Saturday, September 19, 2015

Saturday, September 19, 2015

What the Beck???

Recipe Review

Today’s Recipe and Location: Bagel and Cream Cheese Baked French                                                       Toast

Found in: The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays

Pages:  12 - 14    Copyright:  2013 Harper Collins

I figured out that there are 300 calories,  if 15 servings are made. (Please note that the calorie counts vary depending on the specific brands of ingredients that you choose to use.)

         I loved this dish the first time I made it, so I decided that this is what I would make for the fire department that serves my neighborhood. I am trying to make a conscientious effort to do one simple act of kindness a week. I brought this dish, the dip that follows, some amazing small toasts, crackers, orange juice, and syrup. The firemen were so sweet and thankful. My brother-in-law is a fireman in St. Charles, and I know they have to provide their own meals, so I thought this might be something nice to do for them. I love firemen!  Anyone who will run into a burning building to save me deserves my gratitude!

My ingredients

I just wrapped it in foil so it was ready
for the firemen to cook in the oven.

Clean out the refrigerator dip

         Since I was cooking, I decided to see what else I had in the fridge. I had one leftover red bell pepper and some cream cheese approaching the expiration date. I love cream cheese!  I thought I would try to make a dip. I also added some pesto that was leftover from a previous recipe to the cream cheese and pepper. There was about a fourth of a cup f pesto in the jar. I mixed it all together and tasted it. I thought it was pretty good. I also added some fresh basil and a few sprigs of parsley from my herb garden on my deck. That was the key, I decided.  This dip was also given to the firemen to enjoy.

Stress test

         I had a discussion with my physician about having another stress test. It has been a long time since I had one, actually since we found out that I was in A-fib.  I felt the need to go into retirement with the knowledge that I am fit as a fiddle.  He agreed that it was time to recheck my heart with a stress test. 

         I had my test at Delnor where the staff was wonderful and very professional. They laughed when asked if I could take their photo for my blog. I have always had great experiences at Delnor Hospital now Northwestern.

This was a cardio stress test, so I had to
dive onto the bed quickly, so they
could watch my heart at the faster beat

The machinery for my stress test

These are the wonderful ladies
who performed the test

Thursday, September 17, 2015

Thursday, September 17, 2015

What the Beck???

Curves Bee Hive

       This is a large beehive that was in a tree in the parking lot at Curves.  Isn’t it nasty looking?

Imagine how many bees live here!

LaSalle County Courthouse in Ottawa

       I am on a mission to discover the “real” last name of my family. My grandfather and his siblings (on my Dad’s side) grew up in Streator, Illinois. When they were young children, their Mom died. Unfortunately, my great grandfather could not work and take care of his young children at the same time, so he put them in some type of orphanage. To make matters worse, the orphanage burned, as did the records of the children’s name. The children were placed with a family from Streator named Guerdon. My great grandfather began calling himself Guerdon, as did his children, but they did not change the name legally. Then, my great grandfather passed away.

         When my grandfather was getting ready to get married, he wanted to know what his real name was, so he went to one of the two courthouses in Streator, and selected the name he thought belonged to his family. My Aunt Dorothy was convinced that this was not our name. My Aunt Ada agrees with her. If he did not research all three children and verify the name, he may have been incorrect. Aunt Dorothy believed the name was something like Zoems.

         The first thing you need to know is that Streator is divided into two counties: LaSalle and Livingston. I spent a couple of days at the LaSalle County Courthouse and looked through the books below.

         I checked the birth of every child born between 1884 – 1903. I did not find an Amiel, David, and Frieda with the same last name, or with parents named Matthew and Emma.

These pages made my eyes cross after
reading them so much every day

This was one of the second set of books I had
to look through for people who reported
their child's birth later than expected.

Look at the size of these babies!
That is why it took me so long to
go through two entire sets of them.

