Another busy weekend

Saturday, August 24, 2013
Sunday, August 25, 2013

This weekend was a very busy for us again.  We didn't have Corgan because of the Ohio Farmer's Festival (formerly the Ohio Tobacco Festival) was this weekend in their hometown.  Ron let me sleep in, and he got up his normal time and worked outside on Our Summer Project and got the next step (laying heavy plastic down in our 'zoo') done.  Then, he started mowing and, somehow or another, hit something and bent the blade on his Zero Turn lawnmower.  He took the deck off, etc., and called Clermont Equipment about buying a new blade - he had bent one - and got the info, but they have changed to their fall hours, and now close at ONE pm.  Shit, it's noon now!  He comes in, and wakes me up.  Luckily, I was awake, just laying there deciding whether or not I was ready to get out of bed or did I want to read a little bit? and I told him, let me take my pills and get dressed, and we can start our running, like we had planned for Saturday once I got up.  No sense in him going now, then us going when he got back, right?  He's going, okay, but hurry.  They close at one.  Two minutes later, he's back. You done yet?  Almost - I was still taking pills.  I only take 8 pills in the morning, and lay out 8 more for the evening, as well the ones I need for with lunch and supper.  Sigh.  He went away, then popped back again - and I ran into him as I was walking out the bedroom door, thank God!  I got me a drink, and out the door we went!  Needless to say, he let ME drive and we made it there at twenty til one.  LOL

We then stopped at KFC for lunch - which was practically across the street - we don't get that far down 125 very often, and it was a treat for us.  We watched what we got.  We only got the 3-piece lunches each as opposed to the bucket of chicken  we used to get.  Yay, us.  We got mashed potatoes and green beans as our sides.  I wish we had remembered to tell them no gravy, though.  Neither one of us really like gravy that much.  But we forgot, so, we suffered through it.

On the way home, we did the errands that we had planned to do that day, so it took us a while to get back home.  But we made it, and got all the bags carried in, and stuff put away.  Ron then sat in his chair and watched TV - he 'didn't want to take a nap' - if you know Ron, I know you are laughing! I caught up on my games on the computer.  At 4:30, we left to go down to Josh's for supper and to go to festival.

Josh made smoked sausages in their George Foreman grill, and fried some green peppers and onions.  I cut some tomatoes that we brought with us into quarters (orange/yellow for me, red for Ron.)  Of course we shared.  They had opened bags of chips they got out.  I did have a few Ruffles.  We then went to festival.

We drove down to the school.  We walked down to the festival from there.  It's at least a half mile, if not a little farther, down into the town part of town.  We walked over into the games side first, to watch Corgan riding the rides.  Grandpa bought Corgan a wrist bracelet, as opposed to tickets for each ride, for the evening, and Corgan started his fun.  So, we walked from ride to ride (to ride to ride, etc., etc.).  Then Corgan met a friend from his street and was going to ride with him, and Ron and I went to look at the booths - which is where usually do some Christmas shopping - the next block over.  Jean decided to stay with Corgan and his friend (they don't let him stay 'by himself' like that yet) and Josh came with us.  Michelle was at work.  We walked from side to side, checking out the booths, once we got over to that block.  We got through both blocks of booths, across 52!, and made the turn to go down the main thoroughfare to start going past the food booths.  Yipes!  People are ALREADY everywhere waiting for the Lee Greenwood concert!  Oh, my.  Well, we found us a place to set up my chair and settled ourselves in, too.  It really was only a twenty minute wait - we just didn't realize how much time had passed while we were going through the festival!  The concert wasn't quite over when we got up, folded up the chair, and made our way through the crowd to the other side.  We could still hear him quite well!  He did very good covers of a couple songs - a John Denver song, and a James Taylor song.  No, I don't remember their names now.  You know my memory.  You're lucky I remembered who sang 'em way back when...  You know we really aren't country music fans, either, so we didn't know a lot of his other songs, but we knew he was going to close with "I'm Proud to Be an American" so we wanted to at least hear it.  We SURE didn't want to get caught in the wild trample of everyone leaving the concert!

