I’ve only done one session of weeding in the garden and I’m already hot and tired. I’m going to rest a bit, drink a bunch of water, put on a sweatband and then go out for a 2nd session. I have finished one garden box so far.
I have a mixed bag on veggie results this time. My spinach apparently didn’t like all the changes in temperature plus the constant rain. It was already bolting, so I pulled up the plants. :0(
My head lettuce is looking pretty good, though, so I’m weeding around the plants. I’m not sure when I’m supposed to harvest this. I’ll see if I can find some information on the net.
I’m hoping that I can finish the weeding today. I would also like to start digging the Mel’s Mix out of the 2nd planter whose bottom gave up the ghost, sagged, and broke. The first ruined planter is free of the soil alternative now, but the bottom is only sagging in the second, so the soil is in there much more securely.
The concentration is weeding today and figuring out when I harvest.
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The information I found says that the lettuce will start to bolt when the daytime temperatures exceed 70 degrees. That’s NOW. When I finish weeding, I’ll look carefully at each of the plants and decide if I should harvest them. This has been a really weird spring planting.
“Dorky Dogs” – Liucija Adomaite and Justinas Keturka – BoredPanda.com
We’ve had warm days with lots of sunshine and no rain for several days in a row now. I’m not sure how to handle such nice weather. I do need to get outside early to do some weeding before it gets too hot for me.
May has come and gone in a woosh for me this year. I can’t believe it’s time to change my calendars. My hair is blowing as the time flies past.
My eating plan is still going well, although it stalled this morning after my husband brought me a donut last night, trying to be nice. I again explained to him that I’m trying not to eat in-between meals so that I can try to shed some of my lard. Of course, I was EATING the donut as I was explaining this to him….
I told you I was going to ‘change things up’ trying to shed some of my lard.
I started eating breakfast again – namely Cheerios and milk. I started using MyFitnessPal.com again, listing what I’m eating. It tells me that “You may not be eating enough,” but I know that’s not true in my case. Since I’m listing everything I eat, I’m very aware and try to plan. Then I KNOW if I can ‘afford’ to eat a bit of a snack before bed or not (something I know isn’t the best, but might keep me on track.)
The result thus far is I’ve lost 6.4 lbs. This is just a drop in the bucket as far as what my goal is, but it IS a start. I AM seeing a difference on my scales each morning. I also know that this will probably come to a screeching halt one morning soon, but it’s nice NOW, and I know it IS possible.
We’ve just returned from doing errands and it’s time for lunch. I wanted to write quickly to let you know I was still alive, just in case you were wondering. :0)
We gathered trash and took it down. We’re a day later than usual due to the holiday. I’m really happy that this company posts their holiday schedule online so I can print it and check to see if we need to do anything differently.
We got our mail and then headed for town. There was a portable electric sign at the church where we turn to get on the main road, but it was turned so it showed down the hill, rather than where we were. It turned out it said, “Road Closed.” Yeah. They are beginning work on the main bridge between us and town. They let us through, and THEN we saw the sign that was on the other end.
We went to the bank and then picked up groceries. My husband was a Marine. “Marine” is synonymous for “stubborn,’ so on the way back, even though I reminded him that we needed to take the longer way around, he didn’t, preferring them to make him turn around, doubling the distance for us to get home. He lucked out and they let us through. He was, of course, smug. We don’t need to go to town again until Lunch Bunch on Friday, so maybe he’ll luck out again. We don’t know whether they are working AROUND the bridge, or ON the bridge, or REPLACING the bridge. I was reminding him that we need to check to see if the sign is still at the church when we’re going to Lunch Bunch Friday.
This morning was a good amount of reaching out for me, and it’s not over yet. :0)
I had my usual communication with my good friend, Marsha, and my SIL, MaryLou, first thing. I had received a text from my ‘cousin-in-law’ and wonderful friend, Murray. She has just moved and I’ll send her a text after lunch.
