Crafting Update

 I got a text from a friend at church this afternoon, saying she'd like to buy 8 of my crazy daisy ornaments!  I was only too happy to tell her sure.  Luckily I have them leftover from my spring craft bazaar.  So that means I will need to step up production to replace them in my inventory!

If At First You Don't Succeed . . .

 If at first you don't succeed, or if you miscalculated, make a second trip to Lowes.

The Old Man and I had been brainstorming for a way to display my bottle cap ornaments at the craft bazaar in November.  I checked online and saw a display rack made out of PVC pipe, elbows, and T fittings.  I drew it out, and measured the ornaments, and came up with a pretty good plan.  I looked at the Lowes website, and found that they sold half-inch PVC pipe in two-foot pieces.  Perfect. I also found on their website that they will cut wood and pipe free of charge.  Even better.  

I took my plan along with how many fittings and cut pieces I would need.  I put the pipe in my cart, and then made my way down the aisle and got my fittings.  I took my time and made sure each fitting fit on the pipe.  Then I asked a store worker where I could get the pipe cut, and they got on their radio and called Good Ole Mike.  Believe me when I tell you it took me longer to find the fittings I needed than it did for him to cut the pipe. 

As soon as I got home, I put together a shorter display rack first.  I was pleased, and even more, the Old Man was pleased.  Then I started to put the taller display rack together, only to find I was one two-foot piece of pipe short. So back to Lowes I went. Luckily the store is about five minutes from home.  

Both racks are together, and instead of taking them apart to take to the craft bazaar, I'm just going to put them in the back of the Odyessy and carefully carry them back and forth. 

Flashback Friday

 Our old-time friends from up the road just got back from a six-week trip out to Yellowstone, the Badlands, etc.  I stopped by their house earlier this week to welcome them back, and they gave me some souvenirs they got me from the Crazy Horse monument. One of the things they got me was a post card from the Crazy Horse monument. We started talking about how post cards are pretty much non-existent these days.  Back in the ancient days, pretty much every drugstore, gas station and sit-down restaurant sold post cards. The Hallmark card store at the big local shopping center had not one but two racks of post cards.

If you were on a trip, you'd buy a post card to send back home.  Most of the places that sold post cards also had a small metal vending machine that sold stamps for your post card.  It was a treat to get a post card from someone, because that meant they were thinking of you. But I digress. On any out-of-state trip that the Rents and I would take, I would always buy post cards from places we visited to put in my scrapbook when we got home.  

Garden Update

 I am happy to report that the revitalized cucumber plant is still doing great.  The two cucumbers have doubled in size in the past couple of days - yesterday morning when I watered the plant, they were up to nickel size.  

Stay tuned. 

Ohio Valley Weather Update

 As I type this, the temperature this morning is 54 degrees.  Yep, 54 degrees.  And the high is only going to be 72 degrees. I could sure get used to this.  

Garden Update

 Unfortunately we didn't get a single tomato from the 6 plants we had.  But I'm happy that the plants sure grew tall and healthy - they just didn't produce.  But I am very happy to report that the Old Man's burpless cucumber plant has been revived.  This morning when I went out to water, there were two marble-sized cucumbers growing, and there were 6 blooms.  There is still hope. 

Fair Weather

 Even though I haven't been to the Kentucky state fair in six years, here's a list of my favorite things about the state fair.

1. Every building is air conditioned - Freedom Hall, Broadbent Arena, the West Wing, the East Wing  and the South Wing. 

2. The corn dog and lemon shake-up booth in front of Freedom Hall

3. The Kentucky Pork Producer's country ham biscuit. 

4. The South Wing's Pride of the Counties - there is a booth for every county in the state, showcasing         what each county is famous for. 

5. The big horse water trough filled with water, and a ramp where baby ducks walk up the ramp to get     feed, and then they slide down into the water, and get up and do it all over again. 

6. The booth selling a bizillion different dip mixes - just add the packet to a carton of sour cream and I would be happy. In case you couldn't decide on which mix to buy, they have samples of each dip for you to try with a little preztel stick.

7. The Kentucky Farm Bureau booth, always giving away little notepads. Perfect for your purse or to keep on in the car. 

8. Hodson's Fudge "Like Grandma Tried To Make. It was interesting to watch them make the fudge, plus they would give you samples. 

9.  The mule exhibit.  They were always in the big area underneath Broadbent Arena.  Me and the 'Rents always went there to look at the awesome, well-groomed mules. 

