DAY 14

The good news is that Allen did not vanish.  He did a lot of trim work today and got the new door installed and put in the hardware for the 2nd railing going upstairs.  Tomorrow he should get back to varnishing, not vanishing.  Ha.  

Today we made a quick trip to Omaha for a retirement party for a friend of ours in the Family Life Office, Mary Jo Pederson.  We worked in a training session on our iMac at the Apple Store.  We shared driving and got back home at around 8:30 tonight and we just got back from our Holy Hour at Sacred Heart tonight from 10 to 11.  Kind of late, but is it good for us.  

I thought I posted this, but it did not post, so here I go again.  It is cold here, currently 1 degree.  Sure is great to have a warm home.  

DAY 13

Today Allen worked a half day and varnished.  He did the stairs and the door he is replacing upstairs.  For now we are just replacing one door to the pantry at the top of the stairs.  

It got cold again here and snowed.  This morning it was 2 degrees with a wind chill of -15 degrees.  The wind picked up during the night and brought winter back.  Rose Ann fell at work, but fell gracefully and is OK.  She saved the coffee she was carrying, falling straight on her behind.  She is a lucky lady, thank God.  

DAY 12

Allen got the stairs stained.  Now we have to get upstairs by way of the back door.  He will varnish tomorrow.  It was pretty warm again today, but gets cold again tonight.  It even rained a little today.  I went to the Y this afternoon and worked out about 40 minutes and have an appointment Friday morning to learn about the other machines besides the treadmill and will get my workout plan.  I will be fit as a fiddle.  Ha.  

RECIPE

Bake the pound cake according to directions on the box.  We used a glass loaf pan and the 2nd time we used a bundt pan.  Both work well.  When baked, cool 10 minutes.  Remove from pan and cool another 30 minutes.  Pierce the top of the cake with a fork every 1/2".  Make Orange Glaze:  1/2 cup of powdered sugar, 3 to 4 teaspoons of orange juice, and 1/8 teaspoon of grated orange peel.  Stir together to make the glaze smooth and the consistency of thick syrup.  Pour the Orange Glaze slowly over the warm cake, allowing some to drizzle down sides.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar.  Enjoy.  

SIMPLE DESERT RECIPE

This is so simple.  It is a Betty Crocker Pound Cake Mix with Orange Glaze:  "Orange-Soaked Pound Cake."  

DAY 11

Day 11 brings more trim and finishing work to the stairs project.  

It got up into the 30s today and we actually saw some melting.  No new snow.  Life is good.  I caught Rose Ann as she came in from a hard day at the office.  

DAY 10

Day 10 brings some trim and a few spindles and other finishing work.  It is really looking good, but is going to be a few more days before can call this project complete.  

Rose Ann is attending a women's program tonight out at the DeVent Center West of Norfolk.  The program started out being for around 50 people at the hospital, but grew into a 500 plus sellout, mostly by work of mouth.  There is a humorist speaker, some stuff on women's health and on organizing our home (me, I suppose).  We watched a good movie last week:  "Amazing Grace."  A very good movie rental from Netflix.  

DAY 9

Allen only worked a half day today, but progress is being made.  We got another 2 or 3 inches of snow today and some wind.  Several schools were let out early because of the snow and blowing snow.  It has been so cold that nothing is melting and the snow is just piling up.  Might get into the 30s by the weekend.  It is currently -4 degrees.  Brrr!  We have to go out to our Holy Hour downtown at Sacred Heart Church from 10 to 11.  Yikes.  

DAY 8

We are now up to Day 8 and Allen is working on the upstairs part now.  Tore the old railing out and putting in the new, oak railing.  So, we have some new views and one of Rose Ann peaking out from the kitchen.  

DAY 7

Allen got the spindles in.  He had to cut the day short as his range went out and he had to shop for a new one.  I told him the ceramic tops were good and the new convection ovens are good, too.  Some have 2 ovens, one conventional and one convection.  

We got more snow today.  I would say around 6 or 7 inches of the white, fluffy stuff.  It is 10 degrees currently and a -7 wind chill.  Good day to work inside and have a warm home to go to.

DAY 6

The stairs project is taking shape after day 6.  

DAY 5

We can now get up and down the stairs without a stepladder.  Yea!  The top 2 steps are just temporary so we can walk up and down.  Allen has the project moving along.  He is very good and makes sure he has it right before going forward.  

Day 4

We are into day 4 and the project is moving along.  Still have to use a step ladder to get upstairs, but that should not be for long now.  

DAY 3

Well, we are now 3 days into our entry stairs project  We still have to use a step ladder to get upstairs, but we now have a rail upstairs.  

DAY 2 OF STAIRS PROJECT

We can not get upstairs with a stepladder and can get to the front door without climbing downstairs.  

DAY 2 OF STAIR PROJECT

We now can get upstairs with a step ladder and can get out the front door without climbing downstairs.  

FORGOT TO ADD PICTURE

Yikes.  Here I am climbing our staircase ladder.

Our Temporary Staircase

Sara thought it would be cool to see one of us climbing the ladder upstairs.  You asked for it.  You got it.  We are anxious to see how much Allen gets done tomorrow, Monday.  Rose Ann got home around 6:30 from her Yankton visit with Sara, Gray and Gertie.  Traffic and road conditions were good, but spitting a little snow when she left Yankton.  I am sure McDonald's loved them taking up a booth for 2 hours.  Ha.  

A BETTER LOOK AT THE STAIR JOB

Here are a couple of pictures that are a little better, I think.  

Day 1 of the Stairs Remodel Project

Well, it is truly a work in progress now.  After Day 1 we have to use a ladder to get up and down stairs for the weekend.  Allen will be back Monday to continue.  I believe we are really going to like the new look.  It is amazing what a vision, a good contractor and some money can do.  Ha.

NEW STAIRS PROJECT PROGRESS

Today we begin our project to replace our entry stairs.  I will take before, during and after pictures so you can see what is happening.  It is going to take on a whole new look.  

FROSTY NEBRASKA MORNING

Last week we had a couple of days with fog and cold temperatures that left the trees covered with a beautiful frost. Everything was beautiful and hope these pictures will give you an idea of what our neighborhood looked like last week. I got the Christmas stuff taken down and put away yesterday and finished up today. Rose Ann says our Christmas tree will take on a new look next year. This year's tree was pretty much like our traditional tree with lots of lights and ornaments and some garland. I will see if I have a good picture of this year's tree for a future comparison.

We are going over to Grand Island tomorrow for the wedding of a young man who used to live next door to us. He was a little boy then. Kent Lutt is his name and we have not seen him in several years. We keep in touch with his parents annually with our Christmas letters. He was about 5 years old back when he lived next door and he was so cute and loved to tell jokes. He grew up.

For some reason, some of the pictures post sideways.  I probably took them sideways, but rotated them in iPhoto, but, for some reason this Blog thing does not take the change I made.  Oh well, look sideways.  Ha.    This is the best picture I could find of our Christmas tree.  As you can see, it is loaded.  

BEEF SHORT RIBS W/GINGER-MANGO BBQ SAUCE

Slow Cooker Recipe. 5-1/4 to 6-1/4 hours on high; 7-3/4 to 8-3/4 hours on high. I used Country Style Ribs. Yummy!
Makes 6 servings.

Ingredients: 2 lbs. well-trimmed boneless beef short ribs, cut 2 x 2 x 4-inch pieces. (I put in the ribs whole with bones)
1-1/2 cups diced fresh or drained canned mango
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1 cup of hickory-flavored BBQ sauce

Instructions: 1. Place beef short ribs, mango, onion and ginger in slow cooker. Add BBQ sauce. Cover and cook. (No stirring is required during cooking.) 2. Remove ribs, season with salt and pepper, as desired. (The country ribs I cooked were falling off the bones and tender and yummy. We did not salt and pepper. They are a little sweet. Serve with the sauce. The recipe said to skim the fat from the cooking liquid, but we did not have any. The sauce was thick with the mangos and onions.)

If you can not find mangos, peaches will work (use a 15 oz. can of peach slices. Coarsely chop the peaches.

I got this recipe from the Iowa Beef Council: iabeef.org

Enjoy.

BRIAN

ESTHER LOST IN GROUP PICTURE

I felt bad that Rose Ann blocked Esther from the group picture we posted. I will see if I can find one where she is shown. We woke up to subzero temperatures this morning. Burr! Not so bad, if you do not have to work out in it. Our priest has a cold and at this morning's Mass, he gave us a final greeting without a hand shake. Lots of colds going around. Football was good yesterday, but I missed the big Texas Tech comeback win. Bummer. Rose Ann has us on a budget and I have to watch my spending. My job assignment today is to take the tree down. Well, you all have a nice, warm day and safe travel to all travelers. Beth and Ben and the kids are on the road from St. Louis back home to Nashville today. I included a better picture of David James Protzman, our 12th grandchild. The group picture is sideways, but I do now know how to rotate it. I am in a learning curve. BRIAN

OUR HOME IS SO QUIET NOW

Beth and Ben left this morning by 8:30 and Sara & Doug by 10. We have finished up picking up the house and vacuuming and finding left behind stuff here and there. Gertie's giraffe is here and some of the Protzman outerwear and odds and ends. Roger came over and borrowed our truck to take their Christmas tree to recycling and then took their stuff. We sure enjoy these times when we can all get together and talk, play, eat and even sleep a little. Ha. It is cold here, but we talked to my mother in Indiana and it is just as cold there (in the low teens).