Josh had walked back over to the rides when we got situated for the concert, because he sure didn't want to hear that.  LOL  Just as we got up to walk through, he says in my ear, "where you going?" and scared the crap outta me! I told him our little plan, and they walked back around the back side of where we were and the crowd and met us on the other side.  When we got on the other side and met back up with them, Corgan decided he was hungry.  Grandpa bought him some chili cheese fries and we each had a bite or two (yes, ONE fry for me) and we walked on after a pitstop.  Soon, I HAD to stop at a booth.  They had ELEPHANT EARS.  Yes, elephant ears.  Not just funnel cakes, but my elephant ears!  Oh, my.  I cannot resist.  You just cannot find elephant ears very often.  Funnel cakes are everywhere, but to find elephant ears!!  Heaven!!  We walked on down the rest of the way through while I munched.  I offered everyone a bite, no one but my sister wanted any.  Idiots.  They don't know what they are missing.  Oh, well.  More for me!  I ate about half of it as we walked back up toward the car.  Then I had to quit so I could breathe as I was walking.  I finished it when we got back to Josh's.  I was a happy camper!!


Sunday, we went with friends down to Carrabba's after church for lunch.  This will be our last big lunch out before football season!!  My friends understand that I must be home by 1:00 on Sundays from September to January, and tease me terribly about it, but know I enjoy my football.  They laugh because it's me and not Ron.  We still go out, but just up in Bethel (Frisch's), sometimes down to Amelia (Bob Evans or Campbell's Barn) but no sitting around talking or anything any more.  Eat and GO!

We enjoy going to Carrabba's.  We don't get to do it often, it costs just a bit more than most other places.  We love the bread dunked in herbed olive oil as soon as you sit down.  We refrained from getting the calamari we usually get - we are learning! Ron got pork chops with Marsala sauce and I got the seafood cannelloni, with a salad.  Hold the carrots, cucumbers, and the crotons, of course.  So, I had greens and celery and cheese because I gave Ron the olives.  I know, I'm weird.  I then also enjoyed the limoncello bread pudding for dessert.  Go for the gusto, right?  We ended staying there until after 3:00.  It was a quite enjoyable lunch.  Great food, great friends, a great time!

We made some stops on the way home, of course.  We stopped at that veggie store on the corner of 8 Mile.  I bought some Chia Seeds.  I have learned at my TOPS meetings that Chia Seeds are good for diabetics, as well as for dieters.  Always worth a shot, right?  I was told they were around 8 bucks a pound.  Wrong.  12 bucks a pound.  Still better than the 20 bucks a pound from Kroger!  They are tiny, tiny seeds, also, so they will last forever.  I will sprinkle them on stuff.  Maybe not yogurt - I don't eat much of that, cause I don't like it - but salads, in soups, etc.  I will find a way to use them.  I also got a whole watermelon and a whole cantaloupe for 2 bucks each.  I got a thing of blueberries for 1.50, too.  I will buy some strawberries at WalMart tomorrow.  I am gonna cube up the melons, and make me some fruit packs in baggies, and freeze them, and then I will have some fruit every day.  Something else I learned I needed from TOPS.  I have a plan!

We got home, Ron went out and got his mower together and mowed while I caught up on my games on the computer.  We got our giant pampas grass bungee-corded up so it wasn't spread all over creation.  (If you want a hunk of variegated pampas grass, let me know!  We will cut you a hunk out this fall.  We are making a list.)  We poured out the white gravel for Our Summer Project, but we didn't have quite enough.  Our zoo animals will have to wait a week or two until we buy 6 or 8 more bags til they get to move to their new home.  Poor babies.  We did bring our newly repainted frogs home last night.  Chelle repainted them for us, and they are gorgeous.  She did a very good job!

As the sun went down - it was below the treeline - we decided that we would take our bikes out for a ride.  We got them out and off we went.  Once again, I only made it to the farmhouse on Hoover and then had to turn around.  So, we finished out the weekend with a mile and a half long bike ride.  Yay, us!

Both Saturday and Sunday rate four stars for exercise.  I think both days get three stars for food.  It was good food, but it was a bit much.  When I weighed in Saturday morning, I had lost a pound - a pound and a half.  We shall see what Tuesday night brings.