Tuesday, September 27, 2022

Tuesday Tidbits - September 27, 2022

It was another cool morning here in southwest Missouri, but it's warming up. It's still cool enough, though, that I'm not having to run the air conditioner. I may have to turn a fan on this afternoon to circulate the air, but the doors and windows are open, and the breeze alone is enough for now.



I deep cleaned the bedroom yesterday, the bathroom this morning, and plan to work on the hallway this afternoon.



I'd like to decorate for fall, but with the kittens as active as they are, I dare not this year. I might select a few pieces from the fall tote that can't be easily damaged and maybe a few more that can be hung on the wall. Other than that, I better keep the rest packed securely away for some other day.

My youngest daughter called the other day with printer questions. In the process of helping her I checked my own settings and discovered that, due to the fact that I'm not printing nearly as much stuff as I used to before COVID (for programs at work) and when my husband was alive (ministry and writing) that I could cut my monthly instant ink charges in half, so I changed the settings and did. That inspired me! When I figure the budget and bills later this week, I plan on going over everything with a fine-toothed comb to see what other hidden areas I might be able to save money in. 



Well, I better get busy. Lunch is over and the hallway awaits. I hope your day is going well and that you are accomplishing all that you had hoped to today. 

Until next time...
~Rebecca

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Monday, September 26, 2022

Master To Do List and Menu Plan Monday - September 26, 2022

Good morning! Happy First Monday of Autumn 2022! 🍁

Here on the tallgrass prairie of southwest Missouri, big bluestem has reached its full potential and Indian grass, with its poofy plume, is headed out in full array. Fiery red sumac, yellow goldenrods, blue sage, and white and purple asters dot the prairie landscape, and we're right smack-dab in the middle of the monarch butterfly migration fly zone. The autumn season is in full swing!

Monarch Butterfly on Native Thistle

It was a cool 47 degrees when I got up this morning and the week ahead looks to be absolutely gorgeous! Suddenly, however, there is an urgency to get the house weatherized and preparations made, because winter weather could be here much sooner than we think! 

Rough Blazing Star

This past week has been super busy. The kittens took a trip to the vet on Tuesday to get spayed and neutered. The first night was pretty rough, especially on the little girl kitty, but, after that, they were back to their normal selves in no time and both are doing quite well.

My Sweet Tiger-Girl

The rest of the week was consumed with taking care of things on the home front, dealing with one minor emergency after another, and getting ready for Prairie Jubilee at work. Prairie Jubilee is Prairie State Park's premier celebration of the tallgrass prairie and is normally held every two years. However, due to COVID, the event was cancelled in 2020, so this was the first Jubilee to be held in four years. Other than being a little warm, it was a beautiful day on the tallgrass prairie and a good time was enjoyed by all. 


Let's get started this morning on this week's post and take a look at the week ahead...shall we?

This week's master to do list...

- clean house
- do laundry
- deep clean the bedroom, bathroom, and hallway
- schedule an appointment with the mechanic to get an oil change and general check-up before winter
- weed eat and mow
- start cleaning shed 
- go shopping
- have tires rotated and balanced
- get new windshield wiper blades put on
- get together with family and friends
- answer a few letters
- work on articles for the 2022 Christmas Chronical (an annual family publication)
- work on fall and Christmas photography ideas and projects
- figure October budget and bills

Purple Aster

This week's menu plan...

Monday - Chicken ranch salad and breadsticks
Tuesday - Stuffed pepper casserole and brussels sprouts 
Wednesday - Curry chicken over brown rice with salad
Thursday - Soup, salad, and homemade French bread
Friday - Turkey burger and oven fries
Saturday - Out
Sunday - Leftovers



Well, that's it for today. I hope your day is off to a lovely start and that the week ahead is a great one!

Until next time...
~Rebecca

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Thursday, September 22, 2022

Autumn Bucket List 2022

With summer's end so ended the record high heat that has been plaguing us for days. Yesterday it was 100 degrees; today it's cool and rainy. Suddenly, my favorite season is upon us...AUTUMN...in all her glory has returned! Warm days, chilly evenings, falling leaves, bonfires, and all things pumpkin spice! How nice! 🍁




I've been thinking about some of the things that I would like to do this fall. I know that I won't get to all of them, but at least this list will help me to stay focused on the season and, hopefully, enjoy it to the fullest. Won't you join me as I dream? 🍁🍂🍁

"While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, 
and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day 
and night shall not cease" (Genesis 8:22).

