Do you use OneDrive Memories? Well… do you use OneDrive, or Microsoft 365? Is that a better question? Either way, not sure if you use it, but as you can tell… I do.
One of the things that I enjoy is when it pops up on my laptop, lower right corner, and I click on it, I never know what I’m going to get. Ooh, I just thought of something! I could do a post a day of what’s in my OneDrive Memories, that would be cool. Thinking…thinking…
Well…while I decide on that one, and by the way, I had a whole different topic I was going to talk about tonight and got waylaid by my memories, ha ha, that was just funny to me. I have to file the lottery thoughts to another day. Back to OneDrive.
Two years ago today, I was flying back from a three week trip to England. I spent a week with my dad, then Paul arrived and it was the three of us for 2 days, then my sister’s family arrived and we spent a few days together, then PSM and I went off and spent a week in London/Wales/Bristol, then I was on my own, went to Liverpool for a few days, back to London to attend RuPaul’s DragCon UK and on Sunday/Monday I was flying back to the US from a whirlwind trip!
Three years ago, I was with my friend CGS, and have a pic of her four kids, wow! I just texted her with the pic, I apologized for the late text, but I couldn’t help but share the love! That’s one of the things I love to do, when some memories pop up, I take a pic with my phone and text it to the people who are in it and I get to share something special with them, makes me so very happy.
Four years ago, KFN sent a pic ‘How to spot a biker chick’ and it’s a pick of the top of a pair of Chuck Taylor ‘Converse All Stars’ with black clutch marks on the left toe…and I sent him a pic of my chucks that look exactly like that! There’s also a few pics of PSM with Bee and Ruby, awe.
2019… pics of an overcast sky with a rainbow coming through, from our lanai off the back of our house. And lastly…2016, pics of us with my sister’s family at PSM’s family’s celebrating my b-i-l, ACS’, birthday, which is tomorrow. Our nephew, JM, and nieces, EJS, and MGS were soooo little! That was just before PSM left for Hawai’i, he was starting work a week later, and I officially moved towards the end of that year, wow…
I’m sitting here, just smiling, thinking of all the random memories that pop up, taking me back, making me smile, marveling at how time flies and how good my life truly is, and it is. Who knows… maybe a memory with you will come up and I’ll text it to you, be on the lookout!
Two days ago we were on the beach, snorkeling, swimming with honu and today…I was using a snow thrower to clear off the driveway! What?!
We left the Big Island on Saturday night, it was a balmy 80 degrees out, we flew through Phoenix, 45 degrees! as we walked through the jet bridge. We landed in Newark, it was about 30 when dad picked us up! What?! Brrrrr…drove home, it was about 23 when we pulled into the driveway at home. Seriously?! A lot of people on our flights were worried if they would make their connections, the winter weather heading in.
This morning…woke up to a covered backyard, house, street, it was white out and it kept coming…it wasn’t too bad when PSM left for work, then about 1130a, I decided to go out and throw a little snow! If you recall, last year, we bought a snow thrower, not a snow blower, it literally throws the snow, very cool! Well, I put on my cuddle dud layer, fleece on top, snow boots, ski jacket, and headed to the barn to blow the 4 inches of snow so it would not be difficult when PSM came home or when I went to get the dogs.
I made a first pass, took about 40 minutes, not too shabby, then I put the snow thrower away, turned around, and there was a new layer of snow on top of what I just did! Oh brother! But… it wasn’t too bad, even if it left another layer, we were in a good place.
Later, I looked out the window and the area near the barn, you couldn’t tell it had snowed! All melted from the ground, what?! The driveway still had some snow. We were in business.
Then…it started snowing again…it wasn’t bad when I went to pick the pups up, but definitely not top down weather, sorry Ruby! Easy driving and PSM took it easy going to the office and coming home. And… guess what…it’s still going! Looks like I have a morning activity tomorrow!
Walking in a winter wonderland…may I just have the sand instead?!
It doesn’t happen every day, but it happens often enough! I take the dogs for a walk every morning, then, as long as it’s not blistering hot, I take them for a walk in the afternoon/evening. They are ready to go about 5p, that’s when we were taking them, just after we finished work. And when you’re working remotely, it’s easy to keep to a schedule!
Now, they don’t nudge as much if we don’t go for a walk at 5p on the dot, but… they know, after the walk, it’s either a treat or dinner! Very smart individuals! So…I take them for their walk and all is fine and dandy and all of a sudden, the play fighting/wrestling begins. The first time I saw it, it scared me, if you recall, I grew up with cats, yes, they could fight, but it didn’t sound like this! Now that I think about it, cats have their own screech and attack sounds!
Well… they start doing this and there is no stopping them! They do it in the backyard, go for it, they do it in the house, go for it! When we were living in the hotel last year while house hunting, their favorite time to do it, not just the parking lot, but as we were walking into the hotel, ‘can we please move so people can come in/get out?!’ or, my favorite, just in front of the elevators! ‘can you hold off, just until we get to the room, then you can eat each other’s heads if you want!’ sometimes that worked, sometimes I just have to say ‘Ok, STOP! Not here!’ does that work? um… what do you think?!
Now, on our walks through the neighborhood, the road we live on is a main drag and people treat it like a thoroughfare! They drive 50/60/70 miles per hour or more, it’s not a place, when it’s crazy busy, that I even like trying to get across the street to get the mail. Yup, I live in a place where the mailboxes are on one side of the road, new to me too! I do my level best to stop them when they want to do it on the main drag, when we’re on one of the other streets…like in the pics and video below…have at it! I will even let go of the leashes so they can have fun!
Check out the video, they sound vicious! Especially Ruby, but… you’ll notice that Bee is on her back, exposing her belly, she wouldn’t if she wasn’t into it and do you see her jump up and ‘attack’ Ruby to keep going?! Then the kisses at the end?!
What’s your morning walk look like?!
And her is our afternoon walk, we’re on the side road that people treat like another speedway, that’s why you can see my grip on the leashes. They really do love this!
Ruby looks so vicious when the video starts! But you can see how much they love it! Bee instigates, then Ruby instigates, then Bee, then Ruby, then…
And your afternoon walk?
These two crack me up! We got so very lucky with them, they are strange ducks, but they’re our strange ducks and we love them very much. And you know what…we wouldn’t have it or them any other way!
Why oh why…even when we ride 500 miles the day before, and asleep between 11pm and 1am, am I up between 4 and 6 am? You are correct, there is something very wrong with me! And you know what? I’m ok with that!
So… as I said, up early, got dressed and walked across the road from the motel to the waterfront. There were almost no cars on the road at that time, easy to cross, walked down to the pier or boat ramp and just took it all in, and yes, I put my feet in the water, cold, but so worth it! I communed with nature about 30 minutes, then headed back to the room to get ready for our day. PSM was up by then, and after telling him how wonderful it was, so we took a stroll hand-in-hand to the water, we of course had to put our feet at the water, but not quite in enough to get wet, I wasn’t barefoot then, and you know my boots aren’t waterproof!
Back across the road, it was almost time to head out. Don’t the bikes look wonderful, gleaming in the sun, ready for today’s adventure!?
Of course my bare feet were in the sea! Ahhhh…
Just listen…
Just listen to the sound of the water…isn’t it divine!?
We got on the bikes, one nice thing about staying somewhere a few days, not worrying about our stuff, we unloaded last night and now, just hop on the bike and go! We headed left, please don’t ask me if it was east or west, we all know I have no idea! Left from the hotel, we were going to ride until we found a place to stop and get some coffee and breakfast fare, we had already done dinner in the hotel, let’s do something else.
We stopped at the Clucking Hen Cafe & Bakery, which was decorated in, yup, you guessed it…puppies! Kidding, sorry, totally decorated in chicken stuff. It was kitschy and cute, just what the Clucking Hen should be! I even got a shirt that says ‘No Clucking Around’! I thought the best sign was the one you see in the pic ‘I dream of a better world where chickens can cross the road without having their motives questioned!’
We all ordered food and drinks, I got a chai latte with oat milk, or so I thought…turns out it was real milk, but I was lucky enough to discover it with one sip and they fixed my drink straight away. They also returned my money, which they didn’t have to, so…when I asked if they had any magnets and they didn’t, they gave me a pen, which I turned around and paid for with some of my refund! She was a very nice human being!
Everything we got was tasty and delicious, especially the thing they are famously known for, their buttertarts and oh my word, they were AHmazing!!! We had one pecan and one raisin and just wow! I don’t know how anyone eats more than one of these things! PSM and I split the two and I think raisin was my favorite, but just thinking about it, I could go for another one right now!
Aside from the service and the food, the view was spectacular. We were on a bit of a hill, overlooking a meadow, leading to the water, wouldn’t you call that spectacular?! Overall, 2 thumbs up in my book. I’d go back for another meal!
No clucking around today!
Back on the bikes and back onto the Cabot Trail, I really need to get one of those 360 cameras, they take amazing shots and videos 360 degrees, gets it all [wish list!]. We rode for a while, then went down this one road and ended up at a beach, so of course… stop and take pictures and I put my feet at the water once again, I know, I know, not in…but I had my feet at the water’s edge. I stood there, eyes closed, face up to the sky and sun, arms outstretched, taking in the sounds, the smells, the feels, I was most assuredly in my happy place.
Mother Nature, what a beauty you are!
Back on the bikes, a few hundred miles more, up mountains, down mountain roads, twists, turns, scenic lookouts, more gorgeous views, stopping for petrol, then the Cardinal Points Gift Shop, a biker friendly souvenir shop, we had to stop of course! We got t-shirts, magnets, stickers, patches, it was a lot of fun looking and picking out some fun things to bring back. Always have to remember, you’re on a motorcycle with limited space, but…I have 4 outside pockets on my bag/backpack, and one is dedicated to magnets and stickers! Nice, small things I can bring home!
Eventually, it was time to head back towards the motel, but it was also time to feed the crowd! One of the things that got established, sort of, last year on our big trip out west, I would look for places to eat, so…I always have a list now, it’s something I do for any trip, I have a list of possible restaurants and sites to see, if we go, we go, if we don’t…oh well. Tonight, it was dinner in Baddeck, at The Narrows Cafe and Bar at the Inverary Resort, about a mile from the hotel and a loverly place for dinner.
We didn’t need a reservation, we could walk in tired and looking like we did, and they welcomed us and made food and drink magically appear on the table! It was a nice vibe and atmosphere, a decent size bar, big tables and a big fireplace, which I bet is toasty and inviting in the winter. Best thing for me…a really good veggie burger!
After dinner, half of us went back to the hotel, the other half went in search of libations for the rest of the evening. We dismounted, changed out of our riding gear, settled in on the porch and watched the sun setting. What more could you want?!
What a way to end the day!
Now my friends, it’s time to say good evening, there’s more riding tomorrow, I have to go in and pretend to go to sleep and do it all again tomorrow. What a life! More, more, more!
So…the house in PA, as you know, we’ve been doing some renovations since we bought the house. The latest project I’ve been thinking about for a while and now that I found my flowers, I was ready to put it into action!
So…there is a flower box that is right outside the front door, it’s about hip high, well, my hips, I’m not that tall! And there was a metal box in it that, at some point, must have held some flowers, but when we bought the house, just dirt. Every so often, I would go out there and pick the weeds, and if I picked any weeds from the front yard, sometimes I would put them there as a holding place.
Well…I have these metal and ceramic flowers I got at different festivals and when I used to sell home decor and they have traveled house to house to house, state to state to state, and now… they have a home, outside of a jar on my desk!
First, I removed the metal flower box that was in the brick structure, the bottom was rotted out, so it wasn’t too difficult. I took out all the dirt, well, as much as I could, there were two concrete structures, like stacked cinderblocks inside, and some loose bricks. I removed as much dirt and put 2 of the loose bricks in between the cinderblocks. Then….I needed some filler.
So…love my husband…we stopped at Lowe’s, picked up some EZ Sand. This is the type of sand that is fast setting and gets into the cracks and crevices. We needed to ensure that nothing would work against the foundation and maybe crack one day. We also picked up some black recycled rubber tire mulch, I love this stuff! It’s a little more expensive than regular mulch or pine bark, but…it lasts about 10-12 years and all you have to do, if you’re using it as regular mulch in your flower beds, maybe fluff it up every few years.
Sand and Rubber Mulch
Then we stopped at Michael’s to look for foam bricks. I found some and bought more than I needed, they were $2.50 for a set of 4, you cannot beat those prices at Michael’s! There are different types of foam bricks, there are the dry foam, for silk floral arrangements and more, then wet foam, that’s for live floral arrangements, what I got is hard Styrofoam, not as easily broken.
So…back to the house with our haul. Well, after a few other destinations, but home eventually. Since the flowerbox was empty, I filled in all the nooks and crannies with the sand. It’s so cool to watch the sand fill in, especially where there were little gaps and holes, swoop!
After the sand, then came the foam bricks. PSM and I cut the bricks down so they weren’t in too tight and could move around.
Then…the rubber mulch, it looks so much cleaner!
And finally… the flowers! Don’t they look fabulous?! I have one more ceramic flower…when I was testing them at first, of course, out of all the flowers I dropped, it had to be one of the breakable ones! These things have lived in more places than some people and I go to put it out and it breaks, ugh! Gotta love Gorilla Glue! Or something strong like that!
I’m considering putting some grass in there, but I think it looks good, clean, but who knows, I might change my mind if I find the right grass, I don’t want to overpower the flowers. Also…I am on the lookout for flowers to add, but they have to be special and just right, something hand made and makes you smile.
It was beautiful today, I think Spring has sprung!
Just like yesterday, I had to get on the bike, oh yeah! Well, first, I only needed a hoodie when I took the dogs for a walk around the block, a glorious morning. Then it was home to take a quick shower and get ready for work. Oh, did I mention that being that Spring has sprung, there is new life all around us. I haven’t seen any baby ducklings, wait, if they’re ducklings, which is a baby duck, do I really have to say baby ducklings? Am I alone in this one? I don’t think so, I think we all call them baby ducklings, because it sounds so much fun to hear and say, go on, say it, think it, baby ducklings. Ok, I am cracking myself up here, somebody stop me!
Anyway…so…there is new life in our yard, the crocuses are coming up and around the neighborhood, daffodils, robin red breasts are making an appearance, it’s a treat.
The VW dealership texted to let me know my car was ready, so before my class this afternoon, I hopped in the loaner Tiguan, headed to the dealership and traded it in for my beetle bug, Annie. I got in, dropped the top and the windows and headed home, life is good!
Then, today, for the first time in a few weeks, I took the dogs to the park. I asked ‘who wants to go to the park?’ I actually watched Ruby run and jump over something in the yard, oh boy! It’s been a while, not just because I didn’t have my car, but it’s been cold, rainy, and wet for the past few weeks, and I didn’t want to slip and slide through the park. We did it a few times, but just haven’t lately. Well, so glad we went today! People were out enjoying themselves, lots of cars in the different lots, but the park is big enough, you don’t run into many people.
We met a few dogs, got some lovies from kids and adults, saw some new flowers and growth and we saw some torguga, or turtles, on a log. Some ladies we passed told us about them, so we made sure to look and sure enough…tortuga! The girls were so happy to be back in the park, their old stomping grounds, sniffing everything like it was the first time! We made it around, back in the car and headed home.
Back home, they couldn’t wait to get out of the car and head inside…dinner’s about to be served. After dinner, PSM called and asked if I wanted to meet him somewhere, sure! I hopped on Charlene and went to meet him at Lebanon Valley Craft Breweing. I saddled up to the bar, ordered a tall glass of water and waited for my hubs. He got there, we just ordered an appetizer, they didn’t have the same grilled veggie wrap I had Friday, oh well.
We talked, laughed, planned, cajoled, and just enjoyed ourselves. Eventually it was time to head home, back on the bikes, he revved his engine, I revved mine and we were off! It was a little chillier for me on the way home, but it was still wonderful to be on the bike. Only 23% chance of rain tomorrow, 7% on Saturday, and 7% on Sunday…there’s more riding in my future! Only 3 months until our bike trip up north! Cannot wait!
Why do I have to wake up before 6am on a Saturday? I don’t, no alarm set, but apparently my body thinks I do. Really?!
I was up between 530 and 6a, why? Oh well…I lounged, did some Duolingo, gotta practice my French, every day. I was practicing French, took a break and went to Spanish, we were going to Mexico and I needed to brush up, when I went to Germany in 2022 to meet PSM for the weekend, guess what I practiced. I added Yiddish, I really want to add to my limited knowledge, and now I’m adding Italian, I’ll tell you about it sometime! Wow, do I digress!
So…I practiced some French, brushed my teeth, I thought that was a good thing to do, got dressed, all about the time PSM had let the dogs out. Do not tell me you didn’t see that coming! HA HA. We decided to go to a different park, well, different from the one near us that we usually take them to, today we went to the park in Annville, Quittie Creek Nature Park, we were there on January 20th, fresh snow covered the path and the trees, oh my! Just look at the pics! Today, there was very little snow on the ground and it was damp and a bit muddy, but the girls still had a good time and we walked on and off the beaten path. Most of the people at the park were fisher persons, we chatted with some of them, they were fishing for or hoping to fish for trout. I used to love trout, rainbow trout more than the others.
After the park, we wanted to get some breakfast, something to go, so…we went back to Swatara Coffee, we like that place. I was actually there yesterday, I think I forgot to tell you, sorry! Turns out, Ancester Coffeehouse & Creperie owns them, how cool is that! As we’re standing in line, we both said it felt funny being there without the passports or buying a specialty drink! That was ok, we got over it quickly!
