Everyday Chatting & Waffling {2024} Let's get to know each other!

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Hi everyone.
Shana - wow, that is a lot of people, I wouldn't go either, too busy for me. Glad no one you know was hurt. What a sad turn of events, violence is everywhere these days.

We decided to book another cruise at the last minute. We are heading to South America in a week. No scrapping for me now until I get back after mid March.

I'll be online here and there from the ship wifi so will be around a bit. I've never seen penguins so am excited for that.

Hope everyone enjoys their wkend. I'll be busy packing and organizing this wkend.
 
Shana, I was also sorry to hear about the shootings in KC. I am not a crowd person either, so I wouldn't have gone but still, to have something horrible done at a celebration. Sigh.

My oldest is here with his family, so for the last 2 days I have been playing with my grandbabies, ages 3 and 10 months. It is exhausting! How did I do it? And I haven't been sleeping well due to the stress of the preparations for their arrival (deep cleaning, babyproofing, etc.). Hopefully I can sleep well tonight or I might be totally burned out by the time they leave next Friday.
 
Home after a long few days babysitting. I love watching the kids, but I do get tired! Last night, the other grandmother called Nessa to see if she could watch the children today, so I got to come home this morning. I have a meeting on Tuesday for the Daughters of the British Empire, and I had a lot to prepare for it, so I spent the day doing that.
 
Hi everyone,

Still chipping away with reno's but have been able to get outside for a few nature walks and cross-country skiing which is always fun!

Rae, have fun on your cruise. I would love to try a cruise! We are all booked for Florida (Disney) in March and Italy in the fall so that is something to look forward to.

Ane, what fun that you got spend time with your son and family. I know...where did we get all the energy to look after kids, work and fit in everything else! I am sure the grandchildren were a joy!

Monday is a holiday here so we are heading to our son's for his birthday dinner. His family just got over COVID again!! so I just got my 4th COVID vaccine. I am sure this will continue to be a norm for the world!

Retired life is BUSY but I am enjoying my new found freedom, even if it is doing nothing!!

Have a blessed Sunday!
 
Happy Monday. Hope everyone had a great weekend. I got to watch one of the nephews run at an indoor track meet. He placed 6th out of 105 boys for the mile. He thought he should have done better, but this auntie was still impressed.
 
We had a horrible day here yesterday. I grew up in Burnsville, MN and we live "next door" in Lakeville. Freddy was a volunteer firefighter for over 20 years with Lakeville so we know a lot of the BV F/paramedics. Two of their officers and a medic were shot and killed yesterday morning. I was a wreck because one of our dear friends is a medic with Apple Valley and we didn't know if it was a BV medic or one of ours because, of course, ALL of the neighboring communities were called out. I was crying most of the morning until she returned my message and then I cried even more!
Freddy and I were talking last night and he remarked that LEOs kinda know when they step out the door that there's "that chance" they might not come home. And firefighters always think that they'll go down in a fire. Medics figure they "might" get hit out on the road... maybe. But firefighters and medics never figure on getting shot! And cops shouldn't have to either. DANGIT, I'm crying again.
So... if you have an extra prayer or dozen, please keep these families and their colleagues and the communities in your hearts and prayers right now and for a long, long time... cuz we're tight and we're really, REALLY hurting. <3
 
Carla, sending you BIG hugs and my deepest condolences of the tragic senseless deaths of your friends. This kind of thing just seems to be trending into our normal everyday society and it really hurts those that we love, especially when these brave people who serve for the greater good. Prayers to you and their families!

Carla minicooper452 said:
We had a horrible day here yesterday. I grew up in Burnsville, MN and we live "next door" in Lakeville. Freddy was a volunteer firefighter for over 20 years with Lakeville so we know a lot of the BV F/paramedics. Two of their officers and a medic were shot and killed yesterday morning. I was a wreck because one of our dear friends is a medic with Apple Valley and we didn't know if it was a BV medic or one of ours because, of course, ALL of the neighboring communities were called out. I was crying most of the morning until she returned my message and then I cried even more!
Freddy and I were talking last night and he remarked that LEOs kinda know when they step out the door that there's "that chance" they might not come home. And firefighters always think that they'll go down in a fire. Medics figure they "might" get hit out on the road... maybe. But firefighters and medics never figure on getting shot! And cops shouldn't have to either. DANGIT, I'm crying again.
So... if you have an extra prayer or dozen, please keep these families and their colleagues and the communities in your hearts and prayers right now and for a long, long time... cuz we're tight and we're really, REALLY hurting.
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Carla, that is terrible. My friend's son is a firefighter, and stories like this make her fret about her son.

I think I mentioned my grandson was in the middle of some drama with an exploding truck last Thursday. Nine firefighters were injured, two critically. It is every family's nightmare. My grandson lives right next to where the explosion occurred and they evacuated his trailer park.
 
Oh, Carla, I am so sad to hear this! (((HUGS))) to you, my friend up north.

Lynnie, that is also terrible news! What is wrong with people these days???

Plugging along with the grandkids here! Sure is a joy to have them! Ask me how I feel tomorrow night- we're watching the kids overnight while my son and DIL got to a concert a few hours away.
 
We've made it to Friday, all. I hope you have something fun or relaxing planned for the weekend.

I have a much younger first cousin who got married last year. It was very emotional as she had to fight a couple of rounds of cancer when she was in her teens / early 20s. She is in remission, finished her college degree, is now a teacher, and... miracle of miracles... she and her husband are expecting. We didn't know if that would even be a possibility for her after all her treatments. So I plan to attend her baby shower on Sunday. So happy for her.
 
So I am back babysitting at my son's house. I got up at 5:30 am and cooked pumpkin chili and pumpkin spaghetti before I came yesterday. Steven and Nessa had the pumpkin chili for dinner last night. It was a huge hit. I have to say, I am quite fond of it. When I have excess pumpkin, I use it in any recipe that calls for sweet potato or butternut squash. I have a wonderful recipe for sweet potato chili. Trader Joe's always has a pumpkin pasta sauce at harvest time, so I made one up for my spaghetti. We had leftover pumpkins from October, so I finally cut one of them down and made soup, puree, and lots of extra stuff. Anyway, it was all good.

Bruce is off school this week, and the baby is sleeping, so I am having a very relaxing time. I was going to do some scrapping, but my kits and stuff are not as easy to access from here. I have to dial into my home server and download anything I need to use. I feel a little lazy, so I am unsure if I want to do that.

I also have to make hotel reservations for a trip with my friend and I don't feel like doing that either :) I am awfully lazy.
 
Shana, wonderful news about your niece, such a blessing after all she has been through.

Lynnie, it is nice to see you are relaxing some, you deserve it. That pumpkin sauce sounds lovely, I may need to try it when it is season for us, I never know what to do with it other than pies or tarts and I certainly don't need to eat all those sweets.

Have a great weekend everyone.
 
Hi everyone. I've been busy getting ready for our trip (leave in a few days). So excited to head to South America. Fingers crossed for good weather which I know can be iffy at any time so who knows. I'm almost packed and will do a final check on Monday to be sure. Last trip I forgot my camera battery charger and I was very lucky to have found one at a camera shop in Barcelona and it was the only one left. Taught me a valuable lesson, get all camera gear ready a bit early, don't rush at the last minute.

I'm going to visit a friend at the far end of Calgary whom I haven't seen in about 12 yrs, since she moved away from BC. It'll be so much fun to hang out for the day and go for lunch. I'm trying to spend lots of time with the dogs (my own guilt LOL) b/c I'm leaving them for almost 3 wks. I'll be back on the 17th and I'm sure will be so excited to scrap some holiday pics.

Lynnie - I love pumpkin but have never tried pumpkin chili, that is probably something I would like. I should look for an instant pot recipe to try out.

Hope everyone is well. I have to get ready to head out. HAGD everyone.
 
It's really quiet in my house tonight, and that makes me kind of sad. I miss the kids and grandkids, even though they exhausted me and gave me their cold. I am thrilled that they will be only 6 hours away instead of 24. Will have to make an excuse to see them again soon in their new home in Ohio.

Lynnie, your pumpkin food sounds yummy! I could always use more pumpkin in my life. And don't call yourself lazy- you were simply taking a well-deserved break. :)

Rae, have an awesome time on your South American cruise! I hope to go on a cruise with hubby sometime soon. It's on my bucket list! :)

Have a great Sunday, everyone! :)
 
[FONT=&quot]THIS is what I was HONORED to participate in yesterday.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]It truly amazes me that this event was organized in a few days, by four 27-year-olds, who were just a buncha friends, thinking… “That could be us. Those first responders were doing their jobs to protect us. We should do something for them." So, they put it out on FB, shared it a little bit and it BLEW UP! They had no idea what was gonna happen. People just started asking if they could bring their trucks and cars and rigs and whatever. And the boys said, “Yep!” Next thing ya know, all four local news stations are out there yesterday covering us and there are over 2000 vehicles in the convoy!
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]When we came up over the hill at BV Center, we saw the entire lower parking lot FILLED with construction trucks, tow trucks, big rigs, emergency vehicles, and big’ole’boy, red-reck pickups and they were still coming! The upper lot was filling up with Jeeps, motorcycles, custom cars and POVs and they were still coming! It was a madhouse and it was WONDERFUL! American flags everywhere. LEO flags, FD flags, military flags.
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Like I said, the convoy made all four local news stations. It took us over an hour to complete the route and when we pulled back into the lot at BV Center, there were still people waiting to start the convoy. I found out this morning that we also set a record for the longest convoy... 35 miles. Sad reason to do it, but THAT IS SUPPORT!
[/FONT][FONT=&quot](if you really strain hard, I circled our bus in red in the pic on the left and put a teeny, little yellow x on us on the pic on the right... yeah)[/FONT]

409052922_10228889188726981_6936066224817008441_n.jpg
 
That is amazing Carla, so moving and inspirational. And Happy Birthday too.
 
Carla... what a neat event! Thank you for posting the photos.
Lynnie... please share your pumpkin chili recipe!
Rae... safe travels!

We had a lovely time at the baby shower. I took tons of photos, so I'm sure I'll have a layout done of that event in the coming weeks. I travel this week and next week for work... happily, I'm heading south to San Antonio, Texas. Hubby is actually feeling well enough that he's planning to travel with me. He's never been there, so I'm looking forward to showing him around, especially the River Walk.
 
FormbyGirl said:
So I am back babysitting at my son's house. I got up at 5:30 am and cooked pumpkin chili and pumpkin spaghetti before I came yesterday. Steven and Nessa had the pumpkin chili for dinner last night. It was a huge hit. I have to say, I am quite fond of it. When I have excess pumpkin, I use it in any recipe that calls for sweet potato or butternut squash. I have a wonderful recipe for sweet potato chili. Trader Joe's always has a pumpkin pasta sauce at harvest time, so I made one up for my spaghetti. We had leftover pumpkins from October, so I finally cut one of them down and made soup, puree, and lots of extra stuff. Anyway, it was all good.

Bruce is off school this week, and the baby is sleeping, so I am having a very relaxing time. I was going to do some scrapping, but my kits and stuff are not as easy to access from here. I have to dial into my home server and download anything I need to use. I feel a little lazy, so I am unsure if I want to do that.

I also have to make hotel reservations for a trip with my friend and I don't feel like doing that either :) I am awfully lazy.
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Have you thought about getting an EHD and put kits and pics you want to use on it. Than bring that to your babysitting. Easy access that can be taken with you.
 
Sorry it was SO LATE Sherri! Wondered how long it would take to get to you. I'll have to put my reminder several days earlier on my calendar for you and the kids. hehe
 
We are having issues with our mail being delivered in a timely manner. Last weekend's baby shower invite took three weeks to arrive from the time the mailed it. So we found out just in the nick of time. I had a work event last week and the invite for that only arrived this week, so I didn't make it to that one. We've had so many of our rural post offices close, and now remaining postal carriers have had to extend their hours to also deliver things from Amazon... all at no additional pay, of course. Not a long-term solution, for sure!

So two days ago, I went for a walk outside as it in the high 70s / low 80s. I could see tulips starting to break through the ground and some daffodils were already blooming, and it was lovely. Today, I drove to work in snow and the temp was 16 degrees. I was not prepared to return to winter temps!!!
 
Lily Ann, I used to carry an external hard drive back and forth, but it was too much effort to keep it in sync with my downloads. I can download anything I want from my drive at home, it is just not as convenient.

Carla, that event sounds amazing.

Rae, I hope your trip is fabulous.

Instant pot pumpkin chili

1 tablespoon coconut oil
2 pounds ground chicken (or whatever you like to use)
1 large onion diced
8-10 garlic cloves minced
2-3 cups of diced pumpkin
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 15-oz can black beans
28 ounces fire-roasted tomatoes
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
2 cups broth
two bay leaves
1 cup coconut milk

Brown meat
Add broth
Mix all spices together
Layer the rest of the ingredients (Except bay leaves and coconut milk), adding mixed spice between each layer
Do not stir the ingredients
Add bay leaves on top
High pressure 11 minutes, quick release
Remove Bay Leaves
Stir in coconut milk

You can increase the spices, or decrease them depending on your spice tolerance.
You can also make this in a crockpot, but brown meat first, and you can stir ingredients.
I make this differently each time.
I have been known to add walnuts, chilis, or quinoa.
You can serve it over rice.
 
Sherri, I missed your birthday? Dang! I hope it was a great one. :)

Shana, it's interesting that you are having problems with your mail. We are here, too. Some days we don't get any at all, and when hubby called to ask about it, he was told there just aren't enough carriers so some days some routes don't get driven. It's no picnic for those poor mail carriers. Also, we have been having similar temps to you, too. Low 80's yesterday and when I checked this morning it was 27. No snow though. We got some hail late last night instead.

Lynnie, maybe I need to get an instant pot so I can make this chili! Thanks for the recipe- it looks delicious! :)

I'm doing ok over here. One car is in the shop so I am stuck at home. What a bummer, LOL! May be without it until Friday or Monday. I made a page about the grandkids' visit that I'll post on Friday. I'm looking forward to this year's Scrap-a-thon, whenever that starts. I saw a blurb about it in a designer's newsletter, but nothing here yet (though I haven't looked today yet).
 
FormbyGirl said:
Lily Ann, I used to carry an external hard drive back and forth, but it was too much effort to keep it in sync with my downloads. I can download anything I want from my drive at home, it is just not as convenient.

.
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I forgot to mention... what about drop box?
 
Y'all sure have a lot to talk about. This is already page 15. I woke up early today and thought I might get a start on posting in the forum and here I find I am way behind. I don't even have anything to say but "hope you have a great day today."
 
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