What I Did On My Summer Vacation

When you were a kid returning to school each September, was one of your first assignments to write a composition detailing what you did on your summer vacation?

I remember those early autumn days… sitting in a slightly too-warm classroom, when summer refused to end simply because school was in session again.

There we’d sit – all spiffy in our first-day-of-school outfits. Most of them involved a sweater (think sweating!) or possibly some corduroy – not the coolest of fabrics. Actually, it wasn’t cool in any sense of the word, but I won’t get into the angst of peer pressure, at this juncture. 😉

While we sweltered, we had to wrack our brains for a scintillating summation of the preceding couple of months. Our essays would be read aloud eventually, which of course added even more pressure.

Little did we know then that these annoyances would look pretty unimportant in hindsight. Funny how the lens of experience allows one to remember – no cherish! – all of the little details of our youth . . . the kindness of a particular teacher, the sharing of a snack with the student who sat beside you, new notebooks, freshly sharpened pencils with still unused erasers, the freedom to play in the crisp fall air after school was out for the day. All these things and so much more . . .

We’ve had a taste of fall weather here, lately . . .

It always takes me back . . . 😀

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Will you share your autumn memories?

Hugs,

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There’s No Place Like Home

Greetings Kids!
We’ve just returned from a little trip to celebrate our 40th anniversary. We traveled to the beautiful coast of Maine and then to the glorious mountains of Vermont.

Our plans had been in jeopardy at the last minute, though! You see; Hurricane Irene was bearing down on our area the day before we were to leave. We suddenly found ourselves packing for a vacation and battening down the hatches to weather the storm, all at the same time! We worried about how we’d deal with the food in the fridge if we lost power (We did lose it!). We wondered what to do if the electricity was not back on before we left! Should we leave the food in the fridge and pray the power would come back soon enough so it wouldn’t spoil? Or should we just dump all of the food as a guarantee we wouldn’t return to a mess after our trip? Ay-yi-yi.

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Fortunately, everything settled down just in time for us to go as planned. Our getaway was wonderful. The weather was sunny all through the week and the temperatures were around 80 degrees – perfect. I’ll post some pretty pictures and talk a little about our escapades in the coming days . . .

But for now, I thought it would be fun to get your take on travel, so let’s have a weekly question, ok? 🙂

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I‘ve always felt that no matter how nice a vacation is, no matter how much fun you had, or how beautiful the places you visited . . . there’s no place like home!

That first night back in your own home, in your own bed, is pure bliss – plain and simple.

I’m curious how you feel about it!

Hugs,

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Still Windy After All These Years

As I prepare this post, it’s Saturday afternoon and we are awaiting Hurricane Irene, which is on track to hit here tomorrow.

We may lose power and, if so, it could be several days before it’s restored.

Funny how things go in cycles, or circles, or to be more trite – how history repeats itself. Hurricane Irene will arrive tomorrow – our 40th Wedding Anniversary.

Amazingly, there was a heavy storm on the day we married, too (our wedding story here). We had no clue at the rehearsal dinner the night before that we’d awake to gale force winds. Of course, the technology was not as advanced then – no doppler radar, no computer models for storm tracking, no frantic weathermen updating us hourly.

Tomorrow…. when the storm arrives, it will surely seem familiar. We’ll be reminded of that day we promised to stay together through thick and thin, sunshine and storms! We’ll spend our 40th experiencing yet another adventure together.

We’ve stocked up on batteries, extra water, and non-perishable food. Oh, and one additional item. Champagne. It is an anniversary. 😉

Hugs,

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P.S. Thank you so much for the birthday wishes and also for your comments for Sir Beads! It was a real treat for me to have a “guest” writer. (Hope he’ll do it again some day!)

And Happy Anniversary to Carol (belated), and to Kelly and to Clenna, who also celebrate this week!

Crystal’s Day Off


Crystal deserves a day off!

It’s her birthday this week, so today’s post is penned by yours truly, Sir Beads.

Given the fact that Crystal and I were married within a year after we met, and next week is our 40th Wedding Anniversary, this is the 41st Crystal’s Birthday that we have celebrated together. Where does the time go?

I’m sure that some of those birthdays did not involve having a day off from anything. (Sorry, Honey.) But then sometimes I, or the kids and I, would make a meal or pick a chore or two off the list that we wouldn’t normally do. I really hope those efforts made her day a little more fun and enjoyable in those years.

Now that I’m retired and home a lot more of the time, I’m realizing that the list of chores for a wife and homemaker (not to mention businesswoman and blogger) is much longer and more time-consuming than I figured!


Note to Crystal:

Darling, count me in to help out where I can.
And Happy Birthday!
Love,
Sir Beads

Summer Recipe

Clenna sent us another great recipe! 😀

She writes:
“This recipe sounds fun with the kiddies this summer, or at an adult party – lots of laughs.



Ice Cream in a Zip-loc

(recipe will make one dish of ice cream)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon sugar
4 cups crushed ice
4 tablespoons salt
2 quart size Zip-loc bags
1 gallon size Zip-loc freezer bag
a hand towel or gloves to keep fingers from freezing as well!

Directions:
Mix the milk, vanilla and sugar together in one of the quart size bags. Seal tightly, allowing as little air to remain in the bag as possible (too much air left inside may force the bag open during shaking)
Place this bag inside the other quart size bag, again leaving as little air inside as possible and sealing well. By double-bagging, the risk of salt and ice leaking into the ice cream is minimized.

Next, put the two bags inside the gallon size bag and fill the bag with ice, then sprinkle salt on top. Again let all the air escape and seal the bag.
Wrap the bag in the towel or put your gloves on, and Shake, Shake, Shake! and massage the bag, making sure the ice surrounds the cream mixture.
Five to eight minutes is adequate time for the mixture to freeze into ice cream.

Tips:
Freezer bags work best because they are thicker and less likely to develop small holes, allowing the bags to leak. You can get away with using regular Zip-loc bags for the smaller quart sizes, because you are double-bagging. Especially if you plan to do this indoors, I strongly recommend using the gallon size freezer bags. (Recipe found on Sisterly Savings)

Thank you, Clenna! 🙂

If you have a recipe, a newspaper article, a money-saving tip, or any other bit of info you’d like to share with all of us – send it in!

Hugs,

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