December 2021

 December was a quiet and fairly warm month.  Dave and I continued working at Honey Baked Ham up until Christmas eve.  We worked long hours every day and saw overtime hours on our paycheck.  Dave got several customer reviews for doing a great job, (if you ever purchase a ham from Honey Baked, there is a survey at the bottom of your receipt, just go online and fill out the short survey giving your opinion of the person who helped you).  The store we worked at would post the certificates on the wall behind the counter.  I would point out to Dave all the "Atta' boys" that he got.  He would just smile, and say, 'Really?".  I have several customers who asked for me, and when the manager and assistant manager would call me upfront, the customer would thank me for doing a great job of helping them place the order, or give them clear directions to find the store.  A couple days before Christmas, a gentleman came into the store and asked for me.  When I went up front to the register, he said, "Hi, I'm ***, and you helped me on the phone.  I want you and the managers to know that you are just too nice to be working here at Christmas time".  I just laughed and thanked him.  He then said, "I also own a bakery, and I wanted to give you this loaf of Chocolate Raspberry Rum bread, freshly baked this morning.  If you want you can share it with the store or take it home.  Also here are 2 of our store's oatmeal white chocolate chip cookies.  Enjoy."  I thanked him and told him I would give the cookies to my husband and pointed out Dave to him.  He told Dave that I was a real keeper, and Dave gave him a thumbs up.  Kyra, (our assistant manager), whispered in my ear, "No customer has ever done this before".  Since that day we already had so many homemade cookies, candies, and treats, I decided to wait a couple of days to share the bread with the crew.  After setting a couple days, the bread was delicious, I wish I could find his bakery to buy more.

On December 9th, we finally got snow, and boy did we ever get snow, (8 inches).  And it snowed for 2 days.  The mountains got 2 1/2 feet.  It really helps our water situation.  Then the temps got warm and it melted, but it started to feel like winter and look like Christmas

Our grandchild, (who was living with us), had an auto accident on the night of the 19th and now was no longer with a car.  So then the grandchild decided to move back in with their mom for a while.  It was been nice and quiet around the house.  Dave and I spent days working at Honey Baked, coming home eating a quick dinner, going to bed, getting up, and going back to work again.  

After finishing up at Honey Baked, the last week of December we got ready for a Caribbean cruise. 

We took our Covid test, (with negative results) on the 28th, and we dropped Opal, (our cat), at the kennel on the 28th.  Packed and left for Miami on the evening of the 29th.  We spent the night at a motel in Miami, boarded the cruise ship at 11:30 AM on the 30th of December, and set sail at 4:00 PM, for 10 days.  The ship normally cruises with 5,000, but for safety, they only allowed 1,500 passengers, and we had to be fully vaccinated, and have a negative Covid test 2 days before sailing. 

New Year's Eve was a formal night.  The whole ship was decorated, and dinner was extravagant.  The partying went on until the wee hours of the morning, but Dave and I didn't last that long, just around midnight we crashed into bed.  We knew that we had plenty ahead of us.  We were on our way to Panama, Costa Rico, Columbia, and Aruba.

What a way to end the year, and after more than 2 years without any cruising this was a great way to start cruising again. 

November 2021

November temps started cooling down, but they were still in the 50's, and still no rain.  We normally get our first snow around the 3rd week of November, but still no snow and the ski resorts, (which usually open on Thanksgiving weekend). turned off their snowmaking machines and decided to wait until Christmas, (it was just too warm, and the little snow they were able to make was melting as fast as they were making it).

Dave and I finished cleaning out the garden the 1st week, we had quite a few carrots, a few turnips, and a few potatoes left in our root bed to be dug up.  We shared a large bag of carrots and gave all the turnips to the neighbors across the street.  They were very grateful, and later the next week as Dave was cleaning up the leaves, their oldest son, (he's 13), came over and asked if he could help.  Dave was very grateful for the help and gave him some money for the help, (which he was very reluctant to take).

The first week of November, I got a call back from Honey Baked Hams, asking if I would come back again for the holidays to take phone orders.  I started back to work on the 9th.  There was pretty much a whole new crew of holiday workers this year.  Our unemployment rate in Utah is so low, (less than 3%), that those who are want to work are already working, and it's very difficult for employers to find help.  There were only 4 returning holiday workers, and the rest were all new hires.

