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 My blog was filled up. I'm too lazy to clean it out. So I started a new one. |
| I was tired of looking at it and passing by. Today, I put on the gloves and pulled up poison oak all around my peonies and azaleas. The gloves are going in the laundry and I washed my hands up to my elbows. I believe it was even choking out one of the azalea bushes. I thought it was my brother who over-trimmed it in a crowded flower bed. But he cut others and they look fine. Only this one with the invading species choking it out looks bedraggled. I'm starting my annual war with ants, several species, who try to invade my space regularly. Bees and mosquitoes will descend on my later. Meanwhile, Creeping Charlie is trying to take over flowerbeds and the lawn. There is a little weed with an ivy shape leaf with a pretty violet flower in the spring, However, it is ugly the rest of the year and grows prolifically where you don't want them. They attach themselves to iris bulbs or any root to choke them out. They have little bulbs or tubers like a potato, so you can't pull them up. They have to be dug up very carefully. When you finally finish one little spot in the yard or a flowerbed and move to something else, they come back just to spite you. Did I mention dandelions? If only I could get kids to pick the yellow flowers to make dandelion wine. They don't drink wine, and I know from experience it is hard work and requires a lot of expensive sugar. I had a friend who once had her students picking dandelions without telling them why. A mother came early and wanted to know. So she lied that it was for a recipe for dandelion cake. Wouldn't you know it? The mother wanted the recipe. So my friend studied her cookbooks and made up a recipe using dandelion petals. If you see me working in the yard, I am not making wine. My cardiologist won't let me. |
| I've had allergy trouble, not so bad now, migraines, no sign of relenting. So I am using this as an excuse to be a little lazy this Easter. No Good Friday service at church for me; I have rehab that day and have to keep exercising. I only got out of the hospital a month ago, so no Sunrise service either. I am sticking to basics. I will go to church an sing with the tiny choir. I will go to my second niece's house, who lives much closer to me, for lunch and what she promises is a massive egg hunt. She will have everyone from her side of the family and the husband's. Fortunately, we all get along great. And she always has fun stuff for the kids to do .I enjoy watching all the laughter and antics. I've been doing yard work with a mask on to keep pollen intake low. I fell backwards Saturday; my back yard is on a slant, and I was bending over to pull weeds when I lost my balance. I fell on my butt, taking some iris leaves with me. But the momentum didn't stop. I went all the way to bang my head on the ground. It's fragile enough; I rattled some thinking abilities I am sure. Yesterday, I found a dead rabbit, a small gray bunny, under the back fence. Yes, I screamed and ran the other way. Then I remembered my brother was talking about playing a trick on the kids. They had dug a hole and had sticks poking in it. He wanted a stuffed animal to put in there and cover it up, so that when they come back, they'll get a surprise. Then, I thought he played a trick on me. I went back and looked one more time. It had ears and perfect eyes and was very small. It hadn't moved, and it looked real, but fresh. I was afraid to nudge it, so I left it. After dark, it occurred to me that a coyote or cuy-wolf* or one of the many cats in my area would get it by morning. My brother texted me that he didn't play any tricks on me. Noon today, I went out behind the shed, and it was gone. I did not imagine it. Some other animal got it. I hate the idea of cleaning up the ivy, etc, back there now. The work has got to be done, so I might find more surprises. I'd rather stick to planting flower seeds and watching them grow. *We have an animal in the vicinity that looks like a coyote. They tell us, however, that it is a cross between a coyote and a wolf. A decade or more ago, in a severe drought the coyotes came across the Mississippi and mated with wolves. It is in between the size of a coyote and a wolf. |
| My niece with 5 kids asked about Easter. She has to be at her Mother-in-law's for dinner, but wants to see her father's family for lunch. The kids will show off their new Easter clothes and hunt plastic eggs. There is another niece with 3 kids, and my brother with a wife and kid in the same age group. I have stopped cooking normal food in favor of plant-friendly, heart healthy food. Obviously, I cook in smaller quantities now. My everyday cooking is no longer for company. And the Easter bunny will not be leaving chocolates or Skittles at my house this year. He doesn't go to the grandmothers' homes, why should he come to mine? I guess it started because I moved in with my father, the great grandfather, to be his caretaker after my divorce. He wanted to lavish things on the kids. They are still coming to the house even though he's gone now. I have put up a few decorations just for myself, before I knew anyone planned to be here. I can throw something together since they will be having a second meal later that day. I don't heave to cook fish or quinoa for them. I'll come up with something that doesn't gross them out, but won't leave me with inedible leftovers.( I am not using salt these days.) If the weather holds out, we'll take the annual photo of the kids with a tree out front that may be in its own twilight time. It's hard to get the kids to stand still that long. And they are taller now and don't fit the poses or branches that they did years ago. It needs to be less about the food and more about togetherness and fun. One year, maybe 8 years ago, they all sat out in the yard looking for four leaf clovers. That is a wonderful memory. |
| Just finished my 8 hour online safe driving course, which might save me a little on my insurance bill. It is for anyone over 50. The point they drive home is that everything changes: we change/get older, the roadways change, vehicles change, laws change. The driver needs to be more alert and flexible than ever before. There are actually recommended exercises and stretches to keep ankles, feet, shoulders and neck moving properly for driving, parking, and backing up. Vision and hearing are two common areas that people tend to ignore as they age and continue driving. We know that our reaction times slow down, but many of us don't want to adjust our driving habits to accommodate this delay in reaction time. Going to the doctor and checking our vision and hearing is a way of taking care of ourselves and keeping us in the driver's seat. After age 75, a collision is more likely to be fatal than we are in our 50's. Our bones are brittle and we might have other health problems. It is not a free course, so I'm hoping the insurance deduction will be greater than the expense. At any rate, I feel better about brushing up on laws and other vehicles on the roadways, like scooters, ATV's, bikes, motorcycles. Driving is one of our ways of feeling independent and self-reliant. It's hard to give up the keys, but they make a good case for how it might be cheaper to pay for the taxi instead of all those taxes and insurances. |
| I had washed all the winter weight sweaters and put away long sleeve shirts. I've been running ceiling fans to avoid AC. But today, it was cold! I put on a long sleeve turtle neck and a sweater and wore a jacket when I left home. Fortunately, I did not leave any plants outside over night. I have taken a few out just for the day recently, but returned them before dark. Today, they stayed inside. I didn't do any yard work because of my headache, the pollen, and the temperature. I keep my gardening gloves and a few hand tools handy, the hoe and the rake just outside the back door. I even bought potting soil yesterday. I guess I was anticipating a little too soon. I enjoy seeing the budding trees and the blossoms blowing in the wind. If only the pollen did not affect breathing and watery eyes. Oh, well, beauty of the earth comes with a small price. For tonight, here at home I am sitting by a small space heater, and I am wearing a fleece jacket. Is there such a thing as an Indian Spring? |
| I am trying this heart healthy routine, but not excelling at it. Eggs and potatoes without table salt are not worth eating. I do yard work, the easy stuff, until my back hurts. I am getting my minimal steps in. My goal is to do more, seven days a week. Tonight I fixed boneless chicken breasts with cherry tomatoes according to my rehab lesson book. I used garlic powder, onion powder, paprika and Mrs. Dash lemon pepper according to the all purpose seasoning directions. The recipe called for freshly squeezed lemon juice and vegetable broth. I served it with quinoa, raw carrots, and a spoonful of black beans for contrast. It was okay, but seriously, it needed salt! I didn't add any. And I had enough left over without quinoa to make several meals for the freezer. I am feeling guilty about sitting so long at my computer. I should get up and stretch more. My Internet access is so slow and lousy. I need to make a change but have been dragging my feet. It could be worse, and it always ends up costing more each month than what you are told. So I sit in anticipation that any moment my program will come back up. I went to the library last week to use the computer so that I could print something. I was amazed how quickly I could get through all my usual things. Better Internet would be a big time saver and get me on my feet more often. So I have to do some stretches now and walk up and down my hall a few times before getting ready for bed. Improving my sleep habits is another item on my lifestyle change list. |
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