my turn

 I have an unnatural fear of a lot of things

    Whenever I get in an elevator, I feel like it is going to plummet to the bottom. 

     If I am going over a bridge, I am sure the bridge is going to collapse.

    Go up in the Arch in St. Louis?  Oh my gosh no; if an ear quake hits it will surely fall.

    We have gone to Mackinac Island many times, but have never taken the bridge from one side of Michigan to the other.  I know it will collapse if I am on it.

    We did go up to the second level of the Eiffel Tower. I was actually ok doing that....but to the top? No way mon ami!

    All this leads me to an article I saw in the Rochelle News Leader.

    The  I 389 bridge over the Kishwaukee River, (not to be confused with the Bridge over the River Kwai) has some "structural issues."  One northbound lane is being closed so they can work on the bridge.  Trucks over a certain weight have to detour.

    For me, that means I get off at Baxter Road and take Mulford Road to Rockford.

    And not just today.....but any day!

    There are a lot of big trucks on 39.  If I do take that road, I will make sure there aren't any on the bridge when I am on it because I know it will collapse.

    I am 77.  I am not taking any chances!  (And yes, I did clean that up a bit.)

    By the way, have you noticed that not only was. there an earthquake in Russia, a volcano exploded too.

    There seem to be several active  volcanoes around the world. 

    Maybe Mother Nature is telling us that we have hurt her and she is not going to put up with it any longer.  So earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes and other natural events are her way of telling us to stop abusing Earth!

    Just a thought.

Peace and Love and Kindness

boo!

 I almost killed someone today

    A total stranger at that.

    When we have help in the morning, I generally take a nap in my chair in the den.

    But when the weather is nice, I like to nap in my. red chair on the porch.  It is a recliner, and when the air is cool, the wind softly blowing, and the rain gently falling, it is a great place to take a nap.

    I also have one of those serape like blankets that I may cover up with, as I did today.

    There I was, half asleep on my chair, when I heard a noise.

    I woke up and saw a man standing on the porch with a package.

    I casually said, "Hello."

    At which point he grabbed his chest, staggered back, and almost fell over.

    "Oh my god!  I did not see you there!" he said.

    I apologized for scaring him.  In hindsight, I should have just let him drop the package, take the photo, and leave without saying any thing.

    I am just glad he was young and healthy looking because my CPR skills are a little weak.

    And I did feel bad.  I know what it is like when. something totally unexpected happens and you almost jump out of your skin.

    It rained most of the day, which meant no mowing.

    But a friend stopped over with her 2 grand daughters and visited for a while, then I went out to human Beth's with some stuff and talked with her for a while.

    Also got a hair cut.  I usually wait until it looks really shaggy and unkempt, but I opted to go early, before I looked bad.

    Good thing that happened:  Cubbies finally won a game.  But my flag is not out because I don't want it to get wet.

    So there.

Peace, Love, and Kindness

        

oops!

Sometimes my mouth works before my brain 

    You may remember me forgetting prescription drugs.  If you didn't, short synopsis.  Went to Walmart, bought groceries, got prescriptions, went out to car and left drugs in cart, pharmacist Curtis calls, tech Kate drops them off at my house.

    That was Saturday.

    I had to go again on Sunday, cruised by the pharmacy, waved, and yelled "I won't forget stuff in my cart today!"

    That's when I noticed it was Kevin, not Curtis.  Not only that, Kate was not around either.

    Emily goes in and is working with Kevin and Kevin mentions that I came past and said something about my cart and not forgetting.

    He was very confused.

    Why is Emily's dad yelling incoherent things at the folks in pharmacy?

    I was in again today, Emily and Kevin were both there and we all had a good laugh about it.  Emily told them I was just old and did weird things.

    Took Beth to the vet today for a rabies shot.  We go to a vet in DeKalb.

    Jackie and I have heard about the great chicken served at The Dirty Bird in Sycamore.

    So after the vet, I went over, my mouth salivated for southern fried chicken and home made cheese curds.

    Imagine my disappointment to learn they are closed Monday and Tuesday each week.

    So we had hamburgers.

    But I could use my push button sparker to start the grill, so that was a positive!

    And Beth got a Puppychino while I got a latte, which was a bonus for both of us.

    I hope to see some shooting starts tonight........usually it is cloudy or rainy during those events.

Here's hoping.

Peace, Love, and Kindness

bummer

I don't know what I did today 

    Seriously!  It's a little after 9 an d I have no accomplishments to brag about.

    Yes, I watered outside plants.  But that only took a few minutes.

    It was hot.  I moved over to the shade and it was comfortable.  But in the sun it was hot.

    I did 1 load of laundry, puttered in the den as I pretended to clean it, and played with the dog.

    That's it.

    I did watch the first 5 innings of the Cubs.  That was ugly.

    And I learned that Ryne Sandberg died.

    He was a Hall of Fame  second baseman for the Cubs and a fan favorite.

    I'll never gorget the game when he homered off of Cardinal ace reliever Bruce Suter.....twice!  Getting the Cubs the win in extra innings.

    Luckily he was alive to see his statue unveiling at Wrigley and I am glad for that.

    I don't always realize how lucky I was to have my prostate  cancer caught early, and treated successfully.

    Funny, auto correct made it probate......not prostate.  I went back and changed it.

    I have not even met half my fitness goal for today!

    That shows me how lazy I have been.

Peace and Love

eh

 Not much of anything to say today

    But that never stops me, does it?

   Before Jackie and I were married, we were active in a campus group called Canterbury, officiated with the Episcopal Church in DeKalb.

    There were 8 to 10 of us in school and attending church, and we met maybe once a week  for fellowship.

    One of the guys in it was a character.  His name was Jerry and Jackie and I really liked him.

    After we were married, there was a going away party for him. He was headed to North Dakota and was interested in becoming a priest.

    Seeing as it was me, we showed up a day late.  The party was on a Saturday, we got there on a Sunday.  It was in DeKalb for gosh sakes and I blew it.

    We never heard from him again, but we always wondered what happened to him.

    Well, I found out.In our latest Northern Now alumni magazine, there was a listing for a Jerald under the faculty and friends who have passed section.

    I Googled it, read the obit, and came to the conclusion it was Jerry from nearly 60 years ago.

    Grew up in DeKalb, went to NIU, was drafted, after the service he went to North Dakota, got a teaching degree and eventually entered the priesthood.  He was described as good natured with a good sense of humor.

    I don't know why it made me a little sad to read about him.  We hadn't seen him since our wedding in 1969, and we were not really close friends.  In all those years I never thought of trying to contact him, despite my curiosity.

    Maybe it is the mojito working on my brain.  Maybe it's because he was 2 years older than me, according to the obit.

    Maybe it's because time seems to be flying by, that life seems so short.

    Sigh.

    We blanched and froze beans today. 

    And my desk area is still a mess.  

    Maybe tomorrow.

Peace and Love

1 job!

Today was the day for me to  clean the den 

    Go through all the stacks of paper.  Pay some bills .  Organize the pencils and pens.

    I mean,  the forecast for today was storms and rain all day.  All day!

    There was a point in the morning when it seemed clear, so I went to the market by Cypress House to get some brisket sandwiches.....but they were already sold out.

    I got a coffee, then stopped to fill up gas cans for the next time I mow, and went home.

    It did not rain.

    I ended up going out and picking beans for an hour.

    And reading for an hour.

    And semi napping.

    And watching the entire Cubs game

    But Idid not clean in the den.

    One job!  And I did not do it.

    There is always tomorrow, after we get the beans cut, blanched and frozen.

    Or even maybe later tonight, if the spirit moves me.

    Unless I find something else to do.

Peace and Love

the good, the bad, the ugly

 I think my mind is on vacation

    I admit, I do some stupid things sometimes.

    But never so many in such a short period of time.

    The good:  I mowed the yard and field.  I also trimmed.  Then I used my yard sweeper because the  grass had really grown since Monday.  I also spread the rest of the mulch, which wasn't much.  At some point this year I bought a huge bag of fertilizer for my veggie garden.  I think 20 pounds was too much.  So I spread that in the back yard.

    I did all of that this morning.  Which was good. 

    I had to stop at the post office, and the AC was not working.  I asked what was wrong and the clerk said, "It sucks."  He was pretty sweaty.

    I bought some baby animal stamps and some Goodnight Moon stamps.  

    I don't need stamps, but I liked how these looked.  They were cute.

    I went to Walmart to pick up 2 prescriptions and some fruit.

    That's when it all got ugly.

    Normally I go to Cypress House for coffee.  But I had a yen for a Starbucks, so I ordered on  my phone.

    I don't know if it is me or the app.  But when I hit order, it tells me to choose a store.  So I choose a store and hit order.  It may tell me that 3 or 4 times.

    When I go to place order, I often have to delete 2 or 3 coffees before I hit place order.

    Going into Starbucks, there is a divided entry.  Inbound on one side of the divider, outbound on the other.

    I surprised a couple of outbound drivers by going in the outbound side, running 2 stop signs, and screeching to a halt in the parking lot.

    I went in and guess what?  They did not have an order for me!  Of course my phone was in the dar and I went and looked....I never hit the place order sign.

    I finally got home, settled in to sip my coffee and my phone. rang.

    I did not recognize the number, but I answered anyway.  

    It was Curtis at Walmart.  Seems I left my prescriptions in the grocery cart when I left the store.

    Funny thing is, I did not even miss them when I got home.

    Luckily one of the techs lives near me and she offered to drop it off.

    I am going to blame all this on the heat.

    But the truly ugly,  with a capital U, was the Cubs game.  At this point it looks like a total beat down by the South Siders.  

    Unless they really collapse.  But the Cubs need a touchdown and a field goal, and this ain't the sport for that.

Peace and Love

not again!

I can't believe how much my grass has grown 

    I just mowed Monday and it looks like I will have to mow again tomorrow!

    Dang.    Hope I have enough gas.  For the mower, that is.

    I put off watering trees today because of al the. rain that was in the forecast.  We got zilch, nada, nothing.....a few sprinkles and that was it.

    And rain is out of the forecast for tomorrow, since they predict a 30 percent chance in the afternoon.  Now Jackie said WGN is forecasting heavy rains Friday afternoon through Saturday.  

    But that could change in the next 5 minutes.

    We had a busy morning.

    Our helper was here, then the cleaning person came, and Jackie had a hair appointment.  

    Should ofs and could ofs..... it was nice tonight and I should have ridden my bike.  Instead, I made supper, which was pretty darn good.   Should have called Emily to see how she was doing. 

    At least I watered porch plants.

    I have to brag a little.  Usually I have killed off the porch plants by now by forgetting to water them, or just not watering them.  But they are all alive and doing well.

    The chenille plant Emily gave me is doing great out in the heat and humidity.  It is a tropical plant, and I imagine once I bring it back inside for winter it will die.  It is supposed to be in temperatures in the 80s... which never happens in this house.

    I took Beth out tonight and we were greeted by a pair of green eyes in the road.  I assume I was a cat, but I could not see it.   Beth seemed a little spooked.

    The next time I went out, about 30 minutes later, I took a big flashlight.  With a dead battery. Beth still seemed spooked.

    I guess I will be getting up about 2 again tomorrow morning.

Peace and Love

well, Hell

 I will not complain about January

    Well, not now, at least.

    I envy friends Renee and Wendy, lounging about in Door County, where the weather, scenery, and water are much better than here.

    Sad to say, it was not hotter than Hell in Rochelle  today.

