one job almost done

I started a project today

    Now most people won't consider it a project, but it is.
    I can't get grass to grow along my driveway or sidewalk.  All I have are weeds.
 

    It is unsightly.  I have tried before to get grass there, but I can't seem to do that.  I don't know why.
    So today I got on my hands and good knee and pulled weeds.  It took me nearly 5 hours to do it all.

    I spent a lot of time waving to people as they drove by.  I had this image of me as an old(er) guy sitting on his rocker on the porch, waving at everything that goes by. Happy and unencumbered by deep thoughts.....maybe not a bad way to live out your final years.
    Since I was on my hands and good knee, my backside was up in the air.
    I do want to thank those of you who honked, knowing I could not wave.
    And the person who left the "wide load" sign can pick it up tomorrow.
    As I was weeding, I got buzzed by a B 52 of the insect world.

    This bug, located in dead center, landed on my knee.  Then it buzzed my head and landed in the grass.  It was about 2 inches long and very loud.
    I had found a pile of sand and assumed it was an ant home.  But no ants were present, so I just mooshed the sand around and this guy showed up.
    If my info is right, this is a ground wasp called a cicada killer.  It normally does not sting people, but will if provoked.  I don't know if I provoked it or not, but it hung around for a while.

    You may not recognize this picture....but you may have seen it last night.  It is the moon that rose up early in the evening.  OK, my photo skills are not great and this time exposure should have been taken on a tripod.....but I think it looks neat.
    Tomorrow I plan to get up early and reseed the area around the driveway.  This will be the fourth time I have done it, and it never looks any better.
    Perhaps the fifth time will be the charm.
    One final picture.

    I did get my tripod out, and managed this.  But I can't take moon pictures for some reason.
    And I can't grow grass either.
    Wonder if there is a connection.

it's the pits

I finally saw a no hitter today

     I don't ever remember seeing one life.  Well, at least on TV.  It would have been great to be at the game, but ......   So, watching it on TV was a thrill.
     Years ago Milt Pappas came within one pitch of a perfect game.  I remember that day, because Rockford TV stations had the White Sox on...... on two different channels!  The channel that handled the Cubs games showed the Sox for some reason.
     I remember listening on the radio in the kitchen on Southview Drive and going nuts that I could not see the game.
     I don't remember why the Zambrano no hitter is so blank in my mind.  I know it was a game in Milwaukee that was a Houston-Chicago game but a hurricane forced the game to be moved.  Maybe it wasn't televised.
     And I was only 7 when Koufax and Hendley (or Henly....whichever) matched up and Koufax was perfect while Hendley only gave up one hit.  I don't remember that game.  Hell, I don't remember breakfast.
     And I do seem to remember Don Cardwell pitching one at Wrigley...but again, I was pretty young.
     I bought some cherries to day and was munching on them while watching Arietta pitch.  These were advertised as fresh cherries from Canada.
     The pits are not right.  They seem soft and wrinkly, not hard and smooth like USA pits.
     I am not saying Canadians don't know cherries, but these are not the best.  Maybe if I put a little maple syrup on them......

I'm hit....or maybe not

I got a stain om my shirt today

    I was at the street market in Rochelle, chomping down on a Hicks' pulled pork BBQ sandwich and sitting at a picnic table.
    When I got up, someone pointed out I had a red spot on my side.
    I must have leaned against a berry and the red berry left a stain on my shirt.
    So I just walked around a little, not paying too much attention to it.
    Kevin, of Kevin and Jen fame, saw me and said, "Are you ok?  You are bleeding!."
    I said no, it was a berry stain.
    But I had a brilliant idea:  Test out the you are bleeding statement on other people.
    So I staggered up to Michelle and Jeff and blurted, "Help....they got me."
    Ok, it was not funny.  And no, you really could not see the red that well.
    However, the stain was there.
    Michelle suggested I use the lemon in the lemon shake up I was sipping to blot the spot and remove the stain.
    I did.
    It was very cold.  It was very wet.  It was sticky.
    Now I have a huge spot on my side and sticky hands.
    I though I could just hold my arm to the side, but then I worried people would think I had a stroke and couldn't use my arm.
    But all is well that ends well.  I bought some muffins and eventually went home and washed the shirt.
    It was a nice market, a good sandwich, and a fun outing.

and now, something different

I think I have a vole infestation

     Yes, vole.
     I was trimming the yard today, being careful not to weed whack the surviving solar light, when I saw a little movement out of the corner of my eye. ( Don't let them fool you.....you can whack the light right off the stake.  That's why I remove the lights from the stakes before I weed whack.  Unfortunately, I weed whacked the stakes, sending bits flying everywhere.  I did get replacement stakes.  But that's another story.)
     At first I thought it was a mouse.  But it had a short tail and a long snout....which screams vole to me.
     It disappeared to my left.  Then I saw another blur to my right.  Vole #2!  It disappeared under the wall.
     Now I wonder; will they come in a house?  Should I worry?  Can I find a cat that has claws?
     You may remember me mentioning the hole I found in the middle of the yard.  No dirt around it, just a hole.
     Well, it's a lot bigger.  Still no dirt around it, but noticeably bigger.
     So, is is an animal?  A sink hole developing?  An alien?  Someone from China?
     I have plans to fill it with sand.  No other reason than I have a lot of sand.  Call me crazy, but I can't throw anything away.
     I don't see any tunnels in the yard....so I don't think it's a mole.  It's too big for a mouse or a vole, or a 13 lined ground squirrel and too small for a fox or Burmese python.  I hope.
     And finally, Emily moved her day lillies to a place behind my house.  It is now quite weedy.  In the middle of the weeds, there is a spot that looks like something bedded down in it....maybe a deer or a homeless person.  Hoping it is a deer.
     Which would explain why the back motion detector  light has gone on a couple of times this past week.
     Oh well....life in the country.  Always interesting.

I found it

I can almost put up my bird feeder

     I got it a week or so before the tornado.  You remember, that EF 4 storm that ripped through the area.
     Anyway, my feeder and stand were in the garage, just waiting for me to install it.
     After the storm, we salvaged as much as we could from Emily's house.  All that we found went in our garage.
     Somehow, the parts to the feeder got separated.
     The garage is a little more manageable now, although there is still a lot of stuff in there.  I am going through boxes....again....and trying to get it all sorted.  Sort of.
     Anyway, I could not find a part or two for the feeder.  So I went back to the store in Rockford and got the part.
     "Do you still have the screws?" the nice man asked.
     "Yes, I still have those." I replied with a confident air.
     He gave me the part I needed and explained how to mount the feeder.
     I went home.  When I was organizing the garage today, I found the missing part.
     But   surprise!!  I can't find the screws.
     I imagine some day I will have all the parts together and will be able to mount the feeder.
     But it won't be this week.
     And an electrician came to look at my doorbell.  He thinks it's the transformer.
     Problem is, my transformer may be behind the drywall in the basement.
     So, I will be looking for a wireless doorbell system.
     Hopefully I can return the bell I bought.
     Life sometimes is rather disorganized.
     Or maybe it's just me.

one last look

I am running out of things to write about

     Seriously.  I am going dry.
     So, just some pictures today.
     These are of Julia's new place, and her old place.
     This will be the last batch of Switzerland pictures, I think.  Julia was going to send me some she took, but I have not seen them yet.

Julia's new living room, from the dining room.

 The new place....cars not included.

 Put this picture and the next one together, you get the view from her terrace.

 Packing up at the old place.

 The old place almost cleared out.

     The new place, but nothing is in the right spot.  This was during moving day.

The dining room.....note the large window opens two ways.  You can also open it from the top.

T

The second guest room......en suite bathroom is right behind where I am taking the picture

T

     This is the larger guest bedroom, but there is no bathroom door.....yet.

     The view from the second bedroom.....imagine being in bed and looking out and seeing this.  Not the car or the dead plants, but the lake and mountains.

    The outdoor dining area has a large mirror.  If you are eating and not facing the lake, you can see it in the mirror.

     Looking up the valley on a stormy day.

    Well, that is it.
    Good night and peace to all.

not a negative outlook

Sometimes I can't believe myself

    I had a phone call.  Needed to call someone back.  Checked the phone and found the number.  It sounded familiar.  I dialed it.  As I was waiting for the call to be answered, my cell phone started ringing.  I answered it.  No one there.  No one on the house phone either.  Seems I called my cell phone then hung up on myself.  That's why it was so familiar.
    Still can't find the keys to Emily's rental.
    Set this week as garage cleaning week.  It's almost Wednesday.  I haven't even looked in the garage except to get in a car.  Maybe next week.
     Julia lives near Vevey in Switzerland.  It is a neat little town, very lively.  I enjoy going to the market and exploring the cobbled streets.
     So, here are a few shots of what I saw around Vevey.

 Dana....this one's for you.

 Magazine kiosk near the market

I think these are Chinese Lanterns?  

 I had egg plant twice while here....quite tasty!

 Flat peaches.  These are a white fleshed peach and the look like turbines.  They are good.

 I goofed.  The red soap toward the center is called "vin rouge" but I did not buy any.  Should have.

 Caramel is boiling.....

 This is what it becomes.

 More eggplants!

    There was a festival going on.  You could buy a glass, and as you wandered the market you could fill it with wine from one of the roving carts.  I love the carts....always wanted one but they are expensive and I have no idea what I would do with one!  But I still like them.

 This cheese has truffles in it.  Truffles are rare and expensive mushrooms, so that may explain why this cheese is 30 CHF a kilo, or about $7 a pound.

 You need a big blade and strong arms to slice cheese.

 In old town of Vevey....I love the sound of these horns.

 The police station.....

Switzerland is neutral, but has always been militarily prepared

What can I say?

smile, please

I take too many pictures

     In the old days of film photography, I would be very careful with pictures.  I knew the cost in developing could be high, so I was careful to take only the pictures I wanted.  Even then, getting a developed roll back yielded pictures that screamed, "What the hell was I thinking?"
     The pictures and negatives went into a shoe box until they could go in an album.
     Now, with a digital camera, I just shoot and shoot and shoot.  I don't have a shoebox to store them in, but I do have a computer with a big memory.
     Big enough to store 13,540 photographs and 131 videos.
     131 videos.  Amazing.  I did not know I had a video option on my little camera.  Once I discovered it, a new world opened.
     And my phone?  There is a video option there also.  I have some great videos of blankets sitting on the ground at the Buffett concert, (1:31); the camera in my pocket after being at Emily's new house (2:45) the Cubs convention, the train ride in Switzerland.....
     Needless to say, I have learned to turn the phone off after I take pictures.  That way I don't accidentally film 2:45 of the dashboard on my car.
     I have made a goal of deleting pictures I don't want.  I started tonight.
     I now have 12,350 pictures.  I still have the 131 videos, which I don't understand because I have deleted several.  I thought.
     I deleted blurry pictures of the moon, pictures of flowers, (Yes, those were going to be made into 8 x 10 prints and installed in my antique window frame that was salvaged four times from Emily's basement.  I can always take new pictures.) my last class's Christmas program and the sumo wrestling event at Tilton my last year.   Ok, I did save one of the sumo pictures.  (Beth, it was a costume.)
     I saved pictures of my 60th birthday party because it was so much fun and brought back great memories.
     And every picture of Julia leaving or arriving, and every picture of Emily and her dogs, and every picture of Jackie telling me not to take her picture, and pictures of family.....all those I saved.
     But I still want to cull another 5,000 from my computer.
     I figure I will go slowly through the vacation pictures and eliminate blurry or duplicate photos...that should take care of at least 4,000.
     Meanwhile, here are a few of my favorite  pictures from my steam train ride  and train museum visit during my recent trip.....and I did not comment on all of them!

Craig reliving his Australian days.......

 There were hooks at the top of the windows and the leather straps were notched, like a giant belt.  Passengers would open the windows and hook the notch, which would hold  the window open.

 How do you clear snow off a railroad track????  Here's how!

 On the return trip, the engine backs down the mountain. I don't think it is pulling the train, more like holding the cars back so they don't careen madly down the mountain.

 Some old, and some new, friends.

     The gang's all here...except for Elizabeth and me.  Someone has to take pictures.
     Well, those were some of the highlights from my steam train trip at Julia's.
     Tomorrow, a walk around Vevey.
     Peace out, dudes.