My Autumn Bucket List 2022

1. Write my autumn bucket list 🍂
2. Plan my autumn menus (this will be done weekly through my Master List and Menu Plan Monday posts) 
3. Celebrate autumn birthdays with the grandlittles 🎂
4. Work, attend, and celebrate Prairie Jubilee 
6. Visit a U-pick apple orchard
7. Visit the Louisburg Cider Mill 
8. Enjoy a cup of Louisburg cider (it's THE best!) 🥃
9. Enjoy a Louisburg apple cider doughnut (always a real treat!) 🍩
10. Enjoy a juicy red apple 🍎
11. Get lost in a corn maze 🌽
12. Visit Wonders of Wildlife National Museum and Aquarium with some of the grands
13. Observe the autumnal nighttime sky ⭐🌠🌟
14. Listen to a cricket sing 🦗
15. Swap out summer clothes for winter 🧥
16. Enjoy a walk in the woods 🍁
17. Make a batch of Mini Baked Pumpkin Cake Doughnuts 🍩
18. Enjoy a cup of pumpkin spice tea ☕
19. Help with the bison @ work their annual vet check-up
20. Enjoy an autumnal full moon (Harvest Moon - September 10th, Hunter's Moon - October 9th, and Beaver Moon - November 8th) 🌕
21. Host or attend a wiener roast 🌭 
22. Enjoy a fall getaway
23. Visit a state park or state historic site that I've never been to before 🏞
24. Visit a pumpkin patch 🧡
25. Log twelve new geocache locations 🧭
26. Watch falling leaves 🍁🍂🍁
27. Light an autumn-scented candle 🔥
28. Listen to the honking of geese as they fly high overhead 
29. Observe and record (sketch, photograph, or note) at least a dozen new or interesting things found in nature 🍄🐾🍁
30. Enjoy hot soup and fresh baked bread on a cool day 🥣
31. Carve a pumpkin 🎃
32. Go on a hayride 
33. Enjoy a rainy fall day ☔
34. Have the propane tank filled
35. Make a batch of Pumpkin Streusel Muffins 🧁
36. Observe a flock of migrating birds 
37. Listen to a pack of coyotes sing across the prairie
38. Celebrate National Bison Day @ work
39. Vote in the November election 💖🤍💙
40. Bake a pumpkin pie 
41. Lead an impromptu frost flower hike to observe frost flowers in the field 🥾
42. Make a pumpkin roll 
43. Set the clocks back when daylight savings time ends 🕑
44. Walk (or dance the equivalent of) 75+ miles 👟
45. Celebrate Thanksgiving with family and friends 🦃
46. Weatherize my home before cold weather arrives ❆
47. Clean heating stove
48. Clean up the yard (cut trees, trim bushes, put the garden area to bed, etc.) 🏡
49. Get my car serviced before winter (oil change, new wiper blades, etc.) 🚗
50. Do a winter food and supply stock-up 🥫

That's what's on my autumn bucket list. Do you have an autumn bucket list? If so, share the link to yours in the comments below, so I can enjoy reading yours, too! Have a blessed and lovely autumn!

Until next time...
~Rebecca

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Wednesday, September 21, 2022

The Last Day of Summer and Summer Bucket List 2022 Update

It's the last day of summer and here in southwest Missouri it's going out with a bang! Temperatures have been in the upper 90's all week with heat indices in the triple digits, BUT relief is within sight! If all goes according to forecast, tomorrow (the first day of fall) should be glorious! I'm very much looking forward to it!

In the meantime, it's time to take a look at my summer bucket list and see how I did I made a pretty good dent in it. Let's take a look, shall we?

Purple Coneflowers

"...ye see and know of your own selves
that summer is now nigh at hand." 
(Luke 21:30)

1. Write my summer bucket list
2. Plan my summer menus (these will be posted weekly in my 'Master List and Menu Plan Monday' posts)
3. Celebrate summer birthdays with the grandlittles (there are a bunch of them!) 👧🎂👦

Birthday Pancake Served to Granddaughter
Audrey @ Fort Rock Family Camp
July 9, 2022

4. Lead a wildflower hike at Battle of Island Mound State Historic Site 🌼

Gray-headed Coneflower

5. Celebrate Independence Day 💖☆💙

Independence Day 2022


7. Eat watermelon 🍉
8. Welcome another new granddaughter into the family 👶

Bethany Annabelle Grace
9.6 pounds and 21 inches long
August 6, 2022

9. Observe a full moon (July 13 - Buck Moon, August 11 - Sturgeon Moon, September 10 - Harvest Moon) 🌕


Full Moon - Summer 2022

10. Make red, white, and blue jello 💖☆💙
11. Make homemade ice cream 🍨
12. Catch a lightening bug 🐛 

Lightening Bug
(a.k.a. - Firefly)

