the snowbanks across the street, I suspect were also waiting to see the plane take off as they left shortly afterwards. There's been about 8 of these Bluebirds hanging around the yard all winter. I can't imagine what they are finding to eat.
I took these pics at work.....

The snow bank is higher than the car.

The snowbanks are so high, you can't see cars on the road. I've never seen so much snow in the 17 years we've been in this Salon. Normally in the winter, we get an occasional thaw that melts some of the snow before we get more. But not this year.  So far, we've had 49 inches of snow. Our season normal is 51. Since we've got the rest of February and all of March to go, and, it's snowing again today, I think we'll go pass that. It's been bitter cold since mid December. Forecast is for colder than normal temps through March.
No global warming going on here.  :-\
We had home made pizza last night, and Craig is going to cook our 3rd of 4 turkeys today, so the house will smell good all afternoon.  :-)
 I think today I'll clean out drawers and closets.

and there he goes

Good afternoon.
Yes, an unusual afternoon posting.
I got home from work in time to see Air Force One departing with President Obama.

We live across from a golf course that's next to the airport here in Lansing.
Obama was in  town to sign the farm bill.
We never see 747's at our airport unless it's the president.
I managed to see President Clinton's plane leave when he was last here also.
Presidential visits sure cause a lot of traffic headaches, as they close all the roads from the airport to whatever destination the President is going.
So that's my excitement for the week.  :-)
Shows how long and boring our winters are.

all gone

Good morning.
I know, 2 posts in 2 days.
I've just returned from clearing the driveway............again......
About 3 inches fell over night. Light fluffy stuff so easy to clear. Still snowing. Will probably need to clear the driveway again when I get home from work.
Yesterday, the tree company came back to finish the job.

Chipping all the branches they had piled on the side of the driveway.

Using the boom to lift the really large sections into the truck.

Loading the rest into the other pick-up.

And nothing left but the stump, which they will come back to grind down in the spring.
Our house seems so exposed now. I know it's silly, but even though the tree didn't 'block' the view, having it gone seems to bring the house closer to the street.
It's bothering Craig more than me, but everyone knows, I'm easy going, very adaptable, what happens happens, and Craig resists change.
Now time for another work week, which is looking pretty busy.

and down she came

Good morning from the great white frozen north.
Haven't posted lately, same old thing around here. Cold, snowy, and b-o-r-i-n-g.
We did have an interesting day yesterday.
The tree company showed up to take down the front tree.

Truck with a 50 ft boom.

Taking down the tree, bit by bit. He literally used a chain saw and cut off the remaining branches, then cut off 2-3 ft pieces until there was only the main trunk left.

Then cut on down the trunk until there was just this big  stump left, which he cut off near the ground.

They had the entire tree down in about 2 hours.

Hauled away all the smaller logs, and will be back this morning to clear out the rest. The stump will be ground down when the snow melts. The back tree will wait until I can move the mo-ho so they can get into the back yard with that truck. Right now, there's 2 ft of snow blocking it in.
The front yard sure looks empty without it, but it was a love hate relationship the entire 28 years we've lived here. I don't know if we'll replace it or not. I guess we'll wait until spring when everything leafs out and decide then.
In other news......
I've been going in to the Salon nearly every morning to damp mop the floors. It's been snowing nearly every other day. We got 33 inches in January, about 10 more than normal. We've already received 4 inches this month, and today's only the 4th. Forecast is for another 3-4 tonight. So far this winter, we've received a total of 45 inches of snow. Our entire winter avg is 51. It's been a l-o-n-g winter already,  and we still have Feb. and Mar. to go.  :-(
So right now, it's work, shovel, mop, and sleep.
I'll post again when have something of interest.