Farmer's Market

Go to the Dane County Farmer's Market. Park strategically, by the coffee place, so that when you are all done with the market you end up at the empanada stand, and then you can can grab a coffee.

Buy this stuff . . .

Also buy some rhubarb oatmeal breakfast bars (not pictured lol). Buy some empanadas, made with delicious, local, fresh bacon, eggs and cheese. Also get a veggie empanada, with plaintains and garlic. Don't forget to take some cilantro and garlic sauce with you. Oops, no photo. But trust me, absolutely delicious. Take these items to a park by the lake and enjoy.

When you get home, and you are getting pretty hungry because of your early breakfast, make this . . . 

and this, and top it with your yummy meunster from the farmer's market . . .

Delicious salad and cheesy Wisconsin goodness.

Kay :)

"All the oldsters made it . . . "

Not sure which cousin said it (maybe Peggy?), but all Dad's siblings made it to the reunion yesterday. Honestly, I didn't think that would happen. It was a lovely day, weather, people, food, just everything. Wherever Dad is in his dementia, it is at a  time when there was a spirited 16 inch softball game at the reunion between the grown-ups and the kids. Advancing ages and injuries have since stopped the softball game. We saw one of Dad's bar buddies in his driveway on the way to the Coal City Area Club and pulled in so Dad could say hello, and Dad informed him, "I'm not playing softball today!" LOL Dad used to be the pitcher, then the umpire, and he was reminded yesterday of his favoritism to the older crowd while umpiring.

I'm sure there is a way to fix these dark photos, I'll figure it out someday! LOL Just in case, maybe save the photo and fix it yourself! :)

Aunt Kay, Uncle Geo, Aunt Shirley, Uncle Jim, Aunt Joan, Dad, Aunt Jean

Happy 64th anniversary to Uncle Jim and Aunt Shirley on August 21st!

It's always the same. We get home. We sit out back. There is a pile of cooler ice melting in the grass and we drink icy cold reunion cooler beverages. Dad declared it a very good day. We all agreed.

Kay :)

Work in Progress

Hera and Isis watching the mesmerizing show "John Mowing Grass". They go from window to window so as to not miss a step! LOL

A work in progress. My new paint color (yellow, with greenish undertones) and a new pendant light. It is super cool, it has a remote. Plus it is just pretty.

Closet, work in progress.

Three cheers for room updates! Big old raspberry to shots in my knee . . .

My friend at work, her hubby is updating my bedroom. It will be fabulous. It already is. I've been saying for a few years I was going to paint, but gosh, just emptying the room out was a big job with my gimpy knee, so thank goodness I found our about her hubby's skills. He's terrific, handy as hell. The complete opposite of me. LOL New closet doors, some blinds, some hardware, some carpet, and it will be finished. I can't wait! Then I can iron my new curtains, and bedding, and get rid of more crap! Woo hoo. I ordered a dresser from Overstock.com and oops, it had a big ding, so I ordered another one. I'm optimistic.  I really hope it comes soon. Then I ordered a chair with a pattern called Crazy Eights Lichen. Yes, I know.  I'm slightly alarmed about that, but still confident. Sort of. LOL We shall see.

Reunion Saturday, and, eventually, some photos of my bedroom all freshened up.

How far can the leaning tower of flower go before it topples?!

Kay :)

Kay the Gardener

I'm having a good tomato year! If you bring some tomatoes to John's house, he'll toss them together with garlic, parsley, and basil (all from his garden), add some olive oil and a few Kalamata olives, and serve it to you on broiled whole wheat English muffins. Oh the suffering! What a delicious breakfast.

I mentioned to Dad that I was going to Streator this weekend and he said "Tell my little brother hello!" LOL

And happy belated birthday to Hera and Isis! I guess I can't call them kittens anymore, they are one year old now, John has had them for 8 months. What great kitties!

Morning routine.

Dad's doing OK. His ears are ringing like crazy. Reunion next weekend. Should be interesting. Pretty much everything is now, you never know what Bernie will come up with next!

