Looking toward the New Year

Christmas is over and I feel much better having survived it.  My sister and I met our step-father, step-sister and step-brother-in-law for dinner Christmas day at the Waukulla Springs Lodge.  As usual the lodge was beautiful, the food bountiful and the company quite enjoyable.  Bert went ahead and made reservations for dinner next year...nothing like planning ahead!

I do hope to get a grip on myself before next Christmas. I can't keep having this depression, it's depressing!

Can you believe that 2010 is less than a week away!  How can that be?  I suwanee it was 1963 just a year or so ago!  Perhaps that explains some of this funk I've been in lately...40+ years ago I had so much I was looking forward to, plans, expectations and now I don't.  Well, I am looking forward to Medicare coverage this next year...woopee!  You think it'll still be available?  Then what?  Mother's not going to get any better, we're all going to be older, I'll probably still be alone and I think I'm getting fat!

Now on the plus side...

Mother update

I met my sister in Tallahassee yesterday and we went to Village Inn for breakfast.  I had the mushroom and swiss burger that I often have and my sister had the Denver omelet.  We were delighted with the food, but were overwhelmed with the quanity...we got "to-go" boxes!

Then it was off to see Mother.  When we got to the nursing home we found her in the dining room alone and asleep at the table.  She had eaten all of her scrambled eggs and about half of her milk...the grits and toast were untouched.  I hated to wake her, but did.  She has developed this little high pitched falsetta type voice and actually squealed our names out...I thought she was going to cry. I suspect it's quite lonely in her head as she only remembers the past before the stroke and the now.  I wonder how she puts the two together.  Of course, she can't tell us.  We gave her her Christmas gifts in the dining room and then took her to her room to sing Christmas songs...my sister had printed out a bunch of songs and we planned to regale her for an hour or so as we did once before.  We only sang two songs (she sorta sang along, too) before she said that she had to "go home" (to bed) and that we should leave.  We let an aide know that mother wanted to go to bed and left.

From the nursing home we went to World Market...possibly my favorite store...and finished up our Christmas Shopping.  Then we went to one of those walk-in hair cut places and for $5.00 each we got our hair trimmed (since I've been cutting my hair I've been having trouble with the back and this girl neatened it up for me quite nicely!).

Then (all in the same strip mall as World Market) we went to a pet shop.  My sister needed a harness and a sweater for Maria and Shirley and Jazzy needed sweaters.

From there it was off to Pier I Imports where we just browsed and acted like nuts and had a good time.  Then home.

My sister gave me two of the largest lemons I've ever seen, Ponderosa lemons the size of really big grapefruits, from her tree!  I have them sitting on the little island table in the kitchen and they are beautiful!  Look like decorations!  I hate to use them, but know I must.

All in all, it was a good day in Tallahassee and I was home by 1ish...not bad!

It's cold today.  The dogs have on their sweaters with their coats on top.  I have on so many layers that it's hard to reach the keyboard because my arms would actually rather just stick out to the sides!  Freeze warning for tomorrow night.

It's hard to believe that Christmas is this coming Friday.  I'll be glad when it's over.  I have such seasonal depression each year for the holidays, but for some reason it's much worse this year.  I could cry at the drop of a hat!  I know I'll get over it, it's just hard going through it.  I go through all of the motions and I really don't think anyone knows.

Just when you think it's over...

Yesterday the sun poked his head out for a few minutes a couple of times and it was a beautiful sight!  I was even able to leave the back door open for most of the day.  Now the weatherman is putting rain back in our forecast...not just rain, but downpours, storms! 

Last Saturday was bridge.  It was my turn to host and being that this house is in such a state of disrepair, I opted to have bridge at Tupelo's.  Except that the rain was actually coming down in sheets, the day was lovely.  We met at 10:30 and they kicked us out at 2:15!  We all had quiche and a salad for lunch which, as always, was wonderful.  I took goodies to snack on and the coffee pot was bottomless.  We exchanged gifts and all in all had a great time!

Of course, since it was raining I left the dogs in the house.  Not too much was done, but Jazzy had shreaded all of the paper in the trash can in the bedroom (all over the house) and she almost finished emptying the stuffing out of one of the pillows in the living room.  Nothing too dramatic was done, but there was a lot to clean up.

This coming Saturday my sister and I will visit Mother and take the opportunity to do some last minute shopping...I still need to find something little for some of the folks at work...everything else is done.  No decorations this year, except for the wreath that Bert sent on the front door, 2 Christmas cards on the mantle and a centerpiece on the dining room table.  That's just about right, a little festive and quite easy to undo!

I sure hope we don't wash away tonight and tomorrow as the ground is super-saturated and several inches of rain are predicted.  Cross your fingers for us!

Odd weather!

When the furry children and I got up at 5 this morning it was 70 something degrees outside and I found that my flannel sheets and flannel pajamas were much too much!  The past several days it's been quite cold and look at it now!  However, the powers that be say the temperature will be dropping as the day goes on and that by sundown it will be in the low 60s to high 50s and it's down from there.  There's another storm front moving in and the rain we had overnight (and now) is just a prelude of things to come, so it's batten down the hatches one more time!

This coming Saturday is my day to host the bridge group from Tallahassee that I've been playing with for the past few months.  Boy is my game pitiful!  As my house is in a total state of disrepair what with ladders everywhere, wallpaper hanging in the dining room and partially painted walls I asked one of our local restuarants if we could play there...thank goodness thay said yes!  So we'll be meeting there for a day of it! Should be great fun!

I ordered winter coats for Shirley and Jazzy a week or so ago and they arrived just in time for this last cold snap.  I worried about Jazzy wearing a coat, but she loves it and gets so excited when I put it on her.  Of course when she rolls around in the yard everything sticks to the coat and then it's right into the house!  They do look so cute in their matching outfits!

I made beef stroganoff for supper yesterday.  It's very tasty and I've piles of left-overs.  That's a good thing!

Stormy, stormy weather

Quite a storm came through yesterday.  Actually it came through in two parts, part 1 being the worse.  At one point it rained so hard that I had a leak over the front door that leaked into the house!  The house was completely surrounded by standing water, both the carport and patio were flooded.  The only thing above water was the front walk and it seemed like a path to the rest of the world!  Before the 2nd part of the storm hit the water receeded and left a sea of mud in its wake.  This morning everything still looks quite wet, but it isn't raining!

All of the animals were underfoot all day yesterday.  I couldn't shift in my chair with out everyone standing up ready to follow me to where ever I might head.  I tripped over several of them more than once, but thank goodness never fell, of course the fall would have been cushioned by many animal bodies!

Naturally I made a pot of soup.  Can't have a storm without soup!  Cream of mushroom and chicken soup with a pound of mushrooms, half a baked chicken, onions, garlic, carrots, celery, Etheopian mixed spices, terregon, salt/pepper and noodles.  Is to die for!

The weather today is forecast to be clear and chilly.  It's not expected to get out of the 50s.  Then rain is back tomorrow and Saturday.  Sigh.

Happy Thanksgiving

Today is the day to reflect on the true blessings we all have as Americans.  Often it's easy to forget just what we have,"Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness", along with many other freedoms.  We are truely blessed to have this wonderful country that our forefathers had the vision to create.

The animals and I will celebrate today with just ourselves.  My sister and I agreed that neither of us wished to leave our homes or animals and that we'd each just stay home.  I have the makings of a mini-feast that I'll start cooking in a little while and then I intend to over-eat the rest of the day!

It's quite cool this morning, mid 40s, but we have a taste of winter coming in later today and mid to low 30s are in the forecast for the next several nights!  I just laid out some wonderful flannel sheets and a blanket that I plan to put on the bed today and even though I keep the thermostate quite low (60 degrees) it's comforting to know that the propane tank is over half full!

We (the animals and I) are all very well, safe and happy.  I hope everyone can say that about themselves!

I stumbled onto some interesting blogs...

While surfing blogspot I stumbled onto several interesting blogs that I want to share.  They all have one thing in common, some really yummy sounding recipes.

Here goes:

bakinglikebetty.blogspot.com

thepathwetravel.blogspot.com

crockpot365.blogspot.com   (homemade yogurt in a crockpot!)

funkyfoodallergies.blogspot.com

anothermamakitchen.blogspot.com

prendy.blogspot.com

makearoux.blogspot.com

kimfromthesouth.blogspot.com  (sweetness & light muffins with several veriations)

I printed out some of the recipes, but since I don't know how to select just a section to print I ended up printing 2 whole blogs and ran out of ink.  I'll just bookmark them all and read when I need inspiration!

The kindness of friends

Last week in the aftermath of the stormy rains from Ida a huge Spanish moss draped limb came crashing down from one of the "old grove" pecan trees in the back yard.  Fortunately, even though the tree is right next to the shed, the limb fell away from it, but hung up in the dogwoods bordering the area back there way up off the ground!

Yesterday one of the fellows from work brought one of his workmen and a front end loader and after a couple of mishaps (a chunk of it fell on his shoulder, skinned it up pretty badly) they were able to get the majority of it down, cut up and hauled out to the road...took several loads in the front end loader.  There is still a very large piece hung up there, but it's wedged quite securely and isn't threating any of the area.

Thank goodness for the kindness of friends!

My Review of Ajara Foyer Table

Originally submitted at Cost Plus World Market

The Craftsman construction of the Ajara Collection fits any space with this narrow Ajara Foyer Table. Place it near the door and you'll always have a handy place to set your bundle of mail. The center drawer is a nice spot for house keys. Its warm, gently distressed finish brings a hint of ant...

