The Rest of the Week

The bathroom project is underway.  Walls are falling, debris is piling and dust is floating. 

I discovered there is a 5" area of dead space between my bedroom bookcase and the bathroom closet/shelves. Since my contractor cannot incorporate it into either side, it just seemed like a shame to leave it empty.I decided it needed doll house furniture and perhaps a ceramic mouse family.  I have limited shopping available in my small town and the Dollar store let me down. But on the way out I spotted a fairy village and went with that.  

My friend said I should have included a note for future home remodelers but it was too late. The new drywall is up. 

Then he made me do math.  The picture is a photo I took of something that was on a display for shower doors at the home improvement store. I like to photograph things like that and print them randomly when my local drug store offers a free 8x10.  It took a few marker colors, but I finally got it the way I want it. 

Thursday Miss Merry, a daughter, a daugher inlaw and four grandchildren went to an "imagination station" in a city an hour away.  That city was not on school break so we really had a wonderful time with not many other children. 

Thursday evening I talked my daughter into joining me for gigantic margaritas at our Mexican restaurant while we enjoyed the karaoke contest finalists. I have been watching the competition on Facebook live, but she was very surprised by the talent of the finalists.  They were sensational! The winner will be announced next week. 

Friday I had a shuffle of children, but still had four grandchildren here.  It was supposed to be warm and sunny with temperatures maybe reaching 70. Instead it was cold and cloudy and rainy. I had purchased the box of Christmas Cutouts at GFS in November and the box was still unopened in my freezer. It was the perfect day to bake and frost Christmas cookies. 

Today I am trying to watch television over the sound of a drill and hammer and sawzall and trying to catch up on laundry while side stepping the extension cords and shop vac.  This is almost physical therapy since one of my exercises is going up and down my hallway, facing ahead while side stepping.  

Monday I get to go to another two hour training as a poll worker. I guess my state is planning on paying me to attend the same two hour session 2-3 times a year for the rest of my life.  I am not, however, setting up the room for this spring's election after the table broken nose incident. 

Spring Break

A new post already because I don't want the last post at the top of my page. 

The bathroom renovation has begun. Do you see the writing on the wall? 

I posted these pictures in our family group shot and my middle son shared that he remembers that he and his younger brother were put to bed and when the oldest came to bed, he told them he and dad had signed the wall behind the new cupboards. And they were so jealous. 

So that was cute. And I told them that anyone else who now wants to sign the wall 33 years later has two days to come and do it! 

And then I took grampa out for his favorite hamburger at an out of town hamburger stand to thank him for his hard work. 

It turns out the hamburger stand is closed on Tuesdays, but there is a Mexican restaurant across the street. 

Meanwhile the two moms and a dad took this group on a movie and dinner outing.  I couldn't make it. Thank goodness.

My oldest daughter is in London with her family and this is the living room in their Airbnb. And isn't it just what you would expect? So cute. 

I got another book in the mail (that I ordered) and it is on the top of the to-be-read pile. And today I spotted another to-be-read pile I forgot about in my bedroom. 

And this afternoon I visited the Physical Therapy Department for an evaluation.  It turns out I am not just clumsy. I have some reasons to be clumsy. 

I did a whole series of simple tests and she confirmed that my left foot and even my left leg drags. She thinks it is possibly due to my sciatica and that my shingles followed the sciatic nerve and caused nerve damage. So I will be going to physical therapy to strengthen the foot and leg.  

 

And she really noticed my balance is off. It wasn't just me. She isn't sure what caused it; could be scar tissue from ear infections, but it was obvious that I have trouble maintaining balance without being able to tap a wall or keep my eyes open or keep my arms where I can reach out to grab something. She had me stand on a piece of foam and it was like I was in outer space. There is something called Vistibular Rehabilitation Therapy for that.  There are a few therapists out there that specialize in both so I am getting signed up for three sessions a week for three weeks and we will see what's up.  I am hoping to be able to go places this summer without clutching a stroller for support.  And hopefully I won't fall out of any more cars. 

I moved my church day to tomorrow. Thursday I am going to an imagination station with a crew of children and parents and Friday I am starting PT and then taking two other grandchildren out to lunch on the island - since our temperatures are supposed to go up 30 degrees higher than they were today. I hope that is true. 

And in the meantime I have exercises to do 3 times a day as I walk up and down my hallway. A purpose in life! 

The Weekend.

I'm pretty sure it was the start of the weekend that is making me feel absolutely exhausted. But aside from the freaky horrible catastrophy of six and a half hours daytime hours on Friday, I still managed to salvage what was left of two and a half days. 

Local headline.  I no longer have an sympathy for him since I found that the wild response from law enforcement in my front yard was due to his threats toward his wife regarding his automatic fancy pants weapon.  He is currently in the mental health ward in another city and has felony charges pending.  My heart does bleed for her and her children.  

And luckily he was stopped in his tracks in time for the Merry family to drive the two hours to hear my grandson's high school band performing in a college bar.  (selfish, I know and I don't care).  This is the first time my husband has seen them in person and it's been about a year and a half since I would listen to them practice in my daughter's basement when I would stay for a week while they did CEU credits at exotic locations. 

They were fabulous, even brought in a horn section in the rear right of the photo. There is another guitarist on the far left. It is hard for short grammas to take photos in a crowd. 

Afore mentioned short gramma. 

Saturday I was up and ready to drive the almost two hours in the other direction with this cutie pie and her mother to see a university production of the Sound of Music. I cannot tell you how absolutely talented every single vocal performer was and how impressed we were with the whole production. 

She absolutely loved the musical. I did not share any of the story ahead of time because I like to hear what she gets out of it. She thought it was a very sweet love story and that some guards came to take the dad and they climbed over the mountain so they could live happily ever after.  She did not notice any nazi symbols on clothing, she did not seem perturbed about any of that nonsense. I asked her if she thought it was a fairytale or a story or real life and she picked fairytale. She was shocked when I showed her a photo of the real Von Trapp Family Singers and I think it was because they were not college co-eds.  

Then, because we don't think ahead, we went out to dinner in a college town on a Saturday night with no reservations. An hour later we were seated and I enjoyed this bacon cheese burger with blue cheese and bacon jam and I am willing to drive two hours every week if I can have more of that bacon jam. 

No photo can do justice to the taste of this burger.  Maybe this photo of my favorite little girl child model eating a children's meal cheeseburger, but eating one of my french fries can explain the size of the sandwich. 

And because I was discombobulated Friday, I forgot to share a photo of my #six out of eight grandson's 3rd grade music performance, the second 3rd grade performance we attended in the last two weeks.  

He is the handsome young man in the blue shirt and had a dancing solo! We are very proud of him. 

And our Indivisible's townhall meeting made the national Indivisible account! What makes this so special is that I live in an area that is about 99% Republican. But the farmers and the veterans that make up our community are not happy.  Actually many are scared. This wasn't what they voted for.  And we were overwhelmed by the attendance. We reached in the sky and were hoping for maybe 30 participants, enough to not embarass ourselves in front of the speakers. We never expected in excess of 200 people. 

It is now spring break for every single one of my grandchildren. Again, not off to a good start. My oldest daughter woke up this morning to 26 missed calls from a contracted driver waiting at Heathrow Airport for her family who is not arriving until tomorrow morning. Her travel agent booked the wrong date.  .   .   

We are falling apart over here

*3:10 pm - all clear. The gentleman is being loaded in EMS and headed to the hospital. 

As if I didn't have enough going on, this morning around 8:30, just when I was going to hop in the shower, my friend Helen called and said 2 police cars just sped past her house towards my street.

We looked outside and they were stopped in front of my house and both officers (one was my son, jumped out, guns drawn). 

We do not pick up police on our scanner but heard them stage the ambulance a block away and station fire trucks at both ends of my street to block traffic.  The husband of the girl across the street has a gun and is out in the back yard threatening suicide.  We ended up with a sheriff, five police cruisers, the SWAT team, a Crisis Response Team, Mental Health who travel in an Equinox, I don't know what else. 

We are locked in our houses. My grandson is here and we have been playing tornado drill and hanging out in the windowless utility room. 

Most of these officers have rifles with them and my neighbors are exchanging pictures of shadows of armed men walking by their bedroom windows. 

