Weakly Tribune (Headlines Edition)

WEAKLY TRIBUNE

(HEADLINES Edition)

1-30-23    Cancelled on taking Miss Smith to Pensacola on her birthday. Stayed home. Tried to recover. Ham & Beans and cornbread.

1-31-23    Clarity Planner Planning Sesh at Rhonda's with Karma. Home Day rest of day. Planned Heart Sister Reveal Party. Chicken Tacos.

2-1-23    Welcome February! Desk work. Kristin here. Finished Danielle's Room Redo! Atmore to take Audi back to Tedder's. Hunt Brother's gas station pizza.

2-2-23    Set up for Heart Sister Party at church. Pace Publix for adderall. 100th Day Pizza Party at School. Fried ham steaks, box mac n cheese, canned corn.

2-3-23    Lovely Heart Sister Reveal Party! Floki to K9 Kleaners for boarding. Packed for MS. Hopped in with Rhonda and Neil. Wearhouse Market & Bakery for food and snacks for the road. Great traveling. Taco Bell/KFC. Met a blog reader! 

2-4-23    Wonderful haze of a day of coffee and sweets at Oakwood. Listened to Zach's funeral in Aunt Sue's room. Magnolia Market. Met another blog reader! (I feel famous! Not really, but it's fun to meet readers I don't personally know.) Lunch at Ole Country Bakery.  Breves from the Front Porch Coffee House located inside the bakery. Words of wisdom from Grandma Smith. Pizza Party with Grandma and Aunt Sue in the Country Kitchen.

2-5-23    Inspiring Sunday School and church at Oakwood. Doctrine Dinner. Road trip home. Left all our coats at the Oasis. On pins and needles over the Ordination at Walnut Hill. At last, alerted of breaking news of Anthony's for deacon and Ben's for minister!

2-6-23    Made comforting congos. Lunch at church with other family of the ordinees. (that should be a word! IMO) Ordination Service at Walnut Hill.

2-7-23    Desk work. Lunch to Danl at Morgan Road SFF job. Housework & laundry. Felt like Monday. Grilled London broil.

2-8-23    Desk work till noon.  Kristin here to Home Edit the Living Room bookcase. Atmore to get Audi. Piggly for food. Larisa here for supper too. Baked chicken, cooked carrots, gourmet taters.

2-9-23    Took Miss Smith to Pensacola. Stopped at upholstery shop in Cantonment. Bed, Bath & Beyond. Olde East Hill Grille. (HIGHLY recommend!)  Sam's Club. Walmart Pickup. McD's iced coffees. No record of supper. Certain something was consumed.

2-10-23   Edited and typed Ordination Service Impressions. Attacked book pile and bedroom book case. Tara brought King Cake by. Chicken gravy over biscuits. King cake. YUM. Did not discover the baby.

2-11-23    Raining. Started chocolate mousse dessert. Lunch at David's Catfish with DaddyWayne. Wave's closed. Finished chocolate dessert, started cheesecake bars. Ran to chocolate dessert to school. Sadly skipped the Supper. Steak and box mac n cheese at home.

2-12-23   Eat (King) Cake for Breakfast! Danielle discovered the baby. Peace & Prosperity to follow! Morgan & Leah! Loveliest wedding. Recorded impressions from 1C. Delicious lunch. Watched over Annabelle and Noah at the kid's table. Afternoon & evening at David and Tara's. Food>Football. LOL

2-13-23    9:00 apt. with NP Connie in Pace. Returned Honda to Mamalisa. Set up for Sewing. Venison gravy over rice. 

2-14-23    Happy Valentine's Day! Attended to 3 FLS duties before Sewing. Festive fellowship with the ladies. Made chocolate chip cookies with heart sprinkles with Danielle. Daniel surprised his girls with red roses and chocolates! Jace's here for fried crappie, cheese grits, pickles, tater tots, and curly fries. And cookies.

2-15-23    Desk work. Housework. DG after school for birthday gifts. Bank, gas, Wave's, Chen's. 

2-16-23    Half Day of school. Nerf Gun birthday lunch for Dillon at Karma's with Roz and her kiddos. Altitude Trampoline Park next for birthday/Winter Break celebration. Cold Snap Frozen Yogurt next. Great Yogurt, not great service. (Do not recommend due to not being allowed to self-serve due to humans being regarded as dirty beings.) New Yorker pizza from the Hut. 

2-17-23    Floki to vet for another round of shots. 35#!!!! Stopped by Mel's. Housework, deskwork, bank, Wave's. Danl ill with unknown illness. IBS flareup? Food poisoning? Just Danielle and I to Pensacola to meet Glendon's for sushi at Sake. DELICIOUS. Becca with us for ride home. Coffee Guy. Money can't buy happiness, but it can buy a breve and brownies! 

2-18-23    Made double batch of party mix. Met Danl at the Dyck property. Hiked and rode side-by-side. Packed Danielle for staying overnight at Nana's. Attended 50th Anniversary Celebration of Durwin & Shirley Unruh. Delightful. Jalisco's with David and Tara. 

