Donna's Dessert of the day

I have always loved my junk food and desserts but after heart surgery had to change things up a bit
No cholesterol and low fat. Yuck, so I adapt what I can.  Here's and old favorite, 0 cholesterol and about 10 grams of fat for the whole thing.
PINEAPPLE UPSIDE DOWN CAKE
Heat oven 350
melt about 2-3 tablespoons margarine (this is where fat comes in --so type you use will determine
fat content of entire cake) in a 9x13 pan
Add about a cup brown sugar, more sugar sweeter cake, less sugar less sweet mix and spread across
bottom of pan.
Add pineapple slices...I like fresh pineapple that I can cut as thick as I want
cherries optional, they can be expensive and are purely decorative.
1 bx pineapple cake mix (I favor Duncan Hines)
1 1/3 cup water
3/4 cup eggbeaters
1/3 cup applesauce
Mix about 2 minutes, pour over pineapple
bake approx 35 minutes
Cool in pan 5 to 10 minutes and invert onto plate, dont let set too long in pan or
brown sugar will act like a paste to the bottom of the pan.

You can also use yellow cake mix and peaches if you prefer.

Easy to make and guilt free if you are cholesterol restricted

Saturday Mumblings.

Was up about 06:00AM since it was Saturday and had coffee with my bride,

Adam came over last night to spend the night so he was up about 07:00AM. We made plans for a Wed-Sun camping trip to the Lake if it cools down some.

He is going back to school on the 18th so this will be the last he can enjoy a week stay, we will hit the campground on weekends a few times in Sept and Oct until it is to cold to swim, usually around the second week of Oct. Can’t believe his summer went by so fast. I liked it better when school didn’t start until after Labor Day.

Adam having left over Friday night pizza for lunch, Rigg’s hoping against hope for maybe a crust.

As you can see Rigg’s got a new glow in the dark collar like his old one, he just wore it out with all his swimming and the reflector stuff was about gone. It really shows up if he is out on a walk at night and any car headlights light it up. Since we have sidewalks now out here in the country it is a lot safer than years past. Of course most of the farm fields had cow fences so if you cut across a field you didn’t need a leash.

Adam told us about his trip to Fla. they went to Universal Studio’s , but not Disney World. We told him when we are fulltime we will fly him down there to meet us and go for a few days. We took his Father there when he was a youngster.

Took a trip for a couple of items at Walmart this morning, while we were there Adam asked if we could go to sporting goods to see if they had gotten the M-16 bb rifle he wanted and had been saving for. Well they had and he got his wallet out and was heartbroken to find out he was ten dollars short. Grandpa told him if he was good about his chores, I would advance him a couple weeks allowance and he would have the ten dollars to buy his rifle. He was a very happy young man when he got home to say the least and he had to show Grandma his new rifle.

I’m sure next week the garbage will fly out and the dog will be fed bright and early, which are among his chores.

We had some rain today, a really heavy soaking rain that lowered the temperature from 85 to 75 for awhile, the sun came back later but it is still only 83 so we have a nice summer day after all.

That’s about it for today. Hope everyone is having a great weekend. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna..

TGIF.

Up at 04:30AM and yes the coffee machine worked and we had full pot of coffee ready. I know my bride was happy. At 05:30AM she left for the truck company and I did some blogging.

I am still at loss with my Google Plus problem, it just won’t stay connected in the Hang up mode for more than a few minutes, then it loses connectivity, one of the readers said code 10 is a driver error, but the same camera and mic is working flawlessly on Skype where I talked to my sister in Pa for about an hour yesterday. Maybe Rick can arrange a Skype call with me some morning and we can figure this out, also I have to find a shortcut or icon that will start Google plus without going into the My account setting in my blog.

This afternoon I took my laptop and the GPS module I got with my Streets and Trips out in the truck and got it configured and working, I had never used it before but now that I have the 12 volt cord, which also worked great, I decided a test run was in order. I was really impressed, I especially like the trace feature which tracks the route you take and then you can save it in case you want to go that way again or send it to someone.

                  In the truck with the GPS.

I only went as far as Foristell MO. and then sat about 30 minutes along the railroad tracks until I heard on the RR radio that the local was working in Wentzville so I knew no other trains were do by there.

I am now going to have to make a secure mounting bracket or table, on the order of what the police cars have.I think I have enough stuff to fabricate some brackets and by moving my radios I can get something that won’t be in the way and the laptop will snap right in and out,

Maybe I will use the docking station as part of it and then the cables will be able to stay attached to the dock.

Still waiting to hear from Adam and start a camping trip. The rate at the Lake is so cheap it is almost cheap even if you leave the trailer there for a couple nights in between, they do have a 14 day limit and then you have to leave and come back. It’s never full though unless it’s one of the 3 major holiday weekends, and We don’t usually stay on those anyway. So nice in the fall when you can still swim and be the only ones there during the week.

Nicole and Chris are here today so I will probably make a homemade pizza for Friday Pizza Night.

Before I forget, I had a comment the other day about B&W Photography, I went to a crime scene school years ago at the St Louis Metro PD part of it was a two week photography course and then two weeks riding with the Evidence tech unit. (like todays CSI). Our department had a Speed Graphic, remember those, the old newspaper camera, we also set up a full B&W darkroom at the station complete with all the needed chemicals, and developing lights. Many a locomotive picture was also developed there. I remember the Instructor during the photo classes who always dwelled on how a camera will see more than the human eye, so take as many pictures at a crime scene from every possible angle and then go back after you develop the pictures to see what you missed. I still look at my pictures to see what surprises I have that I didn’t notice when I was taking the shot.

Not much else going on so I will say good bye for now. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna…..

Thursday Happenings.

Up at 04:30AM and had coffee, or tried to with my bride, the new coffee maker made about half a pot and quit. It was like tar. We have trouble with the water being hard since we use the cold water from the kitchen tap for drinking water and it only goes through the particle filter and not the softener, Hence the coffee machines have a short life span and clog up. I ran some vinegar through it and then some clean hot water and it seems to be back to working now, we’ll see in the morning.

