Ouch...

 

Hmmm...

 

Frugal Hits & Misses: May Report

     May is such a strange month -- one minute, it's warm and sunny. The next, it's icy. Living up in 8600 ft altitude makes this uncertainty worse, particularly when the temp can drop 30 degrees or so in minutes. The last freeze was just a week ago. Fortunately, the greens I planted shrugged off the cold. (But they couldn't fight off the dogs, unfortunately.)

     We soldiered on, nonetheless. Bills were paid, including property tax and insurance. (Why do they have to come due around the same time??) We made a oft-postponed trip to get our storage trailer. And we survived a dual bout of flu. So hey -- all good. It's even getting warmer outside and more springlike. We've started eating meals out on the back deck, which is lovely. 

     No Mother's Day celebration for me -- we were in Michigan. But I know my girlies and their mates...and I know they love me. That's what counts. Our Memorial Day was quiet, too. 

Our view from the back deck --the Blancas ("the girls") and Mount Lindsey to the right ("the brother")

FRUGAL HITS

(some of these are from late April)

*Money found:  59 cents from the local Safeway's change machine; a penny and dime on the floor by  the washing machine. (I think the kids dropped these, but who knows.) At the last minute: a crisp dollar bill from the Nielsen survey people!

*A Bigfoot citronella candle -- to keep the bugs away. It should help!  (Thank you, S and S.)

*Friend Tommy gave us tomato plants -- thank you! I also planted peppers, beans, zinnias, sage and basil. 

*We kept the woodbox full - but only when needed. The Brick and I both had some achiness that kept us from being too industrious about this. (Daughter #2 and Son #1 helped load wood, too. The sweethearts.)

*Sold some books -- always nice. 

*Homemade bread and chcolate chip cookie bars. 

*Benefitted from several chores Daughter #2 and Son #1 did, including loading the dishwasher, vacuuming, etc. And the big one: taking care of the dogs while we were on the Michigan trip.) We will return the favor by keeping our granddog Freya this summer. 

*A beautiful pot of 'Brick house pink' roses, from Daughter #2 and Son #1 for Mother's Day. (I'm going to try starting more from cuttings.)

After all, this is a...

*Harvested 'lemons'  from our indoor trees:  4 large and a few tiny ones. But they never did turn yellow. Were they really both limes?

*Did a few appraisals.  Finished up a lot more. Got paid for several, plus my Money Diary.

*Thrift Shop buys:  dog collars ($4 each), NICE bath towels ($3), framed columbine print for $2. Half off linens, plus10% senior discount (Treasures in the Park, Castle Rock). A designer sofa pillow ($6), a pair each of sandals and upscale sneakers ($10 each), and a huge landscape painting that reminds me of the folks' farm; this one was a $14.99 Mother's Day buy via the Brick. Sweet man. (Mel Trotter thrift shop, MI)

*The Brick fixed the kitchen sink, and added a new faucet. He also did some electrical outlet work for one friend, and helped another get his windmill anchored again. (We have had a LOT of wind here.)

*The Free Little Library is done! And on its way to being set up in front of Calvary Blanca Church. (In Blanca, naturally.) Now I have to figure out a way to advertise it on Main Street.

*Received an insurance check for the truck damage.  

*We finally achieved our crowning goal!! Whenever something extra happens, particularly moneywise, we say to each other, "well, that paid for a lunch at Calvillo's!" We love the buffet at this authentic Mexican restaurant, and keep planning to stop there. Well, we finally did -- only to discover that it's up for sale. (Still open for now. Reasonably-priced, too.)

*Attended the opening reception for 'Stampede' at the Mitchell Western Museum of Art in Trinidad. And yes, it was great fun. 

*Another batch of Buy3/Get 1 Free books from my Second Sale, plus another seller on Ebay. This will keep me going for a while...and I need to save for our July trip. Free shipping was appreciated, as well, although both packages arrived intact, but beat-up and barely closed. (What's going on with this?)

*Played and sang on Calvary Blanca's worship team. Wrote up notes for the quarterly business meeting, as well.