2-19-23    Inspiring Sunday School and church service, although I was spunky. Blackened Grouper and Shrimp Tacos, cheese grits, coleslaw, and smoked tri-tip at Durwin's. Great laughs over the good ole days. Pace to pick up Danielle. Socio's Pizza.

the Weakly Tribune Vol. 2 Issue 2

 Monday - 1.23

    Did not type up the Weakly for last week. (Therefore it never made it to print.) Danl made his famous English muffin breakfast sandwiches for David and I. I struggled to feel motivated but tried to remember that most people don't feel super motivated to do the things they need/want to do. You just have to power through and DO THE NEXT THING and then the thing after that. Neither Danielle nor I remembered to make sure she had her "Show-n-Tell" for school, so I ran that to school and stayed for the Presentation. It was well worth it and added good humor to my day! Then I got some groceries from our local Walnut Hill Dollar General. Love that place. Back home to put things away and get Floki before picking Danielle up and meeting Karma and her kids for an impromptu romp at the Ruritan Park. Floki loved his first park walk and I loved walking & talking with Karma. We wore him out though; he finally just flopped down on the path DONE. Danl got home good time and took Danielle squirrel hunting. They are trying to get 6 which would be enough for Squirrel Stew! I decided to light the back porch fire table and enjoy a hot mocha before the hunters returned. We had air-fried prebattered Tyson chickens strips (meh) fresh white gravy and green beans for supper. Early to bed. Yay. 

Tuesday - 1.24

    It had been too long since I stayed for Tuesday Morning Singing at school. So that was fun! Stuck to my schedule quite well and did Monday and Tuesday Cleaning. This week I'm spending less time per room which is the goal. I want our house to be clean enough, but I don't want to ever fall in the ditch of OverCleaning! Horror of Horrors! (Insert the poem which I identify as my "Spirit Poem," Dust if You Must.) Worked at my desk. After school, Danielle and I went to ride around at the property where Danl was mulching. I had a taste for popcorn balls like Mom used to make. Yummers! Took me back to my childhood. Danielle was not impressed and much preferred her usual plain salted popcorn. She and I made a batch of snickerdoodles together. Erica Lynn invited us to eat with them, so we were happy about that! Added the big pot of refried beans I had made from dry beans to their delicious fajitas. Enjoyed visiting while sipping some amazing double cream Earl Grey tea. 

Wednesday 1.25

    Worked at my desk until Kristin arrived around 10:30. We got to work in Danielle's room again. Since y'all never got to read last week's Weakly that never got written, you don't know that we started the tremendous project of going through everything, rearranging, and organizing ALL. THE. STUFF. last week! Having a creative, crafty child who receives lots of presents yet lives with her parents in a small house has become a major issue. I am attempting to implement Dana K. White's Container Concept. Anyway, Kristin and I made terrific progress! The Home Edit gals would be as pleased as we are with the newly ROYGBIVed book nook! I'm also immensely pleased with the growing pile in Campy of which Danielle has not yet missed anything. Fingers crossed. She is loving having more space to play with the labeled bins of toys! After school, we stopped by to see Noah and Annabelle's new puppy Bailey. She's a fat little cutie pie! Black Lab and St. Bernard mix. Worked more in Danielle's room. In a cooking slump, so decided to order pizza from the Hut. Also, I started feeling very under the weather in short order! A sore throat, headache, congestion, and low grade fever hit me with a wham! I soon went to bed while the rest hung out. Kristin slept over since she had tomorrow off work as well.

Thursday - 1.26

    So thankful for Kristin here to help with Floki and Danielle. She did the morning school run and I relaxed in bed, trying to get to feeling better! Since I was just taking it easy, I wrote and posted the HUMOR blog post that had been brewing in my head all month. Got up around noon and we both had ramen noodles. I felt good enough that we went back at it in the bedroom! Revamped the art desk corner; Kristin put out tons of elbow grease and scraped off years' worth of paint, glue, and tape! Wow. Doesn't even look like the same desk! Following my SMART goals, I amazingly filed all the annual and quarterly tax filings that were due BEFORE the deadline of the 31st! Kristin picked Danielle up from school and got stuff for Frito Pie for supper from DG to go along with her famous Cinnamon Red Hot Baked Apples. Super yum. David ate supper here too since he and Daniel went back up and worked at Johnson Ford after business hours, which makes that job a whole lot easier. Kristin and I talked and read before she headed home and I headed to bed. 

Friday - 1.27

    Thankful for a "normal day" of feeling good again! Tackle my MR, and deskwork before heading to Atmore to drop stuff at WeCare. Of course I had to do a quick dashabout. (Why is dashabout not a word?!) I decided not to buy the cute fox sweater and denim shirt I found for Danielle and walked out with nothing! Got gas, groceries at Piggly, and ice for the wild pig we ended up with and a cookbook for Leah at Southern Harbor Church. Picked up Danielle. Painted with watercolors together; she a heart display for her Art Wall in the Hall and I the "Miss to Mrs." coffee cup sketch I had drawn on a card for Leah's shower. Got my gift wrapped and ready to go. I've decided my Decide Once gift for bridal showers for 2023 will be a copy of The Five Love Languages, a cookbook, and a set of bookends! Picked up Mom and Miss Smith, and attended Leah's shower which Katie hosted. It was the most laidback and lovely coffeeshop-themed shower! We all had the best time chatting over lattes, playing "Find the Guest" bingo, listening to Leah's love story, and of course eating sandwiches and pastries.