No blog yesterday it was so hot I didn’t leave the house, and really had a complete sit around watch a train movie and just do nothing day.

To day the temps and humidity are back up the computer said 97 with a heat index of 115. here’s what the kitchen window said at 0300PM.

                                 104 degrees.

I will have to make the trek to the end of the driveway to get the mail from the last two days and bring the dumpster up. Maybe I will just take the truck somewhere and when it is all cooled down with the A/C come back in and bring that stuff up. Can’t really see getting all sweaty for the garbage dumpster and it hauls just fine on the back of the truck like a blue boy.

Something caught Rigg’s eye in back while I was working on the laptop.

I have been enjoying AL in Bayfield's last couple blogs with his remembrances of years gone by, and his essays on photography. I too truly enjoy photography and  I also started out with Pentax 35mm camera’s with a bag full of Takumar lenses, Had the K1000, which was like the 3 speed standard shift of Pentax camera’s, everything was manually set. I also had an MG which was my first auto focus 35mm. They all served me well. But when the digital age came. I waited as long as I could and then took the plunge. Do you know Kodak doesn’t make Kodachrome anymore. Anyway I now have a Canon SX20IS which is a big body but does not have a detachable lens, It does have a 35-200mm zoom and is 12 megapixels, with no delay when you shoot it. It also shoots HD video and stereo sound. I have found it just what I wanted for the pictures I take, and no heavy bag with multiple camera’s and lenses' to lug around. Donna has a Panasonic Lumix LS75 which is a point and shoot camera that does a heck of a job. Sometimes you can’t tell which camera took the picture, they are both sharp.

                               Canon SX20IS.

            Panasonic Lumix DMC LS75.

Now if  I could just get some cooler weather I could go find some trains to shoot, I still take my video camera and some tripods and set them up so I can use all my arsenal at once. Old habits die hard and I like the action and sound of video as a train roars by. Along with having the still picture to go with it.

Speaking of trains, I went out the other day to Farmer Charlie’s and on my way a Norfolk Southern train hustled by with three diesel units on the front at what was probably the track speed in that area of 60MPH the middle unit must have had a blown turbocharger as it was pouring black smoke out and drops of unburned fuel  like rain. What a picture it would have made, more smoke than a steam engine. Where was my camera, on the kitchen table next to my laptop, the first time I had forgot to take it with me in the truck. Yep Al you can’t shoot without a camera.

Well say a prayer for some cooler temps here in Dardenne Prairie, not complaining though I will remember this heat when I am putting Carharts on over long underwear and jeans, and getting on John Deere for an hour or two of snow plowing. We’ve had it all, this year. A month of heavy snows and now almost a month of 100 degree weather. But we can take it, yep , and the grass is still growing, doesn’t  it know we are in a heat wave yet.

Hope everyone is having a good week out there. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna……

Tuesday thoughts.

Started another day early, had our morning coffee, Donna then headed for the truck company. Another sunny beautiful day, but it did get up to about 96 again today, a little above the normal high 80’s to 90 for this time of the year. Went out and checked the fiver the fridge is doing it’s job nicely in spite if the heat –15 in the freezer section and 34 degrees in the fridge section, keeps the beer and water cold. I run the fan on low in the bath to get the real hot air out the top when it is hot like this and I run a fan in the living room just to circulate the air some. I will wait and see if it’s going to cool down some more before I decide when I will be going to the Lake. The news says the heat wave headed east is and now it is cooling down out there, seems plenty hot here at the Weeb Ranch through.It’s funny how the dog’s seem to understand it it hot and just lay around more.

Well nothing else going on here. I hope everyone is having a great day. Be safe out there. Easy Supper for us tonight, Spaghetti.. Sam & Donna…

Monday Meanderings.

Was up at 04:30AM and had coffee with my bride, she was getting ready to head to the truck company.

I want to welcome our 114th follower, Pirate & Kitty/THE "GYPSY ROSE" RV CHRONICLES they are on the downhill run with a couple of weeks before hitting the road. Boy are we ever jealous, not really but I’ll bet you guys are excited as you can get. Hope you enjoy following the gang here at the Weeb Ranch as we try to get Donna retired and then make our way to full time.

Speaking of the gang here they are in their hot day spot next to my chair at the kitchen table, but more alert this time, what ham’s when they see me pick the camera up.

                         Rigg’s & Sadie 07-24-11.

Haven’t heard from Adam & his Mom yet so I don’t now if they are home yet or not. No answer on the cell, so I will just wait until tomorrow, the trailer is ready to go again all I have to do is fill the fresh water tank, with fresh water.

Found a deal on cube steaks at the store yesterday so that is what we will have for supper tonight with some Vermont Cheddar Mac & Cheese. It’s an easy and tasty meal.

That’s about it for today. Hope all is well in blogsville. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna.. PS, The pie was great still some left for tonight’s dessert…..

Sunday News. Vol. 2

Donna & I were up early ,about 06:00AM, had out coffee then Donna started on a baking project, she also committed the recipe to the first installment of the Sunday Blog.

I made a trip to the grocery store, I know we are having chicken breast, and Donna is going to bake me a sugar free apple pie, to go along with the sugar-free vanilla ice cream, and the sugar free whipped cream. I almost can’t wait for supper to get here. Is this a great country or what?

The weather is a little better with the temp showing 88 degrees at noon, supposed to get close to 95 later, but a chance of thunderstorms might cool it down some later.

The rest of the week it shows the lower 90’s so I will try to get a hold of Adam and maybe plan a trip to the Lake with him. It’s Nicole’s week with her dad so she will have to wait, Her Mom said it had been too hot all week to camp and swim.

