A little Lasso help

The new season of Ted Lasso starts next week 

     We watched the final  episode of the last season, and I got confused.

    Maybe I missed something.  The feed cut off during he credits, but what I saw got me.

    Coach and Jane were getting married at Stonehenge.  I honestly don't remember that.

    What I do remember is a scene where Keely is with Roy, somebody is getting married, and they look like they are on a beach or estate.

    Help me.... am I dreaming again?  Did I miss the last minute or 2?  Did they reshoot the ending?  Curious minds want to know.

    Anyway...doing my stretches and tonight my legs hurt like heck.  I know!  One day is too soon and it will get better.  I just wish it would be soon.

    We filmed a podcast at the museum today.  I won't tell you much about except I had a lot of fun doing it.  I also stumbled a lot on my words.  I tried to speak too fast and hopefully creative editing will smooth it all out.

    Last week the furnace made a strange noise.  A repair guy came out and thought it was a motor, that a bearing was going bad.

    We opted to replace it now rather than having it go on a day when it is too hot or too cold.  The noise never came back after the first time.....but we were playing is safe.

    Now it is all fixed and I can't wait to get the bill.

    Stopped at Cypress House for a coffee and  was talking about seeing the Savannah Bananas.  Another customer in the store joined the conversation.  She drove to Savannah to watch them!  I think she had a sister there, not quite sure about that part.  But she said it was a great experience.

    Incidentally, her ticket cost $30 and included a hot dog, drink, and fries.  

    It's hard to believe the guy started this in 2018 and almost went broke.  But now it is a million dollar business, entertaining fans around the country.

    If you get a chance to see them.....go.  You will enjoy it.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

Follow ups

Not much to say tonight 

    I just have a couple of followups to previous posts.

    I have done my first day of exercises as prescribed by the PT folks.  Boy, does that hurt!

    Also, I had my first mojito of the summer.  I know!  It's almost August and I have only had 1.  I guess my tastes have changed.  But it was good.  Sat on the back patio, had a hamburger and my mojito and did my last News-Leader crossword puzzle.

    Why my last?  $143 a year.  This issue had 2 pages on the Rockford Peaches.  That may be interesting, but it is not really Rochelle news.  So until something better comes along, I will rely on hearsay and Facebook for coverage of the local community.

    Friend Dianne asked about the value of my old house.

    My mother sold it in 1978 or  so for $57,000.  Zillow has the estimated price at $975,000.  House has 3,400 square feet.

      That got me curious about the apartment building my grandmother owned.  I was always under the impression my father's dad built the building.  But I don't know. It was built in 1925, according to Zillow.  

    Anyway, units inn the condo building are between $ $516,800 and $631,000 with a smaller unit at $387,00.  The smaller one may also be a garden apartment.  There should be 6 units in the building.

    And the HOA fees are a tad over $400  month

    And if you are a curious person, or just nosey, check out the Zillow linfo for 915 N. Dearborn in Chicago.

    A few of us could all chip in and buy it.

    Funny, eh?

Peace and Love

    Especially Peace

first day

 I had my first physical therapy day today

    Nice young man.  He gave me some exercises to strengthen and stretch my hamstrings.  

    I just hope they work.

    Of course, I have to do them, which is another story. I usually don't follow through on a lot of stuff.  

    I opted to wait until tomorrow to start mowing.  Then Jackie looked at the forecast, which calls for rain for the next 40 days.........so now I am going to build an arc.

    Had a nice visit from friend Laurie today.  We spent a lot of time catching up on life.  We tried not to discuss politics, but that is hard.

    The past few weeks there have been  a couple of fawns hanging around the neighborhood.  The only adult deer I have seen was a bloated carcass down the road.  I had hoped that was not heir mother.

    Well, my fears were answered today when the 2 fawns had 2 adult deer with them as they grazed on the grass in the subdivision's green space.

    I was able to get Jackie to a window so she could watch.

    So that's my day.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

memories

 I grew up in Chicago

    I lived on Belle Plaine, just a block from Lake View High School.

    Initially we lived in a 1 bedroom apartment on Greenview and Belle Plaine. My 2 brothers and I slept in the bedroom while my folks had a Murphy bed in the living room.  My grandmother and aunt lived in the apartment behind us, on the third floor.

    The neighborhood had a mix of apartment building and single family residences.  I remember an apartment building on Belle Plaine that had a terrible smell of urine in the front entry.  The next street over was a little dicey, the neighborhood was generally well kept.  As you moved north, I remember the houses being nicer.

    About the time I was in seventh grade, my parents bought a house,  It was right across the street from the apartment building. 

    After the Banana game Sunday, we had 2 options:  walk to a corner and have John pick us up or walk to the car, which was parked near my old house.

    I opted for the walk, so we walked.

    Yes, I realize that was not a good choice considering my legs hurt, but I only had to stop and rest once.

    Curious about the walk, I used Google maps and they said it was a 1.7 mile walk.  

    I also used AI, which said it was 1.2 miles.  AI is pretty smart.  The directions they gave were to walk west on Waveland to Broadway and go right to Belle Plaine.  The only problem is, that is wrong.  Broadway is a couple of blocks east of the ball park.  The only 2 options for getting to my house were Clark or Southport.

    Anyway, walking along the route I took many times as a kid I flashed back to the people and events that formed my life.  

    The neighbor hood is beautiful.  

    There are so many why places with outdoor seating, where you can get a meal or coffee.  I would love to live there for that reason.  But getting around?  Forget it.  Living out in the country has its advantages.

