Surprise!

Yup, I had a big wake-up call this morning when I opened up my blogger program.

The entire inner workings have changed dramatically in appearance.

That meant a quick study in figuring out where the usual tools were located and how to identify each by their new icons.

So, as I begin navigating this brand-new process, fingers are crossed that the learning curve isn't too high. 

This morning's techno discovery reminds me of the times when a supermarket suddenly moves many of its goods to entirely new aisles.  

It takes time for a "duh" brain like mine to adjust to the change and to start loading into its memory exactly where everything is now located.

And, for an old brain, this could be challenging, especially because within the past few days my Hotmail account also has a new look.  

A lot to process, for sure. 

Still, with five months of Pandemic disruptions to what we deem normal thrown at us, we may have become better at adjusting.

Speaking of the Pandemic, I just read a blurb from another blogger lamenting the fact that we can't get dressed up to go to work anymore. 

Though that doesn't bother me in the least, I can imagine what a curve this situation has thrown into the lives of those who have spent hundreds or thousands of dollars on wardrobes that just hang in the closet.

And, now that Google has taken the lead, notifying its employees that they won't be returning to their offices until July, 2021, there could be a lot of good deals in second-hand clothing stores. 

In other news of note, I did make a great discovery yesterday which needed no adjustment time. 

Having been engaged in online grocery shopping for the past few months, I am getting better at naming products I want with enough specifics to actually find the items on first try. 

And, so when I typed in Oreos and immediately went to the offerings, my eyes lit up when the images included CARROT CAKE OREOS. 

No time needed for thinking about that choice.  

After adding one package to the cart, I pushed the "plus" sign, figuring that around this house, nobody would eat just one carrot-cake Oreo . . . package, that is. 

Indeed, this morning, the first package is already missing several cookies.  When I walked into the kitchen with two bags, Bill went outside to get the rest of the groceries. 

"Carrot-cake Oreos," I announced, having already sampled one out in the car. "You need to try them." 

Two cookies went into Bill's hand as he headed to the living room.

Yum! Yum! 

That was definitely a nice surprise in the grocery-shopping routine. 

I'll need to do some nervous munching on some of those cookies to get through this week of continued changes.  

A new kitchen range is coming to the Lovestead on Thursday. 

Bill made the decision to find us a new stove after watching me take a pan from a burner which has sunk deep down into its cavern.  

As I removed the pan of blanched green beans from the burner, an "ember," as our fearful leader would say, turned into a flame which intensified in size so quickly, I grabbed the baking soda from the cupboard and doused it. 

D'ya suppose that baking soda could be a prospective cure/fire retardent for Covid?  

After all, people are still swearing by that hydroclocksy---whatever the heck it is!

Anyway, the sight of the burner (the only one which decided to work that day) catching on fire gave Bill enough evidence that, at long last, we needed a new range. 

Let's just say we've been compiling the data for some time with an oven that intermittedly turns the bottom of brownies black and four burners taking turns on who wants to work today. 

It would be an understatement to suggest that the flaming burner truly lit Bill's fire to make the purchase. 

The new, modern flat-top stove will be coming Thursday.  

Right now, I'm feeling comfortable that if I can't figure out how to get it to work, Annie will arrive soon enough, and when she wants to warm up her Totinos pepperoni pizzas, she'll figure it out. 

So, we're set, but I'm sure we're in for more learning curves just like this morning's.  

In other surprises, I enjoyed a pleasant surprise yesterday when this brand-spankin' new, bright orange recreational 4-wheeler came rolling into the driveway. 

I was out in the first pasture finishing up with my fence-painting touch-ups, so I waved the driver my way.

As the fancy rig came closer, I could have sworn the driver was Kirsten Nordgaarden, but wait!  No, the voice sounded like her mom Ruthann.

And, by golly, it was Ruthann, looking young enough to be her daughter.  

Ruthann is one of my classmates and longtime friends.  We've had more than our share of belly laughs and giggles over the years with 4-H and neighborhood connections and a whole lot of other situations. 

She's also "salt-of-the-earth" in my book.  So, to see her looking so great and so happy with her canine sidekick in the shotgun seat, driving that classy looking rig did my heart good. 

Like so many of us, the idea of hiking or riding horses up and down steep trails in the mountains hurts more than it excites cuz with age we've developed all those aches, pains and bad knees.

So, Ruthann has found the perfect alternative, and taking it out for adventures has already helped her enhance her ever-youthful spirit. 

We visited for a while, as did her dog and our dogs.  After all, the visitor looked just like them, so they connected immediately. 

One of these days, after we get used to the new stove, we'll have to look into another purchase:  a trailer for our UTV so we can head to the hills like Ruthann.

In the meantime, we've got a hot one ahead, so I'll shut up and get started with today's projects. 

Happy Tuesday.