Flowers and Other Stuff

Today is Saturday.  I haven’t written anything for a few days so I thought I better get caught up with news of my “exciting” life.  We have had quite a bit of rain due to Cindy. The grass is butt high!  Today we are having some quick  downpours that last only a few minutes.  So, Kevin is outside cutting grass with his tractor.  Right now he is working on his front yard.  The rain is now only making the grass grow, but everything else as well.  Kevin was also out in the garden this morning picking some veggies.

I have a concrete planter in my front yard in which I planted marigolds.  They are doing fine, but because of the rain I have many toadstools growing in with the marigolds.

Earlier in the spring I planted three azalea bushes.  They are doing great.  They are encore azaleas which means they will flower three times a year.  They were blooming when I received them.  One of them has started to bloom again.  I am watching the other two.  You can hardly see the buds, but there are a lot of them.

Three of my crape myrtles are blooming.

The new weeping willow tree looks great!  The older one in my backyard has a lot of new growth on the trunk, but half of the top looks sad. 

The rain has also been good for the dawn redwood (Jim’s tree) and the Bradford pear trees.  The snowball bush had only one small bloom this year, and the hydrangeas have had none.  Half of the weeping cherry tree looks dead.  NOTE:  On Monday when I got the mower out of the shed I noticed another bloom on the snowball bush!  If you look real close you can see it.

Okay, enough about the trees and bushes.  I have started working on my Christmas projects.  I am in the middle of embroidering an apron.  I may have to keep this for myself. I really like the way it is turning out.  I also need to make a trip to Hobby Lobby and/or Joanne’s for material. 

 

Went to 5:30 Mass this afternoon.  It turned out to be a Memorial Mass for a young lady that died.  Lasted a lot long than usual, but it was very nice.  Stopped and picked up a BLT at Subway for my supper.  After eating I watched part of the NASCAR Xfinity race, then went to bed.

 

Sunday Kevin finished cutting my front grass and all of the backyard with the tractor.  Renea called me and invited me over for supper.  She fixed a brisket in the oven, green beans from the garden with potatoes and rolls.  It was a really good supper.  I will eat green beans when they have been cooked forever, and these were.  Sat around and visited after eating.

 

Kevin asked me if I would take some time this week and weed the “new” trees.  They can hardly been seen because of the high grass and weeds.  He also asked me to use my mower to go over the “cut” grass that is laying in the yard in piles.  It is a mess.  Of course, I said yes. 

 

An update on the bees – the ones that were swarming and he tried to save have all died.  He is now down to two hives.

 

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday are supposed to be sunny and nice.  Hopefully, I can get some outside work caught up.  This morning (Monday) I went to Tigertown and stopped at Hobby Lobby and bought some supplies for Christmas presents.  I then went to Kroger for groceries and filled the gas tank, with gas, of course😊. 

After I got home I fed Penny, ate lunch and talked to Jana via telephone.  Next was outside.  I was able to get about half of the “circle” cleaned up and the section between me and Ricky/Lanora.  It sure looks a lot better, but I still have a lot to do.  Got a little hot so I thought I better take a break.  Maybe do a little more this evening.

 

I did not go back outside and work on the grass.  I will explain why in my next blog.  Keeping you in suspense, right?

Father's Day 2017

Picking up where I left off, I had a very nice time at Kevin and Renea’s.  We celebrated Kevin’s birthday and both Kevin and Renea’s dad’s fathers day.  Kevin fixed ribs on the grill.  He made ribs with bones and county ribs without bones.  I had the country ribs.  He used a new bar-b-q sauce on them and they were great.  Renea fixed hash brown casserole and baked beans.  We also had rolls.  For dessert we had confetti cake (Kevin’s favorite) and brownie cheesecake.  I had a small piece of each. 

 

After supper things got a little hectic.  Ryan took Renea to the emergency room.  She was having pain between her shoulder blades and no one knew why.  Ryan took her because Kevin had drank a few beers and didn’t want to drive.  Kevin cleaned up the kitchen, and I helped with the dining room.  Kevin and Stephanie went to the garden to pick a few veggies for her to take home.  Dillard and Janet went to their home in the back.  I came home.  Kevin did send a couple of country ribs that were left home with me.  I will have them for supper this week. 

I will mention here that Renea is doing fine.  It turns out she was extremely low on potassium and they gave her several units before she came home.  Kevin took off work Monday and Tuesday.  Monday he spent at the hospital with her.  Tuesday he brought her home.

 

I would also like to tell you a story about Kevin’s bees.  Sunday afternoon Kevin, Stephanie and I were sitting on the back patio while Kevin was grilling.  At one point he notice what he thought were bugs all around one of the apple trees.  He decided to go check and found that bees were swarming.  It turned out that the bees left one of his hives and were swarming on the apple tree.  So, he put on his bee keeping gear, got the boxes that the bees travel in, an went about putting the swarming bees in the boxes.  He actually had some many bees he had to use two boxes.  Now he will wait a few days to find out if he was able to “save” them. 

This picture is of the bees swarming on the branches of the apple tree.  Stephanie took a video, but all I have is a picture that Kevin took.   I stayed on the patio and watched.   That big black "blob" is all bees.

Another situation that happened on father’s day had to do with Lola.  Lola is Kevin and Renea’s black lab.  Shortly before I went over to their house Lola had a seizure.  She was just coming out of it when I arrived.  It took her quite a while.  Then, while Renea was at the hospital and Kevin was home, she had another one Sunday night.  Both of them were really bad.  So, Monday while Kevin was at the hospital I checked on both Lola and Copper to make sure they were okay.  Tuesday morning while Kevin was at the hospital with Renea, Stephanie took Lola to the vet.  

I have been told that she has a tumor on her brain which is causing her seizures.  She will gradually have more seizures as time goes on.  For now they will be taking care of her and keeping her comfortable and giving her plenty of love.  This is so sad.  She is such a sweetheart. 

A Couple of Projects

First I want to tell you that I have contacted several exterminators about the mice.  All of them that I talked to wanted me to sign a contract for at least one year.  They also couldn’t guarantee me that the chemicals they used would not harm the bees that Kevin has.  So far, I have done nothing.  I haven’t caught a mouse now for several days.  I am keeping a trap set though “just in case.”

I have been busy these past few days.  Not only with my “regular” chores, i.e. laundry, grocery, etc., but I have been getting caught up on my crafts.  I have several requests for some items, so I thought I better get busy.  Yesterday I finished Jana’s placemats. Each side is different.  I plan to make her hot pads and pot holders from the same material.

I also made several cell phone carriers.  Here is just one example.  This was the first one I made and it is for me.  I have made five of them so far.  I am going to try a different pattern next time.  This one was a little tough.

The weather has been hot and muggy.  They keep predicting rain, but we have only had rain on  Monday.  I really need to get out and mow grass.  Even though Nick cut it last week, it needs it again.  That’s what the sun will do.  You can almost watch it grow. 😊

 

Jana and I have been doing some research for a couple of short trips we would like to take.  While I am in Ohio we are going to Berlin, Ohio, for a couple of days.  When she comes down here for the winter we plan to go to Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge in the fall for a few days.  We would also like to go to Savannah, GA.  We are both getting information on Berlin.  She is working on Gatlinburg and I am working on Savannah.  We have even started a list of places to visit next year!

Decided we will deal with the mice on our own.  I know where they are coming in so I will just keep setting traps and catching them.  When Kevin retires in August he will patch up the holes under the house which should help keep the mice from getting under there.  I have not caught any now for almost a week.  Also, Penny doesn’t act like she hears them any more. 

We are having trouble with some of our pecan trees.  Two of the ones we planted last year didn’t make it so Kevin is digging them up.  In fact, all you have to do is touch them and they fall over.  As for the older one in our front yard we have web worms in one of them and worms in the nuts on the others.  While Kevin and Renea were on their cruise I made a lot of phone calls about the worms.  Most people I talked to wanted to just cut down the trees, but we would like to save them.  I finally talked to an arborist, who was recommended by one of the tree service guys.  He said the web worms will not destroy the trees.  They are just unsightly.  They have nothing to do with the worms in the nuts.  We should just cut off those branches.  He recommended that we call Russell County about the worms in the nuts.  When I talked to Kevin we decided to check with Capps to see what he recommends.  We would really like to save the trees.

We have also decided to dig up the three tulip poplar trees.  There is no sign of life in any of them.  I will probably replace them next year.  Most everything else has some signs of life so we are babying them along.

I was going to mow some grass yesterday, but it rained – YEA!  Then Kevin was going to mow grass today, but again it has been raining – YEA!  Since we really need the rain we are not complaining. 

Later today we are going to celebrate Kevin’s birthday and Father’s Day.  I guess that means I won’t get much accomplished today.  That’s okay.

Good Morning

Good Morning.  I decided to post this even though it is over a week old.  I forgot to finish and post it earlier.  I have started a new post to catch up. 

I accomplished quite a bit today.  In addition to my regular morning chores I changed the bedclothes, did two loads of laundry and most important I cut out the material to make Jana’s placemats.  I then laundered them.  Tomorrow I will iron them and, hopefully, get started on the sewing.  I have quite a few sets to make for others.

After lunch Renea called me, and asked if I would like to come for supper.  Her father had purchased steaks for all of us, and Kevin would be grilling them.  Of course, I said yes.  I thanked them and said next time would be on me.  Kevin wants to go to Cracker Barrel since Rebekah works there.  We will go on a night when she is working.  Anyway, Kevin grilled the steaks (they were so big I ate half and brought the other half home), Renea fixed baked potatoes (which were also enormous and I brought half home), and they had rolls (which I did not eat – I’m watching my weight 😊).  We also had New York cheesecake which Renea bought at Kroger.  Didn’t do a thing when I got home.  Watched some television and went to bed.

Today is Friday and I have had a busy morning so far.  I went out to the shed and found my two duffle bags.  I knew they were there someplace.  I also took the screen that Bruce took out of my window when he installed the a/c to the shed.  Kevin is going to go get Nick, and he is going to help Kevin cut grass today.  He will also cut my front yard.  I weeded the section next to my deck where the azalea bushes have been planted.  They are looking good.  I don’t spray any roundup around them because they are so new.  I also weeded several containers, deadheaded some plants, and got rid of one that was dead.  The next thing I did was spray roundup on the weeds in a third of the area in front of my deck.  It is getting too hot for me now, so I am taking a break.

This was all in addition to my regular morning chores.  I just love saying “regular morning chores.”  It sounds like I am really busy because y’all don’t know what they are.  And, I’m not telling!

IMPORTANT!  I caught mouse #8.  Yea!  I know I will never get all of them because I live in the country, but I’m working on it.

I’m done for the day.  I finished the area in front of my deck.  I sprayed everything with roundup that I could.  I may have to do some spot work tomorrow.  And, no, I didn’t work on Jana’s placemats.  I decided to finish the yard.  I don’t plan on doing anything this evening except read and maybe watch some television.

IMPORTANT! I caught mouse #9

IMPORTANT! I caught mouse #10

A New Window Air Conditioner

Good Morning!  I actually slept until 8:00 this morning.  Yea!  Checked my mouse traps when I finished breakfast and found TWO of them caught in the trap.  Yesterday I had caught another one.  I am up to seven now.  I talked to Kevin this morning and he thinks those three were because he mowed the grass yesterday and stirred them up. 

The reason I talked to Kevin this morning was because I want to put a window air conditioner in my “new” room.  My furnace/air conditioner is working overtime in this heat.  Thank you Jana for the suggestion.  Kevin and Renea have headed out to do some shopping and they are going to pick up a window air conditioner for me.  Kevin said he would put it in the window this afternoon.  I use a small heater in the winter so I am sure the a/c will help this summer.  I thought about putting a picture on this blog, but I figured y’all know what a window a/c looks like.

I now have an a/c in my living room.  Kevin sent Bruce and Nick over to install it since he was busy grilling. They installed it in the window on the north side of the house. It works fine!  What a difference.  My main a/c is not running nearly as much as before.  After they finished I joined Kevin’s family and Bruce’s family for supper.  Kevin grilled chicken (in the rain – we had about ½ inch) and Renea and Jennifer provided sides. Of course, it stopped raining about the time we came inside to eat.  Renea had made lemon bars for dessert and Rebecca baked (for Kevin) a confetti cake. We had a really nice time. 

Monday morning I went to Hobby Lobby and bought some material.  I am going to make Jana some placemats that she requested.  When I got home, after lunch, I started my genealogy class.  It is German Genealogy 101.  Hopefully, it will help me find some of my German ancestors.  Both my great grandfather Leipnitz and great grandfather Althoefer came from Germany in the 1800’s.  I have no idea who their parents are and I would love to find out.  That is the main reason for the class. 

Penny likes the new a/c.  The cold air blowing from it doesn’t seem to bother her at all.  In fact, I have seen her laying in front of it and on top of it.  This morning (Tuesday) there were two birds on top of the outside part.  She snuck up on them, stood on her hind legs to see over the top of the a/c and smacked the window.  Needless to say, the birds flew away.  Penny save the day.   She was very proud of herself. 😊

Now I am working on the second genealogy class.  The weather is hot and humid.  We had another ½ of rain yesterday, and we are supposed to have more today.  This is a good time to do things inside.

NOTE:  We did have more rain.  We are no longer in a drought situation.

This morning (Wednesday) I had my PFT (pulmonary function test).  Parts are below normal, others are just right at the bottom of normal.  It just tells me what I know – I need my inhaler because I get short of breath.  Before I left for the test the weather report said no rain, sunny and warm.  When I came out of the office after my test – guess what – it was raining.  So, I got wet going to the car.  However, it has cleared up now and is sunny and humid.

After the test I went to Barnes & Nobel to pick up three books that I wanted.  One of them came out yesterday, and the other two were books I saw on Monday and didn’t buy.  Decided I couldn’t do without them.  There are three more books in that series (I bought 4 and 5) so I ordered the other three on Amazon.  Next I stopped at Staples and bought some ink for my printer.  When I arrived home I planned on taking a nap because I had a terrible headache.  Needless to say, Penny had other ideas.  I still haven’t had a nap and I still have a headache.

After lunch I printed out the rest of the material for my genealogy class which I will read at my leisure.  Also, Jana and I are going to take a little trip this summer to Holmes County, OH.  She has been there, but I haven’t.  So, I printed out a lot of information of places to see and eat.  We already have our room.  The girls also have their rooms reserved at the kennel.

Renea came over and visited with me while I sat on my swing on the deck.  We had a really nice visit.  Kevin came home while we were talking and he also came over.  They are getting ready to go on a cruise with Bruce and Jennifer.  Renea’s brother, Mark, will be coming to stay so her parents have some help while they are gone.  I sat out on the deck so long, that when I came in the only show I saw was Brother vs Brother.  Not bad. It passes the time. 

It was then time for bed.  Takes about a half hour to get ready by the time I take my pills, etc.  When I walked into the kitchen Miss Penny came flying through on one of her running spurts.  She couldn’t stop because she wasn’t on a rug and she ran into the wall and just bounced off.  Scared me more than her.  She shook her head and kept on going.  She may still have her nine lives, but I’m not sure about me.

A Little Bit of Everything

Tuesday was heart doctor day.  Still have the same problems, but they are under control.  She said all the tests show that my heart is fine.  She is still convinced that my problem is pulmonary.  I will be taking the pulmonary breathing test again next Wednesday.  I am now on Symbicort for maintenance along with Albuterol for emergency.  I do not use the Albuterol nearly as much as I was.  I do not have to see Dr. Bennett for a year now unless I have a problem.

Since I was there most of the morning, I didn’t get much accomplished except my daily chores.  I did take a nap because I was up so early and worn out.

Not getting much done in regarding yard work.  First it was really hot and humid, but now it has been raining every time I want to go outside.  Today I did weed the containers (the Franklin trees are doing just fine), weeded around the azaleas and the forsythias.  So, I guess I got a little bit done.  I also paid some bills.  Yesterday I called the electric company because my security light has burned out.  Of course, I had to leave a message and I have not heard back from them.  If I don’t hear anything today I will call again tomorrow.

Looks like I am having problems getting books delivered through the US Mail again.  While I was in Ohio I ordered three books through Barnes and Nobel.  I have received one.  Guess I will need to make some phone calls about this.  So, I did make a call.  The folks at Barnes and Nobel were very nice.  They are considering the books as lost in transit and will be sending two new ones.  Thank you Barnes and Nobel.  No hassle whatsoever.

Penny is on guard duty again this morning.  I assume she caught a whiff of another mouse.  The trap is set.  I made sure it was baited.  We will see if I get another one.

Didn’t get a lot more done today. I had a really bad day with my vertigo, arthritis, fibromyalgia and VOR.  Thinking positive – tomorrow will be a better day.

The electric company came this afternoon and replaced the security light in my front yard.  It was like daylight out there last night.  However, I have room darkening curtains so I didn’t have any trouble sleeping.

Yes!  Today is a better day.  I have accomplished quite a bit this morning, and, hopefully, will get a lot more done this afternoon.

In addition to my morning chores, I signed up for a genealogy class, made reservations to board Penny, cleaned out the bookcase in my bedroom, and talked to Jana and Renea on the phone.  After lunch it started raining and rained the rest of the day.  Was still raining when I went to bed.  Didn’t get much more done.  Just some odds and ends.  Tomorrow is another day.

Good Morning!  Got a good night’s sleep.  However, Penny woke me at 5:30 a.m. so I shut the door and went back to bed until a little after seven.  I checked the mouse trap, and it seems I have a very clever mouse.  He is somehow eating the peanut butter, tripping the trap and still escaping.  This is going to be a challenge.  I WILL GET HIM!

I just checked the rain gauge and found we had 1-1/2 inches of rain yesterday.  I guess we are no longer in a drought.  However, I still lost my three tulip poplar trees and two of the new pecan trees. 

Worked on my genealogy today.  Actually got quite a lot accomplished.  I entered the information I found regarding Jim’s grandparents and great grandparents on his mother’s side.  I still have quite a bit of research to do as far as they are concerned.  They seem to be very elusive.

I was invited to Kevin and Renea’s for supper.  They were having a grill-out, so I said yes.  Renea’s mom and dad were there.  I took a glass of wine with me and enjoyed the late afternoon and evening.  Renea was not feeling well so I didn’t see her.  Watched a little television when I came home then called it a night.

This morning I went to Barnes and Nobles to get a couple of books.  However, I was told that one of them wouldn’t be released until June 6^th.  I did pick up a few others.  I just had to because I had two coupons! 

The rest of the day was quiet.  Went to Mass at 5:30.  Picked up my prescription.  Watched a little television.  Then called it a day.