All posts by verily sherrilee

Directionally challenged, crafty, reading mother of young adult
2024, Family, Food, Gatherings, pets, Uncategorized

Cookies Galore!

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I’ve been in cookie production mode for a couple of days.

A dear friend of mine lost her husband in January; it was expected but still quite sad.  Al loved my sugar cookies.  For the last couple of years while he was in his decline, I made cookies for him every few weeks so that he could have cookies but my friend wouldn’t have to bake.  I made different kinds but the frosted sugar were always his favorites.  So for his Celebration of Life I am making them in his memory.

At the same time I am doing my spring bonnet sugar cookies for a shower this weekend as well.  My oh my – everything always falls at the same time.

I figured I’d be safe with six batches of the dough.  I made that, two batches at a time, on Wednesday.  I laid everything out ahead of time so I could whip through – only took me about 25 minutes.  The dough does need to chill for a while; that’s why I made it on Wednesday. 

Then yesterday morning I rolled out all the dough, cut all the cookies and baked them. 206 fluted squares, 16 large bonnet bases, 16 bonnet cops and 20 llama/alpaca shapes (new cookie cutters that I just got a couple of weeks back).  Took about 4 hours from set up to clean up.  No burned batches and no dog sneaking cookies off the counter, although I did have to keep a close eye on YA every time she wandered into the kitchen.

This morning, while you are reading this, I’m doing the icing and sprinkles.  All of Al’s cookies will have white icing but I’ll use a variety of sprinkles (I have plenty!).   I’ll be setting up in the living room on the card table so I can sit and watch tv while I work.  If I have time, I’ll do the llama/alpaca cookies and hopefully the bonnets.  I used a flow icing on the bonnets so they’ll be last.  If I run out of time I’ll finish the bonnets Saturday morning before the shower.

Phew!

Why couldn’t the Cookie Monster make his bed? 

2024, animals, Family, Kids

YA Appreciation Day

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Zoos and animal parks are some YAs and my favorite places to visit. Minnesota Zoo, Como Zoo, Fawn-Doe-Rosa, Carlson Llama Farm – these are our local haunts.  Zoos and animals parks are also, in my experience, the places with the highest percentage of child meltdowns around. 

YA was a very easy child (we’re just talking child here, not teenager!) so I have zero experience with a melting down child.  She abandoned the idea of the stroller by the time she was three and never looked back.  She never ran around in a zoo restaurant.  She never banged on the glass to get the attention of the spotted leopard on the other side.  She never pushed another child out of the way to get a better look at a penguin.  She never had a tantrum of any kind when we were out and about.  Never.

Over the years, YA has heard me extol her virtues as a child a lot.  Way too much from her experience.  So I work hard to keep my lips zipped because these days any time I say something I get a massive eye roll and usually an exasperated “I know”.  But it’s difficult because every visit guarantees some bad behavior on the part of children who are over-tired, over-stimulated and probably hungry to boot.  The examples in the second paragraph all happened yesterday at the Zoo. 

So I stroll along with YA, thinking to myself what a wonderful child she was and what a terrific young adult she had turned out to be, all the while saying NOTHING.  NOTHING.  I wonder if one of these days my head will just explode.

Occasionally she will let me take her picture, although sometimes bribery is involved.  The above picture cost me a trip to Dairy Queen.

What summer treat would I need to bribe you with for a photo?

2024, Food, pets, space

Strangers in the Park

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Photo credit: WTHR Indianapolis

Lots of folks have asked me why I took the road trip by myself to see the eclipse in Indianapolis.  Easy peasey – so I could do just what I wanted every single minute and not have to have anyone else’s agenda pushing up against mine.  Same reason I go to Opening Day at the State Fair by myself.

So if that means I overestimate how many insane folks will want to park in the White River State Park ramp and go WAY too early to nab my spot, it’s OK.  If I walk up and down the long row of food trucks (24 of them) twice before I decide what I want, it’s OK.  And if I talk to strangers, it’s OK (this is something in particular that drives YA crazy.)

Here are just a few of the interesting folks I met on eclipse day:

A guy from Kentucky with a very cute corgi.  He was sitting on a bench, apparently waiting for his wife – he wasn’t sure where she can gone off to.  They had decided just a couple of weeks before to make the trip; they had managed to find a room but it was about an hour out of the city.  He was also sporting an eclipse jacket and baseball cap.  Like me, he got his online.

David was one of the first food truck owners to get his truck in place; he wanted a really good view of the river on each side of the bridge from his spot.  He’s been running his food truck (assorted health food kinds of items including a vegetarian walking taco) for 20 years but he’s thinking about quitting because he want to focus more on his music and getting it published.

Two gals assembling a University of Indiana tent – turns out that the university has a new “global and local event planning” program and part of the semester was putting together the event in the park.  When I told them I was a retired planner, we commiserated for a bit and laughed at what non-planners think is involved.  Then one of the gals said “we’re not supposed to give this out until later, but I like you…” and gave me a cake pop with white and red icing (U of Indy colors).  It was yummy.

Three cops on bikes.  I’ve never seen police on bikes before and they were willing to take a few minutes to talk to me.  The officers on bikes program has been around for almost 20 years now and has been called an unqualified success.  The bikers patrol the downtown area (which includes White River Park) as well as a couple of suburbs that ring the downtown.  The officers in the program like it a lot; they say they can get around more easily that in a car and have been able to establish better relations with the community.  As the pedaled off, they all three went down a fairly long set of stairs – without a wobble!

Of course, I talked to many more people, especially folks with dogs.  Since I parked early and set out my chair about six hours ahead of time, I had a lot of leisure to connect with others.  Eclipse apparel was also a good discussion point and because of matching t-shirts I met a couple (their t-shirts matched mine) who had been in the same parking lot as me in St. Joseph, Missouri for the 2017 eclipse.  Amazing how you can connect just by talking to people!

Do you talk to strangers when you’re out and about?  Any favorite topics?

2024, Business, Food, Mysteries

Twins?

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There are a handful of ads that come into my Inbox (instead of Junk) – Einstein Brothers and Brueggers are two of those because they offer occasional coupons that I like, particularly my birthday freebies every year.  A couple of weeks ago, not only did an ad for each show up on the same day, they arrived one after the other in my Inbox.  If they hadn’t, I probably wouldn’t have noticed that they have both launched the same sandwich on the same day.  See the photo above – I won’t even tell you which is which.

My first, very fleeting, thought was that it was a coincidence.  Then I thought it must be an amazing corporate espionage situation.  But the pictures are almost identical so I ventured the thought to YA that perhaps Brueggers and Einstein Brothers were somehow related.  YA snorted and said “of course, they’re related –  they’re owned by the same company.” 

In the travel industry, hotels are always changing hands and my company had a actual department to keep track of this kind of thing (Industry Relations).  Who owns what was never interesting to me.  I had it suggested to me once that I could boost my career by keeping up with the industry better than I did.  Cue the laughter.  Despite both my sisters thinking of me as “a successful career woman” (cue more laughter), I never considered myself as such.  I had a job, a job that I liked, a job that I was very good at.  I didn’t want to be a team leader, a manager, a director… just wanted to do my job.  I did get every promotion along the way (apparently in record time according to my old boss) but it never changed the job that I did…. Only changed my title and added a bit more to my paycheck.

So it doesn’t surprise me that I didn’t know that Brueggers and Einstein Brothers were siblings.  It does surprise me that they launched the same sandwich on the same day and from the looks of it, probably used photos from the same photo shoot.  It doesn’t seem a good way to differentiate the two chains.  Of course, my idea of what corporate America should do and what corporate America does are clearly not in sync.  At all!

Tell me about how you like your bagel sandwiches!

2024, Fantasy, holidays, Mysteries

David Shepardson Day

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I like to think that I’m a fairly normal person but every now and then something comes up that makes me wonder if I’m just a few steps off the path.

When I was in the sixth grade, our school had a presentation by a troupe of presumably college students; they did some music and read some poetry – fairly classic late 60s kinds of stuff.  After the show, the students hung around so we could meet them.  I was with my two best friends that day – Linda and Kathleen – and we waited patiently for our turn.  The student that we met was named David Shepardson and he was gorgeous-looking to three sixth-graders, longish brown hair, little goatee, tie-dye t-shirt, sandals.  The full package.  I happened to be wearing a beaded necklace that day and David admired it; he held his beaded necklace up so we could compare and…. our fingers touched.  My girlfriends and I were all giddy.  I didn’t wash my hand for a day and a half and both Linda and Kathleen checked in with me about it.  They were both pea-green.

OK, so you’re saying to yourself, how is this unusual?  Lots of pre-teen girls are a little wack-a-doodle.  Here’s the difference.  56 years later I still have “David Shepardson Day” noted on my calendar on April 16.  

And since, by coincidence, I met my BFF on April 16, 41 years ago, I do often celebrate a bit.  This year I found a nice bunch of dark purplish flowers and took them up to her house, had tea and chatted for a bit.  I usually send her a card as well to commemorate.  During the visit on Wednesday, Sara and I realized that we’ve been celebrating David Shepardson Day a year longer than she and he husband have been married.

I often wonder how David Shepardson’s life turned out.  Did he end up pursuing music or literature?  Did he marry?  Have kids?  Travel?  Does he have “Sherri Carter Day” listed on his calendar every April 16?

Do you celebrate any holidays that yours alone?

2024, Business, Food, History, Mysteries, Travel

Where in the World is VS?

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Sliced bread was invented here. That’s right — the Taggart Company was the first place to start selling pre-sliced loaves of bread.

This is home to the world’s largest Children’s Museum, with over 130,000 artifacts, including an indoor carousel and dinosaurs guarding its walls

The original Union Station in this city was the country’s first “union” passenger rail station. Its initial construction was in 1853, but was rebuilt 30 years later. Union Station was frequented by many prominent figures, including Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman + Woodrow Wilson.     

The downtown Athenaeum was designed by Kurt Vonnegut’s architect grandfather.  It was originally used as a gymnasium and clubhouse by German-Americans striving to preserve their culture.

This city’s beloved Slippery Noodle Inn was a stop on the Underground Railroad during the Civil War, with enslaved people hiding out in the building before catching the northbound train nearby. Not only that, but it was also a watering hole during the prohibition era + a mobster hangout.

Speaking of Kurt Vonnegut, this is the home of the Kurt Vonnegut Museum & Library!

Where am I?  Extra points for knowing WHY I am here!

2024, animals, education, Words

Laughing Matter

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Some days it’s all about laughing.

On Duolingo yesterday morning, I started a new section – with words such as lazy and messy.  Clean and dirty have come up before so it was nice to have a few more to go with them.  Then came “stinks”.

Several animals have made it into the lessons: cat, dog, bird, penguin, snake, duck, elephant (the very first lesson!).  But yesterday was the first appearance (after 3 years) of hamster.

Duolingo doesn’t just give you words, they put all the words together in sentences and stories for you.  After all these months, I should have seen this coming.

I tuoi criceti puzzano

This translates to “your hamsters stink”.  Not a euphemism for anything that I can find although it does remind me of the Holy Grail line “your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries”.

I can’t imagine that stinking hamsters comes into conversation too often in one’s lifetime.  My sister had hamsters and I don’t remember them stinking….

What pets did you have growing up?  Did they stink?

2024, education, Family, Farming Update, Travel, Weather

What Day is This?

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The weekend Farm Report comes to us from Ben.

I have been completely discombobulated since returning home from Seattle. The weather did hamper our Sunday return flight and because I had purchased my plane ticket separate from Kelly and daughter, Delta automatically rebooked me on a redeye from Seattle to Minneapolis, while leaving those two on their own. Eventually they were able to get on the same flight. We left Seattle at 12:30 AM Monday, arriving at MSP about 5:30 AM and back to RST about noon Monday. We were all exhausted and needed naps.

But the extra day in Seattle allowed me to see the ‘gum wall’.

It’s… something.  It’s kinda gross. Glad I didn’t have to pay for that.