    Anyway, I snapped some pictures along the way.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

Sidewalks used to have stamps from the company pouring  them.  I don't think that happens anymore, but it is neat to see them

The doorway trim is impressive

The older homes have a lot of character and detail

This was a front yard...my kind of people!

My old apartment building....now it is a condo complex

Our apartment was on the third floor on the left.  The rounded area was the front room and the window under the small arch was our bedroom.  There were 12 apartments when se lived there, but I think now there are just 6 condo units.

The house my parents bought 

There are 3 houses the same.  All were built abbot 1890.  Our house was in the middle of the three.  The house on the west of us was the same style, but reversed.  Notice the rounded windows.  My dad always was telling me not to throw things near the windows because they were expensive to replace.
They just don't build them like that anymore.

seeing red

I seem to have burst a blood vessel in my eye 

    I have a habit of rubbing my eyes, sometimes too hard.

    This morning Jackie told me my eye was red.

    This afternoon we had a home visit for a health check up that our insurance provider offers.  The doc looked at me and told me my eye was red.

    Friends just stopped by and one of them said my eye was red.

    I have to learn not to rub my eyes!  I have done this before and every time I say I am not rubbing my eyes anymore, I rub them.

    After our friends left I looked around and saw an unmade bed, dishes in the sink and on the nook table.....it was kind of messy.

    I need to get into the habit of getting dinner stuff put away, or at least stacked, after we eat.    And to get the bed made before 9 p.m..

    Monday is sheet washing day and I just have not put the clean sheets on the bed.

    But it is only 9 p.m., so there is time.

    Caffeine bothers me.  I t ry not to drink caffeinated products after 3 or so.  But yesterday I had a huge Coke at the game and another Coke on t he way home.

    I went to bed and slept like a log.  Go figure.

    I saw a picture of Gallager Way with the Bananas doing  pregame activities yesterday.  Boy, the place was wall to wall people!  The game was at 3 but the gates opened at 11:30 for pregame fun and entertainment.

    Glad today was not yesterday weather wise.  It was brutal today.

    I feel sorry for people who work outside.  Hopefully the weather breaks.

Peace and Love

    Especially Peace

going bananas

 I got to see the Savannah Bananas today

    That was my birthday present from Julia and Emily. We had tickets to see the Savannah Bananas at Wrigley Field.

    Julia, Emily, friend John and I watched the Bananas lose to the Firemen.

    There is a lot going on at the game.  Singing, dancing, races, and baseball.

    The music goes nonstop.  Sometimes it's a sing a long, like Take me Home Country Roads  and other times it is just music.

    I have been wanting to see them for a couple of years.  

    They played 3 sold out games at Wrigley.  Emily won a ticket lottery and was able to buy. tickets for the Sunday game.

    It was not too hot....a nice breeze off the lake.

    It was largely a young audience....and I mean young!  Little kids, lots of little kids.

    But it was a fun time and I am happy we got to go.

Peace and Love

    Especially Peace

Like the shirt???  

After the game I stopped at the firehouse across the street

A banana headband

world's tallest batter.....note the umpire on the box.

they swing

and they are off to first base on a hit

Wrigley was packed...lots going on during the game

hear, here

It's a miracle 

    My hearing aids work!

    After going 2 days without them, they are working today.

    Why?

    Well......I made sure they were charged.  I checked the battery status and they were both charged.

    I tried turning them off and on.  Nothing.

    I decided to change the cones and ear wax filters and voila!!!  It works!! Either there as waxy buildup (gross) or the filter wasn't in properly.  That's possible, because I changed my cones and filters about a week ago and had trouble getting the left ear on correctly.

    So, all is well that ends well.

    Tomorrow we are heading in to the city to see the Savannah Bananas!!

    This is  their third game at Wrigley and I read that the place was rocking the first night. It should be a fun day.

    Jackie is not going, but she can watch the game on ESPN.

    This was a birthday present from Julia and Emily.  Emily won a ticket lottery and was able to buy 5 tickets.

    Never heard of the Savannah Bananas?  Watch ESPN tomorrow afternoon or Google them.  They are the Harlem Globetrotters of baseball.

    Speaking of baseball, I always enjoyed the commercials with the little girls talking to their dad about heating and air conditioning.   Last year I Googled it and discovered they are not the company's owner and his family, rather they are all actors.

    I haven't seen them in commercials this year, so Google came to the rescue.  Seems the. girls' contracts were up and they went separate ways.

    And I absolute detest the betting commercial that has  the company founder touting high limits while a guy in a blue shirt looks like a zombie as he watches his phone, nods, and smiles.  Kind of creepy.

    But nothing tops the commercial for a law firm featuring Carson Kelly of the Cubs.  Makes Rockford commercials look good.

    Enough of my complaining.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

chicken cordon black

 I am not a great cook

    In reality, I am not even a good cook.

    I am not imaginative, innovative, or able to follow a recipe.

    But I try.

    When I cooked burgers and brats for Emily's birthday I thought they were nicely done.

    My steaks have been turning out better.

    But tonight, well, supper was more like a burnt offering.

    There is crispy chicken, and there is chicken that when you bang it on the plate it sounds like a piece of wooed.  And it looked like it too.

    I bit into it and thought I broke a tooth!

    These were breaded chicken breasts found in the frozen food aisle.

    I put them in the air fryer and did not check on them until it was too late.

    Jackie said they were ok, I thought they were a tough nut to crack.

    I did not take my hearing aids in today.  They are only open until 3 on Friday, and we slept in.  Plus Jackie had a blood test, so we took care of that.

    Then we went home, picked up Beth, and drove out to Julia's to check out her sidewalk and the plantings.  It really looks good.

