Sensationally Six

 We are still experimenting with the new griddle. Fried rice!

We've also had Little Girls. Good to see them; they've had good days at the Meadow. 

Sensationally Six

This is what's been happening at the Meadow...

We are so looking forward to the cooking process with this new thang! MiRV was SUPER excited about this buy at the surplus store a few weeks ago. The weather is finally nice enough to get it seasoned and start enjoying the bounty. He's gonna channel his inner chef... I've been told there will be Khan's and White Grill come off this griddle. The seasoning process is very important and there are so many tips, tricks and must do's that it's almost overwhelming. Gotta get a good smooth surface on it and then let the griddling begin. He's been to the store and back, YouTubed, Googled and hoping he's nailed it.

Dinner tonight was bacon cheese burgers with grilled onions. The bacon was soooo good!

Next up fried rice. Yum, can't wait. This will be awesome this summer when we don't want to heat up the kitchen inside, we'll just griddle out!

The HANDFUL

We are extremely thankful that we had a really nice Thanksgiving Day this year.  With no gathering last year it felt extra special this year to be able to gather. While there is no turkey coma happening (cause I didn't eat any turkey; ham all the way!) we are all taking it easy today in our PJs. Lots of game playing. We've even learned a new one, Qwirkle. I'm still thinking about how yummy the gravy was as well as the stuffing, sweet potatoes and pie, oh my!. I had peach pie...and maybe a pumpkin cupcake...and maybe a piece of banana bread...

Someone got to have mashed potatoes!

It's our favorite crew...

We plan on a low key recovery this weekend. Hoping to get ahead of the holiday madness and finish the little bit of shopping I need to do and then just enjoy the season and pray for good weather. We don't have a solid gathering plan yet but there is a bit of a plan in the works. I'm excited for it already. 

The HANDFUL

We've had a houseguest this week...thought she was going home today but she's having too much fun so she's ask for another day! What a week we've had. Cousins have been over and we've also been to see them, Aunts and Uncles have been by as well as Grands and she even got to see the 4H project bovine "Cash". We've played outside everyday even on the blustery days. GraveDigger has seen a lot of action as have the balls, paintbrushes and swingset! She's been spoiled with her favorite foods of meatloaf, fish sticks, french fries, waffles and pizza, oh my. We've also been shopping, cow cruising, horse hunting and a Sonic visit. Only disappointment has been no ostriches! We also did some testing out of her "sleeping arrangement" in ROADA as we are planning to take her with us this year...stay tuned for how that pans out. We are certainly hoping for travel time soon!

It's gonna be awfully quiet around here when you are gone...already planning another MO visit with her but for now she is ready to return to the Northland and her momma and daddy. She has had a great visit for sure and many memories are etched in my brain for sure as well as hers I hope!

The HANDFUL

It's been a good week! Finally able to go North and see the Bee; celebrated her belated birthday along with LaLa's. It was a whole birthday palooza week and no one minded. She was overjoyed with a Barbie house and a guitar! What fun if you are F.I.V.E. Great memories.

Oh, and let's not forget Birthday donuts for LaLa!

There was also sledding and a trip to our new faavorite Mexican restaurant (maybe even two visits). LOTS of Barbie playing, coloring, singing with guitar accompaniment, game playing and movie watching (current fav is Ferdinand).  And let's not forget there was cake, white cake and cupcakes, there were also cupcakes. Chocolate and vanilla! YUM! We like cake!

UnFOURgettably 4 Friday!

Happy day after Thanksgiving! So much to be thankful for...we have heat, lights, clothes, shoes, stocked cupboards, cars that run and a family we love. And most days they love us too! We enjoyed a bountiful feast, ate more then we should have but mostly enjoyed our time with each other. The tables were full, we were together this year. Last year we were in Tuscon waiting out a pretty good storm and our crew had just flown back to the the Big O after a week at the beach. PreCovid...or was it. Bee was sick as soon as they retunred home, a fever that just wouldn't go away or break. SuperTrooper suffered as well and daughter. Shortly after we returned to MO I fell ill to some sort of nastiness, I the one who is rarely ill. Hmmm, makes us wonder if we were afflicted before the outbreak was an outbreak.

Noodles in the making!

Good stuff on the bountiful menu...

There was good food, tasty snacks and yummy dessert. The Bee had several snacks, very little good food, enjoyed yummy dessert then asked for a PBJ! Love that girl.

Her favorite moment of the day!

So thankful for being here with Bee the last couple days. Daughter and family are still settling into their new town and learning about those little DIY homeowner projects that never end. They are still unpacking and arranging, painting and making it their home.

Stay safe, stay well!

UnFOURgettably 4 Friday!

 Rainy day...missing the girls and life is still marching on.

These two on video call this week was a highlight! They did a lot of giggling for sure! And of course before saying goodbye the Northern girl really wanted to speak with LaLa.

She needed him to see her and showed him some more roping skills!

Just wishing for life as normal I suppose. This whole pandemic thing is still lingering and quite frankly I'm tired of it. It's just putting a damper on life in general. It is not business as usual, it's not normal and it just feels all out of whack. How much longer? Is this really the new forever normal using mask and being hyper vigilant about hygiene habits along with social distancing?

One other little bright spot this week was grilled peaches...yes, grilled peaches. We hit up the local farmer's market a few weeks ago to secure some of the best local peaches. Went back again this week for more of those peaches as they were sooooo sooo good. The man said he loved peaches in all ways but really loved them grilled. Hmmmm....grilled. Well, if you haven't tried them this way it's definitely a little treat you might want to add to your to do list. We've indulged twice this week and what a treat it has been! 

Quick version is slice slightly firm peaches in half, remove pit, lightly grease with olive oil or spray with cooking spray and grill five minutes or so on each side over medium heat (350*ish). PRO TIP start with the skin side down first (I know, you don't even need to peel them!) Remove from grill, drizzle with honey and add a scoop of ice cream. I think you could also use maple syrup. And if you are into cinnamon sprinkle that on when you do the honey drizzle. YUMMY! And so easy.

Stay safe, stay well. And try yourself some grilled peaches...you will thank me next time you see me!

Easter

I cannot remember an Easter when we did not attend church service. Sometimes even a sunrise service. This year 'attending' church was not an option. Thank you Covid-19. However, thankfully, there were plenty of livestreams, youTubes or podcast to help still celebrate the day. So while the format and feel of our Easter was not like any other. I mean we had an awesome home cooked Italian meal that was very yummy but it was just the two of us. Never mind, the important point is that the message did not and will not ever change. The tomb was empty. Jesus IS alive.

Have hope friends, cling tight to the vine and pray. Pray for our nation, our leaders, our medical personnel. Pray for your family, your friends and neighbors.

Stay safe, stay home.

Wild & Three Thursday!

Happy, happy Thanksgiving. I've said it before and I will say it again My absolute favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. And I don't even like turkey! It's all the food (cause there is ALWAYS lots and not just turkey at our gatherings), family and fun but without the pressure of gifts and the weather is usually mild so everyone can get there. What is NOT to like! This year however, family is limited to just MiRV and I. It's still all good but being with family for this one is a favorite and I certainly do/did miss it.

There is so, so much to be thankful for ANY time but I am especially mindful of how blessed we are during this particular time of the year. We are so fortunate to live in a country where we can have so many freedoms and do not suffer from an oppressive government. We personally do not suffer from war or poverty. Thank a service member for that whydontcha! Cause that whole no war thing on our soil, that's a biggie and everyone should ALWAYS be thankful for that. Not gonna get much deeper but suffice to say we are fully aware of the abundance and liberties that we experience and we are beyond thankful for that.

The Daughter and family are safely back home. We are spending our turkey day in Tucson eating hot off the grill steaks. It's cool, rainy and windy. We decided to just take a three day break before moving on to let the weather settle down. They have closed some roads right behind us so to speak and they are closing roads in the higher elevations all around us. So we will be stationary as this bit of weather moves on. We hope to pull out on Saturday a.m. but we are flexible enough to be respectful if the weather is still an issue we can stay put if needed.

Oh, the zoo trip was a resounding success! What a delightful day with perfectly beautiful weather. We nearly opened and closed it. Saw all kinds of animals. I loved the koala's best. Feeding the giraffe was a hit as well as getting to see the baby gorilla nursing.  Watching the cheetah walking by on a leash right in front of us was a pretty cool bonus, too. And riding the sky tram (twice) as well as the double decker bus was a nice break from all the walking. Oh, and let's not forget the chuckle of seeing "Save the Chubby Unicorn" shirts (rhinoceros, need love, too) Stopping off at In and Out Burger on our way to the hotel was a great ending to our full day; love me an animal style burger!

OH em GEEEEE I would be remiss if I did not mention our visit with ThreeDoorsDown! They were incredible host and we enjoyed sitting round the table catching up. Great to spend time with such good people. And MiRV was so stoked to get wet. He was pretty dry! Be able to to surf with RocketBoy in Redondo on the same board he learned to surf on in Cocoa on he couldn't have been happier. :)

Wild & Three Thursday!

Roca Berry Farm has become our fall activity. This year was a little different because Bee had already been once with her friends so she was well aware of what she wanted to do and where she wanted to go. She was a ball of energy running to and fro. It's a neat little place and we enjoy going every year. I think the adults have just as much fun as the children. At least that seems to be the case with our crew.

Soooo much fun. And even though we were all spent it was well worth it. We trekked on in to the big city for Endless Shrimp at RL much to the Daughter's delight. Everyone left satisfied but you can't get as close as we were without KK so we came home with donuts to boot! Lordy, it was a BIG day!

Wild & Three Thursday!

It's 8:00 P.M. and we are safely back at the Meadow. For the most part ROADA is unloaded. What a great trip. The big win was getting to Isle Royale! After stopping in Grand Portage, MN and finding the ferry service only running on weekends we thought, okay, another trip, another time. But on Sunday we rolled into Copper Harbor as a way to get around a rainy damp day in Wisconsin and scored. The joy of spontaneity is alive and well as we strolled around town and happened to stop at a bakery that was right next door to the dock. As it happens the very dock that is home to the ferry for going to Isle Royale. We inquired about IRNP passage and believe it or not they have service tomorrow...and yes there are two seats available! We are IN, parking at 7:00 a.m. boarding at 7:30 with departure at 8:00.

This was a bucket list item so what a boon to just walk up and get on this normally booked ferry and at the half price rate since it is the off season.

It was a 3.5 hour ride. The boat was full but with comfy seats; we made it just fine. It was a bit of rolling in the beginning but calmed down after the first hour or so. The return was a bit bumpy but not terrible. Bit of conversation and a good book made the long journey easier. The island itself was extremely pristine. We had just under three hours to explore so we set off hiking immediately after our NPS briefing.

I had hoped to see a moose but really we were not in the right area for that though there are about 1800 in the park according to the ranger. We did see lots and lots of cool lush lichen, moss, mushrooms and fern in all shapes and sizes. The trees were mostly green. It was a nice day for a walk in this plush, lush, unspoiled environment. While three hours is much to short to really experience the island it was enough to make us want to return.

From Copper Harbor we headed on to Wisconsin. We wanted to make a loop through Door County to return to the quaintness of the area and have cherry strudel. We were hoping for cherry donuts,too  but it's apple harvest time so it's apple cider donuts this time of year. They were outstanding (but cherry are still my favorite). The honeycrisp apples they had were the absolute best I have ever had. We also tried smoked fish as that is a local thing. We decided on the Atlantic salmon as it is boneless. We will definitely have that again and try some of the other local choices they had. Charlie's Smokehouse is the place! And they ship...

It was a bust on fall colors once we left Michigan. The rest of the area just isn't there yet. It was still very green all the way down. In Missouri not only is it green everywhere it is also quite warm and still very wet. It is certainly feeling more like summertime here rather then heading into fall. Gonna be near 90* for the next week!

It was another good trip! Gotta get some grass mowing down and cleaning up of ROADA as she is a very dirty girl after her voyage around Lake Superior.

Cabana Boy

House sitting gigs are pretty sweet for us especially when there is a pool in the deal. It gives us an opportunity to live in a more spacious environment and we enjoy the change of pace. This particular gig is probably one of the best ones we've had, though all have been fun and we've definitely enjoyed them. This opportunity certainly came about at the right time and has been awesome. Love the pool aspect but we have also been enjoying the cable TV with unlimited access to Olympic coverage! GO TEAM USA. Staying up way to late to watch and watching nonstop during the day...oh, the life we have been blessed to lead.

Having a pool is totally cool and we love it but usually one doesn't realize the work that goes into having and maintaining a pool. My father kept up a pool for years and it was always pristine, he was a great pool boy. That was an above ground. The pool we are maintaining is in ground and much deeper than the above ground. Which makes the cleaning a bit more challenging. We have vacuumed twice, skimmed multiple times a day and of course kept up with the chlorine treatment along with SHOCK treatments and with this heat the algaecide treatment is very important, too. Totally worth it as it is just relaxing to be around the pretty clear water.

The other cool aspects of house sitting are being able to prepare meals in a much larger space! It's something I don't miss all the time but it is fun to prepare things we don't have regularly with a WELL stocked kitchen in terms of pans and utensils. I have enjoyed it very much. We've enjoyed meatloaf, pizza and roast to name a few meals since the oven is something I miss the most. It's also been fun to do a little baking. MiRV was excited to get a yellow cake with chocolate icing. I on the other hand was thrilled to have monkey bread! It's the little things...

Also an aspect one doesn't realize is the fact that we do have a shower in ROADA, albeit small, but we don't use it so much due to the water usage and gray tank capacity, so it's a luxury to have a real shower at our disposal :). And the great internet connection is another bonus, along with the washer & dryer on site, I'm tellin' ya, those little things mean a lot! In fact, I think we are getting spoiled...it's only been a few days and we have a few left but we are getting soft already :) Truly, I cannot emphasize enough how much it really, really, REALLY is the little things...we love the lifestyle we've chosen for now but we also enjoy it when we get to live the high life!! Okay, honestly, this particular gig isn't all roses and rainbows; just so you get a dose of reality, there are two dogs to manage (outside, thankfully) but still, feeding and watering and looking after them is one of our duties this week. thankfully, MiRV is handling that!

Enjoy life folks, you never know when you are living your last moment. Last week we attended the funeral of one of our high school classmates fathers and then stopped by the funeral home for one of our classmates, in addition to finding out our former pastor's wife passed away. Life is shorter then you think.