Kate Arrives

Daughter Kate drove from New Jersey to North Carolina in one day. How she did it is beyond my understanding, because it is over 600 miles. She definitely takes after her father! The next day we stayed home for a low-key day, which turned out to be most productive. We began by walking to the stop sign.

Kate had promised to help me burn garden trash, and we were most successful! Daughter Lise had the green barrel delivered here, and friend Toke drilled holes in it. This was the fourth time I had used it and the first time the fire really took off. Flames were coming out of the top! Before we had lunch, we had burned all the clippings, as well as the top layer of the old burn pile. What an accomplishment! I was too busy to think of taking photos, but I did get a quick video of Kate as she checked the fire.

We kept an eye on the barrel from the house as the fire died down. It was wonderful to have it so contained. The next morning the rim was cold, although there was a bit of heat rising from the bottom. There were only about two to three inches of ashes, which I’ll empty next time.

Cobalt Balls in Play

When I have an injection in the eye, the cobalt ball does not always appear. It did this time, and there was a tiny ball floating near it. Both were at the bottom of my field of vision. Moving my eye or my head caused them to change position. I have to play with them quickly, because they will disappear that day or the next. If I flicked my eyes around and up, the tiny ball would go up and over the big one. I’d never noticed that before.

I petted Kacey as soon as I got home and found that the large ball covered the top of her head, since I was looking straight down at her. That was a new experience. I knew to be prepared for eating. It will look like my hand and food are going to hit the ball as the food reaches my mouth. I’ll be in big trouble if they do meet, because I will have poked the fork in my eye.

If I discover any more games to play, I’ll let you know.

A Nutritious Accident

I carelessly left two eggs alone on the counter, but they hadn’t moved for several minutes. I wasn’t thinking of that when I walked into the laundry room and heard a small, unfamiliar sound. As I came back to the kitchen, Kacey and I discovered the broken egg on the floor at the same time. I made some sound like OH!, and she backed away.

“It’s OK, Kacey. Wait. Let me pick up the shell. Here you go! Uncle John is always saying I should give you a raw egg, and now I have. It should make your coat shine.”

The floor looked spotless, but I cleaned it well, anyway. If Kacey hadn’t been here, the egg would have been wasted. Thank you, Kacey.

An Upright Life

For the last few months I’ve been obsessed with living an upright life – literally! I realized I am beginning to lean forward ALL the time. If you were watching me, you’d see me suddenly straighten up as I walk across a room. That’s when the mind kicked in. Just like my dad before me, I often lean my elbows on the kitchen sink when doing mundane tasks. With daughter Lise’s help, I am much more aware of being straight when walking in the morning. She and I would check each other and remind ourselves to keep our backs straight. Recently friend Margo told me her watch tells her when she should get up and walk. Maybe I need a watch to watch me and tell me to stand up straight. I’m certain I don’t want to be a slouch.

Free Time

On line I saw an article about guessing when you will die. Since Lise made me promise I’d live another decade or so, I checked it out. I put in my gender and current age, then saw a lively display with falling balls. A few balls hit near me, but most went out a bit further. I could get to 90 or above! The statement said, “The life expectancy for the average woman in the United States is 81 years and 2 months.”

I’m already six months past my expiration date!! I’ve lived longer than my mother did, but not as long as both my grandmothers. I’m free! I’ve put the numbers behind me and will no longer worry about living as long as expected. I can take each day the Lord gives me and pray to use the time to declare his glory. How exhilarating! The pressure is off! The extra time is here!

Golly Pete!

Golly Pete! That’s what I say when I’m surprised and annoyed. Golly Pete is what I exclaimed as I looked at the morning glory plants near the front steps. Shawn had shared her seeds with me, and rather late in the season I planted them there, and under a trellis on the back of the house. I had already checked the back ones when I took Kacey out. There were no blooms, but the plants looked healthy. They should. I’ve been watering them twice a day. When I came back from the morning walk, I checked the two pots near the stairs. THERE WERE NO PLANTS IN THE POTS! There were no stems climbing up the posts. All green living matter had disappeared. The dirt had not been disturbed at all, leading me to believe the plants were eaten, not uprooted and taken away.

Neighbor Joyce has been battling squirrels that climb her lovely sunflowers and ride them down to the ground. I can imagine some sneaky squirrel selling tickets for the thrill of a lifetime at the sunflower carnival. Other critters have eyed and tasted her vegetables. She also has a few peppers that have begun to self-destruct from the inside out. Growing things is not for the faint-hearted.

