Dinner Out with Friends

I am happy to report that I finally went out to dinner with friends for the very first time in months the other night!!! It has been so long since I had a night dinner out with friends. (Side note - restaurants here in Southwestern PA are again closed so it's good we got it in before they closed again - HA!)

I met up with two of my favorite people; Kathy and Carol.

We met up at the Walnut Grille in Fox Chapel. This required me to drive over the rivers in Pittsburgh and head to the "other side of the city" from The South Hills. If you live in Pittsburgh you know what I mean.

We rarely travel over the river to other areas - HA!

here we are in our outdoor seating on the patio. Now masks were required when you got to you table outdoors. We did however keep social distance and no hugging....sadly! I felt super safe though.

Carol brought Kathy and I a birthday cake! Mine was in May and Kathy in June. We had not been able to get together since February!!! WOW! She is sooo super thoughtful - it was delicious!

One more picture before parting ways. Dinner lasted for 4 hours - we had so much to catch up on!!  I love these ladies!!! We are planning a Top Golf ladies get together at the end of July if it is still open then - fingers crossed.

That day I got new masks from my company. They sent each employee two and they are super comfy - thanks Bayer!! I am going to be so sad when my time there is over - it's getting closer every day :-(

I hope everyone is happy and safe!!

Thanks for stopping by and HUGE HUGS TO EVERYONE!!

Have you eaten out in a restaurant yet? Have you met up with friends at all? Did you feel safe? Do you know anyone that has been infected with Covid 19? Are you safe and well? How are you feeling today?

Father's Day Weekend

Happy Father's Day Weekend to all of you out there! I hope everyone had a great weekend - especially all of you fathers out there!

I got the best! Everything he does is to look out for his family and make our lives better. Thanks Dad - I love you tons!!

The weekend was filled with lots of family together time packed full of tubing...

Paddleboard tricks....

Memaw floating in the flamingo...

A whole lot of boat sitting...

Chilling...

Some "girl beauty" time...HA!

A fancy braid for church for Madelyn...

More tubing fun...

And more...

And Susie and Ryan were in charge of the grill so the "Father's" did not have to cook. They did a great job!

We had planned a kids race to the dredge-line in the middle of our bay until my Dad thought it was too dangerous so we decided to do a shoreline swim race instead.  

The kids swam while Ryan followed in the kayak - we called him the Safety Engineer. 

Here is the after shot of the participants. Aly came in first, then Madelyn, then Brody. Such a cute bunch of kids - I am blessed to be a part of their lives.

Here is my sister with my father.  Again, Dad, thanks for all you do! I love you so very much!

And my brother and Mom. Happy Father's Day to my brother as he is a father too!

I hope you all had amazing Father's Day weekends and to all the Fathers out there - thank you for all you do for your families!!

Thank you for stopping by and HUGS TO EVERYONE!

How was your Father's Day?  Sending hugs and comfort to all those that did not have a very wonderful Father. I know you are out there and I am sending so many extra hugs to you.  How are you today?

2020 Lake Mohawk Fishing Tournament

Every year the lake where my parents lives holds a kids fishing tournament. 

The kids participated in 2018 much to their dismay. We adults thought it would be fun for them but their fishing attention span is not much more then 30 minutes and the tournament lasted 2 hours. My nephew Ryan is the only one that registered and took fish up to be weighed as I think he enjoyed it a little...HA!

Needless to say, after a miserable day of crying and complaining Ryan ended up with two awards. They got third place for the pounds of fish caught and also got the title for the biggest fish in his age category.  He won $50 gift card for the largest fish in his age group and $25 for third place in total pounds caught in his age group.

So, of course NOW ALL the kids wanted to participate since they know there is money involved....HA HA!

The family was out of town when 2019 kids tournament happened but two of the five nieces and nephews were there for 2020. So both Aly and Ryan participated this year.

Here is the recap....

They had a sign on the sign up table with our win from 2018...

It was all very distanced an Covid safe. They had sanitizer and gloves everywhere. It was held at the Lake Mohawk Marina.

Here is Ryan off his chosen dock.

And Aly trying to find a "good" spot. She walked around a lot before choosing her dock.

See how happy Aly is?!?!? She was fishing off a dock and immediately caught a fish.  She took it up to be weighed but did not leave anything on the dock to let people know that she was fishing there. Most kids left a tackle box at the end of their chosen dock.  So, when she got back another kid was using the dock that she had before. That kid was catching fish after fish...LOL! Aly was convinced that it was the sacred spot and she was ripped off. I told her - lesson learned; she needs to leave a tackle box to make her area. She complained the whole time that that kid took her spot and was catching her fish! HA!  That kid ended up winning the tournament. HA

Ryan had fun again...neither kid placed at all this year but fun was had by almost all - except Aly. HA

That night we had a campfire and smores and everything was again right in Aly's world. This is her with my Mom!! So cute!!

We love a night time campfire

This is my sister snuggling her little boy that is not so little anymore - HA!

The next day Aly and Ryan ruled to roost and got to tube more than ever since they were the only two up there on the fishing tournament weekend.

