Fireworks

Ok, I like fireworks. But I like the kind that trained pyrotechnicians set off and the crowd says, "Ooooh" and "Ahhhh" at appropriate intervals. I do not like the sorts of things that people shoot off and then you read about fingers being lost.

The property next to mine is vacant, except for a couple of weekends a year, when the property owners' family assemble there with cars, campers, tents, kayaks, and whatever else they can ram into their vehicles, and they camp there. This is, of course, complete with a campfire, loud revelry, and, at this time of year, fireworks. The people from whom I bought the house warned me of this, so I went into the situation informed, at least.

Were it not for the smoke from the fire and my utter terror of these home-style fireworks, I'd perhaps join them for a beer or some laughs. But... the reality is that I'm here inside my wonderful cozy house with the SHADES pulled, that the sound might be muffled, and that I may be able to dwell on possibilities other than the chance of one of their airbornes landing on my roof and catching the house on fire. I guess I'm a stick-in-the-mud.

Other than that, life's great. Jack's house is coming along nicely. Egged on by the fact that he has visitors coming in August, he's gotten the back bedroom vacated now, and he's working on scrubbing the carpet. I helped with this vacation, of course (it's taken weeks), and I'm hopeful that the room will be all put together with clean linens and a new light fixture within a day or two. The other bedroom is coming along nicely. We took a load of stuff to Goodwill today again.

This morning, I made some of my fabulous and super-easy version of French Toast. I really call it Egg Bread, because it doesn't have the milk that French Toast needs. You can make it for two just as easily. Just use a medium skillet instead of a small one, use two eggs, and two pieces of bread:

Heat a small skillet over medium-low heat.
Add a teaspoon of your favorite yellow butterlike substance. Mine is actually butter. :)
Once the butter's melted, crack an egg into the skillet and, using a spatula, beat it a bit.
Put a slice of bread in on top of the still-raw egg. Turn it over with your fingers (it's not hot yet!) so that both sides are covered in the egg.
Cook slowly till the bottom is cooked. While it's cooking, get out your plate, a fork, and a napkin, and pour a glass of milk for yourself.
Turn the toast, using that same spatula.
When the 2nd side is done, turn it over again, so that the pretty side is on top.
Pour some maple syrup or spoon a dollop of your favorite jam or preserves on top of the toast.
Now flip the toast over, so that the topping is in the skillet, getting warmed!
Flip the whole thing over onto your plate and enjoy it with your glass of milk!

Weight for me

Friday, Jack and I went to Grand Rapids for a little mall-walking. I found a weight bench which I'd been wanting. I guess it's silly that I have waited till I am in my 50's before trying to get strong and fit, but... here I am!

Saturday morning, I put the weight bench together. It's like this one. Mine went together well, and the thing is cool! I have a nice set of dumbells, and I am starting to get more muscles. Yay, me!

We've been working for several more days on Jack's house. We have taken 3 vans-full to Goodwill and have a van-load ready to go to recycling. Oh.. and several bags of garbage. That's all from the back bedroom, including under the bed. I estimate that the upstairs will be ALL done and ready to decorate in 2 weeks.

Last evening, he fixed pork roast, mashed potatoes, and fabulous grilled vegetables for Linda and me. Linda brought makings for strawberry shortcake, and it was great. Tonight, Jack fixed fried rice with veggies for him and me. Then we went to DQ for dessert. :)

Fun on the River

Yesterday, I went kayaking on the Muskegon with Harold, Kathy, Jack, and his family -- Jack, Matthew, and Katherine. The day was perfect, and a good time was enjoyed by all. I have photos, and I'm trying to upload, but my connection keeps timing out. Photos will come!

