Who Knew?

 I've always liked the scent of Irish Spring, but have been looking into other uses for the soap.  Moving into a new development as we will be in just about 3 months, I'm sure we will be displacing lots of small wildlife from the area.  I intend to try to get along with them (including the snakes), but I hope to deter sneaky creatures from ruining my proposed garden!  I don't mind sharing, up to a point! 

So it seems that the strong scent of Irish Spring is a deterrent to many critters.  We will see how it works!  According to what I read, you can sprinkle shavings of Irish Spring around the plant stems and they will keep them relatively pest free.  And it's all relative.  I'm sure I'm the pesky critter to all the other critters who would like to invade my garden!  I am really looking forward to growing a garden, as well as to provide some entertainment for the neighborhood critters!  You know they enjoy the game as much as we do.  But my aged brain doesn't stand much of a chance against a horde of critters!  I wonder how Rocky is going to react to it all.  He will probably ignore them when I'm not around, and then jump into action when I appear.  "I'm workin' for ya, Mom!"

I am so happy to see that daytime temps will be lower in the coming week, at least if you can call the 80's and 90's  "lower".

To Blog or Not To Blog!

 I really plan to quit blogging!  But I have been writing about my day for years before I even heard the word "blog" being used.  I think it was called journaling, or keeping a diary, back in the day.

For some odd reason that I can't even fathom, I get a lot of satisfaction out of writing even though my efforts wouldn't hold up next to those of good writers.  Since I'm no longer traveling, nor does my life hold anything of interest these days, I should just stop!  But I can't seem to do it!  I tell myself, "ok, this is the last one"; and then tomorrow I think, "well, just one more".

So I will probably be writing an entry when I can no longer do anything else.  I appreciate and love all my faithful readers, and I want you to know that you don't have to read any more if you don't want to.  I no longer have much of interest happening in my life, but the urge to put it down in writing is something I can't explain nor can I stop doing it!

Memory Loss!

It's a terrible thing to forget things.  Yesterday I read something about a special use for a bar of Irish Spring soap; I was ordering groceries for delivery and included in my order, a couple of bars of Irish Spring.  This morning I couldn't remember a thing about what I wanted it for, and still have no clue!  I do recall seeing an article that included a photo of a bar of Irish Spring, a hole drilled in the middle, hanging somewhere in front of an open cabinet.  But for the life of me I cannot recall anything else about it.  I do like the smell of it, and might keep it around just for the pleasant scent!

I've never had any problems with insects or pests in the kitchen, but I think that is because my landlady has the property regularly treated for pests.  The Irish Spring just might be double protection!  Fortunately I have always liked the scent of it.  If anyone has a clue what this soap is good for, (other than a good bath/shower soap), please refresh my memory!

 

I Think I Quit ...

 I am going to stop writing and publishing a blog for now.  I may return if I ever get something joyful in my life again.  Reading my last few posts I can't imagine why anyone would want to read something so dispirited. 

So thank you all who have stuck with me for such a long time, and I may be back now and then if I have anything uplifting and positive to write about.  Love you all!

Just Sitting Around!

I am trying to avoid everyone so that means I'm staying in my bedroom most of the time.  It's spacious enough for a bedroom, but  living in it ain't easy!  The two dogs come and go, and it's nice to have a warm breathing creature around once in a while!  I think I mentioned my covid test was negative (no surprise to me - I am only around immediate family).  But I do have a really bad cold, with coughing and sniffles. My ribs hurt from coughing so much!  I feel so sorry for myself!

I just checked my mail to find a small box that I wasn't expecting.  The box contains individually wrapped cookies - 6 of them, all different, and they sure are tempting!  It turns out they were sent to me from my former boss, who now lives in Florida.  She and I worked together in Washington, DC.

I remember the joy of baking cookies in my younger years.  My mom let me bake from about the time I was 8 or 9, and my dad always had nothing but compliments for whatever I baked or cooked!  Just thinking about my dad makes me want to cry.  I sure do miss him!

So now I guess I will read all the advertising material that was in my mailbox!  Speedee Oil Change sent me a flyer about their services, and I intend to read every word of it, even though I no longer have a car!  Just imagine what I will be like in a couple of days if I have to remain in my bedroom pretty much to myself!

 

Where I am, Right Now.

I should bring you up to date on where I stand, health-wise.  I had a Covid test yesterday and I DON'T have Covid.  I do have really bad congestion in my chest and in my head, and all other complaints are minor.   The chest congestion and cough are the worst, and they don't seem to be ready to go anywhere soon.  I think I'm getting a chest xray tomorrow and I hope they can give me something to relieve the congestion. 

