respublica

Bear Hugs

For a few weeks our local Schnucks has had a display of giant bears in their seasonal aisle. This has struck me funny each time I'm in the store and see these huge cuddly stuffed bears. One week they were seated on tiny chairs in a circle as if they were having a good time together. Another time they were tossed into a huge box. This week they were back on display among the chairs. All to tempt us to bring one home as a Valentine's gift.

Valentine's Day was yesterday and that day is also our grandson Connor's birthday. For 3 years Connor has been in love with these big bears and since he was turning 11 we all figured that phase was over. But no. When I asked Lizzie what he wanted for his birthday, one thing was a giant bear. Another giant bear. I'm pretty sure his parents tried to dissuade him about this. His mother even told him not to get his hopes up for a bear.  She even sent me a picture of his face after she told him this.

So, what else could I do? I love these bears, they are so soft and really cuddly. So I got one for Connor and we brought it over to the birthday boy's house last night. Pure joy!

He then went to his room and brought down his past bear gifts and we sat and laughed and laughed.

They really are comforting.

An everything is off day

I have a case of the "don't want to do anything" today. I think it's because I watched the entire State of the Union last night and woke up to lots of comments and stories about it on social media. Most of the comments are terrible coming from every area of political thought and it kind of depresses me. Partisans can be absolutely vile and thoughtless. So can elected people adding their own input. People can't seem to add their point of view without being crude. Then the weather is chilly and rainy and we have a couple of places we have to be today and tonight.

But, also last night, the Illini beat Michigan State in basketball, quite a shocker in a good way. Then the Collinsville Kahoks beat Belleville West, last year's Illinois state champions and this year's number one ranked team in the state. So those are good things.

St. Baldrick's is a family affair

Yesterday Dale and two of our grandsons had their heads shaved as a fund raiser for St. Baldrick's, an organization working to defeat childhood cancer. This was Dale's 9th year as a participant, Connor's third, and Nick's first.

Connor giving the side eye to a reporter from the Post-Dispatch who covered this event.

Dale just smiling away.

Nick looking pretty pleased about it all

Connor received a large brass medal for his third year and he did not expect this, but he was over the moon about how cool it was. And he raised the most money of any of the participants!

 

 

 

This is one of those days..

It's so cold

So windy

So gloomy

Being outside or even wanting to drive anywhere to shop or anything else is not even considered.  I do worry about the wind, it's so strong it's blowing our heavy recycling can across the yard stopped only by the fence. And slamming our doors shut. HonestIy, the wind is so loud it sounds like a plane coming in for a landing. Really hope the it dies down sooner than later.

We've done a big nothing so far today and it's kind of nice actually. I cleaned out the refrigerator, washed the shelves and now very little is in there and it looks so good. We've watched basketball, a movie, worked on a jigsaw puzzle and walked Ferdie. We will make stuffed peppers for dinner and call it a day in front of the TV.

Here is my puzzle so far, it's a cool look at St. Louis

Get to the store!

Here in St. Louis we are under a winter storm warning, predicted snow totals keep changing upward and the last I heard was we could set a record of 12 plus inches. If you know me, you know I'm sort of skeptical, but like most (everyone) around here, I went to the store. We will most likely only be stuck inside one day at most no matter how much snow falls, but it's nice to know we have some fun food around.

This morning I went to the nearby Schnucks before 7 and it was pretty easy to shop right then, but yesterday must have been quite the day in that store because a lot of shelves were empty and there was no ground beef at all, not even in the special butcher area. Then I went to Walmart for the size dog treats Ferdie needed and I was in and out very quickly. It pays to go early. I still need to gas up my car, Dale used it this week and left it pretty empty.

And then over to the wine shop. :)

A family church service

Dale preached at The Lutheran Church of Webster Gardens this morning, the church our kids attend. As it happened, grandson Christian acolyted and Lizzie was a reader.

A couple of weeks ago I posted a picture I love of Christian sitting with his St. Louis pastor just talking and discussing things. Now a picture I also love of Drew getting hugged by his Maryland pastor after Christmas Eve worship. Two wonderful pastors and the kids are so blessed to have them in their lives.

A much needed new laptop

I've been struggling with my computers for some time and happily got a new laptop for Christmas. I spent most of Christmas Eve day setting it up, it's not as simple and quick as you might think. For every program or file or app I had to download them and then find and re-enter all the user names and passwords. Not hard but time consuming. I'm just so happy to have one that works fast. Here is a pro tip: Put all your user names and passwords in one place.

My desktop computer no longer has an internet connection because it is fairly old and did not come with the capability to use wireless. It had been hooked up to the cable internet but when I went out and bought the Google wireless system the cable line went into the first of the three routers. It's a great wireless system, it comes with 3 modules, the other 2 can be set out in different spots in the house without plug ins. But that made my desktop useless. I used Dale's laptop for a while to get his Meyer Minute sent out, but it is so slow, slower than the old dial up.

So I'm happy with the new one, it just takes time to adjust to the new features. I was surprised there is not a slot for an SD card which I use to download photos from my camera. It seems SD cards are not part of most new laptops. I did learn there is a flash drive/memory stick I can buy which has a USB end and slots to hold SD cards and other USB flash drives. They're not sold everywhere, but I hope to find one. I use a camera more often than I take pictures with my phone.

Looming around

When I was in the Collinsville Walmart recently I came across this 4.95 dollar weaving loom. The cover on the box of a pot holder made with the pieces of fabric attracted me because it reminded me of when I was a kid and received the same thing at Christmas. I'd bet many girls got one of these back then. So I bought it just for fun and old times sake, plus we don't have much in the way of potholders. I made one over the weekend..

I decided to use the seminary's school colors and it turned out nice. Except...I have not figured out how to tie off the ends in order to release it from the loom. There are directions, but it's a little too unfathomable for me since I've never been a sewer or knitter or crocheter.

What's for dinner?

I'm not much of a lunch eater so supper is important. And Dale always likes a normal meal at the end of the day, not something cold like salad. But it's getting harder to decide what to have. If you're anything like me you have a certain meal rotation that you use. I use mine because I'm familiar with the recipes and they're normally satisfying. However, they're getting boring.

When Dale is not home at dinner time I often fall back on things that are easy or something he normally would not care for. Easy is a scrambled egg sandwich, at least it's a warm meal. Or homemade macaroni which is more time consuming or soft pita with some sort of chicken or sliced steak and avocado and cheese. 

I need new ideas.