         It took a long time and many hours of researching, but I am not discouraged. I have eliminated one courthouse, and am now on to the next one. I also plan on discovering the name of the orphanage, and if it is associated with a church. If it is, then there is a chance that the church may have a duplicate set of records.  So, it looks like I will also need to visit the local newspaper office, or the library.  Sounds like a week’s worth of research to me.  Wish me luck!

"Do you miss teaching?"

       That is the number one question I am asked weekly. My answer is always the same.  “NO!  I truly miss my school friends, but my kids are gone, and I was REALLY ready to try new things and have new adventures.”  People always think that I should be having a hard time and pine for what I had, but I loved my job for 30 years, and I was ready to move on. Will I ever miss meetings??? Never!  Will I miss report cards and conferences???  Never!  Will I ever miss the day-to-day schedule???  Never!!!  I love getting up now and doing just what I want to do each day.  My schedule is totally created by my likes and dislikes.

         I do have to say that I am never bored.  I am STILL cleaning that darned basement, although it is almost done. I haven’t touched the sewing room, because I have been focused on my family events, as you can tell from the blog entries. I am now focused on Kentucky and my family research.

         How can I not love being retired????

Judy Carne

         Did you know that Judy Carne died on September third of pneumonia at the age of 76? I remember her so well from Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In. She was the “Sock it to me” girl.

Are you old enough to remember Judy?  She was great.

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

What the Beck???

Tuesday Afternoon on my Kentucky trip continued

         A little bit down Main Street, I ventured into Country Heart Crafts. They had a lot of fragrant candles in little pots. The owner, Storme Vanover, told me the contents of these little pots goes into a warmer, and fills the air with the fragrance.  They created their own scents. I was amazed at how many they had in the store. I bought two little pots after Storme told me that if you didn’t want to buy a pot, all of you had to do is to rub your finger over the top layer, and it would emit the smell into the air.  I purchased Eucalyptus and Golden Lilac.  It was a fun mini purchase.

       I was now beyond famished, since it was 2:30, and headed back to Dry Ridge for lunch, since Williamstown totally lacks a good restaurant.  I went over to the Cracker Barrel because I knew the quality of their food.  I had the best Reuben sandwich of my life.  Either that, or my mind was distorted due to my intense hunger. I sat quietly in a corner reading a book, and reflecting on my afternoon so far.

Doesn't it look great?

       One of the places that I really wanted to visit was the local animal shelter. So off I went back to Williamstown. I had researched ahead, and was distressed to learn that it was a kill shelter. The people who ran the shelter were amazingly kind. One of the gentlemen took me on a tour of the facilities. When I saw the “dog room” was full, I asked him if they would be euthanizing these dogs. He told me that they still had another empty room, so these dogs were safe for now. The dogs were so sweet that I had to take a photo of all of them.  There was not a mean one in the bunch. I wish I could have taken them home.  I did ask them if they took in large animals and they said that the county does that job, and that they are restricted to small animals only. I sat in my car for a few minutes, and cried. These animals need to find a home!

       My next venture took me to a small thrift store. I saw it and thought, “What the heck?”  I just bought a purse for $1.00.  It made me happy.

       My final stop of the afternoon was the Kentucky State Police Headquarters.

       I wanted to find out why Williamstown’s crime rate was four times higher than the rate in Dry Ridge. It was a quandary to me, because in my opinion Williamstown was the nicer of the two towns. I discovered that Dry Ridge had only one officer who worked days. Williamstown and the County Sheriff picked up all crime in the evening and into the night. Dry Ridge also had more Section 8 government housing than Williamstown, which can lead to an increase in incidents. It was a good thing that I checked. Williamstown gets a bad reputation, because their crime rate is misleading. This is a good example of why it is important for me to actually visit these cities. I would never have know about the steepness of the land, or that an Ark was being built, and the town was about to explode with new residents.

       It was now after six, and I was sitting in the large room across from the hotel entrance trying to process my day. I began writing these blog entries when a woman entered with her dog. The Hampton in Dry Ridge, has certain floors reserved for guests with pets. Marsha and Mini, her sweet little dog, were returning to Michigan. She had been visiting her daughter in North Carolina. She was fascinated with the maps, business cards, and photos I had strewn all over an enormous table as I went over each aspect of my day. We had such a nice talk.

Isn't Mini a cutie?

       I was so exhausted that I, who am not a great sleeper, went to bed at 8:00 p.m.  I awoke at 1:00 in the morning. I started thinking about everything that I had learned that day. I realized that it would be a waste of time to spend any more time in either of these towns because they were already a definite NO!  So I called the front desk and checked out at two our time, which is three a.m. their time. I saved about $500 by leaving early Wednesday morning, which I can use on my next trip to Kentucky. 

       A strange thing happened on Wednesday night when I was at home. I awoke in the middle of the night to the TV blaring. I glanced at the screen and there was Noah talking about the Ark.  I did a double take, and then realized that it was a movie.  I had never seen the movie Evan Almighty before. The show was almost over, but I loved the last line of the movie. God said to Noah, “The way to change the world, it by doing one simple act of kindness each day.” I lay there for a while, thinking about that line. Finally, I fell asleep. In the morning, I couldn’t believe that show was on two more times.  I watched it from beginning to end. It is really a funny movie. It seemed like a sign that to me. So, I thought I should make it a point to try to increase the simple acts of kindness that I do for others. Maybe that it also the reason I was supposed to go to visit Williamstown and Dry Ridge.

       I loved every minute of my trip.  I can’t wait to venture out again.

The End...

Sunday, September 13, 2015

Sunday, September 13, 2015

What the Beck???

Tuesday Afternoon on my Kentucky trip

              After I left the cemetery, I decided to take a late lunch, and begin exploring the town. I began driving around and found a little hobby shop that was attached to Harold Moore’s Custom Framing. When I entered the shop I realized everything was packed up. Harold Moore was a sweet man who explained that the hobby shop owner was very ill, and his family had closed the shop. Harold and I talked for a few minutes about Williamstown when he gave me the most important information I would receive on this trip. A private group was building a replica of Noah’s Ark. That was the construction site by the cemetery.  He was so excited because this would help the town dramatically. Yikes! This was great news for the town, but not for me. Harold said they expected to have near one million people come to Williamstown, next summer. He was so thrilled, but my balloon deflated.  I decided I needed to learn more about this Ark!

Mr. Harold Moore

       Before I left this strip mall I saw a business that brought a smile to my face. One thing that I am not is a teacher of small children.  I loved this name and had to include it for all of you who know this is one of my weaknesses.

I figured my school friends
would appreciate this one

       As I drove off, I decided to go to the Williamstown City Government Complex and find out more about the Ark.

       I needed to take a pit stop so I went into the first room and asked to use their bathroom. It turned out that this was the Senior Citizen Center. Here I met these lovely seniors who were involved in a card game. They were so sweet and asked me about my visit. They gave me a lot of information about the town, and even invited me to play cards with them. I was so touched by their kindness. Unfortunately, I had so many places to go that I had to decline their invitation.

       I thanked them but told them I needed to keep moving if I was going to get through the entire town today. My next stop was right down the hall. I went into the Mayor’s Office and met Jessica.

Jessica

       She not only filled me in on the enormous plans for the Ark, but allowed me to take photos of the plan, as well as to snap pictures of the photos taken on the site already.  I was told that they expected to have 500 new jobs open next spring.  What a major development for this little town of 4,000 folks. To learn more about the ark and their plans, you can go to: 

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=arkencounter.com

The ark is on the right and the rest is a huge park.

Beginning stages

An inside view

       I then stopped at the Williamstown Police Station, which is housed in the same building. I had some concerns about the crime statistics of both Dry Ridge and Williamstown. Unfortunately, the officer or clerk that I talked to was not able to answer my questions. She did, however, refer me to the Kentucky State Police Station who dispatches officers to both towns. 

       By this time I was absolutely starving. I headed for the Red Carpet Restaurant. 

         When I entered, it kinda reminded me of a greasy spoon dive – not as clean as I am used to, and contained OLD booths. As I entered the dining room, I was uneasy as all talking ceased. I said, “Hi” to the room in general. There were about 20 – 25 men in the place. They all looked like typical workers. I sat down and everyone continued to stare at me.  I sat down and sunk into the vinyl booth. After about three minutes of being the center of attention I walked out. I was so “creeped” out that I actually felt unclean. My sister, Kim, told me to be careful, and I was pretty proud of myself for leaving so quickly when I became uncomfortable in the situation.  Thanks for the advice Kimmer. This was really the only negative moment of this trip.

  

       One of the main attractions in Williamstown is the William Arnold Log House on Main Street. The house is only open on Fridays so I was out of luck.  It looked really cool, however.

It is a cool looking home

The sidewalk leading up to
it thanks all of the donors.

I loved the names Reb and Wylene

          This is getting so long that I need to add another day. My afternoon was just filled with people and places.

To be continued....

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

What the Beck?????

Preparing and Starting my First Kentucky trip

Monday, August 31, 2015

       My Kentucky trip began with the planning. I started at the Aurora Auto Mall, where I rented a cute, little, white Chevy Horizon. I wanted an economy car. It was really roomy, but any time in a car gets old quickly. I had a five hour and 55 minute trip to begin.

       I rented the car for Monday, August 31st through Friday, September 4^th. I was surprised that it only cost me $24 a day with no mileage cost. The car also got about 55 – 58 miles per gallon. 

      

       The next thing I did was schedule the Sandwich Vet to board my sweet girls. The pups were very unhappy on Monday morning when I dropped them off at 7:30 a.m.. Prior to going I was "baggie happy." I prepared food for each meal in individual baggies. I also had a treat bag for each dog and a special bag for Willow's meds. The girls at the vet told me that they were glad that I did this because it made it so much easier for the kennel staff. Okay, it is a little anal - okay maybe a lot!  But it worked.

Being prepared can never be a bad thing for this girl

Unfortunately, they are on different food, because
Willow has to have hypo-allergic expensive food.

       I then drove to the Hertz Rental, picked up the car at 9:00, and headed for two Kentucky cities that are side-by-side. Dry Ridge and Williamstown are about 15 – 20 minutes south of Cincinnati, Ohio. I made good time and arrived in Dry Ridge where I was going to stay at the Hampton Inn. Unfortunately, the sign pointed to the left for Dry Ridge and the hotel was to the right, so I started out lost. Unlike many men, I pulled over and asked these sweet little girls and their Moms for directions. The girls were having a bake sale, so I donated $3.00 for some cookies and directions. I could now see the hotel from where we were standing.

I loved the people of Kentucky

       I checked in, as my reservation was ready to go, because I had confirmed while on the road, or should I say on the roadside.  Okay Steve, here comes the typical Becky move – after watching Hotel Impossible I knew how to check for bedbugs, and inspected the room for cleanliness. Stop laughing!  No bugs…no dirt…a truly lovely room except it smelled slightly musty.

       I decided to drive around and inspect both towns before I lost my light. The towns are as close as Geneva and St. Charles, so I quickly got my bearings.

      

This is downtown Williamstown
It was so darn quaint

This is their courthouse.
After this, I was so hungry,
 so I quit driving and went to dinner

       I was now starving so I went to the Waffle House. This was a favorite memory of mine from living in Florida. I was dead wrong!  The wait staff yelled across the room to ask basic questions, and the place needed a good cleaning. This worried me, so I ordered a wonderful salad. I also ordered some cheese grits as these were another Florida favorite. I was definitely not in Florida, Dorothy!  They gave me regular grits with a slice of American cheese atop it.  Oh well – the salad was very good and the waiter was nice, but I crossed the Waffle House off of my list of dining choices for the rest of the week.

Next entry:  Tuesday morning in Williamstown, KY