I don't have any fast food within 30 minutes of me, and that is McDonalds. There is also a Culvers's in that town which is great, but lord it is expensive.
The only thing within 10 miles is a Casey's, and while I do like their pizza - it gets old fast. I only order in every couple months or so.
We don't eat much fast food, just because there isn't any around! LOL
I agree with sideways and nightnurse that school just starts too early for high school kids in most places.
I agree with teenagers needing more sleep, but I found it amazing that he could get up and get going quite early for things he really wanted to do. He could get to early morning sports practices that started at 6 am on time. He most definetly could get up before dawn to go fishing or go to the lake. No problem what so ever on that stuff... so, I finally quit giving him the slack on 'teenage sleep'. I know a lot of if was late night on the phone texting, etc.
What is funny now that he is an adult - he hardly looks at his phone. Distains all social media. Doesn't take his phone with him into his work. It's like a switch flipped, and it was with all my kids. They almost seem to hate the phones and how tied everyone is to them. They have little to no social media, they do text me and we have a group snap chat - but they really only look at that during the evening hours.
My husband is religious about his tools. They are not to be trifled with. I can use them, but they have to go back into the tool box(es) in the exact same spot. He has EXPENSIVE tools. Snap On, etc. He has big money invested in his tools.
My tools, at home are not the cheapest, but they aren't the quality of his. But I make my own kit. I find the pre-made kits are utter garbage. I have a couple decent screwdrivers in flat/phillips in medium sizes. I have a small kit of tiny ones that are for eyeglasses/small tiny things. I have a cordless drill with a package of bits/drivers. A decent hammer, good measuring tape and some electrical tape and nails, etc, in a small tool bag. I have a heavy duty scissors in it too, and a utility knife. I have some allen wrenches on a pocket knife kind of tool. They all fold out.
If the repair needs more - DH goes and gets his tools. I do have a socket set with a driver hung up in the basement, that comes in handy once in a while - but DH has DRAWERS of sockets! LOL standard/metric - all of them. Breaker bars, etc. I leave that stuff up to him.
My high school senior can’t get himself to school on time and since I know nothing my tips for setting two alarms, going to bed early, etc fall on deaf ears. Unfortunately for him his teachers so far have excused his behavior because he’s a good student otherwise.
Oh, memories. My girls were always on time or early. My son - not so much. I had the hardest time getting him up and going. It was SO frustrating to me. I finally sat him down and talked to him. I said, I know you're tired and some of that is when you choose to go to sleep. His phone was a major part of that, but at the age he was - I wasn't going to take it away. He HAD to learn to take control of his choices.
I told him I would no longer wake him up (unless he specifically asked me to) and the consequences of his lateness were on his own, and NO blame would drift my way.
He could sleep through a firetruck blasting beside his bed, I swear. But one morning he didn't get up. I didn't wake him up. Finally the school called me and I said - just a second... I went in to his room, woke him and handed him the phone. He had to talk to the school secretary. He was so embarrassed (like I had been, maybe, about his lateness). That didn't change things 100% - but making HIM responsible for his actions was important. I knew he was college bound and no one was going to be getting him out of bed.
When he planned his college schedule, I said - keep in mine how you can't pry your butt out of bed when making your schedule.
He still had some episodes - but they were on him. He had to deal with the fallout. It changed his behavior.
I am happy to say - he is a responsible adult who can get himself up and to work on time or early!
I will also admit I contributed to his behavior. I spent way to long getting him up and getting him moving. Having everything ready for him so he could go fast once he got up. I stopped all that. I said you HAVE to be responsible for yourself, or your going to end up a failure and I am not going to be responsible for that. Lord! I do NOT miss those days. I feel for you!
I am getting ready to make this for our dinner today. Dinner is at noon at our house, and is the big/main meal of the day.
It is something I used to make on the regular, when my kids were home and I made bigger meals. I will portion this up and send some with my daughter so she has an easy meal in the fridge. I have a nice head of cabbage that needs to get used up. Was thinking Bierocks, but this casserole with be so much easier.
Not sure what I will make with it. I usually make mashed potatoes, but I am out of potatoes! Since this has rice in it, I might just call it good with the casserole and maybe a small can of green beans.
