Catching Up!

Oh my, a week has gone by and of course I have been chastised by my Grandson for not blogging!  So, here goes.  I was actually going to write in my blog last Sunday.  We had a wonderful lesson in our Sunday School Class on friendship and how important it is in our lives.  One of the greatest blessings I have had in life is the gift of friendship.  One of those people I take for granted and don't really think to mention when someone discusses "friends" is my brother, Michael.  Throughout my life I have always had my brother to depend on.  My Mumsz kinda raised us as twins; well, no wonder, we are only 14 months apart in age.  Neither of us remember life without the other. Consequently, I never felt lonely or envious of other little children growing up because Michael and I were bonded at the hip.  To this day, he is "solid as a rock" in his devotion to me as I am to him.  Another privilege I've had is a lifelong friend, one whose parents were friends of my parents, whose mother's were "stay at home" Mom's, and whose fathers flew airplanes.  Bunny, Michael, and I were kind of like the Three Musketeers!  We played together, laughed together, and got into mischief together.  These two people established what I know true friendship to be at a very early age......genuine love, respect, and acceptance.  What an exceptional foundation I was blessed with as a child and on throughout life!  Now I could "wax poetic" regarding friends through the years, but I'll leave that for another time.  One can only deal with just so much sentimentality on one day!

This past week has gone quickly for us here at the Hanner House, as we continue to garden, gather to eat (favorite pastime) with friends and family, and catch up on indoor tasks during this rediculously hot weather!  Sunday we gathered as a family to have a roast beef dinner.  I LOVE having my kiddo's here for Sunday dinner.  Hadn't seen our Kirsten for a bit, so it was great to have her here talking to the TV everytime one of the Cardinals did something good/bad!  Quite a ball follower she is.  Reminds me of being at my Grandma and Grandpa Nichols' house in the sumer listening to all my Uncles and Aunts "carry on" about the ballgame and how it was progressing.

Monday nights are great fun for us as we get to see Kylee and Kirsten play softball together; same team.  Daughter Audra and Ed Tripp are supposed to be the coaches, but since Kirsten is playing, son Brian can't help but lend a coaching hand.......it's quite interesting to see Kylee and Kirsten on the field and Audra and Brian in the dugout or on the field coaching.  Brian is trying to get the most out of the girls and their abilities; Audra wants that too, but is afraid of hurting some of their feelings!  Ed is the juggler, keeping both in line, I suppose! Ha.

Late afternoon Tuesday we were pleased to have our friends John and Marsha visit prior to leaving to there Wyoming "home".......the RV Park where they will be staying for the next 2 months.  We always miss them when they are gone as we have such good times together just "jawing", playing games, or watching TV together.  There weather in WY will surely be better than this heat wave we are having here, so I think I'm JEALOUS!
Also, Tuesday night, we were very proud to attend Michael's Boy Scout Court of Honor where he received his merit badges.  He has achieved Life Scout and is working on meeting the requirements for Eagle Scout.  He's good for Scouts and Scouts have been good for him!

We have spent the last part of the week doing the gardening thing......
Glad to have some produce now, as this heat is wilting everything down rapidly.  To date we've made zucchini relish, dilly green beans, cherry jam, and zuchini bread.  The kiddo's eat the zucchini bread about as fast as we can make it!  Found a recie on the internet, and it IS delicious.  One of our joys was having Christopher come out and make zucchini relish with us....don't know how much he will remember about canning the relish, but we all certainly got a "kick" out of him "slaveing over the hot stove" lading the relish into the jars.  As we were working with the zucchini, the news came on about the Supreme Court giving legality to the Health Care Law!  Christopher was so excited he was beside himself..... ALL of us were quite suprised that the Court did not strike down the "mandate for insurance" section.  I loved that Judge Roberts had the "breaking" vote.  I can't help myself, I would have loved to have seen Michelle Bachman's face when the court announced it's decision.  Regardless of one's reaction to this ruling, it was a momentous decision and certainly one which will be historic.
Today Christopher came by for some zucchini bread and a quick game of Golf (cards).  David and I always enjoy these spontaneous visits and special time with our oldest grandchild.


Well, I have somewhat caught up on the week with my meanderings.  Michael, Bunny, Carol Lee, and Daivd I"m sending you al hugs!  AND to all the other blessings in my life that I'm proud to call "FRIEND"!  I hope your day/week has been a good one and that LIFE IS GREAT!

Kirsten & David at Monday night ballgame

Michael receiving badges at Boy Scout Court of Honor

Christopher relaxing while waiting on zucchini bread to finish baking.

David (turquoise shirt), Kylee (long hair) and Sue (chubby one in white shirt!) at Michael's 

Boy Scout Court of Honor 

Zucchini Bread

Dilly Beans

Cherry Jam

French Bread we just had to make to go with our Cherry Jam!

Stop! Don't enter that bathroom.......

Whew, I'm getting tooooooo old to not have coffee due to unsettled innards!  Yep, that's been both David and I's plague the last week.  Our maladies began last weekend in Chicago, first David and then I..........I'll not get graphic, but let's just say two old farts with diarrhea in a small house with one bathroom is NOT CONDUCIVE to winning popularity contests!  Well, there was an upside to it, even the DOG refused to stay in the bathroom with me!  Voila! Privacy.  Also gave me an excuse to wear my britches unbuttoned!  Ahh, comfort.  We drove home on Wednesday and only had to make one essential quick (and I mean LITERALLY QUICK) stop. All well, all is well that ends well; I didn't even have to change my underwear; whoopee.

ENOUGH!  I can just hear you saying, so onward and upward with this bog post.  Today I actually got off the couch and had a marvelous day playing with our garden bounty.  David was the trusty sidekick in this venture altho he is still experiencing some flashes of "to the pate'!  We gathered squash, peppers, basil, beets and parsley from the garden early this morning.  Proceeded to eat the beets with leftovers for lunch; wow were they sweet.  I was amazed.  Then we made a French bread to go with our fresh pesto.  Decided we were "up" for making a new recipe for zucchini Parmesan bread, which we did.  Of course we had to have an afternoon snack of the hot bread with some of the fresh basil and cheeses, garlic, and pine nuts.  Yummy.  Our last effort of the day was to grate 12 cups of zucchini and 4 onions to soak in salt water overnight for our relish tomorrow.  It is now 8:30 p.m. and I'm passing on going to watch the sunset in order to do one of my favorite things:  lay on the couch, listen to the game, and read a good book!

We had a wonderful time with our daughter and family, even taking the "issues" we had into consideration.  Our littlest grandchild, Brian, celebrated his 2nd birthday Sunday......he had a party with family and friends of his parents and had a hi-o time.  We think he's just the cutest, funniest, smartest, two year old in the world!  Ha.  His sister Sophie had her ballet recital on Saturday, the 16th.  After that "stimulating" dress rehearsal the day before. the recital was a "piece of cake"!  I must say she did an excellent job; they all did, I was very surprised how disciplined 4 and 5 year olds can be.  Grandma was proud.

On the 20th, our 2nd grandchild celebrated his 15th birthday!  I just cannot get over it.......I sure remember his birth.  His Mama was soooo ill; they had to go ahead and take our "little man" via C-Section.  He weighed 3'3oz.  Today, he is thriving and is just a splendid young person, if I do say so.  He is very committed to the Scouting program and just spent last week there.  He is the Chaplain of his troop and takes his duties quite seriously; Grammy is, as you can obviously tell, quite proud.  Our favorite thing to do is go to Barnes and Noble, pilfer through the stacks, settle on a couple of books, go to the cafe, order coffee and pizza and sit and look at our purchases.  So, we are planning on doing just that in the next couple of days to celebrate his being 15.  Fun for us both.

I apologize to those of you who, I know, get sick of hearing of people's grandchildren's escapades, however, I MUST bore you with one other.......our grandson, Christopher.  He represented the Fredericktown American Legion at MO Boy's State this week, and was elected Senator!  We are thrilled with the experiences he is having at Boys State; if any of your grandchildren have this opportunity please encourage them to go; it's quite an experience.

