Welcome.....

To my world of the weird, the strange, the unexplained......... no, I'm just kidding, this is a happy place......OK, maybe I am just a little weird.

Friday, February 24, 2017

Lunch with the ladies of '67

I had lunch with my girls of '67 today, always a great time. We went to the American Legion, and look at our cute fruit plates... :) It doesn't take much to entertain US...See you all next month, and hope that our ill friends are back with us next time.




Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Dense fog this Wednesday morning in Kinmundy town

Good Morning from the Hippy Dippy Weather woman...lol...love foggy mornings, so long as I don't have to drive in it...



 These are horses roaming around the field in the above photo, but you can't even see them.

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

This evening's sunset.....Spectacular!

After a gray and misty day, the sun finally peeked out at the end of the day giving us this spectacular sunset!

Sunday, February 19, 2017

Sunday with the Halterman Clan

We had a fun afternoon and evening with family, went out to lunch, and did some shopping. There is a wildlife preserve just down the road and it was covered with geese (also ducks) this afternoon. They are always here this time of year. Just beautiful creatures. I hope you all enjoyed your day.

Saturday, February 11, 2017

Gabby Goat American Pub and Grill

We went out for an early Valentine's Day lunch at Gabby Goat American pub and grill in Effingham today...great food! Look at the size of that sandwich! For all of you fb friends that have been bragging on this place, thank you...it was even better then expected. The place was packed to the max in the middle of the day, Loved it...we came back home and drove through Forbes state park, a few campers out there. It was 70 today, so wasn't surprised by that..Other than that, it was just ugly and gray. .I hope you all have had a great Saturday!

Friday, February 10, 2017

Red Hat Chickadees Annual Birthday Party

I had lunch with my Red Hat sisters today. We celebrated all our birthdays on one day! We also took some photobooth type pictures, . I gave away some of mom's teacup collection for prizes.She always loved those ladies so much. We had such a great time. I hope you all had a good day.











Wednesday, February 08, 2017

Snowing!

I'm watching VIKINGS and having a hot cup of coffee on this snowy afternoon...so pretty out

there!

Tuesday, February 07, 2017

Good to know your own kids think you did a good job as mom

I earned all the discipline I got😏, thanks Mom for beating my ass when I was a kid. and thanks for letting me experience being a loser when I lost at something, and thanks for not coddling me.Or I could have turned out to be a Whiney little bitch when things didn't go my way.And maybe I would have gone and broke some Starbucks windows and thought that was called protesting.you did awesome.Click the video link above, that was posted on facebook along with this above message.

70 degrees and sunny..

What a pretty day, 70 degrees and sunny. I went for a walk and then sat in the sun on my swing with a nice cup of coffee, watching the horses next door. It was breezy, but a light jacket was all that was needed. I enjoyed it so much. Tomorrow in the 30's and a chance of snow...gotta love Illinois weather! I made a cocoa cake with coolwhip and sprinkles. . it's been a nice, relaxing day. I hope you have all had a great Tuesday.

Sunday, February 05, 2017

Superbowl finale

The only time we watch sports at all is once a year, when we watch the super bowl... What a game tonight!

Lady Ga Ga Superbowl half time

Well I have to say that was an AWESOME halftime performance by Lady GA Ga. Wow!

Sunday, January 29, 2017

A flower memorial to mom and Barb

Good afternoon, friends! It's still cloudy and gray outside. Bill is at an auction and I am enjoying my day listening to some Celtic music and doing a little crafting. When mom passed away I dried some of the flowers from her funeral bouquets. I made a little shadow box today with some of them as a memorial to her and to my sweet sister in law, Barb Knight, who passed away just 6 weeks after mom. Barb always loved dragonflies and had them throughout her house... It was a bitter sweet project, but I've been meaning to do it for quite a while .Mind you, I am not great at arranging flowers of any sort, but it's the thought that counts. I had to use some silk leaves, because, if any of you have ever dried flowers, you know the leaves don't always make it to the end of the drying process. I hope you all have a good day, think it's time for some lunch.

Friday, January 27, 2017

Monthly lunch with the class of '67

I had lunch with my '67 classmates today, and a our special guest, 92 year old, Mr. Jamison.  He's still pretty spunky for an old guy.  I always love seeing my buddies, had a great time, as as always.


Wednesday, January 25, 2017

First time visit to the blogcabin coffee shop in Flora, IL

It was another pretty day, in the 50's and breezy. Enjoyed the afternoon with hubby exploring some junk shops in Olney, IL then drove to Flora and grabbed some lunch at Julian's and went to Charlie Brown park to sit by the lake and eat. We stopped by the blogcabincoffee shop and got some espresso.https://www.facebook.com/blgcbn/ . I had decaf, which kind of defeats the purpose of espresso, I know...lol...it was really good though. The wind came in this evening, bringing the front that will cool our weather back down to the 30's tomorrow...glad we took advantage of the milder temps. today. Hope you all have had a good one! If you are not on facebook, then here is another link to 
https://mkt.com/blog-cabin-coffee?square_lead=button

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Alma sunset and one from Texas

A beautiful sunset on the way home from Salem tonight.
And then Shelley posted a sunset from her backyard in Texas a few minute later.
Cary and Garret flying their millennium falcon drone.

