Green Tip of the Day

Pipe insulation tubes will help prevent frozen pipes in winter. And properly installed, they will hold a hot-water pipe's heat for up to an hour after the tap was last used, thus stretching your energy dollar and saving water.

Tuesday Update

Yesterday was not fun. A busy Monday, first day back after vacation and two people were out. Today will be just as bad, I am told we will be down three people from the phones.

Not much else happened yesterday. I got home around 6 (worked late). Ate supper, baked cookies and did dishes. In between I tried to get as much walking in as you can do in the house. I ended the day with 9271 steps. Not quite the 10000 that is my goal for each day. I will try harder today.

Happy school picture day Thomas and Diedre!

Green Tip of the Day

Install a programmable thermostat that lets you automatically lower the temperature when no one is home or when the family is asleep. The Energy Star people say this device can save a family budget up to $150 a year.

Monday Update

Back to work after a week of vacation. I hope it is so busy that the week goes by quickly.

Yesterday was a pretty relaxed day for Soup Sunday. I got up early, checked the garden and waited for John and Elaine to come over to pick up tomatoes to take to Minnesota. John finally showed up around 10. I guess they must have been a bit hung over. He said Elaine was still at Curt's helping to clean up after the party.

After John left I went on my morning walk. I needed to pick up a few things at the store, so I told Doug I would stop somewhere while on my walk. I wasn't sure where I was going to walk to. I had some frustrations to walk off, so I decided to walk down 5th Ave. At first I thought I would just walk to Hy Vee Drug. But the closer I got, I thought I've come this far, I may as well go to Hy Vee. It was a long walk, but not bad. It took an hour and a half. There was actually a nice cool breeze which helped. I could not have done it had it been hot and humid. My final walk count for yesterday was 13566.

When I got home I made chocolate chip cookies. One was a large round bar type cookie, which I decorated for Justin and Jamie's birthdays. I also made two cheese balls, one was vegetable and one was vegetable with bacon.

The soups were very good; chicken noodle and white chili. At first it did not look like anyone would show up, although we knew Jacob was coming. We were not sure when he got off work. He showed up around 5. Then Johnny showed up and stayed long enough to have both soups. Wanda and Mark also showed up. They had been in State Center. They took Amber her couch this weekend. It ended up being a good evening with a little political talk and lots of laughs.

Old Wives Tales

Have you heard about the bar of soap in your bed to prevent leg cramps? John and Elaine have and they believe it, we have proof. This is what we found in Chloe's bed after they left.

Green Tip of the Day

If it's clear that a train or other barrier will block your vehicle for more than 30 seconds, turn off the engine. An idling vehicle burns more fuel than a simple restart. And you won't be polluting when the engine is off.

Sunday Update

Yesterday was a mostly fun day. In the AM I watched the Swamp Fox Parade. Doug came out and watched the last 10 minutes with me. He had been in the house making pasta salad and baked beans to take to Curt's 50th party.

After the parade was over, we waited for Amy to come by so we could catch up with her. Breckin and one of his cousins were in the parade. Emerson School had made Chinese Dragons. I wish I had known, I would have gone down the street to the parade and taken a picture. Amy was watching 3 of her nephews for one of her cousins who had gone to a wedding. Dan and Gail had also gone to the wedding in Monticello. Needless to say, Amy had her hands full for the rest of the day.

Ella and her cousins. They all wanted to see Thumper and Ella was the only one brave enough to feed him. There was also Breckin and another cousin not shown in the picture.
Of course we had to take a picture of Ella's High School Musical shoes.

Sunday Update (cont.)

Chloe came home just in time to see Amy and the kids. She also had lunch with us. Doug made sloppy joe's with the leftover hamburger from the beans. They were yummy. Doug and Chloe decided to relax and take a nap before going to Curt's party. So I went to my Dad's to take them some pictures of Thomas and Diedre's house and flood pictures for Ilse to send to her daughter in California.

This was the not so fun part of the day. It was all one big guilt trip. My Dad stayed on the couch the whole time, moaning about his back and legs. This was because he had been painting. He also wanted to tell me something and Ilse kept getting in the way so he could not see my face. So, of course he had to keep yelling at her to move or to be quiet. This annoys me because she usually has something more fun to talk about any way; like "Oh! Look at the little red squirrel."

Dad said that on Labor Day he had stopped by RJ Construction to ask about porch railings. They were closed but the owner was there and talked to him anyway. He said, this guy was so interesting, Doug would like to talk to him. He showed him his electric truck and talked about solar panels for the house. I told Dad that Doug already knows the guy, because it is Mark Jordan's brother. I also told him Doug has taken a ride in the electric truck before.

Back to the whole guilt thing, just before I left, Ilse said my Dad would feel so much better now that I stopped by. He just doesn't see me enough and it gets him down. Oh, brother!

After leaving Dad's I went for a walk on the Sac & Fox Trail. It really got washed out from the floods and was a very rough trail in spots. I walked about a half hour. (Step count for the day was 11072.) Then it was time to come home to get ready for Curt's party.

We left for the party a little after 5. We gave Curt his gift when we got there. We got him one of the crank flashlights. I wrapped it in an adult diaper that I had gotten as a sample. I attached some black roses and a pin that said, 50 and Over The Hill and a ribbon that said Look Who's 50. Curt got such a kick out of it that he wore the diaper over his jeans for a while. It was hilarious.

Little "Q" at grandpa's birthday party.
Little "Q's" new shoes.
If he drinks that whole bottle he is going to need that diaper.

