day......464

 This has been a notable two days

    Yesterday we grilled out with Emily and John to celebrate their anniversary.

    We decided it was time for me to clean out the grill after flames began leaping out the side....huge flames.  The steak ended up well done and my salmon turned out to be smoked.....but both were very good.

    Emily made caprese salad, which I love.  I maded smashed potatoes.  Actually honey smashed potatoes.  Never made them before but they turned out pretty darn good.

        Of course, strawberries were dessert.  We had dessert cups and pound cake with fresh Michigan strawberries....it was soooooo good!

        The forecast is not calling for rain.  When I looked out the front door this morning I was surprised to see a dark cloud that didn't look normal.  I knew it was not rain.

        What I did not know was a chemical plant caught fire and exploded in Rockton, which is maybe 40 miles north of us.  The smoke from the fire was drifting southward and was over Rochelle and Creston during the day.

    It is fairly scary to see a chemical cloud hovering overhead. We have been told there is no danger....they said the same at Chernobyl and Three Mile Island.

    And for the first time in 3 weeks, my car is back in the garage.  Miracles will never cease.

    Stay healthy.  Stay safe.  Don't inhale

Peace and Love

day.......arid.....463

I think the Temptations sang, "Oh I wish  that it would rain" 

    I am inclined to agree with them.  Story I often tell.  Eighth Grade, maybe Seventh (and I don't know why I capitalized them, and why I did not change it) I went home for lunch.  When I walked the 18 miles uphill back to Ravenswood Elementary, it was in a pounding rainstorm.  

    Well, it was raining.  Maybe not pounding.  Maybe lightly. 

    I crossed Ashland Avenue and the rain stopped.

    That amazed me.

    I got back to schol and breathlessly blurted, "Mr. Torres...it was raining on one side of Ashland but not the other!"

    He paused, and with the patience of a great teacher, said, "Well, rain has to start and stop someplace or else it would be raining everywhere at once. Right?"

    I had never thought about that.  But now I do.

    A couple of nights ago in poured in DeKalb.  It rained in Steward.  Dan and Linda had a nice shower in Creston, it rained in Lindenwood and I believe Rockford.

    We did not get a drop.  

    The rain circled around us, leaving us arid, barren, parched, dry, Saharan.  My lawn is turning yellow.  My plants' leaves are starting to curl.  Trees are dropping leaves.  It is starting to concern me.

    I am temped to go do a rain dance and burn a goat as a sacrifice to Mother Nature in a bid to get some moisture.  Please....don't panic.  It will be a paper goat, not a real one. 

    The forecast for the week gives us a 40 percent chance late Thursday night.  That's not a good percentage for people who need rain.

    Tomorrow at 4, I will do my  dance for rain and burn a paper goat.  I know it won't help, but it can't hurt either.  Can it?

    The Temptations wanted rain drops to hide the tears......I want drops to prevent tears.

    Stay healthy.  Stay happy. Pray for rain.

Peace and Love

day.....what have i done......462

I think I may have a problem 

    Three days in a row I have been in DeKalb.  Three days in a row I have had a Starbucks.  I think I may have a problem.

    I love the iced vanilla latte.  Maybe too much.  I ordered a half caf today, but it was already 6 and I know a half caf is going to keep me awake most of the night.  (That means it is half decaffeinated coffee and half regular coffee.  JSYK)  (BTW....JSYK is my shorthand for just so you know.)

    What was I thinking?

    I alwso went out in public wearing shorts and black socks today.  I wandered around the Rotary festival at the park for a while, and the fashion police did not stop me.  Granted, I was sweating heavily, but people just ignored my faux pas.  Or paw.  Or paux.  Whatever.

    What was I thinking?

    I didn't feel like doing last night's supper dishes.  This morning I just stacked breakfast dishes on the counter.  Ditto for lunch dishes.  Tonight I looked at the kitchen and thought....what the hell!

    What was I thinking?

    I put in laundry this morning.  Just finished folding it.  Tonight.  Two loads.  Sheets  and towels.  Had to dry the towels again because they felt damp.  Should have taken care of all that this morning instead of going out in public in my black socks and shorts and being laughed at by everyone under the age of 40 while those of us in the black socks-white gym shoe stage of life don't really care because we like comfort over style.

    What was I thinking.

    And to that point, I think the caffeine is affecting my concentration.

    Stay safe.  Stay cool.

Peace a d Love

day.....give me a head with hair........461

 I have a tendency to let my hair grow

    Let me restate that correctly.  I can't prevent my hair from growing.  It grows.  My ear hair and nose hair also grow, just not as fast or long as the hair on top of my head.

    I just don't remember to get it cut.  

    I do trim my nose and ears, not hat you really want to know that.  I hate seeing men with huge hairs sticking out of their nose or ears.....yuchhhh!  I can't seem to control my belly from growing either.

    So when I looked in the mirror this week I was a little surprised to see it was pretty long, so I got it cut.

    One thing I noticed is how big my forehead has gotten!  Holy cow!!  And my hair is pretty white on the temples.  Plus, I have some red spots....I have had them for years, but without hair hanging over them they are more noticeable.

    I also look like I don't have teeth, but I reallly do!

    Corki had a vet appointment today for routine shots and a check up.  She weighs 22 pounds and is in good health for a 10 year old dog.  We  stopped at Starbucks on the way home and she got a Puppychino while I got an iced vanilla latte. 

