yawn.......

 I was kind of  surprised when I woke up

    I went to bed a little after 11:30 last night.  Beth got me up at 1:30 to go out and again at 2:30, but I knew she just wanted to enjoy the night.  So I told her no out and went back. to bed.

    When Jackie poked me, Beth was asleep in our bed and the cuckoo had sounded 11.

    11 a.m.!!!!!  That is how long we slept!

    Honestly, it felt real good.

    But it pt a crimp in my plans for the rest of the day.

    I was going to do 2 small projects outside, but by the time we  were ready for the day it was already 2, and we were going to Julia's at 5.  I did not want to get dirty and have to clean up a second time.

    By the way, the Trib did a profile on a new Aston Martin Vanquish, which has a price tag of $438,700.  Now, I am of the mind that if you can afford a car like that, then maybe you should be paying more into Social Security and in income tax.  Yes, I do believe a wealth tax is needed.  

    But I digress.

    Julia invited Renee and Wendy over and also included us.  Emily was working.

    We took Beth with and she enjoyed all the new smells around Julia's property.

    Speaking of that, the blacktop guys came in and graded her driveway.  She assumes they will be there something this week to put the blacktop down.  That will make a big difference.

    Anyway, we had a great time visiting and eating, something I do well.  The eating part.  Sometimes not so much the visiting part.

    And while I did watch a little of the Cub game, I may have fallen asleep during the 8th inning.  I don't seem to remember anything until Jackie told me it was almost time to leave.

    I just hope I can sleep tonight!

    Have a happy Labor Day!

Peace and Love

finally

 The last two days have been amazing

    Temperatures have been mild,  there has been a gentle breeze, the humidity is gone....... I think these are the first 2 days I have really enjoyed summer.

    Yesterday and today I sat outside and read a book.  I don't think I have done that very much this summer.  I have read inside, but the heat and humidity made it too darn uncomfortable to be outside..

    I mowed this week, but there are not a lot of chores that I need to do, although I am making a list for fall.

    I did almost get hit by a cart today.

    Yes, cart.  Not car.

    I was looking at my grocery list and I stepped out in front of a lady pushing a cart and she stopped short.

    I apologized and we both laughed about it .

    I am usually the person complaining about people on their phones and not paying attention, and there I was, just wandering aimlessly, oblivious to traffic around me.  (Emily has seen me do that with real traffic!)

    Looking around the garage today, I r realized how much crap I have just strewn about.  I really need to do something about that.But 

    I did not ride my bike today. I should have.  I was going to after dinner, but it was dark before I finished eating.  Maybe t tomorrow.

    Have a beautiful Sunday.

Peace and Love

tree mendous

Nothing beats a good shade tree

    An area tree nursery has a sale in late August.  Today I went up and bought 3 trees.

    Where a I going to put them?

    On my lot.

    I figure trees will add to the value of the lot when I go to sell it.  So it is really an investment that should grow over time.

    Punny, eh?

    One of the trees is a shagbark hickory. 

    I was pretty set on getting one because we live in Hickory Ridge subdivision and I never see any hickory trees on our street, besides the one in my back yard.

    So now there will be a least 2.

    The other 2 are sugar maples, which Jackie and I love for the color they produce in the fall.

    Now all I have to do is wait for them to be installed.

    The lady looked at the name on the order form and immediately connected to Emily.  She has bought a lot up there over the previous years.

    I was also wearing my "May the forest be with you"  shirt that the girls bought me in Jim Thorpe, PA.  The ladies saw it, loved it, and took my picture.  That was fun.

    I had another purchase that needed to be made.

    Yesterday the back door developed a problem.

    I could not open it.

    The door does have a deadbolt,  but it is a passage only handle.  For some reason the lever would work but that little thingy that goes into the hole in the door frame would not retract. 

    As I write that, it hits me as strange that it isn't a deadbolt.  There is one on the door, but the lever does not lock, if you get what I mean.

     So I had to take the handle off and pry out the thingy that goes into the frame.  Parts seem to fall out as I took it apart, so I assume something important broke.

    Now I hope my poor eyes and arthritic hands can install the new one tomorrow.

    On the box it says installs in minutes, so I am planning on 2-3 hours to get it installed.

    Yes, I am being optimistic.

Peace and Love

intentionally vague

 This will be a little different entry tonight

    Tonight I am going to be a little vague.  

    I don't want to invade anyone's privacy.

    I also don't want to steal someone's thunder.

    So here goes.

    Julia lived in Switzerland for over 20 years.  She made lots of friends, and knows a lot of people over there still, and so do I.

    Life is different there.

    For example, kids can't drive until they are 18.

    Teens  can drink wine and beer, but not hard alcohol.

    Health insurance is a must  have.

    Lots of other good ideas.

    Switzerland is not a socialist country.

    All of that has no connection expect the driving until 18 part.

    If you are 16, you can take classes and pass a test to operate a motorcycle.  Not a big Harley, but the smaller putt putts.

    So this boy I know, who is 16, has his motorcycle license.

    This week after school, he goes to the beach in his town.

    While there, a man collapses.  A woman attempts CPR but does not know how to do it.

    So the 16 year old steps in, administers CPR until paramedics arrive, then goes back to being a 16 year old.

    The man survives.  

    Someone asks the boy  how he knew CPR.

    In order to get his motorcycle license, he had to have a CPR class, among others.

    Kudos to the boy for saving a life.

    And kudos to the Swiss for making CPR training a priority.

    That's the news for tonight

Peace and Love

finally

 We finally went out for my birthday dinner

    Actually, it should be our birthday dinner.  MK and I have birthdays close to each other and we usually try to go out, someplace special.

    Toight we went to Sorrento's in Sycamore.  I don't think I have ever been there, but Jackie thought we were.  

    It was prime rib night and the place was packed!

