My White Lilac Bush

Word of the Day

Syntheticity - An object's state of being synthetic. To possess syntheticity is to be a synthetic thing. As opposed to organicity.

My information packet for my Ireland/Scotland trip came today. Yes! I am so looking forward to this trip. My ancestors came from the area where we're going to be touring. We'll be walking on some of the same streets and hiking the same hills as those who made us. I can't wait. Sis and I will be heading to The Big City in a week, spend the night at a hotel near the hotel, and head to the airport on Saturday morning. Meanwhile, after rules and regulations from all the airlines and talking to #1 Son, who does a LOT of traveling, I did some re-packing. I needed to pare the weight of my check-in suitcase to 44 pounds. I got it down to 42 pounds. Instead of just bringing my purse and my laptop, I'm bringing a small carry-on bag (I'll tuck my purse into this bag) and my laptop. I'm allowed a carry-on and a personal item. The airline considers my laptop as a personal item. I packed some of the items that I had originally packed into my check-in suitcase, into my carry-on. My carry-on had to weigh 22 pounds or less. It weighs 17 pounds. So, no, I think, I'm packed. Apparently, UK airlines have stricter weight limits than here in the United States. And then, after reading my information packet today, I read that the weight requirements are the same for the UK airlines are for here. Oh well...I'm good. I may tuck some of the items that I put in my carry-on back into my check-in baggage but it makes me think that maybe there's some confusion when it comes to metric vs. the system we use here. This could get interesting.

The sun finally peaked out today. With its appearance, I was able to get some much needed outdoor work done. I put together the new Shop-Vac (heavy-duty)that I purchased for the express purpose of vacuuming our lower patio. It really needed it. I hadn't had the time or the opportunity to do it since I arrived back here at The Lake. I have vacuumed the upstairs deck but the lower patio was just too wet and too loaded with leaves and debris for the tiny little Shop-Vac that I normally use for the upstairs deck. I tried to use this small Shop-Vac last year...and failed. I had to drag out Ye Ole Broom and Dustpan. So...I decided to get what some would call a "real" Shop-Vac. I knew I'd need all its power for this task and it'll work out in the garage too. But first, I decided, since the upstairs deck needed vacuuming, again, I'd start there. It worked great! Then, I took the new Shop-Vac down to the lower patio and it did a great job there too! Wow! It sucked up everything! Shingle debris, LOTS of leaves, dirt, mud, grass clippings, rocks, and unwary bugs and worms. I was thrilled. A job that I'd been dreading was made fairly easy. Don't get me wrong, the job wasn't easy, but, it was LOTS easier than it has been in the past with a broom and dustpan and I didn't have to deal with constant clogging issues like I do with my tiny Shop-Vac. I may just retire my tiny Shop-Vac.

My goal is to leave this house looking pretty darn good and in good order before I take off for my trip. Thus, when I return, three weeks later with HTP, I'm hoping that everything will look nice for him...and me. He'll only get to stay here at The Lake for a couple of weeks. I want those two weeks to be more than happy and relaxing for him. I'm just hoping that our big boat will be ready for pick up from where it's being serviced before HTP gets here. However, I haven't heard anything to give me any confidence about this. I received a call earlier in the week to tell me that they can't match the carpet because that color has been discontinued so they had to get my go-ahead to use a different color carpet before they could proceed. I gave them the go-ahead and hope the color isn't too awful. However, chances are that I won't be picking up the boat before I leave on my trip. Hopefully, they'll get all the repairs done so at least all HTP and I have to do is go pick it up after we get back here.

Random Quote of the Day

Before he sets out, the traveler must possess fixed interests and facilities to be served by travel.

George Santayana (1863 - 1952)

Look!  ALL my tools are hanging up in the garage.

Quick Look!  The garage cabinets are clean and organized.

Word of the Day

Similar - Alternate spelling of similar. Having like characteristics. Also, being strangely similar.

Woodtick Count - 8

Having spent most of four hours in the garage this morning, I was a bit mystified to find a woodtick stuck in that I barely had enough flexibility to remove on my back, near my shoulder. And then, I remembered that I'd gone out to the garden to install the sprinkler. That's all it took to add to my woodtick count and feel like I've got woodticks crawling all over me.

My Monkey Bars arrived yesterday! Yeah! Monkey Bars are a garage organization system that actually works....or claimed to work so I decided to give them a try. It's a heavy-duty rack on which you're supposed to be able to hang all your garden tools...even something as heavy as a wheelbarrow. First, before I could install the two racks, I needed to pull all the tools away from where they were sitting and lying underneath the other racks that HTP installed several years ago. Every time anyone would try to secure a tool to the racks, it would fall off. Finally, people just gave up and leaned the tools against the wall and mostly, the tools would end up falling over. So, first, before installing the new racks, I had to remove ALL the tools from against the wall and remove the old racks. Then, I had to drill new holes into the studs to hold the brackets for the bar. Actually, aside from a few logistic problems (sometimes I wish I had three hands), and making sure that I had ALL the tools I needed for the job, the installation process was fairly easy. Tools needed? My drill with the proper bit, a hammer and a nail to make sure that I was actually drilling into a stud, a level, a heavy-duty Phillips screwdriver, a pencil for marking and a measuring tape. And, of course, the first bit for my drill that I tried to use was too dull so I had to go back inside to search out the new bits that we purchased a few years ago, and the first Phillips screwdriver that I grabbed wasn't heavy duty enough to do the job. Oh, and I really needed my small ladder so I could bring myself to eye level to my project. But, eventually, I managed juggling my pencil, my measuring tape and my level.

After installation, my next task was to decide what to hang where. I've got LOTS of tools but I was easily able to hang ALL my tools from my Monkey Bars. I even hung up the electric chainsaw, the electric leaf-blower, and the electric grass trimmer. I hung up the axes that we use to split logs, the shovels, the rakes, the snow shovels, the roof rake, the hoes, the lawn-edger, the spading fork, the lawn aerator, and some tools that I'm not sure what they are. I've inherited a few tools from my Grandparents that look really neat but...what the heck are they? I think they may be items that people use for fishing. One looks like a trident and another looks like a fishing gaff. Heck if I know what that other tool is. Regardless, all the tools are hung and that part of the garage has been swept.

Then, as long as I was out in the garage, I decided to continue with cleaning and organizing. I cleared out both of the garage cabinets, sorting and organizing before returning most of the items to the cabinets. Some things just needed to be thrown away. I now see that we have lots of bungee cords which are all put away in the same place in the same cabinet. We have lots of various lengths of rope and cord which is also stored in the same place and in the same cabinet. I found one glove. What's with that? I found a trowel that I hate because it always bends when I use it. Why keep it? I found lots of painting supplies that I didn't know we owned. There's a huge quantity of screw and nails that I probably should sort out but for right now, they're all big ice cream tub, stored in one cabinet. We've got lots of automotive stuff (oil, anti-freeze, windshield washer fluid, car-cleaning stuff, etc.) which now is all stored neatly in one of the cabinets instead of helter-skelter in two cabinets and off to the side. Apparently, every time someone needed to refill their windshield washer fluid, they bought a new gallon of the stuff. We've got LOTS of windshield washer fluid. LOTS. Then, we have all this stuff that we may need or not that I don't dare throw away because they're replacement parts for this and that here in the house....mystery stuff. I dedicated one whole shelf to that stuff. But, after all, I was able to stow away lots of stuff and the doors of the cabinets, once again, actually close.

