Am I ready for this?

Time to find my sweats and sweaters! I believe the warm weather is over!

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.)

Blackberry Winter

I'm sitting here in my heavy robe. I'm cold. The blackberries are blooming, I knew this would be here. It's the second day of a real cool down, commonly known in these parts as Blackberry Winter. In the spring, after it warms up, we still have a few cool spells before the wretched heat and they are called winters. It will warm back up in a couple days. I'm in no hurry, it's still better than the real thing. Ruth picked the best time to visit - before it got chilly.

I used my pressure cooker yesterday. Made the loveliest pot of ham and beans. They weren't quite done, so I had to do them an additional 5 minutes, but I will learn. (Hopefully)

Son J hooked up the new wifi printer on Friday. I haven't figured that out yet. The buttons are in an awkward spot on the top and my eyes just can't see them, with or without glasses.

Watching Doc Martin, love it and the characters! Not much else going on here besides the normal things. A rather large storm went through yesterday, the tornadoes  went through the same spot they usually do (E. of Waynesboro toward Lawrenceburg) I wonder what causes that. Had a wren check out the window birdhouse, guess she didn't like it. Sigh ...

Week's End

Snow was/is in the forecast. Last night, I guess, Nashville got an inch of the white stuff. We dodged the bullet, but the second wave is on its way. The system is heading due east, we may yet go unscathed, I don't know. If we get any, it shouldn't be much. (I hope, I hope, I hope)

 The temperature is 41 and that's our high ... The dogs are already hiding, too gloomy out there, I guess.

I found the Tiny Tim seeds and put them in. These are 3 days out of the ground. I hate when the seed husk stays on the end, I have this overwhelming urge to pull it off. Haha. I have more seeds, if one of these doesn't make it. I don't always have the best luck ...

I started watching Battlestar Galactica. I had never watched the series. Not sure how I feel about it - I just started the second disc. DH sold a bracelet for me, so I can do some guilt-free shopping. I ordered 3 DVDs with British movies, Heehee. When I have finished Battlestar, I also have Buck Rogers and I thought I had to break that up a little with some levity and romance, you know?

Son sent me a story in an email, the other night. I tried my darnedest, but the words just weren't making sense. It may as well have been written in hieroglyphics. I was over-tired and I had a headache. It seemed like I was trying to read some foreign language. It kind of scared me. In the morning, I tried again, and it was fine - a decent story. I have noticed this phenomenon happening more and more. (BTW, I had to play with phenomenon multiple times to get it right. To think how I used to pride myself on my spelling - Pride has bit me in the butt)

I hope you are enjoying your weekend!

 

Springtime strut of Mr. Mockingbird.

Here is Mr. Mockingbird. You will have to take into consideration that he was quite far away and I had to zoom the heck out of him. He was doing his usual springtime courtship strut. He walks a few steps and raises his wings in a jerking motion, brings them back down, and walks a few more steps. He'll go across the open space in the yard for fifty feet or more. Of the many pictures I've posted, I had tried to get a shot of the patterning on the wings unsuccessfully, so I was happy for what I got. In flight their tails are quite impressive too - I just haven't gotten a good shot of that yet.

We're expecting a nice warm day tomorrow, and then it's all going to go to pot for the next week or so. Heard snow was in the forecast for the weekend. Brrr. March is not going to give up that easily. I can feel the changes in my bones already.

On my last disk of Quantum Leap. It's different from what I had remembered, although I hadn't seen very many episodes when it was being broadcast. Still entertaining, but not as much as what I remembered. Of course, I'm older now ...

Saturday

Not exactly sure how it got to be Saturday, but here it is. I am surprised , but have not caught a mouse in 1 1/2 days. Could it be that we have them all, or did they go back outside because of the warmer temperatures? It's near 70F again today. Seems most of us are having a January Thaw and better.

I've been caught up in my DVDs. Currently watching Scandal, I only have the first two seasons. I watched the first season of House of Cards and not sure if I want to buy any more. They are both about corruption in the White House. I still have the complete collection of Damages and that one sounds like lawyers and scandals. Am trying to stay off my feet, as my legs and feet are being more problematic, it helps.

It's a gorgeous day today. It has been warmer than normal, but damp, rainy, foggy, and pretty much yucky, until today. It's most likely going to get cold again.  Normal winter pattern in these parts. Warm equals dismal and cold equals bright and sunny. Is nice to see the sun for a change!

DH took Brad out for a drive, it's been too long. His brakes went out, so it's in the shop. (So far only one mouse has been caught in the garage, yay!) He took Charlotte for a spin, too. Wish I could drive, think I might like her. With him working nights, he hasn't got the time or energy to mess with his toys. 

Jack catching rays.

Letter from home - December 2016

Dear Friends and Family,

Where to start? I guess I better just jump in. It's the first of December already. How odd, even with a chill in the air, the days are flying by! Winter is definitely here, judging by the forecast for my area. It's time to check the light bulbs under the house - we don't need any frozen pipes.

 I received my new blanket and it isn't as warm as I expected. Sigh. I'll need additional something by the end of next week. I guess I should have bought a sleeping bag.

DH has been going to the doctors. Multiple. He's had this painful thing going on in his chest and back. It was suggested that he had pleurisy although nothing showed on his x-rays. Separated ribs was the next idea. No treatment. Went to chiropractor, twice, came home more miserable. Next trip, they did a CT scan, which showed a kidney stone and spots on his kidney and a couple spots on his lungs that they figured were nothing to worry about. Then he had an ultrasound on his kidneys - he is supposed to go in in six months to be checked again. He still hurt. By now, he had been having this horrible pain for almost 3 weeks. I noticed some spots like bites on his side, chest and back. It didn't really look like the rash I had when I had the shingles, but I mentioned it to him. Back to the doctor's office. SHINGLES! He got some pills supposedly for shingles. 3 days later, (yesterday) he went to a different doctor in a different town. Yep, shingles! He now has some ointment and pain pills. He is some better today. Seems some people don't break out as bad as others and the pain is more inside than out. Doctors! I just don't trust them.

I tried doing a little Christmas shopping online. I thought I found the perfect gift for my SILs at Teleflora and when I was filling out the information, the site had me check the dates - seems as I was ordering - they ran out! I can kinda tell that shopping isn't going to be a picnic. Good thing I started early. Now, to think up something else.

Either my puny tomatoes are ripening or rottening.

 I was surprised when I looked at the 'trimmings' from a couple of weeks ago. I had stuck them into a bottle of water with idiotic thoughts of sticking them into another pot of dirt. 

 Yes, there are five tiny tomatoes growing, I was sure the blossoms would be shocked from the cutting and fall off. Tough tomato plants!

As some of you know, my printer gave me grief over the new ink and refuses to print with it. My little dream of actually making and sending out a few Christmas cards, went down the drain. I have yet to get a different printer. DH bought me a few cards to send out and I sat on the bed making them out while watching the newest DVD of Poldark. 

Yes, the last Poldark for the season was broadcast. No more Call the Midwife for now. Jewel in the Crown finished, as well as Indian Summers and The Durrels of Corfu. Sigh ... I checked December programming - it isn't my kind of stuff. January looks promising.

I am getting excited about Christmas - because our youngest son will be flying in for the holidays! I hope I don't go overboard and get sick. I normally don't 'Do' Christmas, but with him coming and how bad I've missed him, well, I just can't help myself! I may even do up my little trees. I have no idea what to get him, or his dad for that matter, so I search the internet in hopes I can spot the perfect gifts.

All for now, sorry this is so long. Have a great day! 

Rain, at last!

I did this at lunch - doubtful we got any appreciable rain at all, we were on the very edge of this as it went sliding by. (Not the 1.35" stated in the stats.) We did have one good crack of thunder. No chance to hear rain pitter-patting on the metal roof and going back to sleep. You can see we are in transition, but seems like the bottom will fall out soon and it will really feel like October. We have yet to turn the heat on, soon, it will be soon, probably after next Tuesday or Wednesday.

I'm still working on Julia, I've changed it some and shortened it some. More to chop.

Have a great weekend!

Another one bites the dust.

Well, that was one fast week! Where did it go? We did have a couple coolish days and I was hoping. My hopes were dashed when I checked out the week ahead.

 I do not see a real cool-down coming just yet. Maybe the snow won't be falling on Halloween, maybe. It could, of course, it has before. 

DH has to take the fancy-schmancy riding mower to the shop. Sigh, not even two years old. I seriously believe we should just hire a lawn service and quit messing around with mowers. I think the money end of it would probably be about the same and he wouldn't have to do the work. We should probably be in an apartment situation now, anyway ...

I'm feeling better, not my breathing, of course, but most of the sneezing and snotting seems to be over. Obviously the allergy alert isn't referring to my allergies. (Or maybe I did have a cold. ???)

My grandson is 29 today. Happy Birthday, Brian! That means, my granddaughter is 30? Wait a minute, how the bleep did that all happen? This is getting pretty darn scary...

Last night, I watched the previews of the next season of Poldark. I guess it is supposed to start in late September. I wonder how much the writers will mess with it? I was remembering something about Demelza's character and they were talking about her knickers. It bothered me for quite some time. No, I'm not a dirty old lady ... well, that's beside the point ... I finally did a search - the word "knickers" had not been invented in 1783, so she couldn't have said anything about them. (Much less owned a pair) I'm sure there are other holes in the screenplay and I think Mr. Graham did his research as far as that part of it went. I have finished all of the books in the series and deduced he had a lot of help with finishing them, especially the final one. I can't see Masterpiece going all the way through the books without putting more of themselves into it than Mr. Graham did after the 8th book. JMHO.

I leave you with a sad note: Tacky killed and ate a bright yellow bird on the front porch. I figured out that the bird I caught on the camera a while ago was a yellow warbler - that's what she ate.

 Wishing you a great week ahead, sunshine and flowers - at least good things!

Where did it go?

Hey! It rained for a bit this morning! Promises for more tonight, but often the weatherman is full of ...empty promises. It's a shade cooler and I appreciate that.

Tomorrow is my youngest son's 27th birthday, sigh. He's in California now, hopefully enjoying better weather than we. I started looking at the old pictures and became a little misty. Why did the time have to fly by so quickly?

Just 7 hours old, looks like Daddy.

With his 'Best Friend' - Rough.

Helping decorate his birthday cake.

 He's grown into a fine man now, but to me - he'll always be my little boy.

Journey's end

Well, my son made it just fine, pretty much anyway. He is settled into his motel (temporary lodging) and found there is no refrigerator or microwave. He is not thrilled. It will be pricey this week, having to eat out for all meals.

He had to buy a couple of tires, 1200 miles into the trip. Found out his lug nuts were shy and loose on one of the wheels. Sigh.

 ~~~

Had to have the HVAC guy out again. He called to get directions and I told him, "The house with the ants," and he knew right away. Oh, and yes - they had invaded it again during the winter! No wonder the electric bill was so nuts. We need to be more aggressive against those pesky red ants.

~~~

Was 73 for a high today, warmer for a couple of days and then it will go back to being early spring temps again. Wish we had the new style thermostat for the central. I will get tired of playing with the controls before long.

~~~

That's it for now, time to relax!

All's Quiet

The week ahead looks fairly promising.

(I will take this with a grain of salt.)

DH is still working the night shift, I have my own version of "The Walking Dead" going on here. I am so tired of being quiet and keeping the dogs quiet all day so he can sleep. About 3 more weeks of this left. Ugh! Sleep is getting messed up for everyone.

The foliage for my "Naked Ladies" has come up about 6" so far! My first sign of spring has arrived! Yeah! It won't be long and we'll have blossoms coming up all over.

It hasn't been an eventful week - Thank Goodness! Have a good weekend!

 

Changes in my womb

Yesterday before it all began ...

Cold! Rise and shine! DH up and not happy, me up and excited. He was going to go collect my very old, new to me, bed. At first, I didn't think the sky would be pretty, it fooled me.

DH left early to pick up son for the 2 1/2 drive up near Nashville in the truck (with no heat). I honestly thought when he went out to start it that he said the heater worked. Oops! Meanwhile, I began sorting out my womb to make room for it. How did I collect so much stuff since I brought the daybed in here?

By the time they got back with the bed, the sun had set. They were about frozen solid and I felt as if I had worked on a chain gang for seven hours. DH was worn out too. Naturally the bed had not been torn down and it was upstairs in a very large house. Then they had to take the daybed apart and install the new/old one while I shuffled things out of the way.

Jack and Jill were tickled to see their boy again so soon and tended to get in the way. They couldn't figure out what was going on. The looks on their faces - well, we may as well have pooped on their parade - the daybed was GONE and the new bed was too high for them to jump up on. Jack is still shooting hurt looks of betrayal at me. I 'kind of' made the bed after I refreshed the wrong set of sheets and collapsed into it. That was after I broke a sweat trying to get up into it.

Sometime in the night, I was roused by a hulking dark figure in my doorway (which confused me by it's placement), and then DH said that Jill was pacing the hall, her nails tapping on the wood, trying to figure out where her bed was. We tucked her in beside me and once she settled, she lay there like a person, head on the pillow. Then we both passed out.

Needless to say, I can hardly move today. My muscles are still screaming. The room is still in shambles. I think Jack hates me. I have to find some doggy stairs ... Pictures later.

BTW, the bed sleeps like heaven!

Wrapping up Christmas

Typical Tennessee winter weather patterns - warm is wet and cold is clear. It's showing up pretty clear in our future, time to throw another dog on the bed for the New Year! (Actually, she climbs up by herself and snuggles under the top blanket.)

 

 

 

 

DH found the part for his drone yesterday. He will have to bundle up next week to fly it. Today, he's busy with a free preview of some (old westerns) channel. Son picked up Tiger Woods 10 for the wii yesterday, and he's into that too. Do these boys ever grow up?

We still have a table full of cookies, cakes and candies. Hard to believe I am almost sick of that stuff. LOL. I will say, I had about the best Christmas that I've had in years. Good visits with great company. The dogs had a blast - they even came out of hiding when J and his family came and didn't mind the weather. DH grilled twice and our youngest stayed from Christmas Eve until yesterday. By last night, I was shot, but it was a good shot.

Have a great week!

Can't tell a book ...

Disclaimer: The opinions on this post are just the ramblings of an old lady, not to be taken seriously, not really.

You know by now that I have been making good use of my Kindle Unlimited. Have not kept track of the titles - too many. Some of them are novellas and some are longer and some are continuing books. 

When I was writing, I was informed that you must have a great cover, well ... That is not always true, as my selections have proved. Some great covers are just that, and content is mediocre. The same can be said for the other way around.

Most of what I have been reading this past week or two have been about mail-order-brides of the west. I never did any research on how much time it took to get from cities on the east coast to various points west, but by some of the stories, neither did the authors. The timelines were so widely varied - somebody was way off. I tried not to think about it.

Some books touted a bride story, and then they were short with an added story - not related, not even the same time frame, and not even something I was interested in. I felt cheated, somehow. I know that I shouldn't feel that way because it was free, but was time I wouldn't get back, you know?

I always worried that I had my punctuation wrong, maybe too many commas. Try reading a book with no commas. Long, run together sentences, which could be read differently. The small writer in me was proofing the whole read and guessing what she had to say.

Spelling. OMG, a proofreader would have made the world of difference to some of the books I read. What was their hurry? The glaring homophones - wow, it was the comedic relief in some rather boring reading. I will take back saying that anyone can write a book.

I did read a lot of good stories that put a person right in the middle of the smoke-filled sod dugout or log cabin. Their lives felt real.

O ~ O ~ O ~ O ~

Jack and Jill both need batteries for their collars. The radio controls are blinking like Rudolph. DH will (hopefully) bring home new batteries after work. Jill seems oblivious, but Jack acts like its a bomb and is acting worried.

We are having a beautiful day, the sun is shining and yesterday's gloom and rain are a thing of the past (for now). Rain is forecast for Christmas, but that can always change, this is Tennessee after all.

Have a great day!

 

 

Wordless Wednesday

Here comes autumn!

 

It will come ...

The sun was setting as I took this shot. No, during the day, it doesn't look that bad, but it does make me think of the days ahead. The leaves are fading fast. They are drab and dull. It was very windy before and the yard is full of dead/dying leaves. I would venture a guess that we will have another early autumn. We had a good rain, along with the wind. The yard is full of robins too. They come in droves after a rain.

SO ... Today, I had by first full day of being 70. I don't count much of yesterday, as I was born shortly before midnight. Haha. I don't really care for the classification of "Old." It's tough enough getting there without that slap in the face. I do have some very lovely people in the ranks I have joined, though. (I agree, girlfriend, this one is pretty hard to take.)

My youngest came for a visit today, bearing an ice cream cake from the Dairy Queen AND DVDs for us. Dad received Dad type stuff and I got some funny stuff. I think he has me hooked on "Weeds" as I had never seen the series. I really enjoyed the first show! I know it's old, but it's new to me! DH and I both had a good birthday.

It is Jill's adoption day anniversary. We have had her in our family for six years now. She will get a page of her own next week - IF I remember.

Sparrow Hall has started to split down the middle, I don't believe it is going to last through fall. (Big frowny face)

Shazam!

I think it's me, but it may be my camera, or it could be the birds. Every time I try to focus the camera in a low light situation, as soon as I push the focus - the bird takes off. Can they see this beam and it frightens them? Am I just subconsciously being over-anxious and screwing up?

There was a bluebird there, some 30' away.

 Now to "Shazam!" Ever since I got this camera, I have tried to catch a bolt of lightning. Storm comes - out comes the camera. Usually my shots show nothing, and at the best a flash of light. The other night, we had a real banger going on. I took shot after shot hoping to catch something before I could see or hear a thing. I do know that once you hear it, it is long gone. Finally, I tired of this game after 20 shots or more. I hadn't looked at the first shot when I took it - that was the one that I kind of got! Now - seriously, I am aware that the shot really sucks. I have a filthy window, I have all kinds of reflections going on from the room. BUT, I finally got one!

SHAZAM! June 17, 2015

May even your smallest dream come true!

Have a lovely weekend!

Time for a letter from home...

March 30 - hail storms

Dear Friends and Extended Family,

I hope you are enjoying whatever you do on this weekend, Passover, Easter... We are having a hazy day, things are beginning to green up, and pollen fills the air. I’ve had my first crop of dandelions with hopes that some bees enjoyed nourishment. The second mowing can proceed at any time. It appears the newest growth of figs last year were frozen out during the below zero temperatures over the winter. The old parts still stand, as the birds seem to like them for landing on and surveying their territory. I get a kick out of watching the various varieties of birds and their reactions to one another.

Last week, we had a hailstorm, half an hour later a repeat and still another hour later, another one. The same stupid cloud, it didn’t seem to want to move on and pound on other people’s cars or roves. We had removed the insulation over the attic fan during a smoky food event, forgetting to replace it. Loud, let me tell you. The hail was penny to nickel size. Rain on a metal roof is one thing, pleasant even; hail on a metal roof is a whole different story. Hailstones hitting the windows, man, it sounded like Armageddon in here! Nothing was broken, dents in roof and cars though. Please excuse the terrible picture—taken, as the light was fading and the frozen stuff was still coming down. I was not going to put the window up and boink my camera.

My youngest is staying for a while; with DH gone all the time, it is nice to have a body in the house. He likes things quiet as much as I do. Bliss! He put a beginner’s 3D modeling program in my computer that is fun. (I’m not any good at it though.) 

I have been reading quite a lot of the FREE books on Smashwords. There are some extremely good stories out there that will never get anywhere because so many people think they are writers. (Also, some absolutely awful stuff. Free doesn’t always mean worth your time.) There is a glut of books out there; I’m talking tens of thousands that will never see the light of day as more and more come in every day. It is not only Smashwords, it’s Createspace and the numerous other “book makers” on the web.

Not going to whine about how crappy I feel, it is what it is.

I hope you are having a quality weekend with those you love!

I detest snow, but it is preferable to ice...

Note icicles on the wire

Bird Feeder Chandeliers

That's ice folks, nary a flake of snow.

The poor birds...

Crossing fingers that the power stays on! How is the weather where you are?