Old Woman Waits...For No One

Tuesdays, Year 3, Week 33

2011-06-21T17:52:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I have posted to my family and gardening blog! An especially busy and hectic spring, along with a personal addiction to Huffington Post had me sidelined, but I will try to post at least weekly throughout the summer. Today is the first official day of summer, and a grand day it is! High 70's for temperature and a sunny sky with almost no clouds,a day for enjoying!

I picked my first spinach and arugula last week, and everything is growing well, except for the tomato plants, which have been deprived of sunshine for most of the month until now. As it warms up, hopefully they will kick into growth and catch up. The only one that is going great guns is the grape tomato plant which is covered with tiny green tomatoes. The garlic is really amazing, some of the tops are as thick as my thumb, which means a good sized head coming on. Two of four potato plants have popped through the dirt, so far, I have high hopes for them. All my different varieties of lettuce are within days of picking, the fava beans are about 6 inches high, so eventually picking time will come. I planted squash seed two weeks ago and they are also slow in showing themselves. It's been an extremely slow, cool couple of months, so it remains to be seen just how much of a harvest this summer will bring. My pepper plants are starting to branch out, so maybe blooms won't be too far behind!

The old man and I went for a short ride the other day, in the middle of a rain shower. I can't remember when I last saw the desert as green as it is, with wildflowers blooming. An unusually wet and prolonged spring did green things up...and kept me from cutting the wild grasses and dandelions as they grew huge. So, little by little, I need to get the jungle under control. There are still pretty good sized patches of frozen snow drifts on top of White Mountain, usually they are melted by the middle of May. Odd year!

Well that's it for now, I'm going to scoop myself a big bowl of vanilla ice cream and browse Huffington Post, I guess as addictions go, that's a pretty harmless one! Enjoy the longest daylight day of the year!

Fridays, Year 3, Week 27, Friday the 13th

2011-05-13T17:21:00.000-07:00

Well, the most beautiful day in at least the past month! Even got to sit in my zero-gravity chair until...get this...the sun got too hot to be comfortable. Friday the 13th is always a lucky day for me, must be my old witchy karma! I have actually been able to do a small amount of planting, some lettuce, about 6 kinds and some arugula. I also picked up some of those plastic things you fill with water, to protect my tomato and pepper plants. They came in the mail from Oregon Thursday and now they are on the kitchen table waiting to be planted outdoors on Sunday. I got shorted 2 tomato plants, the momotaro ones, so they will get here next week. The moon will be in Scorpio, a water sign, so transplanting promises to be a lot of fun, especially with the moon in my sun sign!

I could hardly believe it, the temperature today was 74 degrees in the shade! I have to put new cooling mats in my evaporative coolers and get them ready for use also. I know we will still have some pretty cold days coming, but it was so good to have a warm one for a change. The other day, when I went to Albertson's for a few things, they had their greenhouse up and I stepped inside just to be able to smell that sweet aroma of growing plants. My favorite part of the year, gardening and being outdoors, that's living!

I had a little chat with one of the squirrels today, promising to add some nice peanuts to it's food if it would just QUIT digging up where I planted my lettuce. She acted like she knew what I was saying, so I think we have a deal! The garlic is about 4 to 5 inches high already, boy oh boy, what fun to see things start to get seriously green.

Time for me to have a supper snack, but I just had to let you know the gardening is finally getting to begin!

Sundays, Year 3, Week 25, Easter Day

2011-04-24T14:45:00.000-07:00

Sheesh! I just checked to see when I posted last time on my personal blog and it has been way over a month! I get so involved in whatever is going on in the rest of the world, that time loses all meaning. Guess that really is a signal of my advancing age, takes me longer to do things, and even longer to get around to it! Anyway, it's Easter Day and the weather is unsettled, so my priority for today is to update my life!

That sounds way bolder than it really is...my daily chores are done and I have some time to reflect on the fact that even though Spring has officially sprung, it still hasn't made it to Rock Springs, Wyoming yet. My garlic is coming up, but it's still way to cold to do much else, especially any planting! The night time temperature was a brisk 25 degrees this morning and the weather forecast is for more of the same, so I guess it's just as well that my energy level is at zero. Day before yesterday Mercury finally came out of retrograde, so my energy should improve over the next week. I feel a little less bozoed out than I have felt for the last few weeks, so little by little, I expect to return to my normal bustling self! The last few weeks have been a roller coaster ride of high and low barometric readings and my aching body has needed an extraordinary amount of heating pad time. I like to be in tune with Nature, but at times it can be a pain to be a human barometer! Poor me!

Enough of the pity pot...I have been following the liveblog from Libya on Al Jazeera...what the people of that country are going through in their quest for freedom from dictatorship makes my little aches and pains look minuscule. Thousands have been killed and the stories can be heart-breaking, but also uplifting. Each day brings them a little closer to their goal of freedom and I can't help but admire their courage and bravery. In all my planetary books it says that the planets are aligning in the same ways that they were aligned back in the 1960's when all the social upheaval was going on, so my hope is that someday soon all the people of the planet will be able to achieve their personal freedom and pursue peace. Putting myself in their place sure makes my problems look small!

On a personal note, my grandson and his family are leaving California to move to Vermont sometime in the next few months. My granddaughter is getting divorced and despite having gone through a rough period of time, is having a blast competing in a roller derby league...I had a huge laugh watching the video! My son and daughter-in-law are planning to visit her for her birthday in June. Both my son and daughter-in-law are in good health, so what more could an old woman wish for?

Last, but definitely not least, The old man and I have made it through yet another long, long winter without killing each other, and miss kitty is napping next to me on her pillow while I post this. I'm so happy that the monotony of winter is slowly sailing into the promise of spring and summer to come! At this precise moment, the sun is shining in the window and making an otherwise gloomy day more enjoyable. Maybe by my next post, the little buds on the trees and bushes will turn into leaves! That would make this old broad happy indeed!

Saturday, Year 3, Week 19

2011-03-19T14:15:00.000-07:00

Man oh man, tomorrow is the first day of spring! Not to say we probably won't have a few more snow storms, they can happen anytime in Wyoming, but at least we're past the worst of the winter. Of course around here, it is still to early to even contemplate planting anything yet, but as the days get nicer, I've got lots of work in the yard to get ready for the new season. What a wonderful challenge that is. Tonight is full moon, supposed to be a spectacular one, and I'm a happy camper to have made it through another long winter!

In fact, the old man has even been able to ride his bike a few times in the last week or so, so that always helps. Just to have him out of my hair and the tv off for a while each day makes it much nicer. He went down and bought a new tv a couple of days ago, one with all the bells and whistles, so he's got something new to complain about, the old one was from 1985,so this one is really different! He hates anything new, it's a challenge to him because the channels are all on different locations than before and he's such a Luddite! I'm thankful for my computer, I just put on my headphones and ignore him as he cusses at it for being new, even as he cussed at the old one for being old. It's been a long, long, long winter!

Just so you don't think that my attitude sucks, I have been deep into all the news happening all over the world. Each day brings me new found admiration for the courage of citizens of the globe...Japan took all Mother Nature had to throw at her and still is standing. I saw a picture of a group of Japanese people, sitting in a circle around a fire, reading their newspapers and trying to keep warm in the middle of a snow storm, what incredible folks they are. Makes me feel kind of humble and mildly spoiled rotten to be complaining about the old man and the weather. What courage in the midst of diversity...them, not me! I'm just an old, spoiled woman who likes her comfort.

Well, anyway, spring is coming soon so I should be able to post more often, as new exciting things become available to write about. Green, growing things, that is. I'm always excited to see things growing. At the beginning of December, I planted 5 bulbs in a pot by the kitchen window, they are about 5 inches tall now and should be putting out blooms in th next few weeks. That's when my new year will begin, when they bloom and I can finally put my hands in some warm dirt! Old gardeners never die, we just compost! See you next time, enjoy the full moon.

Sundays, Year 3, Week 16

2011-02-27T12:39:00.000-08:00

Wow, I frittered almost the whole month of February away keeping tabs on the people's revolution in Egypt, Libya and the state of Wisconsin here in the U. S. of A.! When you are a news junkie like me, any news that takes my mind off of the current weather is a blessing. Today is partly sunny, partly cloudy and windier than hell, with a current temperature of 36 degrees. The barometer is slowly rising and is 29.67...this is the highest barometric reading of the week! The other night it was down to 29.45 and it has been super slow coming up. It makes me feel like I am carrying a bag of bricks on my shoulders when moving around. At least I'm not having any of the usual pain with it...exercising every day has kept me pretty limber!

We has a surprise visit before Super Bowl Sunday from my son and his wife who had flown up from Phoenix to watch the game at her sister's house up close to the Wind River Mountains. Surprise!...they got snowed in and he got sick, so I told them not to come over to our house on their way to the airport to fly back...don't need any foreign germs! I have to say it takes a true love of football to fly into Wyoming in the middle of winter and then be surprised by being snowed in. Duh!

Got a message from my grandson this morning saying hat he might come hunting here next fall for elk or deer. He is also trying for a new job in Madison, Wisconsin. They currently live in San Diego, so that would be quite a change! My granddaughter is learning to be a roller derby skater, which really sounds like a lot of fun...she's a toughie so I know she'll be good at it. They must have leagues for roller derbying in New York. Makes me long for my youth, you know, when you could do wild and crazy things and not suffer for days afterward!

I broke down and bought the old man a really cool poker machine...he can play for hours and never come up for air! His birthday is next month, so it as the perfect present for him...and for me too! When it came in the mail, I took it out and set it up for him and he's been such a good boy for the last few days, ding, ding, ding! Beats the hell out of listening to him curse the tv set and has very melodic sound effects! Way worth the price!

Well, thought I'd update my blog some, and now that I have, I'd better get to fixing some supper soup...those poker players get real hungry you know!

Sundays, Year 3, Week 12

2011-01-30T14:56:00.000-08:00

Where does the time go? There is one more day of January, then February will begin! I've been dealing with winter pretty well so far...some days better than others, but isn't that the way life is? One thing for sure, it doesn't pay to worry about it, worrying doesn't change a thing except maybe add a few new wrinkles to your brow!

Mother Nature offered us a few warm and lovely days, a lot more of the snow has melted. Don't worry, there is still a lot of it in piles everywhere! I walked around the yard yesterday and was able to walk on dirt most of the way, although, when I tried to go all the way around the little house, the drifts were blocking me from a complete circle. I didn't even try to go all around the big house because when I check for daily mail, the drifts hardly melted at all. This time of year, by the time the sun hits that area, there's no heat left in it. That's actually a pretty good description of life in your late 60s, there's no heat left in it! Good thing we were all such hotties when we were young, because now we're just cool and sagging. I shudder to think what I would look like if I didn't get my daily exercise, surely things would be dragging on the ground behind me! Life is a challenge at times, but it's certainly better than the alternative!

Apparently, the snowfall in the mountains has been prodigious too, because a newspaper article this morning said the drought might be over. I don't let that keep me from planning my gardening projects this year, because I work hard to conserve water anyway. I never waste a drop of it on purpose, but it's nice to hear that the prairie will be healthier this summer! That's always good for the wildlife and the vegetation they depend on.

Toward evening, a new storm is supposed to move in, so who knows what tomorrow will look like! One thing for sure, we are whittling winter away, and spring always follows winter, so that is always good. Keep warm and try to occupy your body and mind with something new each day so you don't become stale...that is what we call living in Wyoming. Suits me!

Sundays, Year 3, Week 10

2011-01-16T15:43:00.000-08:00

It has been a few weeks since I last posted, so I've got a little catching up to do! Tomorrow is my daughter-in-law's birthday, so bright and early, I will text her a happy birthday message. She is young enough to still like birthdays, I hope...I'm sure her hubby will take her out for a special dinner and a little fun. Birthdays are just life's reminders that time here is not endless so you have to make the best of each day.

Since winter began, we have been holding on by the skin of our teeth here in Rock Springs...some days it seems to be unending! For the past few days though, it has been warm enough to melt a lot of the snow that has been dumped on us by Mother Nature in a fit of spite. She must have felt a tad bit guilty about it and is making amends by gracing us with this respite of lovely warming days. I looked out over the yard today, and there are still 2 to 3 foot drifts of snow in many places, so it has a long way to go to be bare earth again. The dwarf spruce trees in front of the house were half buried, but now the snow has receded some. The small birds have been using them for shelter from the wind so the trees have such a lovely purpose...definitely necessary!

Miss kitty has been happy to sit on the back steps for a while each day when the sunshine is hitting them, the rest of the time, she naps by the window. Luckily, the bird poop seems to make the snow under the tree which holds their feeder melt faster, so it has receded a lot! I bought a bag of kitty litter, the clay based kind, to sprinkle where I walk back and forth to the little house to get bird seed. It works better than ice melting salt and makes it easier to walk on the ice. I tread very carefully so I don't land on my big, old butt. I've got ample padding, but still don't care to slip and fall!

I've lost count of the number of seed catalogs mailed to me this year, the stack is at least 14 inches high, though. I don't need too many new ones this year, but I do enjoy browsing them and seeing all the lovely pictures of flowers and veggies. I'm hoping to try a few new things this year, don't know what yet, but that decision will come a little closer to planting time. At this point, all I can do is dream and plan, until the time is right.

I guess that's it for this time, winter has dulled my brain. Stay warm and dry!

Saturdays, Year 3, Week 7, New Year's Day

2011-01-01T13:48:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year, to one and all! I found a perfect quote for the start of a new year: "Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." From Theodor Seuss Geisel, aka Doctor Seuss! Most people make resolutions to bring in a new year, but not me...I just keep trying to live each day to the fullest and keep myself and those around me happy! I have learned through years of living that you can never truly make another person happy...they must earn their happiness themselves...but by being nice to them, you provide the tools they need to achieve their own happiness! Also, it's wise to realize that not all happiness is cut from the same cloth...just because you like gardening, someone else might hate it. That's why happiness is such a personal thing, we each have our own definition of it. Some women love diamonds, I love dirt...go figure!

Since the high temperature on this day is around 12 degrees and the icy snow is wearing itself out blowing around in circles, I have to settle for watering my houseplants and dreaming over seed catalogs. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon!

I made us a nice dinner to start the new year, breaded pork chops and spaghetti...making sure to cook enough so I don't have to cook until Monday...got to plan ahead! Poor miss kitty has about worn herself out watching the birds at the feeder through the window...she was outdoors for about 30 seconds, she insisted, then happily came in when I opened the door. She has to learn that lesson every day this winter, it's not as warm as it looks through the window! She is napping next to me on her pillow while I post this. Both of us have cabin fever, I think the old man does too, I'm not sure though, either he's really watching that movie on tv or he's bozoed out again! Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference...like I said, happiness is such a personal thing.

Well, that's it for now, I want to post to my other blog today too, so make sure you enjoy every minute of this New Year's Day...as well as every day of the year! Stay warm.

Fridays, Year 3, Week 6, Christmas Eve

2010-12-24T14:41:00.000-08:00

Here it is, Christmas Eve! We have a lot of snow on the ground and the streets are pretty clean of snow and ice. This morning, Mother Nature treated us to a gorgeous display of icy fog composed of crystal diamonds as light came through and the sun and blue sky emerged. It was a Christmas wonder...the trees were all encrusted with rainbows and diamond-like ice crystals as the sun gained a little altitude. Cold, but magnificently scenic...something my family in Phoenix are missing out on! They will being enjoying the holidays though, the whole family will converge on Disneyland between Christmas and New Year's to explore that man made wonder together. My granddaughter promised to plant a big wet one on Goofy for me, hope she gets a picture!

I baked a cheesecake earlier and made a fruit compote to serve on top of it with apples, pears and figs cooked in butter...of course to be topped in freshly whipped cream. I know how to celebrate! I plan to rotisserie a whole filet mignon for dinner along with asparagus, pan-fried red potatoes with pasilla peppers and onions. Can't beat that for a treat...us old folks do love our food!

The week between Christmas and New Year's day, I will get down to the business of closing out 2010 and getting prepared for 2011 by storing all this years records and making a fresh start on filing the old man's taxes. It never fails to get my enthusiasm for a new year jump started...if you keep all your monthly bills and such nice and straight, it just makes you feel so well organized that you realize you have a lot of time to enjoy life and prepare for new projects!

The girls and I had a nice lunch at Wonderful House last Wednesday and exchanged our gifts for the holidays. They are probably the best gift I have ever received...loving friends and all the visiting we do sure makes my life a joy. Add to that a mostly sweet old man and an occasionally cranky kitty who both need and crave my attention and love and it all comes out to one fortunate old woman...to be loved and necessary is a great gift...indeed, a blessing! Winter in Rock Springs can be a touch depressing since it limits your movements, but if you count your blessings, it takes the sting out of it!

My wish for all the people who inhabit this world is peace, love and someone who needs and loves you. I just doesn't get any better than that! Merry Christmas to you all.

Wednesdays, Year 3, Week 5

2010-12-15T16:16:00.000-08:00

I've been so busy getting acquainted with my new computer that I haven't even posted to this blog for a few weeks. Just getting into my winter routine, I guess. You know, get up, do the same exact thing almost every day, cuss the weather, have a snack, then go to sleep so you can repeat the same thing tomorrow! This winter, however, haven't had to cuss the weather much, the old man has only had to shovel the walks twice, so we are having a really nice winter so far...real winter doesn't begin until next week. Fall has been superb though, despite the fact that the trees are leafless, the days have been warm by Rock Springs standards. We've had more than a few days that are totally cloudy, but on balance, not bad at all.

I just can't wrap my head around the fact that Christmas is only 10 days away. Not that there is much to do to prepare, I already sent my son and his wife their Kronskis for the year. The old man and I usually just have a special dinner, but I haven't decided what yet. Mostly I have been feeling really rested and enjoying all the new places I'm able to visit with the computer. I finally had to make a list of my passwords until my mind absorbs them! I love being able to Facebook with my granddaughter and all my other contacts there. Of course, my political junkie side has been delving into myriad subjects and websites. I figure by the time Spring rolls around, my proficiency should be maxed out and I'll be happy to be out in the garden in the dirt!

I do hope the sky will be clear on the night of the Winter Solstice, so I can observe the lunar eclipse...if not, then I will be up half the night for nothing. That's the most lovely thing about being a retired person, even when plans change, you just go with the flow!

Well, my pot of chicken soup is nearly ready and I'm definitely ready for a warm, cozy bowl of it. Don't stress out getting ready for the holiday...just relax and enjoy each day! That's a little advice from us retired folks!s

Sundays, Year 3, Week 3

2010-11-28T13:36:00.000-08:00

I opened the morning paper this Sunday and found an obituary of one of my cousins, on my mother's side of the family. Memories of him as a child started running through my mind almost like an old, well-loved movie. He was the quieter of a set of twin boys, not as gregarious as his twin, but a sweet kid nonetheless. The twins were a little older than me by a year or so, and were later joined by another brother and a sister. Those days seem so far away, the carefree days of childhood, when the most important thing in our minds was the next game of hide and seek! His mom was my favorite aunt, and she died of a brain tumor when we were in our early teen years, leaving my uncle with 3 boys and a girl to raise. My own family moved to another state pursuing employment, as the coal mines had all closed here in Rock Springs. We all lost touch with each other, the young cousins who had shared a childhood on L Street. The last time I remember seeing him was at his mom's funeral, and we spoke once by phone, many years later. He was a smart man, with a doctorate in education, and once was a dean at the local community college. He and his wife lost a child in infancy, I had never met the child, but my Mama described him as an angel too beautiful for this mortal life. My cousin is the first of my many childhood cousins to leave this mortal life, and the world of education will feel the loss. He made an impression on many young lives, and I'm sorry I lost touch with him and never told him how proud he made me feel. Rest in peace, cousin.

It's been an odd day, sunny for a while, snowing for a while, and now looking like the snow will soon commence. I've been traveling down memory lane, looking at a picture of all the cousins together , so many years ago when the world was simpler and thinking about all the ways in which we change as we age. Now, for instance, I try to keep in touch with family more often than I used to, because as you age the reality that it will all come to an end finally hits you. Youth is blessed with that feeling of invincibility and immortality; Age brings wisdom and a true sense of self undefined by anyone but yourself. I'm not sure which part of life is the best one, but I plan to live each of my days the best way I know how and to let my loved one know just how important they are to me. Sometimes, we don't get a chance to say our goodbyes, but if we keep our friends and family close to our hearts, that loses importance. Life is a work in progress so that is exactly how I plan to proceed with living, one day at a time, the best way I can.

We watched that movie "The Bucket List" about a week ago, and I can honestly say that my life has been pretty fulfilling, not always perfect to be sure, but fulfilling. The old man and I can still laugh at ourselves, even though some days of living are no laughing matter. My extended family, my son and his wife, my grandchildren and their spouses are all living their lives with gusto, are isn't that the way it is meant to be? Life is good, much joy is ours to cherish, and I am thankful for that!

That's it for today, remembering is good, each moment we share makes life even sweeter. Now I have to go give the old man a kiss! Later.

Thursdays, Year 3, Week 2, Thanksgiving Day

2010-11-25T12:59:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Again we get the chance to count the good things and people in our lives...the old man and I have finished with our feast of chicken paella and steamed artichokes, topped off with pumpkin pie with almond and walnut crust. I cooked everything but the artichokes yesterday, so today was a breeze. Delicious and then some.

What I am most thankful this year, not to place all my blessings of family and good health in the back of the list, is the wonderful new technology that the internet provides! Early this morning and throughout the day, I have been able to text, Facebook, and wish holiday blessing to everyone without ever having to go out into the windy, cold day. Can you even imagine having to communicate by smoke signal? Those were some tough people! Just to feed my wild birds and squirrels early this morning meant suiting up with almost every inch of my ample body encased in soft, cuddly and warm material. Even miss kitty showed no interest in going out of doors, choosing to watch out the window instead. Smart kitty, the wind chill was 35 below zero at 8:00 A.M.

I know it will get warmer later in the week, so in honor of the day, I gave all the birds and squirrels a little extra food today. They do so much to entertain us throughout the winter, they've earned it!

I feel a nap coming on, after all that yummy food, so enjoy the rest of today and be happy with what the day brings...may you all be as warm and contented as I and mine are!

Sundays, Year 3,Week 2

2010-11-21T14:27:00.000-08:00

Here it is, Sunday again. I have been introspective and deep thinking most of the day. I tried my best to change my mood, but it's not changing, so I finally thought, maybe if I post a little something, I'll get out of this rut!

This morning, I did my usual household chores and cooked a little, then read some news and a few of my favorite websites. That's when I realized that the news and the usual websites were more discouraging than usual. I'm usually pretty upbeat, but after reading about rampant unemployment, foreclosures, homelessness and all the other downbeat topics out there, I suddenly realized that the whole world is in a slump with no seeming end in sight.

I've always been a person who loved politics, but lately it's hard not to be discouraged by the direction things have turned. The left is unhappy, the right is downright miserable and both are intent on dragging the rest of us right down the toilet with them. What happened to we are the change we have been waiting for?

I soon realized that we are all so impatient, that we expected to be all changed by now, and since we're not, we all want to sit around and whine until change happens. I also had the thought, that maybe if we all got off our pity pots and did something constructive, we wouldn't be so discontented!

So, first thing tomorrow morning, I'm going to send emails to both of my senators from the state of Wyoming, Enzi and Barrasso and give them a piece of my mind. God knows, after listening to all the crap on the news, there's not much mind left to give them, but I'LL GIVE IT MY BEST SHOT! There, just shouting a little made me feel so much better.

Then, I'm going to make my best effort to change the way I look at things and try to be more analytical. Why wait for the new year to make resolutions, I resolve to be more involved in trying to make the world a little more upbeat. I can't control the world, but I can sure as hell control the way I let it effect me. Since I got my new computer, I have been immersing myself in reading all the bad news and statistics that are there...no more! Instead, I'm going to get out my gardening catalogs out and plan my garden for next summer. That's something that gives me joy and confidence and keeps me looking forward to something new.

Don't worry, I still am going to send those emails, the bastards need to know that we are paying attention to the lousy job they are doing...but I'm also going to take time to be nice to myself and all those around me! Damn, I feel like a new woman already!

Introspection is fine, but laughter and a new project works even better. Stay warm in the approaching storm and try to make someone giggle with you!

Wednesdays, Year 3, Week 1

2010-11-17T17:50:00.000-08:00

With this new post, I start year three of blogging. When I first started posting, it was on a mobile smart phone, which I finally replaced with a real, honest to god computer. Thankfully, I am finally getting the hang of this new fangled gadget, so now the posts should be a little closer together! Don't let anyone tell you that an old cat can't learn new tricks, I'm living proof that they can, albeit a little slower than in days gone by!

We had a really nice day weatherwise today, after the weird storm on Tuesday it seemed super nice. I have started making my own bird feeding blocks, the ones you buy are almost all crappy seed with a lot of filler, so making them just seemed to be better for the birds. They sure eat them faster! I use old plastic mushroom containers for the mold, and here's what I mix together to fill them with: melt a half pound of lard, real lard not crisco, a half a small jar of cheap peanut butter, two pounds of corn grits, and about 5 pounds of wild bird seed with sunflower seeds mixed in. Put the dry ingredients in a plastic tub, mix well, then add the melted lard and peanut butter, then mix some more. Portion it into the plastic molds and tap it down to make a cake, chill to harden, then unmold to feed the birds. You can even just make one huge block and place it on the ground and the birds will find it! The little buggers have a sixth sense when it comes to peanut butter and lard, they can smell it immediately!

I walked through my garden area today, it is having a nice rest for the rest of fall and winter. I like to plan ahead and decide what to plant and where to plant it to follow good rotation of crops, so each time I look at all the beds, it gives me new ideas too. I have been building up a corner of the back part with a compost pile and decided to use all my old branches and dry leaves to construct a tiny mountain on top of which I'll plant sweet peas and let them cover the mound. It sounds strange, but I'm sure it will end up looking cool. By the time next summer comes, I plan to post pictures on this blog and show you just what I'm doing. More new tricks for this old cat!

Well, that's it for today...stay warm and happy...I'm happiest when I'm in the garden, or planning one!

Fridays, Year 2, Week 52

2010-11-12T16:43:00.000-08:00

I have been having so much fun getting acquainted with Facebook and visiting with all my friends and family, that I have neglected to do any posting since my birthday!

Don't worry, I will plant my feet firmly on Mother Earth soon and start doing a weekly post, that is, if I can discipline myself just a touch. Actually having a real computer to post and communicate with has been a heady experience for this old woman. I've always been a good procrastinator, so you must bear with me. To add to the excitement, my younger sister has also gotten online, so we have been having a fun time together.

Anyway, that's my plan today...who knows what will happen to my resolve by tomorrow! Until my next post, stay warm, be happy and don't do anything that doesn't please you...that is my advice to you, my friend!

Thursdays, Year 2, Week 51

2010-11-04T14:47:00.000-07:00

Picked a new template today..which is my 67th birthday! Never let anyone tell you that older people have trouble changing things, that's a myth. If anything, we have a lot of experience at change, so we know how to go with the flow. As long as we're not talking Depends here! That kind of change would definitely take a little getting used to.

Fortunately, my health is great and I'm nowhere near to needing Depends, so on the occasion of my 67 birthday, I'm counting my blessings. There are many, my family, my friends, my good health, my slightly cranky miss kitty, and last but not the least, a sweet old man who is taking me out for honey walnut shrimp to celebrate my birthday. I've had many phone calls, texts, picture messages and good wishes from friends and family for my birthday, so yes, this old woman is blessed!

Entering my 68th year, I intend to celebrate my life to the fullest. I promised myself that I would try something new and exciting at least weekly. That should make my goal of reaching at least 100 years a good adventure. I know that this day, I'm feeling a lot better than poor President Obama is after getting a loud and clear message from people about the piss-poor economy and catering to fatcats...hopefully, he will take a lesson from those of us who have already learned that people are sometimes fickle, and hardly ever satisfied with the status quo. In any case, we all just do the best we can and do it one day at a time. That's how I got to be 67!

Well, I've got to get myself all fancied up for my birthday dinner, so that's it for today. Give someone a hug...nothing is so important that a hug can't fix it!

Mondays, Year 2, Week 51

2010-11-01T18:21:00.000-07:00

This new notebook is really a lot of fun! As I said, have been doing my blogs on a smartphone, so this is like driving a Mercedes. Still have a lot to learn, but I'll stick with it until my head absorbs it all.
I have joined Facebook to keep in touch with all my loved ones, both friends and family, and discovered a whole new world there! Talk about instant gratification, it's so cooool! The new technology has made it even easier to keep your ties with fellow humanity from coming untied.
We are having such a wonderful fall, weatherwise, I plan to do a little yard work this week to clean up old plants and such. Today I did a little cleaning and cooking and manana I will do my shopping. Never do today what you can put off until the morrow!
Well, this is short, just to let you know that I'm still among the living...don't forget to vote tomorrow! Stay happy!

Thursday, Year 2, Week 49

2010-10-21T19:22:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've been able to do a post! I have been posting on a mobile smartphone and finally got a real notebook type computer. As you may know, that's a big step up for an older woman, especially since this is my first real computer and I'm nearly 67 years old!
I've been doing a whole lot of screwing up, which comes naturally to me, but, little by little the confidence is returning. Eventually I hope to be able to learn to dress up my blog with all the bell and whistle things like pictures and different colors and maybe even a few ads! Hopefully by the time next spring comes, my old leaky sponge head will absorb all the information I need to be able to do all the computing things that are second nature to the younger folks I know.
In the meantime, I have to say that it feels real good to be able to write my thoughts down after not being able to do so for a couple of weeks! When I was waiting for the new notebook to arrive, at times it felt like my poor old head would explode with anticipation. Luckily, it arrived before that happened.
I am going to get my garlic bed ready for planting in the next few days, so between that and trying not to accidentally erase the words I choose to post, this old woman is happy as a clam in butter to be back at the keyboard!
Missed you, keyboard, you help keep me from getting stale as well as giving me something to think about besides politics! See you again soon.

Sundays, Year 2, Week 47

2010-10-03T16:35:00.000-07:00

The weather we are having is just amazing! I'm still finding peas, string beans and fava beans and even squash and here it is the first week of October! The temperatures all week have been in the high 70s and 80s and not under 40 at night. Definitely an old-fashioned Indian summer! According to the weather bureau, it's going to stay nice until November and they expect that this winter will bring lots of moisture and bitter cold. Not much new there! Here in Rock Springs, that's pretty much what we expect, some years are worse and some not so bad.
I made the old man's appointment with his heart doctor for the end of October, so that will be his yearly check-up. Kind of excited to find out we don't have to go to Salt Lake City, they also take patients in Park City, so that is something to look forward to. Park City is a little upper-crust for two old farts from Rock Springs, Wyoming, so maybe we'll be able to find a fancy place to have dinner before we come home. You know what I mean, a place where you order off the menu, not just go through a buffet line! The old man will have to wear his dressy suspenders and I'll have to curl my hair instead of wearing my Gilligan hat. Oh my!
Well, enjoy this lovely streak of weather, it's not going to last forever. I know I will.

Sundays, Year 2, Week 46

2010-09-26T15:01:00.000-07:00

We are sure having some unusual weather for the late part of September! The high today was 84 degrees, with blue skies as far as the eye can see and a very slight breeze. I watered all my trees again, we've had a really dry month, so they needed it. I have been more than a little surprised because I still have some green beans blooming and setting beans and have also gotten a few more romanescu squash. Each time I pass the pea vines, I spot more of them also. I'm sure that we will eventually have that one hard frost that kills everything, but the one we had was very selective, only in spots. I sure have had some surprises from my garden this year, picking green beans in late September has been one of them.
I found a new place to shop! One of the girls told us there was a small Mexican market on Broadway, so my driving companion and I went to check it out. It's called El Primo, and lives up to it's name. They have a spacious meat counter manned by a real butcher, a large variety of canned and packages goods and fresh produce. We bought a few things, and I plan to go back tomorrow when I will do a more thorough shopping trip. They have hominy corn, like you use to make menudo and so many other things, I plan to spend a lot more time and see what all they have. It's the neatest little store I have seen in a while, and I have been enjoying the thin cut, with the grain, breakfast steaks I bought. I love small stores, and I plan to give them a lot of business. They may even be able to get us some young goat meat, I will find out tomorrow. It's so nice to shop at a family owned grocery, much more personal and community minded than the huge impersonal stores. It gives me something exciting to look forward to, and the money stays local. If you like Mexican food, check it out!
Well that's it for now, the old man and I are going to the China Buffet for dinner to treat ourselves tonite. See you next week!