I wish I could say that I have a fully clean garage but...can't. I still need to do more organizing out there. However, I made a good start and there's just some things that I can't make decisions on by myself. At least I'm leaving the garage looking pretty darn good.

I'm packed...mostly, for my trip. I needed to weigh my suitcase to make sure that I can indeed bring all the items that I want/need to bring along. It's a bit heavy (47.8 pounds) but I think I'm within the margin of error and therefore safe. My suitcase can weigh up to 50 pounds. I'm going to have to pack my Kindle and miscellaneous electronics in my laptop bag....unless, I need to check to see if they consider my laptop as my one and only carry-on or if I can bring another.

Random Quote of the Day

When you travel, remember that a foreign country is not designed to make you comfortable. It is designed to make its own people comfortable.

Clifton Fadiman (1904 - 1999)

I Need to Lose Weight

Word of the Day

Subatomic toasticle - Any tiny fragment of toast left behind in the butter.

I had a long day yesterday, starting with my doctor appointment. To start the joy, I had to give blood...lab test. Though I've lost inches, I haven't lost weight. *sigh* I need to lose weight. My sugar level was too high but not enough to kick me into the diabetic column. My cholesterol level was high but what was rather confusing to me was that it was my good cholesterol level that put me into the too high level. The doctor didn't know what to do with that so...I was told to keep doing what I've been doing...Red Yeast Rice. To complete my joy, lucky me, I had to endure the humiliation of a pap smear. Could this day get any better?

And then onto the, "I'm in the city anyway so I'd better pick up whatever I need to pick up on my shopping list", part of the day. I stopped at Menards to pick up a filter for my little shop vac and some gardening supplies, something to kill the weeds in my lawn and something to support my peonies, something to kill mosquitoes and prevent ants from coming into the house, and a heavier duty shop vacuum to use in the garage and on the lower patio.

Today? I had a hair appointment in the city...but not until 1 PM. So, I started packing and compiling a shopping list of those things that I need to bring on my Scotland/Ireland trip that I don't own...at least not here. It was Senior Day at ShopKo today so I figured it would be a perfect day to pick up those items that I'd need for the trip at a 15% discount. I discovered that, after consulting with Sis, that I had enough pants, jeans, capris, and skinny jeans to last the three weeks of our trip. She plans to wear flip flops so I figure that I can get away with wearing my favorite sandals and packing a pair of walking sandals. Shirts? I've got plenty. I have a couple of suit-type jackets that I can add to outfits to dress them up that I'll be bringing. By the time I had to leave for the city, I had a good idea what I needed to buy for the trip. Socks. I needed socks. And? I needed to get some travel-size items to bring along to help stretch my wardrobe and maximize suitcase space. In the meantime, I also "packed" the purse I plan to use on our trip, using my new RIFD wallet, so I could get used to them.

Hair appointment? I didn't have much hope when I went into my appointment so I wasn't disappointed when it turns out that they didn't actually have my color in stock and had to mix it. Not good. While they were mixing, I sat for over a half hour. I was supposed to pick Ma and T-Square up for some shopping at ShopKo by 3 PM but.... I was supposed to have my hair cut by Sarah but apparently she was over-booked so I ended up with Dale...which wasn't a bad thing but I didn't feel all that confident when he had to consult the owner of the shop (who was incredibly busy) about how to cut the angle of my hair. I think he did better when he relied on his own instincts but I'm glad my hair grows fast because he used a thinning shears on my hair. Plus, the chemistry project where they tried to match my color left me with a streak of gold-colored hair where my skunk line was but I was told that it would blend. I'm not too sure but...I got what I expected and will live with it. It's not like I'm going to my son's wedding like the last time these people cut and colored my hair. It'll do and if it doesn't...I'll buy a hat in Ireland...or Scotland to cover it up.

At 3:30 PM, I walked out of the building into a misting rain and called Ma and T-Square. They decided that they didn't want to go to ShopKo after all because of the dreary, rainy, weather. Amazingly enough, my hair didn't frizz up. That's a good thing and I hope that I can have equal luck with my hair after I have to style it myself. I headed off to ShopKo and bought the items on my list along with a few other items that weren't on my list but I decided that I needed. Then, I got to the checkout stand and my credit card (Discover) was declined. What?! I used my Visa but was a bit upset about it. I called the phone number on the back of the card and apparently they'd thought that my card had been stolen...despite the fact that I TOLD them that I was going to be in Wisconsin for the summer at my annual Wisconsin residence. I CALLED THEM AND TOLD THEM!!!! I reminded them about my Scotland/Ireland trip. I HATE this but I suppose that it does prevent fraud and does protect me...it's just embarrassing when I see, in bright red letters, that the lady at the checkout stand is supposed to confiscate my card? ACK! She didn't but...stress!

After shopping...and calling the Discover people to straighten everything out...I drove over to Ma and T-Square's apartment to return T-Square's jacket that he'd left in my car the other day. There, I bumped into Sis and her hubby so I was able to give them a check to pay for my part of the Euros and Pounds that Sis purchased at the bank on Monday. She picked them up today. We split them up as best as we could but the denominations that we were given weren't exactly "splitable" outside of a Solomon solution...cutting the baby, or in this case, ripping the money in half. We decided to put the remaining currency in a pool until we could get change.

The drive home was WET and I was thrilled to actually get home. A fire in the fireplace would be nice but...I'm too tired to deal with it. 54 degrees. I'm looking forward to spending the next few days here, at The Lake. It would be nice if we could actually see some sunshine but I'm not holding my breath.

Random Quote of the Day

If I traveled to the end of the rainbow As Dame Fortune did intend, Murphy would be there to tell me The pot's at the other end.

Bert Whitney

Propane

Word of the Day

Sticktoitiveness - Perseverance; A measure of one's persevering qualities.


I was hoping the logger would have shown up before I had to head into the city at noon. He didn't. In the meantime, while I was waiting for him to show up, I set two Havaheart traps out on my upper deck. The squirrels are a real menace.

At noon, I went to pick Sis up and we headed into the city to pick up Ma and T-Square. Our first stop, after picking up Ma and T-Square was the bank. *sigh* Sis had to pay for our Euros and Pounds. I owe her some money. Turns out that I couldn't order my own Euros and Pounds using a check from another bank and we don't keep all that much dinero in our rural bank here at The Lake. Top it off? Turns out that I won't be able to use their debit card while I'm in Scotland and Ireland. They have a block on that area due to fraud problems. Thankfully, my Chase bank doesn't seem to have similar problems.

