Lazy Tuesday

I'm hanging around doing anything I can to avoid calling the dentist and making an appointment!  I wasn't this bad about it when I was younger.  The molar I need to have pulled mostly bothers me at night, and I often have to take 2 Advil to be able to sleep.  I normally avoid Advil or any other medication like the plague as I invariably get side effects.  The only prescription med I use at age 79 is prescription eye drops!    I hope to keep it that way.

I took Rocky for a walk just a while ago and it turned out to be pretty good.  I took a hefty size baggie of treats with me.  Normally he pulls on the leash to go faster than I am comfortable with, and he likes to sniff the flowers along the way.  Today I tried to entice him to walk right and had all those treats as a bribe.  He will do mostly anything for a treat as I've mentioned.  It worked pretty well and we walked a lot longer than usual - I get so fed up with him that I get angry and turn around much sooner.  He wants to be a good dog, but I haven't been consistent enough, and of course he takes advantage when he can.

We are getting a break in the rain today and I need to use the weed eater to trim back some ugly patches of crabgrass and weeds.  The rain makes everything grow so fast, and I'm trying to not complain because we won't have much, if any, rain after March.  Nothing seems to have produced results in my fall garden.  I have several pea plants that keep growing and have flowers, but haven't seen anything that looks like a pea pod.  I give up and plan to stick to things I can grow easily - tomatoes, for one.  I have several varieties I'm ready to start from seed indoors within the next week or two.  I'll also grow squash again, but will try to not plant more than I can eat.  You may remember that last year I ate squash every single day throughout the entire growing season.  That is because I don't like it after it's been frozen, and prefer it raw or just lightly sauteed.  I often grated it and mixed it with scrambled eggs.  I have about 6 varieties of tomatoes I'm going to try, and will ask Donald to make tomato sauce with some of them.  I prefer the cherry tomatoes as well as the Roma's as they seem less acidic.

My landlady is having a new dishwasher installed this coming Monday, as the old one is just about done for.  I just hope she doesn't get something too fancy with extra options.  I just want it to wash and dry.  I'm still irritated with the kitchen faucet she had installed, with the 
on/off handle moving forward and backward, instead of left (for hot) and right (for cold).  My daughter has no problem with it but I cuss it every time I want hot water.  Normally I just leave the handle right in the middle so I don't have to figure it out.  The person who came up with the saying "You can't teach an old dog new tricks" really had me in mind.  I was so intuitive and open to new things when I was younger, but I hit a big bump in the road of life when I said, "I'm done!  Just give the same old thing I've used all my life."  I should have to deal with serious problems, right? 

I have a lot of chores to do around the house, but I keep thinking about the jigsaw puzzles waiting for me.  It would be really bad of me to fritter my time away on something fun, rather than doing something in the way of housework.  My halo is getting tarnished and the horns are still very little but growing all the time!

Finish unpacking!

I moved into my duplex about 8 months ago, and would you believe that I have not yet completely unpacked all the boxes.  I've looked in at the contents of some of them to see what kinds of items they contain, but what I really need to do is to finish the unpacking and weeding out of things I no longer need.  That is easier said than done, as any of you who are pack rats such as I am will agree.   To be truthful, I'm sure I moved at least a couple of boxes that had not been unpacked after my move into the mobile home years ago!

I know there are a lot of my readers who live and travel in RV's, as I once did, and have to keep the number of unnecessary items to a minimum.  So I went from being a pack rat years ago, to a fairly well organized RVer also years ago, to being a complete slob in my current life.

I have never minded too much being a complete slob, but as a person ages they start to think of what will happen when their time comes to an end, and who will have to deal with their belongings.  I can see my 4 kids holding things up and exclaiming, "What in the hell was she ever going to do with this???"

Oh well, I'll think about it tomorrow, or maybe next week.  I really need to get things organized so I can get down to something fun - I recently purchased two jigsaw puzzles of 1000 pieces each, and I'm anxious to get started on one of them.  It's going to be a challenge to keep Rocky from chewing the inevitable puzzle pieces that fall on the floor.  I was always an excellent puzzle worker, but with my deteriorating eyesight it will take me a bit more time to complete a 1000 piece puzzle.  I'll try to post photos of my progress, and I sure hope I can make some progress!

I am expecting to have a new dishwasher installed during the coming days.  I'm also going to be visited by the man who supposedly "cleaned" the chimney.  It really didn't need cleaning at all; the first thing the cleaner told me was that  it was in very good condition.  However, since he "cleaned" it, I have experienced smoke pouring out into the room after the log has been burning about 3 hours or more.  So you can understand how I get a little testy when someone asks me if I opened the vent.  If I didn't open it, it would certainly not take 3 hours to start smoking!  Unfortunately I don't have much confidence that the same cleaner is going to be able to fix the problem. 

I just have to share this with someone.  It is an excerpt from an obituary posted in the Sunday paper today:

The obit reads (in part):  "Our beloved sister, daughter, aunt, and friend, Syd, was born Nov. .., 19.., and passed away suddenly on Dec, .., 2019.  She had always planned to pass away one day, peacefully in the arms of Tom Selleck, but as we all know, "sh*t happens".

This obit made my day and I have been smiling ever since.  Rest in peace, Syd.

Funny Dog!

There is always something to laugh about when you have a dog.  As you probably know, I have a 19 month old black labrador. retriever, hardly what you would all a guard dog.  But he has a scary bark sometimes.   He was out in the back yard this morning and started to bark ferociously at something I couldn't see.   I tried to call him back in as I didn't think there was anything to worry about.  Finally I called to him, "Come back and get a treat!   That brat immediately stopped barking, turned around, and ran for the back door!  Of course I gave him a good treat but was laughing as I did it.

I'm glad it's Friday, although it really isn't much different for me than any other day of the week. 
I hope you all have a good weekend.

Something new!

I recently ordered a new shower curtain, and it came this morning.  It's already hanging!

Old curtain:

The new one:

 The three labs:

 

This cheers me up, which I certainly need at this time.  It will look better when the folds hang out.  It's always fun to get something new! 

Moving forward

Jan. 6, 2020:
I didn't really want to do it but I took all the decorations off the tree yesterday.  Today, Joe took the tree out to the recycling bin although I need to find someone to cut it down a bit so that it fits into the bin.  I absolutely loved the Christmas tree this year and hated to see it go,  but it was time.

With the alternate rainy days we're having I haven't been able to get out and cut the grass/weeds.  It's starting to look pretty bad, so I may hire someone to come and clean up the yard when the rainy season is over.   It's just too much for me these days.
 
Jan. 7, 2020: 
I didn't get very far yesterday, did I.

Today is a very dreary looking day I just can't think of anything "sunshiny" to say.  I hope tomorrow will be better for us all.  What a way to start the new year.

Not the Best Start

It certainly isn't a great start to the new year, being on the brink of war. I've just written to my congressman and hope there are huge numbers out there who do the same, demanding that we not be drawn into any war with any country.

Things were going along pretty well this morning when my dishwasher decided to not drain the water out.  Fortunately it was on the last rinse and the dishes were clean.

As much as I didn't want a Christmas tree this year, I am reluctant to take it down.  It has given me a lot of pleasure, especially with the lights lit and a log burning in the fireplace every evening.  It has held up amazingly well and even now, the needles feel soft to the touch.  I need to find a box that will hold all the decorations, lights, wreath, etc.

A couple months ago I ordered two jigsaw puzzles of 1000 pcs. each, for my enjoyment.  I think I will start one of them as soon as I take down the Christmas decorations, but worry that Rocky can reach puzzle pieces on the card table.  A week or so ago I had a very large piece of cardboard that would have held the puzzle in place as I worked on it, and could be slid under a bed to keep it safe from certain paws.  I think I put the cardboard out with the recycling and am kicking myself now for not saving it.  I suppose I could move the table and puzzle into the spare bedroom and then just keep the door closed when I'm not working on it.

Since it hasn't rained in several days, I have no excuse to not do some grass trimming and leaf blowing in the back yard.  It is such an overwhelming job I just haven't been able to face it.  I also should try to clean up the garden beds before long.  I'm trying to decide what would be the best way to start tomato seeds indoors.  I've ordered about 5 different varieties of tomatoes; none of my windows receives direct sunlight so I really need some grow lights but they are more expensive than I'd like.  If anyone has suggestions, I'm open to them.  I was thinking I could set seed trays on the back deck and then move them indoors at night, although that sounds like a lot of work.  It might be the best idea, although I don't know how Mr. Nosy would react to trays of seedlings on his deck.

Speaking of Mr. Nosy, I am totally amazed at how much control over my life and actions this animal has taken upon himself.   He turned 19 months old at the end of December, and I'm really hoping 24 months will be the magic time he will show some maturity.   But in the meantime I'm constantly laughing at his antics.  At the same time I worry about the separation anxiety he shows, and hope that somehow works out.

I'm waiting on someone to come and look at the dishwasher, and have used that as an excuse to not do much else.  I guess I should get busy.  Hope you all enjoy the weekend.

Welcome 2020!

Jeannie stopped by in the late afternoon yesterday and stayed for a while.  We had a few glasses of champagne and enjoyed chatting, and eventually she had to go home as they were having a few folks over to ring in the New Year.  I had no intentions of going anywhere, so Rocky and I rang in 12 Midnight by ourselves.

I tried to watch the ball drop in Times Square at midnight, EST, but since I was watching it on my computer I couldn't get the usual view that you see on TV.  It was disappointing because I have always enjoyed that scene.

 I had been worried about noise and possibly fireworks upsetting Rocky, but I didn't hear anything, which I thought was a bit unusual but I was glad about it.

I don't understand it, but for some reason I am very hopeful about 2020!  May we all have a good year ahead.  Happy New Year!