Mondays, Year 2, Week 45

2010-09-20T15:14:00.000-07:00

It's Monday and the mechanic hasn't called to tell me Old Blue is ready to be bailed out. It feels like I've lost my best friend. It's pretty late in the afternoon, so hopefully tomorrow, I miss my truck!
Since the gardening season is pretty much over, I've decided to go to weekly on posting my blog. I should say at least weekly, because it won't be on a certain schedule, just whenever I have gathered enough b___s____ to talk about. Kind of at will. Going into the slow time of the year, it's kind of hard for this old woman to stay even half interesting!
It's a really nice day, the temperature is 78 degrees, no clouds, lots of sun and a nice breeze. The weekly weather forecast is for more of the same, so that's something to be happy about.
Well, that's it until whenever I decide there's enough news to post. Enjoy this wonderful weather.

Sundays, Year 2, Week 45

2010-09-19T13:49:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's one hot Sunday, 86 degrees in the shade, blue skies and a slight breeze. I was laying out by the side of the house relaxing in the shade, but started feeling a little well done, so now I'm about 10 feet from the cooler, just chilling out! I went to pick a couple of squash to use in my supper stir-fry and it's definitely much hotter in the sun. Miss kitty, of course, just loves it, she's been watching the squirrel chomping down some sunflower seeds.
The old man came home from his bike ride earlier and said he had been talking to a guy who moved here from Arizona. He said the guy was talking normally, then started ranting about Obama and his party ruining the country, especially Arizona, which according to him is being overrun by those damned illegal Mexicans. The old man told him it had been going to hell a long time before Obama got elected, which wasn't what the guy wanted to hear. The old man told me to tell my son from Phoenix to keep those "assholes" in Arizona, the next time we speak by phone. I promised. Unfortunately, they (the assholes) are everywhere now, being driven half nuts by Fox news. We have our own share of wing nuts here in Wyoming being majority Republican by voting stance and inclination. I've said before, we Democrats are an endangered species in Wyoming. The funniest part of the whole thing is that Wyoming, as well as most of the southwestern states, belonged to the country of Mexico before the United States defeated them and stole the territory. So my question is, who is exactly the illegal immigrant now? So much hate being stirred up and for what purpose? To keep the poor poor and the rich rich. It's always about the dinero!
Off the soapbox, so all you good people out there, enjoy your day and don't believe everything you see on Fox tv! Manana!

Saturdays, Year 2, Week 44

2010-09-18T14:15:00.000-07:00

Saturday is an awesomw weather day, the temperature is 84, the sunshine is plentiful and what clouds there are have wondrous shapes moved about by a soft breeze. Summer is definitely still here.
I gave all my trees and bushes a nice drink this morning, it gave me a chance to relive memories of planting them and of various moments where they have brought me joy. I know that sounds a little daft, but I feel very connected to the living things around me, each plant has it's own story. I also got a few surprises, some fava beans still blooming, a squash on one plant and a cat-face spider who has made a home on the purple kale. So now I have two cat-face spiders! They are sure fascinating creatures, and build one of the prettiest webs I have ever seen. I had a very relaxing and inspiring jaunt around the yard and felt renewed when it was done. There's just something about watering that makes me feel good!
I don't have much today, I'm going to go outdoors and watch the clouds and dream of days gone by. Have a great day!

Fridays, Year 2, Week 44

2010-09-17T13:29:00.000-07:00

Gorgeous Friday, not a cloud in the sky, a nice breeze and 74 degrees in the shade. The old man actually washed his truck while I sat and watched. it's not very often I get to see him work, so I really enjoyed it. For once, I didn't even offer to help, just watched and giggled to myself!
He took me to do my errands today which I appreciated. I laughed when he went into the grocery store with me, because I knew exactly what I needed, and took off like a shot and I looked back and he was having trouble keeping up with me. He was also shocked at how much a bag of apples cost, i do all the shopping, he hasn't shopped for food in over 25 years! I am not one of those women who want their partners to shop with them. On the few occasions when the old man has come shopping with me, he puts stuff we don't need in the cart and basically acts like a small child, can I have this? can I have that? You know what I mean! So this morning, as fast as I was moving, he didn't even have a chance to ask. When we left he said, boy you shop fast. Made me day!
I used a watering can and water from the rain barrel this morning to water the few things I still have growing. In the morning I need to turn the hose water on and water the trees. More people lose trees from not watering them in months when the rainfall is low. I've been known to water in the winter if it's warm and we don't get rain or snow. Trees can't survive without some water unless the ground is frozen. Since most of the trees we have were started as seedlings, so we have a lot of time and feeling invested in them. I feel like they are my leafy children, so I try to take good care of them.
Well, that's it for now, think it's time to go sit in the shade. Enjoy your day.

Thursdays, Year 2, Week 44

2010-09-16T15:12:00.000-07:00

Another beautiful Thursday here in Rock Springs, Wyoming! The high temperature is 82, with blue skies, a light sprinkling of clouds and a lovely breeze. It's hard to believe we're in the middle of September already, except for a few trees changing their leaf colors, it seems like summer is not quite ready to give up and let fall begin. Officially we have at least another week of summer, so it's making the most of it!
I got busy and made some corn chips to eat with my salsa for dinner. I do it the same was as making corn tortillas, except you add coconut oil to the dough and cook each one until it's crispy. I use the organic gluten free masa flour from Bob's Red Mill and to say that it's better tasting than the regular masa flour from the store would be way understating it! Each bite is like biting into fresh corn on the cob, what a flavor! Even the old man snuck one to eat when I wasn't looking. Good supper tonight.
The mechanic called again today about Old Blue. It was indeed the valve cover which was leaking oil on both sides, no less, so I gave him the go-ahead to fix it. So by Monday at the latest, old Blue and I will be reunited! I got to thinking about the times it has been repaired and realized that for a 20 year old truck, Old Blue has been pretty cheap. It's always gotten pretty good gas mileage and of course I do oil changes and lubes in a timely manner, but other than that, it's needed very few costly repairs. This one is a biggie, right around a thousand bucks, but that's to be expected. I'd say, over those 20 years actual repairs have cost close to two thousand bucks all together, so plus this one, that's still pretty damn good! I love that truck, I know we still have a lot of miles left in the two of us! It takes car of me and I take care of it.
Well, that's all for now, I'm sitting outdoors and enjoying the day and having an afternoon coffee. Give your vehicle a pat for doing good, I know I'm going to give Old Blue a big smooch when I get it back!

Wednesdays, Year 2, Week 44

2010-09-15T15:00:00.000-07:00

Well, the mechanic called earlier and Old Blue needs a new fuel pump and gas filter. They are also going to give me an estimate on fixing an oil leak, actually multiple oil leaks, they found on the valve cover and the engine. Since Old Blue turns 20 years old this month, I guess it's time for a face lift! You have to expect repairs from time to time, I guess. Even for just the fuel pump and gas filter and oil change and lube and pre-winter check the bill will be well over $500, so it's a good thing I'm frugal! Sigh.
It's been a beautiful Wednesday, about 80 degrees, with lots of sunshine, a few clouds and a pleasant breeze. I had mustard greens and beet greens for lunch, with salsa and chips for dessert. That salsa is really yummy, especially with risotto crackers. Next time, corn tortilla chips! The greens were the last from my garden, excellent fall tonic.
Well, I don't have much today, just waiting to find out just how much more work Old Blue needs to return to good health! Hopefully not too much, it's still cheaper to fix an older vehicle than it is to buy a new one. I'm not one of those people who consider a vehicle a status symbol, like a Humvee! As long as the vehicle runs well and gets me where I want to go, I'm happy. Old Blue and I still have many years of driving adventures to look forward to! Hang in there, my good old truck, my checkbook is ready! See you later.

Tuesdays, Year 2, Week 44

2010-09-14T13:14:00.000-07:00

I had one of those wake up early and make pancakes morning this Tuesday. I get cravings every so often and when I crave something, it's absolutely necessary for me to satisfy the urge! So at 5:15 A.M. I made pancakes with a couple of eggs and real maple syrup. Craving satisfied!
It's a really nice day, mostly sunny earlier, then clouds moving in after noon, with a nice easy breeze and a temperature of 80 degrees.
I also made a small tub of homemade salsa this morning. I diced 2 large pasilla peppers, a bermuda onion, minced garlic and skinless tomatoes all mixed together with seasonings and Vitamin C as a preservative,and put in the fridge to blend and cool overnite. I love home grown tomatoes, you pop them into boiling water until the skin breaks open, then peel and dice. I'm sure that my lunch tomorrow will be salsa and chips and I'll probably make a porker of myself!
I feel remarkably lucid today, so Mercury must be doing it's thing! A lot of people don't realize just how much we are affected by the planetary comings and going, but I am a firm believer. I find life a little easier to navigate when I stay in tune to what the sun, the moon and verious planets are doing, it's kind of like reading a map to find an unfamiliar street address, forewarned is forearmed. It never hurts to pay attention to the universe and it's connection in our lives, what you learn may be useful!
Well, that's all for now, time to have a cup of tea and sit on my butt for a while.

Mondays, Year 2, Week 44

2010-09-13T14:20:00.000-07:00

Nice Monday, around 82 degrees with a few clouds and sunshine galore with a nearly calm wind. I got to drive the old man's truck to the store this morning, Old Blue is still in the shop. I don't think they have started to work on it yet, because no one has called. Old Blue is really taking a vacation! Anyway, it's the first time I've driven a standard transmission in a while, but I'm happy to report, I haven't forgotten how!
I have the last of the garden soup on the stove simmering for supper. I actually still have a few things growing, but not soup stuff. It has green beans, peas, carrots, tomatoes, celery, cabbage, leeks, onions hamburger,Basque sausage and garbanzo beans cooked with black bean broth. Lots of nice colors and flavors and a good aroma. First of many pots of soup I will cook this fall and winter. The old man has a little container of salad greens left, and I have a bag of mustard greens and beet greens left and some beets. We've have lots of goodies in the freezer and a huge bag of red potatoes and,of course, many heads of garlic which should last for quite a while. Mother Nature has been kind to us again this year, and we sure appreciate it!
Well, I'm going to go enjoy some sunshine, enjoy your afternoon.

Sundays, Year 2, Week 44

2010-09-12T16:03:00.000-07:00

In approximately 5 more minutes, the planet Mercury is supposed to start moving forward again after being retrograde since August 20, so maybe my mind will be a little less cluttered and a little more active! I've been in a kind of mental fog, so any improvement will be welcome. It's certainly a lovely Sunday, with feathery wisps of clouds together with sunshine and a nice breeze. The high was 80 degrees, not bad for September. Yesterday, with everything around me screaming about the events of September 11, 200l, it was just too disheartening to even post. It seems to me that instead of learning a lesson from historical events and growing and moving on, we have defined ourselves as a fearful, distrustful, feel sorry for ourselves country. We are more than capable of dishing out disaster to other countries, like Iraq and Afghanistan, but incapable of learning to live with each other as equals. I have grown to truly hate the daily news, full of hatred, racism and scare tactics. I will never understand why we need someone to feel superior to justify wars and other actions harmful to the planet and its occupants. Well, as far as I'm concerned, war and hatred is never the answer. I so hope that our country will wake up and try to wage peace and understanding, we might find out we like it. Off the soapbox!
I finally harvested my crop of catnip today! It's now drying and smells wonderful. I only harvested the top 10 inches or so of it, the buds and younger leaves and left the rest to overwinter. I will cut the dead stalks down in the spring, and magically a new crop will appear! I love perennial plants, no surprises, just faithful return. I also pulled up the root systems of the peppers and tomatoes to dry so I can salvage as much dirt as possible. Once I clean all the dead plants out of the containers, I add fertilizer, manure, and let it soak in good over the winter. I'm already starting to plan my crop rotation, so just thinking about that has lifted my mood. A garden is a good metaphor for life, out with the old, in with the new! Little by little the garden is being put to bed, only to be reawakened next spring. Yes, just like life!
Well, that's it for today. Come on Mercury, do your stuff!

Fridays, Year 2, Week 43

2010-09-10T13:45:00.000-07:00

Here it is Friday again, I'm going to lunch with the girls today, so I'm hoping that they will cheer me up. I'm feeling kind of blue with the season change coming, my garden is almost at an end for this summer and fall is right around the corner. It's a blustery day, with alternating clouds and sunshine, the temperature is 65 degrees and I'm back to wearing two shirts to keep warm. The mornings are chilly, but invigorating.
I don't have much today, so will try to be a little more upbeat on the morrow! See you then.

Thursdays, Year 2, Week 43

2010-09-09T15:52:00.000-07:00

Looks like we will be gettting some rain on this gloomy Thursday afternoon. The first few drops just hit the window. The wind has been blowing non-stop since early this morning and the temperature is around 60 degrees. I got all my tomatoes picked today, I cut the vines and will clean them up in the morning, I got 2 five gallon buckets full, plus the kitchen table is covered by an army of red tomatoes. I picked and shelled the baby lima beans, we'll have them for lunch tomorrow. Also picked what was left of the string beans, peas, mustard, beets, squash and cucumbers. Not much left but a few carrots, some lettuce, some more beets and kale. Anything left will stand up to frost, even the fava beans that are still blooming, I did get a few fava beans today also. By the time I got it all cleaned and put away, I was done for today. I have to sort through the tomatoes tomorrow, but I was tired, so they will wait.
I had a hellacious day yesterday, did all my morning chores, took all my old newspapers and magazines to the recycling center, cleaned the front porch and got ready for my dental cleaning. Good thing I left early for my appointment, because Old Blue died on the way and wouldn't start again. Luckily, I was able to pull into a parking space, locked it up and hoofed about a mile to the dentist's office. I had 5 minutes to spare! My dental hygienist was nice enough to have her hubby drive me home after she finished with my tooth cleaning. I called the tow truck and my mechanic to get Old Blue squared away. I don't think it's anything to serious, a fuel pump or clogged fuel filter I suspect, because it was running fine, then lost power like it wasn't getting any gas. The electrical system was okay, otherwise it wouldn't have steered into a parking place. I've been too busy to worry about it today, the mechanic is supposed to call me when they find out what is wrong. I'm sure they will probably work on it Friday, so I have to have my friend pick me up and take me to lunch tomorrow, can't miss my lunch with the girls! Poor Old Blue, she's almost 20 years old, so she probably deserves a little work being done to her! I wonder if she misses me? I miss her!
Well, that's it for now, it's been a looooong day!

Tuesdays, Year 2, Week 43

2010-09-07T14:53:00.000-07:00

This Tuesday came with a spotty frost, it didn't completely freeze all the garden, just touched it here and there like a drunken sailor! I checked before bedtime and the temperature was still 50 degrees with an expected low of 39, so when I woke up to 30 degrees, I was surprised to see even the small amount of frost there was. It usually has to reach 28 degrees to mess with the container plants, but it got the tomatoes and peppers and some of the baby lima beans and only a few leaves of the cucumber, which is most often the first to be damaged. I picked all the peppers and a lot of the tomatoes and the tomato vines are still in pretty good shape so I left the rest to ripen on the vine. Tomorrow, I will check them again and see where we stand. One nice thing about tomatoes is that you can hang the cut vine indoors with the remaining tomatoes attached and they will ripen just as if they were still growing. If that needs to be done, then I'll do it. I've got two gallons of cut up tomatoes waiting in the fridge to be cooked into chili sauce, I have to buy some more spices tomorrow to have all the recipe ingredients. I also have a bunch of tomatoes spread out on the kitchen table that are within inches of being ripe, and I plan to lunch on a feast of fried green tomatoes. There will still be plenty to hang and ripen if I need too. We've been eating them daily for many, many weeks, so I guess we're not finished yet!
I fried all but 5 of the peaches today, they need to ripen a little, then I'll just eat them. The fridge is jam packed with fried peaches in containers so there's always a healthy snack to be gotten in a hurry.
Yes, I was certainly wrong about thinking there would be no early frost this year! Unlike some people I know (the old man for instance) I don't mind admitting my mistakes, I am only an old woman, with all my human shortcomings. Ever wonder what it would be like to be perfect? For a quarter and a self addressed envelope, I'll send you a picture of the old man. He professes to be perfect, never has he made a mistake, he's infallible! When you get the picture, you can draw your own conclusions! The quarter is non-refundable!
Well, that's it for now. Thanks for listening to my domestic tirade about my perfect old man, everyone should have one. This old woman would gladly lend you mine! Peace out.

Mondays, Year 2, Week 43

2010-09-06T14:24:00.000-07:00

It's a beautiful Monday, 65 degrees with a light breeze and plentiful sunshine for when the shade feels chilly. My chair is half in sunlight and half in shade and every few minutes I turn it the other way. Amazingly, all the way in the shade feels a little too cool, my blood must have gotten real thin this summer! In any case, I'm spending Labor Day not doing any labor, which is how it's meant to be. I plan to post to my political blog later this evening in a tribute to all those who fought and suffered to make Labor Day a day which honors the working man and woman. So for this post, let me wish you a job you love, a good living wage to earn and the respect for your labor that we all work hard to earn! Enjoy your Labor Day by taking a well earned rest. Solidarity!

Sundays, Year 2, Week 43

2010-09-05T13:15:00.000-07:00

I skipped posting yesterday, Saturday, because I was prepering the bean dip for the deck party I was going to. Some days, as slow as I go, it would need to be a 48 hours day for me to accomplish everything I'd like to do! So here it is, Sunday, very windy, but nice, a high temperature of 82, with clear sunny skies. It didn't take me long to water this morning, because as I harvest things, the garden is shrinking. I felt a few of the baby lima bean pods this morning and they appear to have nice, plump beans in them, some have 3 beans, some have 4, I'm sure by the time they get frosted down and I shell them, I'll find more than a few with 5 beans too. I picked the next to the last bunch of lettuce, the old man said he sure has enjoyed his salads this summer. The tomatoes are amazing, the more I pick, the more I see the next day! I need to start cooking some of them into chili sauce and catsup! We are eating at least 6 a day, plus gifting some to friends and neighbors, but there will be plenty to make sauces out of. This morning I fried another batch of Colorado peaches, with one batch left to go! I have to say, they are just lovely, both eaten fresh, and fried with butter and cinnamon! We've really enjoyed every tasty bite.
Now, let me tell you about the deck party! What a great group of friends! The food was awesome, homemade potato salad, homemade shrimp salad, all kinds of veggies raw, dill pickles, fried chicken and of course the bean dip amd all kinds of chips. To top that off, we had an ice cream cake with devil's food and an extraordinary ice cream with brownies, caramel and the best vanilla flavor I ever graced my mouth and senses with! The food was so good, I made a little pig of myself, but isn't that what parties are for? Everybody was chatting, eating, a few were palying a lawn game called Bongo and laughing until all our sides hurt! What a great bunch of people, for a little while all the troubles in the world were forgotten, all mundane things put aside. We sat in the evening sun which was getting lower and lower, on comfortable chairs and experienced pure pleasure until the sun finally set. I felt as if I had had a weeks vacation as I drove home, a great party with friends can make you feel so good! With all the problems and troubles in the outside world, it seems to me that a whole lot of deck parties should be in order! I think in this fast moving modern world, a little slower pace and getting together with friends could heal our sense of what's important in our lives. Plus, we would enjoy living a whole lot more than we do in our hustle bustle, everyday crammed full of responsibility way of life. Anyway, it's something to think about! Life is too short to worry all the time!
Well, the wind is getting the best of me, it's blowing dirt around now. Time to go in and brew a cup of tea and relive pleasant memories of last evening. Enjoy your weekend!

Fridays, Year 2, Week 42

2010-09-03T13:46:00.000-07:00

Another amazing weather day, 82 degrees, clear skies and a light wind. I have been busy frying peaches, along with watering the garden, doing my daily house chores and running to the store for some coconut milk. Also cooked some black turtle beans which I'm going to make bean dip out of tomorrow to take to my best friend's deck party in the evening. I am going to refry them with cream cheeese, bacon, mexican four cheese blend and appropriate seasonings. That should be good with corn tortilla chips. Pinto beans make good bean dip, but black turtle beans make an awesome bean dip! I love to make food a special project, it's fun to cook for other people's enjoyment along with my own. I miss being able to cook for big bunches of people, there's just me and the old man usually. So doing the bean dip for her party is a treat for me as well!
This is about all for now, I'm going to take a cup of tea with me and go outdoors to relax and enjoy the afternoon. See you tomorrow.

Thursdays, Year 2, Week 42

2010-09-02T16:28:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful day it has been today, blue skies with no clouds whatsoever, a high temperature of about 74 and a slight breeze. I dug all the rest of my spuds today, and it was a definitive test of where to place the bins to plant next year. The fence by our next door neighbors won hands down! The potatoes were larger and more numerous than either of the other two locations. That means I have some work to do to prepare it for my 20011 garden season. They are just gorgeous, I baked a couple pieces of cod with tiny little potatoes and bell peppers and garlic with chipotle sauce for my dinner, so what a treat I'll have! I cooked the old man's cod for his lunch, his favorite way with garlic and olive oil, so he better not covet mine!
I got another case of Colorado peaches today, I'll start cooking them tomorrow. Also stocked up on cantaloupe for the week. The cantaloupe has been such a wonderful treat, what a flavor.
Well, just talking about food got my mouth watering, so I'd better get the old man's salad ready and put on the old feed bag. Enjoy your evening.

Wednesdays, Year 2, Week 42

2010-09-01T16:04:00.000-07:00

This Wednesday we start a brand new month, we finally finished old August off, now we'll see what September brings! I started it off right with a trip to the chiropractor this afternoon, so I'm all relaxed and ready to go. I took my new butt orthotic to show her and she was intrigued and said she might have to get some for her patients to purchase. I told her I was sure happy that it kept me from stiffening up when I sit on it. Before, I couldn't sit for more than a couple of minutes and I would have a hard time getting up. Now, I can actually sit for quite a long time with no stiffness, it definitely makes a big difference. I hope other people get the relief I did!
I watered and picked a whole bowl full of tomatoes, they are ripening quickly now. I can see everything winding down, the other potato bins are wilting down, so I may dig them in the morning. It's been a great garden year, so I'm really enjoying the harvest. The fava beans are actually blooming again on new stalks, so it may go on a while longer, another batch of them would be welcomed!
Well, that's it for now, I'm so relaxed it's hard to concentrate, I feel so good! Enjoy this windy day and we'll chat tomorrow.

Tuesdays, Year 2, Week 42

2010-08-31T14:33:00.000-07:00

This Tuesday is finally the last day of August. It was a toss-up, either August wore us out, or we wore August out. In any case, I look forward to September, the biggest harvesting month of the year, and also when the neighborhood children return to school, we don't have very many young children in our neighborhood, but what we lack in numbers, they make up in volume! I think that young boys just tend to be noisier to our old ears. Thankfully, they finished the noisy street construction, so it will probably open soon. My tolerance for any kind of intense noise has gone down as my age has increased, that's probably a natural thing. I try to cut the neighbor boy some slack, because I can still remember being a child and liking to get boisterously noisy. He's not a bad child, just loud!
It's a really nice day, the temperature is in the low 70s, with s few passing clouds and an almost calm wind. I've been moving my chair around the side yard following the sunshine for a little additional warmth. It seems cool after all the heat earlier in the month. I even had to put on my long pants yesterday, must be getting old!
This morning I got a burst of welcome energy and cleaned the kitchen floor and tidied up the rest of the house. Must of been from the coolness. Tomorrow I have to water my remaining garden. With having pretty good rain for the past couple of days, I haven't even been unstringing the hose, just watered what was a little dry with a small bucket. Later in the week, I plan on going over to the recreation center and purchasing a membership, I want to get in the habit of swimming at least three times a week, otherwise it will be a battle to keep my weight steady. I've given up my dream of bike riding, my hips just won't cooperate and I know swimming is good exercise without being high impact on my old bones. Besides, they have an awesome hot tub and steam room, which sounds nice as the weather cools! I was going to get a three wheel adult tricycle, but realized that swimming was my best option. I have a great exercise regimen I can do in the pool, so I have to be realistic about my options. With age comes wisdom, they say!
Well, that's all for now, enjoy the lovely day.

Mondays, Year 2, Week 42

2010-08-30T15:57:00.000-07:00

It's a cool Monday, I don't think it got much over the high 60s and we have gotten several good rain showers. I may have to put on some longer pants, my knees are getting chilly!
It was pretty windy this morning, but I dug 3 potato bins (one big honker tried to hide in the very bottom of the bin, but I found it!) and picked a bin of lettuce. What a nice bunch of red potatoes I dug, I cooked the little tiny ones in butter and had them for lunch. The rest, were washed and dried and set in a basket to dry overnight. I have a mesh bag to store them in tomorrow. After I cleaned the lettuce, I decided to make a pot of veggie soup with kidney beans and macaroni for dinner tonight, it's just a little cool to eat salad. I used all my garden veggies in turkey broth so it has a little bit of everything in it! Maybe that'll warm up my knees!
I forgot to tell you about the carrots I planted this year! They are almost a red color. I only planted a few as a test in a pot, figuring if they grew well, I'd plant a lot of them next summer. I'm happy to say they are gorgeous carrots, a dark red/orange color, long and slender with a crisp bite and easily cleaned with a scrubber pad. I ate one raw and then picked a few for the soup. They will definitely have a larger part of my garden next year!
Well, that's all for today, my tummy is hungry so time for a bowl of my veggie soup. Enjoy your evening.

Sundays, Year 2, Week 42

2010-08-29T16:20:00.000-07:00

Sunday has been a productive day, I got all my garlic harvested, cleaned and set out to dry in a basket on the kitchen table. I weighed it and I harvested 5 full pounds! I have also been picking and using it for about three weeks now also, so I figure I about doubled the amount I planted. the original weight I planted was three pounds and the final count is al least 6 pounds, not a bad year! Especially since it was all trimmed and cleaneed before I weighed it, boy we are going to have a garlic festival! What a nice perfume in the kitchen, I noticed that the two flies who were buzzzing around had left by the time I finished cleaning it.
The weather has been good all day, perfect for harvest, windy, partly cloudy and around the low 80s. It does look as if we might have a little rain this evening also. It was nice and fresh this morning after last night's rain.
Tomorrow I'll harvest a few more potato bins, the three that I planted first are all wilted down, so they are ready! That will only leave 5 more potato bins to harvest. The tomato bed is packed full of red ones ready to pick, so tomorrow is going to be a busy day too! I put the 4 mulatto isleno peppers in the space where I dug the garlic, it might enable them to do better than they have in the buckets. I still think we have at least a month of growing time before the killing frost, so maybe it'll let the pepper plants up their production. We'll see.
Well, time for dinner, salad and potatoes and string beans from the garden. I've worked up a good appetite, so it sounds real good! See you on the morrow.

Saturdays, Year 2, Week 41

2010-08-28T14:45:00.000-07:00

As I'm posting, the rain is pouring down in huge wind-driven sheets. I was out in the side yard when the first few warning drops fell, so now I'm watching it through the window. Some workmen were starting to cut down the big cottonwood tree in the neighbors yard that kicked the bucket, and they scurried down too. Lightning and thunder followed quickly, then the skies opened up. Now the air will smell fresh after the dust that was blowing earlier! A good cleansing rain.
Don't have much today, just a lazy Saturday afternoon, kicking back and enjoying the rain. Good time to pick up a magazine or book and snuggle in for the rest of the afternoon. Sounds good, doesn't it? Enjoy.

Fridays, Year 2, Week 41

2010-08-27T15:26:00.000-07:00

It was a lovely Friday morning, I lazed over the morning paper while eating breakfast, then watered and putzed in the garden for awhile. I took all the garlic seed tops off and will let them dry. I think Sunday I will dig all the garlic bulbs, pretty sure they are finished growing. The ones I have already dug were prime, so might as well do them all and get them good and dry. It's supposed to be fairly cool this weekend so that'll be a good time to dig the rest of the potatoes also. I love harvesting, it just makes me feel so happy to see what Mother Nature and I can do together. We're quite a team!
I also enjoyed my lunch with the girls and our token guy. We went to Wingers and had popcorn while waiting for our lunch to arrive. As always, we covered every subject under the sun and had a great time. One of the girls is going to have a little party to celebrate the new deck her dad built her, so that will be something else special to look forward to. One of our group is at Yellowstone Park with her hubby on vacation, she deserves a good vacation from her job at the local big-box store. By the time we finished lunch it had clouded over, and we have a good chance of a thunderstorm this evening. The high temperature was only 80 degrees, so it has been a perfect day.
They are working on the street in front of the house again today, getting ready to put new blacktop to meet the concrete. I will be happy when it's finished, because miss kitty gets really skittish with all the activity, she'll be able to relax and get back to normal. They were sawing expansion joints in the concrete until nearly 10:30 P.M. last night, so I stayed up and watched the British comedies on PBS until they left. Miss kitty isn't the only one who will be glad to have all the noise gone!
Well, that's all for today, I hope we do have a little rain to freshen the air. Enjoy your evening!

Thursdays, Year 2, Week 41

2010-08-26T16:07:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is supposed to cool off, but Thursday is hotter than h-e-doubletoothpicks! That's right, hotter than hell! It was 90 degrees at 1:00 P.M. and I haven't checked it since then, it's better not to know. The sky is totally clear and hardly even a breeze to move the air.
I went and got our weekly supply of cantaloupe early this morning, then watered and picked a bunch of different things in the garden. Potatoes, garlic, green onions, green beans, peas and tomatoes. Lots and lots of tomatoes! By next week, I expect that it won't be unusual to pick around 15 to 20 tomatoes a day! My granddaughter's husband would be a happy camper if he were here, he loves tomatoes. I ate two while watering and expect to eat more with my salad tonight. I was surprised by how many potatoes I got from just one plant, the earwigs had almost eaten the leaves off it totally, so when there was an abundance, it was a happy find! I think I will roast them with seasonings and olive oil and butter, yum!
This is about all I have for today, I'm going to take a shower and see if I can cool off some. See you tomorrow.

Wednesdays, Year 2, Week 41

2010-08-25T15:58:00.000-07:00

This Wednesday has gotten pretty warm! I went out to the side yard earlier to rest my back in the gravity chair and fell asleep! It wasn't too warm whenI got there, but when I woke up, it was 88 degrees. Good nap though, these early morning wakeup calls from the construction in front of the house have my ordinary sleep schedule all messed up. They poured half the concrete today and will pour the second half tomorrow, so it will be finished soon and I will go back to waking up when I damn well please. That is just one of the things I really liked when I retired, I no longer was obligated to worry about time. It was very freeing, knowing I didn't have to punch a time clock or please anyone except the old man and myself. Sounds selfish, but selfishness is not always a bad thing. I saw a cartoon the other day where the little girl in it is meaning self esteem, but instead called it selfish steam. I giggled about that all day, it really was an awesome definition of self esteem. I know people who hold themselves in low regard, who feel they are not as good or as pretty or as smart or as rich as others and feel diminished as a person. Not me! I have learned through the years that each of us has the same potential as anyone else. I have found that most people who feel they have to make fun of or put down someone else are really insecure in themselves. They need to make someone else feel inferior so they can be superior. Look at the big brouhaha about immigration and Muslim mosques and policitians ranting about Social Security and see if you don't spot some severe psychological problems among those yelling the loudest! It never hurts to boost your "selfish steam", but not at the expense of those weaker than you. The world would be a much nicer place if everyone could be more supportive of others and of themselves. Next time you see someone who looks sad, pay them a compliment and see if it makes them smile. If it does, you will probably have one on your face too. That's selfish steam!
Well, it's time to get our salads ready for dinner. Stay cool and smile and work up a good head of selfish steam!

Tuesdays, Year 2, Week 41

2010-08-24T17:33:00.000-07:00

Busy, busy Tuesday! The old man had a doctor's appointment early in the afternoon, so I had to finish all my outdoor chores relatively early and at a faster pace than usual. Fortunately, the road crew served as an early alarm clock again, the vibrations rolled me ungently out of bed, the cabinet in the kitchen was visibly undulating everything on its top, almost like an earthquake! I had my breakfast, then mowed the lawn, watered the garden, picked a bin of lettuce, trimmed part of a tree and still had plenty of time for a shower and hair fixing way before it was time for the doctor visit. The neck traction is working nicely, so the old man doesn't need to see him again unless that changes. I keep teasing him that if we stretch him enough, he can become a geriatric basketball player, like he would ever be interested in basketball! I am glad it's helping though.
Tomorrow they will be pouring concrete for the street, so I'll probably have another early morning wakeup call! The workmen said it would most likely reopen for traffic on Monday, so our exciting project will be over soon. Miss kitty will be relieved, she hates all the noise almost as much as I do. She hid under the platform on the front porch and scared the hell out of the old man, because he thought she had gotten out when he got the daily newspaper. I took a flashlight out and when she saw me she came out and into the house. She cracks me up!
Well, that's it for now, I have lettuce to wash!