Ajara Foyer Table

Wonderful table

By bamajane from Monticello, FL on 11/14/2009

 

5out of 5

Pros: Durable, Solid Construction

Best Uses: Informal

Describe Yourself: Budget Shopper

Primary use: Personal

I bought this table to use in a very small, narrow kitchen as an island of sorts. It is wonderful, just what I needed! Even though the directions that came with it for assembly said have two people, I did it all by myself (I'm a small 64 yr old woman) and had it completely assembled in under 15 mins! The hardest part was unpacking! Love the table and am thinking of getting another for the back hall.

(legalese)

At odds

Today begins my second week of 5 days off and 2 days on at work. Last week I gave myself such a pep talk about all of the things I could get done, but I didn't do much. Well, that's not exactly true, I did all of the regular things, bathroom, sweeping/vacuuming, laundry, that sort of stuff, but my list of big projects has barely been touched. I hope to tackle at least one big project every week, but where to start? The wallpaper in the dining room is still hanging around, the carpet in the bedroom still needs cleaning, the funny room is still partially painted and my work room!!! I did get the work room started, but there's still so much to do! It's hard to get much done with my fingers crossed, but I'm crossing them in the hope that something will happen and I'll get off my bum and DO IT!

Mother update

My sister and I had breakfast at our usual place this morning and it was quite good! Awfully good service too...you know, that can make or break a meal!

From there we went to see Mother. We were both amazed! This was the most lucid we've seen her since the stroke. She was vaguely discontented, but any partially aware person would be in her circumstance. She said that everyone is good to her there and that there was nothing in particular the matter. The 3 of us sat in the garden and visited for about an hour and she said it was time to go in. While we were out there several gaggles of geese flew over honking loudly. She was able to see them and hear them and enjoyed that a lot. We left her in the dining room where they were setting up for a Halloween party.

Grocery shopped and went by the Vet's office and still got home by noon. Not bad.

It's hot today, but the weatherman says that's gonna change! Thank goodness!

Natalie Eades

There's a little girl in our town with leukemia. Her name is Natalie Eades. I don't remember for sure how old she is, but it's 2ish. Her mother's sister, Allison, works where I work. This has been an ongoing thing for months and months and months. Please go to benjaminglenbishop.blogspot.com to read more about this remarkable child and the struggle she and her family have been going through. You can also go to carepages.com and put in Our Natalie for updates.

Less work

Well, something happened at work yesterday that I've been worrying about. Hours were cut for all of the folks in the office that are clock punchers. The two full time girls were cut from 5 days to 3 days and I was cut from 3 days to 2 days. I'm worried that it'll be enough to pay for my insurance...if it is, there will be nothing at all left over.

Times are tough for everyone. I knew we were slow at work and obviously I could tell that the number of orders were way down...just didn't realize that my measly 5 hours that were cut would make enough of a difference. Must really be bad.

So now I'll be dipping into my emergency supplies...well, of course! That's what they are for! The only thing I haven't stockpiled is pet food and of course perishables. Everything should be okay.

Now if I'd only get off my duff and do something positive with this extra day at home!

Busy day

Yesterday was a busy day. I didn't plan it that way, but sometimes it just happens.

It began with a fellow coming to measure the roof for replacement...while he was up there he almost stepped through in a couple of places. One spot I suspected (there's a damp spot in the dining room) the other surprised me, it's over the spare room in the little part of the house. He'll get back with the estimate...hope it's soon!

While the fellow was on the roof he swept sections of it, so that created a pretty big job for me. I had to sweep the front porch and walkway. Not that that's such a big deal, but I'm still not 100% from that fibro attack and it felt like a big deal!

Before the roof fellow got here I started laundry and it was way into the afternoon before I finished as it had been several weeks since I'd done any. Sure feels good to have it done, but it's not all put away yet and I still need to change the bed and wash those sheets. Hope to do that today.

While I was out on the side porch doing something with the laundry the dogs went nuts. When I checked it out there was a strange truck in the driveway with two men. Turned out they were at the wrong house, but I knew one of them. They'd been fishing and had a cooler overflowing with mullet just caught. They gave me two really pretty ones and went on their way. that was awfully nice, but these were whole, uncleaned fish and it's probably been 30 years since I've cleaned a fish and never a mullet.

I scaled them inside a plastic grocery bag in the kitchen sink and that turned out pretty well with very little mess, but then when I cut the heads of there was more blood that I expected and the insides were interesting, too. Mullet are quite different that brim! Anyway, then I filleted them and put them in a brine in the fridge. Later made cheese grits and a salad then dried the fillets and dipped them in a seasoned flour, beaten egg/water and then in cornmeal. Fried them up in canola oil and then had quite the unexpected feast! Talk about wonderful! Just finished fish and cheese grits topped with diced tomatoes for breakfast! Yummy!!!!!

My to do list is bottomless.

Going to work today. Not feeling wonderful, but so much better than I've felt for the last week or two.

It's 36 degrees this morning. Awfully cold. Can't turn the furnace on as I've not had it checked out and the pilot light lit...got the space heaters out last night. Ran them long enough to get the thermostat up to 65. Used one in the bathroom this morning to shower.

Can't leave the dogs out in this. If it were sun shiny I would, but it's dark. Maybe I can come by and put them out on my morning run. We'll see.

I've felt awful for so long that I've almost forgotten what it feels like to feel good. Yesterday I found out what the problem is...Fibromyalgia. I understand there's no cure for this and the current drugs on the market are scary with side effects that I certainly don't want to deal with. The only answer to date is to learn to live with it...what else can one do?

Our weather is going to be grand starting tonight! Low 70s for highs and 50s for lows. How perfect is that? We had a big storm last night that lasted until about 2 hours ago with high winds, lightening and booming thunder that caused the dogs to burrow deep into the bed!

My sister wants to go to the 2nd fish fry at the Methodist Church in Waukeenah tonight. I think I'll be able to go. I'd like to go. We'll see.

Hot, hot, hot

Wow! talk about unusual weather! Last week was luscious! Highs in the 70s and lows in the 50s, Fall! Well, this week is July in October. Highs in the upper 90s and lows in the mid 70s! Talk about a very unwelcomed switch! The weatherman just said that this trend will hold until early next week. Ick!

No particular news about Mother. Nancy and I saw her Saturday and she seemed the same. Bert is visiting with her daily and thinks she doing great. Last night Uncle Buddy called and wanted to know what's going on. Bert had called him and told him we had the feeding tube removed. Well, as you know, in order to have a feeding tube or any other life saving device removed it takes a court order. That's not what happened. The staff at the nursing home don't know how the tube came out, but it did. Neither the staff or the family had anything to do with the removal, but we elected not to reinsert it. Mother's living will (which we found after the fact) was very clear about no artificial means being used if something like this stroke (or anything else) happened. She is able to both eat and drink, in fact she's able to feed herself. The feeding tube has kept her from feeling hunger and she has only picked at food. Perhaps now she'll eat.

I feel like I'm defending our decision. Maybe I am, but I'm convinced that it was the right one.

I also talked with Aunt Betty last night. It's the first time I've heard her voice in years, but I'd know it anywhere! She sounds great, but when I asked her how she's doing she told me that she's on a walker and does have a lot of trouble getting around. But, she added, the walker's RED and that does help, it makes her happy!

Well, about a minute ago NASA crashed a probe into the surface of the Moon's south pole. They are looking for water. I went out to see if the moon's still there, but the fog's so thick that I can barely see the roof of the house much less the moon.

Well, lets see what tomorrow brings!

Mother update

Just got home from Tallahassee.

Mother's feeding tube came out this week. We don't know how, did she perhaps pull it out herself? We'll never know just what happened. The staff nurses at the nursing home tried a couple of times to reinsert it and couldn't, so she was scheduled for surgery to have another one put in. Neither my sister nor I wanted the tube in the first place and Mother's living will states that she didn't want a tube either. The original feeding tube was put in shortly after Mother had the stroke at Bert's urging and before we found her living will. The tube was replaced once already and both my sister and I think that another surgery is the last thing Mother needs. So, after soul searching and a talk with Mother's doctor, my sister (she's Mother's medical surogate) told the nursing home not to have the tube replaced. We were told that "nature will take its course" and that she won't be getting the fluids or nourishment a normal body needs. This could take as long as 2 years.

Reconnected once more!

The fellow who fixed my computer brought it by late yesterday. I had really dreaded putting it all back together, but when he offered to do it I said yes, of course. It actually took him less than one minute...would have taken me quite a while. What a relief! Anyway, he said the computer had a worm. That's why it just gradually went down hill and finally died. So now I have a new hard drive and a pristine computer, it's taking me a while to find stuff, but I'm sure I will.

The weather is absolutely wonderful! It was 50 when I got up at 5 this morning and at 7 it was 48! Love it!

Went to the Rare Door for breakfast this morning and then ran some errands. Got home in time to take Jazzy in for her rabies shot. Weighed her and she's 41 pounds!

So now I'm in for the duration, well sort of. Norma called and we're doing dinner tomorrow night. Haven't done that for a while, so I guess it's about time.

Sat down and paid all my bills this morning on the computer. It's really, really nice to have it back!

Oh drat!

DRAT, DRAT, DRAT!!!!!

My computer died Saturday. It had been acting funny, sluggish and balky and then it died. So I have it in the back seat of the car and the fellow who works on these computers at work is going to come and get it and try to do something with it for me. Oh I hope he can fix it and that it doesn't cost too much! It's absolutely amazing how empty my life feels without the dumb computer!

However, I really do get a lot more done at home. I sanded the carport door and got two coats of rust neutralizer on it. I'll paint it maybe next weekend.

Then I started the biggest project of all, the WORK ROOM!

I took 2 large garbage cans and 4 black plastic bags of stuff out to the street yesterday along with a gigantic lamp shade. I can actually walk around in the work room and see stuff! I had boxes of stuff I hadn't unpacked from Orlando as well as some I hadn't unpacked from my move into the house a little over 4 years ago! Now, of course, the dining room is filled with empty boxes...not sure if I'm going to put them out with the recycling stuff or just take them to the dump...they have cardboard bins there. I'll think about that another day.

It's finally cooling down outside! It's not supposed to get out of the 80s for the next week or so and a few night are supposed to be in the low 50s! Yeah!!!!! This should help with the power bill.

You know, I was thinking last night that I don't know how to pay my bills without a computer! Wild isn't it?

Fish fry

Just got home from the Waukeenah Methodist Church fish fry! Talk about good!!!!! Had fried mullet, cheese grits, slaw, baked beans, hush puppies and unsweet tea. Couldn't eat my pound cake, so I brought it home! Since Waukeenah is about half way between my house and my sister's house we met there and sat with a bunch of old friends that just happened to be there at the same time. It was great!

Took Shirley to the vet to have her rabies shot this afternoon and to have her nails clipped. She has lost 2 pounds! I've really been working hard on her diet and it's good to know that it's working. She needs to lose about 3 more pounds and I need to lose about 30!

The door from the carport is rusting something terrible! So yesterday I got some rust neutralizer from Lowe's and some paint. I'm going to try to fix it tomorrow. Not sure if I need to sand it first or not...guess it couldn't hurt. Cross your fingers that it works, it really looks horrible!

Yesterday was spent doing little things, things that are so easy to put off 'til tomorrow.

I started by washing candle containers...now this sounds like such a simple thing, but as I use coffee beans in these glass containers it was a little more complicated...in fact one of the larger ones is topped off with potpourri, so I had to fish out the dried stuff first and then the candles and then pour the coffee beans into a colander so I could shake the dust off. The potpourri went into a recycled brown bag to be shaken with a cloth that had lavender oil on it...then I was able to wash the glasses. It's amazing how much more light they put out when they're clean! Look much better, too!

Then, I went to work on my recliner. The puppies chewed the fabric and stuffing off of both arms leaving big chunks of ragged wood exposed and I've actually gotten splinters in my arms a couple of times! The chair has wooden arms topped with fabric covered wood things and I thought I could just unscrew the wood things and recover them and reattach...well, the best laid plans of mice and men... Number one snag was that no matter what I used I couldn't undo the screws. I even got my drill out and that didn't work. So I ended up adding padding and just stapling the fabric on the underside. The fabric I had chosen was a little colorful, but I liked the tone on tone of the reverse side and decided to use that. However when I started the stapling I reversed the reverse on the first arm and ended up with the color on top, so I just went ahead and did the same to the second arm...doesn't look too bad and no more splinters!

Made a beef stew with some certified organic stew beef that I ordered over the computer from White Oak Pastures in Bluffton, GA. I got several different cuts, some strip steaks, short ribs, stew beef, ground beef and it seems there was something else. Well, I mean to tell you, that that was the very best investment I've made in a while! The meat is wonderful, tender, lean, flavorful and almost seems like a new type of meat because it's so different from the stuff I buy in the grocery store. I will definitely order from them again! And, it's delivered right to my door!!!!!

I have some organic lettuce starts that I need to pot up. They are in six-packs in a cardboard box on the kitchen counter under florescent light for now and doing quite well, but they really need to get into something with a little more foot room (and out of the reach of the cats who seem to thing the lettuce is there for them!). I hope to do that today, but first I need to run up to Lowes in Thomasville, GA and pick up a couple of things, dirt being one of them!

Tuesday night was bridge in Tallahassee. Our hostess served sausage, black beans and rice and a really nice salad for supper and a fruit cocktail cake with ice cream for dessert. I know, "FRUIT COCKTAIL CAKE!!!", but really, it's wonderful! You actually don't know the fruit cocktail's in it and it's delightful! She sent me the recipe yesterday and I hope to make it and take it to work soon. Oh, and bridge was fun, too! I didn't win, but did much better than my norm. I think that's why they like for me to play with them...it makes everyone else look so much better!

There are so many little projects I'd like to take care of. I'll see what today brings!

Rain

We have had enough! It has rained for days and nights for so long that I can't count the numbers. We have mosquitoes the size of birds and when the back door is opened they flock in in droves!

Funny, isn't it, that when we need rain we pray for it and when we think we've had enough we pray for it to be gone! Perhaps this is what religion really is, prayer for our needs.

The planters that I splurged to fill this past spring are pitiful. They had about 3 weeks of glory and the remainder of the summer have really had to struggle to live, much less bloom or produce. Rotten tomatoes, rotten peppers, rotten marigolds, rotten geraniums...you get the picture...not pretty is it? Funny, but the weeds are really doing quite well. Not sure what the name of the one that has tiny leaves and grows in a rosette pattern closely hugging the ground and strangles out everything it reaches is, but it's really flourishing, even in planters!

This hasn't been a good summer for gardening. When it wasn't flooding it was bone dry and awfully hot. Nothing in between. I remember a time in central FL when we could count on a pretty good rain around 3 every afternoon and sun the rest of the time. Now, if I could pray up the perfect gardening weather, that would be it for me! Now, I understand that this is north FL and it is different, but shouldn't prayer make up for the difference? Evidently not.

A rainy day in north Florida

I left home around 7 this morning and went to Tallahassee to my sister's house. We decided to vary our regular breakfast routine and go to I-Hop instead of The Village Inn. I was tickled to see that they actually had a few seniors selections and we both ordered omelets with pancakes from that section. We were both slightly unhappy...the pancakes were very good, the omelets were quite dry. I think we'll try Denny's next time, but I really think we'll end up going back to The Village Inn...we usually get good service (we didn't the last time, however) and we always enjoy the food.

We went to the nursing home from breakfast...that's something you should never do on an empty stomach! Mother was asleep in her wheelchair at the breakfast table and we didn't stay long.

Publix was having a really good buy-one get-one-free sale and a bunch of things priced 10 for $10, so we went there from the nursing home. Bought a bit more than I should have, but really got some good deals!

I stopped for gas before I came home and saved 16 cents a gallon by gassing up in Tallahassee! I managed to get home right before the rain started and it hasn't stopped yet and it's after 8:30! We've had a bit of a dry spell lately so this is really welcomed!

Back among the living

Today is the first time in a week or so that I've almost felt like myself. I still have 2 more days of the antibiotic to take...I took all of the steroid I'm gonna take, don't like the way it makes me feel, my heart races and I'm jittery on it.

No news to speak of. I did a couple of loads of laundry today and when I folded them to put them away it thought they were rather odd. I had 8 sets of underwear, 3 nightgowns, 3 pairs of pajamas, 3 extra pillow cases along with the sheets and pillow cases that I normally use on the bed and 2 towels. No clothes! I've been quite sick.

I almost missed Big Brother last night because I'd lost track of the days. If Leah Jane hadn't mentioned going to Church when she called I probably wouldn't have known it was Sunday.

We didn't work today and that was a blessing. I'm pretty sure I'll make it tomorrow.

Thank goodness for the computer and tv! I pretty much lived with one or the other then entire week. FaceBook is a life saver! Love it!

Neighbor things

One day last week, I think it was Thursday, I heard a chain saw going 90 to nothing next door. A little later I went out to check the mail and saw a pretty big tree down on my hedge between my yard and his. Well, I waited and waited and the tree just sat there and I heard nothing from the neighbor about his intentions. So Tuesday I wrote a little note asking if he had any plans to clear the tree from my yard and Scotch tapped it to his front door. Later that afternoon he came over and told me that he had someone coming to take down some other trees and they would be getting the one in my yard, too. Late yesterday when I went out to check the mail and bring in the recycle bin I saw a young fellow with a chain saw clearing the mess out of my yard and hedge. I haven't been out to look at it yet, I don't feel good, but I'm sure it's much better!

I didn't go to work yesterday. I've been fighting a sore throat for a few days and when I got up yesterday my left ear was also involved and I really felt awful. I called my doctor's office and they finally called me back just a little while ago. I'm going in for a 12:45 appointment today. There is so much sickness (H1N1 included)going around right now and I really hate to go to the doctor's office, but this thing is only getting worse...I'd hoped it'd clear up on it's own...no such luck.

When I emptied my rain gauge on Tuesday it had 3 and 3/4 inches in it from 2 days of rain!

Tonight's Big Brother should really be exciting...both of my favorite players are on the chopping block!

Oh that Jazzy dog!

Just when I think Jazzy is maturing she goes and does something awful. When I got up this morning the bed was covered with poly fiber fill....she'd chewed up the little child's quilt that she sleeps on on her side of the bed! I told her that I'd like to shoot her! Of course I really don't want to, but she doesn't know that. Damn dog!

Night before last around 2am both dogs woke me up by standing on the bed and growling. As soon as I lifted my head they both broke into barking and jumped from the bed and ran to the back door. I let them out and they both became quiet. I left them out for a few minutes and then called them in. Shirley came in, but Jazz wouldn't. So I got the flashlight and went out to try and herd her in to no avail. However, I discovered several large drops of wet blood on the patio and spatters in a couple of places. I flashed the light around both the fenced in area and the yard around the fence...saw nothing. Jazz was out by the large gate and wouldn't come to me nor would she go into the house, so I left her and went back to bed. After about an hour she barked to come in and went back to bed and to sleep. Yesterday I hosed the blood off the patio and walked the yard and found nothing. I have no idea what all of that was about.

What a nice birthday!

Wednesday was my birthday and as much as I dreaded it, it turned out to be a really good one!

My day started with numerous birthday wishes on Facebook. Then they had a little party with a Snickers cake at work. When I got home from work my yard had been mowed and even though it had nothing to do with my birthday, I took it as a wonderful thing! Wednesday evening I went to Tallahassee to my sister's house for bridge. Bless her heart, she ordered out from Olive Garden and served cheese stuffed manicotti, a delicious beef dish, salad and bread sticks along with an absolutely beautiful chocolate cake with raspberry filling! Even though I was low man on the scoring for bridge it was just wonderful!

Yesterday it was back to Tallahassee for a birthday celebration with our step-father at Outback! Of course I ate much too much, but brought home a ton of food also! The crew there sang a happy birthday song and furnished a birthday sundae for three! Talk about good! Bert had an extremely funny birthday card for me and one that he got for me from Mother, along with a check and bags of Dove candy...one for my sister and one for me! Checked my mailbox when I got home and had an extremely funny birthday card from Bennett...a lovely way to cap off two very nice days of celebration!

Then last night at 8, Big Brother!!!!! It's getting to the end and the tension is really building. Can't wait for Sunday night's episode!

Thank goodness Survivor starts on the 17th...I must have my reality tv fix! And both The Biggest Loser and The Amazing Race start next month, too. Yeah!

Oh, and yesterday I donated my very large, heavy dining room table, 2 leaves and 6 chairs to a local restaurant. The two girls came in a rather small van and actually just the two of them managed to fit it all in! I was impressed! It was such a relief to give all of that away. It was much too big for my house and not my style at all. I moved the smaller, round table and 4 chairs into the dining room and it looks much better. And, the living room looks SOOOO much bigger with them out of there! Whew!

I'm wishing for new furniture for the living room. The puppies pretty much destroyed what's in there now. But I'm thinking I need to save some money and wait a bit. I left both Shirley and Jazzy inside when I went to Tallahassee Wednesday and when I got back Jazz had torn up a throw pillow and chewed a hole in the slipcover on the chair. She also chewed up a note pad and a tube of Chapstick...it was a mess when I walked in!

This is our second day and night of rain. Solid, steady rain. I feel totally hydrated and could use a little break!

Glorious weather!

Today is supposed to be a carbon copy of yesterday and it was perfect! NO humidity, mid-80s and sunshine! This morning it's 60 degrees and lovely!

I'm not sure that it actually correlates, but for some reason I don't seem able to do housework when it's raining. But these past few days have seen some major scurrying around the house. I finally got all of the quilts and comforters from last winter washed and ready for the coming winter. Floors were vacuumed, swept and Swiffered (and then the Swiffer thingy fell apart!), dusting done and all sorts of odd jobs taken care of! And, I bathed both dogs! I'm not sure that dogs that smell like green apples is better than dirty dog smell or not.

Not much going on...work this morning.

These past two days have been filled with food. Not a bad thing in my book...just a little fattening!

Last night I made chicken and rice for supper and had some delicious collards that Leah Jane brought down. It was all so good that I ate it again for breakfast this morning. Now the only thing left is rice and I may put that in the remainder of my hurricane soup for supper tonight! Gotta use up those leftovers!

While I was doing laundry and cleaning up the side porch yesterday I ran across a 12-pack of Michelob Lite that Bert gave me a year (?) or so ago. I'd completely forgotten that it was out there. Nancy T. had brought it down from the mountain condo and it had been in his garage for a bit. I brought it home and put it out on the porch (not heated or cooled) and since I'm not much of a beer drinker just forgot about it. Things had piled up and around the carton and you know how it is, "out of sight out of mind"! So, anyway, when I found it I decided to put in in the refrigerator. Also looked for the use-by date and it was sometime in 2007! So last night with supper I thought "why not have a beer with this?"! It almost ruined my meal! It was awful! Sorta flat and nasty tasting! Spent a little while after supper uncapping bottles and pouring them down the drain. Boy, the recycle folks are going to think I had a party!

Wednesday, or was it Tuesday?, I found a basket filled with Jalapeno peppers and another with big very ripe peaches and mangoes on the dollar table at the farmers market. You know what that made me think, HOT SAUCE!!!! Well, I added brown sugar, cider vinegar, an 8 ounce Coke, garlic, Kosher salt, onion and it seems like something else and cooked it all down for a few hours, then used the plunge blender and pureed it and put it all through a strainer. It's mighty good...sweet with a major KICK! I can see it as a marinade or the base for a bar-b-que sauce. Put it in jars and am calling it "Bama Jane's peach, mango & jalapeno HOT sauce. I took one jar down to Leah Jane and have a few other folks I want to give some to. It didn't make as much as I hoped for, so I can't give it to everyone I'd like to.

I'm thinking I'll make brownies today.

I know what it is! It's been stormy every day for a while and that makes me want to cook! Oh gosh, it also makes me want to eat!

How 'bout that Bill?

Have you seen hurricane Bill yet this morning? He strengthened to a category 4 over night! He has sustained winds of 135mph! Wow! Fortunately he seems to be no threat to the U. S., but Bermuda and the other islands are really in for a wild ride!

Claudette brought our area wind and rain, but nothing horrible. Sunday afternoon I had quite a few small limbs, lots of Spanish moss and general flora trash to pick up. They made a large pile out by the street. I was amazed when I got home from work on Monday to find that the crew that picks up yard trash had already picked mine up. They really do try to stay on top of that sort of stuff, especially in hurricane season.

About a block down the road a very old Live Oak lost a limb that took several days to cut up and clear out. I may be a bit misleading when I say "limb". This was the size of a 20+ year old oak! Very big!

By the way, I know I haven't mentioned the hay bale garden experiment lately. Well, that's because it's just a fizzle!!!!!!! Not sure if the alternate rainy/stormy and droughty weather is to blame or not, but I haven't gotten one single thing from that pile of straw out back! Am going to try a cool weather garden in it. I'll replenish the top soil and plant cabbage and stuff. If by Spring nothing is working I'll just make that into a mulch pile!

Time for work.

Things we don't like to think about

Often my mind prays that I'll skip a thought or two, but I tend to be quite stubborn and usually win...even if it's only in my mind

The emotions that the thought of an eminent hurricane today have caused surprised me...it has been 5ish years since I've really worried about a storm. Charlie, Francis and Jean, I think, hit our house in Central Florida within 4 weeks back in '04. The damage that Charlie did was awful not only at our house, but our neighborhood. The weekend I moved into this house in 2005 a hurricane, Dennis, hit the panhandle and the animals, Shirley, Goodness, Mercy and I were without power and furniture for a week. That, however, doesn't compare to the 2004 Central Fl hurricanes. Today, perhaps because I'm so alone, this silly little storm, Claudette, has had me on edge. I'm as prepared as one can be with battery operated lights, Tracfone, both battery and wind-up radios, battery operated fans and little battery operated digital tv. I have food and pet food and toilet plans. I have a grill and charcoal and water. However, even with all of the preparations, I'm a bit nervous and anxious, and she's landing way west of here! Not sure just what the emotional problem is, but I sure do wish it would go away...I'm okay, but slightly a wreck.

If you have a moment, think about me please.

Our first hurricane of the season

Well, Claudette is expected to hit the panhandle of Florida this afternoon. Yesterday she was just a mass of storms and rain in the Gulf of Mexico and suddenly she organized and just moments ago was upgraded from a tropical depression to a tropical storm. "They" just said on the weather channel that she could strengthen to a category 1 hurricane before she hits land in another hour or 2.

After hearing about this storm this morning I dashed to the grocery store and got batteries, cat & dog food, kitty litter, bread, tuna, Spam, peanut butter & jelly, water and a book (along with a few other things). I've charged my Tracfone and made sure my portable digital tv is charged, put fresh batteries in my GameBoy and located the fans and lights that run on batteries. I'm getting ready to make a soup with onions, mushrooms, barley and beef broth and besides taking down the umbrella I think I'll call myself done!

We really had a quiet first 2 1/2 months of hurricane season, but once it started heating up it's something else! Ana and Bill are out in the Atlantic. Ana is expected to fizzle out, but they are saying that Bill is looking like a really big storm! And then there's Claudette coming here from the Gulf!

No real news. Work is very slow. It's not only the slow season, but it's also the economy.

The animals are all hale and hardy, as am I.

Well, I feel the urge to get to the kitchen. Not sure what it is about storms, but they make me want to cook!

A corrected Mother update

Well, the good news is that Mother DOES NOT have clots in her legs. The bad news is that the misinformation came from our stepfather and we don't really know why...maybe he didn't understand what the doctors said? Anyway, I'm rather embarrassed that I passed on news without checking it out for myself. My sister went to the nursing home and found out just what was going on. Mother was having fluid retention and they gave her a diuretic that took care of the problem. Whew! That a far piece from blood clots!

We are having major storms! I've unplugged the phones after the last ones were killed by a power surge and I only have the computer up in order to update between the thunder...must go, I'm really uncomfortable with it powered up!

Mother update

Our stepfather called my sister earlier to let us know that he'd been to the nursing home to see Mother and that she has developed blood clots. Evidently in her legs as her feet are cold (but they always are), actually he said cyanotic (sp?), and they have her feet on pillows. He did talk to one of the doctors, but I'm not sure just what he was told since he was with Mother at the time. He told my sister that it doesn't look good. But, he's been saying that off and on for a year and a half!

I'll post more about this as I find out more.

Well, today is another day!

I met my friend from high school, Bennett as she's called now, Betty in my head, for lunch at Sage today. We sat out on the porch with the ceiling fans going and an occasional breeze and were quite comfortable, thank goodness, because we sat for close to 2 hours! It amazes me how we just seem to pick up where we left off at lunch in the Spring! There's always something to talk about when you're with an old friend! How pleasant and I look forward to getting together around Thanksgiving when she'll be back in town.

The weather has gone back to "Summer"...sure did enjoy the touch of Fall we had for a couple of weeks. The air conditioner seems to run all of the time even with the thermostat set at 82...dread the next electric bill, but the one I just paid was down $20+ from the last one! That helped!

So, I've paid all of my bills this month; electric, water, cable, phone, car insurance and got a whole new tag for the car and I still have a few dollars left. I'm not sure how I did it, but I did and feel like I can breath for the rest of the month! Whew!

I'm slightly depressed. Not sure why. I hope I'm not so shallow that the upcoming birthday is the cause, but you never know. It just seems as if there's nothing to look forward to and that in itself can be depressing. I'm not particularly lonely, I'm not hungry, I don't really have any needs (or wants for that matter). The animals are healthy and happy and funny. I have a roof over my head and a project or two going...so, I'm not sure what's wrong, but I have that full chest almost in tears feeling and I don't like it! Wish I knew what to do.

I spent 5 or so hours yesterday going through a humongous box filled with pictures that my sister got from Mother's house. Mother won't be looking at them and, of course, Bert isn't interested in them. One of the things that was quite interesting was Mother's scrapbook from high school. A lot had been torn out or fallen out or something, but there were some great articles and pictures. Then there were also pictures of Mother, her twin brother and their older brother when they were young. I'm going to try to get a couple of packets off to Rosie and Terri, they may enjoy having some of these. Don't know when I'll get around to doing it, yesterday was terrible! My back hurt like all get out when I was finished.

The gateless door to the kitchen is still causing chuckles. I find myself lifting my leg to step over it and the dogs are finding it quite enticing. The cat food bowls have never been so clean!

Glorious rain!

For several days we've had both rain and sun. That's the way I like it!

Yesterday morning I left around 7am for my trip to Tallahassee, of course I bribed the dogs out of the house with their chicken breast jerky treats and quickly locked the door. I made it to my sister's house a little after 7:40 and we dashed to the restaurant for breakfast and then to the nursing home where we only stayed about 15 minutes. Then it was back to my sister's house to go through some old photos that she'd picked up from Mother's house. Then it was a dash back home.

All of this dashing was because of the rain, I didn't want the dogs out in it...you know how dogs are! Well, the dashing was to no avail. The closer I got to town the blacker the sky became and as I approached the city limits it became apparent that it had been pouring rain for quite a while. Sho' nuf, the dogs were not only soaked, but quite muddy. You couldn't even tell that Shirley is (usually) mostly white! They quickly dried themselves on the sofa and felt much better. Boy are they in for a rude awakening if I'm ever able to get a new sofa!

Friday I decided to take the gate down from the kitchen doorway. It's been up for about a year and a half. The purpose was to keep the dogs out and to give the cats a break from them. Well, I put the dogs on their honor, but I'm finding that where cat food is concerned there is no honor among dogs! They are good about staying out if I'm in the kitchen or if they happen to catch me looking at them, but just let me turn my back! I caught Jazzy sauntering into the kitchen this morning and when she saw me she skidded all over the kitchen trying to put it into reverse! I couldn't help but laugh and she did, too!

I watched "Batman Begins" on AMC yesterday. I haven't enjoyed a movie quite as much in a long time! I'd really like to see it without commercials as I missed a few spots by doing something else while the commercials were on and didn't get back soon enough. Then later I watched "Mrs. Washington Goes to Smith", cute little movie.

I should be outside weeding as they have really taken off in this rain/sun weather, but I'm thinking that today is a lazy day. Got the housekeeping I'm going to do done on Friday and the laundry, too. Am going to make a pot of spaghetti sauce and call my day done!

Grocery shopping

I finally had to break down and go to the grocery store, but was quite pleased with the outcome. I found some great bargains and did pretty well. For a total of $30.15 I got: 4 cans of cat food, a box of Milk Bone Dog Biscuits (.35 off coupon), Chicken Jerky Dog Treats, a Bag of Dole Classic Romaine Salad ($1.00 off coupon), a tub of watermelon chunks, 1 red onion, a large baking potato, 1 lime, 2 packages of chicken thighs (buy one get one free), 3 flatiron steaks ($3.00 off in-store coupon), a bag/block of coffee and a 12-pack of 1/2 liter bottles of water! Then I went to the farmers market and for $1.86 I got: a pretty tomato, a head of cabbage, an eggplant and a large head of garlic! Not bad for a total of $32.01! Unfortunately I went from work and didn't have my list with me and I did forget a few things, but I figure that tomorrow I'll spend less than $5.00 and get the items I missed, so I'm breathing a little easier about money this month, even though I still have the car insurance and car tag along with the electric and cable bills to pay, I may just make it after all.

My next door neighbor (88 years old) tripped over her cat in her garage and fell. Thank goodness she didn't break anything, but she did have a concussion and badly bruised her lower back...you just never know! Watch out for those animals! They cost you money and just might trip you up!

I talked to the boss today about the big project I finished last week and he agreed that I should add the time I spent at home on my computer doing research to my time card this week. Whew! That'll help a little even though it's only 7 hours I added (I probably spent a little more, but I was enjoying it!).

Over the weekend I pruned my loropetelums and some of my Knock Out Roses. Well, it seems I got a rose thorn stuck in my arm. I thought I had gotten it all out, but now it's festering. I don't see anything in it, nor do I feel anything, but it's swollen and gooey. Ick!

Friends

Thursday Ann, Robert and I met at Sage for lunch. It's almost impossible to catch up on 46 years, but we darn sure tried! The weather was nice and we ate on the covered porch and since we waited until 1 to meet we pretty much had the porch to ourselves. Good, good meeting!

Early last week (or maybe the week before) a gigantic limb fell from one of the humongous trees in the back yard. It landed between the tree and the hedge of azaleas, dogwoods and redbuds...leaning on the hedge. I couldn't budge it and, of course, the fellow who cuts my yard mowed around it. I was stewing about what to do about it to one of the girls at work. Saturday she, her husband and their two daughters came and cut it up and hauled off the largest pieces. There is a pile of little stuff that I may either haul out to the road or cut up to use in my little fireplace on the patio. Now, wasn't that nice?

The yard needs so much work. I did some Saturday and some again yesterday, but it seems that while I'm working one section the others go berserk!

Looked at my last post...it may have been misleading. Mercy it just fine...it was a rare good picture.

Must prepare for work.

It's over for now...

Mercy the cat.

Our wonderful streak of record-smashing cool weather has come to an end. Our week of early mornings in the low 60s sure spoiled me and now I'm anticipating Fall more than ever! We even held to the mid 80s for daytime temps.!

I'm having lunch today with two friends from high school, Ann & Robert. Even though Ann moved back home (from Asheville, NC) shortly after I did, we don't see each other often. Every time we get together we swear to do it more often, but lives have a way of creating their own circles and ours only overlap on occasion. Robert is back in town visiting his mother and enjoying the escape of the major heat wave that Texas is having. Sure am looking forward to lunch!

I finished a project at work yesterday that I've been working on for 3-4 weeks. It was such a relief to finish, but also a let down. I've been researching the Shenandoah Valley area, topography, weather, soil composition, population, etc. I've enjoyed the search so much, learned quite a bit and can't help but wonder what my next assignment may be. I hope it's as interesting as this one was!

Something odd

I have no phone...no dial tone...no phone. Well, I do have my pre-paid cell and it has a little over 500 hours loaded on it, thank goodness, but I have no home phone. Odd thing is, I still have internet service and I get it from Embarq, too. I don't understand how I can have one and not the other...oh well...I used the cell and called Embarq yesterday. They say I should have phone service back tomorrow.

It's down right chilly outside this morning! Love it! Went out to bring in the newspaper and only had on crops and a tee, almost froze to death! It sure would be nice if this stuck around for a while!

It sure seems that everything hits at once. Car insurance and tag are due next month (pay ins. twice a year) and combined that's over $400.00! Which leaves me $319.00 from my SS check. Sure hope I can figure out how to pay the monthly bills and gas the car and feed the animals and eat on that! Bet I'll make it work somehow, it's just all iffy at the moment.

Wondering if the cell phone should be turned on or off when charging...or does it matter?

The picture is what I've done with some of the area that the puppies dug up. I'm enjoying it and, thought I'd never let them know, I really think they may have done me a favor! The ol' lemonade thing!

A photo attempt

Okay, here goes...once more I'm going to attempt to post some snapshots...sometimes I can and sometimes I can't. Well, that worked out pretty well, I just can't seem to put them where I want them.

The second photo is the horrid, makes me vibrate wallpaper in the dining room. The first photo is trying to take the wallpaper down, but if you look in the corner you'll see that under the wallpaper is wood paneling...now what do I do?

The third and fourth potos are Jazzy after her makeover. She looks great! Wanted to post before photo too, but even though I loaded them into the computer today, I can't find them. So, you'll just have to use your imagination!

And life goes on...

It seems that we are going from feast to famine and back again weather-wise here. For 8 or 9 days in a row we had temps in the 100s and no rain, now we've had 7-8 days in a row of rain and temps in the 80s. I, of course, much prefer the rain and cooler weather and luckily we have a few more days of this sort of weather in the forecast, but then it's back into the 90+ stuff. It is, after all, summer!

Tuesday I had the migraine from hell. Here it is Friday and I can still feel the residuals.

Last night my cable tv went out around 11pm. I waited for about 20 minutes and when it didn't automaticly come back on I called Comcast. They said they'll fit me in sometime today...couldn't say when, just that they'd fit me in. So this morning when it got light enough I walked around the house to where all of the utilities feed into the house and nothing looked unusual, but when I walked out to get the neighbor's old dog out of the road I saw that the tall green round box thing out by the power pole was opened. In fact the entire top is off and sitting to the side. I'm wondering if someone hit it or something, though there are no skid marks in the grass or anything. Leah Jane said she bets someone cut the cable (hers didn't go off). Now why would someone do something like that? I hope it's fixed today, "What Not To Wear" is on tonight! I did get to see the season premiere of "Big Brother" last night, thank goodness!

