Long day

It has taken me all day to get at this. I do apologize. I (ahem) planned on doing my pictures and Wordless Wednesday thing. You know, all pink and light and fluffy. I didn't make it. I have been trying to find my jool tool bag. There is just a narrow path from the door to my comp chair now that I have emptied more stuff out of that closet. I'm too tired to re-stack and re-pack all that stuff. I cannot locate the jool tool bag! It had my bead stringing stuff, rhinestone stud setter, pliers, jewelry findings etc. in it. Not a real bag, more like a laptop carrying case. It doesn't appear to be in the closet where I thought I put it. If I can move tomorrow, I will put all this stuff back into the closet (maybe throw some of these clothes out) and pull everything out from under the bed to see if it's under there. If not? I'll have to order a few things for now.

I started making a little name tag thing for Jack's ash box out of letter beads. No way to hold it together nicely right now. I need that tool bag.

It has been a week, hasn't it? Texas is in peril, Louisiana is in trouble. The West Coast is on fire. India lost so many from the monsoon. Bad things going on, the whole thing is scary. Wondering if we need a shelter for tornadoes or bombs. It all just feels like overlap overload. (And my problems are absolutely nothing compared to any of it.)

Finished, Kinda, Sorta

The carpenters are gone. All that's left is the deck and a bit of a mess in the yard, which DH is working on now. Can't paint or stain for a while, it needs to dry or something.

I didn't realize how big it was going to be. Of course, better to have it too big than too small, right? I'm a happy camper!

 

Children of the corn?

I sent the pictures to our youngest and he asked why we were starting a 'Children of the corn cult' in the back yard. Funny boy!
No, actually, we are getting a deck put on, straight out from the door. No more slippery steps in the rain or ice, no more tripping over that crack in the slab. The guy is going to put in a wheelchair ramp as long as he's at it. We don't 'need' it yet, but it can't hurt, as long as he's building it. 

 We'll put the walker 'garage' by the door to be handy. He broke the one door, when they were moving it. It may not be too hard to repair. The deck will be wide enough for a table and chairs, and the grill with a server cabinet on the south end. The end where the ramp will be, will have space for the little 'garage' and the rolling garbage can. I'm sure it will also end up being a catch-all space as well ...
He's hoping to finish up this weekend, and then DH can start staining it. (The guy works a job and does his building for a couple hours after work. I think DH said his wife has cancer.)

Wordless Wednesday

Not so dark

Guess I was too far away. It did get a might gloomy. I ended up taking my binoculars out to see the progress of the eclipse. I did turn them the the wrong way and looked at the projection on the porch floor to watch it. I'm no fool. Well, not much of one ...

 It gave me a good enough view to watch the progress.

 It didn't seem to get as dark as I thought it would.

 At the darkest.

 I fiddled around trying to get a better pic with the larger binoculars, and had a hard time getting an image along with holding the camera. Wish I could have found my tripod. The moon was already moving out of the way by the time I got this shot.

Well, that's it for now. I did also watch it happening on my computer part of the time. I have my science fix for now. 

Friday Mix

DH went to the doc for labs today and hopefully get his BP taken. I think his pills are too strong. He could hardly drag himself into the house yesterday. His BP was 98/68! He came home after 8 hours, but was ready to come home at noon. I believe it's the new pills. I remember when the docs were trying to get me regulated, years ago, it was, "Let's try this one," and , "Let's try THIS one." I was in hell for several months. (I need to do that again, but I'm a tad apprehensive.)

 I took this shot a couple days ago. Tacky wouldn't hold still, of course, but I wanted to show how DH's tomato was growing behind her. It's planted in the ground about 3' below the level of the porch. It sort of climbed the wall and through the railing. It still has blossoms and several tomatoes. That plant didn't get staked and it has spread in several directions. I bet we have gotten over a peck of tomatoes off just that one plant already.

 Sorry this is fuzzy. From my chair, I couldn't tell what it was, so used the camera (through the dirty window) to identify it and took some shots. I don't recall ever seeing that woodpecker looking for bugs in the grass before, but I suppose there are bugs for them out there as well. I don't see them very often here.

I sort of wish I could "see" the eclipse. I suppose I could hitch a ride with someone to Nashville. Kind of silly though. I can watch it on the computer, just as well. I guess Nashville will have have about 1:28 minutes of total eclipse. Hardly worth the trip for me. It will be close enough here. I guess a lot of folks are going to make the drive to get closer. Hate to think of the traffic jam of those last minute watchers. Ha ha.

Y'all have great weekend!

Jill's Special Day

Today is Jill's 'Gottcha' day. Eight years ago, today, we answered an ad in the paper from an animal shelter for a puppy. A supposedly half chihuahua puppy. It's kind of a family joke about our Taco Bell dog. Okay, the people lied, but I fell in love with her there and told DH I wanted the pretty one and Jill came home with us that day.

That first day, Aug. 15, 2009

Taken yesterday, Aug. 14, 2017

She's as sweet as she looks. Oh, sure, her puppyhood was a real challenge, but that's just a distant memory. and she's making up for it now, in sweetness.

Baby Steps

Hold it there, this is my first attempt in unknown territory, please, keep your criticism to yourself! I did find a place to do this. I still haven't figured out the pencil. No real instructions, again. I doubt they make instructions for old ladies who have never bitten into an Apple before.

Today is my birthday, 72 - quite an accomplishment for me, never thought I would see the day. DH is taking off early, is his birthday too, so why not? We have a chocolate cake and ice cream and plans for a big pizza. (It's okay to plan for the pizza - it's already in the refrigerator, so barring the house burning down, we will have pizza!)

Have a good day, y'all! 

I'm gonna need help eating this!

New Toy

My son sent me an early birthday present. Yeah, something new, something strange, something very alien to me. This little gem came with no printed instruction. At one time, while playing with it, I saw something that referred me to some app for help. Somehow, I lost that and cannot find it again. I started to try to put my email on it and hit a wall - it was asking me for something I never heard of and can't remember. I know, I should have written it all down. I spent the better part of yesterday trying to figure something, anything out. I did learn how to do the finger print lock/unlock thing. That's about it. I have a long way to go.

He also sent a pencil to use with it, he wants me to tell him how much I like it. Hmm, I need to get to that part first. I see wavy, shaky lines in my future. Artwork? Doubtful.

I'll need to get some kid to come show me how to use this thing. I can't find a "back" place to push, slide, or swipe. Definitely need help!

Evening Air

 DH n Tacky

 Daddy Cardinal on guard.

 My Girl, Jill

 Mocking Bird giving warning ...

 Cattle in the meadow across the road

Good, Good, Tomatoes!

Good Sunday, Folks.

It's hard to believe that summer is acting like it wants to wind down already. The big trees are getting that dark, dirty green look. At night, the bugs are making so much noise that Jill wants company outside to go potty. She was so used to Jack going out with her. Our little garden has sprawled all over the bed. The peppers have pretty much finished doing their thing. The tomatoes are getting smaller. I did make 4 pints of pickled peppers, took me the whole day. (Thought my back was breaking) As long as they last, I have proof that we did have a little summer garden. My "Naked Ladies" bloomed with little recognition beyond a glance. 

It's a cloudy day. The weather forecast shows chance of rain for next several days. I hope we actually get some. It's terribly dry out there, although humidity is a problem. 

I looked through the toy boxes, trying to find a favorite of Jack's. I will put what is left of his tiger in his little box. It's really just a scrap anymore, but it had been a tiger hand puppet that he loved playing with. Jill helped me look and found a couple of her things, which she dragged to her bed.

I think I have the blog settings right now, if not, let me know. Thanks.

Life without Jack

Today would have been Jack's 11th Gottcha Day. It's a sad day for me. I need to turn that around and be happy I had him for as long as I did. We had Jack for 10 years 11 months. He was one of the exceptional joys in my life, a gift lost too soon, but while he was with us I have to say he was a true blessing. 

I still go through crying jags, missing him. I'm working on it, though I don't know that I should hold my sadness in. Maybe I expect myself to 'get over it' too soon. I don't know. 

Jill seems 'better.' She seems to have stopped searching for him. In spite of all the damage she caused as a pup, she must have taken all other clues about living a dogs life from Jack. She rarely barks, or howls the way she used to. In reflection, she let Jack start those reactions first. I have started trying to get her excited when the garbage guys come, when the O2 man comes, when the UPS man is driving into the driveway. I get a happy, tail wagging response now, but no loud barking the way she used to. Jill is almost a different girl.

Pictures are mixed up. I will not be commenting, this is hard enough to do. Thank You for your patience.