    I just checked my veggie garden.  The tomato plants look like the leaves are curling up.  I don't know if they are getting too much water or not enough.

    And the cucumbers are going crazy.  I need to remember to plant one plant.  When the seeds sprout, I need to pull all of the growths except one.

    I just wish the tomatoes would start coming.

    I regret not planting lettuce.  Well, check that.  I planted lettuce but nothing came up.  I think the birds may have gotten to the seeds.

    I still have seeds, but is there enough growing season left?

    Might as well plant the seeds, eh?  I mean, what could happen besides nothing or lettuce?

    And maybe it will fill some bird's tummy.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

odds and ends

 Lots of little things to note tonight

    I have to stop complaining about how old I am.

    Ringo is touring this fall.  He is 86.

    My friend Bobbie just got lawn of the week in Rochelle.  S.he is 90.

    Here I sit moaning about my aches and pains.

    Speaking of aches and pains, I have PT starting next week to see if  my legs can get in better condition.  They were really sore today.  We have also made a couple of changes in my medications to see if that helps.

    Speaking of Ringo, I checked out tickets for his tour.

    I have family near Lancaster PA.  He performs there this fall.  I am sure my nephew and his family would welcome me for a night.

    I was a bit taken aback by the tickets for his Lancaster show.  There were only a few left, in the 2,000 $ to 3,000 $ range.  I think that ones is out.

    However he is also performing in Easton PA and tickets there are in the 300 $ to 400 $. range.  Much more reasonable.

    Unfortunately, I won't be going to either one.

    Median house price in Chicago is 420,000 $ according to an article I read.  

    France is banning use of social media by anyone under age 15.  As a side note, France will ban cell phones from all schools.  Both measures start next year but will probably be challenged before then.

    I don't know how they will enforce that.  Kids will find a way around the ban.

    I was looking for a document on my computer today.  I thought for sure I saved it to the cloud, but it is not there.  Not on this computer.  Not in the cloud.  Where or where could it have gone?

    Our morning person always brings treats for Beth.  Our cleaning person always brings treats for Beth.  Jackie always gives treats to Beth when she is eating lunch.  Beth got lots of treats today.

    Terry always cleans up the barf .  Beth won't eat supper.  Gee, I wonder why?

    My one hearing aid is dead.  So talk loudly if you see me.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

    

high hopes

 I had high hopes for today

    Put the new wheelchair together.  Weed the veggies.  Get my bike  down and air up the tires.

    1 out of 3 is not bad.  Is it?

    I got the wheelchair together.

    To be fair, all I had to do was take it out of the box.  But that was hard!

    I took compost out to my compost bin.  And then I just wandered around my native garden for a few minutes.

    It is such a beautiful night.  Cool and dry buy a bit smokey.  It reminds me of a campfire with rotten wood.

    I did pick 2 huge cucumbers from the veggie garden.  I can never understand why I have 3 or 4 plants that produce copious amounts of cucumbers.  I only need 1 plant.

    And honestly, I did not take my shower or get dressed until after 3.  I think yesterday tired me out.

    That's it.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

wow!!! I'm tired

 We had a pretty busy day today

    And my back is barking!

    I once told wifey that we can't do too many ins and outs of the car because that us a lot of stress on my back.

    Well, I am icing it right now!

    We went to DeKalb.  In and out for her doctor's appointment.

    We went o Ollie's. In and out for custard.  But the great part was we got to catch up with Barb and Rick in addition to enjoying frozen custard.  (It is not ice cream!  It's custard!)

    It was a beautiful day outside too.  We sat at a table under some trees in the back and talked about old times at Tilton, new times, future times......a really nice visit and catch up,  I had the Black Forest sundae, which is vanilla custard, chocolate topping and a heaping dose of cherries.  It was yummy!

    We got home, I gt her out of the car and after about an hour sitting around, we went to a church fellowship dinner at Luna in Rochelle.  So it was in and out of the car again.

    That makes 4 in and outs in one day....but it was worth it.

    We visited friends, socialized with our church people, had custard, and enjoyed a really nice day.

    I did feel sorry for the waitstaff at Luna.  There were 16 of us, plus tables outside that had people, and only one staffer plus the bartender.  Our waitress was really working hard.  I think we al left her a nice tip. 

    The icing on the cake was seeing the Cubs with a 9-0 lead. 

    But poor Beth is feeling neglected.  We were gone a lot and I think she missed us.

    Luckily tomorrow is an open day.  My back is happy.

Peace and Love

    Especially Peace

wasting away

 Ok,  today was a mulligan

    A pick up the ball and move on day.

    The plan was to go out when our morning help was here and finish mowing the lawn.

    I was going to go after Jackie got out of the shower.

    But instead, I sat at the computer for a minute and took a short nap.

    I shook myself awake, sat back down and fell asleep again.

    Now, I was in my desk chair.  Not comfortable at all.

    When I woke up the third time, morning help had gone and it was raining.

    Long story short....never got out to mow.  Ended up taking my shower a little before 3.  Went to the store a little before 5 and then to a doctor appointment to find a solution to my leg cramps.

    I seriously wasted a day when I need to maximize every day!

    Oh well, there is always tomorrow.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

Oh my

 Life is full of surprises

    And it is not just me, although today there were a couple.

    Jackie and I went to see Who's Christmas  staged by  VCCT.

    Amy Frank was the lead in this Dr. Seuss themed play.  Actually, she was the only character!  The show runs 90 minutes or so and is really well done.  The script was great, the set amazing, and Emily as Cindy Lou Who was incredible.