*edited to add - I use a whole pound of ground beef in this.
I unsubscribe to all emails when I start getting these.
I know I sign up for a ton of sites, to get discounts, or to be able to go back to my cart, especially around Christmas time. I shop a lot from my truck during harvest. Then I spend January and February unsubscribing! LOL
iowgirl have you seen the big park in Tulsa.. The Gathering Place.. that place is awesome! Not an amusement park, but a regular park on steroids. lol
No..I have been back down to Oklahoma in quite a few years. Last time I went was to Alabaster Caverns! LOL That was a fun favorite place to visit when I was a kid. Took my kids and it didn't seem quite as fabulous as I remembered it, but it was still very cool! I think I had assembled it together with other caves I have visited into something more fantastic in my imagination. Would still recommend a visit to it though!
Interesting in earthquake territory! Oh wait, not sure that is correct. Although it was my first thought.
Yes, there are earthquakes in Oklahoma. And wind.
There is also a new amusement park breaking ground this year near Vinta, OK. Ever heard of Vinita? Probably not, unless you live in the vicinity. Supposedly a 2 billion dollar park to be the size of Magic Kingdom. There are no major airports anywhere close to this place. Current temp there this morning is 38º. There is supposed to be a large indoor water park, but those are just gross to me! I don't see anyway a place like that could make a go of it. From lack of airport to lack of employees. It's baffling.
Looking back to when my kids were in school, I'd have a hard time picking any teacher that I would feel the least bit comfortable carrying a gun in school. Any that I felt would be level-headed enough to do it, I know for a fact could probably not shoot a person if it came down to it. And the ones that were always hot to say they wanted to be armed in the school, where the absolute last person I would trust with a firearm.
I have plenty of guns at my disposal. I do not carry. Hy husband does not carry. If someone came in my house, I doubt I could fire upon them, and even if I could - I would have to get to, and unlock two safes to get a gun and the ammo.
Trust me - the guy that really REALLY wants to be armed to protect you, and talks about it a lot, is not the guy you want armed to protect you. The guy (and I am using guy in a gender neutral term) that you would never guess is armed and never talks about being armed, or guns in general, is the guy you want protecting you.
I would insert silly jokes into phrases, like "Let's make like a tree and leaf" (when leaving somewhere). I have lots of them, not just that one
My kids would roll their eyes at that. But I just love it when I started hearing them say the same things when they were with their friends. HA! Loved it!
I really liked Charles Kuralt fan and was concerned about who they would find to replace him on Sunday Morning. It took all of one episode for me to be very happy with his replacement. Charles Osgood was the perfect host for that show.
He was so comforting and was the perfect host for that show.
What do you think of Jane Pauley? I used to religiously watch that show every Sunday morning, while I prepared Sunday brunch. My TV viewing has changed greatly and I seldom tune in anymore. I put it on my YouTube TV list to record, but I very seldom bring it up to watch. Not sure if Jane Pauley is the reason, or just how I don't care to watch any TV anymore is more the issue. I don't dislike here, but I don't love her either.
We meet with the insurance adjusters (contents and structural) tomorrow, and I'm curious how we compare to what they've seen already and about how much time is reasonable to expect to rebuild. Our rental has been booked for three months based on photos submitted and I can't imagine that's nearly enough time.
My heart goes out to you! You have a terrific attitude towards it, but I can only imagine how stressful this must be!
My daughter had a tree go into their roof and poke into the house from a storm, but the damage was no where near what you are experiencing!
you can get some inexpensive silver polish and dips to keep jewelry sparkling.
I use silver plate silverware everyday for our meals, so I keep this stuff on hand to keep it looking nice.
The silver dip will remove all tarnish in seconds, but it doesn't make it shine. So I keep a silver cloth on hand to polish it a bit. When you really want to make it look nice, get some silver polish cream and polish good. It only takes a small dab!
I watched a possum meander up my lane yesterday. They are sure not the prettiest creature out there. I was surprised to see it, but it really showed up against the white snow that is covering everything.
I would never in a million years kill a cat for acting "weird" just to get it tested for rabies, unless it was uncharacteristically aggressive and posed an actual danger. The country way of just shootin' varmints isn't for me.
It was aggressive. It had been handled by young children in the days previous. Never in a million years would I put a cat's life ahead of my children and their friends. Our friends had to put down their horse, and it was positive for rabies, so there were many people who had to get the series of shots that had been in direct contact with that animal. Rabies is fatal. Letting an animal go, that you suspect is rabid, is not a good thing. They will die a horrible death, not to mention spreading it further.
Getting rabies shots is no picnic. If you can for sure rule out the need, that should be done. It is not always possible to catch or find the animal in question. But if you can, I don't understand at all why you would not have it tested. Post Exposure vaccine should be administered as soon as possible, and not all hospitals have it, so it would need to be shipped in quickly. It can run several thousand dollars for the series of shots, which you take over a 2 week period. I know in the past, the shots were terrible and painful, but now they are much less so.
We have seen more fox in the last couple years, and they have been just magnificent. The fox we have seen in the past have been so mangey. Pitiful to see. But lately, they are stunning. So fun to watch the young kits play! Also, no bunnies eating my garden now that I have fox on my place! Win-Win!
That is a big fear of mine. The only benefit of the Neighbor app for me is it get info on coyote sightings.
I have so many coyotes. It's fairly rare to have them in my yard, but I hear them singing at night and there are A LOT! When I used to have a dog here at my house, it would get so riled up if the coyotes came to close to her yard, She was an outdoor dog - but don't have a cow, she had her own door to our shop that was her castle. She kept my farm yard free of bunnies, coons and all other critters, except kitties. She loved kitties.
You can only test for rabies by killing the animal. He got the necessary shots.
Why would you not put the coyote down? I would 100% put it down and drive it to Ames that minutes, over getting the shots.
We have only had to have one animal tested for rabies. It was a farm cat. My husband called me one day and asked what was up with "that cat". For him to react to an animal like that was notable. So we called our vets and they said to euthanize it without damaging the head, bag it, and get it to Ames ASAP. They had the results for us the next morning. Not rabies. Not sure what was wrong with it, but it was something with the brain. They didn't test any further. But our kids and their friends always played with the kitties, so we were not taking any chances. Most of our farm cats now get a rabies shot when the vets are out. Whatever we can catch gets a vaccine. We were more diligent on that when our kids were younger and handled every old mangy cat that walked by.
We are getting a new washer/dryer set (first time having a matching pair) and I'm wondering if it is worth the upgrade to get more features.
What upgrade features do you have and use all the time?
If it matters we are looking at LG.
I would avoid anything that has a lot of features and does not have an agitator. I learned that the hard way.
I now have a Speed Queen commerical washing machine. It has no bells and whistles. It does not play me a tune! LOL. That it does is get my laundry clean. Something my fancy LG without an agitator did NOT.
I have really dirty laundry that requires HOT water. My LG would not allow me to use straight hot water. It was a complete battle to get it to fill with hot water. Clothes came out DIRTY! I could see actual dirt/hay still on the clothes. I know I have way dirtier laundry that the average person - but that means nothing that is washed in those types of machines is really clean, IMO.
I would not trady my Speed Queen for any other washer.
I think the difference in taste is not just down to the difference in butter fat levels, but also to what dairy herds are fed. Free range animals that are out on rich pasture will produce a better flavoured product than barn raised, hay fed animals.
Most dairy cows are fed rations at some point in the year. The climate does not offer year round grazing in most areas, including Ireland. Even in temperate climates like California, the pasture still has to have time to recover, and winter season does not offer as much growth. It takes a huge amount of land/pasture to sustain diary cattle on 100% pasture. If you read the KerryGold info, they do not graze their dairy cattle year round. They very much emphasize pasture/grass fed, but they do note that seasonally they are fed stored crops, which would be dry hay and silage. But that is barely mentioned. I also would not call Dairy cattle free range. When they are on pasture, they are often rotationally grazed. This is a very intensely managed way to graze pastures, without over-grazing. They are in paddocks that are moved frequently, to allow for regrowth. Even with that, it takes a massive amount of land for this to happen. Ireland is not going to support a world wide butter supply on pasture only.
KerryGold is 82% butterfat (at least what we have available in the US) Land O Lakes offers a European style butter that is also 82% butterfat and is very good. Vermont Creamery offers an 86% butterfat, but it is not available in my more rural Midwest area.
I do agree that KerryGold is excellent butter! But I choose to support American farmers and buy Land O Lakes. I have heard that KerryGold may be coming to Wisconsin at some point though.
I wish that AE Dairy (Anderson Erickson) offered butter. They are an Iowa Dairy, getting milk from diary's within hours of their location. They have the absolute BEST chocolate milk, dips (AE Party Dip!) and cottage cheese. I only buy AE milk to drink.
Iowa has a lot of dairy farms. A little north of me, dairy is huge. The Blue Bunny ice cream plant is in Lemars. They make more ice cream (by a single company) than any other city in the world.
OP, I’m so glad you’re all ok and sorry you’re going through this.
Sadly, there are many similar stories to the OP’s going on in Oregon right now. (I don’t know if she’s in OR or not.) While the TikTok could be hers, her story isn’t unique right now, so I wouldn’t jump to conclusions.
Not jumping to conclusions, could be her or not. It was just weird it was almost word for word from her story posted. Just thought I would ask. That's all.
Agree, not jumping to conclusions at all. I watched the story and just immediately wondered if it was the me. Just shocking damage. Oh the force of Mother Nature!
The handle on the mini would be nice, but also a pain. LOL 6 of one, half a dozen of the other.
I would absolutely get a beater with the silicone edge though. That comes with the mini, but you can buy one for the Classic from KA, or cheaper on Amazon. When I still had a KA mixer, that silicone edge beater was THE best thing that ever came along!
My husband wants to leave a door open/unlocked so the painter(s) can have access to our bathroom.
No way. I would be apprehensive about them coming in to use the bathroom when I was there! They should not have any issue finding a way to use a restroom a couple times a day. They can go get a pop/snack at a convenience store and use that.
I would have no issue with them working on Sunday though. A lot of people I know that paint or do carpentry, have more than one job. So weekends are when they get a lot of their side hustle done. Or some are just that busy. Working on Sunday is a very normal thing for me.
but he had also threw in some junk from his garage that had an aerosol can of paint in it ( WTF!!!).
When you mentioned BOOM - I knew it was an aerosol can. I don't know what it is with men and things that go BOOM, but they love it. I used to exclusively burn my trash, and always sorted out the aerosol cans, so I wouldn't get a boom. One day I found my husband and young son tossing them in the fire to get them to explode (they were safely within something so it wouldn't hit them). I was like WTF are you doing!! And they just laughed! They also loved Tannerite and making other things go boom. At least they were safe with it.
You were right to call it in. He was using no sense at all with the burning.
I so seldom burn now. I usually have some yard waste in the spring and wait for favorable rains and wind direction. Once the crops turn in the fields around me, I will not burn anything. Stalks now, and we have grazed them and the cattle are off them, but it still terrifies me to burn!
My son caucused when he was a student at Iowa - he described it as "people in all the corners of the room yelling at each other, and then we (Bernie folks) stole pizza from the Warren table."
Ah, to be 20 again, but yeah, it's an informal process and always struck me as unusual, but what do I know?
I think the Democratic Caucuses had a much younger base. But I think the Democratic party leadership in Iowa is the shambles. But most of the politics in Iowa could be classified as that.
Our governor concerns me greatly. She is dismantling the public school system, and I don't know if it can recover after 4 more years of her, but the democrats can't seem to put forth a candidate that has a remote chance of winning. The State of Iowa does much better fiscally with Republican leadership. The democratic party about took us down financially very quickly. But since Trump the republican party seems to be hell bent on ending public school and any public assistance here. I just don't get what they are thinking sometimes. The private school vouchers brought me out of my "I don't talk politics in social settings" belief. What some young people believe now just stuns me. I am not party aligned, I am fiscally conservative, but socially liberal - but I don't lean hard either way.
This is the ballot tally from a smaller population county in my area. Yes - the math doesn't math on it, but that was explained by an undecided vote that wasn't reflected on the tally sheet.