 

    As I drove home the sky looked terrible and I figured we were in for a storm.  But now, four hours later, no rain, few clouds, dry lawn, withering plants.

    Mother Nature can be so fickle.

    Hope you have a great weekend.

    Stay healthy.  Stay happy.   Stay cool.

Peace and love

day....thankful.....460

 This hot weather has made me thankful

    I heard it was 97 in Rockford today, I was in DeKalb and the car thermometer registered 93.  I was going to say it said, but it can not talk.  So there.

    I thought of things I was thankful for.  Here are 10 things, not necessarily in any order of importance.

    Swimming pools.......not that I have one.  Or use one.  We have friends who stopped inviting me to swim in their pool because after 20 years of invites I have gone in four times.  Two of them were last summer.  And I invited myself.

    Deoderant.....once I slept with a French girl.  Seriously.  Jackie and I were on a train from Paris to Bayeaux.  We were not sitting together.  After a few minutes Jackie got up and said, "Change seats.  Don't ask."  So I sat next to a rather attractive French woman who apparently did not use deoderant.  It was hot.  She was sweaty.  About 15 minutes into the ride she fell asleep.  After about 25 minutes, I fell asleep.  So technically I slept with a French girl...or I guess more accurately along side her.

    Baby powder......used in proper amounts it prevents certain anatomical parts from sticking to other anatomical parts.

    Air conditioning.....use it.  Sure, I have to sleep with an extra blanket at night and keep a sweatshirt on at various times, but Jackie is comfortable.

    Lawn sprinklers.....nothing like moving a sprinkler and having it aim directly at your crotch and then having neighbors stare at your pants as you go get the mail.

    Electric start on cars.....it would be nice to start the car while walking toward it to get the AC running, but I am the kind that would hit the button in the middle of the store and have my car run for 30 minutes while I shop.  Then I would run out of gas on the side of the road and have to walk 6 miles to a gas station in 97 (or 93) degree heat.

    Ice cream......no need to explain.

    Automatic ice cube makers on the refrigerator.....I seem to go through a lot of ice during the day.  Iced water, iced pop, iced tea......lots of ice.  

    Short hair......long hair gets uncomfortable when it is hot.  Short hair is much better.  Also, you don't have to comb it as much, dry it as long, or worry about people saying your hair has gone from blond to almost white.  Yes it has, because I am seventy-freaking-three years old!  (I used freaking because Jackie gets mad when I don't.)

    Last....I think this is 10.

    No explanation needed.

    By the way....anybody see a bug in this?  I didn't either.  But next time I will look before drinking.

    Stay cool.

Peace and Love

day...Mary, Mary......459

 My garden is not doing very well

    My cucumbers have been planted for two weeks, but no sprouts.  Same with my green beans.  The Italian beans are spotty and the peas, well, we won't have a lot of peas this year.

    I planted peas early because they do not like hot weather.  But all the others should be doing fine by now.

    So I replanted the cucumbers and the green beans after I weeded tonight.  I confess, I have not been as diligent watering this year as I have been in the past.  I will do better.

    I had some spike waterers  you put into the ground and they made a nice little circle with a gentle rain.  But the bases broke off, and they won't go into the ground.  I bought a tripod rotating sprinkler, but it does not do the same job.  So I am ordering a new stick in the ground sprinkler with a "lifetime" guarantee.  We shall see.

    I just met an ungrateful toad.  Toads don't drink.  They get moisture through their skin.  

    When I went to take out recycling, I found a huge toad by my garage door.  I took some water and gently watered it.  It seemed to enjoy the water.  When I went to pick it up to relocate it to a garden area, it jumped out of my hands and hopped under the tractor. 

    I was too tired to start the tractor and pull it out, plus I was afraid I would run it over.  I just hope I don't find a dead toad in my garage like I did a few weeks ago.

    It's hot.  It's dry.  I'm hot.  I'm dry.  I got up,  showered, then ate breakfast and went out to finish mowing.  I should not have showered in the morning.  When I came in from mowing and trimming I was soaking wet.  Since I had a meeting to go to tonight, I showered again.  Poor planning.

    In case you are wondering about Mary, Mary...quite contrary, how does your garden grow was on my mind tonight

    Stay healthy.  Stay safe.

Peace and Love

day.....found.....458

 Things don't just disappear after all

    About 2 months ago I lost my flashlight.  This is a big, bulky, size of a half a loaf of bread flashlight.

    I looked in the garage, under the bed, in the closet (even checked my shoes), in the basement, in the cars......everywhere I could think  of and didn't find it.  I looked several times, always unsuccessfully.

    Our cleaner found it behind the cable box.  She said it had been there for a while, but we haven't been home when she is here so she never asked about it.

    I remember having to unplug our cable box and plug it back in to reset it.  I must have used the flashlight to see, and just forgot where it was.

    I had thought aliens took it.  Or gremlins.  Turns out, it never left the house.

    Some pictures from the past few days....

    Pale purple coneflower...last year's planting

        The prairie smoke....it looks like smoke from a distance

    Ever hear of a hands pan?  At the market in Creston.  A really neat sound.  I do have a video.

    We have a new resident.  This creature is living under the air conditioner.  This morning it was on the deck.  This afternoon it was exploring the porch.  This explains why Corki has been doing so much sniffing lately.  (That's a lot of this!)

    I believe this is mountain mint.....it is a beautiful, spreading plant and it is loaded with bumble bees!  I have not weeded this area for a while.

    That's it.

    Stay safe.  Pray for rain.

Love and Peace