    Hell is an unincorporated area in Michigan, not too far from Ann Arbor, if I  read Wikipedia correctly.

    Hell peaked at about 97 and is supposed to be 96 tomorrow.  That is pretty close to what we were, so I can't really say we were hotter than Hell.

    Temperatures are funny.

    Can you tell a difference between 92 and 93?  Or even 95 an 97?  All I know is that is hot.  I don't care what the number is, it is hot.

    If it makes you feel cooler, 96 F is about 35 C.  

    When Julia lived in Switzerland, it would sometimes hit 30 or even 32 C.  And not many people have air conditioning in Europe, although with the climate warming it is becoming more frequently found.

    Weird.  Air conditioning may make the climate worse, but we need AC because the climate is getting hotter.

    As a side note, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources is noticing armadillos are moving north.  They have established colonies in southern Illinois but now there are reports of them moving farther north.

    They are not as far north as I am, but the day may come when they are.

    And I don't know if it is "arm a dillow" or "arm a deeyoo".    Personally, I don't think we should arm anyone.

    The IDNR is also asking people to report sightings of,  "feral swine, fishers, nutria and large carnivores like black bears, gray wolves, and mountain lions."

    I know nutria are huge rat like creatures, but I had to Google fishers.  Besides being a town in Indiana with a lot of web pages connected to it, the animal fishers are carnivores that live in forests.  They are on the smallish side coming in at under 10 pounds.  

    Actually, they look kind of cute.....but I won't be picking up one anytime soon.

    I just took Beth out (about 11) and it was beastly.

    Take care tomorrow.  Stay hydrated, stay cool, stay safe.

Peace and Love

beans, bugs, and buds

I was pretty darn busy today 

    Heck, I could say that everyday!

    Jackie and I cut up green beans and then I blanched them and she bagged them.  After my chiropractor visit and a coffee from Cypress House, I went home and we cut up, blanched and bagged som Italian beans. 

    We also put some zucchini into bags.  Jackie cut them up and I ran them into the Ninja Julia left behind.

    Those blades are pretty darn sharp!  I only bled for a few minutes.  And no, I did not bleed on any food items.

    Jackie suggested cheeseburger pie for supper.

    It calls for eggs, milk, Biosquick, hamburger and cheese.

    When I opened the Bisquick, I noticed parts of it were moving.  Little itty bitty black things, just having a ball in the Bisquick.   And no, we did not eat the extra protein.  I put it in a plastic bag and took it out to the garbage can in the garage.

    So we used 2 of the peppers from the garden and had stuffed peppers with Italian beans.  It was good, but I seem to have the munchies.

    I took all the debris from the beans and such out to the compost bin.  Boy, it was beautiful outside tonight!

    But tomorrow and Thursday don't sound very nice.

    Be safe, be sensible, take care, and hydrate.

Peace and Love

Jackie has never seen the plants along the patio wall.

Tis is Teddy the toad.  He hangs out by the garage lights.

The native garden seems to be showing more color this week.

it's mow or never

 I mowed today

    Not big shakes there, eh?

    It was mow day in the hood.  I think every house on my end of the block mowed.

    I am sure the forecast for extreme heat and rain played a part in all those mowers, I know it did in my decision to mow.

    I have inside shoes and slippers and outside shoes.  I don't wear the outside shoes inside, and rarely wear the inside shoes outside.

    For some reason, unknown to me, I wore my slippers out to the garage and filled up the mower with gas.

    But the gas dripped all over my slippers.  (Note to self:  make sure gas lid is firmly on before attempting to pour.)

    I washed the slippers.  Now I put them outside hoping they dry in the sun tomorrow.  If not, well....new slippers on tap.

    I had a weird experience mowing the field.

     I  have a large part of the field in wildflowers.  Well, technically they are weeds cause the wild flowers have not appeared yet.

    As I mowed around the center, a huge hawk came out of the weeds!

    I continued mowing.

    Now, I mow like an adult with ADD.  I mow a little here, a little there, some over here, some over there and eventually the field or yard is finished.

    On my second pass around the center, the hawk again came out of the weeds!

    This time it flew to the roof of the house to the west and sat and watched me.  Seriously!  I could see its head facing me.  

    Eventually it flew away.  I wonder why it was in the grassy area.  There are a ton of ground squirrels in the yard, and maybe it was perched on a hole.  

    I picked beans today.  I think we have a lot.  Tomorrow we will wash them, cut them, blanch them and freeze them. 

    I had a busy day!

    After supper I made a mojito and sat outside as the Cubs fell apart.  Maybe they can recover by the end of the game.

    Be careful this week.  Stay cool.

Peace and Love

odds and ends, again

 Just some weird thoughts in my head tonight

    You may have noticed a change in the Rochelle News Leader.  The physical page is about 4 inches shorter than it was a couple of weeks ago.

    I am a subscriber.  I encourage anyone who isn't to become one.  They are currently running a 1 year special,  check on line for details.

    When I started at the paper there was a staff of 4, with a high school teacher covering all the sports.  Now there are 2 people putting out the Rochelle paper and the Life, which used to have a staff of its own.  Lean times in the paper business.

    We moved to Rochelle in 1969, then we moved away in 1970, then we moved back in 71 or 72.  The museum had a FB posting today showing then Mayor  Bill Cioplla placing the city's first direct dial long distance call in 1972!

    It's hard to believe how far we have come in 50 years.  Wonder what the next 50 will bring.

     I love seeing fireflies in the summer.  They have been disappearing, but seem to be making a comeback this year.  There are 26 different species of fireflies in Illinois. I always thought a firefly was a firefly, but I guess they aren't all the same

    I checked out a documentary on the Beatles from the library.  It is a double disc set.  It is due back July 24.

    I went downstairs  tonight to watch the first disc but I can not get the DVD player hooked into the tv.  I tried for 20 minutes, then gave up and played with Beth instead.

