Adult Attention Deficit Is Not a Pretty Sight

July 23, 2020

Or ... How I ended up doing housework buck naked. (Is a buck more naked than any other naked creature?)

It all began a couple of days ago. I went to the kitchen sink and was horrified to see ten house flies on the window, inside of the screen. Yes, I counted them and sprayed so much Raid, that I couldn't see out. The next day, I look at the window in the dining area (it's a small space, divided by upper kitchen cabinets) and it has 20 or 30 flies in the center on the part where the split of upper and lower window is. It's like something out of a D-rated horror movie. I spray my brains out with more Raid. 

Today is the first day with no live flies. Even after having scooped out the dead bodies yesterday, there were many on the floor this a.m. So I start vacuuming them up when I realized that I haven't had breakfast or coffee. After vacuuming the living room and hall, I leave the vac at the bathroom and go for muffin and coffee.

By then it dawns on me that I have to get to the grocery store before the predicted afternoon thunderstorm, so I go to the bathroom and prepare to get into the shower. Which is when I see the curtains from the dining area that I washed. So I re-hung those and go back to the bathroom thinking that I should vac in there before the moisture from the shower impedes picking up dust kitties. 

As I'm ready to step into the shower, I realize that I had never finished scrubbing the tub the other day. Naturally, after the tub, it's time to clean the toilet too. Yup, you guessed it -- I had thought I was getting into the shower, so no pajamas ... and then I vacuumed the bathroom. At that point, I had to unplug it from the living room anyway, so I figured I might as well vacuum the other rooms. Yes, the shades were all down to keep out the summer sun/heat.

And there you have it. As I was typing this, we have had one heck of a thunderstorm pouring buckets of rain on us. I wonder if it will be enough to make Hadley take down their water ban signs. The power went off for a second, I hope it was not enough that I have to re-set the clocks. But what else do I have to do? Well, actually, I have to dust the baker's rack with my glass collection on it. Later.

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I was thinking the other day that, in nature, everything has a purpose. Such as mosquitoes are a food source for birds and frogs, and birds spread seeds of flowers and grasses, etc. (I know you're supposed to have at least three items in a series to use "etc." but I'm into rule breaking today.) Continuing on my musing, I wondered what is the purpose of covid19. And all I'm coming up with is human population control. Because it doesn't seem to kill the animals that we got it from. (Oh, hush up about ending a sentence with a preposition. It is at this juncture that a friend would say, "Bite me," but I don't understand that. Wouldn't it hurt? Why would I want you to hurt me if I'm annoyed with you?)

I was excited to find an Amherst Bulletin at the supermarket today. It's a free weekly newspaper that is mailed to homeowners but I stopped it. It was arriving in Palm Springs 15 days after pub date. That's OLD news. Anyway, I noticed that "Cuppa Joe with Paul" is tomorrow. He's the Town Manager and he started this thing where anybody who wanted to be up and out at 8 a.m. could meet him at a local coffee shop and say what's on their mind. I figured that maybe this would be outside and since I'm up before 7 a.m. daily, I thought I would go. But the newspaper helpfully did not tell me where. Great job of reporting, huh? It turns out it's a Zoom meeting so I don't even have to wear pants! I'll have to remember to comb my hair.

I admit it: much of what I read on FaceBook is fluff. It might be about celebrities or funny memes or just anecdotes about somebody's bloopers. But, boy, do these companies (who are producing the drivel) need a copy editor or six! I was brought up short when I read some celebrity had "earnt" their award. Later on, I read that a mother had "learnt" how to deal with her son's severe peanut allergy. For pete's sake! I guess what really worries me is that some of these same writers are teaching their children at home. I know that every generation bemoans the lack of proper grammar usage, the lack of manners, and the lack of social graces, but between texting shorthand and out-and-out making up words ... well, I guess the fall of civilization is already well in hand, so I guess I should just ignore this too.