Don’t know if I finished the story of my 18 year old Red Max Weed eater, I finally got all the parts and rebuilt the carburetor , plus the new gas lines I had already told you about, my Son Andy took it out on a job and came back and said, Dad this thing is amazing it runs like a new one, but you need to put a new gas cap gasket on it as it drips fuel while your cutting. I went to the place where I bought it and they looked it up and said they couldn’t even order a new cap or gasket since they went to a new style several years ago. I then had to go home and fabricate, I trimmed the old gasket where it was ripped and then found an O ring that fit inside the cap and put it all together and no leaks. So maybe in a couple years I will have a 20 year old weed whacker. The guy at the Lawn service store  said it is unusual for them to last that long that about 10 years is the average life before there all carboned up and useless. I just make sure I don’t bog it down and replace the plug every spring, 2 cycles are hard on spark plugs.

Anyway I hope everyone had a great weekend, we are looking forward to some cooler weather. be safe out there, Sam & Donna.

Donna's Dessert of the day.Sunday News Vol. 1

This is a family favorite and Steveio it is cholesterol free. (and low fat... 57 grams for whole cake)
Applesauce Spice Cake
1/2 margarine          1 cup sugar      1 cup brown sugar      2 egg beater eggs (1/2 cup)
2 1/2 cups flour       1 1/2 tsp baking soda          1 tsp cinnamon      1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice        1/2 cup raisins       1 1/2 cups applesauce
preheat oven 350.  grease and flour bundt pan

cream butter & sugar, add eggs.  Sift together dry ingredients add alternately to butter mixure
with the applesauce.  Stir in raisins.  Pour into pan and bake 45-55 minutes until tester comes
out clean.  cool about 10 min on wire rack. invert onto plate. cool, dust with powdered sugar.

Saturday Mumblings.

Another hot one today, Donna & I were up about 05:00AM and had our coffee, The thermometer said 82degrees at 05:30AM. I went out about 09:00AM and cut the back again, I will have to keep going over it every few days until the hay is mulched up. Thank God the big deck has three blades and really cuts it up fine. As long as it is dry when you cut it. With the new belt there is no slippage and it is spinning like crazy. But even after an hour, the heat was getting to me so I said that’s enough for one morning, I will go out again tomorrow morning and cut about an hours worth, and just keep plugging at it. I guess the weatherman was wrong , instead of 95 the thermometer is set on 100 again at Noon.

The two furballs just go out when it is absolutely necessary and then lay on the rug next to my chair in the kitchen under the ceiling fan.

         Sadie sleeping in big brother Rigg’s arms. I guess she feels safe there.

While I was cutting this morning the tractor cut out a couple times, I went and got a new fuel filter and air filter and changed them, It’s been so dry and dusty with the heat wave, I just wanted to make sure it was breathing and getting clean fuel.

Donna is getting ready to go to the restaurant, she got a surprise night off when a big party cancelled due to the heat and they had overbooked on help, So her boss asked her first if she wanted the night off and she said yes.

With this extended heat wave were in I am really getting cabin fever, I can’t wait for it to cool a little and then maybe head for the Lake for a week or so. The kid’s will enjoy it too. Don’t feel like I’m getting much accomplished when you have to limit your time outdoors.My Son is working 06;00AM until Noon and then the boss is sending everyone home after it’s over 100 degrees.

Hopefully Monday I will hear from Adam and see when he can come over to camp with Grandpa. I’ll bet it was hot in Orlando Fla.this week. Hopefully they got their daily rain showers each day to temper things. We haven’t had any daytime rain in weeks and only one or two nighttime showers.

Not much going on here at the Ranch. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna.

TGIF

Was up at 04:30am for coffee with my bride, did some blogging,Then read a train book. It is only 95 degrees today with the heat index down to 109. I saw on KEVIN & RUTH’s blog today that they were in North Conway NH and stopped at the restored train depot and took some pictures for me . One thing really caught my eye and it is below

Not only is the depot beautifully restored, but on the right on the background between the tracks is a rare example of and old manual High Ball signal.When trains approached a kerosene light was lit inside the red globes or balls on the rope and if it was clear to proceed the ball was raised to high position as both are shown in the picture. Usually just the track to be used was raised at one time. This was the origination of the term Highball to get a train going from the station. Pretty neat a little history lesson while your out taking a walk and looking at the scenery. Thanks Kevin & Ruth.

Looks like we will be seeing some improvement here in the weather tomorrows high will be 95, Sundays 96, and then Mon-Tues 88. Looks like we will be getting back close to normal soon. This year we have had all kinds of extremes for weather here in MO. Won’t be surprised if we get another hot spell in August though.

Tried to hang out on Google plus this morning and Rick came on line , but I lost my connection so there still is a glitch, tried it again from the new laptop and the signal would drop out about every 5 minutes, I don’t have that when I use Skype so it must be in Googles program. they did say they are working on improvements.

Not much else to say, tonight is pizza night so that will be supper for Nicole & I. Everyone be safe out there. Sam & Donna….

Thursday Happenings.

Was up at 04;30AM with my bride and we had our coffee.Then she headed out to the truck company and after that the restaurant.

It was already 90 degrees at 08:00AM so it was pretty much a sit around day in the air conditioned house.

This afternoon Nicole and Grandpa took the truck and went to the Dairy Queen for a couple of Shakes. The OAT on the mirror said 103 degrees, this was at 03:00PM.

The heat wave is supposed to continue until Sunday when the high is supposed to drop to 93 and then 92 for Monday. Who would think that temps in the lower 90’s would be a relief, but I can see some Lake time in our future now.

Rigg’s is still taking his medication, but he is eating fine and seems to be back to his old self and not in any discomfort. Hope he learned his lesson and whoever left the trash bag where he could get at it learned theirs too.

Thanks for all your concern about Rigg’s, as all you know our pets are part of the family and the Riggster especially contributes so much to the quality of life here at the Weeb Ranch that we were worried that he would have to have major surgery. They are like kid’s and you can’t watch them every second and that’s how he got into the plastic trash bag. We keep our trash bags in a plastic container in the sewing room off the kitchen behind a latched door. Someone left the door ajar and when we were sleeping Rigg’s got in and knocked the container over and had a good old time and also got some BBQ pork steak bones and ate some of them. Not only can the bones splinter, but the plastic can get stuck in their intestines. So far he looks good, but we still have to watch him for awhile.