Mondays, Year 2, Week 41

2010-08-23T14:51:00.000-07:00

What a different Monday! We had a rain shower last evening (with a double rainbow!) that broke the heat of Sunday and Monday has only reached a high of 74 degrees, with sunshine, a brisk wind and not a sign of a cloud. Mother Nature outdid herself today, what a complete flip-flop! A nice change of pace.
For the past week, workmen have been marking the street with different colored signs, indicating the location of the water, gas and sewer lines. I knew something was coming, but didn't know what. Bright and EARLY this morning I was awaken by a machine breaking up the blacktop and found out later that they were going to replace it with concrete. That will be nice, because there is always a hump in the middle of the road, caused by the big trucks which use this intersection. They removed all of the blacktop right up to our driveway, then as I was watering the garden, I heard a guy holler, "Stop, you hit a gas line!" I'll let you guess whose gas line it was. Right, ours. I had to go to the store, and by the time I returned, they had fixed it and we were good to go. A little bit of excitement in the lives of two older, retired people! We both wondered how in tthe hell they could have hit the line as well marked as it was, but we just chalked it up to laziness on the part of the hand shovel man. It will be nice not to have the traffic for a few days, but I'm not convinced that what's replacing it is any better! What an alarm clock!
I'm making a fresh veggie and noodle stir fry for dinner this evening. Garlic, bell peppers, romanescu squash and green onions from the garden with gluten free corn and quinoa noodles should make a tasty treat. No salad tonight!
Well, the noise from the construction machinery is getting to me, so I guess I'll go indoors and read. I'm relatively sure they can finish their workday without my being the sidewalk superintendent!
Have a great afternoon and I'll be back tomorrow.

Sundays, Year 2, Week 41

2010-08-22T14:09:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was sizzling, this Sunday is beyond that, 94 in the shade and a wind that's just savagely hot. I am staying as quiet and cool as I can, the heat exhausts me. I knew it would be miserable today because it was warm early when I watered. The good news is that I picked a bunch of tomatoes and peppers. I made bean tostados for my lunch, refrying beans with fresh peppers and garlic from the harvest. Now, the high point of my day is that I am going to lay down in the cool bedroom and take a nap! I don't plan to do much today, it's Sunday after all, my day of rest.
Try to stay cool and see what tomorrow brings. Relax and enjoy!

Saturdays, Year 2, Week 40

2010-08-21T16:13:00.000-07:00

Sizzling Saturday! It has reached at least 90 degrees in the shade and that was about two hours age. I haven't checked since, because sometimes knowing how hot it is makes me feel even hotter. I sat outside for about 10 minutes and decided that I wasn't in the mood for sweating while relaxing. It's much more comfortable here in the house.
I enjoyed the morning, just cooking and doing some watering in the garden. Miss kitty is taking a marathon nap in the side yard, she barely even noticed I was there.
It's nearly time for our supper salad and I'm not even hungry for that. A lack of activity doesn't give me any appetite. Even worse, my brain feels fuzzy and out of touch, too much heat I guess! Might as well cut this short, before I bore you and myself to tears. Stay cool, maybe tomorrow will be a little less warm.

Fridays, Year 2, Week 40

2010-08-20T14:34:00.000-07:00

Wow, Friday already? It's a nice one for sure, about 84 degrees, with a light breeze, just a few clouds and lots of sunshine. The old man and I decided to go eat at Golden Corral tonight, they have all kinds of shrimp, so I didn't even have to cook today. I had roasted a chicken yesterday when it was cool so we finished that off for lunch. We had a really nice rain day yesterday, so all the watering I had to do this morning was the stuff in containers. I mostly just took my time and enjoyed the day, which was good after the night I had last night! I woke up about an hour and a half after being asleep with my muscles contracting and aching like I'd been whipped. I was fine when I went to bed, but that didn't last! I was up until 5:00 A.M. when I finally took a shower to relax my muscles and finally went to sleep for about 4 hours. When I woke up I felt fine again. Got out my planetary guide to check if anything momentous was in the works and found out that Mercury had gone retrograde pretty much precisely at the time I woke up in pain! I usually know these things in advance and act accordingly to prepare myself, but I've been busy and hadn't thought to look. Won't make that mistake again, forewarned is forearmed! Mercury will be in retrograde until September 12th, so things will be a little touchy for the next 3 weeks or so. Time to baby myself a little, and not push myself so hard. Thanks for the reminder Mercury!
Since the garden is nearing it's natural ripening time, I don't really have too much work to do except for picking things and watering. Sounds like a perfect time to pamper my old self a little. If I'm right in reading the clues the climate is giving me, we are in for a nice September and it will be a long, easily handled harvest. If I'm wrong, then oh well, I'll deal with that too! No sense in getting too worried or excited, nothing I can do to change it! See what fun this old woman has?
I plan to make a cheesecake tomorrow. Every since I cooked up the peaches, a cheesecake has been on my mind. I had peaches with my country blend rice and yogurt this morning and it was awesome, almost like a dessert! Good healthy food will bolster both my mind and my poor, tired old body. Lucky me!
Well, that's all for now. Sit out doors and enjoy yourself a little, chores will wait!

Thursdays, Year 2, Week 40

2010-08-19T14:45:00.000-07:00

What a delightful Thursday this is! The temperature is just below 70 and there is a slow quiet rain dampening the landscape. This much needed moisture will brighten up everything that has been suffering from a little too much heat, including me. However, this little respite will end soon, the next three days are supposed to be close to 90 degrees! I plan to just soak up as much cool as possible and brace myself for the heat to come. I have learned that you should take advantage of any opportunity to nurture yourself and all life around you, and I can't think of a better example than a nice rainy day in the middle of summer to test this lesson. That said, I'm making this a short post and joining miss kitty in a little catnap! Enjoy!

Wednesdays, Year 2, Week 40

2010-08-18T16:04:00.000-07:00

Wednesday is a scorcher! The temperature on the side of the house in the shade is 92 degrees, with a wind which feels like it's coming from the depths of Hades! Mostly cloudy, like the lid on a pot, keeping all the heat in. A recipe for a hot day!
I am as close to the cooler as I can be, and drinking an iced coffee besides, so I'm comfortable. It's a good day to just stay calm and cool!
I had to pick some prescriptions for the old man and also a few groceries we were almost out of, so now my work is done for the day. I did a lot of veggie picking and watering in the cool of the morning and tomorrow, since it's supposed to be cooler, I plan to cut down the rest of the old plants on the area we plan to cover with wood chips. When it is finished, then I will call Dave, the tree guy and tell him we need more wood chips. He is the best and cheapest source of wood chips that I know. We get a whole truck load for only $40, you can't beat the price!
Well, I've run out of words, time to call it a day. Stay cool and enjoy the day.

Tuesdays, Year 2, Week 40

2010-08-17T14:26:00.000-07:00

Busy Tuesday! The old man had a appointment with his foot doctor this morning, so I watered quickly and went with him. He was walking easier when the doctor finished doing his toe nails, they are some of the toughest I have ever seen! It used to take me at least an hour to file them down with a battery operated file, the doctor is much faster and now I don't worry that I might hurt him. Diabetics have to be careful with their feet, so that's a load off my mind.
When we came home, I picked a bunch of tomatoes for salad, and it was really hot out there! Last time I looked at the thermometer, it was 86 degrees with barely a breeze and clear blue skies. We had a blustery wind and rain squall blow through last evening and it was down to 45 degrees this morning. Didn't take long to warm up though. As I'm posting this, I'm not too far away from the evaporative cooler, so it's way comfy!
I have to tell you about something I ordered. I kept seeing advertisements for something called the Backjoy, so when I saw they had a special going on that allowed you to return it in 30 days if you weren't satisfied, I ordered it. It's a concave disc-like butt orthotic thing you sit on and it's supposed to cushion your tailbone and keep your hips in the correct place for comfortable sitting. Both the old man and I have trouble sitting for very long, at times I get so stiff it takes forever to straighten up and move again. I got one for each of us and they aren't very expensive so I figured if nothing else I could send them back. They came yesterday. To my complete surprise, they do exactly what they claim to do and both of us can now sit with no discomfort! When I sat on it the first time, I could feel my back muscles relaxing and no pain in my hips or tailbone! Absolutely an amazing product, it looks so simple and works so well, and I was able to stand up easily after relaxing on it for quite a long time. If you want to try one, just go to backjoy.com and get the info. Your back and butt will be thankful! I'm a believer now!
Well, I need to go check on miss kitty and see if she wants to visit with me in the side yard. That's all for today, we'll chat on the morrow.

Mondays, Year 2, Week 40

2010-08-16T15:11:00.000-07:00

Here it is, Monday again! This summer is really flying by, just a few days more than a month to go until the first day of fall. I just had a bowl of new red potatoes with italian green beans and they were delicious! I need to pick green beans tomorrow, so those I will probably put in the freezer for this winter. I took the time to prune all the blossoms off the tomato plants, so all that energy will go into ripening the tomatoes that are already on the vine. I'm going to pull a few heads of garlic in the morning also to see how close they are to harvest. I spotted a few that looked like they were dying down. My lettuce bed looks well used, I have cut and recut and there's still a lot of lettuce growing. The romanescu squash is in overdrive now cranking out squash like a factory! The baby lima beans are covered both in blooms and pods. They are so packed with pods, and I don't pick them until they get frosted down and then I shell all of them at the same time. Gonna be some good eating when that happens. We have gotten an astounding amount of produce from the garden already this year, and the best is yet to come. We are already picking at least 4 or 5 tomatoes a day, and peppers the same. I'll be busy doing harvesting from now until the end of the season. It's a really good feeling knowing that we are eating all of these goodies in their prime. When I dug the one potato bin, I planted some spinach seeds in it, it only takes about 40 days for it to grow, so we'll have some spinach to have in salad.
Now it's just fun to pick and eat everything and then freeze the excess for a winter treat. By the time all is harvested, I will be ready for it. It's a lot of hard work and time consuming, but well worth it for all the delicious meals we have had!
Well, it's time to take a little tea break, so that's all for today. This old woman needs a little rest time. See you manana.

Sundays, Year 2, Week 40

2010-08-15T14:30:00.000-07:00

A sensational Sunday! The temperature is about 78 degrees, wwith a slight breeze and clear blue skies. I am cooking another batch of peaches and have already had my luscious lunch of squash,onions,mulatto isleno peppers and tomatoes fried in butter and topped off with mozzarela cheese and two pork tamales. My tummy is so happy!
Not much else to report today, so this is going to be extremely short. Since it's Sunday, I think I'll just spend it communing with Mother Nature. I can smell the fragrance of the sweet peas, and watch the squirrels and birds and be a lazy old woman for the rest of the day! What a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon. See you tomorrow.

Saturdays, Year 2, Week 39

2010-08-14T15:54:00.000-07:00

What a satisfying Saturday! My culinary instincts have been fully employed today. I had to run to the store and buy some butter, and as soon as I came home, I sliced fresh peaches and fried them with butter and cinnamon very, very slowly until 10 peaches were reduced to about 5 cups of finished peaches. I add vitamin C and inulin fiber and just a smidgen of maple syrup when they are cooking down, The result is so tasty with yogurt, or on cheesecake, or even on a rice cake. I had already cooked about 30 peaches into jam but those were pulverized with a food processor and made with maple syrup and gelatin and vitamin C as a preservative. That is also tasty, but cooking them in butter adds another dimension to the peach flavor not unlike a peach pie. I will do one batch a day for the next two days, and that will finish up the box of fresh Colorado peaches. The old man has been drooling all over the place while I was cooking them, so I let him have a sample when they were done. The expression on his face was pure delight, so I know they are yummy! He says he can't wait for me to bake a cheesecake so he can have a piece with the buttery peaches. He is diabetic, but since these are cooked with only a tiny amount of maple syrup and cinnamon, they don't mess with his blood sugar. I even sprung for the real cinnamon, which actually helps keep blood sugar levels down. I have really had fun today, I'm a chef at heart and love to make things that are not only good tasting, but also good for you. A person just needs a little treat every now and then, and these peaches certainly fill that bill!
The high temperature today was about 78 degrees, with a few clouds and a light wind. Awesome day! I watered and picked a few goodies and tomorrow or Monday, I will harvest one of the potato bins. New red potatoes and Italian green beans from the garden will make our lunch on Monday really special. I cook them with a little bacon and chicken broth, so they are savory.
Miss kitty and me are sitting in the side yard enjoying the late afternoon. She likes to nestle down under the honeysuckle bushes and snooze and I do my post and drink my tea. Just a couple of lazy old broads. I mowed the tiny lawn this morning and it smells so fresh and sweet.
Well, that's it for now, I feel a snooze of my own coming on. Enjoy this lovely day.

Fridays, Year 2, Week 39

2010-08-13T14:50:00.000-07:00

This Friday was my lunch with the girls day. We not only had the five women and our tokem guy, but also a young woman and a young man who are both returning to college soon. We ate at Golden Corral, and between all of us, I believe we sampled everything on the buffet. It never fails to amaze me how much enjoyment can be derived from sharing a meal and a lively conversation. We take turns paying for the lunches and leaving tips, so we all share the cost along with our wonderful friendship and companionship. We seldom run out of topics or interesting things to do. I guess the word I'm looking for is community. We all lead very different lives, have many diverse interests and hobbies, and even jobs for that matter, but for those few hours we come together and commune with each other. I think that feeling of community is missing in today's busy world, we all need to reach out and communicate with others to make our lives a little brighter. It makes life worth living!
The day couldn't be nicer! The high temperature is around 85 and it's totally clear with a nice breeze. I had so much fun out in the yard this morning, watering and picking the fruits of my and Mother Nature's labor.
Well, that's it for today, my desire at the moment is for a cup of iced coffee, so I'm going to brew a cup. Enjoy the lovely day, call a friend, text a relative, or talk to your neighbor, that feeling of community makes all of us a little stronger!

Thursdays, Year 2, Week 39

2010-08-12T13:50:00.000-07:00

Thursday started out with a nice cool morning, plenty of sunshine, and as the day progressed, the temperature has only reached 76 degrees! There's also a nice brisk breeze, so it's a wonderful day to be out and around. Early I went to get my week's supply of cantaloupe from the Colorado fruit truck, my word they are so juicy and refreshing! I also bought a case of freestone peaches, half of which I am simmering into jam and the other half I plan to pan fry with butter and cinnamon and make a peach cheese cake. Does that make your mouth water? Me too! I'm usually not too fond of fresh peaches, but I thought they would make quite a few tasty treats. I still remember my mama canning Colorado peaches, and they always hit the spot in the middle of winter when we were starved for fruit. I don't have the patience she had with canning, so I find other ways to enjoy them. One thing for sure, the old man and I are getting our quota of fresh fruit this summer. We have had bing cherries and grapes daily while they are in season, and of course, our favorite, cantaloupe. Now we will have peaches too.
Bunches of my tomatoes are ripening, so soon that will be our daily feast. I also like to make salsa and sauces with them. In the morning, bell peppers will get picked, so we can have fried peppers. I cook them whole and we eat everything but the stems. They always give our taste buds a boost with their awesome flavor. I have some more of the romanescu squash ready to pick too, so lunch tomorrow will be delicious. They have a much richer flavor than zucchini, and aren't as full of water. The bushes and the fruit are a little smaller, but so much better tasting! At this point in the summer, it's almost overwhelming just trying to decide what to eat next! Never boring eating though! I love my garden.
Well, enough for now, my gravity chair is calling me to an afternoon break. Enjoy the lovely day!

Wednesdays, Year 2, Week 39

2010-08-11T15:58:00.000-07:00

Windy Wednesday! Nice though, the high temperature was 88 degrees, with passing clouds and a hefty wind which made it feel nice in the shade. I had some shopping to do, and by the time I was finished, it had me feeling like I was a piece of jerky. It's been such a warm summer, great for my garden, not so good for me. Like I say, you just can't take enough off to get cool! With the hot wind today, it was like a double whammy. I do so enjoy my watering chores in the morning, it feels invigorating. I was thinking earlier, my favorite job before I retired was working in the dairy cooler at the local big box store. I wore a light flannel jacket or a wind breaker while I stocked the milk and stuff, and I loved working in the cooler. Plus I had a great boss, even though I wasn't thrilled about the upper management in the store. I later worked in the grocery part, where I also had a nice department manager, but I sweated like a longshoreman when I worked, it was always so hot and airless in the store. Even now, when I shop there, it's always stuffy. Worst indoor air in town!
Well, it's almost time for supper. This day has flown by! Stay cool and I'll see you manana.

Tuesdays, Year 2, Week 39

2010-08-10T14:34:00.000-07:00

This Tuesday is one of the most beautiful days this summer! The sky is bright blue with a few fluffy clouds floating by and a temperature of about 84 with a slight breeze. I am sitting out in the side yard with miss kitty. She is napping, and I may just follow her example when I finish posting! It's so nice, laying her relaxing and pampering myself some. I had a lunch of fresh purple kale and a couple of buffalo burger patties, finished off with a strawberry ice cream bar. What a nice lazy life I have!
I picked and washed a big bin of red leaf lettuce this morning and tucked it into the fridge to chill. Picked a few more green beans that I overlooked when I picked yesterday. They have a way of hiding among the leaves! I'm watching the doves steal the squirrels sunflower seeds again. Some of the sunflowers have gone to seed and the sparrows and picking over the seed heads like little eating machines.
Well, I don't have much on my mind, so I think I might take a short snooze. See you tomorrow.

Mondays, Year 2, Week 39

2010-08-09T13:20:00.000-07:00

Ah sweet relief! My chiropractor put my hip back in place and I'm good to go! I also ordered a new device, a kind of butt orthotic, that,s supposed to keep your tailbone cushioned and in the correct position when you sit on it. When it arrives, I'll post on it's effectiveness. It's designed by a chiropractor, so I'll see.
It's a lovely Monday, a few passing clouds, about 84 degrees and a brisk enough wind to make it comfortable. Tonight is New Moon, so we will be starting another lunar cycle. I love the dark moon, it makes sleeping a bit easier without all that extra light.
I did a quick watering job this morning before my appointment. I was happy to see that the little sunflower bees are back, and I discovered a huge catface spider with a magnificent web by the baby lima beans. It's about the size of a quarter, and made quick work of a fly which had flown into it's web. They are so cool to watch!
Well, that's it for now, make the most of this awesome Monday!

Sundays, Year 2, Week 39

2010-08-08T15:19:00.000-07:00

A nice Sunday, the clouds just started to thicken up and it looks like maybe a little rain is possible. The high was 88 degrees, but the humidity was high enough so it didn't feel real hot. I'm still taking it easy on myself today, my back is much better, but my hip is still just a bit off kilter. I'm sure my chiropractor will fix that on Monday!
I watered this morning and just kind of checked everything out. My one bunch of potatoes are starting to show signs of wilt, so a batch of new potatoes are soon to be savored. Lots of the tomatoes are starting to turn colors, won't be long now! The peppers are covered with all different sizes of peppers, we've already been eating them. We had green beans and potatoes the other day and they were really tasty. Can't wait to do them with fresh new taters!
Well, not much today, time to have a little tea. Enjoy this sweet Sunday afternoon and I'll see you on the morrow.

Saturdays, Year 2, Week 38

2010-08-07T16:12:00.000-07:00

Well, I missed posting yesterday! I had a busy morning, trimming, pruning and watering the garden. Then I came indoors and changed the linen on our bed. Just as I was finishing, I bent down to straighten the rug by the bed, and I couldn't stand up straight, the pain hit me and made me weak at the knees, apparently I moved the wrong way and my lower back locked up. I managed to hobble into the kitchen and take a couple of aspirin, and with tears streaming down my face, I asked the old man to help me get on top of the bed with my knees elevated on pillows and the far infrared light heating pad under my lower back. I couldn't lift my legs by myself, the pain was so severe. Once he got me situated on the bed, it relaxed a little, but any slight move brought an evil pain with it. I ended up taking some stronger pain stuff, so I could rest a little. Needless to say, My Friday was nasty. Today, I am much better, it finally released and first thing Monday I will call for a chiropractor appointment.
Today the weather has been a little cooler, we had a big dust storm with about 12 drops of rain afterward. It's now cloudy, but no more rain. We could sure use some!
That's it for now, I can't sit for very long, I have to stand up and move around, or lay down. Hurry up Monday!

Thursdays, Year 2, Week 38

2010-08-05T14:56:00.000-07:00

What a Thursday, the temperature is 85 degrees, with a few clouds, a nice breeze and sunshine aplenty. I went to the Colorado fruit truck first thing this morning and stocked up on cantaloupe for the week! I also got ear corn, cucumbers and some red plums. My cukes are close, but not quite ready, and I must have cukes in a salad. I delivered cantaloupes to two of my lunch buddies, then came home and started cutting dead grass and planrs past their prime. We have one area shaded by the neighbor's trees (and a couple small trees of our own) that I just haven't been successful at cultivating. I'm too cheap to buy a bunch of shade loving plants, I'd rather grow food than ground cover! Anyway, we decided to cut all of what is growing there and cover the area with wood chips. It's pretty in the spring, but once the spring growth turns brown, it's yucky looking. With the wood chips, we can put a couple of chairs there and sit in the shade and bird watch and quit watering stuff that doesn't grow well. I might put a few shade loving plants in containers to dress it up, but the area is too big to plant the whole thing in them. The catnip that grows in the corner of the area will probably benefit from having the wood chips hold in the moisture. On the front corner by the plum tree, I'm planning to use some rocks and flowers in pots to make it more water efficient. The side close to the neighbors fence, I plan to use some Smart Pots to expand my food growing. I have some potato bags bordering it now and it gets really good sunshine, so it would be really good for growing more potatoes or almost anything that needs lots of sun. Each year, I do something extra, but I still lots of room to add food growing areas to, you can never have too much healthy food to eat! Fill the freezer and eat all winter!
I sat out in the side yard after lunch to keep miss kitty company, and fell sound asleep! My busy morning caught up with me. Well, that's all for now, I'll be back tomorrow.

Wednesdays, Year 2, Week 38

2010-08-04T16:18:00.000-07:00

What a nice Wednesday, the current temperature is 78 degrees, the wind is reasonable, and we even had a few drops of rain. It was nice to have a cooler day after our prolonged hot spell. I even managed to mow the lawn and do some pruning of dry grasses and flowers. I don't know about you, but I tend to doing as little as possible when I feel overheated. The forecast for the next week is also promising a lot cooler outlook. Mostly high 70s and low 80s. That's more like it!
I don't have much on my mind today, just loving the cool! My grape tomatoes are almost ripe, and I picked the first bunch of peppers today to use in the old man's stir fry for lunch. All without breaking a sweat! Wonderful.
That's all for today, go outdoors and soak up some cool! See you tomorrow.

Tuesdays, Year 2, Week 38

2010-08-03T14:42:00.000-07:00

This Tuesday, Mother Nature chose another hot one! After lunch, I decided to sit outdoors and keep miss kitty company. Big mistake! I was there for about 10 minutes and broke into a sweat just sitting there. I looked at the thermometer, 92 degrees! Not much breeze either. After I came in, the clouds moved in and dropped it a few degrees, but not enough to entice me back out. It's the old lid on a boiling pot scenario again.
This morning was really nice, I did my watering quickly, because the old man had a doctor's appointment. By the time we got back it was nearly noon. The doctor is having him try cervical traction for his stiff and sore neck. It's quite a kit he sent home to use. You hook it up on a door and it has a pulley connected to a plastic bag which you fill with water. It has a straplike device you put under your chin and the back of your neck fastened with velcro and you hook it up to the pulley and sit for 15 minutes while it stretches your cervical vertabrae. If he hadn't looked so pathetic sitting there, bridled and harnessed up like an old plow horse, I would have taken a picture of him for posterity. He looked like the participant in some old folks torture chamber, and it was so hard for me not to giggle at the sight. I respectfully refrained, however, well mostly, I had to hide in the bathroom and smile like hell for a minute to get my giggler under control! After 15 minutes, I unhooked it for him, and he said it felt pretty good. Twice a day and back to the doc in three weeks. Hope I can control my giggler for that long! He's been in a pissy mood with the heat and his sore neck, so a stray giggle would have put me in the doghouse even longer. What a sight! Then they have the nerve to call it "golden age", what a laugh!
Well, that's all for today, enjoy your youth while you can, this "golden age" isn't a pretty sight. Manana!

Mondays, Year 2, Week 38

2010-08-02T16:07:00.000-07:00

This Monday morning was astoundingly awesome! The overnight temperature went down to 55 degrees, so it was pleasurable to water and harvest goodies from the garden in the coolness of the morning. Actually, it didn't even get hot until after noon and the temperature hit 90 degrees with an absolutely still wind. Before the clouds moved in and held us hostage to the heat, it was wonderful to be able to move around outdoors freeely.
I had a few errands to run, and then I cleaned all the fava beans and green beans I had picked. Gonna be some good munching at our house! My fridge is so full, I think I need to invite some people over to share the bounty! I also got some good news from a friend while I was marketing, the Colorado Fruit Truck is going to be here on Thursday! I didn't know with the recession going on if they would come up this year, and had almost resigned myself to not having any cantaloupe this summer. She said the season was a little later than usual, so the cantaloupe are coming! That's my power food in the gardening season! After working out in the sunshine a piece of cantaloupe with a little sea salt is better than any commercial drink for restoring your electrolyte balance and tases better besides! That and watermelon, oh my, I can almost taste the juice running down my chin. NOTHING EVER TASTES AS GOOD AS WHEN IT'S FRESH PICKED!! You can tell the difference every time, it smells good and tastes even better.
Speaking of smelling good, my sweet peas are blooming and the aroma is delightful. I stuck my nose right in tthe middle of them this morning and inhaled. No perfume in the world smells that divine! The colors are something to see, I tried a new seed this year, and the flowers are two-toned. The homely old sweet pea, who knew they could be so enticing!
As you can probably tell, my mood has improved immensely, and while I've been posting this, a nice breeze has come up and is freshening up the afternoon. It's almost time for my supper salad, so enjoy the evening and we'll chat again tomorrow. Let's hear a big YIPPEE for cantaloupe!

Sundays, Year 2, Week 38

2010-08-01T15:00:00.000-07:00

It's too hot to even think today! Since it's Sunday, a day of rest, that's what I'm going to do! I'll try to post something interesting and not related to the weather tomorrow. For today, just try to keep cool. I'm going to run up my water bill and stand in a cooling shower until my teeth rattle! Manana!

Saturdays, Year 2, Week 37

2010-07-31T18:54:00.000-07:00

I'm way late posting today! My morning was super busy, picking veggies and watering, making homemade pork and beans and deep frying a pork loin, filling evaporative coolers and washing and drying clothes. I stayed busy until nearly 2:30 in the afternoon. I laid down on the couch to rest my eyes for a few minutes and didn't wake up until after 5:00 P.M.! I guess I just ran out of steam. It was another unbelieveably hot day, so when I woke up, I was totally bozoed out! Now, it's evening, and I'm sitting outdoors in the cool (78 degrees!) air and find myself thinking about how nice it would be to take a dip in a nice pool with a pitcher of margaritas at hand. Those were the good old days! Instead, I'm sipping some ice water and posting this, which is just about as good as it's going to get. Ah, the sweet memories of youth!
I don't know what the official high temperature was today, but it was 90 degrees when I laid down to rest my eyes. Good thing I'm not a believer in heaven or hell, because hell couldn't be much hotter than this blistering Saturday was! And we all know which way I would go if I was a believer!
This is the last day of July, and according to next week's weather forecast, August is going to follow through with lots of heat too! Like I told one of my friends today, you can't take enough clothes off to be comfortable in hot times. I'd go naked, but I'm sure my neighbors would complain. An ancient sagging,naked body is not a pretty sight! Wouldn't it be wonderful if there was a nice cool pool where oldsters could go skinny dipping among our own kind? Wouldn't want to inflict that sight on a younger person! Us older folks are blessed with poor eyesight, so we wouldn't even notice. Again, ah the great memories of youth! Skinny dipping and being in our prime, who knew then that we'd end up like we did? Youth doesn't worry about getting old, youth makes you feel privileged and immortal, invincible against the onslaught of time. Well, we certainly got our comeuppance didn't we! Good thing we have our memories to revisit occasionally. I like to say, that when I was young, I'd try anything once, and the good stuff as often as possible. And I did! No regrets, just a whole lovely bunch of good memories to recall days long gone. Let me assure you, it was fun while it lasted! Not to say there is nothing left to try, but it's just harder to recognize new opportunities. But I'm sure as hell going to try! Life is a fun ride.
Well, enough for now, see you on the morrow. Stay cool.

Fridays, Year 2, Week 37

2010-07-30T15:17:00.000-07:00

You'll be happy to hear my sanity returned today! I know I sure was! After all day yesterday sitting on the pity pot, I woke up energized and much more normal. As normal as I get, that is! The weather today is much more conducive to energy, the humidity is lower, so the evaporative coolers are keeping the house much cooler. Yesterday the house was like a sweat lodge in comparison. The high temperature is 88 degrees with clear bluee skies and a light breeze.
I went to lunch with my female friends and our token male today, we had Mexican food and it was delicious. We had a great and lively conversation, made me feel human again. The lady who rides to lunch with me got me to laughing which is always nice! We took our usual long ride on the way back to her house, the city has put up the fence around the new community garden area. I'm sure they'll wait until next summer to start the garden though, not enough time to grow much from seed now, except maybe lettuce and greens. They have a good sized area so it willbe interesting to see. We both like the waterfall they made by the old underpass. They took a sow's ear and made a silk purse out of that area, it really is beautiful, quite an improvement!
I did a little watering and weeding in my own garden this morning and picked another bin of lettuce, man it grows faster than we can use it. I may cut back on my planting next year! We have shared a bunch with neighbors and still have more lettuce that we can eat. It's been a great summer! The tomatoes are covered with fruits of all sizes, some should be getting ripe soon, I can almost taste them! In the morning the fava beans need picking and also some peas and green beans, so the feasting will start big time! As I said, it's certainly been a productive growing season, and it's only half over, lots of goodies yet to come.
Well, that's all for today, enjoy the afternoon and stay cool!

Thursdays, Year 2, Week 37

2010-07-29T15:55:00.000-07:00

I am sitting here soaking my feet after trimming my toenails. Exciting, huh? You know what? Getting old really sucks! Not that I care about my age, wrinkles and sagging skin don't bother me. in fact I figure they are a badge of courage for surviving my youth. No, it's the stiffness of the joints, the lack of mobility, the not being able to bend over and cut your own toenails without ending up like a pretzel, I miss that. I work hard every day to stretch and loosen myself for maximum mobility, but some days it just doesn't last long. Heat and high barometric pressure effect me more the older I get, it's a pain in the ass, literally! We've had about six consecutive days of over 90 degrees plus all the atmospheric changes that have left me feeling more than a little put upon. I keep telling myself that it won't last much longer, but I'm having a hard time convincing myself. Yes, I'm on my own little personal pity pot today!
This morning was enjoyable while I watered, then reality set in with the heat. The clouds are holding all of it in like a pressure cooker. I keep saying you have to be tough to live in Rock Springs , Wyoming, where the winters are long and the few dog days of summer are about 2 degrees hotter than Hell. Well, today I don't feel tough enough.
Before I bore you to tears, I'm signing off for today. How much do you want to bet, that by tomorrow, I'll be back to my old optomistic self? Manana.

Wednesdays, Year 2, Week 37

2010-07-28T15:53:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I hit the wrong key and published before I finished. July has been my bozo month! I guess all the heat and the weird planetary disturbances have gotten to my fingers as well as to my brain! I started to say I would make an nice iced coffee, if I had any ice. Since I don't have any ice, I need to fill some ice cube trays, then I can have one tomorrow. Sounds good doesn't it?
Well enough for today, got to fill those ice cube trays. Maybe I'll be functioning a little better by tomorrow!

Wednesdays, Year 2, Week 37

2010-07-28T15:35:00.000-07:00

Another warm Wednesday, the high was near 92 degrees and now that clouds have filled the sky, it has cooled to 82 degrees and a light wind has begun. Earlier it was dead still and hot enough to make an old woman cranky! We have a chance of a thunderstorm later, it would be a blessing.
I have nothing much new today, did the same old stuff, but I did make a delicious lunch with my squash, some sirloin steak, onions,fresh diced tomato and bacon. I stir fry cut the steak and bacon, sauted theem with onion, then added the sliced squash and tomato with some cajun seasoning. Just before eating it, I sprinkled shredded mexican cheese on top to melt. What a lunch! The old man was napping, and when I sat down to eat, the zesty aroma woke him up long enough to say it sure smelled good! And it was.
I think i'm going to make

Tuesdays, Year 2, Week 37

2010-07-27T15:47:00.000-07:00

Tuesday is a pretty nice day, temperature is around 88, light breeze and a bunch of passing clouds. It's a little too hot to be outdoors at the moment, but this morning it was just beautiful! Again, we have a slight chance of afternoon thunderstorms, but it's nearly 5 P.M. and nothing yet. July will be over soon, only 4 days left after today. Is it me, or is summer flying by? Sure seems like it!
I checked a few fava beans this morning and they are only a day or two away from being ready to pick. I was going to pick a squash today, but decided to have an egg salad for lunch instead. It'll be one day larger by tomorrow when I'll cook it and have a squash feast. Probably fry it in butter and top it with some mozzarela cheese, sounds good,huh? I slept crooked last night and put my hips in a kink, so I've been moving slow today. I did manage to get them back in place, but not without a strenuous effort. It feels better, but still a little sore. The old man was taking his half of the bed out of the middle, so I was scrunched on the edge of my side and woke up feeling like a pretzel. I think it may soon be time to give some thought to twin beds. You'd think a king sized bed would be big enough for two old farts, but when one of them sleeps in the middle, it's clearly not big enough! Maybe I'll just get one of those blow-up ones and try it out before we officially split the sheets! We've been sleeping in the same bed for over 25 years, so it's not an easy thing to change. The room is plenty big enough for two beds, but it's a psychological dilemma, not a logistical one. It's kind of like admitting you are too damn old to cut the mustard anymore! In any case, I'm sure we'll come up with a solution, it's what we do!
Well, time to get our supper salads ready, enjoy the evening and stay cool!

Mondays, Year 2, Week 37

2010-07-26T14:24:00.000-07:00

The new week started out with a hot Monday. The current temperature is 92 and it's still early. Some clouds have started to move in and the wind is calm, so the effect of that is like putting a lid on a cooking pot, it holds in the heat and makes it unbearable! However, it's pretty cool indoors, so that's where I'll stay until evening when the sun goes down. I got up in the middle of the night last night, because it was too warm to sleep. Mostly because miss kitty decided she needed to sleep on my legs, so I was up for a couple of hours while I cooled down. Poor girl must have been lonely, because as soon as I got up, she came and slept next to me on the couch. She loves me!
This morning was good though, I spent the early part of it outdoors, watering and picking goodies. I picked a little over a half pound of sugar pod peas and by morning a squash should be ready. The string beans are starting, so soon they'll be ready too. I need to check the fava beans tomorrow morning, because some of them are getting ripe. You have to catch them just right or they get a dark spot where they connect to the pod. This is all according to the old man! I have eaten them both ways, with and without the dark spot and I can't tell the difference. Maybe he's just messing with me, what do you think? I mostly grow them for him, I like to eat them, but I prefer to eat them raw and he likes them cooked. Men!
Well, it was certainly a full moon last night. I feel a little less stupid today than I have for the past few days. Tomorrow and actually for the next week, we have a good chance of rain. I hope we get some, if for no other reason than to cool it off some. I know, we bitch in the winter about the cold and we bitch in the summer about the heat. That's just human nature, we have to bitch about something!
It's time for a little snack, see you later.

Sundays, Year 2, Week 37

2010-07-25T14:08:00.000-07:00

Yes, today it really is Sunday! Yesterday I was all discombobulated and thought it was and it wasn't! I realized it when I was checking my calendar for next week's schedule. There are days that an old woman just can't keep track of it all! The weather is about the same, only difference is that today there is a sprinkling of clouds in the sky. Still very hot. At the moment, 90 degrees in the shade. No difference in the July lazies either, maybe the heat is what's making me feel stupid! Earlier, miss kitty got twisted up in the windmills by the viola planters, and by the time I got her undone, I had to stabilize thee plants by adding more dirt. She was in a fine mess! Maybe the heat got to her too!
I'm going to make this another short post, and just relax. We have at least 3 more days of this heat, so relaxing is about all I have the energy to do.
Enjoy the day and try to stay cool!

Saturdays, Year 2, Week 36

2010-07-24T19:25:00.000-07:00

Boy, am I ever messed up! When I posted earlier, I thought it was Sunday instead of Saturday! I told you the coming Full Moon was making me weird, so now do you believe me? Please forgive me my moon madness and pretend that the previous post was an honest mistake and not an early symptom of old-timers disease, as one of my elderly aunts used to call it. It is indeed Saturday, Year 2, Week 36. Enjoy!

Sundays, Year 2, Week 37

2010-07-24T13:35:00.000-07:00

Sensational Sunday, temperature in the low 80s, lots of sunshine and not a cloud in the sky. A slight breeze from time to time, a good day for being out of doors!
That's exactly where I'm at, miss kitty is laying in the shade by what we laughingly call a garage, and the old man is inside sleeping in his chair being antisocial. I think it's his time of the month, he's been a little cranky so I'm keeping my distance! When you've been together as many years as we have, you learn just when to leave sleeeping dogs lie. I've had a few of those kinds of days too and he keeps his distance then, so it all evens out!
The doves are busy stealing the squirrel's sunflower seeds, but two squirrels were there earlier, maybe they don't mind sharing. The garden is all watered and I'm having another lazy July day. Tomorrow will bring the Full Moon, so after that, everything will mellow out a bit, it does bring out a tiny bit of lunacy in most people, including me! If nothing else, it works to blame it all on the Full Moon!
Well, it's time for my lunch, so enjoy your day and we'll chat tomorrow.

Fridays, Year 2, Week 36

2010-07-23T13:39:00.000-07:00

Hot and windy Friday! High temperature so far is 86 degrees, with clear skies and a brisk, hot, drying wind. I had a marvelous time this morning watering my garden and picking yet another bin full of lettuce. This time I picked mostly butterhead and a smaller amount of baby star, which is a mini romaine type lettuce. I usually have at least 3 containers of different kinds of greens for salad in my fridge, so our supper salads are easy to do. I triple wash and shake it free of excess moisture, then in a containers with a couple of paper towels to absorb the moisture that's left. It gets nice and crispy and so easy to use. I reuse the water I wash it in to water the catalpa tree, which is still struggling to get all it's leaves! It is looking a lot better than it did at the start of the month of July, but it still has a long way to go. The blooms on it are so pretty and smell so good, that it's kind of nice to have them for an extended period of time though!
Some of the fava beans are getting close to picking time. Same with sugar pod peas,gonna be some good munching soon. I have the late July lazies, not much to do and don't care to do anything anyway. Must be the heat, or possibly even my age. In any case, a nap is sure sounding good! I already had my tea, so maybe I'l just lay on the bed in my nice cool bedroom and see what happens! Enjoy the day!

Thursdays, Year 2, Week 36

2010-07-22T13:37:00.000-07:00

Another short post today! It's a magnificent day, about 80 degrees, a mild wind, sunshine galore with light fluffy clouds prancing through the sky. After the cleansing rain yesterday, both the air and the land seems so much fresher. I weeded and putzed around my garden this morning, giving a drink only the plants that needed one. I put up the support for my cucumbers as they are starting to run, won't be long now! Thursday is turning out to be a perfect one to kick back and just enjoy. I know, I've been doing a lot of that, but hey, I'm retired remember? Miss kitty and I are by the side of the house in the shade just drinking in all the wonders we see. The birds are keeping us company, giving us a song every few seconds, won't you join us? Manana!

Wednesdays, Year 2, Week 36

2010-07-21T16:31:00.000-07:00

Just a short note today! I've been busy almost all day, gardening, shopping, all the daily things it takes to keep life going. It was miserably still and hot earlier, but now we are having a wonderfully refreshing and cool rain storm, lots of noisy thunder and a fresh sweet smell to the air! I am going to sit on the back steps and enjoy this most welcome rain! You should be enjoying it too, breathe deeply and get some of that dust out of your lungs. The rain is calling, see you tomorrow!

Tuesdays, Year 2, Week 36

2010-07-20T15:14:00.000-07:00

I couldn't have chosen a better Tuesday than what Mother Nature has granted me! The high temperature is in the high 80s, there's a slight breeze and enough humidity to make it seem cooler. When I watered this morning, it was wonderful being outdoors, and even this afternoon, I was able to enjoy some lounging time in my gravity chair on the side of the house. Miss kitty has been out most of the day, she finally agreed to come in. She's by my side as I post this, giving herself a good washing before her nap. She got all tangled up around my feet earlier as I watered and she got an involuntary shower from the hose. Boy, was she pissed! She likes the water spray, but not as much as that. She was careful after that not to get too close to my feet! Cracked me up.
We had another visit from the gray kitten last night, hopefully I can catch it soon. It ate the food I put out and came very close to me last evening, but miss kitty yowled and scared it again. Next time I'll try when she's not around. It's a cute little rascal and needs to have a nice home like miss kitty has, but not hers! Cats are very jealous of their people paying attention to anyone but them! They are very social, but need lots of time to accept a new source of competition for the affections of their people. Miss kitty is not about to share the spotlight with another kitty, no matter how cute it is!
I made an awesome stirfry for my lunch. I had made chicken thighs with garlic for the old man, but I wanted to use some of the bounty from the garden. I used celery, tomatoes, quinoa noodles and five different greens and sauted them in butter, olive oil and seasonings, along with an organic hot dog in chunks. Delicious! I love all the good stuff that grows in my garden, especially stirfried.
Well, that's it for now. I need to shower some of the garden grime and sweat off my old stinky body. Manana.

Mondays, Year 2, Week 36

2010-07-19T15:28:00.000-07:00

Monday is very warm, but even though the temperature is 90 degrees, a brisk wind and a lower barometric pressure is keeping it comfortable. I was able to sit in the side yard earlier without feeling like a dried out piece of jerky in 5 minutes! Even miss kitty is enjoying sitting in the shade today. We saw the little gray kitten again today, so I put extra kitty cookies out so the little sweetie would have something to eat. We saw it eating some cat nibbles earlier and then again over by the stump when we went out to sit in the shade. The poor thing is really skittish, so I may have to borrow a humane trap from animal control to catch it. Hopefully, they can find it a good home. I will offer to pay to have it neutered or spayed as an incentive, I always have done that with my little friends, there's such an overpopulation of cats and dogs, no need to add to that problem.
I did very little in the garden this morning except water and transplant 8 heads of lettuce to their new home. Mostly I just enjoyed being out in the cool of the morning.
Not too much on my mind today, just trying to keep cool. Have a great evening, see you later.

Sundays, Year 2, Week 36

2010-07-18T15:31:00.000-07:00

What a scorcher Sunday! It's in the low 90s and a slight breeze doesm't help much. Hopefully the temperatures will drop back a little after tomorrow which is also supposed to top 90. I think this is the 5th or 6th day so far this summer to hit 90 and with our low humidity it just sucks you dry. The evaporative coolers make it pretty comfortable in the house, late afternoons are a little warm, but at least the air is moist and easy to breathe. Once the sun goes down it really feels good! I also got my electric bill the other day and a full month of running two evaporative coolers only increased the bill by $2.50! That added to the water increase of $2 means that my total cost of cooling is under $5 a month. When I used the air conditioners, the monthly bill increased by anywhere from $50 to $80 a month so you can see how much more economical the evap coolers are! Also a big plus, I'm not contributing as much to global warming, and as a person who believes strongly in conservation, that's important to me.
I watered my garden and picked more lettuce and arugula and broccoli raab this morning when it was still cool. My neighbor was out washing her car, so I picked a bunch of lettuce for her too. She's always so nice to talk to and she was so appreciative! My squash that bloomed the other day now has a 6 inch squash, so it won't be long til I have a fresh treat! The green beans are blooming too, everything is right on schedule. All the work and watering is paying off, with all the goodies we can eat, that's the best feeling a gardener can have!
Well, that's it for today, enjoy the day and stay cool!

Saturdays, Year 2, Week 35

2010-07-17T13:59:00.000-07:00

We are having one of those days when you feel like it takes extra effort to even stand still. The skies are so full of dark gray clouds, I don't think the sun can penetrate, the wind is pretty close to calm and the temperature is around 80 now down from nearly 90 earlier today. It feels closed in and airless. The barometric pressure is still high and humidity is almost nonexistent. Yucky day!
I watered this morning and not much else. Our miss kitty gave us a bad scare last evening so I am still feeling the effects of being really upset. She was sitting out on the back steps, and somehow the hook on her harness came loose and we couldn't find her anywhere! We scoured the whole yard and the old man drove around the surrounding neighborhood looking to see if she could be seen. The whole time we were both calling her name, but nothing! I finally remembered a little cubbyhold behind the garage, so I got a flashlight and shone it in and there she sat! I talked her out with some kitty cookies and was so relieved that she was okay. She was none the worse for her little adventure, but I was a wreck and so was the old man, she's our baby! This morning I found out why she was so intent on going behind the garage, there was a young gray tabby kitten hiding there. It looks to be about 4 months old, and frightened. I put some food out for it, and will try to capture it and take it to the animal shelter. Poor kitty, I don't know if someone dumped it, or if it's someones's lost pet. In any case, it will have food and water until I get it some help.
Well, that's all for today, I need a cup of tea and maybe a nap. Stay cool!

Fridays, Year 2, Week 35

2010-07-16T16:15:00.001-07:00

Boy, Friday is a scorcher, at 5:20 P.M. it is 89 in the shade. When I took my friend who rides to lunch with me home earlier, it was super hot in the sunshine. We sure enjoyed our lunch today, we went to Wonderful House and I had the szechuan pork, one of my favorites, and we had an enjoyable visit. Everyone was in a festive mood, so it was a really great time.
I watered again earlier this morning, and I have a huge golden bloom on my squash plant. When it's this hot I water daily, so nothing gets stressed by the heat. Picked another big bin of lettuce and weeded a little more, that's pretty much a daily thing. The forecast for the next few days is hot, hot and more hot!
I don't have much today, just savoring my afternoon with my friends and thinking about how lucky I am to have them. Maybe tomorrow, I'll be in more of a writing mood! See you then.

Fridays, Year 2, Week 35

2010-07-16T16:15:00.000-07:00

Thursdays, Year 2, Week 35, continued

2010-07-15T13:05:00.000-07:00

I accidentally hit the wrong button, so now I will continue and finish today's post! My broccoli raab and arugula need to be harvested, and I plan to transplant some red butterhead lettuce into that container to take their place. I have them ready to go as soon as the moon is in Scorpio on Monday, and will also add a row of beets or carrots to the same container. My pepper plants in buckets look very much happier in their new home next to the large plot, they smiled at me now that the sun isn't baking them!
Anyway, I am still enjoying my day with my heating pad, sometimes you just have to slow down and let your body catch up with your mind! Maybe a nap is in order too, I'll see. A word of friendly advice that I read in my daily planetary guide. When you need to take a rest remember two things. First, don't sweat the small stuff! Second, it's all small stuff! Life is too short to take it too seriously, enjoy and relax and leave yourself something to do tomorrow. See you!

Thursdays, Year 2, Week 35

2010-07-15T12:37:00.000-07:00

The weather is tremendous this Thursday! The high so far is 82 degrees, it got down to about 52 overnite, lots of moderate wind and a sun shining in a clear sky. The only bad point is that the barometric pressure is 30.40 which is very high so I am sitting here alternating the Thermotex far infrared light pad between my back and my left knee. I woke up about 3:30 A.M. and when I went to stand up my left knee was so stiff I could hardly bend it! Yesterday when I came home from my errands, my back stiffened up and my knee was starting to ache, so I checked the barometric pressure and it was 30.25 and rising. For a couple days previously, it was right around 30.00 and my mobility was awesome until it started to rise. Just call me the human barometer, as soon as it goes way below or above 30.00 my body lights up with pain and stiffness. As long as I'm using the Thermotex pad I am comfortable and if not the pain throbs like a toothache. Lucky me!
I watered my garden thoroughly again this morning, moving around like an old hobbled horse. I did manage to put a yarn stringer for my baby lima beans, which ate running and also my other pea patch. Everywhere you look plants are blooming, peas, peppers,fava beans, tomatoes, even my broccoli raab and arugula have shot out seed heads of flowers, so in the morning I plan to harvest

Wednesdays, Year 2, Week 35

2010-07-14T14:04:00.000-07:00

Windy Wednesday, not quite as brutally windy as the last two days, but a close third! The high temperature is around 82 degrees, so it's a little cooler too and the air is not as foul. I woke up early again this morning and watered my poor parched garden, even gave the meadow an extra drink since it has been so dry and windswept. Next chance I get, I'm going to do some selective pruning of grasses which have gone dormant and just spruce it up a little. Some of the natural grasses dry out earlier than others, and usually something else is popping out underneath the dry stuff. I moved the pepper plants which I had on the back of the little house over to sit beside the large garden plot. The reflection of the sun off the white wall was burning them, so I gave them a new address which they should enjoy. The new pot of kitty grass is almost high enough to put it down where she can nibble at it. Miss kitty loves her grass!
The pea vines are full of blooms, so fresh peas soon. The new spinach and radishes I planted are growing like wildfire. Can't wait, I love radishes. After working in the garden, I ran a few errands and picked up all the ingredients I needed to make another bean salad. Miracle of miracles, the old man suddenly decided at the ripe old age of 66 that he likes bean salad and asked me to mix up another batch of it. It goes well with anything and is nice and cooling on these warm days. Lots of fiber too, which is an important part of anyone's diet! My tomato plants are covered with dozens of baby tomatoes, I have been tickling them and they must like it, because they are popping out little tomatoes left and right. I have 3 new varieties, and they are coming in clusters like the organic tomatoes you buy at the grocery store, I can hardly wait to taste one! I'm seeing more bees the last few days, so that has made me very happy, so many things depend on them to fruit. The other insect I'm missing is wasps, they usually do the fava beans and I've only seen a few. It's been such an unusual year, even the catnip isn't as robust as usual, but I did see several bumble bees busily working them over this morning. Every year the garden tells a different story, you just have to learn to listen to what it's telling you! That's why us gardeners are always so preoccupied with little details, we're listening!
Well, it's been a busy day and I need to take a snack break. Have a lovely day!

Tuesdays, Year 2, Week 35

2010-07-13T15:00:00.000-07:00

Remember last winter my telling you about a snow storm that made me feel like I was inside a snow globe? Well, this Tuesday we are having a Rock Springs, Wyoming version of being inside a hot and dry wind and sand storm globe! The air is foul with the smell of vehicle exhaust, dust, and smoke residue. The humidity is so low that the clover grass looks like dehydrated parsley. The moon is in Leo, a fire sign and the high temperature is 89 degrees, with constant wind at 36 miles per hours with gusts over 50 miles per hour. Not the best of days to be outdoors!
The morning was lovely, warm but comfortable. I picked a bin of lettuce greens and tied up my pea vines which yesterday's wind had detached from their moorings. The old man and miss kitty and I sat out in the cool midmorning air until I decided to run to the store for a few things. I wanted a turkey breast to marinate and deep fry, so I got that and a couple of beef chuck roasts which I portioned out and put in the freezer for future use. I had an unusual encounter with a male customer by the meat display, which I will post about later on my other, political blog at www.rswoman.blogspot.com. What a guy! I feel sorry for his wife. I also got the old man some good looking apples in the produce section. It's that time of year when it's difficult to find decent apples. Soon though, the new crop will come in and they'll be all nice and fresh and crunchy.
Well, that's all for today, I have to check my evaporative coolers and keep it cool in the house! Proceed outdoors with caution, do not breathe the nasty air! Manana.

Mondays, Year 2, Week 35

2010-07-12T14:00:00.000-07:00

We are having a wildly windy Monday! The temperature is around 85 degrees, the regular wind is out of the West at 36 miles per hour with gusts to 43 miles per hour. That's windy! Miss kitty and I were sitting out on the side of the house, and the wind finally exhausted both of us so we came indoors.
The morning was wonderful though, I woke up at 5:00 A.M., which is very unusual for me, and after my breakfast, I worked in my garden for several hours. I pushed the old push mower around our little patch of grass and trimmed around the flower planters first, Then I watered and weeded and picked a container of butterhead lettuce. The first potatoes I planted are blooming, which is always a good sign! They are nice sturdy bushes, so hopefully we will have some nice new red potatoes after they die down. The second ones I planted will be ready for additional dirt soon, the plants are about a foot high now. Fava beans are blooming well, they have the prettiest flowers, cream color, with a dark purple splotch. I have seen a few more bees in the past few days, so hopefully they will get to work pollinating. The garden looks amazing, it's hard to realize we are in the middle of July, everything is growing beyond my expectations. The nighttime temperatures are really helping. The baby lima beans are running and starting to form blossoms. I really enjoyed my morning in the garden.
I made the best meatballs for lunch today. I actually mixed them all together last night, and just baked them this morning. Ground beef and ground buffalo,brown and wild rice,eggs,seasonings,sweet red peppers, all baked nicely in a spaghetti sauce. The aroma kept wafting out to the garden, and made me very hungry by the time I and they were finished. We forced ourselves to wait until noon to eat, and when we finally ate them, there was a lot of lip smacking going on! Tasty!
Well, I'm going to work out a little bit and stretch my old muscles. I did a lot of bending so stretching will straighten me out! Enjoy the windy day, try not to fall down! Later.

Sundays, Year 2, Week 35

2010-07-11T15:29:00.000-07:00

Spain won the World Cup! Both the old man and I watched as Andres Iniesta made the goal which put the score 1 to 0 in Spain's favor. The old man was so excited, he has watched every game from South Africa for the past month. My favorite part was watching the team bounce Vicente Del Bosque, their coach, in the air. I finally got to see him smile! He has had such a cool demeanor during the games that I was hoping to see him show some emotion other than gruff, so I was rewarded by a big smile after they won. The fireworks display after the cup was presented was awesome!
We had a clear and sunny morning and I got a few things planted and picked some spinach. It is currently sprinkling rain and totally cloudy with a temperature which fell from the high of 85 to 70 degrees. Nice day.
I hope to go outside later after supper to have my coffee, but the rain may have other plans! I love the fresh smell the air has after a summer rain. Well, I don't have much today, so I'll be back tomorrow and hopefully with more news so I don't get too boring. All the excitement of the World Cup game flat wore me out! See you.

Saturdays, Year 2, Week 34

2010-07-10T15:08:00.000-07:00

A big clap of thunder just woke up miss kitty, so she came running in from the back steps! It was another lovely morning and around one o'clock the clouds started slowly moving in. We had a small sprinkle, but it looks like it's getting ready to get serious! I did my watering this morning and picked another bin of lettuce greens, I estimate I've already saved at least $30 just on lettuce alone so far this summer. We have salad twice a day, so that's a lot of greens. Once the other stuff starts to mature, we will have all kinds of fresh things to eat, peas will be blooming any time now. I made myself a stir fry for lunch today with pak choi, mustard greens and spinach. Awesome!
The high temperature so far was about 84 degrees and the wind is calm. The local arborist came by this morning to see if it was okay to bring his walking tour by to see the catalpa tree, and of course, I said yes. It still is in the process of getting all it's leaves, but the first ones are all covered in blooms. The way it's going this year, we will probably be able to enjoy the sweet smelling blossoms for a long time. He pronounced it healthy and agreed with me that it is just adding branches to fill itself out. He also agreed that we should prune any branches that did not leaf out at the end of the season. I felt better having him look at it though, because it was a new experience for me to have it do what it's doing. Since it is the only one in Rock Springs, I want to take good care of it! I also showed them my little grapefruit tree, which I am growing from a pip that came in my grapefruit from Texas two winters ago. It is getting a flower! It's only about 6 inches high, so the flower is a great surprise. Once it blooms, I plan to repot it to a larger pot and take it outdoors for the rest of the summer. It's so cute!
Well, I'm out of words for today, so I'll just wish you the best day ever, and we'll chat tomorrow.

Fridays, Year 2, Week 34

2010-07-09T14:50:00.000-07:00

A fabulous Friday so far! The high temperature so far is 86 degrees, with a light wind and plentiful sunshine. Earlier, clouds were small and few and far between, but as the hours pass, the clouds are getting thicker with a 30% chance of a thunderstorm late in the afternoon. Such a nice day, I checked my garden early this morning and decided to only do a little spot watering. As we near the new moon, plants require less water than usual, so I only did the ones that felt a little dry. All in all I used about 3 gallons of water. We had a nice shower yesterday afternoon, and you know me, I love that free water. Tomorrow morning I need to pick another bin of lettuce greens and will plant a little more of the purple mustard greens I like so well. They have a bite to them, just like the oriental hot mustard in restaurants! I had my son try some when he was here and he couldn't believe it was that spicy. When it comes to greens, the spicier the better, for my taste buds. I'm going to pick all my pak choi and plant a different variety which I like better as it only takes about 30 days from seed to plants big enough to eat. My tomatoes are covered in blooms and lots of baby tomatoes. I haven't seen as many bees as usual, so I have been hand pollinating them. Years ago, when I lived in Arizona, I noticed that an elderly neighbor lady had way more tomatoes on her plants than I did, so I asked her what her secret was. She said, darling, you need to tickle them! She showed me how to "tickle" each blossom in turn with my finger, which pollinates them. Each year as I go from plant to plant tickling my tomatoes I think of that dear woman and am thankful for her advice.
Most of today, I have been kicking back and resting, like my plants, as we move toward the new moon, I seem to need more rest. Sunday is new moon and there will also be a solar eclipse, so I hope to catch at least a glimpse of it. The best place to view it will be on Easter Island, which is way far from Rock Springs, so if I'm lucky enough to catch even a tiny bit of it, I'll be happy.
Well, that's all I have for now, time for my tea and a snack. I hope you are having a lovely day.

Thursdays, Year 2, Week 34

2010-07-08T14:39:00.000-07:00

As expected, my son and daughter-in-law came by pretty early this morning for goodbye hugs and kisses before flying home to Phoenix. They should be in Phoenix by now. I always enjoy them, that's what life is all about, family. We had a few good laughs before they left, and I hope to fly down and visit them sometime next winter for a week. Now we are back to being an old lady, an old man and a kitty again, no more excitement for a while.
It was a glorious morning, all sunshine with a slight breeze. I went over to see my friend who rides with me on the weeks I lunch with the girls. She had to be hospitalized the other night suffering from vertigo and vomiting, apparently from an inner ear problem. She was released last night and I had to go and see for myself if she was okay. We had a nice visit and she looked pretty good for what she went through. Lots of rest and she will be good as new. Hopefully, by next week, we will share a ride and lunch again. We always enjoy each other's company, good friends are an important part of life too!
We had quite a little thunderstorm this afternoon, I had to run out and grab miss kitty dodging huge raindrops on the way. We are both on the couch now, a little damp but happy. She is napping next to me while I post this, my ever faithful and trusting miss kitty. The rain cooled the temperature down from the low 80s to 68 degrees quickly, and by the look of the sky, it could erupt again. Welcome to Rock Springs, where the weather never fails to surprise!
Well, that's it for now, time to kick back and take a rainy afternoon nap, miss kitty's napping has rubbed off on me! See you tomorrow.

Wednesdays, Year 2, Week 34

2010-07-07T13:38:00.000-07:00

I'm back! My out of town visitors are going home tomorrow and will stop by in the morning before they leave for farewell hugs and kisses. My son called to ask if I was angry because he hadn't called earlier and I told him I understood they were trying to pack a lot into a few days! It's a known fact that the family the man marries into gains a son, while his family loses just a little bit of importance. That's not pique, just reality! I assured him that I knew I was loved and also loved him dearly, and besides, I really love having my own quiet time. We had a great lunch yesterday and had a lovely visit with them the day they arrived, so I'm happy. The old man just left for his bike ride, thankfully, and it's nice and still in the house, the only sound I hear is my fountain gurgling. Soft, gentle sound, the sound of silence, so relaxing and renewing. It may be just me, but I really do need a time each day to meditate and contemplate life, it keeps me going.
The 4th of July has come and gone. I am such a bleeding heart liberal, and a realistic one at that, that I find a celebration of independence of our country when we are currently occupying two other countries to be a bit tasteless anyway. Not to say more than a little hypocritical! Okay, I admit to being an old, antisocial curmudgeon when it comes to patriotic celebrations. I tend to side with the underdogs, for instance the Native American Indians our government wiped out in the name of settling the continent. I wonder if they will ever get to have an independence day, or the people of Iraq and Afghanistan will ever be entirely out from under the boot of U.S. domination? Probably not!
Off the soapbox, it's a gorgeous day, partly cloudy, light wind and a high temperature of 76 degrees. Miss kitty and I sat outside and soaked up some sun earlier, and now she is napping beside me while I post this. Two females luxuriating in the stillness of an afternoon of peace and solitude. It doesn't get any better than that!
You can tell I haven't posted for a couple of days, I'm really long-winded today. Maybe you women out there will understand my feelings. Today I feel completely at ease with myself and my surroundings, I am communicating both with my voice and my posting. A couple of days without my blog and I felt like I had forgotten to do something. It has become such a part of my day, that I really missed doing it for a couple of days. Anyway, I'm glad to be back, I've missed you! Now, however, it is time for my cup of tea, so until the morrow, enjoy your afternoon! Never wait to say what you want to say, or else you might forget it! OLD WOMAN WAITS...for no one!

Saturdays, Year 2, Week 33

2010-07-03T18:18:00.000-07:00

Hi, it's another nice day in Rock Springs, Wyoming. The high was about 84 degrees and other than a few clouds, mostly clear and slightly windy.
I'm going to take a couple of days off from posting to enjoy my son and daughter-in-law's visit. They got here today and will leave Thursday, so we plan to get together as much as possible. I'll catch you up on all the relevant chatter after a couple of days off. Enjoy the 4th of July, don't eat too many hot dogs! We'll talk next week, okay?

Fridays, Year 2, Week 33

2010-07-02T16:01:00.000-07:00

What a Friday! The high temperature was 82 degrees and we've had a few passing rain splatters. Wonderful fresh air. My brother called from Evanston and said that last night the wind was so bad there, that it blew a neighbor's boat off the trailer it was on and turned it upside down! We are so used to having wind most of the time, that on the days it doesn't blow, we have a hard time walking! We tend to just fall over, no joke! You have to be tough to live in Rock Springs.
I had lunch with the girls and our token guy today, we went to Chopstix Asian Bistro. If you haven't eaten there yet, you are missing out! I had the pork pad seiu and it was unbelieveably wonderful. We shared a fruit platter for dessert, watermelon, oranges, honeydew melon, mango and maraschino cherries. We had our usual gabfest while enjoying the delicious food. What a great way to while away a few hours on a Friday afternoon!
When I was taking my friend home, her husband told us my other friend's dog was missing. After dropping her off, I drove all around the neighborhood looking for him, but no luck. As I drove into my driveway, she phoned and said he was hiding under the shed and was all right. He got scared by the thunder and took refuge there. Thankfully, he was home. This is probably the sweetest, smartest dog I have ever seen, so we were all relieved! He's so happy all the time, it makes you feel good to be around him!
Well, I'm so excited! My son just called and said they'd be here tomorrow! What a wonderful surprise for the Fourth of July. Yippee and yahoo, have a great evening and I'll be back tomorrow.

Thursdays, Year 2, Week 33

2010-07-01T15:28:00.000-07:00

I made a mistake and accidentally erased the entire post I was working on and I don't feel like doing it over! What a bozo! Suffice it to say that this Thursday has not been my most shining hour! I'll update you tomorrow, hopefully my brain will begin to function normally by then! Some days you have it, some days you don't! Manana!

Wednesdays, Year 2, Week 33

2010-06-30T15:18:00.000-07:00

This Wednesday is a warm one, we had a couple of small rain showers and it's like walking into a Finnish sauna out doors. The high temperature was 87 and it has fallen to 78 degrees at the moment and the clouds come and go. All in all, it's been a good day though, I watered this morning and got a bunch of things done in the house today. The old man is kind of cranky today, maybe he didn't sleep well last night. I didn't ask, I figure better to let sleeping dogs lie! When he looks like he has a thunder cloud over his head, I don't pry. Life is to short to get into a tussle over nothing!
I made myself a summer detox salad today, and will eat it until it's gone. It's really good for your liver health and tastes good too. You grind raw beets, celery, onion and garlic together and add sea salt, pepper,horseradish, smoked paprika, vinegar and agave necter. The proportions don't matter, the important thing is that the vegetables are raw, so you get the live enzymes. I usually eat it with greek yoghurt and some sliced cucumber and tomato. It always gives me a lift. I like raw veggies anyway, again because of the live enzymes. Each raw veggie has an enzyme in it which helps to digest it easily and when you cook it, it kills the enzyme.
Anyway, I don't have much today, I think I'll go out and sit in the shade and get some fresh air. Have a good one!