Dave was one of those new hires this year  He worked the front of the store, (cashing, stocking coolers and shelves, and even training other new hires).  He learns so fast, and he's so good with people.  The general manager and he bonded so quickly.  They would go into the cooler to talk about store strategies and where to place products and which employees needed more register help, etc.  The assistant manager really appreciated Dave's help with training the other employees.

When the season was over, and we picked up our last checks, we were asked, "You are both coming back to help us out at Easter time.  Right?"

This year, I managed to finish an advent cross stitch calendar for our great-granddaughter, (Autumn).  On Thanksgiving weekend, Dave and I drove over and gave it to her.  She and her mom were so surprised.  Trevor remembered when I cross-stitched the same one for him 25 years ago, (the first Thanksgiving his mom and dad were married).  Autumn ran over to the living room wall, (where she had a little store-bought advent calendar, took it down and hung up the one I made.  Dave helped me during the final production, he cut and painted the dowel, and helped with the measurements.  I was worried I wouldn't get it finished, but Dave was a great help.

November flew by, and we were so busy with working every day and still trying to get the last of our outside chores done before winter.  We were so exhausted by Thanksgiving.  We just had a quiet day at home alone, (just the 2 of us).  I fixed a small meal, (we got a free turkey breast from Honey Baked, a fixed a couple sides, and we had a small pie.  It was a nice quiet peaceful day.

 

October 2021

October weather finally started to cool down to the 80's.  It was more like fall.

Dave and I spent the first week of October clearing out the garden of the last of the above-ground produce and getting the beds ready for winter.  Once again, our butternut squash was a good producer, we gave away 6 large-sized squash to our neighbors and kept these smaller-sized ones for us.  They are sitting in our garage, waiting for us to use them this winter.  We still have to dig up our carrots, and just a few turnips and beets yet.  The herbs are still producing, and I've been clipping and drying them.

For our anniversary, Dave and I took a trip to Kississimme, Florida for a week.  We spent the week just relaxing around the pool, and resting.  For our anniversary dinner, we received a gift card from Jared to Flemings Prime Steak House and went out for a wonderful steak dinner.  When they showed us to our table, we were greeted with an anniversary card, and hearts.

The meal was first class all the way, and we split the entree, (a very large rib-eye steak), crispy broccoli, asparagus, and for dessert, I had a key lime pie and Dave had a caramel brownie al' a mode.  We were so stuffed, and we brought home half of our meal, for dinner the next evening.  It was a wonderful evening.

We came home to find a dusting of snow on the ground and I sighed with relief that we were able to get the garden and all the flower beds cleaned up before we left.  The snow only lasted 1 day, and the temps then climbed back up to the mid 70's, and the water level for our state still hasn't increased.  Here's hoping for snow in December to fill the reservoirs for next year.  Dave and I spent the rest of the month cutting down our decorative grasses and getting the front and back yard ready for winter.  We're still hearing about more friends who are getting COVID and wondering why they still won't get vaccinated, (???).  We still wear our masks out in public, but for the most part, we stay home.  Here's hoping that our family and friends will stay healthy as this new strain is starting to gain momentum and spread.

September 2021

September continued to be a hot and dry month.  Still no rain, and triple-digit temps.  We are growing quite concerned about what our water situation will be like next year.

September was a very quiet month for Dave and me.  We continued to work in the garden, gathering the harvest and getting the produce canned and frozen for winter.  We shared much with our friends, family, neighbors, and the Senior Center.  

A couple of days before my birthday, I was out in the garden working, and I walked into the house, (just as the doorbell rang).  It was a local florist with a delivery for me.  Dave sent me a huge flower delivery for my birthday.  He is so wonderful to always remember me.

This year for Dave's birthday, I sent him a box of chocolate-covered strawberries.  They are one of his favorite treats.

We both got our Covid booster shots this month.  Hopefully, we will have that extra protection again this dreaded disease.  We still continue to wear our masks when we are out in large public gatherings are among people we don't know.  We don't go out much, and we're fine with staying at home.  Here's hoping our friends and family are all staying healthy.

August 2021

August was as usual in the Rocky Mountains, HOT, HOT, HOT.   We had 16 days of triple-digit temps and added to that our skies were extremely smokey from all the California fires.  It made for an uncomfortable month, but as usual, we survived.

Our water restrictions were still in place, and we only watered at night and then very little to keep the lawn just green and alive.  I did do a twice-daily watering on the garden, so we wouldn't lose our plants.  It was a bumper year for our tomatoes, and the few neighbors we do have small gardens had a bumper crop of tomatoes.

Last October, I planted garlic. and the first part of August I harvested our little crop.  I dried it on the deck, then I cleaned the bulbs and braided the stems, and trimmed off the roots.  This winter we will be able to enjoy our own homegrown garlic.  It smelled so wonderful as I was working the stems and braiding it.  It is hanging in our pantry, and it gives me a little smile whenever I look at it.

It's been quite a few years since we've grown corn, so this year we planted some Salt and Pepper variety.  It was ready to harvest starting August 1st.  Every 4 or 5 days, we would harvest a dozen or so ears.  We would have 2 ears that evening for dinner, and then I would cut the kernels from the cob and freeze a couple quarts for this winter.  We were able to harvest corn until the end of September. and now we'll have plenty of corn this winter.

Our peach tree was quite a producer this year.  We gave away about 2 bushels to our neighbors, the local Senior Center, and friends.  The peaches were so sweet and juicy.  I made several cobblers, some peach bread, a pie, and froze several quarts.  I still had these 2 bushels left.  They were sitting on our deck, and in just one day's time, the high heat, and a light hot rainstorm came along and ruined them.  I was so sick when I  noticed that they had to all be destroyed.

On the 19th of August, we flew to Minneapolis to visit Jared and stayed for 5 days.  We helped celebrate his 41st birthday.  It was a low-key event.  We visited a couple of sites, went out to dinner a couple of evenings, but mostly just stayed around the house and visited.  

Dave and I are still staying at home for the most part.  We have found that it's nice to go down to the local Senior Center for lunch a few days a week.  We visit with other people our age, swap stories, and sometimes catch a free movie at the center.  It makes for a nice change of pace.  We are finding out that more of our friends have caught the Covid virus, and we've been thankful that we've gotten the vaccine early.  We have heard that a booster is soon going to be available, and we are planning of getting it when the time comes.  We home the rest of our family and friends stay healthy and well  Take care.

 

July 2021

WOW - July was another HOT month.  Still, no rail, until the 20th of July (finally - it started out on Tuesday as a light sprinkling on and off that day.  The next day we finally got a good downpour of rain most of the day, and some cooler temps for the few days).  Unfortunately, because our ground was so dry, none of the rainfall was collected in our reservoirs - the rain was all soaked up by the ground.  July turned out to be the hottest and driest month ever on record.

Dave and I enjoyed a nice quiet day at home on the 4th.  We grilled out and had a quiet day at home.  The neighborhood supplied us with quite a show of fireworks that evening.

July also brought Barbara some sad news on the 6th. Her brother, (David), passed away, at the age of 61.  He lived in Oklahoma City and in the early hours that morning, he was found dead on a bus bench.  They're not sure if he died from a heart attack or OD'ed.  David was the 4th of 7 children, (the middle child.  He was always getting into some kind of trouble, (but it was mostly just BS kind of trouble, not really bad).  The local police department knew David well, and they delighted in hassling him for little things.  David dropped out of school just a few months after starting high school and he liked, (no, strike that - he LOVED) to drink.  He hung out with kids that he knew since grade school and they all would somehow find money and someone to supply them with beer.  As he got older, Dave started doing drugs.  The police would pick him up, hassle him about the state of his condition.  Sometimes they would drive him home, sometimes they would lock him up for the night and release him the next morning, as he was sober enough to get home.  David left Ohio for Oklahoma when he was about 20.  The family would hear from him every couple of years.  He would manage to come home about every 10 years, but he always left when the local police started hassling him again.  It was sad that he died alone, on a bus bench,  Hopefully he's found his peace now.

Our granddaughter finally got a car!  Now we won't have to run her to all her appointments and back and forth to work.  She finally has more freedom to come and go without depending on us.  Hopefully the next step is to get her into her own apartment.

Our great-granddaughter came to spent the day and night with us.  It had been so long, since we'd seen her, and she's grown so much.  Dave noticed as we were walking through the mall, she's almost as tall as Barbara.  First, it was the grandkids who would measure every time they came over, to see if they were finally taller than Grandma.  Now it's the great-grandkids starting to see when they are taller than grandma.  And so the circle of like continues.

The garden has been doing great and producing very well.  It has really loved the heat this year, and with an extra watering, (when the temps are 100 or above), the plants are really happy.

An example of a usual garden pick.

2 days later, I still pick another load of tomatoes.

I've have pressure canned several turns of tomatoes, made several quart bags of tomato sauce, (in the freezer), and frozen quartered tomatoes.  I've shared garden tomatoes and tons of mini salad tomatoes with friends and neighbors, (by the bag fulls).  And they keep coming.

This has been my first year for a good zucchini crop.  I can pick the 3 bushes cleans and 3 or 4 days later, this is what I pick again.  I have frozen shredded zucchini for baking this winter.  I've give quite a bit away.  I made a couple dozen of my Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins, Zucchini Bread, Fried Zucchini, Zucchini Fritters.  And they keep coming.

We keep hoping for a break in these hundred degree temps, and for the skies to clear out smoke from the California fires, and also some rain would be nice.  But mostly, we keep hoping for this COVID virus to start dying out and for our family and friends to remain healthy and safe.

June 2021

June arrives with summer heat in full force.  The whole month was extremely hot, temps were high 90's to the 100's.  We had one day that we hit 107 (the hottest day ever for June), and most of the days were 96 degrees to 102 degrees.  It was the hottest June ever recorded since the weather service started keeping track.  On the 24th, we finally got our first little bit of rain (first since April), but it was only 1 1/3 inches.  And then we went back to a dry spell the rest of the month.

By the 14th of the month, it just got too hot for Dave and me to do our daily walks.  It would be 85 degrees by the time we got up in the morning, and it just continued to get hotter.

One good thing about June, our city was running a summer contest, "Buy Local, Spend Local, Win Local".  If you purchased anything from a local merchant and sent in a copy of your receipt, you were entered into a weekly drawing for a $100 visa gift card.  The first week of June, Dave won a gift card and the 2nd week of June, I won a gift card.  That was a nice $200 surprise for our family.

A neighbor across the street, (Lisa) went to visit her grandparents in California in the first part of June, and she brought back some freshly picked lemons from their tree and shared them with us.

The first thing I made was a lemon curd pie.  It had been about 6 years since the last time I made a fresh lemon curd pie.  It was delicious.  Then I made 2 loaves of fresh lemon bread (I gave one to Lisa for her family to enjoy).  It had been ages since I made lemon bread.  It was also a delicious treat.  Finally, I took the last 3 lemons and made some basil-lemonade.  It was so refreshing on a hot June day.

Lisa promised to bring back more lemons the next time she went to visit her grandparents.

Dave has finally found a hobby to pursue during his retirement.  READING.  Every morning, he goes out on our deck and reads a book for an hour or two (until the heat gets too high).  He's already finished 2 books and several magazines in June.  He turns on the water stream, relaxes to the sound of the water and the birds, and enjoys his time reading outside.

My garden is producing.  For Father's Day, we were able to enjoy fresh tomatoes.  And by the end of June, the zucchini was getting ready to pick, along with the turnips, basil, and small salad tomatoes.

We are slowly starting to get out a little more (grocery stores, restaurants, etc.).  But, we still wearing our masks (even though the mask mandate has been lifted in the state).  We have been watching the numbers of COVID cases continue to rise and fall each week, and we don't want to take a chance (even though we are both vaccinated).

With the weather so hot, we spend a lot of time at home, indoors (staying cool with the air conditioning).

We hope all our friends and family continue to stay healthy and safe this summer.