Friday, August 29, 2008

Ahh! We Have Air Conditioning!

We got some grim news on Tuesday regarding our air conditioner. The condenser was out! At that point, we had three options. One was to rebuild the compressor, one was to replace the outside unit with a low end unit, or replace the entire system. To compound the issue, the technology is changing in 2010 as mandated by the federal government. If we replaced only the outside unit, the inside evap coil could go in 2011 and we'd have to cross our fingers that it was still available. We plan on staying in this house for quite some time. We opted to replace the entire system. I know I am wacky to show it off. But, it is a major investment. It looks wonderful, it is more energy efficient, and it is cooling the house - not to mention eliminating the humidity.

Look at the new unit compared to the old unit in the background. Our baby unit is still plugging away.

During the installation -



There is an art to how they install the systems. I was intrigued. Their work conditions are awful. They were in the attic all day and the high was in the low '90s.

We are thrilled it is done. We are sad that our slush fund is not as pudgy as it was. We've decided to put the serious car search on hold for a few months to save.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Think COOL Thoughts

Ugh! One A/C unit, the big unit, is out! We have all the fans going in the house. It is humid in the house.

We'll be sequestered in the cool rooms upstairs. Can we all sleep in Pumpkin's room?

We are thinking cool positive thoughts. The A/C man comes tomorrow afternoon to tell us what the damage is and how much the repair will be. Our units are on the verge of the old classification.

Dinner will be easy tonight as I won't be heating up the house:))

Enjoy your A/C for us!!!

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Crafting of the LEGO sort

Peanut loves Legos. For his birthday back in June, he got some Target gift cards. He had most of the legos that were out at that time. We did lots of talking and finally convinced him to save the cards for later. He's been watching the lego website and saw the Coast Guard set that came out. Of course, he wanted to order one right away. This little boy wants something ALL the time. We were crossing our fingers that the Coast Guard legos would make it to Target. Guess what? They did. Peanut logged on to Target and saw the legos were now in stores. There was no stopping him after soccer practice on Sunday. He begged the Big Guy to beeline it to the store.

Look at his newest creation.

The lego guy even has a removable life jacket. They think of everything.

As you might imagine, Peanut is already negotiating how to get another one in the Coast Guard set. Gotta love it!

Monday, August 18, 2008

Saturday Night

We changed it up a bit on Saturday night. We headed to mass at 4:30pm with plans to go to dinner afterwards. So, we selected a church closer to the restaurant. The church is older and it reminded me of my church days growing up. I got a wild hair and actually donned a skirt! I know it is out there. I have lots of skirts in the closet but seem to migrate to the pants or capris. I wanted to capture the moment as it may be a long time before I put on another. The angle is strange but you get the picture.

We went to a Thai restaurant in Midtown. It was great to branch out to a different cuisine. The boys had been to one a long time ago. We enjoyed our meals rotating out plates for all to taste. We got there just before the crowds hit. We were lucky as we did not have a reservation. I left there thinking I am going to have to try making pad thai at home. We all like our peanuts and that dish is yummy.

We got home to watch more Olympics. Pumpkin was shaking when Michael Phelps got up to swim the relay. He wasn't even sure he could watch. We were all excited for him. It is amazing what Mr. Phelps accomplished!! I am sure there will be some new swimmers on the pool deck when Pumpkin heads to practice today:))

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Peace, Love, and a Cure across the miles


I finished it! I stitched this piece for a friend's mom battling breast cancer. I decided to just leave it as it is sliding it into a simple paper frame. She should receive it in the mail any day now!

Prayers to all those battling cancer in all its forms!

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Crowder Peas and School Crate

I love the trips to the farmer's market. It challenges us to try something new and get creative with the recipes. We found out the foot long beans are an Asian style bean. Little did I know we were having them in honor of our friends that just relocated to Hong Kong! I sliced the beans into one inch pieces and sauteed them in some olive oil. The Big Guy and I enjoyed them. The boys even tried them. To that sister of mine that loves green beans, give them a try if you can find them.

I picked up some fresh Crowder Peas at the market this weekend. I settled on this recipe for a Hobo dinner. I cooked the peas in boiling water for 35 minutes and added them to the dish. The dish has lots of veggies and is very simple. The boys thought it was okay. One was concerned about the baked sliced potatoes. He had not eaten them like that. Who is depriving these boys? One ate the dish with ketchup, one with cheese and one with seasoned salt. I am going to reheat some for lunch and sprinkle some Tabasco on top.

Peanut needed to bring in a cube crate as a school supply. They store their workbooks and other things in it. I went shopping in my attic digging out a crate that I think I used in college. Peanut thought it was great. A few Clorox wipes gave it a new shine and I added our name to the side. The challenge with this is that we ride our bikes to school. It took me about a minute to decide to hook a bungie cord on the crate. I started the ride with the cord over my shoulder. It kept slipping off. So, I tightened up the cord and held it in my hand. It worked out great. I know I impressed Peanut with my ingenuity:))

Monday, August 11, 2008

Room 206, Good Omen?

Today marked the beginning of the new school year.

Pumpkin started 8th grade. I can't believe how quickly the first two middle school years flew by. He was excited to see his friends, find out who is in his home room, and learn his new schedule. His LA teacher had test dates on her blog - already!

We've come a long way. He crammed all his supplies in his backpack and headed to school on the bus. I can't wait to find out where the 8th graders get to sit on the bus!

Peanut would have nothing to do with the bus. We started our biking thing again. He was nervous and excited at the same time. It looks like there are a good group of kids in his class. I'd love to be a fly on the wall!


Both boys start their school day in room 206 - same number, different schools. It must mean good things will happen this year!!! I hope their brains are like sponges and they soak up all the knowledge to be had from room 206 and beyond!

Saturday, August 9, 2008

More Goings On Here

I participated in my first ever fabric swap organized by See Katie Sew. I am not the quilt person, but liked the challenge of having a bunch of squares to do something with. Here are the swap details. I had a great time getting my squares ready for the swap. It was a great way to use up random fabric here in the house. I've been stopping in at Katie's blog. Her husband's cancer has come back. He needs a bone marrow transplant. Because he is adopted, family members are not a suitable match. Anyone interested in signing up for the bone marrow bank, see Katie's blog.

You can see the little note I added to each package. I apologize for this picture. I tried to rotate it and every time I uploaded it it went back to this sideways position! I don't have time to play with it anymore.

As a last wahoo to summer, we took the boys to ride go karts, to ride bumper boats and to play putt putt. They loved the go karts. I found Peanut researching gokarts on the Mac this morning. He wants to buy one or make one. What have we done? They finished the evening playing some games and each came home with a whoopee cushion. You can only imagine the sounds coming from this house. Did I mention that all the mosquito bugs bit me? It was worth it. The boys had a blast.


Last night, Pumpkin headed to a friend's for sleep over. Peanut had soccer practice and I planned an all American meal in honor of the Olympic opening ceremonies. I made baked beans using a Cooking Light recipe. They tasted much better than they look. Could it be that they held in the oven waiting for soccer to end?

Where did the table go?

We broke all the rules and moved the table in to the family room right in front of the TV. I know the color is missing from the plate. We snacked on some green and orange before dinner. It was fun and the ceremony was amazing. The technology was incredible. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but could not help to wonder what the impact this enormous production had on the environment.

Lastly, before this becomes the longest post ever, we headed to the Memphis Farmer's Market this morning. It is about 30 minutes away and doesn't make the most sense to truck all the way down there.

Look at all the goodies we came home with. These are fresh sweet peas. What am I going to make?

The basil aroma filled the car. The sweet pea watermelons are perfect for Peanut. He'll probably eat one in a sitting. The breads will spice up our sandwiches at lunch time.

Look at these foot long beans. I could not pass them up. You are supposed to crack them or cut them up to eat them. I might just boil them whole and swirl them like a snake on a plate.

I am excited to look for recipes and come up with some fresh dishes. Thank goodness the internet makes it so easy. Before we left the market, I signed up for a half share in the community supports agriculture. Starting in September, I will pick up fresh veggies once a week. I am sure that will require more recipe experimentation.

Happy weekend to all! I'm off the Mac and on to all the other things on my list.

Friday, August 8, 2008

Random Items

We are winding up our last days of summer. The boys start school on Monday. They should find out who their teachers are today. Pumpkin will receive a phone call or an email. He'll only learn his home room teacher and the teachers on his team. He'll have to ask around to find out who else might be on his team. Peanut's teacher will be posted on the school doors at 5pm this evening. I like how they strategically place it after all the teachers should be on their way home. I am excited to see who they get.

The last two weeks have been pretty easy. I think I want them to be bored so they appreciate school. Ha! Pumpkin had a break from swim practice. We keep joking that he is going to sink when he goes to the pool on Monday. Peanut had soccer practice in the evenings, but enjoyed his days of leisure. The extreme heat broke and they actually got to play outside. We had lots of rain yesterday. It has been such a long time I could not find my umbrella.

I started The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Folliett. My sister gave me the book for Christmas. I was intimidated by it. As you can see it will require a big chunk of time. I am a quarter of the way through and am thoroughly enjoying it. I know the story web is just developing and am curious to see how it all comes to resolution.


I have quite a bit more pages to get through. The scary thing for my family is that I can feel that magnetic force pulling me to find out what happens. I hope it doesn't affect our weekend plans.

The boys have helped a bit more in the kitchen. They are pretty good dish doers and dishwasher unloaders. While they were cleaning up one day I noticed a half bag of chocolate chips and a half bag of butterscotch chips. I went to work on cookies. It was fun to modify the recipe at my fingertips. They turned out good but the butterscotch chips are not a favorite.

I bought two containers of blackberries this weekend. They must have been older. They did not hold their shape. I made a blackberry, strawberry and blueberry cobbler with some and made blackberry muffins this morning. These are too fancy for the boys. I will have to wait for the Big Guy to get home for the evaluation. I think they will be great with our yogurt for breakfast. I have some bananas thawing in the frig and need to get busy on banana bread.

My friend's mother is battling breast cancer. This is a reoccurrence. She had a mastectomy in June and is undergoing chemo. I saw this pattern at the stitch store. My initial idea was to make a towel but couldn't find the right size ready made. So, I am stitching it on paper. I think it will be a large book mark or a magnet. Any ideas? It is really just the thought that counts. I don't expect her to display it on her mantle. I also finished a birth sampler for my niece. I forgot to take a picture before I sent it to the frame shop. It should be done soon. I will post a picture before I send it away. Lastly, I am making progress on my sock mate - slowly but surely. The funny thing is I have so many other projects I want to do to!

In between, the boys and I have been test driving cars. My first choice would be a Mini Clubman. There is such a demand that it would have to be ordered. I just hate the thought of having a car made. There are so many already in this world. We've started watching the classified. I would be happy with a MINI too. Again, I'd like to go the preowned route. We baby steps of progress in the car search. Fortunately, my Volvo just keeps on running.

Monday, August 4, 2008

Michigan Rummy, Gin Rummy, Rummy 500, Rummy - You Name IT!

With the excessive heat this weekend, we hunkered down in the house or so it seemed. All the shades are pulled and the air conditioner chews up the electricity to keep the house cool. I tend to equate these days of summer with the blizzard days back in Pennsylvania. We decided blizzards are better. You get to go out in the snow and play:)

It was tax free weekend here in TN for school supplies and clothing. We took advantage of that on Saturday getting the boys supplies. I ended up ordering a few shorts online as they were sold out in the stores. We also got them new gym shoes. They are ready for the big day next Monday!

Anyway, I digress from the title of the post. In an effort to pull away from the TV, we have been playing cards at night. I love cards and forgot how much fun it can be. It is nice that Peanut is ten and can handle most of the games. He gets about 75% of the strategy in some of the harder games. We were on a Rummy roll. We tried them all out. Every so often we had to search the internet to remember the scoring or how many cards each play was dealt. We attempted Hearts. That will take a bit more practice for the boys to pick up the strategy. I am just hoping that we can pull the cards out even when school gets back in session.

Friday, August 1, 2008

Ride with Pumpkin

I could not get myself out of bed early this morning. So, I decided to drag Pumpkin out of bed. Gotta love it!

I took Peanut to soccer camp, came home and woke up Pumpkin. At first he wasn't too happy with me. I can see those teenage years of sleep ahead of us! I convinced him to get up and go on a bike ride with me. This is the first time just the two of us have ridden together. I told him he needed to stay with me. All that swimming keeps him in wonderful shape.

At the start of the ride, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to keep up with him. I have decided it takes me a few miles to warm up when I start riding. We did just fine. He was a trooper. It got a bit hot, but there was a nice breeze - depending on which way you were riding. Towards the end, Pumpkin was complaining of starving. He did not eat before we left. He got food right when he walked in the door. It was a nice ride. I felt like it was quality time with him. I hope he did too!

I had visions of getting a great picture of both of our shadows. What was I thinking? I only had my cell phone and had to take the picture on the fly. We were heading up one of the last hills.