    Yes, I could stream it....but that was $4!  And yes, I am a cheap SOB!

    Another yes....I will probably  spend the $4.

    It is just frustrating not being able to plug a simple cord into a simple slot.  

    I think I made a mistake in not going out to the garden tonight to weed and pick.  It was a beautiful night.  I am not looking forward to midweek's heat wave.

    Friend Curt stopped by with some zucchini from his garden.  Jackie likes to make a lemon zucchini bread and zucchini bread.  I won' grow it  because Curt does and he keeps us well provided.

    Finally, I am selling 50/50 raffle tickets for the museum.  $1 or 1, 6 for $5 or 24 for $20.  Plus you get a year's membership to the museum when you buy $20 worth.

    Support your museum!  And maybe win a few bucks.

Peace and Love

From a few nights ago

snoozer

 Last night was, well, loooong

    It had to be.  When we woke up this morning it was ....... 11:30!

    Holy cow!  I think that is the latest we have ever stayed in bed!

    Beth didn't even wake us up for breakfast, which became lunch by the time we were up and going.

    I know I was up at 1 letting Beth out.  That seems to be a new thing on her part, not going out at 10 but waiting until I am asleep and then barking to go out.

    At some point I had heard thunder, but I have no idea when that was.

    Of course that throws off the whole schedule for the day.

    Instead of letting Emily's dogs out at 1, I didn't get there until after 2.

    We didn't get to DeKalb to use our 30% off coupon at Kohl's.

    However I did get some time to go to a pool party at TC's.  No, I did not go in the water, but I dangled my feet.  It was just nice to hang with friends for a while.

    Jackie did ok by herself.

    When I went home I stopped at a chain restaurant for a roast beef sandwich.

    I  walked in and it was as if no one was there.  I could hear voices in the back, but no one was visible.

    At one point I heard someone say, "We might as well go home."

    Then they discovered I was there and got my order.  I did ask if they were open, and the person told me yes.  

    I have never seen a fast food place empty.  The parking lot had 2 cars, but there were 2 employees.

    I had their version of a Philly steak sandwich and it wasn't too bad.  But no-one makes them like they do in Philly.  Jackie got a French dip.

    Glad to see the Cubs take the first 2 from Boston.  (Sorry Trish and Jeff).  I hope for a sweep tomorrow.

Peace and Love

um um, good

I just had a great hamburger 

    Juicy, cooked to perfection, on a tasted bun.....yum.

    But that is not what made it great.

    It was me cooking it on my Weber grill with the new ignitor kit working like a charm!

    Yes, it took me over an hour to replace the sparker thing.  But I ran back and forth from the den to the deck watching a  guy replacing his. in a YouTube video.   Same grill, same problem.  I followed his lead and it worked like a charm.

    Of course, I dropped screws.  My hands don't work as well as they did 10 years ago.  It seemed every time I dropped a screw, it landed behind me.  One screw I dropped 7 times.

   But I finished and cooked on it.  

    I only made 1 mistake.  The bottom plate is the last piece to go back on, and I put it on upside down.  That means the doors won't close because there is a brace in the way.  I unscrewed it, flipped it over, re-screwed it and I was done.

      No throwing of things, only a couple of minor curses, and I didn't have to walk around the yard to cool down.

    To be honest, I am pretty dang tired.

    I mowed the lot and the yard, but that's now why I am tired.

    A certain dog decided at 1:30 AM that she had to go out.  She went out again at 6.

    When she went out the first time she jumped onto our bed and lay down by my fee.  The second time she moved up between Jackie and me.

    When I was making the bed later, I discovered she had thrown up on the bedspread. 

    So I also did a load of laundry today.

    All of which means..... no nap.

    Too bad dogs can't talk to us and tell us they don't feel well.  She seems ok today, just hope she sleeps all night.

Peace and Love

a test

 Tomorrow will be a day of test

    I know, that does not make sense.

    Here's the deal.

    My grill does not have a functioning ignitor switch.  It broke last summer.

    Julia's friend Matt is coming in September and he is the Grill Master.  I want my grill to be in good working order.

    So, I bought a replacement ignitor kit from Weber.  I have watched a You Tube video twice to see how it is done.

    The man on the video is very precise, explains everything, shows you exactly what you have to do and how to do it.  He does it slowly.

    He is my hero.

    I will, at some point, throw the ignitor kit as far as I can into the backyard, curse th day I was born, say enough f words to have neighbors call police and buy a new grill when the day is over.

    I can't do stuff like that.  I don't even know why I try!

    First off, I won't have the. right tools.  I won't be able to find the right tools and I'll have to drive to Ace to buy one or more.

    Then I will lose a screw and have to drive to Ace to find a replacement.

    Next I will break the tool I just bought, making me have to drive to Ace to find a replacement.

    My fingers won't be able to hold the screws, or the tool, or the plate, or the wires and I will curse the damn arthritis in my hands.

    After 7 hours of labor, swearing, sweat, and walks around the yard to cool off, I will quit for the day.

    At some point I will finish.  It may be Friday....or next Monday. And people will come out of the woodwork with the words, "Oh, I have done that.  It's easy.  You should have called."

    When the does happen, and it will, I will sit down on my broken patio chair and cry.

    In a state where betting is everywhere, you can make a bet on me getting frustrated, having a fit, throwing something, cursing, and drinking rosé wine through a straw.

    Like I said, it will be a test.

Peace and Love    

drive times

 We had a doctor's appointment today in the burbs

    Every thing went well until it was time to get off the tollway.

    There was construction at the exit ramp and traffic was literally stopped.  I was in the wrong lane.

    I waited until a trucker let me in, or he was slow on the gas and I zipped in front of him, not sure which way it went.

    It was very confusing for me.

    On the way home we hit a rainstorm which slowed traffic to a crawl.

