Maintenance

Maintenance, it’s something we don’t always think about when making a purchase or acquiring property. A year ago we replaced our nearly 40 year old central air conditioning unit after several years of “high maintenance”.  I turned on the water for our underground lawn sprinkler system last week and as of today, have it back in operating condition. It required two visits from the Lawn Sprinkler Service people and one visit from a plumber. Our cost will approach $300.00. I have been able to do most of the maintenance on the sprinkler system up until now but there were some problems beyond my ability. It does make one wonder about the cost/benefit of such “luxuries” as lawn sprinklers. How important is it that we keep our blue grass green all summer. Might it be more practical to have a fine leafed fescue grass that is more adapted to our weather conditions than Kentucky Bluegrass. What are other things that we may need to consider as “times get tougher”. We may need to examine our priorities and recognize that maintenance of some items is more expensive than their original cost.

Pippin Frozen Apple Pie

DeEtta asked Elaine at our Cousins get together on Tuesday about the apple pies she was known for. Elaine explained to her that we have been unable to get them from Walmart for some time. A couple years ago we were told that the store in Grand Island carried them but they were not available in Seward nor Lincoln. This afternoon Elaine suggested that one of these days we should drive out to Grand Island to see if they might still carry them as the Lincoln store once did. I jokingly said if I thought they had them we would go tomorrow. With that commitment, I picked up my laptop and Googled "Pippin apple pies at Walmart". To our glee we found that they could be ordered from Walmart with a minimum order of $49.00. Since I had some pictures to be printed down at the store, I suggested that we drive out and talk to them before ordering the pies. Since they are frozen, we wondered if they could be shipped to the store and we pick them up there. After talking to a couple people at the Customer Service Desk, one lady made a phone call and then went back to the frozen food department and there they were. We brought home 5 of the 40 oz. deep dish apple pies which cost $3.98/ea. Elaine sprinkles them with a little sugar and cinnamon  before baking them about an hour and they come out delicious. They taste just like Mother used to make.

Cousins get together

The cousins on my Dad's side of the family got together at Lee's yesterday for a fried chicken lunch and a lot of visiting. One couple had to leave before the picture was taken with 15 of us there for the occasion. Phil and Jean were planning to come from Hastings but their plans were changed when Phil had a pacemaker installed last week. Janice and Larry were on their way back to California after being in Tomah, WI for her twin brother Jerry's funeral. We were pleased that they were able to spent the weekend with us here in this "Fourth of July City". We always have interesting discussions when the cousins are together. One of the topics yesterday involved the old Lincoln Starview Drive-In (movie). We never could reach agreement of whether it's entrance was off Vine or "R" street. There was at least one opinion that you entered directly off North 48th. My vote was off "R" street but what do I know, I'm just one of the cousins and the last time we were there was 50 years ago.

Seward Kiwanis Kitones in Concert

Our Seward Kiwanis Kitones sang to a standing room only crowd at the Civic Center yesterday as part of the Fourth of July City's Celebration. You will note the one young fellow (second from the right) that brings our average age down to 73.2 but without him, it's 77.3. This is our 40th year of singing 4-part harmony and Phil and Jack were recognized yesterday as Charter members. This is my 20th year with the group. We are all members of the Kiwanis Club of Seward and sing under the direction of Paul Beck. We take the summer off after our 4th of July performance and will begin practice the first of September. We typically have about 15-18 performances during the year and practice every Monday night for one hour. We have had a couple women in the group over the years but have none at this time. It is a rather intimidating group. We do have the distinction of singing at 4 different Kiwanis International Conventions before a couple thousand people. 

I Love a Parade, but...

This picture was taken a year ago just around the corner from our house.This is Seward Street looking west toward downtown. It is the parade route for this "4th of July" City. As you can see, people "stake out claim" to a curb-side seat by tacking down or somehow anchoring their blanket well ahead of the actual 4:00pm starting time. We went down to the City Band Concert last evening and several blankets were already in place. In fact, we saw the first blanket down on Friday evening, 69 hours before the start of the parade. We received 0.40" of rain this morning and the sun is shining this afternoon. You can imagine what this does to the lawns. The earliest we have had people put down blankets on our lawn is to find them when we get up on the morning of the 4th. I have mellowed over the years but have explained to people that our lawn sprinklers came on automatically and wet their blanket. But, we have developed a good cadre of repeat customers. There may be as 50-75 people on our lawn and driveway for the parade and most of them are friends (or at least they are by the time they leave). Last year we had the experience of inviting a young mother with her daughter into the house to use the bathroom. We learned in visiting that she was the granddaughter of a fellow I played baseball with years ago. We have learned that the best way to cope with the parade going past our house is to relax, fly the flag, and enjoy it.

The Udder Store

Marian had the Fabric Store in Seward for a number of years. She not only sold sewing, quilting material but also sewing machines and even gave lessons. She was a "home town" girl who married a local farmer, raised a nice family and was a key member of the Chamber of Commerce and the community. People came from miles around to make their purchases at Marian's Fabric Fair. As her husbands health began to fail, she decided to sell the store. To the ladies of the community, it was like losing an old friend. The store in Seward's historic downtown shopping area actually sat vacant for some time. Havelock is a "working community" suburb of Lincoln and has had a great fabric store for a number of years. The couple that have the store call it "The Cosmic Cow" and have bought Marian's old Fabric Fair. They spent several months remodeling the place and last evening, had their initial "opening. It is a complete change from the black and white tile floor and cluttered look which greeted you. As shown in the picture, it is really a breath of fresh air. And, Oh Yes!! Since the people already have the "Cosmic Cow" in Lincoln, this store became "The Udder Store".

Friday Night Fish in Bee

Janice and Larry got to our house about mid afternoon. After helping them get settled we drove up to Bee for the traditional Friday night Fish Dinner. Terry joined us by the time it was served. Not only is the Cod excellent but there is so much more that goes with it. We had an ideal table near the door and were able to visit with a number of old friends as the came and went. Lou and MaryAnn have operated the place for over 35 years with a reputation that brings people in from miles around. Lou came over, sat down and visited at some length after we finished eating. I told him the story of my Dad insisting that I dress with a coat and tie when we went up to eat back in the late '70's. I was spending the weekend in Seward visiting my folks while traveling out of Washington, D. C. and Dad insisted that someone "in my position" should look the part. Friday nigh fish in Bee has been a social event ever since.