$$$$$$$$

 Tonight was an important night

    Actually, that may be incorrect,  Midafternoon and early evening today was important.

    The Rochelle Area Community Foundation grants were awarded.  We gave out about 40 grants with a value of about $150,000 IF my memory is correct.

    Several years ago I was asked to join the RACF board and then director Kim Montgomery assigned to the grants committee.

    I really did not have much of an idea about the foundation.  I don't believe we were even contributors.  But I agreed to the position.

    It's been 6 years now and I have learned a lot.  I serve with lots of concerned, involved people who care about others and their community.

    Today was also a milestone for the foundation.  The agency has been around for 20 years.  It was started by a gentleman named Leonard Carmichael because he wanted to do something to provide for community needs after he was gone.  And it does.

    I have my biases in grant requests.  Hunger, shelter, help for  battered families and abused children grants always get my approval.

    What surprised m about tonight was I actually went up to strangers, joined in conversation and introduced myself.

    I never do that.  And granted, once I thought I was talking to someone I knew, but realized my mistake and then introduced myself.  But I am counting that.

    Tonight I went down to get a box to put Easter decorations in and right in the middle of the floor, almost where I would trip over it, is my battery charger and batteries.

    How I missed that yesterday is beyond me.

    But then, I have missed a lot of things.

Peace and Love

No mow May? No way

 It's going to be a long mowing season

    Last year there was a movement to have a no mow May.  Instead of cutting the grass it was suggested to leave it grow so the birds and insectshad some food sources.

    My yard is full of dandelions.  I kind of think they are pretty.  Judging by the yards around me, I am in a definite minority.  There is lots of food available, but no mow May? I have already mowed twice, and it is still April

    I mowed yesterday and today I went to trim.

    Last fall I put the rechargeable batteries away so. they would not freeze in the garage.  Damned if I know where I put them.  

    I looked in the basement, the garage, looked in the cabinet in the garage.  Checked the basement again and found 1 battery and a charger.  I bet I looked for 15 minutes.  I found another battery plugged into my air compressor.

    I plugged one battery into the charger and went back into the garage again and looked at my trimmer.

    It is gas powered.

    All the time I was looking for the  batteries I could have been trimming.

    And surprise,  the trimmer started on my first attempt!  Sure, I had to pull the cord 4 or 5 times, but it started.

    Got my haircut today.  Now I feel like I have Dumbo ears again.

    The barber has a schedule.  I made my appointment last week.  But 2 men asked if they could must come in for a trim while I was there .  Both of them wanted it done to look nice for something tomorrow.

    She got one guy scheduled for tomorrow morning, but the other guy didn't want to wait until tomorrow....wanted it done today.

    Barber said that's a difference between men and women.  Women know they have a special event and schedule ahead of time so their hair is nice.  Most men don't think of it until the day before.

    I guess we are from Mars.  Or whatever that book title was.

Peace and Love

This is what I looked like when I went out to mow Monday.  Darci, you may remember this shirt!  Tilton people gave it to me for my retirement in 2008!!!!!

Wind was strong enough to move my grill.  Normally it is against the wall on the left

Our redbud is bloom ing

Dmbo ears?  and that is my gyeglasses stem in my mouth

  I guess they don't stick out as far as I thought.

But I look weird.

Exit 99

 We had our pre show meeting tonight

    There were 2 Beths, 2 Terrys and 1 Carrie.  Jackie did not count, because she was upstairs and we were downstairs.

    And 1 of the Beths did not count because she is a dog.

    We have a show coming up May 17 at the Lincoln Performing Arts Center.  Or Lincoln Center for the Arts. I can't remember the name.  Or maybe Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

    Anyway, it is the old Lincoln School on South Main Street here in Rochelle.

    Carrie and Beth brought some old clippings they had and it seems we did our first performance in 2003!

    We don't seem to find evidence we did any show last year, and we think the last show was in 20023, which would have made us 20 years as a group.

    We do improv comedy.  It is not scripted.  We go on audience suggestions.  

    To be truthful, I love performing with these folks.  I love being around them and laughing.  I love seeing people in the audience laugh.  I also with we did more shows.  Doing this keeps my mind active, and at my age that is important.

    Most of I love the challenge.

    Consider this a commercial.  Tickets are $20 per person, and that will give you an inexpensive  vacation from the woes of the world.

    Laughter is the best medicine, and Exit 99 is your local doctor!!

    See you May 17.  

    We now return to regular programming.

Peace and Love

Oh me.....

 I found something interesting today

    I have a calendar to record meetings, events, etc.  I can't use the phone calendar because it just confuses the hell out of me.  I enter the wrong times, on the wrong days, and my patience wears thin.

    So I have a calendar book.

    I record blood pressure readings, weight weekly, meetings, events, and miles I ride my bike.

    Looking through it tonight I discovered I rode my bike..... hold on.....2.6 miles last year!  That is once around the subdivision.

    In 2023 I only had 86 miles.  In 2022 it was 200 something.  

    2.6.

    Granted, las summer was hot. 

    But more to the cause was my hearing loss.  I was constantly dizzy and was really afraid to get on my bike for fear I would fall.

    This year the dizziness is gone so I have no excuse.

    I have a friend , who along with her sister. took. their dad on a bike ride for his 70th birthday.  They covered about 500 miles in something like 14 days.    They camped, used motels, and rode a loop that started near Chicago and circled northern Illinois. 

    Even in my best years I would not have been able to do that.  When I went to Holland with Bob and Diane we rode about 25-30 miles a day for 5 days and I was pretty wiped at the end. 

    But 2.6?

    I am even embarrassed to admit I have a bike! 

    It is hanging in the garage and one day soon I may just take it down and see if I can top last year's total.

    That should not be too hard.

Peace and Love

ahhhh

I had a great night's sleep 

    I know!  It is not often I say that!

    I had trouble falling asleep, but once I did, I slept.

    The cuckoo woke me at 9 a.m.

    Well, so did Jackie and the dog.  Beth was hungry and had to go out, so the first few minutes of the day were frantic.

    And if a night's sleep wasn't enough, I took a 1 hour nap!  I missed the first 4 innings of the Cubs game, but I don't think that mattered very much since it was 6-0 when I started watching.  And no, the Cubs did not have 6.

    Friends came over and we played euchre tonight, the first time in months we have done that.

    Between laughing and trying to figure out what was trump, we  had a fun time.

    I did do 2 loads of laundry, but other than that, it was a pretty quiet day.

    Beth and I played downstairs for a bit.  Just a few minutes ago the was on Julia's bed and it seemed she was crying.  But on the whole, little Beth ie adjusting:  to the new morning routine...or lack of it; and Julia being gone.

    I have a NOAA weather radio.  The other day it kept repeating the time.  Today it kept repeating the severe weather outlook.  Never did get a weather report for the next few days.  Frustrating.  Wonder if that is how all government services will be going forward.

    Hoping for sweet dreams for everyone.

Peace and Love

top tens

 Sometimes I make lists

    Not of things to do.  Lord knows I have enough of those lists floating around.

    But lists of other things.  Like favorite Beatles songs.  Places to visit.  Movies to watch.  

    Recently I have been fixating on 10 people I would love to sit down and have a cup of coffee with and just chat.  (Red wine would be a bonus!)

    The list changes, depending on what I. remember from previous lists.  I do it all mentally.  It may or may not help me fall asleep.  I think it stimulates my mind too much sometimes, but then brings lots of happiness other times.

    So.....I am going to share my list.

    These are not in any particular order.

    Paul McCartney.  I would love for him to chat with me about the early days, what it was like playing in the Cavern in Liverpool when he was a lad.

    Ringo Starr.  I would love to ask him the same questions.  And how he learned to become such a fantastic drummer.

    Pat Hughes.  The voice of the Chicago Cubs.  He just seems like a nice down to earth guy with lots of funny baseball stories.  But I would be interested in how he got started in the business.

    Michelle Obama.  She just seems like a nice lady.  I would be happy hearing her tell about her life and what hopes she has for her daughters.

    Tom Hanks  I don't know if there is a nicer star, at least he appears to be.  I think it would be fun just to have a conversation about life.

    Steve Martin.  I would like to talk to a wild and crazy guy about being wild  and crazy.

    Donna Leon.  She wrote a series (27?) books about a fictional detective in Venice, Italy.  She paints such a beautiful picture of life in Venice.  I can see how it has changed since I first started reading her about 15 years ago.  What gives her the ideas?  What is the future of Guido and his family?

    AOC.  She would be a fascinating coffee clutch person.  Full of ideas, energy, drive and fight.  What makes her tick?  How did Alexandra Ocasio Curtez get involved in politics in the first place?

    PCA.  Pete Crow-Armstrong is the young centerfielder for the Chicago Cubs.  What  scares him the most about being labeled a phenom?

    Ted Danson.  He seems to be showing up everywhere on TV lately.  Commercials, series....what has his journey been like since his Sam Malone days?

    There are others who would be fascinating to spend a few minutes with, or even longer.  And in truth tomorrow my list may be totally different.  For example, Mae Jamison might beg a better coffee partner than PCA.  

    And if you made a list, I bet it would be far different from mine.  

    I know, whimsey.  

    But maybe one of the 10  will read this and call me to set up a coffee clutch gab fest.

    'That would be something, wouldn't it?

    Sweet dreams.

Peace and Love

strange things

 Sometimes I am puzzled

    I burned off my native plant plot today.  I found a hard lemonade can in the garden.

    How did it get there?  Did it blow from somebody's yard?  How did it make it to the middle of my wild flower patch?

    And then I went into the garage and there is a white bottle that once held wine.  Where did that come from?  It is flat on one side and I admit I have never seen one quite like that.  I am adding it to my collection of wine bottles a friend asked me to save.

    I think I have about 13 empty bottles.  No judgements, please.

    And that insurance commercial where the people say they have an aunt problem?

    Well, I had ants visiting today.  Thousands of them.  In the driveway. Like I heard someone sing, Let It Be, and I did.

    I watch my neighbors mow.  They go in nice straight lines...back and forth.  Lawns look nice.

    However, I can't.  I make 3 or 4 passes on a vertical basis and get bored, so I start mowing in horizontal strips.  Then I get board and go back to  vertical.

    I scalped the area where I put native flower seeds, but it has grown so fast I can't tell where I I put seed and where I didn't!  I can find. the path I want, but no evidence of growth other than grass and dandelions.

    By the way, I look at a lot of pictures of Switzerland.  I am always impressed by the golden fields every spring.  They are dandelions.  They look beautiful.  Why don't we like them?

    I was in the garage putting stuff in the car when I got jolted by 2 people in the driveway!  Renee and Wendy stopped by for a quick visit.  Renee had a knee replaced about 10 days ago and is up and slowly about and wanted to get out of the house, so they went out to lunch and came by us.  It was great to see them.

    While the bed might not have been made, there were no dishes on the counter or stacked in the sink.  For once. 

    I swear, I have never mowed so much in April!  I mowed just a couple of days ago and it is long enough to mow again.  Must be all the rain we have had recently.  I think we are getting more tomorrow.

    Maybe I can row in a straight line next time....or try circles.  Those are always fun.

Peace and Love

Magnolia trees bloom beautifully, just not for very long

I put grass on  part of the native garden...a mistake I will not make again.  Grass does not burn nicely!

Match box is for some perspective.....I did not use matches on the ants!!!

tired, again

 This was a pretty long day

    Up early, and Jackie had a small problem that led to a drive to Sycamore and a visit with medical people who promptly fixed it.

    That took most of the morning.

    I straightened up the garage, cut up cardboard, put tools away and that took most of the early afternoon.  I still had not taken a shower, but I did a load of towels, if that counts for anything.

    Julia came over at 4:30 and at 5:15 I took her to O'Hare,  She is going to visit friends, starting with a few days in Italy then over to Switzerland.  It should be a great visit.

    Meanwhile Emily is on her way to a Greyhounds in Gettysburg event.  She is taking her foster dog, who will be picked up by someone there and moved to a new owner, or foster home, I am not sure which.

    Friend Sheri is dog sitting for Emily  and for an hour tonight was Jackie sitting while I drove to the airport.

    I am dog tired.  I used to think I would drive Route 66, but hell, driving into O'Hare and back has drained me, I can't imagine taking a long road trip.

    I did get to listen to the Cubs on the ride home.....PCA is going to be a fixture at Wrigley for a long time, at least I hope.  The Mets will regret trading him.

    So, I am tired, but also wired.  Sleep may be hard tonight, again.

    Maybe tomorrow I can nap.

Peace and Love

ch....ch...ch...changes

 I made a lot of changes today

    Clothing changes. 

    I started out in sweat pants because I thought the recycling guy came since my 2 cans were on their sides.  Turns out, it was just windy.

    After I picked all that mess up and then showered I put on my normal crappy looking jeans and geared up for another exciting day.

    I decided to keep my jeans fairly clean, so I switched to outside pants when I went to mow.  

    I was doing pretty good, but a flash of light drew my attention at around 6:50.  Then I saw the streaks going across the sky to the west, and decided the grass can grow but I will not be a target for lightening.

    I pulled the mower and car into the garage, changed out of my yard pants into my still crappy but relatively clean jeans, took off my yard sweatshirt,  and the rain stopped.

    For some reason, I was chilly.  After supper I was still chilly..  I put on a sweatshirt, but that did not help.

    I figured a cup of hot chocolate would help expel the demon cold.

    One of the girls bought us some hot chocolate bombs.  You put the round ball into hot milk and it dissolves, releasing the hot chocolate mix and a whole lot of sugar.

    I heated the milk, put the ball (actually a star this. tine) and some of the mini marshmallows that came with it, into the milk and watched it all dissolve.

    My first sip, one of the marshmallows stuck to my upper lip.  I pulled it off, but my hand and lips were now pretty sticky.

    I took another sip and again, one stuck to my lips.  I also dribbled a little down the sweatshirt.

    I took another sup and I must have had 5 or 6 of the marshmallows stuck to my lip!

    I went to say, "Damn" but forgot I had hot chocolate in my mouth.  It spewed out on my sweatshirt, and the desk and my hands.  Everything was sticky.

    I managed to finish the mix without further messes.  I changed into my third sweatshirt of the day, which went along with my third pants choice .

    I attribute all my problems on. the lack of a nap.

    Making it worse, the Cubs bullpen could not hold a lead again.  Defense did not help either.

    Maybe they can come back....again.

Peace and Love

Monday, Monday

 I am channeling the Mamas and Papas

    I was tired and listless today.

    Our morning help was here and she woke me at 11 when she was leaving.

    I putzed around, knowing I was going to work on the sweeper but still tired.

    So I  had food, read the paper and .... fell asleep sitting up at the computer!  I mush have napped 15-20 minutes, I don't really know.

    What I do know was it was 2 p.m I had laundry to do and the dishwasher to empty.

    I think it was around 3:30 when I finally trudged out to the garage.  I worked on the sweeper for a while, then remembering tomorrow was trash day, I scoped the yard, filled the bird feeders and went back to the sweeper.

    Happy to report I only have thing to do tomorrow and that is put on  the hitch. It looks like the picture.  That is always a bonus.

    I guess I did not realize how big it was.

    We have one car in a 3 car garage, and. the sweeper and mower takes up one space while th golf cart takes up another;

    No problem, unless you are also storing a daughter's car while she is off on an adventure.

    Guess I will have to rearrange some stuff tomorrow.

    It's now 8:30 and I have 2 loads of laundry to fold and one more to do.  I still have not showered, a fact I can smell.

    And I feel bad because I have not spent a lot of puppy time today.  Tomorrow I need to go into the basement with her and play a while.

    Monday, Monday....can't trust that day.  Mama Cass was always right.

Peace and Love

no ham here

 We had a different Easter Day meal

    Usually we would have ham, rolls, potatoes, a vegetable....the standard Easter fare.

    This year I opted to grill a couple of steaks and some pork chops.

    There were only six of us: the 4 Dickows, Camryn and sister Judy.  We had some taco salad, rolls, scalloped potatoes and corn and I think it went over very well.

    The strawberry  dump cake I made wasn't bad either.  And of course the mini bundt cakes were great as were the cookies.  Kevin, Jen, Sam and Sandy stopped by for dessert, and we talked a lot about ... well, a lot of stuff.  And they brought the cookies.

    Clean up was easy.  Almost everything went in the dishwasher.

    I had a surprise too.

    I got to meet the Easter. Bunny!!  Yes, he/she does exist!  I saw them myself!!  But I wonder if the bunny is a transperson...... I guess that is another topic.

    Did not work on the sweeper.  Monday.  Monday I will get it done.  Monday.  That is tomorrow.  I will get it done.

    If you keep saying a lie, eventually you believe it.

    Hop you had a good Easter.  And yes, hop....kind of a pun on hope but factoring the bunny aspect of the day in.

    Stormy night ahead.... I always hate those.

Peace and Love

This is where I started

I love these....need to plant more in the fall

Beth was attached by a hedgehog!

thumbs

 People have opposable thumbs

    With age,  mine see to be possable.

    Maybe I am going too far, but I have arthritis in my thumbs.   It makes them hard to use sometimes, like when assembling a lawn sweeper.

    Let's say I have finished steps 1, 2, 3 and most of 4.  The 4 was the one that got me  because I needed to use my opposable thumbs and it ain't been easy!  By the way, there are 1,644 steps.  Or so it seems.

    Dropped nuts, dropped bolts, dropped pins, parts, pants.  Wait a minute, I did not drop my pants!  That was a rumor.  I was not working on the sweeper in my underwear.

    I planned to spend most of the day putting it together.

    Instead, I took a nap, went to Julia's to move some furniture and boxes, visited with some friends and before I knew it, it was almost 5!

    I initially went to Julia's to get my socket set.  But after moving the boxes  and a couple of dressers, I went out to the car without the set!  I remembered just as I started to back down the driveway. 

    I worked on the fool thing until Beth's supper time, and then heated up left overs for Jackie and me, and before I knew it the cuckoo was hitting 7:30!  

    I went back outside, only to drop stuff left and right and gave up for the night.

    I found myself running into the house to view the video on line.  At some point it dawned on me to record. the video on my phone, which does make it easier.  But it does not help the drops.

    I did not get to Oregon for the protest and I did not make it to Easter Even service at church.

    We plan to watch it tomorrow, but our plans never seem to work out.

    I.hope you have a joyous an d blessed Easter.

Peace and Love

what happened?

 Today was great, until it wasn't

    I can't explain it.

    Beth got me up at 6 to go out.  That was fine.  I went back to bed until 8.

    About 8:20 the electrician called to come out to do 3 jobs for me:  replace the 2 outdoor lights, fix the ceiling lamp in the basement, and hook up the Nest doorbells on the front and back doors.

    As he was doing that, I was doing why morning caretaker duties.  All was fine.

    OK, I did forget to feed Beth, a detail she reminded me of about 9 a.m. with a sad, sad look.

    The outdoor lights were replaced, and he started on the Nest doorbells. 

    He came in and said he did not know how to do them  He had done Ring doorbells, but never a Nest.  There were no directions or schematics to go with the doorbells. So he skipped that one and went to replace the ceiling lamp in the basement.

    I had no idea the things that you had in basement ceilings that you put a bulb into were called lamps.  But they are.

    Still, with the exception of the door bells, all was good.

    I cleaned the dining room chandelier.  It usually takes me half an hour and a lot of swearing, but this time I did it in less then 10 minutes without a curse uttered.  That was a big win.

    I went to the store, got gas, got meat, had a coffee at Cypress House and came home to start assembling the lawn sweeper.

    I have watched the video twice, and assembly does not look too bad,

    The first step is to use a socket wrench to attach the tow. bar.

    I opened up my blue socket wrench box and .....only 2 socket heads.  Neither one fit.

    I thought I would go and get my really good socket set from the basement and realized I took it to Julia's to assemble some furniture and did not bring it home. 

    I texted her and as soon as I hit send, she pulled into the driveway.

    It went downhill after that.

    We did not go to Good Friday services in DeKalb.  We did not want to be there and have it pour rain on us as I tried to get her back into the car.

    I did not go to the museum program, we were eating a non meat dinner by then.

    Oh...dinner.

    The Culver's menu lists a walleye dinner .... but the local Culver's doesn't have it.

    Jackie wanted shrimp, and when I ordered a popcorn shrimp dinner at another take out place, they said they don't do popcorn shrimp dinners.  Popcorn shrimp is sold as a side dish.  What have I been ordering there over the years?

    Anyway, got the popcorn shrimp side dish, went home, ate,  and started making Julia's bed. Scratch that, the spare bed Julia has. been sleeping in for 3 years.  I can't find the blanket that was  on it. It's a queen size bed and we have a twin size blanket.  I have no idea why.

    And for some reason I started thinking about Corki.  I love Beth, but I still miss Corki so much.

    So here I sit.  Feeling blue, tired, and just uneasy.

    Not even watching the Cubs comeback seems to have perked me up.

    

Peace and Love

timing

 They say timing is everything

    I got my seeds planted yesterday, and it rained today.  I did not see any birds out there feeding on the free lunch, so I am hopeful.

    Actually, I am hopeful in a second way.  Usually when people plant seeds they till up the area first.  I did not.  I mowed it short,  then spread seed over it.   Ideally the rain will push the seeds down to the ground, where they will germinate and grow.

    Only time will tell.

T    omorrow is Good Friday.  I am going to start putting the lawn sweeper together tomorrow.

    I have watched the instructional video twice, and I hope that helps. 

    I also plan on reading the directions before I start and laying out the parts on the garage floor so I know what everything is.

    I am optimistic, which is always dangerous.  Why?  Because the first thing that goes wrong throws  me off the rest of the day.

    Jackie had a library board meeting today.  She also had a hair appointment this afternoon.

    After her hair was done, we went out into a cold rain.  I got pretty wet.  I told her based on the forecast, which called for thunderstorms with possible hail, I was not taking her to the meeting.  

    She Zoomed it instead.  And it did not rain.  Nothing.  Nada.

    It rains when we are out.  It does not rain when we are in.

    Is someone sending a message?

    Sometimes I wonder.

Peace and Love

a visitor

Julia came to visit tonight 

    Beth was one happy dog!  She really misses Julia.

    Beth has adapted fairly well.  We get up later than Julia and I am usually occupied with caretaker duties as soon as we get up.

    That means Beth has to wait on breakfast and wait at the door to go outside.

    But today I had to wake her up!  

    Now if I could only sleep in.

    We had a doctor's appointment in DeKalb today.  Yes, I know, I had one there yesterday.  And no, we could not make them for the same day.

    We had 4 other stops to make, and unfortunately none of them were Ollie's!  

    I dilly dallied around when we got home, then made supper and decided at about 7 that I should spread the wildflower seeds I had bought.

    I went out to do that, but first I had to air up the tires in the spreader.  Before I could do that I had to find the air pump.  Before I could use the air pump I had to find a charged battery.  Eventually the dominoes all fell into place and I mixed the seeds and rice hull packages together.  

    I have no idea how much I covered.  I should have covered 3,000 square feet, but it could have been anywhere from 200 to 20,000. 

    I am hoping for some nice rains the next few days to get the seeds growing.  I just hope the birds don't find them first, which is a distinct possibility.

    As I was seeding, I thought of all the things I need/want to do.  I thought I should make a list, but when I got in the house I realized how self defeating that would be.  I still have things from last summer I did not do.

    And it is funny in a way, I keep thinking once school is out I will have more time.  I know, that makes no sense at all.  I will have the same amount of time I have now.

    I just need to use it better.

    I'll add t hat to my list.

Peace and Love

eh?

 Nothing gained, nothing lost

    That's the status of my hearing after today's visit.  

    The good part is I have not lost anymore.  I still have 20 % in my. right ear and a lot more than. that in my left.  It is what it is.

    I picked up my new lawn sweeper today.

    It comes in a box about 4 foot long and 2 feet on each side.  It weighs about 16 tons.  There is a suggested You Tube video to watch prior to attempting to assemble.

    My lord, what have I done?

    Anyone  with a degree in mechanical engineering who is free Friday, come on by.  I'll be either assembling the sweeper or on my fourth glass of wine by 4.

    I mentioned the other day that a friend suggestion  popped up  on FB and listed some mutual friends we had.  Trouble is, 2 of the mutual friends never heard of the person.

    Let's call her Madame X.

    I went on Madam X's FB page today and scrolled through her 334 friends.  Twice.  I did not find any of the "friends you have in common" on her page.

    I suspect someone has hacked her or cloned her page and is fishing for people.  

    I believe Madam X is real, but I don't think the link that popped up on fB was connected to her , but to someone else.  

    I also wonder if they got the mutual friends from my FB?

    Guess I will change my password tonight, even though that won't prevent anyone from scrolling through my list of 12 friends.

    Go Cubs!    And no, that is not my password.

Peace and Love

again??

 I swear, I go to the store almost every day

    I keep a grocery list.  I write stuff down.   But it seems every tine I come home I find something else I need.

    We used to do a monthly shopping trip.  Before we went, we would go thru a list.  I would check the pantry, check all the areas of the house we use stuff, and mark it on the list.

    Now it's buy as we need it.

    For example, today I bought 3 potatoes.  If I buy 5 pounds I will probably end up tossing half of them.  I did not do the math, but I am sure I am spending more per pound on the 3 than  I would for the 5 pounds.

    I get bugged when there are things we want and I can't find them here.  We like diet peach flavored Lipton Tea.  but our local WM does not carry it.  They have Georgia Peach Tea which has too much sugar.  They also have diet green tea, or some other taste, that we don't like.

    Thus tomorrow when I am in DeKalb visiting the audiologist, I will stop at a store over there for the right tea.

    Anyway, that was the highlight of my day..... going to the store.  What a boring life!

    I did take Beth for a short walk.  As soon as we said the word she was ready to go.  The wind darn near blew me over and in fact it did blow over my bison.  Granted it is not heavy, but still.

    We also watched Geoffrey Baer's lakefront tour on WTTW.  As a special offer, they have a 2 hour lakefront tour with Geoffrey 2 Saturday's in September for a donation of only $185.The tour is from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. and includes dinner and 2 drinks.  It would be great to do. The tickets went quickly, which is no surprise.

    Aside from that I basically wasted the day away.  I always feel guilty doing that, because I have tings to do.  I just don't like doing them.

Peace and Love

damn it

I just bought a lawn sweeper 

    I borrowed my neighbor's lawn sweeper  to sweep the field I scalped yesterday. It worked so well, I decided to buy my own.

    And  I will give it to my neighbor and take the broken one.

    I went to dump the grass.  I pulled the basket up with one hand and hit the steering thingy with the other.

    Unfortunately I went into a sharp right turn, which bent the frame and disconnected some other parts that may or may not be important.  

    I came in the house and checked on line for he same model and make, and I think I have matched it.  I hope.

    I also hope it comes assembled.  Otherwise it could be months before he gets it.

    In other news of the day, Julia is spending the night at her house.  After being with us for about 4 years she has flown the nest.

    Now understand.  She lived in Switzerland.  Every time she left here to go back. there I got teary eyed because she was so far away.

    So why did I get teary today?  She is about 10 minutes away.  I could probably ride my bike to her house in a shorter amount of time than it took to fly to Switzerland.

    But I am sad.  Jackie looked at me like I was crazy.

    It's just that the house seems empty, even though we did not see her a lot when she was at work. But knowing she was there felt comfortable.

    Now Emily has to deal with the bulk of our problems.  She is only 2 minutes away.  I hope she does not change her phone number.

    On a sports note, we watched the Cubs whup the Dodgers last night. 

    I think if a team is going to bring in a position player to pitch, the game should just be called.  Watching somebody toss 50 mph fastballs is not exciting.

    It was nice to see the Cubs score 16 runs..... but it was also kind of boring.

    That's my take on that.

    Jackie and I had meatloaf.  I was going to make some potatoes but changed my mind.

    Was that a good decision?

Peace and Love

Taters seem to be a little old....

connected

At times I am amazed the connections 

    For example.  I was browsing FB today and a listing came up for people you may know.  The person had 4 mutual friends with me.

    So I clicked on the mutual friends.  3 of them were in Rochelle, and one of them was in Chicago and I got  wondering what connected them all?  All of them are in different occupations, places in life, went to different schools......just weird.

    And the person suggested as a mutual friend went to Blackburn College.  Julia went to Blackburn!  But the person was at Blackburn when Julia was about 5 or 6, so their paths never crossed.

    I have to ask them sometimes how they are connected.

    I mowed the yard today.  I don't think I have ever mowed in April!

    I also scalped the field where I am going to plant wildflower seeds.  I cut the grass as low as I could.  I just hope my scattering the seed will result in a field of flowers.

    I have seed for 3,000 square feet, but I may have mowed a lot more than that.  We'll have to see how much ground the seed covers.

    My yard I mowed regular.  Jackie asked why I was mowing and I said it was getting long.  It is, but here are also huge areas of dead grass.  And I don't think it is Beth's fault.

    This is the last night for Julia at our house.    The last time she moved from home she ended up 7,000 miles away, so 10 miles isn't too bad.

   It is going to be weird without her around. Now I have to get Beth out in the morning and feed her instead of staying in bed.

  I think that means more afternoon naps in my future.

Peace and Love

OMG

Sometimes I do very stupid stuff 

    Of course, if you have read this drivel regularly you know that.

    But I may had outdone myself today.

    I ran some errands.... post office, bank, furniture store, Lindenwood school to drop off 2 bags of aluminum cans.

    Stopped at Cypress House for a yummy drink.  

    Got home and Jackie asked me to make her lunch.

    So I took the cheese, ham, and salami I bought yesterday and made her a sandwich. 

    As I was doing that  noticed another pack that also had ham in it.  I bought it last Saturday.  There was 1 piece left.  I was going to use it but Julia said, "I wouldn't eat that."

    Thus, I put the fresh ham on Jackie's sandwich.

    And the ham Julia would not eat?  Well, I did.

    So much for mowing the filed so I could sow my flower seeds, or walking the dog, or going anywhere because I spent most of the afternoon. shuffling off to the loo.

    I have no appetite, am extremely tired,  and have no desire to do anything.

  I need to listen to Julia.  

  And that is my lesson for the day.

    

Peace and Love

whew

 Surprisingly, I had a busy day today

    I cleaned 2 bathrooms, moved porch chairs out of the garage, swept part of the garage, filled bird feeders,  went to the store, and attended a museum board meeting.

    I did not take a nap, although that would have been nice.

    I don't know what brought on the burst of energy.  It could have been the yummy Cypress House beverage, which was a dark chocolate cold brew banana frapachino.   I know that is not spelled correctly. Deal with it.

    I did learn something at the meeting.

    I had never heard of Ed Gein, but he was one weird dude!

    When I got home I Googled Ed

    He murdered at least 2 women.  

    When police went into his Wisconsin home they found lampshades made of facial skin, a body suit made of skin, human skulls turned int bowls and a whole bunch of other weird things made from human body parts, mainly female human body parts..

    They went into his home because officers found the body of a local woman strung up in a shed on his property.  She had been gutted like a deer.  

    Turns out Ed was a crazy little guy.  He may have been the inspiration for Norman in Psycho, but the author said it was coincidence despite living fairly near where Ed did.

    Ed collected lots of body parts by robbing graves.  He estimated he robbed about 30 graves, sometimes taking body parts and sometimes the entire body.

    And it is possible he was involved in his brother's death and the disappearance of some other local women.

    Reading about a crazy killer and drinking a cold brew coffee should make for an interesting night of sleep. Or no sleep. 

    That will be the question.  

Peace and Love

Jackie has a magnolia tree.  It was beautiful last week

but no so much today

Lincoln Highway marker at museum

no explanation needed...and yes, it was cold outside!

blah

Today was one of those days

    Cold.  Cloudy. Cubs lost.  Jackie had a blood draw.

    A pretty boring day.

    I wish I could have said that about this date 10 years ago.

    An EF 4 tornado ripped through our neck of the woods, destroying Emily's house along with several others in her subdivision.

    She is about 1 mile north of us, and we had little damage...... deck furniture was blown away and the grill bounced about.

    But Emily lost almost everything.

    It was the worst day of my life, viewing the debris that once was a house for her and John.

    I know it was one of the worst days of her life also.  And Jackie's.  And Julia's.

    Thankfully no one in our area was seriously hurt, although 2 people died in Fairdale in that storm.

    The storm  was a monster.  Looking at pictures of it now, I am still amazed by its size.

    I am just very thankful Emily was at work and not home.  Very thankful  

Peace and Love

what if and why?

 My mind is running  in circles today

    Today?   Huh, that is a laugh.

    I have been waking up with songs in my head.

    And none of them make any sense.

    Why did I wake up singing "Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves" one morning?  Or The Beatles I Saw Her Standing There?  I admit, that is my favorite Beatles song, but what brought on the morning tune?

    And why did I write one song title in italics and use  " marks for the other?  Further, why don't I change it to be consistent?

    I can't remember some of the other tunes, but they run through my mind like water through a strainer.  Or tea thru a bag.  And why did I use both spellings of through?  I think it was Robert McCormick when he was publisher of the Trib back in the 1920s tried to simplify spelling, making through thru.  But I don't think he made tough tuff.  But I am not sure.

    I got sucked into reels on Facebook today.  Watching the hotels sway in Bangkok was terrifying!  Imagine being on the 80 th floor of a building and having the furniture slide across the room, with lamps flying and stuff falling.  The earthquake was powerful, but the hotels stayed upright, although there was a bridge linking two of them that crumbled like the Cubs bullpen.

    Another set was a guy asking people questions, like how many states in the US, what continent do we live on, and other questions that normal people should be able to answer.  But all the young people seemed to  not k now anything!  What is up with that?

    What if they showed people answering the questions correctly to give us peace of mind that our educational system has not completely fallen apart.

    What if they showed older people struggling with how many continents are there, or nameinga country in North America. or telling how many states there are.  I bet some older folk would miss those too.

    What if someone asked me a question like that?  Well, I just might start singing a song that is running through my head.

    Heavens knows. there are plenty to choose from.

Peace and Love

PUP Day

 Monday is PUP Day for me

    No, I am not celebrating our dog Beth.  But I am Picking Up Poop so I can toss it in the garbage for pick up tomorrow.

    This is not my most favorite job. But there are several others I do that are worse, so on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 the best, I would give it a 2.

    I wear yard shoes.  These are shoes I wear ONLY in the yard,  because sometimes the hidden treasures are just that....hidden.

    But tonight I only walked the front yard.  I was going to go out back, but I was so damn cold I left the back for another day.

    What I don't understand is how this little dog leaves so many piles!  Holy crap!!  (No pun intended.)  

    But enough about shit.

    Well, not quite.

    When we first had a house on Southview Drive in the early 70s, we had a dog.  I had planted several pine trees along the back of the yard, thinking someday they would form a nice border.

    In order to speed the growth process, I would gather the dog's do and spread it around the trees.

    After all the trees died, I discovered raw poo on a little tree is not a good idea.

    Knowledge gained, but a little too late for the trees.

    I will be planting some little trees again this year, but I will not use the poo as fertilizer.

    And while it was cold for picking up stuff, imagine the Cubs playing in weather in the 30s!  Now that is cold!

Peace and Love

whew

 I have had a busy week

    I capped it off today by going to a play in Rockford.  

    It was staged by Artists' Ensemble and I knew some of the people in the show.

    Funny thing....I don't remember names.  Linda said she and Dan were going to a play today.  I asked if they were seeing Alabama Rabbit.  She said that didn't sound right, but thought it was a 2 person play.  The show I was seeing had 6 people, 2 of whom I knew.

    When I walked into the theater, I saw Dan and Linda.

    Turns out I had the wrong name....Alabama Stories...which was based on a true story about a children's book that people in Birmingham wanted banned because 2 rabbits get married.  Not just 2 rabbits, but a black one and a white one.The book did not go over well with some people in Birmingham in the late 1950s.

    Anyway, it was a thought provoking show and it was really well done.

    To summarize the past 8 days:    Beatles tribute show; Shawshank Redemption play, Hadestown musical,  Hands Off protest, and Alabama Stories.  Plus my normal household duties.

    I am looking forward to a quiet week.

Peace and Love

55 years later

 This is a political post, so read or not

    I don't often do a political post.  In fact I don't remember ever doing a political post.

    Ogle County is a pretty republican county.  Usually. there are no Democratic candidates on the ballot for any of the county offices.  The red ness was all out in the last presidential election.

    But today seemed different.

    There was a "Hands Off" rally in front of the courthouse in Oregon.

    I promised Julia I would clean up her basement, and on the way over to her house I wondered how the crowd was in Oregon.  So I drove over.

    There were a lot of people.

    I honked to show my support, then went to Julia's and told her.

    We then both went over to the courthouse and joined the crowd.

    Actually, we ran into a lot of Rochelle area friends and talked with them.

    But there were people from all over the county.

    One guy went around counting and came up with 406 people.  406!!!!

    It was a diverse group.  Old people, young people with little kids,  middle aged people with dogs.  But there was one common thread..... a dislike for The Felon President  and that other guy.

    Julia was surprised by the number of cars that honked in support as they drove past.

    There was one yahoo in a pickup truck with a trump flag  who blared an air horn at people as he drove by.... at least 5 times.  

    I thought it was a great turn out.  There were lots of clever signs and people were united.

    The last demonstration I went to was in downtown Chicago.  We chanted "Dump the Hump" during the 68 DNC  It got a little crazy and tear gas was involved.

    Today's demonstration was much better, and the stakes are higher.

    We can't be silent.

Peace and Love

She is referring to the cats

opening day

I have never been to an opening day 

    Hard to believe, right?

    I mean, I grew up 6 blocks from Wrigley.... yeet I never went to an opening day.

    And believe me.  There were plenty of tickets available when I was growing up.  The first year Leo Durocher was manager he took over a team that finished 8th in a 10 team league.  He said, "This ain't an eighth place team."  And he was right.  They finished 10th that season.

    I went to Cubs games before it became fashionable.  Games when the upper deck was closed off because not enough seats were sold.  

    Digression:  I remember the upper deck having a moving sidewalk to get there.  It was a big conveyor belt.  I remember it.  Don't I?

    I also remember when I was in college I went to a game at Wrigley in September and there were about 700 people in the park.  I sat in the bleachers and could hear the infield chatter.  It was surreal.

    I also remember playing pinball with some drunks who wore umbrellas on their heads.  They were the paddles and I was the ball, being. bounced from on to the other as we walked down the street.  

    Back in the early days you could smell the cigar smoke mixed in with the beer and hot dog aromas. 

    It was great to go to a game.  It still is.  

    The ballpark has been improved.  Better food, no smoking, most if not all of the stainless steel urinal troughs are gone, and there is more room on the concourse.

    But the main attraction is the team on the field.  I like PCA and Matt Shaw.  I think they will be stars in the future.  The rest of the team is solid, but relief pitching is always suspect.

    Anyway, opening day is when all the fun begins for the home team. And the fans.

    I just wish it was warmer.  And I was there.

Peace and Love

the road to .....

 Emily took me to a play tonight

    To be honest, I wasn't keen on going. 

    For one, I had never heard of Hadestown.

    For another, I was a little tired.

    Turns out, I liked the play.  A lot.

    And a noon time nap plus some Earl Gray tea at 3 has given me a boost.  After all, it is s little after 11 and I am pretty wide awake.

    We saw lots of people we knew!  Dan and Linda, TC and Jeanie, Don and Dee, Sally and Steve, Ken and Becca, and some others that Emily saw but I did not.

    All in all, it was a fun time and I am glad I went.

    Hopefully I will get some sleep.

Peace and Love

A little reno work is taking place

The stage is set

another doctor??

We had another doctor visit today 

    It was Beth's turn to visit the vet!

    It was her annual checkup and vaccination  day.  She shook like crazy when we got there, but was fine during the exam.  She lost a little weight, a d the good doc said she was in great shape.

    I was supposed to bring a sample of her poo.  But it was raining today and I did not get a chance.  I did not try yesterday either.

    When we came out of the vet she dropped a load on the grass.  Luckily niece Laurie had given me a poop bag to stick in my pocket.  So I scooped it up and took it back into the vet's office.

    As a reward, we went to Starbucks and she got a puppy cup.

    

What?  There is some on my chin???  I'll get it.

    That pretty much sums up my day.  We had rain overnight and most of the day, but it ended by the time we went to the vet.

    That's it!

Peace and Love

we voted

 Our election was a waste of money

    There was 1 contested race.  5 people filed for 4 positions on the high school board.

    Hell, they could have drawn names out of a hat for that.

    But we voted.  That is our right to do so.

    Believe me, it is not easy!  I have to get her into the car, out of the car, into the polling place, back into the car, back out of the car.  And the polling place is the fire station, which has a 300 pound steel door that my friend Curt can open with ease but I struggle with. 

    I think elections should be fun.

    Like the presidential one.  Why not have that on Feb 29 and declare that day a national holiday?  Elections and Leap Year happen every 4 years, so that would be a natural.

    Did the Founding Fathers know about Leap Year?

    If so, they missed a chance.

    Or have voting week, or at least a 2 day period.  Employers must give a worker one of the 2 days off so they can vote and then goof around.  But workers have to prove they voted, or else they get their pay docked.

    And limit how much can be spent on a race.  And list who is contributing to the elections.  We need to be transparent.  

    Speaking of transparent, I found my missing magnifier.  It was on the desk.  In plain sight.  Geez.

    I think tonight might be a tough night for sleep.  The wind is pretty strong right now, and rain and windy conditions will continue through the night.

    Throw in some thunder and lightning and I will be awake most of the night.

    Digression.   When dog Beth eats, she drags her ears into her food.  I was sitting on the couch with her tonight, and got up to get a wet cloth and a brush.  

    She knew!!

    She trotted off downstairs.  I am going t try later.

Peace and Love