Cool

Monday

Wow low 40s overnight.  It was 64 in the house when I woke up and so I turned on the gas fireplace for the first time.  A little stinky as the summers dust burned off but then it did a nice job of warming us up.  No heat pump yet.

Today was movie day.  I watched message "Message in a Bottle". Then later in the day the 3 hour long "Pearl Harbor".  In between Bonnie and I vacuum packed some of the meat she had bought.  Then I ordered some more bags for the sealer.

My GFCI tester came in the mail and so I went out and got it.  I tested it in a know GFCI outlet and then tried it in the downstairs guest bathroom.  It looked like a regular outlet and I wanted to make sure it was GFCI.  I heard something click and found the controlling GFCI outlet upstairs in the bathroom that is above the downstairs one.  This house is wired a bit strange but I guess they all are now a days.

Ashley dropped off a Lasagna she had made.  It was very good and I even had seconds.

Tuesday

We were up and out the door shortly after 9 this morning.  We headed the 12 miles to Athens to get our lab work done at the Dr office for next week.  The lab tech and the nurse came out to explain that we were 3 days early and the insurance would not pay for it, if we had it done today.  We were a bit perturbed but also thankful that they had checked and saved us that expense.  So maybe we will get it done Friday closer to home.

From there we headed to Mia's to try their breakfast.  It was very good.  I had there breakfast special.

Looks like this Cotton field is ready to harvest.

A lot of the cotton has already been harvested in the fields that abound in our area.

Bonnie headed out to her scrapbooking group and I stayed home and watched a little TV.  I also did a little research and I think we can go down to the lab on the Madison Hospital Campus on Friday morning for our lab work.  Seems like it has cooled down enough that the low air light has come on in the CR-V, pretty much a yearly occurrence.  I got out the air compressor and air gauge.  Then I added some air in the Ridgeline tires, so hopefully all set for winter.  I will wait till later tonight or in the morning to let the the CR-V tires cool down.

Then I headed up to Reagans game and Bonnie worked on supper as everyone is coming here after the game.  The girls scored first but the other team has some good players and one in particular is very good.  She scored a number of goals so I guess they won.  Our girls are getting pretty good at passing and being in position to score.  We did score another goal.  Reagan and the others have gotten so much better this year and they are having a good time doing it.

Bonnie made a New England style boiled dinner.  She used ham instead of corned beef and it was very good.  Grace even had seconds, she is getting much better at trying new things.

Wednesday

I do a lot of business online, but there is a lot of value in doing some things directly with a person who is an expert.  For example, I had checked with our mortgage company a couple weeks ago to make sure that our home owners insurance would be paid from our of our escrow.  No problem they told me.  Well yesterday I was contacted by our local insurance agent, she actually lives in the neighborhood.  She told me that the mortgage company was rejecting the insurance bill because of the account number, which had changed and they would not tell them the correct number.  So I sent her the information I had and within a few minutes it was all corrected.  Now that could have become a big mess but thankfully it did not.  Thank You Wendy.  She also told me they review our policies and make sure they are the best coverage and price each year.

I worked on a few small things today.  Made up some labels and organized the pellets in sealed buckets out in the garage.  Then I went upstairs and put a label and shield on the switch for the attic light so it won't get turned on by mistake.

Then we headed to church for our Wednesday night group and we wrapped up the study on Daniel.

Thursday

Not a whole lot on the agenda today.  I did a few things in the den and watched a little TV.  Bonnie decided to do a little car shopping research.  Today she looked at Subaru's mostly the Forrester.  I did my research on line.  Our Silver Maple in the front yard is starting to turn red.

Before she got home I picked up the granddaughters and dropped them off at the stables for their horseback lessons.  It was raining when I dropped them off and it has continued to rain all evening.

I brought in all of my plastic totes and bins that I had used for storage of small items in the motorhome.  They are spread out on the kitchen table so now I need to get busy and sort them.

Friday

It Rained pretty much all night and has continued throughout the day.