I had a doctor's appointment and had to call and say SWAT was blocking my driveway and I couldn't come. They allowed me to do a zoom and were all very sweet.  I am going for a PT evaluation on Tuesday. 

It has now been 4 hours, maybe 4 1/2.  We are in the same spot. He is pacing all over the place with his gun. People are stationed everywhere. He almost surrendered and changed his mind. One of my neighbors can hear him talking when he comes closer to his house (next door to her house). 

His wife was inside when she called. About an hour into this, the assistant chief escorted her out safely. I was holding my breath.  I have texted her and invited her to my porch or in my house to wait, but she is still standing outside in 40 degree temps and tells me it will end soon. 

I live in paradise.  I live in a little town where everyone knows your name and remembers your kids names (they have two children, one just graduated and one is in high school). We share flower bulbs and shovel each others sidewalks and I for real have a picket fence.  When people move in, I take them a pie. 

This isn't supposed to happen here.  And no one needs a firearm like the one he has.  

I'm not sure what his struggles are. I know he has been battling health problems since they moved here in 2020.  I pray that he surrenders soon, that the law enforcement officers and his family are all safe, too. And that he willingly takes advantage of help that is offered to him. 

My son is the one whose firearm is holstered while he negotiates with him.  I never dreamed the little boy who rode up and down this sidewalk on his CHIPS plastic motorcycle would be a part of a police drama on the same doorstep.  

There are times when I want to eliminate social media, but it has been a godsend to my neighborhood today. Those of us barracaded are staying in touch by private message since his wife is on our group chat. Those at work are also messaging me. And people who know it is my street are also messaging me. It was interesting during my zoom dr appt. Ding Ding Ding Ding

Updates upon Updates

I'm going to start with the klutzy update first.  As I was leaving our townhall meeting, I tripped going out the door and would have landed flat on the sidewalk if it wasn't for Mr. Merry grabbing me as several friends shouted "oh no" as I tipped.  My grandson went to preschool and told the teacher I had broken my leg and they prayed for me.  Spoiler, did not break my leg, did not break the skin.  I did, however make a doctor appointment for tomorrow to be evaluated for PT or something since my friends don't want to invite me out anymore if I am going to keep falling over. 

Our local indivisible and a nearby community’s Rising invited our US rep to a townhall last night. Surprise, he never responded. 

But 200 constituents did. And we had great speakers. We had a professional on veterans benefits who talked about the cuts to medical care to people who had put their life on the line for our country. We had a hospital benefits coordinator who spoke on the effects of cuts to Medicare and Medicaid and how a rural hospital is already closing in our community due to insurance contracts that are not sustainable. We had a college professor from a nearby campus talk about education cuts and horrible policies and and professor about immigration stories (spoiler alert – there is no way the planes sent to El Salvador are coming back and he thinks the men will be released into the jungle and probably die, if they survive prison since the space is limited and more planes will go) and told us that hearings for those with green cards who apply for citizenship are 20 years out on court dates. AND we had a past president of the Farmer’s Union who spoke at length on the effects of policies like USAID and immigration and others on local farmers. And how six large farming operations in our state had USAID contracts with the USDA to grow for food banks and schools, those contracts have been cancelled after farmers already took loans out this year for planting  and how all that information of who they were has been scrubbed from federal and state websites. And our state claims not to know who they were.

I have been an Indivisible member since 2018. It is mostly the same group of women, pretty much my age. Last night we had 200 people and I bet over 1/3 were men, many Viet Nam veterans and/or farmers. He is hitting his base.

Now the question is – what will we do about it? We need a leader to rise.

I truly believe the audience included people who voted for him and never thought these policies would affect them. But is it too late.

Meanwhile the situation with the choir director is not going well.  I located the minutes from the previous meeting and, as you can see, they want him fired for being gay.  No criminal or inappropriate actions or other complaints, they just don't think he should exist. The group is now trying to sabotage a series of dinner theaters this weekend by cancelling blocks of tickets they preordered and didn't pay for.  And this will be a huge financial hit to the music program and is so unfair to the student performers who have been practicing their hearts out. Meanwhile the minutes:

 

Mr S addressed the board, regarding the hiring of Mr. K as the choir director for the 2024-25 school year. Mr. S started by saying he wanted to have transparency and a healthy civil dialogue about the concerns over this hiring. He stated that many were disappointed in the hiring of Mr. K. There are concerns that Mr. K's values are inconsistent with the values of the community and district. Mr. S said the hiring of Mr. K was, "Unacceptable to the students, and we, the district, and community, can’t allow this to take root and snowball.” He asked that the board change course, aim high, and employ good solid truth in education rooted in truth. Mr. S said, “God will not honor this path unless we choose to alter the path. If we compromise here and move the boundary of this decision what will be next?” He concluded by asking the board four questions. 