So much fun...

LOL

Bravery on the "Couch" Tube...HA! It is nearly impossible to fall off the couch tube....super stable for riding.

Silly girl...

I hope everyone is doing well and staying safe and healthy!

HUGS TO EVERYONE!

Have you ever entered a fish tournament? Do you like to fish? What sports do you enjoy? How are you doing today?

Last Covid 19 Projects

I believe I completed my final Covid projects.

Things in PA appear to be opening up little by little and soon I will lose my job.  

It looks like I will get word in August or September that my job role in Pittsburgh is done.

After that I have two paid months to find a job before severance kicks in.

All that being said; I will be sort of busy in the next few months looking for employment so I am super happy I completed all the projects that I have been putting off for soooo long over this quarantine!

The last ones were finished last week after borrowing my father's power drill which I used as a screwdriver.

Here we go...

First let me start you off with a lake photo!! This is me every weekend...my entire family just stays in the lake all day everyday! HA! It has been soooo super hot this week so I am sending cooling vibes to everyone that does not have a lake or pool to jump in!

Pontoon float anyone??!?!

My kitchen sink started dripping again. Last time, my dad changed out the cartridge for me but I watched so this time I was able to do it myslef!

Here is the handle after I removed it.

And the old, dirty cartridge! ICK!!!! No wonder they stop working...this looked so gross! I inserted the new one and put the clip through the top and Viola!!! It was finished and no more drip!

That faucet was a super quick project!!

Next up....I have been looking at this grossness under my kitchen sink since I bought my condo. There must have been a leak at some time and it left it super disgusting on the wood under my sink.  Sooo dirty and gross!

So, I measured it and ran to Home Depot. They cut my wood panel to the size I asked and look how pretty it is now?!??! YAY! Another quick project that only cost about $5.

What a difference!!!

And finally....my very last project....this one took a lot longer. maybe a full week working only a few hours each night.

My kitchen cabinet hinges were old and a mess. They had painted them white and the paint wore off on the side of the hinges and they looked awful. Also, many of them would not close all the way. If you push them shut they would re-open a few inches and it has been driving me crazy for years.

So, I measured and checked Home Depot. (Come to find out that mine are a standard size but at least I checked anyway).  They were soooo EXPENSIVE for hinges and I needed 30 of them for all my cabinets.

Then I checked on Amazon and found a great deal for a pack of 50 white ones. Way cheaper than the Home Depot prices.

Here is a close up of how they looked. ICK! Also, you can see in this close up how much paint in on the screws. This was making it super hard to unscrew the doors from the cabinet face.

I first tried to scrap out the paint from the screw head and then unscrew them. It was SO HARD! 

Then I googled it and found out a super great TIP - it is easier if you put the Phillips head screwdriver on the painted screw head and hit it hard with a hammer. The hit loosens the screw and the paint actually grips the screwdriver and it is super easy to unscrew them with a little pressure while you turn the screwdriver. It worked!!! 

After I took them all off; I took the hinges to Home Depot and had them do a paint match for the color. Then I was able to paint where the hinges used to be and touch up any chips in the current paint on the cabinets.

This is the cabinet face after I removed all the doors and touched up the paint. It looked soooo clean and nice!!!

And this is after the doors were reattached with the new white hinges.

Love it so much!

Close up of the new hinges.

So, I am left with 20 extra hinges!!

Anyone updating their cabinets or have a use for these extras. I do not need them and I will be happy to mail them to anyone....you pay shipping...nothing more.

That's it for my projects until I get a new job and go looking for a new house. HA!

I hope everyone is happy and well and getting your projects done too.

HUGS TO EVERYONE!!!

What projects have you completed? How are you today!??!? Do you have a need for 20 white hinges? Have you purchased a pool or where is your creative place to cool off?!?!?

That Time I Baked a Pie

I was totally craving an apple pie the other day.

You know the ones that are sweet and delicious with crunchy apples???

So, I found this recipe on the internet.

It was supposed to be the BEST apple pie anywhere!! It has so many 5 stars ratings and recommendations...I HAD to try it!

The recipe is crazy!! It is unlike I have ever made any pie but it turned out AMAZING!!!

It was perfect and had crunchy and sweet apples! 

You will love it!!

Here is the recipe...

It was interesting because you cut up all your apples and then put them in the crust and add the lattice top. 

(Side note- I used Pillsbury refrigerated crusts that you simply unroll and use.)  

You melt the butter, flour, sugar, and water over the stove and then dump it onto the apples through the lattice.  I also added 1 T cinnamon.  It sounds weird but it turned out amazing! It makes this awesome crunchy and sweet lattice on top of the pie.

That is the finished product! My family loved it too.

I have to give credit for the recipe to AllRecipes.com. It is Grandma Opal's Apple Pie.

I promise you will love it if you try it!!

YUM!

Have a fantastic day everyone!! Thanks for coming by and HUGS to you all!!!

Every bake pies or cakes? Do you like cake or pie? Do you use a recipe book or the internet?? How are you doing today???