diggin it

 I have a new project in my head

    I know it is June, but I just recently opened the bird feeder I got for Christmas.

    It takes video of the birds at the feeder.

    The feed gets sent to my phone, and then I can move it to my computer.

    But I have to mount the feeder on something.

    So I am thinking of getting a 6 ft. tall 4 x 4 of treated wood.  Then I will dig a 2 ft. deep hole and put the post in the hole, backfilling it with dirt.

    Then I will mount the bird feeder and the solar panel on the post.

    That sounds like a great plan until I realized how deep 2 feet is and how hard it will be for me to dig it.

    But that is my plan.  For now. 

    Once I start digging I may change my mind.  I may dig the hole before I buy the post.

    Jackie sits at the nook table for breakfast.  She needed to use the restroom today, and as soon as I got her in the restroom I went back to the kitchen and watched a deer dance through our yard.  Jackie missed seeing it by lesst than 3 minutes.

    I have not seem many deer this year.  I am happy, because that means the garden will have a chance to actually grow.

    If only I can figure out what is wrong with my strawberries.

    I also have to figure out how to connect hoses to the hydrants on the house so that they don't spray water.  I have replaced washers,  taken the hose off and reconnected it and still the damn things leak.

    And finally, my most frustrating issue.  The Rochelle paper used to be 3 times a week, then it went to 2 times, now it is once.  I love to do the crossword puzzle..... but for the third time the same puzzle has appeared!  Three times!!!!

    The first clue across is sealed with a kiss and the second clue is large sandwich........as much as I hate doing it, I am not renewing my subscription.

    It is no longer a newspaper....it is just a paper.

    Back to my crossword book.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

whew

 We missed the bulk of bad weather today

    It was windy.

    I was ready to get in the shower when Jackie started yelling for me.  I went to the nook table and said, "What?" in a highly aggravated manner because I only had on a facecloth.

    She yelled, "The grill!"

    I looked out and the grill had moved from the wall to the top of the steps.

    I quickly put on sweatpants and a shirt and went to fetch the grill, which actually had one wheel off the patio!

    Luckily no damage was done.  But that had to be a strong wind.

    We only got a little over half an inch of rain, which was a surprise.  From the forecasts and warning I thought we would be building an arc in the garage.

    The bigger, and yet unresolved, issue is temperature.

    Jackie was cold.  The house was at 67.  She asked me to raise the temperature.

    I raised it to 72.  Still cold.  I put it to 73.  Still cold.

    That's when I checked the vents and found no air was coming out of them!  No fan was running, no heat, nothing.

    I went downstairs and hit the reset and the furnace turned on for about 15 seconds and then shut down.

    HVAC people will be out tomorrow to have a look.

    On the brighter side, I found the blades for the Ninja chopper.  I have put the unit together on the pantry shelf.  A memory came flooding back to me.  I broke Julia's Ninja just about the time she moved out.  So I bought 2 of them, one for her and one for us.  But I kept the motor part of the old one, which made me think we actually had 2.  But we didn't.

    I went through the pantry and am embarrassed by things I found.

    Years ago our church hosted chili cook offs.  I made white chicken chili one year, using a package of white chicken chili seasoning.

    I found a package on the shelf. It had a best use by 2016 date on it.

    10 years!  I have had that for 10 years!

    I also threw numerous goods out that were 3 and 4 years past the best use by dates.

    It angers me that I bought stuff and never used it.

    But I was not comfortable trying it now.  Better safe than sick.

        Peace and Love

                Especially Peace

whaaat??????

 I generally don't believe in omens

    I have walked under ladders and survived.  

    Black cats have crossed my path and there has been no effect.

    I have dropped many forks on the floor.  I don't know what that means except I am clumsy.

    But tonight I am a bit spooked.

    I looked at the NOAA weather service forecast for Wednesday in our area.

    We could get a LOT of rain.  And thunderstorms.  And hail.

    Usually I take all that with a grain of salt.

    But not tonight.

    Because at the bottom of the hydrologic forecast is the word DOOM.

    Doom!!!

    I looked at another forecast on the same site and there is no word, only $$.

       Doom!!!

    I can guarantee rain because today I got all the windows washed, inside and out.  Screens too.

    Thanks to Matt and his crew, all we had to do was write a check.

    But I did have to wash and hang curtains, because Jackie says whenever the windows get washed, so do the curtains.

    I am cutting this short tonight because I have to prepare myself for the end of the world.

    DOOM!!!!!

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

oops

 I bought some flavored water today

    I am getting tired of plain water and Gatorade.  And I am trying to cut back on pop.

    I thought flavored water would be a god idea.

    I bought 2 bottles and when I got home, I put ice in a glass, dropped the plastic bottle, picked it up and opened it and water sprayed everywhere!

    It does not say carbonated on the label.  To say I was surprised would be an understatement.

    I mowed today, probably the first time I mowed before it got too long to cut nicely.  But I think we may get rain the next few days and I did not want it to get out of hand.

    I even timed mowing the field........45 minutes.  Just seems like it takes longer than t hat.

    I planted 10 little trees about 3 weeks ago.  I think some of them have survived.  The maples and hickory seem to be still struggling, but the oaks look toast.

