January 5 - 10, 2025 - Tree Damage - Flagpole - Ice Maker Installed - New Mixer - Dehumidifier Cleaned - Vacuums Replaced

My Blog Reflection

Forget what is gone. Appreciate what remains. Look forward to what's coming next.

Unknown

January 6, 2025

Yesterday I received a call from my neighbor about the major tree damage in our yard due to the ice storm that went through Perryville. Here are some pictures. We planted all of these trees over the past thirty years and are heartbroken that they were decimated by 3/4 inch of ice.

He didn't take pictures of all the trees but said maybe one tree was salvageable. Most of the city has been without electric since early morning on the 5th with no indication when it can be restored. Many electric lines, electric poles, and trees are down throughout the county. Today the wind is picking up and temperatures are predicted to continue to drop over the week. Restoring power to everyone under these conditions may take some time. We are concerned not only with heating the house but all the food in the refrigerator and freezer if the electric is not restored soon. What a way to start the new year.

Sitting in the living room this morning we heard a crash outside. I looked out and saw that the plastic flag pole holder broke and the flag pole fell down on to the porch rail. I don't know if I am going to replace it. The neighbor across the street has complained about the flapping sound on the big flagpole next to him and this one makes a little such noise as well. We did like flying our "Friendship Flag".

In the afternoon the new ice maker arrived a few days earlier than expected. It is about four inches shorter than the original. Interestingly, it did not come with the electric cable and plugs which run from the ice maker mechanism in front to the connector to the refrigerator in back. I am so pleased with myself that I hadn't yet thrown out the old ice maker because I needed that cable. After removing the cable and installing it on the new ice maker the rest of the install was easy. We have ICE! This unit is a lot quieter than the old once, which I think had been struggling for a while. This unit produces ice a little slower. The original had a "max" and a "normal" setting. This one is just pre-set. 

January 7, 2025

This morning I called my neighbor in Missouri and he advised that the electric came back on about 9:00 p.m. last night. I must say that is a relief. No need now for Alexa to drive down in the bad weather and empty the freezers and refrigerator before the food spoiled.

This morning Kelly again hosted the ladies breakfast coffee klatch and it drew a record crowd. We had to add all three of our folding chairs, two dining chairs, and a desk chair to the six chairs already in the Florida Room.

While Kelly's coffee klatch was going strong in the Florida room I ordered the materials I need to get started on the golf cart driveway. 

January 8, 2025

Today we bought the landscape mat to put down under the gravel in the new driveway to keep weeds out. The edging arrived today as well. All I am waiting on is the plastic grid and then the project can begin.

This afternoon I bought this top-of-the-line KitchenAid mixer from a lady here in the park. It has hardly been used.  Three ladies were waiting in line behind me to buy it if I didn't. The little handheld mixer, which was given to us a couple of years ago, just doesn't work very well. I'm anxious to put this one to good use. It may be time to whip up another batch or two of biscotti. The breakfast ladies ate a bunch of the last batch.

January 9, 2025

My neighbor at home, Rusty, contacted some tree trimmers and obtained several bids for all the trees on our lot and the lots around us to be cut down and hauled away. By all of us working together we will get a better price. Our lot had the most damage in the area - two large Birch trees and two Elms were totally decimated. Several other trees must be trimmed up. I accepted a bid, which does not cover the limbs from the pine trees because more snow is coming and more branches will probably break off. Additionally, the bid does not include the limbs trees from the Conservation property behind us that fell into our yard. My next door neighbor contacted the Conservation Department to see if they will take care of that clean up. He is awaiting a response. What an ordeal. 

Later in the day I emptied the dehumidifier tank and thought about the fact that I had never changed the filter. It had to be filthy. I took the tank off and could find no filter. I got online and there is no filter listed in the owner's manual for this machine. I shined a flashlight in and the coil looked quite dirty. I took off the front cover and this is what I found. I pulled a little off in the middle to see the coil. It was ten times worse than I thought it would be. The dirt was a half inch thick in most places.

I couldn't just pick the dirt off so Kelly gave me a couple of Q-tips to try. They worked well to grab the bulk of the dirt and pull it off. I then took the unit outside and blew it out with the air compressor. Much better.

Here it is put back together. I imagine it will operate much more efficiently now. LOL I can't believe there is no filter. Crazy. 

January 9, 2025

I have two small vacuum cleaners in the shed from the fifth wheel. Neither are worth a hoot for what I do I do in there. 

I got on Facebook Marketplace today and found a small shop vac for $15.00. It is identical to one I keep in the garage at home so I know it works well. I picked it up this afternoon.

 I will donate the other two vacuums to the Salvation Army store we frequent.

January 10, 2025

Early in the morning we hit two estate sales nearby. No great deals. We bought a couple of small items. We then drove to a garage sale where I purchased a plunge router with case for $15.00. The plunge router I have at home is mounted on my router table so using it hasn't happened. This one gives me some options for a cheap price. You never have enough tools, right?

We then headed to the French restaurant "Chez David" for Kelly's next international lunch. We all ordered off the breakfast menu. The food was fine, the prices were reasonable. Kelly bought herself a nice French pastry to bring home for later.

January 1 - 5, 2025. Ice Maker - New Year's Eve Party - Theater Club - Vietnamese Lunch - Potluck - Christmas Over

My Blog Reflection

Just one small positive thought in the morning can change your whole day.