    It was still crawling after the rain.

    Explain to me how cars can be doing 50, then slow to 15 for a mile or so, then go back up to 50!  There were no accidents, no cars on the side of the road, no delays.

    We drove like that down 355 and on 88 until Orchard Road!  We would hit 50 or 60, then slow to 35,  At one point we were actually doing 17 MPH!  Rush hour my ass!  More like creep along hour.

    And I get irritated when driving  like that.  And tired.

    For instance:  My right knee.  When I drive I rest my right hand on my right knee.  That is not a problem wearing long pants, but in shorts it is.

    The hair on my knee cap irritates me!  It is stiff, like a wire brush.  

    Because of that, I SHAVE MY KNEECAP!

    It was perfectly fine when we left the house, but by the time we were creeping on 88 I could feel the bristles poking up their heads and irritating me!

    Then my leg cramped!

    After Orchard Road, I pulled over far on the shoulder and got out of the car to stretch my leg.

    Somewhere in Iowa there is a Kenworth semi with my front door attached to its grill.

    Just kidding.

    I pulled way over and was safely (if possible when vehicles are going 189 mph around you) off the road stretching my leg.  

    It was great visiting with the doc.  He is personable, knowledgable, and we really like him.  He never rushes us, always answers questions openly and honestly, which is why we have been going to him almost since Jackie was diagnosed with MS in the 90s.

    Plus after the appointment we ate at Panera;  the toasted Italian thing was pretty darn good.

    I think the next time we go I 'm calling an Uber.

    I'm too old for this stuff.

Peace and Love

bucket list

I will be scratching off a bucket list item 

    Friend Sheri bought 2 tickets to see Paul McCartney in Chicago this November.

    Yes, they were more than $2, but I told Jackie to consider this my Christmas present.

    My bucket list keeps evolving.

    McCartney is on it, so is Ringo.  Coincidentally Ringo is in Chicago in September.  I may be pushing my luck for tickets to that one.

    Years ago the Grand Canyon was on the list.

    It was before Julia went to Switzerland, if I remember correctly.  I know I had a film camera and took lots of pictures.  I need to find. them.  That would put it about 1999 or 2000.

    Jackie and I went with Rick and Kathy, friends of Jackie from high school and college.

    We went to the north rim, which is less crowded than the south rim.   We stayed  in a cabin near the lodge, which was a magnificent building.

    When I walked into the lodge, I stepped down to the huge bay windows and almost cried because I was finally there.

    Sadly, that lodge and most of the cabins were destroyed last week in a massive wild fire.

    The lodge had Ponderosa pine beams, a flag stone exterior and was built in 1937.  

    I fear when it is rebuilt it will be a pretty nondescript, utilitarian type structure with no pizzazz at all.

    As a side note, new construction in some parts of Europe, including England, are built to look old.  They mimic the style of buildings of 100 years ago, but have all the modern feature on the interiors.

    So, what are a few things left on my list?

            Staying at the Prince of Wales hotel.

            Exploring Yellowstone

            Touching a giant redwood or sequoia

            A train trip from Chicago to California, with stops along the way

            Route 66

            Sleeping under the Northern lights 

            Seeing the polar bears in Churchill

            Seeing Ringo in concert

        But, it is an evolving list.  Next week I may decide something else.

        After all, at 77 I can change my mind whenever I want.

Peace and Love

physics?

 Does a body in motion stay in motion?

    No, it eventually slows and stops.

    But I believe a body at rest stays at rest.

    That is my law.

    Our helper came this morning and by 9 I  was asleep in my chair.  I slept util 11.

    I would like to say I got up and became a body in motion.  But after pizza for breakfast, the morning paper, and pizza for lunch, I sat outside and read for about an hour.  

    At 4:15 Jackie had to use the bathroom, and I lay down on the bed and slept for about 15 minutes.

    I went back on the porch to read.

    I watched an episode of The Bear while I ate supper.  Which was pizza.

    After supper, about 7, I finally put the morning wash in the washing machine.  I had still not taken care of breakfast or lunch dishes and now I had supper dishes.  Luckily almost everything went in the dishwasher. 

    But first I had to empty the dishwasher.  

    After that the morning wash was done washing, so it went into the dryer.  But I had another load I should have done earlier.  It went in at about 8:30.

    It's now almost 10 and I feel quite perky!!

    Hopefully I can get to bed earlier than I have been.  

    As a side note, we had pizza with the family Friday and there is a lot left over.  We are going to our church fellowship gathering tomorrow night and we are having........pizza.  

    I  think I will be done with that for a couple of weeks.

Peace and Love

1776-1976

 I remember the centennial year fondly

    The whole country was celebrating a birthday.

    And  on this date, Jackie and I were celebrating a birthday too.

    Our baby was born on July 13.  The same day as Jackie's dad.  

    We lived on the south side of Rochelle and there was no overpass.  I lived in fear that there would be a train blocking the roads and I would have to deliver our baby.

    Luckily, that did not happen.

    We made it to Rockford Memorial Hospital in plenty of time.....as I remember it was a loooong waiting time.

    Eventually they induced labor and little Emily came into the world.

    The staff asked me if I wanted to be present in the birthing room and Jackie and I both gave a resounding no.  The last thing I wanted was to faint and cause  everyone to lose focus.

    And I would have fainted, trust me.

    When we brought Emily home Julia cried and cried until we let her hold her sister.  Then the. tears stopped and the smiles returned.

    I think it was 2 or 3 days later, late get night, when Jackie started to bleed.  We called the doctor and he told us to get to the ER at Rockford Memorial as fast as we could.

    All the way up there Jackie was in the back seat with Julia while Emily was strapped in the front.  Julia kept asking, "Is Mommy going to die?"  

    But all is well that ends well.  

    Emily has a bronze cup that is engraved with her name and a centennial remark.  I always wonder if that cup has stirred her passion for bronze animals.  

    Now. that I think of it, it may be a copper cup.  I guess I should check that out. 

    Happy birthday, Emily.  We  are  happy you are our daughter and we both love you very much.

Peace and Love

ends and odds

 Just a few random things floating around my brain

    US officials are not letting cows into the states from Mexico.  

    No, it is not a tariff issue.

    Some cows in Mexico, along the border with the US, have an interesting yet highly disgusting problem.

    New World screw worm flies. 

    As I understand, the fly lays its eggs in the open sores of animals, especially cattle.  When the maggots emerge they feed on the flesh of the cow.  There is a fear that the infected cattle could come to the uS and further spread the flies and infect ur cattle herds.

    Flesh eating maggots.  Sounds like a good name for a hard rock group.

    My sister in law Joan stayed overnight with us. 

    This morning over breakfast she told me about an app called Merlin.  It's free.  You can listen to a bird song and the app will tell you what kind of bird it is.

    So far I have heard a robin, goldfinch, and sparrow. 

    But the weird thing is, sometimes when  I heard a bird chirping I turned on the app and the bird stopped.  It was like they knew.

    Went to Julia's this afternoon.  I take the backroads.  I had to stop on one of the roads because 2 huge turkeys were standing in the middle of the road.  

    My camera was on the front seat, but I did not think to take a picture of the birds. In my mind it would have been a great picture.

    I fell out of bed at 6 a.m. today.

    Beth was sleeping on my side of the bed.  When I tried to lift my legs over her, because she was not moving, I ended up falling on mu keister.  No damage, as there is plenty of padding.  I put her in her dog bed after that.

    I beat Beth to my red recliner on the porch.  I wish I hadn't.

    It was wet.

        At least it cooled my butt off.

        And no, I did not ship my pants.

Peace and Love

Family

 We had a mini family reunion today

    I am terrible at relationship naming.

    My niece's son stopped in Rockford to visit Grandma Ruth. 

    Since Stephan was here, sister in law Joan came along with Cindy, Frank, Charlotte, Samantha and Charlotte's finance Lewis and  joined Stephan, Ruth, Jackie, Julia, Emily and me for pizza, dessert, laughter and family time.

    Another Dickow secret was exposed:  My collection of electric shaving stubble.  

    Yes, every time I clean a my electric razor, I do it over a peanut butter jar.  Looking at the jar now, the shavings  start out brown and get lighter and lighter until now it is pretty gray.

     No, I have no idea why.

   Yes, I am weird.

    No, I have no idea what to do with it.

    E Bay perhaps?

    Time will tell.

    Nice rain tonight and thankfully no storms.

Peace and Love

say what?

 I mowed the yard today

    I have to take my hearing aids out when I mow otherwise the noise gets blasted through my head.

    And I can't put them in right away because me ears are still ringing.

    So when Jackie asked me, "Do you have mouse spores?"  I had no idea how to answer.  She asked again, but I had no idea what mouse spores were.

    Then she pointed to a bottle in the bathroom closet.  It was mouthwash that I use once in a while if I have a mouth sore.

    She was asking me if I had a mouth sore, not mouse spores.

    A few minutes later she asked me another question and at that point I put in my hearing aids because that one made less sense than the mouse spores.

    But I can't remember what it was.

    I don't know if the yard needed mowing, but the areas were gardens or trees get watered were green and long and starting to look tacky.  I still have trimming to do and mowing between the raised gardens.  I might have a small amount or raking also.

    Doggie Beth opted not to go to the bathroom on our 9:30 p.m. outing.  But she had no problem letting me know at 6 that she had to go.

    This may have been the second night for something like this to happen.  She had been sleeping in Julia's room, but when the fireworks started  booming she abandoned that for championship and safety with us.  Since then she has been sleeping in a dog bed in our room and sometimes jumps up in the middle of the night and nestles down between us.

    Honestly, we'd rather she didn't.  Twice now I have picked up up and put her back in the dog bed, and she stayed.

    Maybe her waking me at 6 a.m. is retaliation.

Peace and Love

eh

 There are benefits to procrastination

    For example.  You don't go out right away to shovel the snow off your driveway and by June it is melted.  Procrastination.

    You put off watering your gardens and in 2 or 3 weeks, it rains.  Procrastination.

    I have it down an art!

    Problems arise when I don't procrastinate.

    I ordered Jackie a new wheelchair for  in the house.  It came, I unpacked it, and showed it to her.  She said it was too tall.  I measured it and the new chair was at almost 20 inches from the floor to the seat while the chair she has is about 16. 

    Same company.  Same model chair.

    A prudent person would have done a second measurement on the sides of the chair to the floor.  But a rash person would go ahead and file a return with the seller, have the return processed, and be told to return it to the store for credit.

    A procrastinator would not  have then contacted the manufacturer to discover that they only make that height..  That means this is the chair we want, but I have already "returned" it.

    But, that's problem I will handle tomorrow.  

    I mowed my field today....weeds grow faster than grass.  I will mow and trim the yard tomorrow.

    Maybe

Peace and Love

This is my chair.....but Beth seems to enjoy sitting in it and watching the world pass.  I shot this through the window, that is screen the makes the picture weird.

Twas a bit foggy this morning

Boxwoods were covered in webs this morning

busy, busy, busy

I did a ton of errands t today

    In addition to people coming in 4 mornings a week, we have someone coming in for 4 hours on the second Tuesday of the month.

    That was to give me a little relax time, where I could ride my bike, climb a mountain, or have a cameo in the latest movie being filmed in Rochelle.

    So today I ventured to Rockford. I took Jackie's ankle sport boot in for repairs and waited 45 minutes. 

    I took the treadmill in for recycling and waited about 15 minutes.  This place had stacks and stacks of tvs, microwaves, dehumidifiers, air conditioners....... and that is not even talking about the mountains of computer parts! I was truly stunned by how much was there.  A vehicle in front of me had 3 humongous tv sets.  These were not the ultra thin ones, but the huge behemoths that take 2 men and a fork lift to handle.  And most of the stuff you drop off is free, except for microwaves, tvs, and anything with a refrigerant in it.  Even then the prices were $20 at the most.

    I stopped at the dealership where bought our van to ask what can be done about the update available message I get every time I start the car.  Turns out, nothing.  Seems to me a young lady was presented the same problem at the same dealership a few months ago  and within 10 minutes had fixed the problem.  I should have asked for her.

    Next I stopped at a nursery to buy a butterfly bush.  I had 3 in one space, but 2  did not come back this year.  I opted to only plant 1 since I have gone through about 5 of them now, with only one surviving.  And the leaves on the survivor look nothing like the leaves on the one I just planted.  We'll see,

    By this  tine it was past 3.  I still had a grocery store stop, but I wasn't buying a lot so that was a quick run in.  20 minutes later, I ran out.

    And yes, I did get a coffee....although I may regret that at 2 am. tomorrow.

    Jackie then asked me to bring home supper, a good move since I had nothing planned and it was late.   I went to Portillo's.

    So my day to do relaxing stuff never actually materialized,  But in a sense, that was ok.  I got some errands done without having to worry about Jackie being at home alone, and that in itself was a vacation.

    But a weird thing may have happened.  When I entered the recycling center, the nice lady asked me what I had and my zip code.  After she wrote it down, she told me where I should go, then  I THOUGHT she said, "Terry, go behind that truck."

    But I don't hear too clearly with background noise.  And I did not ask her to repeat because there was a line behind me and honestly, it did not hit me until I drove about 15 feet.  I would have had to get out of the van and ask her what she said, which seemed a bit weird.

    That's my story and I am sticking to it.

Peace and Love

whew!!

 That old treadmill gave me quite a workout today

    I really worked up a sweat!

    We have not used it for at least 12 years, but today I got a lot of exercise.

    I loaded the damn thing in the van.  By myself.

    "Call someone."  she said.

    I can do it, I replied.

    "Call Kevin!" she said.

    I can do it, I replied.

    15 minutes later, I got it into the van.  

    Yes, I should have called someone.

    Yes, I am 77 and can't do stuff like that anymore and I should be smarter.  But it is in the van.

    My plan for unloading it is to drag it towards the back, make sure no one is in front of me, and hit the gas so the damn things is propelled from the van.

    I was at Julia's to help with a couple of things. today.  As we were standing in t he driveway, a huge bug came buzzing by.  It landed on my pants and crawled into my pocket!

    I was hoping it was not a stinging insect, because that was an area of the body that I would not like to be stung in.

    I pulled out my phone, a piece of paper, and then the bug, which was some kind of beetle, and not  the kind that play music.

    He dropped to the ground and took off again.

    But I am wondering why attracted him to my pocket.....it did not hesitate, just crawled right in.

    Hmph.

Peace and Love

On of the presents for Father's Day

left overs

 There are left overs I do not like

    Such as the ones the person is firing off on July 6.  

    I assume they are left overs from July 4, and I guess if you have driven all the way to Wisconsin and bought them, you have to use them.

    I wonder if they are the same people who complain about the high cost of gas.  

    I have had left overs a couple of times.  Friday and tonight, to be specific.  

    We went out for Chinese Thursday night and I had some cashew chicken and Szechuan chicken left.  I know that is not spelled correctly, but I am hoping no one reading this knows how it is spelled and will think I am super good at spelling.  And if it is spelled correctly then give me a star!)

    Jackie also had left overs, but hers was half a burger from last night.

    I am just about at my limit of things I can make that are edible.

    Tomorrow night I am making a hamburger over noodles dish, which I like and Jackie tolerates. 

    I need to find easy dishes, with little clean up, that I can do.  If that sounds like I am lazy, well, partly I am.  But I have a lot to do around here.  The easier it is to can make my life, the happier I will be.

    Speaking of happy, we had 1.4 inches of rain!  I won't have to water for a couple of days.  Plus the temp is down, although the humidity still seems to be up.  

    Little Beth slept with us last night.  She does not like to go out when it is dark and she can hear fireworks.

    Makes me wonder what her previous life involved.

    But she is safe with us.

Peace and Love

finally!!!

The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain 

    I think we've got it!

    By Jove we got it!!!

    We are having a steady rain right about now, which is probably creating havoc for the city fireworks.  They usually start around 9, but it has been raining for a few minutes.  I suppose that means they will shoot them off tomorrow night.

    Beth slept with us last night.  Right now she is sticking close by one of us.  She is not shaking, but I know she is scared.  Last night when we went out at about 10 she took 2 steps, heard a couple of bangs, went right back into the house and jumped on the bed by Jackie.

   It's funny.  It is after 9 and I can not remember doing anything today.  I did drive to Julia's to make sure her garage was shut.  The girls had a shopping trip to an antique mall, but I can't imagine any of them buying something more.  But that is me.

    Anyway, she got up there and did not remember if she closed her garage door.  So I went over to check.  It was closed.  Not wanting it to be a wasted trip, I went to the Village Bakery in Oregon and got a coffee and some cookies.

    I let Emily's dogs out, came home, watched part of the Cubs game and. that was about it.  I just finished folding the towels I washed this morning, but I have not yet emptied the dishwasher.  I went to do that this morning, but for the second time in a week, the soap dis not dissolve.  Damn it.

    I did spend A LOT of time on the Texas flooding situation.  That is so tragic.

    I believe I saw or read the city manager say they had investigated putting in a flood warning system, like our tornado warning system, but it was deemed too expensive.  That decision backfired.

    Seems to me if a river often floods with a heavy rain, stone sort of warning for a 10 inch. rain would be prudent.  

    But that does nothing to comfort families who have lost children, parents, or  others. 

    Beth is in bed with Jackie and the city seems to be setting off  the fireworks.

Peace and Love

    

progress

 I did 2 things today!

    I know...big deal!!  But they kind of were.

    I downloaded an app. to my phone!  All by myself!!  

    I used to have Map My Ride on my phone, but it wasn't there anymore.  So I went to the App Store, found it, and downloaded it.  Then I used my e mail and password to get into th app!  

    I am excited!  You can tell by all the exclamation marks!!

    I rode my bike today, again.

    I just rode down to the end of the street and back.  It is only a mile, but I did not ride very much last year and my legs are not in great shape yet.

    On the way back I turned around at our corner and said to myself:  Don't ride off the road.l. Don't ride off the road.

    As I headed to the grass, I kept saying:  Steer toward the road.

    And. then I went farther into the grass.  By now I was about 6 feet from the road so I just got off my bike and walked it back to the pavement.

     To recap:  downloaded an app.  Went off the road but did not crash.

    Huzzah!!!!

    Hope you all had a great Fourth of July.  It was strange here because it was only Jackie and me.  And no-one has called us, despite the weather service telling people to check up on the elderly when it is hot.

    Dog Beth is frightened by the fireworks.  It is 11 now and she is up in bed with Jackie.  I took her out about 30 minutes ago and as soon as she got out the door, there were some bangs and she turned around and went straight to our bedroom.

    I hope tomorrow night is quieter.

Peace and Love

left vs right

 I was truly perplexed today

    Jackie, Julia and I were going out to eat, meeting friends in DeKalb for Chinese.  (If you know  the area, you know the restaurant.)

    I put my hearing aids in and said to Julia, "What is that noise?'

    I swear, it sounded like a giant fan, like one of those used in animal barns to keep the air circulating and the animals cooler.

    She looked at me like I was nuts.  (I look I often get from people.).   The only noise she heard was the AC running.  (Hell, to be honest, it was galloping, not  just running.  Can't wait until 96 on Saturday. )

    I went to a different part of the house, the noise was even louder!

    Jackie did not her it.  Julia did not hear it.  Was I going crazy?  The noise was deafening!

    In search of an answer, I took out my hearing aids.

    I discovered I put the right aid in my left ear.

    Now, that is a big deal because the right one is programmed differently.  It magnify sounds much more that the left one.

    Once I put the thingies in their correct ears, the noise disappeared.  All I was hearing was the AC running, but at a much louder volume than I should have heard it.

    And dinner was great.

    Plus the Cubs won.  Whoever came up with the idea of selling big W flags sure hit the nail on the head.  Every game, there seems to be more and more coming out.

Peace and Love

dis and dat

Kind of a WTH day today

    We have help coming in 4 days a week from 8 to around 11.

    Today I had planned to get on the old bike and ride around the block, which I have not done in over a year.

    But I had such a hard tine getting to sleep last night, I laid down in my recliner.....and slept until 11.

    I did ride after supper.  Granted, it was only 1 mile, but at least I got on the bike.  Last year I barely rode because I was constantly dizzy and did not want to fall off.  This year I am constantly lazy.  Hoping that changes.

    I went to the store today.  I go a lot, because it seems if I buy fruit on Monday, by Wednesday it is no good.  So I go every other day, mainly for fruit.  I have the darndest time with raspberries....they seem to spoil on the way home.  At one point in my life I was so fed up with that I started buying frozen raspberries, but they just do't taste the same.

    Replaced the batteries in my sensors for the security system.  I keep getting a message that one window needs a new battery, even though I just put it in.  I know I have to reset the system. so tomorrow's challenge will be figuring out how to do that.

    I mowed  the field today.  While the grass in my yard has not grown, the weeds in the field have, so I spent an hour doing that.  

    I watered the new trees and part of the slope, where there are lots of flowers.

    I keep reading advice about watering and you are not supposed to do it at night.  The logic just does not hit me, because it rains at night.  I don't see the difference between watering and raining at night.

    We are at the beginning of a warming trend.  Temps should be in the 90s by Saturday.  One forecast says rain Saturday, another forecast says no rain.

    We have a friend in Colorado and they experienced a hail storm last week.  They told me Colorado was the hail capital of the states.  Sounds like a good reason to move there and become a roofer.

    I'd rather have heat  than hail.

    With that, hail and farewell!

Peace and Love

commercials

 Have you listened to a ballgame lately?

    It doesn't matter if you watch on tv or listen on the radio, it seems a constant stream of commercials.

    And not just the 15 or 30 second ones, but the slipped in not so obvious ones.

    Like: 

    On challenges for a replay:   Second opinions are always recommended by Northwestern Medicine.

    Describing the uniforms:  Uniform descriptions brought to you by Sherwin Williams.

    And on and on.

    Tonight I heard a new one.  The Guardians' center:fielder made a sliding catch, which was followed by: all sliding catches are sponsored by Wisconsin Dells, where you can slide into the fun.

    Or something like that.

    Coupled with the betting commercials that run almost every inning and I wonder why I have to pay so much for cable when they have all these ads!

    Anyway. 

    Took a stab at cleaning the garage today.

    What is wrong with me?  The g garage is a mess, the basement is cluttered, my desk area has enough paper to ... I don't know to do what..... just a lot of shit.

    I seem. to have passed the curse onto my daughters.  For that I am deeply sorry.

    So I spent about 90 minutes out there and you can't even tell I did anything.

    In may mind things are organized and clean, but in reality stuff is put everywhere and is dirty.  I need to wash off lawn tools when I am done, not just stick them wherever there is space.

    That's why I spend so much time looking for stuff.

    I know the problem.   I know the solution.  I just can't do it.

    Maybe tomorrow.  But probably not.

Peace and Love