    I wish manufacturers would put some sort of device on these big ass trucks with the oversized wheels to indicate the driver is turning. Slowing down and suddenly turning deserves some kind o signal, so maybe car makers could put some device in those gas guzzlers.

    Yes, I am a bit grouchy.

    Did a lot today and I am tired and sticky and hot and irritated and frustrated that the Ccubs can't score runners.  It took a walk in the bottom of the ninth to get a win.  But a win is a win,

    But aside from all that, today was an ok day.

    Sam and Kevin  stopped by while I was out in the driveway.  It is always nice to see them.

    And I now have my golf cart, lawn mower, and huge yard cart all in the garage.  The house no longer looks with theBeverly Hillbillies live here.

    But oh so much more to do.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace.

2 down

 And four to go

    We have 6 can lights in the kitchen.

    They have been in since the house was built 14 (almost) years ago.  About 2 weeks ago 1 burned out.  I did not replace it because today's bulbs have a different "color" than the ones from 14 years ago.

    Today a second one bit the dust.

    Now I have a problem.  The kitchen is dark.  Not terribly dark, but much darker than I am used to.

    I really don't want differently  hued bulbs, but I do want light.

    And I hate tossing out 4 bulbs that work, with an unknown death date.

    Sigh.

    Here's my bigger problem.

    You know I have trouble finding things because I don't put them away.

    We have 2 little Ninja machines that chop up stuff.

    I can find the motors.  I can find the tops.  I can find the canisters.  I can not find the blades.

    A normal person would've put them all together.  But the canisters were in the cabinet above the oven and the motor and tops were in different places in the pantry.

    I have looked in every cabinet, on every shelf, in every drawer but I can not find the choppers. Damn, that is frustrating.

    I have spent hours looking today.

    I found all natural dog treats that were best used by May 2024.  I tossed those.

    I found some chocolate bars.  I kept those.

    But I did not find the little choppers.

    I am going to look again tomorrow.  

    I did find all the parts to a smoothie maker, although Julia had to show me how the parts went together.  I used it last summer but just did not remember.

    I used it because we have a blender.  I made Jackie a smoothie the other day and  the blender  leaked all over the counter.  It seems the little gasket that acts as a seal is torn enough to cause a leak.  That is why I used the smoothie maker last year.  That came to me while wiping up the counter.

    Tomorrow is another day, by golly, and those blades will show up!

    I hope.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

stormy weather

 I predict a major storm tonight or tomorrow

    Not a tornado, but high winds.  And heavy rain.

    Why do I say that?

    Because my patio table is actually on the patio.

    Julia and I were going to put the legs on and take it out, but it started raining.

    So Emily came over later and helped put the legs on and we carried it out.  

    She also solved the problem of the cart not going together.

    Julia and I tried, but we could not get the sides to fit.

    Emily came and looked at it.

    The back of each side panel had a U shaped slot on a 90 degree angle.

    Emily took a pliers and bent it straight out instead of on a 90 degree angle and it all went together easily.

    I had thought of doing that, but I also thought it was unusual to have 2 pieces bent the wrong way, so it must be designed that way.

    Emily simply said they looked bent to start with.

    Tomorrow I will take out the chairs and umbrella and then I can begin sitting outside and watching the world go by.

    I used my new cultivator on the garden today and it was amazing how quickly I could weed the 4 beds.  Everything I planted seems to be coming along nicely except the carrots and lettuce.  I can't see a lot of carrots and I don't see any lettuce sprouts.  But it is still early.  

    The only negative of the day was Julia's dog peed in our house!  Beth has never done that before.  Emily was playing with her and Beth just squatted and peed.  I guess Beth was so excited to have someone on the floor with her that she just couldn't hold it.

    Beth did drop a load on the concrete floor part of the basement once, but she had just come here and we may not have read her "Let me out" signs correctly.

    And if that is the worst she does, I will be  a happy person.

    Hope you are too.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

grrrr

 I almost put my new lawn garden cart together

    I got a slow start today.  I was just really tired and had no get up and go.

    But at 3 I went out to start assembling the cart.

    All went well until it didn't.

    The sides don't fit right.  

    I can't figure out what I did wrong.  I tried reversing the sides, turning them around, but nothing seems to solve the issue.  I fiddled with it until 4:30 then took a half hour break.  I just sat on the porch, enjoying the beautiful day.

    I went back to the cart and still could not figure it out.

    So I t texted Julia and Emily and asked them for help.  One, or both, will stop over tomorrow to see what is wrong.

    They have both assembled carts.  

    Whenever that happens I think the product is defective.  Something is not in the right place or the right size and that is why I am having problems.

    Of course that is never the case.

    I also took Beth for a walk.

    I swear, she must have  peed 15 times on our little stroll.  Plus, she twice  dumped a load and tried to a third time, but nothing came of it.

    And yes, I carry bags to pick up her droppings.  I won't let her go in someone's yard, only in empty lots.  But we are running out of them.  Lots, not bags.

    We must have made a spectacle.  Her peeing, me pulling up my pants, her pooping, me picking it up and pulling up my pants.

    I was thirsty when I sat down to do this tonight.  I can't have pop, I have had my fill of Gatorade, water was not appealing.  Julia left some hard ciders in the fridge.  So. I opened that and discovered a taste I  really do not like.

    Just a topper to my day.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace