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.

Daily Notes- Tuesday, May 31st. Overcast, chilly with a chance of rain.

 A photo I took yesterday- at dusk.  Minutes later it was dark outside.  This is directly down the steps from the porch and my front doorway.  The sidewalk a neighbor created years and years ago (he's in construction) is like an elephant's trunk...... and behind the planter with the electric blue annuals--- last year's grass project. 

At the end of May going gently into June...my gardens are truly wonderful.  It doesn't last long. In the back the peonies are in full bud and the June display of "here they are and then gone" flowers will be wonderful.  The False Indigo is sending up tall intensely blue spikes of flowers. As blue as the annuals in this container (my husband built the wooden base-- which looks sort of Japanese to me.......). The wide bowl container used to have a pedestal base but it cracked off one summer.  Now it has no pedestal so husband made the box- so I could continue to use the bowl.  Because I liked it so much. Wabi Sabi...

Reading Love at First.  Again.  Reading it so much slower than usual.  It's such a lovely story of falling in love.  A few pages and then off to do something like wash dishes..then another few pages.  Then a load of work clothing.

The Mystery of the My Car Battery has been solved---we think.  Husband was working in the garage and had my car on the battery charger for hours.  Then at dusk, took the car for a ride.  Dusk being the real mystery ender.  Turns out the light in the car interior was switched on.  Noticed and turned off.  It had been on for days and weeks..  Wore the battery down each time we charged it. 

I hadn't really noticed because I am having my husband drive me on all my errands in his car which I have never driven-myself.  Never even tried. It has no key.. A button car. 

He likes to drive and he likes to go places. It's safer we go together if you catch my meaning???  But occasionally, I like to be able to go somewhere by myself.  Not often...which is why the battery went down during the Winter.

It's 59 degrees outside, cloudy, and my Weather Ap says it will rain in 60 minutes. I hope so.

Husband is going to the dentist at around 2pm.  Xray (recent) showed a fragment from a tooth removed awhile ago.  So I am guessing the dentist will try to get it out today.  Ugh. I am sure I will be required to remove whatever dentist puts in the excavation.  And make a new compress out of sterile gauze.  From my much visited First Aid Box. I will also dispense drugs.  My Dream Job.

Daily Notes- May 30th- Memorial Day. Sunshine with a few clouds.

 A "Couple" of Old Chairs.  And the Celtics won.  It wasn't easy. Hard to watch.

Today- just a few groceries and a week's worth of yogurts for husband.  I need skin moisturizer. To enhance my wrinkle free face.  Yep.  My face is wrinkle free.  What a gift from my genes.

Been doing more laundry.  More often.  Will be finishing off another notebook in the next week or so. and then a new one started.  I'm thinking I will make sure they get shredded without being read.  I opened a new box of black ink pens.  The college rule notebooks and the black ink pens remain the same thru the years. I was buying them at Staples.  But they hardly ever have any in stock.  They ask me to order on line.  Who do they think I am?  Ordering on line????

Dee had a enlightening comment yesterday- commentary on aging.  Here.  In my Daily Notes.  And I guess I am reporting from the the front lines so to speak........... But from the side of economic privilege.

We can afford replacement parts, surgery and after care.  We can afford the medicine prescribed.  I see things at the grocery pharmacy line.  Trembling old people asking the clerk to speak slower and louder. Looking in an old battered wallet for a card........ and I wonder- where are their people?  And I know- there aren't any.  But I also see younger, fit strong men and women gently helping an older relative or neighbor.

Never pushing them out of the way- always gently helping.  My son and daughter do that..... but I know the other side of that as well- the roaring Tiger of trying to make it all better or go away...... It's just going to happen........

Daily Notes- Sunday, May 29th. Sunshine. Very Warm, I think, in the hours ahead.

 This image seems to express the wonder of Spring becoming Summer.

My tomato plants get moved to the left and to the right.  To catch a breeze. To get Sun. To then rest in a shady spot.  I am doing the same.  Catching a breeze.  Resting in a shady spot.  Moving from spot to spot. Haven't done any Sun. Might not this year.

George was here yesterday for a few minutes to plant another few rows of corn, pick radishes for me- a handful- and then leave.  He put an ad in the Harpswell paper and got three calls  immediately--homeowners wanting to talk to him about garden work.  He'll charge 30 dollars an hour.  I forgot what my friend in Harpswell is paying her neighbor to work in her garden while her --now- robotic shoulder heals from replacement surgery.

People I know are getting old.  Getting replacement parts. Health Insurance makes it possible.

We- husband and I- went out yesterday and picked up a prescription and then bought bird seed.  Two very large heavy bags of black oil sunflower seeds. For the bird feeders.  I carried them into the house from the car. And emptied one into the small metal garbage can we use for seeds to keep the mice off the porch.  These are things my husband can no longer do - without back pain for days or weeks after lifting anything.  It took me ten minutes.  I'm not bragging.  I can do things for a short period of time. Ten minutes.  Then not do things for longer periods of time.  Like reading. Or wondering where I put something.

Expenditure of energy is a calculation I make. Always have. As I get older- it's best to calculate energy use before doing anything and deciding if it's worth doing.........at times, it isn't.  And then I let that thing go..... like canning pickles.  I just can't do it.  So......if I make pickles- they will go in the fridge- they won't go into the hot water bath.  And...really..husband no longer eats pickles.

Like rhubarb.  We don't need to be eating a large rhubarb pie (and would husband actually eat any?).  and the time to stand and make the crust and filling without rest periods????? I just see the value of it physically.  

Did I mention husband refuses to go to Dairy Queen.   For the first summer ever- there will be no ice cream. 

In an aside that is actually quite surprising and funny- all the seed from the packages in the hall closet-  years old- that I opened and tossed into the compost piles???  They germinated.  The ones I plant in the garden hardly ever come up that fast....but in the compost bin--- next day it seems.  Small Joys.

Daily Notes- May 27th and 28th. I missed a day.....Wet outside but not raining.

 I love how this little house looks.  With symmetrical plantings and hanging baskets.  The house where I lived from 10 to 20 had a porch like this only larger- wider.  It was built in the early 1900's.  Old sink and deep old bathtub (replaced in first few years).  Big Attic.  I spent most of my Summer on the porch swing reading.  When I wasn't ironing clothes in the basement or washing dishes after supper.

There had been plans to make the high ceilinged Attic into two bedrooms. One was started but on my summer returns from college I got to sleep in the unfinished side.  Just me, a twin bed, a pipe between beams for my clothes and an old dresser.  A scrap of linoleum on the floor.  No insulation. A light bulb in the peak with a long string attached.  I got to travel down the stairs and then down into the basement for toilet, sink and showers.  The boys had bedrooms downstairs and got to use the house bathroom. One summer the older brother slept in the finished Attic bedroom.

Later in Life, (when they were old and needed a caretaker) both parents told me "how much they loved me".   I didn't fall for any of their crap. And I did take care of my father.

Wasn't that fun?  Everyone says I need therapy- I have this.  I can write these things here.  And what will therapy do- make it possible for me to..what..Forget? Process?  I write the more unhappy and terrible stuff in the Washing Machine Pages.  I wash clothes and my mind at the same time.  That stuff in paragraph two? Not the unhappy stuff. So not the unhappy stuff.

I fertilized my garden plants and the fruit trees yesterday.  Husband watered.  I did some laundry and will do another load today.  Work pants.  Husband gets himself very dirty.  Found a tick on myself.  It's pasted to the calendar with scotch tape.  Reading- Austin based series by Sonali Dev. Incense and Sensibility. I've read them before and mentioned them here.

I need to finish pasting images into my desk calendar before Monday. June. I haven't done any work on the calendar since the 25th.  This month's calendar isn't lighthearted.  Doctors. Dentist. Urgent Care.  Cardiogram.  It's all been a bit much........... nine blank squares to fill.  Later....

Daily Notes- May 26. Thursday. Haircut Day. Shopping for Annuals Day.

 We'll be filling the containers and I'll be designing with the plants I purchased today.  Expensive. But as my husband said- "you are worth it".  I got the employee discount as I am a former employee- and the gal checking me out looked puzzled and the other casher said "that's Joanne"!!!!!!!