After spending time at the bank, we headed to the Verizon store so Sis could have them do something to her Smart phone so she could use it on an emergency basis while we're in Scotland and Ireland. While she was dealing with the Verizon people, I took Ma and T-Square over to Gordy's, a new grocery store in the city. Ma had a shopping list. We'd just checked out (I didn't actually purchase anything)and it was time to pick Sis up. She'd finished up at Verizon.

Next? Ma had a doctor appointment and T-Square wanted to have his hearing aides checked at the audiologist. Done and did. Next stop? Walgreens....prescriptions for Ma, T-Square, Sis and I needed some supplements. Then? MarketPlace...another grocery store. I didn't need anything there but a single tomato plant at their nursery tent to replace the one that the evil squirrels murdered. I bought a tomato plant AND another eggplant (to replace two green pepper plants that the evil squirrels murdered).

After taking Ma and T-Square home and helping them take all their purchases to their apartment, Sis and I continued on with our errands. We stopped at the local thrift store to donate items and check out the merchandise. I picked up a nice jacket that I plan to wear while in Scotland/Ireland and Sis found two jackets...but she hasn't decided which one she'll bring with her. I also picked up a couple of shirts. Sis was luckier and found a few shirts.

Our final stop of the day was back to Gordy's....the brand new grocery store in the city. Awesome! They have actual sushi...real sushi. Enough said. I bought some to enjoy for dinner and took advantage of a few of their smoking good grand opening deals. I may stop by tomorrow while I'm in the city to pick up more sushi. It tasted REALLY good.

Tomorrow? I have MY doctor appointment after a fasting lab. I am sooo not looking forward to having blood drawn. Plus, FASTING...no more food or drink (except I can have water) until after my doctor appointment. AND? Will I have to visit Walgreens again?

As for the logger?...I noticed that he'd been here, marking trees. I still need to connect with him to hand him the contract we signed and show him some modifications to the plan that HTP wanted me to show him. Maybe tomorrow afternoon...after I get back from the doctor. Seems like I need to stop at the post office too because there's a package waiting for me there.

Things are busy here right now and probably until Sis and I head off to the airport for our bucket list trip. I need to make a trip to the city again on Wednesday too. T-Square left his jacket in my car and Ma wants to take advantage of the Senior Day discount at ShopKo on Wednesday. Plus? I have a hair appointment. I don't want to go to Scotland/Ireland with a skunk line.

Random Quote of the Day

Before he sets out, the traveler must possess fixed interests and facilities to be served by travel.

George Santayana (1863 - 1952)

Wild Leeks or Ramps

Word of the Day

Submiss - To click a "submit" button that fails to function properly.

I woke up to overcast skies and temperatures in the low 40's. As the grey skies continued and the temperatures only rose to the 50's, I decided to build a fire in my fireplace to drive off the chill (I've turned off my furnace and am reluctant to turn it back on) and chase away the gloom. Beautiful and cheery fire. Of course, it never stops there. As I went to the garage to gather a few more logs to add to the fire, I skinned my knee on a collection of junk that was blocking my way to the woodpile. Of course, said collection of junk was my own fault but it still made me a bit angry...at myself. I'm am a hoarder. I collect stuff that I think I might use at some unspecified time in the future and that stuff just sits in boxes, baskets, bags, or whatever in an unorganized mess. So...I spent a bit of time this morning, sorting, organizing, throwing things away and thinking about what has to be done to make the garage a more pleasant place to enter and use. Some of this stuff needs to be donated. I have to recognize my problem (hoarding) and donate those items that I'll probably never use to someone who will find a better use for it than having it sit in my garage. This project is going to take some time...more time than I cared to give it in just one morning when my original plan was to grab a couple of logs from the woodpile. I'll work on it more in the coming days.

Meanwhile, with these cool temperatures, I decided to make some homemade soup for lunch. I made some Potato, Bacon & Ramp Soup. I'd dug the ramps with Tammy when she was here and they needed using. Plus, I had some heavy cream that had gone sour that I didn't want to waste and I had some chicken broth that #1 Son and #1 DIL had brought over for me to use. The potatoes were starting to stare at me. And after Sarge, Tammy, Little Jon, #1 Son and #1 DIL all left, it turns out that they'd left me with two started gallons of milk in the fridge that needed using. So...with some bacon that I thawed out (I always buy and freeze bacon when it's on sale), I had all the ingredients for a delicious soup. It tasted wonderful for lunch today. And, best of all, I talked to Sis and she made some pea soup. We're going to do a trade. I'm going to give her some of my soup and she's going to give me some of her soup. A win, win situation. This way no-one gets tired of any one pot of soup before it goes bad or has to be frozen.

I'm going to have to treat my plants again with cayenne. The evil squirrels have attacked my planters again. They dug up my window box planters that were just starting to sprout with lettuce and dug around in my two Earthboxes that had sprouting pole beans in them. I'm getting so tired of this. I talk a good game about killing the little buggers but I think I'll just dig the Havaheart trap out from the garage and bait it with half a hamburger bun, spread with peanut butter and dipped in bird seed. I'll be going to the city tomorrow and if I catch a squirrel, I'll release him/her MILES away from The Lake and my deck.

HTP and I signed a logging contract with the forester. He's going to come in to delineate property lines, mark the trees to be taken, and take a look at a plan HTP drew up for where we'd like to see possible driveways punched into the property to serve future (pretty vague and distant at this point)developement of part of our property.

Random Quote of the Day

And there was a beautiful view
But nobody could see.
Cause everybody on the island
Was saying: Look at me! Look at me!

Laurie Anderson, Language Is A Virus

White Hickory Tree

White Walnut Tree

Word of the Day

Supposibly - Describing something that is supposedly possible.


I decided to get out early this morning to dig the six holes for the six nut trees that I needed to plant. It is NOT easy to dig holes here at The Lake. You either encounter roots or rocks. However, I stuck to it and soon had six nice holes that were, in my judgement, far enough from the house so as not to cause future problems, far enough from other trees so the new little trees (and they are REALLY small)will have a chance to thrive, and far enough from each other so that each tree will have plenty of room to grow and, hopefully, produce...eventually. All six trees, don't ask me how I ended up with six trees when I only ordered five, are small....3 foot twigs sticking out of the ground. They sent me four white hickory trees and two white walnut trees.

I back-filled each of my holes, with tiny trees, with top soil which means that I had to dig more holes to get at top soil. Our soil here, six inches down, is solid clay. You could make pots with it. Actually, when we were kids, we did use it like modeling clay. I figured that these poor trees needed all the help they could get so I dug and dug and dug, back-filling each hole with the blackest, richest of topsoil.

Each tree is marked with an old tomato ring and an orange flag with its variety. One tends to forget. I'm praying that the tomato rings will scare off the deer until the trees get a chance to grow some. I'll probably have to add chicken wire to the tomato rings but, that'll have to wait for another day.

By the time I finished digging, planting and watering the six trees, I was wet with sweat and surrounding humidity and exhausted. Once again, I found myself wet to the knees. I had mud up to my elbows and somehow I ended up with dirt and any area of my body that was exposed. I'm not sure if the Deep Woods Off kept the woodticks away or if it was even too cold and humid for them. Mad Men and Englishmen have nothing on me.