Plants for the folks' urn -- they were beautiful, but $6.99 each separately. However, a larger pot of three were $12.99.  Less than a dollar for the third plant? You bet! That made two lush petunias for The Mama's and Pa's gravesite, and an orange trailing plant for Grandma's urn.

      I know. Their bodies are in the cemetery -- but as my cousin pointed out: "They're not there." Thank God. However, it was very important for The Mama to keep flowers on Dad's grave, especially for Memorial Day. I had no assurance that anyone in Michigan would do this -- so I put them in myself before we left. 

This was before The Mama's death in 2022 -- thus the unfinished date

*A succulent - in colors I've been looking for -- was also $6.99. It survived the trip back to Colorado nicely. Extra babies in the pot should eventually fill the planter.  (I avoided Walmart's garden center, to keep myself from buying more plants. It was hard.)

*Bought some quilts! Thanks to Daughter #2, who'd been following the auction, I got them at a steal of a price, as well as a big box of doilies and handkerchiefs, and some Days of the Week tea towels. (My secret love) The kids picked them up on the way to a show in Cheyenne, WY, saving on shipping costs.

*A $40 giftcard from Costco -- for signing up with them.

*Grocery deals:  $4.27/lb sirloin steaks; $1.99 gallons of milk; buy-2-get-3-free 12-packs of Coke (Safeway).  $1.27 half-gallons of milk; half-price eggs ($4 final price); several 99-cent red mesh bags of veggies, including bok choy, zucchini, eggplant -- and a turnip! (City Market) Large bottles of KEDEM (Passover) grape juice, $1.99; a number of 'healthier' chips, veggie stix, etc. (79 cents - $1.99); ready-use packages of meatballs and taco meat (79 cents - we've had the meatballs before, and they're good); large bag of puppy dogfood, $11.99 and beef snacks, $2.29 - reg. more than $8; a big batch of juices, Pellagrino, etc. 3/$1 (SLV Amish Grocery). I minimized grocery shopping this month, hoping to balance out the money spent on our Michigan trip, stretching our whole milk 50/50 with water, using a lot more from the freezer & storage, and being stingy with eggs. Not sure the Brick even noticed. We did a big shop at the very end of the month that will carry over into June.

*RAIN!!  Any moisture is good in this dry country. We also got some heavy snow that melted quickly -- but left lots of mud.

          It's hummingbirds for us.

FRUGAL MISSES

*Attended the difficult funeral of an old friend. We made a special trip to Castle Rock for this, although I did manage to squeeze in a trip to the thrift shop there, plus an appraisal session.

*Six months worth of homeowners insurance -- and the county cashed the property tax check about the same time. Ergh.

*Struggles with the pups are generally lessening, though both Bo and Tiger have a disconcerting habit of disappearing within seconds, if you don't keep your eye on them. In-house pee and poop accidents still happen now and then; if Tiger gets excited, he'll race through the house, spraying as he goes.

*A bed of spinach was growing nicely on the back deck planting box, and new 'babies' were coming up in the second bed -- until Tiger and Bo dug both beds out. (Charley did this years ago, also to a bed of spinach. What is it about greens??) I yelled at them, then replanted. About a third of the spinach managed to survive the onslaught. (sigh)

'Sorry, Mom -- sorry I got caught. Aren't I cute?!?'

*Dozens of blackberry and grape cuttings that didn't 'cut,' from an Ebay seller. In spite of following instructions, all but one remained sticks, and began to rot. One grape vine cutting has a root; I'm hoping it continues.

*Several lunches, coffee and suppers covered in Michigan for family. Otherwise, we were very careful with trip food, including a huge $1.99 bag of gas station popcorn that lasted several days. We were also fortunate that our cousins made excellent coffee, and filled our travel mugs. Ss there was little need for buying more. 

*Paid tolls going through Chicago. Inevitable.

*Three flat tires, two unusable wheels -- and a wheel that nearly came off, in three separate incidents. All part of our fun excursion to/from Michigan. But I am so grateful that we were able to limp home. Thankfully, the truck ran like a champ throughout.

*Flu. Need I say more? I was supposed to take notes at the quarterly business meeting for Calvary Blanca, but a friend took care of it, instead. (Thank you so much.)

Doing these reports helps me curb expenses. (Because otherwise I have to report it to you!) But it also encourages me to see how far we've stretched our money during the tight months. I hope it encourages you, as well. By all means, if you come up with some wonderful moneysaving hints, let me know -- I'll pass them on! We're in this together, you know.

Last month's report is here.  Last year's report is here, plus the year before that.

Are You From Kansas, Too?

 

One of the Brick's favorite albums...

Monday Stuff On the Way to Other Stuff: Happy Memorial Day

      The hummingbirds are back!

We started hearing their distinctive jingling a few weeks back. Yesterday, we had our first breakfast out on the back deck. "There's one just by your head," said the Brick -- not because I was sweet (ahem), but my rosebush from Mother's Day was nearby on the table.

     Awwwww....is this the same female who enjoyed hanging out with us last year during meals? She seemed curious, more than anything. "Hmmm... that pie looks delicious. It's made with 'flower,' right?" (Sorry, couldn't resist.)

Here's our girl - a rubythroated hummer.

 Her mate shows up occasionally, though he prefers to hang out front by the feeder.

    I am happy to report that our last fever was Thursday night. We got needed groceries Saturday -- town was full of tourists on holiday, and people celebrating high school graduations. We made it home without incident, but were exhausted. We also managed to clean out the truck... the storage trailer will wait. Still regaining strength.

Happy Memorial Day weekend to you. Enjoy.

Meanwhile:

One word got George Wendt his immortal role as Norm on Cheers. Guess what it was? Yep, "beer." This unassuming actor made 'normal' great, and will be missed.

'Made WITH,' not 'Made of.'  A marketing person points out the subtle difference between those two phrases. Fast food places, beware -- now we know!

A handkerchief that sold for $862,000?? Yes, when Abraham Lincoln carried it the night of his assassination.

Welsh quilting tutorial -- an interesting look.

House finds that will surprise you.

Kim Kardashian passed the 'baby bar exam,' not the official bar exam -- but it's an accomplishment, nonetheless, and lets her continue studying for the big one. Congratulations!

Were Covid's health risks hidden by the Biden administration?

Paying your bills when you're 'broke' -- or are you? Practical advice here from Dave Ramsey.

Ancient propaganda for the same Egyptian pharoah Moses tangled with?  Found in a very odd place -- on a French obelisk in Paris.

More rulings on Nazi-era looted art.

Dilbert's creator has the same cancer as President Biden. And not much longer to live, he predicts. I very much admire this person, though I disagree with him some, too.

Chaos in the fine art auction world -- sounds like a good time to buy!

The best index funds to invest in -- advice from the Motley Fool.

One of the wackiest mixes ever -- what influencers and others REALLY look like, vs their photoshopped images.

Speaking of -- Jake Tapper comes clean. Sort of.

'Don't worry about the stock market -- check this, instead.'  Well, yes...and no.  (From Millenial Revolution)

Here are ten reasons I am very, very leery of Alexa.

And ten people who didn't know when to shut up -- and paid for it dearly. This is incredible.

And finally -- 'Brick by Brick' by Drew and Ellie Holcomb.  (I wonder why I posted this?  :)

Have a good Memorial Day -- and a great week.

Remembering Memorial Day

 

Happy Memorial Day

...if you can call it happy.

It reminds me of the people in my life who served... so others could be safe.

     Thank you. Thank you, everyone who did this, for your service. 

 

Woof! And A Strange Story

  

 I get a text on my phone, saying that our dog has been barking all night for a week. They ask me (politely) to Do Something About It.

     First:  we have dogS. Not just one.

     Second:  they haven't been barking in the night -- or we would wake up, too.  (Bo and Tiger sleep inside, in a kennel. Granddog Freya sleeps on a pad by my side of the bed.)

Freya and Bo, patrolling while Tiger investigates elsewhere. 

Yes, Bo's grown!

     Thirdly:  we live out in the boonies. Our nearest neighbor is about 1/4 mile away. Their dogs bark a lot more than ours do, anyways. 

     I text back:  "Since we live in southern Colorado, I'm pretty sure it's not our dogs that are keeping you up at night in Houston."

     Now here's the weird part. 

     The caller apologizes profusely, says the complex gave him the wrong number, things like that. But then he starts asking all sorts of questions about where we live, what's it like, do I want to be a 'penpal,' sort of, etc etc. Friendly-like...but strangely disturbing. 

     I immediately block him, but wonder:  was this a scam in the making, if I'd continued to respond?

     Probably a bit nervous, since I had a very friendly Nigerian ask me to appraise a handful of perfectly normal U.S. coins -- then, when I politely refused, start up a "you're so cute, we should be friends" conversation. The Brick and I have both had 'wrong number' texts trying this same approach. 

    P.S. They all got blocked, too. But creepy, nonetheless.

Me Too, Buddy... Me Too

 

What I Did On My Vacation - Part Two

     Saturday:   So here we are, finally in Sparta, Michigan. It's Saturday morning. I'd like to meet up with a bunch of cousins, plus hopefully a few Michigan friends. But the priority is the storage trailer. 

     We have three days.

     Needless to say, we can only squeeze in a few meetings. Staying with one set of cousins helps -- I have grown up with this guy, and loved him since I could breathe. I love his wife dearly, too. (And they love the Brick. Anyone who appreciates the Brick's good qualities is a gem in themselves.)

     I do a zoom appraisal session. We have coffee with one set of cousins, run errands, then eat supper with Brother and Sister-in-Law. Needless to say, we are exhausted, and trying to cope with the time change. (Two hours difference: EST vs MST. I know -- gripe, moan, complain.) 

   Sunday:  Church and  a trip to Muskegon, an hour away, to drop off the table to our dear Colorado friends' kids. Then we have a Mother's Day lunch at KFC. (It was a much-loved tradition for The Mama.)

     Back to the folks' old farm, where Nephew, Niece and their kids live now. The trailer has been parked behind the garage for a few years. Grass has grown up around it, and our young niece announces that "something nasty and hairy" is dead underneath. Oh goody. The Brick hooks it up, anyways, creaking in protest (the trailer, not the Brick), and hauls it off to Cousins' house. So far, so good.

The folks' farm, in fall

   Monday:  Breakfast with other cousins, then a stop at the nearest garden center to pick up some plants for the folks' cemetary urn. This was a time-honored tradition to The Mama for Memorial Day, and it was clear that no one would do it -- if I didn't. We stop at the cemetery on the way home to tidy up the folks' gravestone and plant the urn, as well as the urn on my grandma's grave. The Brick is wonderfully patient and kind about this sort of thing, and I am very grateful for it. It's a fussy extra detail and probably a little silly. After all, they aren't really there. But it is one last thing I can do that was important to my mom. 

        So I do it. 

     True to his generous nature, Cousin spends most of Monday helping the Brick air up the tires on the trailer, including the spare (more on this later), then re-stack and position boxes inside so the whole thing will ride better. In the process, they find that the bin holding my collection of postcards and trade cards, is full of rainwater. So much for nearly $500 worth of 19th and early 20th century paper ephemera. Some of my best favorites are now a pile of stinking, watery pulp. 

 On the plus side, the bin contained pretty much all of the water that's leaked into the trailer over the years. (A second bin of metal charms was hit too...but I think we can wash those off and still use them.) There's plenty of mouse turds, but everything else seems dry. I try hard not to complain..

.and mostly succeed.

   The trailer is finally ready, and hooked up to the truck.  We take Cousins out for supper Monday night, to celebrate his birthday and thank them for putting us up. (Or as the Brick says, "Putting up with us.")  We try to get them to visit Colorado... "Maybe," they say. Bear in mind -- we've only been in Michigan since Friday at midnight. Saturday, Sunday and Monday -- that's it.

Tuesday morning, early:   Here we go. I text some cousins we would have loved to have seen, apologizing and promising "next time." We manage to get through Chicago traffic with minimal problems; the truck is doing fine and the trailer seems okay. It's going to be more than 19 hours of driving, so we settle in. This is where Sirius is a blessing -- the Brick can listen to his favorite political buddies, and I even get a few old-time radio programs in. I read him some Jeffrey Archer stories, too.

     Time moseys on. Great weather, bearable traffic -- we did the right thing, squeezing this trip in. We have to be back no later than Thursday, so Daughter #2 and Son #1 can head for their next rock show...but that's no problem, right?

     Then comes Tuesday night.

     It's dusk, and we've stopped in Grand Island, NE for supper at a Burger King. The Brick pulls into a vacant lot -- and two of the wheels on the trailer go flat. Only we don't realize it, until a very kind person stops us. "You do know that your tires popped back there, right?" she says. "I heard them go."

     Ummm...no, we didn't. 

     She insists on bringing her husband back to survey the damage. He knows a guy at the local truck repair place -- and late on this Tuesday night, he just 'happens' to still be working. Thank God. M and Z help take the wheels off, then drive the Brick over to the shop. He buys a new wheel, then has a new tire put on the second wheel. Our new friends will not leave until the wheels are back in place, and they're sure we're ok. (Thank you, thank you. I honestly wondered if they were angels -- but she has a Facebook page! Do angels have FB pages??)

     This takes hours, but it's ok. We're back on the road, the truck's great and the trailer seems fine. 

Wednesday:  We stop for a few hours' sleep at a truck rest area, then continue on. We're way out in that lonely, lovely prairie that the pioneers must have trudged through, mile after mile. Rocky Ford, Eads, Calhan -- practically every small town seems to present itself. (Yes, we're taking the back roads to avoid Denver and its nasty traffic.) Finally, we reach Walsenburg -- 45 minutes from home. We're almost there.

     We stop for gas. The Brick gets back in the truck: "There's a problem."

     Turns out that we have been traveling with a tire whose lug bolts have loosened -- one is literally sheared off. The wheel has been riding on the remaining lug bolt threads. It is literally a miracle that it hasn't come off already. Thank God again.

     We limp our way to the nearest tire place in town -- they can't help. There's one other place, just a few blocks away. We get there. I while away the time watching the mechanic, a clean-cut guy, deep in conversation and a car engine, with a scruffy-looking guy in a greasy hoodie. Mr. Clean-Cut leaves. Who's the actual mechanic? Mr. Scruffy! He zooms off to Alamosa, more than an hour away, to buy replacement bolts.

     More hours pass. 

     Bear in mind -- we're only 45 min. from home. But we have La Veta Pass to get through. You don't want your wheel to fall off while going through a mountain pass. Finally the mechanic reappears. He couldn't find any bolts in Alamosa, so went home and rummaged through his personal junkpile to find some. Fifteen or twenty minutes later, he and the Brick have taken off the offtending wheel and replaced it with the spare.

     At this point, I don't care if he welded the bolts from paperclips -- I'm just glad to be headed home. A stop to get groceries, and we're on the way. Nothing else could happen... could it?

    Five miles from the summit, the spare tire blows. 

     The blowout takes the trailer's silver metal fender with it. We have now gone through three of the trailer's four tires -- four, if you count the spare. We can't find the fender, either.

     The Brick hops back in the truck. "I think we can make it, if we go slow," he says. And we do -- very slowly, holding our breath. The tire still has some air in it until we're about five minutes away. Then the trailer scrapes, drags and fishtails until we get it in the driveway. 

     Thank you...thank you so much, God. We're home.

     I practically kiss the ground in relief. Daughter #2 and Son #1 rush out, puppies in close pursuit. "We were just driving out to look for you," they say, "and saw you in the rearview mirror." 

     They must leave soon. But we have supper, talk a great deal, then head for bed early, just grateful to be home, reasonably intact...except for the tire, which looks like a pile of shredded rubber.

 Thursday morning:  It always takes a few days to readjust to altitude, and we figure that's why we don't feel good. Nope, it's the flu. By afternoon, I'm running a 101.4 temperature. The Brick has me beat: his is 101.6.

And that, Dear Readers, is how we spent our vacation. 

  P.S. The Brick went back down the pass, days later, and found the missing fender. It had been thrown off to the shoulder and was dented...but he'll work on it when he replaces the tire. The truck, regardless of all the trailer calamities, drove like a champ. And we were worried about it, not the trailer!

     Five days later, neither the truck nor the trailer are unpacked. But we're only just beginning to feel better. Go figure.