Monday, January 23, 2017

Just Monday...

Brats, mashed taters, steamed asparagus and mushrooms with lemon sauce, homemade kraut and fresh fruit salad with toasted walnuts...it's what's for dinner....It's a good day to spend time in the kitchen on this ugly gray day...hope you are all having a great Monday...

Saturday, January 21, 2017

First time lunch at Smoked to The Bone

What a gorgeous day! Sunny and 67. We had our lunch at "Smoked to the Bone" in Iuka, Illinois.  The food was fabulous! It was so packed when we first got there, that there was only one empty table.It didn't take long for the place to empty though. The food is served on metal pie plates on big wooden picnic tables, as well as regular dining room tables. We loved the atmosphere and the food and plan on going back sometime soon. There are also homemade pies, and all of the many types of meats are smoked right there on the premises. After lunch we ran some errands for a few hours, and then drove through the park, where lots of kids were out on their bikes and skateboards and playing basketball. No one needed coats today...we stopped by the reservoir and sat on a bench to watch the sunset...then we went to DQ for ice cream.... and now, home with a cup of coffee and ready for some season 6 of Madmen...I hope you all had a great day...

Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Monday, January 09, 2017

An eagle and a crow were having lunch along side the road.

We were driving to Brownstown this morning and saw a bald eagle and a crow eating a dead deer, right next to the road....happened too fast to get a photo, but went back and there he sat in a tree...that's about all of the excitement we've had today..hope you are all having a good day!

Sunday, January 08, 2017

Antique auction Sunday part 2

On the way home from the auction, we stopped by Denny's to have a late lunch. We ordered an omelet and "seasonal fruit", I was pleasantly surprised by this beautiful bowl of fresh fruit, instead of the usual canned pineapple thrown on the side there. :) Bill had been told there was an eagle's nest along interstate 57 so we drove home that way so I could see it, we couldn't tell if there was any activity going on there. You can see it clearly from interstate 57 around the 130 mile marker. I took this picture from the overpass on St. Peter rd. in Kinmundy...all I had was my phone, so it's about as good as it gets...anyway...glad we are home and warm this evening...


I also wanted this cool fur pillbox hat...

and this Aladdin lamp

and this granite ware...

and any of this awesome furniture...but...I had to keep reminding myself that we are "downsizing"....boo on that... :)

Antique auction Sunday

We had a good time today, even though it was 7 degrees when we left the house, barely made it to 20 degrees today. We didn't buy anything, because we were selling there today. It's hard to resist when there were so many interesting things to bid on..One thing that I found most interesting was this Airline television. I think it was sold by Montgomery Ward. This is a 1948 model, with a 7" screen..older than me...lol....and I tried to bid on this sweet little perfume bottle with the butterfly on top, but it went way too high. A nice crowd today, as always at the monthly auction. I hope you all enjoyed your day!



Saturday, January 07, 2017

Halterman Family time

Our niece, Amanda Raper and three kids came to visit from Indiana today, so we had lunch at Applebee's with the Halterman's (and friends) .It was an early celebration of my mother-in-law's birthday, and mine too. So we got free dessert, woot! The kids couldn't get home for Christmas to see great grandma Dona, so we also had a belated Christmas present opening. It was a really fun day. . I also received a surprise gift from my daughter, Shelley Yandell, along with some new school pictures of the boys. She sent me some leggings and said that the boys picked them out! They did a good job, grandma Sheila has wild looking legs now..lol...hope you all have had a good Saturday!

Thursday, January 05, 2017

Fermented cranberry relish

I had cranberries left from Christmas, so I made some cranberry/orange/pecan salad...and decided to ferment it, to add some probiotics. The recipe to leave it on the counter for no longer than 3 days or it will start to develop alcohol. I tasted it the first two days..nothing...this morning they were leaking, so I knew they had started to ferment...omg...it tastes like cranberry orange wine, only crunchy. It definitely has alcohol in it...wonder what proof it is??? Think I'll try some blackberries next!

Snow....

It's a beautiful snowy morning here. Huge flakes are falling by the window..AND....it's 16 degrees! B rrrr. I'm watching the birds on the feeder by my window as I'm having my morning Highland Grog. I'm thinking that birds are ingenious , as they kick and knock away the snow covering the feeding holes on their feeder. I was going to go outside and knock the snow off myself, but, like I said, it's 16 degrees, so they're on their own. lol.......hope you are all having a good morning, friends! (I can write a whole lot about absolutely nothing, can't I? :) )

Tuesday, January 03, 2017

Uncle Bob has a date for lunch

Just had to share this photo of my Uncle Bob Westman and his friend of many years, Imogene Denton, on New Year's Eve. Such a sweet photo of wonderful people. Prayers and hugs for both. Please read all of Jenny's post, it is the sweetest thing she did for her mom and for my uncle.

Well I have to say, this was the most different New Years Eve I've ever spent. I picked Mom up from the nursing home this am. And we went to her apartment at the Manor. I did her hair and put on a little makeup, then she got to eat lunch with her friend Bob. She was so happy to be there. It is an encouragement for her to keep up her PT so she can come back to her "new home. She loves it at the Manor. She is still very weak and cannot stand or walk without someone helping her. Please just pray she can get stronger every day.