A Different Life II

[Lily&Me]

After the seemingly pellmell pace of the past couple of weeks, now it's going to be all about me and some rest and relaxation.

The kiddos are with my son/his as of this morning, and they will meet the parents of Iowa Alice tomorrow to return her.

It has been a great visit with them......but, I'm tired and ready for no care-giving for awhile.

We did laundry yesterday, took delivery of my 3-week-overdue House Wine Riesling , then went to a favorite park in the afternoon.

These kids have run themselves near into the ground outside these past few days, and dropped like stones by 8pm. I like to see that kind of rosy-cheeked exhaustion in children. Nothing better for them than playing outside in the fresh air.

All of them slender as a reed, they still eat like longshoremen, and it's taken some doing keeping up with their appetites @ 3 meals a day.

But.....I have loved every minute of it.

We are settled in at Moraine View for the rally.....I brought my chair, and am sitting outside. .

Most will begin gathering here tomorrow, and I am looking forward to seeing everyone.


Maggie

[Hittenstiehl]

Congrats on your successful family gathering, your fun and exhausting grands visit and the CHAIR!!! Lots going on Miss Maggie you deserve the rest and relaxation and you're going to need some of that wine have a great time.

[Lily&Me]

I brought the rest of the Sangria that Sara made over the weekend.....



Maggie

[tallytwo1994]

Hi Maggie,

So glad to have discovered you are writing again, have always enjoyed you observations and reflections on life. As I typically do I started from the beginning and read every post. How exciting to plan a trip to the southwest. That's one we will do one day too. I'll be checking back from time to time and look forward to reading about you and Lilly, of course.


Carol

[Lily&Me]

Thank you, Carol.....and, all of you....for your kindness, kind words and unending support.



Maggie

[Lily&Me]

I love the Moraine View Rally.

I especially love that it is 20 minutes from my house.

About a half dozen of us here by mid day yesterday, and you just pick up where you left off with these folks you haven't seen, and have seldom communicated with, in the past year. Nice.

It has been warm, but we are on the loop right by the lake, where there is almost always a nice breeze.

I am sitting, chatting, crocheting, walking Lily, chatting, and doing a great deal of relaxing.....and have slept like the dead the past two nights. Love it.

Everyone else will arrive today, and the rally will be in full swing.

We are missing our fearless leader, Jack Canavera, again this year....whose wife Patti struggles with some medical issues that have kept them close to home these past two rallies, but we're planning a group Skype with them sometime tomorrow.

All is well.


Maggie

[kswelsh]

I'm looking forward to meeting you Maggie. My husband Kevin, myself and our two dogs, Hannah and Millie will be there mid to late afternoon. We will be in site P13. This will be our first AirForums Rally and we are really looking forward to meeting new friends.

[Lily&Me]

And you.

A great group of people, you will enjoy yourself.

We're having a bit of rain right now, but it will pass.....and, that's why we have awnings.

If there is one thing completely out of our control, it is the weather.

No point fussing about it, cuz what are you gonna do.


Maggie

[Lily&Me]

We've had a gully washer here, and I just barely got my loaf of DO bread for tonight's dinner done before it started.

At least, I think it is done....we will find out in a few hours.

Been such a nice time visiting with everyone , in spite of the rain, and we decided yesterday to have a gathering in October, as well......weekend of the 16th, if anyone would like to join us.

Moraine View State Park, on Reserve America. Lots of us have already made reservations, and will be in on Thursday the 15th. . Should be good weather for campfires.

The menfolk are relocating the awning shelters to higher ground.


Maggie

[Lily&Me]

Back from the lovely Moraine View rally, I am scrubbed clean and am working my way thru the laundry.

It was an intermittently wet and, toward the end, rather muddy weekend, but still very, very restful and enjoyable. And, there's nothing that can't eventually be washed clean.

In addition to all the regulars, Kathy/kswelsh and hers made it up, along with John/JDS and his, Dyana/silverslipper and hers, and Al & Patty/twobikes who were passing thru.

Great to meet and visit with those formerly-known-by-moniker-only, and to spend time with the always lovely....Al & Patty.

Many commented on how much better Miss-Lily-the-amazing-ALPHA-dog is doing, and it is simply because......as I know better, I do better with her.

She is unlike any dog I have ever had.....a sweet, sweet darling with me, mine, the grands, most humans, etc......but around other dogs I must be always on my toes.

She nearly pulled my arm out of my socket, and me onto the ground, this weekend, darting behind me toward a dog passing by. She is quick, but didn't get to any....and, no snapping at flanks or ears, very little barking, and only a few incidents of snarling-thru-up-curled-lips-with-sharp-teeth-showing.

If that's the worst she does, I can live with that. She seems to only have a hammer in her other-dog interaction toolbox, but I love her, she's mine, and will remain so. We will get it all figured out.

We have had heat and a lot of rain these past few days, and weeds have come up that need to be dealt with......but, not today.

Nice to be gone.....always nice to come home to the little house.


Maggie

[Lily&Me]

I made this for the rally potluck Saturday night, and it was delicious.

Was going to do it in the DO, but was rained out, so baked it in a borrowed convection oven.

Ridiculously rich, I would make this again heavily sprinkled with chopped pecans.


Bun Custard Pudding

6 hot dog or hamburger buns, placed in a lightly greased, 2 quart casserole
1 stick butter, melted and poured over

2 1/2 cups milk
4 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup each, brown sugar and white sugar

Beat together well, pour over bun and butter mixture, bake at 350 degrees 30-40 minutes til sharp knife inserted comes out clean.


Maggie

[kswelsh]

The bun pudding was excellent - yummy with the home made peach ice cream

[Lily&Me]

So enjoyed meeting and visiting with you, Kathy, and look forward to seeing you again soon.


It is pouring rain here again, right now. I don't know how much rain we have had in the last week, but it has been a lot. Always glad with these onslaughts that the little house is on a bit of a rise......and, as I hear sump pumps running, that it has no basement.

Came home yesterday to see my yard guys had gotten me mowed, in spite of all the rain.......which they always do, no matter what, but they must be watching the forecasts very, very carefully. They are a couple of workers, those young men.

Crops around here are up and looking very happy with all this moisture. I saw a lot of them yesterday, having overshot the turn west into town as I was leaving Moraine View, and ending up in Merna before I got my bearings. Did get a glimpse of the Merna tap, where Doug & I used to go for fried walleye on occasion.

Our farmers may have another great crop year this year, which is always something to be happy for, for lots of reasons. I remember hearing last fall that harvest was so plentiful the farmers couldn't get it to market fast enough. A good thing.

Got some groceries in, and putting the little house to rights, today.....plus starting my to-do list for the Great Gila Wilderness Adventure in a few weeks.


Maggie

[Lily&Me]

I tend to leave rallies feeling I must almost do a "cleanse".

Calorie awareness and maintaining a reasonably balanced diet don't apply when at a rally for a few days.....at least, that's what I tend to do. I start off with my own, healthy breakfast, but that's as far as I get.

Sweets are my weakness, and then I tend to simply eat what I want at those pot lucks....which leans toward ignoring fruits and vegetables in favor of, ummm, pasta dishes and desserts.

I admire those who fill their plates with salads and other wise choices. A goal of self-discipline to strive for.

After polishing off the Salted Peanut Bars Dana sent home with me , I got back to dietary awareness, loaded my grocery cart yesterday with fresh fruits and vegetables, and am going to try a Greek salad made with cooked Farro this week.

It has traditional, Greek salad ingredients, but Farro instead of perhaps pasta, and will be a good main dish to have in the frig and just pull out during this hot weather.

Might also add it to my pre-prepared meals repertoire for the Gila Wilderness next month. I will let you know how it turns out. .


Getting the new IPad Mini up and running fully somehow resulted in the Mail app on my Android phone ceasing functioning. It had been out 10-12 days (not syncing) when I sat down with Verizon tech support yesterday.....I have been very busy .....and over an hour later, with a very patient and skilled young man, it was fixed.

For some reason, the Mail app I was using was no longer compatible, of particular interference seemed to be the two-step verification process I had in place to prevent my email from being remotely hacked. The app worked on the new IPad, but no longer the phone.

