bumpity bump

 I mowed today

    I bounced like a rubber check. 

    I had more ups and downs than an Otis elevator.

    I found more low spots than a depressed psychiatrist.

    Yes, I do complain about mowing a lot.  Our yard looks fairly level, but there are some low spots that seem to be getting lower.

      After 3 hours, I was finished.  And the lawn was cut.  

    I told Jackie I want a bigger mower and she said no.  Emphatically no.

    We'll see about that next spring.

    Went to a friend's 80th birthday party.  That seems really old, but hell, I am 78, so I guess it is not that old.

    Stopped at Cypress House for a coffee.  Called the young girl the wrong name and realized it immediately and corrected it with the right name.  

    I drank my coffee while mowing.  It was an iced coffee since it was 82 when I put on shorts to mow.

    I was sitting perfectly still when I took a sip and spilled it over my shirt and shorts.  Luckily I was wearing my yard mowing gear.  And truthfully, I was a bit chilly toward the end.

    Made BLTs for supper.  I made sure the bread was not moldy this. time.  And I had to buy a tomato.

    In the not too distant future I will dig up my carrots.  Something is eating the tops and I hope my little ground squirrels are not eating the bottoms.

    This was a nice fall day, but it is going to be near 90 this week.  90!  Dang, that is July/August weather, not October.  I hope that is the last hot one for the year.

    It's not looking good for the White Sox.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

deja vu all over again

Again, I just didn't get it

    Jackie and I talked about going to the VCCT play.  Today I bought tickets.

    Made supper early so we would get to the show way before the 7 p.m. start.  But as I was ready to load her into the car, she didn't feel well.

    This happens frequently with MS patients.  One minute they are fine, the next minute they are not feeling good enough to go out.

    So I went to the play by myself.

    Got there at 6:45 and immediately noticed there was  only 1 car in the lot.  

    I sat for a minute, watching the new sign advertising the play for Oct. 16, 17, 18, 23 and 24.

    I was a week early.

    I am just glad I did not have to load Jackie into the car only to have to go home and unload her for no reason except I can't figure out dates.

    That is a frequent mess up for me.  Nothing new, just frustrating.

    I planned to mow today.  But it started raining about noon and I am not crazy about mowing wet grass.

    I did a little vacuuming and mopping up dog prints before going out to the garage to finish taking the wood out of the raised garden frames.

    But first I cleaned the car windows.  Then I picked up all the reusable bags in the car.  And threw out all the receipts, napkins, papers and other trash I had accumulated.  I swear, if I ever buy a new car again I will do a better job of keeping it clean.  I know!  I said that with every car we have ever bought.

    I needed a pry bar, so I went downstairs to get one.  Beth followed and we played for a bit, then I got the bar and got serious about the wood.

    About 40 minutes later, I had almost all the wood and bent screws out.  On one support.

    I had to stop to make dinner.

    We had to eat early so we could get to the theater on time.

    So tomorrow I am going to mow.

    And finish the wood removal.

    Deja Vu, all over again.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

shudda

 I have me t the enemy and he is me

    I stole that from Pogo.

    You may remember the opossum in the comic strip that had a whole bund of swamp friends.  Albert, the cigar smoking alligator.  I can't remember the others.

    But that's not the point.

    I am my own worst enemy.

    Case in point.  Today I had an agenda.  Clean part of the house at 1,  finish knocking apart my old raised garden bed supports, museum meeting at 5 followed by museum meeting at 6 with a trip to the store and a stop at a visitation wedged in between the meetings.

    I was showered and ready to go by 11.  

    I even had the paper read.  I was ready for the day.

    But I thought a short 30 minute nap would be helpful.  I still can't get to sleep at night.

    So at 11:15 I set my alarm for 45 minutes and sat in my red chair on the porch.

    At 12 I set it for 30 minutes.

    At 12:30  I just sat back in my chair enjoying the day,

    At 1, Jackie asked for lunch.  Seemed like a good idea, so I got hers and made one for me too.  But first, she helped me clean off the desk.  It is better.

    At 2:15 I remembered I had a load of laundry to do.  And after I did that I started cleaning.

    And cursing myself for not getting to it earlier. I do that constantly.  I beat myself up for not doing things.  And then I get in a panic because I have stuff do do and I doh't know where to start.

    Which leads me to where I am now.  11:30  p.m. and  laundry is folded  and the bedroom is back in place.

    I also managed to watch most of the White Sox, fix dinner, do dishes, and play solitaire.

    I will never learn.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

buuurrrrp

 I should never shop when hungry

    I went to DeKalb today to check on a chair for Jackie.

    She has a chair that reclines and also raises  her up so I  can move her from the chair more easily.

    But the problem is, she can't rest her back against the back of the chair.  Her legs hit the front of the chair, but she is still 3 or 4 inches away from the back.  We have tried a pillow, and 2 pillows, but that does not seem t o help.

    So I went to a medical goods store to see if they had a chair that might fit her better.

    Turns out, you have to have an appointment to talk about the chair.  And they don't work on Wednesdays in the chair section.