I checked to see if I had any messages from our son. While I was writing him a quick note, a message popped up from HIM, asking if I wanted to visit on the conference call thingie. We had the nicest visit. I LOVE being able to see his face. He was worried about two things: THING ONE – he was worried that we were upset that it has been so long since he’s been home. I explained to him that knowing he is safe and happy is paramount. Of COURSE I would love to hug his neck, but with the way the world is, the way things can change overnight, we are all better staying where we are. THING TWO – he wanted to be SURE his dad knew how much he loved him, how happy he was that his dad was patient with him, teaching him things that mean so much to him now. He had tears in his eyes when he said this and I promised I would deliver the message. When I did, I told my husband that our son got the dad that my husband deserved, but didn’t get, when HE was growing up.
So I’ve had a beautiful morning, feeling lucky to love so many good people.
I’m going to fix lunch now and then I’ll do some more posts later.
We’re not planning to do anything special today for Memorial Day. I still haven’t washed the furniture on the deck or cleaned the back porch. Priority for today is doing some weeding in the garden and seeing if there is anything I should harvest. This will probably take a few days to catch up. I’m hoping that the fertilizer I spread a few days ago will cause things to green up out there.
RTE
I wanted to share a nice description with you. I talk to my sweet SIL each day, checking in to share what’s happening. She’s been getting lots of rain. She said, “The world is refreshed.” Can you hear it saying, “Ahhhhhhhh!”? :0)
Since I’m old and getting a bit ditzy, I have note-its all over the place reminding me that because of Memorial Day, we’re NOT gathering trash today and putting it out – until TOMORROW, when we ARE. At least I USUALLY remember why I got up and went into a room….
I found a website new to me called, “Temu.com” My husband showed it to me. It’s where he found the water bowl for painters that he has ordered for me recently. They specialize in discounted items. We’re not sure of the quality yet, or if the orders will be delivered in a reasonable amount of time, but I’m impressed with the prices. They sell basically everything, and you could go down a rabbit hole trying to see all they have. I’ve ordered a couple of women’s tops. We’ll see.
Home Free – “God Bless the U.S.A.” (featuring Lee Greenwood and the United States Air Force Band)
This fills my heart to bursting. Home Free is an acapella group, so there are NO instruments in this. Absolutely stunning.
ReMax Arkansas
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This is Memorial Park in the center of the square in Greenwood, Arkansas. There are bronze rectangles commemorating veterans on both sides of the sidewalks through the park. There is a bronze statue commemorating each of the 4 services: Marines, Army, Navy, and Air Force. On each day like this, the small flags decorate each of the rectangles.
Freepik
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A day to honor the sacrifice of brave men and women and their families, the ones who are gone and those who are serving now, working in very difficult conditions to keep us free.
Okay. I admit it. I started to type ‘Saturday’ in the title to this post. I also have trouble typing the year. I keep starting to type ‘2030’ and having to go back and change it. It’s easy to type, very symmetrical from the keyboard. Do you supposed I’m trying to wish away time – or just having aging problems? :0)
When the Sleep Number beds were a new thing in 2006, we really wanted one, but didn’t want to pay the steep price. We ended up buying a competitor – a king sized Celenia, Comfortaire. It’s a really sturdy air-filled mattress with dual controls so we can each have the firmness we want, changing it at any time. We love it.
This bed is now 17 years old! It’s not surprising that it is now showing signs of aging. We are having to hit the controls nightly now to bring the firmness up to what we have chosen for each side of the bed. My husband thinks we may need to buy a new pump or something. I just looked it up online and OF COURSE, it’s ‘discontinued.’ I’ve gotten out the paperwork and we’ll study the options we have.
