Another beautiful day

I think I'm going to need to water my outdoor plants, as it looks like we don't have any more rain in the near future at least.  I sure hope we get more in March.

I want to start planting my yellow squash and zucchini seeds this weekend, but it means I first have to go pull grass and weeds to get ready for the garden.  It might take another month for my tomato plants to grow enough to put them into the ground.  It takes my mind off the terrible news of the day about the virus.

And speaking of the virus, I think I am about to the point where I am going to keep myself at home as much as possible.  I thought I'd like to make one more trip to Costco, but I can order online if I need something.  I think I am pretty well prepared to last it out, and even bought extra food for Rocky.  I really do need to make another trip to an ATM as well as to Ace Hardware store to pick up a few gardening supplies that I need.  This is the scariest threat I think I have ever seen in my lifetime.

I hope all my readers are preparing themselves and their families/pets for the coming few months.  Maybe we are hearing the worst possible scenarios to get us to prepare, and in reality it might not be as bad as it looks.   On the other hand . . . . 

The middle

As I've mentioned several times, I have macular degeneration, and I can't determine the exact middle of anything.   That means when I part my hair in the middle it is slightly to one side.  The funniest is me trying to apply lipstick.  I'm sure everyone can tell that it is higher on one side than the other - I can almost see it myself but can't "fix" it.

With the world in the shape it's in today I guess I'm lucky to have these kinds of problems!

I walked Rocky this morning and he amazed me at how well he behaved and didn't pull on the leash.  I just wish I could stop him from jumping on people.  He goes absolutely crazy when someone comes to the door - jumping up against the screen door in excitement.  When I have anything delivered I tell them to just leave it in front of the door and I'll get it later.  That has led to some people telling me they don't mind at all if he jumps on them.  It's probably not a good thing to encourage it  but I open the door and let him at it!

My newest (6 or 8 wks - can't remember which) grandson came to visit me yesterday.  What a gorgeous little boy, who sure reminds me of his daddy!  When I held the baby I could tell Rocky wanted to get close - I would have thought he'd be more quiet and gentle around an infant, but I think he just wanted to be friends.

I am getting ready to go meet my granddaughter after school and walk her back to my house.  The last time I didn't crate Rocky, hoping he would behave.  He got into absolutely everything that wasn't nailed down, so into the crate he goes from now on - even if it's just for about 20 minutes.  I don't remember having as much trouble raising 3 boys and a girl, but I probably did.  They turned out pretty well.  I just hope I live long enough to see Rocky grow up and settle down, and become a pretty good boy!

Our weather has been absolutely spectacular lately.  Sunny and about 73 degrees at 1pm!  I dread thinking about the heat of summer though.

What lies ahead?

The news of the spread of the virus just gets more dire as time goes on.  I pretty much have everything I need to stay in for a month to 6 weeks, although I'd like to get a few more things just to be sure.  I am taking this thing very seriously although I doubt many people do at this point.  I probably should get some bottled water, although it would take so much for Rocky and me I hate to spend money on it.  Then I would have all that plastic to dispose of.

I've tried to keep positive thoughts in my mind for the years ahead, but current events make it difficult.  I hope you are all coping with it, and can make the best out of a terrible situation.

I let Rocky stay free and out of the crate when I went to meet Auti after school today.  That was a big mistake - he did every naughty thing he could to make me pay for that mistake!  He got into my new Kindle (although I think it wasn't damaged), and all sorts of items he really had to work at to reach.  From now on he will be on lockdown every time I go out that door without him.  It's a shame because in so many ways he behaves very well.  He will be 2 yrs old in about 3 months and I was really hoping he would start to act better and more consistent.  But no, not yet.

Back to the virus again, I have several products I want to use to clean and disinfect everything in the house.  Sometimes I laugh at myself for being so naive.  You can't sanitize a dwelling that has a big dog such as Rocky - maybe it would work with a small lap dog, but not with Rocky.  I just have to hope I'm used to his germs and that he's used to mine!  