Green Tip of the Day

Fine-tune a refrigerator for optimum energy use by checking to see that the temperature in its main refrigeration box hovers at 37 degrees while the freezer stays at a relatively steady 3 degrees. A weather thermometer will do the trick.

Officially happy new home owners!!!!!! Congrats!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Saturday Update

Yesterday morning John and Elaine packed up to go over to stay at Curt's. They left around 9:15 AM. I was very surprised that Mao came over by the door to say good-bye to them. This evening we are going over to Curt's for a little while for his 50th birthday party.

Yesterday after John and Elaine left I mowed the lawn. The weather was just right for mowing. I didn't even get hot until at the very end. Doug had to come out once to help me start the mower. I am just not good at starting this new mower for some reason. In the afternoon I also took a fairly long walk.

We have lots to do this morning. We forgot to make the pasta salad for Curt's party yesterday, so we will be making that along with baked beans. The Swamp Fox Parade is also this morning. We always set out in the yard and watch the parade go by. Afterward we usually see Dan and Gail; and sometimes Amy and her brood.

That is all I have this morning, as I also would like to get a walk in this morning. Yesterday I took 15358 steps.

Green Tip of the Day

Some commercial air fresheners use chemicals that can be harmful to a baby's development. Instead, lightly spritz the place with vinegar.

Vinegar will clean out deposits clogging a steam iron or coffeemaker.

A cup of vinegar will clean a washing machine. Run it through a regular cycle -- but not with clothes.

If using vinegar as a cleaning agent, pick the white variety. Brown will stain porous surfaces.

To create a tub-scum cleaner, mix baking soda and a "green" liquid soap to a honey-thick consistency. Apply it with a little elbow grease and perhaps a splash of white vinegar.

Friday Update

Not much to report from yesterday. It rained most of the day and was much cooler than the beginning of the week. We just sat around and didn't to much until around 3:30 when John and Elaine went over to Curt's for a few hours.

After they left I went on a walk because it was just misting by then. I took the umbrella, so my glasses would not get all spotted with water. I walked up to 5th Ave and walked East. I went as far as the sidewalk would take me on 5th Ave. I didn't pay attention to the street name, but this would be the street that has the nursing home. I took a right and went up to 1st Ave. I think I took almost all of the side streets on the way back home, going North on one side of the street and crossing the street and then going South. I wanted to try to get as many steps as I get by going to the path at Thomas Park. I just knew the path in the park might be a bit messy due to the rain. I ended the day with 10116 steps.

John and Elaine came back here for supper and to spend the night. We made Ratatouille for supper. They had never had it before. I think they liked it since both John and Elaine went back for seconds.

Green Tip of the Day

Using cold water can save up to 80 percent of the energy required to wash clothes.

Thursday Update

Yesterday was another productive day. We now have our whole dining room back. We moved the mattress set up to Thomas and Diedre's place in Eldora. I think they will really like their new queen size bed.

Jon and Elaine were able to see Chloe's cute little stone house and Nala the kitty. They also were able to see Thomas and Diedre's house and the school Thomas and Diedre are working at. Thomas took them on a driving tour of the town and park. We alos had ice cream at the Ahoy Fountain. It wasn't quite as good as the first time we were their. I think the boy working there was more interested in getting off work and not excited about have to make ice cream treats for 7 people.

We arrived home around 8:30 and ate leftovers for supper. We then sat down and watched part of the Republican Convention. Palin had lots to say about her family and Alaska, but not a lot to say about what she would do for the country. Some of the Republicans at the convention didn't look too excited or convinced that she was the right choice.

Yesterday I spend a good amount of time in the car and did not get as much walking in, my step count was only 9439.

Green Tip of the Day

Wrapping a water heater with insulation can keep as many as 1,000 pounds of global-warming CO2 a year out of the upper atmosphere.

Wednesday Update

Yesterday morning I took a nice long walk through Thomas Park. It was very hot and humid. I ended the day with 12934 steps.

When I got back from my walk, John and Elaine were leaving to get Elaine's hair cut. She went to Great Clips by Michael's. Chloe had already left to go back to Cedar Falls. She had a class in the afternoon and then she worked until closing at Cup-A-Joe's.

We took John and Elaine on a tour of the flooded areas of Cedar Rapids starting with the Czech Village area, around to J Street, over to Time Check and then through downtown. They both said it is hard to believe the damage until you really see it.

After the tour we had lunch at the Red Lantern. The food was really good and John knew our waitress. She is originally from Korea. I had Ming's Beef, it was delicious.

It was so hot and humid in the house when we got home. John and Elaine watched the Green Channel with me for a while. They said they don't get it in Arizona, although they are supposed to. John said he is definitely going to contact the cable company when he gets back. The temperature was not going to cool own for some time, so John and Elaine decided to spend the night over at Curt's. It was either that or we were going to have to go out and buy a little window air conditioner. The big one Jamie brought over would involve construction of a stand to help hold it in the window. Too much work.

This morning we are going over to Enterprise to rent a cargo van for the day. We are taking the mattress set and a few other things up to Thomas and Diedre. We will stop at Chloe's in Cedar Falls first and she is coming to Eldora with us. It should be a fun day.

See you later Chloe, Thomas and Diedre.

Green Tip of the Day

If a vehicle's tires have less than recommended air pressure, gas mileage will suffer. Determine the correct pressure level from the small plaque likely found just inside the driver's-side door, but possibly on a rear doorpost, in the trunk/latch area, the glove box, or even on the sun visor.