Yesterday afternoon we decided to start our project of lopping off branches that are hanging down on both sides of our driveway, creating ‘branch tunnels’. I had already put our loppers in the truck. I added some gloves for me and my phone and sunglasses and we were ready. (I suggested that my husband wear tennis shoes instead of sandals, but he wasn’t interested. )
I pulled down each branch and my husband cut it off as close to the tree as he could reach. I then hauled the branch to the low side of the driveway and threw it into the woods as far as I could. We did this for about 15 minutes before pooping out. Happily, in that amount of time we each got good exercise and made a dent in the project to clear the driveway. We’ll try to do more again today, even though we don’t have errands to do or mail to get. (My husband put on tennis shoes this morning. Imagine that! :0) )
The effort to shed my lard is showing a bit of progress.
I decided that what I’ve been doing obviously isn’t working, so decided to change things up a bit and see if this helps.
I had been skipping breakfast, calling it “intermittent fasting,” but the result of that was a LOT of hunger for lunch – so I’m now eating some of my husband’s Cheerios with milk for breakfast.
I’m consciously trying to consider each thing I’m including on my plate for lunch, NOT including something that is less important to me in an effort to keep my metabolism working but not load myself down.
Dinners are 1) an individual frozen portion of something I have cooked (like spaghetti, a casserole, hamburger patty); 2) an individual portion frozen entree (I’m eating Atkins Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo tonight); or 3) a new entree I’ve cooked. I make a side veggie and we have a dinner roll.
The MyFitnessPal.com calorie counter thinks I’m ‘not eating enough’ (based on 1200 calories per day) until I add a snack. I’m waffling on this one, since I know I’m eating healthy and mainly wanted to make sure I wasn’t shooting myself in the foot inadvertently.
I’m trying to make SURE I’m either working in the yard, doing my yoga, or both, daily, plus I’m trying to drink more water.
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IndiaMART
So far, I’ve lost 3.2 lbs. Suffice to say I have a LONG way to go before I get to my goal, but I have started. I’m happy that my scales have finally noticed, and are registering a difference, but they continue to be quite snarky. I’m hoping to squelch the snark with my continued efforts.
This is our Abby. She not only gets along with our dog, Amber, she dominates the 95-pound yellow lab.
This is Amber, the poor bullied dog.
This morning Abby got Amber to bark at the front door so that SHE could come in. When I saw what had occurred, I gave BOTH Amber AND Abby a treat. :0)
Abby is now sleeping in the exact middle of Amber’s huge bed in the living room, daring Amber to try to use it. (Amber is lying down behind my husband’s recliner.)
13.Law of Physical Surfaces – The chances of an open-faced jelly sandwich landing face down on a floor are directly correlated to the newness and cost of the carpet or rug.
14.Law of Logical Argument – Anything is possible IF you don’t know what you are talking about.
15.Law of Physical Appearance – If the clothes fit, they’re ugly.
16.Law of Public Speaking — A CLOSED MOUTH GATHERS NO FEET!
17.Law of Commercial Marketing Strategy – As soon as you find a product that you really like, they will stop making it OR the store will stop selling it!
18.Doctors’ Law – If you don’t feel well, make an appointment to go to the doctor, by the time you get there, you’ll feel better. But don’t make an appointment and you’ll stay sick.
Here is my Contribution
The Law of Television EntertainmentAs soon as you find a television program that you really like, it will be canceled!
Each Memorial Day weekend I remember when I was the lifeguard at the country club my family belonged to in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I think it was called “Southwood,” I don’t know if it still exists. I remember gearing up, preparing the pool and my lifeguard seat, planning details of trying to watch everyone at once. It was the only real time I got a tan. I don’t do that well, usually burning instead, and the tan only lasted a couple of weeks when the job was over.
I taught swimming with my 6th grade gym teacher, Steve Balint, every summer from the time I was 14 until I graduated from college. This job was wonderful because it helped pay my tuition for college, gave me some extra spending money while I was there, and gave me the chance to meet some fun people. I especially enjoyed our “womens’ class,” where we helped some really nice ladies overcome longstanding fear of the water and taught them lifesaving skills to help themselves and others, if needed.
I still regret that we ran out of money when we built our home 36 years ago and didn’t build an in-ground pool. I fondly thought I would swim first thing in the morning if I didn’t need to be somewhere early, or would swim last thing in the evening to relax before bed. I also secretly fantasized about “Brock,” the pool guy who would ‘take care of things.’ :0) (Hey. I’m old, but I ain’t dead yet!)
7.Law of Close Encounters – The probability of meeting someone you know INCREASES dramatically when you are with someone you don’t want to be seen with.
8.Law of the Result – When you try to prove to someone that a machine won’t work, IT WILL!!!
AND Visa versa!
9.Law of Biomechanics – The severity of the itch is inversely proportional to the reach.
10.Law of the Theater & Hockey Arena – At any event, the people whose seats are furthest from the aisle, always arrive last. They are the ones who will leave their seats several times to go for food, beer, or the toilet and who leave early before the end of the performance or the game is over. The folks in the aisle seats come early, never move once, have long gangly legs or big bellies and stay to the bitter end of the performance. The aisle people also are very surly folk.
11.The Coffee Law – As soon as you sit down to a cup of hot coffee, your boss will ask you to do something which will last until the coffee is cold.
12.Murphy’s Law of Lockers – If there are only 2 people in a locker room, they will have adjacent lockers.
My husband called me over to his computer last night and showed me what he had just ordered for me –
Brush Rinser, Paint Brush Rinser with Drain
It’s usually $30, but was on sale for Memorial Day weekend for $6! You fill up the ‘tank’ and push the button with the spring to ‘flush’ the water reservoir to get fresh, clean water while you’re painting.
Right now I go to our master bathroom to wash out the small bowl I use, fill it with water, then use it until I need to refresh it, and then do the process over and over as I paint in my art room. It’s no big deal, but this will be wonderful, making it possible to concentrate on what I’m trying to do, rather than the mechanics associated with trying to get my brush clean when changing colors.
I’m amazed that this caught my husband’s eye, or that he realized what a pleasure this would be. What a nice, thoughtful gift!
My scales are outright snorking at me lately. I’ve been eating ‘rocks,’ it seems, and I’ve changed from trying to go day-by-day to hour-by-hour now. The stress level around here has been a bit high, but that is becoming the norm now, so I need to quit using that as an excuse to stuff my face.
I’m going to try to shed 2 pounds a week, cutting back my portions again and trying to drink more water. I had stopped using MyFitnessPal.com, but I’m starting up again. Maybe that will direct my efforts more effectively and see where I’m messing up.
Gfycat
We’re going to Lunch Bunch this morning, although my friend Kay called and said she and Bud won’t be there. I don’t know if the others will be, so we’ll go ahead, grab a bite to eat, and then hit the grocery store before coming home.
Bill Miller Associates
We’re starting our “cut-something-down-each-time-we-go-down-or-up-the-driveway” project today. I have the loppers in the truck and the weather is supposed to be cooperative today. If we do this each time we can, we should be able to make a difference in a reasonable amount of time.
(The picture above shows a ‘pretty’ version of what we’re dealing with. We have trees on both sides of our 650+ foot driveway. During the last winter ice storms, the trees’ branches were weighed down. Some broke off, some just hung down. Now we have almost a low-hanging tunnel across parts of the driveway to the point we’re ‘ducking’ inside the truck when we go through one. :0) My husband hurt his back, so we’ve been waiting until he felt better to tackle this. It’s a two-person job, with me pulling down each branch as far as I can and him lopping it off so I can then haul it to the low side of the driveway and throw it down as far as I can.)
Other than helping to clear the driveway a bit today, I’m planning to start moving the Mel’s Mix (soil alternative) from the other raised bed planter box whose bottom is ready to fall out. I want to get both of these boxes completely cleared out before I talk to my husband about making new plywood bottoms for them.
I’ll round out my exercise today with a session of yoga this afternoon. (After clearing tree branches and digging Mel’s Mix, I’ll need a good stretching session to try not to stiffen up.
I hope that if you’re traveling this long holiday weekend, you do it safely and smoothly. Whatever your plans, I wish you a happy day and fun weekend.
creativeartworksblog 