Kay :)

The Leaning Tower of Flower

Please tell me I am not the only old movie buff to enlarge this photo of Midge and pretend it is the classic scene in The Incredible Shrinking Man where the kitty is peering into the dollhouse window . . .

My tall sunflower finally bloomed. And when you get ladder out to change the hummer juice, might as well let the kitties play on it for a while. What an exciting life we have! LOL

66 Degrees of July

Hi folks,

This break in the heatwave is nice.

One thing about dementia, every time Dad takes a bite of garden tomato, it's "the first tomato I've had this summer!" LOL  Oh the pleasure!

Darn it! I thought I had rid myself of all zucchini yesterday by taking 2 to work, but nooo, I found one hiding this a.m. and I made a chocolate zucchini cake. Later I'm going to sprinkle sifted powdered sugar over it and have a wee slice. Haha just kidding. Be right back . . . thumbs up on chocolate zucchini cake made with buttermilk and pecans!

I found these potatoes right on top of the soil in the potato bed. I guess when you plant taters in a rather shallow raised bed they are self-digging taters? Whatever you want to call them, wow they were delish. Those are grape tomatoes, too big for my liking, but they do have good flavor. And clearly the Midge/Finn fertilizer mixture is powerful stuff. Look at that weird glow . . .

Midge is dwarfed by the giant zucchini leaves.

This tall sunflower has giant leaves and has morning glories climbing it like crazy. If only it would bloom! LOL

Family reunion coming up in two weeks. How the last year has flown by! Just last year at this time Dad was coming off of his hospitalization and we were getting used to the dementia/Alzheimer thing and Dad was cantankerous and ornery. I look at photos from that time and Dad looks crazy in the eyes. They say it takes a village to raise a child, and I say it takes a village to care for someone with dementia. I don't know how old couples do it alone when one takes ill. We are lucky to be able to care for Dad. Things could definitely be worse, that's for sure. Thank goodness his condition and mood didn't stay like they were when he first got out of the hospital. He's happy most of the time and he is pretty stable on his feet as well.

My poor bedroom! Emptied out except for the bed and the TV and a table. Walls scrubbed, carpet removed. I like cozy rooms, and there is nothing cozy about it now! It's plain and dinged and loud and echoey. It totally freaks Midge out. LOL Can't wait to have it all finished up. Hopefully in a about a week to ten days it will be finished. I've been shopping on line, nice to have things brought right to the house, especially when you have a gimpy knee. I have an appointment Monday to see about some other injection that might help my knee. I have my fingers crossed.

Have a good weekend.

Kay :)

Saturday Fish Fry

Hauled the fam to John's house today in Streator. Had a lovely meal. I picked some zucchini and green tomatoes from the garden, and we fried those up with some tilapia and perch. Good stuff John made a nice slaw, homemade bread, homemade tartar sauce, and lemon salt. Wow it was great! I almost forgot . . . some deliciously crunchy cookies . . . with rosemary! Yum!

This bread was delicious!

The folks heartily approved of the new furniture.

The welcoming committee with an arrangement from John's garden.

Before . . .

After! There is some grada padano grated into the coating too. Yummers.

Dad enjoyed the trip. He made a comment at John's house that "the whole family is together" but after we got home I was Noreen again. He got a little bamboozled on the way home, couldn't figure out where in the heck he was, even though he usually knows Kinsman Road like the back of his hand, even with his dementia/Alzheimers. He was glad to get home lol. Mom has lost her glasses.

Heat wave has broken, sort of. Seems weird to say a 90 degree day is nice, but after triple digit heat indices for a few days (is that right John? lol), it is a lot better.

I'm getting my bedroom ready to be repainted. Where did all this crap come from! ARGHHHHHH

The goldfinch are picking all the petals off my pretty sunflowers! Sunflowers without petals look pretty weird to me, just wrongo! I do love the goldfinch though. 

That's all folks!

Kathleen