Tomorrow's Shopping List
Tomorrow I'll probably go shopping again. I can't believe that I forgot to get onions three times in a row. What was I thinking! One of the things I'm known for is my enjoyment of onions (and chocolate, but not together). Good thing I had some dried onion flakes. It helped to have them on hand, but with hot dogs, I need the real thing, chopped onion! Maybe tomorrow I'll remember to get them.
Company's Gone Home
Some of our family were visiting over the weekend and they left for their home around 5:30 this evening. It's always so very quiet after they leave the house. But I have good memories.
One of the funny things that happened was when we came to the end of the meal yesterday and Rusty became very visibly eager as he was anticipating table scraps with his evening dinner. He'd like to skip the dog food part and just have the table left overs! I commented that Rusty knows that when we have company, he's going to have better food. I meant that he gets better table scraps, but they laughed and laughed because it sounded like Rusty got to eat company, instead of company dinner. I laughed, too. Sometimes I say something that sounds a little silly.
Trying Not to Write about Rain
I didn't want to think about rain, I didn't want to talk about rain and I didn't want to write about rain. Rain has dominated our days and our conversation for weeks on end. But here it is raining again today. I know I should be thinking about the beautiful sunny day we had yesterday instead of wishing it was sunny again today. But here I am, thinking, talking and writing about more rain!
Fox Glove
Years ago I bought my first fox glove from a man who had a stand and sold plants along route 6. I was with a friend who told me about fox glove and I liked it and bought two plants. I planted them in the flower bed at the side of our porch. They lived and I was happy with them. They never got very big, but I thought that was how they were supposed to be.
And then after some years, Carolyn became my back door neighbor and she immediately started changing the big, plain grassy lawn into a show place of beauty. And then I learned how beautiful fox glove can really be and that if a plant doesn't do well, it can be moved to another spot where it will do well.
Oddly enough, I thought once I'd planted it, it should stay there! Experimentally, after seeing what Carolyn did with her plants, I moved one of my fox gloves to a sunny spot. I was surprised at how it grew and thrived while the other plant remained puny. Soon I moved it to the sun, too. Since then, I have fox gloves in a number of places. The plants liked the new location and reseeded and many plants grew from them.
Today though, I have a couple of fox gloves near the archway trellis and though they are bigger than the puny pair that lived in the shadowy flower bed by the porch for many years, they are not big and robust and they certainly remind me of my first years of growing fox glove.
The Time for Hope
My planting is finished for now. I've gotten everything into the ground or into planters. Of course, I could buy a few more plants, or Carolyn could give me a few more plants that I'll need to find a place for. Also, I do have some seed packets that I should try to plant.
I'm so bad at raising plants from seed, but hope springs eternal. I keep buying the seed packets, or saving seed from last fall. I can't get the marigold seeds to germinate at all. Maybe I'll have better success with some of the seeds which I bought this spring.
The tomato plants are standing so prim and proper and tidy just now. In another week, they will begin their sprawl and fill up their space. I like to see them prim and proper but they can't begin to set tomatoes without elbowing out for more room. It's part of the natural growth process.
Cracked Corn, Again
Guess who I saw eating the cracked corn! No, not the chipmunk. It was a blue jay. I never expected to see a blue jay eating the cracked corn. It just goes to show you how much I don't know about the eating habits of the critters.
Cracked Corn
Yesterday I bought cracked corn especially because I thought the chipmunk would like it. It's a lot cheaper than sunflower seeds. Feeding the birds and the chipmunk can be expensive!
I put out some cracked corn for the chipmunk and this morning, it's still there. Apparently the chipmunk doesn't really go for cracked corn. So now I have food for the doves. I think. I hope they eat it.
School Reunion
The people who went to the Columbus School have a school reunion every year on the Saturday before Memorial Day. At one time all grades through 12th grade went to this school, and then there was a consolidation with our town and Columbus has only K-6 now. The kids go to the district high school. But the Columbus people still hold their reunion every year.
My husband and I didn't grow up in this area but we are invited every year because the church my husband pastors is the only one in Columbus. He is invited to attend and give the table blessing and the benediction. We've come to know a number of the people rather well through the 14 years in which we've been invited to do this.
Sad to say, the numbers of people who attend have been dwindling as the older members pass on. Some of the younger folk who attend are in their 50's and 60's and they were part of the K-6 school, but there is a strong tie binding the Columbus people, past and present. Still, this reunion has more appeal to the folk who attended high school there. There was a dramatic decrease in attendance this year. Ten of their number died during last year, and a good many others are now unable to travel. That seriously cuts into their attendance.
It was a good meal, a time of good fellowship, but now I'm very tired, --ready to end my busy day and be ready for tomorrow. Good-night.
Protecting the Tomatoes
Yesterday Carolyn put a protective cover over her strawberry plants. At first I thought she was being overly cautious. It was cool most of the day yesterday but when the sun shone, it was definitely warmer. The trouble was, it was very cloudy yesterday.
I hadn't heard anything about a freeze overnight but I was talking to a friend in the early evening and she said she'd heard that it was going to freeze over night. So I decided to be safe rather than sorry about the tomato plants. I got boxes and baskets and a pail and covered them. And then this morning, when I went to get the coverings off the plants, I found that I'd forgotton one tomato plant. It was not harmed. I am pleased.
I don't know if it actually was freezing last night or not. It was 39 degrees this morning when I got up. I wore a warm coat when I went out to uncover the plants. It got dangerously close to freezing last night. There may have been a light frost, but my things are unharmed.
Did You Ever?
Did you ever go shopping especiall for some item and then find out when you got home that you got many other things but not the one thing you had in mind when you started out? I sort of did that. I did get most of the things on my list but an important item was cereal and I never thought of it till I was checked out. I didn't want to go back because I didn't want the frozen items to get too mushy. Then when I got home, I found that I had bought hot dog buns and and the metal sticks to roast hot dogs, and no hot dogs. Guess who has to go back to the grocery store soon!
The Mark of the Gardener
Too me, the mark of the Gardener is dirty fingernails. No matter how I try to keep scrubbed, my fingernails take a real beating during the planting season. I can spend time using a nail brush and soap, getting my nails cleaned up, and then I go outside and I just have to pull one weed and one thing leads to another, and then it's dirty fingernails all over again. It's funny that pulling one weed will undo five minutes of nail brushing, but it happens, --especially when it's as muddy as it is here these days.
The Columbine
I have quite a few columbines in my flower beds. I think I got them started by sprinkling seeds around, --seeds that Carolyn probably gave me. I am very intrigued by the columbine bloom. It's so unusual. I usually think of the bloom as a kind of crown but tonight I checked the Internet to find out a few things about columbines.
I learned that the Latin name for columbine is a word which means eagle and it is named thus because what I think of as points of a crown are usually thought of as spurs, as of the eagles' talons.
When my brother and I were children, there was a ravine area below our place that we loved to explore. It was in deep shade and was probably always damp there. There were lovely wildflowers there. One of them was the columbine, but I didn't know its name then. The ones we found were orange and we delighted to bring some home for our mother.
My columbines are various colors but none of them are orange. Each one is wonderfully intricate and especially lovely. I'm glad that I can grow columbine in my flower garden.
Gardening Advice
The other day when I was getting my husband's prescription, a friend stopped to talk to me. When I told him that I was hoping to get my onion sets planted soon, he told me how easy it is to plant onions. "Just take a stick," he said, "and poke a hole in the soil and poke the onion set in."
In all the years that I've planted onions, I never did it that way. I worked with a tool and made a row, then stuck the onions into the row about an inch and a half apart and finally pushed soil over the row again.
This morning I tried the stick and hole method. I took the tool that I use to dig up dandelions and made my holes with it. It really was 100 % easier! How nice that I met my friend that day.
A Song In My Head
While I was working in the garden this morning, I suddenly realized that I was singing in my mind. What song? "I'm a Lonely Little Petunia in an Onion Patch." Why was I singing that? Oh, yes, of course, --because I was planting the onions!
Then I remembered the year we went to the CNE (in Toronto) and their garden department had arranged flower beds to illustrate certain songs. The one I just mentioned was the only one I remember right now but it was such fun to try to figure out which song each exhibit represented.
I didn't plant a petunia in with my onions! I got the pound of onions, and the 6 tomatoes and the grape tomato planted. The spading to finish up that area was really hard work. I'm glad that part is done.
A Cool Good Morning
The temperature is in the 40's this morning but I'm sure it will be warming up soon. It should be good weather to do heavy work outdoors. I need to "shake a leg" and get busy. I haven't heard that expression for a long time. Funny that it came to me now.
What a beautiful spring morning this is. Maybe it won't rain today. That would make it two days in a row.
A Good Day
It's been a good day. I got plenty of exercise. I ate sensibly. I got some work done here at home. I cared for the African violets which have been begging for attention. I didn't do everything they need, though. Many of them need to be divided again and potted up. I didn't go that far. I keep thinking I'll do it some day soon. I wrote a letter and did laundry. And, I have the trash out at the curb for tomorrow. I have done lots of things today. Tomorrow is another day. Good night!
Eating Out
The nice thing about eating out is that everybody gets to choose what they really want, instead of eating what is set before you. A possible down side to eating out is that the food may be prepared or served completely differently than what you're expecting.
Two of us ordered a taco salad this evening. It came without the taco shell. That was quite a surprise to me. But it was an excellent taco salad in spite of the lack of taco shell. I was reminded that it was much more diet friendly without the shell, and that's true.
Because there were no taco shells, we were served supplementary mini tacos, which had been planned as an appetizer. I didn't eat any of my minis. I decided I'd been given a bonus to have such good food without the extra calories and I would be satisfied with that. The kids who were with us, were happy to take care of the mini tacos for me. And that gave me room to have dessert, --turtle cheese cake. Our waitress told us that we got the last four pieces which they had. We were grateful!
The Lawn Is Mowed
I wasn't expecting to be able to mow today because it seemed that there would be more rain today. However, by afternoon, it still hadn't rained. I made myself be diligent and get the grass cut. I would have rather taken a nap, so I feel really good about myself for pushing ahead and doing the work.
At first I couldn't start the lawn mower. When I realized that it wasn't turning over at all, I knew that my husband must have left something unconnected when he did the oil change in the mower last week. So I had to ask for help. I wanted him to tell me what to do but he came outside and looked at the mower. He'd forgotten to plug in the spark plug. It was something I could have done if I'd known what to do.
We're taking our company out to dinner tonight, so I didn't have to worry about getting too tired to make dinner.
More Than Exercise
Aquarobics, for me, is more than a way to exercise, it's connection with friends. When I miss getting to the class, I can make up the exercise by taking a walk or working in the yard, but it's much harder to make up the missed connection with the friends. Our exercise class has become a friendship connection. I was glad to get back to it today.
Tornado Warnings
Yesterday evening was pretty calm in our town but there were tornado warnings on the TV announcements. It didn't sound like it was going to be stormy here and it wasn't, but it worried us. It hit about 40 miles south of us. I well remember 1985 when the tornado path skirted our town. The damage was devastating, not only in terms of loss of life, buildings, trees, etc. but also because of effect it had on everyone. There weren't many deaths because of the tornado, but one is too many.
The elementary school children where I taught were terribly frightened and were afraid to go to bed at night. They were terrified when it was a little windy. The tornado went right through properties where many of them lived and they saw first hand the incredible damage.
Our tornado came on a Friday, shortly after kids got home from school, in late May. Most of us in our town know what we were doing and where we were when the tornado hit. This year is bringing many reminders of 1985 as we have frequent tornado forming weather this May. Our hearts go out to those who were affected by last night's tornado hits.
Nature's Way
When I discovered how wet the grass was this morning, I decided to mow in the afternoon. But by noon, it was raining again. It's nature's way lately. A little bit of rain every day. This too shall end. But, when?
Medications
Modern medicine is truly amazing, but very often, medicines come with an attached price that is separate from the price tag. You take the antibiotic my husband has to take now. Well, he has to take it, not you, but it's a good example of what I mean. He must not take it in proximity with anything that has calcium. The calcium will coat the medication (the pill?) and render it useless. Reading all the fine print, he also discovered that he shouldn't take it with one of the diabetic medications that he's taking. And, he shouldn't have tea or coffee during the 8 days he's taking this medication.
That seriously cuts into what he can drink. I know water is what is best, but how often a cup of good tea or coffee hits the spot. And, a glass of milk really does make the medicine go down easier. Sigh.
Correction
I said it wrong in the last blog. Doing the word puzzle is not to jump start my day. It's to jump start my brain! You can see that I really needed the brain jump start this morning!
I've been weeding for an hour. Most of the weeds are coming out easily. It's still too wet to mow. Maybe this afternoon, and maybe not till tomorrow, but I shouldn't wait till the weekend. The grass is still growing!
Daily Puzzle
For some time now, I've been doing the Jumble Puzzle in the morning newspaper. It sort of "jump starts" my day. Some days. Some days the words jump out at me. Some days the answer jumps out at me before I even look at the jumbled words.
Other days I can't discover the words no matter how I move the letters around. Some days it's much harder than other days. Today is one of those days. I don't even feel like doing a word puzzle. I'll look into it later today. I think work will jump start my day today.
Getting a Slow Start
Yesterday was very tiring. I didn't get up at my usual time. I slept quite late for me but I guess I needed the extra rest after the emotional stress of yesterday.
I dreamed such an interesting dream. I was burning some things in a fire place that we had in a little room in our house. I filled it full of old wood and got the fire going. Just a little while later when I checked it again, I found that the fire had consumed everything I'd put in the fire place and had burned up the fire place itself. Suddenly it seemed that there had been an old pot bellied stove there, vented into the fireplace chimney and it was completely burned up, too. All that was left was an outline on the wall where the fireplace had been. I was startled to find how really good the room looked without the fireplace, - how much space the fireplace had taken up. I loved the look of the room without it but I felt a pang of regret that I'd never have a cozy fire in the fireplace there again. Very curious.
Now it's time to get the day going. Today will be a "mow the lawn" day. It's not raining!
Hospital Policies Change
Apparently hospital policies are being changed for there were some differences in the way things were handled for us today for the outpatient tests.
It seems that now, at least in the outpatient rooms, the patient can dial a room service number and order a meal to his liking at whatever time he is hungry. There is a menu in the room and the patient chooses foods from it and calls in the order. The meal will be delivered 45 minutes later.
And the discharge policy, at least in our case, was different. There was no chariot ride in a wheel chair to the front door. It was, "Good-bye. Hope you have a good life." If he wanted to, he could have waited in the lounge while we brought the car to the front entrance. He opted to walk. He had to rest a little at one point, but he did OK. I'm hoping the exercise will have done him good.
mission Accomplished
We got to Erie in good time and made all the connections properly. I didn't get to write in my journal as I thought I would because a friend went along and we talked a lot. She was a real blessing. She and I had lunch together overlooking Lake Erie. I thought we had the best seats in the room and the food was very good. When we got back to the room, the test was over and as soon as he felt able, we headed home again.
Medical tests, I think, can be as bad as the physical problem which prompts them. They certainly take a lot out of a person. I'm so thankful that this was easier than we'd been led to believe.
Alarm Clock
My inner alarm clock got me up at 5:30. I meant to get up at 6. I thought getting up early would give me a jump start and I'd get a little more done than I'd planned for. However, after I got up, we had yet another electrical storm roll through here and I had to shut down for a while. And then I discovered a leak in the closet which I had to try to cope with for the time being. Surely it won't rain all day, but we are getting enough rain to call this the rainy season, or maybe, the monsoon season.
My husband is giving me last minute instructions. "Take a comb for me." "I'll want a blanket and pillow for on the way home." "Remember when I took my last pain pill."
I'm thinking, "I should have bought some Snickers bars to take along for if I get hungry." "What should I wear that would look good and be comfortable all day?"
All the while, time's passing and I'm sitting here writing, but it's how I cope. I'll take my journal, for sure. I know there will be thoughts that I want to write down.
I wish there could be an easy way through this day.
Plans
Tomorrow will be a grueling day for us. We'll be going to the Erie Hospital for another medical test for my husband. I may not get up early enough to write a blog before I leave. I may not get to write a blog till late afternoon tomorrow. Both of us dread this ordeal that awaits. We pray for God's will to be done in our lives.
After the Recital
We went to the piano recital which three of our grandchildren were in on Saturday. Each of them did very well and I'm pleased that I was able to attend their recital. After the recital, their piano teacher told Elsa that she had played one of the repeats three times instead of twice. Elsa was totally into it and didn't realize that she'd played it three times. She seemed to be enjoying it.
Any way, after I got home, I got to remembering my childhood friend, Grace. She took accordian lessons when she was very young. At Christmas, for the program at church, she played Silent Night. Someone put a chair on the platform for her and she sat on the chair and then they handed her the accordian and she played. She played it over and over until they took the accordian from her.
Silent Night is the only song that I knew my friend to play. I don't think she took accordian lessons for very long. Unlike my childhood friend, Elsa plays many other songs and playing music will be an important part of her life as the years go by.
Graduation Ceremony
It seems like a long time ago that I wrote Don't Let the Rain Come Down, but it was just this morning. Since then we've had sunny moments, more rain and more sun. It's overcast now. I just had a look at the Erie news and they were showing the Mercyhurst College students lined up for their graduation ceremony, going to the Warner Theater where it's always held, and it was pouring rain! They looked happy any how. College graduation is a special event, to be celebrated with happiness even if it does rain on your parade.
Oh, No! Don't Let the Rain Come Down
Remember the funny song, "Oh, no, don't let the rain come down. My roof's got a hole in it and I might drown." That's what has come to my mind this morning. We have more rain coming down. As we drove home yesterday in the late afternoon, we noted water running in the ditches at the side of the road. The streams and creeks were swollen and some places the land looks like a swamp. And now this morning, it's raining again. I'm thankful that our roof doesn't have a hole in it but still, we have had enough rain for right now.
Helping the Little People
OK, I'm the little person in this story. I'm tall enough for me. I'm five feet tall and my feet touch the ground, so I'm tall enough. I have long admired tall people. When I was a child, my best friend, Nancy Pearl, was my same age but was always head and shoulders taller than I. I thought she was great. But I learned to accept who I am. It takes less fabric to make me a dress, it's less for me to iron, I can stand in front of anyone at a parade and they can see over me, --those kinds of things.
I was at the grocery store looking over the choices for ice cream. The one I really wanted to try, Hagen's mint chocolate chip, was on the top shelf. I may have been able to reach it, but it looked really high to me. I thought about making the effort, but there was a gentleman standing there beside me, also making a choice. So I asked for help. "I think I may have trouble reaching the ice cream I want to try, would you hand it down to me?" He was admirably tall. His head was way up there on a level with that top ice cream shelf. It was no problem for him to hand me the ice cream.
I'm used to asking tall people to help me reach something in grocery stores and they always are happy to help, but this man seemed even more than happy to help. He made me feel like I'd done him an honor to ask him for the help. He wasn't gushy or anything, but it showed in his eagerness to help, his smile that included his eyes and the way he said, "I'd be glad to." He seemed pleased that I'd asked him for the help and I left the store feeling pleased that I had asked for help.
The ice cream, by the way, tastes great!
Home Is the Heart
It's nice to go away for a little while and it's nice to come home again. We were away overnight. We had no problems on the trip and everything went smoothly. It was very hot in Pittsburgh and it's much cooler here at home. It's good to relax and read my mail and sort through the memories. It was a pleasant time.
The Wicked Flea
I'm reading Susan Conant's book,The Wicked Flea. I've been carrying it around with me for days. Sometimes I read while waiting for something, like when I'm getting my allergy shots. Sometimes it seems like I read the same page over each time I pick up the book and just as I get oriented, I'm interrupted again. Even so, I'm nearing the end of this book. I love the way Susan interprets everything in a dog's way of thinking. I start to think a little bit this way when I read Susan's books.
Storms May Come
We had a bad storm in our area last night. Before it hit here, I was listening to the 11 o'clock news and there were tornado warnings for our area. And then the storm kicked in and I had to turn everything off because it was such an electrical storm. I don't know yet what damage was done here in our town but the siren sounded for a while. It's still raining this morning. We're all ready to have several days in a row without rain. That will come in the heat of summer and we'll want rain then.
Bleedingheart
I've been trying to get a bleedingheart to grow and I thought a couple of years ago that I'd finally gotten a good start with one. By last year, I thought for sure it was going to grow and thrive, but this year it's not looking as good as last year. I talked it over with Carolyn. Her advice? Dig it up and move it.
I didn't want to move it for two reasons. First, I was afraid I'd kill it by digging it up. Second, I didn't know where to move it to.
But today, I did it. I put new soil and fertilizer in the place where I'd dug up the day lilies and planted the bleedingheart there. Then this evening we had another rain, a real soaking rain, and that ought to give it a good chance to perk up. I hope it makes it and gets big and bushy! There was a big bleedingheart plant beside the porch steps at Grandma Emma's old house, which was always Aunt Minnie's place when I was a kid. But I knew that it had been Grandma's and I really liked that plant. That's why I want mine to grow and prosper.
Spading Is Hard Work
Although it was overcast this morning, it was not raining and I was able to get back to spading. If I hadn't decided to plant onion sets, I could be done with that spading. Last year, I learned that what looked like tons of space for my six tomato plants and two grape tomato plants, wasn't nearly enough room. They were crowded together when they grew. So this year I enlarged the area by at least 1/4. It isn't easy work for me. I had to stop spading for a while and do something else. When I get back to it, I think I'll spade up a strip about one foot wide on the east side of the patch. That should give me a place for onions.
When I rested from spading, I dug up the day lilies from my circle bed. The nice thing about day lilies is that they are easy to grow and they grow and bloom very fast. The bad thing about day lilies is that they multiply just as fast as they grow. I planted a few tubers on the west side of the round bed. Now they have taken over that area even to the middle. I am going to plant them at the edge of the driveway below us where it's so hard to mow. They can grow and multiply and I won't have to worry about how to mow right at the edge where I could dull the mower blade on the concrete wall.
And it turned out that digging up lilies was even harder work than spading. I wrestled and wrestled with them to get them out of the ground. But I didn't stop till I'd gotten them out of there and some of them are planted along the driveway now. But now I'm fashed. (Funny, that isn't a word, but I think it should be. It means, to me, done in, used up, very tired from working hard.)
Oh, yes, one of my Iris has bloomed today. I think it's a little early for them but it's nice to see the bloom.
Alyssum
Yesterday after Aquarobics, on the way home I stopped at a florist shop where they have a canopy in their parking lot and sell bedding plants there. They had alyssum. I bought just one six pack. The name tag with is called it Carpet of Snow. I'd never heard it called that before.
I planted one cell of the plants yesterday. Carolyn gets the most from her plants and has taught me so much about gardening. Now she's pointed out to me that each cell is made up of at least 10 little plants and they can be separated and planted individually for maximum value. I'd always planted them as a clump together. Her plants multiply and spread out abundantly. I'm glad to learn from her.
Carolyn's Gift
Today my neighbor, Carolyn, came bringing me a loaf of banana nut bread, fresh from the oven. What a blessing she is! She told me she had bananas which were getting too ripe, so she made the banana bread. (When I have bananas that are getting too ripe, I eat more bananas, or put them in jello.)
It was a timely gift. I had a slice of it for lunch and then I sliced more of it to serve my Wednesday evening company. They left early tonight because Stephen has a choir concert at school, but they really enjoyed Carolyn's special loaf of bread. And I have some left over for another day!
Humming Bird
Just a few minutes ago, I saw a humming bird come to the bloom on my geranium which is hanging in the archway of the porch. I could see it through the window here in the dining room where the computer is. I didn't know humming birds would visit geraniums! I was happy to see it.
Gardening at a Standstill
Yes, my gardening is at a standstill for a while. But it is early days yet, except for the onion sets. They could have been growing well by now if I'd planted them in April. The flowers and tomatoes won't grow well in the garden or flower beds until the weather is warmer. Except for four flowering kale and three portulacca, I have everything moved into flower pots where their roots can expand and they can grow in a protected area. Some things I won't put into the ground and they are in big flower pots or planters.
We had rain again yesterday and our ground is pretty soggy. Many of my plans for the plants involve digging this year, so I just have to wait till we have a little more sunny weather.
Gardening is at a standstill, but the growing things aren't. Oh, yes! The grass and the weeds are still growing.
Tony Randall
When I got online this morning, I saw the news that Tony Randall had died at the age of 84. I was sorry to read this news. He was such a character in The Odd Couple. Good-bye Tony.
Chipmunks
I've just been reading about chipmunks and I discovered that their Latin name, Tamias, means Steward. (The whole name is Tamias Striatus) That's so appropriate because they work so hard to gather nuts and seeds for the winter. They can store enough food to last them several winters, and surprisingly enough, they don't attempt to store perishable foods. They eat that right away. They like peanuts and corn in addition to the sunflowers seeds that they are well known for gethering.
Another thing I learned about the chipmunks is that if you trap one and move it to another area, you just make room for another chipmunk to move into its old home.
I'll try getting corn and peanuts for mine and hope it leaves the strawberries alone.
The Grass Still Grows
It sounds like a Proverb. The Grass still grows. It seems to happen every spring. It rains and rains and keeps us from doing our yard work. It's cold and unpleasant for work outdoors, but the grass keeps on growing. At least once a week, and for most people two or three times a week, the grass needs mowing. I can't really see it growing, but in just a day or two, it's obvious that it's higher than it was. The grass, and the weeds, they just keep on growing even though I can't get out there and work with them.
Weather Permitting
Some times there are things that we have to do, no matter what the weather gives us. Other times our agenda is directly related to whether the weather permits us to do our plan.
Today is like that. I have not yet completed the spading and weeding, but the rain has made that impossible for now. I did get the lawn mowed yesterday afternoon and then it rained again. I got some weeding done but no more spading. This morning everything is too wet to let me do any real work in the yard. Therefore, I finally went for groceries. That's a chore that I'm pleased to have out of the way.
Allergy Patient
Yesterday morning when I went for my allergy shots, I was sitting in the waiting room, reading the book I took with me. Then I began to sneeze. I sneezed several times, then I started to cough, and after that I had to deal with my nose. There were several other people in the room. As I went to get a tissue which they kindly provide for people like me, I said, "I'm here to get an allergy shot. I'm giving my best imitation of an allergy patient."
They looked relieved. I know I sounded like I was contagious and I wanted to put their minds at ease. Everybody laughed with me and they remarked that spring is a bad time for lots of allergies. I don't know what it was in that room that set me off, but I certainly did act the allergy patient for a few minutes.
Don't I Look the Age I Feel?
Yesterday in the early evening my friend Beverly called to tell me that she'd walk to my house and bring me a bulletin from church. I said I'd walk to meet her. We live four blocks apart. It was a beautiful evening for a nice walk.
I set off briskly, feeling every so good about getting the walk. On the other side of the school, some young boys, probably in mid-teens, were playing with skate boards on the hill. It's sort of steep there. A girl about their age sent a skate board flying down the hill and the boys had to get it. One boy said, "Watch what you're doing! You almost wiped out that old lady!" (That would be me!)
The skate board was nowhere near me, and as for "old lady," that was certainly unexpected considering how I was feeling so healthy and vigorous and walking briskly along. I put my hands on my hips, turned and faced the kids and said dramatically, "Well!" And the boy said, "Er, I mean, Young Lady." I said, "Thank you," and continued my walk.
But I was thinking, How come I feel so young but don't look young? Or would the boys have thought I was an old lady even if I'd been 30 something? Old lady, indeed! Not today, and not yesterday! But I'm not young lady, either.
Speak the Same Language
At the installation service yesterday one of the speakers told a story about an incident that occurred about 20 years ago. She and her husband had been married 9 years then. One winter day, she got stuck in the snow in their driveway. Her husband thought he should be able to push the car and get her unstuck. He pushed and pushed and nothing happened. He asked her, "Is the car out of gear?" She assured him that it was. He pushed some more. His face turned red with the effort. She was praying that he wouldn't have a heart attack. Finally with one last heave, he got the car to move. It was unstuck. "Quick," he said, "Put it in park!" "It is in park," she answered.
With controlled calm he said, "I asked you if it was in gear and you said it wasn't." "It isn't, " she said. "It isn't in drive, it isn't in reverse, so it must be out of gear."
When she told this story to the teachers with whom she worked, one of them said to her, "Rachel, a jury of 9 men would have found your husband innocent!"
Her point was that it's important for congregation and the pastor to be speaking the same language or there's going to be a lot of misunderstanding and pushing with no productivity. Good point.
Chocolate a Reward?
I heard snatches of a program on the radio last night. They were talking about experiments in which young people were working at some task. They chose some of them, probably randomly, and someone gave these people a few M&Ms and told them they were doing a good job. The results showed that they worked harder, got more done, and the work was more accurate than the work of those who didn't get the chocolate. They also tried this with a group of doctors, giving some a reward of a piece of chocolate and telling them that they were a good doctor. The doctors who received the chocolate spent more time with the patient and worked to find better solutions for the patient's problem. This raises a lot of questions in my mind, and I admit that I didn't focus completely on the story.
My biggest question is, "Was the improvement from chocolate and would it work for anybody who rewards themselves with chocolate during a brief break after working on a project?"
Then others questions: Was it the chocolate itself or was it the affirmation that they were doing a good job? And, would this work for other rewards? Could I give a person a Pysanky egg and tell them thanks for the good job you're doing and it would produce that kind of results? Maybe it only works for chocolate. What a good though! I may take a chocolate break right now.
Chocolate Cake
At the noon meal today, I started to feel hungry for a piece of chocolate cake with chocolate icing. It's been a good while since I made such a cake. I've not been making cake very often for the last couple years, for the obvious "neither my husband nor I need it" reasons. But today I was wishing for a good piece of chocolate cake.
This afternoon we went to the installation service fo a new pastor in our town and there was a meal following the service. We got to go to the dessert table and choose our own. There was a piece of chocolate cake with chocolate icing there that fully satisfied my craving. Oh, it was good! I am blessed. And I don't have to eat all the rest of the cake. The one piece was more than enough and someone else gets to have all the rest of the cake.
Did You Know?
Did you know that chipmunks eat plants? I sort of knew this because one year I was eating a meal in the dining room at the golf course and I saw a chipmunk outside our window jump into a pot of wave petunias and pluck a petunia bloom and munch it. I was very surprised to see that.
Earlier this year I've seen my chipmunk grab a tender new leaf from the maple tree and eat it like salad. Then on Friday I saw a chipmunk in one of Carolyn's flower pots. It jumped out and ran to safety as I approached. I looked to see what attracted him to those flowers and I discovered that he'd been eating her Dusty Miller. That really surprised me.
Last year I thought starlings had been eating my marigolds. I had to pot them up and bring them on the porch for safety. But now I wonder if the chipmunks had a part in the mischief, too. I wouldn't think a marigold would taste good.
Rainy Day, All Day
It rained till some time in the afternoon. Then when it stopped raining, the temperature dropped significantly and everything is drenched so I couldn't work outdoors any how. At least it didn't snow!
I just discovered that we do have more than one chipmunk. I saw yesterday that there was a chipmunk at my neighbor's which I was pretty sure wasn't my chipmunk. They do travel a long distance around the neighborhood and I think they have to eat and gather seeds constantly. I've enjoyed watching my chipmunk but now that my strawberry patch is setting fruit, I've become concerned that they will invade it and I know that they are hard on strawberries. Maybe I won't think they are so cute then.
Good Rainy Morning
I got a lot of outdoor work done yesterday and hoped to complete my spading and get the onions planted today, but I awoke to the sound of rain. If it clears up, I'll still be able to do those things, but for now, I'm stuck with housework instead of gardening. Isn't it good that I still have something to do?
The bird feeders are empty this morning and I'll soon go out in the rain and fill them. The birds are out in the rain looking for food. Since I love to see them come, I'll need to get some food out there for them.
I can do some work with plants on my porch, and I can take a few more of the plants out to the porch. It seems that the cold front Carolyn told me about is not going to go lower than the 40s. That's not too bad. It won't hurt the plants.
Giant Energy and Fairy Skill
When I was a child, I loved to read fairy tales. A story that really intrigued me was Giant Energy and Fairy Skill. It was the story of a giant who was full of energy but was so clumsy that he just wrecked things when he tried to help anyone. Fairy Skill helped him by setting him tasks, like untangling a huge ball of snarled yarn. And just when he'd get it untangled, she'd touch it with her wand and snarl it again and he had to start over. By learning to patiently, gently untangle the yarn, he learned to control himself and not be clumsy.
I thought of that story a lot today when I was working outdoors. I had to untangle weeds from the soil, and the thorn brush from the pile to get it to the burn ring. It took patience and gentle persistence instead of force. Not that I'm Giant Energy, not by a long shot. But being patient and slow was good.
Progress
I finally got to spading up my little patch. I've worked for two hours and maybe I have 1/4 of it done. I have split open one of the bags of fertilizer and have begun mixing it in with the ground I've spaded. It's heavy and very packed down. I have to work at breaking it up. I suppose it's going to be as good as last year's cow manure fertilizer, but it's not as easy to work with.
Either tonight or tomorrow morning I should be able to plant the onion sets. I won't try to plant tomatoes until after this weekend, and maybe not then. I have the plants in flower pots so their roots can spread out and they won't dry out as quickly as they do in those little seed starters.
I love this work! Can you tell?
Is It Just Me?
Isn't it funny that you can go to a store that has tons of choices of merchandise and you expect to pick the one thing that you want/need, and that's the one thing they don't have? How can that be?
I forgot to pick up some alyssum on Tuesday when I went for plants and I decided I'd just buy a pack or two of them from Walmart yesterday morning. Guess what they don't have! I walked up and down the aisles of bedding plants and couldn't see any alyssum so I gave in and asked for it. No, they didn't have it. Isn't that odd? Alyssum is such a staple in the pantry of bedding plants. I could go back to the first place and see if Iola still has some.
Room to Grow
Yesterday I took my Mother's Day flower from church out of the tiny paper cup it was planted in and put it into a much larger pot. This morning it looks like a grown up plant though yesterday it looked like a tiny baby plant. Some things grow faster when they aren't cramped but I didn't expect it to look bigger overnight.
Before Mother's Day, I heard Mitch Ablom talking about things that we say or do that is like our mothers though we said we'd never do them ourselves when we are parents. Ken Brown said that when he was a kid he vowed to himself that he'd never say, "It's all right, he'll grow into it." His mom would buy clothing that was a little too big and then say that he'd grow into it. Now that he has children he understands the reason for buying clothing that is larger than needed and the other day he heard himself saying that exact thing about some item that they were buying for his daughter. "She'll grow into it."
My baby begonia looks like it's enjoying its bigger pot and is growing into it quite nicely.
Doves
There's a pair of doves that have been visiting the bird feeder outside my dining room window. I do enjoy watching them. They have been drinking from the bird bath, not bathing. When one of them sits on the edge of the bird bath, they look like they are part of a garden sculpture. The bird bath is a beautiful thing, I think, but it is even more beautiful when one of the doves is perched on the edge of it. I'm very pleased to have a bird bath this year. It's what my garden has needed.
My Method
The bird seed I bought last isn't very rich in sunflower seeds and the chipmunk, the blue jays, cardinals, and other smaller birds really like the sunflower seeds best. I bought a bag with just sunflower seeds to supplement what's in the mix. But then the critters that like the sunflower seeds best throw out the ordinary seeds until they get to their favorites, the sunflower seeds. So now I've taken to scattering some sunflower seeds under the bird feeder instead of putting them into the mix. The critters who want them knew right away where I'd put them and now the seeds in the feeder aren't being thrown out in favor of the special morsels.
I was also thinking that if the critters don't get all the seeds, maybe some sun flowers will grow, but it really looks like they aren't missing any of the sunflower seeds. They must have special ways to find them.
Shopping Misadventure
I went shopping early today, to beat the crowds. It was a very good time to shop for there weren't many people there.
First I asked advice and got help concerning the manure fertilizer. This year they didn't have cow manure, but they had something that's probably good. I got two 40 pound bags of it. Do you know that 50 pounds of bird seed is heavier to lift than 50 pounds of dog food? Now I find that 50 pounds of fertilizer is heavier to lift than either bird seed or dog food. I still don't understand how that can be but it is.
I got the fertilizer into the trunk with the help of the sales clerk. Then I went into the main part of the store and bought the dog food. I got it into the shopping cart by myself, so surely I could get it into the trunk of the car. No, I couldn't this time.
I had it raised up to the top of the cart and was sliding it across and into the trunk when the bag caught on a heavy clip on the side of the grocery cart. The bag tore! It was awful. Every move I made caused the tear to get bigger. Dog food spilled down to the ground. If I stood still it was OK but if I moved my hand away from the bottom of the bag where the tear was, the rip would get bigger and more dog food would spill out. I tried several ways to get the torn bag free of the clip that it had caught on, but I couldn't do anything to help the situation. I had parked off to the side where few people were. I tried a couple of times to get someone's attention to help me, but no one heard me. Finally one man walked near enough to me to hear my plea for help. He went into the store and came back with a clerk and together they gave me the help I needed.
The man lifted the bag off the clip, turned it over and put it on the ground. The clerk got tape, about four inch wide, clear celephane tape, and taped up the giant gash in the belly of the dog food bag. I hadn't thought it would be possible to tape it up because the bag had become ripped so badly. Then the man put the mended bag into the trunk of the car for me and even helped scoop up what had dribbled out of the bag.
I have some goofy mishaps, but I meet the kindest people!
On a Day Like This
It's exciting to get up and get at my work on a day like this. I've been out on the porch to look at the new growing things I've brought home. I'm eager to get them into pots or into the ground.
It's mildly cool this morning, a wonderful morning for digging in the soil and getting the tiny garden ready for the tomato plants when the time is right, which will be soon.
I'm eager to get the house plants outdoors again. They do so well in the summer out on the porch. This morning I'm going to Walmart to get some cow manure to spade into my little garden. It seems so odd to buy something like that. But it certainly helps the garden.
Carolyn Sez
Carolyn says that it's too soon to plant the tender things. I knew that! But Carolyn says that we will have warm weather until this weekend and then a cold front is coming through. Carolyn says, Don't plant till after that. Ginny said, "OK, then, I'll wait till after this weekend to plant my flowers."
I know Carolyn is right. Carolyn is usually right.
Gardener's Occupational Hazard
I know that an occupational hazard is usually something that makes you ill or harms you. In this case, I am just talking about something that keeps you from getting your work done.
Here it is: On really nice days, when they see you out in the yard, neighbors come to talk things over, -- while looking at the plants and what's going on in the yard. I really love to talk to neighbors. That's what life is about, --making friends, being a friend, keeping friends. It just takes me twice as long to accomplish some tasks. I just have to plan for that.
I keep thinking of moving the day lilies out of the Circle Bed but so far I keep getting distracted. (Like, -talking to a neighbor instead) Now it's time to work on dinner. It's my company dinner day.
Timber
I was outside working this morning when Carolyn came from her yard bringing me some daffodils which she'd pulled up to throw away. She knew that I hate to see healthy plants get thrown away and I'll find a place for them in my yard. So, she brought them to me. Mine is more "English Country Garden" and hers is "Better Homes and Gardens."
Any how, we got to talking about the dead lilac tree and how it wouldn't take much to pull it down and let the new young shoots at the bottom of the tree grow there. Talking led to taking action. First we tried to push it over but it was hanging too tight for us to unseat it. Carolyn said, "I could saw it down." And so she did. She got her bow saw and took down limb by limb till she could manage the bigger branches. I dragged it to the curb and piled it up.
It was good aerobic exercise. It was quite a workout for both of us.
My idea was to take off a little bit here and there and burn it in the fire ring, hoping that no one would notice as the tree slowly disappeared. But now, the whole neighborhood will notice what we did. I hope they won't expect us to hire out to do this kind of work.
Plaanting
Yesterday I was able to get my plants for spring planting. Today I'm eager to get out there and plant some of them. It's probably too early to plant the tomatoes. I got six tomato plants. We are having warm mornings now, but we could still get a frost here before the end of May. If the weather stays warm, I'll take the chance, like many others around here. We are so eager to get our plants growing well that we do sometimes get them in the ground too early. I love getting the flower beds and tiny garden started. It's so much more fun getting it started than closing it down for the winter.
What I got:
6 tomato plants
8 flowering kale
4 zinnias
2 daisy like plants that I'll plant together in a big flower pot in front of the house. They are called "Butterfly" and their other name is Argyranthemum. They look like daisies, a pretty yellow daisy with darker yellow center.
1 wave petunia, purple pink color
8 regular petunias, dark blue/purple
1 Gerbera daisy
I also bought a begonia in honor of my neighbor, Phina, who died in March. She loved the special begonias and every year planted about a dozen of them. I'll plant this one for Phina. It's got deep red blooms which are frilly and full.
Evening
I've been able to relax some this evening. Now I'm getting ready to watch the Dick Van Dyke revisited program. He is one of my favorites.
Busy Day
I almost forgot that I have a blog to post my thoughts or doings because today has been so busy. I like being in charge of my day, but today, other things were in charge of me. I had to go with the flow, or, roll with the punches. There were some punches. Maybe I'll be more in charge this evening. I'll see.
Stormy Weather
I had forgotten how stormy May weather can be. Some of these storms can be violently destructive. Yesterday was another day when the weather turned violent. The rain came in the late afternoon and it poured down hard. I was was driving home from Erie. The rain came harder and faster than the windshield wipers could handle it. The rain didn't bother my husband and we switched drivers then. I pulled off the road at a self serve gas station and we traded seats under the protective canopy where we didn't get wet.
It rained on and off through the rest of the day and there was lots of lightning. We heard emergency crews through the town. I haven't heard what damage was done, but that wind storm I drove through on Saturday afternoon did bring down a big tree limb onto the road where I'd been on my way home. No one was hurt then. There was just a big clean up job to do.
My world is drenched and sopping wet this morning, but the rain has stopped for now. The storms this spring are starting to remind us that 19 years ago at the end of May we had a tornado sweep through our area. Our area is not known for tornadoes so it caught everyone by surprise. After that our town installed a blasting horn warning system. For a long time they tested it every first Saturday of the month at 9 AM, but little by little, it fell into disuse. The only times it ever went off was for the test or by accident. I don't know what has happened about our alarm system. I don't remember when I heard it last. Our recent weather has us remembering that tornado and the fearful damage it wrought so many years ago.
Sorted Out
I finally got the dog's ear medicine adventure settled. I picked up the medication from the top of her chest freezer in her garage. It included a bill for two bottles of drops and $6 postage. In other words, the bill was all wrong.
Today after we'd taken care of our business in Erie, we stopped at the Pet Hospital and I got another bottle of drops. Poor dog, she has this ear problem as a constant. It goes along with her allergies and I have to keep right after it to keep her well, so I usually buy this medication in twos.
They took the postage charge off the bill and I paid for the two bottles of ear drops and we're all squared away for another couple of months.
Medical Mixup
This medical mixup is about my dog's ear medicine! In a way it's not a big deal. Desy's vet lives in our area but has her pet hospital in Erie. In the past she has sometimes brought medications for Desy to her home and I pick them up there. But the last time we did this, someone else had made similar arrangements and I picked up her medications and she got mine and then I had to go to her home and make the trade. Meanwhile, I had paid her bill and mine was less expensive.
So I thought it would make it easier all around if I just ask them to mail the medication so we wouldn't have the mix up. I ordered it a week ago Friday. The following Tuesday I got the bill for it but I've never received the medicine. I've been making calls to the pet hospital to find out what's happened to the medication and if they've put a tracer on it.
I had to call again this morning. Now they think that though they had prepared the little bottle of ear drops for mail, Dr. Sue picked it up and took it home for me to get it at her home. But no one told me till this morning!
Mystery solved and now I'll need to run over to Columbus and get the medicine. However, do I still have to pay the $6 postage fee? Wait and see!
Mother's Day Prayer
I heard this on Charles Swindoll's program this morning. He was talking about a Mother's Day card that said on the front, "I remember that little prayer you prayed for me every day," and on the inside it said, "God help you if you EVER do that again!" It tickled my funny bone.
Cookie Recipe
I guess these are really Chocolate Chip Cookies with Extras
1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup chopped macadamia nuts
1 1/2 cups raisins
3 cups chocolate chips
Preheat over to 400. Combine shortening, butter, brown sugar and eggs and beat till smooth. Stir in buttermilk and vanilla. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt and stir till blended. Then add coconut, nuts, raisins and chocolate chips. Drop by half tablespoons onto greased cookie sheets. Bake 7-10 minutes, until they are puffed and slightly brown. Cool on a rack and store in airtight container.
My changes: I use all butter, not vegetable shortening. Light brown sugar. Make a sour milk with vinegar and milk instead of buttermilk. Walnuts instead of macadamia and it's more like 1 cup of raisins, and I just do one bag of chocolate chips, and it seems like there's plenty of chocolate chips in the mix. If you try them, I'd be happy to hear about what you tweaked and how you liked them.
Request
I took the cookies for our Sunday school snack today and the class loved them. They asked for the recipe. I explained that I tweaked the recipe and if I gave them the recipe, what they were eating would be different from the recipe. Robin said, "We could tweak the recipe our own way." So I guess I'll write the recipe soon, but I may just give you my version, an I know I'm not the only one who tweaks recipes.
Rainy Morning
Yesterday I got the lawn mowed even after it had threatened to rain, but the rain caught me later. I went to the store to get milk and bananas and as I left the store, raindrops started to spatter again. But this time, they didn't quit. Soon rain was pouring down.
As I drove across town toward home, the wind kicked up as the rain came down. I saw tall trees swaying back and forth in the wind. I had concern about tree limbs crashing down. The stop sign at the corner of our block was twisting back and forth in a constant frenzy. I was glad to pull into our driveway and be safe at home.
But I had to dash through the pounding rain to get into the house. Fortunately I didn't have a lot to carry. It felt good to get home again. A little later I saw the blue lights of volunteer firemen going past our house. I think there must have been wind damage that needed their attention. I hope it wasn't too severe.
This morning, my world is drenched and raindrops still cling to the screen at the dining room window, but it's not raining now.
Lawn Mowing
At 2 o'clock when I was ready to go mow the lawn, it started to sprinkle rain. I thought that I'd waited too long and I started to do other things. Then I realized that it hadn't rained very much, so at 3, I got at the mowing. Even with the weather as cool as it is, I got really warmed up by the time I was finished with the yard work.
I separated some rhubarb, spaded some of my little garden patch and pulled lots of weeds. I put in 2 1/2 hours of work and I'll possibly do a little more later this evening. But maybe not, because it feels good to relax. However, I won't get to work outside again till Tuesday, and things are really growing now.
Habit
This morning I was reminded of something my friend, Althea, told me years ago. Althea and I were both married students at college and lived near each other. Althea and her husband were the parents of one child, a daughter. One day when the daughter was not feeling well and Althea was supposed to give her a pill, she, Althea, stood at the kitchen sink and ran the water till it was cold. Then she filled the glass with water and absentmindedly took the pill herself!
I did something like that this morning. I was finished baking the cookies and I had the last of the cookies cooled on the wire racks. I opened the cookie jar to put the cooled cookies into the cookie jar. Then I picked up the first cookie, raised it to my mouth and took a bite out of it! I wasn't intending to eat a cookie, only to put them away. But since I had taken a bite out of it, I had to eat the cookie! Poor me!
Chores
Since I didn't get my chores finished yesterday, I will have to add them to my list of chores for today. Today's chores include baking Canterbury Jumbles, (a cookie recipe I like that I got from Diane Mott Davidson that I found in one of her mystery books,) and mowing the yard again. Those two chores don't go together. They are widely divergent, but they are both things I like to do. Baking the cookies will take longer than mowing the lawn. I can bake cookies and listen to Art Drysdale's garden talk and then the car talk programs. I can think about things while I mow the lawn.
Later, I need to buy milk and bananas, the things we need to buy most often. You can't stockpile those things. They have to be fresh.
Yesterday's chores? Some house blessing time will take care of them.
And then there's my bonus chores, things I'm really looking forward to doing. I bought paint for the archway trellis. I sit here at the computer and look out the window and see my archway trellis and note that paint is peeling in a few places. I am eager to get that looking great again. That will require the use of a step ladder. And the iron railing on the front porch steps needs repainting. It will be more tedious work, but the results will be rewarding, so I'm eager to do it, too. I won't get my bonus chores done till some time next week but I'll be looking forward to getting these things done.
The Birdbath in Use
I haven't seen a lot of activity at the new birdbath but I have seen one dove there. She wasn't bathing. She was getting a sip of water. Well, the birdbath is very new and probably it takes time to get used to it. And, it's been very rainy and cool. Probably the birds have other places to drink or bathe. There will probably be more birds attracted to it as the weather gets warmer.
Tulips Again
I was thinking of one more tulip story this morning. I remember reading this in the Reader's Digest many years ago. A husband had promised his wife that he would plant the tulip bulbs in the fall. But time went by and he never planted them. Finally in exasperation, the woman planted them herself. The man was relieved to have the job out of the way, --until spring came and the tulips grew. His wife had planted the tulips to spell out, "John is lazy."
Addiction
Here's a curious story that shows how addictions begin.
Our Aquarobics instructor told us at Easter time that her boyfriend's mother had bought six lottery tickets, one for each of them having dinner together. The idea was that if there was any winnings, they would split it six ways. They won $20.
They decided that they would use that money to buy 20 tickets. This time they won $5,000 and everyone was very excited about the money they had won.
Then last week I heard her telling someone that, "We spent $45 and won one dollar! We're addicted now."
I hope it isn't truly an addiction yet and that they can break it before it gets a firm grip on them. But, that's how addiction starts, slow and easy, and with the false promise of wonderfully better things to come.
I keep remembering what I heard Peter Gzowsky, a Canadian broadcaster, say many years ago. "In my opinion," he said, "the lottery is a tax on the stupid."
Book
I'm reading a Susan Conant mystery now. The Wicked Flea. I so much enjoy how she has the main character, Holly Winter, see everything in dog terms. She even describes people in dog terms, as what breed they would be. And she gives good tips for training dogs and taking good care of them. I got in over an hour of reading while I waited for my husband to have medical tests.
Now I'm sleepy. Sitting quietly makes me sleepy, even if I am reading.
Work Day
It's been a work day in our neighborhood. Actually, it's been work week all around town. There are work crews busy on many streets. Our next door neighbor is having a new roof put on. Today they are installing the eaves troughs.
I got a fire going in the fire ring today and burned a lot of the old raspberry canes and a bit of other brush. I even did some weeding in the Circle Bed. Things are looking pretty good. I'm feeling pretty good. It feels so good to be able to do this work, even though my muscles are protesting.
Carolyn suggests that I take some plants from the center of the Circle Bed and put the bird bath there. I know it would look good there, but I am reluctant to dig up the plants. Still, I probably could find another place for them and this is a good time to move plants.
Before I knew Carolyn, I had no idea how much you could move plants around in your yard. I thought you planted them and if you got them in the wrong place, that's where they stayed any how. Carolyn moves her plants many times during the summer. Something's always on the move in her yard, and she has a showcase garden. Mine is very untidy compared to hers. But each year I get a little better at getting my flower beds to look nicer. I'm glad that Carolyn is my neighbor.
The Bird Bath
When my husband went away in February, he found a place where he could buy a bird bath for a reasonable price and he bought one for me. We've had it stored on the front porch and I keep thinking that I'd like to get it into place in the yard. But when I work in the yard, so far, I've done other things first. And then I was either too tired to do it, or it started to rain.
Yesterday in the early evening, I got the bird bath set in place. I didn't think I was strong enough to lift that base and would have to ask for help, but then I decided to try to do it and I found out that though it was heavy, it wasn't too heavy. Today the birdbath is put together and is in the side yard. If I stretch my neck, I can see it. It's near the one bird feeder. This morning I will put water in it.
A Tulip Tale
When I was a hospital volunteer, I visited a man on the Swing Bed Program (meaning in hospital for extended stay and in need of cheerful visits). He told me that he lived in my neighborhood when he was a young boy in grade school. The people who lived in the house that I live in now had beautiful tulips growing in front of their house.
One spring, the school across the street had a teacher appreciation day and the students were asked to bring their teachers flowers. He didn't have any flowers and he wanted to bring flowers for his teacher, so he picked all the tulips from the front yard of our house, right across the street from the school. The teacher was so pleased with the beautiful tulips.
But then at lunch time, he was called into the principal's office. The lady from across the street had called to see if someone had brought a lot of tulips to school because hers were all gone! I don't remember what his punishment was, but all these years later, he was a very old man now, he remembered it as a humorous incident and could laugh about it.
Years ago, we had a little girl who picked a flower or two when she walked past our house. She never picked them all but she would help herself often. Actually, I think she picked them for her mother. As she got a little older, she stopped picking the flowers.
The tulips are gorgeous this year. The third set of tulips are almost ready to bloom now. They look to be a very dark red color, almost dusky black purple red. Can you picture that? Teehee. I am eager to see them open. Why don't I remember what I bought?
The Dream Continued
I forgot this part of the dream until after I'd had breakfast. In my dream, Amanda's mother played the piano (she doesn't in real life) and she played the song, Then Jesus Came. (My brother and I remember our mom and dad singing that song for special music in church and around the house. So it has a lot of meaning for us.) In my dream, I was as happy to hear this music as I was to drink the wonderful cocoa. I was surprised that Robin knew the song.
Then she said she didn't know it had words, she just knew the tune. As she played it, I sang. I sang without fear or self consciousness, just lost in the words. (Another unusual thing. I get very nervous about singing when others are around.) When the song came back to me just after breakfast, I remembered that part of the dream and the good feeling came back.
Here a stanza and chorus of the song:
One sat alone beside the highway begging,
His eyes were blind; the light he could not see.
He clutched his rags and shivered in the shadows,
Then Jesus came, and bade his darkness flee.
When Jesus comes, the tempter's power is broken,
When Jesus comes, the tears are wiped away.
He takes the gloom and fills the life with glory,
For all is changed when Jesus comes to stay.
Dream
I dreamed that I was at Amanda's birthday party. Terry served plates of food for each person. Then he gave me two big mugs of hot cocoa with a thick foamy topping. Only one mug was for me. He just set the other on my tray temporarily, but then he never came back for it. It was sooooo good! I drank the second cup of cocoa, too. I was wondering how they had prepared this wonderful cocoa and thinking I should go to the kitchen and see how they did it. I could hear a whirring sound, as though they were beating the cocoa with a mixer.
And then I was feeling really full, but now there was dessert. I took a small amount but when I turned around, there was more on my plate. There were three small creampuffs, but I was too full. I thought I'd have to wrap them up and take them home to eat. Then I saw that Terry had given me a bill for $135. I knew he hadn't meant to give me the bill. I hadn't thought about how much money this lavish party would be costing. I remembered the graduation party they had given her and if this party cost $135, what must that one have cost!! I thought I'd give him the money just to see what he'd say. Dream money must not be hard to come by!
Oh, yes. I was feeling very hungry when I went to bed but I'm cutting out late night snacks and I didn't indulge in a snack. After my party dinner, I woke up feeling really full. But dream food and dream money don't last very long.
The Painting is Sold!
Today Helen came to our house and purchased my painting of Annie Looks at the World, the picture of the cat on the path outside of Miracle Mountain Ranch. She saw it at the art show and decided she liked it enough to buy it. I have mixed emotions about it. I'm so happy to be an artist who has sold paintings, but I really liked that painting. But I'm glad to have it go to a home where it's valued and appreciated. And I know I can make more paintings. Now I need to get started.
Carolyn
While I was working outdoors again this morning, cutting back the dead stuff in the raspberry patch, I was thinking about Carolyn. I have four people named Carolyn in my life right now and all of them are exceptionally talented people. Then I remembered one of my 5th grade students named Carolyn, who was also very talented. I began to wonder if just possibly there's something about that name Carolyn that shapes them to do their best at whatever they do. Then I remembered that my dad's grandmother was Carolyn. She's a woman I never knew and my dad didn't seem to know much about her either. I wonder if she was also a woman who excelled at whatever she put her hand to. I think she must have been.
Freeze
It happened as Carolyn told me. We had a freeze overnight. I haven't been outside to inspect the damage. I think perhaps it won't have affected my growing things as much as it will have affected Carolyn's plants. Most, and perhaps all, of what is growing in my yard is the hardy variety. I haven't bought any annuals yet.
I don't understand this because our back yards touch each other but Carolyn's rhubarb and her bleeding heart are full grown while mine, a few feet away, are just a few inches out of the ground. Her rhubarb has tried to set seeds already and the bleeding heart was blooming while mine are just started to grow.
But whatever happened to the temperature overnight, this morning it looks like it will be another really beautiful day. The grass keeps right on growing and the colors of spring are beautiful!