Library- and the desk person I adore was there today.  I had worried she was gone.  So I gave her two book suggestions and she reserved them.  Then some time spent at Pharmacy at grocery store- waiting for inhaler prescription.  I was hesitating on getting the refill as it is expensive.  But......the past few days, while waiting, I have only used the inhaler I had left- once a day.  And it was enough.

Also at the grocery a woman waiting for prescription for something that started with a A and I think it's for a people with attention deficit disorder or something like that.  Anxiety?  Anyway- she was doesn't have any ID no Driver's License etc.  Made any problems I might have seem pretty lame.

AND when I stopped to get toothpaste- they had "limited time only" pink grapefruit flavored zero alcohol mouthwash.  I got two bottles.  Like Christmas!!!!! so I bought a 4 pack of moist extra chocolate Brownies.  A good Day.  

And rumor has it....the morning paper- that the Boston Celtics won last night.  One more to go.  And then...the only thing to watch is Baseball.  

Daily Notes- Wednesday May 25th.

 Chair Number Two.   My hands- palms are itching.  I seem to get this rash every time I touch anything these days.  Used to be just outdoor stuff.  Now it could be anything.  I washed my hands and sprayed the palms with Benadryl spray.  Damned annoying.

Paid bills.  I had to remind myself each check- of what the day and month and year it is.  Does this happen with age or just because I don't have a JOB????  A JOB kept me in the loop.  Now I am loop-less.

I am also incredibly sad-  18 children dead. Three adults.  Texas. No abortion but okay to shoot with bullets and kill them later...... 

We are driving into Town to go to the Post Office.  I have a box to mail to Georgia.  I wish I could mail myself to Georgia.  Daughter and George are going to get their schedules linked up in the coming weeks and install our window AC units (instead of husband doing it).  It's still nice and cool in the house.  I don't open windows.  And I have the way up high ceiling fan rotating on the slow speed.  It's actually very very nice.

I open the bedroom window at night.  Cool air comes in and in the morning I close it.

My tomato plants have a nice breeze from the porch ceiling fan.  They removing just a tiny bit in the breeze.  I am trying to get the stems to be strong enough to go outside.

We cut the front grass yesterday and husband watered the back garden.  Deep watering.  George did a very light sprinkling.  The grapes got watered twice (filling the buried buckets near their roots) and the blueberries got a heavy drink as well.  I need to pound the Fruit Food Spikes into the ground by the Berries and the Peach and Plum trees.  The Peonies (I auto typed Ponies) are setting buds.  The flowers come and go so fast. It hardly seems fair.  

Husband fell in the garden while watering.  He couldn't remember how or where.  Nothing bleeding. Just a nice bruise.  At least he didn't land on his face- like he usually does.

Daily Notes- Tuesday May 24th. Sunshine and temps in the low 70's.

 Screen shots of chairs.  There was a Time in my Life when I wanted everything in the house to be looking like this.  A bunch of fabric.  But....I never found a guy.  In the Chicago burbs- I had a guy.  But not here in Maine. And even if I had found one- I wouldn't have found any fabric.

Husband is cutting the front grass.  He's going to try and sneak past me and do the back grass...but it might kill him.  And...as much as he makes my Life Not Worth Living some days...I don't want him dead. Yet.

So.  I made and ate hot dogs yesterday while watching Ancient Aliens.  I did not know that in the 30's or something that they had taken apart and moved one of the great pyramids. So they know exactly how they go together and what's inside in that little chamber and if it actually collects and stores energy.  Yes, I know it's all bunk.........but the images and Ancient Art really is what I enjoy.  I wish we had had a class in this stuff at college.  I would have gotten an A.

 I finished reading a Colgan romcom about Amanda's Wedding.  British.... so lots of drink at the pubs and then sleeping with whomever you dragged home with you.  The girl didn't get the guy until the very last page and only because he was sitting in the kitchen waiting for her to come home (after not showing up for his wedding) and he was pretty sure she was in love with his brother and she wasn't coming home.  It was rather sad. For a Rom Com. 

Today's book:  I'm not sure what.  Daughter got an old Devereau from the Dump.  Nicolas is an ancient knight who gets a chance at Life and Love in modern times- but then has to die again- as the deal is short term..  I remember it being a real tearjerker. As much as I liked this great old knight dealing with traffic and busses and light switches...... he did LOVE the shower....having him die again was really hard to deal with.  I'm not sure today is the day for shedding tears.

Boston Basketball won another game...as unbelievable as that may be.  Watching it is like watching JV basketball.  So...so incredibly awful.  Both teams.  Ugh.  The first game was amazing.... the last three ugh. It's sort of a competition to see who can stink and still win.  I may have to switch to baseball.  NO!!!!!

Daily Notes- Monday, May 23rd- sunshine.

 Tomato Seedling/plants.   The milk bottle holds water for the plants. The stems are still too weak for outside breezes.

Husband worried yesterday about Chicken Dinners so we went to the grocery in afternoon on Sunday (a time and day I avoid). I wore a mask and saw- perhaps- three others- everyone else no masks.  And COVID rates climb each day. People don't care.  I guess.  I hurried to get what was on the list and then OUT!!! today we'll go again.  And perhaps visit the brand new store location.........

We have a new jigsaw puzzle on the table.  Husband finished the border edges.  Succulent Images.

The "pantry" cabinet at daughter's house got a door.  It all worked out. Hours.  Husband was exhausted.  Confused while doing the work with daughter.  She got to see that I see.  Sometimes that is more valid than words.

 I am reading a "bargain book" I picked up at the grocery one day, months ago.  They have paperbacks on the bottom shelf of the magazine racks- mostly mystery and men's adventure novels- occasionally a rom-com..  For the Summer People.  Vacationing. If there had been something like that when I vacationed- well, I would have loved finding a book to read on a boring vacation (in the grocery store).  If I vacationed now- my carryon would be full of books.

I get my haircut on Thursday.  That's about it for the month.  And then it will be June.

And that's it.  Nothing more to tell you.  Hot dogs for lunch. Possibly a big salad.  Unless we go to the grocery this morning to hunt for chicken dinners.  I would also LOVE to find some Noosa yogurt on the bare shelving.  And finally remember to get butter...........no baking potatoes.  Tuna?? No.

Daily Notes- Sunday, May 22nd. Sunshine.

 I paid attention to what's flowering and noticed the lilac's are in blossom.  I like the dark purple of the buds before they open.  These have been in the house since yesterday and are mostly open flowers.

I don't remember making "pickle jar" floral arrangements with lilacs last summer to drop off at neighbor houses..  Perhaps I started later in the season.  The peonies are getting tall and leafy.  Almost June.

Daughter called this morning regarding work husband is doing at her house.  Putting a new door on an old cabinet.  I picked up the bedroom extension as she was listing the things husband was supposed to bring. I started laughing.  She asked why.  I said- Does he actually own a pressure washer?  Or just imagine that he owns one?  Because this is what I deal with.......she was getting a taste of it.  The answer was no.

So...in order to attach the door (from the G'Town Dump) to the cabinet- he was going to need to bring a drill, several sizes of drill bits, sandpaper, a level, hinges- he was going to go buy some--- I had him list the items and check them off.  He did NOT come in and ask where his car keys were.  I sort of think he has his phone and wallet with him. I didn't pat him down.  Then I finished my oatmeal and reading the Sunday paper.

Lifetime Movie.  A man captures the wife of his next door neighbor and keeps her a prisoner in his house. Dresses her in 1950's pretty dresses.  They "play house".  She pretends to be obedient.  The husband next door- a regular on Hallmark romantic comedies- just sits and wonders where his wife went.  In a very brutal final few moments the "captive wife" feeds the husband something sticky- his fingers- and then has an idea what numbers on the keypad lock to try...to escape.  In the end she gets free and smashes the guy in the head with something heavy.  The final scene- she visits the guy in prison and gives him the book she wrote about the whole horrid experience.  She leaves and he turns the book over and sees the full page photo of her face and he leans over and starts kissing her picture.   So, so Creepy.  And these are just the snippets I saw as I clicked past looking for something to watch.  Seeing Hallmark actors on Lifetime is very very disturbing. I imagine the sets being next to each other up in Canada. 

Daily Notes- Saturday, May 21st- Cloudy with overnight rain.

 I don't know where I got this...it was in the computer picture file.  The maker might be named Wattle.

I had visitors yesterday.  Allie and her sister stopped by to bring me tomato plants Allie had started from seeds this Winter.  I got 6 varieties and can have more if I want two of any of them.  I don't have the list handy but eventually I will show them all to you.... planted in their driveway planters.  They are on a sheet tray on the back porch.  Not ready to be outdoors yet.  The Porch is a midway point. Good light but no wind.  I had sticks on the porch so they each got one in their individual quart yogurt container to help told themselves upright. Allie eats a lot of non fat plain yogurt in a year.  I asked- one a week so 52 containers. And now many of them housing tomato seedlings.

I read my book for a short while yesterday.  I watched Sports TV for awhile (too much boring baseball talk).  There were no Law and Order episodes. And not much else on tv to watch- but plenty of news- especially Justice Thomas's WIFE.  

I asked husband if he would be interested in my making pizza for dinner instead of him eating his usual Pasta and Chicken.  He said yes to pizza.  So...that was new. 

My aim is to have one cleaning project per day- nothing huge.  Just the one thing.  Yesterday I took the box of seed packets out of the hall closet- not a small box (years worth)- and tore the packages open and dumped the seeds into a container I later emptied into the compost bins.  Waste not as they were all expired seeds..  The paper packages (envelopes) went into the recycling container. It took awhile.  Fussy work is always tedious.  And it rained overnight so the seeds are now wet in the compost bins. Some might- very low chance- germinate.  More likely birds and chipmunks will eat them.

Husband noticed the chipmunks were using the Peony cages to jump onto the birdfeeder.  So he moved the Feeder away from any jump off positions.  We watched the chipmunks try and work out how to get seeds. So far- they can't jump far enough or high enough.  But the squirrels might help.  A partnership.

I also moved books.  I have an old wide cabinet with the doors removed.  I am putting my books into that cabinet...so I can see them.  Ones I moved from the dining room book case yesterday- are books I had quite frankly forgotten I owned.  Now I can find them and read them.  Trade paper.  The regular paperback books stayed in the bookcase.  It was "almost" like digging up treasure.

Daily Notes- Friday, May 20th- Heavy Clouds, Wet, Dark. Great weather for grass growing.

 Pancakes.  I bought some King Arthur Buttermilk Mix so I could make pancakes.  Maybe later.....as I just finished my oatmeal, coffee and vitamins. Having pancakes now seems excessive.

I spent quite a bit of Time yesterday taking a nap (trying to take a nap).  Then looking for a book I misplaced.....never found it. And then I just gave up and watched Betty White in a very very sappy and sad Valentine/Veteran's Day Movie.  I should have watched Basketball.  The Boston Team won.

I have the house lights on- it's that dark.  I am in the midst of reading a book.  A book I usually really like reading.  I'm just at the beginning.  I might be tempted to clean out the hall closet- my side of the hall. There are many things in there that I no longer am interested in keeping.  Past the "use by" seed packets.

I also have my Art Supplies in that closet.  I could visit with them.  I could get the other Art Supplies and add them to the closet.  There are a number of things I could do..............or I could sit on the couch with my eyes closed.........

I think I might need to put on a sweater.  It's cold in here.

Sweater.  I am going to go get a sweater and put it on.  Then sit on the couch.  Close my eyes. Wait until it's late afternoon and then eat something.  Something warm---but I bought cold food thinking it was Summer.  Sigh......  My friend the Nurse says I should be calling my doctor's offices (it's Friday) and asking for my test results................nope.  That's like calling on Wednesday.  No one is working.

My husband was once in the ER with "tests" for 11 hours and we got the results a month later.  As there were no results.  Everything was normal.  Nothing to see here but a HUGE BILL for the medical carrier. If there are results...usually they call an ambulance.  Husband did that as well...........and had heart surgery.

Daily Notes- Thursday, May 19th- Tested. Cloudy with a good chance of Rain

 

Well, I am back from my Echo Test.  It was only an hour and I got to listen to my heart gurgle. So that was fascinating.   I won't know what the results are.  

You can see I am having some problems with the edges.  But I have given it enough of my time and I am going to let it just do it's "own" thing.  We'll live authentically today.

It's overcast and cloudy today and the tech checking my heart told me it was going to rain.  

TruGreen actually came yesterday and did three types of treatments.  One was for the grubs.   George thinks its a skunk.  I haven't seen any animals digging in the lawn.  I have one more thing to do- property wise- and that is calling the Septic Service to come pump out the tank.  Always Fun.

We stopped in at the grocery on the way home- to check on the Chicken Dinner Situation.  I managed to get three dinners.  So we have Five.  We are Feeling Secure.  Gets us to Monday.

I still have one baked potato and yesterday I made myself a mixed greens salad with Caesar dressing (because I FINALLY remembered to buy salad dressing).  Was very good.  Today I'll have the potato WITH a salad.  I also got some baked chicken breasts so I shredded them and mixed in honey and mayo and can have that tomorrow with ANOTHER green salad.  I also bought hot dogs and buns.  I have pickle relish to use up.  It's like I am the Energizer Bunny today.

I even took a shower this morning and wore real clothing.  Linen pants, a tee shirt that matched my pale pink linen shirt.  Black flats.  Now I am back into very old, heavily mended green cord pants and a nice linen green shirt.  With snaps not buttons.  And slippers.  Stripe socks. Bit chilly in the house.  And I need to turn on lights.  Dark in here.  I am going to either read or close my eyes and see if I can sleep. Tired.

No milk and no yogurt at the grocery and slim pickings in the egg case.  Shelving was bare again.  I forgot to check for butter.

Daily Notes- Wednesday, May 18th- Sunshine and Cool Breezes

 I needed this image in December.  A tiny little house in a tree.

The Sun is shining and the Wind is blowing- gently but with a chill.  Which is fine with me.  My breakfast was good.  Sports news not so good.  And next up is filling my watering cans and watering the seedlings. Looks to me like more weeds than seeds but George is in charge.  Not me.

Husband mowed the front lawn on Monday and the back on Tuesday.  Seemed to work out okay.  And it's still cool outside- not July or August Heat & Humidity.  Also, he is trying to do it all with out me- cause I tend to make curved lines and circles in the lawn.  It looks cool.  But he doesn't like it.  He doesn't color outside the lines.

G and I are taking bets on when and IF the TruGreen guy shows up.   LawnTrudy called yesterday to say he was coming.  But....where????? that is the question.  What lucky Town resident will get my Lawn Treatment????  That is the Question.  And will the Lucky Homeowner bring the hang tag to us- since our name and address is clearly on the work order.

We have a Gopher or some other brown long bodied Rodent prowling the yard.  Only one Turkey this year.  Not the crowd of dozens of females and babies like last year.  No Crows.  Lots of Bees.  A bird family is in the birdhouse nailed to the garden fence.  Lily of the Valley is crowding out everything else along the cement sidewalks.  Plant loves cement.  Devil to dig up the roots.  Invasive.  We sold it at the Greenhouse where I worked. Duh!

Tomorrow is my Heart test.  They called to tell me to arrive a bit early to do paperwork.  They said it would be "fun".  I don't imagine it will be- but is non-invasive so...I'm okay with it.  I'll be LATE publishing tomorrow as I won't get home till noon. But I'll tell you everything. Promise.

Daily Notes- Tuesday, May 17th- Sunshine. Not as much rain as we expected yesterday.

 Not much going on.  Husband is stubbornly set on mowing the back lawn.  He did the front yesterday. Back is more "hilly" so up and down and some of it steeper than other spots.  If he manages to get it done- he'll take a long nap later.   

I carried the chair from the bedroom to the back deck- he's sitting there now changing his shoes.

I liked it better when he would spend hours coloring.

I don't have a task to do today.  I can help mow the grass.  I can carry water down to the garden. I can sit on the couch and read........... I did a lot yesterday.   My heart exam is tomorrow.

I read a blog......I will go find it for you....the artist had painted cloth to resemble the faded colors of the old farm buildings she sees locally.  She had painted small scraps individually with exquisite shades of mossy green, yellow green and a dark green.  Then layered the cloth to make a small work that could be the size of my hand.  Added stitch.  I will find it for you.  I now know what to make out of scraps of cloth and paint.  Not the image at the top........

I am finishing my cold breakfast coffee and thinking about what to do today..........

Victoria Gertenbach- The Silly BooDilly.