Monday Stuff On the Way to Other Stuff: Hanging On (Barely)

     After a joyous week dealing with travel, wheel breakdowns and little sleep -- we are still fighting off a high fever that comes and goes. It's unusual when we both get sick at the same time...but it's happening. Whoever feels the least worst** lets the dogs out, does the laundry and makes up the bed. (Clean, wind-freshened sheets are much nicer than sweaty ones.) The truck and trailer will have to stay packed until we can fight this flu off. 

**'Least worst?!?'  Shame on me.

Meanwhile:

A frightening attack on US military alllmmmooost happens -- in Detroit.

The Nottoway Plantation, built in 1859 in Louisiana, is gutted by fire. 

Why Billy Joel went missing for days, while married to Christie Brinkley -- and Brinkley's gratefulness for "soft dirt." (She says it saved her life.)

Firecracker shrimp -- maybe a nice appetizer for Memorial Day?  (From Khin's Kitchen)

Some amazing historical costumes...even a few worth copying for wear today.

Chicken taco soup, thanks to Mavis at One Hundred Dollars A Month. A bunch of cans and a double handful of chicken: soup! Hopefully this will vanquish the flu germs. 

A classic farm table/desk -- built from pallets!  This is an oldie but worth repeating from Funky Junk Interiors.

Cassie Ventura's husband takes an extremely courageous stand after his wife's humiliating and explosive testimony at the P. Diddy trial -- he supports her! Oh that more men would do this...

Acting legends -- 22 of them -- that aren't (or weren't) that fun in real life. Hmmm...some big names here.

Oh, and Journalism won the Preakness.  

Have a better week...than we did, at any rate.

What I Did On My Vacation

 ....well, it really wasn't that.

We need to go pick up a storage trailer from The Mama's farmyard in Michigan. (After she died in early 2023, we bought a snowmobile trailer and packed the furniture, paintings, books, etc. we were keeping in her garage.) Nephew, his wife and family have been very patient with us -- and let us keep the trailer there after they bought the farm. Literally.

Okay, here we go... on Monday.

A big snowstorm moves in -- just in our area. Alamosa, 45 min. away, has rain. Denver, further north, has rain. We have HUGE snowflakes that churn the streets into mud. 

Daughter #2 and Son #1 are going to stay at the house to take care of the dogs. They go into the ditch less than a mile from us.

The Brick goes to rescue them -- and ends up in the ditch, too. The truck's rear taillight and some of the mirrors are shattered. A few extra dents, and it sure didn't help the back window or the cracked windshield any.

The kids' vehicle, fortunately, is fine. 

    And everything is covered with mud.

There's no use even trying to get out. So...we hunker down. I work on reports, the Brick and the kids play a lot of games. The dogs love this...their favorite people are all in one room!

Tuesday and Wednesday: The Brick painstakingly pieces the tailight together. He fixes everything he can on the truck -- and files an insurance claim. 

    I keep working on reports, in between making meals and packing.

Thursday, late pm:, the roads are finally dry enough. We stop at friends' house in the Springs -- they have kids living not far from where we're headed, and have a table they could use. It gets rolled up to the truck, and heaved in the back. Friends urge us to stay the night, the sweethearts -- but we have too little time for how far we have to go.

We drive all night, with the exception of four hours sleep in the rest area, and finally get to our cousins' house around midnight Friday, bleary-eyed and messy. 

Here's Part Two:  Coming Home

Yipe!

 

How to Look Like An Idiot In Three Sentences

 

...even if you are a doctor.

Substitute the word "Biden" for Trump, and I'll still say the same thing. 

For more ego-driven memes, go here.   And you thought people were rational creatures...

Here Comes the Sun...

 

For a day, at least. Snow is melting fast... but it's still cold out. And the truck still needs repairs. (We filed a claim.) But it's been fun having Daughter #2 and Son #1 stuck here. We talk a lot, trade silliness and future plans, and play games. The three dogs love having their favorite people in one area.

Who knows what will happen later this week. 

A 'Stuck' Trio - Plus One -- and SNOW

 While going through a particularly zany period in life, I fell in love with Stealer Wheel's classic

                "Stuck in the Middle with You"

But there are other interesting versions, like the Comatose Brothers' kick on it.  Pretty good, but I like their take on Neil Young's Harvest Moon better.

