Stores used to be filled with shoelaces of all types, but the last two times I went searching the selection at Walmart and Meijer was extremely limited. But I found what I was looking for at the New Balance store at Roderer shoe center on Stroop, in this instance, a replacement for the strings in my golf shoes.
https://roderershoecenter.com/pages/new-balance
I remember seeing someone last year use their string trimmer to cut back their bushes and thought I would give it a try this spring on cutting back the grasses that hide our gas regulator. I usually use the hedge trimmer to cut the top half of the grasses then get down on my hands and knees with a pair of pruning shears to cut the bottom half a few inches above the ground. I am happy to report that the string trimmer method, while not a walk in the park, is a fraction of the work. After I raked up the mess I made, I finished the job, as usual, with the lawnmower, leaving an inch or less of last year's grasses in the way of this year's crop, which is 4-5 weeks will once again be taller than the meter.
Our basement remodel includes the removal of OMG shag carpeting and the installation of the Great Lakes floating vinyl flooring shown below. We haven't had any water issues so far, but this is waterproof, perfect for a basement. Installation is easy, as long as you keep the boards perfectly aligned. Slide and drop in place, then a few light taps with a rubber mallet is all it takes.
I've been jonesing for an egg salad sandwich and as fate would have it, we had both hard-boiled eggs and leftover Dorothy Lane Market 7-layer salad, so instead of having an egg salad sandwich, I concocted an Egg and Salad Sandwich instead, satisfying my craving and helping reduce the number of plasticware containers in the refrigerator.
I remember a time when stores were filled with shoelaces of all styles, colors, and lengths. But in the last several years what is pictured below (Walmart in this case) is what I find, a partial rack with an extremely limited selection and, of course, never having what I need. Are people all wearing flip-flops, sandals, or going barefoot? What gives?
Our hostess and dear friend Grace prepared us her twist on baked chicken, adding some of her personal choices to make it even better. She bumped up the pistachios from a cup to a 16-ounce bag, used Ritz crackers instead of bread crumbs, and added two-thirds of a cup of orange juice. Add a baked potato (seen below before loading it up) and we were treated to a culinary masterpiece.
Nuts, they're not just for snacking! Who knew?
I don't know why I haven't blogged on this before as I've owned it for over 14 years; maybe because I only started blogging here in 2014. For a little over $100, this is my second best way, after my chiropractor, to get relief when my back gets out of wack. I just hang upside-down (at a steep angle, but not totally vertical) for 5 to 10 minutes and let the vertebrae stretch out. It does take a while to get used to having the extra blood rush down to the head, but that does fade.
They don't sell the model I bought anymore, but the one at this link is similar.
https://smile.amazon.com/Innova-ITX9600-Inversion-Adjustable-Protective/dp/B003QCI4GG
There are a number of tide applications available for your smartphone and Tides Near Me, for both Android and iOS, does the job for me. Along the mid-to-southern Atlantic coast of the U.S., the difference between high and low tide ranges from 5 to 8 feet, so obviously, you can lose a lot of sand at high tide. But this tidal range is nothing compared to the biggest in the world, at Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia, which averages 38.4 feet!
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=me.tidesnear.free
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tides-near-me/id585223877
The Venetian Waterway Park Trail, which we accessed from its northern point at Venice Avenue, has paths on both sides of the Intracoastal Waterway and goes for 8.6 miles. From our starting point, we could have traveled north on the Legacy Trail, which covers 10.7 miles up to Sarasota. Lots of motorboats, jet skis, and an occasional sailboat enjoyed the water while we enjoyed a walk, sharing the path with a huge number of cyclists. There was even free, covered parking under the Venice Avenue bridge on both sides.
https://www.traillink.com/trail/legacy-trail-(fl)
There are people that peel potatoes by sliding the blade away from them, others only towards them. But somewhere along my line of life, I picked up the technique of doing both, going back and forth as fast as possible, as shown below.
Playing nine holes of golf in March is cool, but playing them at the Orchid Island Golf Club near Vero Beach, Florida is a real treat. The beautiful layout requires a fair amount of precision to position the ball for the next shot, in contrast to the open look in front of you.
This is what normal life looks like, in case you can't remember, including my selection of a Chicago Dog for lunch.
A cold front (i.e. 70 degrees) brought 25+ mile-per-hour winds, which whipped up the surf. Combined with a perfectly sunny day, it delivered this beautiful scene that became the wallpaper on my Macbook Air.
This week is dedicated to whatever fun things we run across while in Florida. We start with this perfect sediment on margaritas and sidewalks.
These pretzels are roll-your-eyes-and-sigh good and simple to make because Chef Elaine used her favorite store-bought pimiento cheese dip instead of making it per the recipe. She rolled out a tube of pizza dough and cut it into four pieces, spread the centers with pimiento cheese, made ropes with the help of some egg wash to keep it together then twisted them into a pretzel shape. The baking soda bath and baking directions are included in the recipe at this link.
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/katie-lee/pimiento-cheese-stuffed-soft-pretzels-9831464
This game is perfectly named, as you'll see why in a moment. The game is played by first rolling the nine cubes, just like dice, getting a new set of categories. The person going first, which starts with the youngest player at the table, taps the magenta brain which starts a timer that randomly selects a time between 30 and 45 seconds, and displays a letter on an LED screen. The player has to select a cube (and keep it) then shoutout an answer that starts with the displayed letter and goes with the cube's category. For example, I might take the "Sports Teams" category and if the answer must start with a "C", I would shoutout "Cleveland Browns". The game continues with the next player until all the cubes are used or the brain "farts". If all cubes are used, the player that used the last cube gets to give a token to any other player, but if the brain "farts", the player that's currently in their turn gets a token from the "bank". When all the tokens have left the "bank" the game is over and the person holding the fewest tokens is the winner.
The brain "fart" noise is only part of the reason the game is aptly named. There are times, usually when only a few cubes remain, but at times with all nine available, that a player will just not be able to think of any answer to any of the cube's categories, in other words, that player has a "brain fart".
Big shout out to Grace for showing us this game!
https://www.playmonster.com/product/brain-fart
Home Depot was giving away these little yellow plastic paint can lips (for the lack of a better term) and it does a nice job of keeping most of the mess away when pouring paint. The bottom has a grove that fits over the inside rim of the paint can to keep it in place. I just have to remember to make sure it's securely in place to avoid a bigger cleanup.
It really bugs me when I ask Alexa for the temperature and after "she" does that, starts to give me suggestions on what else I can ask "her" to do. There is a setting in the Alexa app to turn that off, as shown below. You will find this in the Alexa app at More ... Settings ... Notifications ... Things to Try. It's not the only place to turn off annoying notifications as this article articulates.
