holy crap

 My day was a picnic

    I can't imagine being stranded at an airport for heaven knows how long.    And the river boat that got rammed in New Orleans was one I have always wanted to take.

    Hope everyone is safe in all this upheaval.

    Didn't make it to the nursery for 3 trees......Jackie preferred that I not be gone for 4 hours.  There is always next year.

    We have some expensive knives.  We have had them for years.

    Included in our package were 4 steak/dinner knives.  I had lost one and after several months opted to replace it with another expensive knife.

    So 2 nights ago I was pretty pissed when I could not find one.

    We had steak Sunday, and I assumed tossed it out accidentally.  Garbage went out Monday night, and I did not discover the knife was missing until Tuesday.

    I looked everywhere before making that assumption.

    Then last night, I went to clean the cooktop and there was the knife!  I was happy.

    I always order cheese from Shelbourne Farms in Vermont.

    I almost placed the order when I saw the shipping charge was over $23!  For less than 2 pounds of cheese!  So, I did not place an order.

    We have at least 6 lamps in the house that use 3 way bulbs.  Only 1 lamp has a working 3 way.  At $8 a bulb, only 1 lamp will have a 3 way.  How did stuff get so expensive?  Oh right!  Triffs.

    Hopefully planes will be getting in the air again soon.  

    Hopefully prices come down on bulbs.

    Hopefully when I call Shelbourne they will give me a cheaper option for shipping.

    Hope springs eternal, right?

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

time for a laugh

 Here s a funny story, but is it true?

    Dave is new to town.  He  loves to golf, so he takes his clubs and hits the local links.

    But he has never played this course, and he is a little confused.

    Spotting a woman up ahead he yells,  "Miss.  Miss.  Excuse me, but what hole am I on.  I have never played this course and am not sure."

    "I am on 4,  and you are 1 hole behind me, so you must be on 3," she replies.

    After giving his thanks, the golfers continue.

    After a while, Dave is again confused as to where he is.  He sees the same woman just over a crest.

    "Excuse me,"  he yells.  "I hate to be a bother.  But what hole am I on now?"

    "Seven ," she yells back, "because you are 1 hole behind me and I am on eight."

    They continue golfing and he is actually having a good round.

    Once again, he has no idea what hole he is on.

    He sees the same woman.

    "Hello.  I hate to bae a bother, but I am lost again.  What hole am I on?"

    "I'm on 18.  You are 1 hole behind me, so you are on 17," she replies.

    After thanking her, he finished 17 and continued to 18.

    When done, he decided to go into the clubhouse for a refreshment.

    To his surprise, the friendly golfer is also getting a drink.

    He goes over and again thanks her for her help.  The begin chatting and realize they have a lot in common besides golf.

    Finally Dave asks the big question.  "What do you do for a living?"

    "I can't tell you," she says, with a lightly embarrassed look.  "You would just laugh."

    "No, I won't".  Dave says, promising that whatever she says will not draw a giggle.

    Finally she relents.

    "I  am a sales rep for a tampon maker," she reluctantly admits.

    Dave immediately goes into a fit of laughter, almost falling on the floor.

    The woman gets up, "You said you would not laugh.  Now look at you!" she scolded.

    Dave said, "No. No No.  Please understand.  I am a sales rep for a toilet paper maker.  So, I'm still 1 hole behind you! "

    And that is how you kill an hour.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

oh lordy

 Sometimes it takes a village

    Jackie had a medical appointment in Sycamore today.

    I pulled up under the overhang at the entrance, and a car pulled in behind me.

    I stepped out into a  puddle at least an inch deep.

    I tried to get Jackie out of the car and into her seat while not getting her feet wet and I failed.

    In. fact, I did not even get her into the wheelchair!  She did not hit the ground, but it was close.

    Luckily 2 angels appeared and one held the chair while the second one and I pulled Jackie onto the chair.  

    Sometimes it takes a village.

    I said thank you a lot.

    When I went to get the car to leave, I saw a woman struggling with her umbrella and baby.  She had placed the umbrella on the ground to move the child, so I grabbed the umbrella and held it over their heads, hopefully keeping them dry.

    And when putting Jackie back in the car, one of the angels saw me and asked if I needed help.  I told her no, thanked her for offering, and thanked her again for her previous help.

    There is a nursery about 16 miles from the clinic we were at.  They are having an end of year clearance.      So I called and asked about pines and spruces.  I thought a few of them in the lot would be a nice touch.

    Brett, the tree guy, said they had some and I was welcome to come and look.  He pointed  out it was pouring, but he said he could walk me out to where they were.

    At some point, before we left, Jackie pointed out it was raining.  We had a wheelchair in the back of the van, it was raining, and she would prefer going home.  So we did.  I hope to go Friday.  

    We saw a lot of cars without headlights on.  In Illinois it is a law to have lights on when wipers are going.  It just makes good sense to do so because it increases visibility in the rain.

    I made some garlic herb noodles for supper as a side dish.  They never set and were like soup.  I followed the directions.

    We ate them anyway.  I dribbled down my shirt.

    I don't know if the fact I have an upset stomach has anything to do with supper.

    That is my boring life.

Peace and Love

    Especially Peace

back roads

I avoided the freeway to Rockford today

    There is road construction on 39.  In the past several weeks there have been multiple accidents in the construction zone.

    I read somewhere that the Monroe Center Fire Department asked the state for help because there had been something like 12 accidents in 10 days.  They are a volunteer fire department and their resources are limited.

    So I took 251, which was closed for a time yesterday because of an accident north of 64.

    Once we got to Rockford, 11the st. was closed for a repaving project, so we had to detour through a couple of residential areas.

    Quite a mess.

    I almost made it even messier when I pulled out in front of a car on Mulford Road.  I swear, I looked both ways and never saw the car coming on my left.

    Luckily they were  paying attention and hit the  brakes before they  hit us.

    Driving is such fun.

    Last night there was another accident at Caron Road and 38.  It looked like 3 cars were involved.  I took a detour through the bank parking lot to avoid that intersection.

    I stopped for bird seed today  and bought 2 -- 40 pound bags. 

    The young man who carried it out had both bags at one time and did not even break a sweat.  Even when I was young I could not do that.

    One of my jobs sometime this week is to clean the bird feeders so they will be fresh for winter.

    I was going to do that today, but we did not get home until about 3 and by the time I got Jackie in the house,  took care of kitchen compost, and took down my windmill, it was pretty dark.  

    Short afternoons make for short work.

    And that's the way it is.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

bushed

 I got Christmas lights on the bushes

    I tested all the lights when I put them away last January.   I tested them all before I put them on today.  I only had 1 dead strand!

    Unfortunately it was a strand of 100.  Luckily I have several strands of 50 on hand because I bought too many last year.

    It was not easy.

    The weather was beautiful.  Sunny, mild, not much wind.  But for some reason, it took me a long time to time to string lights around the bushes.  

    The lights kept falling off.  I thought of getting clothespins, but that would look strange.

    I did not light them.  I just ran out of time to do that today.

    Plus, my back was  barking up a storm by the time I was finished.

    I probably won't get much done the next 2 days.....Jackie has doctor appointments, 1 in Rockford and 1 in DeKalb.  Lots of traveling ahead.

    Gas was down to 4.15 a gallon for regular.  That is down a lot, but not enough.  

    We just finished watching the Rise and Fall of Reggie Dinkins  Jackie looked at me and said, "I did not understand this at all."  I could not help her, because I did not understand it either.  Are we getting denser in our old age?  

    My project list for Monday is still not done.......there is always tomorrow.  Or the next day.  Or the next.

    Someday I well get a round tuit.  Get it?  

Peace and Love

    Especially Peace

goals

 I met 3 of 6 goals today

    That would earn an F in the academic world because it is 50 percent.

    In baseball, 50 percent would put you at the top in hitting. 

    And in most elections, 50 percent will put you in office.

    Actually, I may have had 7 goals.  I don't remember.

    Hell, I don't remember much.

    It was a beautiful day today!

    I managed to trim around the house, then I went to Emily's and mowed in her yard while she handled mulch and started bring out Christmas stuff.

    One of my goals today was to test our outdoor lights. That may not get done.  The Bears are on and I don't want to miss the second half.

    Anyway, what was Caleb thinking in the second quarter?  Looked like he was just tossing up the football, like we used to do in alley and playground games.  Here's hoping for a better second half.

    OMG...how many turnovers can they have yet still win?  Put it in the books!

    Back to the lights.  Tomorrow is supposed to be pretty warm also, so I will hopefully test them and put them on bushes.  Might even put out the garland.  

    When I was a kid, I loved the fall,  The smell of burning leaves, yes, even in Chicago back in the 50s,      The Chicago Tribune had a magazine and every fall they would run a drawing by Andrew McCutcheon.  Back then it was common to refer to Indian Summer.  The McCutcheon cartoon labeled it Injun  Summer.

    I did not find it offensive.  It was an old man talking to his grandson and saying the smoke was the spirits of Indians dancing.

    A year ago I ordered a reprint of the cover.  I have it, but the size is off and it's hard to read the words that went with the drawing.

    Or maybe it's just my age.

    Anyway, saw lots of smoke from burning leaves today.  It just reminded me of those long gone days.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

Oh no

I finished mowing today 

    It was colder today than yesterday!

    I had some technical problems.

    I have a Workmate that muffles sound and allows me to hear music.  It is Bluetooth compatible so I can get phone calls.  

    That is important, because if Jackie needs me I can hear the phone.  

    I got on the mower.  Turned on the headphones.  Clicked on Bluetooth and heard one line of a Jimmy Buffet song and then...nothing.  

    I can get AM and FM stations, but I can't hear music from my phone.

    This is the second Workmate I have had and I will not buy another one.  Next spring I will look for something better.

    But I finished mowing.   I was frozen.

    Last night I had another really weird dream.

    Exit 99 was doing a show in a field.  I was there on time, and no one else was there,  No audience, no other 99ers.

    Suddenly, everyone showed up at one time!

    There were 4 women at a table toward the back of the audience and they kept talking loudly during our opening bit.  TC finally told them to be quiet or leave.  When they did not get quiet, he ushered them out.

    That's not the weird part.

    TC, Beth and Carrie were doing a bit and I entered from back stage.

    I was totally naked!

    Nobody reacted.  The audience just kept quiet.  After a few minutes I went back stage, put on clothes, and went back to join the others.

    Now, fully dressed, the audience screamed and ran for the doors! Except there were no doors because we were outside, so they just ran.

    Adults covered their children's eyes.

    Nuns ran looking heavenward.

    TC just stared and Beth and Carrie rolled their eyes so much their heads almost fell off.

    Then Poof....I was awake.

    Strange.

    I have a tree in the back yard that is not right.  It needs to be staked.

    Julia stopped by today and I asked her if she could help me.  My plan was to take the golf cart to the tree, set a ladder up on the golf cart then climb up the ladder to attach rings that would be on long wires that could be attached to stakes driven into the ground.

    She looked at me as if I were crazy.  She also said no.

    She said to call someone who does that in the spring.

    That's the plan, Stan.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

The frost hung around in the shade lines.

I think it needs staking.