    We had a reservation, and I told them we had a wheelchair.  They seated us at a table off to the side and perfect for a wheelchair.

    The prime rib was pretty darn good!  Jackie and I have enough leftovers for at least one more meal, and so did MK and Steve

    I also had chocolate cake for dessert.  No matter how full I am, there is always room for chocolate cake!  I did share with Jackie because I figure she does not eat a lot, so that was fine.

    Finished mowing today.

    When I went to take my night pills last night I discovered I did not take my morning meds on Tuesday.  Or my night meds on Monday.  Or my morning meds on Monday.

    That could have explained my discomfort yesterday, but Emily also said I could have been a little dehydrated.  I thought about it, and I have not had a glass of water in a couple of days.  Coffee, yes.  Tea, yes.  But no plain water.

    Maybe tat explains the pains in my legs too.

    So today I watered up.  Had 3 glasses at supper, along with a pinot noir. 

    And right now I can't wait to go to bed!  I figure I will be up plenty in the night!

Peace and Love

Lost and found

 I got gas for my grill to day

    No big thing, really. 

    But it led to a big discovery!

    Years ago, and I mean years, we bought some Cutco knives from a young man selling them to earn money for college.  I'll call him Joe, for no other reason.

    We may have been living on Mill Pond, which means it was the early 1990s.

    Now, these were expensive.  We bought them anyway.  As part of the purchase, we were given 4 steak knives.

    They are great knives.  In fact, I need to send them in for free sharpening, a service I have taken advantage of in the past.

    During the years the 4 steak  knives dwindled to 3 and then 2.  I looked at replacing them, but hey are something like $90 each.  Understand, they are great quality made in the US knives, but I am not at that point in life where I want to spend money on them.

    Which brings me to getting gas for the grill.

    I loaded the empty tank in the van, and glanced in the rear storage compartment and guess what I found?

    A freaking steak knife!!!!!

    How and why it was there is beyond me.  It has been missing since Emily and I went to Key West last January.  I just assumed it got tossed in the trash accidentally, like I think the first one was.

    I guess I should look in the car for the fourth one, but that would be a miracle.

    Mowed most of the yard today.  After about an hour I started to get headachy and nauseous.  I will have to finish tomorrow.

    I did use my yard sweeper again, but it just does not seem to sweep up the grass.  I have it on the lowest setting, the bristles turn, but not much grass hits the basket.  Maybe I am expecting too much.

    I had a hard night sleeping again.  I had a series of nightmarish dreams that kept waking me up.  I was spooked to the point of making sure our house alarm system was on.  That helped a little, but the dreams were so bizarre they kept waking me up.  

    I took a solid 2 hour nap on the front porch, but agin the dreams were pretty wild!  At least they didn't wake me up.

    Hoping for a better night sleep tonight.

    And better dreams.

Peace and Love

blinded by the light

 I had my eye specialist visit today

    Rehashing an old story.  Years ago my eye doctor, during a routine exam, dropped the bombshell that I had macular degeneration developing.

    Through tears, I repeated the diagnosis to Emily, who recommended seeing a specialist.  I did, and it was diagnosed as macular dystrophy.  The symptoms are almost identical, but the dystrophy is not progressive.

    I go to the specialist every 6 or 12 months and today was my visit day.

    I like him, and trust him.

    Today he looks at the tests and says, "Your macular degeneration seems to be stable."

    I look at him and said, "What!!  That's not what you said I had!"  He scrolls back up and says, "Sorry..dystrophy, not degeneration," he replies.

    I said, "You just scared the hell out of me!"

    He told me they were very close to some stem cell treatments that would stop and reverse what I have.     He said in 3 to 5 years I could be looking at that option.

    I said, "I'm  77......that might not be an option for me."

    He asked me why.  He then told me his father was 83 and very active, and there was no reason that I wouldn't be that way.

    Looking around the waiting room, there were a bunch of old people!  I know some were my age, but they looked old.  And they acted old.  Nobody was toe dancing to the music on the intercom

    Good news is nothing has changed in the past 2 years.  I have a little "hole" in my field of vision.  When asked to read the 5 letters on the eye chart, I can see 4 but then have to move my head to find the missing letter.

    Happens when I read, and write, but it is more of a nuisance than anything.

    I went to schedule my next appointment and opted for the 1 year mark.  The lady asked:  "How does August 24 sound to you?"

    I told her I could not even plan for next week, but go ahead.  If I find I am busy that day, I will reschedule.

    Thanks to Julia for taking me and thanks to neighbor Jackie who went over to pick up Jackie's phone and afternoon meds, which dropped on the floor.

    Sometimes it takes a village.

    And my eyes are still slightly dilated, so please pardon any mistakes.  

    I will find a different excuse tomorrow.

Peace and Love

stuff

 Sometimes I actually do things

    I mean the things other than being a full time caretaker. which involves doing laundry, cooking, doing dishes, and assorted other chores.

    Beth just snorted at me!  We just came in from outside and she wants to go out again.  She stood next to me and snorted!  Now she is pawing me.  We went back outside and there is a whiff of skunk in the air.  I think she can smell it and wants to confront it.  No chance.

    Today I finally edged the driveway!  I  have been trying to do that for several days, but kept putting it off.

    It only took about 30 minutes, which surprised me.  

    I edged, picked up the debris, blew the driveway clean and it looks nice.

    I also made a trip to the compost pile, emptied recycles in the house, watered plants on the porch, and watched the Cubs win.  Emily brought us some huge mums, so I unwrapped them and put them on the porch too.

    Funny thing.  Monday thru Thursday we have people come in to help.  They get here about 8, so I am up before then.

    Today we slept until 10!

    So we had chocolate chip zucchini bread for lunch. Thanks Jen and Sam for making it and for growing the zucchini.    For supper I had Saturday's meal of buttered chicken from an Indian place in Rockford.  It was darn good

    And despite sleeping soundly for 10 hours, I fell asleep during the eighth inning of the Cub game!  Right now I am so tired, I could go to bed.  But it is early, I think. Sometimes when I am tired, I can not sleep. 

    Go figure.

Peace and Love

tonight's sky to the east

after

midway through

I have some socks without matches. They all seem to be for the left foot!

whaaat?

 I am glad there are 7 days in a week

    My program for today was:  Headon's for meat, Walmart for scripts, edge the driveway, trim around the house, weed the garden.

    I did the first 2, but I had a long night and was pretty tired.

    Little Beth evidently  had a problem.  We went out at 11:30, again at 1:30, and sometime after that she barked  to go out and I said no.

    She turned around and promptly beat me to the bed and snuggled in next to Jackie.  That left me with about 6 inches of bed.  You have seen me, I need a lot more space.

    Anyway, it was a night of restless sleep.  Jackie talking to the dog, me in fear of falling off the bed, Jackie saying Beth's stomach was making a lot of noise, me in fear of falling off the bed and lan ding in a pile of dog vomit.

    I made lunch and really planned to go out at 4 and do the chores.

    But while making lunch, I discovered a whole bunch of leftovers that Julia would put in the "don't eat under any circumstances" category.

    So I didn't.  But I had a lot of containers to wash.  And the dishwasher was full.

    I finished it all at about 3:45 and decided to sit in my chair outside for about 30 minutes.  I woke up a little before 5, then fell asleep again until about 5:30.

    Kevin, Jen and Sam stopped by with some freshly baked zucchini bread and other treats for us and before I knew it, it was dark.  (I did make mojitos for Kevin and me, but I think I was a little light on the rum.)

    So.....tomorrow I plan to edge the driveway, trim, and weed the garden.

    I mean, I can't blow 2 days in a row, unless I watch the Cubs tomorrow.  Which I will probably do because Kyle Hendricks is pitching for LA.  My hope is the Cubs win, but Kyle does well.

    There is always Monday.

    That is the big benefit of being retired.

Peace and Love

a first

I did a first ever for me event today 

    The museum has been posting short videos about items in the collection.

    Today I took a stab at being the center of attention  for a podcast.  That is a podcast, right?  Or is a podcast on the spoken only stage?  Whatever.

    Anyway, I did mine on the meteorite the museum has, or doesn't have.  You decide.

    A volunteer named aNat did the filming and he is going to polish up the short video with a little editing.

    I hope he makes me younger, thinner, and better looking.

    I mowed today.  And after mowing I cleaned the mower deck!  I almost never do that, but the mess that was on it the other day motivated me to do a better job cleaning the mower.

    And the garage door got fixed.

    While fixing that one, he noticed one other door that is digging into the drywall because it does not seem to be anchored correctly.

    He is coming back Monday to remedy that problem.

    We face timed Bob and Anita for a while too.  

    All in all it was a very good day.

    And I will be sure to let people know when the video is posted.

    Autographs will be available for a nominal  fee.

Peace and Love

eh?

 Just kind of a eh day today

    Napped on the porch for an hour, went to the chiropractor, watched the Cubs, read on the porch, played with the dog, took Jackie to a library board meeting.

    Even when I don't have anything to do, I have a lot to do.

    Neighbor Jim sharpened my mower blades today.  That was great of him to do that, since I have no aptitude for anything involving machines.

    I did manage to scrape off the bottom of the mower deck, which may have convinced me to wash it every time I mow.  It was gross.  No wonder the garage smelled moldy.

    It is a beautiful night tonight.  I was just out with Beth and the stars are shining, the temps are cool, the crickets and frogs are in symphony mode.... really pleasant.  Wish we had more nights like this, but without the mosquito that bit me on the hand and is responsible for the itch I now have.

    I can feel summer drifing  away.  Not that I mind the humidity and heat leaving, but I do hate to see the time pass so quickly. 

    Never wish your life away.  Enjoy every minute.

    I have leaned that too late in life.

    Garćon!  Encore un glass vin rosé s'il vous plait!

    Or something like that.

Peace and love

See the problem with the garage door?

This little guy was about the size of a quarter....hanging around the light by the garage.

what a day

 This was the first of 2 hectic days

    Hopefully it was the worst one.

    Jackie had a doctor appointment in Sycamore at 1.  We made pedicure appointments for 2, also in Sycamore.

    I need to get her into the car by 12 to make sure we are a few minutes early.

    Last night as I went into the house I heard a thunderous crash.  Jackie heard it too.

    I looked around, checked the basement, all of he bedrooms, and the garage and saw nothing that looked out of place.

    Realize if you look in my garage it looks like everything is out of place, but that is not the case.  Each item is carefully placed so when I need it I can't find it.

    The noise really bothered me.  Was someone in the garage?  Did we have an intruder in the basement?

    Yet, I saw no-one.

    Today I went out to get the car ready. 

    Hit the garage door opener.  The door went up about 1 foot, then stopped.  Hit the button, it went down. Repeated the process, same result.

    Huh.

    Well, I will get it up the foot, disconnect the drive, and push it up.

    I get it up, disconnect the drive and the door slams to the ground.

    It's now almost noon.  The car is stuck in the garage.  The door won't open.  It is too heavy to lift.  Emily is at work.  Julia is called.

    I clear out the space to the right.  Mower goes out.  Trash cans moved.  Cart pushed.

    Then I do a 36 point turn, getting the van out the door next to the stuck one.

    I always call Raynor to fix the door.  I Googled the number, called it and talked to a lady who said they could send someone right away.  I told her no, we were on our way to a doctor appointment.  She said they will send someone between 3:30 and 5.  I say fine.

    Hang up.

    My phone rings.  It's our hearth insurance people wanting to set up a new time for our in home assessments.  I say call later, I can not talk now.

    We get to the doctor on. time.  Then we get pedicures.  Then we pick up supper.  We  go home.

    The door guy calls me and asks for a picture so he can bring the right spring, which he and I assume is broken.

    I get home, and in taking the picture, I see the brace that holds the spring to the wall is popped out of the wall.

    I send that picture.  Guy calls me and says I need a carpenter, that is a repair they do not make.

    Then he said I need to replace the wood with "stronger wood."  Huh?

    Then the  lady calls from Raynor.  As she is talking to me, I can hear roosters crowing in the background.

    It was weird.

    My neighbor mentioned he uses Kishwaukee Door Sales, so I called them and they are coming out to look at it.

    I realized my error after thinking about it.

    I called Raynor Door, which popped up on my Google.  I have always called Raynor Door of Dixon and they have been great to work with.  In fact, they put my door together after the golf cart incident of 23.

    Sheri was weeding, we had a glass or rosé and chatted.  

    Then Jackie and I ate our dinner.

    We had stopped at Dirty Bird in Sycamore.  Their chicken was amazing, so were the onion rings.  Not so hot on the fries, but everything else was very good.

    I imagine it tastes even better served warm in the restaurant, which was nearly full at 3 p.m., but I heated it up in the air fryer and it was darn tasty!

    I just hope tomorrow is a little better....but at least the Cubs won!

Peace and Love

cut ups

 I helped Julia today

    When. you move from one continent to an another and build and equip a house, one tends to have cardboard.

    When Julia had a dumpster, I encouraged her to not toss the cardboard, but rather recycle it.

    We cut down and flattened a couple of hundred boxes for teachers to use in moving classrooms.

    But that left a lot of cardboard left.

    So today, I went over and cut down cardboard.

    How did we do?

This is where we started

This is at the end.

    Of the boxes left, one is a box of papers to be shredded and two are filled with non recyclable material.

    I thought I would have to bring all the stuff to my house, but the recycling bin at Oregon was not full, so we put a lot of cardboard in that.  I did bring 3 boxes to put out with my recycling.  Julia has a couple of boxes of recycles that she will take to Oregon eventually.

    Little steps.

    Her driveway will be put in within the next 2 weeks, or at least that is the plan.  Then grading and smoothing of the lot and a sidewalk to the front and back doors.

    Little steps.

    I visited my native garden last night.

    I have cup plants....and they get kind of tall.

                

=

I am standing in front of the cup plant.  At least I believe it is a cup plant, but I have been wrong in the past about plant names!

    I also found a plant that I did not recognize.  Google told me it was prairie lettuce,

but I don't think so.  If it is, it is considered  an endangered plant in Illinois.

     But there are so many kinds of wild lettuce.....I really have  to look at it closely with a print out of what characteristics the plant has.

    I should also start collecting seed heads so I can spread them in the lot.  Normally when that is done the seeds are gathered by plant, but I will just gather them and not sort them.  That will be more natural, I hope.

    Our lawn was fertilized today.  The man left a note that my mower needs to be sharpened.  He also suggested I clean it after every use.

    He must know me, because he did not see the mower.

    I am really lax on that.  But the blades.....well, they need attention.

Peace and Love

I just love these little dudes!!!

you talking to me?

I may have a problem 

    I talk to myself.

    I know!  Most people do.

    But I have been having arguments with me.

    For example:

    Finish drying the dishes before you start cutting up the peppers.

But the peppers are in the way.

    Not if you finish the dishes.

Stop telling me what to do.

    I am not telling, merely suggesting.

    And I finish drying the dishes before cutting up the peppers.

    It is happening frequently.

    Put the spoon in the rack.

I know where the spoon goes.  You don't have to tell me where the spoon goes.

    You don't have to yell.

I am not yelling!  I am just saying.

    All of this is said in my head.  (That rhymes!  Maybe I can turn it into a poem.  Or song.  Not now, finish the blog.  I will.)

    That and the constant crickets in my head are driving me insane. You already are half nuts. Stop it!

    We had a lot of rain today.  I watched the Flubs for a little while but when it got to 5-0, I gave up and did something else.

    I checked the rain gauge at 6 and we had 1.3 inches, but I have not checked it since.  Good idea, I will.

    Strange, now there is only 1 inch.  Did I empty it before?  Did we get over 2 inches?  Does it have a leak?

    Anyway, I emptied it now.  And I have no idea how much rain me got, but it was a lot.

Peace and Love

    

    

oh, beans!!

I am a. terrible gardener, as it turns out 

    I did not check cucumbers regularly, now they are huge and yellow.

    My Italian beans stayed on the vine too long, now they are limp and bitter tasting.

    Peas failed miserably.

    My tomato cages fell over under the weight of the plants.

    I can't find the carrots through the weeds.

    I have a rhubarb plant that is, well, hard to describe.

    When the heat came, I sort of lost interest in the gardens.  If I had been paying attention, I would have picked beans and cucumbers last week, but I wasn't and I didn't.

       I did make notes for next year. Strengthen the tomato cages, no peas, no cucumbers, check beans regularly.

    I don't mind planting stuff.  But we only use the cucumbers on salads and t o make refrigerator pickles.  And last year we made 5 jars and never ate them, so they were tossed.

    I am going to go out tomorrow and see if I can plant some green beans.  I believe it said 60 days to harvest, which puts it into October......but I have extra seeds, so why not?

    I watched the first half of the Bears and I am feeling pretty good about the upcoming season.  Of course, I felt that way about the Cubs too.

    They won today and play Milwaukee in a 5 game series starting tomorrow.  If the Cubs win all five, which is highly doubtful, they will still be 3 games out of first.

    If they lose all 5, they will be 13 games out of first and playing for a wild card spot.