Well, the sun has set, the Cardinals are up by 8, my couch is available and I'm not pooping.........does it get any better?!?

Have a wonderful weekend.  As always, Life is Good, hope yours is as well.

Christopher's Senate Picture

Birthday Boy Brian

Kirsten and her Dad, Brian.  Father's Day at the Ballpark!

Birthday Boy Michael, making his favorite pizza for his birthday...sister Kylee is obviously en"tranced"!

How time flies when you have things that demand your attention and you can't sit on the couch and vegetate (of which I am particularly fond of!LOL)  Monday our Granddaughter, Kylee, and I decided a nice rainy day was a great time to play Monopoly......she is quite the little competitor; the little stink pot won, having purchased Boardwalk from me at what I thought was a outrageous price of $1,000.00.  I then proceeded to land on her properties 4 times back to back!  It was soooo sad.  Cleaned me out quite quickly, kinda like real life where you think you have a nice cushion saved up only to have to buy a roof, new tires, and perhaps even a new lawn mower!  (Now, this did not actually happen to me, but I know it COULD.)  We did have a fine time playing the game, and chattering away between moves.
We took Tuesday to have a picnic on Aunt Pam and Uncle Brian's deck followed by swimming all afternoon in their pool.  Wish I had Kylee's energy; however, I did manage to best her in a couple of swimming races across the pool.  Fat ladies can float like crazy, so I just used my arms and kicked my feet and sped across the top of the water!  (conjure up an image?!?) Kylee was suitably impressed, I must say.  I just knew those fatty lipids would come in handy someday!
Wednesday morning David picked all the green beans and peas that were ready and cleaned out his radish patch so we could jaunt off to Danielle's in Chicago.  Sophie is in her first dance recital; dancing to Mambo Italiano.  Today Grammy had to take her to dress rehearsal as Mama Danielle is busy with her production of Sussical the Musical.  Let me tell you, I can hardly get make-up on my own face, much less a 5 year old's!  Egad, I felt like I was getting ready to put her in Toddlers and Tiaras (YUK!) However, we managed to get the make-up on, the hair pulled back into a side ponytail, put tights on under fancy tutu thingy, add neck ribbon (I nearly forgot that little item) and rush to the Performing Arts Center at DuPage College.  There were 650 young performers there for dress rehearsal along with their parent/parents!!!!!  Need I say, STIMULUS OVERLOAD!!!!! What an experience.  But, we managed and after a (I must say) very well coordinated dress rehearsal we got the H--- outta there.  As many of you know, eating is my method for dealing with stress, so Sophie and I beat a path to the nearest Panera Bread for some lunch.......I was in such a state I ate the cookie Sophie was saving for Brian BEFORE my meal was prepared;  I told her we were having a girls day out and couldn't be worried about saving food for the boys!  Hummm, do I feel bad about that?  Let me think........NO!  At least she was as stimulated to eat as I was; she ate all of her Mac & Cheese, a yogurt in a 12" tube of a thing, AND my bread that came with my Caesar Salad......not to mention the sugar cookie devoured prior to the actual lunch.  Whew!  Didn't get home until almost 3:00p.m., which was an hour past MY naptime........I walked in the door, asked David if Brian was still asleep and when he said yes, I did not stop as I walked past him, Sophie, and the dumb dog straight to the bedroom for nap time!  Ahhhhhhh it was splendid.  So, tonight we have just taken it easy, literally, in the easy chair, and watched the "box".  All in all a great few days, Life is just the best!  Hope yours is too.

 Kylee relaxing on deck at Uncle Brian's and Aunt Pam's with snacks!

The Fat Lady swimmith!

"Hollywood" Brian and Sophie playing in their backyard.

Sophie rehearsing Mambo Italiano (under bright red lights!)

Dining following rehearsal......we were starved!

A nice weekend here at Hanner House.
Friday
Went to Cape to do some shopping with my daughter Audra.....would you believe our "spot" is the Goodwill store?!?  What a treat......Audra got 4 or 5 baskets for a $1.00 or $2.00 a piece and I purchased a brand new Sequence game for $2.00!  The pieces weren't even out of the plastic!  So, John and Marsha, you won't have to bring your game with you when we have "game night". Also got a shirt I had looked at at C.J. Banks this spring, for $3.00!  Whoopee!  I'm on this recycling crusade (well, perhaps I'm just CHEAP!) which is turning out to be quite fun.  It's amazing what people leave at recycle shops and the Goodwill.  I was so energized by my shopping bargains I actually got another section of my office closet cleaned out when I got home.  Only two shelves and two bookcase shelves to go.  Damn I'm good! Ha.
Saturday
Christopher and I were depressed all day Friday and Saturday about racehorse Triple Crown possible, I'll Have Another, developing a leg injury and being retired from racing.  We were just SURE we were going to get to see a Triple Crown winner together..........we were really bummed out.  But not so sad that we didn't party it up anyway!  Christopher picked the winner, Union Rags, I of course went with Dullahan which turned out to be a disaster.  However, I did pick Paynter to come in second, so I feel we BOTH chose winners.  It was great fun.  We have decided our least favorite drink of the Triple Crown races was the Belmont Breeze....too blah!  Favorite for Christopher is the Black Eyed Susan from the Preakness tradition.  Of course the fact his drinks are "virgin" may be skewed......my favorite is the Mint Julep.  Ahh, refreshing.
Before the race began we had a wonderful surprise visit from my long time "buddy" Andrea Duckworth and her friend Bill.  They were visiting wineries in the area and came by.....it was soooo great to sit and visit with Andrea and Bill.  It never ceases to amaze me that 50+ years have gone by since Andrea and I were "best buds" in the 6th grade; she is still just as fun and accepting as she was then and the years fall away as we talk and share.  It's just SUCH  blessing to have friends like Andrea.....if you see this Andrea, you "made my day"!  Thank you.
Sunday
Today has been one of sharing also; first at our church, then with our daughter and granddaughter.  Probably anyone reading this blog may not have visited the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Fredericktown.  Just let me be proud and brag for a bit and say these are the best bunch of Christian folks in the world......I'll admit to being prejudice! Just sitting in Sunday School and sharing with these long time Christian friends is always an uplifting blessing.
Following church we had lunch with Audra, Kyle, and Michael & Kylee.  Audra, Kyle, and Michael were preparing to leave for a week at Boy Scout Camp; Michael participating and Audra and Kyle leading.  Michael LOVES Scouts and it has made a very positive impact on his life.  Audra and Kyle are going to be leaders for 21 young boys, 20 of which are first time campers!!!   Now that should be a hoot.  Pam, Brian's wife, is on her way to Central MO State with Kirsten and her ball player buddies for a three day camp.  Christopher is on his way today to Fulton, MO for a Student Council Retreat.  So, many of my family are on the road today and I'll be glad when all of them get safely to their destinations.
Kylee is staying with us for part of the week and then with her Uncle Brian and Aunt Pam....spoiling may be going on........today David and Kylee went fishing and caught 5 fish.....she had a great time.  Spending 1 on 1 time with Grandpa doesn't happen often, so this was a special event.  I of course did not go fishing with them.....I stayed here and went to a baby shower and then took a nap.......ah, Sunday afternoon napping, does it get any better?!?  Unfortunately, the infamous Maisy had flatulation (or should I just say GAS) issues; something crawled up that dog and DIED, I'm telling ya!  egad.  So, I had to move from my spot and seek refuge elsewhere.
We have now finished our Sunday evening popcorn and are jammied up watching TV and reading....well, when I finish this blog writing.  Again, life is good, thanks to good friends and family.  As I said, it doesn't get better than this.  HAVE A GREAT WEEK one and all!

Another cleaning day gone awry........

Oh the joy of spring/summer evenings when it cools off to 60 degrees!  I'm sitting in our great room enjoying the fresh outside air, while gathering my thoughts for this blog.  Today was one of those days when I'm just glad I'm retired.......I was determined to clean out my office:  desk, filling cabinet, book case, and closet.  Well, THAT didn't happen.  And why? do you ask.  Well, let's just say there are sooooo many more interesting things to do than cleaning.  Plus, as a retired person and I can always work on it tomorrow, right?  Hummmm.  I did spend time talking to friends on the phone and to my daughter to make arrangements to "babysit" not only my granddaughter Kylee, next week for a few days, but also the "granddog", Maisy, the chocolate Lab.  Maisy and I have a history.  When Kyle came back to MO for his job, he stayed with us until the summer when Audra and the kids got here.  Along with Kyle came Maisy.  Now Maisy, I must explain, has emotional issues and required my counseling with her each day.  Our first hurdle was overcoming her agoraphobia; she refused to go outside and when she did she nearly knocked me down trying to stay as close as possible to me, as tho something would get her if an inch was left open between us.  This dog mind you weighs in at 60+ lbs.; it was like having a small horse leaning on you as you try to walk down the side walk!  I think I still "list" to the right!  We did make progress with this psychological concern.  As long as she could see me at the door, she would do her "thing" and then come running back to the house.  However, while it became somewhat manageable, we never truly overcame her food addiction.....Now when you're my age, forgetfulness is a constant.  So, when I "lost" the puff pastry I was working with one day (AFTER I had rolled it out, mind you), I thought I was really going to have to make an appointment for the looney bin for sure.  I went to the refrig, certain I HAD to have put it back in there since it wasn't on the counter; well no puff pastry.  I just stood and stared at the counter thinking I would surely realize what I had done with that dough, when I hear a rather loud doggy belch; Maisy.  I looked at her; she did her head downcast, look up from under eyebrows thing and I knew.  She had eaten the pastry!!!!!! Damn dog.  I share these stories with you only so you will realize the extent you will go to for your grandchildren.  Maisy has a redeeming quality; she LOVES Kylee and would protect her at all costs.  She is dedicated to my little "babydoll" and that makes it all ok.  Good ole Maisy.
 A highlight of our evening was our Christopher coming to watch the NBCSports special on I'll Have Another, our pick for the Belmont Stakes this Saturday.  Christopher and I are rather addicted to the races.......we LOVE the Kentucky Derby and know how to make much of the special food and of course Mint Juleps.  We also had our own little party for the Preakness, imbibing in Black-eyed Susans (me alcoholic, Christopher "virgin") and party food.  Now, we are preparing for the Belmont; have our supplies on hand to make Belmont Breezes and are planning on special foods, the recipes for which have been gotten off Penterist.  Now, if only I'll Have Another comes through for us we will be celebrating big time at "Hanner House"!  
Another great day at the ole homestead.......hope your day was equally "swell".......as always, Life is Great.

Christopher's photo of din-din on the deck....

as the sun set's

Another lovely day at Hanner House.  I actually cleaned out kitchen cabinets......first time in possibly 20 years!  Such a sense of accomplishment.  David and Audra again worked in their garden, yielding fresh zucchini squash, sweet English peas, and snow peas.  This evening David picked some little green tomatoes and onions; quite delightful fried with the zucchini in a bit of cornmeal.  So, once again we had a meal of fresh veggies and corn on cob from last years crop along with some ham,  while sitting on the deck enjoying the flowers, kittens (did I say "enjoying"?!?), clear blue skies turning orange following the sunset, and gentle breeze.   Many times I find myself wishing I was on the beach in Florida, or planning a trip to Wyoming, however, this week it has just been a wonderful blessing to be in our home in Missouri, enjoying the delightful weather, beautiful sunsets, fresh air coming through the windows, and my "kiddos" (Kylee, Christopher, and Kirsten) coming by to see me and play a game of Golf (cards).  As my friend John says, Life is GREAT.