Saturday - 1.28

    Sleep-In Saturday! Danielle's proclaimed favorite day of the week! Danl was working, so she and I puttered around the house all morning. I was on my phone way too much, so decided to have an Old-Fashioned Afternoon and put my phone up for hours. It was blissful. Danielle and I made another batch of snickerdoodle cookies. We still aren't totally satisfied with how they are turning out. Then we rode with Daniel to pick up a load of freshly milled lumber from Vernon Hiebert's place. I helped Danl stack it in the haybarn to dry while Danielle dinked around in the woods nearby. After our backs were almost done in from toting heavy green pine and red oak slabs, we all walked down to the creek for a bit. It was running pretty good; the bright green moss covered rocks are so stunning against the bleak brown background of January woods. Anthony's invited the Royce Schneider Family over for an impromptu hamburger fry which amazingly we were all able to attend! Usually we have so much stress trying to find an open evening when we try to plan ahead! As usual, life is a juxtaposition of pain and happiness as we found out almost simultaneously of the tragic death of our cousin Zachary and the happy engagement of our cousin Rebecca! What an evening. 

Sunday - 1.29

    Danielle and I were happy to be in Sunday School again. But my head wasn't happy as it had started hurting again with lots of congestion! Ugh. I thought I was well and over my illness. Danielle told me in the bathroom before the service that she was going to find us a seat in the sanctuary and I was to come find HER this time! LOL. She selected the soft pink chair in the back corner. Which I was pleased about, because by then I was feeling like I shouldn't be breathing on anyone. I always love a wedding announcement; it was wonderful to hear, "Rebecca Schneider has promised to marry Dylan Yost!" Danl was cooking the wild pig over at David's; so we took applesauce and snickerdoodles and headed over there to enjoy that, David's brisket, and delicious Georgia salad, green bean casserole, artisan sourdough bread, and best fudgy sourdough brownies! I was feeling pretty raunchy and even fell asleep in the chair! NOT my normal. Everyone seems to have or to have had this bug though. I Covid tested earlier in the week and it was negative. Feels like a bad sinus infection; I hardly ever get them since having had allergy shots! Oh well, we aren't promised life without sickness on this side of Heaven! 

    

WOTY 2023! & Unexpected Reflections

"A little humor makes all things possible." - Mom

After a year of UNEXPECTED things, some delightful and others not so much, I was ready for a WOTY (Word Of The Year) that had more of a Grin to it, with less Grim undertones! I know that 2023 will be just as UNEXPECTED as 2022 was, but I want to be able to face it with HUMOR! So with a smile on my face, I happily selected this wise word for my 2023 WOTY. I grew up hearing my mom quote the phrase above, but I didn't fully grasp its great meaning until becoming an adult. And I'm still trying to grasp it, honestly! The choice we have to react to life with grace and humor or with a bad case of the grumpies is up to us! The admonition to choose HUMOR goes way back to the Bible times!

Proverbs 17:22 KJV

A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: But a broken spirit drieth the bones. 

Who wants to have a broken spirit and dry bones?! Not I! So I am purposing to consciously choose to have some humor and laugh! At myself, at life, and with others! People ask me all the time, "How do you remember your WOTY?" or "Why bother choosing one? What is the point?"  It's like John F. Kennedy's famous inaugural words, "Ask not what what your country (WOTY) can do for you - ask what you can do for your country (WOTY)." Choosing the word HUMOR won't suddenly make me a jolly, relaxed, sunny person! I will have to give purpose to the word and incorporate it into my daily life! You have to match the energy you are willing to give to the expectations you are willing to get. I've been asking Danielle to tell me funny things that happened at school. Kids are the best for belly laughs! I've been seeking humor on statuses and commenting my thanks to the poster if I chortled. I signed up for a daily dose of humor from The New Yorker in addition to my page-a-day calendar from them. I put the words HAVE A LITTLE HUMOR on the lightbox in the kitchen. I married someone who makes me laugh. This is so important! I've been trying to laugh more easily at things Daniel finds funny. I have these pics on my iPhone homescreen and Watch lockscreen.

 Honing HUMOR skills is medically proven to reduce stress, pain, and muscle tension while improving the immune system, mood, and personal satisfaction.

Life is too real to go around constantly chuckling, but choosing to look through a more lighthearted lens is definitely doing me good! So here's to HUMOR in 2023! Want to join me?! LOL

the WEAKLY TRIBUNE Vol. 2 Issue 1

THE WEAKLY TRIBUNE

Monday - Jan. 9

    Danielle was home from school, ill AGAIN. But it's not Covid this time either. Poor thing, she's pretty good at swabbing her own nose. I guess that's what she's in for with a mom who is too curious and a government that mails out free tests. Daniel was home over lunch and brought me "lunch at my desk" which for me is even better than "breakfast in bed." It was more of the duck gumbo he made on Sunday. Yum. In an effort to reclaim my life from Floki domination, I finally hauled the pet gate back inside from where it had been temporarily resting in Campy, and gleefully installed it. No more trying to keep our rowdy pup behind the kitchen barricades! I finalized an elaborate rainbow ordered Daily Cleaning Schedule on my Reminders App. The Home Edit would be proud of me! I didn't actually start cleaning today or anything that drastic. Took Floki out on a long walk to burn off some energy. Danielle walked a bit, but was too draggy to go far. Talked to Aunt Sue a long time on the phone. Made fried rice, hibachi venison, and canned peaches for supper. Larisa and Kristin popped in for a surprise mini visit. 