It was a decaf coffee and a blueberry muffin for PSM and an egg and avocado bagel and chai latte for me. I enjoyed it, a little too much avocado spread, which is funny because it’s usually not enough! I realized I like avocado slices on a sandwich, but for breakfast, I prefer avocado toast. Go figure. While we waited for food, I did go over to the Whirling Dervish to get a t-shirt! I think I told you I wanted to go back and get one, score!
From Swatara, we drove to Hernley’s Indian Motorcycle Dealership, in Elizabethtown, PSM was picking up his bike, they installed Apple Car Play and it was ready to be picked up. It was only 38 out, but he got his one ride per month in! I’m not sure his extremeties warmed up yet! He took off and Ruby, Bee, and I headed home.
I started moving things into the kitchen, it’s finished, we need to start filling it up so we can feel complete. I grabbed post its and we identified what’s going where. After a while PSM was ready to go, dogs in the crate, and we headed out to Middle Creek because we were going to see the Snow Geese!!! Someone had told me about it and oh my word! This has to be seen to be believed! It is a lake with a huge white shape on it, but it’s not just a shape it’s the snow geese, o m g! As you’re walking from the parking lot, you can hear them, I don’t know if anyone could sleep to that, just think when you hear a few geese talking, imagine thousands! It was like nothing I’ve ever seen and I am so glad we went!
After a while, lots of pictures later, we went over to the museum, and there was a count as we walked in: Snow Geese 46,000 what?! Tundra Swans: 420, and Canada Geese: 620. Apparently these numbers can go up into the hundreds of thousands, apparently we were there on a slow day! SO worth it, just an amazing site to see. The museum was cool, very informational, not just about the snow geese, but nature and wildlife, those who protect it, hunt humanely, and bird watching, it was a lot of fun, definitely recommend it for an afternoon!
We were both freezing and hungry, so we found a place on my list and went to the Franklin House Tavern, it’s also an inn. We sat in the bar and I’m glad we did, the dining room was c-c-c-cold! We sat at a high top table, the bartender took our drink and food orders, I love when I can get a cup of hot tea at a bar or restaurant! I had a grilled caesar salad, I really need to try to make this at home! and PSM had a reuben. What doesn’t have a Wikipedia page!?
After a great lunch with greater company, we headed home. We let the dogs out, yes, I know you already have the ear worm! First thing…book a trip, hopefully the family will be joining us, can’t wait to tell you about it! Then, we got to work moving things into the cabinets and breakfront, I promise I’ll share pics! We got all the bar glassware in one place, score! Also, we have a lot less mugs than we thought, they all went with our everyday glassware and we still have a shelf left over! We made decisions!
Then it was off to the movies, what you thought we were done? You’re adorable! We headed to the theater to see Madam Web. Um…yeah. Good cast, interesting storyline, mediocre dialog, it’s not part of the MCU, Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it’s part of it’s own Marvel MCU, inluding Venom, Morbius, now Madam Web, and next up, Kraven the Hunter. Those movies aren’t really on my radar, I might watch Venom at some point, but Morbius, not for me. All good, not every movie is for everyone.
I really enjoy the idea of a female superhero, go girl power, but there were parts of this that were seriously lame. The fight/action sequence at the end, really enjoyed that, but it was a very loooonnnggg time coming! Maybe I have to watch it again to get more nuances, but I’m not sure, I’ll keep you posted.
Here’s another weird thing…the coming attractions, all of them were for horror movies, except for Despicable Me 4 and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, and then…The First Omen? Twisters? Are there no original ideas left? But back to my original point, this was not a horror movie, why show horror movie trailers? This was bizarre.
Overall, a movie date with my husband was just what the doctor ordered! Back home, let the dogs out, I know, I know! Chill out for a bit, catch up with my friend about her dad, then it was time to talk to you. Oh, in the middle of telling you about my day, it was time to put the dogs up, not let them out, ha ha. I said “Ok, time for night-night” that means get up from where you are and walk to the crate, and I’ll be right behind you with a treat. I took the collars off both dogs, Ruby headed for the crate and Bee…well, she rolled over and snuggled in tighter. I said it again, I scratched her head, she stretched the beagle belly, I gave her some belly rubs and what did she do? Roll back over, snuggle deeper, and go back to sleep?! If it wasn’t so funny, I might be mad! I actually had to grab her by the collar to get her up and moving! I know I said I took their collars off, that was for the invisible fence, this was her every day collar. Are you kidding right now dog?! Nope! The sass! Oh my dogs!
Ok, was that enough!? Time to sign off and like I say to the dogs “Let’s go night-night!”
Peaches Prattlings 