After changing into clean and dry clothes and washing up so I didn't scare anyone who might actually see me, I sat down to a late breakfast and a nice hot cup of coffee to help warm me up. As I sat...I noted that it would be nice to have a fire going in the fireplace...which thought made me think that I really needed to clean out the ashes before I could build a decent fire in said fireplace. So, I cleaned out the fireplace and took the ashes out to the composter along with some kitchen scraps that I've been collecting by the sink and decided that I'd better get the dishes started. No big deal. However, while cleaning the fireplace, I noted that I should get out the vacuum cleaner and vacuum up the bits of ash that I'd spilled on the hearth. And, of course, if I'm going to vacuum, I figured that I should vacuum everything. Then, I noted that the vacuum cleaner needed cleaning so I took care of that. And before I could vacuum, I had to take a few loads of things down to the basement that were out in the hallway so I could do a decent job, really vacuuming everywhere. And then, while I was down in the basement putting things away, I noted that I still needed to wash the sheets that I'd used to cover my plants when we had that late season frost... so those are in the washing machine but probably need to be put in the dryer by now. But, then, as long as I was down in the basement, I figured that I should make the beds down there so the rooms will be ready for whoever comes to visit next. So...I did that too and put toys and books away. Meanwhile, I noticed that I really need to vacuum down there but I haven't done that as yet...maybe later. First, I had to finish soaking off labels from the wine bottles so they could be stored down in the basement and out of my hallway. I need the bottles for when I make wine later this summer but I can't use bottles if I don't take the labels off and make sure they're clean.

And so...from one single exhausted thought, I've driven myself to further exhaustion. I still need to get those sheets dry, folded and put away. I've got four more bottles that are soaking to get the labels off. And, I'll probably drag the vacuum cleaner down to the basement to vacuum the guest rooms later...or maybe I'll save that until tomorrow. The sun is kind of shining and I'd like to just sit a while out on my deck. I'll wait on that fire in the fireplace.

Random Quote of the Day

I shot an arrow into the air, and it stuck.

Graffito, in Los Angeles

Dandelions Before Stan Mowed Today - He Cut and Pulverized Them

Word of the Day

Superfluswitch - The one light switch in every house with absolutely no purpose whatsoever.

Woodtick Count - 7

Sadly, it appears that I can't seem to perform the simple task of installing driveway markers without attracting woodticks. I caught and killed three woodticks (tore them in two...I NEVER flick, and yes, I've since washed my hands)in the short time I was at the end of the driveway, picking up my mail and installing the reflectors. Upon finding three ticks, I didn't feel confident anymore wearing the clothes that I was wearing. At the rate I'm changing outfits, two to three outfits a day, it'll be a miracle if I have anything to wear anymore by the time Laundry Day rolls around.

My Junior Earthboxes arrived today. I set them up immediately and planted them with Buttercrunch lettuce. I'm excited to see how well these smaller Earthboxes work. If they do work out well, I'll be able to retire my windowbox planters.

Stan stopped over to mow my lawn and temporarily took care of my dandelion problems. Next time I'm in the city, I'll have to pick up a more permanent fix. In the meantime, all the tell-tale yellow blossoms have been pulverized.

I'm beginning to think that the act of watering one's garden is akin to doing a rain dance. While Stan was here, the sky was a beautiful clear blue, not a cloud in the sky. The minute I started watering the plants on the upper deck, it started to cloud up. Then, by the time I set up my As Seen on TV hose on the lower deck and watered the plants on my lower deck, the entire sky was grey/black and thunder could be heard. My NOAA radio went off, signaling a thunderstorm warning for my area. And...it rained....followed by blue skies once again. So, I hauled the hose out to my kennel garden to install and water the kennel garden which looked a bit dry. I wasn't halfway through this procedure when I was driven inside by sheets of rain and more thunder. I did eventually get the hose and sprinkler installed and started sprinkling when...my sprinkler fell apart. I need a new one.

So far this spring I've had to deal with lots of breakage. Added to the list of breakage, my hose reels (both of them) are broken so they no longer can be attached to the hosebib without major water leakage. They'll still work for reeling up the hose but that's all they're good for at this point. You'd think they'd make a decent hose reel that doesn't depend on plastic connections that always seem to become brittle and break. Meanwhile, I replaced the heavy hoses that I've been struggling with on my upper deck and my lower patio with those new As Seen on TV hoses. They seem to be working just fine so far for the task I'm using them for. Meanwhile, I'll continue using the hoses that I already own for washing the car, sprinkling the kennel garden, and watering the lawn.

The nut tree(s), that I purchased to plant in the yard, Little Jon's trees, arrived yesterday. I ordered three white hickory trees but they sent me four, and two white walnut trees. I was assured that these trees would thrive in our Zone 3, but, from the size of these little trees, I doubt that I'll be picking any nuts from these trees. Maybe Little Jon will. I have the trees soaking in a bucket of water, awaiting planting. I just need to decide where, exactly, I should plant them. Generally, I've got a location in mind. I'm not looking forward to digging six holes in rock-laiden soil but that's the plan for tomorrow. I'll need to break out the 100% Deet and I'll probably still end up adding to the woodtick count, but I think the trees need to be planted in a clear area to the east of my kennel garden. I'll have to protect these little trees from the deer until they get big enough to survive on their own. I'm thinking that some old tomato rings that I have, up-ended, will work for a while....maybe a bit chicken wire too.

Random Quote of the Day

Liberty is rendered even more precious by the recollection of servitude.

Cicero (106 BC - 43 BC)

My Daffodils are Still Blooming

My White Lilacs are Just Starting to Pop

My Deck Gardens are Planted

Word of the Day

Snapperwrapper - An elastic ponytail holder having a plastic ball at each end. The elastic is wrapped around the ponytail and then one ball is snapped in place over the other.

I finally got all my raspberries pruned and all the debris hauled off to my debris pile out in the woods. Having finished this task that has been making me a bit crazy with guilt since it should have been done weeks ago, I finally feel like I can sit down and relax a bit. I changed out of my work clothes (which were probably laiden with ticks) and into some summer-type clothes that I would never wear around raspberry spines or dirty dirt. I don't wear white out here much but...I'm done for the day. I'll be making a trip into town to pick up the mail and stow away my garbage can but I think I can keep my white jeans clean doing such mild tasks. I took a few pictures that show the present state of my environs and pulled the flower stalks from my rhubarb plants and I'm done with all my jobs for the day. I'll dress more appropriately tomorrow when I fertilize the blueberries and the potato garden.

Due to pending storm, I risked my white jeans to pull life vests from the boat and pull my hanging plant down. We're under a tornado watch which isn't all that serious...at least not as serious as a tornado warning...but, it's best to be safe than sorry.

