Well, we’ve had a blessed and eventful weekend … Saturday … hubby was home and we started working on decluttering Ian’s bedroom … oh my, the treasures we found in some boxes ‘neath his bed!  A stamp collection, a baseball card collection, coin collection and the printouts from his first business at an antique mall selling his coins, along with a collection of Franklin Mint knives we had gotten him as birthday gifts over the years ~ (anyone familiar with those?), and of course, a (cough, cough, sputter) collection of ‘dust bunnies’!  Now who doesn’t have a nice collection of those around their home somewhere?!!  They sure are easy to come by!  Well, we started to collect those ‘dust bunnies’, and wouldn’t you know it, our vacuum cleaner konked out!  It was giving us trouble earlier in the day, so when my sister dropped by, she checked it out, and we found out that there were dustbunnies stuck in the hose!  Problem solved!  It’s still an old vacuum and we are due for a new one!  It seems I’ve asked this before on here, but does anyone have any preferences on brands of vacuums?  Right after that, my husband got a call from his sister, who needed him to drive to Sam’s Club on the northside of town, and pick up a chair in his van and deliver it to her apartment.  So we put the decluttering on hold, and he headed north!  I had a nice quiet evening getting things ready for church on Sunday, and he didn’t get home till around 11:00PM … the chair was picked up and delivered by a really sweet guy, and he had a good time at dinner with his sisters, at Panera! 

We also got a call from our son earlier on Saturday asking for prayer as he drove with Tim, and another friend, to San Francisco for a vacation day.  He called me three times telling me all the things I was missing, which included a drive across the Golden Gate Bridge, twice … a visit to the San Francisco De Young Fine Arts Museum, which was founded in 1895, and where he said some of the exhibits were quite interesting … and of course, a nice meal at the Fisherman’s Warf.  
 
 


He had a great time, and one of his calls was to tell me to check my e-mail for a photo he was sending back through his iPhone … he was there at that very moment … I think the picture turned out pretty good for an iPhone!  This of course, is the Golden Gate Bridge.  It was about 5:00PM there in this shot. 



As you can see it was quite foggy, so that was one of our prayers … for their safe trip back to Monterey!  Ian drove it both ways!  Me … although I would have enjoyed myself, I probably would have ‘thunk twice’ before venturing into all of that traffic there … and I’m not too fond of going over bridges … especially long bridges, with lots of water under them … but Ian had a great time … nothing seems to bother him much … wish I had inherited that!

**And, thankfully, they made it back without any trouble at all!   





Now for Sunday:  I fixed a new, easy recipe for yesterday’s pitch in at church … Tater Taco Casserole from ‘Taste of Home’ (recipe below) … it turned out pretty good … not a morsel was left after the meal … and I also made powdered sugar brownies which, thankfully, made it into the church this week!  Those birds were pretty disappointed though!  Here’s that recipe, if anyone is interested!


TATER TACO CASSEROLE
~Taste of Home~
2 pounds ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 envelope taco seasoning
2/3 cup water
1 can (11 ounces) whole kernel corn, drained
1 can (11 ounces) condensed fiesta nacho cheese soup, undiluted
1 package (32 ounces) frozen Tater Tots

In a skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in taco seasoning and water.  Simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes.  Add corn and soup; mix well.  Transfer to a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish.  Arrange Tater Tots in a single layer over the top.  Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until potatoes are crispy and golden brown.

We had a wonderful time at church, with a friend of Ian’s coming as well.  Whenever I see his friends, it makes me feel closer to Ian!  Also, our church is hosting a ‘Dave Ramsey’ seminar starting mid-February, which we have signed up for, and he will be doing that along with us!  Anyone familiar with Dave Ramsey? 

Well, there’s much more to share about Sunday, our son, and the ‘move’, but I’ll save that for the next time … aren’t you glad?!!  Did you do anything special for the weekend?  I’ll be around to visit later today, and I pray that each one of you will have a wonderful Monday … me, well, I’m going to be busy getting things ready for our son … we’re picking him up at the airport Wednesday night … I get to keep him for 12 wonderful days, and I am so excited!!

Hugs,
   ~ Deborah <><

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