    I went through this in 1969, except there was no wild card then.  That was a major disappointment.

    By the way, I did nothing today. Nothing.  Nada.

    I did sit on the porch for a few minutes to read, and friend Sheri stopped by and we enjoyed a glass of rosé.  

    In other words, it was a very good day.

Peace and Love

ouch

 I think my feet are growing

    I have a pair of shoes I bought to specifically  wear when waling the indoor circuit at The Rec in town.    

    I wore them last spring and all was fine.

    My wear outside shoes, as opposed to my wear in the yard shoes, have the sole coming off.  So I took my indoor shoes and switched them to my outside shoes and took The Rec shoes as my indoor shoes.

    Are you confused?  You should be.

    I have been wearing The Rec shoes inside today nd my toes hurt!  They feel all cramped inside the shoes, but hey never felt that way before so I guess my feet are growing.  (Or my nails are too long.)    Might as well, my stomach seems to be growing too,.

    Sigh.

    One would think I would throw out the shoes with the sole coming off, but me being me I will use them as my bike riding shoes. 

    To keep you straight:

        Bike riding shoes....sole coming off.

        Outdoor shoes......used only in the yard.

        Outside shoes...... used for when I leave the house, but not for wearing in the yard.

        In house shoes..... I wear them only in the house.

    Yes, sometimes I complicate my life.

    Spent a little over an hour in Oregon this afternoon. 

    There was not a big crowd at the anti trump protest, but since it was 90 outside, that is understandable.

    A storm rolled through north of Oregon and we watched the thermometer on the bank dip from 89 to 84, 82 and eventually 79.

    We did not have any storms by us, yet, but areas around us had severe thunderstorms.  It is thundering outside now, so we will eventually get some rain.  Maybe.

    What is weird is the storms came from the north and moved south east.  Usually storms  move in from the south and west.

    I am tired of the heat and humidity.  I fear there are a few more days of this on. tap.  

    Fall will feel good.

Peace and Love

There were actually pre made signs for those of us who did not bring one.

family

We visited with our Swiss family today

    My nephew Mike, his wife Megan, and their sons Michael and Ben are here  from Switzerland.

    Why?

    Because Michael graduated high school and is going to Michigan State University starting next week.

    I last saw them in 2023 when Dan, Linda and I were in Zurich at the end of our Cubs/Liverpool/Swiss trip.

    The boys have gotten big!

    Anyway, they wanted to see us and Julia's new house, maybe not in that order, so we gathered for pizza and catching up.

    Life can be funny sometimes.  Megan was offered a position with her company in one of 3 or 4 places, if I remember correctly.  She opted for Switzerland.

    Julia went there for 3 years and stayed 21.  Megan and the family went for 3 years and have been there probably 10 to 13 ears or so, but my mind is a little foggy on that.

    I think we have seen more of our nieces and nephews in the past year or 2 than we have in the previous 5.  I think that is great because I really miss them all.

    Anyway, when I got home I had a tea and went and mowed.  The grass was long, so I tried using my lawn sweeper, but  it does not seem to pick up as much cut grass as I thought it would.  I guess I need to experiment with the different settings.

    My darkest Cub memory was 1969, when they had a huge lead , something like 9 games in August.  But the Mets got unbelievably hot and finished ahead of the Cubs by 6 or 7 games.  It was devastating to this Cub fan because there were good players on that team.

    I am experiencing the same feeling.  We were 6 up in mid-July, now they trail the brewers by 8 or 9 games.  They just seem lifeless.

    I am hoping for better days.

Peace and Love

Ben took a liking to Beth!

Saw this downtown....thought it was odd

Also downtown Rochelle

one

 I saw a shooting star last night

    I know, big deal.

    The Perseid showers are the ones that produce the most visible shooting stars.  Some accounts said 20 or 30 per hour.

    I saw 1 in the hour I spent watching.

    Now, I am not blaming anyone.  Or anything.  It was fairly clear, but the moon was pretty bright and the meteorites are frequently more common in the late, late, early morning before dawn time of day.

    What I also saw were  5  or 6 planes bound for Rockford.  These were all Amazon or UPS, with a FedEx in there too.

    They pass our house at about 3000-4000 feet.  

    Surprisingly,. they are fairly quiet.

    I have a flight tracker ap on my phone, and I can click on it and it will tell me the flight, where it is from, where it is going, altitude, speed, type of aircraft and the operator.

    It's kind of interesting to see where they came from.  I assume the cities are hubs and shipments are transferred from on place to another.  If I remember, there was 1 from St. Louis, 1 from Louisville and a flight from Texas.  I think that flight had more Democrats fleeing, but I might be wrong.

    I also saw a bright light moving slowly across the sky.  I assume it was a satellite, but my sky tracker did not show one. Yes, that is another app I have.  That light bothered me because it was moving too slow to be a plane or a satellite, but I can't imagine it being anything but on of those.

    Unless it was a UFO.

    If you want to know how crazy we have become, Google Baby in the Bean.

    Pardon my spelling tonight, I am kind of tired and my hot toddy is starting to kick in.

Peace and Love

Hair today

 It was trim a dog day today

    Beth got a hair cut.  She needed it.

    When we would sit on the couch at night I would spend a lot of time pulling tangles out of her fur.

    So today, instead of a cocker cut, she had a short cut.  Not the kind you take to get someplace, but her hair is shorter.

    When she came out of the groomers, I almost did not recognize her!  She looked totally different!

    The only problem she has at the groomers is a shitty reaction to the hair dryer.  She has to get cleaned up after that.  But other than that, she is a good customer.

    We stopped for a coffee and puppy chino and when she got home, she had a good roll in the grass.

    Last night I went out to see meteors, but came up empty.

    I don't think tonight will be any better, but I will try.

    I finally got to put the W out, which seems like it has been a long time since I flew it last.

    There was a minor explosion in the kitchen.  I bought a cantaloupe Monday on the way back from Amboy.  This morning it was all over the counter and the floor.  I should have cut it up yesterday, but I didn't. 

    They don't smell very nice when they go bad.  I just didn't think that would happen in 2 days.

    But it wasn't as bad as the watermelon that exploded last year.  That really was stinky!

Peace and Love

Before

after

after rolling in the grass...note the ears

what, me worry?

 You all know how paranoid  I am

    Let me tell you this. 

     I know all the names of The Monkeys and The Beatles. I remember the characters on WKRP, Taxi and Modern Family.

    I know the starting line up of the 2016 World Champion Chicago Cubs.

    I know the dates and years of birth of my wife and 2 kids.

    I remember the recipe for the mojito I am currently sipping.

    And yes, sometimes I forget to bring Beth in.....but rarely.

    None of that explains what I did last night.

    I made breaded pork cutlets for supper.  Some corn, diced potatoes that are my version of broasted, but they seem dry.

    Made the cutlets in my cast iron skillet. 

    Dinner was fine.  I cleaned up most of the kitchen except for the skillet.

    After I got Jackie to bed about 10:30, I put the hot pot on for som decaf tea and a little peach pie Emily got me at a craft fair Saturday.

    It's a one serving thing, like the Hostess pies I used to get at Walgreens.  They don't carry them anymore because they said the demand was low.  Every time I wanted one I had to ask where they were because they kept moving them.

    But I digress.

    I cleaned  the pan by wiping it out with a paper towel, then using a soapy paper towel to clean it and then rinsing it.

    To make sure it is dry I put it on the stove and turn on a burner for a couple of minutes.

    I nuked the pie, made the tea, went to the den and about 15 minutes later Jackie asks me what I was cooking.  She actually called me on the phone, which is our new system for when she is in bed and I am not.

    She said something smelled.  I went  to tell her it was a pie, but I too could smell something hot.

    That's when the fire detectors went off, Beth started giving  off a spine tingling howl.  Jackie started yelling and I noticed the smoking cast iron pan still on the burner. Smoke was coming off the pan.

    I turned off the burner, opened the front and back dolors, turned on all the fans and grabbed Beth, putting her outside where the noise was less.

    After a few minutes everything settled down.  Alarms stopped, the smell dissipated and life went on.

    But I was not good.  I sat in the den and darn near cried.  How could I have left the pan on!  What would have happened if I had left the house?  What if it wasn't the cast iron skillet?

    And at the bottom of it all, is it a sign of my mind going?

    I thought about it a lot last night and I just think I was doing too many things at one. time, and doing them too quickly.

    I have learned my lesson.

    I hope.

    And I hope I did not damage the pan.  It is white in parts, but I think if I oil it that will help cure it.

Peace and Love

chicken dinner???

 I am convinced I am coming into a lot of dough

    I made my annual (almost) pilgrimage to Amboy today for raffle tickets.

    Friend Nadine went with and we had a nice time visiting with the people in city hall and the cat, although the cat did not come near me.

    For those who don't know, Amboy does a festival called Depot Days.

    Years ago....I don't know how many....they started a raffle to help support the museum.  It's basically a 50/50 raffle, with several prizes in addition to the cash.

    I asked today, and one lady said their first raffle had a prize of about $800 for the winner. Last year the prize was about $130,000.

    As the drawing grows, the money is used for more than just the museum.  She mentioned Honor Flights  and several local organizations now get a share of the net, with the museum still benefitting.

    Our museum started a similar raffle last year and we gave about $600 to the winner.  Hopefully our effort grows like Amboy's does.

    This year I also got tickets for Dan and Linda.

    I was told they were not allowing address labels to be used because the labels sometimes fall off or get stuck to other tickets.  I think that explains why I have not won in the past.

    Today when we walked in and bought the tickets, I boasted that we did not bring labels and the lady looked at me and asked," Why not?"

    I could have used labels.  

    Tickets are 6 for $5. I bought 4 packs.  Linda bought 4 packs.  I don't remember what Nadine bought, but she helped me fill in the name, phone number and city on a couple of packs because my hand was numb.

    And the stubs are so small!  I can't write that small anymore.

    Afterwards we crossed the street to the grocery store where there is a big cylinder with tickets.  We plopped ours in and the helpful check out person took our pictures.

    Amboy seems like such a nice town.  People in city hall were friendly and so was the clerk in the grocery store.

    If I remember correctly, years ago a retailer named Carson opened a store in Amboy.  He later expanded into what became Carson, Pierre, Scott & Company.

    The museum is an old depot, but the train tracks are long gone.  They do have an engine and caboose on the grounds though, and that is kind of neat.

    After I dropped Nadine off I circled back to Starbucks since Cypress House is closed on Mondays.

    I don't know what happened.  I order a half caf venti vanilla iced blond latte in the summer.  

    When the young'in  brought the order, my personal cup was half full.  I said I ordered a venti.  He. went back and filled the venti.

    He gave it to me, I put my lid on and as I was doing so, I noticed it was not iced it was fully decaffeinated and I had ordered a grande, according to the label..

    I must not have heard the person correctly when I placed my order and she repeated it back to me.

    I went home and put ice in the cup, but it did not have the same proportions as what is should have had.

    Oh well.....when I win the pot I will buy all my close friends a coffee.

Peace and Love

Lazy Day

 I found out this was National Lazy Day

    I was as lazy as I could be today.

    Yes, I did 3 loads of laundry and straightened  the pantry, but I also took a short nap outside.

    I got bit by a fly, and swatted another fly, and discovered after my nap that the chair was a bit damp.

    I wonder who decided and why. there is a lazy day.  And should it be capitalized, like Mother's Day or Fourth of July?