1. Was the board aware of Mr. K's lifestyle?
2. Can his contract be rescinded?
3. Can the district buy out his contract?
4. What can the board and administration do to ensure this will never happen again? 

 

Mr R addressed the board by saying he was here in concern. Mr. R shared a variety of mental health statistics about transgender youths and individuals. He shared that youth suicide has increased by 87% in the past decade. The facts, fewer role models with strong morals, weak leaders, and pushed agendas. Mr. Rhine questioned the Board’s violation of due process in the unanimous approval of Mr. K’s contract.

 

Mr R agreed with the two men. He stated that the questions that were asked need to be answered by the board for those who spoke and the community. Mr. R said, “This hiring was a huge mistake by the board. It is time to consider the children, the school, and the program and do what can be done.”

Tonight we went to our other 3rd grader's musical and he had a special solo where he danced to "Pizza Daddy-O". I would share the video if I knew how.  Tomorrow night we go to a random bar almost 2 hours away to hear my oldest grandson's band who is the opener for the opener.  

I saved this from Facebook but then saw some posts from the cancer thrift shop. So I don't see any decluttering happening soon.  And I will pass this shop on my way home from my doctor's appointment. 

Do you see that little basket of dolls on the bottom shelf?

 And the bowl under those eggs?

And this chandy?

Oh Lordy, the tea pot! 

Well, let's see what tomorrow will bring . . . 

Humpty Dumpty

I'll start with what has been my favorite recipe in the challenge contest. Mr. Merry will always go for the sandwiches. 

And I have a funny at the end. 

Oh, Miss Merry. Last night my friend Greg picked me up for a school board meeting at a small rural school in our county. I don't like to drive at night and I especially don't like to drive in the country at night. Greg (and my husband) both possess that power where they can spot deer in the fields. 

I knew the framework of why I was going and I knew I had to wear a red shirt (I am the only person in Ohio who doesn't own a red shirt, if you know, you know), but I did have a red corduroy jacket in the back of my closet. 

I wondered how this was all going to go, especially when the parking lot was filling fast as we arrived. We went inside and sat on the bottom row of the bleachers due to my clumsiness.  The bleachers were filled with a sea of red. A young woman walked over and hugged me and said she was happy and surprised to see me.  It was one of my former Sunday School students (I swear everyone between 20-50 in my county was either one of my Sunday School, 4-H or Girl Scout kids). She is now the parent of three teenagers at this school and is very active in all the schools activities as a volunteer.  She told me she was the pot-stirrer and filled me in on the actual details. 

The longtime choir teacher had retired in late 2023 and the board interviewed and hired a new music teacher. The students love him, he has revived the program, which even offers musical dinner theaters, and the choir won district honors last month and competed and placed in honors at the state last weekend.  

Meanwhile a group of residents affiliated with the "Lifewise" program did some investigating and found out he is gay and lives with his husband outside the county.  At the last school board meeting, they presented a petition opposing renewal of his one year contract based on lifestyle "choices". 

I was so happy (but not surprised because this is a community steeped in 4H and FFA) that the meeting was run strictly by Roberts Rules of Order, followed an agenda and allowed public participation at the end of the meeting by prior registration. They had invited their lawyer who read portions of the law concerning contact with the board members outside of the meeting concerning issues and also the process of public participation. The capacity audience was respectful and quiet during the meeting and while speakers from both sides presented statements. According to school board policy, the meeting was adjourned and the topic of renewal of a union employee will be done at the next meeting during a private executive session. And then we all drove home.  

And this is how things should be. Respectful, listening to each others views.  A "protest" of people sitting quietly in red shirts with sports teams and plaids silently attending the meeting. In huge numbers. I am horrible at guessing crowd sizes and the article isn't in the local paper yet, but I would say there were well over 100 red shirts and about 12 in favor of the petition. 

But the fun story is after the meeting. I will start before.  My male friend picked me up. We drove the the meeting. He brought me home in the dark.  And, because I am me and it was dark, I fell out of the car while exciting. Flat in the driveway. At least I landed on my knees instead of my face this time.  I almost hit a bush, but was able to use it to get back up. My friend was hysterically worried and felt so bad.  I staggered to the house and put on Neosporin and band aids. It was a classic Miss Merry episode. 

This morning I am wondering how many of my neighbors have ring cameras and saw me leaving with a strange man and coming home in the dark and falling out of a car. I will be the talk of the neighborhood! I am hoping I don't show up on one of those Facebook reels!!!!   

Tonight I am going to another meeting and my husband is leaving his recliner to go with me so he can try to keep me vertical.  

Recipe Challenge Recipes 2025

In response to the requests for the recipes, I am going to share our ground beef favorites.  My goddaughter's farm's website is wellsfarmsbeef.com  and you can get all the recipes from this year's challenge, as well as past years, from the recipe tab. 

You will notice how much better her photos are than mine. 

We tried the wraps just like this and also grilled them.  Both variations were delicious, fast and easy. 

I always have trouble with the height of my homemade burgers in a sandwich. I mixed the ground beef in a bowl and then rolled out out to about 1/2" or 3/4" between two sheets of waxed paper. I then cut it into square burgers to fit on the bread.  I am a little OCD when I get an idea in my head. I think the thinner burgers worked better in holding the sandwiches together.  

Last Week

Well, last weekend was quite the weekend and this has been quite the week. 

The Recipe Contest challenge had the choice of two recipes and for some reason I had defrosted two pounds of ground beef to feed two people.  Option 1 was Patty Melts. I have made Patty Melts before but this recipe involved a fancy way to brown the onions and a special homemade sauce which we really liked. It took longer than it usually takes me, but I think this is our new Patty Melt recipe! And again, we had leftovers for lunch the next day. 

Wednesday we dropped off the grandson at preschool and drove the truck to the garden center where a backhoe dropped enough soil in the back that I thought the truck might flip. I am hoping I wasn't asked to go on this trip to provide additional weight to the front of the vehicle. 

Here is the original Big Mac Wrap Dinner. 

I still had leftovers from the Big Mac Wraps so we had those for dinner - only this time I grilled them on the panini press.  They were even more delicious although they look pretty boring on the outside, LOL.  I am thinking I could make these ahead of time and refrigerate to grill later for a quick dinner on a busy evening. 

Thursday is my dress like an adult day.  Got up early, did hair and makeup. Wore dress slacks. I was unrecognizable.  My first meeting was the Homeless Task Force which is now meeting at our county health department. I looked for my phone to shut it off and couldn't find it. Went back to my car, traced my steps, searched my belongings. Have you seen the show Elspeth? I carry the same amount of bags. No phone. Yet, when I left two hours later, my Spotify on my phone hooked up to my vehicle. Somehow while exiting, I had flipped it over the seat and under the backseat where I had not thought to look for it.  I stopped home and grabbed some cold pizza and went to my afternoon shift in my charity office. 

And in our spare time we watched my silly husband's investments continue to tank. (I told him to sell in January)

I came home in time to make some quick sandwiches and we drove to the granddaughter's school for the spring recital "Toys".  I was very happy when the family next to me said, "Oh look, Legos" when my costumes came out on stage.  I was hoping people would recognize them. 

And there was a nice thank you to me in the program which was unexpected.  

And if you are wondering why the performance photo is so wonderful, here was my view during the play. 

Friday is normally field trip friday but we had an early phone call from my youngest son that his 9 year old who woke up with a fever and upset stomach, but was perfectly fine on arrival.  He joined grampa and his cousin in setting up what I am calling at this point our "victory garden". 

It was grampa's idea to purchase some small raised beds and I guess I am growing more than tomatoes and peppers this summer.   It was snowing a week ago and today our temperatures reached 77 degrees. But there is more snow in the forecast next week.  

Since the five year old was spending the night while his parents and sister went to the girls state basketball championship, we did go out for ice cream after dinner.  The ice cream shop is located in a tiny storefront and the people out the window are waiting for a turn to order. 

Luckily we got a bench in front of the building so we weren't eating ice cream in my vehicle. 

And the local team won the State Championship! 

Which brings us to today.  We were awakened early by 1/2" pieces of hail drumming on our roof and I was making breakfast for the 5 year old when he was stricken with a tummy bug.  Parents stayed overnight a few hours south of us so he won't be picked up for a while.  We had to skip his tennis lesson (thank goodness illness didn't strike there with his teen boy teachers).   I do have a roast in the crock pot so dinner is done, lol.  And SNL is a rerun so I have no excuse to stay up late.  Except I am reading two books (in different rooms so it doesn't count) and I can't be trusted to remember bedtime. 

And here is a random photo from last week. It's my 12 year old six foot tall grandson sitting with me at the Shrek performance. He goes to a different school with an earlier start time and plays tournament basketball and soccer all over the state in his spare time so we don't see him much anymore. 

Our new recipe challenge involves a fresh (not smoked) ham hock.  I think we tried a ham hock last year.  In my small town, grocery stores do not carry ham hocks. I tried some butchers and they were out.  And now it's round two.  None of the butchers has one listed in their online listings and I guess I might be able to special order but how much am I willing to pay for a meat we were not fond of last year.  I did google replacements which included a "picnic ham" so I guess if I can find a fresh picnic ham at a reasonable price somewhere, we might try that.  I really don't have time this week to run to a neighboring city with grocery stores to look for one.  

What is on my schedule?  Monday is my charity board meeting followed by a road trip to a rural school in my county's school board meeting.  It is a dicey situation where the school hired a music teacher a few years ago. He has led the choir to honor performances, is popular with students and is a quiet good guy who is not on any social media.  This school has a strong affiliation to the new trend of taking kids out of class for religious education and one of the leaders of that group discovered the teacher is gay. The teacher and his husband live outside this community and he commutes. When the group figured this out two years ago, they went to the superintendent and demanded he be fired. The superintendent told them that he cannot fire a teacher for being gay.  This has been simmering and it is my understanding that the group is coming to the public meeting to demand he be fired and make accusations. My friend "group" is not affiliated with the district and can't speak at the meeting, but we are able to attend a public meeting and we are all wearing a certain color shirt with no writing and sitting silently in the audience and joining a show of support to the teacher. 

Another group I belong to (my former postcard party club) rented a meeting room and invited our United States Representative to a townhall meeting in our town. We know he is in the area because he is sending photos of himself shaking hands with invited guests/campaign donors to local media after the fact. But he will not meet with constituents or answer phone calls.  He has not responded to our invitation but we are ready with a speaker who is a former Navy Seal and works with veterans to talk about changes in veteran benefits, a college professor to discuss changes in immigration,  a past president of our farm union to speak on changes in agriculture and a healthcare benefits professional to talk about changes in funding to major hospitals in our area.  So this seems like a long  townhall meeting, but with great speakers so I have no excuse to leave early. 

Wednesday I have the night off! Wooo. And hopefully time to do laundry during the day unless I have committed to something not on my calendar. 

Thursday is my all day shift at the charity followed by an hour drive to see my other third grade grandchild's spring concert. We will probably have peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the car on the way there. I am not making any costumes for this one. 

On Friday night my oldest grandson and his garage band are the opening act at a bar in a college town west of us about an hour and a half away.  Grampa was a little leery of going but we talked to one of my middle son who might go with us. His band is on stage at 6pm.  My son's girlfriend's daughter was going to this college to hear a different band last night and she was not leaving our town until 9pm.  We expect the only people there are 6pm will be the band's family members.  There are 2-3 other opening acts before the main band. We will be home in bed by then. 

And on Saturday I will be leaving in the morning with my youngest daughter and her daughter to go east to another college campus about 45 minutes away for a fancy lunch and a performance of the Sound of Music featuring one of her friend's daughters. 

My oldest daughter and her family are leaving for a week in England on Sunday.  

And I heard a rumor (and it's only a rumor) that the bathroom project might start on March 24.  Maybe.