Sorry I have been gone for a while but I am still recovering from my thumb surgery. I have finally got my cast off and have been wearing a splint. I go to therapy twice a week but I should be all done by the end of this month. It is getting a lot better.
Anyway we have been spending a lot of time with the granddaughters. They love to play in our backyard which has turned into Oma’s Little Tyke Playground. They love their pool too. They really like it when Oma makes bubbles in the pool.
Heather called Friday night to see if we wanted to do something fun with the girls on Saturday. We thought about several options but since Daddy had to go work on the apartments for a few hours we decided on something close. We picked PerryDell Farm. We had never been there before and the girls had never been close to moos.
This dairy is family owned and operated. It was bought in 1923 by Howard Perry. It was taken over by his two sons, George and Roger, who started bottling their milk. It is now run by George’s 3 sons. All the family pitches in on the farm and it supports 4 families. For more information follow the link below.
We decided to go hike one of the many trails at Rocky Ridge County Park not far from where our kids live. This was the girls’ first hike. Daddy brought their wagon for if they got tired.
First thing they saw really interesting was some Daddy Long Legs on a post. They love itsy bitsy.
Maria came over to help me with the girls today again. They love having her over. Kate says she is her best friend.
They played in the playhouse.
Bekka needed to sweep the floor in the playhouse even if it was grass. The broom got stuck. I really need to get this girl a little broom. She is a real cleaner.
I guess they forgot what a door was because they used the windows to get in. Thank you Maria for teaching them this. lol
We had our first backyard party in our new house due to Covid-19. It was not a big party. Our daughter, her husband and their twin daughters and our friends we met in our neighborhood, which consist of Christina and her 8 year old daughter, Maria.
It was a beautiful day in York, Pennsylvania. We spent the day in the backyard watching the girls play.
Maria has been giving the girls toys she has outgrown like the little tyke car and trailer.
The other night it was my turn to pick the movie. I picked Seberg from Amazon Prime. I usually do something while I am watching TV but once this started I had to put everything down and give the movie my full attention.
Jean Seberg a girl from Iowa who became a movie star. Her first movie was St Joan about Joan of Arc. She was burned at the stake and actually caught on fire. She spent half her life in Paris, France where her acting really took off. Then in 1968 she came back to the US to act in some movies, including “Paint Your Wagon”.
I am not going to go into this too much because I don’t want to ruin the movie for you but the this movie is about how Hoover’s FBI ruined her life. To learn more about her you can read these about her here.
Our county of York, PA has gone into Yellow stage, which means we can spend some quality time with our twin granddaughters, Bekka and Kate. They came over to spend the day with Oma and Grandpa.
Bekka got right to work sweeping the deck.
Kate on the other hand was excited about seeing her horse again.
Our little backyard haven is where we spend a lot of time. We might be out exploring now but have made the choice to stay safe at home. we have been having a good time there.
I work in the garden. I am so happy it is actually growing. I bought this cool seed sprouter from Amazon. I bought it to sprout alfalfa seeds but it worked great to sprout all the seeds for the garden.
Just wanted to let everyone know that I am having hand surgery tomorrow on my left hand. It could be up to 3 months before I am totally recovered. I had it done on my right hand before we left Alaska. Anyway the point I am getting to is that I will try to post from time to time while recovering but I am not very good at pecking the keyboard. I learned to type on a electric typewriter with no letters or numbers on the keyboard. I really appreciate this because I can carry on a conversation, watch tv or type whatever without ever looking at my fingers. The bad think is that if I have to hunt and pick I have no idea where the letters are. My fingers just play the keyboard like a piano.
I can still process the photos I have taken lately for the blog, so that is a good thing. I bet if I asked really nice I might to even get my loving husband/proofreader to type for me. Or maybe I need to check into one of the programs where it types for you. Now that might be fun to try. I bet it would be a laugh to see what words it comes up with. I believe I might go research that right now.
I have 5 wonderful children who will do anything that they are capable of doing for their Mother, me. I am very lucky this way.
My oldest son, Jared, was in Florida working and visiting friends. I asked him if I bought his plane ticket home, for which I used miles so it was very cheap, and a train ticket from Florida would he come and level my floor upstairs. It was the only thing I didn’t know how to fix. Of course, he told me yes.