That’s about it for today. Everyone be safe out there. Sam & Donna……

Tuesday-Wednesday Musings.

Didn’t get a blog out yesterday(Tuesday), had a scare with Rigg’s, Evidently over the weekend he got into a plastic bag with bones in it from pork steaks, well Monday night he woke Donna up at 01:00AM crying to go out, most unusual, then all morning he would cry to go out and try to go but couldn’t. When Donna got home from work I told her about it  and she decided to get him to the vet. After an hour and $200 the Vet gave her two prescriptions and said to have him eat a lot of bread. This morning he threw up some white pieces of plastic bag, and since then has looked like he is feeling better. He has to go back Friday for another look. Moral of the story is make sure all plastic garbage bags are in container or behind a shut and fastened door.

Today Nicole and I were supposed to go swimming if the temperature was cooler like it said on this mornings weather. well at 01:00PM the thermometer read 102 again and Nicole decided she didn’t want to go because it was to hot outside.

I am getting to the point where I will be happy to see a 90 degree day and maybe take the trailer to the Lake for another week of relaxation and pool time. Adam will be back from Fla. next week so I know he will want to see grandpa and tell me about his trip.

Rigg’s just got another piece of bread and wolfed it down, which is good. I guess the Vet wants the bread to go through his system and maybe get some bone splinters to go out with it, we have been giving him a couple slices each hour and his appetite seems normal, which means if you put something in front of his mouth he will eat it.

Just noticed we have our 113th followers, JIM & SANDY-WHERE ARE THE DIXONS TODAY, we have followed them for awhile now and know they are good doggie people. Hope you guys enjoy the everyday adventures here with Rigg’s and our journey to full timing.

Everyone have a safe day out there. Sam & Donna…

Monday Meanderings.

Was up at 04;30AM with my bride and we had coffee, Then she was off to the truck company. I waited until this afternoon and then decided that the hay I had cut two days ago was dry enough to go over again and try to mulch it up some more. I spent two hours on the side and the front and finally I just decided I was soaking wet and hot and the back area  could wait until tomorrow. I am on my second 16 oz. glass of ice water since I came in, good thing this isn’t High Lifes or I would be laying down for a nap.

Not much going on here at the Ranch today.  Nicole and her Mom went out with one of Samantha’s girlfriends so I have the house to myself.

Rigg’s and Sadie are playing on the kitchen floor, making the best of the ceiling fan which I have switched to the middle speed to give them a better breeze. I usually run it on low just to move the air conditioned air around, but since they are enjoying it I turned it up one notch for them. Just saw the heat index is 107 with a regular temp of 97 degrees. The weather service said you should call and check on the elderly. No one has called here so I must not be old enough yet. Maybe that starts in your 70’s or 80’s .

Oh well I am going to relax until Donna gets home and then maybe have a cold one at 05:00PM Miller time.

Be safe out there. Sam & Donna……

Sunday News.

Up for coffee with my bride, then we both had an easy morning.

First of all I want to welcome a new follower.MIKE MILLS -PHANNIE & MAE. He has been blogging for awhile under a different blog, check out his new rig and hence new blog name. Welcome Aboard mike hope you enjoy our travels to full timing and the daily goings on at the Weeb Ranch

I decided I would try to get my Red Max weed trimmer running, Back in 1993 when we had only lived here a couple summers and there was a ditch on both sides of the road and it was only two lanes,  weeds would grow so fast in the ditch you couldn’t keep up with it. I had a McCulloch weed trimmer, but it would stall when the going got tough, My neighbor would get into his ditch and weeds would fly in all directions and he would be green from head to toe when he was done but no weeds. I went over one day and said John can I try that weed whacker of yours, he said sure Sam just don’t let it get away from you with a laugh. Well after a short trial I said John jump in the truck and show me where you got that thing, so we headed over to Bill’s Lawn Equip in O’Fallon Mo. Where a short time  and $300 later I was the proud owner of my own Red Max just like John’s.

Each year at the end of the season I followed a ritual of running it out of gas and making sure the gas tank was empty and then each spring I would put a brand new plug in it and fill it with 30:1 2 stroke mix and it would usually fire up on the first or second pull. For eighteen years I was spoiled by this great machine. This summer I couldn’t get it to start. I tried another plug, no start so today I went down and put a meter on the switch and tested the ignition I had spark, I took a few ounces of gas and poured it in the Carb and it sputtered so I knew I had a fuel problem. I took the gas tank off and disconnected the fuel lines and tried blowing in them and one was plugged. I took them out of the grommet going into the tank and the one had swollen shut, I also found out there was a little filter in the end of one line inside the tank. so it was off to farmer Charlie's where I bought some new fuel line and a new filter. Brought it home and put it all together, and filled the tank with fresh fuel/oil mix and it started on the second pull. Boy for $5. It was purring like a chicken. Maybe I’ll get a few more years out of it.

Donna brought some gifts home for Nicole from work last night one of them was a puzzle and a piece of plastic to use as a puzzle board. Nicole was really interested so Grandma showed her how to start around the edges and go from there. About an hour and a half later she called us in the living room and her puzzle was done, sure it’s a small one to start out but she did it herself, and now maybe we will get a puzzle going and do it as a rainy day family thing I remember as a kid my Grandmother and Mother doing puzzles all the time.

             Nicole’s finished puzzle. Neat Huh…

While Nicole was puzzling, Donna (Grandma) had a project of her own, she was making a birthday cake for a co-worker.

                              The Baker at work.

The Chocolate covered strawberries look yummy and are huge.

Sadie was also busy today with a trip to the groomers,

Sadie & Grandpa after she got her haircut.

