Follow ups

Not much to say tonight 

    I just have a couple of followups to previous posts.

    I have done my first day of exercises as prescribed by the PT folks.  Boy, does that hurt!

    Also, I had my first mojito of the summer.  I know!  It's almost August and I have only had 1.  I guess my tastes have changed.  But it was good.  Sat on the back patio, had a hamburger and my mojito and did my last News-Leader crossword puzzle.

    Why my last?  $143 a year.  This issue had 2 pages on the Rockford Peaches.  That may be interesting, but it is not really Rochelle news.  So until something better comes along, I will rely on hearsay and Facebook for coverage of the local community.

    Friend Dianne asked about the value of my old house.

    My mother sold it in 1978 or  so for $57,000.  Zillow has the estimated price at $975,000.  House has 3,400 square feet.

      That got me curious about the apartment building my grandmother owned.  I was always under the impression my father's dad built the building.  But I don't know. It was built in 1925, according to Zillow.  

    Anyway, units inn the condo building are between $ $516,800 and $631,000 with a smaller unit at $387,00.  The smaller one may also be a garden apartment.  There should be 6 units in the building.

    And the HOA fees are a tad over $400  month

    And if you are a curious person, or just nosey, check out the Zillow linfo for 915 N. Dearborn in Chicago.

    A few of us could all chip in and buy it.

    Funny, eh?

Peace and Love

    Especially Peace

first day

 I had my first physical therapy day today

    Nice young man.  He gave me some exercises to strengthen and stretch my hamstrings.  

    I just hope they work.

    Of course, I have to do them, which is another story. I usually don't follow through on a lot of stuff.  

    I opted to wait until tomorrow to start mowing.  Then Jackie looked at the forecast, which calls for rain for the next 40 days.........so now I am going to build an arc.

    Had a nice visit from friend Laurie today.  We spent a lot of time catching up on life.  We tried not to discuss politics, but that is hard.

    The past few weeks there have been  a couple of fawns hanging around the neighborhood.  The only adult deer I have seen was a bloated carcass down the road.  I had hoped that was not heir mother.

    Well, my fears were answered today when the 2 fawns had 2 adult deer with them as they grazed on the grass in the subdivision's green space.

    I was able to get Jackie to a window so she could watch.

    So that's my day.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

memories

 I grew up in Chicago

    I lived on Belle Plaine, just a block from Lake View High School.

    Initially we lived in a 1 bedroom apartment on Greenview and Belle Plaine. My 2 brothers and I slept in the bedroom while my folks had a Murphy bed in the living room.  My grandmother and aunt lived in the apartment behind us, on the third floor.

    The neighborhood had a mix of apartment building and single family residences.  I remember an apartment building on Belle Plaine that had a terrible smell of urine in the front entry.  The next street over was a little dicey, the neighborhood was generally well kept.  As you moved north, I remember the houses being nicer.

    About the time I was in seventh grade, my parents bought a house,  It was right across the street from the apartment building. 

    After the Banana game Sunday, we had 2 options:  walk to a corner and have John pick us up or walk to the car, which was parked near my old house.

    I opted for the walk, so we walked.

    Yes, I realize that was not a good choice considering my legs hurt, but I only had to stop and rest once.

    Curious about the walk, I used Google maps and they said it was a 1.7 mile walk.  

    I also used AI, which said it was 1.2 miles.  AI is pretty smart.  The directions they gave were to walk west on Waveland to Broadway and go right to Belle Plaine.  The only problem is, that is wrong.  Broadway is a couple of blocks east of the ball park.  The only 2 options for getting to my house were Clark or Southport.

    Anyway, walking along the route I took many times as a kid I flashed back to the people and events that formed my life.  

    The neighbor hood is beautiful.  

    There are so many why places with outdoor seating, where you can get a meal or coffee.  I would love to live there for that reason.  But getting around?  Forget it.  Living out in the country has its advantages.

    Anyway, I snapped some pictures along the way.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

Sidewalks used to have stamps from the company pouring  them.  I don't think that happens anymore, but it is neat to see them

The doorway trim is impressive

The older homes have a lot of character and detail

This was a front yard...my kind of people!

My old apartment building....now it is a condo complex

Our apartment was on the third floor on the left.  The rounded area was the front room and the window under the small arch was our bedroom.  There were 12 apartments when se lived there, but I think now there are just 6 condo units.

The house my parents bought 

There are 3 houses the same.  All were built abbot 1890.  Our house was in the middle of the three.  The house on the west of us was the same style, but reversed.  Notice the rounded windows.  My dad always was telling me not to throw things near the windows because they were expensive to replace.
They just don't build them like that anymore.

seeing red

I seem to have burst a blood vessel in my eye 

    I have a habit of rubbing my eyes, sometimes too hard.

    This morning Jackie told me my eye was red.

    This afternoon we had a home visit for a health check up that our insurance provider offers.  The doc looked at me and told me my eye was red.

    Friends just stopped by and one of them said my eye was red.

    I have to learn not to rub my eyes!  I have done this before and every time I say I am not rubbing my eyes anymore, I rub them.