13. Enjoy the Perseid meteor shower ⭐🌠🌟
14. Celebrate my 61st birthday 🎂

Celebrating My 61st Birthday
With Family

15. Go visit some of my husband and I's old haunts in the Kansas City area 🏙


V's Italiano Ristorante

Corinthian Hall

J.C. Nichol's Fountain

City Market in the River Quay

16. Explore some area Route 66 sites 
17. Go stargazing 🌟
18. Grill burgers on the grill 🍔
19. Go geocaching 🧭
20. Play in cool water on a hot day 🤽
21. Go camping ⛺
22. Visit a state park that I've never been to before
23. Enjoy fresh produce and herbs out of my garden 🍅
24. Attend a free summer movie @ the Plaza Theater in Lamar 🎥
25. Enjoy a banana split 🍌
26. Attend a Kansas City Royals baseball game ⚾

Kansas City Royals v. the White Sox Double Header
August 9, 2022

27. Photograph, journal, and record new-to-me nature finds 🐍
28. Enjoy a summer storm ⛈

Summer Storm

29. Hike a new trail 🥾
30. Enjoy a campfire 🔥
31. Lead at evening hike at Prairie State Park 🌜

Evening Stroll @ Prairie State Park
August 12, 2022

32. Collect, tumble, and polish rocks and gemstones 💎
33. Preserve what I can of the summer bounty 🌽

My garden didn't do well this year at all,
but I did get a few things out of it. Most of the
produce I put up was from other people.

34. Cut flowers fresh from the garden and make a bouquet 🎕


My Zinnias

35. Visit Red Oak II @ Carthage, Missouri
36. Work Hug-A-Herp Day at Prairie State Park 🐢

Six-lined Racerunner

37. Get an eye exam and new glasses 👀
38. Get past the one-year anniversary of my husband's death 💔
39. Go to the family reunion on my dad's side
40. Attend Corey and Heather's (oldest granddaughter) wedding 👨👩

Heather and Corey's Wedding
September 10, 2022

Well, that's the highlights of my summer. Did you write a summer bucket list? If so, how'd you do with yours?

Until next time...
~Rebecca

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Monday, September 19, 2022

Master To-Do List and Menu Plan Monday - September 19, 2022

It's the last Monday of summer and, here in southwest Missouri, there's not even a hint of fall in the air. Yesterday afternoon it was 97 degrees with a heat index of 103; it's supposed to be even hotter today. I'll sure be glad when the weather breaks and we finally get some cooler temperatures.

How was your week and weekend? My week and weekend here were great! 

Butterfly on White Crownbeard

On Monday Amanda and her family and I went on another one of our Missouri State Park adventures. We visited the Nathan and Olive Boone Homestead State Historic Site at Ash Grove, Missouri. 

Nathan and Olive Boone Homestead

Nathan Boone's Grave

Olive Boone's Grave

Inside the Homestead

Inside the Homestead

Inside the Homestead

Inside the Homestead

Afterwards, we had lunch at a place that I've wanted to go to for years...Van Gogh's Eeterie in Springfield, Missouri. The atmosphere was lovely and the Indo-Dutch cuisine delicious! If ever given the chance to do so, I would happily eat there again!






I worked at the park on Thursday and represented the park at a booth at the local fair on Saturday. 


Gorgeous Grandlittles Waiting for the Parade

Some of Our Veterans


I had one of these back in the day. Mine
was candy apple red with a black top.

I entered several of my photos in the photography contest at the fair and won a total of six ribbons in multiple categories. I think that I'm finally ready to start doing something with my photography.

Some of My Photographs

I got up early this morning to watch Queen Elizabeth's funeral. Thus far, it's been a lovely send-off. Does anyone else happen to be watching?

A Fond Farewell to Queen Elizabeth II

Well, let's get started on this week's post...shall we?


Pollinator on Native Thistle

This week's master to-do list...

- clean house
- do laundry
- clean the fridge
- take the kittens to the vet - it's time to get them spayed and neutered - prayers over them (and me) would be much appreciated
- go grocery shopping for fresh items
- get together with friends and family
- celebrate the first day of fall (hot or not)
- make Good Earth Rolls
- work
- celebrate the tallgrass prairie @ Prairie Jubilee

The First Copperhead That I've Ever Seen in the Wild

This week's menu plan...

Monday - Beef stroganoff over whole grain noodles with brussel sprouts and pineapple slices
Tuesday - Stuffed banana peppers over sauteed zucchini with homemade French bread
Wednesday - Chicken curry with brown rice, and salad
Thursday - Cheesy potatoes with salad and Good Earth Rolls
Friday - Breakfast for supper
Saturday - ?
Sunday - Leftovers

Oh, deer! This could be bad! 

Well, that's all for today. You have a nice day and a great week ahead and I'll be with you again soon!

Until next time...
~Rebecca

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