I noted when I went to pick up my mail that someone, that someone drove over and smashed one of the two driveway reflectors that #1 Son and #1 DIL installed for me. Actually, I'm beginning to suspect that they installed all my driveway reflectors because I can't find any in my garage. What happened to all my driveway reflectors? Did someone steal them? I've added driveway reflectors to my shopping list but...I'm not happy that they've disappeared. Two of them were solar lights which were more expensive. Of course, I'm a bit less upset about those because they never really worked but I really need reflectors to find my driveway entrance from off the county highway out here after dark. Whoever has left me with on reflector that was one of the least effective ones that I owned. Grrrrr!!!!!! OK...apologies required. After consulting with #1 Son and #1 DIL, it appears that they couldn't find the reflectors either this spring...even though they put them away. After further digging and scavenger hunting in the garage, I discovered the reflectors wrapped in this white cloth that looks like it was used at one time as a screen to show projected movies and that was all hidden/stowed behind our wheelbarrow. I'm glad to say that no-one stole our reflectors and I already stowed them in the back of my car so I can install them tomorrow. I removed driveway reflectors from my shopping list.

Random Quote of the Day

Imagine if every Thursday your shoes exploded if you tied them the usual way. This happens to us all the time with computers, and nobody thinks of complaining.

Jef Raskin, interviewed in Doctor Dobb's Journal

Bellwort


 

Word of the Day

Smashal - Small pieces of broken glass, metal and other debris that remains at the scene of an accident for months after.


My dental surgery went well yesterday morning. I now have a peg which needs to rest in my jaw with bone tissue growing around it for the next three months. I'm feeling just fine. My jaw feels a bit bruised but other than that and the slight irritation from some sutures and the novacaine...I'm good. However, the dentist said, no exercise today. *sigh* Does hiking count as exercise?

The forester showed up at 8:30 AM. My brother-in-law arrived shortly afterward. After topping off the forester's coffee and providing Sis' hubby with coffee, we headed out to hike my property here at The Lake. The forester had hiked my brother's property last winter. The plan was to combine logging of my property with my brother's adjoining property. However, it now looks like my property has enough saw log timber to be logged on its own. It's best to log the property rather than let old timber die and rot. I also think that we may enter the forest management system which will help on the property taxes. Anyway, two hours later, we'd hiked a great portion of the property. The mosquitoes didn't bother me a bit. I was worried a bit by woodtick. It's prime woodtick season. However, I sprayed myself fairly liberally before heading out. Sis' hubby found a couple of deer tick crawling on him but I haven't added to my own personal woodtick count....yet. I checked. I came home wet to the knees so stripped off and checked for critters. Nada.

The forester was very knowledgeable and pointed out all kinds of interesting facts. We've got both white and red oak on our property. He's going to leave the white oak. However, the red oak need to be thinned, the ash need to be removed before the ash beetle gets here, and some of the mature maples need to be taken out. He identified a leather bush which was very interesting. Sis' hubby is going to try to transplant some into his no-mow zone between his house and the lake. The ferns are starting to leaf out, bellwort is blossoming along with trillium and yellow and blue violets. Ramps are almost past their prime. We even stumbled across groupings of Jack in the Pulpit. We had a very instructive hike. Loved it. The forester will be getting back to me with a contract and then come back to mark the trees that will be removed by various loggers.

The sun has finally come out and if things dry out a bit more, I plan to start on pruning the raspberrie. I'm a bit tired from the hike but I NEED to get those raspberries pruned. It should have been done weeks ago. I'll see how I feel after I finish up the laundry and take out the garbage.

Random Quote of the Day

Posterity is as likely to be wrong as anyone else.

Heywood Broun (1888 - 1939), Sitting on the World, 1924

#1 DIL and #1 Son

Word of the Day

Shuggleftulation - The actions of two people approaching, trying to get around each other, and muttering "thanks for the dance."

Woodtick Count - 4

#1 Son and #1 DIL caught enough fish last night to serve for dinner. A LATE dinner but a very tasty dinner but there's nothing tastier than fresh caught, cleaned, and cooked fish. I'm glad that they were able to catch something on their last night here. They were all packed up and on the road by 6 AM this morning.

It's going to be really quiet here for a while but with all the things that need doing around here, I'll be keeping busy. It's time to start serious trip planning.

I've been doing little diddly things this morning. I got my beans and lettuce planted and tucked some set onions into my kennel garden raised beds. I decided to finish up the planting because it looks like it's going to be a rainy few days. I found the missing clamp for my Earthbox staking system that the squirrel took. He buried it in the Earthbox. Don't ask me why. So, having found that clamp, I installed the staking systems on all my Earthboxes though they're not really needed as yet. At least they're out of my way. I sorted, organized, and cleaned the fridge, freezing things that there's no way that I can eat before they spoil. I've got LOTS of leftovers that need using. I'm not going to need to go food shopping for quite some time. I've washed two loads of dishes and am in the process of washing sheets. Every trip down to my basement laundry room lessens the amount of items I have stacked in the hallway that need to be stored in the basement. Ma taught me well...never go down to the basement or come back up empty-handed.

I still need to prune the raspberries. It'll have to wait because I'm just not feeling energetic enough. I've got my dental implant surgery tomorrow so I really should be getting off my procrastinating butt. Maybe I will if the sun comes out this afternoon. If not, I'm thinking fire in the fireplace tonight.

Random Quote of the Day

There is nothing so absurd but some philosopher has said it.

Cicero (106 BC - 43 BC), De Divinatione

Happy Birthday #1 Son!

Word of the Day

Smuffy - Used to describe weather that is foggy, cloudy, smoggy, and other forms all combined yet with no precipitation despite the fact that it looks like it will rain at any moment. Often this weather form makes it hard to breath.

Annual Woodtick Count - 3


I spent the morning spading the kennel garden. Normally, I don't even attempt to spade all the seven raised beds in one day, but things have been delayed this year due to weather and grandchildren. I HAD to get the beds dug because the wild raspberries were getting bigger and bigger. Bigger is harder to remove. Today, I decided to psych myself into it by starting on the most difficult beds, the ones where the wild raspberries keep trying to invade. Lots of roots. There are four of my raised beds that have this problem. Then, there were only three beds remaining. Note the key word, only. So, after spading one of the remaining three, I told myself that there were only two left. And then, there was one. And with only one left, I had enough energy to get that last one spaded.

So, after getting all the raised beds spaded, of course, I was psyched enough to plant them with my seed potatoes. I decided to plant potatoes because I've read that they're really easy and this summer I need easy. I'm pleased to report that my kennel garden is now planted with Yukon Gold potatoes and Red potatoes. Done and did.

I still need to plant my pole beans....tomorrow? And my lettuce...tomorrow? Maybe. Actually, I may wait on the beans for a bit and tackle my raspberry plants tomorrow. They really need pruning before they start to flower.

As for what I've planted so far in my Earthboxes and containers, I planted 25 tomato plants...twelve different varieties. I decided that I shouldn't depend on only one variety of tomato plant. I've had good luck with First Lady tomatoes until last year. The variety is only available in our area at one nursery and last year the plants had a problem with blight from the get go. I decided not to depend on that nursery from now on. This year I'm trying several varieties to see which ones will work the best here. I'm sure that I'll still have blight problems but I'd rather not start out battling it from the beginning. The varieties I'm trying this year are: Rutgers, Jet Star, Super Fantastic, Burpee Big Boy, Wisconsin 55, Sir Speedy, Whopper, Independence Day, Husky Red Cherry, Orange Oxheart, Bradley, and Mountain Pride. I wasn't able to find Italian frying peppers this year so I went with bell peppers...three varieties: Big Red, California Wonder, and Big Bertha. I also decided to diversify with my eggplant varieties. I planted, Whopper, Fairy Tale, and Classic. I planted both yellow and green zucchini, some basil, and flat-leaf and curly parsley. On the plus side, I was able to buy all my bedding plants cheaply...a lot cheaper than if I'd bought them at the nursery. They were on sale and if they don't work out I won't be crying in my soup. Our grocery store in the city has a seasonal nursery/garden area where they sell annual and perennial flowers, herbs and vegetable bedding plants at REALLY reasonable prices...and obviously, quite a variety of almost everything.

#1 Son and #1 DIL took me out to see the new Star Trek movie today. I loved it. This was the second time for them but they NEEDED me to see it too. Thank you #1 Son and #1 DIL for a special day. This will be another movie that I'll need to purchase to watch again.

Random Quote of the Day


Every poem can be considered in two ways--as what the poet has to say, and as a thing which he makes.

C. S. Lewis (1898 - 1963), A preface to "Paradise Lost"

Celebrated and Early Birthday for #1 Son

Word of the Day

Shoop - The singular form of sheep. Also applicable to fish as foosh. In the case singular moose, meese is the plural form.


Sarge packed up all the kidlet gear and we hit the road for the airport at 9 AM this morning. We actually arrived at the airport at 11:30 AM so we had plenty of time to check baggage, go through security, and grab a bit to eat at one of the few restuarants that exist past security. Yes, they gave me a pass to accompany Sarge, Tammy, and Little Jon to the gate. Thank goodness! There's no way that Sarge could have wrangled a stroller, a carseat, two children and all the accompanying necessary items all by herself. Since the plane wasn't over-sold, Sarge was rewarded with a whole row all to herself and the kidlets. Yeah!

I just got a call from D Buddy. Southwest is an awesome airline. They gave him a security pass too so he could meet Sarge and kidlets at the gate to assist when they arrived. Double Yeah!

I'm so going to miss having my grandchildren here. Once #1 Son and #1 DIL leave for their roadtrip on Monday morning, it's going to be rather over-whelmingly quiet. It helps that #1 Son and #1 DIL put away all the kid toys for me before I got back.

Random Quote of the Day

Times have not become more violent. They have just become more televised.

Marilyn Manson (1969 - ), I Don't Like The Media But The Media Likes Me - Columbine statement

Tammy Picked a Bouquet for Grandma

Little Jon Wants to Sit on T-Square's Lap Too

T-Square and Great-Grand-daughter Tammy

Ma with Great-grandson Little Jon

Ma with Great-grand-daughter Tammy

Word of the Day

Slowmobile - Any vehicle that turns in front of one's path on the highway and cuts their traveling speed in half.

We had a full day yesterday. Too many pictures to cover it. Sarge, Tammy, Little Jon and I all drove into town to pick up the mail and visit the park near the church. Turns out that there was a rummage sale at the church which made for fun times for Grandma. I didn't really buy all that much but the women of the church went ga-ga over Little Jon. He is quite the charmer with the ladies.

Then, as we were loading up the kids into the car, this "person" decided to park his car right next to us, pressuring us with the loading process. A few choice thoughts were going through our head before it dawned on us that it was Sis' hubby. Uncle G! He told us that T-Square and Ma were up at their place at The Lake, picking up much needed supplies for their apartment in the city. Yes!

Hurrying home, I called Sis (T-Square and Ma don't have a functioning phone at The Lake) and she walked up to the hill to talk to them for me to tell them that we'd love to have them join us for dinner but failing that, just stop by to visit before heading back to their apartment in the city. And, it was so.

Tammy and Little Jon loved the chance to visit with their Great-grandparents. Ma told Tammy to call her GG since Great-grandma is quite a mouthfull for a two-year-old.

Later that evening, Sis and her hubby came over for a dinner of steaks on the grill, salt-crusted potatoes and salad....and yummy cherry pie for dessert. We got to visit at leisure. Unfortunately, we all seemed to forget to take any pictures. Fail. Oh well, we did some great pictures with everyone while Sarge and the kidlets were here for their visit.

Meanwhile, I had to run out before dark to cover all my new vegetable plants overnight. *sigh* The Weather Channel was predicting overnight temperatures of 33 degrees. That's a very iffy temperature that could dip down into freezing. I wasn't going to take any chances, having spent so much time and effort planting everything and chasing away wild animals. I'm glad I did because at midnight, when I woke up to remember that I'd failed to bring the hanging plant that Sarge gave me for Mother's Day inside to protect it, it was already down to 34 degrees. I tiptoed downstairs in my jammies, quietly opened the basement door out to the patio, crossed the patio and lawn in bare feet, grabbed the hanging plant and brought it inside, and was successfully able to sneak part way back up the stairs when Sarge came out of her room in a panic. She'd heard noises and thought that Tammy might be making a break for it....or someone or something was trying to break in. She was relieved that it was only me....at midnight...sneaking around the house.

My plants made it through the night. I uncovered them as soon as temperatures rose above 40 degrees. My basil got a little damaged but I think it'll recover. Only a few leaves looked blackened. I don't think it's supposed to get so cold tonight.

Squirrel update. I notice a fat squirrel up on my deck, munching on something this morning. It looked like a clod of dirt. Stupid squirrel grabbed some dirt from my only unprotected Earthboxes. While I was outside, taking care of the problem, I noticed that a key part for the Earthbox staking system was missing. Darn it! Now I'll have to contact the Earthbox people and order a replacement. I have NO idea what that darn squirrel plans to do with that part but it's gone. I've checked the entire deck. I called Earthbox to order a replacement part. When I explained the situation to Vicki, at customer service, she was very helpful. Apparently, she thought my dilemma was very amusing. My new part will be arriving some time next week. As soon as the grandkids leave, I'm thinking about getting a little target practice in with an air-soft rifle. It might help with my chipmunk situation too.

Random Quote of the Day

Life is a moderately good play with a badly written third act.

Truman Capote (1924 - 1984)

Conversing with Kylee

Word of the Day

Schmuckspert - One who is considered an expert on clumsy or stupid people.


I got most of my Earthboxes and container gardens planted yesterday. Then....this morning....Sarge noticed a big fat squirrel up on my deck, busily digging in my pots and Earthboxes, tearing at the plastic covers. *sigh* I chased the vandal off my deck. Thankfully, he didn't do too much damage. I had to replant my basil and parsley and repair the holes around my eggplant and some of my tomatoes. Then...I looked down at my pots on the lower patio. *sigh* That was on busy squirrel. I had to go down to repair/replant nine of the twenty-five tomatoes and all four of the peppers I'd planted in a huge pot. Plus, as soon as things dry out, I'll have to vacuum off all the dirt that the vandal tossed everywhere. Thankfully, I hadn't planted any lettuce seed in my window boxes yet. I'd prepped them for planting but ran out of energy. The squirrel REALLY made a mess of the window boxes, tossing dirt all over.

Anyway, as far as planting goes, I still need to plant the pole beans in my tow remaining Earthboxes, the lettuce in the window boxes, and the potatoes out in the kennel garden. Of course, the kennel garden still needs to be spaded but that will have to wait because it's still too wet out there.

Random Quote of the Day

When griping grief the heart doth wound,
and doleful dumps the mind opresses,
then music, with her silver sound,
with speedy help doth lend redress.

William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)

Swinging

Word of the Day

Siplets - To Take tiny sips when one's beverage is scalding hot.

Congratulations are in order for #1 DIL. She graduated last night, earning her Master's degree. #1 Son and the entire family are very proud of her. Way to go #1 DIL!

We got another 2/3 of an inch of rain last night. We did lose power last night. It was just long enough so I have to reset clocks but not long enough for the generator to kick in. Come to think of it, I haven't heard the generator cycle since I've been back here at The Lake. That doesn't mean too much because I haven't exactly been listening for it. We replaced the battery last summer so it should be OK. However, I'll have to make a point to listen for the generator to cycle on Monday. It is Wet! I'm going to have to plan indoor activities today. Of course, I have plenty of indoor activities that need doing. I'm thinking that maybe today would be a good day for Grandma to make play dough. Tammy is only two but I think she may enjoy it.

After watching the news about the devastation of the tornadoes that have torn through Oklahoma this week, I'm thinking of safety measures here at The Lake should a tornado blow through here. My basement has LOTS of windows which makes flying class a real problem, however, I think we'd all still be safe. I feel good that my guests would already be safely situated close to safety in the basement. However, the safest place in my basement is the hallway...with all the windows to the bedrooms, bathroom, and bonus room closed. I'd feel a lot better if there were some sort of way of securing the basement windows to keep them safe but, my basement hallway and, if necessary, the furnace room should keep us all safe. Thankfully, we've only had one tornado watch this spring but it never hurts to have a plan.

I think we had a visit from a bear the other night. One of my bluebird houses was ripped from the split-rail fence by my driveway. I saw it laying on the ground last night. When I went to investigate this morning, I noted that the birdhouse had some huge, deep scratches on it as if something was trying to open it. Thankfully, T-Square made my little bluebird house sturdy and the house wasn't destroyed. I was easily able to use the old nails and reinstall the house back onto the fence. After cleaning it out, I went to check my other bluebird house. It, too, had large scratches on it but remained attached to the split-rail fence at the top of Blueberry Hill. Both birdhouses have been cleaned out and are awaiting future residents. Hopefully, Mr. Bear, having missed finding any tasty bird egss, will move on to find easier targets.

Random Quote of the Day

Never to suffer would never to have been blessed.

Edgar Allan Poe (1809 - 1849)

Tammy Helped Shop for Plants

Word of the Day

Shrinkcrap - The shrink wrap that becomes completely and utterly twisted such that it is useless.

I purchased all my bedding plants and seed potatoes(Yukon Gold and Red) and seeds today. I've never grown potatoes before but I thought I'd give it a try this year since I won't have as much time to garden this summer but don't want my kennel garden to go to weeds. Unfortunately, today isn't a very good day to garden. We've had popcorn showers on and off all day. Just when I get out to work on my Earthboxes, it'll start to rain. I put everything away and go inside and...the sun comes out. I wait to make sure it's turning beautiful and just when I get back outside to work...it starts to rain again. And...the sun is out right now. After being chased inside three times already, I've decided to give it up for the day.

So...if I ever can get out to actually plant. I bought several varieties of tomato plants (36 total tomato plants), three varieties of eggplant (3 total eggplants), three different types of bell-type peppers (16 total pepper plants), four yellow zucchini and four Italian zucchini, two varieties of pole bean seeds, and two varieties of lettuce seed, Yukon Gold seed potatoes, Red seed potatoes, and set onions.

Sis tells me that I should plant some pennies in with my tomato plants to prevent blight. Someone told her that this would work. It might work. Copper is supposed to prevent blight and pennies are made from copper so....

Random Quote of the Day

The absence of alternatives clears the mind marvelously.

Henry Kissinger (1923 - )

Chillin' on the Deck - May 17, 2013

Word of the Day

Silly-bo-dilly - A person who is either oblivious to a situation or causes some attraction that appears funny and/or ridiculous. Usually used in a friendly manner.


The weather has turned....icky. Soft weather. It's raining, drizzling, dreary. I'm thinking fire in the fireplace. We had planned to make a trip into the city to visit Ma and T-Square and check out the new Gordy's but Ma called to cancel, citing the dreariness of the weather. It's actually going to be this "soft" for a few days. I'm hoping for some storminess to break up the dreariness but, as a stated previously, this is a fire in the fireplace kind of day. We are going to go out and do some much needed shopping today but we'll probably wait to see Ma and T-Square and check out the Gordy's until next week.

Despite the weather...or because of it...I noticed as I was gazing out the window this morning that the trilliums are starting to bloom out in the woods and my dwarf irises are putting in an appearance too. Beautiful!


Random Quote of the Day

They sicken of the calm, who knew the storm.

Dorothy Parker (1893 - 1967), 'Fair Weather,' Sunset Gun, 1928

Tammy Helped Grandma Plant Flowers

We gave all the new plants a sip of water

Word of the Day

Shmeg - A unit defined as the amount of wood a woodchuck could chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood.


While in the city yesterday, I picked up some annual flowers to plant out by my front walkway and some geraniums to plant in my deck flower boxes. The weather has warmed up enough to give me a sense of confidence that there will be no more overnight freezing temperatures. Of course, this was a perfect opportunity to teach Tammy that we don't pick Grandma's flowers out in her flowerbed unless Grandma says so. I'm hoping that after helping Grandma plant the new flowers, Tammy won't be so eager to pull them back out by their roots.

My morning didn't start out too well. *sigh* I'm not sure what happened or how it happened but I programmed the coffeemaker last night and didn't notice that Sarge had put the coffee carafe into the dishwasher? So...I had a real mess to clean up this morning. Coffee grounds and water all over the countertop and on the floor and into my lazy susan corner cabinet. I spent a couple of hours this morning taking EVERYTHING out of that cabinet, throwing away anything that was ruined (I actually only lost a box of Kosher salt, a box of baking soda, some unflavored gelatin and I used up most of a roll of paper toweling), washing and drying all that wasn't ruined, drying out the cabinet, re-organizing everything, and putting everything away again. Then, I made a fresh pot of coffee...this time with carafe in place.

I'm so glad that I have a large variety of toys in my Grandma's toy chest. Poor Sarge isn't feeling too well today so it's back to bed for her and Grandma is in charge. I've had to do some baby proofing in the living room. Thank goodness I purchased a huge bag of assorted rubberbands last year at Bargain Bill's. Little Jon seems bound and determined to see what is behind every cabinet door in my living room. He also is looking for anything that he can shove into his mouth and heads straight for the forbidden. Of course, Grandma (me) has safe-guarded all the toys but he's still trying. He's already tried to shove the handle of a push toy into his mouth so I had to take that away even though there was no way that he could actually swallow it. Meantime, Tammy seems bound and determined to kick her little brother with her biker boots while she's watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Grandma to the rescue.


Random Quote of the Day

A painting in a museum hears more ridiculous opinions than anything else in the world.

Edmond de Goncourt (1822 - 1896)

Tammy Loves Her Blue Ice Cream in Hayward - May 15, 2013

Word of the Day

Sarchasm - The abyss between the creator of witticisms and the intended recipient who does not find the humor in it.


Once again, I hooked up the trailer hitch to the Acadia so we could haul the big boat to Hayward. Unfortunately, there was no way that the boat trailer would fit over the ball on the hitch that worked so well to haul our U-Haul trailer. Thankfully, the trailer hitch we used on the Gator for hauling the boat fit on the Acadia AND worked on the boat trailer. The ball was smaller and the trailer settled onto it just fine.

I'm glad I have a TomTom. Although the dealership claims to be located in Hayward, it isn't. It's about 10 miles outside of Hayward. The TomTom directed us correctly to where we needed to go...out in the middle of nowhere. I got a really good feeling from the service personel at the dealership...lots better than I got when HTP and I dealt with the dealership in Eau Claire. Of course, I'm not sure when they'll actually get to work on the boat. They have to order the parts from Lund. But, as I've said before, we can't use it right now in its present condition and sitting out in our garage wasn't getting it any closer to lake worthy. At least we're one step closer than when it was sitting, taking up valuable garage space.

After dropping off the boat, Sarge, Tammy, Little Jon and I drove on down the road to spend the rest of the day in Hayward. We enjoyed the pizza buffet at Coops where we bumped into our deputy sheriff (neighbor and friend)as he was having lunch with what looked like every deputy sheriff in the area. There was a fleet of police cars out in the parking lot when we pulled in. Apparently, Coops' pizza is more popular with the local police than Dunkin Donuts. I have to say, the pizza was very good and fresh. The salad bar was very good too. But what really intrigued Tammy was all the stuffed animals all over the place and the racks from a multitude of deer...but best of all...there was a HUGE aquarium with live fish. There were bass, rockbass, bluegill, sunfish, and crappie. She loved it.

We were encouraged to leave our car parked in Coops' parking lot while we strolled (two strollers) down the main street of Hayward, checking out all the shops. Of course, with two young grandchildren, we couldn't actually do more than window shop with many of the stores but I was amazed and pleasantly pleased that there so many shops that had doors wide open and extra wide aisles, encouraging people handicapped with small children in strollers to enter and browse. Of course, I couldn't resist the local crafters' merchandise. I did resist a bit but I was able to pick up a nice gift for my step-grand-daughter who is graduating soon from high school. Some really nice homemade bibs and pajamas for the grandkids, a nice birthday gift for D Buddy, and, of course, I couldn't resist purchasing a new cutting board (encouraged by Sarge who told me that I really NEEDED a new cutting board), and then there was this pottery shop... I now have three new coffee mugs. It's a good thing that I don't go to Hayward all that often.

Of course, a perfect ending from a perfect afternoon (the weather was just right), was a stop at the ice cream store for ice cream cones. Poor Little Jon was too young for this treat but Sarge gave him a couple of tastes from her cone. Tammy is a bit young for the treat too and we'd planned to get her a smoothie or a thin milk shake but the gal was working in the shop offered to give Tammy a free ice cream cone so Tammy ended up with a small scoop of cotton candy ice cream in a cup cone. Blue ice cream. Oh well, it was free and Tammy loved it and the color matched her dress. She was very happy with her ice cream cone and Grandma was able to make it disappear before blue sticky fingers and face were cleaned up. No blue fingerprints made it into the car and both grand-children fell asleep on the way back home.

Random Quote of the Day

I have found that everything wants to kill you. For some things, like fast food, or riding a bike, it just takes longer.

Devin J. Monroe (1983 - )

Hitting the Road for Omaha - May 3, 2013

Dinner With All the Grandkids and My Two Favorite Daughters in Omaha - May 4, 2013

Day 1 at The Lake - Tammy's First Experience With Snow - May 6, 2013

Playing With Little Jon - May 8, 2013

Fun at the Park With Tammy - May 10, 2013

Mother's Day Celebration at The Lake - May 12, 2013

#1 Son and #1 DIL Getting to Know Little Jon and Playing With Tammy

Indigo Bunting/Bluebird of Happiness? - Visitor to one of my seedfeeders

 

Word of the Day

Shoegating - Walking behind someone at a distance too close for comfort, much like tailgating in a car.


I've been kind of busy. Traveling with two little children isn't conducive to blogging. Opening things up here at The Lake and unpacking with two little grandchildren isn't exactly conducive to blogging either. However, I have been taking pictures. We arrived to snow on the ground. Thankfully, Sis called Stan the Man for me and he plowed my driveway and removed a HUGE tree which had fallen over my driveway. We arrived late enough at night that I didn't get any pictures of snow that night. I was too busy unloading the trailer, unpacking the coolers, making beds and getting everyone settled. Thankfully, Sarge was here to help. I did get pictures the following day.

Tammy loved the snow but by the end of the day, it had all melted...or all but a few drifts and piles left by the snowplow. Meanwhile, after enjoying the snow, we all piled back into the car, returned the U-Haul and went to visit with Ma and T-Square in the city before doing some much needed grocery shopping. We had done some very basic grocery shopping when we drove through the city on our way to The Lake.

I've got all my seed feeders out and we've been enjoying a plentitude of birds. I put out my hummingbird feeders and my oriole feeders and we saw our first hummingbird yesterday. The orioles have been here for a few days. Tammy loves seeing the birds. She also got to see some deer from the window by the TV.

Thankfully, #1 Son and #1 DIL got everything all set up for us before we got here. The Disney Channel and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse made unpacking a lot easier. Tammy loves Mickey House. They set up my Internet service too. Yes! And on Mother's Day weekend, they not only cleared off any questionable and leaning trees on either side of my driveway, they put in the dock and the rowboat. I've got a dock and boat! They also put the new battery that Sarge and I bought while we were in the city into the Gator. Despite the trickle charger, the Gator's battery died over the winter. #1 Son and #1 DIL, if what they had done wasn't enough, hooked up a new (new to The Lake) stereo receiver and my Wii. Surround sound and Netflix are now possible.

We're going to have to wait on getting our big boat out. The deck on a few areas has rotted through. Thankfully, it is covered under our warranty. Unfortunately, the repair may take a while. Sarge, the kidlets and I are going to tow it over to the dealer in Hayward to have it fixed. I'm told that it could be WEEKS before we see the big boat again and get it launched.

Random Quote of the Day

A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it. - George Moore