    Not only is it funny,  sad, and happy, but it is also in rhyme!

    If you have not gone, please go.  Yes, there is language and sexual references and youngsters will not be allowed.  But really, it wasn't terribly foul.

    You can even get your picture taken with Cindy Lou Who.

    I had some bags of landscape waste take into town.

    I stopped at Aldi's first, then went to the car wash.

    I was not paying close attention, but I pulled in behind  a silver truck in the automated bay.

    I see the guy standing outside his truck!

    No water was running, although the spray arms were right at the back of his truck when they stopped working.

    So there he sat.  Could not go forward, could not get the door up to exit.  Could not go backward because the sprayer arms blocked his path.

    I tried putting a token in to see if that would at least open the door, but the machine would not take my token because it said the bay was in use.

    But it wasn't.

    There is a phone number to call, but it was picked up by an answering machine.

    I told him good luck.  He said he may just wander over to the restaurant and stay there until breakfast.

    But here is the interesting thing.  While I was looking for the tokens in my center console, I found my damn sunglasses!!!  Yes, the ones I just paid $150 to replace.  They were stuck in the back of the console.  Damn me for not putting stuff away.

    We were having hot dogs tonight.  I stopped at McDonald's for fries.

    I tried using the animated kiosk.  After I got through taping it 593 times, I inserted my debit card and got the message that the card reader was not working.  Pay at the counter.

    I know!  I could have just ordered at the counter, which I did.  That was at 6:20.  That is the time on my receipt. 

    One order of fries.  

    I waited 16 minutes!

    After I left I checked the car wash but the truck was gone. 

    At one point he said he had a Sawsall in his truck.......

    Last night Jackie said she was cold, so I sett he AC a little higher.

    When we went to bed, I set it lower, to 71.

    I put the phone face down on the dresser and went to bed.

    At 1:30 I got up because I was chilly.  The room seemed cold.  I checked the thermostat and it was set to 54!!!!  The room was 68 on my little thermometer.  The AC was humming away.  I raised it to 71.

    Lessons learned:  Put sunglasses away.  Don't put the phone face down with a program open.

    Nuff said.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

stranger

 I ran into a s stranger I knew today

    I know!  That makes no sense.

    I had some errands to run and one of them was stopping at the museum to pick up raffle tickets.

    I walked in and a lady was sitting in a chair.  I passed her and she said, "Hello, Terry."

    I turned and looked at her.  Her face was familiar, and her voice was familiar, but I could not put. name to the face.

    "Who are you?  You look so familiar," I told her.

    "Norma Thiele," she said and I said of course it was.

    Norma and her husband Joe moved to Texas some 6  years ago.  It was her daughter's 50th high school reunion and they came back for the festivities.

    We had a really nice, but short, chat.  I told her how sorry Jackie and I were to hear of Joe' death just about a year ago.  He was a teacher, superintendent, and just a really nice guy.

    The chance run in improved a day that had been  highly irritating.

    I needed gas for the van and the mowers.  So I went to the station in front of Walmart because that usually has the cheapest gas.

    There is a frontage road leading to the gas station.   The frontage road has 3 lanes with the middle lane clearly marked for left turns.

    So I was a bit pissed when the guy in front of me put his left turn signal on but did not move into the middle lane.  Instead they kept driving, slowly, along the frontage road and eventually stopped because there were cars coming where they wanted to turn.  

    I know!  I minor irritant.  Everybody gets brain farts.

    I pulled into the gas station and all the pumps were full.

    I parked behind this big ass red truck, which was driverless.  I just assumed they had finished and went in to pay.

    This little old lady came out...frail looking, skinny, tiny, and started to try to pump gas.  The guy in the truck also got out and it took the two of them to get he hose into the opening.

    I swear....I don't know how either one of them could get in the truck!  They were tiny and the truck was huge!

    Anyway, another lane opened and I pulled in there.  Took the gas cans out of the back end, filled them, filled the car, put the gas cans back into the plastic tub I carry them in and drove off.

    I pulled off the frontage road and headed north on Caron Road when I noticed my. tailgate was still open!

    Holy crap.

    I stopped, put on my flashers, then went to the back to do a quick inventory.  Everything looked in place, but to be sure I retraced my route looking for grocery bags, or wheelchair parts.

    Now totally frustrated, I headed to the museum and had a nice chat with Norma and everything was ok.

    Just do me a favor though.  If there is a left turn lane, please use it.  And drive a vehicle you can get in without a ladder.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

Oh Canada

 My heart aches for our Canadian friends

    Sure, the smoke is a nuisance and hazardous.

    But folks in Canada are losing forests, homes, businesses, and possibly lives.

    I don't understand people who think our climate is fine.  Storms are more severe, flooding is common, droughts are everywhere.  Yet politicians seem to feel that is of less importance than drilling for oil and natural gas.

    50 years from now thpse people will be damned by their actions.

    Anyway.....

    Got my last vent up without any problem!  That surprised me be cause no simple task gets accomplished by me.  They all become major projects, generally ending with professionals being called in to fix my mistakes.

    Not this time!

    5 vents taken down, washed, sun dried and remounted.  Life is good.

    I did some outside chores tonight.  It was quite pleasant.  If possible, I will mow tomorrow evening because my grass is gettin long.  Go figure.  No rain and it is growing.  

    I watered plants, picked up dog doo, watered my strawberries, filled the bird feeders and filled the bird baths.

    Surprisingly, it took almost an hour to do all that.  I went out with the Cubs leading 1-0 in going into the third and came back when it was 4-1 in the fifth.  The boys better get going.

    When I looked outside this morning it was very smokey.  It wasn't as bad as in Chicago or farther north, but I was surprised it drifted out this far.  

    We are supposed to get more smoke t tomorrow, but I think this is from our fires out west.  

    We need rain.  While Texas deals with massive floods, we deal with drought.  Nature sure is funny, eh?

    Speaking of funny, the backs of my thighs have been sore.  I sometimes sit on a heating pad for a little  relief.  Today the pad stopped working.  Then it worked.  Then it stopped.  Now it won't work.

    Guess I should just toss that, eh?

    Stay safe.  Stay cool.  Stay happy.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

almost

 I almost finished the vents today

    Took down and washed 5, put up 4.  1 more to go, but it might be a hard one.

    Time will tell.

    My legs have been hurting a lot.  The backs of my thighs throb and sometimes tighten up.  I have tried stretches, heating pads, more stretches but nothing seems to help.

    I do get relief by putting an icepack on my back.  The ice is better with my pants off, so if you decide to drop in, give me time to get dressed!

    It is terrible out there.  I went out at 10 last night and it was very uncomfortable.  Night does not provide any relief, which makes it even more uncomfortable.

    I read that a house in the Naperville area recently sold for a little over $8 million!  I believe they said it was the largest sale price ever for a house in Will County.

    So what do you get for 8 million?

    21,361 sq. ft., 7 bedrooms, l 11 bathrooms, 2 half baths, a soccer field, resort style pool, an in ground trampoline, and a sauna.  No, the sauna is not in ground.

    I think I would get lost in the house.   Imagine cleaning it!  And the utility bills!   

    Maybe the new owners will find some stranger that has been bouncing around and can't figure out how to get out.

    Kind of makes me wonder what the salary is of the person who bought it.

    Stay cool.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

challenges

 I am working on a do it list  item

    A simple task, yet very challenging for me.

    I took the cold air return grills down to clean them.  

    With the exception of one of them, getting them down and cleaning them was not a big problem.

    It's getting them back up that concerns me.

    I always have trouble lining up. the screw holes.  That should be easy peasy stuff, but not for me.

    I am going to work on putting them back up tomorrow.  So if you hear reports of an old man out in his back yard yelling obscenities, you will not it is not going well.

    I watched an episode of The Twilight Zone (S-2 EP. 29) which featured Burgess Meredith as a man accused by the state of being obsolete because he was a librarian.  There were no books, therefore librarians were obsolete.

    As someone who was  obsolete, he was sentenced to death.

    Rod Serling comes on at the end with a little homily about the story.  Tonight he said , "the entity  he worshipped, any state, any entity, any ideology that fails to recognize the worth, the dignity, the rights of man...that state is obsolete."

    Serling also said it was a story of a state "where logic is an enemy and truth a threat."

    It was a pretty powerful episode about the future.

    It has been hot and dry and my grass has grown a lot since I mowed last Friday.  If it wasn't so hot, I would mow tomorrow.  But I think that is our last day of 90s......hopefully.

    Stay cool.  Stay hydrated.  Stay safe.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

eh day

This was one of those days 

    Nothing to say when I have spent the entire day in the house.

    Well, except for bringing in the trash can and taking out the recycles.

    I still have some picking up to do from yesterday.  Emily came and got her chairs, which was good.

    But it is late and I still have stuff to put away.  I hate to leave it until tomorrow, but what the hell.

    I guess my mental state has been altered by the heat.

    That is my excuse and I am sticking to it.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

finally

 I did not burn the burgers today

    That is big for me.  I have a tendency to put the grill on high, flip the burgers on, and do something else.

    I can tell they are done bye the smoke and flames pouring out of the sides of the grill.

    But today I put the burgers on the grill, let them cook for 4 minutes, then flippped them and let them cook for 4 more minutes and then I took their temperature.

    I turned them a couple of more times, which I understand is a no no in grilling burgers.  Flip once is what I read.

    Anyway, when the temperature hit about 145 I added cheese and took them off the grill.

    I thought they were very good.  Not blackened, not bloody red on the inside, but just about right.

    We had people over for Emily's birthday and it was a nice gathering.  

    There was too much food.  We had some leftover burgers, and lots of salads.  

    If you are in the mod, stop out tomorrow afternoon and we can enjoy some salads together.

    Jackie and I made a broccoli salad and I really liked it. I think we will make that again.  Other people must have liked it because there was not a lot left.

    Clean up has been pretty easy.  Most of it went into the dishwasher.  The human dishwasher is finishing the  rest.

    We just had one tiny, little problem.

    I turned the AC down because it was getting hot and there were people there.  After a while, I turned it down again because I was hot.

    At some point Emily can to me and asked if I thought it was hot in here.  I said I did.  She said that was because the AC unit was not working.

    The condenser was silent.  The house was at 78.

    There are 3 settings I can use:  heat, cool, or heat/cool.  I had it on heat/cool.  Emily turned it to cool and the AC popped on.

    For a few minutes I was a little worried.  I saw $$ flashing  in front of my eyes.  But my biggest concern was Jackie and the effect heat has on MS patients.

    Luckily all that was avoided by finding the right setting.

    Life is good.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

no sleep

On tis date in 1976 I slept little 

    Bicentennial activities were still going strong.  The 200th birthday of our country was widely celebrated in big towns and small towns.

    But I was worried about trains.

    Rochelle did not have an overpass.  We lived on the south side of town.  That meant we had 2 railroad crossings on each north south street.  It was common to have crossings blocked, sometimes for hours.

    Traffic would back up through town and people would be cranky at having to wait.

    We had a friend, Bob, who was an engineer on the BN line.  Yes, he drove the train.  We went to NIU together and both majored in journalism, but he found working for the railroad paid better.

    Twice we got caught by trains the he was driving.  He would wave to us from the cab, we would wave and yell at him from the car.

     It was a fun relationship.

    But on July 12, I was nervous.

    Why?

    Well, Jackie was pregnant and 2 weeks overdue.  They were going to take her in on the 13th and induce labor.  In Rockford.

    I was worried there would be a long delay if trains had blocked the crossings.

    We would have had to drive west, take a back road north, then drive east to reach the road to Rockford.

    When we got up. to go, no train.  That was great.

    We made it to the hospital, and labor was induced, and Emily came into the world.

    As Jackie lay in the hospital bed, waiting for our baby to arrive, the nurse asked if I was going into the delivery room with her.

    I said absolutely not.  I did not want to have anyone distracted by my fainting. 

    When we brought Emily home, Julia cried and cried because we would not het her hold her little sister.

    But she eventually did get to hold her.  I took of picture of that moment of Julia holding her sister, and tears running down her face.  I wish I knew where that picture was.

    Some people think 13 is an unlucky number.  But Jackie and I know that a 13 brings great things.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

Bali Hai

 I finally finished reading a book

    I know!  Took me 5 weeks, but I finished Tales of the South Pacific.

    I saw the movie South Pacific.  I was in the play South Pacific.  We recently saw the pay South Pacific.

    I figured it was time to read the book that inspired the play and movie.

    The book is actually a collection of stories.  Some of them are related, some not.  Characters drift in and out of stories, but the main character is the narrator.  (OK...explain, please.  character and narrator sound the same at the end but have divergent spellings.  Or maybe I am pronouncing narrator wrong.)

    I enjoyed the book.  But it was an eye opener.

    The racism that existed is kind of shocking.  Blacks in the service were relegated to roles like truck driver, cook, but not combat roles for the most part.  The book included a naval commander that did not want them to be in his company so he treated them harshly.

    Americans fell in love with Polynesian women, but could not marry them because the women  were not white.

    But it is also a story of bravery and sacrifice and there was a time toward the end that I did get a little misty-eyed because the final chapter is beautifully written.

    I sat on the porch reading today, and the hot temperature and the cool breeze were the same conditions the warriors faced, but I could go into air conditioning for a respite and they could only hope to find shade.

    If you are looking for a summer read, I highly recommend it.  The regular size print edition is 329 pages, heaven knows how big the large print edition is.  I got it through an inter-library loan from the Mt. Carroll library.  The edition I read was published in 1950....when I was just starting to walk.

    A baseball digression. 

    Cincinnati brought in a 31 year old rookie  relief pitcher in tonight's game.  He spent 7 years in the minor leagues and 2 years in independent league play

    I actually admired the guy and hope he does well.  He stuck with the sport for 9 years before finally getting to the majors.

    That is perseverance.

Peace an Love

        Especially Peace

toil, toil, toil

 I had a pretty busy day

    I spent the day actually doing stuff.

    I mowed earlier this week.  I t ry to mow once a week.  Sometimes that works, other times it does not.

    When I last mowed the yard looked pretty crappy.  

    So I mowed again today.

    Then I trimmed.

    Then I mowed between the garden beds with my trim mower.

    And I trimmed some more.

    Then I hooked up the sweeper and ran around the yard, sweeping up grass clippings.

    I am happy to say the yard looks pretty good.  

    But I am tired.  And I have 7 bags of grass clippings.

    It was the heat that has done me in.  Plus supper.  We had Mexican tonight and I enjoyed a margarita, which may explain any spelling mistakes and my tired state.

    But I feel good knowing I got a lot of little things done.

    Hopefully I can continue tomorrow.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

Smile!!

 I am haunted by pictures

    They appear like ghosts.....silently, surprisingly, suddenly.

    And I don't know what to do with them.

    I am not talking about the kajillion school pictures.  Or the vacation photos.  Or the countless photos of family.

    Well, I don't know what to do with those either.

    My brother Carl passed away a few years ago.  His wife, my sister in law Ruth, recently moved to Ohio to be closer to her children.

    I got a ton of pictures of my family from them.  

    There are pictures of my folks on their honeymoon, pictures of Carl and Dennis when they were babies and toddlers.  A few of me also.

    And there are pictures from Uncle Henry.  Great photos in black and white... but some of them are people I don't know.

    I don't want to throw them out.....but.

    One of these days I will go through them and try to sort them into keepers and tossers.

    That's just one more job on my list of things to accomplish. 

    And heaven knows, that list just keeps getting longer, not shorter.

    I just need to work on it all.

    Someday

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

four score

 Aha!!! click bait!!

    I am not saying anything about four score.  It was just a trick to get you to read this.

    Now that I have your attention, I  have a technical question,

    I have Bluetooth headphones I wear when mowing.

    Yesterday Jackie tried calling me several times and I did not get the calls.

    Neighbor Jackie had to come and get me, and wife Jackie yelled at me for not having the headphones' Bluetooth on.

    But I did.

    While mowing, I was listening to the Cub game.  From time to time, the audio stopped and I had silence.

    This happened several times.

    I went out to finish mowing today and told her to call me when she heard the mower running so we could check Bluetooth.

    I was listening to music and agin, the music stopped then started

    Here's what we found.

    The phone does not ring in my headphones like it has on all the times I have worn them while mowing. But whenever she calls, music and radio broadcasts stop.  It's just silence.

    Now when t he music stops, I know she is calling.

    But why?  The phone is not muted.  Bluetooth is connected.  I can listen to music.  I just don't get a ring tone in my ears.

    Huh.

    Anyway, finished mowing the yard and did the field today.  Golly it was hot!  

    I had suntan lotion on, but my arms are a little hot tonight.

    And because I was hot, I did not finish mowing between my planters or trimming around the yard.

    I will do that tomorrow.  Hopefully.

    And Emily did catch the baby robin that was in her basement.  She released it into the wild so it can fly another day.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

avalanche!!

 Got caught in an avalanche today

    I was in a store and saw a display of cherries from Washington.

    I wanted a closer look, so I picked up a carton.  The display was on a slight slant.

    The next thing I knew, cartons that were behind it came sliding forward.

    I caught 2, but 2 hit the ground, spilling cherries all over the floor.

    I picked them up, picked up the ones in the cooler, and put those 2 boxes off to the side, hoping someone would get the hint.

    And I didn't buy the cherries.

    Our Tuesday person did not come today, so I did not set the alarm.

    Jackie woke me up at 7 to use the bathroom, and after that she said she wanted to go back to bed until 9.

    So I set the alarm for 9:15.

    When it went off at 9:15, I got up and thought I hit snooze.  She was sound asleep.

    I figured another 10 or 15 minutes would not hurt.

    The net thing I know she is shaking me and saying, "The cuckoo hit 12.  It's noon!"

    Normally that would not be an issue.  But today Beth had a grooming appointment at 2.

    On a good day Jackie can be ready in 2 hours......which meant I would be late for the groomers.

    But she ran in full gear today and I left at 1:40 for the 20 minute drive.

    Of course, there was a train.  I had to head to the overpass and then cut back to the road I was on.  Last time that happened I went way out of my way because I sometimes don't think clearly.

    While Beth was at the groomers I went to Aldi, the bank, Walgreen's, Walmart, Starbucks, and got gas for the mower.  Pretty productive time.

    I also learned what was wrong with my yard sweeper......I had it set too low.  I raised it up tonight and it worked like a charm.  The manufacturer's website had a FAQ section and one of the questions dealt with the wheels not turning.  The first suggestion was to raise the brushes.  I did.  It worked.

    Funny thing....after 10 and I don't seem to be tired.

    Go figure.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

melt down

 I had a melt down today

    I called myself every name in the book, and some that people have probably never heard before.

    Why?

    Because I am me.  

    I got new glasses about 3 weeks ago.  I asked for the sunglasses that attach to the glasses because I don't like the glasses that turn dark in the sun.  

    We drove to DeKalb 2 weeks ago, I got Jackie out of the car, realized I was still wearing my sunglasses even though we were going inside, so I tossed them into the back seat.

    They disappeared.

    We had bags of clothing to take to Hope Chest, but they are not taking donations during the alley construction.  The sunglasses were on top of one of the bags.

    That was the last I saw of them.

    I took everything out of the car.  I looked under seats.  I looked in the seat wells.

    I took all the clothes out of the bags and shook them. 

    I looked in the glove box, the console, and the place where I should have put them.

    Nowhere.

    And I lost it.

    I lose stuff  too many times.  It is frustrating, aggravating, irritating

    I know, it's a pair of sunglasses.  Replace them and move on.  But they cost money, money I would not have to spend if I was not me.

    During my rant little Beth barfed on the carpet.  I cleaned it up and sat on the couch petting her because she must have thought I was yelling at her.  Our Jackie.  But I was yelling at me.

    Whatever.

    Tomorrow I will call and order new sunglasses.  It will cost me several coffees and ice cream cones.

    Emily came over to take a look and said, "Shit happens.  Get new ones."

    I will.  

    But I am just real tired of being me.

Peace and Love

    Especially Peace

Funday

 Today was a pretty nice day

    Friend Dan celebrated birthday number 80 and Jackie and I were on hand to wish him well on his next decade.

    It was nice to see so many of his friends and family too.  I sometimes feel like I know them really well, even if I only see them once or twice a decade.

    I managed to almost call everybody by their right name, although Don came out Dan twice. 

    I told Jackie I wanted to stop at Woodman's on the way home to pick up a couple of things we can't get in Rochelle.

    I was in the store about 5 minutes when she called and said, "Get out here quick!  Hurry!!"

    I knew the van windows were open, and my first thought was someone was trying to get in the car.

    But as soon as I hit the door I saw the problem:  It was poring!  I raced to the car (well, I think I raced is a relative term these days.) and rolled up the windows, then went back to shopping.

    I was only in the store about 10 minutes, and by then the rain and eased up and she was getting warm in the car.

    We had passed a Buena beef place on Riverside, and I said sometime I would like to try that.  Jackie suggested I get 2 sandwiches for supper, so I did.

    However, it is almost 9 and we are not hungry.  Go figure.  Me, not hungry?  

    Maybe it was the 2 scoop cone I had at Rainbow while waiting for the beef.

    Anyway, we have supper of tomorrow.

Peace and Love

    Especially Peace

WTH?

 First it w was the screaming, then the tire squeals

    I was out cooking steaks when I heard them.

    But I looked around and saw nothing.

    A minute later and screaming and tire squeals.

    Again, no one around.

    I don't know at what point I realized it was my nose!!!

    Not every time, but sometimes when I breathed in it sounded like screaming and/or tires squealing.

    Strange.

    Speaking of strange, this was a weird Fourth of July for us.

    I cooked out, but it was just Jackie and me.    We figured Emily would not want to leave the dogs if fireworks were going off  and I don't remember why we didn't ask Julia.  Oh well.

