Visiting and Laughing.

 Visiting and Laughing.

 

Jo Ann Hobbs came today and visited for a good while. We hardly ever have that kind of time, but today she stayed and we talked about a little of everything—but a lot about birds! Showed her how to use the little letter (i) thing on her phone to find the identity of her birds. It was such fun for us to match them up with the pictures in the book Patty gave me. She even has some blue birds out there in Clay County near Lake Arrowhead. She also showed me some of the things she has been making with wood carvings and epoxy. Neat! Just gave her the last of the glass things that the old woman was working on before Covid kept me at home. Not likely that they would ever get finished here. Also, told her about the app for i-phones called Merlin Bird ID. Just listening to the sounds and pinpointing them on the recording can be used to identify the kind of bird it is even if you can’t SEE it!

 

One of the things we talked about is the “throwaway” mentality of society today. Would absolutely guess that a small engine repair person simply can’t be found. Instead of repairing things, folks just toss ‘em and buy another one. That is just totally sad and wasteful. Will have to admit that a decent riding mower was gifted to a friend simply because the old woman could not find someone to repair or do whatever it needed to keep it going. But Michelle Malay’s brother-in-law knows how to do stuff like that. Some older men really do have skills! Anyway, it did not go to waste.

 

It doesn’t seem like the heat was as terrible today as usual. Not sure why that is. But the humidity has not been as bad. Wouldn’t it be something to have some decent weather happen during all the hurricane season?! We used to have to wait until school started before we ever got any rain in this part of the world. It ALWAYS rained the day school started and the PTA ladies had to get out there and keep the kiddos from getting run down by cars or floated away on the rushing water on Rhea Road! Such memories!

 

Dentist visit tomorrow has me wondering and hoping that the new upper will be ready to wear. Unless you are familiar with dentures yourself, you might not realize how important it is for the upper and lower teeth to match on enough areas that food can be chewed up! Joy to the world if nothing hurts, as well.

 

Going to Patty’s early in the morning to take Roxy dog food and pick up some stuff that was loaned to Patty to use while her bathroom was being renovated. She is so very happy with her shower and chair. Life can be grand with just some simple changes.

 

Reading another mystery this evening to top off the day. Think that the word mystery is something we tend to ignore for its importance. Have you ever considered that God’s love and His plans are mysteries that He has shown us? His love IN us bumps right into the love He places in His children so that they might know Him in others. Have wondered how we will know others in the spirit, but that one little thing will spark recognition in all of us when the time comes. Have to think about that some more.

 

Rest well, my friends. You are loved.

Multiplication Errors and Other Embarrassments.

 Multiplication Errors and Other Embarrassments.

 

Went to Aldi’s this morning to pick up some veggies and fruit. Always look at the price of a pound of butter while there. So, picked up a case of butter to put in the freezer. Thinking that the case had a layer of four by three packages, my math did not compute to the total. Since then, had to rethink the count. Eight packages times three is twenty-four, times $3.59 per pound equals $86.16. Thought my total was pretty high, but now it makes sense. That doggone stuff is expensive—especially buying a case at a time. Oh well. The freezer is very accommodating. My math, not so much. Sigh.

 

An older man came up to me in the fresh veggie aisle and asked if I was ready for my dirty joke of the day. You might guess my answer: Do you know why passed gas smells so very terrible? It is so that deaf people can enjoy it as much as the rest of us! Know my daughter thinks it is funny that old men come up to me and tell such things, but you can bet she would have been embarrassed to have been with me. Told my brother what happened and he reminded me that the old man leaned over to his wife in church and said, “I have passed a silent one. What should I do?” “Put new batteries in your hearing aids!” she said.

 

Now that we have that silliness out of the way, Sterling reminded me that Granddad Pollard called Sterling a “wood butcher” rather than a carpenter. Sterling now has created a 24-inch seat on a rocking chair that he believes would have held up our Uncle Leonard at his heaviest! Asked him what he planned to do with the rocker and he hemmed and hawed around and said he might just put it on the front porch. No one he knows is that heavy or wide anyway.

 

Sterling’s friend George was discharged from the horse-pital yesterday. They did not have to do an angioplasty or anything drastic. He had some fluid around his heart that is no longer a problem. He has just let himself get too tired and run down according to my brother. It is quite difficult for those living alone to always take care of themselves as well as they should. Sometimes it is just easiest to ignore things like real food and planned meals or drinking water on a regular basis. Men have more problems, generally speaking, of actually eating and drinking the way they should than women—or so it seems. Most women are in the habit of cooking once a day anyway, but left to themselves over a period of time (as widows), they cook less and less and tend to stay alone or away from friends and neighbors. There is a good reason we should check on older folks who live by themselves and not just because of falls and such. Those of us who have pets are sure to get up and feed the critters at least once a day. Mine demand it rather sweetly, but demand they do! Feeding ourselves may be as simple as sharing a serving of chicken with the dogs or scrambling a couple of eggs, but do it we must. Mom had dementia and nearly starved herself and Daddy, too, but as soon as they were getting regular meals in the nursing home, they got much healthier looking. Think this old woman would rather make meals to share with the dogs than have to live by the routines of a nursing home!

 

Trying to figure out who to call to ask about how to get the entrance to our roadway widened when they start work on our section of road about to receive part of that $7.5 million! We have a 90-degree turn off of the highway that is quite dangerous if folks are rushing home from work in the evening. Have tried to figure out if TXDOT or a city office is the place to call, but have no idea. Guess it will be like shooting in the dark either way. Maybe we will be blessed to get the right person to talk to about changing it.

 

Simply not going to look at any news this weekend. If one side of the world decides to rip holes in itself or its neighbors, it won’t be anything new. Shaking my head won’t help, so will just pray that those in positions of leadership will be blessed by God to do what is best for the world and all those in it. Let us pray for this world and all in it that the world may be blessed with the peace that only God can give us. Let us give the respect we can to those that God has allowed to be in authority. Even Christ, when reviled and condemned, showed respect for the authority that came from God.

 

Rest well, my friends. You are loved.

Early Morning Workout!

 Early Morning Workout!

 

Woke up this morning and got a quick shower to get myself awake and ready to get something done. Cleaned out both the front coops and dumped the residue on the pasture in low places. Then another shower to clean my hair and all the stupid dust that was inhaled became the next necessity! Let’s face it; chickens are dusty!

 

Read through the articles in Backwoods Home magazine, and then sat down and canceled the automatic renewal. It seems to me that some of these folks tend to take advantage of our forgetfulness or even stupidity. Noticed that the renewal was automatic and needed to be canceled to prevent them from getting another payment. Argh! The one article in this issue that was worth reading was about Firearms and Myths about armed self-defense. That was certainly useful. Also, the article about milk goats was interesting. NOT that this ol’ woman is considering goats as another measure of independence. The fencing alone would be absurdly expensive. Goats are not like chickens. It takes more than a suggestion to keep goats in a pasture.

 

Have to make myself go prepare some chicken salad today out of the three chicken breasts that were cooked the other day. Half of it may be used for dog food and the other half old woman food. Have a few pieces of celery, some walnuts, and some sweet relish to mix up with the meat. Just not especially hungry or interested in eating right now. Sometimes it just feels unnecessary to eat anything—NOT that eating does not get done around here!

 

Sutherlands has their trees and shrubs on sale for 65% off, but the idea of digging a hole in the ground right now is just a type of insanity. The greenhouse worker told me yesterday that they only get Desert Willows in February, so will just wait and maybe find a place to dig a nice deep, wide hole! Right now, just have hopes that the plants in the front yard and on the porch might live and do well. The wind just blew a small hurry-cane this morning, but it kept things cool for a bit. Maybe the heat won’t be so bad today.

 

Was thinking while sitting here listening to the wonderful sound of rain in this cool breeze. Sterling’s friend George has been in the hospital for a couple of days. Jacqui tells me this morning that they plan on doing the thing where they run up into the vein to see if it can be unplugged—angioplasty may be the correct term. Please pray for George!

 

Made the chicken salad and shared some of the meat with the dogs—not the salad part. Pretty tasty! Need to make some tea to keep me hydrated. Walked out to pick up the package in the mailbox and “hydrated” my hair and glasses! Just love this kind of rain!

 

Need to take the filters out of all the AC units and clean them. We have had SO much dust that it is unreal. Plus, the Sahara dust has come to visit. Maybe Beryl will wash it out of the air. Maybe the old woman will get reading done after cleaning the filters.

 

Grayson’s housewarming is tonight, so Jenn is over there getting things ship shape. Tomorrow night they have a community fireworks display (instead of last night). But the entire neighborhood enjoys it. SO glad that does not happen on this hill. Could not unpeel the dogs last night. Patty said Roxy was like that as well. Lots of booms and bangs until after ten. Then it got quiet. Go figure! Slept like a log after that.

 

Have not heard an encouraging word from any news source, so will just remind you: You have faith in God, whose power will protect you until the last day. Then he will save you, just as he has always planned to do. I Peter 1:5.

 

Rest well, my friends. You are loved.

Crispy, Crunchy, Dry Ground!

 Crispy, Crunchy, Dry Ground!

 

The big thermometer on the back deck says 108, so let’s just say it is too hot to sizzle. The poor hens are doing their best to stay cool, but can’t find a place that is anything like cool. It is not AS hot under the deck, but Dear Hearts, this old person would hate to have to depend on the shade under there in order to survive this heat! Read that some apartment complex had let a woman go for well over a week without her AC working even though she had called them to repair it repeatedly! That is simply unconscious- able! A person can easily die in extreme heat.

 

Thinking about reading books about winter and rainy weather. Maybe that might make me feel better. My house is cool enough for the time being, but it would be so nice to be able to go outside once in a while. Feel so sorry for the birds, especially the pair of mockingbirds that seem to have a nest on the east fence. Can’t imagine having to find bugs to feed babies in this heat!

 

Went to Sutherlands this morning to pick up wasp spray. They had some on sale for $3.99 per can. That is a good price for that stuff. However, not really paying any attention to the advertisement on my phone, the old woman thought the 20% was off the price of merchandise rather than 20% on rewards. Argh! Oh well. Bought some of the things that were going in my big flower pot on the front porch. Here’s hoping that they live and do well. The man in line beside me laughed and wanted to see my flowers when they came up and bloomed—several packets of .25 cent flower seeds, don’t you see. Did not tell him it would be a few months before they were to be planted, but am guessing he thought this woman was so dumb that she thought she could plant them now! So much for what he thought.

 

My neighbors got home this morning and looked as if they were just a wee bit tired. So glad to see them home safely. Know that their two cats will be happy that they are home. Well, for that matter, so is the across-the-street-neighbor!

 

The country is still on fire in various places and looking as if it might get blown across the state where the latest hurricane is entering Texas. You can bet your rainboots that Houston will get flooded again. Sigh. Honestly wonder if we will ever have some “regular” weather and lack of storms, fires, and idiocy—Oh! Nevermind! The last item will be in surplus until well after November!

 

Lots of patriotic posts online. Know at least one family who will be shooting off some major fireworks this weekend. Can’t believe that WF was relatively quiet last night. We will see what is next.

 

The city of WF plans to resurface a bunch of these roads that have needed that work. Our road at the end of the street will be one of them—from Southwest Pkwy to Hwy 79. That should be a pretty big mess. Not like they will open the entrance to our street any wider. Wish it was easy to ask the right person for some help with that situation. Then there is the mess the big trash truck has made of one section of our street so that low cars drag center! Sighing and shaking head.

 

Life will continue to go along with the seasons. Stupidity will continue to spread across the globe. And wars and famines will reach even more areas! Let us ask our Father in heaven for the return of His Son. Let Him come quickly, Lord!

 

Rest well, my friends. You are loved.

More Water, Please!

 More Water, Please!

 

Just went to check on the kitties for one last time before their parents get home in the morning. They had zero water in the little silver bowl, but the water was still running in the other waterer. Ralphie apparently prefers the silver bowl, thank you very much. Am hoping Max and Laisha have a safe trip home tomorrow. Maybe the traffic won’t be too deep!

 

Did not get the coops cleaned out early this morning, but got the China wrapped and boxed up ready to send to Grayson. Then went to pick up two bags of lay mash (crumble). Granddad called it lay mash all the days of my life, but the guys who sell it to me now call it crumble. Oh well. The hens don’t care what it is called; they eat it up rather quickly.

 

Had three or four little squashes that got limp because someone did not water one day. The hens ate the limp squash though. So, it did not go to waste. Watered this evening and noticed that the luffa sponge plants MIGHT live. The only things doing really well are the basil, the sweet potatoes, the okra, and the watermelon. The cantaloupe plants have ONE little melon about the size of a small lemon. Maybe it will make it yet.

 

It seems to me that this is going to be a busy month. Have a dentist appointment Monday, Carol Thonton has vein surgery on Friday the 12^th (prayers appreciated), Jacqui has a birthday on the 20^th, and Rachel has her 20^th birthday on the 23^rd of this month. Yep, that is fairly busy.

 

If the old woman gets busy Friday during the cooler weather, maybe the coops will get cleaned out. Wouldn’t that be grand! The hens would hardly know what to think. Have the three broody hens shut up in the long coop, so all the laying nests are free for a change. A broody hen can disrupt the entire flock in a hurry. As it is, only find something like seven or nine eggs a day now. This heat is hurting my girls.

 

Filled up the smaller (black) livestock tank for the dogs so that they could get in it and lie down. And yes, that means that they are tracking mud into the house again. But at least they are staying cool after they run around out after cars or trucks near the east lot or chase a squirrel around the trees on the west end of the place. They come back inside wet but with their tongues hanging out. Frankly, the old woman has a good idea of how they might feel. That heat is a bit much.

 

Have not even had anything on today to check to see if the world has become flat on one side or the other. It’s not like any one of us could possibly change a thing. We know the One who is in charge of everything. So, will let Jesus Christ do all the work that His Father has for Him to do at this point. My prayer is that my faith won’t waver and that His mercy will cover my family and friends. Our nation needs to see the Master for itself. May belief and faith be found here.

 

Rest well, my friends. You are loved.

Old Folks Realizing Age.

 Old Folks Realizing Age.

 

Today the old woman told her brother that when folks get to our age, they have to pay more attention to staying hydrated and watching what they do on a regular basis. We HAVE to stay active. In fact, read a short little thing from one lady who said that she absolutely refuses to exercise. No, she Chicken-sizes! At least twice a day she goes out to let the hens out or put them up. She hauls feed from the feed store and loads it into the feed bins. She puts out fresh water and gathers eggs. Sounds just exactly like what this old woman does every day. Anyway, trying to stay on top of drinking plenty of fluids is also a necessity around here. A double cup of coffee every morning is not really enough fluid since it contains caffeine, so today this old woman ordered a gallon more of that Arizona Watermelon tea. Good stuff, Maynard!

 

My sister-in-law decided to go shopping this morning and managed to pass out in the store. Sterling and his friend George had to go get her and her truck to bring them home. She has forgotten that we have to pay attention to how much moving around is really necessary. Some of us are just naturally more active, but have noticed that even an old hyper woman has to do something every day to keep the joints limber—body joints, understand! Yesterday, getting down on the floor to wipe the baseboards and scrub a couple of places that did not just easily mop up did a pretty good job of getting these old joints limbered up. This morning the muscles attached to the joints reminded me that these things need to be done more often. Oh well.

 

The heat is about enough to get us to be still and not get too excited about doing things in the middle of the day. My poor little zinnias and the other things growing out front are pretty wilted. Let’s face it, anything over a hundred degrees with lots of wind blowing up this hill is going to dry out just about everything. Will have to go out this evening when the sun is down and water everything thoroughly. Stopped a bit ago and ran the water hose until the hot water all came out and then filled up a tray that the birds drink from. Saw one standing out there earlier just bunched up and panting with its beak open. Poor babies!

 

Have been cleaning the litter box across the street for Ralphie and Gypsy, but was not paying particular attention to the water fountain or the other water bowl. Ralphie saw to it this morning that the attention would definitely be on the water fountain. It was making gasping sounds, so cleaned it out and filled it and the other water bowl. Gypsy jumped up on the kitchen cabinet to tell me all about it. Guess that is the last time the old woman ignores the water situation! Despite the fact that the extra litter box gets raked at least once a day, it seems to me that I can smell the litter when coming into the house. The cats have one of those automatic round boxes that is supposed to take care of litter. Guess maybe Jennifer could tell me if it ever needs extra attention. We never had anything like that in our house. Poor ol’ OliverTwisted was an inside-outside cat—his choice! His body was SO long that it took two litter boxes and a mat to take care of his little exercises in potty. Miss the sweet thing, but would never want another cat.

 

Bought an air fryer today when ordering groceries from Walmart. It was something like $24 plus change, so figured it might be worth trying. Have some okra and some onion rings that are made for air fryers according to the packages. We will see later. It amazed me that Jennifer’s roaster directions said that cakes and cheesecakes could be prepared in that roaster. Still have not tried that, but keep thinking about it. Cooking just seems more interesting all the time. Of course, no one is going to gripe around here if things are a little strange—you know, like asparagus, artichokes, and Alfredo sauce with noodles! Giggle.

 

Also, got a set of salt and pepper shakers this morning in the grocery order. They are Mason jars—the small version. My salt shaker just kept messing up and the top fell off. Argh. Thought about using a spice bottle instead, but these were cute and cheap, so there we go.

 

Sterling was talking about driving out to New Mexico and had not heard about all the fires and floods, so sometimes it pays to find out just a few things that are going on in the world. Tried to tell him about someplace in the Midwest that got 30 or 40 gallons of rain in three days. He did not believe me. Guess it doesn’t really matter if they flooded with 3 or 4 inches or 30 or 40 gallons. When the bridge washes out, it is just as gone.

 

Tried not to read the world news this morning because it is hard to think about the stuff that happens. Did see that a bunch of children were rescued or recovered from being kidnapped. It just makes me sad to think that children are not at all safe in this world. Well, none of us really unless God is watching over us can ever be sure of what will happen. In the end, we know the final situation will be that we join our Father in heaven. Jesus Christ promised us a place, and even if the floors needed to be mopped, this old woman is pretty sure that would be a great destination!

 

Rest well, my friends. You are loved.

Weird Mixtures?

 Weird Mixtures?

 

Made some stuff yesterday that had spinach noodles as the base, combined with Alfredo sauce, store brand canned asparagus, and store brand artichokes. It was very tasty and satisfied my need for something tasty, but next time the old woman will purchase a better brand of asparagus. The artichokes were fine, but tough asparagus just doesn’t get it!

 

Just put on some hamburger meat with seasoning and rice to slow cook after browning the meat slightly. We will see how that goes. The seasoning has some salt in it, so the dogs may not get much if any. We will see how it turns out. Turned out good.

 

This morning the living room furniture got pushed around and moved partially into the kitchen while the floor got scrubbed somewhat and the baseboards were wiped down. Even polished the old trestle bench that goes with my kitchen table. It stays in the living room next to Thompson’s recliner so that he can step up there and stand to bark out the window at the UPS man or the post man. Anyway, by the time everything was put back and we settled in, my clothes were sopping wet, so a shower was next. Can’t very well sit around with wet clothes on!

 

Have been thoroughly enjoying Arizona Watermelon tea, and finally looked at the ingredients on the website. It contains both kiwi and pineapple pure, so it is a wonder that it has not caused me any problems since both of those ingredients in fresh fruit cause all kinds of problems. BUT, it contains zero real tea with any caffeine. Anyway, have been buying it by the gallon lately and find it refreshing. May just keep on buying it until it actually causes an allergy reaction.

 

Finally figured out how to enjoy the little stick broom (vacuum) that Lance got for me for Mother’s Day/birthday. Really like it. A lightweight thing that does pick up the doghair is wonderful rather than having to push-pull the bigger machine. The shoulder joints do wear out over the years, don’t ya see.

 

Have been saving up boxes and all that paper that Amazon stuffs in them so that a set of China given to me years ago can go to Ft. Worth to the oldest grandson now that he has his own house and kitchen. Even plan to send him a Corningware piece that will do for baking cornbread either in the oven or in the microwave. Have never tried cooking cornbread in the microwave, but am betting it would work. The China can be used in the microwave, too. One set my Grandmother Pollard gave me has a silver edge that would spark up a storm in the microwave, so that stays here for the time being. Maybe Jennifer will find someone who can use it one of these days.

 

If the old woman were the garage sale type of shopper, just about anything one needs is out there, but for that matter, the Faith Resale Shop is just as good if a little more expensive. And, if all else fails, the Dollar Store is pretty helpful.

 

The results of the flooding and debris flows in New Mexico are pretty heart rending. Folks are losing homes, have lost power, and some lives have been lost as well. The same kind of problems have been happening all over the world at this point from South America to the mountains of Switzerland. Let us pray that folks will be blessed and adapt to these circumstances. It’s not like any of this kind of weather was expected in the Midwest, but no one considered how badly the fires would affect some areas with the loss of the soil and extremely burned land and vegetation in N.M.

 

It is better to just leave the news off when looking at any kind of political or national problems. It is simply too stark of a reality to handle for some of us.

 

Meanwhile, will ask you to remember the children we know who are dealing with physical problems: Nate, Jacob, Zeke, and Raye. These little ones deserve a chance at a good life.

 

Rest well, my friends. You are loved.