The dogs were mildly excited to see us. They had good sitters while we were gone, and those people said they did their best to turn the dog’s loyalty. I think a few more days they could have done it. I laughed that all the dog treats were gone. No wonder the dogs liked them best.

I attended that workshop called “Psychology of Stupidity”. It was presented by a group called ‘Risky Business Resources’. The room was full, standing room only in fact, which I thanked the crowd for being that interested in safety, and kudos to the presenter for his title. If he had called it ‘Analysis of theater Safety’, it wouldn’t have been so full.

We discussed how people make decisions, and the factors that lead to people making mistakes. He had us play ‘rock paper scissors’ with our left hands, while thumb wrestling with our right. It can’t really be done. Some takeaways: Sleep debt and fatigue increase risk taking. Underestimating risk is a big one.

What stuck with me the most was discussing step ladders. We’ve all stood on that step second from the top. The one that says not to stand on. So why is that step even there?? Some ladder manufacturers have tried removing that step. People complained the ladders weren’t tall enough then. And there was nowhere to put the sticker saying not to use that step. It made the whole room laugh.

On the last day, I took part in a Kazoo parade.

It’s part of a fundraiser.

By Tuesday I was right back into things. A ceiling leak at one theater. Striking lights at another. Back to my set at the college.

I saw a killdeer! It’s nice they’ve returned.

I ordered some extra tough shoelaces off amazon. I got some that are fire and heat resistant. I could  see the need for that if I was a firefighter. But if I need shoelaces that are fire and heat resistant, I’m doing something wrong.

WHAT’S THE DUMBEST ATTRACTION YOU’VE SEEN?

2024, Family, Food, holidays, Mysteries, Seasons

Eggs-tremely Envious

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Every year I am jealous of Renee.  Her daughter always tells her she wants an Easter basket and tells her what to put in it.  No guesswork, no trying to figure out what might appeal to a grown daughter.  SO JEALOUS.

As I mentioned a couple of times, YA likes the traditions of Easter but doesn’t like to admit it.  I’m not sure why; it’s the same with some other things.  So every year when I ask her what she wants in the basket, she says “Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs”.  That’s it.  Well, you all know me – it’s hard on my nature to fill up her basket with just one item.  Every year I get carried away and every year she enjoys it. 

This year was the same.  Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs.  I spent a few days thinking and routing through her room before I headed out to shop.  I wandered through Target and Walgreens and Cub – oh, and the Dollar Store (which really needs to be re-branded since everything is $1.25 these days).  I ended up with a handful of skin and hair products that I know she likes.  One Lindt chocolate bunny.  Amy’s Bunny Grahams.  Ghiradelli caramel bunnies.  Little bag of Garden Veggie Chips that are egg-shaped and in spring colors.  A lambie toy (this is technically for Guinevere – I tied an Easter ribbon around it’s neck).  Two Apple giftcards as YA is saving for a new computer – safely ensconced in spring giftcard holders that I made.  Cheddar bunny snacks and, of course, Reese’s PB eggs. 

It’s a glorious looking basket and even without the Apple cards, surely the most expensive basket I’ve ever assembled for her.

Why did the Easter Bunny get its job?

2024, Business, Food, Gatherings, Mysteries

End of an Era?

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I saw on the news that the last Hooters in West Virginia closed last month with a large candlelight vigil prior to its demolition.  The local news mentioned it ahead of time and several hundred people showed up. 

The vigil part of the story didn’t surprise me but the fact that there are still Hooters was the shock to me.  I haven’t heard anything about Hooters and I never see them anywhere but a quick search reveals that there are over 400 worldwide, including one right in my backyard – at the Mall of America.  Guess that’s what happens when you only go to the Mall of America once a year (to redeem birthday coupons at Auntie Annies and Cinnabon).  Since I’ve never eaten at a Hooters (just seems a little too tasteless of a gimmick to me), I can’t say whether all of West Virginia franchises closing is a loss or not.  But I know the chances are slim that I would ever go to a candlelight vigil for one.

Is there a restaurant that you’d consider attending a vigil for if it were closing?