Another day with the kitchen thermometer just touching 100, the weather widget on the blog says 96 but the kitchen window doesn’t lie. so I know it’s plenty hot again here in Dardenne Prairie. Hope maybe some of you are enjoying some cooler temps, there is a high pressure system stalled over us and is supposed to stay this way another week. But you don’t have to shovel or plow heat. Everyone be safe out there. Sam & Donna……

Saturday Mumblings.

Was up early Donna slept in until about 06:00AM, we had our coffee, I waited around until 09:00AM and then called the Equipment place to find out if my deck belt had come in, It had so it looks like no one called here yesterday. I went and picked it up and then installed it on the deck, Me and John Deere then set out to cut a bunch of grass, it hadn’t been touched in two weeks and since we had a couple night rains it took off, I spent over two hours cutting and I will have to go back over it and redo it it in a couple days just to help mulch it up some more.By the time I got back in the house at noon it was 92 degrees and I was whipped from the heat. Nicole and her Mom had places to go so I just sat around the house for the afternoon,
Donna left for the restaurant around 03:00PM. so I sat around and decided since I didn’t make a pizza last night I would go down and get a shell from the freezer and do one for tonight. Since Adam is on vacation with his Mom, I can add  pepperoni to it since he only wants cheese when he is here, Nicole likes the pepperoni so we will have it our way this time.
Not much going on it is supposed to be sunny and hot for the next four days, so I imagine we will hit the Lake one of these days.
Be safe out there. Sam & Donna..

TGIF.

As always we were up at 04:30AM and had coffee together, then Donna headed out for the truck company and then the restaurant.

My original plans were to pick up the belt for John Deere’s deck and then finish the cutting and then maybe take the fiver over to the Lake for the weekend. It is supposed to be sunny and 90 this weekend.

Well the place where I ordered the belt never called so I went by there and the said it didn’t come  in two days like normal. and maybe it would be in later today, and yes they would call me. so I waited around and no call all day from them.

I did go to Schratchie’s Salvage Yard and he did manage to find me a 15 inch trim ring to take the place of the one I lost on our Wisconsin trip. $15 dollars, which I thought wasn’t to bad.

I put off the lake trip and since it is supposed to be nice for the next week we can always go, Nicole is really excited about a camping trip.

Tonight will be a Tovars night as I have spaghetti sauce and meatballs left from the other night and I will boil up some Rigatoni’s with it.

The two pups are enjoying the dog days of summer and curl up at my feet under the kitchen ceiling fan and enjoy the air conditioned comfort, I’ll bet if my Mom was alive she would just shake her head at the life they have. She never did have air conditioning.

That’s about it for today, I hope I get the belt and the cutting done tomorrow I am getting spoiled by being in water and cool so much.

Be safe out there. Sam & Donna.

Thursday Happenings.

Up early with my bride and had our coffee, she then headed out to the truck company. Not much going on today, I took Adam home about noon, His Mom is taking him on a weeks vacation to Florida. So Grandpa will have no one to take swimming or camping next week, unless I can talk Nicole and Chris into going. Then getting their Mom’s permission.
It was a slow day around the Ranch the highlight was the mail delivery when I saw a package for me.

                     DC cord for my Dell Laptop.
I had ordered a car power cord for my Dell laptop off e-bay. Went to a couple of places here and no one stocked it. I had been using a 200 watt inverter, that I plugged into the lighter outlet and then plugged the 110volt power cord into it. But this will use a lot less current than running the inverter and be just one cord.
My Son Sam Jr. that lives in New York City sent Donna a picture he took from the terrace of his condo after they had a rain storm last night.

View south from Sam Jr’s terrace in NYC.
Not much else going on so I say see ya until tomorrow. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna…..

Wednesday Musings.

Got a little rain last night and it cooled it off to 78 this morning when we got up. The high was supposed to only be 85 with a chance for scattered showers, so if we were gonna do the Pool/Lake today was it, Adam is leaving tomorrow and then his Mom is taking him on a vacation to Florida.

So at noon I packed the three Grands in the truck and headed to lake Sherwood, first thing one of the ladies said as I walked in was, you finally got all three out here at once.I had to laugh when she said you’ll have your hands full with three.

                      Nicole, Adam & Chris.

                     Adam, Nicole & Chris.

They had a ball in the pool and the Lake and we spent almost 4 hours there and came home whipped and waterlogged.

The weather co-operated and it stayed sunny and never got above 85 so it was a pleasant day for a swim.

It is going to be a double header for the kids as Andy & Samantha are taking the three to a show this evening.

That was our day. Hope everyone is having as good a day in blogville as we did. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna..

Tuesday Notes.

Up early with my pretty bride, she then had to go to the truck company, after spoiling her with grilled brats in BBQ sauce last night I decided tonight since it is her last night of home cooking for the week until Sunday, I will make a batch of Grandma Genett style meatballs and have Spaghetti & meatballs.

It is another scorcher today.

             102 on the kitchen window at Noon.

I didn’t even ask about the Lake or pool today, since it was a no at 100 yesterday. Guess I’ll have to wait to spoil the kid’s until it drops back into the 90’s later in the week, but they are saying over a hundred again on Saturday. They had one death related to heat in the City of St Louis, and also an elderly man drowned out at Lake Sherwood, where we have our property after he fell off his dock, it said he was handicapped and was returning from a boat ride when he fell in and a neighbor and paramedic couldn’t get him out in time to save him.

The kid’s are taking it in stride and playing inside all day,

This morning I had to go down into the garage because the deck belt had popped off the John Deere last night when my son started to do some cutting, since it was only 85 at at 08:30AM I decided to cut for about an hour and just about an hour later the belt popped off again. It must have stretched so I went to three places and nobody has a belt for a big deck like mine, I ended up ordering it from john Deere, $55 and it will take two days to ship to the Deere Dealer. So it looks like John is dead in the water for a couple days unless it snows, the plow will still work.

Saw that JOHN & CAROL of  5th Wheel Wanderings are riding dome cars and steam engines in Colorado, boy that is on our list to do, Most high on the list will be the Durago & Silverton, The Cumbres & Toltec, and the Rio Grande Scenic Railway. Here is a picture of one of my favorites.

Adam used to like Thomas too, but he outgrew him.

The dome car picture they posted brought back memories of a Dinner train trip on one of our wedding anniversaries that Donna surprised me with, We rode and ate in the Dome Diner, and then danced in the Lounge car, alas the train has left St Louis to become the Kansas City Southern Official Train. The Locomotives were sold to Norfolk Southern for their Office car train. The trip can’t be duplicated today. But they have started a Dinner Train in Columbia MO. so we look forward to maybe doing that someday.

That’s about it for today, oh yeah, just want everyone to know I’m not going to complain about the heat or heat index, I remember all to well all the mornings, last winter and spring where my son and I had to get John Deere out a and plow snow, sure rather the hot weather than the snow. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna….

Monday Meanderings.

Was up for coffee with my bride, and then she was off to the truck company. We had a great dinner at the Olive Garden. I so enjoy being able to relax and enjoy a nice dinner and conversation in a nice place. I tried a new beer being imported by Anheuser Busch, or In-Bev as it is also known after the buyout. It is called Stella Artois and I tried it on the Brewery tour when Phyllis & Len were out for their visit. it’s made in Belgium and is really a good tasting Lager. Don’t worry it won’t take the place of my cheapo Miller High Life Light, But just for special occasions I like to have a special beer. Donna loved her supper and said she was stuffed when we left to go home.
               Sam & Donna at Olive Garden.

                      Sam with his new beer.
The big news was the weather, when we got up at 04:30AM it was already 83degrees, at a little past noon the temp past 100 on the big thermometer on the kitchen window, it is in the shade so you can bet on it for being close to the right temperature.

                                     100 degrees.
 Once my Son Andy and his girlfriend Samantha saw that, they put the kibosh on my plans to take the three grandkids to the lake swimming today. They decided it was to hot and they didn’t want to take a chance on heat exhaustion. I told them only old people die in this weather and we would be in 85 degree water all day but their minds were made up, so I will have to wait for a cooler day in the 90’s. The heat index by the way is 115 right now. Even the dogs are napping under the ceiling fan in the air conditioned kitchen. What a life.
I am planning to grill some brats & Italian sazisa for supper and maybe some dogs for the kids, I have a bag with some new kind of potato’s and bacon & cheddar that we are going to try, and I might even make some baked beans. Sometimes I make myself hungry just typing up the menu on the blog.
Looks like we’re not the only one’s having a heat wave. I see from other blogs that as far east as Virginia and all over the South and Midwest the temps are in the upper 90’s and high humidity to go with it.
Hope everyone can stay in air conditioned comfort and visit a Lake or pool to stay cool.
That’s about it for today. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna…

Sat/Sunday Catch-up.

Well I finally got back to the Ranch this morning (Sunday) at about 08:00AM, Donna was already out trimming some brush, What a gal, she’ll always be a workaholic country girl. After I got the fiver unhitched and safe on it’s pad. I went in and got the news of the week from my bride. The kid’s Andy & Samantha took Nicole & Chris floating & camping this weekend so it was just the two of us. Of course Rigg’s & Sadie couldn’t contain their happiness with having Dad home from the week at the Lake. and bugged and whined like crazy. Rigg’s does these full body wags that have to be seen to really appreciate, Sadie just jumps and spins in circles.

                               Dad’s Home.

                            I love you Grandpa.
Then I found out that after the kid’s left Friday afternoon and the two dogs realized they were home alone. A plan was hatched to get in trouble and have some fun.
I had bought a 24 pack of toilet paper last week before I went to the Lake and put it under a cabinet in the kitchen since the usual storage spot in the bathroom closet still had several rolls in it.
Seems like somebody ( probably Rigg’s) decided it was fun time. Sadie later confessed and said she got caught up in the moment and helped do some of the shredding, especially when she was confronted with the evidence that’s some of the shreds were so small only her small teeth could have done it.  This is what Donna found when she got home from the restaurant.






Honest Mom, I don’t have a clue who made this mess..
Looks like two little fur bags will be a super double strict probation for awhile.
Since Adam won’t be over until later this evening Donna & I are going to take advantage of being alone and we will go out to a nice quiet dinner, she has a coupon for the Olive Garden, so That is always a nice romantic place to go, the only thing I miss is the violin player that would come around and serenade you as you ate in some of the 5 star Italians Restaurants like Tony’s on the Hill in St Louis.
Now that I have a way to get back on line, I will have some catching up to do and I can start leaving a comment or two while I am doing this.
Hope everyone is having as good a week as we had, God bless our Grandchildren and the happiness they bring into our lives.I wouldn’t trade the weeks like this one for any amount of money in the world. We both are tanned and waterlogged and loved every minute of it. I told Donna if the heat wave continues, I will be taking all three of them swimming this week at the Lake without the camper. it’s only a 20 minute drive. so for a full day of Lake/pool time it is worth it.
Be safe out there. Sam & Donna….

TGIF.

Up early, had my coffee, since the office wi-fi is not working, I had to drive to McDonalds to post my blog and check the mail, one thing about the Lake everything except a garage, and gas station /conv store is 12-15 miles away.

At noon we headed to the Lake/pool, one of my friends has a pontoon boat and he asked if Adam could tube with his son and daughter, of course I said yes and got out a fishing life vest from the trailer. Adam spent a couple hours tubing and said he had a blast when he got back to the dock.

          Adam getting ready to sail out to tube.

                   The boys cooling off.

About 0500PM we headed back to the campground, where the chief cook, and bottle washer, made up a nice spaghetti supper. Then the kids all played until 10:00PM since the campground is filled with the weekend crowd and lots of kid’s in Adam’s age bracket to play with. It didn’t take long for him to crash once he laid in his bed tonight.

A lot of sun and right at 90 all day but it got down to 80 and a breeze and you could sit outside nice and comfortable after dark, Grandpa enjoyed the company of our neighbors and had a couple of Miller High Life's to celebrate the evening.

