The Little Town of Doland

Doland SD, population 180 in 2010, is a farming community to the west along US Highway 212. It was a geocaching stop earlier this month. I don't report or blog all or just any of our many caching stops. Doland deserves mention because it is the home of several notable people.

Not much to the Main Street

Doland, South Dakota is another small agricultural town 

that was founded and named by the railroad in 1882. 

It's name comes from F.H. Doland, a director of the North Western railroad. 

Doland lies in the heart of pheasant hunting country.

This was our first destination

Doland's Heritage Wall

Hubert H. Humphrey

Vice President of the United States

Graduated from Doland High School, 1929

Humphrey's father ran a pharmacy in Doland from 1915 to 1929, 

and served as the town's mayor for several years.

The Koslowski twins were 1988 Olympians 

in Seoul Korea

Dennis won a bronze medal in 1988

and a silver in 1992

Read more about them 

Dennis Koslowski 

Duane Koslowski

They did not make Wikipedia's list of famous people from Doland, but

Tim Miles, basketball coach, U of Nebraska and

Jon Madsen, a UFC fighter

made the online list

 I found

Harvey Wollman, a former SD Governor (for 5 months)

also graduated from Doland High School

A wild bird food plant, 

I did not know that

Doland was the hometown of Hubert Humphrey, who served as a U.S. Senator 

from Minnesota from 1949 to 1965 and 1971 to 1978. 

From 1965 to 1969 Humphrey was the Vice President of the United States. 

In 1968 he was the Democratic Party's candidate for President; 

he lost narrowly to Republican Richard Nixon.

Thankfully, someone cares enough about the home's namesake

to live in it and keep it up, and 

proudly display the sign for the historical home.

Pretty impressive list of notable people for a rural SD community!

And now you know the rest of the story...

The Kitchen Is Done! The Kitchen Is Done!

The Kitchen Is Done! The Kitchen Is Done! 

The drawers were installed today.

The new sink & faucet were also installed.

Here it is...

The east end

The kitchen workspace 

The new sink and faucet

The drawers instead of a cupboard

The west end

The pantry wall

The north end

The dining area

Still no window furnishings

Planning on a tile backsplash of some sort, 

maybe yet this summer

I don't want to rush things, after all...

it has only been 2 months!

I Love It!

#2000 Geocache

Prior to this past weekend, I was 10 away from geocache #2000. Pretty impressive since I only have been actively geocaching since late December 2012 AND I have had a life above and beyond looking for small containers under rocks and in trees.

A niece was getting married back home on Saturday. Hubby and I made it a geocaching road trip stopping in two communities along the way. 

The wedding took place at Lake Hiddenwood State Park, a recreational spot for 4-H gatherings and church youth group when I was in high school. I was quite pumped to learn two caches had been placed at the state park and both had recently been found by other cachers.

Between the wedding and the reception (also at the lake) Hubby and I went in search of the two caches. I realized one of them would be my 2000th find. We found both of them. 

To the creek

Over the bridge

Find the right trail

Through the woods

and the tall grass 

and the ticks

at the top of the hill...

An ammo can!

Geocache find #2000

Ye Haw!

I LOVE this game!

On to #3000...

Happy B-Day!

Happy Birthday 

to our favorite

SON!

Cooking in a Mug

I rarely post photos of food I HAVE MADE on my blog. This post won't be like that either. However, I got an email earlier this month about cooking cakes in a mug in the microwave. As I started clicking around, I found all kinds of recipes for microwave mug cooking. I have posted them on my Pinterest page and that page has seen lots of action in the first 48 hours. I thought it would be fun to post some of the ideas here with links to their original recipes*. 

No, I have not tried any of them, but I might...someday!

Some of the recipes are healthy, like weight watchers healthy. Most of the ideas are intended for one serving. Some of them are quite easy. Some of them I would only fuss with if I was indeed, cooking for one. Some are just plain comfort food. 

*Please read all the reviews for any of the recipes as the reviews range from how to make it better to why you would or would not try it. Somewhere it was mentioned a 12 ounce mug works well.

Food that can be cooked in a mug in a microwave...

For Breakfast

Oatmeal in a Mug from Food and Whine

2-Minute French Toast in a Mug from Pretty Prudent

Blueberry Flax Muffin from Spark Recipes

Egg McMuggin' from Hungry Girl

For Lunch or Dinner

Coffee Cup Quiche from the St. Louis Post

Meatloaf from Taste of Homes

Mac & Cheese from Babble

Coffee Cup Chilaquiles from The St. Louis Post

Desserts or a Snack

100 Calorie Chocolate Cake from Babble

Banana Cake in a Mug from Pass the Sushi

Strawberries n' Cream Mug Cake from Babble

Easy Pumpkin Cake in a Mug from Babble

Strawberry Pie from How Sweet it Is

Chocolate Chip Cookie from No. 2 Pencil

There are many more recipes, especially for chocolate, on my Pinterest page, should you really be interested in cooking in a mug in your microwave!

Let me know how your mug cooking turns out! 

bon appétit

Friday's Storm

A summer storm came through much of eastern South Dakota this afternoon. There was a report of a tornado touchdown at the lake south of town, but no damage. This time of year hail often accompanies the thunderstorms that roll through. There was no hail in our area. Winds were clocked at 81 mph at the airport, about 2 miles away. Lots of dock damage and loose boats around the lake. Many trees down, power out for about 5 hours, and other unconfirmed damage. Our rain gauge had 1.5 inches of rain. These are some photos from our house.

During the Storm

sideways sheets of rain

rain gushing from the down spout extension

After the Storm

see the red/pink glow from the sky reflected on the garage wall

so dark I had to use the flash on the camera, 

at 5:00 in the afternoon

north side of the house

south side of the house

limbs from the 60 year-old silver maple trees

leaves stuck to the siding

part of the front yard

more front yard

After 2+ hours of clean-up...

a pile for city pickup, two city garbage containers

full of leaves and twigs, and a nice assortment of wood

for the fire pit or the fireplace.

The yard is clean.

No damage to lives or property,

just sore backs and tired muscles.

Tuesday: The Plan and Reality

Tuesday's Plan: Get to the zoo this morning before it gets too warm; revisit the animals and places she enjoyed last fall; kill time until lunch time; then afternoon nap and some down time for the adults.

Reality: Running through the zoo took 45 minutes max.

I thought she would enjoy watching the bear

sit at the table and eat.

She did for 5 seconds.

Time out for a drink break.

A ride on the merry-go-round

The baby goats and big goats did not hold the fascination

they did last year.

She saw the playground and wanted to go back.

She watched an older boy walk up the slide.

After three tries, she had it down to a T.

Walked up backwards and the sat down for the ride down.

She watched two 5 year-old girls swing on the big swings.

After they left, she asked G'pa to swing in them.

She did.

Enough time was killed with the zoo and playground to halt for lunch and a trip through the car wash. Then it was afternoon naps for EVERYONE! After naps...

G'ma found the box of sidewalk chalk.

Brand new, begging to be used chalk.

She understood chalk was to be used like crayons.

She added the legs and feet to the smiley face.

Even G'pa got into the chalk time.

She goes home tomorrow.