Today I give thanks for: My "new to me" Super Secretary mug from Mel!

Tuesday - Jan. 10

    Danielle woke up with 100.7 fever, so another home day for her. I researched kid's vitamins for picky eaters. Worked at my desk, got Danielle's schoolwork and oversaw her working on it, played hide & seek for "recess," (Floki was great at giving away our hiding spots!) but we forgave him since it was his first day "Accident Free!" Housebreaking a Giant Schnauzer should come with lots of Gold Stars. I lit a fire in the backyard fire pit and started to burn the boxes that were piled on the back porch. Supper was Venison Street Tacos with Gator Drool dribbled on them. "Put that on a cracker!" You can't go wrong with anything made by or recommended by Stalekracker. 

Today I give thanks for: My olive green felt tipped pen from Rhonda.

Wednesday - Jan. 11

    Danielle was delighted to go back to school. I was delighted to take her. I got right into burning more boxes in the backyard. Which gave me pandemic flashbacks for some reason! The weather, the smell of smoke... I'm not sure what all invoked it. I was sort of wishing for Safer at Home again. But that wish passed quickly! I flipped the porch rug and sprayed everything down; the chickens like the back porch too. I'm so pumped to be able to enjoy it again, and to be able to let Floki out the sliding door. Washed and washed and washed 3 bundles of fresh greens from Steve's Farm. Danl didn't get home early enough to cook them, so at his suggestion I went up and got Chinese takeout for supper. My fortune cookie read, "Unnecessary possessions are unnecessary burdens." Is Marie Kondo writing fortune cookies now?! It felt like an omen, so I tucked it into my planner. 

Today I give thanks for: My Clarity Planner

Thursday - Jan. 12

    Due to Danielle's sickness, our planned planner planning session was moved from Monday at Rhonda's house to Wednesday at Karma's house. This is Rhonda's 3rd year using a Clarity Planner and the first year for Karma and me. Going through the prompts for reflection and goal setting together is a huge help! This planner goes so deep it feels like therapy. But I think I will have a year that's closer to the year I dream of! Just the fact that I'm doing the Weakly Tribune again is proof. We spent all morning making S.M.A.R.T. goals and more, while drinking lattes and laughing. Came home to let Floki out, ran back up to the bank, washed and vacuumed my rental, grabbed a bowl of duck gumbo to eat on the way, picked up Danielle from school, and drove to Enterprise on 9 Mile Road to return my rental. Phew. Mamalisa picked us up and took us to her place so we could borrow her extra Honda. Hopefully my Audi will be able to go into Tedder's soon to have some wear parts replaced. It looks great with its new grill from Lee's Collision. Fingers crossed I won't have to frequent Lee's or Enterprise in 2023! Stopped at DG for art supplies; popsicle sticks for Danielle and watercolors and blank cards for me. Danl had made vension gravy in the crockpot, and a big pot of greens on the stove. I whipped up some instant taters and popped Mary B's biscuits in the oven. Sabrina ate with us too since Katrina is in KY. 

Today I give thanks for: having something to drive

Friday - Jan. 13

    I had to do a bank run again for a cashiers check for buying another dozer. It was a 1/2 day of school due to 2nd quarter ending. I pittered the morning away due to being on my phone way too much. Restarted the day after lunch. Tackled a bunch of desk work, then moved the couch after cleaning under it, and moved the table after cleaning paint and clay off it. The house feels so much more open back to this arrangement! But somehow like usual, I ended up with a bad case of the grumpies from cleaning and seeing so much grime and filth. Had leftover gumbo with fresh rice for supper. Drank some homemade eggnog I had frozen from our family Christmas on Jan. 6 to cheer myself up! I'm getting more and more ready to actually start my daily cleaning schedule! Got to bed pretty early.

Today I give thanks for: the humor found in my The New Yorker page-a-day calendar

Saturday - Jan. 14

    Sleep-In Saturday! Danielle proclaimed this the best day of the week because, "You don't have to go to school or to church, just stay home and do nuthin!" LOL. Danl left early for work as usual. We cuddled in bed awhile, then did our Morning Routines and got ready to meet Trent, Heidi, and Malaya Penner at David's Catfish for lunch. It was so fun to hang out again! Then the guys went to Danl's current job at Johnson Ford and to the property on 97. We girls went to Piggly and Family Dollar. Trent's hung out here at our house for a bit. I drew and watercolored 2 wedding cards. Danl made jazzed up mashed red potatoes and I heated up the leftover venison gravy and greens. Made the meringue for the Cherry Berries on a Cloud dessert for Kaylee's wedding.

Today I give thanks for: new memories with old friends

Sunday - Jan. 15

    Happy Wedding Day, Kaylee & Carson! I got up good time to finish my dessert. Danl went to work at Johnson Ford since working when they are closed is the prime opportunity. Danielle went with me to the wedding and sat with Aunt Rhonda. Wow! What a traffic jam to even get pulled into the WH church parking lot! I heard they served 490 but I don't think everyone even stayed for lunch. It was a lovely wedding; I felt most privileged to observe and write impressions from a front side bench seat. Danielle expired long before I did; she was pulling on my arm and pleading to go home. So we said a few last hellos/goodbyes and headed to the house. Mom and Bill stopped by with Seafood Corn Chowder. Yummers. Tara and Kristin stopped by with milk from the dairy, and Trent's stopped by to change clothes. We lazed around eating chowder and sourdough toast and leftovers from David's Catfish and being on our devices. We had plenty of evening, but somehow didn't even get to bed on time.

Today I give thanks for: weddings! I love a love story with a happily-ever-after!

    

    

    

 

The BEAUTITUDES (Christmas Edition)

Blessed are the poor in dollars: for theirs is a simpler and fuller life, with less time spent wrangling tape and wrapping paper.

Blessed are they that mourn for Christmas Past: for they shall be comforted with the knowledge that God knows every current stressful situation.

Blessed are the meek: for they shall not mind when possible tornadoes change popcorn popping plans.

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after carrots and water along with fruitcake and Cranberry Sprite: for they shall be filled with balance.

Blessed are the merciful: for they shall realize that not everyone looks forward with FOMO to the nonstop holiday social events.

Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see the love in the crudely-crafted handmade gift of a child.

Blessed are the old-fashioned candy makers: for they shall be called the Keepers of the Ancient Recipes.

Blessed are they which are persecuted for a secret's sake: for theirs is the reward of a true surprise gift!

Blessed are ye, when young children shall ask repeatedly "How many more days until Christmas?!" and when you shall persuade yourself to bake more things than you have bandwidth for, and yet you are able to reply with patience to your child and with grace for yourself, for Christmas's sake.

Merry Christmas to one and all! 

Thank you for reading my blog; we wish for you the best of life in 2023! 

Our love, Daniel, Sharon, Danielle, & Floki

Nebraska News Vol. 1 Issue 2

 

Nebraska News

11-14 Monday

It hovered happily in the 20’s for most of the day! We tidied up and Jill made thee most delicious Dutch babies ever with sourdough starter and blueberries in prep for Ro (Rosalyn) and kiddos coming over for coffee. We had the best time chatting and snacking over coffee around the fire. Max and Ken both filled their buck tags! Yay! The guys had been teasing Ken that we weren’t gonna make cheesecake until he got his buck! I made some raspberry topping for the cheesecake before Danielle and I went with Danl to North Loup on an errand and then truck hunted with him on the Schudel property overlooking the Loup River. So pretty watching the sun setting and the golden eagles flying while munching snacks from Trotters. No deer ever appeared, but it was good to get some quality family time in. And to cover more chapters in my book. Supper was a very satisfying affair! Grilled ribeyes, fluffy baked Yukon gold potatoes, oven-roasted carrots, and cheesecake with homemade blueberry and/or raspberry sauces.

11-15 Tuesday 

Happy 60th, Jan! (Jill’s sweet mama) The guys and Max headed out early for pheasant hunting in South Dakota. I enjoyed my morning coffee and another of Ro’s espresso-frosted cinnamon rolls even though we were going out for coffee at Ollie’s in a little town called Sargent. We dropped Mason and Danielle off at Grandma Virginia’s. (Jethro’s mom) Picked up Jan, Janelle, and Jenny after a quick tour of Hilltop Gardens. Got some cool cards! Then we stopped at the Secondhand Rose in Ord. Jill and I went there last year and I wanted to go again! I got a pretty Westernish belt and a dinosaur book for Danielle. After a scenic drive, we arrived at Ollie’s. No lunch on Tuesdays, so we all just got coffees and shopped the huge variety of stuff. I loved my PSL and the adorable soaps I got for Mason and Danielle. Back to Ord for a delicious lunch at The Something’s Brewing Cafe. I got the hamburger vegetable soup special with coleslaw and a breve. Definitely keeping up with my caffeine intake today! Dollar General for necessities which included more craft supplies for our busy creative kiddos. We all chilled and rested once we were back home. The guys were getting a hotel so no need to virtuously have supper ready! We relished nachos by the fire along with all sorts of other yummy eats. Tried to listen to the Conference lecture. Then bravely went out in the swirling wind with a few snowflakes to get into the swim spa! So pretty with the colored lights at night. Well worth the cold dash to and from it! Stayed up late just because we could for once. 

11-16 Wednesday

Grand Island Adventure Day! First we went to the Lambdins to do chores since they were gone to Conference. Their pet deer is such a fascination! I could get used to Bambi kisses! I drove since Jill needed to do some design work. First stop was Hobby Lobby. Goodness, it was like Black Friday in there! Annie (or Anna as she’s known here) and Becca were shopping as well! Freddy's for a fine lunch; then over to the trampoline park! All of us moms decided to jump too since we had the whole place to ourselves! I even climbed my first “rock” wall with much effort and exertion! Phew. I am SO out of shape! I mean I do have a shape, but it’s not a fit one! Hanging out with Kristen, Shawna, and Annie was so good. I think this moms/kids outing needs to be a yearly Nebraska thing! Next stop was Homegoods. Danielle got a speech that “asking for things” was indeed a form of begging. The “one thing” had already been purchased prior at Hobby Lobby! I’m realizing that I no longer shop with her in tow much now that she’s in school 5 days a week. Sonic drive-thru for hotdogs and tater tots; then Scooters for breves so we could brave the way home lol. Tried in vain to listen to the youth singing at Conference. Actually got a bit of the lecture once we were back in range of Wifi. The guys got home after 9:00, exhausted from fun and pheasants. 

11-17 Thursday

Started the day as usual with coffee and cuddles upstairs before moving down for more relaxation. Sourdough toast and lemon meringues for breakfast. I’m getting so relaxed and spoiled; how am I ever gonna settle back into normal life in Florida?! Jill decided to whip up homemade kolaches since “Eat a kolache” was on my long list of “Things I Want to Do in NE.” Bless her heart! I hadn’t known that these delicacies were such a part of Nebraska cuisine until Shirley Unruh told me that Annie had been making them! Speaking of Annie, Danielle and I went down the hill into town for our annual visit/playtime at their house around 2:30 in the afternoon. The girls did lots of girly things while giggling and shrieking about. Annie and I yakked and yakked like old times; Bailey (or Glendon as he’s mostly known here) came home right before I was going to leave, so of course my leaving was further delayed in order to finalize the catching up of bygone people and places. I left Danielle there to play for “just a little bit longer!” while I came home to load up with Jill and the boys to go see Jenny’s four story mansion in Greeley! Picked up Danielle, then soon Jenny was leading us about on the most delightful tour of her historic home! Another super fun item checked off my list lol. The kolaches were definitely a hit; the guys had put a major dent in the supply while we were gone. Jethro grilled burgers and baked cherry and apple pies on the grill while we were gone. Ken’s last supper during “Eating Season” as he famously calls it, since he rebooked his ticket to fly home in the morning.

11-18 Friday

I had an elderberry kolache and part of a caramel walnut roll for breakfast. Sat down by the fire until it was past time to dash about getting ready to run to North Loup and Ord. We dropped Max, Mason, and Danielle off at Grandma Virginia’s again since they are generally miserable little shoppers. First stop was Popcorn County USA for local red, blue, and white kernels for ourselves and for gifts. Then we stopped on a whim at Hey Honey Boutique and were so delighted with the fun “Pink Friday” sale going on! We popped pink balloons to find out what our individual discount was and partook of pink lemonade. She also had darling frosted sugar cookies up for grabs, so we took some home for the kids. Then we went to Anderson’s Pharmacy. I had so much fun picking out stocking stuffers for my family’s Christmas celebration. They were also celebrating Pink Friday, and had everyone choose an ornament off a tree with a hidden discount. Jill and I both scored 25% off! Next we popped over to the cafe, but since it was almost 2:00, we happily settled for sundaes instead of soup for lunch since they were no longer serving traditional lunch options. Both of us had breves as well. Grocery Kart and the feed store finished our shopping day. Took our daily downtime once we were home. Then I put pheasant gumbo in the instant pot. Rice, potato salad, cornbread made with freshly milled corn flour/cornmeal, and lettuce salad rounded out our “Southern” supper. Leftover pie and new tubs of ice cream by the fire for dessert ended a perfectly lovely day

11-19 Saturday

I’m gonna miss these easy mornings of vacation… A slice of cherry pie and coffee in my favorite “DonHeim” vintage mug for starters. Cleaned up the main areas and sat by the fire. It’s stayed nice and chilly, mostly in the 20s the whole time we’ve been here which has been FANTASTIC. Getting in on a bit of real winter just makes my heart happy. Fixed my “usual” for lunch at Jill’s Café.  Homemade sourdough turkey sandwich, fresh refrigerator pickles, a bowl of homemade thick Greek style yogurt topped with homemade granola and fresh fruit, with kombucha to drink! Now how’s that for a nutritious and delicious probiotic-happy meal?! The kids had pizza lunchables today. Annie brought Becca over to play for a couple hours. She, Danielle, Mason, and I got in the swim spa for a last blissful swim. Then I got more laundry done up, and started packing everything up. Daniel brought in some beautiful venison tomahawk steaks and put them in marinade to be grilled for supper. Jill made finger jello, and I cut up some carrot sticks to dip in ranch. We also had corn and leftover Yukon gold potatoes. More pie and ice cream for dessert. Such a good supper; everyone was in a jolly mood too. Ended up hanging out rather late, enjoying the fire and friendship.

11-20 Sunday

Happy Birthday, Kate Ryan! Sad to miss her party which was yesterday. I hope no more kids in our family end up with “Hunting Season” birthdays! My alarm rang at 5:00 to get up and packed up. We said our sad goodbyes and were on the road, watching the sunrise shortly after 6:00. Felt almost surreal to arrive at Justin and Tommi’s place around noon instead of to just share locations as we went SO closely right on by! So so good to be with them and their kiddos and eat lunch together! Tommi had made a feast! Delicious Chicken, mashed taters, green bean casserole, garlic knots, lettuce salad, apple Snickers salad, and pumpkin crumble with whipped cream! They guys went driving around, while the rest of us enjoyed hanging out at home. Danielle was so pumped with all of Ashley’s toys and the thick layer of ice on the pool! Reluctantly, we got on the road again around 3:30, but with another fun destination in the gps! Pulled into Drew’s after dark, and after hello hugs, we got right to eating just like old times! Pulled pork nachos, sliced apples, orange julius, and our famous Key lime pie! The years have passed, but some things never change! After lots of laughing and reminiscing, we crawled into bed, more than happy we were stopping to make more memories instead of doggedly driving straight through!

The Weakly Tribune Vol. 1 Issue 12

THE WEAKLY TRIBUNE

(It's time to post what was written, even though it's not "news" anymore! I didn't write at all this week; it was just too hard and full.)

Thursday 10/20

Waved goodbye to our too-big girl as she left on her first vacation without a parent with her nana! She was beyond excited to be on the way to the Great Wolf Lodge! I kept busy reclaiming the house, pittering, working at my desk with its never-ending duties, doing laundry, sundry cleaning, and mostly finishing up Danielle’s If You Give a Mouse an iPhone pumpkin entry for the Atmore Library Pumpkin Contest. She had done all the painting but with needing it to dry, we hadn’t gotten the gluing done. I walked a bit in the glorious weather. I truly love FALL best of ALL! Danl was working late welding on a dirt pan, so he and David had grabbed supper at Arby’s during a town run. I happily made myself a pan of super nachos. Later on in the evening, I went over to the barn to keep Danl company and take him a snack. He had built me a fire in the wood stove! Sweet! I tended the fire and read in the September issue of Real Simple. Hands down my favorite magazine! 

Monday 10-24

Kept Danielle home from school since she wasn’t 24 hours fever-free. She didn’t quite act herself all day either, so I was glad she was home. Reclaimed the house, walked outside on the driveway for 30 minutes, since Danielle didn’t feel up to coming along on Garrett Road. Set up the sprinkler in the backyard in order to settle the dust. Danielle decided a swimsuit was in order and proceeded to play under the sprinkler for a while, even making a “beach” with sand from her sandbox spread out on a pink plastic tablecloth. Later in the afternoon, we did a bank run, got my dairy milk from SH church frig, and picked up Danielle’s school work from school. She worked on that while I cooked supper, which was grilled wild hog sausage patties, Jill’s scalloped potatoes, and cheese green beans. The bottom of the new tub in our bathroom is so rough that it’s detrimental to our bottoms. Tried Danielle’s idea of using my yoga mat in it for her bath. #fail. It just floats up and gets in the way. I must order a soft tub liner or something ASAP! 

Tuesday 10-25

Happy Birthday, MomDenise! Due to the teacher and too many students being sick, 1st Grade was called off for the day! Danielle was feeling fine as frog’s hair, other than still coughing and having more snot than necessary. I decided to “dress for work,” even donning heels so as to “feel” like a secretary. I always get more done when I do this. I told Danielle she since was the boss’s daughter, it was part of my job to help her if she needed assistance. She informed me that SHE was my boss, lol! Had my hour sand timer going so Danielle could keep track of when my “breaks” were coming up. Flipped that timer twice. Dug out the cardboard Snoopy dog house from under Danielle’s bed that we’ve had since her first birthday party! (It lays completely flat when you take it apart, so there, Minimal Mom!) Danielle was more than delighted to add string lights and decor to the inside, also more color via marker to the outside. She pretended to be a dog herself, but also had her fave little stuffed dog Skippy in there with her with a small bowl of Reese Puffs for kibble. Too cute. We took a timed recess of 15 minutes for playing soccer. I lost. Also did a 15 minute story time. Frog and Toad stories are the best! Watching a skiff of rain drip down rates pretty high too. Pedaled 30 minutes on my indoor cycle thing while catching up on my phone. Lots of good phone downtime today. Chili from last week with fresh Navajo fry bread for supper. 

Wednesday 10-26

Baked oatmeal sounded good for breakfast. Worked at my MR. Daniel picked Danielle to go with him for the day since school had been called off entirely due to prevailing illness amongst the teaching staff and students! I commenced cleaning up my craft/sewing corner. It truly looked like that closet that exploded open in the Berenstain Bears Messy Room! Of course, it took me much longer than I expected to go through everything, but in the end, I was much pleased with the rainbow-ordered bins of felt and foam paper, along with everything else in baskets for easy retrieval. I wasn’t as pleased with the mending pile that totaled 24 items! I took a walk in October’s bright blue weather, picking up an overstuffed Walmart bag of litter along the way. Then since I wasn’t quite ready to go back inside, I spread my quilt under the tree for 10 minutes and relaxed; listening to the wind swaying the pines and the drone of planes overhead. Read another good article in the Sept. issue of Real Simple titled “How to Be Less Busy.” Finished cutting out the dress I had hoped to sew for Danielle for her Fall Party. Danl and Danielle came home, very pleased with their good day together. I fried the last pkg of venison backstrap for supper, made instant mashed taters and white gravy, and opened a can of Del Monte pears. Enjoyed my first soak in our new tub! 

Thursday 10-27

I planned to mostly sew, but as always, I want ALL THE THINGS done before I begin. Completed my MR and did some desk work. Played a game of Wild Kratts with Danielle at one “recess” and a game of Deer Tag at another. Deer Tag is a game Danielle made up that is like hide and seek but the person hiding has a set of antlers that you have to make visible when the It person calls out, “Deer!” Then once your hiding spot has been “blown,” it’s a mad dash for base! It’s actually pretty fun to play. We usually only play it in the fall/winter when the antlers are out for decor. After lunch, I cut out a camel brown dress for myself and sewed it halfway done. I meant to be one of those girls who whips out a new dress in an hour or so to wear for evening plans, but alas. I’m just not that girl. Dressed up my old faithful black T-shirt dress for our supper reservations at Gather at 6 with David and Tara and Mike and Lisa Murphy. They’ve been our biggest customers this year with their property in Molino which FLS is developing. We got to eat at the round table by the kitchen which has always been my dream! My plate of cherry-smoked duck breast with Gather mashed potatoes, grilled asparagus, blueberry bbq, and goat cheese exceeded expectations. We lingered long, enjoying all the amazing food, dessert, coffee, and conversation until we needed to remove ourselves to make room for the next reservation at 8:00. 

Friday 10-28

Well, I guess it’s my turn to experience the current illness going around, Influenza A or RSV?! Who knows?! It’s not Covid though according to my home test. I spent most of the night quite miserable with fever, body aches, headache, sore throat, and congestion. Danl came back around 10 and took Danielle and her 4wheeler to the job with him. So I had a mostly quiet day to lay around and recuperate. I slowly did the MR which took most of the day. Read in Once Upon a River a lot. Diesel was feeling quite poorly too. His skin has really deteriorated; the pic I sent to the vet confirmed what we thought. The lymphoma is cutaneous now. The end is very near for both dogs actually. Leroy didn’t want to eat his food and was shaking which means he’s in a lot of pain. And it’s not fair for them to suffer much longer. They have loved and been loved. But it’s still hard. Danl had me call in a pizza and breadsticks for him and Danielle to pick up for supper. 

Saturday 10-29

Felt some better, but still fatigued. So sad  to miss Gwen’s baby shower at the Goetter’s. Put in a Walmart Pickup for Atmore Smallmart. I keep forgetting they now offer this service! So nice when you don’t want to get out and breathe on people, but you still need food! Put a new layer of that deep ceramic shine on the Audi at Waves. Then I did dash into Family Dollar and Pig since Walmart did not even attempt to substitute one very necessary item, and I forgot to add onions to the order, AND we needed some more presents to wrap for the dogs’ last Christmas. I tried to stay 6 ft away from everyone. I didn’t survive Covid without learning something! Ended up sobbing once I got home. It’s just so final now. We plan to put both dogs down on Tuesday. Pulled myself together and Danl and I proceeded to make crispy fried chicken thigh sandwiches with seasoned house mayo, on a bakery buns topped with provolone and pickles; home-fried tater chips on the side. Yum. Danielle and I had fun making things festive, wrapping presents, and hanging stockings stuffed with toys and treats. Diesel and Leroy were so excited that it was suddenly Christmas time! We all hung out in the living room, helped the pigs open their presents, ate microwave popcorn, then settled in to (try) to sleep. Good times, good memories. Oh, I did make dough too, since I had fed Susie earlier in the day.  

Sunday 10-29

I bailed on the party around 2:00 am, and slipped into our bed to finish out the night with some restful sleep instead of fitful dozing. It was overcast and rainy, definitely a good day to hunker down together. I was feeling even worse than I had on Saturday instead of better as I had hoped! Made a small pan of cinnamon rolls, one loaf of regular bread, and two small loaves of cinnamon pull-apart bread with the sourdough. Did a speed-rise on the cinnamon rolls and baked them for breakfast along with brown-and-serve sausage links. Danl prepped a chuck roast for the crockpot. I’m not sure what all we all did, but the day seemed to pass rather swiftly. I know I did a lot of nose-blowing. Attempted to make Gather-style mashed skin-on red potatoes, (I’ll have to keep trying) along with gravy to enjoy with the roast and fresh bread. We ate this meal later afternoon. Sad to miss the 5th Sunday Joint Hymn-Sing at WH. Danielle and I played many games of Fishdom, trying in vain to pass a hard level. Everyone helped tidy the house, which had rather gone to pot. In some ways it felt like a good weekend, and in others it felt weird and hard, knowing what is coming on Tuesday. Things will be so different with two members of our family missing. But life goes on, a cycle of death and birth! I’m sure we’ll welcome new puppies, sooner or later!