Just hanging around, trying to figure out what I’ll do with the day today. It’s pretty, so I should try to lop off more weed trees in the back this afternoon. We have Lunch Bunch this morning, in about an hour. I’m hoping we’ll have a full house today. It’s been awhile since we were all able to get there, so it would be great to be able to catch up. After we eat lunch, we’ll go grab some groceries, since rain is supposed to start overnight and last through the day tomorrow.
I’ll get presents ready to mail and try to get Christmas cards going. I always do the envelope addressing, signing the cards, etc. I’ll see if my husband wants to dictate the Christmas letter we enclose to people we don’t see during the year. If he doesn’t want to, I’ll think about what to write. I love hearing from people at this time of year. It’s a wonderful way to virtually hug someone you can’t travel to see.
I wish you the happiest of Fridays, good weather, good company, and lots of hugs and laughter.
I’m looking forward to Lunch Bunch today even more than usual. Due to Thanksgiving last week, our restaurant wasn’t open for our lunch last Friday, so it’s been two weeks since we met. I want to find out if Linda has moved to the retirement place and what else is going on with everyone.
It’s actually warmer this morning than it has been. It’s 51 degrees F. already and is supposed to get to 60 this afternoon! Woo HOOO! I’m hoping to be able to continue my yard work, though I haven’t decided what I’ll tackle yet, if the weather is cooperative. We’re supposed to have light rain off and on during the day and a strong cold front coming through overnight, so it’s still a roller coaster here.
It’s funny. I’m reading After Sundown by Linda Howard and Linda Jones. It’s about a CME (cornonal mass ejection) bringing their world to a standstill with no electricity until further notice and all the things that derive from that. This morning I checked the news and read about solar storms possibly affecting our power grid in a minor way. Eerie.
And with that, I’ll wish you a happy, stress-free day.
It’s my husband’s 79th birthday today. On one hand, he doesn’t want to talk about it, celebrate or anything. On the other hand, he wants to be 80. He thinks THAT is a good age. Kay is bringing him a cake today at Lunch Bunch. I’m making him one of his favorite dinners – chicken chunks and soup with mushrooms and onions over rice – for dinner tonight. Our son just called from across the world (the middle of the night for him) to wish him a happy birthday and a happy day. I wish you could have seen the smile on my husband’s face and the light in his eyes.
A cold front came through last night, bringing cooler temperatures. No ice or snow, though, thank goodness, but the HIGH will only be 38 today. We’re not finished with warmer temperatures yet, but today will probably not be one where I work outside this afternoon.
metro.co.uk
Today is DAY 126 of my efforts to make daily yoga practice a habit/routine, and I held the plank pose for a quick count of 30 yesterday. I’m not sure whether the practice is becoming a habit or just a part of the day I’m determined to keep doing, but both Amber (our yellow lab) and Abby (our fat cat) seem to think that my getting on the floor is a signal it’s time to nuzzle and play. I hardly get my mat spread out and pillows down before both of them are there waiting for me to join them. :0)
My husband and I went for lab work yesterday in preparation for our routine appointments Monday afternoon. The clinic called me today to tell me I need to change my thyroid dosage, so we’ll be picking up a new trial prescription from the pharmacy after Lunch Bunch today, with another test in 8 weeks to see if the new dosage is correct. (Kind of like trying to regrow a nerve – slow and tedious until the correct dosage is found.)
My husband has declared our driveway pad detector dead and is in the process of ordering a new one. I found the paperwork, so we’re pretty sure we can get the same thing, or an updated version of the same thing, making the replacement pretty easy.
We have NOT found any evidence that any more critters are coming into the garage to get our cat’s food, so for the time being, we’re not having to set our humane trap. Here’s hoping the raccoon we caught recently didn’t have a big family who kept track of where he was going.
My husband saw snowflakes when he took Amber out for the last time last night! It’s 37 degrees with bright sunshine right now, with more snow possibly Monday. Ooh. NOOOO! I’m not ready for this! I’m still trying to get the yard cleaned up!
Diet and Exercise –
I’ve lost 2 lbs this week. I’m really trying not to stuff my face between meals, after dinner, in the middle of the night…. DAY 120 on my yoga practice. It’s still quite difficult for me to hold the plank pose. I made it to 21 seconds yesterday. Pathetic, but progress.
Ham Radio Tower –
It’s gone! George and a friend came at about 1:30 yesterday afternoon. They were able to get the tower lying on it’s side on the ground without problem (amazing) and then proceeded to take it apart. While they were doing that, I helped my husband get the antenna controller unattached from the shelf in the office where it has lived for umpteen years. It did NOT want to come out of the sturdy metal bracket my husband built for it, but FINALLY he was able to get it down. He also decided to give George a signal analyzer. I found the paperwork and we bundled those together. George was thrilled with his ‘goodies’ and we were happy that the stuff has obviously found a good home.
Lunch Bunch –
It was great yesterday. Kay’s husband, Bud, wasn’t working because it was rainy (he works a backhoe). He greeted me with, “I thought it was time for you to enjoy my smiling face again.” :0) He, Kay, and Linda were there. Linda is moving to a retirement place in Greenwood and may actually be moved by next Friday, or soon thereafter. She is looking forward to a more active social life than she has now. I’m really happy for her. She meets people easily and should be happy there. If not, we’ll help her move again.
Supplies –
Since the forecast is possibly snow Monday, we’ll probably get out today or tomorrow to replenish supplies so we can hole in up here, if needed. I’m planning to wait until it warms up as much as it’s going to if we go today. The sun is shining, but it’s COLD out there!
It apparently rained overnight, but we didn’t get the forecast freeze, so that’s good. We might get some rain this evening, but otherwise, it’s just a gray, cloudy day today, on Veterans’ Day.
Final Fantasy XIV.
Since I haven’t gotten calls or messages on my phone, it looks like Lunch Bunch is on. The only other things on our schedule today are 1) that Fedex should come to deliver an order, and 2) that George, the man who came and wanted to adopt our 40 foot ham radio tower and antenna, called last night to ask if it was okay if he came today. He’ll be here around 1pm (hopefully with lots of help) to dismantle the tower and antenna and take them away. (I love it that my husband phrased our offer, “Ham Radio Tower Free to Good Home.”
Columbia Distributing
It’s cool and gray outside now, making me feel lazy and contemplative. I just want to curl up in my recliner under my throw, read and nap. Yesterday I finished the biography of Johnny Carson. Today I’m starting the last one I got from the library fundraising sale about Rush Limbaugh.
I guess I’m contemplative because I wrote the post about Veterans Day, and my husband being adamant about refusing to allow me to honor his service in the park in town. It also made me think about my dad. He was always embarrassed when talk turned to military service. He wanted to serve, and went to sign up for WWII. They rejected him and referred to him as a ‘cripple.’ He fell off a horse when he was 3 years old, breaking his arm in several places. They were able to save his arm, but it was touch and go on whether they could save his hand. They saved it, but his left arm was much shorter than his right and his hand was almost useless. He handled this so well that many times I forgot that he had more challenges than others, but the military made HIM feel useless as a man. If they had hurt ME, I would have gotten over it years and years ago. I guess I’ll never forgive them for hurting my dad and making him feel ‘less.’ They’re lucky they are all gone now, because I would still bite them in the legs, and I haven’t had my rabies shot…
I’m looking forward to George coming this afternoon to take the ham radio tower away. He’s a big man, young, with a can-do feel about him. He was like a little kid, thrilled that he will get the tower. It makes me happy to meet him, and have a very small part in giving him something that will bring him hours and hours of fun and excitement.
There is a “68” right above Fort Smith, AR in the weather forecast image above. Right below that and to the right a bit, is Greenwood. The red, orange, and yellow blobs are due by sunset, according to the weather folks, and they’re predicting heavy rain, lightning, gusty winds, possible tornadoes, flying hair balls, and ‘throw-in-the-kitchen-sink’ for luck.
The Microsoft thingie that gives me news and weather in the bottom right-hand corner of my computer screen, differs, saying the rain should start about 4pm and continue until around midnight. I’m more inclined to believe the computer thingie, and will batten down the hatches a bit when we get home from Lunch Bunch. I was just outside taking a couple of pics of the trio of planters to show you and noticed the wind was already whipping around.
We need to get about ten 40-pound bags of potting soil to top off the planters around the yard, but mostly, this project is finished. I also need to weed whack round the outside perimeter on both sides.
Final Fantasy XIV
I’m hoping everyone will come to Lunch Bunch today. It’s been a couple of weeks since we could meet. It’ll be fun if we can catch up. Kay’s son got married and Linda’s daughter has been out of town, so there will be a lot to catch up on.
Once I prepare as much as possible for the coming storms, I’ll curl up in my recliner under my snuggly throw, with a cup of coffee and enjoy continuing to read the biography of Audrey Hepburn I started yesterday.
We had a really nice time at Lunch Bunch today, even though Kay and her daughter couldn’t be there.
Sometimes it’s nice NOT to have a big group of people. You can really visit in a more private, satisfying way. My friend, Linda, and her daughter, Patty, are dear to me. We talked about inconsequential things, laughed a lot, teased my husband a lot (who threw in some zingers here and there :0) ), and were all smiling as we left.
Long time friendships are priceless. I feel I got to really catch up with Linda today. She’s a very quiet lady who doesn’t say a lot, but she opens up when we’re more one-on-one. I love seeing her smile and laugh, and I love getting to hug her neck.
I changed some pricing in my Etsy shop this morning. Then I noticed that when I went back to my home page, the old pricing was still showing. When I clicked on an item, the new pricing showed on the NEXT page. So TWO different prices are showing for the same item depending on what page you’re on.
After a long time on chat (at least I got through to a service agent) she told me that others have mentioned the same problem, and that a work-around would be that I go to each item I changed, deactivate it, and then reactivate it to see if that solved the problem. I did, and it DOES solve the problem, but it’s going to take a long, tedious time to do this.
At least I CAN do something to fix it, though it’s definitely a character-building exercise that I didn’t feel I needed this morning.
Verywell Family
IRIS PLANTER-
On a good note, I’m finished cleaning out and weeding the iris planter now. Today I’m planning to try to get the tomato supports in and wire them to the center pole and then to each other to make them as sturdy as I can.
My husband mentioned again what a good job I’d done, but that it “was a waste of time because it wouldn’t STAY done, and I would just have to do it again.” I asked him to name something that I did that DIDN’T fit in that category….
Final Fantasy XIV
I thought that we might do Lunch Bunch today – rather than Friday when Kay can’t be there. Her daughter just called and left a message that they hadn’t heard from Linda or Patty, so we won’t go today.
I’m going back now to finish the work on deactivating and reactivating on Etsy…
Since I haven’t heard from anyone, I’m assuming that we’ll have a full contingent at Lunch Bunch today. I’m also hopeful, since it MAY be that we won’t get together again until November after today. (Kay’s son is getting married next week and then both Kay and Linda won’t be there for the 28th.) After Lunch Bunch, my husband and I will do some errands before coming home.
Gardening Know How
Today’s outside project is cleaning out our iris planter. It’s completely overrun with Bermuda grass right now. My plan is to dig out EVERYTHING and essentially start over. I’m considering using this planter as the second tomato planter in the spring, since there is a center pole that will help anchor supports for the tomatoes. I could move the irises to the niche planter. Food for thought. It’ll probably take a couple of days to clean out the planter.
whimsicalpaperie.com
I finished “Tribute,” a book I had missed from Nora Roberts. I’m feeling a bit down now because I really loved the main character and didn’t want the book to end. She was fun, quirky, full of attitude and spunk – just a joy to be around. Good thing I have some more books into which I can dive. :0)
My husband told me yesterday that he didn’t really think I would keep up my yoga practice. As in several other things, he has watched as I get determined about something, give it a couple of weeks, and then it sort of fades away, despite my good intentions. He told me yesterday that he was proud of my efforts. Today will be DAY 91.
We could definitely get spoiled by the nice weather we’ve been enjoying lately. I regret that I’ve largely wasted it, having to baby my back, and the yard work is still waiting. I AM able to do my yoga practice (DAY 84), so my back is improving some each day. Soon I’ll be my normal ornery self again. :0)
My SIL is enjoying some time at the beach now. She thought she might have to come home, after essentially just arriving, due to an alert about tidal flooding yesterday. This didn’t occur, so she is still able to enjoy herself. I’m hoping for a photo or two, now that she doesn’t have to get back on the road again right away.
Final Fantasy XIV
Today is Lunch Bunch. We’ll leave in about an hour and a half to catch up with whoever is there. Things have been erratic lately, with plans not working out, illness, and whatnot. I’ll be happy to see whoever is able to get there.
I answered a call from a roof and window salesman yesterday. I’m telling you this because we went to a great deal of trouble to get an answering program that screens our calls. It tells the caller to press a button on the phone if they are friend, family, or NOT selling anything. Only then does it ring in our house. This guy had the gall to press the button anyway. He started asking me how many windows we had. I answered by asking if he was a ‘friend.’ He started sputtering. I told him I KNEW he wasn’t family. I asked him if English was his first language. When he said, “yes,” I asked him if he listened to the answering message. He said, “yes.” I then asked him if he really thought he had ANY chance to sell whatever he was selling after having the gall to ignore our message and bother me. There was silence on the other end. I hung up.
Woo HOOOO! Mother Nature finally got the memo and gave us a deliciously cool morning here in Arkansas! It’s 62 degrees F. right now, so I opened the doors to air the house out. It’s supposed to get to 92 this afternoon, though, so it’ll probably be tomorrow before I do any more work outside. Hooray for Fall!!!!
I’m HOPING my good friend, Linda, will feel well enough to come to Lunch Bunch today. I haven’t heard from my friend, Kay, but I have all appendages crossed that we’ll enjoy a wonderful surprise today.
I had a truly wonderful massage yesterday by my therapist and friend, Lynn. She zeroed in on my back where it is sore and made it feel better. It’s like I ‘bruised’ it, though, rather than hurting with movement. I’ll modify my yoga practice (DAY 70 today) so that I don’t irritate that area any more than necessary.
The Path Through the Woods -ChristineBeaverson-Pinterest
Today is a pretty day here. It’s cool right now, but I just read that we’re supposed to have a ‘record heat wave’ with temperatures at 100+ with added heat index between now and the start of ‘autumn’ on the 22nd. Arkansas has a wicked sense of humor.
I’ve decided that I’m going to hose down the now-empty garden boxes with SEVEN, first, to hopefully kill any leftover ants (I’m still healing from the stings/bites I got recently from the weeding and the harvesting of our sweet red onions) and then KILLZALL, second, to try to kill any leftover roots from the weeding I did. I’m hoping to cut and put the weed barrier cloth in the boxes, held down with bricks or rocks, to keep the boxes in as good a shape as possible over the fall and winter.
My to-do list on what I need to do outside is daunting, so I’m just concentrating on one area at a time so I don’t feel swamped. GARDEN— I’ll get the garden boxes under control, and then spray weed killer on the ground UNDER the boxes and around the perimeter of the garden fenced area, and then weed-whack the area AROUND the garden and behind the shop.
Final Fantasy XIV
We have Lunch Bunch this morning. My friend Linda did well for a day, but now is having a rough time again. Her daughter is taking her back to the doctor today, so it will just be Kay and me, with assorted husbands, today. We’ll make a run for supplies afterwards.
boredpanda.comHand-painted, One of a kind Memory Box
Yesterday I spent much of the day listing memory boxes I’ve painted on my Etsy site, HandmadeHavenByLinda Today I’ll try to finish the clean-out-and-reorganization of my bedroom bookshelves, fold and put away laundry, and other equally exciting stuff. :0)
Today is Lunch Bunch. I know that two of our friends won’t be there because of needing to see a doctor. I’m hoping that Kay, and her husband, Bud, will be there. We finally got some rain overnight and are supposed to get more today. It would be nice if it holds off until we’re back from Lunch Bunch, but I won’t complain if it doesn’t. My flowers are saying, “ahhhhhhh!”
Glenning Welhan-Yoga Journal
I’m feeling more in control lately. Our eating in a more Mediterranean fashion, with lots more veggies and fruits, using meat as a flavoring, rather than the main focus of our meals, is working for us. I’m continuing to find ways to sneak veggies in, since my husband is hyper-sensitive to that, already deciding the veggies or the recipe featuring them will be ‘awful’ before he even tries it, but I’m getting better at it. :0) Some of the meals are getting rave reviews! I’m still kind of on my own, since there are very few ‘Mediterranean Recipes’ as such, that DON’T feature things I KNOW my husband will throw up his hands about, but what we’re doing seems to be in the right direction.
I’ve discovered that either cottage cheese or almonds is a good, filling snack for me in the afternoons. I’m trying my best NOT to be up in the middle of the night, when NOTHING deters me from stuffing my face. I’m on DAY 49 of my daily yoga practice today. Although I’m still an old, stiff broad, the yoga stretches really help me feel better. Our yellow lab, Amber, looks forward to my practices now, running over to smile at me, snuffle me, and try to push me off the mat before I sternly order her to get in her “PLACE.” (Can you STERNLY order anything while laughing?)
Over the past week I’ve lost 4 lbs. I’m using MyFitnessPal.com to make sure I’m staying under my calorie limit for the day. The big thing is that I’m feeling more in control of what I’m eating, drinking, and doing. The fact that all seems to be coming together to result in my losing part of the lard is definitely motivating.
We have our typical plans for Friday – Lunch Bunch, maybe an errand or two out, and then a quiet rest-of- the-day at home. NICE.
Today is DAY 42 of my daily yoga practice. The practice isn’t a HABIT yet, but it IS a priority to work in each afternoon now. That’s progress. “My scales and me” (I give up on figuring out whether my grammar is correct here) are still in “feud” mode, but I’m starting to see a bit of light now. My problem is mid afternoon and middle of the night snacking. I’m trying to convince myself that raw veggies and dip are JUST THE THING, but it’s a hard sell. I’m also trying to walk around, drink a bunch of water, and determinedly go back to sleep, if possible, in the middle of the night, rather than to go downstairs. We’ll see.
I’m THINKING about pulling out the tomato plants in the two planters close to the house. The plants in ONE I know are finished. The other is still iffy. I’ll see this afternoon if it isn’t too hot.
My Lunch Bunch friend, Kay, is having a birthday tomorrow. We’re celebrating at Lunch Bunch today. Happy, Happy Birthday, Kay!!!
MeMe
We’ve been enjoying Friday “Lunch Bunch” for over 20 years now. What a priceless thing – to share the lives of others who also care about YOU. Kay, Linda, and I are the core “members.” We graciously allowed our husbands to join us – as long as they behaved. Now Linda’s daughter, Patty, is a part of the group. Other relatives and friends join us from time to time. There’s really no way to describe how close we are, how much we’ve shared, and how much we look forward to the next Friday.
Empowered Parents
I’m enjoying making some Christmas cards for a dear friend. I’m taking my time, thoroughly enjoying each stage of the process, going up to my art room when the mood is right, turning on my music, eager to see what the finished cards will look like.
Imgflip
DAY 28 of my daily yoga practice. My dog, Amber, is finally catching on that I DON’T appreciate her 90 pound self on my stomach while I’m trying to maintain a stretch, so I guess SHE realizes that I’m trying to build a habit here. My cat, Abby, is slower to catch on. She still tries to sleep on my feet. Good amusement for my husband as he watches the ‘show,’ fritos in hand and mouth…
123RF
I’ve officially given up trying to work in the yard unless I have to. It’s just too hot out there. A few of our plants are trying to revive, but most are looking quite sad. Some have even withered and died. Apparently, Mother Nature isn’t a huge fan of flowers – at least this year.
Another shout-out to Susy and Bobby today. Thinking of you both and wishing you the very best.
I hope you woke up this morning feeling good and ready for the day.
IndiaMART
I’m finally down a couple of pounds this morning. I had to look at the scales twice to be sure I was seeing them correctly. :0) Maybe my new regimen is starting to work. Since we are eating a fair amount of individual frozen dinners, I’ve made a list of the ones with the most veggies. I’m also serving a side veggie. We’re eating a LOT more fruit. I’m watching my husband’s blood sugar numbers, and so far, no problems. I’m on DAY 21 of doing my yoga stretches every day.
YouTube
We have Lunch Bunch this morning. I’m hoping everyone will be there. It seems that something has come up each week lately, so it would be really nice to see EVERYONE today and catch up on what they have been doing.
Yesterday I had gotten the mail and was starting to get back in the car when a car started to pass our driveway on the road and then stopped. I waited a moment, and then someone motioned for me to come on. I did, and then the window of the car went down. The lady introduced herself and asked if I was the one who made the mailbox decorations. I told her my husband and I did. She was really complimentary about our efforts and said she passed by our driveway to see what we had up. She said she is a teacher in Fort Smith and was asking if we would make her a ‘Snoopy’ or a ‘Roadrunner.’ I told her I would have to talk with my husband. I gave her my phone number. If she calls, I’ll be able to tell her that my husband agreed, what we would charge, and see if she wants us to go forward. I thanked her profusely for stopping and making my day. :0)
Colorations
My Christmas card project is coming together. I’m planning to start doing the inside of the cards this afternoon. The presents are now finished and I’ll bag them up to store until gift giving time.
We’ll leave for Lunch Bunch in about an hour and a half. We’ll get our mail, see if the trash has finally been picked up or if I need to call again. We’ll shop for groceries after lunch. And that’s our day.
Crossing all of my appendages – including my eyes – worked! We finally got a bit of rain yesterday evening! It was mostly gusty wind and bluster, but the dining area windows finally had water on them. I don’t know how much rain we actually got, but we’ll take it. The high is only supposed to be 97 this afternoon. I may take my coat! :0)
Shutterstock
We’ll get our mail, go to Lunch Bunch to catch up with our friends, then drive to Ft. Smith to return my “too-large!” tops to the UPS Store, and finally hit Walmart on the way back.
I’m starting to see the end of my project to make Christmas gifts in my art room for my friends. I think I’ll finish in the next day or two. It’s been a wonderful time with lots of happy thoughts.
Tenor
Today will be DAY 6 on my daily yoga practice. My sweet SIL pointed out that building a new habit MIGHT take as little as 18 days. That sounds a lot less intimidating. I’ll still just keep my head down and do one day at a time until it becomes ‘automatic,’ – assuming I live that long…
I hope that you have an enjoyable Friday and a fabulous weekend.
As far as I know, everyone will be at Lunch Bunch today. It’ll be a nice reunion. We have a few errands to do, but won’t be out long.
DepositPhotos.com
I’m having a lot of fun in my art room, working on the presents I’m painting for my friends for Christmas. I’m making 8 things, and I’m almost finished with some of the first sides. Apparently I smile while I’m painting – I’m finding my cheeks are hurting a bit in the evenings. :0)
Lucia Heffernan – MyModernMet
I’m going to do an extra-long session of yoga this afternoon. I missed it yesterday and my body is reminding me about it today. You would THINK that after so many RE-learnings of this lesson, the message would stick. All I can say is I’m fighting sloth, stubbornness, and stupidity – a pretty lethal combination.
This morning’s harvest. We went into withdrawal yesterday because we didn’t have any ripe tomatoes from our garden to eat. Today makes up for yesterday, with more coming, probably tomorrow. YUM.
A heat index today of around 115 is TOO hot for this old lady. I just took some water out to pour into the elephant ear planter. Our plumber hasn’t been able to make time to put in our 2nd watering line for the planters in the front yard, so things are just drying up. The thing I care about the most in the front is the elephant ears, so I’ll concentrate on those. – UPDATE – Our plumber just drove up, ready to work on the 2nd line we need! HOORAY!!!!
Benjamin Franklin Plumbing Final Fantasy XIV Promotional Site
We will go to Lunch Bunch soon to catch up with our friends. I don’t know if one of them will be back from her visit in Tennessee, but I’ll be happy to see whoever is there.
Caters News Agency – Cristina is Painting
I’m making steady progress on the Christmas gifts. I’m spending some wonderful time up in my art room each day, taking my time, listening to music while I’m painting, enjoying time to myself and the joy of trying to make something my friends will like. :0)
I got some new things added to my Etsy shop yesterday. I’ll add some more today. It’s fun to give my shop a bit of a new look.
Yesterday I wrote to Dr. Singer at our veterinarian’s office via email to tell him how impressed I was with Emma and the rest of his staff on handling the possibility of a fire and handling customers in the middle of it. I’m hoping they will get something special, including raises. :0)
And we welcome July 2022 and Nathan from the Firefighters fundraising calendar from Australia. A great looking month it is, too. :0)July 2022 – Matt Dixon – mattdixon.co.uk – via my friend, Susy Slais
I find it hard to believe it’s already July. I can feel my hair blowing as the time flies over my head this year.
We will have Lunch Bunch with Kay and her family today. My friend (the birthday girl) Linda is on her way to Tennessee today. Kay’s son and a friend will be visiting today. I’m not sure who will be there, but it will be fun to see them. On the way there, we’ll put up our 4th of July mailbox decoration, get our mail, and take some mail to the drive-through post office. Afterwards, we’ll do a bit of shopping before coming home.
Snoopy and Woodstock in celebration
So far today I’ve changed sheets and started laundry. I’m baking some salmon and steaming asparagus for our dinner tonight. I’m doing bookkeeping for June in-between.
Nice Friday, and looking forward to a long, hopefully lazy weekend. :0) I’m hoping that our neighbors down in the valley will do their annual fireworks display. That would be ‘gravy’ on an already pretty nice week.
My massage yesterday was wonderful, although it was a bit like, ‘it feels so good when she stops.” I was so sore and knotted up after two months without a massage (I was stuck in my house for the last one, due to our driveway), that everything was at least tender, if not actively sore. She remarked on the knotting. Being a wonderful massage therapist, she was relentless in finding and trying to knead out ALL the places.
I came home, ate lunch, and then had a long nap in my chair. I drank a bunch of water, but was basically useless the rest of the day. I ended up going to bed super-early. I slept straight through until the alarm went off this morning. The muscles I use most for the weed whacking, on the front of both upper arms, are still sore, but they’ll be fine in a day or two.
Today is special because we’re celebrating my friend, Linda’s, birthday at Lunch Bunch. She will be leaving to go to Tennessee for the next two weeks, so she’ll have a wonderful time with family after celebrating with friends. A truly NICE celebration of her life.
We’ll do a few errands after Lunch Bunch, but it should be a quiet day for us. My husband mowed yesterday, so the yard looks like someone actually CARES! :0)
I hope your Friday is a happy one and that your weekend is even better.
Isn’t this photo wonderful? I love the look on the giraffe’s face as he (or she) stands with the bird (kingfisher?) sitting on his/her head. And the catching of the water (and the frog) are priceless.
We’ll leave in about 45 minutes to join our friends for Lunch Bunch. My friend Kay’s daughter from Albuquerque has been visiting, but she left yesterday. Kay is always a bit sad after her daughter leaves. I haven’t felt well enough to gather veggies from the garden, so won’t be taking anything to share today. Hopefully I can get out this weekend and make up for lost time.
My pantry project is about half done at this point. I’ll start the ‘food’ side of the pantry today and see what I can accomplish.
We’ve had record breaking heat this week. On the heels of this are thunderstorms with possibly severe weather this afternoon-into-this-evening. I hope we just get some good rain. I haven’t been able to set up our yard irrigation system yet this season, so things can really use a drink.
I’m feeling better and better. Soon I’ll be my regular, ornery self and can look for some mischief to dive into.
We changed our mailbox decoration and got our mail as we left the house to go to Lunch Bunch. This decoration makes me smile. I had forgotten how hard we worked to get Sylvester’s whiskers and Tweetie Pie’s hair welded on. Everyone seemed pleased with the bags of lettuce from our garden. We had a nice time catching up.
Afterwards, we stopped at the grocery. We just finished putting everything away.
I think the weather people were optimistic when they said the high would be 71 today. It’s almost 1pm and it’s still only 58 and overcast. It’ll have to hurry if it makes it. So I’ll wait until tomorrow, when it hopefully warms up some, before I spend more time in the yard.