 

Sunday Morning

I woke up early this morning and decided to just get out of bed.  I should do some outdoor work in the back yard, but will have to get up enough energy to actually do it.  My garden is looking kind of rough, although I won't be planting anything for at least a month or 6 wks.  The tomato plants are coming along nicely and I'll be glad when they grow enough to look like "real" tomato plants.

I've been avidly reading about the virus that is sweeping the world, and don't know what I should do.  I always enjoy shopping at Costco once a week but getting in crowds now doesn't seem like the thing to do.  Then, I realized that even if I managed to shop when there weren't many people, most of the merchandise has been touched by others who were there before me.  Even ordering for delivery doesn't make it safe. We are between a rock and a hard place! 

I have two flowering fruit trees, and I know one of them is cherry; the other is some kind of stone fruit but I'm not sure which.  All the trees on this property need to be pruned dramatically, but it isn't my job to have it done.  The apple tree drops so much fruit and I hate to put it onto the compost pile, but the apples don't taste good, probably from the tree being neglected over the years and allowed to grow way too big.   In my younger years I might try to do some of the work myself, but not these days.

I have a some daffodils that have opened up their beautiful yellow flowers.  I should have many more but a lot of the bulbs were dug up.  I blamed Rocky but it's more likely a different animal.  I can say that because Rocky is never outside the front door by himself and I would have noticed if he tried to dig anything up.  I wonder if it would be worth it in the future to cover the area with some kind of screening until the plants start to push up through the soil in the springtime. 

I'm wearing a pair of my new (larger size) jeans today and they look and feel wonderful.  Last night I noticed that the waistband on my lounge/sleep pants was too tight to be comfortable.  I've never been overweight in my life and think it would be a hoot if I became so in old age!  I doubt that will happen, but I should cut down on the sweets.

I hope you are all having a good weekend, take care, and stay safe.


 

Recuperating today.

After writing a couple of paragraphs they suddenly went "Poof" and were gone.  I really dislike this computer.  It isn't at all easy to work with.

The visit to the dentist yesterday went okay although he did more work than I thought he would.  I've been trying to tell him that I just can't take the ordeal of having more things done in one visit.  I hate to spread them out, but as it is now, it takes me a couple of days to recuperate to the point where I can eat.  At least I haven't had much pain at the injection sites like I did on my last visit.  I have to go back one more time, and two if he hears what I am saying about not  being able to take the longer visits and more dental work at one time.  I'm getting too old for it!   He is a good dentist, probably one of the best I've ever been to.  And he always calls his patients the evening they have had work done and asks how they are feeling.  That is a very nice touch, and I'm impressed he takes the time to check.

For a brief moment a few days ago I thought I might break down and buy a television set.  Then I remembered that I don't want to pay for channels I never watched, although with a certain type of TV I don't need service to get a decent picture plus quite a few channels at no extra cost.   After thinking about it for a few minutes I decided to not waste my money on it. 

Rocky is sleeping on my lap so it is very difficult to type - guess I'll stop now.  Where do the days go?  The weekend is nearly on us, and I certainly don't have plans.  I should get out and work in my garden but will probably find a reason to procrastinate!

 

Back from the dentist

It was a long morning but now I'm finally back home.  I was ravenous and immediately ate 2 bananas and 2 pop tarts!  I also made my coffee and enjoy sipping it now.  I had a root canal and one small filling.  I have two more appintments in the next month - the dentist would do all in one visit but I can't deal with numbing two different sites in one visit.

So I don't know whether to get busy and do some housework, or to just take it easy for the rest of the day.

Take it easy wins!

Hairdressing

I've done a bit of that today, on myself, that is.  I'm letting my hair grow, but wearing bangs, which get out of hand very quickly.  My hairdresser is going to be mad at me, as she once told me "Don't you ever do that again!".  Well, I couldn't stand hair in my eyes, so twice this morning I've taken scissors in hand and trimmed just a bit off the bangs.  I admit that it doesn't look very professional, but my eyes are sensitive to begin with, and I can't stand it when I feel like I have hair in them.

Rocky and I just came back from a short walk, and I think he's doing better.  Better, not good, but I guess we will get there eventually.  I wasn't wearing proper shoes for a walk and I'm lucky to have made it without falling.

This is what my tomato seedlings are looking like.  They have a ways to go before I can plant them, but they look pretty healthy.

I placed too many seeds in some of the cups and it really pains me to have to discard some of them now, but I'm looking forward to the end product in a couple of months.   I hope they will produce throughout the summer and give me a great yield. 

I have to go back to the dentist tomorrow and not looking forward to it at all.   So it may be a couple of days before I'm back to writing another post. 

Why am I so tired?

I think I accomplish a lot in spite of being so tired all the time, but I wonder if it's just the result of growing older and dealing with a youngster 24/7.  Every once in a while I wonder how much longer I will be able to deal with him, but I know I can't do anything else but deal with him.  He's sleeping on the couch next to me now and is so drop-dead gorgeous it amazes me every time I look at him.  He minds so well and does what I tell him except for when someone comes to the door, and then he is overwhelmed with excitement.  If the person(s) at the door is Jeannie or any of her family, then the excitement is ten times greater.  And the excitement and exuberance can't be contained!

 The chewing is another problem.  He chews everything that has stuffing in it, and see what he's done with the pad in his crate.

The stuffing you see in the photos is only a small portion of it - I've thrown so much away already. 

I'm having a difficult time getting started this morning.  It is nearly noon and I'm still in pj's, and following the same old crap on the computer -  not this blogsite, by the way, but the political crap.

 I think this is Presidents' Day so we won't have mail delivery today.  If you work, I hope it's a holiday for you.  I have been retired for years, but still knock off any kind of "work" on federal holidays!  Enjoy the day.

Recovering

After the really tiring walk to the vet and back yesterday, Rocky and I were both exhausted.  We went to bed a 8pm, and slept until 8am this morning.  I've felt tired all day but have accomplished some cleaning I wanted to do.  I just haven't been able to take a walk today, but I did throw a ball to Rocky, which he chases with all the energy he can muster.

The gardener came today and the back yard looks so good with the grass cut.  I wish the landlady would let me water it throughout the summer so it will continue to look like this.  I've written her and wait for her reply.

I was able to collect enough peas from the garden to cook some for my supper this evening.  They are so good, and I hope I get a few more meals from the plants.  There are lots of blossoms which I think indicates what I can expect.  It's probably not worth the space for what I'm getting though.  My tomato seedlings are coming along nicely.  I didn't think I would get so many healthy looking plants, although they still have some growing to do before I can say how many will prosper.  I planted several seeds in each cup and it hurts me to pull out and discard the smaller ones, but that will help the larger ones grow.

I will probably try to get a good night's sleep tonight, and hope I get my energy back soon.  Maybe I'll take the boy on a nice walk tomorrow.
 
My Nook reader (from Barnes & Noble) seems to have conked out, and I ordered and received today a Kindle.  I did what I could to set it up but will need Donald or Jeannie to actually finish the set-up and explain it to me.  One aspect of the Nook I didn't like, and it is probably the same or worse with the Kindle, is that it isn't just a "reader" anymore.  It is internet and all kinds of features I'd rather do on my computer.  That's the problem with devices these days - every device seems to try to do everything.  I'd prefer to use my phone for calls, messages, and photos, and my Kindle for reading books.  "Everything" wants to do "everything" and it doesn't work that well for me.  My kids are constantly staring at their phone, which is so multi-functional it makes me dizzy.    The only upside for me is one that I hope never happens:  if technology one days completely fails, I will be able to deal with events because I have never totally relied on technology in my life.

Wax Museum

Last night I went to Arianna's school where they had a "Wax Museum".  The 6th graders were all dressed and in a setting that represented a figure from history.  It spanned so much of history - there were several boys dressed as NY Yankees, as well as several representing the founding fathers of our country.  They covered just about every area of our history over the past 240 years or so.  Arianna was Grace Kelly, and was absolutely beautiful.  Jeannie had her wear the crown from her own wedding veil, and she looked spectacular.  The children covered such a wide span - from Bob Ross (the painter), to Ben Franklin, George Washington, etc., to Sally Ride, and so many more.  The kids were so good at maintaining a straight face and looking out in the distance, and I tried not to make eye  contact with them.  It was an absolutely stellar performance, especially considering they are 6th graders.  This takes place each year for the sixth graders.

I will walk Rocky to the vet tomorrow to get his nails clipped and a general exam.  It's a long walk - about 1-1/3 mile each way, and it will be good for both of us.  I'm going to give him a mild sedative  before we go, in hopes that he is more calm when having his nails clipped.  He seems to have settled down a bit lately and I live in hope he will be a little more laid back from now on.  I also hope the vet will be amenable to clipping his nails a little shorter than they have so far.  The nails of a black lab are totally black and the "blood line" is invisible, so they don't want to take chances.  I'd like to show them that I bleed because of his claws, so I'm not so worried that they clip them too close to the blood line.  Maybe that is not a good attitude, but it is what it is!

I need to do a good clean-up job on my garden plots.  The peas are looking good, but I don't know how many I can expect for this planting.  In the meantime I am bringing out my Solo cups that contain tomato seedlings to soak up the sun every morning .  They look good so far, and I hope most of them turn into great tomato plants.

Rocky is still on good behavior, and I hope he maintains it tomorrow on the visit to the vet.  I notice improvement on our walks every day.  I met a lovely woman across the street who is doing a lot of work on her yard, and enjoy stopping to talk to her.  Rocky sits very quietly and patiently, which is nice.  This isn't a neighborhood where it is easy to meet people, so I am really thankful to meet her,  just to talk to another human.

If you are in a situation where you meet others and have plenty of contact, then appreciate it while you have it.  Even though I'm an introvert I have always enjoyed social contact, and now it is few and far between.   Not a good thing.  I don't understand why the most difficult of life's lessons come at the end rather than the early part of life.

That said, I am so happy to be alive and have the support of a loving family.  What I really lack is the love and support of a spouse/partner.  So my advice is to love and  cherish what you have, while you have it!  Even if He or She is a total P.I.T.A.

Who took my dog.....

.....and left me a look-alike with great doggie manners?  I just returned from a short walk with Rocky and he was a perfect gentleman from the start to the finish!  He didn't pull on the leash and when I stopped to talk to a neighbor, he sat pretty well and waited.  I can hardly hope that maybe two years of age will be the magic moment he leaves the obnoxious puppy stage!

It is a beautiful day out and I enjoyed the walk as much as Rocky did.  I forgot my hiking stick though, and I was a little nervous.  I have to watch the ground because all the pavement is in such bad shape - and I'm an accident waiting to happen.

I am so excited about my tomato seedlings growing a bit.  I've been pulling out the extra seeds that sprouted and leaving the largest and healthiest of them.  I am eagerly looking forward to a few homegrown vegetables.  I should try an extra one this spring, but my success has been with tomatoes and squash, so that is what I'm devoting the garden space to.  (I know, I shouldn't end a sentence with a preposition! :-)

Here are the first few peas I just picked.

Not the best picture I've ever taken, and I think that's my shadow in it.  I set a ballpoint pen next to the peas to indicate size.   I have eaten a couple of these peas, raw in the pod, and they are delicious.  There are a lot of blossoms on the plants so I should get quite a few more.
 

I'm still finding it difficult to eat after the dental work yesterday.  My next appointment is a week from today, so I'm going to be uncomfortable for a while.

I'm going to just sit and relax for a while now.  Cheers to everyone!

The dental visit ended well.

It sure was hell while I was going through it, and all the novocaine didn't wear off until late afternoon.  I came home starving and ate two large bananas with some coffee, but other than that I haven't eaten anything else today.  I'm treating myself to a beer right now and it's going down really well!  I have at least two more visits to go, and they will be about as bad as this one.  The dentist did fillings on the right side, both top and bottom.  You can imagine how much novocaine that required.  He will do the same on the left side in about a week or so.  I made a mistake a couple of years ago of switching to a non-fluoridated toothpaste, as I believe fluoride is a poisonous substance.  I guess you'd have to have a large dose to become immediately poisoned, but I wonder what the effects are over time.  Evidently I made a big mistake.  My dentist is very good and does an excellent job of numbing the area he will be working on, but it's stressful as it wears off.

Rocky has been pretty good all day, for which I am grateful.  I don't know how far my patience would have stretched if he was in a mischevious mood.

The tomato seeds I planted are looking very good.  I thinned most of them today, keeping the most healthy shoot in each cup.  I move them in and out each day - watering them outside and letting them catch the sun, then bringing them back inside when the sun goes over the house to the front side.  Now I need to get outside and pull weeds out of the beds I want to plant tomatoes in.  I keep checking the pea plants and have found several immature pods -  they are hard to find but I hope it will be easier when they mature.  I've eaten a couple of them right off the plant.

I hope I can sleep well tonight and get some much needed rest.  

Take care, and stay well.

My daily life--nothing exciting!

I sometimes wonder if I will ever have any exciting event in my life to come.  I guess I can't predict, and I'm just happy if things are relatively smooth.

You may recall I planted tomato seeds in approx. 29 cups; many of them have sprouted, and now I'm faced with pulling out the excess sprouts from each cup.  How I hate to throw anything away!   I am hoping to get a really good yield from 5 varieties of seeds.  If I do, I'm sure I will be giving many of them away, although I'll try to keep as many of the Roma tomatoes for myself as I can.  That is about the only tomato that doesn't give me indigestion.  I'll try the others however, in hopes that I can eat several varieties.

It has been very windy the past 2 days.  Yesterday I went with Jeannie & her family to a park that has basketball courts, jungle gyms, and tons of activities, PLUS, a wonderful dog park.  Rocky, Jeannie & I spent  some time in the dog park and Rocky loved running around with a couple of other large dogs.  It tired him out and he went to sleep as soon as we got home.  The wind really made me feel extremely tired as well.

I have an appointment with the dentist tomorrow to have several fillings.  I absolutely dread it, but will be glad to get it over with.  I will have to return a couple more times to get everything done. 

I hope everyone has a good week, and stay safe from the ills that  seem to be attacking us from all sides.  Of course, one of the most serious ills is the coronavirus.   One thing that frightens me is that I heard it said that China manufactures nearly all prescription meds now.  That could be disastrous for people all over the world who rely  on medicines to stay alive.

I now have a gardener

He came on Saturday and mowed the back yard.  What an improvement, and I'm very happy with it.  Of course it will turn brown during the dry months, probably starting in April or May, but for now it looks good.
(Please click on a photo to enlarge it.)

Rocky did pretty well on a short walk this morning, but I couldn't take much of the chilly wind that was blowing.  Even though the sunlight is almost blinding, the wind made it too uncomfortable for me to stay out very long.

I've been busy planting tomato seeds for 5 varieties (maybe it's 6 varieties).  I've planted the seeds in disposable cups but unfortunately I don't know where to keep the cups.  It's chilly outside especially overnight,  and I really need grow lights.  Only one of my windows gets the morning sun but that wouldn't be enough to help them germinate.   The sun has left the deck  so I need to move them to a window indoors.  This looks like a lot, and I want to plant as many as I can, but I'm sure some of them won't survive.

I remember when I was younger and grew a lot of tomatoes one year  - I canned quite a few jars of them.  I remember it being much easier to can tomatoes than other fruits or veggies, but I'd have to look it up now to remember how to do it.  I don't want to go through the regular canning process as I don't have the equipment, the patience, nor the will to do it.  I have a while before I'll get the yield to be able to put some aside for canning. 

Another note about the garden, I planted a row of tall marigolds along one side of two garden plots.  I had intended to get the miniatures but picked the wrong seed packet, but those tall marigolds bloomed for the entire season and I had not one problem with destructive insects in my garden this year.  Now I'm pulling off the seed pods and probably have enough to line the entire perimeter of this property!  I had also planted seeds in the front of the house but they were all dug up.  I have a feeling it was a certain black labrador that dug them up, but he maintains that innocent look when questioned about it. 

I have just spent half an hour trying to untangle a roll of Saran wrap.  It has doggie teeth marks all over it and I'll just have to pitch the rest of the roll.  Will he ever get over his desire to chew on everything he can reach? 

Here's to a good week!