ding dongs and pumpkin

And - not to be out done - here are Barb's recipes for the ever popular Ding Dong Cake and seasonal Pumpkin Cobbler. On the Ding Dong Cake - double or triple everything and bring the extra to us.

Ding Dong Cake

1) 8-10 ding dongs split lengthwise icing side down in a 9X13” pan. (Hint: If they are too soft to cut, put them in the freeze for just a bit – 10-15 minutes. Not too long or they will be too hard to cut and they will crumble)
2) Mix 1 cup of powdered sugar and 8 oz. cream cheese (soft). Fold in 8 oz. cool whip. Spread whole mixture on top of ding dogs.
3) Mix two 3.9 oz. boxes of instant chocolate pudding with 3 cups of milk. Spread on top of cool whip.
4) Put remaining 4 oz. of cool whip (buy 12 oz. tub) on top. Sprinkle top with tons of chocolate chips and your choice of nuts.

Pumpkin Cobbler

29 oz. can pumpkin
4 lg. eggs beaten
1 ½ c. sugar
1 tsp ginger (or 2 ½ tsp pumpkin pie spice)
½ tsp. Cloves
2 tsp. Cinnamon
½ c. each brown sugar & nuts of your choice
12 oz. can evaporated milk
1 yellow cake mix
1 c. melted butter

Blend together pumpkin, eggs, sugar, spices, & evap. Milk. Pour into 13x9” pan. Sprinkle dry cake mixture on top. Pour butter over cake mixture, then top with brown sugar and nuts. Bake at 350 F for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Serve warm (with whipped cream if you wish)

italian cream soda

By popular demand ... here is a recipe for Italian Cream Soda.

• 4 ounces Italian syrup
• 4 ounces half-and-half
• 10 ounces club soda
• ice

For my taste, that's a little too much syrup and cream. Also, I find that I like ginger ale rather than club soda (or some mix of the two).

The two brands of syrups I found (Torani and Monin) are both available at Jungle Jim's. On-line is cheaper with more variety in flavors but the shipping cost is too high.

Finally, I like to mix the cream and syrup together first to minimize stirring of the soda later ... loses its fizz. And don't make the rookie mistake of putting the ice in fist and then thinking you will be able to stir the thing.

County Line Mulch

It was suggested that I post this info. We usually use Evan's mulch (aged 6 months), but found this company to be more economical. It is aged 1-3 years, which we like. The website is www.countylinemulch.com The basic organic brown mulch is $23/yd with $30 delivery (Free delivery w/ 10 yards). What is in our driveway this week is 6 yards. 1 cubic sq. yard of mulch covers 80-100 sq. ft.

neighborhood fun

In case you missed it, some of us had a real nice time at the Adams' Saturday.


And some had more fun than others.

Photos by Osler.

feed & control time

If you haven't done it yet, now is the time. Scotts Turf Builder with PLUS 2 Weed Control should have been applied this past week but it's not too late if you get on it now. This product kills dandelions and other major lawn weeds completely while helping to build a thick, green turf from the roots up.

Be sure to apply Scotts® Turf Builder® with Plus 2® Weed Control to a wet lawn or in the morning when there is still dew on the grass. The granules in Turf Builder® with Plus 2® need to stick to the foliage in order to kill the broadleaf weeds.

You can mow before or after applying, but be sure to keep 2-3 days between mowing and your application. The weed control works through the leaves of the weeds, and in order to be absorbed more easily you'll want the weeds to be developed and not cut short. More leaf surface means better weed control!

New Weeds

We are getting ready for Yellow Nutsedge to start showing it's face again. This is the light green weed that grows twice as fast as your grass does. Regular herbicides will not kill it.

http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/4000/4010.html

There is a product called Sedgehammer that will kill it. I have only found it at Natorps. The nutsedge is very waxy so the sedgehammer needs to be mixed with a surfactant (also at Natorps) to help it stick to the weed.

Power Outage 5/27

Just a reminder Duke Energy will have the electric off 8:30-1:30 5/27. Empty those freezers and grab your yard tools! Let's hope it's a good day for them. If it rains they will do it later in the week.

Grillin' With The Adams

We are joining the Adams Family for a farewell grill out Saturday 5/24 at 5pm at 6781 Summer Field. We are just rolling our grills to the curbs and eating in their backyard (If it rains we meet in our garage -6769 Summer Field).
The Adams are doing burgers and dogs. We are making grilled garden veggie sandwiches (better than it sounds) and orange chipotle chicken w/ black bean salsa. The Ellis' are grilling some chicken,too. Feel free to bring some more burgers/buns/dogs,etc. and join us.
The Adams are a family of 5 who moved here from Penn.,from Tenn. and originally from Utah. They moved a lot because of the Army. Merrill is an Army Major. RaKell is a school teacher. Shortly after they moved here RaKell had surgery and Merrill was shipped to Iraq. Their lives were even more blessed when Hannah (13) was on her bike and struck by a car . Laura , who is graduating, & Tanner had fairly good health in Ohio. Somehow they survived all of this and never complained. We hate seeing such high functioning individuals leave so we thought a grill out where I sit by their grill and sob would be just barrels of fun. Also don't forget to give Merrill a thank you for serving our country!
Feel free to join us, I won't cry. I am just kidding.
The new neighbors will move in around 6/4? All I know is that he is an MD and they have 6 kids under the age of 11. Please make sure you stop by and welcome them (and that Tater Tot's not chewing on one of them!)
If you have any questions about the grill out just call me- Karen 336-0312

grubs

Keep These Root-Eaters from Killing Your Grass

If you see Japanese Beetles in your trees, and dead patches of grass in your lawn, you could have grubs. Grubs are the larvae of Japanese beetles, June beetles, and chafers. These C–shaped creatures (off–white in color with a dark head) feast on the roots of your grass causing irregularly shaped patches of wilted, dead or dying grass in April and May, and again in August to mid–October. A bad infestation can kill your lawn. To find out if you have a problem, peel back a square foot of turf. If you see six or more grubs, it's time for action. With good treatments available, such as Scotts® Grubex®, and good timing, you can keep grubs under control.


Prevention and Maintenance

Time your treatment
You want to apply your lawn treatment when grubs are newly hatched or just before. That's because they're easier to control when they're small. For most lawns, that means applying around June and July, or when you see adult Japanese Beetles flying around.

Prepare your lawn
You want to make it easier for the treatment to work. That's why it helps to mow your lawn before treatment. Also, if you have more than half an inch of thatch, it could get in the way of the treatment. You'll want to de–thatch your lawn first.

Don't forget watering
Apply the day after watering your lawn, then water thoroughly after treatment. You want the treatment to soak in and get the grubs where they live.

Maintenance
Make it a routine to apply Scotts® Grubex® lawn treatment every June or July. You can also apply it your in April or May, but the grubs are much bigger, and harder to control at that time.

tick hoax - WARNING

I hate it when people forward bogus warnings, but this one is real, and it's important. So please send this warning to everyone on your email list.

If someone comes to your front door saying they are checking for ticks due to the spring weather and asks you to take your clothes off and spin around with your arms up ...

THIS IS A SCAM!!

They only want to see you naked.

I wish I'd gotten this yesterday. I feel so stupid.

The Construction begins May7th!

I know you've seen the start of construction. If you see some woman "taking" the daylillies at the entrance it's merely a rescue operation. I will hold them in the "Osler's Petting Zoo Gardens" until we can redo the front. IF you have a burning desire to dig,but not plant, just leave the lillies on my front porch 6769 Summer Field.
Speaking of Petting Zoos-please don't pet Tater Tot, our dog, unless we are there. He snipped at the youngest of the Nalluris. We are working with him, but I don't want anyone else to be hurt. We are addressing the behavior of the dog- it's the humans we can't protect. Thanks for your understanding. He is fine on leash! Please approach him! Thanks.

rss

A blog I read regularly just posted a step-by-step guide to use a feed reader from Google. I've copied the post here. If you do any amount of blog reading, a feed reader is a must have tool.

If you read even one blog regularly, RSS is for you. It will save you time, I promise.

Some of you may be wondering, "Doesn't everyone use RSS?" The answer is no; less than 6% of internet users take advantage of this extraordinarily helpful technology.

I've read lots of posts on what RSS is and how to use it, but they're limited in their helpfulness. There are just too many options out there to fully explain any one of them in a post that tackles RSS as a whole. So I am going to use the majority of this article to help non-RSS-users get started on Google Reader.

If you follow these instructions, you will be subscribed to your favorite sites and already saving time by the end of this article.

What Is RSS and Why Is It Worthwhile?

The acronym RSS stands for a couple things. The most helpful as far as a clear explanation of what it's for is "Real Simple Syndication."

RSS is a technology that allows you to subscribe to any website that has one of these in the address bar. You can then track every site you're subscribed to without having to go to each individual site.

If you're like me there are a couple websites that you love to read. Without RSS, I would be looking at these sites regularly to see if there were new material. Depending on how often I checked, I wouldn't see anything new most times I visited.

With RSS, I never again have to go to a site that has no new material. I subscribe to the sites I enjoy and am updated every time they post.

(This is especially helpful for keeping track of those bloggers who we want to read but who only post every 3 months.)

Why I'm Focusing on Google Reader

If you're not a current RSS-user and would like to be, my hope is that by the end of this article you'd have everything you need to begin. In order to do that, I need to pick one feedreader to show you how to use. ("Feedreaders" are the programs that people use to collect and manage their RSS subscriptions.)

I've chosen to use Google Reader for 3 reasons:

• It's free and available to everyone no matter what computer or browser you use.
• It is by far the most popular feedreader that's out there right now. On both the blogs I write for, Google subscribers are between 35-40% of the readership. The next most popular feedreader only claims about 5% of readers.
• It's really easy to use, so let's get started.

Setting Up Google Reader

1. Create a Google account.
2. Go to Google Reader and make sure you're signed in.

Adding a Subscription in Google Reader


1. Select "Add Subscription" from the left column.
2. Type in the address of a blog you want to subscribe to and click "Add."



Adding a Subscription from Elsewhere Online

1. When you are visiting a site that you want to subscribe to, click on the orange icon in the address bar or on a link provided on the site.


You will either see a page like this:

Or like this:


2. On either page, select Google as the reader you want to subscribe with.
3. On the first page, you will need to click "Subscribe Now."
4. On either page, choose "Add to Google Reader."

Reading and Managing your Subscriptions

Reading Options


You now have a few of your favorite blogs listed in the left column of your Google reader page. The best way to go through your feeds is up to you. Here are some options.

• Home, at the top of the left column, is where you can see new, unread posts listed with just a few lines of content.
• All Items, just below "Home," is where you can see new, unread posts listed with all their content.
• Selecting an individual feed from the list in the left column allows you to see new posts as well as scroll down through older ones.

Scanning Options

In the upper right corner you will see tabs for "Expanded view" and "List view." These allow you to decide whether you see all content as you scroll through your feeds or just titles and the first few words.


Marking as Read

You will mark a post as read when you click on it. Scrolling through posts will also mark them as read, although you can turn this feature off in settings if you want to. Finally, if you want to mark all your new posts as read at once, you can do so at the top of the "All Items" page.

Unsubscribing

When you change your mind about being subscribed to a blog, you can unsubscribe by going to the settings in the upper right corner.


You're All Set!

western row construction

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Jennifer Trepal
City of Mason
513-229-8510 x 1019
Cell: 513-317-2678
Fax: 513-229-8511


CONSTRUCTION TO BEGIN ON WESTERN ROW ROAD

Motorists in Mason can expect construction on the Western Row Road Improvement Project to begin next Wednesday, May 7.

This $6.7 million improvement project between Cherokee Drive and Tylersville Road includes widening Western Row Road to two lanes in each direction, left-turn lanes alternated with landscaped medians, and decorative street lighting. It also includes new storm sewers, curbs, and gutters to improve drainage.

A bike path will be added on the south side of the road between Cherokee Drive and Mason-Montgomery Road and will connect to the existing bike path in front of Western Row Elementary School. East of Mason-Montgomery Road, the new bike path will be on the north side of Western Row and extend to Tylersville Road. This will preserve the row of large oak trees on the south side of Western Row.

A sidewalk will be constructed on the north side of Western Row Road between Cherokee and Mason-Montgomery. The sidewalk on the south side of Western Row east of Mason-Montgomery will be added when development on the south side of the road takes place.

The Western Row/Mason-Montgomery intersection will be widened to provide a longer left turn storage lane on Western Row Road to turn onto Mason-Montgomery Road. In addition, a right turn only lane will be provided from eastbound Western Row to southbound Mason-Montgomery.

Construction work will be phased and is expected to be completed in two construction seasons. To minimize the inconvenience to motorists and depending on weather, construction may be stopped over the winter.

During construction, Western Row Road will be open to traffic. Please allow extra time and use extra care when passing through this area.

The City of Mason Engineering Department is excited about starting this project to improve traffic flow and safety for residents and visitors in the city.