    Whatever.

    So I made an appointment for tomorrow.  Jackie has 3 choices:  cancel it; let me go and discuss price; go and try it out.

    Obviously I will not commit unless she sits in it.

    I thought I would stop at one of the grocery stores over there that had NY strip steaks for $6.50 each with a digital coupon.

    You know me and technology.

    My password didn't work for the app.  So I had to reset the password.  Then I had to download the digital coupon.  And by golly, it all worked.

    But like I said, I was hungry.

    And the rotisserie chickens smelled really good.  So I bought one for supper.  And the broccoli salad looked good,  so I got a pound of that.  And a pound of macaroni salad.

    When we ate supper tonight I ate more chicken than I should have.  And salads.  And a pumpkin bar. 

    Now I just want to burp.  

    On the plus side, I am no longer hungry.

Peace and Love

    Especially Peace

fall

What a great day today was 

    Mild temperatures, lots of sun, brilliant skies.

    It was a wonderful day.

    I even got some things done.

     Well, after my  naps on the porch, anyway.  I slept for 40 minutes twice!  When I finally woke up,  it was after 1 and I had things to do.

    I tried pounding my tree feeder stakes into the ground, but it did not go well.  Even though we have had a lot of rain, I could not get the tree feeding stakes into the ground.

    I puzzled about this.  I tried a couple of things that didn't work.  Then I hit on the idea of driving a fence post into the ground, wiggling it around to expand the hole, then dropping the tree spike into the hole.   It worked! 

    All my trees have at least one root feeding spike in the ground, some have 2 and a couple 3, depending on the size of the trunks.

    I also weeded around a couple of trees and I finally put the bird feeder together!  I filled it with seed, so I hope to see birds come to this one.

    I also put out our pumpkin lanterns.

    None of the jobs took a lot of time, except for the tree work.

    I did take a 15 minute break for an instant coffee and a cookie, and I spent that time reading on the porch.  

    Then I got back to work.

    Yeah, I am tired.  But I feel like I accomplished something today.

    And it is not often that I say that.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

I used a pounder to drive in the fence post

I think I have to hire someone to straighten my tree.  

surprise!

 I failed to mention a couple of BIG things

    No, I did not win money in a lottery.

    No, I am not in the Epstein files.

    And no, I have not been recruited by the CIA.

    Big thing one:  After everyone left Saturday, I was getting Jackie to bed.

    Our normal routine is having her sit in the walker, facing the bed.  I then push her forward until her knees rest on the bed rail.  Then she drops forward while I swing her legs up.

    I know!  But I don't know any other way.

    Well, her leg gave out and she slid to the floor at about 10:30.  I can not get her up by myself, so I called Emily.

    Yes, she was asleep.  Yes, she was tired.  Yes, she came over.

    We spun Jack around so her feet were against the wall.  Then Emily grabbed one arm, I grabbed the other and we lifted her.  At that point she fell backward onto me and the bed.

    It was quite the deal. 

    No blood, no foul.

    But the BIG news!!

    The girls and I are going to the Christmas Market Dec. 10.

    I only go to get a mulled wine, the cup, and a Weiner schnitzel.

    But Saturday Julia told me she made reservations for lunch at a real restaurant.

    I am finally. after 78 years, going to eat in The Walnut Room!!!!

    That is one of the items on my Bucket List...now I will be able to cross that one off.

    Ever since I heard of the Walnut Room I wanted to eat there.  My parents could not afford it.  Every time I went to Fields and stared at the huge tree, I wished I was there, eating a chicken pot pie and having coffee.

    This year I get my chance.

    Jackie is going too.

    I just hope there is not a blizzard that day.

    And I don't mean from Dairy Queen.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

yucky

I am never happy with my lawn 

    Every time I mow I see the dead and thin spots and the endless mower tracks.  It never looks neat and trim, but always looks messy.

    I don't know what I am doing wrong.  Mowing too long? Too short?  Not often enough? Blades dull?              Blades out of balance?

    Maybe it is just me.

    But it frustrates me.

    Lawns in general frustrate me.  If I could, I would plant half my back yard in native plants and just let nature do her thing.

    It would save gas, time, and provide habitat for all sorts of creatures.

    But I think too many people would not like it.

    Speaking of not liking it, I watched the Bears today and was surprised to see commercials for Ken Paxton, the lowlife AG of Texas who is running for Senate.

    It was Bears vs. NY Jets.  Not exactly a Texas  audience.  I figure the billionaires supporting tRump candidates are spending lots of money to defeat James Tallarico.

    I know, his name is not spelled correctly.

    The most annoying ad  was the woman who said people have to vote for Paxton to save the Republican Party.  Save the team, or some other stuff like that.

    I was so impressed with the ads that I contributed to Tallarico's campaign.  

    So we watched the Bears dominate the Jets.   They should have had one more touchdown, and maybe a second when a pass was intercepted in the end zone.

    They played very well today.   Hope. they do that next week.

Peace and Love

    Especially Peace