    I don't know if it is the political climate, the hot weather, or what, but it was just "eh" for us today.

    I remember lots of activities and festivals for the Bicentennial.  Maybe I am out of touch, but I just did not feel the excitement this year.

    There was a neighborhood parade this morning, but I seemed to have missed that.  And the city parade was supposed to start at 3, but. rain delayed that so I did not go.

    Lord knows I won't be here for the Tricentennial, 

    I have a t shirt from Switzerland that says "Switzerland  1291."

    I just hope we can make it to 300!

    Hope you had a great Fourth!

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

rain, rain

 We certainly got rain today

    Some major storms rolled through the area.

    A tragedy occurred on Lake Geneva in Wisconsin when a boat was flipped during the storm.  3 young people were killed in that incident.

    There were power lines down, trees down, houses damaged all considerably north of us.

    I was out cleaning off the mower when I heard warning sirens.  I texted Julia and she said the storm sirens were blaring.  Jackie called her a little later and Julia did not answer, and Jackie got a little nervous.  But Julia was just not near her phone and all was well.

    I have a morning routine.  Get Jackie up, get her breakfast, help her get dressed, make tea, read the Trib, play Wordle.

    This morning neighbor Jim was out mowing.  I thought that was a good idea.  So I checked the radar and there was no rain in the area.  In fact, the weather site predicted showers at about 4.

    So I lallygagged for a while then decided to mow.

    I got half the front yard done when it poured.  I got wet, the grass got wet, and I put the mower away.

    I hated to leave the yard partially mowed.  After all, tomorrow is a holiday and I expect there will be several gatherings in the neighborhood.

    I went back out about 2 and finished mowing our yard, and then I mowed the field.  So it all looks mowed, but my yard looks like crap.

    The grass was long.  So now I have windrows of cut grass in the front and back.  My grass sweeper does not work.  What to do?  Yard is too big to rake, so......

    I put the weather radio by Jackie when I went to get supper.  I did not feel like cooking.  I was tired from mowing, plus it was now past 7.

    The sky was really black when I got home.

    We ate, I watched Twilight Zone, and commented it was strange the weather radio wasn't giving any warnings.

    That's when I discovered the batteries were dead.

    Yes, we were under a severe thunderstorm warning. No we did not know.  Yes I replaced the batteries.

    I just hope for a quiet night. ( FYI...Quiet Knight was a club in Chicago that featured lots of folk acts.)

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

in the zone

 I was really freaked out tonight

    I watched an episode of The Twilight Zone tonight and it kind of freaked me out a bit.

    Dennis Weaver was the main character.  If you are of the Gunsmoke age, you may remember his character Chester.  

    But I digress.

    In this episode he portrays a man convicted of murder.  He is sentenced to death.

    But he tells the judge, jury, reporters, DA, that if he is put to death, then everyone disappears because the world he lives in is only in his mind.  Once he dies, everyone dies.  And then he relives the nightmare.

    It freaked me out because there are days I wonder if the world is real, or is it something I have created in my mind.  Memories did not happen, they were created.  Nothing existed before this moment. 

    I guess I shared his world.

    But what about photos?  Those too are a figment of imagination.  

    Nothing existed before this moment.  

    It's just a strange feeling I get sometimes.

    And Dennis Weaver....he was in a made for TV movie titled Duel.  

    He was in his car and a semi truck was trying to ram his vehicle, for some reason.

    It was really a tense and scary movie.

    Julia must have been about 4 or 5 when it aired.  She watched it with us.  Remember, we only had a few stations to pick from in those pre cable days....so don't judge our parenting skills.

    Whenever we got in the car  after seeing it she would panic if a truck came up on us.  She may have even cried or made one of us sit in the back seat while she sat in front.  It took a while for her to get over that movie.

    I understand.  I guess watching Psycho is the reason I did not take showers for a while.

    I still check.  

    You can never be too safe.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace

not missed

 I am surprised no one called me from Walmart

    I am in almost every day.  I go to the same register.  The same person checks me out. I chat about the prices  going up.  I complain that there are no raspberries.

    You would think after not being there for 3 days someone would call to check up on us.  I mean, they keep saying check on the elderly.  We're elderly!

    I usually swing past the  pharmacy to wave to Emily.  But today she looked real busy and I was in a hurry, so I did a general wave and moved on.

    When I told this to Jackie she asked me who the check out person was.  I told her I usually use the self check lanes.  I guess that would explain the lack of a call.

    When I go to the deli there I probably have the strangest order.  I get 3 slices of honey roasted ham, sliced on #2.  Then I get 8 slices of Genoa salami, and 8 slices of deli Swiss, both sliced on #2.

    Jackie likes a sandwich at lunch.  Well, half a sandwich.  So I cut the slices of ham in half and that is enough for 6 sandwiches.  The extra cheese and salami is for me.

    Basically that is all I did today.

    I was reading the Trib at about 10 when my eyes got heavy.  I sat in my chair and Jackie yelled for me at 11:45.  It was a good nap.

    I left for the store at 10-2 in favor of the Cubs.  When I got home it was 23-3.  I just hope the offense keeps it up.

    My bird feeder poles came today. 

    Young guy got out of his truck with the box marked" heavy" and we set it by the garage.

    I asked him if he was ok with water and if he needed ice or anything.  He seemed surprised t hat I asked, but thanked me for the offer.

    When I was a kid in Chicago, in hot weather we always put a glass with ice and lemonade or ice tea on the porch for the mailman on those hot summer days.

    I guess I still carry that habit.

Peace and Love

        Especially Peace