We were out the door just after 9 and headed to Madison Hospital to have our blood drawn at the lab service center.  It was pretty crowded but we logged on on the computer touch screen and each found a place to sit.  It was a while before they called our name, copied our insurance and id and said have a seat they will call you soon.  It was a while but they called us, first Bonnie and then me.  More exchanges of information and then a jab, filled two test tubes and I was done.  Bonnie came out a short time later and we headed home in the rain.

I started the coffee as we headed home and it was done shortly after we got home.  We took our morning meds and had some breakfast.  I checked the clock and we were back home exactly 1 hour after we left.  It was a bit chilly so I switched on the gas logs.  No Joy.

The pilot light was out.  I relit it and tried again.  It lite up, happy Bob, but wait it went out again.  So I finished breakfast and got some cleaning supplies and the Vaccum together.  I know from past experience that often a good cleaning fixes this.  I ran it a while without the logs in place and all looks good.  Put the logs inlace and it ran for 10 minutes.

I thought about calling the extended warranty company.  When I did they told me they do not cover the fireplace or gas logs.  So I turned to the DESA website.  They made our unit.  Their troubleshooting suggested using compressed air to clean several air intakes.  So I tried that and so far so good.  Its been running for an hour.  So a good cleaning of the Oxygen sensor seems to have helped.

I also put in a call to the tax collector since we did not get a tax bill.  They did not have our info, but checked the assessors database and found us.  So they are sending us a bill.  Our taxes are in escrow so hopefully I can get all this straightened out before they are due.

Well the logs burned for a couple hours but then the pilot went out sometime after it shutdown.  So maybe some adjusting is needed.

Bonnie made French toast for supper, delicious and I have been hungry for it.

Plus she made some bacon.

Add real maple syrup to that and you have a delicious meal.

Checked the pilot flame on the gas logs before bed and it was out again.  So I relit it.

Saturday

I checked the pilot this morning and it was still lit, so that's good.  I turned on the logs and the house warmed up nicely.  After I turned it off and checked a while later the pilot was still on, more good news.  Only in the 50s outside so its nice to have the gas logs.  Pretty damp out also.

Nothing on the agenda for me today Bonnie has a woman's fellowship dinner later.  I took a first cut at organizing the plastic boxes and think I made a lot of progress.

Bonnie has headed for her Woman's Fellowship Dinner at Church so I had some soup for supper.  I jumped in the shower and am all set for the evening.  It never never got out of the 50's here at the house today, nice and cool.

Well thats a wrap for this week.

Thanks For Checking In!

"Some people try to turn back their odometers, not me, I want people 
to know why I look this way, and some of the roads weren't paved"

Fall Could be Here

Monday

The weather was very pleasant today but now a front has arrived and the temperature has dropped from 80 into the lower 60s.  The nice thing is that the AC does not need to run.

We called in Bonnie's RXs yesterday and all but one is ready so once it comes in I will head down to CVS and pick them up.  Bonnie did wash today and we watch a couple of the sermons from back home this afternoon.  Then I started watching a movie about the July 22nd terrorist attack in Norway.

Supper was a baked potato with some of the pulled pork on top of it and Bonnie's homemade Cole Slaw.  It was all very good.

Tuesday

I have not taken many pictures lately and that continued today.  It was raining by 11 this morning and it has continued all day and now into the evening.

I noticed a mistake when going over some of our financial things this morning so I called the Credit Union and got that straightened out.  Bonnie went to her scrapbooking group and before she got home I left to take GD Reagan to the staples.  When I got to her house to pick her up she was trying to get their dog back into the house.  She finally lured her in with treats.

Then it was back to the neighborhood and soon time to pick up GD Grace and take her to the stables. Then I was to take Reagan to soccer practice but it was canceled so she stayed at the stables until their Dad picked them up.

I did watch a Tom Hanks movie today "Hologram for the King" a bit strange but it was ok.

I cleaned up the diffuser tonight and loaded it up with some drops of Thieves Oil, we love the smell.

Wednesday

Not raining today but cool and a bit overcast.  We got ready after breakfast and headed for CVS to pick up Bonnie's RXs and restock our vitamin supply if they were on sale.  Bonnie found all the vitamins buy one get one free, so thats a good deal.

