Supporting Businesses Big and Small During "Shelter in Place"

So...businesses and individuals are struggling.  The shuttering of "non-essential" businesses, and the limiting of services of those deemed "essential", (in most states) has had a real impact on the survival of these places we used to go, and services we used to depend upon.

I've been doing my part to help, in a small way, where I can...

Italian Pie Shoppe-  My FAVORITE pizza place!  They are only open for pickup, and have a freezer case inside with pizzas that can be purchased and taken home to cook.  We've done both, and, when we picked up frozen pizzas a few weeks ago, tipped $8.00..."just because".  We love this place, and want to make sure it survives until we can go and eat there again someday!

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Jaarsma Bakery-  Jaarsma Bakery, family owned and operated since 1898, is a Dutch bakery, located in Pella, Iowa.  Their Dutch letters and gevulde koeken (Andre's cookies) are AMAZING, as is...well...everything else there.  I ordered a bunch of pastries to be delivered to my door next week.  Certainly not as fun as perusing the display cases in the bakery, and the beautiful Dutch architecture and tulips in Pella, but the next best thing, I guess!

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The United States Post Office-  COVID-19 is wreaking havoc with the funding of this beloved and MUCH NEEDED institution.  I just purchased a BUNCH of stamps because...1...I need them...and 2...if it helps them continue to operate, I'm ON IT!

I've also increased my purchasing of items on eBay and Etsy...so many are trying to stay afloat during these unprecedented times. 

Here's hoping YOU are able to send a little support to the people and places YOU love as well!

I've Had Better Spring Breaks...

• First day of spring break and "Shelter in Place" (because of COVID-19) began at exactly the same time.

• First dad's birthday since he died.

• Checking work e-mail daily to answer questions and take care of things since distance learning in our district starts the day AFTER spring break ends.

• First year anniversary of dad's death.

• Spent $79.00 to get the "rattle" fixed in my car...which turned out to be a loose bolt.

• Snow.

Here's hoping YOU have had a better week than I!

COVID-19 "Shelter in Place" Spring Break Postcards!

So...I was a little bored this morning, and created a series of postcards that I posted on Facebook to, hopefully, spread a few smiles among my friends there...

Here's hoping YOU are finding things to amuse yourself (and others!) during these stressful and concerning times!!

Create My Cookbook is AWESOME!

Several years ago, I printed the first edition of my favorite recipes in a book I entitled FLAIR (Frequently Looked At Interesting Recipes).  I printed 10 copies, and gave them out to family and close friends. 

The cookbook contains about 150 favorite recipes that I collected from cookbooks, magazines, family, and friends.  It took a lot of time, and a lot of effort to type them all into a website I had found that actually PRINTED "homemade" cookbooks (www.keyingredient.com).

The book turned out well...

...and I eagerly started compiling additional recipes for Volume II.  UNFORTUNATELY, keyingredient decided to suspend the printing function of their website, and instead focus on being a "recipe warehouse".

So...I kept compiling recipes, hoping they would eventually move back into the printing business...to no avail.  I searched other options for online cookbooks, including both Snapfish AND Shutterfly...neither of which gave me the number of pages needed at a reasonable price.

During the gathering of recipes for FLAIR II, Keyingredient also went through some changes, and I happened upon the site during a rebuild that made it look something like Netscape, circa 1994.  It was clunky, and ugly, and I abandoned it, foregoing the addition of any new "liked" recipes on that site.

Luckily, I checked keyingredient again a few months ago, and it appears the Nescape-esque version is gone, and a fairly slick "refreshed" site is now up and running...without...of course...the printing option.

So...REALLY wanting to publish the second volume, my partner Duane found Createmycookbook.com, and I'm SO GLAD he did!  It's an awesome site...super easy to use...and the finished product looks REALLY good!

I have created the shell for FLAIR III, and am adding recipes for eventual printing.  I'm also cutting and pasting the old recipes from the original FLAIR for a reprinting (in the same format, and of the same size) as FLAIR II. 

It's something to keep me occupied as the days of "Shelter in Place" spring break continues!

Here's hoping YOU are finding things to do while homebound as well!!!

Dingleberry Dumbass!

Okay...I came up with a new phrase for people like the CEO of Hobby Lobby, whose wife had a dream "from God" that told her they should stay open...or Liberty University where the Falwell in charge has determined that students can go back to school...even though COVID-19 is killing people all over the country...DINGLEBERRY DUMBASS! 

It has a nice alliterative quality, and conveys my contempt for stupid people so well!!!

Here' hoping the select TRULY CLUELESS people of the United States aren't getting you down...

"Shelter in Place" BOREDOM...

