Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Snowflake doctor trip
I can't believe I'm slackin' on posting - but we are having days that are busier than usual. Last Monday, the 21st, I drove my son Allan up to see Uncle Alan in Snowflake for a doctors visit. He has been complaining about his heart and he's had a serious cough for several weeks. The drive up was turning out more snow-filled than I thought it would be.
Our first glimpse of the snow to come.
Now more.
And lots more.
Here was my traveling companion. The coat was up 
to block the sun.
Down to one lane open and then almost no lanes at all. Crazy. Okay, you Utah folks, I'm from Mesa (although we did live in Flagstaff for 5 years), and my snow driving is not used as much so it was a bit scary for me.
Now, the other thing I need to add is that I don't have very good windshield wiper blades. I had only two spots I could look through when I was following someone and the 'crap-ola' was flinging back on to my car. AND to top it off, my wiper washer fluid ran out about halfway up this mountain, where I stupidly tried to fling some water from my water bottle out onto my windshield. Most of that came back inside our car.
Oh, side note, you HAVE to watch one of our favorite youtube videos called 'Kid History'. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80entLldZOg I hope this is the right one. We love it and my kids can quote verbatim the whole movie. Too funny.
It got down to 24 degrees. Cold. And here is a shot of my window once I ran out of wiper fluid and had been 'slushed' a few times by cars. (make sure you make this one big)Once we get to Snowflake, the first thing we do is stop at one of their two gas stations to clear my window and guess what? The little black containers that hold the window washer scrubie thing - the water was FROZEN !! I tried to lift it out of the container and the whole stinking container lifted right off of the beam it was connected to! I wish I'd taken a picture of that - but it was a bit cold standing there.
We finally get to his
appointment.
So Allan has his heart checked out and he's fine. (surprised anyone?) But he does have a small extra nerve? clump that fires off at weird times so it makes his heart feel like it flutters a little bit. Now, don't quote me - but after Uncle Alan explained the real medical terms for what it was - this is what registered in my layman's mind and that's how I'm going to describe it to you.
Allan was so worried about her tearing these little tabs off and pulling the hair, mostly on his legs.
We brought Grandpa DeWitt back down to Mesa with us.
Our first glimpse of the snow to come.
Now more.
And lots more.
Here was my traveling companion. The coat was up 
to block the sun.
Down to one lane open and then almost no lanes at all. Crazy. Okay, you Utah folks, I'm from Mesa (although we did live in Flagstaff for 5 years), and my snow driving is not used as much so it was a bit scary for me. Now, the other thing I need to add is that I don't have very good windshield wiper blades. I had only two spots I could look through when I was following someone and the 'crap-ola' was flinging back on to my car. AND to top it off, my wiper washer fluid ran out about halfway up this mountain, where I stupidly tried to fling some water from my water bottle out onto my windshield. Most of that came back inside our car.
Oh, side note, you HAVE to watch one of our favorite youtube videos called 'Kid History'. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80entLldZOg I hope this is the right one. We love it and my kids can quote verbatim the whole movie. Too funny.
It got down to 24 degrees. Cold. And here is a shot of my window once I ran out of wiper fluid and had been 'slushed' a few times by cars. (make sure you make this one big)Once we get to Snowflake, the first thing we do is stop at one of their two gas stations to clear my window and guess what? The little black containers that hold the window washer scrubie thing - the water was FROZEN !! I tried to lift it out of the container and the whole stinking container lifted right off of the beam it was connected to! I wish I'd taken a picture of that - but it was a bit cold standing there.
We finally get to his
appointment.
So Allan has his heart checked out and he's fine. (surprised anyone?) But he does have a small extra nerve? clump that fires off at weird times so it makes his heart feel like it flutters a little bit. Now, don't quote me - but after Uncle Alan explained the real medical terms for what it was - this is what registered in my layman's mind and that's how I'm going to describe it to you.
Allan was so worried about her tearing these little tabs off and pulling the hair, mostly on his legs.
We brought Grandpa DeWitt back down to Mesa with us.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Kevin's chair
First of all, I have a super funny blog coming tomorrow - but I need to draw a picture to go with it because we didn't have a camera with us when this event happened.
Nine days before Kevin came home I started to reupholster this chair that Kevin had dumpster-dove (?) for several years ago. I wanted to have it done before he came home, but I went slightly over that date.
Here's a few pictures of the reupholster process:
Dirty, icky, disgusting - out to the trash.
Anyway, it's been done for a week or so now, but I just didn't know where to put it in my home. Here was the dilemma: Where should the chair go? I thought in the Living Room.....
Nope. Too crowded. Covers my curio cabinet. How about our new piano bench? Cute, but, no? 
The new head chair at our table?
In Allan's room?
My bedroom? 
The girls dressing room?
No, but the color kinda looks good with it.....
At the computer?
The Family room?
Or the laundry room....which is our downstairs bathroom, so probably not. That would be a bit awkward. So this is where it is going to end up. Kevin's room.
I was thinking of leaving it in the garage, but here is what my mind envisioned after a day or so.....
Get it? It wasn't going to stay in the garage. Speaking of my garage. As most of you know, we recently got a new garage door (12 yrs in the waiting), but it has two special features...(and most of you probably already know because you have a neat garage door) one.....a thermostat (lights up in the dark)
And two, a light that senses when you walk in and it turns on automatically!
Sweet. I love it!
Nine days before Kevin came home I started to reupholster this chair that Kevin had dumpster-dove (?) for several years ago. I wanted to have it done before he came home, but I went slightly over that date.
Here's a few pictures of the reupholster process:
Dirty, icky, disgusting - out to the trash.
Anyway, it's been done for a week or so now, but I just didn't know where to put it in my home. Here was the dilemma: Where should the chair go? I thought in the Living Room.....
Nope. Too crowded. Covers my curio cabinet. How about our new piano bench? Cute, but, no? 
The new head chair at our table?
In Allan's room?
My bedroom? 
The girls dressing room?
No, but the color kinda looks good with it.....
At the computer?
The Family room?
Or the laundry room....which is our downstairs bathroom, so probably not. That would be a bit awkward. So this is where it is going to end up. Kevin's room.
I was thinking of leaving it in the garage, but here is what my mind envisioned after a day or so.....
Get it? It wasn't going to stay in the garage. Speaking of my garage. As most of you know, we recently got a new garage door (12 yrs in the waiting), but it has two special features...(and most of you probably already know because you have a neat garage door) one.....a thermostat (lights up in the dark)
And two, a light that senses when you walk in and it turns on automatically!
Sweet. I love it!
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Kevin at Shar's
Yesterday I went to Shar's. Shar's Kitchen Center in Gilbert.
http://www.sharskitchen.com/
I enjoy her class most of the time and get a kick at how good of a salesman or woman, I should say, she is for her store. She is knowledgeable and a quick talker. I took Kevin with me, mostly because he was bored and hasn't started his job yet, and I told him he'd get a free mini loaf of bread - fresh-ground whole wheat bread. Almost every product she described as she was cooking, he would lean over and ask, 'Do we have that?'. I'd either nod yes or shake my head no. And if we didn't have it, he'd want me to put it on my shopping list. It was becoming a comedic thing.
Shar: Who has a Bosch?
Kevin: Do we have a Bosch?
Me: Yes.
Kevin: But do we have the 7th generation Bosch?
Me: No.
Kevin: Don't we need the 7th generation Bosch that has a new locking bowl feature and the suction cups on the bottom to keep it from slipping around the counter?
Me: (a stare - meaning no).
Shar: How many of you own a Mill? It is so healthy to grind your own wheat. All of the nutritious stuff is just taken out in the white flour process.
Kevin: Do we have that?
Me: Yes, just an older model.
Kevin: I don't remember a grinder mill.
Me: We have one, it is square in shape - not this round one she is showing.
Kevin: Don't we need the round one? I sounds like it works the best.
Me: (2nd stare).
Shar: Now to make the perfect loaf of bread - after you've used your freshly ground wheat - you need dough enhancer. This will help make your loaf of bread fluffier, lighter and have a better texture.
Kevin: Do we have that?
Me: Yes. (phew).
On and on it went. I would write a couple of things on my shopping list so Kevin would feel like I was listening to his concerns of our lack of kitchen appliances/gadgets. Things like; measuring spoons, super thin spatula for scrapping the Bosch bowl sides while it is mixing the bread, thermometer for the perfect meat every time, a strawberry/mushroom cutting thing, a new hand mixer with a timer built right in AND with 10 speeds! (actually, that was kinda cool), baking sheets with a cooling tray and so forth and so on. Most of these items she 'can't keep on the shelves of her store - they are just flying out the door and sometimes we have to order them to make sure we get one'.
Eventually Kevin took a short little nap. He missed the whole Quinoa Pilaf section. There were lots of gadgets for that recipe. Again, phew.
The recipes Shar shared with us yesterday were this: Macadamia Nut crusted Chicken with Roasted Pineapple Relish; Quinoa Pilaf; Whole Wheat Feather light dinner rolls; Strawberry and Almond Salad; and Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cheesecake. Everything was good. I could have done without the pilaf - it has peas and carrots. Not my favorite. Luckily the samples you get are really one or two bite sizes - so I swallowed without really chewing.
I did break down and bought two things. The magnetic measuring spoons and the strawberry slicer. Oh and I picked up some Ultra-Gel. This thickening agent that works really well.
Here is Kevin's loaf of bread and the gift I got (for bringing a friend)- a magnetic measure equivalent chart. (Shar - I can't keep these in stock - everybody wants one and for $1.99 you're getting it for cost). Phew! Good thing I got mine free. I almost felt I needed a body guard to walk me out to my car in case someone tried to mug me for my measure equivalent chart! Oh, wait.....I have Kevin.
My handy-dandy mushroom slicer. Sweet.
http://www.sharskitchen.com/
I enjoy her class most of the time and get a kick at how good of a salesman or woman, I should say, she is for her store. She is knowledgeable and a quick talker. I took Kevin with me, mostly because he was bored and hasn't started his job yet, and I told him he'd get a free mini loaf of bread - fresh-ground whole wheat bread. Almost every product she described as she was cooking, he would lean over and ask, 'Do we have that?'. I'd either nod yes or shake my head no. And if we didn't have it, he'd want me to put it on my shopping list. It was becoming a comedic thing.
Shar: Who has a Bosch?
Kevin: Do we have a Bosch?
Me: Yes.
Kevin: But do we have the 7th generation Bosch?
Me: No.
Kevin: Don't we need the 7th generation Bosch that has a new locking bowl feature and the suction cups on the bottom to keep it from slipping around the counter?
Me: (a stare - meaning no).
Shar: How many of you own a Mill? It is so healthy to grind your own wheat. All of the nutritious stuff is just taken out in the white flour process.
Kevin: Do we have that?
Me: Yes, just an older model.
Kevin: I don't remember a grinder mill.
Me: We have one, it is square in shape - not this round one she is showing.
Kevin: Don't we need the round one? I sounds like it works the best.
Me: (2nd stare).
Shar: Now to make the perfect loaf of bread - after you've used your freshly ground wheat - you need dough enhancer. This will help make your loaf of bread fluffier, lighter and have a better texture.
Kevin: Do we have that?
Me: Yes. (phew).
On and on it went. I would write a couple of things on my shopping list so Kevin would feel like I was listening to his concerns of our lack of kitchen appliances/gadgets. Things like; measuring spoons, super thin spatula for scrapping the Bosch bowl sides while it is mixing the bread, thermometer for the perfect meat every time, a strawberry/mushroom cutting thing, a new hand mixer with a timer built right in AND with 10 speeds! (actually, that was kinda cool), baking sheets with a cooling tray and so forth and so on. Most of these items she 'can't keep on the shelves of her store - they are just flying out the door and sometimes we have to order them to make sure we get one'.
Eventually Kevin took a short little nap. He missed the whole Quinoa Pilaf section. There were lots of gadgets for that recipe. Again, phew.
The recipes Shar shared with us yesterday were this: Macadamia Nut crusted Chicken with Roasted Pineapple Relish; Quinoa Pilaf; Whole Wheat Feather light dinner rolls; Strawberry and Almond Salad; and Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cheesecake. Everything was good. I could have done without the pilaf - it has peas and carrots. Not my favorite. Luckily the samples you get are really one or two bite sizes - so I swallowed without really chewing.
I did break down and bought two things. The magnetic measuring spoons and the strawberry slicer. Oh and I picked up some Ultra-Gel. This thickening agent that works really well.
Here is Kevin's loaf of bread and the gift I got (for bringing a friend)- a magnetic measure equivalent chart. (Shar - I can't keep these in stock - everybody wants one and for $1.99 you're getting it for cost). Phew! Good thing I got mine free. I almost felt I needed a body guard to walk me out to my car in case someone tried to mug me for my measure equivalent chart! Oh, wait.....I have Kevin.
My handy-dandy mushroom slicer. Sweet.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
boring bike ride
Bicycle Log: Boring. 3.59miles. Because it was boring I decided to start taking pictures of things I found along the road. I bypassed many pieces of trash but found a few things that some might consider trash, but could be used by those who would be brave enough to pick them up.
Piece of rope for, um....roping your dog, hoisting something to your roof, camping or boating uses, making a Barbie swing, flogging your children, oops, CPS might be called......
Sanding disc - not used yet.....If I was a sander I might have picked this up but as we all know - sanding is my least favorite thing to do of any wood project. I abhor sanding.
And a spoon. This is spoon number 3 that I have found.
One I brought home, the other 2 have been left lying where they lay.
Piece of rope for, um....roping your dog, hoisting something to your roof, camping or boating uses, making a Barbie swing, flogging your children, oops, CPS might be called......
Sanding disc - not used yet.....If I was a sander I might have picked this up but as we all know - sanding is my least favorite thing to do of any wood project. I abhor sanding. And a spoon. This is spoon number 3 that I have found.
One I brought home, the other 2 have been left lying where they lay.
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