    After our friends left I looked around and saw an unmade bed, dishes in the sink and on the nook table.....it was kind of messy.

    I need to get into the habit of getting dinner stuff put away, or at least stacked, after we eat.    And to get the bed made before 9 p.m..

    Monday is sheet washing day and I just have not put the clean sheets on the bed.

    But it is only 9 p.m., so there is time.

    Caffeine bothers me.  I t ry not to drink caffeinated products after 3 or so.  But yesterday I had a huge Coke at the game and another Coke on t he way home.

    I went to bed and slept like a log.  Go figure.

    I saw a picture of Gallager Way with the Bananas doing  pregame activities yesterday.  Boy, the place was wall to wall people!  The game was at 3 but the gates opened at 11:30 for pregame fun and entertainment.

    Glad today was not yesterday weather wise.  It was brutal today.

    I feel sorry for people who work outside.  Hopefully the weather breaks.

Peace and Love

    Especially Peace

going bananas

 I got to see the Savannah Bananas today

    That was my birthday present from Julia and Emily. We had tickets to see the Savannah Bananas at Wrigley Field.

    Julia, Emily, friend John and I watched the Bananas lose to the Firemen.

    There is a lot going on at the game.  Singing, dancing, races, and baseball.

    The music goes nonstop.  Sometimes it's a sing a long, like Take me Home Country Roads  and other times it is just music.

    I have been wanting to see them for a couple of years.  

    They played 3 sold out games at Wrigley.  Emily won a ticket lottery and was able to buy. tickets for the Sunday game.

    It was not too hot....a nice breeze off the lake.

    It was largely a young audience....and I mean young!  Little kids, lots of little kids.

    But it was a fun time and I am happy we got to go.

Peace and Love

    Especially Peace

Like the shirt???  

After the game I stopped at the firehouse across the street

A banana headband

world's tallest batter.....note the umpire on the box.

they swing

and they are off to first base on a hit

Wrigley was packed...lots going on during the game

hear, here

It's a miracle 

    My hearing aids work!

    After going 2 days without them, they are working today.

    Why?

    Well......I made sure they were charged.  I checked the battery status and they were both charged.

    I tried turning them off and on.  Nothing.

    I decided to change the cones and ear wax filters and voila!!!  It works!! Either there as waxy buildup (gross) or the filter wasn't in properly.  That's possible, because I changed my cones and filters about a week ago and had trouble getting the left ear on correctly.

    So, all is well that ends well.

    Tomorrow we are heading in to the city to see the Savannah Bananas!!

    This is  their third game at Wrigley and I read that the place was rocking the first night. It should be a fun day.

    Jackie is not going, but she can watch the game on ESPN.

    This was a birthday present from Julia and Emily.  Emily won a ticket lottery and was able to buy 5 tickets.

    Never heard of the Savannah Bananas?  Watch ESPN tomorrow afternoon or Google them.  They are the Harlem Globetrotters of baseball.

    Speaking of baseball, I always enjoyed the commercials with the little girls talking to their dad about heating and air conditioning.   Last year I Googled it and discovered they are not the company's owner and his family, rather they are all actors.

    I haven't seen them in commercials this year, so Google came to the rescue.  Seems the. girls' contracts were up and they went separate ways.

    And I absolute detest the betting commercial that has  the company founder touting high limits while a guy in a blue shirt looks like a zombie as he watches his phone, nods, and smiles.  Kind of creepy.

    But nothing tops the commercial for a law firm featuring Carson Kelly of the Cubs.  Makes Rockford commercials look good.

    Enough of my complaining.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

chicken cordon black

 I am not a great cook

    In reality, I am not even a good cook.

    I am not imaginative, innovative, or able to follow a recipe.

    But I try.

    When I cooked burgers and brats for Emily's birthday I thought they were nicely done.

    My steaks have been turning out better.

    But tonight, well, supper was more like a burnt offering.

    There is crispy chicken, and there is chicken that when you bang it on the plate it sounds like a piece of wooed.  And it looked like it too.

    I bit into it and thought I broke a tooth!

    These were breaded chicken breasts found in the frozen food aisle.

    I put them in the air fryer and did not check on them until it was too late.

    Jackie said they were ok, I thought they were a tough nut to crack.

    I did not take my hearing aids in today.  They are only open until 3 on Friday, and we slept in.  Plus Jackie had a blood test, so we took care of that.

    Then we went home, picked up Beth, and drove out to Julia's to check out her sidewalk and the plantings.  It really looks good.

    I just checked my veggie garden.  The tomato plants look like the leaves are curling up.  I don't know if they are getting too much water or not enough.

    And the cucumbers are going crazy.  I need to remember to plant one plant.  When the seeds sprout, I need to pull all of the growths except one.

    I just wish the tomatoes would start coming.

    I regret not planting lettuce.  Well, check that.  I planted lettuce but nothing came up.  I think the birds may have gotten to the seeds.

    I still have seeds, but is there enough growing season left?

    Might as well plant the seeds, eh?  I mean, what could happen besides nothing or lettuce?

    And maybe it will fill some bird's tummy.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace