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

all clear

 I think we are out of storms for the night

    Currently the sky is pinkish.  Which I think is a good sign, although I have no idea what it means.

Red sky at night, sailors' delight

Red stay at morning, sailor take warning.

    Our sky is pinkish.  That could mean the nuke plant in Byron melted down, but I don't think so.  It's the sun shining on the back end of the storm clouds, I think.

    I bought a rain gauge today and stuck it in the front at about 2:30.  I came home from a museum meeting and there was 1.5 inches of water in it!  That's a lot of rain in a little over 4 hours.

    In town some streets had standing water and on the way home ditches were pretty full, but no water on the country roads.

    I watched most of the Cubs game today.  They finally won.

    Last year the Cubs were in first place about now and the Sox were in last place.

    Today the Sox are in first and the Cubs are floundering near the bottom.  Funny how things work, eh?

    The Cubs lost 2 of 3 to the worst team in the league and the Sox won 2 of 3 from the best team.  I was surprised by both.

    I am a Cubs fan, but I am glad the Sox are winning, and winning with young players.

    There are a lot of batting and prediction sites on line.

    I am thinking of starting one called "Where does Terry hurt today?"

    I think Jackie gets tired of my complaining.  Today it's my shoulder and wrist.  Yesterday it was my back and legs.  Every day a different  part of me seems to hurt.

    I imagine someday I will just be a mass of pain.  Maybe they'll wrap  me in bandages like a mummy.

    Just leave me a straw hole for some wine.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

huh????

 Today was one of those days

    The plan was to get up early, finish clean up around the gardens, finish mowing and trim.

    I actually got all of that done.

    But I forgot to feed Beth!  How could I do that? 

    I had eaten, had my tea and was heading out the door when I noticed her food bowl was empty.  That triggered a response.  It was empty because I never filled it.

       Later  I went to the store and forgot my reusable bags, and  my produce bags,   I also forgot my grocery list.  Well, I didn't forget it because I never made one.

    I was planting some little greens in the garage when the Fed Ex truck slowed to a stop in front of the house.

    He backed up and pulled up the driveway.

    He was looking for an address and could not find it, mainly because he was on the wrong road.  I know!!  How does that happen??

    I told him he was not on Flagg Road and that  I thought maybe he had something for me.  He looked on his computerized list and said he did!  I got my new cushions for the porch chairs. 

    Then the rains came.

    I went into the house and sat down for a few minutes.  There was a huge boom of thunder that shook the house.

    Jackie asked where Beth was, because Beth does not like loud noises.

    I went and looked.  Not in the den. Not in the bedroom.  Not in the laundry area.

    I opened the garage door and there she was!  I had no idea she went into the garage.

    Our neighbor told me they had 1.25 inches in the rain gauge from the gusher today.

    It's raining again.

    Julia said she has standing water in her standing water.

    We have a tornado watch until 11.  I tend to get a little excited about those, but so far tonight I am ok.

    But it is early.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

Fireflies!

 I saw my first fireflies of the year tonight

    There were several in the front yard.  I did not even attempt to catch them.

    When I was a kid, I would collect them and put them in a jar.  There would be holes poked in the lid.

    I could sit and watch them for hours.

    Then I would set them free, at least the ones that were still alive.

    I read an article that basically said we may be the last generation to see fireflies.

    Climate change, habitat loss, pesticides..... all are combining to put stress on those little bright lights.

    It would be a shame if they disappeared.

    Years ago my cousin Sally brought her young daughter to Illinois from Alaska for a visit.  There are no fireflies in Alaska.  The little girl was entranced by them.

    I know, people also call them lightening bugs.  and some glowworms.

    But I will always call them love and summer.

    Jackie and I got our new glasses today.  She had a doctor's appointment in Sycamore, and we hit the eye doc and the vet.  Usually what happens is we get a call to pick up something minutes after we have left the place.  So the timing was great.

    After watching the start of the Knicks-Spurs game last night, I am beginning to like New York fans a lot more than I did.  That was a lot of boos.

    I have a little mowing to finish tomorrow.  10 minutes of mowing that will take me an hour.  Pick up will be the chore.

    And I have to get it done early.  Severe weather is moving into our area for the afternoon and through the next day

    I have not started to panic.....yet.

Peace and Love

    Especially Peace

wet days

 I got very little done today

    Yes, I did 1 load of laundry.   Sheets.  Folded them when they were done in the dryer and made the bed.

    I also cut up some boards from the old garden.  I stuffed 5 of them in the trash can.  Even if I had my new cart I would not put it out with the garbage.  Lesson learned.

    I still have 3 boards to cut.  It should take a normal person about 15 minutes.  I am not normal. After cutting a couple I moved to the garden and checked the crops..  Beans are up, cucumbers are up, tomatoes are doing ok.  I bought a second green pepper plant.  I just remembered that now.  I have no idea where I put it.

    I was cutting and fiddling for about 40 minutes.  Actual work time....maybe 10.

    Around 3 I sat on the porch and tried to read.  But my eyes got heavy and I napped.

    I just need to take care of little things.

    I just can't seem to get started on them.

    It is possible we will  get heavy rains tonight.  No fear of flooding because the ground is so dry it just sucks the rain in.

    You can actually hear it!   Suuuuuuck....... suuuuuck.......burp.

    Or maybe that was me.

    Time will tell.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

drip drip

 This was a hose day 

    I finally set up my garden watering system. It is Bluetooth activated and all  I have to do now is wait to see if the timers actually go on when they are supposed to.

    We had a lot of rain today.  We needed it.

    I did not have anything in my rain gauge except a crack, so I have no idea how much we got.  It had to be close to an inch.

    Emily came over to help with the table and the fountain.  The fountain took about 3 minutes.  I held and she tightened the clamp.  It works nicely now.

    But we did not move the table.  

    It was still a little tacky and moving it would probably not have been an ideal thing to do.

    Maybe tomorrow.

    She also showed me how to use my Walmart app to get a discount on gasoline.

    I grilled in the rain.

    It wasn't raining when I started, but did drizzle while I was burning meat.

    The rain must have been the magic touch, because the meat tasted pretty dang good for road kill raccoon.

    After all, beef prices are up!

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace