Chicken Repeat

The "Chicken on the Spit" was so good, we just had to do it again . . . and this time I remembered to take pictures!















The chicken was even better this time that the last time.

Chicken on the Spit

When I bought the new gas barbecue grill, I bought a rotisserie attachment at the same time, but didn't install it initially. Then Carole suggested "Chicken on the Spit", so I quickly began attaching the rotisserie to my new grill.

I discovered that the bolt holes didn't line up well and I needed to make some modifications. I struggled with it to long, but when I got it completed and turned on the spit for a trial run, I found that the motor was defective . . . it didn't run at all!

We returned the chicken to the refrigerator and settled on fish for dinner last night instead . . . which really was pretty good.

The next morning, I repackaged the whole rotisserie and returned it to Lowe's looking for another model which would fit my new grill better. However, no other model was available, so I simply exchanged it for one with a motor that worked . . . and I tried it out before I even left the store.

Back at home, attaching the rotisserie the second time around was easier. Then I fired up the grill, and put the "Chicken on the Spit"! Sorry, but I was so excited basting the chicken I forgot to snap a picture of it. An hour and a half later, the chicken was done and we had a delicious dinner of barbecued chicken. It was wonderful.

I'm looking forward to using my new grill the next time.

Out with the Old, In with the New

When we sold or otherwise disposed of our "excess stuff" last year and put the rest into storage, a few things were neither worth selling nor worth storing, but still useful enough to not put out for trash pick-up. One of those things was an old gas barbecue grill, which we left set out on the back deck through the Winter.

It didn't improve any over the Winter.







We planned to buy a nice new grill when we moved to a new downsized villa, patio home, or condo. However, since we brought our furniture out of storage and back into the house, Carole has been after me to buy a new grill now without waiting for the house to sell or a new downsized home to move into.

I resisted as long as I could . . . but then she said she would buy me a new grill! So, before she could change her mind, off we went grill shopping. Of course, our first stop was at Smoke 'N Fire, the gourmet barbecue store. I drooled over many of their amazing grills with price tags from $1,050 to $8,900. Even though they had wonderful grills, it didn't take long to realize this store was not in our price range.

Our next stop was Home Depot where grills were more in our price range. I wandered through the grill display while Carole sat in a chair and watched. The selection was somewhat limited so we left for our third stop, Lowe's. Lowe's had a very large selection for me to review, so Carole decided to return to the Blazer as her hips were hurting.

It didn't take long for me to zero in on a four burner model with a side burner and a stainless steel lid, which was on sale for $299. In addition, I had a 10% off coupon from Lowe's. I then added a rotisserie and a cover, went to the Blazer, pulled up to the front of the store and watched them load it for me.

At home, I quickly unloaded and unpacked my new grill and started the assembly. Two hours later, Carole called me for dinner so I put off finishing assembly until the next day. The next day, I spent another four or five more hours putting all of the pieces together. It would have been much easier if the instruction sheet had been written by someone outside of China, but the job was finally complete.


So "Out with the Old, In with the New" . . .














I can hardly wait to fire this baby up and do some serious barbecuing!

Memorial Day Weekend

It seems that the custom of family get-to-gathers, especially on holidays, is getting harder to maintain. The grand kids are so busy with soccer, baseball, scouts, practices of all kinds, sleepovers, and spending time with their friends . . . and my kids are so busy working, shuffling their kids around and taking care of household chores, it's difficult to find a time when everyone is available for a good old fashioned family get-to-gather.

This Memorial Day Weekend was one of those times when it was difficult to find a time when everyone was available. Steve (Dean's son) and his wife, Penny, both had to work all three days of the holiday weekend. Steve, of course, works in retail and Penny's research company had a booth at the American Royal where she spent the weekend working the booth. The grand kids had activities for most of the three days, but we did manage to squeeze in a dinner at John & Becky's late Sunday afternoon with all seven of their brood present.

John put steak and salmon on the grill. Becky prepared potatoes, vegetable, and salad. Carole supplied strawberry shortcake with whipped cream or ice cream for dessert. It was a great, although too infrequent, family get-to-gather. Next time I hope Steve & Penny will be able to join us.

We honored our fallen servicemen and veterans in true Memorial Day fashion. Over the weekend, we also visited the graves of Mark & Cindy as well as Jeri's memorial tree where we placed new American flags at each.

Wildlife Sanctuary

One of the benefits Carole enjoys most about living in the country is watching the numerous wildlife in the area. Our place is virtually a "Wildlife Sanctuary". It's easy to spend hours just looking out the window into the world of Mother Nature.

Carole enjoys feeding the birds and she attracts quite a variety. The following pictures would look better if I had a telephoto lens, but you can see a larger image by simply clicking any one of the pictures.


The brilliant color of the Indigo Bunting is amazing. They look iridescent in the sunlight.












The Bluebirds are fascinating to watch. They are constantly flying off to gather food, then returning to the nest to feed their young.











The Cardinals are pretty . . . and easy to locate because of their bright red color, especially the males.











The Downy Woodpeckers are the 'bully' of the bunch. When they want to eat, they chase all of the other birds away. They also try to get into the grape jelly Carole has out for the Orioles, so she is constantly shooing them away.









But the Red-Headed Woodpecker is the most colorful of all the Woodpeckers . . . bright red head and a body of contrasting snow white and black. They seem to be much gentler than the Downy Woodpecker.










The Baltimore Orioles are also wonderfully colorful birds, brilliant orange contrasted with dark black. They are attracted by oranges, which Carole keeps out for them, and they love grape jelly. When the grape jelly is gone, they start hollering at Carole until she refills their bowl.









We also see many other species of birds, such as the Yellow and Red Finches, Chickadees, Titmice, and several types of smaller Woodpeckers. We also have a number of Hummingbirds.


And, of course, we have lots of noisy Blue Jays. This one was squatting in the grass when I took the picture. She looked like she was laying an egg but I don't know what she was really doing.










Obnoxious Crows walk around the yard and flutter from tree to tree looking for a little roadkill out front. When several are in the area, they can sure make a lot of racket with their 'cawing'.

They compete with the ugly Turkey Buzzards for a free meal of roadkill.








In addition to birds, we have a lot of squirrels. They are fun to watch as they chase each other around and scamper up and down the trees. I have a corn holder on the side of a tree and it's fun to watch them grapple with an ear of corn chewing off the kernels one at a time . . . and sometimes running off to bury one.








Last year we had an albino squirrel in our yard all summer, who we named Al Bino (Isn't that original?). He was tiny when we first saw him and we had the pleasure of watching him grow to full size. He was snow white with pink eyes . . . really unique to watch. But, alas, he disappeared over the Winter, possibly a meal for a large owl who was keeping an eye on him. But we will never know his true fate. We miss him (or her).







Most of these pictures were taken out of our dining room window, so you can see that watching the birds and animals is common while we eat.

We also have lots of rabbits running around the yard in the evening. Deer pass through occasionally, but spend a lot of time under the apple trees along the driveway in late summer. Also we see an occasional fox crossing the yard, we sometimes smell a skunk, and, much to Carole's chagrin, walk around the place and you may even see a snake . . . but that's just a part of living in a "Wildlife Sanctuary".

Spring Clean-Up

When you live in a wooded area, the winds of Winter bring down lots of dead wood from the trees; limbs, branches, and sticks; large and small. I hook up the trailer to the tractor and circle through the part of the yard which we mow, picking up all the fallen dead wood, then stacking it all in a pile to be burned, come Springtime, as a part of the "Spring Clean-Up".




In addition, we had a row of White Pine trees 20'-25' tall along the road, which, unfortunately, have succumbed to a decease or blight that moved into our area from the South. Over the past several years, most of our White Pines have died and I have had to cut them down. Two more died over this Winter, so I got out the chain saw and added them to the burn pile.

We only have a couple White Pines left and they will probably be gone soon. It's a shame as they were such pretty trees.

Let There Be Light

After setting in the dark in the living room for a couple of evenings, we finally made it to the basement to dig through and open some of the boxes we have stacked and stored there. We managed to located boxes which had our lamps, unpacked and re-assembled them with harps, bulbs, and shades.

We distributed lamps to various locations in the living room, family room, dining room, office, and foyer. "Let There Be Light!"

The living room in the daytime and after dark:















The biggest difference is in the living room where there is no ceiling fixture, so watching TV was like going to the movie and setting in the dark. Now we can even read in the living room and see the person you're talking to.

Our new living room furniture can now be seen in a new light.

Mini-Dish Wifi Antenna

While we are at home with "The Bus" parked in our driveway, I pick up our Internet connection via wifi from our neighbor's house. They have a DSL line; we don't even have a phone line and, of course, cable connections are not available out here in the country. Our neighbor has graciously allowed me to use their Internet connection. However, the signal strength is generally very weak so that I can only pick up the signal in "The Bus", which sets in our driveway closer to the neighbor's. I have not been able to connect while in the house.

I found a "Mini-Dish Wifi Antenna" at a local electronics store. It's supposed to boost the incoming wifi signal up to 300%, so I bought one.




With this cute little "Mini-Dish Wifi Antenna", I can pick up the wifi signal from our neighbor's house. I now have moved my computer from "The Bus" into the house in a second story bedroom, which I use for an office. I set the "Mini-Dish" in the window and point it toward the neighbor's house.

Before I was unable to pick up any wifi signal in the house, but now I can use my computer in my second story office. I don't think it increases the signal 300%, but it does increase it enough to make the wifi signal usable.

What won't they think of next!

Real Furniture

Today we were able to fold up and store the card table chairs, thank God. Our new living room furniture, "Real Furniture", was delivered this morning. Our living room is pretty good size, 16' x 28', but Carole managed to buy enough furniture to fill it up.

I wonder what she will do with all of this furniture when we buy a new downsized villa, patio home, or condo. But for now, we have "Real Furniture" in the living room, which we can enjoy as long as we are home . . . and those hard uncomfortable folding card table chairs are put away . . . at least until we want to play cards.

It is nice during the day, but we need to locate our lamps which are in the storage boxes stacked in the basement. Until then, the light of the TV is our only light in the living room . . . so much for reading the paper after dark.

Mother's Day

After church on Mother's Day, we drove in town to visit the grave of Dean's daughter, Cindy, who we buried just a little over a year ago and to honor her memory on "Mother's Day". She was a great Mother to her three boys; Kyle, Luke, & Alex, who have recently had a marble bench placed at the graves of their Mother, Cindy, and their Father, Mark. What a great memorial. If you 'click' on this picture, you will see an enlarged version.





Also nearby is a tree planted in the memory of Jeri Davis, Dean's wife of 51 years and the mother of his kids. I am surprised at how big that tree has grown. Of course it is a Red Oak and will get quite large, but it is growing so fast.















We then talked to the Super-Mom, Becky, and to Penny & Brenda . . . so we honored all of the Mothers in our lives on "Mother's Day" . . . including Carole.

Home on the Range

One of our neighbors has had a herd of Ankole Watusi cattle for many years. They have horns similar to the Texas Longhorn, but are an African breed. Generally these cattle are spread across the pasture grazing, but today, for some unknown reason, many of them were bunched together along the fence. Click on the picture to enlarge.



I was so surprised to see all of those horns sticking up in the air above the herd, I had to stop and take a picture. This is our country neighborhood, "Home on the Range"!

The real value in raising this breed is not in selling the meat, but selling the horns to Western Indian Tribes who use them in ancestral religious ceremonies. I am told the Tribes will pay quite a bit of money for those large horns. Sounds like a better investment than today's stock market!