10. Last but not least, Freddy Farm Bureau, greeting people in front of Freedom Hall. 

Flashback Friday

 

The last trip to the state fair that Diva Stacy and I made back in 2019.

The highlight of the day was us sitting at a table with an older gentleman while we ate our most tender ribeye sandwiches and he ate his funnel cake. 

Ohio Valley Weather Update

 After almost two weeks of some of the hottest temps this summer, today we get some relief.  As I type this, it's a pleasant 74 degrees, and the high is expected to be only 82.  We sure will take it. 

Update From The Compound

 Things have been pretty busy here at The Compound the past couple of days, and I will stay busy for a while.  Last week, I signed up for a fall craft bazaar in November. I had great $ucce$$ at the bazaar in the spring, so I'm going to try it again.  The Old Man and I chose two Christmas ornaments I am going to make.  After three trips to Hobby Lobby this week, I have enough supplies to keep me busy for about a month.  Luckily I have a box of about 500 bottle caps I got from eBay in the spring.  

Stay tuned. 

Flashback Friday

 

That time my Sweet Mother won a ribbon at the Kentucky State Fair. 

Whatever Happened To . . .

Whatever happened to pagers, aka beepers?  Doctors and first responders probably haven't used them in years. They were the rage in the late 80s and early 90s.  Of course, I had one before cell phones came on the market. FYI - my pager was red.  

Something You Don't See Every Day

 I went through the drive-thru yesterday at the liquor store up the road to get my Powerball tickets, and as I was driving off, once again something in the garbage can caught my eye.  There on top of the heap of cans and bottles was a cardboard box - not just any cardboard box - this was an empty box that a Hamilton Beach blender came in,  

Monday, Monday

 I apologize to my faithful readers for not posting the past few days.  I just needed some time to decompress after the visit with the kinfolk.

Large Marge Memorial Garden Update - not much new to report.  After using some Miracle Gro last week, I did see some blooms on the cucumber plant and some blooms on one of the tomato plants.  I'm not giving up.  I water and fertilize faithfully.

Not much else to report here.  We are enjoying a nice afternoon here in the a/c reading.

Flashback Friday

 Jefferson County Public Schools started back yesterday.  Some school districts in southern Indiana started back last week.  And the majority got out for their summer break the first week of June.  So the kids only had two months off summer vacation.  

Back in the ancient days when I was in school, we got out usually the Friday before Memorial Day and started back after Labor Day.  That's what I call a summer vacation. 

Something You Don't See Every Day

 I ran up to the Dollar General to get some plain potato chips for the Old Man, and as I got out of the van I noticed an odd site on the ground.  There were about a dozen bandaid wrappers, along with a bunch of the little strips you peel off to expose the sticky part of the bandaids.   I can only imagine what kind of crime scene that could have been. 

Quasi Family Reunion, Days 2 and 3

 Day 2 of the quasi family reunion went great.  We spent a lot of time reminiscing and laughing as the Old Man told stories about his dad and grandpa.  For supper we had great fish from the legendary Mike Linning;s.

Day 3 went great, too.  My Favorite Cousin and her Dear Husband arrived in the afternoon.  I spent the morning making a big pot of chili, using my Grandma's recipe.  I made a batch a month or two ago, and the Old Man and I finally agreed that something wasn't quite the same.  It was good, but not the same as Grandma's. We figured out what it was - she used Mexene chili powder, while I had been using Bloemer's.  I went to Kroger and they were out of the Mexene, so I did the next best thing: bought it on Amazon and it was here Sunday morning.  I felt like a chef when everyone at the dinner table bragged about how good it was.  

Stay tuned. 

Quasi Family Reunion, Day 1

 Day 1 of our sorta family reunion was great.  The Alabama Cousin and his wife didn't leave until almost 11:00 last night.  We reminisced, we laughed, we cried and we had awesome pizza from our fave old place, Bonnie and Clyde's.  This morning, the Old Man said he thinks last night was the best visit we've ever had with them. I have to agree.  

Today's visit will include sitting out on the back porch visiting and enjoying the much cooler temperature.

Stay tuned.

Garden Update

 You can't imagine how thrilled I was when I picked one of my sweet peppers yesterday.  I carried it to the house as if I was holding a delicate vase.  And I noticed that my almost dead cucumber plant is now green with a few leaves on it.  

Stay tuned.