DS2 is pretty excited about going to the AC/DC concert in St. Paul later in November. He will be staying at the Crowne Plaza about 5 blocks east of the Excel Center and is pleased as punch with himself. He has been to many concerts but this will be the first time he will stay overnight on his own. Should be an interesting evening for him. We're happy that he is doing this and think it's good for him. The time is coming when he will be on his own and the more experience he has, the better.
The Crowne Plaza is now owned by Intercontinental. It was the Radisson Riverfront for many years and my favorite hotel. (not like I've been that many places to judge.) One of my favorite things is the view. We have always requested one of two rooms on the 13th floor, either the SE or SW corner. Windows surround two sides of those rooms and the view is great. I especially like watching the city at night, the barge traffic on the Mississippi and the distant lights of cars. I had inquired, the last time we were there, if IC intended to make a lot of changes to the Old Dame and the answer was no. The rooms are understated and elegant, the beds are comfy and the bathrooms are marble. What needs to be changed?
They also have great room service. (Or they did, we haven't been there in a couple of years so maybe they don't offer it anymore. Their chefs were graduates of Le Cordon Bleu and the training showed in every dish.) I love room service, I really do. To have a great meal, a bottle of wine, brought right up to the room, everything set up, wine uncorked and poured? Can't beat it. And there are no dishes to do!
Harvest is now really ramping up. Combines and equipment on the roads, grain haulers all over the place, long hours, dust in the air. Yup, it's harvest. I rather enjoy this time of year even if it's murder on the allergies. Himself is looking forward to the overtime but that's a trade-off. By the time all is said and done, everyone involved with the process from farmers to shippers, will be ready for a long winter's nap. That includes Himself. If we can afford it, we will take a few days off and just relax.
There is something I am supposed to be doing today but I can't for the life of me remember what it is! It isn't on my schedule, which is a mistake, and I don't have a note to myself so... If it's something Himself asked me to do last night or this morning, I'll not remember it, either. Yesterday was spent doing the kind of things that drain the brain and by 7 pm it showed. Managed to get supper around, eat, and then fall into bed around 9. Depending on what the schedule turns out to be later, we will either have chicken in white wine with mushrooms or something with beef. I have a hunk of round steak marinating in red wine, garlic, onions, mushrooms, bay, basil and thyme and that can go a lot of different directions. Push comes to shove? Tuna sandwiches. Just so I know by 2:30 or 3 p.m.
A nice family has taken over the hardware store in town and are working at turning it back into a hardware store. The last owners, although very nice people, didn't quite get the concept. He had worked at Ace hardware for years but that is a totally different type of merchandiser than a small town hardware store. The current folks have a separate variety section but are emphasizing paint and bolts and hardware-type stuff. I would hate see the store close since it was started by my family back in the 19th century and has been around and doing OK ever since.
Somebody ate my lunch. Literally! I had put aside a fish filet from supper last night to have today and somebody ate it. That leaves me with chili or a braunschweiger sandwich, either of which is fine, but I was looking for fish. *sigh*
Am hoping that the overtime Himself has been getting in the last two weeks will cover the property taxes. Mailing off the check today but they won't get it until Monday, then it will take another week for it to clear. That gives me plenty of time to finagle if I must. Hate doing that but no option other than bouncing a check and I am unwilling to do that. 1299.00 is no small sum, either.
Taxes actually fell a little bit this year. That is mostly due to the fact that we now have whole-grade sharing with a district that relies on gambling for a large part of their budget.
- School levy is 65% of the bill. Down .0327
- County gets 28%. Down 3.380
- AEA morons 2%. Up 5.8
- Ag extension 1%. Up 3.8
- Assessor (?) 1%. Down 7
- Special appraisal (?what?) .8%. Down 3.8
- Debt service (??what??) .3%. Down 51
- Nora Springs 0%. Uh, WHAT???
I might need to call Janelle and ask her WTF all this means?
About time for another grocery stock-up run. We're fine for now but do have some things that get used up fast. I am so glad to have access to day-old bread stores and an Aldi's. It saves me a lot of cash, especially when buying staples. I am figuring we saved about $100 this week by having lunches made here. I'm not wild about Aldi's sandwich meat but their cheese is fine and tuna and pork/beans is better than you'd possibly expect. DS3 and Himself have been great about making and taking their lunches. SS refuses so he's on his own. I just eat whatever I find around here.
Although we haven't had a hard freeze, there was heavy frost on the ground and cars this morning. I have the plants on the deck covered and think the tomatoes down on the terraces are also OK. They are protected by an overhanging maple branch and are still ripening their fruit. My produce lady has her maters in greehouses so she will be fine.
It didn't get cold enough for long enough to have the heat on, either. I sleep with the window cracked a bit and that means Himself needs blankets. LOL It's that hormone thing, doncha know? Not that it has anything to do with temperature, but he has observed that I have quit snoring since we took the carpets out. That's nice.
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