Daily Notes- June 30th. Thursday. Sunshine and Humidity

 Ice Cream Days.  

Today was Haircut Day.  10am.  Cut it really short.  Feels good.  And not a lot of "product" gumming things up.

Then the Greenhouse next door where I worked for Ten Years. We had a small reunion out back behind the glass house-always a nice breeze there.  No red marigolds.  Lots of yellow ones.  But then one of the gals working pointed to a new table of orange ones.  I bought orange.  I already have lots of yellow.

Then the Library and new books by two favorite authors and two Old Old Favorites.  Bet Me and Agnes and the Hitman by Crusie.  I am going to order those two at the Gulf of Maine bookstore if they come in Trade paper.  I am preparing for when I can't drive and -sigh- have to wait for someone to take me to the library.  When I am older. I am taking a "long shot bet" that I will still have my VISION and be able to read books. The Bargaining Stage.

Hot dogs are finished.  I have two "prepared meals" from the Grocery Cooler.  Meat Loaf, Mashed  Potatoes and a good sized portion of Broccoli in each container.  I am reminded of buying and eating them the previous year of COVID.  Next up will be the Tucci Vegetable Pasta.  I have cans of diced tomatoes to use with the onion, celery and carrot. Fall back is Pancakes.  I didn't buy Bread.  Trying NOT to buy Bread.  And I have Cherries.  And a tub of Vanilla Noosa yogurt to go with the Cherries. I also bought Romaine Lettuce for a big salad with Carrots and BBQ Pork.  And Cheddar cheese. 

I am making an Index card with these meal ideas.  Sticking it to the cabinet.  To remind me.

Sigh.  Soon we'll be eating fresh Mozzarella and Tomatoes with Basil leaves.  Sweet Corn. I am thinking of Food today.......getting my "ducks in a row' so to speak and take out choices are slim to none here and restaurant meals are a "thing of the past".  Husband won't eat carry out.  He just won't. 

I wouldn't mind some Manicotti or Eggplant Parm from a favorite restaurant with a great side salad.

Daily Notes- Wednesday June 29th. Sunshine and 85 degrees.

 Adrienne Langer.

I've decided to write the names of the artists down on the bottom edges of the desk calendar.  The appliquéd vegetables (carrots) are by Mary Lou Weidman.  I recall the name from the days I was taking quilting classes.

The day began with.....a very slow start.  The window was open and the fan going on the window sill.  We were sleeping.  And then we heard the creak of a ladder being moved and extended and then waited for the hammering to start. It never did.  No music from the radios.  No loud talking.  How very very odd.  Five cars parked in the street- mostly white.  My carpenters and the painter- all had white vehicles.  It must be a "thing" for the Trades. 

Peggy across the street must have found the "noise- ordinance" she was looking for in the Town Achives. Or the lawyer living on the left of the house or the one living across from the house- must have said something to someone.  In a law sort of way...like we do here on this street.  G and I stay quiet as we are neither doctors or lawyers.

I finished Faking it.  And picked up The Importance of Being Alice.  The Luxury Cruise Ship is a rusting tub and the cabins are tiny and the mattress is lumpy.  Dream Vacation.  Sounds like our family trip to Russia.  If the water coming out of the shower is mostly brown and not hot...then it's exactly like our trip to Russia. Back in the 80's.  No one used deodorant and they served us white fish with bones in it.  Well, we used deodorant.  The tour included a Circus where no one had EVER used deodorant.  The Ballet was very similar.  We loved the subway.  Art all over the walls.  Glorious.

I am also eating very crispy oatmeal cookies I found as I wheeled past the bakery section in the grocery. I did not stop and look at the potato chips.

Daily Notes- Tuesday, June 28th Sunshine, No Clouds, Hot.

 Hot dogs.  I bought some and like the looks of these four all dolled up.  I had my three, yesterday, with mustard and sweet relish. Never will understand ketchup on a dog.  Never.

I also had a bowl of cherries. Big, Fat, Juicy, Sweet and Ice Cold.

I am reading Crusie's Faking It.  My library bought it. Recently.  I am reminded of reading it many many years ago. About a woman painting "fake" Scarlet paintings.  But she isn't copying them- they are her own paintings. Six of the "fakes" are in circulation and the artist and her con man --he's not a boyfriend---and she refuses to have sex with him---so....roommate?  He's a Dempsey if you read Welcome to Temptation.  He plays pool.  Runs a good con.  They met while hiding in a closet intent on stealing a painting.

Overnight-almost, or it seems that way- all the plants in my ornamental containers have "TAKEN OFF' and look Bountiful.  Big, colorful and happy- except for the container the deer used as a salad bar.  I have the sprinklers on the Peaches with the timer next to my right elbow.  Husband turned them on the other day and hours later I was walking by and noticed (he had forgotten) ......water bill is going to be outrageous.  Along with the electric bill for the AC units and ceiling fans.

Just warning any of you thinking Maine is Paradise.  (It actually is except for Winter).  Maine is VERY VERY EXPENSIVE.  Which is why Maine Street (in my Town and every other Town that still has a downtown) is lined with parked new BMW's and Mercedes. Oh and Corvettes.  The Older ultra COOL ones AND the new ones. Also..every old Tycoon -- and they are OLD....is out driving their pristine condition 1950's cars.  Lord- they are glorious.  The cars.... not the old men.  Though some of the men might actually be younger than I am.......hum....something to consider.

Daily Notes- Monday, June 27th. 8:48 am. Sun. Heat coming Already.

 Thinking about the Garden.  Loving this cloth from the Internet.  I could do this.  It's 8:54 am.

George arrived to install the AC units in the windows.  Tried to find Daughter as she was supposed to help...no luck.  So George did it himself.  And thank goodness.  Husband was so confused by it all.......

So we are COOL.  I just have to adjust the blind in the guest bedroom as it got messed up.  But the units are on and the air in here is dry and cool.  George is a real "gift from God" these days.

The soil in the garden beds is depleted of organic matter and isn't holding water.  Husband waters but the water doesn't "hold".  George wants us to add a layer of something- bark chips or dry pine needles to the top of the soil to keep the soil, itself, moist for enough Time to allow the roots to take the moisture in.

Easy to say.  Difficult to do.

That is how it goes here- easy enough to think of what needs doing...but difficult to actually do any of it. I understand why parents are installed in assisted living apartments.  I understand but I do not want to be installed. Yet.  I just keep simplifying our lives here at home.  

I want to make cloth carrots like the ones in the image up top.  I like the black rectangles with green leaves.  I love the beets.  But not the rest of the design.  So I need to rethink it.  Redesign it.

But first oatmeal with weird milk.  And then the grocery store.  I am hoping they have chicken dinners for husband.  I may get the meatloaf dinners for myself.  Protein.  And some watermelon, I think.

And I am hoping the Alice book has arrived at the library- even though I have not gotten a notice via email.  I want to read all five books in order as the characters overlap..........  The Purple Smoke Bush is in bloom.  A billow of raspberry pink "smoke" on top of the purple green leaves.  I can see it from here.

Daily Notes- Sunday, June 26th. Already very Sunny and Warm. Hoping for the off shore Sea Breeze

 An end of June scribble from Tumbler for you today.

I might make one of these today- using my left hand.  Re-reading the Corset Diaries. Laugh out loud. I am still waiting for the Alice book- it is supposed to be on it's way from another library.  These books are all from around 2004.  This is the one with Tess and Maxwell.  I am reminded of having books from this time period and they ...also were very......hum...... I can't think how to write what I wanted to say........there is farting. 

This Thursday I get my hair cut. I am going to get it cut shorter than usual.  So I can just dunk my head under the kitchen spray faucet and then towel it dry-ish in July.  

We still have a week or so to wait for the AC units to get installed.  Prior engagements for the Installers.

I have limited window opening to one bedroom window only after 10pm and shades and blinds down or closed during the day- ceiling fans going.  Very pleasant.  Husband gets cold so he sits out in the Sun to warm up (and wears long sleeves in the house). I do not.  I have more washing machine work to do as husband is changing clothes twice a day....Sunday food section had the old Strawberry Pretzel Salad today.  someone brought that to a  Library Pot Luck once- it was strange but good.

I had my second baked potato for dinner yesterday.  I re-heated it in the Toaster Oven- running it thru twice on the setting and time I use for Toasted Cheese Sandwiches.  Much better texture than the microwave.  I haven't bought bread in forever so there have been "no sandwiches".

My oatmeal milk and my just opened coffee creamer are making a scummy oil spill on the surface of my coffee cup and my oatmeal.  I am going to have to dump the newly opened half gallon of Lactate Free milk and the coffee creamer. I have been scooping it off the top of the cup and bowl...but this is not right. Something is wrong.  The previous coffee creamer had formed clots in the container.  I'm wondering if the supermarket left the dairy out on the dock in the sun before rolling the carts inside?????

The expiration dates are mid July.  14 and 24th.

Daily Notes- Saturday, June 25th- Sunshine.

Sunshine and Tears.  That's what it's like here in Maine.  Susan Collins is ...what?  It was HER vote HER guarantee that the two men SHE said yes to on the Supreme Court would do the 'right thing".  They had given her THEIR WORD. Now she is trying to say she was lied to.... They did just what Trump wanted them to do.  Clear as Day. I give you the Supreme Court- You Give Me......Roe v Wade.

Maine is a State you can travel to- for abortions.  We are "way out of the way" for most of the other 49 States- but.......I am sure we'll arrange bus fare?  There are volunteers who will shield you with their own bodies as you go in and out of the doors. Maine is a RED state after all. With a Blue Governor.

It just goes to show us...it takes only one man...to do this.  Bring the country to this place........  I've spent the past few days just trying to wrap my head around this........ all the work we have done over the  last 50 years......

But the disruption has given THIS household clean sheets, daily Washing Machine Pages, the cleaning of tiny peaches off the trees- picky work- but I need to have work.  I read for 50 or so pages and then must get up- walk around ...do something.........

The Stages:  Denial.  Anger.  Bargaining.  Depression.  Acceptance...

I am years and years away from Acceptance.  

Daily Notes- Friday, June 24th. Sunshine. Getting warmer every day.

 My Master Gardener Classmate called yesterday saying she was going "Strawberry Picking" and did I want to come with.    I usually say no.  Yesterday I said yes.

We drove out to Fairwinds Farm and picked Sparkle Strawberries.  Darker.  Smaller.  Very very tasty. I have three quarts washed and hulled in the freezer on two small baking sheets (plus parchment paper). I like them loose.  My friend picked 8 quarts and she freezes them in containers and then just hacks a chunk off to eat with her yogurt or to add to a pie.  The berries last her all year as she lives alone.  Hacking off a chunk of frozen berries isn't something I would enjoy doing.

We also stopped at the grocery store (because we always do).  I got three large baking potatoes and some sour cream.  Dinner for three days.  I had no dinner yesterday and I was feeling quite sad (it was warm in the house and I didn't want to start up the oven).  I took my bowl of yogurt and Bran Buds (lunch) with me in the car to the Berry Farm.  

My friend has a nutritionist working with her on her diet.  So we had to look for specific things at the grocery......we discussed mushrooms and why they look dirty in the packages: we looked at spices: we read the ingredient lists on ALL the boxes of cereal.  She was making some sort of pumpkin sweet potato Loaf with mushrooms and cilantro........I was sort of speechless.  She's vegetarian.  

I think I would have eaten baked Sweet Potatoes for supper and been happy.  I had thought she was making the sweet potato patties she enjoyed years ago...but not on the "plan" so......  the more she talked about the Nutritionist ....the less likely I am to ever have one myself...oof... why don't vegetarians just eat the vegetables as vegetables????  Anyone have an answer?????

My Classmate and I have had many interesting road trips over the years.  We get into trouble and then out and then usually have a good meal together.  We've been friends since 2002.

The house next door had more siding on it when Patty and I drove past and we both let out a whoop of laughter.  The house is now the exact same color it was when I moved here to my house in 1991.  That is just so remarkable.  BLUE.  Knock you in the head Blue.  And the new windows are definitely not wood. Window frames are WIDE and WHITE.  It's a "look" for sure........?????

Daily Notes- Thursday, June 23rd. Quiet next door. Only two guys working.......

 Now...I wish I had made this.......

So..a quiet day.  Only two men working and so far no nail pounding or sawing etc.  Windows are being installed.  Wide white borders around them- some of the new siding is up.  A dark blue with a touch of green mixed in.  Sort of like the blue next to the two green leaves in the work up top.  At one point in Time several houses on this street were blue.  Now they aren't.  

So.....A cloudy day.  The weather map on my phone shows rain in the area right now.  Would love some thunder.  59 degrees.  I need to turn lights on in the house.  The only light right now is the computer screen.

I have my oatmeal in the microwave and the water has boiled for my instant coffee so I should go eat and read the newspaper.  Get started with another Day here in Maine.  And consider making a pomegranate and four leaves on a dark blue piece of cloth.  I have everything I need to do just that.

Have a lovely day all of you out there reading this.  Be Well. Be Content.  

Daily Notes- Wednesday, June 22. Sunshine. No noise next door. A Day Off?

 LOVE this.  I think the artist used ink.  Not paint.  I will try this when Poms are in the stores in the Fall. Doing one a day for a week or two.  Perhaps on cloth not paper.  Loving this...so so much. I could even pull out all the shiny machine thread I bought years ago- I'm sure these colors are in the box. If I can find the directions- I might "free motion"????  Go WILD.

Started my day with a shower and actually washed my hair with shampoo.  Not body wash.  It feels "shiny"- and smooth.  I have plans to do two loads of wash today.  Or not.  But I have the washer ready to  go.... excess energy. And I need to WRITE.  So much to let go of onto paper..... while the machine chugs along.

In serious stuff--I may never recover from yesterday.  The testimony.  I can't even type about it.

I just hope some of these "helpful lying Republicans who took the 5th" go to prison. I also feel sorry for Pence.  He wants to be President but "the mob" will kill him for being a traitor to "Big T" first chance they get. We'll see how it plays out and if the Republic Stands.  I never, never thought we would get to this place....never. Putin is loving every second--watching the Puppet Show.

I thought we would fight on other grounds........race, equality, religion, guns, hate.....  but it might all be pieces of the same cloth...a War that never really ended......

Daily Notes- Tuesday, June 21st. Sunshine, Watering the Peach Trees.

 The embroidery drawings I do- when I see embroidery on blogs or Tumbler.

I caved.  I used my inhaler this morning.  I had three errands.  And it's sunny and warm outside and I felt anxious.  So, I used the inhaler.  And I got all the walks and errands done. No one (me) passed out and peed her pants.  I tend to do both at the same time these days.........TMI.

My little grocery is being updated with brand new cooler and freezer cases.  They did the yogurt, butter and cheese section last year.  Now they are doing the frozen prepared food, pizzas and vegetables.  There was some "sighing"- rather dramatically ...by a few customers.  I heard it while I had my turn in front of the yogurt case.

I was "conned" into making Chicken Salad for daughter.  Pretty pathetic behavior for a 53 year old WOMAN!!! Just saying.  Everything is ready and mixed but I was short on the mayo and the jar in the pantry was dated use by 2020.  Nope.  She'll have to add HER mayo.  I think she buys the Hellman's Avocado Mayo.  So mayo is on next week's list.  I didn't get myself anything.  I still have Vegetable Sauced Spaghetti in the leftovers container for today and tomorrow.  And I have four yogurts. 

I WANTED to buy the four pack of very dark very moist bakery Brownies.  I drove my cart past them really FAST. And then turned right twice and slowly chose a Dandruff shampoo for husband. Close call.

Daily Notes- Monday June 20th- Sunshine and Good Doctor Visit News

 Good News.   My Breathing Test was better than the last one-  Much!  And I can experiment further with using my inhaler (the one remaining) every other day and see what happens.   And my Electrocardiogram  was perfect.  Heart is working just the way it should be.

Traffic was ridiculous as we had a 1:40 appointment.  So going into Lewiston and coming out were miserable with traffic.  Big Trucks.  I hate passing Big Trucks.

So..tomorrow I won't take the morning dose of inhaler.  See what happens.  See if Wednesday is a bad breathing day........it's an experiment.  

In even more scary news- the gal I see at the Pulmonary Office had Covid in the TIME between this appointment and the one where she signed me up for the heart test.appointment.  The person I sat in a room with.  Got COVID.  Was Sick.  And is now trying to get well.  I think perhaps they should have notified patients she saw in the small exam rooms??????

And because......I got the Your Weight Could Be An Issue Talk.   Didn't get it last visit.  I think it's a "fall back position" when they have nothing else to say to you.   I don't like it.  

Because I wasn't able to do much besides sit on the couch and be dizzy for two or three years because of medication....now they want to talk about weight gain.  Yes, I gained 60 pounds.  I stopped work and then sat on the couch........doing nothing.  

This week I dragged the central vac hose all around the house and vacuumed...... I've walked to the bookstore to order and pick up books.  I never would have done that before. Yesterday I chopped vegetable and made vegetable pasta sauce and had a bowl for dinner.

AND MY HEART IS WORKING JUST LIKE IT SHOULD WORK.   Nothing wrong.  Wonderful.

Daily Notes- Sunday, June 19th Father's Day Phone Call from Son.

 I didn't down load my index cards.  Sorry.   It's damp and raining today but quiet as no workers next door banging hammers etc.  My book yesterday: Something Wilder by Christina Lauren.  I usually love books written by these two women.   This one was good---but it won't be on my "buy" list.  The book needed one or two more people to read it and get it moving.....in the dragging repetitious parts.  Looking for hidden treasure in words....not easy.  Even the Zip Tie Handcuffs.  Guns.  Helicopters arrived but by then......

Next book.  Don't know yet.   

Tomorrow I have a doctor's appointment and I AM HOPING TO FIND OUT RESULTS OF ECHO CARDIGRAM.  Finally.   If not...I intend to have a Hissy Fit.

I had Kraft Mac and Cheese for supper yesterday.  I wasn't interested in Yogurt.  I had no Bread to use to make a Lettuce and Cheese Sandwich.  No Hot Dogs. No Pizza.  No Chicken Salad.  No Bran Flakes. I had already made Steamed Rice with Green Peas a few days ago.  Had eaten carrot sticks. I'm left with Peanut Butter and Crackers or a Large Mixed Greens Salad.   I'd really like a Baked Potato.  

Son called.  His company is making changes faster than a person can change their underpants.  

He wants me to buy a new washing machine.  I laughed.  I said I have to FIND the (a) Plumber first so he (she) can remove the toilet SO the washing machine can be pulled out of the custom built Washing Machine Closet it's in.  It went in the closet- before there was a toilet.  Floor space is "now enough".

Daily Notes- June 20- I walked away....... didn't come back.  How funny is that?

Daily Notes- Saturday, June 18th- Slow start- Sun when I got dressed and now clouds.

 From Tumbler.  I usually carry images like this to my file- not for the total look here- but the various stitches.  The lines- that circle.  Ideas I have on two index cards with line/sewing ideas.  I'll take a picture and show them to you tomorrow.  And I'm make a third card with the lines on this image that I liked.

Tomorrow George and Sam will come install the AC units.  George came yesterday and now I have a new idea for saving the Peaches from squirrels and chipmunks which involves yards and yards of multi colored netting.. And I have Winter squash and pepper plants in the last empty bed.

Long ago...I taught a class at my monthly Quilt chapter meeting- that was so long ago-- anyway, I had the idea of getting the static quilters in our group to "try something new" and it was making small pieces from scraps they found in the Monthly Scrap Pile (I instigated this and asked them to grab a handful out of their sewing room waste baskets for each meeting- I tucked any leftovers into the trunk of my car and brought them to each meeting).  

The pieces would be abstract.  No sewing.  We used Elmers glue ( I can still hear the screams of HORROR) to secure the bits and pieces and even little nests of thread to the surface fabric and even those little paper circles off the bobbin spools which we all had in our scrap baskets..  

Then we covered the work with netting.  I had purchased a dozen or so colors.  Some even had sparkles. They could "audition" the netting and then make their final choice of color and sparkle.   After the glue dried- and sometimes before it did.........just saying.....they would machine "quilt" their "quilt Sandwich".  Straight lines mostly but some went "wild" with loops and curves and circles..  They could also make use of the bright shiny thread in my collection.  Bobbin thread color didn't matter.  Like I said- no rules.  Later they added binding and their name and date to the backside.

At the Annual State Quilt Show- I organized all the pieces with names and an explanation of the reason  (Outside the Box) we made the pieces- and.......surprisingly (this WAS Maine 20 plus years ago)..the exhibit was very very well received......but better still.....the stodgy members were happy enough to drag family and friends over to see their "work" displayed.  I traveled around to different Chapters and "forced" them to color outside the lines as well.  Which is why I have so much netting. 

These images of "outside the box" embroidery reminded me of that......... now the leftover netting will keep the squirrels and chipmunks from eating Peaches.   I am making net "bags" to cover the trees and then secure the open side around the stem.  George thinks it will be difficult for the heavier squirrels to get a grip and the netting won't catch the legs of the smaller animals (rodents)- hopefully.

Daily Notes- Friday, June 17th- sunshine, grass cutting, peach tree watering.

 From the cover of a mending book- Mending Directory?

Too neat and tidy for me.  Who am I?  I was always into neat and tidy and now...well, I am wanting strange and messy.

Daughter stopped over. after work..after picking up a few treasures at the GTown Dump after work..  Another two cup mug- the first was bright golden yellow and this new one is Pure White.  One for Coffee and one for Tea. She also found a jigsaw puzzle. 1000 tiny pieces.......not for 75 year old people who wear bifocals.  But the real star of the Dump Run was a perfect men's Large Cashmere Sweater. Never worn.  No signs of it being worn. It's even Grey  No buttons- a half zipper.  Me or Husband.

She scanned the fridge for Chicken Salad and gleefully took the last container home. Good Trade, huh?

The Recently Purchased House Next Door had New Windows delivered this morning.  When we got "New Windows" I took A LOT OF SHIT from the neighbors when I changed out the windows.  They aren't wood framed.  There was mumbled threats of the Covenant Rules.  Which were something someone typed but never had in legal form or signed by any of the home owners.

The Guys working on the house are still arriving at 7am.  Hammering at 7am.  Next to our bedroom windows.

The Twins Dad (a lawyer) has waxed poetic about our windows.  They are quite wonderful.  And he hasn't even been inside the house to see the view from the back........

The Peaches on the Peach Trees are growing larger each time I go out to set the Sprinklers on.  I am working on my Homemade Squirrel Terrorizing Project.  I worked with glue today. And it involves Christmas Ornaments.  Shiny.   It might work.

Suddenly...very dark in the house.  I need to turn on lights.  Storm and Rain coming in......faster than expected.

Daily Notes- June 16th- I thought I posted????

 But I guess I didn't.  I did go out to the library and pick up a book.  By an author I really like.  But I am in the beginning of another Bollywood type story- Sari- Not- Sari.  Everyone is excessively rich....why this is true of these stories is...tedious.

Watched the hearing today.  sigh.  I have a feeling that Mike Pence running for President might not be a good thing.. he's wearing a permanent target.

Husband cut the grass.  I have not done any work.  I need to put the sprinklers on the Peach Trees but we have some storm warnings.  I know the guys next door are trying to get a protective layer on the house next door before it rains.....lots of hammering.  We are wondering what they are going to put on next. No one on the street has anything but wood siding.  It was in the covenants.

This Art- is so Ukrainian.  Their flag in shreds and agony.

Less than 20% voted in the election we had here in Maine on Tuesday.  A vote of no confidence???

Daily Notes- Wednesday, June 15th. Books waiting for me at the Book Store. Five.

 So......up early and set the sprinklers on under the peach trees.  Listened to the men next door pull clapboards off the house next door.  Makes a "pulling" "tearing" "squealing" sound.   The dumpster is full. what do they do when they come to outside light fixtures?  Get a shock?

They arrive around 7 am.  It's now 10 am and so...I have listened to them for 3 hours now. Been awake since they drove up.

The picture above shows me that I can poach cuffs and pockets from other items and sew them to the "needs mending" edges of my sweaters.  And mend the patches before adding them to the sweaters.

I found a few finished cloth pieces. Small, notebook paper sized or a bit larger.  Binding is on them.  So now they are on the mantle above the "unused for 30 plus years" fireplace. And I can notice them.  Appreciate them.  When did I stop doing such lovely work?

Chad Little came yesterday to pick up the riding lawn mower- did I already mention??? There were a total of six riding mowers on the truck.  Room for one more the driver said. Ours needed a new belt for the mower part.  Husband uses the machine mostly to pull a wagon full of compostables to the pile out back. But we have the back acres of tall weeds- that need the riding mower.  Using the walk behind is tedious.

As they say in Maine- "it'll be back, when it's back".

The Book Store called- I have five ordered books waiting.........and while I am out- I will buy coffee creamer and a quart of orange juice.  Perhaps some cherries.  Dispose of more income. Husband mentioned I should check to see if I need gas.  

We forgot to vote.  Yesterday.  Not that it mattered.  The person I WAS going to vote for got endorsed by Tucker Carlson of FOX news.  So........not wasting on vote on that person. Ever.  This is a RED state and they try not to let me forget that.........

Daily Notes- Tuesday, June 14th- Sunny and getting Warmer

 Yesterday, the people next door had guys ripping All the siding off their house.  Wood.  Clapboard Siding. And putting it into a dumpster.  Today......I don't know what they will be doing today.  But it rained after the guys removed the wood siding leaving the composite boards open to the wet all night. So the outside of the house structure is now wet/damp.  And today it's very HUMID so the house will stay damp. And all the trees keep the Sun from drying the house off.

Either the people who bought the house know something I don't know or they are living under an auspicious cloud and are not expecting mold and mildew to appear.. in the heat and humidity of today.

I am getting my pastel crayons out and I am channeling negative energy into something like this awesome ART.  Little Something blog.  She has the best images. And she also writes down who actually did the ART which I do not do because- why don't I?????

I ate potato chips while watching the second of the January 6th events. Anxiety Eating.

I began today with a very very hot shower.  Get the Trump Cooties off myself. I discovered that I DID have a bottle of shampoo.  There wasn't any at the grocery store and I looked at everything to try and find something with zero fragrance.. I think only Walmart has Aveeno shampoo (unscented).  All my products are unscented.  With fewer than five items on the list of ingredients.  And I still get contact dermatitis.

And unscented baby soap is the only soap etc that doesn't make me itch.

The Celtics lost....again.  They just do not want to win. Simple as that.

I have got a really comfortable bra on today.  I should get more. Just like this one. One less problem to deal with.

Daily Notes- Monday, June 13th. Clouds. Deer ate my blue pansies.

 False Indigo.  Much more blue- the photo is too violet

Deer ate the Blue pansies in the deck planter.  By the light of the security motion activated deck light (yes, it's working). I'm sure the deck light would also aid anyone breaking and entering the house.  

We needed it to locate the DOG when he was out in the back at night.  Or when we shoveled snow at night. Period.  Deer didn't eat the marigolds. I'll add more.

Grocery had baked chicken breasts in the Deli case- still hot from the oven.  I got two packages and a nice big bowl of warm chicken salad getting cold in the fridge.  Protein.  Fat (mayo). Carbs from the honey.

The new people next door (I still haven't gone over to say hello but everyone else has) have a dumpster in the driveway, scaffolding laying in the side grass, men doing something on the back of the house.  Husband thinks removing the siding.  Too many trees now-with leaves- for us to see anything. Trees are good only when far away from the house- live and learn. Damp shade rots wood.

There are four of these same houses on the street- all built in the same year during a time when dry wood was in short supply and green (not dry) wood was used.  Another house on the street had all the siding removed and replaced.  It took all Summer.  We are never buying another house.....but I would look up work permits for construction on any house I wanted to buy that was that approximate age.

We took down our rotted fireplace.  Ourselves.  Our painter lent us scaffolding.  Husband took the bricks to any place with a sign wanting clean fill in his old truck.  No need for a dumpster.  And then the guys pushed the wall out and installed a hurricane proof -way too expensive double glass patio door.  I liked the way it looked.  And we put two more floor to ceiling windows next to it.  We were supposed to add a deck.  But the construction guys disappeared- as they do in Maine--and the job never got finished.

I'm still looking for Ken.  He'll show up someday. He has before.  I put it out to the Universe. Next time- he writes his name and phone number on the kitchen wall.  Like all the others have. I saw that in a Decorator Book once- all the subs with their names and number on the wall by the phone.  Genius.

Daily Notes- Sunday, June 12th- Sun is shining.

 The Yellow Peony.  It's a special hybrid one. Cross between a Tree Peony and a regular herbaceous  Peony. Over to the right, see that tiny speck?  Ant.  Ants love peonies.  And if I cut them to bring into the house, I have to shake them to get rid of the ants.  Some come inside anyway.

My favorite Peony memory is of a very very long lunch with Vance and Monika and my husband on the patio of a river side German hotel.  Inside the gorgeous hotel was a HUGE vase full of pink peonies.  I was stunned by their beauty.  And every house we have owned since has had peonies in the garden. And any time I bring them inside- they go into a tall crystal vase- in abundance.

Husband is begging me to hem his sweatpants.  They are too long.  I am dragging my feet.

Yesterday, Library and then Bookstore.  To pick up Love At First.  A book I adore.  My Library doesn't have it on their shelves.  So each time I want to read this lovely book...I have to request and then wait.

Next up is Emily Henry's three books.  Beach Read, People We Met On Vacation and the new one Book Lovers.

In answer to how much I read:  

I was unhappy for most of my Life.  Jobs- working made me happy.  Reading made me happy.  I liked reading about people going through bad times but ending up happy.  Falling in love. So I read those kinds of books.  It's like taking medicine and feeling better.  Happy.  My friends and family still think "therapy" would have been a better choice.  

Daily Notes- Saturday, June 11th. Puzzle Finished. Lost piece Found on the Floor.

 So......books to return to the Library and another to pick up and pay for at the Local Bookstore.  Busy days.  I keep searching the house for lost items.  Is that productive? or at my age--should I just take a wait and see attitude and hope things re-appear in Time?  

" Let it all go..and find the place of rest and peace and certain transformation" Danna Faulte.

That's the last of the quotes.  I'll need to find new sources.

Yesterday I made steamed Jasmine rice with frozen green peas, butter and Sweet Soy Sauce for Rice. And I slouched on the couch reading Recipe for Persuasion by Sonali Dev loosely following Jane Austin's Persuasion.  Next in the trio of books is Incense and Sensibility.  Sense and Sensibility.  I will ask my Bookstore Owner to order these two.  Incense is my favorite.  But Persuasion is a close second. Pride, Prejudice and other Flavors is the first of the series and it has Wickham. Ick.  Good but I don't want to own it.

This is an interesting aspect to what I will and will not buy.  I should investigate this but......well, I might figure it out while buying books.  Is a book worth buying?  Or is it only worth borrowing?

Husband has gone out to water the fenced garden.  He wanted to yesterday but it got too late in the day and the mosquitos were abundant.  I should take a picture of the False Indigo.  And the peony that produces flowers that look like they are made of tissue paper.  Pale yellow see thru paper.  I'll do that. 

For You.

Daily Notes- Friday , June 10th. Sunshine.

 Friday.  Yesterday....I wasn't expecting the January 6th thing on television.  I wasn't expecting to go thru that again (I don't watch the news as I used to).  It blindsided me.  Hard.  Ripped open things I had covered up...... the ugly people. The hate filled people who think "others" have taken things from them.....things "they" feel they deserve because ...why?  That's my question..why???  Who "deserves anything"......it's been my experience that I have to work for the things I "deserve" (in my own mind).

"You have to save yourself".

This post will be shorter than usual.  I do not have it in me to write anything even remotely- of interest. My mind needs to be flushed of the ugly hate I witnessed again. Like the Septic Tank. Pumped Out.

I am reminded of why I stay at home.....of why the grocery and library are the ONLY places I go. Of why the only one I talk to on the regular- is you.....and I don't even know who "you" is anymore.  Strangers.

I have books to pick up at the bookstore-  two came in.  I am ordering a few more.  

Husband wants his sweatpants to be hemmed up.  Daughter wants her garden pants mended.  I want to curl up in a ball and sleep for a few weeks............or at least stop crying.

Heating oil delivery.  $844.00.  Happy that I have the money to pay the bill.  And perhaps I will buy more baked chicken and make more chicken salad.....sigh.

Daily Notes- Thursday, June 9th- Raining. Which is a Very Good Thing

 I am reminded of a class I took out in California. A Lifetime Ago.  Of slicing fabric up and then sewing it back together with thin alleyways of a different cloth.  But I am confused by the grid.  Is this a "lace" fabric on top of a grid?   I started one of these in class.  I doubt I finished it.  I doubt I could find it.

Connie sent me something like this she had made in a class (a sample).  Green with beige lines if I remember it correctly.  I like getting new ideas in the mail.

I started quite a few projects in those classes I took in California.  We would fly out for the Quilt Show, have meals with our son who lived close by and then drive over the Golden Gate Bridge for a few days with old friends from Germany.  It was "something to do" in the days of being bored out of our minds in Maine and before I started working and then the years of my Father's failing health in Ohio.  What is this called- this time of Life?  Water Under the Bridge????

"Try not to resist the changes that come your way.  Instead let Life live through you.  And do not worry that your Life is turning upside down.  How do you know...that the side you are used to..is better than the one to come?"  Rumi.

I'm still waiting. For the next one.

I went back and actually read The Worst Bridesmaid.  B minus.  Won't be one I read again.

The Septic Guy arrived early and pumped out the tank.  We won't be opening doors or windows.  Stinky. But he said everything looked okay.  What a job.  But he seemed happy enough with it.  The side he is used to..........

It's raining.  Gently but everything is damp and wet.  Not a day for doing things outside in the yard.  So husband is settling in with his

Daily notes- Wednesday, June 8th- Raining. And we really need Rain.

 I have two things and then whatever floats to the front of the brain after that.

One- Chicken Salad.  I first had this on a vacation in Vermont- made by a South Carolina native and friend.  She had poached the chicken breast in lightly seasoned water in a wide frying pan (I don't know if it matters but this is what she did) Then shredded the still hot or warm meat finely and added mayo and honey.  Mixed and sampled until the ratio of mayo to honey to chicken was what she liked.  I remember her salad been almost mush.  But not in a bad way.

I take a "quick step" and just use the baked chicken breasts in the deli at the grocery.  They are usually just out of the oven.  I shred four baked breast halves with two forks.  But to be more like the  original  I think you should chop the chicken you shred (with a sharp knife) so it's pretty much all the same size.  Then add mayo and honey.  Mix. Taste.  Add more of both or one or the other until it's the way you like it.

My deli baked chicken is salty.  So I add no other seasoning.  I would assume the poaching liquid would be seasoned.  Addition: I use Hellman's Mayo and the Honey that comes in the Bear Shaped bottle.

Eat warm or.... refrigerate to let it get cold and eat it from a bowl or make yourself a "Salad Plate" or a Sandwich.  I fork it into a bowl after it's gotten cold and eat it with a fork.  I also eat some while making it- taste testing until the ratio of mayo to honey is what I like.  This is all about you.....and what you like.

I've had people want me to add finely chopped celery or sweet pickle.  Do that if you want.  I don't want.

Second Topic- today's Maine newspaper:  "Brogan Teel, Brunswick parent and Republican candidate for Maine Senate district 23, claimed the event (well organized student led protest of sexual assault claims being ignored by school officials) was "Political and organized by a Partisan and Progressive Group".  One of his "Top Priorities" is to fix the messes caused by lockdowns implemented by Progressive Leadership.  Yep.  Protest was held at the local Middle School.  And you read that correctly- "sexual assault claims being ignored".

This middle school is located in the center of my small Town with a very old and very well established private college as it's beating heart. Our US Senator Angus King lives within walking distance of this Middle School.  I used to mentor in this Middle School.  Listening to children share their worries and troubles with me and the handful of other college educated retired volunteers. Privately. There were tears.  Mine and theirs.  I am devastated that a State Senate candidate thinks we should ignore sexual abuse in our schools...and I admit...in their homes.

Daily Notes- Tuesday, June 7th. Sunshine and Heat Approaching.

 Carved stamp.  For printing.  I have some rectangles of the white flexible substrate.  I have the carving tools.  I collect Art Supplies  the way squirrels collect acorns.  Not eating (using) them but tucking them away...to find later- or not.  This image from where ever I ended up the day I got all the images.

The visit on the porch yesterday was nice. I had provided refreshments but my guest did not seem interested.  Husband asked why we hadn't toured the yard and flower beds......well, I don't know why..  He'd just finished mowing the back yard.  It looks quite nice and green.  In June it usually looks it's best.

I had chicken salad for dinner.  I was going to have it with a simple green salad like I used to years ago at the greenhouse.  When I was eating healthy food.  When I weighed hardly anything.  Forgot the salad.

I chose a book titled the Bad Luck Bridesmaid.  But it's about a driven career woman who has an aversion to a committed relationship.  For herself and it would seem anyone else she knows.  I am skipping about- usually what happens before I give up on a book.  She has angry sex with her recently engaged ex boyfriend at a wedding.  She has no respect for marriage and acts accordingly.  I will be returning the book.

I fell back into season one of Law and Order. And then I went to bed.

Daily Notes- Monday, June 6th. Sunshine with Clouds.

 More Mending.  Started out neat and tidy and then.......went a bit crazy? From Tumbler? I have NOT tried clicking on the image to see if it reverse engineers it's self back to the Original Source.  It would be a delight if it did so you could see who sewed this..  I don't try that sort of stuff because the computer might cough up blood and die.

I met a very perky 83 year old woman while selecting my rhubarb stalks. She was selecting Fiddlehead Fern fronds.  That's something that the local Mainers like to eat.  She gave me hope that I have -at least- another  Eight Years of Perkiness to look forward to.

I have a "Sitting on the Front Porch Rockers" visit with my Walking Buddy at 1:30.  We hardly ever walk anymore- my fault- I wilt and go pale..  I purchased bottle drinks for us ........ Lemonade and Pink Grapefruit.  Out of the bottle or in a glass with or without ice.  We'll see. If Patty was the one visiting- we'd add Vodka or Gin. Patty likes her drink half and half.

Out to the Library to return books and pick up one reserve and one from the new shelf.  The Bad Luck Bridesmaid.  The Bride is a no show at THREE different weddings..  We'll see how this goes........

 Grocery. I bought a few stalks of Rhubarb to cook with sugar to make "sauce" that I can eat with my yogurt and Bran Buds.  It's almost like cooking.  The baked chicken breasts at the Deli- No Longer $6.99 each.  Now two for $3.99.  I admit to standing in front of the counter laughing..... I got two packages.- as close as I could get to the old price of $6.99.  And I now have a big bowl of shredded still warm chicken, honey and mayo in the fridge for later. I will be having PROTEIN this week.  Usually...I exist on NO protein. Other than what is in milk, cheese or yogurt.

Husband has finished cutting the back grass.  He did the front yesterday.  He's resting now.  If he perks up he might remember I had asked him to water the back fenced vegetable garden.  He was back there yesterday- weeding.

Oh, he finished the Working With Live Electricity Project.  No one died or got electrocuted. Hard to believe.

Daily Notes- Sunday, June 5th. Sunshine. We'll be cutting the front grass today.

 Image from Tumbler.  I am not sure which part of this image I like best.  The scraped painted under surface?  The marks dug out with a sharp knife in the black painted surface.  The white bowl of black  paint.  The little bits of material cut out --scattered on the painted surface.

This could sit out on a work surface here in my house for Eternity and I would never tire of it.  

I have done this sort of work...in another Life. At 75.7-  twenty seems like Several Lives Ago.

Yesterday's book was something I saw a Library site- new books- and ordered from a distant library as ours has "not much worth reading" any more..  In a New York Minute is the title.  Young career gal, gets on NYC subway with her box of office/desk items after losing her job to "downsizing".  The back of her dress gets caught in the closing door, rips open-- and she had decided that morning to wear a thong to work.  So there she is....wide gap in the back of her dress in a NYC subway car, thong.... carrying a box.

A very tall good looking guy awkwardly takes off his suit jacket and puts it around her shoulders.  The train stops and he gets off.  The jacket is Gucci.  Weirdest "meet cute" ever.  And would be nothing more but it was all recorded on any number of iPhones and posted to media sites ...and EVERYONE was talking about Subway Girl.  Let's just say- for a rom-com- there isn't much rom and not much com but its a good enough story that I read it all the way thru.  I would have sent it back to the author with a truck load of "notes".  It could have been amazing...... could have been.  But there was "too much" hiding the bones.

This one won't go on my list of "read again" books.  

I found the unfinished silk ribbon Baltimore piece.  The Procion dye painted cloth is still missing. And since everything got moved years ago when I moved to the Attic space- I don't know where  the dye powder jars and the chemicals I mixed to make the dye into paint...are.  It would take an actual "dig" to find them....... and the mixing was quite dangerous.  Masks were needed, ventilation and gloves.  But once mixed- it was stable.  The powder is the unsafe bit.

On to the next book.  And the next Hunt.

Daily Notes- Saturday, June 4th. Not dark...but clouds. I think rain is possible.

 From Tumbler.  I can see here- that there can never be enough mending.  Never give up.

"You have to save yourself--little by little-- day by day.  Build yourself a home.  Nurture your body.  Find something to work on. Something that makes you excited. Something you want to learn. Charlotte Ericksson."

George was here yesterday- he left a bouquet of 8 red radishes on the back deck.  From the back garden. I will eat them today. Arrange a plate with radishes, cheese and a few crackers. Perhaps a glass of wine.

Yesterday was Huge.  I drove the car.  In the rain.  With the headlights on.  Wipers going back and forth. 

I had to remember how to do all those things.

It was a lot.  At times it felt like too much.  But I pressed on......Library to drop off and pick up books. Then with my umbrella overhead-  walking across the street from Library and the down the street and around the corner to the local independent bookstore.  Bookshop.  With the books I want to buy.  Own.  The owner was happy to look them up.  One that I thought would have to be hardcover- had just a few days ago, been released in Trade Paper.  Wonderful.  One- my absolute favorite- has been blocked from further sale or printing. The Shop Owner said that was "very strange".  My only hope was a used bookseller.

The Book Store has jigsaw puzzles.  They looked interesting.  I might buy one on my next visit to pick up my ordered books.

After, it was the grocery for Chicken Dinners.  They had SIX.  I forgot to buy husband more yogurt. I bought prepared and boxed Pulled Pork to eat with a large bowl of salad (and radishes?) for supper. For some reason the grocery was selling already baked chicken pieces for $6.99 each piece.  That reminded me of the $16.99 bag of cherries.  I think it was supposed to be per pound for the chicken pieces.  There was also no take away packaging for your selected baked chicken pieces.

Then home to sit on the couch and get over myself............it was a lot.....

Daily Notes- Friday, June 3rd. The Promised Rain has yet to arrive. But the clouds are here.

 The Front Porch.  Ready to welcome someone to sit and have a chat or just sit and be quiet together.

"If you are too tired to speak, sit next to me because I, too, am fluent in silence." R.Arnold.

I already have the house lights on at 9am..  And still the living room seems dark and cold.  I went to bed early and am up earlier than I wanted to be.....sleep was finished with me.  My bowl of oatmeal was good.  My coffee is getting cold as I type. It's supposed to be Summer.  But there is a chill in the air.  The need for socks and a sweater.

I got mail yesterday.  Beautiful thread and a length of fabric- the stuff of dreams.

The Celtics won last night.  I didn't watch.  It does me no good to yell at the TV screen.

My Desk Top Calendar is covered in words this month and not images.  Lines of poetry like the one up top.  I will be going up into the Attic later looking for something I reminded myself of.  An unfinished work. Perhaps I will find two if the God's of Chance are with me. And I have work pants to mend for daughter.  And ...my oldest, best sweater- deeply loved- has several worn thru holes that need tending. Mended tending.

Requested books have arrived at the library.  Not all of them.  Some.  I have been reading old favorites. Like visiting old friends.  Some new friends waiting at the library.  I am never sure about these new books. I hate to be disappointed by a book........and so often ...I am.

I have new thread.  A gift from a Magician.  

I was offered more Tomato Plants but...I surprised myself and said no.  I am always surprised when I say that "I have enough".  It's a new concept for me.  To be satisfied.  To have enough.  But..I do have enough tomato plants.  They are getting tall- leggy on the back sunporch.  But still too cold at night to be outside.  June. But a Cold June.

Daily Notes- Thursday, June 2nd. Very cloudy and some wet spots on the driveway.

 Just to the left of the front door.  Weeping Ornamental Cherry above and mixed Hosta under.  Wiegelia maybe, I think way in the back with white flowers. Not sure of the spelling and it didn't try and auto correct. Fencing in case deer come into the yard and decide to eat ALL the hosta in less than 5 minutes. Salad Bar.

We have NOT seen any deer this year or last.. Usually we would see them eating out of the bird feeders.  No deer poop.  And no acorns for them to eat for two years now.  Last summer the peaches had small bites from chipmunks but not the large bite marks of deer.  

I am reminded of the many shadowy deer standing in the mist at the ends of our street while Riley and I walked near midnight in the weeks before his death.  I wondered, at the time, if they were ghosts welcoming him to the other side.  We've never seen deer again.

Today there is some evidence (weather report) that it might rain today.  The driveway looks damp.  Damp is fine with me.  Transactional evidence of rain rather than actual falling from the sky rain.  

This picture at the top of the post was taken on a day the sun was shining- not today.

I have already washed, dried and applied ointment on my hands twice.  I am not sure what it is I touch but I can assure you- I am sensitive to it.  Red. Itchy. Hands. Fingers.  If I take Benadryl- I will be sleepy. 

I have a fresh shirt on.  Work shirt from the old old Kmart days.  I bought a half dozen of them. Perhaps more than that.  Gosh that was OVER 30 years ago.  Washed and worn all those years and hardly show any wear.  They even have all their buttons.  Softer.  That is the only change.  And faded.  Like me.

"Find a purpose in your Life  and live it--But sometimes, it is only after you have lived that you recognize your Life had purpose and likely one you never had in mind".  Hosseini.

Daily Notes- Sunshine- never rained yesterday.

 The sidewalk from the front porch steps to the driveway.  The porch is to the right.  The tree that has grown tall and arches over the walk- was grown from two stems of a black pussy willow in a discarded Easter floral arrangement (when I worked at the greenhouse).  You really should NOT plant a willow close to the house foundation and the water pipes (I had intended to move it once it rooted).  This sidewalk was original to the house and was the only sidewalk.  Not welcoming to visiting guests unless they parked their cars at the end of the walk..

Dentist X-rayed husband and a tooth fragment is heading for his nasal cavity.  Never-ending saga of weird stuff happening to this man.  He has prescription meds which might (if we are very lucky) dissolve the fragment before it causes an infection.  A Sinus Infection.

His smashed Urgent Care Finger injury healed and there is zero evidence left. He even has his fingerprint.

Anyway.........I have a load of work clothing to wash today.  Husband has a ladder on the back deck and is working on electricity.  So........electrocution is a possibility...... or he could step off the ladder and fall and break his neck or back....

Two Readers of this blog have mentioned sending me something in the mail.  I have gotten no mail other than household bills and invitations to send money to political venues for weeks..  One was a Fat Envelope which I was pretty darned excited about getting......  Maybe today????  I say that EVERY DAY.

I have two books to pick up at the library.  Three to return.

In the something that might be of a bit of interest:  I stopped using my Advair inhaler twice a day.  I now use it only once in the morning and most of the symptoms I was having- being tired and dizzy and needing to rest etc. have gone away.  And my breathing has improved.  My nurse friend has believed for a long time that I don't have asthma.  Symptoms were not the right ones.  I call the Pulmonary office but so far...no one has read the results of my heart exam..........................so.

Everyone settle down.......Doctors are in short supply here in Maine and patients are in overabundance. And old. And very sick.  So.....a reasonably non emergency type patient isn't upper most in the line up..  But a tooth fragment heading for the nasal passages is very urgent.  My husband won that lottery prize.