Today was all about me. And, by that, I mean that I was all alone all day. Jack and his family went to Mt Pleasant. I did some cleaning around here, and cooked myself a fabulous dinner. What was it? Well, it was a wonderful casserole. Here's the recipe:

Cauliflower Ground Beef Cheesy Bake (4 servings)

One head of cauliflower, steamed
1/3 lb ground round, sauteed till done & drained
1/3 of an onion, sauteed till transucent
1 grated carrot
3 big slices of cheddar cut into strips
1/4 C of shredded Parmesan
Four dashes of Mrs. Dash

Mix all in a Pam-lined casserole, top with the cheese, and stir it in a little.
Place it into the microwave and heat on high about 2 1/2 minutes. (It should already pretty hot, you have just steamed the cauliflower and heated the meat and onions. If it's not hot, heat it more!)

Midnight

Yikes. It's midnight! I really need to start getting to bed a bit earlier. Today was a fine day. I went to Staples and had some papers faxed to a couple of places (more estate doings, but it seems to be moving along, at least, finally!).

Then I was off to Grand Rapids. There I met a gentleman I'd previously known only from the internet. We met at Panera, had a nice lunch and enjoyed some fine conversation. Neat guy, smart, and fun.

I stopped in at Hobby Lobby and found some neato additions to my "Paris" room and got some mirrors for my Wii room. Gotta have mirrors in the Wii room! :) Grand Rapids is a cool town. It's too bad it's so far from here. It's about 60 miles -- about the distance that I used to go from Bloomington to northside Indy, and I did that frequently.

Great Day

I enjoyed today! I started out with a vigorous workout on the Wii. I did over an hour of Dance Dance Revolution, which is great fun. Had 2 Full Combo finishes, which means that I did the whole dance routine with no errors.

Next I assembled my recycling and loaded it up. The town of Big Rapids has great recycling, taking nearly everything. You do have to sort, though.

I went to Jack's and helped him to get HIS recycling together and we took that. Then we went to town to ask about some crystal pieces that he might want to consign. Schuberg's for lunch was a GREAT choice. They have fantastic food, and now that all the restaurants are smoke-free in MI (YAYYYY!), we can enjoy Schuberg's! I got a grilled cheese AND a chili-cheese stuffed potato. I'll be having the same thing for supper tomorrow night! :)

We did some shopping, buying me a mirror and a set of weights. I've missed my Tucson weights, and just couldn't see adding the 30 lbs to carry them back. I got some heavier ones, too, since I've done well with the lighter ones.

Next, we went together to the Hemlock Park, where they were having a country music concert. It's all free, people on blankets and lawn chairs, picnics, laughing, clapping.. a good time!

We walked over to DQ and got a sundae, and then went our own ways again.

Back here, I decided to move all the stuff around in my Wii room. I put the TV and all the components into the closet, leaving the room empty. When it's time to Wii, I can just pull out the peripherals, and everything stays hidden. I do need something in there, like maybe a chair or something. I got a fan, because the DDR does make me sweat! :)

Interesting thing is that, despite all the promises of rain, we got naught a drop! Sunny skies prevailed. Jack COULD have had a yard sale, after all. NEXT weekend he's doing it for sure, and he's very eager to get a bunch of stuff gone for this one.

Thanks, everyone, for your votes of confidence! Barb.. a chainsaw.. wow! My next power tool is going to be the weed whacker, I think.

Re the relationship and what happened: I think that I would describe what we're doing now as a pulling back. While we loved each other, and still do, we really began living together as a convenience to both of us. He needed a place to be, and so did I, so we decided to just be together. I was very freshly widowed, and wasn't thinking entirely rationally. I was needful, and so was Jack. And we did have lots in common, as we still do.

The logistics of living together in such a small space as the RV and my Tucson cottage, however, proved to be daunting. We fought frequently, mostly about *stuff*. I think that I have not been ready to fully share my life. I've been called "selfish," but, to that, I say... "Ok, so what?" I believe that I've earned the right to be a bit selfish. I know that a time will come when I can fully appreciate another person, but I'm not sure that the time is now.

Also, having not lived long by myself, following Michael's death, I didn't have an opportunity to learn about living my life. (Neither did Jack.) Now I'm getting that chance, and sort of learning about who this Janee person is. I did it for a short time after Michael died, but I feel like I need more of that independence. Jack is enjoying his independence, too. He's working on getting his house cleaned up and starting to think about fixing the things that need fixing. It is important for him to do this.