While we were gone FedEx delivered our new Chamber Vacuum Sealer.

This will not only be used for sealing and preserving food but also for cooking.  We can use it to infuse flavor into vegetables and meat before we smoke it.  We are looking forward to giving it all a try.

Back home we had an early supper of split pea soup that we had frozen.  Then it was off to church for our group study of Daniel.

Thursday

When Bonnie got up this morning she asked me to smoke a ham we had.  She wanted to add more taste to it.  So I had her get the ham out of the refrigerator and let it sit a while.  Then I rubbed it with some mustard, it helps the rub stick.  Then I covered it with some Wild Hogs BBG Rub.  Then while it sat I set up the pellet smoker and loaded it with some Competition Blend Pellets.  Time to fire up the grill and put the ham on to smoke.

I smoked it at a low temperature for about 3 hours and the bark was starting to form.

I turned up the temperature some and let it go a couple more hours.  Then around 5 I took it off and we let it rest while Bonnie prepared the baked potatoes and coleslaw.

Needless to say it was very good and we enjoyed it.

Friday

It was bright and sunny when I got up this morning and after my devotional reading and breakfast I watched a little TV.  After Bonnie got up I did a little cleaning.  I vacuumed and then cleaned the bathroom floor and toilet.  USPS brought me some new cables from Amazon.  I noticed that my iPhone charging cable was fraying the other day so I ordered a replacement.  I use the Amazon Basic cables and the last one had lasted almost two years, so they are a good deal.

Bonnie did a little sewing for Ashley in the afternoon.  Looks like it is starting to cloud up, maybe some more rain is on the way.  I decided to watch "The Green Mile" again I saw it years ago.  I have been watching the Aviators Series on Amazon Prime also, so far only Season 1 is available.

Saturday

It was raining when I got up this morning.  But the rain ended and Robby picked me up and we headed South to Hartselle, AL for a soccer game.  Reagan had a game down there, I think it is part of the end of the season games.  We got there on time but no one else was there.  Then some more of her team arrived.  Then finally the other team came.  The game started 30 minutes late.  The other team scored first but that was their only score.  Reagan scored a her first goal today and then played goalie the 4th quarter.

She did a good job here also.  She was in good position and stopped several goal attempts.  We won the game by a good margin.  She had fun and we stopped at Wendys on the way home.

I got home just in time to see the start of the Alabama - Tennessee game.  We won pretty easily 51-21.  All in all a good day even with the rain.

Well thats a wrap for this week.

Thanks For Checking In!

"Some people try to turn back their odometers, not me, I want people 
to know why I look this way, and some of the roads weren't paved"

Mini Beach Vacation

Friday

So this morning we loaded up the car and headed South.  We are headed to Sea Crest Beach near Panama City Beach in Florida.  The Grand Kids are on Fall Break and we are going down for four nights.

We had a nice drive, it takes a little over 6 hours but we arrived before dark so that was good.  The others had left before us and got there about an hour before us.  We all went up the road to an area called Sea Side for dinner.  First a quick walk to the beach.

We waited about 2 1/2 hours for a table.  But we all were seated together and the food was pretty good.  We got out of there about 9:40 and needed to make it to Publix by 10.  Robby and family left just before got our bill paid.  I did not remember where I parked the car so it took a while to find it, but we eventually did.  We got to Publix just after 10 but they let Bonnie and Reagan in.  So we have cereal and milk for morning.  Plus a lot of drinks and snacks.

Saturday

Bonnie got up at 7 to go to the beach today, but could not find one so came back in the house and got back in bed.  We had cereal for breakfast and Robby and his family rode bikes to breakfast.  Then we watch the Alabama-Arkansas game, Roll Tide.  We won 65-31.  Then we went for an early supper.  We just walked across the street to a place called the Hub.  I thought it was a bit expensive, expected in a beach resort area, but it was not very good either.  So on to the next place.  I watched part of the Florida-LSU game on the Jumbotron while I ate.

Back at the condo we relaxed and watched a little TV and called it an early night.

Monday

Bonnie and I drove down to Panama City Beach to look around and I showed her a couple places that my sister and I had visited years ago.  So much traffic that we decided to head back to the condo.  We did notice long lines at all the gas stations. We knew the reason why.

Tropical Depression Michael is now Hurricane Michael.  I turned on the Weather Channel and they were in Panama City Beach, they interviewed the Mayor and he said they expected to issue a Mandatory Evacuation Order tomorrow at 6am.  That was enough for us.  We did not want to sit in all the traffic trying to leave if the order was issued.  Every report seemed to be more and more sure that we would be in the eye of the storm if we stayed.

The rest decided to stay but then a few hours later they headed home also.  We arrived home about 9:30pm.  We saw lines at gas stations out to about 50 miles from the beach, Robby said they had gone to Destin for shopping and supper.  He said some stations were already out of gas.  So I'm glad everyone is safe and at home.

Tuesday

A bit overcast here at home but the temperature is in the 80s.  Guess we will spend the day catching up on our shows and relaxing.  We probably need to do a little grocery shopping.  Maybe tomorrow Bonnie decided to do some wash today.  Looks like the hurricane is intensifying and mandatory evacuations have been issued.  So looks like we made the right decision leaving yesterday.

I did take the car down to the car wash to get it and the underbody washed.  Then I vacuumed out the inside and noticed there was still some dirt on the side.  So I went up and told them and they had me run through again.  This time the guy did a better job of cleaning the sides and wheel wells.  Looks good now.

We had Tuna Casserole out of the freezer for supper.  Then a quick visit from the family.  Then a call from our daughter on her drive home and a FT from GD Kaylee at school.  Through in a little TV and we had a full evening.

Wednesday

Well Hurricane Michael has pushed a lot of clouds up our way, wonder if we will get some rain out of this.  We tuned into the weather channel many times today to see what was going on in Florida.  The hurricane hit just East of where we were staying.  We know we made the right decision in leaving a day early.  Sorry to see all the damage that the storm and winds did, what a difference from a couple days ago.  Bonnie did the grocery shopping today and I carried the bags in.  We had fresh shrimp for supper that we steamed.  Then we headed to church for our group study of Daniel.

The post office started our mail again today and delivered the mail they were holding.  So we are getting back to normal, at least for us.

Thursday

The weather is much cooler today.  Didn't do a lot during the day today.  I put away the shipment of pellets I got a while ago and also working on some financial things.  Also had to make a few phone calls.  I also got a voicemail that I think was from Koren Airlines and of course it was in Korean.  Jae is a Koren surname and we often get mail that we can not read.

Then this afternoon we picked up our Granddaughters and headed to the movies.  We saw Goosebumps 2.

It was better than I anticipated it would be.  I was real happy that it was not animated.  The girls enjoyed it but it was a little scary for Reagan.

After the movie we headed for Petco to pick up a Beta Fish for Reagan.  She saw an ad for $1.99 fish.  Of course that fish was so small you could hardly see it.  So she picked out a bigger one, the tank for it, gravel, and some food.  Then on to Dollar General for Purified water.  But I think she will enjoy it.

Then a quick stop at Subway for some sandwiches.  One last stop to pick up one of Grace's friends.  We dropped off the girls and made our way home.

Forgot to mention that before we left for the movies I trimmed up a 9 lb pork butt up and seasoned it then wrapped it up.  Now its in the fridge for the night.  Tomorrow I will get it on the smoker early.

Friday

One project for me today.  That is to smoke the pork butt that has been in the refrigerator all night.

I set it out on the counter to warm up a little.  Got my thermometer and probe ready and then set up the Camp Chef Pellet Smoker with some Hickory Pellets.  The pork butt was still at only 44 degrees when I put it on and closed the lid.  Low and Slow is the phrase of the day.

Four hours later we were at about 150º and starting to develop a good bark and smoke ring.

Then we finally hit 165º after about 5 1/2 hours.  I put it in a foil pan and covered it with foil.

