Wondering About Dehydrating Food, etc.

My wife wanted to get something useful as a wedding gift for our son and his bride.  They are planning a huge garden for next Spring so she figured they could use a food dehydrator.  My wife then ordered one from QVC and found out that they were out of stock.  So, she cancelled the order at QVC and decided to call the factory and ordered one from there.  Well, for some reason, they both came within a day of each other, so my wife got one for herself, too.  It does a good job of fruit and she decided to make another batch of strawberries and bananas.  Just before sitting down to write this, I opened the dehydrator, pulled out three of the many trays, and snapped this picture:  

 

Some stuff comes out chewy and some comes out crunchy.

I looked out the window and at first glance I thought I saw a mouse on the railing of the porch.  Now wait a minute, it is green. . . if it were a mouse, it must be a really sick mouse.

 

OK,  so it is only a leaf.  Can't see a mouse there?  Hey, there is nothing wrong with my imagination, grin.  Of course, the tail is too short, right?

I don't have anything else to say, except, you all have a great day, you hear?

Wandering Through Our Haunted RV

Since Halloween is coming up and our newly acquired grandkids where going to a "Trunk and Treat" at the church, my wife suggested we fix up the RV as a scary, haunted house sort of thing.  So, we spent the afternoon getting it. . . I guess the closest description would be decorated?  I took some picture so you can decide.  Since we had all the electric lights turned off and only lit the interior with artificial candles, the flash went off on most of the pictures.  If you scare easily maybe you should stop reading now?!?!

This is the first thing they saw when entering:

 I left the slides in so they would only have a narrow path to take through the RV.  This next picture was taken before it got dark:

 

 All flat surfaces were covered with spooky and scary things:

 

 

 And way, way in the back, lit by only one candle on her tray, was an old hag who was guarding the candy which she had on tray.  She was also hiding behind a lot of spider and cobwebs.  Since she was way in the back, the kids had to walk all the way back through the scary stuff to get their treats.  Ain't we devious?

 

 Looking foreword:

 

 Now, the hard part, waiting until dark and until the kids get back from the "trunk and treat".  I tried to take some pictures as they would see it after dark:

 

 

 Sorry, I couldn't hold the camera still enough.  Of course I didn't realize that until I could see the pictures enlarged on the computer.  The kids were in costume, also.  Aren't they a good looking couple:

Now, if I haven't scared you too much, have a great day, you hear?

No Post Today.

No post today, but plan on posting tomorrow.  You all have a great day, you hear?

Wondering About Norman Rockwell.

This morning, my wife is watching QVC on TV.  One of the things they are selling are battery powered candles with Norman Rockwell painting on them.  I sure loved the paintings of Norman Perceval Rockwell.  Not only was he a very talented artist who could paint such life like paintings, but he was a very prolific painter.  I sure remember all his paintings that appeared on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post.  This is what he looked like:

And here are some of his paintings.  The next on was titled, "the movie star".

It was amazing how he could catch the human spirit along with animal life that made his pictures come alive.

This next one was special, because it show Norman looking at a reflection of his wimpy self, and painting it as Sauvé, handsome, pipe smoking, man of the world.

And again, showing both human and animal emotions:

Here is a painting he made of himself painting a picture.

 

 He also painted one of the most famous magazine covers, ever, of Rosie the Riveter who was an icon of all the women who worked in the factories during WW2 while the men were off fighting in the war.

And the boy about to get a shot in the rear, so he is reading the doc's credentials.

The cop talking the run-a-way boy out of leaving.  Enlarge the picture and you can even see reflections of the windows in the chrome bar stools.

 
He even painted the moon landing:

I just thought you all would enjoy seeing some of his paintings.  Now, have a great day, you hear?

Wondering What Came in the Cereal Box

Can you remember back when the cereal companies came up with the idea to put things in their cereal box (like toys, whistles, or gadgets) and things on the back of the boxes that kids could cut out and, put together, and play with?  I am talking about when I was kid back in the late 40's and early 50's.

We came across an old metal ring that I got out of a box of cereal and I took a picture of it beside a dime to show relative size:

 

We sent this picture to a friend of ours and he sent us a picture he found on the Internet of the box that they came in:

 

 

I don't remember the box, but I do remember all the stuff I used to get.  I really enjoyed the cut outs on the back of the boxes, especially the ones of buildings and animals.  Here is a building example:

 

  They also had all kinds of faces we kids could cut out, tie strings to them, cut out the eyes, and presto!, we had a mask.  Here are some examples of them:

 

I had all of the above and lots more.  Not only did my Mom save them for me but so did my Grandma.  They saved the masks and the cutout animals, houses, etc.  I guess back in those days it didn't take complicated stuff or electronic games to keep kids happy and amused.  If we didn't have the right toy or object, we used our imaginations.  If the weather permitted, we were outside playing.  Now, try to remember all the great things you did when you were young, tell about it to the younger generation, and please have a great day, you hear? 

