*Monday Memos* 9-14-2020

*MONDAY MEMOS*

   

 (If pictures are too small, just click to enlarge) 
Weekly recap of my rather crazy, insane, but fun and rewarding life!

dear monday, I got out on a walk pretty early. Today is Labor Day and there was no school. I thought I would find lots of coins, but I only found 4 and I scoured the place. No coins, but three masks!  I guess we have basically gone to a cashless society and so they don't carry change anymore. So sad!  I was bummed. 

But this cheered me up!  ↑ SO fun to find sidewalk art. This was actually kind of a driveway, but so awesome! 

I came home and made a trial cake to see if the recipe is more firm and will keep the cakes from bulging in the middle. I believe this is the recipe I used for Weston's cake. It is a doctored up cake mix but gets rave reviews by cake decorators.  

White Almond Wedding Cake 

20 servings  

1 (18.25 ounce) package white cake mix (sift first)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup white sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/3 cups water

1 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 egg whites

Directions

1.     Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour an 11x13 inch cake pan.

2.     Stir together the white cake mix, flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl until well mixed. Pour in the water, sour cream, vegetable oil, almond and vanilla extracts, and egg whites, and beat with an electric mix on low until all the ingredients are mixed and moistened but some lumps still remain, 4 minutes.

3.     Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan, and bake in the preheated oven until the top is a light golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Allow to cool before frosting.

McKay stopped by!  It's always so good to see him. I planned the Homemaker's Brunch for this week with Beth and Linda. It's going to be cold on Thursday!  Bummer!  It's a busy week!  I went to Wallies and then grabbed Carson and we fed the kittens. 

We had them spread out so they won't eat each other's food. Carson was so funny, he said they were social distancing!  LOL  He's the cutest. I am going to miss these cute little things!  

I came home and made a peach pie for Dave's parent's anniversary. I was in a rush and so used the store bought pie crusts that you bake but they were old and not good!  The filling was so good but the crusts ruined it!  

Dave thought they were good but I wasn't thrilled. I made two!  WHY?  No idea!  We took it over to Dave's parents. Carson joined us. It was a fun visit. 

I felt so bad that I had been so busy and so didn't get a good dinner made for McKay.  Peach pie or dinner? Hah  So we took him to Arbies. The girl could not get our order right and I was getting a bit feisty and Dave was all calm. It's usually the other way around. LOL Sky and crew were here when we got back. Carson is so hilarious. He still loves his medal and now wants to do a 10K. LOL  Not so fast! I was so tired.

dear tuesday, today I was supposed to take my mom to a hair appointment but we had severe winds last night and the power was out in Ogden as well as at my moms.  HUGE trees were uprooted and toppled. Over 37 semis were tipped over on the freeway and basically it was a mess!  We lucked out though and only had patio furniture and plants tipped over and blown away. Winds were up to 90 mph in some places. Willard was hit really hard. Power lines were down and blocking the old highway. But, it IS 2020! What do you expect?!  There are also several serious fires that are not contained in Springville.  

YEP!

Some pix from the news channels.  There are also several wild fires burning out of control in Utah!

It was also really chilly this morning. Felt like fall for sure. The wind made it even more chilly!  I bagged my walk since I was already dressed and ready to go before I knew all this would cancel my mom's appt. It was kind of like a free day given to me. I took advantage and practiced the harp for a long time.  McKay was here most of the day but he headed back around 1 ish. Dave was off but I didn't see him much in the a.m.  I tried out a new cake recipe to see if it's better (for the wedding cake).  It wasn't exactly what I hoped for. Let's just say...THE APOCALYPSE LIVES ON!

Too funny!  But it is SO delicious!  I wonder if I tried again and just filled the pans less if it would work better. I am running out of time!  I stacked and crumb coated the other trial cake and so far no bulging on the sides! YAY!  

I made Goulash for dinner.  It was a soup kind of day and it was so yummy!  Here is the recipe I used this time:

Beef and Tomato Macaroni Soup Recipe

• 1 lb ground beef
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 3 tsp minced garlic
• 58 oz beef broth
• 56 oz tomatoes chopped (2 28 oz cans)
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 2 cups dry macaroni
• garlic salt and garlic pepper as desired
• cheese if desired

Instructions

1. In a large stock pot, add ground beef, garlic and onion powder - cook until beef is no longer pink. Drain the grease.
2. Add broth, cans of chopped tomatoes, Worcestershire, brown sugar (optional), ketchup and Italian seasoning. Bring to a boil and simmer for 8-10 minutes
3. Add the dry macaroni and let cook for 15 minutes. Top with cheddar cheese, if desired and ENJOY!

