Well, here we are at
Friday again. I must confess I was very good to myself this week. On Wednesday,
I had a very lazy morning, did some work in the garden, took a shower and then
ordered ribs for dinner from Briley’s. If you haven’t tried this restaurant,
they are EXCELLENT!!! They also have a scrumptious pork sandwich and great spicy BBQ sauce if you want lunch. I only order half a rack which comes with two sides and
it’s actually enough for two meals for me, so it was ribs again on Thursday.
The dogs love the ribs too and I couldn’t believe how fast they ate the one each
they got…would swear they swallowed them whole. AJ called to check in on
Wednesday and Angie and Haley sent me texts. Thor called me as well late in the
day and we had a nice chat…he’s funny, so no crying. They, too, remembered it
was the day John died. I did really well, although I wanted to cry so badly
when AJ called…managed to pretty much hold it back. I even received a card from
a gentleman and his girlfriend that I didn’t even know a year ago…how very
nice.
Anyway, it seems like the
weeks fly by even though I’m not doing much of anything. I decided to cut a
lily and bring it inside the other day and if it’s too smelly, I’ll put it out
on the table on the deck…wasn’t overpowering as long as it wasn’t right beside
me. In the process of trying to get a vase out of the cupboard, I managed to
knock over a smaller vase which landed behind my computer monitor and shattered
into a million pieces…okay maybe thousands. Fortunately, it didn’t break my
spare pair of glasses, the glass top on the computer table or the monitor.
Since Kaizer likes to crawl under the desk when I’m typing, I had to make sure
I got all the little pieces of glass so they wouldn’t end up in his paws. I
vacuumed with two different vacuums, so I hope that worked.
When I went out to cut the
lily, I figured I’d have to watch out for bees. Yes, there were bees and maybe
yellow jackets, but they weren’t after the huge lumps of pollen. Instead, they
were down on the petal itself, both inside and outside. Sitting here, as I’m
typing, I can see them on the lilies that are still standing. I wonder if
there’s some kind of sweet sap or something that they are getting off the
petals. Maybe I should go out there and poke my finger and see. I did, but I
think I’ll need to do it early in the morning since they are in the sun now.
Maybe dew or something that evaporates is there until the sun shines.
I also gave up on two of
the four plants I moved to the deck to treat for scale and spider mites. One
kept losing its leaves and the other one was infested with scale worse than
when I started treatment. I still have two out there that I’m hoping to save.
So far, they both look good, but if I see any signs of anything when it’s time
to come back in, then they’ll join the ones that just went into the yard waste
tote. It’s time I cut back on my inside jungle anyway.
It seems as though I’ve
also lost my green thumb when it comes to vegetable gardening. This is, so far,
the worst year I’ve ever had when it comes to tomatoes. I do not understand
what the problem could be unless it’s having the pots sitting on the asphalt
out front. Or, maybe I’m overwatering. The same thing goes for the squash. Last
year, in the back yard, they just about took over the entire garden with their
vines. This year, there’s hardly any vines at all and very few squash. Does
anyone have any ideas about the pots on the asphalt? Could it be too hot there?
Shouldn’t they need more water if it is? Or, are we just having a crappy summer
where tomatoes and squash wouldn’t be happy no matter where they were
located??? Please share your opinions.
I’ve decided to apply my
do a bit at a time to the inside of my house. So far, I’ve cleaned my stove and
microwave and everything that’s located in that area. I’ve also cleaned out the
cupboard over the microwave and eliminated stuff that’s been opened for a
while. I’m going to have to be more careful when it comes to purchasing things
like crackers and cereal, that or eat it for several days until it’s all gone.
My fingernails have
finally grown out to the point where I can barely see them over the tips of my
fingers. I do so want nice fingernails like I used to have even though they
were acrylic. I haven’t been wearing any rings because my hands look so ugly. I
think I ‘ll give my own fingernails until October and then go back to acrylic
if they are still ugly. And, I’m seriously thinking about getting a pedicure
because it’s so hard to do my own toes these days. Did I ever once think it
would become difficult to bend my knee and bring my foot up to where I could
work on it…nope, but it’s about at that point. I have a friend who is most
particular about things like pedicures and she has to have them. I just may ask
for a referral because she’s positive this nail salon will not give me a fungus…been
there, done that, not fun.
On Thursday, I worked
in the garden again and did a bunch of weeding. I also worked on the raspberry patch
and removed all this year’s canes. The grape grows along the back of the raspberries,
so I’m constantly having to cut the grape back. It also likes to grow into the
neighbor’s camelia and I cut those vines out as well. The grape, which came
from john’s grandma’s garden is in the process of taking over the greenbelt
behind my yard. It’s climbed way up into the trees, as has the Chinese wisteria.
I didn’t even realize the wisteria had grown way up there until last spring when I kept
seeing these purple petals. I looked up and there they were.
So, not a very exciting
week with no guests or social distancing lunches, but as you can tell, I kept
myself busy so I wouldn’t mope and feel sorry for myself or grieve too much.
Since I managed to almost completely fill the yard waste tote, I’m also feeling
good about my accomplishments. Of course, my house is probably the filthiest it’s
ever been in my entire life. But, like Angie’s mom told me when she called on
Thursday to see how I was doing, “A little dirt never hurt anyone.” And she’s totally
right. I’m not sure what I’ll accomplish this weekend since it’s supposed to be
so hot, but I’ve several good books on my I-pad, so if it’s too hot to move, I’ll
just sit in the shade in my swing hammock and read. Hope y’all have a comfortable
and fun weekend.