All the space in front of my fireplace and then some, is filled with boxes of Jeannie's things, her rocking chair and my rocking chair.  I just realized I can find a space to put the treadmill in, but I can't plug it in anywhere.  All the outlets are two-prong, and the plug for the treadmill is 3-prongs.  But Donald to the rescue, figured it all out and I will start walking on my treadmill tomorrow! 

How times have changed!

Back when I entered 1st grade in about 1946 I had to have a smallpox vaccination, and I don't remember anyone fighting about whether or not to have their children vaccinated.   If you wanted them to go to school, vaccination was the rite of passage to that new world.  I just can't figure out what drives people to fight everything that comes along, even when their own health could be at risk, and the health of their families.

I can't remember the year the polio vaccine came out, but I got it, along with my younger siblings.  Probably no one would have insisted I get it (I think I might have been out of school already, or possibly in high school, but I just chalked it up to being for my good and the good of others.

 Maybe the answer is let people refuse it for themselves and their families if they choose, but they won't have my sympathy if their gamble falls back on them and they or a loved one gets the disease.  I just have no patience with people who want to fight everything that comes along.  I am not speaking about those who might have a valid medical reason, and not a "You can't tell me what to do" reason.  I can't work up much sympathy when a parent is on their deathbed and heroically tells people they should get vaccinated.  We are seeing more and more of that lately.  I stress that I am not speaking about someone with a valid medical reason to refuse a vaccine, if there is a valid reason.

I realize it is common for "old folks" to look back on the way things were better when they were young, but dang, I can't believe how negative and uncooperative people can be today.  They seem to have no respect for anyone, and that is reflected in many of the people they vote into public office.

Ok, I'm stepping down off my soapbox now.  But if you are anywhere within 20 years of my age, get the damn vaccine!   You most likely have already done that, because our generations were pretty smart, and didn't want to "cut off our nose to spite our face"!  (And how many readers have heard our mothers use that expression with us!)  And I just read today that a booster shot will soon be available to us "oldies but goodies", and you can bet I'm going to be in the front of the line!

Questions

I have been asking myself lately, "Why should I go on like this?"  I'm really getting tired of the ups and downs of it all - the thought of moving into new space away from the city is an "up", but all the hassle with my health is certainly a "down".  I think the "down" far outweighs the "up", I'm sorry to say.  One health issue gets fixed and then another one comes up, and I'm simply fed up with it all.

If only I could drive I would leave this place and drive far away from everything and everyone I know.   Then I could just take life as it comes, and not try to "beat the system" by going to doctors, taking medicines, and then taking more meds to counter the side effects of the original meds.    When I write it down (or type it up) on paper I can see how ludicrous it is.

So I am going to try to start anew.  For one thing, I've felt so bad I never get up and move around any more than I have to.  That certainly causes negative effects on my health.  To start with, I will walk a mile a day on my treadmill until I feel it is safe to walk a mile outside on the cracked, broken pavement and streets.   Then I might raise the bar and walk 2 miles a day.  (I may be dreaming here, but I will shoot for the stars.)

Then I am going to try to take control of my life away from the medical people and put it squarely back into my corner.  I am not critical of medical people, by the way.  They are wonderful and most are very supportive.  But I don't want to need them to tell me how to live, or to tell me what is wrong with me.  I've forgotten what is right with me, and I need to get it back! 

Gardening Plans

I am so looking forward to gardening in my new space, although I still have a few months to wait.  I'm looking at online catalogs and ordering print copies of some;  there are so many good choices I don't know how I will decide.  I think I will enlist Donald to help me as he is very interested, and he will be taking care of the plants when I can no longer do it.  There are SO MANY beautiful plants out there which makes it hard to select just a few.

I also bought some seeds to grow my own herbs - parsley, sage, oregano, thyme, and basil.  Those are the ones I use most often, at least I used them back in the day when I cooked!   Donald will put them to good use.  I've also been reading up on what to plant in order to attract pollinators to the garden.  I would love to hear of your experiences - those of you who like to garden.  I'm especially eager to find out what I can successfully grow in shade, as my side of the house will be in shade much of the time.  Depending on the cost, I may hire a landscaper or gardener to help me plan for what I want to grow.  And since there are several excellent garden supply houses in this area, I might be able to get some good advice from one of them.

I have always loved this time of year from the standpoint of garden planning.  What didn't work so well the past season can be forgotten and plans made to try something new and different.  I always hope for a good year ahead! 

And speaking of the new house, I am sorry to say I won't have a fireplace.  That is one thing I truly love when the weather gets chilly, and I have enjoyed using the one in my rental.  I believe Jeannie & Donald will have one or two fireplaces in their part of the house, and I think there is an outdoor fixture as well for having a fire.  As dry as  California is this year, and the drought is predicted to go on for at least four more years, I guess it's probably just as well to not have an open flame.

I think I will be very happy to get up into the foothills by the end of this year.  It seems the traffic is getting heavier lately, even on my side street which wasn't as heavily traveled when I moved in two years ago.  There is a middle school less than a block away, and I think they are building some new classrooms, so the construction vehicles are going by quite often.   I just want some peace and quiet, and few if any planes flying overhead, etc.   Is there a place like that in the entire country these days?

 

A turn for the worse!

After doing so well with my cancer treatments, I had a not-so-good experience with the one last Friday.  The RN was probably very new to doing this sort of thing and did not exactly exude confidence.  Probably making matters worse was another RN who lurked in the background while she was inserting the IV and again when she removed it.  He never said a word but was obviously watching her, and I don't know if he was supposed to be learning from her how the procedure should go, or if he was monitoring her work.  I sure got the worst of the whole procedure.  

I have two huge dark blood blisters indicating where she had tried several times to insert the IV; they don't hurt but they sure look mean!  I haven't felt well since I came home from the treatment, and have developed some minor symptoms which I realize probably have nothing to do with the IV.   I have been fortunate up to this point but now I'm worried about what is happening.  I did send a message to my oncologist, who has ordered a prescription for me - I haven't picked it up yet so I'm not sure what it is, but I hope it works!

I'm trying to keep optimistic and think good thoughts of the new house, but it sure is difficult to see the bright side right now.  I know my kids think I'm complaining too much but they don't have any idea what I'm going through.  I have every right to complain!

I just read that there is disagreement on what part of the population should be first in line to get booster shots of the vaccine.  Of course it should be medical personnel, and then nursing home residents.  That is how they broke it down for the initial injections of the vaccine, so why should there be any change at this point!

On the bright side is my gorgeous dog, Rocky!  He is so beautiful to look at, and his soul is beautiful as well.  He deserves better than me, and I realize I should never have gotten a puppy when I did.  I felt great then and had no idea what turning 80 would do to me!

I'm so happy to read the weather forecast for our area for the coming week.  It will "only" be in the 90's, which is almost like a cold front at this point!  Then we might possibly dip into the 80's by mid-week.  If only we could have a week or so of rain that might help to put out the fires burning north of here (near Lake Tahoe).  I'm looking forward to fall!

I hope tomorrow is a great day for all of you, and I can use a great day for myself as well!

 

The Latest from the New House

We visited the house site this afternoon and I have some photos which are starting to look like our new home.   I apologize for the placement and description of each photo - I have never had trouble like this with blogger before when it comes to inserting photos.  I don't know whether it's something I'm not doing right, or a glitch in the program or computer.   I think you can figure out what you are looking at.   From the front of the house my space is straight back on the right, and looking from the back it is on the left.

The door to my home.

My Garage/Playroom

Back of house-my space on left

From my patio

Front-my space on right

Back

I apologize for what is probably the worst blog entry I've ever posted!  My excuse is that I haven't been well the past few days, since my last cancer treatment.

I think I'll stop now and hope I can post an intelligent entry in the next couple of days!

Injured again!

Rocky did it again!  He got injured trying to play basketball.  He's being very quiet today, limps when he walks so he has been staying pretty quiet so I don't notice.  I think all dogs love to play, but Rocky is quite competitive about it and just adores being with people and playing their games.  It will heal in time, but today he is being very quiet.

I've been entertaining myself going over ads for plants and flowers, and trying to determine what I might like in my new yard.  It is still a little under four months until we move in, so I'm really trying to restrain myself from making decisions and ordering plants at this time.  Donald is excited about it as well, so I have a "partner in crime"! 

I'm also trying to envision what I might need to add to my space in the way of furniture.  When my ex died several years back, the kids kept a lot of his furniture, plus the furniture he kept that had been his parents' collection.  I don't want to buy "new" at this stage of my life, and I am thinking about what pieces I might be able to refinish, or even use "as is".  His mom always believed in buying quality pieces, so it has held up remarkably well for having been stored for several years since Bill passed away.   And well built furniture from the 1950's and earlier will last forever if taken care of.   I've been using a chest of drawers  that was Bill's, and the rest of his bedroom set is in my spare room; since Ara wants his bedroom set I will be glad to give it to her and re-use my ex in-laws' furniture.  It would be stupid for me to buy something new at this time.  My new bedroom will be the same size as the one I currently have, but there will be more doors including a patio slider, which will reduce the amount of wall space.  I just want to be moved and settled in, and it seems like forever.

I will be getting my second treatment for  cancer on Friday and hope it extends my life a few more years.  I doubt that it is a permanent fix, but it's worth it to not have any side effects whatsoever.

Back Home Again!

I'm back home after a wonderful weekend at son Steve and his wife's  (Meg) house.  It was fun to be with them, and Steve and I stayed up late each night talking over old and new times, and just catching up.  He's my 3rd (out of 4) child, and now has two of his own.  They have two great dogs and I really loved being around them as well.

With me being gone Jeannie, Donald, and their two girls were able to stay comfortably in my house.  I would gladly give up my bedroom and sleep on the couch if he stayed here with them, but he's been with his Mom and trying to help her get her house in order.  It's difficult and we still have until the end of this year before our new house is move-in ready.  We took a drive out to check the progress and it's coming along  nicely, although I wish it would go faster.  I am so excited about my "in-law suite" which will be exactly enough room for me and Rocky, and will suit us just fine.  I will take some photos next time I'm out there.

Donald and I are planning a wonderful garden in one corner of the property, and it is going to be a great way to provide fresh fruits and vegetables for our table.   My son (Steve) and his wife (Megan) have a house with an incredible array of garden produce and fruit trees.  If the weather cooperates we will be fortunate to have the best, tastiest, and most healthy food that we grow ourselves (and which are chemical free!).  I'm a lucky woman!

Last week I started the cancer treatments (infusions) again and it went quite well.  I'm starting to  feel better now than I have in a month or so, and I'm hopeful.  I realize the benefits only last about 2 years and then the cancer will probably come back, but I would like to do it this way for as long as I can.  It's painless, and has no really bad side effects - I still have my long thick hair, my appetite, and just about everything I hope for.  I am a very fortunate woman, and just hope my luck holds out until my time comes to cross over!

It is good to see Rocky again.  Jeannie had their dog (Tito) here and the two dogs  are great company for each other, even though they are so different in size.

I skipped a trip to Costco this evening (although I sent Jeannie with my list) and am staying here with the two dogs.  They are so sweet and such good company.  I'll have to say our family dogs are so special.  Steve has two, and Jeannie and I have one each.  Pets give us such unconditional love, and can read our minds especially when we're sad.

I've had a great weekend and hope all of you reading this have had a great one as well.   My family and our pets are my treasures! 

I'm Off for the Weekend!

I feel so bad for Jeannie and Donald having to be separated - she is staying with me, and he is staying with his mom, not too far away.  So this weekend I invited myself to Steve & Meg's house for a couple of days.  Jeannie & Donald can live as a family should for at least a little while.  It is going to be very difficult for them until we finally get into the house.   Donald was here yesterday evening and I could hear him helping Arianna with her homework.  He is so sweet with the girls, who are reaching the age where they are sweet one minute and the exact opposite the next.

I start my infusions tomorrow for the cancer and I hope it goes as well as it did the last time I had them.  I think Joe is taking me this time, and he, Jeannie and Steve will switch off.  I feel like such a trouble maker! 

Meg and I both love gardening, and I think we will be visiting some garden centers this weekend.  I am trying to decide what I want to plant this time around, and how much space I can devote to a garden.  When you look at the gardening websites you can just imagine yourself growing and enjoying everything.  I'd like to try a few veggies I've never grown before as well as a lot of herbs.  Even though I don't cook anymore, Donald is an excellent chef and will be able to use whatever grows.

It has been wonderfully cool yesterday and today, but we will get back into triple digits by Sunday and the beginning of next week.  How I dislike the really hot weather!

I hope everyone has a great weekend, and I'll be back soon. 

I just have to add a paragraph to describe what is happening at my house.  My granddaughter and a schoolmate of hers walk home from school together, and the friend's mom picks her up about a half hour later.  The two girls were giggling in the other room, and finally walked out with their long hair braided together on one side.  It is hilarious and I can't find my camera to take a photo of it!  It's very difficult to walk but they manage somehow, and of course, the giggling never stops when you have two 12-year olds!