Yes, I did make it to the 8 a.m. Zoom meeting with the Town Manager, Director of BID (Business Improvement District), and the Director of the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce. I was both relieved that they couldn't see me and annoyed that I had officially gotten washed and dressed. I could have stayed in my pajamas. 

At that time, it was confirmed that my "Internet connection is unstable." After the meeting, I bit the bullet and contacted Comcast. After going through their menu, I was connected with the right branch of the phone tree which asserted that it needed to reset my modem. (No actual human was involved in this transaction.) It told me that it could take up to ten minutes and to be prepared to have service interrupted. "A technician cannot do anything unless this is performed first." I said okay and the phone line went into dead air mode. I thought it was odd that there was no annoying 'on hold' music or commercial, but I waited patiently. And I waited and I waited. Finally I gave up and hung up the phone.

Now I have no way to know if that improved anything. I either have to set up a Zoom meeting or stare at the TV and see if it hiccoughs. I think I'll go to the Post Office instead.

[Update: After one more re-set, I reached a human. Of course, my phone decided to cut us off three times, but I was finally left with, 'Ordinarily, I would send a technician out but we aren't doing that due to Covid19.']

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Sunday, July 27

I love my new stronger prescription glasses! I didn't realize how much I was struggling to see. Next time I won't wait for four years to update.

It has been interesting. I woke up at 4 a.m. yesterday sick, sick, sick. Apparently, I have some kind of throat infection. Mercifully, no fever, but besides yesterday's killer pain I have full blown laryngitis. Of course, at that early hour feeling awful, all I could think of is, 'Do I have the plague?' Luckily, I have found a miracle cure otherwise known as chicken soup. No, I'm not cured, but I am considerably better. I'm thinking it was the addition of broccoli and mushrooms that made the chicken soup so effective.

Well, that was a trip. The phone rang and that's when I discovered I can barely squeak out sounds. My friend, Ann, said, "Croak twice if it's really you." That made me laugh.  Guess I'll try gargling with salt water again.

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Blanket in Progress

It's still Sunday and after a nap I discovered that I still can barely croak. I did have to get dressed to take the trash and recycling out. It's 91 F. at 5:30 p.m. so I imagine it was a bit hotter earlier. Since this is the first time I have been out in days, I decided to see what was happening in the garden.

Front yard:

Back Yard:

Have a great rest of week. Cheers!

Morning Musings

July 13, 2020

If you manage to read all the way to the bottom, you will see that I began this ages ago. There's no excuse except for mundane things such as dentist, eye doctor, eye glasses, etc. I have ordered the glasses from Costco which means that I had to do some shopping while there. It has been an expensive ten days!

This morning started with a call from 'The Police Association.' The recorded opening line is, "You're harder to get ahold of than a roll of toilet paper." Boy, that really makes me want to donate to a scam charity!

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But total happiness first. Yesterday Emily brought J. and we started our visit at Groff Park which is barely 10 minutes from my house. They have just recently refurbished it, spending over $1 million. And it looks it with sturdy plastic equipment and big, tall shade umbrellas. My favorite part was the squishy floor material so if a child falls it's not as catastrophic as in 'the old days.' We had a great time and J. did too! 

At 17 months old, J. is a delight. Of course, I only get to see him when he's smiling and playful. Emily changed his diaper at the play ground and it went zip zop, no problems. She remarked that usually he's fighting and making a fuss. 

We all enjoyed some homemade strawberry ice cream before they left for a nap at home. I thoroughly enjoyed our morning together!

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As much as I would like to pretend that my gardens are riots of color and blooms like Martha Stewart's, I cannot. In reality, apparently, I belong to the Bloom of the Day Club. I seem to get only one bloom each day. The exception is the orange day lilies which are a saving grace because they don't mind sharing space with a myriad of weeds. 

7-12-20

7-7-20

I was so happy to discover that the flowers below are actually bee balm and not weeds. To the left is a climbing red rose bush that has finished blooming. It was years before I discovered it and now I'm trying to be nice to it and giving it some fertilizer. I hope the humming birds find it.

On July 6th I went to Andrew's Greenhouse and the colors and plants in profusion were a tonic to my soul. I enjoyed the garden accoutrement, but most of it was too expensive for me.

I thought this was the cutest bird house!

Below is the view from Andrew's Greenhouse's parking lot. This is about 6 minutes from my house, part of the south Amherst neighborhood. It's a couple of doors up from the church and the South Amherst Common.

Needless to say, it was a gorgeous day to go to a greenhouse! Of course, there are lots of plants outside but by the time I got there, it was HOT, so I did not linger to take pictures.

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This is the last of "the little lilies" in the front. There are orange and pink -- pink first to bloom, then orange. One at a time.

July 5, 2020 last bloom.

June 28, 2020

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This post is beginning on July 2 in the morning, but as you may have figured out, sometimes a post is written over three days or more. 

Carole sent me a missive from her UCLA health plan with suggestions about coping with the pandemic. There was a section called "Lift the Spirit" and one of the suggestions was to get out in nature. I guess doing battle with the wild roses and other weeds in my garden is getting out into nature.

My leg actually looks a lot better after some soapy water cleaned it up.

[Update on 7-13: You would never know I had those scratches. But ... I seem to have poison ivy scattered around and it did not show up until about three days ago. I have not been in the garden since!Weird, huh?]

 

Another suggestion was physical exercise and the aforementioned gardening and landscaping escapade must have been good exercise because I hurt in muscles I didn't even know I had. I guess the one cubic yard of soil and mulch is heavier than I thought.

Under the good nutrition and socialization area, they suggested a zoom dinner party. Helpfully, they provided some recipes which all seemed to be bean based. I guess it's a good thing that your dinner guests would be on screen so that nobody has to inhale the inevitable gaseous component of beans. 

Finally, one of the suggestions that I took to heart is to communicate with someone daily. He's not talking back much, but I sure am having fun yelling at that darn chipmunk who keeps digging holes in the garden or on the front walk. 

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It's back to July 13 and I wish you all good health and a great week! I have been knitting some and I may show it to you later but I'm still in the design phase and I would rather complete the blanket before showing it to you.  Cheers!

Summertime ... and the Livin' Is Easy

My gardening tolerance is up to two hours. It makes a big difference in temperature when you go out at 8:30 a.m.!  Thank you SO much to Nancy W. who gave me white iris, sedum, and daisies to transplant. I put some of the iris in front. No, no before picture -- I'm too embarrassed at how high the weeds were in front!

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CVS Clerk: When do you want to pick up your prescription?
Me:  On Monday or later.  (This was Friday.)
CVS Clerk:  It will be ready after 2 p.m. today.
Me:  But I said Monday!
CVS Clerk:  You said, 'Or later.'

To me, in this instance, "later" meant on Tuesday ...

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Nancy W. and I went to the opening night of "dine in" at Mission Cantina. (I think it was on Wednesday.) They had arranged picnic tables under a big tent in their parking lot. You went up to a window and ordered and paid. Then, when your food was ready, they called your name and you picked it up.

Yes, I got dressed up. It was the first dinner at a restaurant since March. You can't tell, but I'm smiling under the mask.

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Saturday, June 13, was Knitting in Public Day. I did my knitting at Planet Color in Andover, MA right after my new haircut. Thank you, Sherylann, I love my haircut!

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I know I post a lot of pictures of food ... but I'm not doing much except cooking and gardening.

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On Friday, Sue H. and I met for lunch at Panera in Hadley. They had umbrella tables outside. You ordered inside and they brought it out to you, which was lovely. We had such a good time chatting away that the sun began to creep onto my arm. No problem, I used my sunscreen umbrella to deflect the sun. Thanks, Sue! I had missed our coffee breaks/chats. [Sue is my technology guru and I try to make appropriate noises and nod when she waxes on about 5 g and location of cell towers and corporate technology takeovers. But in reality, it's all Greek to me. I just try to keep my mouth shut long enough so that I don't show my ignorance!]

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Yesterday (Saturday, 6/20/20) was the day for me to have my new kitchen window installed. There is a long story behind this other long story.

Last November, I contracted for a casement window (with a crank) because the reach over the sink is too much for my poor back when I want to open the window.  It was supposed to be installed before I left for California. Nope, they didn't make it. So Lowe's said, 'Call us,' when I got back. My three month stay turned into six months.

Finally, I got a call from Andy The Window Installer. Actually, it was a series of calls (believe it or not, I am editing this) and we set it as 9:30 a.m. on Saturday.  At 10:20, he still hadn't arrived and I was beginning to steam. Luckily, I looked at my text messages and at 9:13 a.m., he had written that he was running late.

He showed up at 11:30 a.m. I was not amused and let him know. He said they wouldn't release the window to him at Lowes and he had spent two hours there waiting for a manager who would help him. Anyway, after an hour or so I cooled down and apologized for being cranky. At that point I had figured that he was a window installer's version of Art Carney when he sat down to play the piano on the Jackie Gleason Show. He was very methodical and careful.

Little did I know that he would not be done until 5:30 p.m. Honest. He did point out that he had insulated on the outside and I admired his handiwork.

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It's a lovely, lazy Sunday morning. The sun is shining and if it's like yesterday, it will go to the 90s with 52% or more of humidity. 

After getting up at 6 a.m. and opening the windows, I managed to sleep until 8:30 a.m. That's a vast improvement over yesterday's 5 a.m.! But I do get things done before it's ridiculously hot ...

Yup, the blueberry muffins are good. I found the right recipe, Mom.

It is very comfortable in my house with window and a.c. management. But I will have to go out into the heat to water my gardens. They are coming along, inch by inch. 

The watering has been done. At quarter to six, it has cooled down to 92 F. Sure glad I didn't go out at 1 p.m.!  Here's the back in progress.

This photo gave me an Impressionist feel. Don't know if my hand was shaking or if my eyes are blurry (from allergies). Yes, there is still new soil in the bag. I will have to spread it another morning. To the left of the yellow stuff and behind it are some orange day lillies that haven't opened yet.

In the front, that one stella d'oro lily has been joined by friends.

Also in the front are some other incipient lily flowers. Not yet though.

The skinny thing on the left is not a stick. It's a chive that I picked from the back. If I get ambitious, I'm going to make zucchini patties with chives. And maybe cheese. I dunno. Right now I feel like falling asleep. And it's o.k. because I put the trash out!

I have finished "Dectorists" which is on Amazon Prime. They are people in Britain who use metal detectors looking for treasure or old coins. It's quite amusing with quirky characters and an interesting plot. There's no violence and very few bad words, so it's kind of a relaxing romp through some unusual people's lives. It was a TV show, I think, so there are short episodes and you can stop whenever you want. 

I was delighted to see that there is a season 6 of Harry Bosch on Netflix. He's an old school LA detective in modern times. At this point, his "little" girl is working as an intern while in college. It's interesting to me to see him go to areas in California and I can say, "I've been there!" Although I have to admit, I'm not very familiar with LA. But I can recognize Venice Beach and other well known places.

And that's it. I'm all out of talking with you about nothing! Have a great week and remember to wear your masks and avoid people who are not wearing a mask. Cheers!

Happy Sunday

It's a lovely Sunday morning with refreshingly cool temperatures -- it's just now 65 F. at almost 10 a.m. However, in the past week, it has bee n insufferably hot (sometimes 85 degrees with anywhere from 69% to 90% humidity). Needless to say, I was very uncomfortable with the heat.

Yesterday, Saturday, Emily came to visit and I knew I needed to fire up the mini split in the kitchen area. So I cleaned the filters and got it going. She and I happily discovered that Panda Garden in the center of Amherst delivers. So we sat munching Chinese food in the cool kitchen. Then Emily, God bless her! hauled out the old non-working portable air conditioner. I had already found out that it weighs 70 pounds, thereby explaining why I couldn't lift the blankety blank thing. "Better put a FREE sign on it," Emily remarked. As we pushed it to the curb, I noticed a cloud in the sky.

"You know what this means? It's going to rain on this thing." Meanwhile I'm remembering that it will cost $50 to get the trash company to pick it up.

After that, we cruised off to our local big box store and picked out a new a.c. As we were loading it on a hand truck, whoosh!! and we could hear a torrential downpour on the metal roof. It rained hard for at least 15 minutes, creating mini floods in the street. I was envisioning a water logged hunk of junk at the end of my driveway.

We got back to my house and rejoiced -- it was gone! Wahoo! Some home fix-it person had taken the defunct a.c. More kudos to Emily who masterfully set up the new one.

After we got the new a.c. set up, I mused that it would now be 50 degrees instead of the 80s. You guessed it: when I got up this morning, it was 57 F.
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I'm sorry to be posting so many pictures of food ... but today I have created a new taste sensation. It's a crustless ricotta spinach quiche.

The ricotta stays mushy, but that's o.k. It's wonderfully rich. Of course, I couldn't just put one thing into the oven so a 3 pack of chicken thighs became two with Creole seasoning and one baked with homemade marinara sauce. I won't have to turn the oven on when it gets hot again!

By the way, thank you, Carole, for my new rubberized hot pads! You may have forgotten that you gave them to me, but I LOVE them. I can get things out of the oven without getting burned!


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Garden update:

Front yard;

Chives in the way back of the raised beds:

The peonies are on the east side of the house.

 However, this peony is on the front of the house (south side).

All these photos makes me realized I have to put some fertilizer out. Time to go.

Cheerio! Have a great week!

My Hands Hurt

No, it's not bad, just annoying. It's from today's hour and a half in the garden. I was using a large lopper, much like manual hedge clippers but with crescent shaped blades. Consequently, my hands are very sore since they are not used to such action. My wrists are complaining too but I'm ignoring them. This is actually my second time into the jungle, also know as my garden.

Needless to say, this is before weeding the first time. And after an hour and a half, here is what it became.

I did manage to empty the lawn cart down in the way back.


Today I did battle with a lot of wild rose on the far left of the timbered area and I was able to weed another patch about the same size as the first box. I have found that 1.5 hours is my limit. Hence, the lawn cart is still sitting there in all of its full glory. The green stuff also on the ground is the hacked off previously mentioned wild rose. Those thorns are wicked!

I did go to visit my peonies (they are on the side of the house and I cannot see them easily) and they are in bud. Yay!

Now that they finally mowed my yard, I like looking at it. I'm standing on my tiny deck to take this picture. I had a lovely time with my umbrella sitting on my deck today. The breeze was nice and the view wasn't bad.

Here's my neighbor's yard. I love the yellow flowers.

This next shot I call "Hope." It's the only flower that survived my neglect.

Actually, that's not totally true. Look at the chives (after a neighbor took some for his garden). They are going to town!

A couple of days ago, I made some balsamic chicken in the crockpot which came out yummy. Today I was rummaging in the freezer and found some homemade ice cream. That was a treat particularly since I have eaten the last of the blueberry muffins. I'll have to get up earlier before I put the oven on to make more! Tonight I think I'll just make a hamburger with mushrooms and onions. The rest of the hamburg will go into making meatballs to have with the homemade sauce that I have made.

I have had two Instacart food (and detergent) deliveries, but I sure will be glad when this self- quarantine is over and I can go to the store on my own! I am told that there was a line at Trader Joe's but I never shop there anyway. I've been getting the food from Big Y in an effort to shop local, but their choices are really limited. I haven't had a delivery from Atkins because the $10 delivery charge put me off. At least the Instacart drivers get a hefty tip -- I would have to tip on top of the Atkins charge.

Time to make supper. Cheers!

I Should Be Having a Siesta

Since it's 87 degrees, I think I should be sleeping in the shade outside. I'm pretty sure the landscapers are taking a break. Earlier they were trimming and mowing and then it went quiet. I looked out the window and see a phalanx of three (count 'em) people pushing big seeders (you know that green machine with wheels). They are all suited up with hats, long sleeves, mask, gloves, long pants, etc. I understand that they do not want to get stuff on them, but holy moly -- it's 87 freakin' degrees! I sweat on their behalf.  

Luckily, Mom and I have already taken a walk. I have a few pictures for you to look at but I'll put them in after I write to you.

This is my Deb showing you how tall the neighbor's roses are. Deb is about 5'8" tall.

We got an Instacart delivery last night which was a day early! The first time I tried it (from Aldis) I had to wait five days for the delivery. This one was from Smart and Final and the delivery driver says she likes delivering at night because it's cooler. Smart lady!

Consequently, I have cooked: pulled pork in the crock pot, roast pork (the majority of the pulled pork roast), ribs (some with Creole seasoning, some with bbq sauce without sugar), and eggplant with queso fresco (cheese). I have frozen pork chops and have to freeze a ton of hamburger. How could I resist? It worked out to $3/pound, lol. 

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Easter was lovely. Deb and Paul came and we had chili and chocolate muffins (keto). Deb, Mom, and I played Scrabble. Deb won as Mom said she would. I only lost by 4 points and I can take that fine. When I used to play Words with Friends, people would beat me by 200 and 300 points. Now, that's just excessive.

We did have our shoes on at dinner! We thought it was funny that everyone wore pink (except Paul).

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My lovely neighbor, Farah, gave Mom and me insulated glasses. Mom's says "Nice" and mine says "Naughty." Personally, I think she had the nomenclature backward. Anyway, I use mine daily because I am addicted to the ice machine and cool water on the door of the refrigerator. (I don't have one at home.) And one does get thirsty in the desert. I am amazed at this glass. It's magic. It doesn't sweat and two hours later the ice still hasn't melted! 
Now granted, it's only about 76 F.  inside, but I still think it's magic. Thank you, Farah and the rest of the fam!

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Thank you so much to Phyllis for sending me pictures of my daffodils in Amherst. No daffs here, but lots of other unusual blooms to keep my "seasonal" allergies in high gear. 

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One night we (Eric, Paul, LeeAnne, Mom, and I) shot off LED "helicopters." It's a little paper-winged thing that you shoot using a rubber band slingshot. Bernie, the Bernese Mountain Dog, loved fetching the things. And since it was dark and he's black, you couldn't see Bernie. But you could see the brightly lit LED bobbing at dog mouth level above the ground. It was fun. The tequila added to the merriment.

The streak on the right is a helicopter being shot up into the air.

Needless to say, this is me (behind the light).

The collage above is from one of our walks about a week ago.

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About a week ago, we had a lot of rain (4 days in a row). It wasn't a lot by New England standards, but it was enough to coat the mountains with snow.

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And here is my beautiful Mom at her 90th birthday party. It was the last get together before self isolation. We had a lovely time and look forward to more parties as soon as we are no longer confined. But I'm with the scientists, I don't think we should let loose too early. We certainly do not want to see a resurgence of the plague.

There is so much that I miss, but as I sit here on the patio with a warm breeze caressing my face, I can only think, "Life is good!" I feel very privileged to be here with much of my family. We look forward to video phone calls from Emily and her guy, J. 

I wish you all well and hope you can find something good in every day. Ciao, Tina