Tuesday, March 29, 2022

Monday (er, Tuesday) Stuff On the Way to Other Stuff: HOME

      The news about Stuff this week is...there is no stuff. We spent last week in the Prescott/Chino Valley, AZ area, getting the roof replaced on the fifth-wheel. While waiting, we stayed in a hotel -- did a lot of swimming and watching movies, but mostly... slept. It was a long, drawn-out trip to AZ, thanks to very little sleep, driving to get there in time. Then the truck broke down.

     We limped into the dealer in Albuquerque, NM. We spent $1000 there on repairs, and a LOT of money on gas. About the cheapest we paid was $4.38/gallon -- most of the time, we paid closer to $5-5.30. Aaargghgh.. Add that to the roof costs, and it has been a very expensive trip. 

     The good news: we're now home in Colorado, parked at our friends' ranch. (We act as caretakers for them when we're not on the road.) We pulled in Sunday night, parked...and slept nearly 12 hours. Yesterday and today, we started doing some needed repairs (leaks on both the toilet and the kitchen sink), sorting through the things I brought back from The Mama's estate for the girlies, and putting things in order. There's more to go -- but it's a start.

     I'll be back next week with a Stufff column. Thanks for your patience, Gentle Readers...you'll be hearing more from me as the dust settles, and we restitch the threads of our old life. 


(Yes, it's snowing tonight. Welcome to Colorado.)


    

Thursday, March 24, 2022

Monday (er, Thursday) Stuff On the Way To Other Stuff: Prescott, Finally

    Yes, we're still alive and kicking. Feebly...but we're getting stronger.

After a bunch of late nights working on The Mama's estate, and getting the fifth-wheel ready to roll, we left Michigan -- or tried to. It's been raining so much that the farmyard was mucky gumbo. Nephew came over to do some work -- and got stuck. The Brick got him out...then we got stuck, trying to leave. It took $200 and a wrecker to get us on the road, hours late. After five months away, it felt good, and a little strange, seeing Michigan in the rear-view mirror.

     We drove and drove and DROVE -- and then the truck started acting funny. A stop at an Albuquerque, NM dealer, more hours lost, and we finally made it to the Prescott, AZ area...10 p.m. After driving all night, with no sleep.

     An interesting sideline: leaving Albuquerque, we were treated to dozens of squad cars, sirens screaming, exists blocked and police crouching by the highway barriers, guns pulled and ready. Turns out an inmate being transported faked a heart attack -- then grabbed the deputy and commandeered the van. They finally pulled him over by deflating his tires...but it was pretty iffy there for a while.

     Makes you wonder if the police ever watched The Fugitive.

     The fifth-wheel is getting its roof done while we catch up on sleep, snack and watch some movies. (Plus the Michigan-Villanova college basketball game, which Michigan lost. Sigh.) To celebrate our 40th anniversary -- which had to be postponed, due to events -- the Brick upgraded the hotel, so we've had a nice breakfast every day...and I've loved using the hot tub and swimming pool. We go out to eat one meal a day, or stop and get pizza -- which has made cooking very easy. 

    The trailer should be finished tomorrow. Then it's home to Colorado. Spring is happening here in Arizona -- we hope its started at home, as well.


A real live invisibility cloak (or screen)-- and it's in production!

The woman who shoved a well-known vocal coach (and caused her death) is found -- turns out she's an events planner in NYC. And has been hiding the past few weeks...

A luxury hotel, golf course and ski slopes -- all the wonderful things that Covid relief funds purchased. (Shame on Colorado for being part of this.)

Caitlyn/Bruce Jenner's Vanity Fair shoot was crashed by Kim Kardashian -- or at least she tried to.

Home-done fried chicken dinners. 

Wonderful Irish recipes and related movies. (From One Hundred Dollars A Month)

Four ancient Roman battering rams are found...off the coast of Sicily! (Think the sea battle scene in Ben-Hur)


Tim Conway, as the Oldest Conductor in the World, with the Sydney orchestra:

The New York Times finally admitted that Hunter Biden's left-at-the-computer-shop laptop is REAL. And he 'probably' had some of the iffy meetings he claimed not to do. (But his former business partner confirmed.) The Washington Post finally admitted it, too -- but had its own share of excuses Why We Didn't Take This Seriously. Yep, the sky is indeed falling. 

An update from Helen Gibb, about her fundraiser to help replace her studio and materials. 

The would-have-been Queen of France just died. She was 83.

Mike Pence will probably not be Donald Trump's running mate in 2024. Lucky him!

Another cold-case criminal id'ed by his DNA. (Only he died some years ago.)

Healthier late-night snacks.

A judge discovers his birth parents -- they left him as a newborn in a shoebox.

The most brutal punishments in Hell. (Yes, they're rude -- this is the Babylon Bee, after all.)

Best scones ever. Hey, they ARE good.  (From Kitchen Magpie)


Planning for a splurge -- and saving for it, as well as recovering afterwards.  (From Penniless Parenting)

Strange -- and funny -- commuter moments. 

Poor Anna Sorokin...will probably have to stay in Germany now. Maybe she can impress someone there as an American heiress! More comments on her con job as an heiress...and she's sounding less and less apologetic. (Ship her back to Germany -- quick!) Speaking of 'terrible tourists:'

Ten times awful tourists were arrested.  

    Too bad this didn't include the family banned from New Zealand!

One of Colorado's ski runs had to close -- because an aggressive moose wouldn't leave the skiers alone.

Hope you're having a good week.



Monday, March 14, 2022

The Line Forms Behind Her...

 




Tell Biden And Co. How You Feel -- For A Nickel Each!

 Show the President how proud you are of his actions.

These stickers let you do it -- 200 stickers (4 styles, 50 each) are only $9.99 on Amazon, with free shipping. (You don't have to order anything else, or meet the $25 minimum.)

    Five cents each, plus a penny or less for tax.

Think of all the special ways you can stick with (or stick it to) the WH administration! 








Sunday, March 13, 2022

Dogged Attention

 


Charley only watched shows that had chickens -- and horses. But he never read the book.


Ruby could care less, either way. Even tv dogs barking? Naaahhh...

''I would have kicked their butts..." (muttering)


The cat would disagree.




Monday Stuff On the Way to Other Stuff: Time to Go

      We're outa here -- soon.

We need to be in Prescott, Arizona next Monday -- which means at least 2-3 days to get there. There's more sorting and packing to be done inside The Mama's house. Washing clothes (and donating extras from our wardrobes). Clearing out the freezers and refrigerator. 

     Work's ahead -- but we're looking at the end of our stay in Michigan. The hard part is saying 'so long for now' to people we have grown to love. Including our cousins, and the wonderful people at Casnovia's North Chester Baptist, our adopted church here. We will miss seeing them so often.

Cranes -- hundreds, thousands of them -- are headed to Lamar, CO's state park.

Patterns of Evidence -- a documentary series on the Jewish people's trip from Egypt back to the Promised Land. We just saw 'Exodus' and 'The Moses Controversy' -- and they were fascinating.


Jamie Curtis didn't hold her stomach in for this movie. Good for her!

   Tina Peters, a Colorado election official, gets arrested for messing with the election. (Yep folks, she's a Republican. Ouch.)

These stickers are showing up on gas pumps; Sluggy noticed this one. Only...it showed up MONTHS AGO, long before Russia's invasion of Ukraine. More about these here.

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I don't know about your neck of the woods, but diesel in Grand Rapids, MI is going for at least $5.39/gallon. That's up 80 cents/gallon more than it was two weeks ago.

A very funny speech to graduates, by the infamous Dave Barry.  

Creepy ideas...done well. Very well.

'Noble facts' about Have Gun, Will Travel.  (One of our favorite Westerns.)

My new favorite song, thanks to an Alexa commercial:  Boogie Nights, from 1976.



Ten weird facts about the 'cursed' crying-boy painting and its strange connection to fire.  Did you know its painter's house and studio burned down -- then he was killed in an auto accident?

Ten unsolved mysteries of the Covid 19 pandemic.   These are more than a bit unsettling.

The world's first pig heart transplant dies...months later. 

A New Jersey man finds a pearl in the clam he's eating -- it may be worth thousands.

Another funny 'webtoon' from the cartoonist who actually THINKS.  Seems especially fitting these past few weeks:


24 ways to vacation on a budget(From Making Sense of Cents)

Time to plant peas! 

The Carnival of Personal Finance -- an ongoing collection of financial helps.

The five-second rule for eating. In our house, it's more often the 30-second rule, but Ruby the dog (ever alert to dropsy) often makes that irrelevant.  (From Being Frugal)

'Money Diaries' from a Texan on disability -- the first one is here, and the extra is here. Once you read the courage and gutsy cheerfulness of this woman, you won't be griping about your own situation again. 

Planning on resigning your job? Here's an extremely helpful checklist.  (From Bitches Get Riches) They've also got a great post on how to start saving -- by saving small.

The Dollar Tree Meal Plan -- a budget based on this discount store...which is now $1.25, by the way.  (From the Budget Epicurean)

Hopefully spring is indeed on your doorstep. (Or, in the case of the Aussies, fall.) Have a good week




Friday, March 11, 2022

Birthdays - And Packing Updates

 Not mine -- just in general.


(For more interesting birthday quotes, go here. They might come in handy for your next natal celebration.)


A 27-foot storage trailer is parked by The Mama's garage. Thanks to assorted family members, pizza and freezer leftovers, we emptied the garage of house things from back in 2019, repacked it in the trailer, then added more items from The Mama's estate. Not many for us -- mostly for the girlies, at this point. On the plus side, we unearthed a number of 'missing' pieces, including two bins of videos and my dutch oven. (I've been wanting to make Mavis' dutch oven bread.)

Lesson learned: after all that lifting and toting, prepare to hurt. A lot. The Brick is crabby this morning, since I was hanging out with Dave Barry. Sore muscles do not appreciate the bed jiggling from suppressed laughter. (You'd laugh too, if you were reading this.)

We are up to our hips in Stuff. Some of it's important, but mostly what I can't bear to let go yet: silly plaques from the kitchen wall ("One old goat and one cute chick live here"); books given to my mom as a kid; costume jewelry; blue glass canning jars; samplers and small quilts I stitched for her, etc. etc. Plus a healthy sprinkling of the odd. Why in the world did we have so many games, like Aggravation and Kerplunk? Why was a feedstore ledger from the 1880s jammed in the middle of The Mama's quilt books?

     And why were two gold teeth included in the lone 'good' jewelry box I found? (One cousin announced that she also had a gold tooth -- 'and you'd better get it out of there when I'm gone.' ) Gold prices are pretty high right now. And I have appraised at least two estates that included a tooth or two. But where did these teeth come from?

     Mysteries. And no one to ask -- only two aunts, both in their nineties, are still here. They would have no idea about the teeth -- and why we played so many rounds of Battleship. 




      

Thursday, March 10, 2022

For All You Brides-to-Be Out There




Gee, and I thought asking for a blender on my registry was going too far.
     You probably guessed this -- the comments were not encouraging.



photo from knotsvilla.com via PInterest


 

Monday, March 7, 2022

Shades of Classics Illustrated...

 


(Yes, I mean this. Did you ever read these?)

by John Atkinson.  Here's his version:  Abridged Classics: Brief Summaries of Books You Were Supposed to Read - But Probably Didn't. 

    Case in point: War And Peace. "Everyone's sad. It snows."

More on this very funny cartoonist here.

Monday Stuff on the Way to Other Stuff: Ya Think It's Spring? Think Again

     Spring came to Michigan this past week...or so we thought. It's busy snowing this Monday afternoon, as I'm typing -- and a windstorm two nights before took off a batch of shingles from both the barn and the garage at The Mama's farm. (The house seems to have escaped.) 

     We are still planning on being in Prescott, AZ around March 21. We may have to postpone it a week or so, if everything doesn't finish out here first...but hopefully not. That's meant a round of goodbye visits with friends and cousins we've grown close to during the past five months. Yesterday, one of my dear high school friends, along with his 'little' (now grown) brother, roared into the barnyard on motorcycles. They stayed for several hours, and demolished a batch of chocolate chip cookies made with my mom's recipe. (The Brick likes them, too.)

     Cousins... friends. That's the bad part of leaving -- you go away from people you love. 

     This week will have more snow, cold, sorting and packing up...and prayers for the people of Ukraine. 


Meanwhile:

The People's Convoy is in D.C. More power to them!

Our sympathetic (and clueless) Vice President's take on ever-increasing record gas prices: We should all switch to electric cars. Or public transportation. Now. (The Transportation Secretary echoed her, by the way.) We all have the money ("resources") to do it -- what are we waiting for?? (Psaki just blames Putin.)

    I would really, really like to know how VP Harris and Secretary Buttigieg got to this news conference. The subway, right?   (Oops, not this time.  Not for the Inauguration, either. You should already know about Buttigieg's bike-riding shenanigans.  He rides his bike to work "some days," at least.)                                                                                                                                                       Can you say the word "hypocrite?"

Helen Gibb's fundraiser is still up and active. Please consider helping out this wonderful quilting/embroidery teacher rebuild and resupply. (Yes, I donated, too.)

Frozen blueberry margaritas -- ooh, sounds good.  (From Who Needs A Cape)

Who was the real Miss Havisham in Dickens' Great Expectations?

A Russian Bigfoot...on the phone?  According to what I read, the man onstage had a Russian friend...who had a Bigfoot friend. And then gave him/her/it the phone for a bit? That part wasn't clear.


She kicked him out -- then he won $13 million in a lottery.  (I suspect there's more to the kicking-out part of the story than he would like us to hear.)

What it was like to date a Hollywood star -- in the 'olden days,' that is.

Flourless, no-dairy peanut butter cookies. Great for my cousins and nieces...from Budget Bytes.

A wet, freezing deer rescued...by a hunting guide. You'll like this endearing look at the wildlife we love.

The Vanderbilt mansion in NYC has finally sold -- for $32.2 million. (It was originally on the market for $50 million.) Yes, Gloria's old home. (I don't know why I follow this stuff...but I do. Appreciation for old architecture, I guess. Plus disdain for other things.)

Can Wendy's roast other things, besides burgers? Yes, they can!

Embroideries, made by mixing stitching with printed fabrics. Kewl.

A tax credit you may be able to take advantage of, if you're lower-income. Thanks, Donna Freedman.

The Atlanta -- one of the newest old shipwrecks (1892) found in Lake Superior. 

Neighbors who keep their compatriots amused...and hopping.  (Okay, not so amused sometimes.)

How to make 'fabric' from fused plastic bags -- and crayons.

And three of my favorite females to watch...sometimes with amusement, often surprised by how much they get away with:

Megan Markle's being sued for libel by her half-sister Samantha...boo dee hoo hoo, poor big sister has been so badly treated. Of course, Samantha's done more than her share of nasty comments, insults and innuendos for her royal sibling...but those don't apparently count. 

Serial stowaway Marilyn Hartman is sentenced to 3 1/2 years in jail -- but she's almost served that already. (Don't worry... she'll be back in action shortly.)

My dear friend Anna Sorokin -- she says she's too poor to fund her appeal to stay in the U.S. (so she should get "poor persons relief"). Yet in a separate deportation case, her lawyer says she's wealthy enough to support herself nicely in the U.S. So which is it?

You have hobbies, too -- right? Watching these dears operate are some of mine.

The top five Viking hoards. Treasure for you to ponder.

Paint over the back pocket of your jeans - for interesting results. (I personally wouldn't choose Mickey, since the Disney people can get very protective of their designs. But there are plenty of other images you could choose.)



Ten 'essential items' for your fallout shelter, courtesy of the Babylon Bee. Hey, the Brick would go for including Battlestar Galactica!



The history of 2021 -- by the objects sold via Heritage Auctions. Fascinating. Including the story of a Norman Rockwell that hung unremarked in an American Foreign Legion post for years. (They thought it was a repro. It sold for more than FOUR MILLION $$.)

Frugal places to eat that most people either don't know...or forget about. (I'd add Sam's Club for the tasty hot dog/drink combol, too, Len Penzo. You can even grab an extra pack of sauerkraut for the road.)

Tips on living with "dead money."  (Thanks, Financial Samurai)

Traveling with your dog -- all over the world. Our Charley would have loved this...but at 100 or so pounds, it might not have worked. Especially the rock climbing.



Dark, moody...and elegant. A 350-foot studio renovated.

"What we ate on $25 a week." An interesting report from Cheapskate Cook.

Ten popular colors that don't exist...according to Listverse, that is. 

A quick hack to get your chicken skin crispier. It's easy, too.

'The herbiest' bean soup -- 3 ingredients!

The frugal sybarite. Donna Freedman strikes another blow for luxurious frugality.

Overnight cinnamon rolls.  (Yum, The Frugal Girl)



Michael Keaton won a SAG award -- but was in the bathroom when it was announced! If we ever get invited to the Governor's mansion, I swear one of us would probably sneeze on the poor man...or be in the bathroom when it was our turn to be introduced.  (Keaton did a fine job in The Protege, by the way. Watch it, if you can.)




Have a good week. Stay warm. After all...





Tuesday, March 1, 2022

Happy St. David's Day!

 


(That's how you really say it.)

My own David (the Brick's first name) reminded me that today, March 1st, is HIS day.

Well, it's  named for Dewi Sant, a Welsh bishop who lived in the 6th century. 'St. David' is often pictured with a white dove (representing the Holy Spirit, I'd guess) on his shoulder. 



St. David...a hero saint of Wales. 

Celebrate his special day by pinning a leek on your shirt.  (Why leeks? Find out here.)



Or be a weenie and wear a daffodil, instead.


Then you can parade around like this:




According to Rhygyfarch (a historian, and the major source on David's life), St. David was born to St. Non, a nun and a tribesman’s daughter after she was raped by Sant, the son of the prince of Ceredigion. It is said that the birth took place upon a hilltop during a violent storm, where the Chapel of St. Non stands today. Legend also has it that an angel had predicted St. David’s birth thirty years before it occurred.

St. David’s early life was spent studying the Holy Scripture, first under St. Illtyd at Caerworgorn, and then under St. Paulinus. Upon completing his education, he became a travelling monk who established and restored twelve monasteries across Wales, Dumnonia and Brittany. He managed to convert many pagans to the Christian faith during this travels, and soon founded his own monastery at ‘Glyn Rhosyn’ in Pembrokeshire.

Life at the ‘Glyn Rhosyn’ monastery was extremely arduous for the monks residing there. The men were only allowed to consume bread with herbs, vegetables, milk and water. Indeed, St. David himself only ever drank water, giving him the name ‘Dewi Ddyfrwr’ (David the water drinker).

They were forced to pull their own ploughs without the help of animals, and were obliged to pray constantly throughout the day. Moreover, the monks were not permitted to speak amongst themselves unless in an emergency. It is thus not difficult to imagine that some monks were bitter about their austere lifestyle.

On one occasion, a group attempted to poison St. David’s food, a plot which was foiled when St. David blessed the food and ate it without coming to any harm. It was following this incident that David went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, where the Patriarch anointed him Archbishop.

The above is not the only miracle St. David is said to have performed. In more than one account, David is said to have healed the blind – the first at his baptism where the blessed water was used to bestow sight upon a blind man, and the second, when he healed his blind teacher, St. Paulinus, by making the sign of the cross. It is also said he raised a widow’s son from the dead.

However, the most famous tale of St. David’s miracle-working originates at the synod of Brevi. It is said that St. David preached so loudly that the ground below him rose into a hill so all could see him.

St. David passed away on March 1st when he was over 100 years of age, apparently surrounded by angels who would take his soul to Heaven. Some texts even state that he lived to be 147, and that he had predicted the date of his death a week in advance.

At his final sermon, he called upon the monks to “do the little things” (gwneud y pethau bychain), an expression which remains inspirational to the Welsh people even today.

St. David was buried at his monastery, which is now the site of St. David’s Cathedral. It was also the destination of many pilgrimages during the Middle Ages.



Happy St. David's Day!







You Go, Kids!

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