After he got here and looked at our attic conversion. He told us it wasn’t wired that just the power was brought upstairs. He also found that the plumbing wasn’t right either. This was done before we bought the house but it was never finished. It took him a lot longer than he thought but he got the upstairs plumbed, wired and the floor leveled. He also enlarged the area we plan to put our bed in.
He found that the downstairs bathroom was vented into the upstairs. It is now vented outside. Also, the upstairs bathroom vent is in now too. We can actually put a toilet in now. Yeah!
While on the roof installing the vents he noticed that he could see light around the chimney. He fixed that too.
He also put up a new mantel for the fireplace. We just need to finish it out.
Thank you so much, Jared! I am so lucky to have such wonderful children.
Last weekend Heather wanted to see her brother, Jared, before he headed back home to Sterling, Alaska. We are still under lock down and social distancing. We know we can visit in our backyard with making sure to stay 6′ between us. It was hard to not touch the girls though.
Well I have been doing all kind of things around the house to keep busy. We have been having some nice weather, so David and I took advantage of it. David takes very good care of the lawn. We have found one big difference is that it needs to be mowed once a week. In Alaska it was every two weeks to a month depending on the rain. I have been working in the flower bed and trying to put a garden in. It is a lot of fun planting all the different flowers and there are so many more things I can grow in the garden here.
Once upon a time there was a little girl, Maria, who was the Princess of York. She lived a quiet life on a quiet street with her Mother the Queen. Then one day as she looked out the window she saw a big, white animal walking down the sidewalk in front of her castle.
Maria tells the Queen, Christina, that there is a polar bear walking down the sidewalk. Her mother informs her that there are no polar bears in York. We live to far south for them to be here.
I had already finish a crocheted afghan block of the month club. You got 3 blocks a month to crochet. Everything is included each month. It was a lot of fun learning new stitches and remembering ones I have used before.
I decided I would try the Quilting one. I have got several months worth but when I am sewing I am making masks. I only did the first one which was purses I made for the girls birthdays.
Then they offered the Creative Woman’s Kit of the Month club. The first thing I got was everything to build a birdhouse. I take it back, it didn’t have the glue but everything else was there including the paint.
How did you celebrate your Covid-19 Mother’s Day? Here in Pennsylvania we are still locked down, but my daughter, Heather, figured if she brought the girls over and let them run in the backyard it would be safe. It was really hard to see them but not touch them.
The girls made me some flowers and Heather, Sarah and Cade bought me a new laptop.
Now was the sad time because they had to leave. It was really hard not being able to hug them all good bye.
Jared showed up right after they left, so he still hasn’t been able to see his sister and her girls. Hopefully, Heather wants the weather to be nice on Saturday so she can see her brother before he goes back to Alaska.
Jared brought me the cutest birdhouse for Mother’s Day. I didn’t expect anything from him because he was doing all the work upstairs to make our master bedroom and library. He was supposed to level the floor but when he got here and looked there was a lot more he had to do first. Now the bathroom is plumbed and the whole thing is wired. He has now leveled the floor and laying the sub floor the next few days. I am so lucky to have such a great carpenter for a son.
My new birdhouse
We ordered in so I wouldn’t have to cook. That was the best present I could do.
I hope you had a wonderful Covid-19 Mother’s Day. Let me know if you did anything fun.
Staying home, social distancing and wearing mask is our new norm but you can work in the yard without worrying about any of the above.
Every nice day David and I are out in the yard doing something. I got the front flower beds taken care of. We even got some flowers because there is this tent in the parking lot near us that is selling plants. I was told they come down every spring from Lancaster.
I got the edging delivered from Aldi’s. I know it isn’t straight but it works.
So a while back David and I saw this woman on the news with a sign in her window saying need beer. She was looking out her window with a Coors Light in her hand. Coors ended up delivering her cases of her beer.
Well David and I don’t care for Coors but we do love our Troegs which is a local brewery in Hershey, PA.
So I have been making masks for the family and whoever needs them. I will be donating to the medical people here. We have a place that we can drop them off. I have posted on NextDoor app. I guess I should post on facebook so anyone that needs one can get one.
