Daily Notes for Monday, May 11th.......Sunshine here in Maine. 60 degrees. Grass is getting tall.

 The last of the peony images.

There is quite a bit of sunshine here in Maine today....the grass is nice and green..  I don't know why it recovered so nicely from the over fertilizing but it did.  The grass...well, it has a lumpy surface as it hasn't been mowed in quite a long time...I would mow it but husband bought a fancy mower and it's actually difficult to get it started....I think we might have used it once or twice.   

I spoke (typed) too soon...clouds have rolled in and it's bleak outside.

Difficult Mower as in "hold this lever down push this one up let the choke out"....you get the idea...for a guy in the early stages of dementia it was a puzzle he never solved.  Why I have a lawn service cutting the grass and an expensive walk behind mower in the garage unused.  We need to attach a For Sale sign to it and put it out on the curb.  I know everyone "does Facebook" but I do not.

I have never actually been interested in revisiting high school.  Or college. Or any of the half dozen places husband dragged all of us........ and we have the moving boxes in the Attic to prove it.

I need to visit the DMV.   My driver's license expires...and instead I might just apply for an ID...in case people want  to know who I am.   I will NOT be driving...  I know there are those of you my age who are still driving but I doubt any of you took a 5 or 10 year sabbatical from driving???????

I'm fine with being a passenger.

Daily Notes for Sunday May 10th. Happy Mother's Day.

More images of Peonies.
 

Well, I accidentally purchased a lovely bouquet of flowers on Friday's grocery shopping day.. Not realizing it was going to be Mother's Day..   And the internet provided the vase of Peonies.  Aren't they lovely? Serendipity.

My back seized up when I rolled out of bed this morning...I am walking standing and sitting with a bit of "ginger" as they say.  Gingerly.  I can hear my spine bones moving ...such an odd thing to have to notice. Your bones moving.

I discovered I have to wait until FALL to dig up and divide my own ancient peonies.  Research is a wonderful thing. And in the time in-between I will consider where the split segments will go...more will be near the front steps...where I see things more often than the back yard.  Perhaps they will all be out front.  I read they like limited amounts of sun??????

I am willing to ask for or hire help in the digging and dividing...  I am 80.8 months old.  I counted the number on my fingers.  Just today...before that I was UN-aware.

 I recall Gregor's phone calls when she was in her 80's...to come get something she could not reach, or lift. And also endlessly driving over to thread her sewing machine needles.   I was asked if I wanted her machine...after she passed...I said no...I liked the simple- ish one I had at home.  Gregor thanked me with some lunch...home cooked lunch.. then I would read the New York Times and she took a nice nap. I miss her. She died alone one afternoon standing by her sink in the kitchen... 

I wear her red sweater...the very heavily mended one. Keeps her close. She ran over to the library (where I was working) on 911 and I drove her back home and stayed until she stopped crying...memories of Pearl Harbor. She kept saying "was never supposed to happen again"

Son got me some ice cream for Mother's Day...I don't know what kind it is but will have some after Sunday Pizza.   Right now I am recording British Soccer... two games.  And then I'll return to my book- the plane just crashed and the woman has sewed up the large gash on the pilot's forehead..now she has to find shelter.  Or rather create shelter.  I've read the book a few times...the first time was the worst..but they survive.  So now it's easier.  But not by much.

Saturday, May 9th...I got the Flowers. Cloudy and Damp here in Maine...

 My sister in law mentioned dividing my very old peonies...since they don't do much these days but send up leaves.   Will involve a shovel...unless daughter digs them up for me...  dividing I can do.

With that on my mind I went looking for free images of peonies...and here is one.

My grandmother had a long bed of these flowers....and I spent lots of daylight time with my grandmother. so it's in my DNA I guess...to like plants and flowers. And remember my lovely grandmother. 

I'm more like her with each passing decade.  She colored her white hair...I don't.  She patched and mended everything recalling the time in life after she got off the boat in America when she had nothing.  I patch and mend my 25 cent pants and my Goodwill sweaters.  And will until there is only patches...

She was 16.  When she arrived in America.

Well, I have things to do and a nice start on something I have never done before...way out of my regular zone.  I had hoped to add Lactiva Threads to it...but they would hardly be noticed... so I'll go with something plain... and make a new Lactiva Thread Platform.

Enjoy the Beauty of this flower....drawn and painted by a very gifted artist.  Unknown. To Me..To you.

Daily Notes for Friday May 8th.... Sunshine outdoors but chilly inside the house.

 Today is Grocery Store and Library.  I am 90% sure I will purchase a bouquet of flowers...for myself.

I did a "bit too much" yesterday.  I was only going to pick up branches off the lawn..some were quite heavy and there were way more than in the front yard.....also the back lawn slopes down..so I was walking up and then down.  Way too much so I came in to rest halfway.. I wanted to get all the branches up before the guys did the first lawn mowing.

I also pulled these long straight stems out of the ground...  No idea what they are.  I'm sure more will come up this year. I found sharp pruners and removed tree branches that would be a problem for the guys cutting my grass.  The lawn in back is lush and green and much healthier than the one in front of the house.

My husband was the one who sharpened the pruners...now NO one will. I recall people dropping off pruners at the Greenhouse where we worked- to have them sharpened...nothing ever happened. Now I wish I had paid attention to how it's done.....

I have things on the grocery list to make a nice Italian meal for myself.  I'll wait a bit longer to try making Eggplant Parm.  But some nice pasta with meatballs sounds good.

That's it....some gardening exercise every other day---just 20 or 30 minutes... but only when it feels safe to do so......I'm not ready to walk to the end of the street and back as yet....that was my exercise program last year.

I got to watch my all time favorite episode of Bones... "Finder"....yesterday.  Delightful.