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January 12, 2010, a Tuesday
Parker (K), Colorado, USA
— Made a light stand bag, did laundry, and flew through the darkano
It was 18°F (-8°C) when I got out of bed around 6:30. I worked up a blog entry while J made her Minestrone Soup for the Crockpot. I took some things out to the Jeep, then left in the Jeep around 9:30 by myself.
Place the sausage and all other ingredients, except the pasta, in crockpot. Add water to within about 1 inch of the top of the crockpot. Cook on low 7-8 hours. Add pasta near end of cooking time. Cook on low until heated through.
Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese on top of the soup and garlic breadsticks.I went to my storage unit to drop off and pick up some things. One of the things I picked up was a bottle of Aalborg Jubilæums Akvavit that I had put in there before heading up to Canada this past summer. It was almost full, and I had put it in storage so we wouldn't have too much alcohol with us as we crossed the border.
I returned to the RV around 10:25 and started doing some computer work. J's friend K came over around 10:30 to get some computer help from J. K left around 11:15.
I had lunch around noon and continued doing some computer work. We left around 1:00 in the Jeep, and it was about 54°F (12°C).
We went to SJ&DilK's (J's Son J and Daughter-in-law K's) so I could use DilK's sewing machine to make a bag to store my four light stands (two Bogen 3372 7-foot and two Impact 2205 6-foot). GS (granddaughter S, age 2.5) was home, GJ (grandson J, age 4) was in pre-school, and GA (grandson A, age 8) was in school. DilK gave me a quick tour of her machine (I hadn't used a sewing machine since Home Ec in middle school), then I started a load of laundry. I laid out the markings on the duck cloth to make something like an overgrown tool roll (one slot per light sand) and then cut the cloth to size. UPS delivered the two pairs of Cabela's Medium-Weight Polartec® Power Dry Drawer - Tall that had been backordered, so I threw them in the second load of wash. :) DilK went to run an errand and we watched GS. J helped me pin up the finished edges, then she stepped in and operated the sewing machine — she has a lot more sewing-machine expertise than I do. :) GS enjoyed watching the whole production for a while, then borrowed some scissors and cut up some paper. DilK came back for a while, then took GS with her to go pick up the boys from school. J and I finished making the light stand bag, and it should work just fine. J left around 4:15 to run an errand while I finished the third load of laundry. DilK and kids returned around 4:20, and I hung out with GJ for a while. J returned around 5:15 as GA and GJ were playing some Wii Sports Resort games. DilK left with the kids around 5:25 to go out to eat with some friends, and I played the Wii Sports Resort airplane game. My heart pounded as I tried to fly down into the "darkano" (grandkidspeak for "volcano") because I had crashed on my first few attempts. For some reason, GJ likes to crash and thoroughly enjoyed flying and crashing his way into the darkano, but I wanted to "do it right" without crashing and failed on several attempts before finally getting through it. (There's a target for getting points at the bottom of the darkano and an exit out the side from the bottom.) We left as soon as the last load of laundry was done.
We returned to the RV around 5:55 and I hung up the critical things from the laundry.
We had dinner around 6:30 of J's Minestrone Soup and Pillsbury garlic bread sticks. I enjoyed the soup because it was chunky with not too much broth.
After doing the dishes, I put away the rest of my laundry, then did some computer work.
J's Minestrone Soup for the Crockpot
Note: This is for a 5-quart crockpot, which is larger than the usual. Cut down the proportions if you have a smaller crockpot.- 1 pound Italian sausage
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 large carrots, chopped
- 2 ribs celery, chopped
- 1-1/2 cup Swiss chard or spinach, chopped
- 1 cup cabbage, chopped
- 1 medium zucchini, chopped
- 1 (14-1/2 oz) can Italian-style stewed tomatoes, undrained
- 1 (15-1/2 oz) can green peas, undrained
- 1 (15-1/2 oz) can garbanzo beans, undrained
- 1 can chicken broth
- 4 beef bouillon cubes
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried thyme)
- 3 sprigs fresh oregano (or 1 tbs dried oregano)
- 1 sprig fresh basil (or 1 tsp dried basil)
- 3 tbs fresh parsley, chopped (or 1 tbs dried parsley)
- 1 tbs garlic, minced
- 1 bay leaf
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1-1/2 cup elbow macaroni or any favorite pasta, cooked and drained
Place the sausage and all other ingredients, except the pasta, in crockpot. Add water to within about 1 inch of the top of the crockpot. Cook on low 7-8 hours. Add pasta near end of cooking time. Cook on low until heated through.
Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese on top of the soup and garlic breadsticks.
I returned to the RV around 10:25 and started doing some computer work. J's friend K came over around 10:30 to get some computer help from J. K left around 11:15.
I had lunch around noon and continued doing some computer work. We left around 1:00 in the Jeep, and it was about 54°F (12°C).
We went to SJ&DilK's (J's Son J and Daughter-in-law K's) so I could use DilK's sewing machine to make a bag to store my four light stands (two Bogen 3372 7-foot and two Impact 2205 6-foot). GS (granddaughter S, age 2.5) was home, GJ (grandson J, age 4) was in pre-school, and GA (grandson A, age 8) was in school. DilK gave me a quick tour of her machine (I hadn't used a sewing machine since Home Ec in middle school), then I started a load of laundry. I laid out the markings on the duck cloth to make something like an overgrown tool roll (one slot per light sand) and then cut the cloth to size. UPS delivered the two pairs of Cabela's Medium-Weight Polartec® Power Dry Drawer - Tall that had been backordered, so I threw them in the second load of wash. :) DilK went to run an errand and we watched GS. J helped me pin up the finished edges, then she stepped in and operated the sewing machine — she has a lot more sewing-machine expertise than I do. :) GS enjoyed watching the whole production for a while, then borrowed some scissors and cut up some paper. DilK came back for a while, then took GS with her to go pick up the boys from school. J and I finished making the light stand bag, and it should work just fine. J left around 4:15 to run an errand while I finished the third load of laundry. DilK and kids returned around 4:20, and I hung out with GJ for a while. J returned around 5:15 as GA and GJ were playing some Wii Sports Resort games. DilK left with the kids around 5:25 to go out to eat with some friends, and I played the Wii Sports Resort airplane game. My heart pounded as I tried to fly down into the "darkano" (grandkidspeak for "volcano") because I had crashed on my first few attempts. For some reason, GJ likes to crash and thoroughly enjoyed flying and crashing his way into the darkano, but I wanted to "do it right" without crashing and failed on several attempts before finally getting through it. (There's a target for getting points at the bottom of the darkano and an exit out the side from the bottom.) We left as soon as the last load of laundry was done.
We returned to the RV around 5:55 and I hung up the critical things from the laundry.
We had dinner around 6:30 of J's Minestrone Soup and Pillsbury garlic bread sticks. I enjoyed the soup because it was chunky with not too much broth.
After doing the dishes, I put away the rest of my laundry, then did some computer work.