And April is coming to an end!

 And so..... a little bit more of the same ol', same ol',,,,,,,,,,,

East Sunday was here and gone before we knew it!   Again... this is one of those occassions that we would normally share/enjoy with friends or family.  But our friends Nathan & Krystal - still had their second Covid shot to get, so we knew they were not yet ready to venture out.  

Cooking and Baking, as most everyone know by now, is one of our favorite things to do.  So yes we did fix  an Easter dinner, along with a few more goodies.    Below: Goodies! Peanut Butter cups, and Rich's home made creampuffs ( vanilla pudding & whipcream fillings, and chocolate frosting),   Easter Dinner, was Ham, Au-gratin potatoes and green bean casserole.  And a few of our other favorites later in the month was the meatball subs, and, of course, another batch of yeast risen bread!

Of course we are making our lists and checking them twice........as we prepare for oOur annual trip north to Blake Lake, NY.  Hotels are booked for the journey...visits with family/friends are scheduled.  Lots of packing to do - but that's always saved for last.   Still need to set up mail forwarding, pay ahead things like water bills, yard mowing and service etc.... AND so we are working now to make sure bushes and trees are trimmed, repairing/replacing a few sprinkler heads, cleaning the gutters. Picture below is of just a few of the bushes that we've trimmed, the resident woodpecker and...an unplanned job!  Our neighbor, next door has a HUGE tree in their front yard, adjacent to our house.  The roots from this tree  are monstrous!  Some of those roots have worked their way under our sidewalk along the side of the house........Rich, below working to remove the concrete pad, and then use his saw to cut out the tree limbs. 

And THE RAIN!  The weather this month has reminded me so much of living up north!  "APRIL showers bring May Flowers". And while all the flowers or azalias have not yet fully bloomed....we have certainly had our share of heavy rains and winds.  Some really dark and dreary days.  And would ya look at that rain barrelling off the roof top?

 Heath issues continue.  While the upper back is 95% better, it seems that the arthritis in the mid and lower back  especially are really flaring up.   It is getting pretty painfull, and I'm finding it much harder to do a lot around the house.  Just standing to do dishes bothers me.  Have to get some blood work done before we leave town.........and I am going to ask about possibly getting some cortasone shots.  I need something for sure!

And this month we celebrated three birthdays!  April 8th - was Bob Donald's B-day!!!    April 9th was our grand-daughter, Chauna's Birthday!     And on the 14th, was my sister-in-laws birthday - Diane Burger!  We celebrated over the phone!

Here is a picture of the family celebrating Chauna's Birthday... Mom and Dad (Dennis & Crystal), her brother Dalton, and her fiance' Ryan celebrating at Applebees Grill in Iowa!