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Watermelon Cookies Anyone?
Beggs, Ok, January 2026 The Great British Bake Off had slice and bake cookies with intricate designs as the signature challenge for episode 2. Most contestants used a shortbread cookie, which is not our favorite, so we opted for chocolate chip cookies. The good news is that the cookies are not watermelon chocolate chip flavored;…
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Spar Varnish and Its Many Uses
Sparta, WI, August 2025 Earlier this year, mom asked if John and I could look at the front door. She was hoping we could rescue it from water damage. Ken (the handyman that helps mom) said the door only needed sanding and varnishing. Mom’s house was built in the mid 60s. All the doors are…
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Dad Needed a Flue Shot?
Sparta, WI, September 2025 Or maybe his Flue was just Shot! Pops used to have a wood burning stove to heat the house and separate one to heat the garage. A few years ago, Dad replaced the house furnace for a propane furnace with AC. The garage wood furnace was left in place. Dad called…
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Paint once, then again, and hope for no streaks!
Sparta, WI, Aug. & Sept 2025 While we were in Wisconsin, one of the many goals was to replace the seam caulk, scrape lose paint and paint 2 sides of Mom’s house. Originally, I was thinking the front and end of the house. (We did the other end in 2024.) Once we were home and…
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Family Farm from Long Ago
Sparta, Wisconsin, Month and Year unknown In 2024, John and I visited Helen. Helen has pictures of the family farm from before I was around. What I love is that the railroad tracks are still in the picture. In the second picture, you can see the rows of trees that line the driveway. The trees…
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Screw the Whales, Save the Laptops!
Sparta, WI, September 2025 The Good We helped Bob get a new computer, and we helped Brenda with her new computer. Steve has been having some computer trouble recently, so he asked for some help too. It turns out that his computer was stalling out while he was using it, which was causing anger management…
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Family History Fun
September 2025 I have been having fun visiting the family and hanging out. When I was backing up Mom and Dad’s photos, I thought it would be fun to create a blog with some family photos. I believe the photos were taken in 2010 based on the file or folder name. I’m not sure if…
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Happy Father’s Day!
June 15, 2025 I know every kid says this, but you are the best Dad!! Thanks for always believing in us. We may not have enjoyed all the adventures we had as a kid. We did enjoy watching our pregnant aunt risk her life chasing a bear to get a picture of it three mountains…
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Happy Birthday, Dad!
No Ifs Ands or Butts* You Are A Great Dad! Love,Katie & John * Well, maybe a few butts.
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Happy Mother’s Day!
May 11, 2025 (Note: The videos should work on the iPhone now) John and I have been very fortunate to have wonderful Moms. They took care of us through thick and thin. They always loved us, even when we were being naughty, cranky and annoying. This is our way of thanking and remembering our Mom’s…