Such a sweetie

August is a sweetie ... when he's not chewing our charging cords.

He loves being petted, especially under his chin. He raises his head so it's easier to pet him. And when we're done petting him, he licks our hand or uses his paw to grab our hand and make him pet him some more.

New curtains

Not much to do so I might as well put my newfound sewing skills to use.

I made some summery curtains for the dining room. It took Andy and I quite a while to agree on fabric.

They make the dining room brighter and they match the walls. And I still have fabric left over so perhaps I'll make a table runner.

Fully vaccinated ✔️

Andy and I took another three-hour drive to Galesburg's Hy-Vee store to get our second Moderna Covid vaccine.

We stopped at McDonald's to grab a quick lunch. I think L would call this guy a "maskhole." C'mon, no mask, drive through. And if you walked, you're out of luck. Pulling your shirt up is just lame.

L was able to get her first Pfizer vaccine today at the campus rec center. She took a stuffie with her. I asked if the people giving her the shot laughed at her and she said no, they just asked if she was scared of shots. The answer to that is a definite yes.

She said it hurt a little and she got a button. Andy and I didn't get a sticker or anything. But we're just happy we're fully vaccinated. Yay, science!

Table-tightening

It's always an adventure with Andy working from home. One minute I'm sitting in the living room watching TV, the next minute he's cleaning off the table, flipping it over and tightening up a leg "that's been bothering him." Then he goes back to work. Kind of random.

Our spring flowers

The daffodils are blooming.

No idea what this is but it's pretty.

This is in the flower bed on the street side of our fence.

Grape hyacinth, I believe.

Same flower opening up two days after the previous picture was taken.

A on campus

L's friend, A, missed his train yesterday but he made it to campus today! Here he is with L and her friends at Red Robin for dinner.

Easter decor

I bought so many Easter decorations on clearance last year. Easter coincided with the nationwide shutdown, leaving stores with lots of decorations and no shoppers. That meant there were great sales. I only put up a few decorations this year.

I'm not sure what our Easter plans will be. The kids won't be home. I might make a ham just to have leftovers for future breakfast casseroles and quiches.

Friend visit for L

L's friend, A, is visiting her at college this weekend. She had me put together a few things for him to bring - a new toothbrush head, Disney pins to wear to work and several pairs of shoes.

Allison and I went to the Sweet Castle so I sent along some Easter treats as a surprise.

And I made the same cookies as I did in October when A visited her. When I asked her how they tasted, she said she didn't get any! A must have liked them. She said if I sent cookies this time he said he wouldn't eat them all. We'll see.

Sorting photos

I was sorting photos the other day for my "growing up/family" album and found this awesome photo of me and Cindy in our Duran Duran concert tees, 1984, baby! Seemed a fitting post for Throwback Thursday.

I'm not sure what year this Christmas was (one of the problems I'm having with this album) but look at my cool, mid-'70s alphabet jeans! The height of '70s fashion for young girls.

Where’s the roof?

L sent this picture of the State Farm Center in clouds and fog. She said it looks like the roof is missing. Andy and I had our first real date there at an REM concert in 1987. We tell the kids every time we drive past.

Second home

Schubert's family walked by the house the other day and were talking to us. Their little boy said we're his favorite neighbors because we take care of Schubert. How sweet is that?

Kids’ update

L and friends decorated their friend J's door for his 19th birthday ...

got him a cake and had a little party.

Here's the party kids.

E made this spring wall hanging. She's got a lot of projects ongoing. And B? Busy with the usual going to class, looking for a job after graduation and working out/walking.

Spring clean-up

Andy took advantage of yesterday's beautiful weather to clean up our yard.

He bagged up most of the debris but we tossed some in our first fire of the year. It was pretty chilly once the sun went down.

Schubert hung out with us all afternoon. I call this photo "Statue, Statue, Cat."

Treating myself

So I went to Bath & Body Works to get an item for free, up to $7.50, with a coupon I had. Walked out with much more. Andy even picked out some lotions for himself.

It’s spring

My backyard feeder finally had a cardinal visit.

So far one flower in our yard is blooming.

Little libraries

One advantage of taking neighborhood walks is checking all the little libraries. Take a book and/or leave a book.

Sometimes I get lucky and find a book by one of my favorite authors.

More masks?!

I had to go to Hobby Lobby to get some orange fabric for masks someone ordered and couldn't help but look through all the fabric. I picked up these two patterns for Andy. The Star Wars one turned out really well.

St. Patrick’s Day

It's St. Patrick's Day so it's the one time of the year we drink Green River. No corned beef and cabbage for us ... we had Lou Malnati's deep-dish sausage pizza.

March snow

We had such beautiful, warm weather last week. Yesterday we got 2.5 inches of snow.

It started snowing around 12:30 p.m.

This was a half-hour later. It was really coming down.

And this was 2 p.m. Let's hope it's the last snow of the season.

Sunday game day

Andy and I went to Goldyburger's yesterday for some cheese balls and beer to watch the first half if the Illini vs. Ohio State Big 10 championship game.

Even Alma Mater was ready for the game.

The Illini pulled out a win in overtime, 91-88!

Zoom trivia

Andy and I logged into Zoom last night for a church-organized trivia game. It was old folks (us) vs. kids (those born in 1980 or later.) Nice that E and BF D joined in. They're the second photo in the third row while Andy and I are second in the top row. In the end, the old-timers won!

While we were playing trivia, L was working at Journeys. She earned the "triple crown" for meeting all three of her sales goals, crushing them actually. She had a goal of selling six pairs of shoes and sold 22! She also beat her goals on socks and accessories. She's a natural salesperson.

Maintenance call

B sent this picture of his kitchen lamp. Said it just fell. At least it wasn't a heating problem again.

In the neighborhood

Saw this on my walk. Not sure what it is but it looks like a stormtrooper that had a St. Patrick's Day decoration on it. I guess the wind blew it over?

A tennis ball sculpture? Everyone has a different idea of art.

And there are still signs up from the 2020 presidential election. This is one I haven't seen before.

That's a lot of walking for me!