The only plan of action I have is not to plant morning glory seeds near the steps. Here is the only photo I took of one at the front. I hope it was tasty and nutritionally good for the creature that ate it. Judging by the color of the bloom, the plant was in the pink of health.

Does it Matter?

Some months after John died, I was small enough to wear his t-shirts. There were two themes – church and trains. Most didn’t appear to have been worn. I enjoyed wearing them and always turned them inside out before washing them, wanting to protect the words and pictures. Fairly soon I was annoyed with turning them right side out again. The routine was to take the clothes from the dryer to the bed. That was fine for folding sheets and towels, but hanging up those t-shirts made my mouth turn down. Did it matter? It did to me!

It took a few weeks to find a solution. I turned the shirts as I took them out of the dryer and tossed them on the pony wall in the laundry room. When everything else was in the laundry basket, I put the shirts on top, and there they were, ready to hang up with no hassle! It was such a simple thing, and yet it brings me joy. The next time I ask myself if something matters, I hope to pay attention and do something to make the situation better.

WW Wins

Wicked Wisteria Wins a big thank you from me! I have complained endlessly about the invasive vine that has threatened me for ten years. Today I said thank you. That plant averted a great disaster. I was pulling weeds in the garden when Kacey suddenly ran through the evergreen trees with the wire lead and stake bumping along behind her. She desperately wanted to chase neighbor Joyce’s yard man on a riding mower. In my mind I saw her running at the man and having her legs chopped off. Oh! How awful that would have been! I was shouting at the dog to come back and then saw her facing me instead of running away. Several long tentacles of the wisteria had caught the stake and held it tightly. This was quite a distance away from the main vine on the pergola. They ran underground, past three huge evergreen trees, and up again, aiming for Joyce’s house, I presume. It took a full minute or two for me to untangle it. Kacey was docile as she walked back home, seeming to realize she had gone too far this time.

Alarm Revenge

I woke before the alarm, thinking I was ready to deal with whatever the cell phone did. Since not being able to stop the alarm was highly unusual, I didn’t change anything. Surely it would not repeat the 10-minute ringing from the day before. Nothing prepared me for what happened. Here was the peaceful scene of Echo Blue Dot sitting near the deck door across from my bed.

I had my phone in my hand. When the alarm sounded, I said, “Alexa, stop.” Nothing happened! NOTHING! The alarm kept ringing. Holding the phone to my ear, I found it was not making a sound. The noise came from across the room.

I said to myself, “I’ll take care of you Alexa. I’ll turn you off!”

In low light, I couldn’t see the buttons and jabbed at each one on the device. The ringing kept on and on. I pulled the plug. The alarm continued!! I held the blue globe to my ear, convinced it was somehow continuing without power. How could it? I didn’t think it had any batteries. Wait! The sound wasn’t louder close to my ear! Alexa was truly off.

Here is a closer shot. Do you see my old phone upside down on the left?

It was the OLD PHONE that was ringing, not the Echo and not the new phone in my hand! I figured out what had happened. On Saturday I charged it to play games with it and assumed it would be unresponsive while face down. Nothing else would have worked, but I now realized the alarm would work. However, the alarm was not set for Sunday, so it dutifully went off on Monday. It quit ringing after 10 minutes, as programmed. Whew! I was so happy to know how this happened two days in a row. Without hearing aids in my ears, I couldn’t tell exactly where the sound was coming from and assumed it was the new phone. The old phone is now truly turned off and had better not haunt me any more.

Waking Up was Alarming

In all my born days, I’ve never had such a rude awakening! The cell phone sounded its usual alarm, although I thought I had dismissed it a few minutes ahead of time. Absolutely nothing would make it stop. I pressed the usual places on the screen, then I madly jabbed at them. I tried to turn the phone off, but it refused to die. I’ve had it only a few weeks, so I did not consider drowning it. The ruckus woke Kacey, who jumped on the bed with me and looked quizzically toward the monster sound. Closing the app did nothing. I probably should have tried deleting it. I’ve had Motorola phones for years and never had anything like that happen before. I saw it was possible to snooze the alarm for ten minutes, but it CLANGED for those agonizing ten minutes. I noticed the time was 7:10, and that’s how I know exactly how long it screamed at me. I might try having Alexa wake me tomorrow. If I don’t touch her, surely she will obey my voice. If not, I’ll have a triumphant win as I unplug her.