I’m going to enjoy a cup of coffee and rest a little and then I’ll go put together the sausage, egg and cheese bake for our dinner tonight.
Things are looking up here. Things are finally drying out a bit here. It’s overcast, but it’s supposed to be 71 this afternoon and the sun is supposed to make an appearance – at least a cameo.
We’ll leave in about an hour for Lunch Bunch and a couple of errands. I’m taking lettuce from our garden to share with everyone. I LOVE being able to do that. We had a ‘main meal salad’ with chicken I made from a keto recipe previously last night. My husband remarked how good it was. :0) Tonight I’m making “Sausage, Egg and Cheese Bake” by Suzanne Ryan, Simply Keto. I’ve lost almost 32 pounds now. I’ll measure at the end of this month, but I’m hoping there will be less of me from the exercising I’ve been doing. Today I’m doing half an hour of yoga stretches, plus an hour combination of my regular 3 short exercise videos, and the “1B Workout video.” (I’m doing my elliptical trainer and the workout video on alternate days)
We had a brief note from our son this morning. I always feel good when I’ve heard from him. He sounds very busy and happy – all you can ask for.
Our dog, Amber, just caused both my husband and I to jump straight up from our chairs by suddenly letting out a HUGE sneeze – one so hard she hit her chin on the floor. Good thing it’s carpeted. I guess she must be allergic to something. It certainly jump-started our hearts!
We have been very happy this month that we live on top of a ridge line in Arkansas. Being up a bit has its own dangers – lightning and gusty winds and tornadoes being some – but we DON’T have to worry personally about flooding, though we HAVE discussed tying a rowboat at the bottom of our driveway in case we need to get to town at times. We’ve had a LOT of rain this month. May might bring dryer weather, but it won’t bring calmer weather. We’re under a tornado ‘watch’ much of the summer. We’ve gotten to the point where we don’t really pay attention unless the weather alert says, “A tornado is on the ground in Greenwood, headed for the Lewis’ house.” I’ll be happy to wave goodbye to April tomorrow.
Good/Bad – GOOD: We saw our second hummingbird of the season this morning! We’re not sure if it’s the same hummingbird we saw yesterday or a different one, but he/she took a good, long drink before flitting away. BAD: It looks like we might have another raccoon. The feeders were all absolutely empty this morning after my husband filled them up yesterday. The suet holder on one end of one of the feeders was pulled out on one side. We have yet to see a bird who pulls out the side of the suet holder to get at the suet. We had a suet holder down on the ground below the deck… We’ll have to set the humane trap and see if we can catch the critter for relocation.
CLEANING: I was planning to tackle cleaning up our porch as my next project, but I think I’ll postpone that, since the weather forecast for the next few days is really gusty winds and chances of rain and severe storms.
Instead, I think I’ll work on our pantry. It’s gotten out of hand over the past couple of months, since there wasn’t a good place to put extra supplies and things tended to get ‘stuffed’ wherever it was out of the way a bit. This will be a several day project, but it’s overdue and I don’t have to get the cooperation of Mother Nature to do it.
FRIENDS: Today is Lunch Bunch. In fact, we leave in about 45 minutes to meet our friends. I think that Kay’s daughter will be here, visiting from Albuquerque. She’s a wonderful person and I really enjoy it when she comes home to her parents. :0) Catching up on Fridays rounds the week off nicely.
The sun is shining brightly and it’s due to get to the low 80’s today, so I’m smiling from ear to ear. I’ll plan to weed my veggie garden today. :0) We get today, plus part of the weekend before more storms due Sunday.
I’m looking forward to visiting with my friends at Lunch Bunch in a little over an hour.
We’re still hoping the phone line repairman will come to reattach the phone line that fell in the last storm. We waited all day yesterday, but he didn’t show or call. I got on chat at almost 5 and was asked to give him until 7pm. Still nothing. My husband is staying home this morning in case he comes while I go to lunch and do the errands. If nothing has happened, I’ll get back on chat…
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I had a dream so realistic last night I’m still reverberating. Short version is that I drove my husbands’ Vette, went over a construction platform into part of a road being reconstructed and covered in thick oil that got all over the tires and into the inside of the car. My husband was ranting about the ‘idiot’ who trashed his car, and I STILL was facing having to tell him it was “I”. I told him about the dream this morning, and then thanked him for being so nice about the fact that I didn’t really trash his car…
This sweet fellow looks calm and collected – and I’m trying to take inspiration from him.
My day has been pretty frazzled so far, and I’m getting a very late start on writing here today.
Lunch Bunch was today. My husband decided he would stay home because he is rebuilding and upgrading his computer and the things he ordered were due to be delivered this morning before noon. Lunch Bunch was small, with only Kay, Bud, and me. We had a nice time talking. I brought home lunch for my husband.
The computer stuff is still not here. I don’t know whether we’ll get it today or not. My husband is upset about it.
Meanwhile, he wanted me to help him with a financial transaction. We started an hour or so ago and are still working on it. He wants me to help, but fights me every step of the way, gets mad if I make suggestions, doesn’t want me to leave OR say anything – a continuation of the last several days. I wish we could both reboot our BRAINS…
A very nice surprise happened. When we went through the mail I brought in, I found a package neither of us recognized. It turned out to be
It’s a pillow cover with a Sand Piper on it – one of my favorite things in all the world. I’m thinking that my sweet SIL did this. She’s thoughtful, knows I love Sand Pipers, and has sent things before. I’ve texted her to see if she is the sweet culprit. :0) Update – It WAS my SIL, thinking I needed a ‘cheer-me-up.’ AWWWWW. It worked! Can’t wait to get to the store and get a pillow for it.
It’s already past 1pm here and I haven’t gotten anything accomplished. Oh, well.
For the first time in a long time, ALL of us were there at Lunch Bunch. It was delightful and healing.
Our waitress, Mikey, was in a playful mood, too, and made us laugh a lot. My friend Kay’s back is better, and she is aggravating her husband, Bud, by doing things she shouldn’t. He is understandably frustrated with her, having done everything in his power to get her the help she needed after she fell and hurt her back so badly. Two months or so of doctors, procedures, and your wife in pain makes you take life more seriously.
My friend Linda and her daughter, Patty, were doing fine. Patty has been traveling a lot, going back and forth to see her granddaughters, plus helping with a new baby. Patty has arranged for a woman she trusts to be available for Linda when needed, plus gives her a boost weekly, helping her shop, clean, and more.
To be able to talk, laugh, and share a hug or two was HEALING. Sharing time with friends is priceless.
It started raining last night and is still raining today.
I got my early spring garden planted, so I’m really happy about the rain, even if we drown going to Lunch Bunch today. :0)
Two days ago I got some leaf lettuce, spinach, broccoli, and cauliflower plants in my raised bed, square foot garden. Yesterday I planted to bunches of red onion sets. I don’t have the irrigation timer installed yet, so I was really glad to see we were expecting rain last night. The garden is started! I’ll probably plant some radish seeds, plus more lettuce (my husband likes me to try head lettuce) if we can find it, but basically, the early spring garden is in. (This photo shows three of the six planter boxes. I took it before I planted the onion sets.)
I’m looking forward to seeing my friends for Lunch Bunch today. It’s a big moment of ‘normal’ in a chaotic, scary world, and I treasure it, and my friends. We’ll probably stop at Real Food on the way home to see if we can find some goodies to bring home.
Since working outside isn’t in the cards today, I’ll concentrate on cleaning some of the inside. Most of what I vacuum up is dog hair. You would think Amber would be completely bald by now.
I hope that you can stay safe, warm and dry today.
My friend Kay called yesterday to ask if we wanted to do Lunch Bunch today, instead of tomorrow, because we’re due for a ‘wintry mix’ tomorrow – WHAT!?!?!? We were happy to do Lunch Bunch anytime the group wants to, but I’m bummed by the idea of more snow and ice. I’m embracing spring. Our daffodils and tulip tree are blooming! Hopefully the bad weather will be over very soon and we can start making active plans for our garden and working in the yard.
Masterfile
Under the category of ‘too many changes for old people’ – our son told me yesterday that the conference call program we use to communicate, actually being able to see each other and talk in real time is going to start charging for their services. When I told my husband, he got upset, wanting to keep the program we’re using, even though there are several other options available. I talked to our son briefly this morning, telling him that we wanted to continue the program and that we wanted to pay for all of us to use it. He’s going to check it out and will get back to me.
A long time good friend called me yesterday to wish me a happy birthday. I haven’t heard from her in AGES. Life just gets in the way, doesn’t it. It was wonderful to catch up and I felt really ‘smile-y’ and ‘glow-y’ inside when we finished. It was really nice of her to think of me.
Lunch Bunch was Kay, her husband, Bud, Linda, my husband and me today. It was good to catch up after all of us having various challenges – plus being iced in – causing us to miss lunch together for three weeks to a month now. I’m getting to know Kay’s husband better. He is a long time expert on using heavy equipment. He and my husband compare notes on engines, but I like it best when we just have general conversation. I laughed myself silly – with tears coming down my face and having to hold my arms around my middle – when Kay was talking about a heat pad with a built-in vibrator that Bud got to help her manage her back pain since her fall. He started to laugh and got a roguish look in his eye. He suddenly said, with his eyes twinkling, that Kay was ‘too old for a vibrator.’ He then blushed as he continued to laugh and my heart melted at his feet. He’s definitely a keeper. SO cute.
On the way to Lunch Bunch, we changed out our mailbox decoration. We put up our Tazmanian Devil.
We took the Snow Goon decoration back out to the shop and hung him up on his hook.
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