 





The Wedding Pictures.

As I promised yesterday, I am going to post my son's wedding pictures when he married a great gal.  Here is the happy couple:

 

And my son waiting on the bride:

Taking their vows accompanied by her two children:

Nearing the end of the service:

Being introduced as Mr. and Mrs.:

And of course, cutting the cake.  They were being supervised by her daughter:

 

I just saw them both riding by on the new tractor.  I guess it is OK in Texas to take your honeymoon on a tractor, right.  And when I was in the church and looking around, I noticed that almost everyone was wearing cowboy boots, men, women, little boys, and little girls.  It was a beautiful day in all ways.  Now, you all have a great day, you hear.



Today Is The Big Day!!

Today is the BIG day!!  Yep, today my son and a very wonderful gal are going to tie the knot.  You know, get hitched, tying the knot, taking the plunge, setting up housekeeping, or getting married.  It is my job to get him to the church on time. (Now that reminds me of an old song.)

Then I heard on the evening news about that section of the interstate that the church is on, will be shut down because of work to be done on a bridge.  All the traffic will be detoured off onto the feeder road.  Dang, that could be a real mess.  Now I am wondering just how many hours it will take to make what is normally a half hour trip.  Now, for some reason that song I hinted to above keeps coming to mind, "Get Me To The Church On Time".

Dang, this sure is his week.  He got himself a new wife and a new tractor, but today's event makes one forget about the tractor. . . Now, you all have a great day, too, you hear?

***********************

Update

They are hitched!!  It was a very nice ceremony and reception at the church.  I didn't get very many pictures.  My camera was acting up  But tomorrow I will post what I have.

Wondering About the Tomb Sentinels.



Ed left a comment on my blog posting yesterday.  This is what he said:
"When honoring the Unknown Soldier please also honor the Tomb Sentinels from the Army's 3rd Infantry Regiment's "The Old Guard".  They have guarded the Tomb for 24 hours a day, 365 days a year regardless of the weather, since 1948."


OK Ed, I am posting about the Sentinels.

 

This is a Tomb Guard Badge: 

It never gets too cold for them:

Nor too much snow:

So, no matter if it is snowing:

Or raining:

They are on guard proudly doing their duty.  We should all honor the unknown soldier for what he fought and died for, and the honor guard who, since April 6, 1948 have been on duty at the tomb, where they walk 21 steps one way, turn and walk 21 steps back the other way. . over and over again.

They are part of the 3rd Infantry which has served this Nation since 1784 and were first called "The Old Guard".  They do more than just guard the tomb, they escort the President, conduct ceremonies at the White House, Pentagon, and national memorials in our Capitol, including funeral details and ceremonies at Arlington National Cemeteries.  Most of this information came from http://homeofheroes.com/gravesites/unknowns/0_unknowns_sentinels.html

OK Ed, is that what you suggested?  Now you all have a great day today, you hear?

Wondering About The Unkown Soldier.

It was on this date, October 23rd, back in 1921 that the "Unknown Soldier" was about to be selected.  Did you know that the U.S. lost around 77,000 servicemen who were killed on the Western Front during World War I?  I am sure that a lot of them had lost their dog tags, and could not be identified.  Here are a couple of examples of dog tags that the servicemen wore:

 

By the way, did you know that dog tags were provided to Chinese soldiers way back in the mid-19th century?

 

OK, back to the "unknown soldier" and how he was picked out of the many.  The first step was that four bodies were collected from cemeteries at great battlegrounds of WWI.  The bodies were shipped to a hotel in Chalons-sur-Marne (in eastern France) on October 23, 1921.  The next morning, Sergeant Edward Younger, carrying a spray of white roses, entered the room that contained the caskets.  He circled the caskets three times and placed the flowers on the third casket from the left.  The casket was inscribed with "An Unknown American who gave his life in the World War".

 

Here is a picture of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier:

 

So now you know the story behind the "Unknown Soldier.  Now, I hope you all have a great day, you hear?



Wondering What My Son Purchased.

My son has been talking about getting a bigger tractor for our place than the John Deere lawn tractor that I have.  My larger Farmall bit the dust a couple of years ago and the place is reverting back to its wild state.  So, last night he pulls in with this:

Sorry that it wasn't brighter.  It was one of those "oops" moments.

 

 

Then I tried to not use the flash, but the camera decided it needed to hold the shutter open for a longer time and of course I couldn't hold it still long enough, but at least you can get an idea of what he brought home:

So, I can safely say that all the pictures can be classified as:

But, I am going to post them anyway.  BTW, the trailer was also purchased with the tractor.  Here are some more blurry pictures:

I promise to get some better pictures sometime in the future.  Now, I hope your day isn't blurry and please have a great day, you hear?