The kittens go to the lady tomorrow. I am kind of sad but happy they will get a good home!

dear wednesday, I had my harp lesson this a.m. We are still doing it online. That is going on over six months now.  I worked on the brunch for Homemakers. The lady was supposed to be coming to pick up the kittens but she called and said she couldn't until tomorrow.  My hair extensions came! Sarah has had to order so many because the color is never right, but this time it's perfect!

This little guy got to come over and hang out with me for a while. He wanted to go to the park and so off we went!  He took me to "Purple Land" again.

We went and saw the kitties!  They are so stinkin' cute!

Carson had a sleepover with me tonight!  We had a blast!

Ya gotta love it when you see this in your front yard!

dear thursday, This was going on this morning at Sis Mason's house. She is okay but she was taken to the hospital. 

I took Carson to school and then I made some orange honey butter for our Homemaker's Waffle Bar this morning. It turned out SO yummy!  We met at Beth's house but had to do it inside because it was in the 40's and just too cold!  It did warm up later but it was better inside. We had a lot of fun. 

A photo of our Presidency.
Chris, moi, Linda. I love these ladies. Our group had the most amazing women in it!

Cute Beth!  We had a great turnout!

The lady came to pick up the kittens this afternoon. I am glad she is able to help them. She was pretty upset about the state of the mama and told me she isn't sure she will live let alone survive being spayed. She was very nice and very grateful I had been feeding her but also very concerned. 

I am grateful to her. Carson was sad to say goodbye to them.  So was I. Sad, but grateful they will have a better life!  My friend Kimberly Spicker (maiden name) text me and told me she had text her (she is the contact) and the lady was very angry about the condition of the cats. She is upset with the owner and also upset it is going to cost $600 for medical care. I told the lady I would be happy to help with the cost but she refused. 

I took dinner to Dave's parents.

dear friday, I got in a 3 miler this morning. I went to check out where I am doing my virtual Peach Day's race tomorrow. I am excited! I had a hair appt but she cancelled again. It's next week now. 

Today was 9/11. Hopefully in remembering this tragic day our great country will gain some perspective that is so desperately needed right now.

I went to Carson's and Sarah was working hard on the wedding again. She has seriously gone to SO MUCH WORK!  It's going to be amazing! She works on it nonstop!  Check out this Mother of the Groom cute little place setting.

I ran to O town today. I had to pick up the churros and run several errands I had to do since I didn't on the wind storm. I stopped at Real Deals and fell in love with these pants. Another back shot. Haha  At least my hair looks good! LOL

 I could not believe how bad the damage was from the wind storm!  It was bad! These are of South Ogden. There were so many trees broken and down and so many repair trucks everywhere!  

This is my Grandma Mae and Grandpa Ed's house on Country Club Drive. Old house I should say. My mom was basically raised there and Shelley was raised there her entire life. It used to seem so much bigger. She had an all pink bathroom. Pink sink, pink toilet, pink tub!  I loved that house. It faces the road to the golf course. Country Club gold course. It has really gone to pot now but it used to be so nice. I have a lot of good memories there. We lived with them when we moved back from Reno for about six months or so. I attended Club Heights (now torn down) for half my third grade year. I had Mrs. Rice. She was so nice. I also stayed there with my Grandma for an entire summer after my Grandpa (I called him Eddie Bone) passed away and she had had a stroke and needed someone with her. I used to love to go in Shelley's room before she was married and listen to her records over and over. Bobby Vinton's Blue Velvet was one I loved. I used to organize Mae's hall closet every time I went. I also used to get out her pots and pans and put them in the corner of her living room and play house with them. She had the prettiest pots and pans. That must be where I get my love for dishes, cookware, and bakeware!  She used to take me to ZCMI and buy me penny candy and brown licorice and take me to eat at The Tiffin room and I would always order a hamburger with a chocolate shake. She loved to shop. Another thing I got from her. She was so much fun. A spitfire. I loved her personality. I am sure I got a lot of my feisty-ness from her. LOL  My grandpa Ed was a huge tease. He would put wadded up paper towels inside my shoes every time I took them off.  He used to tell me I had a spider on my head and run his finger down my head. I remember them arguing a lot but you also knew they loved each other.  After he passed away she followed only a couple years later. They were the best grandparents. I have always had a bond with both of them. I remember how small her kitchen was. It also had pink appliances. Pink stove, pink fridge, etc. She had a drawer where she kept her bread. Wonder Bread. I would always get a piece and take off the crust and wad it up into a ball and eat it or sprinkle sugar on it.  We always had Sunday dinner over there and she was the best cook. She made pot roast with potatoes and gravy and corn. I used to toss my meat under the table because I didn't want to eat it. I remember one time someone said, "Where did all this meat come from?"  haha  My grandpa had a coin jar that had so much money in it. I didn't like the basement and hated to go down there. That was where my mom and Dixie her sister's room was. I loved spending time at their house. It was a fun place to be. 

Here are pictures from Willard. It was a mess and it has been several days time of clean up so I can't even imagine what it was like right after. 

dear saturday, today I did the virtual Peach Day's 5K race. I thought someone else would show up at the same time since I was there exactly when it would have started but I was it!  Just me. All alone!  haha  I ran the 5K course and it wasn't too bad. I did okay. Dave showed up to take some photos.

POST:

Peach Day's 5K! ALONE! What happened to everyone?

This is the PITS 2020!!! #pandemicgoaway

I did it virtually this year. My time was 28:24. Pretty happy about that!!! Last year I walked it but this year I ran every step! I am feeling so blessed!

I started right at 8 a.m. The city bell chimes indicating it was 8 a.m. was the starting gun for me. I thought there would be a few others, but they gave us an entire week to run it. Dave showed up in his car on the course and took some photos.

Peach Days was pretty sad this year...No major Peach Days race. No junior or senior Queen pageants. No junior or senior parade. No booths. No concerts. No car show. No closing Main St and Forest St. No Peach Cobbler, scones, scuba burgers, funnel cakes, Navajo tacos. No carnival. No reunions. No excitement at all!

Peach Days 2020 was the pits! Basically non-existent. But the peaches this year were still peachy!

Still ran the Peach Days (virtual 5K) this morning though. #coronawillnotstoppingtradition #onlyoneoncourse #goawaycorona

Main Street had some fun window displays.

I even found a penny! FINISHED! Another one in the books even if it was just virtual!!! The shirts were kind of cute!

Since I only got in 3.1 miles, I decided to hit the high school parking lot to see if I could find any coins. But...someone beat me to it. This guy on the bike was driving every square inch of every parking lot looking for something. Hmm... I am SURE it's money! Not sure what his motivation is to do it but I doubt it's the same as mine. Dang it! This explains why I haven't been finding any coins! And I thought it was due to the pandemic and going cashless.

But I did find ONE dime! Thanks Mae! That's my Grandma I talked about above. Her name was Evelyn Mae but I called her Mae. Never Grandma. I never called my grandpa anything but his first name too. Ed or Eddie Bone. I found some chalk and posted a message on a sidewalk.

Happy Non Peach Days!!!

This popped up on my memories. This is me with Robin. This is our FIRST Running picture together. nine years ago at Peach Days. That is the day I talked her into running a half marathon. And now she's ran several fulls!

There were still a handful of peeps downtown. There was also a Cruisin' Cruisers parade kind of thing where cool cars drove up and down Main Street for an hour or more and people stood on the sidewalk and cheered them on.

We got some fresh peach pie from Maddox! It is the best!!!

The guys all went golfing today and took little Carson with them! He had a great time! The pictures they took are so cute!

So cute!  Now, these deer coming up on my deck eating all my flower pots, is NOT so cute!  Well, it still is and I have a hard time running them off.  I love it when they get brave and come up to the door.

dear sunday, I can't remember what happened today since I am writing this two months after the fact...sigh.. but I do know we had German pancakes for breakfast. So good!

How cute is this little guy snuggling his blanket! Actually, it's mine! haha

Here is the invite they sent out to the majority. I may have already posted:

Our new virtual medals arrived. Now to schedule the race!

Hey - just look on the bright side...only three more months to go!