As the world turns, it's cooling down in sunny California. It's a lovely 45 degrees this morning. That means it's time for the house to talk to me. Does anyone else have rooms that carry on conversations with you? Sometimes the creaks and snaps get a little scary. Last night it was in the attic. You know what THAT means ... is there someone camping out up there???
You may remember my neighbor who lived in his ex-wife's attic for about a year without her knowing? Yeah ... that one!
Last night was the coup de gras!!! You know what it sounds like when you hit one of those door stoppers and it "boings"? Well that happened while I was sitting right there watching TV. Cooper was beside me, so it wasn't him. I ran around the house but found nothing. It makes for an interesting night of conversations with myself.
So yesterday was a great day of celebrating our Veterans who signed up for the worst job in America. Many didn't survive and many were NOT welcomed home. The Elks Lodge does everything they can to thank them for their service.
It was parade day in our little town. Here's our Elks trailer load heading out and down the street. The guy on the left is Ken Working. He's one of those guys who does everything for his fellow Veterans. He would go get our 103 year old Frank and bring him to the lodge, wheelchair and all. If not for him, Frank would never have left his house.
Ken also petitioned the government on Franks behalf to get all the medals he deserved from his time in the service. All the records were burned up in a fire, so Ken worked hour after hour to find everything he needed to prove Frank deserved that Purple Heart and several others that were presented to him at our lodge.
He even made sure Frank was the Grand Marshal in last years parade.
And of course there was our Sheriff's Posse. They are one of the few left who ride silver saddles and have been not only to the Rose Bowl many times, but rode in the Presidential Inauguration Parade. We're pretty proud of them.
Once that was over, I headed off to do some accounting work. I don't mind ... she is the sweetest 93 year old lady on the planet. I was shocked to find I had not been there this year at all. I was SURE I had it half way done, but boy was I wrong. It takes awhile to do one account, let alone EIGHT. My fingers weren't working so good in the beginning, but I finally got my groove on. Four hours later I was done. Whew!!!
When I got home, I was starving. I practically swallowed a couple chicken tenders whole before setting about my next kitchen failure. While looking for something else, I came upon that Pennsylvania Dutch salad dressing recipe. Let's whip up a batch! A tiny batch, since I wasn't really sure how it would turn out. There's just something that gives me pause when it comes to eating CREAM on SALAD.
Hmmmm it doesn't say what KIND of vinegar to use. Red wine? Apple cider? White? I could only easily find the red wine, so that's what I used. It's amazing the reaction that occurs. The vinegar instantly thickened the cream like it had been whipped.
I got out a few bites of Cole slaw and plopped a bit on dressing on top. Really, it's too thick. Maybe some milk to thin it down. It was good ... sort of ... I'm not really sure how to explain it. It tasted good, I just couldn't get past the fact that I was eating cream on my salad. I think maybe a different flavor of vinegar would be better.
On the other hand, I did buy a bottle of Ken's Sweet Vidalia Onion dressing ... and OH BABY! I absolutely LOVE it!!! Thank you thank you for the recommendation!
My house and I had several more conversations while I sewed the binding on yet another quilt. Only TWO more to go once this one is hand sewn. The sewing room doesn't talk as loud as the family room. That's when I heard the low hum. Okay house ... I'm about done with the noises.
That's when the heater suddenly came on. How could that be? The temperature is set at 63 degrees and it's 68. Why oh why would the heat come on? I messed with it for a few minutes before yelling STOP IT!!! It finally turned off.
Maybe I better go check the attic after all!!!
I thought maybe you were hearing voices instead of noises, I was going to tell you there is help for that. Or if the voices said make more banana bread that perhaps Jonathan learned a new trick..ventriloquism. Lol. Houses creak louder when cooling down or in high winds. Of course if you turn the tv high enough you won’t hear it. Easy solution! Lol.
ReplyDeleteCongrats to Ken on his tireless efforts. He is a very special kind of human being.
Deb
I think Jonathan is in on the trick. He too makes the weirdest noises every day!!!!
DeleteOh boy, now you have someone living in your attic?!?! Do you really have one of those boing things? We do not have any in our house, but I remember them well.
ReplyDeleteAre you kidding? There are THIRTEEN of those things in my house!! Uh oh ... maybe that's the problem! I should take one of two OUT.
DeleteI chuckled at the boing thing too! It reminds me of the old homes we used to live in!
ReplyDeleteIf food starts disappearing from your fridge, start searching for a guest!!
Ha! I never thought of that Patsy. Now I'm wondering who ate that last cookie!
DeleteMr. Ed said …. Boy, you can give Ken a pat on the back. Those are the kind of guys you wanna buy dinner for
ReplyDeleteFor anybody else that’s looking
According to the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) web page on the 1973 fire, 80% of the records for U.S. Army personnel discharged November 1, 1912 to January 1, 1960 and 75% of the records for Air Force personnel discharged September 25, 1947 to January 1, 1964 were lost in the fire. Records for other branches of the U.S. Armed Forces were generally not affected by the fire. In many cases where Army and Air Force personnel records were destroyed in the 1973 fire, proof of service can be provided from other records such as morning reports, payrolls, and military orders, and a certificate of military service will be issued.
Please see Locations of Service Records to determine where the Official Military Personnel File (OMPF) would be located based on the individual’s branch of service and separation date. Then, please complete a GSA Standard Form 180 and mail it to NARA's National Personnel Records Center, (Military Personnel Records), 1 Archives Drive, St. Louis, MO 63138-1002. Veterans and next of kin of deceased veterans also may use eVetRecs to request records. See eVetRecs Help for instructions. If there is any information requested by the form that you do not know, you may omit it or provide estimates (such as for dates), but the more information you provide, the easier it will be to locate the correct file if it survived the fire.
That's it exactly Ed. That's what happened to all his records. Luckily he kept a few copies, but most had to verified by other means. Ken worked really hard getting it taken care of, and still helps veterans to this day.
DeleteNoises in the house drive me nuts.
ReplyDeleteVeteran parade looks awesome!
Frances:)
Me too Frances. I'm always jumping up to see who's there!! LOL
DeleteSpecial shout out of thanks to Ken. God bless him!
ReplyDeleteNo kidding. I thank him for that stuff every single time I see him. He literally handled all the military funeral arrangements for Frank. He's a gem for sure.
DeleteThought you'd like the dressing! Glad you tried it ..enjoy!!
ReplyDeleteIt is SO good!!!! I'll probably never buy another kind. Thank you again.
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