Heather, my daughter, has bought most of the material and elastic. She doesn’t have time to make them so I am.
Mask I Made
I had someone on NextDoor that needed one for her and one for her daughter. I gave her an extra because she worked in the medical field. She said the ones they gave them hurt her ears. She is donating some material and elastic she has. I was really excited about this.
Heather came by to drop off some more material and elastic today. Also, some chocolate chip cookies and pictures the girls colored for us. I left her bag hanging from the mailbox and she replaced it with her bag. I feel like I am dealing drugs.
Harrison got to meet his big sister for the first time through the window.
We are staying safe and practicing social distancing. It is really hard when you know your granddaughters are in the car and you can’t hug them. What matters though is keeping them safe.
Once again I rented a new release on our Amazon Prime, Wendy.
The classic story of Peter Pan is wildly reimagined in this ragtag epic from Benh Zeitlin, director of BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD. Lost on a mysterious island where aging and time have come unglued, Wendy must fight to save her family, her freedom, and the joyous spirit of youth from the deadly peril of growing up.
David and I enjoyed this new twist of Peter Pan.
Click on the link below to rent and watch this movie.
I had wanted to see this when I saw it advertised at the movie theater. Of course, we have not been able to go there. Now that Amazon is renting movies that should be in the theaters we have been watching some of them.
This is a story of Harriet Tubman. She is an American hero who escaped from slavery and then went on to save many other slaves. I couldn’t believe what a brave woman she was. It makes you wonder if you could ever be that brave.
I know during this Covid-19 lock down we are all watching a lot of TV series and movies. Streaming is what keeps a lot of us going. David and I are just like the rest of you watching movies and TV series.
I have always liked Rebel Wilson so when I found this movie on Amazon Prime I had to watch it.
I was not disappointed with this movie. It really enjoyed this movie and had a good laugh. Natalie, Rebel Wilson, believes no one can love her or pay attention to her because of always being told by her mother that people like them don’t ever find love or get attention paid to them.
After being mugged and being knocked unconscious in the subway she dreams of what she thinks would be the perfect life. She finds it isn’t really what she would want. She finally finds out she needs to love herself. She finds self respect and love.
With David having broken his wrist, I have his jobs to do too. This includes the yard work which I don’t really mind. First thing is make sure all the dog poop is picked up. This is really my job anyway. Next is picking up all the limbs that the bad winds blew out of our trees and from the neighbors trees. I am sure they have some of ours too. We are a very sharing neighborhood. This took me a while but I finally got it done. Then came the mowing.
The more I use my The “I Love My Air Fryer” Keto Diet Cookbook the more I love it and my air fryer. You can click on the links below to find both on Amazon.
The other day before David fell and broke his wrist he was out mowing the yard with the help of Harrison.
Harrison is the only dog we have had that isn’t afraid or runs away from the lawnmower or even the vacuum. I actually can vacuum right up next to him and he doesn’t move.
While the boys were doing this I was making a birdfeeder out of an old pie pan.
The birds and the squirrel were very excited about this.
I had gotten rid of all my scrap material when we moved but I have made a couple of aprons for the girls for their second birthday, so I had a few scraps that I could make masks.
They also have kits they are handing out for you to make for your first responders.
I didn’t have the 1/4 elastic but I did have some small round elastic I used. David said it does hurt your ears if you have to wear them too long. I could have made ties but didn’t think that made the mask tight enough.
The 1/4 elastic is out of stock a lot of places. I did just find a store on ETSY that said they would get it mailed in 2 to 5 days. I will see if it comes that soon.
Anyway this is what they look like finished.
We kept one each for us and took the rest over to my daughter Heather;s, house. She is still working so she needs more than one. I think she should change it everyday. Then all you have to do is throw them into washer and dryer.
Sarah, my other daughter, found 3 packages of 1/4 inch elastic at her house. She is mailing it across the country for me to make masks for all of them.
Our local hospital and clinics are now accepting homemade masks. They posted the pattern, so I will be starting on them.
Heather ordered some material from an ETSY store, so we have plenty of material. I guess I will start with ties until I get more elastic.
I know there are tons of grandparents that didn’t get to spend Easter with their grandchildren. I know some of you have done like my brother and sister in law who delivered things to their grandchildren as they watched from across the road as the children looked at all their goodies.
I took some things over to our granddaughters on Friday and left them on the porch.
This is how we got to do Easter this year with them via photos.
Bekka in her Easter DressKate in her Easter DressChecking out their basketsKate showing off her eggs
Girls are eating the chocolate sucker that Oma and Grandpa left for them.
We also got to use our Facebook Portal to visit with our grandchildren and children in Gig Harbor, Washington.
It was hard not spending Easter with our family but we all made the best of it. Covid-19 will not beat our family!
Well it has been almost 11 months since something like this happened to David. We were in Seattle and someone pushed David. He landed flat on his face. He was knocked unconscious. He scared me to death.
This was after 7 stitches.
He says he made it almost to 70 before he got stitches and a black eye. That time he ended up with 2 black eyes. Actually, he was bruised from his eyebrows to his collar bone. We were lucky though because it healed up and nothing was broken. I did have to drive us back home to Anchorage though.
So can you guess what I am going to tell you next?
David and I always have enjoyed going to the movies. Now with Covid-19 the movie theaters are closed we have started streaming. Amazon Prime Video is letting you rent or buy theater movies. We were excited about this.
After I rented several movies which you have a month before you start to watch them. Once you have started watching them you have 48 hours to watch all of it.
Every night David and I take turns picking a movie. I picked Downton Abbey. I was not sure if David would like it but he was very impressed. I have enjoyed the TV series.
Downton Abbey is the story of the Crawleys and their staff as they prepared for the royal visit from the King and Queen.
It was superb in every respect. Writing was excellent with great lines from different characters. The costuming and sets were great. You should check out all the hats. The cinematography was excellent. We enjoyed the story and highly recommend this movie.
We have been walking, when weather permits, around our neighborhood. I have noticed a lot of people all day doing the same thing. I wonder if there will be as much walking when this is all over. We decided to make our walk a photo shoot.
There are things that aggravate us in this time of a universal crisis. There are some people and business that are sticking to the rules of social distancing and covering our face while others don’t.
First I will talk about business and people who abide by the new rules to try to stay safe from Covid-19.
We had to take our Harrison back to the vet for a recheck for his ear infection. I want to say that East York Veterinary does a great job of social distancing and the wearing of a mask. We arrived at the clinic and called to let them know we had arrived. Then when it was time to bring Harrison in I placed him in the between the two glass doors. After I was out the nurse came in and got him. Dr Gale called me during the visit to tell me what was going on. He still had the ear infection but it was getting better. After talking to the doctor we get a phone call from the office to pay by card. Harrison is then brought back and put between the two glass doors with his meds. There was no contact with any person. Great job done by our vet. If you live in York, PA and need a vet I highly recommend our vet.
Well life does still go one even with Covid-19. The yard still has to be mowed. I mentioned in my last blog that we had to buy a lawnmower. We had a beautiful day, so it was time for David to get out and mow the yard which was getting a little deep in places.
What have you been doing while you are confined? I am glad that we don’t live in an apartment but our own home. We can hang out in our back yard when it isn’t raining. I am not complaining about the rain because it has really made our yard green. This meant we better go buy a lawn mower. We got a used one while using social distancing.
David picked up the sticks from the backyard with the help of Harrison.
Well I imagine that all of us our doing things differently in our life because we are trying to do what we can do to stop the spread of Covid19. We are doing what we can to entertain ourselves here in our home.
We have taken Harrison to the vet. They want everyone safe, so you sit outside while they examine your pet. Talk to you on the phone to let you know what it going on with your pet. When we left we thought we were done. Then we get a call to tell us that Harrison has hookworms too. David had to go and pick up his meds. When he arrived he had to call to let them know he was there. He gave him his card info and then they brought out his medication.
I had a doctor appointment this week with my new doctor. I had been waiting for almost 2 months to get in. I was figuring they would cancel it but they didn’t. We arrived at the doctor’s office. There was a gentleman outside that by using social distancing asked me several questions and told us the David couldn’t come in with me. I was handed a mask because we had been in Seattle for a month, returning on March 9th. Was allowed into the empty waiting room. I was escorted back within a minute or two. There in my room things seemed like just a normal office visit. After the nurse talked to me and the doctor had gone through my records I had brought in earlier we discussed my plan.
Living in Alaska in a cabin in the woods you learn about cabin fever and how to protect yourself from it. I know we are supposed to stay in but they are recommending outside activities like hiking or walking. I know that is what always helped me was to get outside and move. Thanks to Harrison we always take him for a walk, well at least for the little over a week we have had him. Of course, I say that as I look at the rain coming down outside. I really don’t want to smell wet dog the rest of the day. We have several times had to wait until the rain stopped to go. Hopefully, we will this time too. Looks pretty gray outside though.
After the loss of Alice, David and I decided when we got a house with a yard we would adopt another dog. We started looking while we were in Seattle. I filled out applications at different rescues. David had done research on Great Pyrenees and thought one would fit into our family great.
We got approved by several rescues but by that time the female dogs we wanted were gone. Then Lee called from Operation Paws for Homes to talk to us. We were approved but once again the female dog we wanted was gone. She told us about Sweetheart Harrison who tested positive for heart worm and would not available until March 12th. We got back from Seattle March 10th. She told us that he was very sweet but no one wanted him because of his size. We thought about it for about 1 minute. Then we said we want him. We started talking to the foster Mom, Becky, she told us all she knew about Harrison. She was sending us photos of him. We were starting to love him before we met him. It was decided that we would pick him up on Friday, March 13th. This day will always be lucky to us.
Harrison was in Virginia. Becky told us she would meet us halfway. We met in Maryland.
I am finally back online and taking time to catch up with my blogging. Our last day in Seattle, WA we went to see Nancy and work and had a picnic at Carkeek Park.
We decided to go see Nancy before we went to the park. She works at Swanson’s Nursery.
Today before John Lee went to work he said he needed to go to Bongos Café to talk to the owner about a gig for the Seattle Houserockers. He said we could have lunch there. So off we went.
In the summer they have the outside open. This is where the Houserockers play. You can sit with your feet in the sand while you listen to music.
Four years ago while visiting John Lee and Nancy we found a nice brewery called Lantern Brewing. Every time we come back we always go to have a beer or two. It is about 6 blocks from their house.
When John and Nancy left for work we decided we would walk to Lantern Brewing and eat from whatever food truck the have there.
Yes, I had to take some flower photos on our walk.
Our friend John Lee is a bass player for the Seattle House Rockers and he had a gig while we were in town. Friday night we headed to Tim’s Tavern for a beer and some Blues music.
We went out to eat at a Central American restaurant that was next door to the tavern for dinner. It is called La Cabana and was very good. Once again I was too busy eating to remember to take a photo.
Bistec Encebollado (Nicaragua) $17.50 A traditional dish from Nicaragua made with a choice cut of beef and top it with a generous amount of caramelized onions, and tomatoes. Served with Gallo Pinto, freshly made tortillas and a green salad. This is what I had.
Salpicon (Honduras) $17.50
This traditional dish comes to you from Honduras. We start with a choice cut of beef, peeled knuckle, which is cooked in a special seasoning mix. We mince the meat and blend it with diced onions, cilantro and top it with fresh lime juice and diced radish. Served with rice, freshly made tortillas, and a green salad. David had this.
Huevos Rancheros $10.75 Over easy or hard (fried) eggs on a corn tortilla topped with a home-made spicy red salsa,bell peppers,and onions. Served with refried beans, queso fresco and crema. John Lee had this.
They make their tortillas and they are really good.
They have special non-alcoholic drinks.
Horchata $3.75 Sweet rice water drink w/ a hint of cinnamon (contains dairy) I had this drink and it was nice. It kind of reminded me of Thai Ice Tea.
Nance $3.75 A refreshing drink made from the fruit of the palm tree, a small tart, yellow cherry-like fruit. David tried this one which we thought had a nice flavor but was a little too pulpy for David.
John Lee did it again and took us to a wonderful place to eat. If you are ever in the neighborhood you should give it a try.
