August this year was kind of a hum-drum month.  A major contrast to August last year!  The garden harvest and preserving was pretty much over.  My daughter and her family were no longer here.  The pandemic kept us from going anywhere or seeing anyone, and the heat kept us inside more than usual.  And YET!…I do still have a few favorites from the month!  9 to be exact.  Not surprisingly, almost half of them (4) revolve around my two granddaughters. 😍 Read more

Okay, it’s time to get OUT of this slump!  I’ve had pictures in a folder on my computer for over two weeks waiting for me to write this post.  Every day since the end of July, I’ve been telling myself I need to write my July Favorites today.  And every day has passed with the post unwritten.

Why have I been in a slump? Read more

This is the first time I’ve participated in the What’s Up Wednesday link-up hosted by Sheaffer and Shay on the last Wednesday of every month.  It’s a post about a bunch of little things that are going on in our lives currently and sounds like a fun one to try!  So without further ado…

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It was exactly one year ago this same date, July 27th, that my friend Lynn and I finished the last mile of the 427-mile RAGBRAI route across Iowa.  In the picture above we are doing the traditional front-tire dip in the Mississippi River.  Seven days earlier, we dipped our back tires in the Missouri River before beginning the adventure.  I wrote a blog post for each day, which you can read beginning here with Day 1 if you’re interested.

I felt kind of bad back in January when Lynn texted me that, wouldn’t you know it…THIS year the RAGBRAI route was going to pass through her home town and her college town.  That would definitely add to the excitement for her.  I almost wished we had waited one more year to do it.  Then, like so many other events, RAGBRAI was cancelled this year due to the pandemic.  Now I’m glad we DID do it last year, while we could!

They did offer a virtual RAGBRAI in place of the real thing this year.  I didn’t participate, but it was interesting to follow it on their Twitter feed.  Those who did participate paid a $55 registration fee and completed each day’s planned mileage at a location of their own choosing.  Of course, you could do that without paying the fee, but you wouldn’t be included in some parts of the virtual event, like the prize giveaways that are supposed to take place this week.

I’ve said that for me, doing RAGBRAI last year is a one and done.  But looking back at it and following their feed this past week has made me think it could be fun to do it (at least in part) or a similar event again.  The organizers are hopeful that RAGBRAI 2021 will be able to take place, and be bigger and better than ever.  They’ve already stated that the route will remain the same as was planned for this year.  I sure hope things are close enough to normal by then for them to be able to proceed as planned!

 

A year ago today the word COVID wasn’t part of our daily vocabulary.  I’m glad to look back and see what a busy summer it was, and how we were living life to the fullest.  I’m ready for those days to return!

 

 

 

This post linked to The GRAND Social

Looking back at June today and highlighting the people and things that made me happy.  Gosh it went by fast! Read more

Can’t let summer get too far in without making a report on this year’s garden.  And thank God for the garden!  With all this staying home, it has been my salvation.  It’s really been keeping me busy these past few weeks and looks like it will continue to do so for a few more weeks.  2020 may have wreaked havoc in many parts of our lives, but it sure has been a great year for the garden! Read more

Seeing as how we are half-way through June, it seems it’s high time I get my May favorites posted.  Shoot!  In about two weeks I should be posting my June favorites, so I better hurry up and take a look back at May! Read more

This month I’m participating again in 10 on the 10th!  For June the prompt is my 10 favorite things about summer.  You can’t read my list without realizing that I love food!  Half of my favorite things are edible. 😋

 

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This month’s Memory Lane Monday is dedicated to the men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country, for you, and for me.  Today is Memorial Day.  While we are still in the midst of fighting this pandemic we’ve been experiencing, Memorial Day may look very different than usual for many of us. Read more

Just random stuff! Read more