Furniture Shopping

We were really getting tired of setting on folding card table chairs. Those chairs may be comfortable for an evening of playing cards, but they don't work well for reading the newspaper, a magazine, or a book . . . or an evening of conversation while entertaining friends . . . let alone watching a TV show. Something had to be done!

So, it was not a case of deciding to go "Furniture Shopping", it was a matter of necessity! Our butts couldn't take much more of those hard card table folding chairs. We jumped in the Blazer and made a beeline for the Nebraska Furniture Mart, the furniture super-store in Kansas City, Kansas.


We wandered through acres of furniture led by our Salesperson, Janel Thiessen. I thought we would wear her out, or at least end up being her only sale for the entire day, but she was so gracious in tolerating our meticulous shopping pace. What else could she expect from a couple of old people both set in their ways . . . especially when one has years of home decorating experience. Janel, pictured here with Carole, was a sweetheart with the patience of a saint! And a great sense of humor.







With Janel's guidance, we were able to zero in on a living room grouping which Carole liked. A three cushion couch, a two cushion love seat, a chair, and a large ottoman. The covering is a green-brown cloth which looks and feels like suede leather.

Carole is pictured here relaxing comfortably in the chair and ottoman she selected . . . while Janel is in the background writing up the sale . . . finally . . . but we did complete the transaction early enough in the day to allow time for her to hopefully make another sale before she gets off work at 9:00 PM.




In addition to the living room grouping, we picked out a recliner for Dean in a burgundy color leather. Actually, the color is called "Merlot" by the Lane factory. Sounds like it should be perfect for sipping wine and spills will just blend in!

Then we splurged and bought Dean a new gun cabinet . . . not a gun safe, just a small nice looking locking wood cabinet with glass doors and a little storage area. The wood is very attractive . . . it looks like natural finished hickory.

With all of that furniture shopping . . . literally all afternoon . . . we had worked up quite an appetite. So we drove down the street and stopped at the Longhorn Steakhouse, for which we had some gift cards. We relaxed with a cocktail or two and a nice steak dinner while discussing how Carole would arrange our new furniture in the house. But the real challenge will come when she tries to squeeze all of this new furniture into a downsized place when we find one.

But we'll worry about that later as we have had enough "Furniture Shopping" for today and are already looking forward to home delivery next Tuesday so we can get rid of those hard folding card table chairs and treat our butts to some nice comfortable chairs.

Bare Living Room

Carole got her furniture and other stuff "Out of Storage" and back "In the House". She should be happy now . . .


The dining room furniture is in place . . .















The bedroom furniture is in place . . .















But we have a "Bare Living Room" as we sold all of the living room furniture except for some tables and a couple of antique rocking chairs.

We set up some folding card table chairs to set on, but they sure are hard. I don't know how long our butts will be able to stand these hard folding chairs.

All of our lamps, pictures, wall hangings, and decorator pieces are still in the boxes stacked in the basement. We really need to dig some of those out to cover barren walls.





Carole is happy to be home and have the furniture "Out of Storage" and "Back in the House", but she can't be too happy with a "Bare Living Room". We'll see how long before her butt can't take those hard folding chairs any longer and we will have to go "Furniture Shopping".

Out of Storage - Into the House

Today the Moving & Storage Company brought our stuff "Out of Storage" and back "Into the House". I thought we had disposed of enough stuff so that everything would fit into a downsized patio home, villa, or condo. But it took two moving vans to bring all of our stuff from storage.



It's a good thing we don't have a "downsized" place to live yet, as it wouldn't hold all of the stuff we have left. Obviously we are not yet downsized enough and will have to have a couple more garage sales or an auction before we will be able to move to a downsized place.

Most of the boxes, we had stacked in the basement ready for our next move to a downsized location when the house sells.

But, for now, Carole has her furniture "Out of Storage" and back "Into the House".