day......rain???.....396

 We got a little rain today

    I was weeding in the yard, along the driveway, when I felt a few drops.  I decided since it was 2 to take a break and have lunch.  After I made Jackie's, I took out two rolls and ham when the skies opened up.

    It was raining hard, so I changed out of my work clothes into clean clothes and ate my two ham buns.  

    Then the sun came back out but I had no desire to change again and go weed. I honestly thought it was going to rain all afternoon.

    Monday night, or maybe Sunday, I lose track of time, we had a storm with a lot of lightning and thunder.

    Corki came up into bed and nestled between our feet.  Then there was a loud boom and she moved up to our chests.  The problem is she puts her butt in our faces and has terrible dog gas at times!

    The storm died down and she went back to her own bed, only to have the lightning and thunder come back and up she came snuggling down by our feet again.

    She's from Alabama and you think she'd be used to storms. She does not have a banjo on her knee either.  (Think about that seemingly random comment,)

    I always wonder about her past.  Was she caught in a hurricane and had to be given up by elderly owners who lost their home?  Was she given away be someone who suddenly decided they didn't like her?  Did she have elderly owners who died, and no one wanted her?  Did she ever rescue a little girl from being lost in the woods or tell the neighbors that Timmy was in the well again?

    No one knows.  

    What we do know is we love her to pieces and spoil her like crazy.  She is indeed queen in our home.

    Stay healthy.   Stay happy.   Pet a dog.

Peace and Love 

day........eh.........395

 Today was a busy day

    Ollies.  Starbucks.  HyVee.  Local Hospital.  Giving away money.

    Let me explain.

    Jackie had an  injection to strengthen her bones to prevent osteoporosis.  Ok, I don't know how to spell it.  Looks right.  Routine visit.  Nothing serious.

    After that, we went to Sycamore for my hearing aids.  My Bluetooth isn't working properly, so tomorrow I have to deal with that.  But since we were there, it seemed a visit to Ollie's for some frozen custard was called for.  Jackie got the taco sundae.... waffle cone chips, vanilla  custard and hot fudge topping.  I got an Irish cream cone.  They were pretty good.

    I picked up some dog treats at HyVee and noticed they had a huge display of rosė wines.  So my next trip I will stock up for some summer refreshers.  And we were near Starbucks, so of course I had to stop.

    So supper time comes around and I don't have much of an appetite.  Neither does Jackie.  But I bet by 10 I will need a snack.

    Giving away money?  I am on the grants committee of the Rochelle Area Community Foundation and we met to day to look at grants various groups have applied for this year.  It's easy to give away cash when it isn't your money.

    It was not a perfect day, but a good one.

    And we have plants in bloom.

    Stay healthy.  Stay happy.

Peace and Love

I love the symmetry

Life can be a bit buggy sometimes

Jackie's magnolia tree....flowers last until the wind scatters them

day......blooms.....394

 My daffodils have finally bloomed

    Well, some of them, at least.  

    I think my love of them is something I got from my mom.  They were her favorite spring time plants, and they are mine too.

    I would normally also like tulips.  But unfortunately, so do deer.  At our last house the plants never produced because they kept getting eaten, along with the hostas.

    Each fall I plant daffodils.  Not many, just five to 10.  I don't always remember where I planted the bulbs, so it is a surprise in the spring when they pop up.

    Speaking of planting bulbs.......  Last year we planted 100 plugs in my native garden area.  Sheri and Camryn helped.  We used bulb planters to dig the holes, which made it a lot easier.

    Last fall I could not find the bulb planters!  Now, I do put stuff away.  But I put stuff away in places where I think I will find it in a month or six, and that never happens.  I looked last fall for the planters in all the usual places and nope, not there.

    I am in the process of ordering 100 more plugs for my prairie garden part two, and it would be nice to have the planters.  I know they are here somewhere.  I'll look in my old shoes.

    I will be doing the planting in early May, so there is plenty of time for me to find them and for people to volunteer to help.....hint, hint, hint.  

    Until then, I'll keep looking for those damn planters.....and they are not peanuts!  I have no idea what theat means.

Stay healthy.  Stay safe.  Stay happy.

Peace and Love

day....ham...393

 We had a great Easter dinner today

    There were a few bumps in the road.

    I bought a 10 pound bone in ham.  There were 4 of us.

    My friend Jeannette gave me directions on how to cook it the way she did for a play I was in 3 years ago.  Each performance called for a ham....and she made 7 or 8 of them during the show's run.  They were all great.

    The plan was to put brown sugar in the bottom of a crock pot, put the ham in, rub some brown sugar on the top, and cook it on low for 6 hours or so.  Jeannette also said the ham should hit 140 after 4 hours, so watch it.

    Problem one was the ham did not fit in the crock pot.  I tried jamming it in, but the lid didn't fit.

    So I put it in a roasting pan and put in in the oven at 200 degrees. Jackie said put it ibn convection mode to create a more even heating.  Well, Hammy hit 147 at about 4 hours.  I put it in at 8:30.  Problem two;  We were eating at 6:30.  I set the oven to warm and hold, but the ham kept heating up.  I finally took it out about 2 and put it on top of the stove.

    Did I mention there were 4 of us for a 10 pound ham?  Plus we had scalloped potatoes, carrots, buns, and taffy apple salad.  And apple pie for dessert.

    I am stuffed.  

    John and Emily will be coming back for ham, and some will get frozen for use later.

    Julia had an exciting Easter in Switzerland.  A group of them rented a chalet up in the mountains and ended up watching fire fighters put out a small fire that was burning just up the mountain from where they were.  She posted video of the helicopters dropping water right behind their place.

    And I finally got my peas planted.  Hopefully the rain will get them off to a good start and the dang birds won't dig for the seeds.

    Hope you had a Happy Easter!

    Stay healthy.  Stay happy.

Peace and Love

day...ouch.....392

I almost cut off my finger today 

    
    It happened right before the fire started.  But that's another story.

    We had pizza last night.  I was lazy and did not clean up the kitchen like I normally do.  So today I got up, filled up the sink, emptied the dishwasher and made the kitchen  look almost nice for 5 minutes.

    The last thing I put in the dishwater was the pizza cutter.  I reached into the water and put my finger between the blade and the handle.

    Ok, I really didn't almost cut off a finger, but the sucker bled for about half an hour. And it hurt.  Damn cutter is sharp.  I can't imagine how long it would bleed if I was still on blood thinners.

    The fire department burned off the prairie across the road as part of a fire training session.  I went and took some pictures and watched the flames dancing among the grass.  It was kind of neat.

  I always wonder the same thing when I see prairies being burned:  What did the pioneers do when that happened?

    It could be horrifying to look out and see the grass just aflame and you stuck in a sod house and nowhere to run.  Surprisingly, the fire is noisy.  The crackling and whoosh is louder than you would think.  It would be terrifying on the prairie.

    Prairies and fire go together.  The fire helps knock out unwanted plants and also allows some seeds to sprout.  I think it is leadplant that needs fire for its seeds to open and create new plants.  Oak trees, especially burr oaks, were fairly fire resistant so the flames could burn around them and not harm them.  At least that is what I remember from my other life on the frontier.

    Have a Hoppy Easter!  Stay safe.  Stay healthy.

Peace and Love

day....Oh, say can.......391

 I almost made a giant mistake today

    I had an eye doc appointment.  This is a semi annual visit with a retina specialist in Sycamore.

    A few nights ago the topic came up.  Emily asked who was taking me and I said I was driving myself.  

    She asked if my eyes were being dilated.  I said I think so.  She said, "Dad,you can't drive yourself."

    But I had it all planned.  If my eyes were bad, I would just sit in the parking lot for an hour or so until they were normal.   I would get a coffee before hand, leave it in the car and sip it while I awaited vision to return to normal.

    It is now alnost 9 p.m. and I am still blurry.  And no, it is not due to wine.

    Not only was I planning on clearing up, I was going to Target (for toilet paper) and two grocery stores plus the vet clinic.

    Friend Sheri drove me because John was tking Camryn to have some wisdoms removed.  I did not want Jackie to drive me because I hated her waiting in the car for an hour if there was still an embargo on non patients in the clinic.  But there wasn't.  Not that I wanted anyone to sit in a car for an hour, but Sheri could have gone somewhere and gotten out of the car while Jackie could not.

    When I walked out it wasn't so bad....then I hit the sunlight and it was like a 747's landing lights in my face.  I could not see a thing.  Of course, I left my sunglasses at home.  And I did not ask for some cheap shields when I left the office.

    In short...there was no way I could have driven anywhere for several hours.

    Once again, sensible people saved me from a serious mistake.

    And call me crazy, but when I was younger it seemed Good Friday meant businesses would close from noon to 2 or even all afternoon.   I went about my day like it was a normal Friday. It just seemed odd.  

    But it was also odd not eating meat today.

    Stay healthy.  Stay happy.

Peace and Love

day....eh?.....390

 I have a tecnical problem

    I put my hearing aids in today, but the left one does not seem to be working.

    I can hear the bells telling me it is going on, but no music comes through....and no voices either.

    The doctor's office was closed when I called in the afternoon, so I have to wait until Monday to have it checked out.

    That will explain why the tv volume is way up.  It may also explain why I miss things people say, but that could also be because I choose to ignore them.

    Jackie got some flowers and a ballon for her birthday, and we got some yummy delights from Cypress House, courtesy of Lanet.  That was a nice thing to do for the old folks.

    Speaking of old, Cubs got the season underway in a less than spectacular fashion.  It was 37 degrees at the park.  Damn cold for playing baseball.  But both teams played in the same weather, so that can't be an excuse.

    Honestly, I will miss going to the park this year.  It just does not seem a good idea to ride the train, then take a subway, and be in a crowd of people who may or may not be healthy.  And on days like this I don't mind watching from home.

    Aside from the little dramas in life( Did I miss the recyclers again?  No!)  (What size ham should I buy for 4 people?  Is 10 pounds enough?) (How can I spend 4 hours cleaning the den and having it look the same as when I started?) (Who was the person I hung up on and did I call them?)

    Someday, all the mysteries will be answered.  Just not today.

    Stay healthy.  Stay safe.

Peace and Love