Dalai Lama

December 31, 2024.

Kelly once again hosted the ladies morning coffee klatch. The ladies stayed and talked for two hours. After they left I started on a new project.

This season the icemaker has been performing poorly. It has barely been making any ice and ice was forming on the back of the tub. I looked with a flashlight in the water tray and saw black areas which shouldn't be there. I got online and learned that the black areas are an indication that the plastic tray has deteriorated. When this happens the ice cannot eject properly. The icemaker was quite easy to remove so I did that and ordered a replacement from Amazon. It will be here within two weeks. The refrigerator is a 2001 model so I can't complain. It is plastic after all.

In the meantime I am making ice with a silicone tray that makes six large cubes. It will suffice. I don't know where the ice cube trays out of Marge disappeared to.

In the evening we attended the New Years Eve Party in the Clubhouse. The room was beautifully decorated in black and white.

The DJ did a great job of selecting music that everyone liked to dance to. Here he is setting up the music and party lights as we arrived.

Eighty purchased tickets but only about seventy attended. It was definitely a somewhat younger crowd than last year. A lot of dancing to the faster songs.

We sat with Paul, who is a board member (behind the balloon), his friend, Joann, to my left, and Dennis and Ruth. We had never Dennis and Ruth before. They are at the other end of our street. All nice people.

We had the obligatory New Year picture taken. Looking back these pictures are great for showing how we change over the course of a year. Kelly takes a great picture, I don't. LOL

After the balloon drop at midnight we were ready to call it a night even though the music continued on.  I am not used to staying up so late. LOL

January 1, 2025

We got to bed around 1:00 a.m. I was up at 6:30 a.m. ready to take on the new year. After breakfast I took down the outside lights. 

This morning I got an email that there is a Theater Club Meeting tonight at 6:30 p.m. It is always the first Wednesday of the month, apparently even on New Year's Day. Nine of us attended the meeting, three of whom are board members. Apparently there is no set number of members so a quorum is a majority of the number who show up. We had a lengthy discussion about the Christmas Party/Show. It was a first attempt and most agreed it was a disappointment. We learned you can't have a "party" and then try to put on some entertainment.  Lesson learned. 

The spring show date was set for February 16th but must be changed due to people with other commitments that date. The board is now looking at a March date. The theme will be "Golden Gate Has Talent".  Everyone expressed concern and exasperation with the lack of people willing to "perform" a song, a skit, etc. Part of the problem is that the past participants are aging out and the park is turning over to a younger crowd. The younger folks simply do not join groups, many are still working, and they not interested in these types of activities. I think the Theater Club's days are limited. 

January 2, 2025

To start off Kelly's birthday cuisine lunches we headed to "Sugar Loaf Brazilian Store and Restaurant" just a couple of miles away. Celina, Richard, and Donna joined ups. When we arrived the place was locked up tight as a drum. They had a Christmas Tree set up inside the door so apparently the place shuttered not long ago. Several doors down in the shopping strip was the Vietnamese "Quan Ngon Bistro". We went there and tried out Vietnamese food. I had "Bun Thit Nuong Cha Gio" (Vermicelli Grilled Pork with Egg Roll). Kelly ordered an appetizer of Fried Dumplings and the special - "Banh Beo" and "Banh Beo Tom Thit". It was a large round rice noodle cooked like an egg white in a cup with some stuff on top, don't ask me what. All the dishes were tasty but I don't need to go back. The place wasn't cheap but then again it isn't cheap to eat at McDonald's anymore either.   

January 3, 2025

I went up this morning to play Cornhole and no one showed up. I don't know why. There wasn't any announcement about it that I saw. Maybe it was too cool for many.

Dinner tonight is the monthly potluck in the clubhouse. It is always well-attended. The meat this month was chicken. I signed up to make a sweet potato dish, a first for me. I like sweet potatoes and Kelly doesn't so we rarely have them. The recipe I had was to steam them first and peel them.  Our steamer pot could only hold three of the six potatoes at a time so it took longer than it should have to get them ready to bake.

Once peeled they were sliced, laid in a pan, then covered with brown sugar, butter, water, and baked. They obviously were a hit because the baking dish was brought home empty.  Two ladies at our table brought Tupperware dishes and filled them with chicken, side dishes, and desserts to take home. I had never seen anyone do that at a potluck before. Pretty ignorant in my book.

January 4, 2025

We are glad not to be in Missouri right now where up to an inch of ice and several inches of snow are predicted for today and tomorrow. It is cooler here but nothing like that. 

We drove to the 28th Annual Art Festival in Dunedin, Florida. It was a beautiful day for a stroll down the several blocks of booths lining both sides of the downtown streets. This festival is a BIG deal. Artists from all over the south display many types of paintings, sculptures, jewelry, pottery, etc. We absolutely loved many of the art pieces but they were too rich for our blood. 

I did buy a loaf of oven roasted Italian bread. I can’t wait to try some smeared with butter. After a couple hours we headed home. We stopped at Walmart to get eggs and ended up spending $47.00. It happens every time. LOL.

After putting away the groceries we took down the Christmas Tree and decorations and packed them away until next year. Another holiday season under our belt.

January 5, 2025

We are monitoring the weather back home as ice, snow, and cold temperatures move in throughout the Midwest. We hope everyone stays safe and any electric outages are short-lived. For us a sunny day with a high of 67 degrees. I'll settle in and watch football.