huh

 I did nothing today

Nada.  Zilch.  Zero.

    I let Emily's dogs out about 1:30, and let them all back in this time.  I seem to have missed one yesterday.

    When I came home I got Jackie some lunch then sat down to read on the porch.

    At some point I fell into a semi sleep.

    You know, you think you are awake but you may be asleep.

    A fly kept buzzing me, I kept swatting it.  Gnats kept trying to get in my ears and I kept pushing them away.  My leg cramped up.

    But through all this, I know I fell asleep.  

    I went into house after a while and sat in my chair.  Next thing I knew, it was supper time

    No putting new locks in.

    No airing up the bike tires.

    No putting the new thing together.

    I guess that's why tomorrows were invented.

    I hope to get at least 2 of those tasks accomplished.

    Hope.

    Unless I nap, again.

Peace and Love

me bad

 Sometimes my good deeds go awry

    Emily works this weekend, so I let the dogs out this afternoon.

    I like petting them, especially Liam, the huge Irish Wolfhound.  If I stop petting him, he nudges me with his giant head.

    Emily texted me when she got home from work, thanking me for letting the dogs out.  She also asked that tomorrow, I let them all back in!

    Seems I missed a dog.  Siri was out in the yard for about 4 hours, all by herself.

    I remember waiting for Becky to come in.  She is so slow, I went out to hurry her along and Siri must have snuck out .

    Emily said she was fine after her experience at freedom.  But I feel bad about not being more careful.

    I will do better.

    I thought I would show off my garden.

Peace and Love

I think that is a sundog on the right....

out and out

 This has been a strange power day

    Our electricity has gone out 4 times!

    It goes for a few seconds, then comes back.

    But twice the generator kicked on, which only happens when the power is off 15 seconds.  At first I thought someone was mowing, but realized the generator was running.

    I was sitting on the patio the last time it went.  Just before the lights went out, a huge hawk swooped down and landed on the roof right above my head!  That was pretty cool to see.  It took off within seconds, probably because it did not see a ground squirrel to feast upon.

    Besides losing internet, the most frustrating part about a power loss  is resetting the 2 clocks in the kitchen.  I never get them to have the same time.

    I tested my strength today by lifting 480 pounds!

    I did!  Really!!

    Our field, which could be like Seward's Folly, has two huge dips which almost cause me t o fly off. the mower when I hit them.

    I have been gradually filling them it and today I bought 12 bags of top soil, each bag weighing 40 pounds..... so that was 480 pounds!

    I took four bags at a time on the golf cart, dumped the dirt and raked it.  Tomorrow I may mow to see if that has smoothed out the rough spots.

    Rochelle is doing its fireworks tonight.

    Whatever the reason, I just don't feel the urge/desire/want to go watch.  Neither does Jackie.

    I did not see them last year either, because I was in Switzerland for the Fourth.  I didn't miss them last year either.

    I wonder if it is age, or just a general lack of enthusiasm because. they are not on the actual Fourth.

    Last night some people were shooting them off near our neighborhood and little Beth got a bit panicked.  She would not go out for me at bedtime, so I left her in Julia's room.  She would not even get off the bed.

    Hopefully she will be better tonight.

    Happy Fifth of July!

Peace and love

grouchy old man

 I tend to be a bit of a grouch on July 4

    The holiday is great.  It's the people that are not.

    It is against the law to shoot off fireworks in Illinois unless you are licensed.

    But people can go to Indiana, or Wisconsin, load up with a bunch of fireworks and shoot them off at all hours of the night.  

    I remember reading once, "Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should."  Or something like that.

    But for some reason, there are people who don't think that applies to them.

    I don't think the celebration of the founding of our country means you are free to do anything you like.  People still have to obey the rules, follow the laws, and be good neighbors.

    That applies to fireworks and the 2 yahoos that just went through our retention pond on their ATVs.  

    My guess is some of those people are ones who feel they can do whatever they want, but want to control how people dress, worship, and what they do with their bodies.

    Everyone says they support law enforcement.

    And that is great.  Just stop breaking the law when you say it.

    We had a nice Fourth.....grilled out, had friends and neighbors over....drank some wine.  It  was a pleasant time with good people.

    And none of us shot off fireworks.

Peace and Love

honored ?

 I was honored today

≠

    I do believe this is a once in a lifetime honor.  I am thrilled.  I am thankful to be recognized in this way.

    I went into Cypress House for a Dark Side of the Moon, or as I call it, a Pink Floyd.

    I walked in just as the staff was ending a discussion on bridesmaids.

    The topic seemed to be, what customer would you pick for a bridesmaid?

    Amy picked me.

    I accepted the honor and showed the moves I would make going down the aisle at church, in the woods, or in a judge's  office.

    I must say, I was impressive!

    Now, I was told there is no actually wedding, all of this was purely conjecture.

    But I was still honored.

    I just wish I had gotten a crown or something.

    Anyway, I can not go to the store anymore.

    I went to the butcher's for some brats and hamburger.

    I walked out with over $100 of product.  I just got carried away!

    Then I went to Walmart and spent another $70!  I was stunned.

    In fact, I was so stunned I got home and re-added the bill on my calculator.  The computer was right, as it always is.

    I even stopped to visit Dan and Linda when I was in Creston.  I only stayed for a little while, but it was nice to catch up.

    Speaking of which, I forgot to buy ketchup.  And bananas.  

    But at least I did not lose the mower, dog or my keys today.

    Have a safe and happy Fourth.

Peace and Love

wth

I had a pretty busy day today

    I got my hair cut, and had a massage.  Not at the same place.

    Busy, eh?

    If only my life was that simple.

    Jackie asked me to make her lunch before I went to my haircut appointment.

    I did.  Sliced up some veggies, put hummus on her plate along with a beef stick and cheese.  Put some dog treats on for Beth and even remembered Jackie's afternoon meds.

    I made her a pineapple smoothie and put that on the tray for her.

    And. then I left.

    She had to call down to Julia for Julia to bring her the lunch, which was still sitting on the kitchen counter.

    But wait, that's not all.

    We have  potpourri of food for supper.  Leftovers galore.

    Jackie had some steak, and I made broccoli for us.

    I asked her how long it had to cook.  She looked it up, told me, and I put the pan on the stove, and turned  on the stove burner.

    I never put water in the pan! I went to check if it was boiling and almost had a heart attack!  That's the kind of incident that causes house fires......pots on the stove with no water.  It was lucky I checked.

    And then there is Beth.  I forgot her in the back yard.  Again.  

    She just sat and waited patiently.

    The old me would have worried about Alzheimers.  But the new me knows I was busy doing multiple things at one time and just forgot.  I need to do one thing at a time.  One.  Uno.

    The massage was great.....my legs don't hurt as much and I am feeling better than I have in a week.

    Now I am waiting for the weather to hit.....maybe a t storm....and wondering about the hurricane in the Caribbean.... that could be a doozy!

Peace and Love

really?

I know I can't keep track of things

    That's mainly because I don't put stuff away.  

    Every day I look for something.  A scissors, my car key, my phone, the paper I just made notes on for the  store.

    But today topped them all.

    I could not find my lawn mower.

    This is not the small push until you keel over in the heat mower.  It's a VW sized rider, bright red.

    I had mowed most of the yard around the house.  

    But my legs hurt, so I took a break.

    I went in the back door and sat for a while.

    When I got up, I went out the back door and ..... no mower.

    I went to the front of the house.  No mower.

    I went to the garage side of t he house.  No mower.

    Now I can deal with misplacing my glasses or screwdriver.  But a freakin mower?

    I walked around to the side of the house and there it was.

    I can not figure why I would park it on the side of the house when my legs hurt.  If anything, I would have parked it as close to possible to the house, not as far away as possible.

    Sigh.

    And I mowed the field. 

    After mowing, I cleaned out under the mower and as I was doing this, I thought there has to be an easier way. 

    I raise the blade up as high as it goes, then I lay down on the ground and grab the muck with my hands and pull it off the mower.  Sometimes I use a scraper, but there is not a lot of room.

    If I get up too fast I get nauseous. 

    My hands get filthy, my shirt gets dirty, the driveway is a mess and I wonder how I can do this better.

    My thought is:  car ramps!  I get two ramps, pull the mower up, exposing the underside, and I can easily lean over and scrape. 

    I just don't know if it will work.

    After scraping, I use the hose to wash off the underside.

    Today I hit myself 3 times with the jet setting.  Now I was full of muck and wet.

    When I finished everything, I showered, warmed up supper, and poured some wine. 

    I am still pouring.

Peace and Love