Mixed Bag

Last week, I sent this pic to my son, asking if he could come and pick - the ones on the bush to the right ... Saturday, he came and I was surprised at the small size of the berries in the bucket. He didn't seem too enthused about them. I asked if he had gotten the berries from the last bush on the right. No, he just picked what was closest to the house ... Sigh.

Even at a distance a person can tell where the good ones are.

 We had a cooler morning on Monday, I went out and picked half a bucket for the freezer. The rollator is a dandy, goes over the lumps and holes in the yard like it is on pavement! It guess it pays to get a good one. DH has his uncle coming in the morning to pick more, as the bushes on the left are now ripening like crazy.

DH said that Uncle Jimmy is going to marry someone in a few days. I did a double take, wondering what happened to his aunt. It seems that his uncle is officiating, lol! He knew he would get me with his statement! Jimmy is an old duffer like me ...

 DH was planning on taking the red car out, but it was out of gas. He needs to have the gas tank taken off and have a new whatsy put in, so he knows how much gas he has. I've named the car Scarlet Charlotte. Seems as good a name as any.

Losing more words, it's so irritating! It's even worse when I'm excited. I must sound like a babbling idiot on the phone. At least when I write, I have some time to think of the lost word. Ruth, bless her heart, has the patience of a saint when it comes to our 2 - 3 hour conversations at night.

 Matt, one of my original o2 handlers, brought my tank out today. I asked him honestly, how long it was going to take ... He said I would probably be here next year. He sees many like me all the time, he would know, but seriously I hope he is wrong. Matt had all of his teeth pulled and his mouth looks so sore. He's waiting for his gums to heal before he gets his teeth. I hope that all goes well for him. My new teeth were such a disappointment.

Youngest son bought me the first season of a show I never heard of. It's called Dollhouse. I still haven't finished Firefly yet. It is nice to have something come in the mail besides bills and pills though, not knocking it. Ha Ha.

That's it for now, it's still basically calm around here, but working its way up to being busy. Have a good day on the morrow!

Water, Water, Everywhere ...

Water, something most of us take for granted, or at  least we did. I remember living in town in the late 40's early 50's, we had a well and plenty of water. I never thought about how refreshing it was, as I was a kid. There was no taste or smell, it was just water. I lived in a small world. As far as I knew, nobody ever bought water. If asked, I'm sure that I would have considered it pretty stupid.

I know this is a pretty deep subject, given that people drank mead and ale as a normal thing centuries ago - it killed the bacteria in the water. This said ... People were aware that pollution (at least the ground) caused problems with the drinking water.

We never learn, do we?

So ... Here we are, our wells are polluted, as well as our lakes, streams, rivers and oceans. Now, we buy water. How many ways are they coming up with to correct this problem? Not nearly enough.

Label from the last water DH picked up.

Purified, I wonder if this has always been a word. Purified with Flavor Enhancing Minerals. 

I added the fat and sugar free, myself. Why not? Did water ever come with sodium - so much that it was a bad thing? Is the water they start with, ocean water? Purified brings some pretty strong images of the original water to my mind.

This, by itself, is scary. Scary that it comes from Wal Mart and scary that there are so many brands out there. What are we really drinking? Maybe it's time to be drinking mead again. Just a thought.
 
 

Brexit

I think I am beginning to understand what is happening with Brexit, but I am not totally sure about it. I've tried to wrap my head around what it all means and will mean in the future. 

I went to bed last night with the world being one way and woke up with everything changed. The news makes no sense to me, everybody is pushing their own views on it. It seems to be who talks the fastest and gets their words in first. So, okay, if you would please tell me in your own words (no filibustering, please, and no links) what the heck is going on and how this all is going to affect you. I don't care where you live, this appears to be a global thing.

First thing I noticed, was that the stock market is down, way down. Could this have a permanent effect on DH's retirement? Gold and silver went up, but our money is not in metals. The dollar is on it's way up and the pound is down. (the lowest I can recall)

Brexit seems to be affecting more than the UK. Am I wrong?

I detest politics, mostly because I cannot understand the ramifications of each political move.

Bucket List

When I learned to drive, I had a Nova. When I got a replacement set of wheels - I got a Nova. Through the years, I have often thought I would like another one, either like my first "Butterscotch Baby," or my powder blue "Baby" with her lion face covering the hood. (One of my boys did an excellent painting in black that literally covered the hood.) I kind of put one on my "Bucket List."

Life does go on. I hunted for a picture of either of them yesterday and couldn't find anything. I've had quite a few cars since, but the only one I ever had that compared with that "Nova" handling, was my Cougar. I no longer drive and it was sad to think I would never have another Nova.

Last night, I noticed the logo on my rolling walker. Cosmic forces were in play and the joke is on me!

Life's funny, isn't it?

Blueberries and New Wheels

Yesterday was a fluke, as we are fully into summer now. I woke (late) to a beautiful, breezy day. Even after I had breakfast and got dressed, the day was exceptional. I asked DH about the blueberries and he told me the first bush was ready for the first picking. (Drat! Father's Day, I knew my son would not be into picking berries on HIS special day.) I hated to have them go to waste. So ... I donned my oxygen tank and found my berry picking bucket.

The breeze kept me cool while I picked for a while, but my back was aching from standing still in one spot. Finally, I simply had to sit down. (Knowing full well there was nothing to hang onto to get myself up!) Then I crawled around, getting some of the lower berries. If the neighbors were looking through their binoculars, it must have been quite a show. I think I picked about half of the ripe ones on the bush when my skin was screaming at me about the sun. (My medication makes me photo sensitive) My bucket was getting heavy, so I decided that I had done enough.

I called DH to get help rising to my feet. And I called. And then I screamed. He was playing golf ...

This morning I was online at Amazon, getting wheels and a seat.

It should be here on Wednesday. Cute, huh?

Have a good day!

 

Wordless Wednesday

Puzzling

I have been trying to find a puzzle maker to use on my PC. I found a free one - Free to try out for 5 hours ... then it's money. I used to have a program in my '95 that was sweet. Of course, 'used to' is the operative phrase here. I've been looking and I really want something I don't have to finish right away, something with more pieces. You know? Challenge my mind but doesn't keep me strapped in this chair for hours. I like to make my own picture puzzles. Found out last night that black and white can be very challenging - picture four people, standing in the thick woods with peeks of sunshine in B/W.

Took a picture of my poor hibiscus (for a puzzle). It didn't get pruned and is so straggly. The plant must be 40 years old, it was in the front yard of the old farmhouse - now our back yard. 

Sad, isn't it? Next year, for sure.

 I may not be posting so often. Things are so calm here, there is nothing to blog about. Seriously. I must be boring you all to death. DH hitting the road again. (Yawn) My moccasins are coming today. (Yawn) I wasn't going to complain about summer, but, sigh ... I really want to - it's god-awful, already! (Yawn) It may be boring right now. I'm loving it though and it's so good for my blood pressure, don't you know.

FORE! (wii style)

As you all know by now - DH has become quite the golf player, wii golf that is. He has the Tiger Woods game version. He plays it a lot, more so, since the TV is all reruns or no selection worth watching. He plays it as if it were polo, but he has become very good at it.

Here he is taking a swing with his character mimicking him.

 

 In the game, you can play as one of the golf greats or make your own player, which he did. He calls her BW. He made quite a few players of his own, and thankfully settled on this one. He made one guy, so ugly I asked him to change it. 

Here BW got a Birdie, she does a stupid teenage dance if she gets an Eagle and she's awful when she gets a Bogie or Double Bogie.

 The characters have all sorts of reactions to the outcome of their swings. I've seen them throw their clubs and kiss them. I can see why DH is so fascinated. (Though not enough to do it myself, I'd probably send that controller through the TV screen.)

His 'form' may not be correct, but he scores really well!

 DH really doesn't have any hobbies, so this wii game has really helped with boredom and getting through the times that he's out of work. We have other games, but I would rate this high on the scale of reducing the blahs.

How did it happen?

We went a whole week without any disasters, disappointments, or upsets. It's hard to imagine, but we did it.

DH bought himself 5 pair of socks (and got one pair free, can you believe?) He also bought me a couple pair of dress slacks - I have yet to try on. I began thinking (something that gets me into trouble) and I thought I could use a pair of nice soft moccasins for padding around in the house. I went to Amazon and ordered myself a pair of soft sole moccasins (plain - no beads). I felt a little guilty, ordering a pair of what I consider a frivolous waste of money, but I wanted some. I happened to check our bank statement and found out that while I felt guilty spending $39 for something I didn't really need - he spent $54 and got 6 lousy pair of socks! I may just order myself a pair of moccasins in a different color! (Just kidding)

 DH went to his bone doctor today, for a pain in his heel. He was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis. Sounds ominous, it's not, it's just painful and is probably caused from running around in the house barefoot - it seemed to start when he began playing so much golf on the wii. He swings that thing more like a polo mallet than a golf club and kind of bounces on his heel after every swing. I could be wrong, but I would bet money on it. Really.

The other day, one of my blog mates received a package of soft peppermints. My mouth was watering as soon as I read her blog and I couldn't help myself, I immediately ordered a bag of my own. It came this afternoon, almost 3# of them. They should last me until Christmas. Amazon is just too handy ...

I'm looking forward to my calm days continuing, if that's at all possible. Crossing fingers. I hope you have a great (calm) weekend ahead as well!

Hot!

DH has gone shopping, so I am going to watch some of the shows I have recorded for just this type of situation. I'm going to start with the new Roots. He has been playing the wii - golf of all things. Playing it hard. Early in the morning, late at night, you name it. He really gets into it.

I looked at some more series and tv movies on Amazon - most of what I would like to watch is on streaming, or it's too pricey for my blood. Don't they realize that there are loads of us people with a limited amount of use? I would use up all my time ... Sigh. I came to the realization that I don't like comedy. Not series anyway. Not the half hour, condensed to 20 minutes of people acting like idiots or writers making tired punchlines. So ... I didn't order anything.

Have been checking on what the Comet will need. We've been told that when the car was in the paint shop, somebody stole a lot of the chrome. Um, sure. We can't insure it for the full amount because of the missing chrome and whatever else is gone. :-( I won't dwell on it, some will show up - or not.

Well, I'm off to my recliner, a soda, and a sandwich (Also some Halvah, carrot cake, and whatever I can find in the kitchen. Have a great day!

Make Hay _____

Neighbors making hay across the road.

Heat is on the way!

Happy to say nothing.

It's Monday and after an uneventful weekend, I am happy to report more of the same! Everything seems to be middle of the road -  the weather, the kids, everything. Wishing you all a calm week with few surprises!

Monster in a blanket

My monster ...

I washed my comforter the other day and decided it had outlived it's usefulness. DH picked this up for me yesterday. I had been looking at the various plush blankets and couldn't decide on what I really wanted, so I threw caution to the wind and asked him to find me one. In person the blanket is a soft medium forest green - I'm seeing the picture of it as a sort of blue. I don't know if it's my monitor, my camera, or the lighting that's responsible. What color do you see? Jack really likes it and is ready to play Monster in a blanket.

Letter from home ...

Hello Folks!

It's the first of June already, May fairly flew. Summer appears to be in full swing and the weather patterns have settled in.

On Friday, last week, my closest granddaughter graduated from high school. She started working yesterday. She'll be going into nursing and I couldn't be more proud of her. How many of today's kids know enough to get the show on the road right away?

My beautiful granddaughter, Alexa

DH came back from working a nearly three week job in northern Kentucky. He was surprised to see that Jack and Jill were using the doggy door. They were happy to see him, but guess who they slept with last night? I was hoping for a rest. Dogs do like routine.

I stayed up late last night, waiting for the birth of 5th(?) great-grandchild. Haven't heard a word, so maybe she opted to have a June birthday.

I started a cleaning project the other day, seems everything in the cupboards with flour or the like, had bugs in it. I couldn't even make myself a pancake or muffin or cookie, and I was out of bread after the first few days of his job. I was getting down to the nitty gritty when I had frozen TV dinners for breakfast. I will put that sort of thing in my refrigerator from now on - I'd rather eat the eggs than the bugs themselves. (The thought makes me gag, yet it's so true!)

I noticed that my blueberry bushes have started sending out shoots. There will be no more mowing around the plants until they have a chance to grow and I can get all the weeds out by hand. Yes, someone will have to help me up after I have been crawling around on my hands and knees in the yard. (They may have to carry me in) Hopefully, someone will be thankful that I did that. Blueberries have got to be the easiest fruit to grow and so good for you.

June 1st is my busiest birthday on my calendar. I think I have sent everyone a birthday wish, but somehow, I feel like I have forgotten someone. If it's you - please refresh my memory.

All for now, have a wonderful summer.  

This just in!

Tamzyn

 4# 11oz. 15" long, born at 8:08a.m. June 1, 2016