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"!)