So...we got the order to "Shelter in Place" last Friday, which, unfortunately, coincides with the first day of my spring "break" from school.  Instead of traveling to Iowa to see my mom and be there with her on dad's birthday and the first anniversary of his death, and instead of seeing "Anastasia" at the Orpheum in Minneapolis, and instead of trying to fly somewhere to get away from this TEDIOUS early Minnesota spring, and instead of finding that we CAN'T get anywhere (since many others are on spring break as well, and we fly "standby") and touring sites closer to home (that we can drive to), I'm stuck at home...where I've been for the last week and a half...trying to be a school librarian...from my dining room table...while attempting to update/check links/check share settings/add additional resources for all of the distance learning teacher landing pages for my school on our website for the week AFTER spring break when we start distance learning until sometime in May...and responding to MILLIONS AND MILLIONS AND MILLIONS of e-mails asking questions about eBooks and online databases and how to Zoom in for meetings and Google Meet-ing until I can't even focus my eyeballs anymore.

This is only my SECOND blog post for 2020, so perhaps getting back into blogging will give me something to do.  If not, I guess there's always dusting...and organizing...and vacuuming...and other SUPER FUN SPRING BREAK ACTIVITIES!

Oh...and did I mention that it's been RAINING for the last few days??!!  Good times...

Here's hoping YOU are adjusting to seclusion and isolation better than I am!!!

New Year, Old Goals- 2020!!

Well...it appears that I haven't blogged about my New Year's resolutions for a couple of years, but I always seem to have the same ones, so I should really just copy and paste (as I am now) with the heading "New Year, Old Goals"...

So...here they are...again...

1).  Lower my cholesterol and blood pressure. For the first time in a LONG time, my numbers are within the "normal" range.  Still need to be careful, and need to focus more on #2 and # 3 below to maintain that "normal-ness", but I'm encouraged that the medications I take for both are doing their jobs.

2).  Lose weight. Man...this one seems to be on my resolutions list EVERY YEAR. You'd think I'd have done it by now, but, I'm a little TOO FOND of fatty, salty, junky food. I've TRIED to lose weight, and have accomplished the goal, but then put it all back on when I get busy, or stressed, or bored. I also find that my will power is not as strong as it was when I was younger, so...wish me luck!

3).  Get more exercise.  This past summer, I was fairly consistent with walking outside, but, as school got started again, and mornings got earlier and earlier, I got lazy again. I try to walk a mile every day around the halls at school during lunch, but find it tedious and I keep getting stopped by people who have questions, or need help with technology or media stuff. It's only been two days so far, but I've managed to get a mile or two in with outside walks every day in 2020.  The next cold snap or snowstorm with put an end to that...

4.  Drink less wine. Okay...I admit that I'm a little too fond of wine. Not slobbery, staggery, drunk fond of it, but DEFINITELY "it helps me relax" fond of it. I'm HOPING that the whole "lose weight/get more exercise" thing will assist with this resolution. Wine is HIGH in calories, and will TOTALLY defeat losing weight, which I think I REALLY AM now committed to doing.  I was able to go "cold turkey" for most of the summer, but gave up on that around the holidays.  I'm ATTEMPTING to have a "dry 2020", but, realistically, that's not going to happen.  Two days in, however, I'm at 0 glasses!!

5.  Work on my debt load. I like to spend money.  I like having a credit card.  They do not necessarily go well together.  I'm nowhere NEAR where I was when I went into the "debt management" program ten years ago, but I definitely need to "reign it in", and pay off the debt that I have now accrued.  I've made great strides in getting the balance to a manageable level, but still have "a ways to go".  Now if I could just figure out a way to refinance or switch my student loan to something that would actually show a decrease in the balance occasionally...

6).  Swear less. Okay...I admit it (although if you know me AT ALL, you already know this)...I get EXTREMELY "potty mouthed" when I drive around the cities. It doesn't HELP that 98% of the drivers up here are COMPLETE and UTTER morons, but, in an effort to "detoxify" my commute, I am stating here, for the world (or at least the three people who read my blog) that I am vowing to curtail the "blue stream of trucker talk" that seem to pop so freely from my mouth. Enough said.

7).  Spend MORE time with family and friends. I don't really need to elaborate on this one. I get too busy, and too wrapped up in things, and my personal relationships end up taking the brunt of it. No more (I hope). Family and friends are what it's all about, right? Why cut time from that for all of the "crap" that fills our days??  I MIGHT even try to work on my phobia of talking on the phone (I know it's not rational...that's why it's a phobia!).

Wish me luck, and I hope that YOU are successful with your New Year's goals too!!!