This is the real winner, though -- and my new favorite. Jaelee Roberts' studio musicians obviously have a lot of experience helping them along -- and she's playing with the mood, as well. 

A bluegrass version of "Stuck?"  It actually won Jaelee several awards.

 Who knows -- it may come in handy during YOUR zany periods.

(And just for grins -- this Josh Turner Guitar version that hails more from the original. I like it, too.)

Speaking of zany -- 

    It's been snowing. And snowing. And SNOWING.

    We had been thinking/planning of a trip to Michigan this week. Daughter #2 and Son #1 were going to come down and watch the puppies while we were gone. They got a mile away from the house -- and slid into a ditch. The Brick went to rescue them -- and slid into the same ditch. It took hours to get out, and the vehicles were wheel-deep in mud. (So were the people.)

     The truck went on its side, adding a whole new series of dents and scrapes. The rear tail light is ripped out, and the mirrors took some abuse, too. Fortunately, the truck, and the kids' Challenger, are drivable. 

     What a mess. 

     Meanwhile, it's still snowing. Nobody's going anywhere right now. But at least we have electricity, plenty of food and wood for the stove. 

     The storm isn't supposed to let up until Thursday sometime. And thanks to a heavy layer of mud, the roads will probably take longer than that. 

     Ah well. ...Clowns to the left, jokers to the right. Here I am, stuck in the middle with you...

Monday Stuff On the Way to Other Stuff: Business As Usual

      It's been a bit of a strange week. The Brick spent part of it installing a new kitchen faucet. (Only hot water before that for two weeks.) Daughter #2 and Son #1 reappeared from a show in Utah, plus days of dinosaur and fossil digging, to scoop up their Freya and head for home. And we had a chance to attend an opening reception for "Stampede!" from our friends at Dundee & Lee.

      In between, I worked on appraisal reports, had a 'wellness exam' (so did the Brick)...and did some replanting. We now have more than a dozen little peppers doing their stuff, as well as eight or so tomato plants friend Tommy generously gave us. (What the heck does a 'Giant Pink Belgium' tomato look like, anyways?)

     Rain has moved in for the next few days here. We need it so badly that all the locals are cheering - us included. (P.S. I typed this just before midnight -- and it's snowing now, too. Early May? What's that???)

Meanwhile:

Mutual funds, index funds and ETFs -- what's best?  (From the White Coat Investor)

Warren Buffett is stepping down. Probably smart, considering he's 94...though he promises to "hang around" the office some.

Five incredible ways government money has been used...and I'm not saying this approvingly.

Do you need to check your IPhone for this?

A 'yellow brick road' leads divers to a pair of Danish slave shipwrecks -- just off the coast of a national park. Hey, we Bricks have to hang together...

Eight million dimes -- all over the highway in Texas, after a tractor-trailer overturned. Road crews were out there for hours shoveling them up.  (I'd bet they missed some!) Funny, there's a similar lost treasure story to this in Colorado's Black Canyon area.

Hikers discover gold coins, cigarette cases and more!

Poor man's sandwiches -- 25 of them. Some of these may seem a bit gross -- but I remember lard sandwiches being very popular in Austria when I lived there during college days.

Some great (and easy) breakfast ideas, courtesy of My Tireless Retirement. (I plan to make her 'zucchini bites' this week.)

"I was wrong about Donald Trump."  The weird part about this essay: I'm not sure it's still an insult, rather than a compliment. 

One of the longest lists of Whose Line Is It Anyways' 'Party Quirks' ever. I love this silly game. 

Andddd.... this is what a Giant Pink Belgium tomato looks like. It's an 'heirloom beefsteak.'

Have a great week. Rain on!

2025 Kentucky Derby Results

 The results are in -- Sovereignty won the Kentucky Derby!  It paid out 7-1 odds. 

Did you know that all 21 horses running in the race share lineage from Secretariat, the great racehorse? Secretariat's record for the Derby has never been equalled. 

In Honor of All Students Finishing Up Papers and Projects...

 

Overcast and chilly today -- but blessedly, it's been raining off and on. We need it badly.