We finally ended up removing both, downloading the blue, Yahoo, mail app and....voila! Emails now syncing onto the phone, all is as it should be. And so, should you have this problem.....


Have the laundry done, and the house tidied, going to try to get some weeds pulled and the yard in order today......between bouts of rain.

Miss Lily is exhausted from the long weekend activities, so is making few demands of me.


Maggie

[Msmoto]

OK, Maggie,

On the next rally we both attend, you follow me around and I will share at least what I know about food, and all the consequences.

Please understand, i will share what I know.... you may have to ignore what I do.....

[Lily&Me]

Yes, Tommie, I recall that Oreo cookie and whipped cream combination at Alumalina, that we both got into.....along with several others....before dinner.

Given that I don't attend rallies weekly, or even monthly, I don't seem to be suffering too many consequences from these throw-caution-to-the-wind events.....at this point in my life, anyway....other than a bit of a guilty conscience.


Maggie

[Gearheart]

So long as the time between indulgent rallies is sufficient to undo the damage all is good. N'est ce pas?

[Lily&Me]

That's the idea.



Maggie

[Lily&Me]

In addition to making roasted red pepper hummus today , I have been working at ridding the flower beds of weeds that have come up due to the heat, recent monsoons, and my gross lack of attention.

Particularly bad is the area north of the patio, which was heavily shaded when the trellis....now gone....was in place, also due to the overgrown shrubs that I aggressively cut back shortly after my yard guys removed the trellis on May.

Ground there that has not seen sunlight in many years has been rapidly turning into a woodland nature area, with all manner of green things popping up.....very unsightly, and needing to be cleaned up. I will need to do something around there, in terms of a border, but for now have just removed the green things and laid/tacked down weed cloth. In the back yard, it will do.

Doug dug the holes for those shrubs, which we planted together, back in the day when a Class B motor home and retirement travel were just a daydream. The patio, trellis on two sides, shrubs, etc., were a major home improvement for us. Our very first patio was of those brick-look squares you can buy at Menard's, about 18 of them.....just enough room for two plastic chairs and a little table for our coffee or drinks. The dreaming we did there.

Looking on the garage shelves for items needed for the tasks at hand, a book of matches still sits there, by the back door, right where Doug last left it. Matches needed to start charcoal for the grill, of course ......no propane for Doug, who was strictly a charcoal man.

Also there is one of those small, inexpensive bottle openers.....for the bottle of beer that goes with grilling on the patio.

The shelves in the back area of the garage are like the DVD's in our entertainment center.....both territories I have not really been able to wade into. He is everywhere, there, truly, and it is just so hard to handle some things. What I can put off, I just have.

I have dealt with most, but not all, of his clothing, giving away at the recent family gathering some of his favorite denim and similar shirts to a nephew who lives in the country, has horses, and will wear them......but still have some dress clothes, and opened a lower drawer in a dresser the other day, to find it full to the brim with his socks.

Not really interested in moving my things into his drawers, I had simply forgotten about them.

15 months, doing pretty well, and no longer those painful, monthly "anniversaries", but it is still a grief process unfolding.

We co-exist, me here and he there....but he's still here, really, and it is kind of comforting, seeing him everywhere, still....which is one reason I don't rush to do some of the things that need to be done.....and will be, eventually.


Maggie

[Lily&Me]

I try not to complain about the weather.....especially rain, so necessary to life.....but I am getting really tired of this rain!!!

Lily did get a good walk in this morning, when it was only misting, during which I saw lots of water standing in places I have never seen it before.

Several back yards with pairs of ducks, swimming around together, looking to nest, lay their eggs, hatch their ducklings.....in yards. Flooding everywhere, people drowning in the Mackinaw River.


Made some cedarwood/lemongrass/orange essential oil and soy candles this morning.....those scents should go well with the sojourn into the forests of southwest New Mexico.

Probably no cedar trees there, but I do love the woodsy smell of cedar.

At the family gathering a couple of weekends ago, I gave each family three large Edisto shells that I had made into candles after I returned....just because, a favorite place of Doug's and mine, and I had found in March all these beautiful shells.

My niece just sent me this picture, having lit one last night after an extremely stressful workday.

Lovely.


Maggie