just a little catch-up...

 

It's the weekend (Saturday) and I'm not up to much. But I did a bit of baking this past week, cookies for our neighbor who gave us some phone numbers for service people...  and I experimented with some dinner rolls for us. I've never tried baking dinner rolls before... or working with yeast, but they turned out pretty well. 

cookies for our  neighbor

dinner rolls

I apparently made the dinner rolls bigger than the recipe asked for... as they were supposed to be 24 and I think I only made 16.  But they were light and tasted good. I want to try choux pastry next. There's something called Nun's Puffs that really sound and look good.

I think they are similar to cream puffs... with or without filling.

Later this evening we're heading out to a Mexican restaurant with family for a belated celebration of DH's birthday. Will try to remember to take a picture...

DH's birthday cake

DH is still cutting the lawn. We did have someone come out to give us an estimate, but haven't gotten the estimate yet. 

Same with the porch contractor... still waiting to hear from them. 

Not planning to do much this coming week. Supposed to be all triple digits with 104 for several days. Sure hope they're wrong.

I do have an appointment for some dental work this week. I really dread that... wish I could be less anxious about it, but can't seem to make that happen.

And I will share a picture of a new recipe I found on Pinterest that certainly looks good.  I haven't tried it yet, but DH and I both think it looks very refreshing.

Lemon cream cheese dump cake

OK, now going to close this with some pics/memes I like:

adorable...

so very true...

Hope you're having a wonderful (if not hot) weekend. Stay inside, stay safe... praying for those who are dealing with fires and floods. 

Hugs (virtually),

Rian

Triple digits have arrived...

It is HOT! Not unusual for Texas in July and August... but apparently the heat wave is causing problems in other places too... places that don't have AC. Can't imagine it being in the 90's and 100's withour AC. I know we lived without it growing up... and believe me New Orleans is hot... and humid! But back then we had lots of fans... attic fans and little black iron fans... but still. Triple digits can be dangerous. 

It's one of the main reasons we put in a home generator a few years ago. Didn't so much worry about the cold. One can always pile on the clothes when it's cold, but triple digit heat in a home for a few days can kill. And even though I'm one who hates the cold... and am almost always cold... even in summer, but I do know the dangers of high temps. And I do realize that having electricity does not guarantee your AC will be working, but with all the summer storms, it's a possible safe-guard.

So, if you're one of those who live in an area that's not usually this hot, please get yourself one of those small portable AC's out there... and stay safe... or else get yourself to a shopping mall or store that has AC and spend the day... or if possible, an air-conditioned hotel. 

That's my main post for the week! 

But...

I will say that we've accomplished a few things this week. We finally got a contractor out to give us an estimate on what it will cost to extend our small front porch across the front of the house. It's already covered by a 6 foot roof overhang... so it's just a matter of extending it. Actually, there's a little more involved since I would like the whole front to be either a composite board planks or concrete... so the existing small porch which is a pebbled concrete would have to go. Also there are sprinkler heads that will have to be removed... and bushes... and a fan added, etc. Anyway, at least we will have an estimate.

This is the closest picture I can find as to how I would like the porch to look:

The other thing that we accomplished is having a hole patched up in the office ceiling that was from a leak - and has been covered with a black plastic bag for years. We finally got a guy out that did a beautiful job. It was a pretty good size hole and no one was willing to sleep in that room (it has a trundle bed in it) in the fear that 'something' (raccoon? squirrel? bugs?) might come down from the attic through that hole. Luckily, nothing ever did...

And lastly we have someone coming to give us an estimate on what it will cost to mow the front and back lawn. DH has always done this, but at 81 and this heat, I think it's time for someone younger to take over this job.

Started this post yesterday, but now it's Sunday morning and I'm making a pork tenderloin for supper. Hope it comes out alright as I just learned from Google/AI that I shouldn't cook it past 145 degrees or it will be dry - and I already cooked it to 165. Guess we'll see when we eat it. Plan to serve a spinach souffle and sweet cob corn with it.  Will post a pic (if I think about it). 

(Sorry I forgot - but it was good, very tender, and not dry)

That's it for your informative (?) post for the day. Oh, we had 7 crows and 5 squirrels come by this morning for their morning feed! And in the back our box turtles are getting bold... they don't run away anymore when we go out to add food to their bowl. They just sit there and wait patiently.  

Here's a quick video of one eating...

*Remember to click on the small square on the right to enlarge pic... and then the Esc key to get back)

Hugs (virtual),

Rian

Rabbit! Rabbit! White Rabbit! July 1, 2026

 

Rabbit! Rabbit! White Rabbit!  
(having a bad hair day?)


OK, it's July 1, 2026 already!!
We will soon be celebrating America's 250th Anniversay!


(...and this month DH and I will both be 81!)

For those of you who haven't yet reached these 'golden years', it's a strange time. Yes, we're glad to still be here and to still have each other, we are very grateful, but as the saying goes, "old age is not for sissies".  Losing family and friends as time goes on although expected, isn't easy. Losing abilities that were always taken for granted as our bodies gradually wear out is a bit frustrating - to say the least. 

Knowing that time is running out... thoughts of leaving those we love, and wondering what our next great adventure will be like fill our minds. Will we make it to the next decade? Do we want to? 

With the way things are going...  political chaos and global disasters, we worry about what lies ahead for our children and grandchildren. 

  A few pics of us in our older years...

                                                                                                                     ...most recent of us together

But... this week we will celebrate America's 250 years of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We celebrate what America has always stood for... and hopefully will continue to stand for as quoted on the statue of Liberty:

This country has been good to us for our 80 plus years. Yes, it's not perfect... but what is. It offers the opportunity for a good life, no guarantees, but the possibility of creating a life filled with freedom, equality, and justice for all. America is made up of immigrants. My own father immigrated here with his family from England... like so many others. 

As an Ethiopian immigrant once told me (he was driving our Uber in New Orleans) "I love this country. Here I can work, feed my family, and not be afraid"... (this was a few years ago. I hope it's still true for him).

Well, I didn't really mean to go into all of this... but my fingers sometimes just relate what my mind is thinking. That's what I like about blogging... getting things out of my head.  Hope I didn't say too much. But... Happy 4th!

Hugs (virtual),

Rian