Adam’s Mom will be coming out Saturday to swim with us and then taking Adam home, I think since donna is working Sat night I will just stay the night and head The weather is supposed to be sunny and 90 for the rest of the weekend, no rain is in sight.

Hope you all had a great week,, Be safe out there. Sam & Donna…

Thursday Happenings.

Up at 06:00AM and had my coffee, Adam joined the living about 08:00AM. I saw that he put his tee shirt on that we brought him back from vacation so here’s a picture for Steveo & Karen,

Adam’s Wisconsin Tee, He’s still half asleep.

A little bit after noon we headed for the Lake/Pool, Adam had some friends meeting him and wanted to be there when they opened, we naturally were the first ones there.

                        First one in the pool.

 The sun only stayed out about an hour and then it clouded up. One of the lifeguards said they saw lightening so the pool and beach were closed for 30 minutes, without another sighting.

       The waiting for the pool to reopen gang.

Finally they let the kid’s back in the water and about 30 minutes later they said they saw some more lightning, personally I missed any sight of either one but, that was it, so we went back to the camp ground.

A very light rain was falling but again  no sign of any thunder or lightening. Adam has a friend here now that is camping so he is happy.

That’s about it for today, we miss Rigg’s and Sadie, also Grandma. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna.

Wednesday Musings.

I was up at 06:00AM and had coffee while my Grandson slept he woke up at about 08:00AM and had a glass of milk and a donut, I had promised him a present for staying on the honor role all years and this was the first chance I got since school let out to take him to Wally World. The closest one is in Washington MO. so I said I would buy him breakfast at McDonalds too. If he was writing this post he might spill the beans on how Grandpa got to the McDonalds and discovered he had left his wallet and money back in the trailer, so it was 15 miles back to the  campground  to get it before breakfast was bought. There might have been a couple of “oh hecks, and oh darns muttered”.

Once breakfast was out of the way we went into Wal Mart and he said he wanted to buy a bb gun shotgun that shoots those ceramic bb’s instead of steel. I told him it was his choice as he earned the present with his hard work. He got the shotgun and also bought a 45pistol with money his Mom had given him, he also has the AK47 he got for Christmas. so he is now fully ready to defend the campsite from wild animals and terrorists.

I told him I was going to rename spot 15 to Firebase Adam.

                           Firebase Adam.

         Adam,cleaning and loading his new guns.

Once he was done with that we got ready and headed to the beach/pool for the afternoon, another great day in paradise, sunny and 90, no sign of clouds so we will have a full day of swim time.

I will try to get this out when we leave the beach before heading to the campground.

Hope everyone is having a good week, with the limited wi-fi I have I wll be behind in following blogs and answering comment or commenting. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna

Tuesday Notes.

Was up early with my bride for coffee before she left for the truck company. About 07:30AM I took the 5th wheel out to the lake and got one of my favorite spots, although the person on the spot next to it had a car parked there, so  I went to the door of their trailer and knocked and asked them if it was theirs and would they move it so I could back in and start setting up, seems they were going to get ready to leave anyway so they moved it out of my way.

Adam was at his other grand parents house yesterday, so

they said they would bring him out to the campground about noon. At 01:00PM I was still waiting for them but we are all set up for the week, They had a storm come through here yesterday and it just about cleared the holiday crowd out. Only four spots were taken when I got here.

Adam arrived at 03:00PM so we headed straight to the Lake for a swim at the beach at 05:00PM Adam said he was hungry so we headed for the campground with a stop at the office to quick check our mail and pos this blog.

                        Adam at the beach.

We are going to have a pizza for supper, that’ what Adam wanted and it’s the new generation camping supper. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna…..

Tips from Donna

An email buddy of mine sent some safety tips for the 4th. Many were the usual fireworks cautions, but one really got my attention.  The story was of a family that was bbqing, they cleaned their grill as usual with the wire brush, threw the burgers on and then sit down to eat.  The daughter complained of something caught in her throat, they assumed a piece of meat.  When the feeling did not go away they took her to the hospital.  An x-ray revealed a small metal piece.  It had pierced her esophagus and lodged in her neck, took 6 hours of surgery to remove.  A small piece of the metal from the brush had broken off and stayed on the grill, it stuck to the hamburger patty.  So if you use one of these brushes, please better safe than sorry, wipe the grill off after using a wire brush, or just used crumpled aluminum foil which works great at cleaning.

While in Wisc. I made no cholesterol brownies, both Steve and I are on cholesterol restricted diets. He really seemed to enjoy them.  You can cut recipe in half if need be.

2 boxes brownie mix (I generally get whatever is on sale).  Prepare as per instructions, but substitute egg beaters for real eggs. Add one additional ‘egg’ to recipe and handful of chocolate chips.

bake 350 in 13 x 9 pan  ( use smaller pan for 1/2 recipe) for about 30 minutes or until tester used approx 2 inches from outer edge comes out clean.

When it comes out of oven, melt about 12 oz choc chips with 4 tablespoons of  cholesterol free ‘butter’ in microwave, about 2 minutes, don’t overdo or will taste burnt.  Stir like crazy, if too thick add a little warm water a little at time until spreading consistency. Pour over hot brownies.

These aren’t calorie or fat free but are cholesterol free and a little goes a long way in satisfying a sweet tooth or chocolate craving.

Hope everyone had a fun filled and safe 4th.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO AMERICA

After taking out of oven

Monday Meanderings.

HAPPY JULY 4TH

HOLIDAY….

                                     

           

We were up early for the holiday , looking forward to the parade but it was pouring down rain and did so until parade time at 09:30AM so we decided to cancel for this year.

We spent a nice quiet day just the two of us the rain quit about noon and the sun poked out, My son Andy & Samantha had tickets for the Cardinal Game in St Louis so they were off to watch major league baseball. one of his friends gave him the tickets. Unless you can bag free tickets, a ball game is beyond the reach of the average Joe today, last time Donna and I went the seats were $35 each, a quick trip to the snack bar was almost $30, a beer was $7.50 needless to say you only have one. By the time your done and if you stop for something to eat on the way home you can easily kiss $125 dollars away.

