Wednesday, July 14, 2021

We’re connected again!

Hallelujah! Isn’t it crazy how dependent we are on electricity and the Internet? Dennis tried his best to work using the hotspot on his phone, but that didn’t work very well for zoom calls. 😔 Last night about 10:30 we finally got Internet again. I tried to catch up on some blogs this morning and I think I’m just going to take it from today with commenting. I have been reading everyone’s blogs on my phone though. Thank you for being patient with me.💜

This is just a small branch down from a tree about a block from us. The neighborhood pool is behind it. There are huge trees completely uprooted all over Omaha. Some streets you still can’t drive through. Many trees went through the roofs of houses. Miraculously, I haven’t heard of anyone who was seriously hurt during the storm or the cleanup. 

My project this morning was painting the closet under the stairs. The walls didn’t take long at all. What took time was all of the shelves built into the stairs. The shelves sure are handy for Dennis’s hats and other odds and ends. This closet and the coat closet at the top of the stairs still have just reeked of cigarette smoke. I wish we had had the painters paint the closets too when they painted the rest of the interior. I didn’t think they would be a big deal because they didn’t look bad at all, but my goodness they sure absorbed the cigarette smoke and nicotine. One by one we will get them painted now. It seems these two were much worse than the bedroom closets. 
 
We have several of those little puck lights throughout the closet so we can see clear in the back and around the corner.

Last night I made this recipe from a family that we watch often on YouTube. She did two different four ingredient dishes and this was one of them. I used one tube of Pillsbury biscuits, with each biscuit cut into sixths. You pour about a cup or so of pasta sauce on top of the cut up biscuits and stir around to coat the biscuits. I used leftover spaghetti sauce from dinner the other night. Then the recipe just calls for browned hamburger or sausage on top of that and mozzarella cheese. I also cut up green peppers, onions, black olives and mushrooms, although the recipe didn’t call for it. I baked it for 30 minutes at 375. It tasted just like a Pizza Hut supreme pan pizza! There is plenty for dinner tonight along with a green salad again. Yum!

I made this wheelchair blanket for the local veterans home. It has not been washed or blocked yet so the corners are curling a bit.

Then I started this wheelchair blanket last night. It’s lots of fun and interesting to crochet too. I still have to do the second side, which I’m working on now and then both ends. After that a border will be added. I’ve never done this pattern before and I really like it. It adds just enough interest not to get bored with by just making granny squares.
Lots of people around here still don’t have their electricity or cable/internet service. With our whole house generator we were able to plug in Dennis‘s mom‘s refrigerator and freezer, our neighbor on the other side of us was also able to plug in her refrigerator and freezer. We loaned our camping generator to the family across the street so they could keep their refrigerator and freezer plugged in. Neighbors helping neighbors.😍

We’re still working on trying to make sure we have all of our paperwork in order for our trip to London at the end of the month. The Covid protocols are the most difficult to get done correctly. Dennis has to fly to Spokane on Sunday through Thursday of next week. Then we leave just a few days after that for London. Life is quickly going to get crazy!

I hope all is well with you and for those of you out west, I’m thinking of you and praying for you with the fires and the heat. I talked to my best friend Jenny yesterday and she says the smoke is so bad that she constantly has a sore throat these days. Lots of fires all around Spokane. I know they’re also bad in California and Oregon. Take care and be safe.💜

Much love and blessings,
Betsy


20 comments:

  1. Ugh - it's amazing how that smoke seeps into everything! I'm so glad most of the people I love have never smoked or quit years ago. Dave enjoys a cigar now and again, and so do I... but we smoke them outside!

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  2. So glad you have electricity back, your generator sure came in handy! So nice of you to share with neighbors!! I bet you are getting excited about your trip!! I am so happy for you! The red white and blue is great!!

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  3. Glad you have a generator and glad things are lightening up after the storm! What a mess!! I'm so excited for your upcoming trip!!!

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  4. I am glad you are helping neighbors with your generators. I'm glad we had a neighbor help us in the ice storm. Or we would be out of cold/frozen food. I went down to Salem, OR this afternoon to getting groceries at 2 stores. There was smoke in air before I got to Salem and I could feel something in my eyes as well. Another fire in Clackamas county, close to Canby. Clackamas county fairgrounds are opening up to take in livestock. It seems like it's 2020 all over again with dry lands and fires everywhere. Megan took her CERT equipment with her when she went to potluck dinner for Bible study this evening. It's in Clackamas county as well. I hope all goes well with you and Dennis when you go to England, no long quarantine. I have decided not to go to a reunion this Saturday, due to the smoke all over the place. You can see white smoke here and there and even around the sun. Hopefully it doesn't get worse.
    I like the recipe you made. I need to write it down and make it next week! Take care and God bless you my friend!

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  5. The shelves on the bottom of the stairs are utilizing every bit of space - quite handy. How exciting that you’re going to London to see Alex, his fiancée, and her family.

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  6. Your generators were a blessing to your family and neighbors! Glad you are plugged back in and hope your neighbors and the rest affected are soon, too. Your crocheting is so wonderful.

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  7. Glad you made it through the storm okay.

    That zig-zag blanket is really interesting and beautiful.

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  8. Those shelves under the stairs are a great idea! I'm going to make that recipe you included. I'll make it on Saturday and I'll just leave out the meat. Thanks for the idea.
    How kind of you to help your neighbours during the power failure. I'm sure they were VERY thankful. We have a small generator but it can run a furnace in winter and the fridge and freezers in summer.

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  9. We have a stinky under the stairs closet that is under the stairs right as you come in the front door which I hate. We pulled out all the drywall and put up cedar boards but it's still always musty.
    Your new blankets are lovely. Your crochet work is so impressive to a rookie like me.

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  10. Betsy, So glad you are back. Never worry about having to comment. I know you are there with me! I hope Will's parents home was ok. They are in Elkhorn. Still am gobsmacked that you and I were so close without knowing it. That will teach me to tell my blog pals privately where I' m going!

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  11. I'm glad you're back. I think I would be lost without my internet. We lost our power on Saturday. At least I was able to read a book on my Kindle lol

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  12. We are dependent on the internet whether we admit it or not! lol
    The new blanket is so creative-looks like all of the twists and turns would make it a very fun crochet! Glad you could help the neighbors. And thanks for the meme--it is easy to forget.

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  13. I am so glad all is well with you but saddened by all the damage around you. So glad you were able to keep the freezer and such going and that you were able to help others, a true blessing. Loving the wheelchair blankets, so cheerful and of course patriotic for those unsung hero's. Take care sweet friend.

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  14. Your blog is wonky today. I usually come daily to read yours and other peoples blogs on your blog roll, but they are all gone today.

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  15. ok, it's fixed. blogger sure does have issues doesn't it? I used to blog but have been away from it for so long and things have changed so much.

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  16. That is such a creative use for the underside of the stairs. I wish I had a secret recipe to get rid of the smell for you.
    I am going to try that recipe you suggested soon. It sounds yummy.
    I like the way you varied the two wheelchair blankets. You are so creative. I hope you have a safe weekend.
    HUGS and blessings,
    Kim

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  17. SO glad you are safe from the storm and finally hooked back up again. you are both lovely friends and neighbors to help the way you do. London sounds so, so exciting!!!!!!!

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  18. That must have been one scary storm! Glad you're OK and have electricity, etc., again. Your recipe sounds very yummy. And the wheelchair blanket is going to be beautiful and much appreciated by the person who receives it! Have a fabulous trip to London; it's a fun place to visit.

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  19. Weather, fires, and temps crazy all over. I know God still has His hand on all of it though. // The crick house we lived in had the same type of "closet" under the stairs. It was scary because of the spiders lol. I was not going to hang clothes in there until I got rid if those buggers and painted. I must've puta hundred layers of paint in there... the wood just absorbed it like a sponge! It was crazy weird. Jerry worked for a commercial painting company at the time andhe got it figured out for me and made it better. Your little closet looks exactly like the one we had in that house! // I love your wheelchair blankets!! How many skeins does it take to make one? How much would you charge to do a couple sometime when I have a few extra dollars? Maybe one for my mom-in-law at the nursing home and one for Jerry (like for when we get stuck in ERs or in clinic or hospitals that always seem so cold... he has trouble keeping his body warm nowadays). // I remember when we had no power back in January 2004 for nine days because of an ice storm!! We didn't have any type of backup and used every blanket in the house to keep warm! Those nine days seemed like forever to us! So glad you guys have everything going again and no one was hurt!!! // I can "hear" the excitement as your trip time gets closer!! Woohoo!! Hugs and prayers!!

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  20. I am super glad that you and your family are safe from the terrible storms that have been wreaking havoc in many places throughout the world. It is good too that you are finally back online again. I so hope you will take photos of when you are in London. A word of advice which you may have already thought of. You know of course it can rain plenty and at anytime in the UK and I have always found that having to carry and use an umbrella is a cumbersome bother! I always take with me one of those cheap raincoats folded up in a pouch which you can clip to your handbag like a keyring. Very practical, I also used to use mine to sit on the grass. Just thought it might help :-) Take care Amanda x

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