call me lefty

Here's another mystery of life that baffles me 

    Worked in the yard a little today.  Went to grab a pair of work gloves from my work glove box.

    Got a left one and a ......left one.

    Grabbed another.......also left.

    Took a third.....also left.

    Took a fourth....guess what it was.  Left, again!

    Fifth glove fit the right hand.

    How it is possible that I have so many left handed gloves and so few right handed?

    I did find a second right handed one, but evidently I ran over it with the mower because it only had 3 fingers and half a thumb.  I must not have been wearing it because I have all my fingers and thumb.

    I guess tomorrow I will be going through the box and throwing away gloves that don't have mates.  Then I will be sure to lose the left ones and have extra right ones.

    There are other problems that perplex me.  How can I wash all my socks and end up with one extra black one and one extra gray?  

    How can I wash a shirt only to have it come out with more spots than it went in with?

    Why can't I keep a dustpan in the garage without it disappearing?

    What happened to the 2016 World Series  Champion Cubs?

    How come I keep hitting return instead of shift when I type, which  causes me to insert lines in previous sentences?

    Life is full of mysteries.  What I need are solutions.

Peace and Love

crazy

 I need to stop with the dreams

    It's great I am sleeping at night......but holy cow.

    Last night I dreamt we had worms in the back yard.

    Nothing odd about that, you say.

    But these worms lived in big round holes, were accordian shaped, had huge heads and mouths full of teeth.  Plus they could leap.

    I would throw potato chips at them and they would catch them in mid air!  They could devour an entire person in just a few minutes.

    Someone was approaching the worm field and I tried to warn them but they kept going and the worms jumped on them.

    Then I woke up.

    But, and there is always a big butt, when I went back to bed the worms had moved from the back yard to my bed!  (In my new dream, of course.  Not in real life!) I could see these accordian shaped flesh eating creatures moving inside the mattress.

    Jackie did not believe me at first, but I made her stand and watch them and sure enough....the covering over the mattress moved up and down as the worms moved about.

    Some people came and took the mattress.....and I woke up.

    If I could write a novel, I might use the worm things as the force that scientists warn will kill people.  But everyone ignores the scientists.  Sound familiar?

    When I mowed today I paid special attention to the back of the yard, but I saw  no huge holes and no accordian shaped worms.  But just because I did not see them  doesn't mean they don't exist.

    Sleep tight....watch your step outside.

Peace and Love

Lost and found

 Sometimes I just don't understand myself

    I did some laundry yesterday.  I washed, dried and folded a nightgown of Jackie's.  Last night when she went to bed, I got out a nightgown and noticed I was missing one.

    I know I had folded it and set it on the bed yesterday.  

    But it wasn't in her drawer, in my drawer, with the towels or sheets, still in the drier or anywhere I looked.  

    I eventually texted Linda to see if I gave it to Dan when I got him his coat.

    Then I found it.....in the dirty wash.

    Evidently I never washed it and the 30 minutes or so I spent looking for it were wasted.

    Then I could not find my car keys.  I have an app called Tile that helps me locate keys, but it kept telling me the keys were out of range....whatever the hell that means.

    I walked all around the house....no signal, no keys.

    I asked Julia to help me and the locator led us out to the back yard, by the gardens.  But that made no sense since I had not been out there since I drove the car.

    I mentally backtracked my day Saturday and Friday. I picked up more plants Friday, and it was raining, so I checked my rain jacket and there were my keys!  Go figure!  Only an hour wasted on that little hunt.

    I need to stick to a routine on where I put things so I quit wasting time looking for them.

    Last night I had a dream involving me having a 111.7 (yes, it was that specific!) temperature and my car towed because I left a bulldog in the car in freezing weather.  Crazy, I know!

    But at least I slept....and I am grateful for that.

Peace and Love.  Pray for Ukraine.

And pictures.

These are my plants in front this week!

Monday

Tuesday

Thursday

Today

These beetles are by my back door every night!  Last night there were hundreds of them.  And I can't figure out how I turned the underline on, how I got blue, or how to get rid of it .   Or the bugs.

Whew!!

We had a pretty great evening today 

    Friends we have not seen  much of lately came over and Julia prepared fondue for the group.

    There were 8 of us, which is pretty much the limit for people to do fondue at our house.

    We also had raclette, which is a self cooking dish featuring cheese, meat, potatoes and assorted vegetables.  

    Altogether it made for a very relaxing social event.  Lots of talking, laughing, some wine, good food.

    Dan made an excellent creme brulée for dessert.

    Thank you  Julia, Emily, Jackie, Sheri, Beth, Dan and Linda for coming and making such a fun night.

    That's it!

Peace and Love

Creme brulée in the making

I think this is a pretty little thing!

    

Like Otis

 As in Otis Redding, sitting on the dock, eating time

    Granted, I wasn't on a bay.  But I did waste away some time.

    After breakfast, I really felt tired.

    So I decided to take a nap at about noon.

    Instead of sleeping in the bed, or in my chair, I opted for the recliner on the porch.

    It was breezy and cool.  I grabbed a heavy throw and wrapped it around me and over my head.  It felt great.

    I imagined I was on a ship at sea, sitting in a deck chair.  And on the balcony at Julia's in Switzerland on a cool October afternoon.  And sitting along an ocean, watching the tide roll away.

    All the while I was covered from head to toe.  Jackie woke me about 1:30 and I felt refreshed.  Chilled, but refreshed.

    As Otis sang: sitting in the chair on the porch, wasting time.  Well, he didn't really sing that, but I did.

    Made a quick run to the prairie plug people and picked up more plugs to finish planting. (Enough of p in that sentence?)   Then went to DeKalb to pick up some dry cleaning.  Rochelle doesn't have a dry cleaner anymore, I don't think. Now I wonder if there is a drop off spot.

    I did not do any yard work at all and I don't feel bad.  My body has a little time to rest, which I think it needed.

    After all, tomorrow is another day.

    I will probably regret today when the temps go into the upper 80s and I have plugs to plant....but sometimes I just need a nap.

Peace and Love.  Pray for Ukraine.  Pray for the families in Texas.

really?

 Are you experienced?

    Jimi Hendrix asked us that 55 years ago this month!   Holy crap!  Where did those years go?

    I got my hair cut (actually, my hairs) the other day and when I got home I looked in the mirror and wondered where my blond hair went!  It is mostly white....and I don't like the look.

    Working in the garden the last few days has really been a stress on my body.  My back hurts, my knees hurt, my hands hurt.......gardening seems to be more painful than relaxing.

    I am in the process of getting help.  But, and there is always a but, deep down inside I think I can do it and I want to do it, so I have not asked for help before.  Then I got to thinking, we have someone who comes in and cleans the house, what's the difference beetween that and someone helping me "clean" the outside?

    A younger me would be good with the work, but the real me is not having fun.

    Now that my native garden is almost fully planted, I keep thinking of what is next.  I would like a metal, life size bison to stick in the garden, but I have not found one I can afford on line.  Jackie just rolls her eyes when I mention it.

    I talked to a local realtor today and he said the lot next to us will probably have a house on it by Christmas.  In some ways, I hope it does not happen.  The lot has not been mowed completely this year and the grass is about 1 foot hight.

    Now, that does not bother me one bit.  In fact, I love watching it "wave" in the breeze, much like early settlers would have done in the 1800s.  And red wing blackbirds nest in the tall grass, plus deer bed down in it some nights.

    When we moved into this house I thought of buying that lot.  At the time it was $32,000.  Now that seems like a bargain as it is listed in the $50,000 range.  I guess that is supply and demand at work....the less lots there are to build on, the more expensive those lots become.

    I'll miss the emptiness once a house is built.  I just hope the new neighbors are as nice as the people already here.

Peace and Love.  Pray for Ukraine.  Pray  the families in Texas.

 

road trip

 I took a road trip to Amish country today

    We were looking for a special piece of furniture, so we called my sister in law who lives near there  and Julia, Emily and I made the drive north.

    Someone came in to care for Jackie, so all was good.

    We all met at the grocery store, located east of Portage out in the country.  Amish country.

    The store has no electricity, so it is fairly dark on a rainy day like today.  And yes, it rained on us from the moment we got out of the car there until we were nearly home.  

    The grocery store is like any other store.  Except most of the items are packaged in bulk.  So I bought some granola, trail mix, anise square candies....you know, the essentials.  By the way, cash or check only, no credit cards.

    We stopped at the furniture store, looked at the offerings, made a decision, then moved on.  I also bought a pint of locally made maple syrup.  By the way, cash or check only, no credit cards.

    To cheese shop, where I bought locally produced smoked gouda, gorzonga (not sure of the exact spelling.....like a blue cheese)  cheese crumbs, baby swiss, string cheese and more granola.  By the way, cash or check only, no credit cards.  But they do have electricity to run the coolers and refrigerators.

    Then we hit the bakery.  The folks were baking up a storm in the back, and I ended up with cinnamon bread, cinnamon buns, a little pecan pie, a small cherry pie, cookies.....never go shopping when hungry!  By the way, cash or check only, no credit cards.

    It was a pretty good day....but I bought enough junk food to feed an army.  I don't have much self control.

    But I have a lot of cookies.

Peace and Love.  Pray for Ukraine.

spices and toppings of all kinds at the grocery story

No school today

I have no idea

Too many choices...so buy a lot

Good lesson to remember

Transportation on a rainy day

crud

 I mowed today

    I about froze!  I thought yesterday was cold. but man alive, I was chilled to the bone again today.

    I came in the house and took a hot, hot shower.  Then I put my pajamas on and ate supper.  I still can't get warm!

    But today I did put down cardboard and layered mulch around my native plants.  I think I lost a couple....two of them don't look very good.

    I still need about 30 plants to finish....hopefully I can get over to Creston Friday and see what they have.

    It usually takes me 90 minutes to mow.  Tonight I did it in 61!  Julia was in the house so I did not have to stop every few minutes to check for phone calls from Jackie.  Plus, Julia got her supper so I did not have to stop for that.

    The cold and the little droplets of moisture that hit me in the face did make me mow a little faster, but having someone with Jackie is a huge help.

    I ordered 5 yard of mulch.  I have used about half of it on the native garden, so I have plenty to do around trees and around the house.

    I have a habit of doing something then getting distracted and starting something else.  That almost happened to me today.  My burr oak in the back yard needs mulch around it and I thought about doing that but I told myself NO!  Finish what you are doing, I said.  Then mulch all the trees at one time.

    That does make sense.  I am glad I listened to me.

    If everyone listened to me it would be a much better world.

Peace and Love.  Pray for Ukraine.  Pray for the victims in Texas.

unvelievable

 I can't believe I am drinking hot chocolate writing this

    I don't know if this is spring, summer or fall...we seem to have had all of them in the past two weeks.

    It is in the mid 50 outside.  I spent time working in the garden and was chilled to the bone.

    (Note:  not to be confused with the 70s hit Bad to the Bbbbone.)

    Julia made tacos for supper, did the dishes, and took care of Jackie while I was out planting prairie plugs. 

    I got a late start today because I went to DeKalb.  I had some dry cleaning to drop off, which we forgot to do last Thursday when we were in DeKalb.  I mainly wanted to buy an almond  colored downspout, but could not find one in the big box store.  I guess I will have to call the gutter guys and see if I can get one from them.

    Also on my list was a specific plant to go with my salvias.  They did not have that either.

    So I stopped at a grocery store.

    I was gone nearly 3 hours by the time I got home!  How can it take so long to accomplish so little?

    Frustrating.

    I noticed gas in DeKalb was over $5 a gallon in several places.  Holy crap.

    I should sleep well tonight....tired, cold, and ready for bed already.

Peace and Love.  Pray for Ukraine

TGIS

I am glad it was Sunday 

    Most calendars in the US have Sunday as the first day of the week, but many European calendars have it as the last day.

    That can be confusing to old folks who just look at the space and assume Sunday is the first day, but they are writing in a calendar where Sunday is the last day.  Not hat I have ever done that.

    I like to think of it as the last day of the week. 

    In keeping with that, here are some highlights of the week.

    Friends from Tennessee stopped in to say hello.  Pat and Mike moved a while ago and were "up north" for some family events and celebrations.  It was great to see them, even if it was only for a little while.

    I spent two days weeding my flowers around the house and now my back hurts.  Big Brother Carl pointed out I was 74 and should not be overdoing it.

    I had my first salmon of hte summer.  Grilled it, seasoned with a little rosemary, and enjoyed  it for 2 meals.  Also read a guide to salmon and it said avoid Atlantic salmon because they have the most fat and chemicals from the environment.  The guide suggested sockeye as the best.

    I burst into tears twice.  I was weeding today and looked at the empty porch.  Corki would sit out there, or lay out there, as I worked. When I was grilling, I pictured her standing right next to me, waiting for something to fall.  I miss her so much.  We all do.

    I paid a hospital bill from my 2017 procedure.  I had a couple of stents inserted and the bill came today....almost 5 years to the date.  My share was $138, the total was over $43,000,  I debated calling insurance, but then I would be on the phone with them, then the hospital, then insurance, then the hospital......so I just said the heck with it and paid it.  It saved me that much in aggravation.  

    I picked up my native plants.  I have 105, but I need about 120 more.  I will go through the list and see what is available for me to buy and plant...bit they were out of some of the ones I originally ordered.

    I thought about getting my bike down.....but that is as far as I got.

    I delivered the martin house to the theater group.  The new theater is right next to a creek and I think that will help draw nature's best mosquito eaters to the house.

    I also delivered some clothes to the resale shop.  Jackie has been going through her side of the closet and discarding clothes that no longer are needed.

    Weed whacked my ankle, but no damage was done.

    So......that is about it for highlights..  

    This coming week I plan to finish weeding, plant the natives I have, set up my herb garden and ride my bike.  

    Time will tell.

Peace and Love     Pray for Ukraine

a world tour

 I am currently on a world tour

    I dicovered you don't actually have to leave the house to experience the world.

    For example, I just finished reading a blog from my friend Lady C in England.  Then I looked at some pictures from Switzerland.  Scrolling through a couple of French websites, I thought about the wine I was drinking from Moldova.  And we had pizza for supper.

    I have travelled half way around the world and have not left my house.

    Isn't the internet amazing?

    The wine was a birthday present from the girls.  It is a 12 pack of bottles  from around the world.  These are not regular size bottles, but half size.  There is one wine from Moldova, which has a robust, hearty flavor and a great  bouquet.  The others are from Spain, Italy and France, as far as I can tell.

    Moldova is located just west of Ukraine, which has been in the news a little lately.

    Moldova is a small country, less than 3 million people, 

    Two websites said it is best known for its world class wine and its ancient monestaries.

    Who knew?  I mean about the wines.  

    Next time I go into a wine store I will look for some from there just to experience different tastes.

    In the mean time, I learned that England no longer has the vast oak forests it used to have.  In fact, folks there are being encouraged to plant trees in honor of the Queen and oaks are being touted.

    I have a burr oak in my yard.  This tree will take a couple of hundred years to fully mature.  Jackie asked me why I planted such a slow growing tree.  (I also planted one on the Skare Court land about 30 years ago.)

    I told her we don't plant trees for us, we plant them for future generations.

    I like to think that in 100 years some kids will be playing under, or climbing on my burr oak.  And squirrels, maybe an owl, will be occupants of the higher branches.

  I promise not to yell at them.

Peace and Love.  Pray for Ukraine.

    

    

ouch

 I did yard work today

    I am a little bit sore.  I trimmed, mowed and weeded with the weeding being the biggest reason for soreness.  Knees and back, and hands.  Getting old is a real pain!

    Of course, stepping into the whirling weed trimmer did not feel great, but there was no blood and no foul.

    Luckily I had put on long pants instead of shorts, even though it was warm.  I don't have any wound, but my left ankle is a little tender.  I just was not paying attention.

    I actually got a lot done because Julia was here to take care of Jackie for the more mundane tasks, like drinks, picking up stuff, and doing other errands that normally I would have to drop whatever I was doing and come into the house.  So I mowed non stop!  A rarity!!

    I am really messed up on time.  I keep thinking it is summer, but we have not hit Memorial Day yet.  I usually cut my perennials early in the spring, but I kind of lost track when spring was.  We had cold, then hot, then cold and the old growth looks terrible.  So I have been slowly removing all that.

    It is raining tonight.  But it is really weird.

    It seems to rain for a few minutes, then stop.  Five minutes later it rains again, and stops.  It is not a coninuous rain, but it is heavy.   Heavy for a few minutes, then it stops.

    Weird.

    I got up at 6 to take out the garbage this morning.  I was afraid it would blow away in the overnight storms that never happened.

    Because I was doing yard work, I did not get a chance to take a nap.  I am tired, but the Earl Gray I had at 4 might not have been a good idea.  It's a good tea, but caffeine that late may impact my ability to sleep.

    I hear Rip Van Winkle a bowlin' in the hollers........ in other words, it is thundering.

    Hopefully it will mean a night of gently rain for the yard and gardens.

Peace and Love.  Pray for Ukraine.

    

Early!!!

 Usually I am late for everything, but not today

    Jackie had a doctor appointment in DeKalb today, and we had asked a former co-worker and her husband to meet us at Ollie's.  (Those not familiar with the name, Ollie's is a frozen custard stand in Sycamore.  For years it was in DeKalb, but moved a while ago.  Great custard.)

    We said around noon, because the appointment was 11.  Figured plenty of time.

    Turns out thry could not make it, so we planned to hit Ollie's anyway.

    We got there about 10 minutes to 12 and there was no line. No one waiting at the walk up window, where I intended to order my  Black Forest sundae.  No one waiting in the drive thru line, where Jackie would have ordered a cone if the window was closed.

    In fact, there was no one inside the stand because they don't open until 1.

    No custard for us!

    We were on time for her doctor appointment, early for the library board meeting, and in general had a great day.

    I ran the dishwasher last night.  I run it at night and empty it in the morning 90 percent of the time.

    Tonight I grilled some salmon for me and a couple of small steaks for Julia and Jackie. That took 2 plates.  Pulled the steaks off the grill.  Another plate.  Pulled the salmon off the grill, plate number 4.  Served dinner...plates 5, 6, 7 and I have to run the dishwasher again!

    Holy cow, we are going through dishes like water!

    Thank heavens for the dishwasher.

    Another windy day with storms coming in the early morning.  I hate night storms.  I don't much like day storms, but I am more of a nervous nelly at night. 

    I also dread taking out the garbage....my fear is it will blow over and away.  I may just get up at 6 and take it out then.  Maybe.  

    Decisions, decisisons.

Peace and Love.  Pray for Ukraine.

again

 I may have finished my garden

    The veggies are all planted,  the hoses are set up.  Now all I have to do is figure out how to program the suckers.

    I can use my cellphone to do that, but so far it has confused me.  I hope I figure it out by tomorrow

    I also realized I made a huge mistake.

    I ordered 130 prairie plugs for my new addition.  Problem is, I ordered the wrong number.

    The plot is 6 x 40.    They recommend one plant per square foot.  I  needed 240 plants!  I was thinking 6 x 20, which is what the two plots I have each measure.  I even had about 200 plants on the original list, but downsized that because I did not need that many.

    Damn.  130 would be ok for 6 x 20. Oh well.  Just have to order more.

    I took some time to go through my posts from last fall, thinking I would find a hint about the missing hose.  Friend Pam suggested that.

    I didn't find a reference, but I found lots of memories.

    Especially of Corki.  And Switzerland.  

    It made me realize how lucky I have been in life.  I have a wonderful family,  I have traveled, I have a roof over my head, I have great friends, and for a little over 6 years I had an amazing dog.

    Time is short, indeed.

Peace and Love.  Pray for Ukraine.

memories

 Sometimes my mind astounds me

    Pittsburgh Pirates have a player named Dan Vogelbach.   I said to Jackie, he played for the Cubs at one time.

    So I Googled the Pirates roster, clicked on his name, and sure enough!  Cubs signed him in 2011, he played with them until 2016, mostly in the minors but with a couple of major league call ups,  then he was moved to another team.

    If I remember, he was playing first base and the Cubs realized they already had a first baseman in Anthony Rizzo, so they traded him. 

    Why do I remember that, but I can not remember what happened to the hose I bought last year!  This was one of those expensive coils up when you turn off the water type that I used for porch plants.

    I swear I put it away.  But it is nowhere in the garage.  Not that my garage is that clean a cursory glance would locate it, but it is not there.

    I found the martin house I thought would be put up in my back yard 9 years ago.  I found three tank sprayers, a couple of animal traps, some orange vests for people picking up trash along the roadside, and other odds and ends.  But no hose.

    Understand:  my entire afternoon was based on finding that hose!

    Jackie had a hair appointment so I was there until almost 3.  When I got home I spent time trying to find the hose and also trying to disconnect two hoses so I could use one of them on the garden.  As hard as I tried, I could not disconnect them.

    So I decided to read for a few minutes on the front porch.  I got a blanket out of the car, picked up the mail, sat in my chair.....and slept for about 90 minutes.  Julia woke me at 6:15.

    It just confuses me that I can remember something from 10 years ago but not last year.

    Did that hose develop a leak and I tossed it?  Is it in a secret spot?  Did I put it in the basement?

    Time may tell.

    Meanwhile, if you would like a purple martin house, let me know.  It's dinged a little, but should still attract those prolific mosquito eaters.

Peace and Love   Pray for Ukraine

eeks!!!!

 I know what my problem is

    Every time I do something on my list, I realize I have to do another task to accomplish the task I want to do!

    Make sense?

    For instance.  I put the cushions on the chairs on the front porch.  I notced the chairs are pretty dirty.  Two of them need to have some protective oil applied.

    I did one task, but added:  washing the chairs; preserving the chairs.  

    I would have done more by not putting out the cushions!  

    That being said, I did get most of the garden planted today.  Julia helped.  We put in peas, green beans, cucumbers, two pepper plants and two tomato plants.

    I ran out of stakes to mark where stuff goes, so tomorrow I have to get some stakes and finish off by planting carrots and Italian beans.  

    Then I have to set up my watering system.  That is actually one of my jobs on the to do list.  It should be easier this year because I think I know what I am doing.  I think.

    At some point this week I would like to get the patio furniture out.  At least I don't have to do anything to that except put it in place.  I applied three coats of teak oil to the furniture last fall, so it should be looking good all year.

    I will be able to sit outside on the deck with a glass or two of pink or red and enjoy the evening.  Maybe.

