The Famous Friday Footprint Focus Conga

[Twins' Mom]

Looking in from (not) Sunny Fort Lauderdale. I made big mistakes packing for this trip. Yesterday a.m. when I got up at 4 a.m. to shower we had no hot water. So not only was I unshowered (remember I meant to do Wednesday afternoon/evening) I forgot to pack some toiletries that I would have been using. So no body wash and no toner for my face, which leaves it feeling yucky. Had to use dh's strong soap which may leave me itchy. The body wash gel in the hotel container is EMPTY. We left house at 5:25 and didn't get here until past two p.m. Flight in ATL was delayed two hours. I told dh I could happily never fly again - I will because I want to/need to go places but it's exhausting. Napped once we were here, had very late lunch augmented by hotel bar food downstairs.

Dh went out for lunch with frat brother from here. I'm enjoying the quiet.

Part of what went wrong on this trip was that I underpacked clothes too, counting on warmer weather even tho I knew it was cooler than normal. High was to have been sixties today but it's only 55. I just have not been together in terms of preparing for this trip. And, my poor dog didn't eat her dinner on Wednesday p.m., so I put it in the refrigerator for Thursday a.m., then forgot to feed her. I meant to text dogsitter because she was planning to walk Millie yesterday a.m., but time got away from me. We were also delayed at home airport because of deicing.

Did I do a poor job of planning/packing because I was put out about going on Thursday, not later in the week? I wonder if I was just so agitated that things slipped. So far I've only sat in an airport, hotel room and hotel bar.

We saw a TJ Maxx near here, so we'll go there this afternoon for a jacket, sweaters, or whatever to augment my wardrobe.

[Lady Maverick]

Acknowledging how easy we have it now in comparison to making a meal 50 years ago.
I used the Saucy Meatball Supper recipe (page 125) from the old cookbook as inspiration.
My modern-day version of this recipe...
A couple lbs of frozen beef meatballs put into the air fryer. Press a button and I'm done with them.
Open a can of condensed cheese sauce.
Cook spaghetti pasta.
Combine everything. It took less than 20 minutes from start to finish.

DS16 said.......so basically you made Cheesy Hamburger Helper.
Me: Your right. This recipe is how we used to do it. We didn't have boxes of hamburger helper when this cookbook was written 50+ years ago.

(((Twins)))
Thinking....the chances are a million to one, but.....wouldn't it be wild if Kathryn and Twins ran into each other while traveling.

[Lady Maverick]

LucyLee - I am hesitant to speak about how DS16 buys and sells vehicles because his circumstances are so different than yours. But to answer your question....his most effective way to sell and buy older used vehicles is using FBook marketplace. He has had multiple people drive up to 200 miles away to buy vehicles. I have a hard-and-fast rule that he can only meet them in a public place with lots of people around AND he has to have someone with him that isn't involved in the sale to "watch his back". It is agreed upon before meeting that all transactions are done in cash only. I am probably way over cautious but I'm okay with erroring on the side of safety. He has never had a problem and has meet some really nice & interesting people doing these transactions. i'm guessing most criminal type people aren't looking to buy old vehicles.

After watching DS16 go through the process of selling/buying dozens of vehicles/atv/cycles......One thing that I see different in your interactions. When someone is interested in buying what you have the transaction is finalized quickly. If they want it they will ask you to hold it while they are traveling to location and show up with cash within a couple hours. They know it will be gone if they wait. Anyone can say they are interested in buying a vehicle, but if they don't make immediate arraigements to purchase, then that is very telling. Move on to the next person.

If I was you I would talk to your mechanic that said the pickup was worth $5k. I would offer it to him for $4500 and see if he bites. If he REALLY thinks it is worth $5k then he can make an easy $500 by buying it and reselling it. If he doesn't then I would not believe he knows what he is talking about in the worth of the vehicle. Just my opinion.

Also old vehicles are 1 mile....1 minute....1 blink of an eye away from breaking. It is just a fact of life. DS16 and his friends are c-o-n-s-t-a-n-t-l-y doing repairs on their old vehicles. DS16 is waiting to get his most loved 19 year vehicle out of the shop where it has been for the past month getting the rear end replaced (AGAIN)...which led to needing new bearings....which led to needing something else replaced (i forget what). Once those repairs are done, he can't even drive the vehicle home because now the water pump quit working. He will borrow a flat bed trailer to bring his old pickup home from the shop so he can start doing MORE repairs to it. Thousands of dollars of repairs and hundreds of hours.
If it was me....I would seriously take any amount offered for the old pickup. If you get it sold without having to spend money and time on it then I would count it a blessing.
I could be 100000% wrong.
These are just my thoughts....but remember I am probably a bit worn down and biased after having our driveway filled with teens doing repairs trying to keep old vehicles running.
WOW....I sure did talk. Sorry about going on and on.

[blessedw2]

hello!

hi d lady
Your common sense is what all people need - it is refreshing!

lol about hamburger helper not being around when our recipes were around.

hi d twins! oh no - no hot water on your trip - that's hard! sorry you feel yucky with not being able to get a nice shower - sorry you also had a delayed flight. glad you are able to enjoy some quiet!
planning/packing - it happens! hope you find a nice sweater or jacket when you go shopping!

hi d Nancy!
good question - we started when they were young - I signed dd younger and I for a cooking class when she was 10 - I always found them helpful plus we had a viking shop in my dear mom in laws area. dd older was not interested in cooking until her late 20's.

sorry you have a head cold and cold sore - feel better
d cathy said that about the freezer - I thought it was great!!! I never thought of that before lol.
I haven't watched dian in Denmark for a bit. I need to do that again! Glad you are feeling more on track!

d rose - how great it is to meet people with great work ethics. hope your machine gets fixed sooner than later!
waving at you

hello everyone - I wish you a good day.

mom is asleep sitting on the couch. Her eyes pop open and she says "I am watching Jessica" (murder she wrote)
"and I fall asleep in between" - it's all good.

time to be productive again waving

[Ramblinrose]

My brain is frazzled or maybe even fried. I just spent 3.5 hrs helping Sweetie balance his sprees sheet against his bank statement. I could have figured it out in 30 minutes but I needed to make sure he was comfortable and understood what was needed to done. I don’t know how to do an excel sheet cause I’m old school paper, pen calculator. Problem is Sweetie couldn’t remember ether plus he had problems with his passwords that he had written down.

It was all hurry up and wait kind of process for me. God gave me an abundance of patience but it sure was tested today!

[CathyS]

Before I left for knitting, I checked the outside temp so I would know what to expect and how long to warm the car up. (the engine mostly) It was 0C! I hope the freezers were colder than the outside temp.

LadyM I totally agree with what you said about the buying and selling of old vehicles.

[blessedw2]

d rose - I understand this! Glad you were able to finish it even though it took a long time. it is hard to do but you gave your sweetie the gift of patience. it's a lot of work and patience! I hope you give yourself some brain free time this evening to do something you want to do! -

-------------------------------------------------
dh has a checking account for his social security. His check book, has both our names on it which covers his own expenses -stuff he wants to spend on and for savings he wants to put away. he is very happy with it. -

All our household expenses comes out of my checking account-my name only - dd older can go into that account- pay bills if I ask her etc. (I did this ahead as my dad wanted my brother to do for mom. best thing they ever did)
-------------------------------------------------------
mom is still sleeping on and off - she was very tired - I am waking her every so often so she doesn't get a deep sleep.
dh closed the inside fence gate as the sun is starting to go down.

waving to all of you!!!

listening to Townsend - the nutmeg tavern

[Lady Maverick]

How old were your kids when you thought them to cook?

I started teaching them young. Both of my older kids have surpassed me and are amazing cooks. They cook daily in addition to being comfortable preparing food for crowds. Last year DS51 cooked for over 300 people at one of their events. DD49 takes orders online and delivers homemade food each week to her customers.
I taught DGS27 to cook when he was young. He is very comfortable preparing food and cooks once or twice a week for his friends. His skills continue to grow.
I'm not doing nearly as well with teaching DS16 and DD13 to prepare a meal from scratch. They prefer preparing processed food instead of cooking from scratch. They know how to cook, but unless I make them do it they will just open a box, can or package.

[Nancy]

CI / I got my new wood card file box so that is what I have been doing.
Walked had a late lunch b/s tanked.
Had to eat; then did up the dishes.
I'm excited got the upstairs newest TV to work as expected by turning the power cord off & on again got it to a reset.
That helped this one time anyway.

[Lady Maverick]

EOD analysis.
All tasks completed except for one. The sun went down before I got it done. These short daylight hours are not my favorite.

DS16 has 5 friends here. That makes 7 teens in the house. It is noisy. They are full of energy and teenage foolishness (in a good way). I just took some pictures of them as they were laughing and being a bit goofy. I try to take pictures of everyday normal moments because time passes so quickly. What used to be normal years ago is now just a memory. Treasure the moments.

Sweet dreams.