Update

Well, it did not snow on the valley floor, but there is lots of it that we can see on the Sierras.  Lorissa is fully recovered, which is good because we have 2 table setting jobs this week.  Nathan and Renee stopped having fevers around Wednesday, but are still coughing, fatigued, and barely eating.  Nathan did go to school on Wed and Thurs so he missed each class only once.  Renee has not left the house since she came home on Feb 21.

We got the dishwasher parts, hopefully Nathan and Keith can repair that tomorrow; I am getting dishpan hands! I hope they can also snake out the washing machine drain line, because I have to make sure it doesn't overflow with each load that goes through it.

Things are slowly improving!

Koetsier Ranch

Lorissa and I set tables for Koetsier Ranch Catering.  We had our first job of  2011 setting for a small group (48 people) for lunch.  This lunch is for the judges of a dog show in Hanford.  We wished we had more time to look at some of the dogs, but we had to get back home so we could go to our Wednesday night Bible studies.

Since it was off site we had to load everything up in our car.

 The "Rose Room" as we were working on it.

 I am sure Brenda will add to this buffet table when she gets there on Thursday.

When it rains, ...

When it rains, it might snow!  That's rare here, but a chance of snow is being predicted, as quoted in the Visalia Times-Delta:

Rain is expected to fall today, but as temperatures dip lower, the cold could result in a light dusting of snow tonight and Saturday in Central and Northern California as far west as the Central Coast. But Borgioli said he believes that the snow — if any actually falls — is more likely to occur farther inland, including the Valley.The last snowfall on the Valley floor occurred in January 1999.

It is pouring on other fronts too.  Both girls came home on Monday from their youth retreat with fevers, colds, sore throats, fatigue, and no appetite.  Nathan started feeling bad on Thursday, and woke up with a fever today.  Lorissa is mostly just coughing, Renee is still feverish.  Keith went to work not feeling the greatest either.

The dishwasher leaked, so new gaskets are on order and the floor is drying out.  This of course happens when all my human "dishwashers" are sick.  The washing machine also overflowed yesterday.  I think the pipes don't like the cheap detergent which may have built up a sludge even with a water softener, so I probably need to go back to liquid detergent.

Roasting Marshmallows

We finally took the time to roast some marshmallows in our fireplace; they were perfect.

Another Year Older...

 

In the early part of January, I turned another year older and decided it was time to go gray.  I got a short haircut and got some low lights put in to make the transition easier.  It is taking some getting used to and I am trying to figure out what colors look good on me.

 

I have also taken up knitting, but not because I am getting old, even though it would seem so...gray hair, knitting.  I bring the girls to Mom to clean house and then we sit and talk and do "hand work.".  I figured I could learn from Mom, it would be a good craft to easily start and stop, and I would at least do it every other week.  It is going better than I expected, and I am keeping it loose and even so far.  This is after about 4 restarts where I added stitches, dropped some, and had them fall off the needles.  Now I have a good start on a scarf that will hopefully be finished next winter.  The variegated yarn gives me much more of a sense of progress than a single color yarn; I don't know if I would ever choose a single color to knit.

Kohl's

Lorissa and Renee wanted some flannel sheets on their beds last week when the temperatures dipped a bit.  So yesterday, when the temperatures were up to a hot 92 degrees we decided to get some.  I had a 15% off coupon for Kohl's so we decided that was the place to shop.  Before we left I saw a $10 off of $20 coupon in my inbox so I brought that too.

Twin sized flannel sheet sets were on sale for $19.99 originally $44.99.  Then there was an additional 10% coldweather sale making the sets $17.99, so for two sets I was to pay $35.98.  Then $10 in Kohl's cash was deducted bringing the total to$25.98.  Then my 15% off coupon was used to subtract another $3.90, bringing the total to$22.08 which was raised by 9% sales tax to $24.07.  So I saved $67.90 on two sets of twin sized flannel sheets.

So what is the deal with Kohl's?  What are the real prices there?  Would you ever pay full price for anything when shopping at Kohl's or are you signed up to get their emails for the coupons?

I Dreamed My Whole House Was Clean

But it often looks like this.

 

Oh, the joys of homeschooling!  Our home is lived in!