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I had three things on my priority to-do list yesterday: gather and put the trash at the bottom of the driveway, vacuum the first floor tiles and carpet, and clean and wash out the kitty litter box. Happily, I accomplished all three. I also took my two vacuum cleaners apart, washed the filters and left them to dry, and washed the canisters. I’m really bad about doing that, so it felt good to get it done.
I have all appendages (including my eyes) crossed that the new batteries for the cordless vac arrive today, are the correct ones, and WORK.
Unsplash.com
I’ve been shooting myself in the foot lately, waiting until afternoon to get outside to work in our garden. This is a big mistake because as I age, I handle heat and humidity less and less well. It sounds easy to just get up and go outside, but I’ve set up my mornings really well (for me) getting lots of routine things done at the computer while drinking a cup of coffee. The time flies by and once again, I’m trying to force myself outside with a sweatband I need to even walk out to the garden, much less get anything DONE out there…
@chubby.animol – Instagram
Last night my dinner of hamburger patties, black-eyes peas and onions went over quite nicely. Tonight we’ll have the other two patties and I’ll saute a crown of broccoli. A mystery occurred yesterday and I gained 1.6 pounds “Not eating enough” according to MyFitnessPal.com. UGH. Maybe it will come off today.
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
ebaums world
I would love to go to this restaurant. Apparently this sight is so common that no one at the table even notices!
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“Spotty pop-up downpours” may or may not happen this whole week, according to the experts. This over-abundance of rain probably indicates severe drought for the summer and into the fall. My husband is already longing for his favorite ‘brown, crunchy grass’ so he can slow down on the mowing. I’m trying to get into the habit of working outside early in the morning or late in the afternoon.
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unknown
Vacuuming, kitty litter, and trash, oh my! Such excitement for my day. :0)
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
Kathleen Pequignot-photo by studio318 on flickr
floraexpress.tumblr.com
Kathleen Pequignot
kbladosdesign.blogspot.com
Filed under Watercolors I Love
@chubby.animol
I didn’t LOSE any lardage yesterday, but I didn’t GAIN any, either, so I guess that’s a win – at least in my book.
We’re trying to add fiber to our diet – a difficult thing in that my husband doesn’t like veggies much. I made a list of some fiber-rich food and printed it. I put the list on the dining area table so that we could go over it together. My husband honed in on ‘beans,’ deciding that this means he can now eat the deli baked beans he likes so much. I reminded him that the reason we avoid them is because they are loaded with sugar. Deaf ears.
I have started eating breakfast again, and that seems to be helping curb my hunger. Today we had some cheerios, blueberries, and milk. We’ll have our normal lunch and then I’m fixing hamburger patties and some black eyed peas with onions for dinner.
Trying to accommodate different tastes in food, different dietary needs, age, and more is quite a tightrope. I’m pleased that some of the changes I’m making are resulting in my scales snarking a bit less. (Down 7 lbs so far) I’ll see if there are any changes with the measuring tape at the beginning of next month.
Filed under DIET!
Filed under Andy Scott Sculptures, sculpture
We went out first thing to replenish our grocery supplies. As we were coming up the driveway, I mentioned that my battery-powered Dyson vacuum might need a new battery, as it was only lasting a very few minutes and then making a repetitive whooshing sound and then quitting.
We got the the supplies put away and then my husband had the vacuum apart, trying to get to the batteries. I got on the net after getting out our paperwork.
The first thing I noticed was that my registration of the vacuum was for the standard floor model, not the battery-powered one. We looked through the paperwork and only had the receipt for the floor model.
When I got on the website, the account was under an old email address. When I tried to update the information, it wouldn’t let me. The registration wasn’t showing, so I put in the information again, and the website took that.
We couldn’t find the serial number in the paperwork, so we looked in the places that the serial number was supposed to be, but it wasn’t. I finally found another number in the paperwork and put THAT into the website. THAT brought up a picture of our vacuum cleaner, but wouldn’t let me register it because I didn’t have the receipt with the date of purchase. The picture, however, showed us some information on its label that allowed us to look on Amazon for a replacement battery.
We have ordered it now and are hopeful that will solve my problem.
I have always been good about keeping up with paperwork, but I really messed up on this one. I didn’t update our information on the website and we could have been utterly helpless if one of the numbers we found hadn’t helped us. I’ve made a note to keep better track of serial and model numbers, plus update websites if I change email addresses.
Filed under Acting Like a Grownup, building good habits
Forwarded by a friend.
Filed under Funny Signs - Humor, You Only Had ONE Job To Do
Federico Bottos – Unsplash
It was a surprise to wake up with thick fog this morning. I looked out our bathroom window and almost couldn’t see ANYTHING! It’s clearing up fast now, but it was surreal.
We had quite a bit of rain yesterday afternoon, starting about 2:30 and raining off and on almost until we went to bed around midnight. It’s so wet I’ll wait to decide if I’ll try to finish weeding my garden today or not.
We’re going to go replenish supplies at some point, but that’s the only ‘plan’ we have for the day.
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“I put my scale in the bathroom corner and that’s where the little liar will stay until it apologizes.” ~ sent to me by my friend, Marsha.
I’m beginning to see a pattern that if MyFitnessPal.com says, “You’re not eating enough” I MIGHT actually be down a bit on the scale the next morning. I had made the calorie calculator happy the day before yesterday and gained half a pound. This is NOT what I’m trying to do, so carefully went a bit under that yesterday and got the half pound back off. I’ll keep playing with it. I know I’m eating healthy, and have lost 7 lbs so far. What I MAY be figuring out is that since I’m not as active as I used to be, the 1200 calories per day may be too much. I’ll research it.
The big push lately is to increase our fiber without increasing our sugar overmuch. My husband is a Type II diabetic, although he denies this, saying ‘he has a sugar problem.’ Anyway, I researched and found a list of some fiber-rich foods that I know he likes that we can add to our routine. We’ll just have to be careful with monitoring his sugar readings.
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Happy Sunday!
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
myRepublica-Nagarik Network
This afternoon we’re due for ‘scattered downpours.’ I don’t remember our weather people using this term before. We’ve had scattered showers, heavy rain, and everything up to flying hairballs, but I don’t remember ‘scattered downpours’ – and we only a 40% chance of them. What would a ‘100% chance of scattered downpours’ look like? I think I must be missing something.
My other weather source says absolutely nothing about rain today. I guess that would be ‘REALLY scattered downpours’ in the new weather jargon?”
I’m going to go outside in just a bit to see if I can finish weeding my raised bed square foot garden boxes before whatever rain we’re supposed to get – gets here. I’ll try to get some pictures for you.
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Needpix.com
This is the closest pic I was able to find to give you an idea of the bridge that is on the road between our place and town. Our bridge is on a curve in the road. Yesterday when we went to Lunch Bunch there was a cleared area to one side with a dirt ‘road’ that went from one end of the bridge around to the other end – a kind of ‘bypass.’ There were no ‘road closed’ signs and the bridge was passable. I found on the net where there is some kind of grant that will be used for ‘improvements,’ but no other details as to what will happen or when. A mystery.
I hope that your weekend is free of downpours – either ‘scattered’ or ‘un’ and that you find something really fun to do. :0)
Filed under Mother Nature
Filed under Andy Scott Sculptures, sculpture
bjsmith4.tumblr.com
I just love the photo above. It shows hope for a bright future.
My Art – My Choice-Gif-Guy – tumblr_njxl1kHgkW1t0cscho1_500 – 4GIFS.com
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It’ll be interesting to see how we get to town and Lunch Bunch this morning. They were working on the bridge between here and town, and there was a sign we couldn’t see as we went last time. It turned out the sign said, “Road Closed.” The crew working on the bridge let us through. My husband is stubborn enough he went back through the same way. We haven’t been to town since.
When I reminded him that we needed to leave a bit early since we will need to take the back way into town, he scoffed at me (as he often does.) This shows me he’ll go the regular way just to prove me wrong, and will turn around and go the back way if needed – making our trip over twice as long as usual. (Do you begin to see why I’m considering digging a hole for him in the back yard?
My efforts to lose the lard are showing definite progress now. As of this morning, I’m down 7 pounds. The number I have ‘left to lose’ and the national debt look similar, but I’m just taking it one day at a time, trying not to default – as Congress flirts with too many times.
I’ve finished weeding 2-1/2 veggie boxes in my raised bed, square foot garden thus far. I have four boxes planted, and my goal is to catch up on the weeding before we’re due for rain tomorrow afternoon.
Since Mother Nature has snapped her fingers, changing us from spring to summer in Arkansas suddenly, I’m afraid I’ll need to then clean up the head lettuce plants and decide which to harvest. The weather is getting too warm now for them to last much longer. The happy side of the weather change is that my tomato plants should love it. :0)
Enjoy your Friday and your weekend, surrounded by love and laughter.
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
World of Printables
I’m hoping that June will be a wonderful month for all of us. Mother Nature has decided that summer has begun here in Arkansas. It’s hot in the afternoons with high humidity now, causing us to keep the house closed and turn on the a/c. I hope we’re not finished with spring yet, but I’m having to adapt my time outside already so I don’t boil like an egg out there.
I only put in one session of weeding yesterday. It was simply too hot for me yesterday afternoon. I think I told you that my spinach was already bolting, so I pulled all those plants out. This year was a bust for spinach after I was SO happy to find a whole flat of great looking plants. The weather was totally wonky, going from cool to too hot and back over and over, plus severe weather rains, hail, and flying hairballs. The spinach just finally gave up, sending shoots up into the air in surrender. Now I’m trying to save the head lettuce. The first step is the weeding, and I’ll try to get more of that done this morning.
I hope that this month brings you joy.
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
Rick Gebhardt
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.
Filed under Gardening, Square Foot Gardening - Raised Beds
“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 wish you a happy day, and an even happier June.
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
Filed under animal paintings, Jen Buckley Art, Watercolors I Love
David Zinn sees and creates “Uncle Vivian.”
Filed under David Zinn - Street Artist, drawings
PicQuotes.com
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.
GymQuotes.co
Filed under DIET!
unknown
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.
Hope you’re having a terrific Tuesday.
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
creativeartworksblog 