Finally at 5:30 or 7 1/2 hours in to the cook we hit 195º.  I turned off the smoker and let it sit for about 30 minutes.  The internal temperature rose to over 200º.  Then into the house to rest for a couple hours.

We had salad with the rest of the shrimp from the other night and watched the news.  Finally the pork was cool enough to handle with some insulated gloves.  We poured off the juice and I pulled the pork apart so we will have pulled pork sandwiches tomorrow or Sunday.

Just have to cover it and put it in the refrigerator once it cools a little.  Then its all over but the eating!

Congratulations to GD Alexus, her college had a ceremony tonight for students that made the Deans List.

Saturday

Late posting this today.  We were at my son's house.  Ashley made homemade soup and chili along with cornbread.  Everything was very good.  Robby had a nice fire going and we sat out back and watched the Alabama Game.  Bonnie and Millie did a little Bonding.

We beat Missouri 39-10.  ROLL TIDE

Well thats a wrap for this week.

Thanks For Checking In!

"Some people try to turn back their odometers, not me, I want people 
to know why I look this way, and some of the roads weren't paved"

Hello October

Monday

Overcast here most of the day but it failed to produce much in the way of rain here at the house.  We did have rain all around us again but most of it went to the West of us.

Our Pastor has always had good sermons and I have always appreciated the preparation that he puts in to them.  Its easy to tell he spends a lot of time preparing.  When I saw this picture yesterday I had to copy it and send it too him,

Saturday's mail brought some new ScanPower guide lights for our GFCI receptacles.  These had a little longer prongs on the sides.  So I grabbed one this morning and headed upstairs to install it.  This one worked and now we have light.

                                                                                 

Then I put one in our bathroom and it also worked so I boxed up the two that did not work, stuck on the return label and took it out to the mailbox.  Hopefully it will be on its way tomorrow.

I noticed while I was out there that a new weed is coming up in the grass.  So I took a picture of it and sent it to the lawn maintenance folks

It wasn't long before I got an email back and they will be here Wednesday to spray.

Bonnie worked on her scrapbook this afternoon.

Leftovers for supper and now we are watching the voice.

Tuesday

Nothing planned for today.  I did finally find a trailer light adapter I have been wanting to put in the truck.  It was not exactly where I thought it was but it was close.  So I I put it in the truck along with some tie down straps in case I need them.

Then I caught up with DWTS and some of the other recordings.  Bonnie cut my hair late this afternoon so I am looking pretty bald now.  I got a text from a GD to pick them up at the stables so I quick ran over there and brought her home.  Then of course its Tuesday so I took out the kitchen trash and wheeled the tote out to the curb.

Tonight we will watch the Voice and see the results on DWTS.  Rain around us again today but none here at the house.

Wednesday

Waynes showed up mid morning and did our lawn treatment and sprayed for the fall weeds.

Also today is the day for the big test where every cell phone, TV etc will get a message at the sometime.  This is part of the National Emergency Notification System.  The Test was to happen at 1:18 our time and right on time I got the message on my phone.

Hopefully we will get some rain to water in the weed killer.  I worked a little in the garage and even changed one of the camera batteries.  However it was not completely charged so it will need changed again soon.

Then I picked up the granddaughters and took them to church with a quick stop to pick them up something to eat at Zaxby's.

Then home to pick up Bonne and we headed to our church for our small group study.  Then home and we got our nightly FT from our GD in college and then caught up with the recorded news.

Thursday

Not much to report on today.  I needed to change a battery on one of our cameras today.  Robby has been doing it for me as I could not reach it on the step ladder.  Bonnie reminded me that we had the RV fold up ladder and it was much taller.  So I got that out today and it worked well.

Then evidently Ecobee had trouble with their servers today but this evening they are back up and on line.  Thats about it for today.


Saturday

I got behind on blogs so will post this and catch up next week.

Well thats a wrap for this week.

Thanks For Checking In!

"Some people try to turn back their odometers, not me, I want people 
to know why I look this way, and some of the roads weren't paved"