Today I put gas in my new car, for the first time. Woooo hoo! The firsts just keep on happening!

Mowed my Lawn!

Well, for those of you who mow your lawn regularly, this is a big woop-de-do, but, for me, it was a big deal! Today marked the first time that I mowed my own lawn in over 22 years! After Michael died, I continued on with our lawn service, because our lawn was huge! Then I sold the house and was in Tucson, where there is no grass. Then last summer in the RV and then here, and Jack mowed the lawn, with the new lawn mower that I'd bought. So today he showed me how to operate it and I mowed the whole lawn, front and back!

We arrived back here yesterday. We stopped first in Big Rapids, at Jack's house, and unloaded all of his things from the RV. Then we came together up to Paris, stopping along the way to reinstate the insurance on his car, to buy me another TV set, and to get our mail. He got his van started, but had to change a tire. Then he took most of the things that are his from this house and drove them back to BR.

That part was difficult. It's easy to say "Let's move in together," but then, if you want to pull back a bit, it's hard. Jack and I are still great friends, and I hope that we always are. We still share lots of common interests. We are still going together to the Menard's Contractors Lunch tomorrow. :) I was laughing today at the idea that it used to be considered a sin for unmarried people to live together. But now it seems that others think that it's a sin for us to live apart!

Back Home Again in Indiana

Wooo hooo! We made it today all the way from Columbia, MO to Brownsburg, Indiana! We're staying here with my sis.

Yesterday was really fun. We arrived in Columbia about noon, checked into the campground (Cottonwoods), unhooked the car, and left. We went first to Fulton, MO, to the Westminster College and the International Churchill Museum. The museum was fascinating, featuring exhibits of Churchill, World War II, and a beautifully restored and relocated Christopher Wren church. We were there for a couple of hours, taking photos and reading. Outside the museum is a large section of the Berlin Wall, which had been made into art. I'll post some photos eventually.

We left there, the day still young enough, and drove another 30 miles down to Jefferson City -- capital of Missouri -- and visited the Statehouse. Zow, what a beautiful facility this is, and what a monument to the wonder that is Missouri. We both took lots of pictures there.

The drive today was pretty easy. We just stayed on 70, except did 270 around the north side of St. Louis. It's great to be here!

And when I die....

... and when I'm gone, there'll be one child born in this world to carry on, carry on.

Michael's sister Becky passed from this world .. but now, just a few days later, there is a new life to celebrate. My nephew Joel and his wife Becca just welcomed their first child -- a new baby boy! Both Joel and Becca are wonderful and fun people, and I am sure that they will be fine parents, too! Now I'm a proud great-aunt again! (I have 3 great-nieces and 5 great-nephews now!)

Today Jack and I left Arvada, waving good-bye to John and MaryAnn, after 3 weeks (!) at their house. They *do* have a fabulous deck to show for the time, but my heart goes out to anyone who has to put up with any houseguests for so long!

We got the RV hooked up to the car and .. off we went! We made it as far as Oakley, Kansas today. We stopped only for fuel, a Wal*Mart run, and more fuel. The rig is getting good mileage, scenery was pretty, and the weather was grand -- 90° and blue skies with the sort of clouds in which it's easy to see animals. Today it was elephants, teddy bears, and dragons!

For Becky

From someone whose middle name used to be "Creativity," it may not seem like such a big deal. But I felt inspired this evening, and did a little art. This is for Michael's beautiful sister Becky, who is dying after a long struggle with ovarian cancer, and now lymphoma, a result of the long periods with chemotherapy. Becky always did read my blog, and I am sure that she will continue, along with her brother. I love you, Becky! Today we drove down to Highland Ranch to visit with John and Marian, friends of Jack's from many years ago. They are really nice people, and we both enjoyed the visit. The drive was pleasant, as well, down 470. Pretty scenery and gorgeous weather.

But I am feeling sad tonight and wishing I were with Becky, Angie, and George..