    I imagine some guy working in an ad office someplace didn't want to work on this date, so he told his boss, hey, it's National Lazy Day.

    The boss, being an idiot, gave the entire office staff permission to not work.

    I know there are a lot special days, and I have a few I would like to see started.

    Feed A Raccoon Day.  This would be every May 13 and would involve throwing bread balls at local raccoons.  As an alternative to bread balls, stale pizza crust would work.

    Blow a Bubble Day.  June 11 would be the day for everyone in the world to chew bubble gun and at 1:28 their time, stand on a street corner and blow a big bubble.  

    Pet a Cow Day.  This is for city slickers.  They need to drive to the country on Aug. 8 and pet a cow.  This will connect them to the food supply so they can see where their hamburger. steak, and milk come from.  It will also teach city slickers the difference between a huge bull and a cow.

    Kill a  Fly Week.  This would be an entire week, April 21 - 28 with the idea that every day everyone would kill at least 1 fly.  By doing this, we will greatly reduce the fly population that will bother us in the summer.

    Read Labels Carefully Day.  This would actually be a year round day, where people are encouraged to read the labels on the products they buy so they don't buy sugar feee root beer instead of regular root beer because sugar fee has an aftertaste.

    Shave Your Face Day.  June 12 would be a day when all men shave their beards and mustaches off in an effort to get the bubble gum off their faces.

    National Cumquat Day.  Sept. 18 would be t he day to celebrate cumquats.  I just like saying cumquat.

    Everyday Day.  An ongoing campaign to encourage people to read blogs and like them.

    With that, I am calling it a day.

    If I wasn't being lazy, I get something to kill the aftertaste in my mouth.

Peace and Love

who dat?

 I learn a lot from surfing the net

    For example, today I. ran across an article that listed babies' names that went with cities.

    In 20204, Charlotte was the number one name that also named a city.  That was followed by Aurora.  I just hope the people don't have a last name like Illinois.  

    Other top names included Jackson, Elizabeth, and. there was a Tyler in the top ten list too.

    With that in mind, I also Googled odd city names.

    We all have heard of Intercourse, Paradise, and Bird in Hand in Pennsylvania, but there are a lot of others I have not heard of. 

    Until now.

    Like Hell for Certain Kentucky. 

    Imagine that conversation.

    "Where are you from?"  "I come from Hell for Certain."  That would be a conversation starter.  Or ender, I am not sure which.

    It might even be worse than Satan's Kingdom in Massachusetts. Imagine a conversation the first day on a new job.   "Well Bob, where do you come from?"  "Satan's Kingdom , bwah ha ha ah."

    And food seems to be a popular theme.  Bacon Level, Alabama; Greasy Corner, Arizona; and Forks of Solomon in California could all join in opening a restaurant.

    If you are feeling sad, a vacation to What Cheer, Iowa, might be called for.  Strangely, I have been through  What Cheer.  For some reason I think someone did something notable, like perfecting a white flower or building a washing machine.  Wait!  I'll Google it!  Nope, wrong on both counts.  But the developer of chiropractics was from here....name of Palmer, which is also the name of a chiropractic school.  Coincidence, or conspiracy?

    Of course personal favorites from PA including Intercourse, Paradise and Bird in Hand.  I often wonder how many pictures have been snapped of people at the Intercourse sign.  I think we have one of me, but that was from a long time ago and I would have no idea where it was.

    I wonder if anything happens in Nothing, Arizona, and how did Blue Ball,Delaware, get that name?

    We once went to church with a Rochelle and she was a darn nice person.  And friend Sharon did not come from Sharon, Wisconsin, but shares that name.

    But neither  made the top 10 list of babies named like a city.

    And if I ever decide to go to a  retirement community in Florida, it would be Fluffy Landing.

    I mean, it just sounds nice.  

Peace and Love

Stop the madness

The world has gone crazy 

    I am just so confused by  what is happening.

    Taco Bell selling chicken strips?  Insane!!

    Wendy's doing breakfast?  It's a hamburger place!!  Stick to hamburgers!! Don't waste your time opening at some ungodly hour to make breakfast burritos, which should be at Taco Bell!

    Dairy Queen was successful selling ice cream.  Why are they doing chicken strips, burgers and other fried things?  Stick to what you do well!   Blizzards and shakes and cones and cakes. (Hey, that sounds like a marketing slogan:  Blizzards and shakes and cones and cakes. You read it here first, folks.  I should copyright it!)

    I'm ok with a gas station selling pizza.  Casey's is the largest pizza seller in the world!  But there is something about trying one.  I have seen those hot dogs on the roller thing, and I would not gamble on those.  Pizza in a gas station?  Let me know if you have tried it and if it is good or not.

    And why is it copyright instead of copywrite?  

    Do you see why I am confused?

    There's felon in the White House and innocent people in concentration camps.  Shouldn't it be the other way around?

    When I was young,  newspaper folding was what we did to get it in a mailbox.  Not  putting one out of business.  Now when you talk to people and they say I fold newspapers, they mean they put them out of business, not in a mailbox!

    And the insurance commercial where 2 people are watching cars go through a car wash, and the guy has his sun roof open.  The next scene is him opening his car in the middle of the parking lot, and water gushing out.  How in the hell did the car get in the middle of the parking lot?  Did they push it?  Cause if they drove it, the water would already be out.

    We have State Farm insurance.  They are raising rates a lot this year because of losses due to storms.  If they really want to economize, they wouldn't hire profession athletes to do their commercials! Pat Mahomes does not work for free!  Nor do they others. The money they save could go toward rate relief.

    Heck, I would even appear in a commercial for free if that means lower insurance bills.

    I just turned on the Cubs postgame show and one of the commentators said something that made so much sense taking it out of context.

    He said, "The Cubs need to score runs."

    Hallelujah@!!@!  He figured out why they weren't winning!  I hope the manager, whose name I can not spell, was listening.  He probably heard it and slapped his forehead saying, "I was wondering why we were losing so much!"

    You see why I am confused?

    I need a break from all this madness.

Peace and Love

    

ho hum

I gave up on today 

    It was too hot to do anything outside.  I tried to take a nap in my porch recliner, but I could not sleep.

    I have some small yard chores, but I decided no, not today.

    I did go to the chiropractor and 3 stores before heading to Cypress House for a coffee.

    Because I am sleeping so badly again, I got a decaf.  I know, might as well drink water.  It tasted great, but I do not have that burst of energy a caffeinated coffee gives me.

    Hopefully I will sleep better..

    In a moment of boredom, I made a list of things to do around the house.

    I should learn to stop doing that because I always get overwhelmed.  But if I don't make the list, I am not motivated to do much of anything.

    On a positive note, I went into Walgreen's a n saw a woman and recognized her immediately as a former student!  I knew her name!  No hesitation at all on my part.  We spent a few minutes catching up .... she now has 2 grandchildren!    

    That is one of the positives of living in a small town.  You get to see people you taught, perform in plays, do comedy, go into businesses that greet you by name. 

    But there are drawbacks too.  Today I learned a former student passed away.  In reading his obituary, I saw that his sister, also a former student, proceeded him in death. 

    Both of them were nice kids and I am sure they were great adults.

    Hug your kids.  And your friends.

Peace and Love

RIP

I am in mourning tonight 

    The Rochelle News Leader published its last issue today, Aug. 6.

    After 50 years as a newspaper, time caught up with it.  

    Not enough subscribers, not enough advertisers,  too many costs......all of it too much to overcome.

    I know the paper was reeling....there was a 2 person editorial staff and a small staff of ad salespeople.

    I worked at the paper for 11 years back in the 70s.  I started as an intern in 1970 and left the paper in 1982 to become a teacher.

    Back then there was an editorial staff of 4 and an advertising staff of 5 or so.  

    It was not easy work.  Any one who works for a paper knows there will be night meetings, weekend events, people complaining, errors in stories.....and always the deadline.

    Back then the paper was printed  Tuesday and Thursday, and copy and pictures had to be in by 11 or so for pages to be finished and the presses run.   George ran a tight ship when it came to printing the paper.  He took a lot of pride, and Mylanta, in getting the paper out on time.

    A late meeting on Monday night could mean a scramble on Tuesday morning to get the story done, edited, sometimes proofed.  And if you needed clarification or more information?   If you didn't have it by press time, you were out of luck.  

    I was part of coverage of the Vagabond fire, a murder/suicide, several fatal traffic accidents and a host of feel good stories.

    The feel good stories were the best to write.

    I met a lot of people there too.  Renee, Vicki, Jean, Robin, Ken  and  many more that are no longer alive. 

    I felt then, and do now,  that a community newspaper is important.  

    But I also know the times have changed.  People get a lot of news from Facebook and the internet, which may not be the most accurate sources 

    And newspapers pay the price.

    RIP Rochelle News Leader.  You will be missed.

Peace and Love

come on!

I am beginning to lose faith in the Cubs 

    All season long I've bee hearing they have one of the best offenses in baseball.

    No offense, but they have no offense lately.   Two games in a row with only 3 hits.  And a series against Baltimore where they only scored 9 runs in 3 games.  That is not a good offense.

    Enough about baseball.

    Beth has been sleeping in the laundry area.  I don't know if it is quieter, darker, cooler, warmer or what, but she seems to like it there.

    Tonight I put a load in the washer and set the basket on the bench we have.  Beth was in front of the dryer.

    A few minutes later I heard a crash, and went in and found the laundry basket on the floor, and Beth trapped in front of the dryer.

    She did not bark, whine, howl or anything....she just sat there until I picked up the basket then she scurried out very quickly.

    I have a feeling her sleeping in the laundry days are over.

    The big hawk was back again today, perched in the burr oak in the back of the yard.  I hope he is a regular because he can keep the ground squirrel population down.

    I have not seen as many lately, although there are trails through my yard.  Beth likes to look for them too, but they have moved out of her area.

    I was sitting on the back patio about 8 tonight and was amazed at all the sounds nature was providing.  I need to wear my hearing aids out there more often, because it was so darn soothing.  Usually I have them out and don't hear much, but tonight it was a great experience.

    That's all that I know.

Peace and love

whoa

I had a busy day, again

    We had help this morning, so I was t taking a nap when I was awakened because of the bird in our back yard.

    It was a magnificent creature and I am glad they got me.

    The pictures don't do it justice.

    But pictures are what I am falling back on to tonight.

    I mowed the yar, in about an hour.  Then I changed the battery in the back door lock so now it works when you punch in the code.  I also ran cleaners in the washer and in the dishwasher, which actually did not require any work at all.

    The back door has an electronic lock.  It came with a key.  I can't find the key.

    I thought it might be in the ever present junk drawer, but it was not.

    I did find 4 three cent stamps, a 47 cent stamp, and several 2 cent stamps.  I think if I put all of them together it would still not be enough to mail a letter.

    A reasonable person would toss them.  

    Unfortunately, I am not a reasonable person.

Peace and Love

The focus is not too great, but you get the idea. Wonderful plumage.

I think it was looking for ground squirrels.

Royal catchfly

The bur oak has acorns!  And galls!!!  Lots of galls.

This is stuff from our drawer.  The circles seem to be parchment paper, but I don't know where they came from.  There are 2 plug in thermometers, but I don't know what they  plug into.  The thingy in the upper right looks like an outdoor thermometer.....but we don't remember seeing any of these things!

It's a handy tool......never knew I had it!