The grill will be fired up for a couple of great looking steaks, with all the anticipation there will be no baked potatoes, Donna went to the potato box and it was empty, I guess my son made a midnight snack of leftover pork steaks and used the last of the potatoes. I guess she will surprise me with the substitute as no stores are open today.

I went out today and finished loading the fiver for the Lake, put my clothes bag in and loaded Adam’s bike on the rack. Then hooked the truck up and turned it around facing out the drive, so I can get an early start. I will leave the house at 07:00AM and then set up and then drive the truck to Warrenton to pick up Adam at 09:00AM. Don’t know if his friend Layne is coming but either way he has friends he plays with out at the Lake.

Have to make a quick stop for milk and bread. that’s about it all the essentials are in there. I try to keep the fridge and drinks stocked for quick getaways. I would like maybe one train trip this summer and then Donna and I want to take Adam someplace for a couple of kid days. before he heads back to school. If Nicole and Chris can get away we will include them also.

We always look forward to meeting our blogger friends so remember we are centrally and scenically located on the east side of MO on I-70 in Dardenne Prairie. Anyone crossing the country east-west is welcome to visit us at the Weeb Ranch. Just e-mail us to make sure we’ll be here and that e-mail address is in our About us.

Well be seeing you from the Lake tomorrow, be safe out there. Sam & Donna….

Sunday News.

Anther hot sunny day, Donna & I were up early for our coffee, and then I went to Wal-mart for some laundry detergent and paper goods. got Donna a tee shirt and one for me that were on sale, both for $8, and I needed printer cartridges for my Canon printer. It got into the high 90 again with over 100 heat index. but about 04:30PM it clouded up and a hard summer rain fell and dropped the temperature about 15 degrees.

Rigg’s and Sadie have found there place right under the ceiling fan on the kitchen floor.

                                 Rigg’s & Sadie.

        Sadie with all the toys piled in her doggie bed.

Donna is frying potatoes and grilling some  pork steaks, did I tell you you never have to worry about going hungry at the Weeb Ranch.

Tomorrow is the holiday and Donna is off both jobs ,she has some steaks for dinner planned. I can see a nice juicy baked potato in my future with lots of butter. Isn’t anticipation great.

Hope all is well with everyone out there in Blogland. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna…..

Saturday Mumblings.

Today started at 06:00AM with coffee with my bride, she slept in for a bit since she is off at the truck company today.

Thursday she had stopped to get the oil changed on her Escape, she had a coupon for a $14.99, since I almost can’t buy the oil and filter for that, I said sure have it done, When she came home she said the place that did it. Auto Tire, told her it needed front brakes and gave her an estimate of $300 to have it done. I told her that is why they put those coupons in the paper to get you to come in for an oil change and look for other work but I would check it Saturday morning when both cars were here.

I jacked it up and yes both side were below 50% of the front pads as I knew they would be since I had checked them last fall. Since I have lifetime pads, I took the old ones off and took them to Auto Zone and got my replacements free, the rotors spec’d out on the micrometer and could be reused. So other than the labor of jacking and removing the wheels and brake parts I had no out of pocket expenses, I even came out ahead as I had a set of brakes for one of my sons cars that was wrecked two days before we were going to put brakes on it, so I returned them for a cash refund.

In all fairness to Auto Tire, pads are $39.99 a set and rotors if they need replacement are $50 apiece so you would have had about $140 in parts and the rest labor, which is not out of line since most shops get right at $100 an hour for labor.

But free is hard to beat even on a hot day.

As I type this at 05:30PM it is 97degrees with a heat index of 107. Both dogs are happy to be laying under the ceiling fan, and next to the A/C duct near the kitchen table, do they have the life or what.

I am trying to keep hydrated with a couple of High Life Lights. Hey, don’t want to take any chances in this kind of heat. I remember when I was a boy my Dad & Grandfather would sit at the kitchen table with tee shirts and shorts on with a wet towel wrapped around their necks and have a couple cold ones on a night like this, no A/C back then. but fans that sounded like a propeller plane racing up.

Hope everyone is enjoying their holiday weekend. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna….

TGIF.

The day started as usual, coffee with my bride, then she was off to work, at the truck company and then the restaurant. I had my every three month Doctors visit at 09:00AM I like it when you are the first appointment of the day and can get in and out, I won’t bore you all with the numbers, but Dr. Steve when he walked in was all smiles and said have you gone over your numbers for this month, They give you a printout of the blood work from your last visit. I said yes and he said looks like your doing something right, stay with it. I told him it looks like were both doing something right, and he laughed. All my numbers were right on, not close, right on our goal numbers which is as close to ideal as I can get even my blood pressure today was 128/80 which for me is super I haven’t had numbers like this in years. Needless to say he said see ya in three months and keep it up.

I couldn’t wait to call Donna and give her the news, she is always amazed at my cholesterol number since I am heavy, it was right on today too.

Anyway that is the big news for the Weeb Ranch for today, My son Andy came in about 02:00PM and said Dad there is a big box in front of the garage door.

I went down and looked and the RV Cover I won from KEVIN & RUTH"S TRAVELS when they had the giveaway on their blog. Had indeed arrived..

                                     In the Box.

                 Carrying Bag in the Box.

What it should look like when on the fiver.(Empire Foto).

The cover was made by Empire Covers, they have a facebook page, a twitter site and also their website below.

http://www.empirecovers.com/Fifth-Wheel-RV-Covers.aspx check them out they also sell wheel covers and other RV accessories.

Although I won’t put it on until were done using the trailer for the fall, it looks like a really quality made product and I will be sending pictures when it is installed.

Another day of 90 degree temps and 100 heat indexes.After working outside, all day, Andy and his girlfriend and a couple others headed out to the pool to cool off. Rigg’s and I will have to be happy with the air conditioner.

That’s about it for today, hope everyone is having a good day. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna…