Tag: dad

Merry New Year! Beef Jerky Time!

Happy New Year! Hope y’all have a great start to 2012 (and also a great finish, but that’s almost a year from now).

I turned 41 just a bit ago, too. And so far, it doesn’t seem any different to the last several turnings. Not sure what the fuss is about. 🙂

So, thanks mom, for putting up with my delivery from 5am on the 31st until 16 minutes after midnight on the 1st. Apparently it only cost them $350 with 6 days in the hospital. Cheap at twice the price, the parental units say. 🙂 (And although they missed out on a $750 deduction, the prizes they got for my being born 1st on the day totaled over $1200, dad figures. And that’s 1971 money!)

Muppets & Things

The folks and I finally got out (in the rain) to see The Muppets today. YAY! (Picture Kermit the Frog shouting that for full effect.) We all enjoyed the movie. It’s quite the love letter to the Muppets. 🙂

Yesterday wasn’t a rainy day, however, and so the folks and I spent a good deal of it shopping and stuff. They came over here and we went to the local UCC for the monthly “all you can eat” pancake breakfast. Yummy. Their arrival finally prompted me to finish decorating and cleaning.

I then drove them to Brukner Nature Center for the Winter Craft Fair, dropped them off, then parked WAY far away. I’m a good daughter. The craft fair, as usual, was fun and I found a few items to buy. Both parental units found presents for the other, so a successful venture all around.

We returned to my place and then reconvened at their place. Lunch was at 4 Starters, where I had the turkey club with a basil spread. Tasty. We also went to the Hayner Center’s open house to see how local decorators decorated the place. (It was the Troy Public Library when dad was a kid, and he had quite a few memories of Christmas parties there since his mom was a librarian in P. Hill.)

We then decided to head to Crafts 2000 in Springfield to look for “ingredients” for my Christmas Craft idea. I’ll be making something for the female relatives and it’s a bit interesting and I hope it winds up looking nifty. Mom and I found stuff we think will work, but I haven’t started crafting yet. We also popped into Hobby Lobby, but didn’t find anything there.

Once we returned home, it was Wine Time. So dad got out assorted cheeses and nibbles and I had an Oliver Wineries raspberry-flavored cider while we watched my DVD of Miracle on 34th Street. Such a lovely movie. Probably my favorite holiday flick (definitely up there with Muppet Family Christmas and Muppet Christmas Carol.)

So anyhoo, a lovely weekend with the folks followed with an evening reading with Lucy on my lap. With my Monkey Face Snuggie, pine-scented candle, cat on lap, and eBook reader (currently reading Terrier by Tamora Pierce and enjoying it), I am a happy camper. Er, reader. Or whatever.

Thanksgiving And Then Some

This was a lovely Thanksgiving holiday. Didn’t get to celebrate with my sister or Rachel (they were off in Maine with Rachel’s folks), but other than that, had a lovely time with the folks and with dad’s family.

We let Kroger (a grocery store chain) cater our Thanksgiving supper. They provided the turkey, mashed potatoes, “traditional” stuffing, sweet potato souffle, broccoli rice casserole, rolls, and cranberry fazooti. Or something. We supplemented with a few other things. I made my Thanksgiving cheeseball and Amy’s chestnut stuffing (but with hazelnuts since we couldn’t find any chestnuts). Bill made noodles. Cheryl brought veggies. Becky brought pies. (Oh yeah, Kroger provided an apple strudel pie, too.) I brought red velvet cake I’d gotten from Market Day. Deanna brought beverages. Dinner was nice and there was plenty of food. We even got a game of Crazy Rummy in before the night was over.

For “Black Friday” we managed to miss the major stores. Well, we popped into Kohl’s 12 hours after they opened and the lines were still ridiculous, so we headed on to Downtown Troy for some shopping. And then onto Downtown Greenville for more. I finally got to try chocolate covered bacon. I’m glad I got to finally try it, but I don’t think I’ll buy it again.

For “Small Business Saturday” I decorated the outside of my house (like Friday, it was a gorgeous day – warm enough to go without a jacket) and then joined the folks for more Downtown Shopping – this time in Tipp City. Today has been a “clean the house, already!” and do laundry day. I got the tree out from the basement, but it’s only lit, not yet decorated. And I’ve not put out my friendship lights yet. Ah well. I’ll get it done. The living room has been re-arranged so that the tree is front & center in the big picture window again.

Still haven’t seen The Muppets yet. Hoping to see it and a few other films before they leave the theaters. But I’m quite pleased with how the “start” of the holiday season has gone.

Train Shows & Workshops & Co-Ops and Things

Today was an excellent day. This followed an excellent workshop that I went to yesterday.

Thursday night I drove to Bloomington (4 hour trip in the rain, thankfully with a half-hour stop at Qdoba for supper) and checked into the hotel at the Memorial Union. Still neat hotel – I was on the 2nd floor, which changes from hotel to conference rooms to… the 3rd floor of the university bookstore.

Anyhoo, yesterday was our fall follow-up meeting for ACP chemistry. Nearly all of us ACP chemistry teachers were present. They treated us to a continental breakfast (I had a bagel & a schmear and some fresh fruit) and had several interesting sessions, plus some time to chat with others “in the same boat.”

I confessed to a small group that I was afraid that I wasn’t teaching the material fast enough or rigorous enough, and one of the “old timers” assured me “Oh, don’t worry. That fear never goes away.” Which, honestly, reassured me. One of the ladies who helped me out before we started the program (who I met in person for the first time yesterday) let me know that I was only a little behind her and not to worry.

The ACP folks also treated us to lunch in the Tudor Room (in the little Coronation Room wing), which was wonderful. And then I discovered the dessert table which was even more wonderful. I had a slice of coconut cream pie (with meringue and not whipped topping – yum!) and then went back for a huge red velvet cake cupcake. (Alas, I then saw someone eating creme brulee! Ah well, what I had was lovely.)

After the workshops were over, I piled back into my car and ran my errands on the way home. First a stop at Krogers for Fat Tire beer for dad (and a 6-pack of Snow Day, their winter seasonal beer) and some gasoline for my car. Then a pull into Oliver Wineries for some hard cider. Alas, they had none of their peach-flavored cider, but I still got myself a 12-pack of the regular hard cider (and a nifty pint glass with the Beanblossom Cider logo). Then on to Indianapolis to Trader Joe’s.

Just like my last trip home from Bloomington, I stopped at the Thai Taste for supper and had Pad Thai. But first, I had an appetizer of squid tempura, which was very tasty. Tempura is probably the best coating I’ve had on fried squid. After my short trip to Trader Joe’s (yay, peppermint Joe-Joes!), I headed back home.

Unlike the drive there Thursday, my drive back was rain-free (sunny during the daylight hours, crisp & clear for the nighttime hours). I arrived in the house just before 10pm.

So today’s main plan was for dad and me to go to the Dayton Train Show (which has become something of a tradition for us). When I got to the folks, I first suggested that mom and I visit our Co-Op (which doesn’t have a storefront yet, but sells their wares in the Troy Meat Market). Mom suggested walking there, so we did. They were out of some of the things that I was interested in, but I saw several things I can get there when I’m out here.

By the time we returned, it was lunchtime, so mom recommended the “new” sandwich shop in town. And that we walk there too. Dad and I were game, so the three of us walked there. It’s called 4 Starters Coffee Cafe. I got a turkey with feta & sun dried tomatoes sandwich while mom and I split a peach smoothie. It was all tasty (even the sandwiches mom and dad ordered) and we’ll definitely return. Turns out they’ve been there since July, even though we only recently heard of the place.

Dad and I then headed off to the Train Show. We filled out our “door prize” cards, like always, and joked about how we never win. And weren’t 3 booths from the entrance when they announced that dad had won a door prize! Go dad! He picked a train model from the options left (HO gauge, rather than N or G which he has – but it was from a company he’d always wanted to get but hadn’t.)

The neat place that had loads of nifty tools last year was back again this year. So I bought another digital caliper for work for only $20. I think 5 will be ideal for my Advanced Problems in Science class (which is usually 10 students or fewer). I also decided to buy myself a Chessie mug (with a cute little kitty logo) The C&O was always my favorite railroad line, mostly for that kitty, but the B&O was always a close second. (I’m biased towards Ohio, what can I say?)

Dad found a few things to buy as well. Some G-scale straight track for his big train (which he’s going to put up in the Club House for the holiday season) and a neat little miter box & saw perfect for small jobs that you need a 90 or 45° angles sawed.) And when we watched the displays, we saw an N-scale train with 126 cars that were going around & around the track! So we declared this the best train show ever. 🙂

We got back home when it was Wine Time, so dad got me out a hard apple cider and mom popped us some popcorn. I showed mom how to download audiobooks from her library onto her iPod (thanks to OverDrive and iTunes). And then it was time for me to head home. And now, it’s time to watch Thor, which I rented from the Kroger Redbox on my way home from the folks.

Ends & Odds

Actually had a weekend without any festivals. Kind of sad, but also good. The folks and I took the opportunity to do a Trader Joe’s run yesterday to get our usual assortment of chocolate and nuts and (for the folks) wine. Then last evening we went to a party at the Fisher’s. They had steaks and shrimp on the grill and we stuffed ourselves and enjoyed the company outside in the wonderful autumn evening.

Today I tried to be productive and was mostly successful. I got up late, but still finished laundry, did a bit more grocery shopping, baked a loaf of white bread (I think this is better than the prior batch, but still not quite what I’m looking for), and made some chicken and rice soup. I used brown rice in the soup, and I think that was ideal. It still has a bit of bite to it, despite the simmering time.

Things that I wanted to do but didn’t get around to include vacuuming floors and mopping the kitchen. And the poor kitties are on “old” food cuz I ordered their real food too late. It’ll probably show up tomorrow. Bad mommy!

Finally have the opportunity to sit & relax & read. But first I thought I’d post this entry. Lucy’s sitting beside me on the arm of the comfy chair. Since it’s gotten a bit chilly at night, she’s back to being my extra blanket at night. I like her using me as a full body pillow. 🙂

This week is the last week of the first quarter at school. Man, the year has flown by. I think I might be getting a better handle on the new chemistry course, but time will tell.

OK, back to relaxing. Ahhhhh.

The Trees are Purty

Lovely autumn weekend! Perfect weather. Friday was Fall Fair at school, which was fun, as usual. The class challenge, as usual, was hilarious. Yesterday, the folks and I went to Lost Creek for the Antique & Garden Show and for the FallFarmFest. Today was a trip to the Fairborn area for Doctor Who Magazines and Indian Fud.

But the highlight of the weekend was tonight at the Lake. The folks had a couple of friends from their “village” over and I was invited too. Dad grilled brats and veggies and mom made kraut. And dad had made his world famous (well, maybe not WORLD famous) slaw. So cabbage for all! Dessert was peach pie ala mode. Yum!

Autumn at the Lake
Autumn at the Lake

Sunset at the Lake
Sunset at the Lake

Oktoberfest 2011

Happy October everyone! I was checking on last year’s posts for something and noticed that I only posted twice last October. I hope I’m not so lax this year!

The original plan for the weekend was Oktoberfest on Saturday after mom got off from work. So I decided that Sunday would be cook chilli and bake bread day. Dad came over Saturday morning for breakfast with me at the local UCC that has an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast on the first Saturday of the month. We had a nice breakfast of pancakes, sausage, and eggs, chatted with lots of folks, then walked back, stopping in to talk to Jack at the bike shop.

Dad returned home, and I did some odds & ends at home, waiting for mom to get off work. But she called later and said it was too cold and rainy, we should go Sunday. I agreed, but later realized that sort of screwed up my chilli and bread plans. And laundry. So I decided to get onto that as early as I could Sunday.

So today, I got up at a sort of reasonable hour (but not as early as I should have). I started laundry, made myself a nice poached egg on toast breakfast (using my flaxseed bread for toast), and headed off to Troy for a few things. First I needed to pick up my new glasses. Got there half an hour early, but needed some stuff so I shopped a bit (my eye doc is at Walmart – heh).

Next to Lowe’s for an air filter for my central air, then Meijer for fruit and chilli supplies. Then back home for cooking, laundry, and baking. The goal was to be done with it all by 3, but it wound up being 4 before I was done. The bread didn’t rise as nice as last week’s – dunno if it’s because of the recipe or because it was cooler in my kitchen this weekend. Smells good – will get to eat some tomorrow.

The folks picked me up at 4 and we headed off to Minster for Oktoberfest. We’re usually there for lunch, and on Saturday. So Sunday afternoon was a bit more crowded than we were used to. Mom zipped us through the crafts pretty swiftly. None of us saw anything we had to have, so then it was on to the food booths.

After looking at all the options, I settled on my usual. Fries and lemon shake-up from one vendor (shared with the folks), and brat mit kraut from another. And the mini-donuts for dessert. Mom picked the elephant ear for dessert. So we shared desserts too. Yum!

It turned out we were only there for little over an hour. But it was a fun time. And I bought Yet Another Oktoberfest Mug to go with the others I’ve collected. Each year, Minster sells a glass mug with a new Oktoberfest logo. The price for the longest time was $8, but it was $9 this year. (Might have raised last year, but I didn’t note it in last year’s entry. Alas.)

Next weekend is more stuff – Fall Fair and the Lost Creek antique show. And this week is supposed to have great weather. Here’s hoping I take advantage of it and get lots of walks in.

Festival Food is Good

This past week, I had a major disagreement with a sinus infection or cold and spent most of my evenings sleeping on Nyquil. But after a horrendous headache on Thursday, I seem to have come out the other end relatively unscathed. Go me!

So today, the folks and I did more Festivalling. In fact, we hit 3 in one day, two of them new for me. We started out at the New Bremen Pumpkin Festival, a first for all of us. New Bremen is a small town not far from mom & dad’s lake cottage. (judiang and I went to New Bremen this summer to visit the Bicycle Museum of America and she took videos with her iPod and recently made YouTube videos of it.)

So anyhoo, the purpose of that festival, apparently, is for pumpkin growers to bring their MONSTER PUMPKINS out for competition. OMG, these things were bigger than kids! I took some pix with my phone and hope to post them later. We didn’t want to wait around for them to weigh the suckers, but they had quite a gizmo up to do the deed. (Before you see the pix, I’ll just quantify this a bit to say they had to use a fork lift to move these pumpkins!)

The only thing I ate at the pumpkin festival was a Belgian Waffle on a stick. Not one of the better festival foods – it was a bit too cakey. Still, we had plans for lunch at Fort Loramie, so that’s where we went next.

The German Heritage Festival is basically an excuse to eat German food and listen to polka. Only no one was there playing polka, so we ate German food and listened to the DJ play stuff like “Hang on Sloopy” (in honor of the OSU Buckeyes). I had jaeger schnitzel on a pretzel bun and Reuben bites with 1000 Island dipping sauce. The tenderloin was very tender and I really liked the Reuben bites. No crafts at this Festival, so mom decided we should go south to the Mum festival next.

We took a short break at the cabin, then another short stop at Sears (so I could get a filter for my air purifier), but eventually got to Tipp City for the Mum Festival. I used to teach at Tipp, but never did get to their Mum festival. So today I rectified that oversight.

Compared to the other two festivals we went to today, the Mum festival is HUGE. Loads of crafts and food. However, no mum-based foodstuffs… So completely unlike Troy’s Strawberry Festival… 😉

Since we’d had lunch in Fort Loramie, my main goal here was dessert. Mom and I were pleased to discover someone selling kettle corn, so we each bought a large bag for later (though we snacked on mine a bit while we walked around). After we were nearly all the way through, I decided to try a deep fried Snickers bar. Since I’d had deep fried Oreos and Twinkies, I felt it best to try candy bars. And OMG – very rich and very tasty. Definitely a surprise.

Dad took us home and then I headed off to my own home, with a stop at the grocery for fresh fruit & veg. My goal is to be productive tomorrow and get my house cleaned & some vegetable soup made. And, if I’m really productive, bake a loaf of bread. May try flaxseed bread. Anyhoo, wish me luck on being productive!

Autumn Comes Early

Still a couple of days until we’re really into Autumn, but with out recent cool & pleasant days along with the autumn festivals, it feels like we’re into my favorite season already. Yay!

Last weekend didn’t have much in the way of festivals, but the folks joined me on Sunday for BBQ chicken from the local fire house (their bi-annual fundraiser) and a Netflix stream of Tangled. We enjoyed the food and the movie.

Also last weekend was my first attempt at beer bread that wasn’t from a kit. Turns out beer bread is a pretty simple recipe. Since I had 3 cans of Guinness left from my Guinness brownies, I found a Guinness beer bread recipe and tried it. Pretty tasty, albeit a bit bitter. Really good lightly toasted with butter on.

Yesterday, after work, I joined the folks for an outing to the Lake Festival. At Lake Loramie (where my folks cottage is) they have an annual Antique Power Show and Lake Festival. There’s a group there that sells HUGE pots of mums for $5, so mum gets her mums from there. I decided to buy a pot this year too, so I’ll have some lovely white mums on my porch if I don’t kill the plant first!

We ate brats with kraut for supper there, shared a corn dog, had corn on the cob (still sweet!), and then I decided to try the deep fried Twinkie one group was offering. Wow, who knew that deep frying even makes Twinkies taste good?!

I spent the night with the folks, and this morning (late this morning) we did the Farmer’s Market runs as usual. I bought a red pepper at one (should have gotten my sweet onion from there too) and some Houtz cheese (a hard goat cheese) from the other. I put the cheese in the cooler we brought along just in case they had the cheese this time, and then we went to Taste of Troy.

Several restaurants and businesses had tents at Taste of Troy this year. Rather than being spread out throughout the square, they just had it at Proudy Plaza (where the concerts were held this summer) in order for traffic to still go through the square. I managed to spend $20 worth of tickets on lots of different food things. All pretty tasty. Even have a caramel apple and a piece of peach pie for later.

After we returned, I helped mom move her “new” chair to her bonus room above the garage. Then I headed off to my “shopping chores” before home. In an hour and a half or so, I’m off to Aunt Becky’s for a night of card playing. Don’t need supper, will likely just eat snacks at Becky’s. (I bought Munchies, cuz I’m evil.)

Tomorrow is Rest Up and Do Laundry Day. At work, I’d just like to know what it feels like to be “caught up” again. 🙂 But the weekends are great for having time to enjoy myself. Especially with our wonderful autumn weather!

Festival Time Starts Up Strong!

Ah, today was wondrously cool and breezy (blustery, even). Sure, we’ll be seeing warmer temps at the end of the week, but the promise of autumn is here.

And with the end of summer/start of autumn comes festival season. Two weekends ago was a great start to things. Friday saw Downtown Troy have their “Final Friday” with stores staying open late and lots of local musicians playing outside of shops/restaurants. Some of the local artists were out as well. No street vending of food, but the folks and I sated ourselves with pear hard cider from Leaf & Vine, sangria from the furniture store (that combo made me drunk – I am such a light weight!), and Chinese food from Tokyo Peking.

Saturday, I had agreed to be the DD for my folks and their friends for the FareFest in Versailles (pronounced as spelled). This was the 3rd year of this festival, but the first time for us. The folks and their friends split the cost of my food-only ticket, while they all got their special wine glasses and all the wine, beer, and cider they could drink. Several local restaurants and caterers were there with food as well. The food was excellent and I hear tell the wine & beer was good as well. I got everyone home safe und sound.

The folks and I also attended the downtown concert on the square that night, which was excellent. The brass (and percussion) section of the Air Force Band performed quite a few numbers. I even turned to dad once and said “this group would be great doing a Spike Jones piece” and two songs later, they did a Spike Jones piece! They did Pal-Yat-Chee, which was brilliant. One of the best shows this summer.

Then this last weekend (Labor Day weekend) was a nice end of summer weekend, with all sorts of weather available. Friday was stonking hot, so I stayed inside with my lovely air conditioning. Saturday was nearly as warm, so I went swimming with mom. Our last time in the pool for this year. *sniff* Sunday was a cookout at mom & dad’s cottage at Lake Loramie with my dad’s family. We had an excellent game of Shanghai Rum (I didn’t win, alas) and dad grilled us a fine assortment of tube steaks. Although it had rained (stormed) earlier on Sunday, it left us alone, for the most part, at the cookout.

Labor day was our day at the Piqua Heritage Festival, one of my favorite festivals. I had already felt bad for the folks who camp there the whole 3-day weekend due to the really strong storms early Sunday and the horrid heat of Saturday. Monday was a whole different kettle of fish. It barely reached 60F that day. I was optimistic that it would hit high 60s, but it didn’t, so I was a bit chilly in my t-shirt. Still, the crafts were neat to see and the food was tasty. I had corn on the cob, strawberry lemon shake-up (needed more sugar), fried catfish & fried tater tots. And to top it all off, battered & deep-fried peach. Now THAT was tasty! To take home, I bought kettle corn, saltwater taffy, cinnamon roasted pecans, and a CD of local music (Celtic Bluegrass, I believe.)

Later that afternoon, when I was relaxing with the cats, working on a website, and finally thawed out, mom called to say that we were invited to a cookout with her family – right now. So I finished the website update and headed out (this time with a jacket) for dinner with the Andersons. It was lovely to see folks again, and the food was tasty. My cousin, Gregg, grilled sliders and dogs, both nicely done.

So now, summer is over but for the equinox. But thankfully, festival season has only just begun!