Last Thursday I took Jazzy to a groomer for a "make-over"! She looks wonderful! Sue gave her a Schnauzer (is that right?) clip and she looks like a new dog! As soon as my ss check comes in I'll get some film and try to post a picture. She's just adorable!

I've been searching the internet for goat meat recipes. I found one that reads yummily for Caribbean curried goat stew and I'm thinking that I'll take the goat stew meat out of the freezer and start the stew tomorrow.

I'm meeting my sister tomorrow morning for breakfast and then we'll go see mother. We both have a 20 percent off coupon for our breakfasts!

Catching up

Ruth's funeral was yesterday. It was a 10am graveside service and it seemed the entire town was there! The service was lovely, and one of the local veterinarians (he tended all of Ruth's dogs) played guitar and sang "How Great Thou Art". Even though it was awfully hot and muggy, everyone stayed for the entire hour and a half. There was a luncheon reception at the First Baptist Church and Leah Jane and I went, but didn't stay to eat. They seemed to have a good turn out.

Last night Norma had Leah Jane, Gloria and me over for hamburgers. It was a rather sad little group and the main topic of conversation, of course, was Ruth. I'm afraid I got a bit into my cups and fussed at Leah Jane about her Vicodin use (along with alcohol), I know I shouldn't have done that, but she's shrinking up and seeming to die before my very eyes. I don't know what to do, I care very much about her and hate to see this happening. She may never speak to me again...I don't know what to do.

Happy 5th of July.

Ruth Gambill - Dibiase

Ruth died this morning around 4am in Tallahassee Memorial Hospital as a result of injuries suffered in the accident on the Saturday morning of the Watermelon Festival in Monticello. She was 84.

She will be missed by many people.

Her daughter, Susan Simmons is still hospitalized in TMH. She is recovering from 2 surgeries to repair 7 breaks in her pelvis. Yesterday they were able to get Susan into a wheelchair and take her to visit her mother for the first (and last) time.

This is all very tragic.

Ice cream and spiders and turkeys, oh my!

Well, I'm in the process of trying to shed one habit and replace it with another! Still am not smoking, but have eaten an entire pint of Breyers ice cream in 2 days! Finished it off this morning for breakfast!...and just spent almost an hour searching the web for ice cream coupons! Gotta watch this!

I'm having trouble going into the kitchen for coffee. There is a very large wolf spider lurking behind the coffee pot. Whenever I lift the pot he jumps out...he's a good 2 inches long and very intimidating. Not sure what I'm gonna do...don't want to kill him and don't want him in the kitchen/house! Help!

Yesterday I was standing at the kitchen sink (no, I wasn't eating!) just looking out the window and daydreaming. Must have been standing there for several minutes when I thought, "what in the world is that big stump doing inside the fence?"...then I came to and realized that it couldn't be a stump 'cause first you have to have a tree! So I went out the French doors to the stoop and as I did, the stump turned around, spread it's wings and took a running lift off toward the fence. He cleared the fence, but just barely! His wing span was very large, at least 5 feet, maybe more. He was a wild TURKEY! In my fenced area! And it's not even Thanksgiving! I watched him go through the wooded hedge between my yard and the neighbor's yard and I could see him through the trees for a while. He flew off headed north...there's a pond about a block away, guess he was headed there. Now isn't that something!

We've gone 2 days with the temperature under 100 degrees! It's amazing how much cooler 94 feels after a couple of days of 104+ (and 7 straight days of over 100)! I'm still needing rain. Haven't had a drop in about a week. There has been rain in the area for the past couple of days, sure wish it would come here!

The hay-bale garden is suffering. The herbs don't look like they'll make it, nor do the yellow squash...zucchini looks okay and the tomatoes are hanging in there. Need rain.

We're out of the woods!

Yesterday we didn't hit 100 degrees (we hit 99!) for the first time in 8 days! I know it sounds weird, but the high 90s were okay! Today "they" are predicting low to mid 90s! Should be right balmy!!! However, we are awfully dry...sure do need rain!

Well, I have 4 friends in TMH. Step-brother-in-law, Mark: heart attack, in ICU; Ruth: accident, very broken up and in ICU; Susan: Ruth's daughter: broken pelvic, surgery today; Mary: friend, broken hip! Gracious, you just never know! Do you think the weather did it?

Still find myself reaching for a cigarette...not smoking...wanting. Didn't realize there would be such awful physical symptoms: headache, stomach churning, various aches and pains, cravings (not just for cigarettes, but foods, too!), antsy, shaky and quite irritable. I can just see myself ballooning up to a million pounds, of course, that's not a very good reason to smoke, but if I'm not careful I'm sure I could use that as a reason to talk myself into having that occasional smoke...and you know what would happen then! I wonder how long it'll take to get the smoke from my lungs...I can still smell smoke on my breath.

They mowed my yard yesterday. The grass and weeds were so high that they left huge piles of cut grass piled up against the fence and everything else that it could pile against. I'll try to get out there early tomorrow and rake it up...it looks horrible now.

One of the nursery sons got back yesterday from a 10 day tour of the orient...China, Viet Nam, etc. I heard him talking to some of the guys about how much Americans are hated in Viet Nam and how one of the folks in his party was spat on! I didn't know this! Sad.

TGIW!!!!

To smoke or not to smoke, that is the question~

Okay, I'm working on 48 hrs. of not smoking. I've gathered up the ashtrays and have put them in the dishwasher. I'm not saying I've quit, just that at the moment I'm not smoking.

My sister came over early Saturday and we went to the Watermelon Festival Breakfast. As usual, it was very good. Bennett didn't join us...got an e-mail from her saying it was too damn hot! She was right, it WAS too damn hot! Ann was serving (she works for the bank and was named employee of the year for 2008!) food, but we got hugged anyway!

After breakfast sister and I went to Norma's house and we each picked lots of blueberries. Then we came back to my house and sat on the front porch, drank coffee, fanned and watched traffic. It was a nice day.

Then at 3pm a young fellow came over to give me an estimate on doing some insurance things on the exterior of the house. We had to change insurance companies and this new one wants railings on stairs (3 sets) and a piece of roofing trim put back up before they'll insure the house.

Just finished breakfast and reached for my pack of cigarettes which isn't there!

On Saturday right after the parade there was a terrible wreck in town. My old (84) friend Ruth and her daughter were parked in the SUV when an 18 yr old sped through town 60+mph, rear ended an ambulance, then hit Ruth's SUV, flipped it and spun it around. Ruth was ejected and her daughter who had gotten out and gone around to help Ruth into her wheelchair was terribly injured. The daughter had a broken pelvis...word has it that it's broken in 7-8 places. I'm not sure what Ruth's injuries are, but rumor has it that she may come home today. You just never know, you know?

Hot, hot, hot!!!

Well, today is the day of our party at work. It will be outside...250+ people and it's HOT! This is our 4th day of temps in the 100s! I'm dressing cool, shorts and a loose top and flip flops (platform ones!), but I'm thinking that this may not help. We do have giant old oak trees that we'll set up under, so that may make it bearable. Here's hoping so! I really need to think about doing my hair and face as it's 11am now and the party starts at 12!

I just made a wonderful discovery! The swiffer pads that you dust furniture with do a much better job on pet hair and dust on floors than the flat floor pads! I may be on to something here!

Norma called last night and invited me over to pick more blueberries (I am starting to run out), but I told her I'd have to wait until the weather down shifts a bit...the berries may be out of season then!

Talked with RM for a couple of hours last night. Can you believe she turned 44 yesterday? Wow! Where does time go?

I googled "girl scout camp songs" a while ago. Bunches of sites came up. I didn't know some of the songs, after all, it's been almost 50 years since I went to Camp Juliette Low, but some of the old standbys were there. Brought back some wonderful memories!

Tomorrow morning is the Watermelon Festival breakfast at the bank. I get hungry just thinking about it. Funny how much I look forward to it! My life is rather bland, of course that is by choice, but something different on occasion is nice! Both my sister and my high school friend, Betty will be there and Norma said she may go also. Sounds like a party to me!

The only thing I've noticed that's loving this weather is my yard. We've had just enough rain (about every 3 days) and the heat seems to be greenhousing the grass, shrubs and weeds. It's all growing like wild! And, the daylilies I put out earlier this spring have begun blooming...so far, it's only one or two here and there, but I'm hoping that by next year they'll get their acts together and really give me a show! The ones that have bloomed are quite different and awfully pretty! Sure am enjoying them!

Say a prayer for daughter #2...they didn't get all of the cancer on her eyelid and she facing some rather invasive surgery this next week that may involve skin grafts and sewing the eye shut for the summer.

Also, my step brother-in-law isn't doing too well. He had a heart attack Sunday and now is fighting pneumonia. He's in intensive care at TMH. He's too young for all this, just a couple of years older than I am.

And, that's the way the world turns.

We're having a party!

This coming Friday is our big party at work. I was charged with getting the caterer and feel fortunate that I was able to get the Seinyard!!! We'll have the "works", fried fish, shrimp, oysters and chicken fingers with cheese grits, slaw and hush puppies! Yum! Sure am looking forward to the food!

Just found out last night that this weekend is the annual Watermelon Festival here in Monticello. It's been going on longer than I can remember (and that's a while!). Need to check with my sister and see if she wants to do the breakfast, we have for the past 2 years and it's great fun.

It was raining when I got ready to leave for work yesterday, so I left the dogs in the house. My bad. One arm of the sofa is almost empty of stuffing. Damn that Jazzy. Today, no matter what the weather is doing, she's OUTSIDE!

Got a letter from the new insurance company that we got to insure the house. It seems I have to have hand rail put on the back steps and a piece of trim that came down 4 years ago put back up. Now this little house is about 80 years old and hasn't had hand railings. Why now? Finding a handyman to do these simple things has turned out to be quite a chore. My sister called friends of hers here in town and they recommended a fellow that had done some work for a family member. I called him and he's not doing any side work now...is working full time for the bank. I'm going to call a couple of folks today and ask at work. Hate this sort of stuff!

Was sitting here at the computer this past weekend and the back of my chair broke. A cheap plastic piece worried through a bolt and it and a heavy spring fell off. Don't know how to fix it.

I'm worried that something's up with my sister...she's quiet.

Happenings

Dinner Wednesday night at Leah Jane's was very nice. There were 6 of us and the food and conversation flowed. Was only gone a couple of hours, but had 3 new holes in the sofa when I got home. Damn dog...

Our temperature has been flirting with 100 degrees for the past week. "They" say that today it may not only hit 100, but pass it....ouch!

Yesterday I went to Norma's house about 9:30am. We picked blueberries for about 20 minutes. The temperature was already in the high 80s and the humidity was 98 percent. 20 minutes of picking in the shade was about all either of us could handle. Even so, I picked 1 1/2 quarts of some of the prettiest blueberries I've seen in a while. The bushes are still loaded and Norma invited me to come back and pick more soon. I'm going to freeze the majority, but have been thinking about dehydrating some to see how that'll work. I'm also contemplating refrigerator jam.

I had lunch at Sage with my friend Betty (Bennett as she's called now) from high school. We outlasted everyone there. Did a lot of catching up, after all, high school was 46 years ago! It's so funny how differently life happens to everyone. I also find it interesting that memories of basically the same thing can be so different! The brain is a strange and miraculous thing!

I'm torn today between 2 projects. I need to sew up the holes in the sofa and I want to start beading. Both projects require using these arthritic old hands and I know they won't last through both projects and either one of them will leave me mighty sore tomorrow. Of course, I could just vegetate on the computer and do nothing! We'll see.

El Nino

Just read an article that said "El Nino is Back"...Not sure just what the impact will be for everyone, but the article said stormier in the deep south and a warmer winter with storms. Drat.

We are very hot and dry now. High 90s during the day and 70s at night. They were just joking about triple digit temps being just around the corner on tv. I don't find that very amusing. I've been keeping the thermostat on 80 during the day, but I do turn in down when I go to bed. The last electric bill was up $20. This next one will be worse.

Yesterday was the meeting at the nursing home. I left here at 8:30 even though the meeting wasn't scheduled until 9:45. I read in the paper Sunday that there would be one land traffic in spots on US 90 and to expect delays. Wouldn't you know it, I got there in 30 minutes! I don't think I've ever made it that quickly...nope, I didn't speed, well, just a little. The meeting was uneventful, except that they told us they had taken Mother off the anti-psychotic drug she's been on for about a year...some kind of regulation that requires they reduce or remove. I hope she behaves! Both Bert and my sister were also there. Bless his heart, Bert is sure beginning to show his 91 1/2 years! He focuses on minutia and trivia. The staff is very patient with him.

When I got home the propane folks had already filled the tank and hung a bill on the back door. I delayed opening it for an hour or so...was afraid. It wasn't so bad, about $158.00, so I wrote a check and put it in the mailbox. I didn't grocery shop in Tallahassee yesterday because I was worrying about how much that bill would be. It's just as well.

When I got in to work on Monday there was a note on my desk from HWB (former boss) saying to call him that he needed to see me. So I did, asked him what was going on, but he wouldn't say on the phone, wants to talk to me in person. So, I'm going to go see him after work today. Haven't the foggiest idea what's up.

Leah Jane's having a little dinner party tonight and tomorrow I'm going to Norma's to pick blue berries.

Last Thursday I decided to use a hair color that we found in Mother's bathroom when we cleaned out the vanity and linen closet. Well, I guess they expire or something. When I began applying it to my hair the plastic bottle burst wide open splattering hair gunk everywhere. Of course I used what was usable and finished doing my hair. I now have hair the color of Goodness the cat and Jazzy the dog...looks good on them (see photo at top). My sister said yesterday that it's not awful. I'll wear it for a while and then do something else.

Return of the rain

Well, rain's back in our daily forecast...yesterday was day 4 of rain...not just a sprinkle, but major downpours! Each day I dumped more than an inch of rain out of the rain gauge...Friday more than 2 inches!

The hay bale garden is looking pitiful. The rain's leaching everything nutrient-wise out. The squash looks like it may not make it at all...all of the leaves are yellow. I'm thinking of trying a slow release fertilizer. Will go to the garden center tomorrow.

Friday SE Propane called to say they are running a special on propane, $2.90 a gal. The last time I had the tank filled was a year ago this past February and I paid $4.30 a gal. So, even though I didn't run the furnace once this past winter I told them to fill the tank. They'll do it on Tuesday. It doesn't evaporate and if I can afford to have the system checked out I may use it this coming winter...just on a really need to basis.

I guess I'll hold off on Jazzy's makeover since this month propane trumps dog!

I'm gradually getting the house in order. With all of the rainy days it's hard to work outside so the house is reaping the rewards! Yesterday in the midst of the downpour I backed the car in and out of the carport a bunch of times and then squeegeed all of the windows and lights. It looks much better. Next time I may throw a little soap on the body and see how that does. I try not to use tap water for anything other than necessities.

Hurricane season is here. Prepare folks, prepare!

TGIW!! again

It's absolutely amazing to me how long it is from Monday to Wednesday and how short it is from Thursday to Sunday! When Tuesday finally rolls around (my "hump" day) I'm exhausted. Sounds weird, I know, but it's true. When I'm at work I go full steam from the moment I walk in until I leave. That's one reason I'm able to work Monday - Wednesday...I get everything done that would normally take a 5-day work week. It's good for me, but generally Thursday is a wasted day. I do the bare minimum around here and rest up. Then I go full tilt for the remainder of the weekend. What a way to live.

Sunday night at Ann's house was nice. It was so good seeing Kay after 46+ years!

Am thinking about having Jazzy sheared...she could use a make over!

No particular news.

Sunshine!!!

The sun was out all day yesterday! Now, I'm not much of a sun person, but this was a welcomed event! Of course it was hot and quite muggy, but this dark side of the moon person loved every moment of it! The same weather is forecast for the next 3-4 days and then rain gradually slips back into the picture. Now, if I had my druthers, I'd request a good soaking every 3 days with sun in between. I have requested that numerous times, just evidently not getting the right ear.

Met with my sister around 7:30 yesterday morning. We went to our usual restaurant for breakfast. We both had turkey and avocado sandwiches that were to die for! They were so big that each of us took a half home!

After breakfast we went to see Mother. She was still in bed with a breakfast tray that was totally untouched and getting cold. With a little urging from us she ate quite a bit! So much so that the aide that came and took her tray commented on it! Since Mother wasn't up or dressed there wasn't much we could do with her, so we sang every song we could think of standing by her bed! When her roommate came in we got a little self conscious, but she urged us to continue, so we did. We ended up spending about an hour and a half singing. Everyone enjoyed it, but I think my sister and I enjoyed it the most! We'll have to come up with a few more songs for next time!

When we left I did my monthly main grocery shopping and got home around noon. Not bad.

Around 7 last night I was sitting on the front porch and the very old dog that lives across the road actually crossed the road and walked down my driveway a little bit and looked at me. We've never met, but always make eye contact and he watches me when I drive out. This was the first time I've seen him cross the road and it felt important. So, I dashed into the kitchen and got a bowl of water and a soft treat (don't know what shape his teeth are in), but by the time I got back out he was on his side of the road. He saw me come out and stopped and waited while I crossed over to him. I sat on the ground and gave him the treat which he really enjoyed. Then he let me rub his head. I wanted to rub his hips as they really seem to hurt him (he has to squat to pee and walks really, really slow), but he didn't want me to. The fur on his back is so dirty and sticky and almost matted and he smells really bad...I guess that's why they never seem to let him in the house anymore. When he finished our visit he drank quite a bit of water and continued his nightly stroll down the way. I'm not sure where he goes, but he does it every night.

Tonight I'm going to my friend Ann's house for hamburgers. Her sister is here for a visit. I haven't seen Kay for over 45 years and am surely looking forward to it!

and, yet more rain....

Today is our 16th day in a row of rain. Yesterday we had intermittent spots of sunshine and we had a little bit earlier this morning...just enough to get my hopes up. At first I was thrilled to be getting so much rain, but as it continued day in and day out my attitude underwent daily changes, mostly downhill! The soft plants aren't so happy either. The tomatoes and mint are especially unhappy...who woulda thunk it? They are sparse and leggy and borderline fungusy.

No particular news today. My sister and I are meeting for breakfast tomorrow and then planning to go see Mother. It's so much more pleasant seeing her with the two of us...I guess it gives us a buffer or something.

Work is slow. Hope it'll pick up soon. I get sooooo bored!

The weatherman says that tomorrow and Sunday will be hot and sunny! We'll see!

Rain.....

Today is our 10th day in a row of rain! The first few were so welcomed! Now it's getting to be a bit much! The poor dogs hold their bodily functions until they are about to burst and then dash outside and pee and poop in the rain for what seem like an eternity! They are so totally over the rain!

Yesterday one of the ladies from Garden Club had an open house. She has a rather large farm south of town and hybridises daylilies. The open house was from 10 to 3. I really debated about going in the rainy weather, but I thought I saw a patch of blue around noon, so I went. Her farm is really off the beaten path, down a one lane clay road forever! I was so glad I went. When I got there I asked her how the turn-out had been and she said I was the first. Even with the weather the rows and rows and rows of daylilies were breath-taking!

I got home in time for the bottom to drop out once more!

Thursday I roasted a chicken and made potato salad. Yesterday I made chicken soup and turtle walnut chocolate chip brownies. For breakfast I ate a brownie with my coffee. I've got a hankering to cook something now, but I'm forcing myself to wait until I at least finish the chicken, the meatloaf (and mashed potatoes) from Tuesday and the chicken soup. I figure I don't have to finish the brownies before cooking something else! I've always liked to cook, but I'm thinking this compulsion is being driven by the weather!

Didn't do dinner with the ladies last night. Was a chicken and just didn't answer the calls from Ruth. It's so hard to tell her no. Last week after telling her no she called again at the last minute and begged me to go. Said no. Then she wanted me to go as her guest. Said no. Then she offered to lend me money. Said no. This is all very hard.

The meeting with staff at the nursing home has been changed from this coming Tuesday to (I think) June 9th. They called my sister Friday and said they hadn't realized that Monday was Memorial Day when the first appointment was set and that some of the staff wouldn't be there. That's okay with me.

We work Memorial Day. Our leader says that's a "Yankee holiday"!

It's still quite early in the day and very muggy! and raining!

Perfect egg

This morning I cooked the world's most perfect poached egg! The other day Alton Brown (Good Eats) did a show on eggs. He's so good! I really sat up and took notice when he got to the poached egg part. That is probably my favorite way to have an egg and I've never been satisfied with the way mine turn out. His secret is to swirl the water and gently place the egg in the swirling water. That tightens the white up. The result is just wonderful. This morning I had mine on a buttered slice of 15 grain toast and topped it with a little finely shredded sharp cheddar and some cayenne pepper. Talk about good!

We have had three days in a row of made to order weather! Clear, sunny and hot in the mornings and major rain in the afternoons! I haven't heard about our rain deficit situation, but I'm willing to bet it's much better!

The hay bales are coming along nicely. The squash seeds are the only ones germinating yet, but I'm hopeful for the rest. Just in case they don't make it, yesterday I put out (in the bales) 2 tomato plants, 2 pepper plants (1 bell and 1 jalapeno), 1 Japanese eggplant, 3 clumps of flat leaf parsley and 1 mint plant. Then I went a bit nuts and seeded lots of herbs in the raised bed in the fenced area and zinnias, sunflowers and marigolds in the new bed that Jazzy and I dug right off the patio. If everything comes up it will be unreal! It's quite a large bed and it's the one I've planted crape myrtles and daylilies in. I put out 5 3cu.ft. bags of cypress mulch, but it looks like I need about ten more to really cover it. Then I really need to weed and mulch the front beds, they are getting away from me and they show! No one sees the back except for me.

A week from this coming Tuesday we have a meeting at the nursing home about Mother. It will be interesting to hear what they have to say. My sister and I think she's slowly going down hill, but Bert thinks she's okay. So to have a professional perspective will be good.

More rain is in the forecast for this afternoon and then both Monday and Tuesday it's supposed to rain 'most all day! How good is that?!

Rain, rain, rain!

We've had rain! Thank goodness!

Yesterday I came home from Garden Club with two crepe myrtles and an angle trumpet. As it was mighty hot and dry I just put them in the shade and took a nap. We had such an incredible luncheon. There were a gazillion salads, several different deviled eggs and desserts to die for! I tried my best to have some of each and when I finally got home a nap was my only option!

Around 4 o'clock I decided to go ahead and do my plantings. Got the 3 shrubs planted and 5 bags of cypress mulch spread out along with some weeding and then it started raining!!! Not just a sprinkle, but a downpour that lasted for about 40 minutes. Then it settled down and did a really nice rain all night! How perfect is that? The temperature dropped from 90 to the mid 70's and it actually felt cold! I turned the air conditioner off and opened both the front and back doors and watched Survivor with a lap robe, a dog and a couple of cats on me! More rain is in the forecast for the next few days!

The hay bales are coming along nicely! I have germination already from the squash.

My Uncle Buddy's Jeep dealership is one of the ones that Chrysler is closing. They've been in business for 40 or so years. He said that he's not sure what they'll do. Say a prayer for them and all the folks that have lost jobs. Times are hard and life so unpredictable!

Next month is the beginning of hurricane season. That sure seems to come around so quickly. Stock up, be prepared. Get batteries, food, water, etc. Don't get caught at the last minute needing to stock up, especially if you live on or near the coast (that includes everyone in Florida!). Remind your friends and neighbors and if you are able, help the folks that need it. You know, we're all in this boat together.

It's Wednesday!!!!!

TGIW!

Still no rain...scattered around our area, but not here. More scattered showers predicted for today. I'm hopeful.

My second job has fizzled out. I had been going to my old job once a week for the past year. It only amounted to about a hundred dollars every six weeks or so, but that was nice to have. Oh well. Rumor has it that they are closing...they've cut out most of the jobs and the customers are slowly being absorbed into home office where I am. I'm sorry to see this happen.

I stopped at the service station on the way home yesterday. They put my car over that pit thingy that they walk down into and scraped off a bunch of the plastic bag that was melted all underneath. They weren't able to get it all and said that it should just melt off. Said it shouldn't cause a fire, but the smell is just awful!

Last night was the three hour season finale of Biggest Loser. A 48 year old woman won! She went from close to 300 pounds to something like 120 pounds (I think it was less)! Can you imagine? She looked absolutely wonderful as did most of the contestants. Some of them didn't do so well, I know the discipline it takes to keep on an exercise and healthy diet routine is awfully hard...I can't do it. I did get my dumb bells out and did a few things...I'd like to think that I'll do it every day. Doubt it.

Tomorrow is garden club. We're all to take either a salad or a dessert. I'm thinking I'll take my taco pasta salad with black beans. It's unusual and good.

TGIW!

The Heat

Yesterday we hit a new high for the date...95 degrees! I wore walking shorts to work!

Saturday I planted some of the hay bales. Just seeds...still want to get a few bedding plants. Put out 2 different types of squash, 2 different types of peppers and Roma tomato seeds. It'll be interesting to see what works!

Sunday when I got home from Tallahassee I was absolutely shocked when I walked into the house! Jazzy had been on a rampage. She tore up pillows, books, magazines, 2 decks of cards, a couple of ball point pens and some things that were in such small pieces that I'm not sure what they were! It was spread out through 3 rooms! I didn't try to salvage anything. Just scooped it all into a big black garbage bag and took it out to the trash can. So yesterday I left both dogs outside...hated to because of the heat, but just can't take this separation anxiety! I plan to just leave Jazz out today...Shirley's getting a little old for the heat.

Last night I got a phone call from Uncle Buddy. He was just touching base and wanted to tell me about his visit with Mother. It was a good conversation and it cleared the air a bit.

The TV weatherman just said we could possibly get rain today. We haven't had any this month. Cross your fingers!

Yesterday was Mother's Day

My sister and I met for breakfast yesterday and afterwards went to the nursing home to see Mother. She was still having breakfast when we got there and we sat outside while we waited for her to finish. It was quite sad to see the state she was in. She was dribbled with food and had scrambled eggs under her fingernails.

It was awfully cold inside, so we got one of her sweaters for her, but we were only able to get it on one arm and over her shoulders. She's hard to maneuver and heavy.

The three of us went outside to the garden and sat at the new picnic table (Mother in her wheel chair) for a visit. I read her cards to her (one a letter from Rosie) and she seemed pleased. Visiting gets harder each time. She's more child-like and more vague and confused each time. She has begun drooling pretty badly, too. We asked her about her visit with Uncle Buddy. We thought she remembered the visit until she told us that Aunt Betty was there, too. She wasn't. We visited for an hour or so, until Mother starter dozing off in her chair.

When we took her back in the dining room was being set up for a Mother's Day party. So we parked her chair so she could watch with some of the other ladies there. It's a shame that it always feel like we're escaping when we leave.

Happy Mother's Day.

Heat and Electricity

Well, here it it! Summer! Our daytime temperatures have been in the high 80's and low 90's for the past few days and the nights aren't too cool either! Night before last I turned the air conditioner on for the first time...turned it on at 10pm and then off at 5am. Did the same thing last night. I can cope with the heat in the daytime, but sleeping is almost impossible at night. To compensate for the electricity that the air conditioner uses I'm not burning lights, even though they all have the compact florescent bulbs. When I must have light I'm using either candles or flashlights. I know that doesn't make up for but a smidgen of the electricity, but it's something!

Not doing Dinner with the Ladies tonight.

Sunday is Mother's Day. My sister and I will have breakfast and then go to the nursing home.

At 4:30 yesterday afternoon Bert called. He wanted to let me know that there was a Mother's Day cookout at the nursing home at 5:30! Hey! That's just a little short notice! Obviously I didn't go...by the time I showered and dressed and drove to Tallahassee it would have been over!

Norma broke her toe the other night. She doesn't know how, she just woke up with it swollen, black and broken. The doctor wrapped it and told her to wear that shoe she had to wear when she broke a bone in her foot a few months back. She's in her late 80's...I wonder about her bone density...you'd think her doctor would check that and her vitamin D levels. You know, most of us are deficient in vitamin D and without an adequate amount of it we don't absorb calcium.

Not much going on...not much news. That's a good thing!

Busy weekend

I always have so many things on my list that I want to get done. Crossing them off the list is such a joy! I guess part of the pleasure is the fact that I'll always have a list...it'd be a shame to run out of things that needed to be done!

Didn't do Dinner with the Ladies Friday night.

Yesterday I had the house pressure washed. The mildew on the north and east sides of the house had turned it absolutely green with circles the side of fifty cent pieces! Really looked awful...didn't know just how bad until it was clean!

The empty charred shell of a house down the street is drawing such traffic on this little road. Sight-seers at some points this weekend actually created traffic jams! It will be better when the house is taken down and the lot is cleared. As it is, it's a constant reminder of what happened.

The last time I drove my car was last Wednesday. I hope I remember how to this morning.

Gotta go to work. (Should say"Get to go to work today"!)