    I got to see the eclipse last night....it was pretty darn neat!  It seems every time we have an event like that there are clouds, so last night was special.  Julia and I checked frequently and Jackie even rolled out to take a look.  

    I can't imagine the fear primitive people would have had when their moon or sun  started to disappear.  That must have caused quite a stir at some point in time.  

    And we solved the impatiens and salvia abundance question.  I told Julia 4 plants of each.  She bought 4 containers of  each, with each container having 4 plants.  She was thinking I wanted 4  containers.  

    I have planted some....still have some more to plant.

    The big news....Exit 99 will be doing a show in mid June.  I will keep you posted.

Peace and Love     Pray for Ukraine

Sunday

 Something got done today

    I am not saying a lot got done, but some things got done.

    Julia went to a garden center this week and I told her what perennials I wanted.  But I told her wrong.

    I wanted 4 white impatiens and 4 red.  For some reason I told her 8.  For another reason, she got 16 of each.  I remember telling her 16, but I meant total.  I planted some today, but not all of them.

    Then I went to a store and bought 2 Italian oregano herbs.  I only wanted 1.  I thought I was buying thyme, but I goofed.

    It's going to be a rough gardening season!

    My native expansion was tilled yesterday, so I am ready to plant once I get the plants.

    I had planned to spend most of the afternoon outside, but there was a steady drizzle that made me wet and uncomfortable.  Luckily I got my Christmas tree burned before it started raining.  One job done.

    The Cubs won, which was nice.  I watched a little, but was busy outside for most of the game.  For some reason they are not as interesting to me these days.

Peace and Love.   Pray for Ukraine

I love aliums

This is what happens when you sit on a butane torch

The tree went fast

In the native garden

In the native garden

weirdness

This was kind of a weird day 

    The power went out.  Twice.  Not for long, but enough to shut the computer down.

    Then cable went out.

    The weather forecast called for a 40 percent chance of rain and we did not have a cloud all day.  There don't seem to be any tonight, either.

    Jackie and I went to a memorial service in DeKalb  for a friend who passed away a few months ago.

    She was such a sweet person.  Her son gave a eulogy and said when his mother was told she was dieing, she said, "I thought I would have more tme."  For some reason, those words struck me because I always think I have more time, but in fact none of us knows, do we?  So make the most of the time you have.

    My new native area got tilled today, so now all I have to do is plant 120 plugs.  I do have to make 120 holes, but all in good time.  

    I now have 26 items on my to do list.  I have to stop thinking about things I have to do.   Make that 27.

    We had a nice supper from Teca.  I went to buy some cookies for dessert, but the place in Sycamore was closed.  So I went to a bakery and bought canoli.  8 of them.  I guess I thought everyone would like them, but I seem to have 6 left.

    Finished the night with some cutthroat euchre.

    Now that I write this, I wonder.  A eulogy sounds right.  An eulogy doesn't.  A euchre deck of cards sounds right.  An euchre deck of cards doesn't.

    I guess the rule of using an before words starting with vowels doesn't always apply.

    Like I said, a weird day.

Peace and Love.  Pray for Ukraine.

motivation

 I need some motivation

    I make lists of things I need to do.  right now I have 19 items on the list.  

    Some are small, like tightening a screw or two.

    Others are large, like planting 120 prairie plugs in my expanded new native garden plot.

    Some need to be done now, some are do when ever.

    I just can't seem to get motivated.

    The screw tightening thing....should take me 2-3 minutes.  Just don't feel like doing it.

    It's a vicious circle.  I don't do things, I get upset and overwhelmed, so I don't do things.  Then I get upset.  When I am upset I make some tea and have a couple of cookies.

    I think I have gained 10 pounds in the past 2 weeks.  Holy crap!  I have not been to the zoo in a little over 2 years and when I put on my zoo pants today I could barely button them!  I was afraid they would pop and break a window.....so I took them off and put on different pants.

    Julia took me to DeKalb today because I had an eye appointment.  They dilated my eyes, which makes it hard to drive on a sunny day.  

    I  sat in the waiting area listening to the music.  It was all 60s and 70s stuff.  Then I looked around and realized why.  There was hardly anyone there under 60! This was the music we grew up with, but some of the 70s stuff I never liked as much as the 50s and 60s.  

    I don't know why, but I always think a doctor's office would be a great place to sleep.  Neutral colors, quiet, background noise that masks voices.   If it wasn't a doctor's office I would even be relaxed.

    Emily gave us our booster shots yesterday.  My arm is a little sore today.  But no other side effects. 

    I did not cry or faint when she gave me the shot.  I am thankful for little things like that.

    Just thought of a couple of chores for my to do list.

Peace and Love.  Pray for Ukraine.

    

duh

 I have been doing Wordle

    I don't post my scores.  I usually get the right answer in four tries, but sometimes three and once in a great while, two.  And five and six. But the majority is 4.

    I do it to keep my mind active.  Like I don't have enough to keep my mind active.

    I don't want to give away any answers, but I am going to.

    Spoiler alert.

    A few days ago I had to go to six.  Even at 6, the word did not make sense.

    The answer was canny.  It looked funny, sounded funny, and I realized it is because I don't hear it very often.  

    Usually I hear uncanny.  But canny is a word.  It was canny of them to include it.

    I will try to use that word once in a while in daily conversations with myself.

    The heat wave continued today.  I think it was 94 or so in Rochelle.  It is really strange to see daffodils when it is so hot!  Usually they come up in the spring and are gone by the time the temps hit 80.  Not this year.

    I hope, really hope, to get the gardens planted this weekend.  It is supposed to be cooler and not rain Sunday and Monday, so I plan to get my hands dirty and the veggies started.

    We got our bill from the vet for Corki's surgery.  I called to pay it and the tech who took my call was the one who was with Corki at the end.

    She said she stroked her, comforted her, talked to her....all the things Jackie and I should have been doing.

    I told her thank you and said I felt guilty about not being there.  She said I shouldn't, no one expected that to end the way it did.

    Other people have said the same thing.  But, and that's a big but, in my mind what they say doesn't matter.  I should have been there. 

    Today marks 5 weeks and to be honest, there isn't a day I don't cry.  I just can't seem to get past it.

    Wow....that was a downer.

    Keep cool tomorrow...watch out for storms.

Peace and Love.  Pray for Ukraine.

74???

 I turned 74 today

    Ye gads, I never thought that would happen.

    Age sneaks up on you and suddenly you are no longer young.  Instead, someone is feeding you pablum and blotting your chin while you sit curled up in a chair and covered by a white blanket, muttering words to songs that no one else has ever heard.

    Anyway, I did have a good birthday.

    I mowed the yard, doing it fairly early so the 90+ temps were still an hour or two away.  I also sprayed for weeds.  I have some horribly smelling weeds that when I mow them they reek.  I think, but am not sure, they are garlic mustard.  It's a highly invasive plant and it seems to be invading my yard.

    Talked to my nephew and his wife in Switzerland, and my brother in law and his wife in Florida, which was also nice.

    I also went to the local Starbucks to get my free birthday coffee.  Normally I go to Cypress House, but this free coffee is good only on my birthday and I  was not going to DeKalb or Rockford, so I got it here.  I ordered a white chocolate peppermint frappachino and it was good on a hot day.

    Emily, Julia, Jackie and I had a delicious supper from Acres Bistro and followed that with some slices of Portillo's chocolate cake.  Kevin, Jen and Sam  stopped over and Sam seranaded me on her guitar with Happy Birthday, in English and Spanish.

    Throw in a Cub win and it was a pretty good day.

    Mr. Torres, my eighth grade teacher at Reavenswood Elementary, would have appreciated my lesson learned today.  I was in town for a meeting and it absolutely poured rain for about 10 minutes.

    When I got home, I mentioned that Siri was wrong on no rain today and Jackie and Julia looked at me like I was nuts.  It did not rain at our house.  Not a drop.  Nada.  Zilch. 

    I went to school one day and told Mr. Torres it was weird because it was raining on one side of the street but not the other.

    He looked at me and said, "Terry, rain has to start and stop someplace."  

    I guess I had never considered that.

    I wish I had looked him up later in my life and thanked him.

    I closed the day by looking at the Facebook greetings people sent and was truly humbled.  I thank everyone for their greetings,

Peace and Love.  Pray for Ukraine. 

Steamy

 I can't believe how hot it is

    It was 91 when I came back today from a trip to Oregon.  That is the city, not the state.

    I thought of going out to do a little weeding, but it was 91!  It's early May!!!

    Funny story, sort of.

    I was meeting people for a check presentation for the Rochelle Area Community Foundation.

    The building had a doorbell to ring to gain entry.

    The note on the door said, "Ring bell above branch."

    So I started looking for a branch, a bush or even a stick.  Nothing.  I kept looking, then went back to the sign.  "Ring bell above branch."  I started looking again, then thought something was not right.  (OK, normal people would have realized that right away.....but it was 91!)

    I went back and read the sign for the third time:  "Ring bell above bench."  Sure enough, there is a bench and there is a bell.  Hot damn.

    Oregon has a sweet shop that sells gelato.  All day I was dreaming of some lemon, or maybe chocolate, gelato.  But the shop was closed.  Lights were on, a person was behind the counter, but the door was locked.

    So I stopped at a drive in that had ice cream because my mind was set on having something cold because it was 91!

    I walked in to order and ran into four friends from Rochelle!  Both couples ended up in the same place at the same time and then I came in.  So I had a nice chat with Steve and Debby and Jean and Bill, who wanted me to make sure I said hello to Emiy for him.

    Tonight we had a meeting for Tuna Does Vegas and Julia had to get the TV running.  I think she ended up coming down 4 times because it kept shutting off.  Her legs may be a little tired in the morning because she went swimming today too.

    So....tnat's about it.  Hot, steamy, and storms possible.  Good grief.

Peace and Love.  Pray for Ukraine.

goats?

 I want to get some goats

    Mowing the yard is killing me!  So far I have put 7 gallons of gas in the mower and have mown 4 times.  I ws in the middle of a project today and the damn mower ran out of gas.

    Of course, I did not have a spare gallon, so I had to drive into town to buy some.  I filled up 2 2 gallon cans, and I hope I can get a couple of mowings out of that.

    I know, my fault for having a big yard.  If I could, I would plant natives in one third of the back yard and never mow it.  But I have a feeling more people than Jackie would complain about that.

    That's where goats would come in handy.  I could keep them in the garage at night and put them on long leads and let them munch happily across the back yard.

    Strange feelings tonight.  Not going to play practice or a performance felt odd, like I was forgetting something.

    It also felt funny grilling out and not have Corki keeping me company.  It still hurts.

    The wind has been gusting all day.  At one point, my grill moved from the corner to the top of the stairs!  Not only do the wheels not seem to lock anymore, I can't find a place out of the wind.  I took some bricks and wedged then under the wheels, I hope that keeps it on the deck.

    I put the air conditioning on today in anticipation of tomorrow's 87 or 91 degree day.  I am beginning to think I can pack up the hats, gloves, scarves and put away the winter coats.  At the same time, I can find my shorts.  I put them away last November when I took out my winter clothes.  I might need them this week.

    Other than that, life is pretty normal around here.  I just hope I can get some riding in this week....my bike is still hanging in the garage.

    Peace and Love.  Pray for Ukraine.

that's a wrap

 We had our last performance today

    I had a minor, very minor, part in Our Town.  Because of the timing of when I went on, I was done 20 minutes into the first act.  So I usually went home.

    Today I stayed for the entire performance.  The group did a great job on stage.  I was very impressed.

    There were some new faces in the group, but you could not tell because they were just so relaxed in their on stage personnas and I  think it showed through to the audience.

    Everyone was pretty dang good.

    If you missed it, you missed a good show.  A long show, almost 3 hours, but a good one.

    After we struck set and cleaned up, I went home for a Mothers' Day Feast.  Emily and Julia did the bulk of the work while I cooked the steaks.  It was nice to have "our babies" home with us again.

    They gave Jackie some beautiful hanging plants and even brough chocolate covered strawberries for dessert.

    Sadly,  Corki was missing.  I know she was there in our hearts, but sometimes that isn't enough.

    Hope your day was pretty darn nice......we may have some rain over the next few days.  Eventually I will get my garden planted, but maybe not this week.

Peace and Love.  Pray for Ukraine.

Finally

 What a super nice day today 

    I think we all needed this day.

    Sunshine, a little warmth, moderate winds......felt pretty darn good.

    I mowed and trimmed, third mowing of the year and first trimming.  I don't like trimming.  I try to avoid it whenever possible.

    I hate to jinx myself, but my sleep the last three nights has been pretty good.

    I now lay on top of the blanket, but cover myself with a throw.  My feet are not covered and I actually sleep!  Yes, I do get up once or twice for various reasons, but I am waking up refreshed.

    Maybe my feet just get too hot under a blanket.  In any case, I will continue  that until it no longer works.

    We had show number 6 tonight.  If you have not seen Our Town, you only have tomorrow at 2.  I plan to stay for the whole show, because I leave so early I have not had  a chance to watch the story unfold.

    Jackie is not sure if she is going.  The show runs about 3 hours.  I have to be there an hour and a half early, which puts Jackie in her wheelchair for almost 5 hours.  I don't think she can be comfortable in the chair for that long, and I  think she feels the same way.  But this will be a game time decision.

    That is another bummer about MS.  It is so life altering, from the restaurants you dine at to the friends you visit.  It's a real pain in the ass, to be honest.

    Please consider donating to the MS Society of Illinois.  There are a lot of walks this time of year but you can always visit the website to make a donation and hopefully, a difference.

    Peace and Love.  Pray for Ukraine.

what???

 I have trouble with electronics

    Signing in to some sites is a real problem.

    For instance, I have a Hoopla account through our local library.  I can access thousands of e books, as well as other materials.

    I am currentlu reading a book titled "The Alice Network."  This is the second book I have read by this author and I am enjoying this much more than the first.

    The story revolves around WW I and WW II and a woman's role as a spy, plus a woman's search for a missing cousin.  It is entertaining.

    My friend Linda posted some pictures of their recent trip to France.  They stopped at a village called Oradour sur Glane.  In June of 1944, shortly after the D Day invasion, Nazi troops rounded up  642 residents of the village and proceeded to murder them and set fire to the houses.

    The story is retold as part of "The Alice Network" plot.

    What a horrifying incident.

    And what a digression.

    I had to renew the book and was asked for my password.  I typed it in, but it was incorrect.  Typed it again, incorrect again.  The site has no button to help remember a password, but there is a change password option under security.  The problem?  You have to enter your password!

    How the hell does that make sense?

    I tried several times to no avail.

    On a lark, I "opened" the book again and .... voila!   There it was.  No password needed.

    I am so confused.

    Our cable was weird.  Channels were not where they were supposed to be.  I called Xfinity and eventually talked to an automoton which resent my signal, correcting the problem.

    Never talked to a human.  

    That drives me nuts.

    Anyway, two shows to go.  I actually said ALL my lines tonight, but did make a mistake when I was supposed to say birth and mortality rates are constant, I said death and mortality rates are constant.  

    I bet nobody even noticed.

Peace and Love.  Pray for Ukraine.

No change is good

 I had a doctor follow up today

    I had a nice visit with my urologist today.  It was a 6 month check in.  My PSA was great, and we are only doing one more 6 month check up before I go to a yearly visit.

    Of course,  my slightly paranoid and highly negative attitude always catches the good and turns it into a stomach turning nightmare.

    He never said my cancer won't return, he said it "probably" won't return.  18 months after the surgery and nothing has shown up, so I feel confidant.  Yet, that "probably" lurks in the back of my negative zone.

    Of course I had some sad memories.  I was sitting in a chair in the waiting area and remembering 4 weeks ago when the vet called and said Corki had taken a turn for the worse.  It might have even been the same chair, I am a creature of habit.

    Mary, on of the aides, was wheeling Jackie out to me in the waiting room and I had just talked to the vet.  Today Mary asked me how  things went and I told her Corki died that day.  She was sad to hear that.

    What a depressing post.

    OK, a little humor. 

    I have a few lines to say in the play Our Town.    I even have them on paper, because my character is reading from notes.

    There are two lines I just can't remember to say!  "Would you like me to read some notes from Dr. Gruber on meterology.....precipitation, et cetra?"  And, "Birth and mortality rates are constant......onMcPhearson's scale, 6.031."

    I have them written on paper.  I can read them.

    We have done 4 shows, counting tonight.  I have missed one or both all four shows.

    Holy cow!  Let me repeat:  I can read them right off the paper!!!!

    As soon as I walk off, I realize which one I did not say.

    Just damn frustrating.

    Of course, no one but other characters in the scene and the director will know, but I know.

    Tomorrow will be perfect.  See, I can be optimistic!

    And I know the good doc can not guarantee anything.  So probably is his best choice.

Peace and Love.  Pray for Ukraine.

Uh oh.....

I have a new mystery to solve 

    I will get to that in a minute.

    All I can say is, "Thank heavens for neighbors who know what they are doing."

    My golf cart was brought back today.  Turns out, all that needed to be done was to fill the batteries with water and charge them.  No new battereies needed, which saved us a bundle of money.

    I took Emily's cart back to her house.  Before I did, I checked the batteries.  They were also low on water.  Not empty, but low.

    I got my distilled water, made a makeshift funnel, and tried to fill the batteries.  That did not work.

    So I got our turkey baster, and started filling them by squeezing up water, squeezing it out.  That was taking quite a long time.  Think of it....6 batteries, 4 cells in each battery.

    But, I was determined.

    In  the mentime neighbor Jim came over to see how I was doing.  He suggested l use the hose and bulb that I would use on my cart.

    Result?  Done in a couple of minutes.

    I learned each cell has to have water.  If you fill one cell, it will not flow into another, leveling out all the cells.  I never knew that.

    At some point I wandered over to their house to talk and his wife joined the conversation.

    Here's the mystery.

    It was their yard where I found my Christmas tree, lodged under the pines of their neighbor's pine trees.

    Seems recently the two houses were out talking and the one lady commented that it was strange that their Christmas tree disappeared from their yard overnight!

    In other words, I might have stolen their dead Christmas tree!

    But it looks sio much like mine, perhaps theirs is the one in the field down the srreet.

    In any case, Eileen said nothing about me dragging the tree back to my house.

    Now there are two mysteries:  Whose tree is it?  Where did their tree go?  Where did my tree go?

    I guess that is 3 mysteries.

    This will not be a problem next year.

    We bought an artificial tree.

Peace and Love.  Pray for Ukraine.

where's the sun?

 Holy cow, what a miserable day today was

    Cold, rainy, windy, raw.....pick a word that describes it best.

    I am surprised the Cubs and Sox are playing tonight....I think the fans in the stands should get free food just for being there.

    Jackie had a doctor appointment in Rolling Meadows.  The Queen of Botox gave darling a series of shots designed to ease her spasticity.  It seems to help, but MS is such an unpredictable disease.  

    Usually we stop at a Portillo's for food, but we were not very hungry.  A stop at Starbucks gave us some nourishment for the ride home.

    I asked Jackie what she wanted for supper.  She finally decided on a sandwich she can get at a grocery store in DeKalb.  But when I went in to get one, they told me there were not enough staff  available to open the sandwich stand.

    We ended up going to Panera's and I thought I ordered her a salad and me a flat bread pizza.

    When we got home we discovered 2 surprises.

    Her order was a sandwich, not a salad, but it was made of salad ingredients.

    Second surpise:  Julia brought home Yin Chens from DeKalb.

    I ended up eating the sandwich and now have a beef dish and a flat bread pizza for supper the next 3 nights.

    I am fine with that, es;ecially with rehearsals and the final 4 performances of Our Town taking up nights and Sunday afternoon for the rest of this week.

    I do need to start planting my veggie garden....but it just seems a little too damp to do that.  Maybe Saturday.  Or Sunday.

    In any case, I think tomorrow brings more of the same.  And Thursday. And Friday.

    I need the sun.

Peace and Love.  Pray for Ukraine.

Grrr......

 I am a little disappointed and angry tonight

    Jackie ordered a Mickey Mouse statue for Julia for her birthday last November.

    When we got the statue, the right arm was broken off.  So we sent it back, hoping to get a replacement by Julia's November birthday.

    Several phones and promisses to deliver fell short.  Until Friday.

    The item arrived Friday.

    We opened it.

    It looks ok, except the right arm appears to be glued on haphazardly.

    It is obvious the arm was glued...you can see the glue and the chipped area  around the arm.  Did they just glue the arm back on and mail it to us?  Because that is what it looks like.  Someone did not even have the sense to paint over the area,

    So, I sent it back today with instructions to refund, not replace.

    We'll see how long it takes for the credit to appear on our bill.  

    It's just frustrating that a company would do that.  

    Topping it off, their phone number has one of these "press one for a call back" option instead of waiting 30 minutes on the phone.  We called at 2 and have not heard back yet. I am not surprised.

    Disappointment and anger....what a negative shopping experience.

    Other than that, today was a pretty good day once I got up.  I had another fitful night of sleep.  It is beginning to wear on me.

    Here's hoping for a deep sleep for me, and all of you, with some pleasant dreams.

Peace and Love.  Pray for Ukraine.

    

Wordle

 I have started doing Wordle

    I don't do it every day, although I try.  I usually get the word within 5 guesses.

    I guess I like word challenges.  I do some crsossword puzzles, but those are not so easy for me.  

    It's not the clues, it is the space in which to write the answers!  Sometimes the words are printed in small sizes, and the squares are even smaller.  Thjat makes it tough.

    I did buy a book of larger sized puzzles, but they seem to be too easy.  I can spend days on a good puzzle, and minutes on an easy one.  And I always do them in pencil because I know I make mistakes.

    During the last play I  was in, my line was something like:  "What's a 5 letter word for a female dog?  Middle letter is t."  I was working on a crossword puzzle.  Sometimes I get confused.  One night I said middle letter is B.  Another night I said the last letter was T.  I don't think the audience ever figured it out.

      I used to play on line Scrabble, but the website went to a subscription option to avoid ads.  I decided to play with the ads and I just can't.  Every other word entry gets a minute of advertising and it is just too frustrating.  And Jackie won't play at home because she does not like Scrabble.

    At my age I think it is important to keep the mind busy, as well as the body.  I have not been doing the body part very much.  I keep thinking it will be warm enough to start riding my bike, but it never seems to be.  I know people who ride in cool weather, but I just can't.  And I can't motivate myself to drive into town and walk in the inside comfort of the rec center. 

    So...that's it.  

    In keeping with the thoughts, here is the ending.

- - - - - an Love.  Pray for Ukraine.