Just need to talk to my friends (197)

JeriLynn, your ministry is a precious one! I'm sure it's much appreciated.

HB, your daylilies are so pretty! I really like the peach colored one.

Mint, some "olive oils" are not pure olive oil. And there are some better quality ones and poorer quality ones. I buy Greek olive oil, Kasandrinos. I heard about it on the wellnessmama website. She does natural and health things on her blog. "The secret to excellent olive oil is simplicity. And that means starting with the best olives. Most of our trees are hundreds (even thousands) of years old, which means more flavorful fruit. And a taste that stands the test of time. Kasandrinos' ancient olive trees take two things to thrive: water and sunshine. No pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers. Ever. We use the same olive trees our ancestors did, mixing Koroneiki olives and Athinolia olives for a perfect balance of sweet and sharp. Mechanical harvesting may be more efficient, but machines can damage olive trees and bruise the olives, which leads to a lower quality oil. Tractors and other mechanical processing vehicles also damage the soil, disrupting the ecosystem that feeds back into healthy land and healthy trees. For these reasons, we pick and sort our olives by hand." from Kansandrinos.com There is much more info on their website.

good morning everyone

I just now read some of the comments. HB thank you for reminding me that ghee has a higher smoke point. I knew that but I just kinda forgot about that, maybe because I don’t use it that often.

Lorita the splatter guard might work and I actually do have one of those. I used to use it but the problem is when you lift it to turn things, which you have to do, well there goes the splitter splatter so I thought this is not worth it it’s just making me something extra to wash. But in the oven with the ghee, I would not have to lift it so it might have done well in there.

Lorita i’m not real familiar with browned butter, but I don’t believe ghee is the same thing. I could be wrong about that though. I think of ghee being more like butter oil. The part that Browns sinks to the bottom and so that’s why you strain it is to keep that part out of the ghee. You can use the brown part that’s left behind. I’ve heard people say that it’s really good on vegetables. Maybe I’ll try it someday.

HB I believe two houses ago I had a Hyperion daylily. My neighbor back,then was an older lady who had one of everything and she shared with me. They are also fragrant, which is nice.

Beth thank you for that information about the olives.

I don’t know if any of you guys make your own compost. I lost my leaf source when I cut the oak tree last year. I was having a little bit of trouble this spring with my compost, and I felt I needed leaves and did not have them. So one day I was watching this YouTube channel and they were just talking about how you can mulch with cardboard, and it just breaks down and becomes part of the soil. I had already realized that I could use that in my compost, maybe in place of the leaves. So I did, but I kind of just pulled off bigger pieces and put in there. That did work, but it was kind of slow they mention shredding them well. I don’t have a cardboard shredder but once in a while in the evening when I have time I just sit out on the porch and relax I’ve been cutting up the cardboard and actually I’m finding it kind of relaxing and it works great in your compost. My compost is starting to look much better.

Mint, I do make compost. For an alternative to leaves, I put paper through a paper shredder and use that.

Went to visit friends and then to a tea room yesterday. Had a good time.

Friends are coming over to pick blueberries this morning. We have a lot! I enjoy sharing.

Have a good day, everyone!

here…

mint…I think I will default to root beer…lol

It's been one of those days.

We got some much needed rain in the overnight hours. It must've washed off the animal repellant because the deer polished off most of the daylily buds.

Got my stitches out— just 2 but they were tight so ouch. Peridontist is pleased with the soft tissue healing but dashed my hopes of a tooth in September. This process has been one disappointment after another. First I had to wait 6 months to heal from the infection/extraction despite medicating for it twice before I could get the implant done which meant 2 seriously unpleasant appointments rather than one-and-done and 2 rounds of amoxicillin which upsets my stomach. I don't even see him until October. Boo.

I dropped mom off at her pool with the understanding that she'd Uber home. I haven't gotten a sheepish SOS yet, so I suppose she made it. My phone isn't updating her location so I can't be sure. It's a perfect pool day here and her clubhouse is very nice— she can hit the library for a couple books, read, nap and swim. It would be great if she connected with some others who use the pool; I'm having flashbacks to arranging playdates for my son with autism.

I went to the dairy store for some dairy and produce to make salad for 20 to take to my niece's cookout. No sooner had I loaded it into my cooler, she texted to inform me she canceled her party because people weren't RSVPing. If she had just contacted me 10 minutes earlier. Gah. The tire pressure light came on driving to the grocery store. I get a lot of false alarms on rough roads and I'd been driving on milled roads in the 3 towns I was in today. I reset and it didn't come back on. Alas the tire was completely flat when I came out with meat, cold beer and ice cream. AAA got me on the road in 45 minutes but I had DS pick up with perishable items and take them home to put away. He and DH managed to stow their ice cream, frozen peas and meat but left all the produce "because we didn't know where it goes". Seriously? They're just lazy.

HB

Judith I wish I was drinking lemonade lol. Instead, I’m drinking 2 ounces of lemon juice in 12 to 16 ounces of water morning and evening to try and dissolve any kidney stones that want to show up their ugly little head at doctor suggestion. I’m tired of drinking it and I get tired of squeezing the lemons. I read up a little bit on it the other day and it said most people are not compliant with it more than six months. Well I’m getting close to a year I would prefer a root beer too.

I drink lemon water in the summer. I'll have to start back upon that, now that it's getting hot.

I had an appointment for pulmonary function tests thus afternoon. But the respiratory tech said that mu doctor did not order a test after walking. I was so disappointed! My whole purpose for going was to determine why I have shortness of breath on exertion! I think I will have to find a new pulmonary doctor. I had to cancel a local trip for tomorrow to Little Tokyo. I just don't have the energy. I get short of breath and the trip does involve some degree of walking.

Iris

Judith I don’t know about real lemon. You can use the concentrate which I would prefer to do but it has preservatives in it and I don’t want to drink that much preservative every day so I go to the natural way.

main concern from drinking lemon water is protecting your teeth if you still have your own natural teeth which I do. My understanding is the acid in the lemon juice softens the enamel on your tooth when you drink it. So you need to drink the lemon juice all at one time and wait 1 to 2 hours before you brush your teeth giving the enamel time to re-harden so you don’t damage your teeth by brushing them .I also drink it through a straw placed far back in my mouth between the palate and the tongue. I don’t feel that I get any lemon juice even on my teeth but I still wait just in case . You could put sweetener in it again I choose not to do that because of the amount of it I drink.

iris do you see a cardiologist? If I saw a cardiologist that something I would mention to my cardiologist also.

Weather now on the upswing. In the high 80's and need for AC as it gets hotter in the two story house despite having extra insulation in the walls when the house was being built plus extra insulation in the attic and have roof fans, shutters on most of the the windows that actually help keep the outside heat down, etc. Dual paned windows and all have shutters or drop down ceiling to floor "shades," or drapes with sheers in the LR and DR as coverages. Our electric bills can go to $700 a month in the summer due to the AC even though we do not put the temp way down. Close doors to rooms not used, still $$$$$. Am truly very grateful that we are able to have the AC despite the cost. Three months of that or so, and then okay again. Concerned about electric outages as my condition would not do well in heat. House too big for a generator to help the AC much and as it is, we have no good place to store gas to run it.

Lorita, I had screened backward and noticed you had a birthday - I may be very late in wishing you a very Happy Birthday and a wonderful "new year" to come, but the sincerity of the wishes are still robust and really meant.

Zetta; I will be waiting to hear how all the testing goes on the house. So hope it flies through with no problem. Are you still comfortable with making the move?

Well; it is a lousy fact; I do indeed have Ideopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis and it is nasty and came out of nowhere. Never smoked a cigarette in my life. Pulmonary MD states it is from a lifetime exposure to second hand smoke! My father was a heavy smoker and my DH smoked until about ten years ago and he too was a heavy smoker. So . . . . they breathe fine, but my lungs are awful. When up too long and even lightly exerting such as walking, I am SOB even with O2 and I sound like a bellows with noise and dreadful exertional dyspnea. Must use O2 via nasal cannula set up higher when up, but still an issue. When resting, I breathe fine and no big O2 needed at all. Cannot exert, and it is really an issue for me. Cannot do a dratted thing without dreadful shortness of breath and sound gasping like horror show sound effects. So; I am grounded most of the time. Cannot believe this is happening and it seems it happened out of nowhere, quite abruptly. Get up to bathroom, need O2 level up and by the time I get there, the sound effects have begun. Embarrassing. Will have to find a work around. Pulmonary MD has been no help on that front. Have to figure out where to get guidance so I am doing better than I am right now as I am not an expert on this at all. I keep a watch on my Pulse Ox and with the cannula on very low setting at about 2, it is usually 95 to 97, so that is good. Never thought such a thing would happen. Geeze, I could have been smoking stogies all those years - smokeless me, but ah well. Those who were the heavy smokers - not a single symptom!

We will not be going out on the Fourth. Too much traffic and lots of drunk drivers. Our house used to be the July 04 gathering place. Even though I was working, I would make 10 pounds of potato salad, vast casseroles of yummy homemade baked beans, huge glass bowl of melon balls with three types of melon and fresh pineapple, coleslaw and so much more. And of course, dips. DH in charge of the meat. Yards and patio decorated and lots of tables and chairs. So much fun. Pinatas for the kids and all sorts of soft drinks and beer/wine for the grownups and homemade ice cream and homemade brownies for dessert. I sure do miss those days, it was a pleasure to do it all; but now all the family are scattered far distances and as it is, I am no longer able to do all of that. So glad we had all those years before - great memories. Used to do the "safe and sane" fireworks for the children with us; about eight of them. The house across the street had one child, a little girl. The mother belonged to a religion that permitted absolutely NO celebration of any holidays and she would have her house totally dark on the Fourth. However; the little girl each year managed to sneak downstairs to the living room, hide behind the closed drapes of the front window and peek between a space she made in the drapes so she could see us and what we were doing. So . . . . we were absolutely dedicated to setting off the fireworks right in the street space where she was looking out the window so she could see the colors, etc. I always felt sad for her and so wish she would have been permitted to join us, but that was not to be.

Lawns and garden planters doing well. I had two lovely yellow day lilies in the back yard that I really enjoyed; DH pulled them out! AAARGH!! Will have to see about replanting a bit later - too dratted hot right now and worse heat on its way; best to let it cool down a bit before planting. Sure wish we could grow lilacs out here, but cannot. It does not get cold enough. I even tried planting lilacs and putting ice around them each day, but of course did not work. I love the scent of the lilacs. Lovely.

What a nice man Darwin is, Lorita. Lovely neighbor for sure. I have to use two TV controls for my bedroom TV. One is for the set-top box for the cable,, and the other is for the TV. Should only have to be one controller, but DH appears to have placed the controller somewhere - he has his, but I am okay using the two. No big deal.

The baked haddock and sundae sounds good David. And also the root beer folks. What really sounds good to me would be a root beer float in a tall glass. YUM! Iris; let us know how your testing comes out - hopefully better than may be expected.

Judith, is that house up for sale as yet? Hope it does well for you. It has been a long haul getting it done and I bet it is done up really well.

Gosh; I have gone on and on too long. I'd best release you all from my blathering. Of course, take good care and sweet dreams for one and all; it is 9:30 here, PST, so it is later where most of you are.

J.

Happy Friday on the porch.

Beth— Thanks for the information on olive oil. Back when I worked in the grocery biz, I recall there was always suspicion around the provenance of olive oils. It can be very hard to know from whence many of them come. And then there's the xenophobia among cooks of various nationalities insisting "their" olive oils are best. I don't think I have a refined enough palate for it to matter in most applications. Mostly I buy Kirkland cold-pressed organic for salads and granola— it has a code on the shoulder of the bottle to indicate the source. My current bottle is made of oil from Spain and Portugal.

David— I envy your access to seafood. I love haddock almost as much as I love fried clams and chowder. DH and I have been thinking about a trip to drop mom off with her sister while we eat all our favorites.

Caro_lynne— I am so sorry you've been ghosted. How long has it been? Will you be pressing charges? I once had to take someone to small claims court over a furniture restoration job. I mostly wanted the piece (A Welsh cupboard my grandfather made for my grandmother as a wedding present) back. I was successful in that he gave me the piece a month later and had done the repairs I needed.

Lorita— I'm glad you got to the root of your TV issues, but sorry you'll be looking at the expense and hassle of 2 new TVs. I'm not much for watching, LOL when I met DH I hadn't had a TV for 2 years. However, these days, I seem to be the designated tech person for our TV and mom's sets. Ours and mom's LR set tend to behave, but the little TV in her kitchen acts up on the regular— I need to reboot the thing every 2-3 months.

Darwin sounds like an amazing neighbor to you. Mom's 86 now. She's always been a little hyperactive on top of being high-energy. This is a bit frustrating to her now as her body can't keep up with what her personality wants her to do. Fortunately, she's accepting it with more grace these days. For a while there, she'd take on a massive project, fail to complete it and all into a cycle of self-loathing.

A year ago, she decided she needed to organize her drawers which led to her dumping the contents on the bed before petering out and sleeping on the couch until she got it put back together. This spring when she did her twice-yearly swap of winter for spring/summer clothing, she did it one tote/drawer at a time. This whole exercise is unnecessary, IMO, she lives alone with 2 full bedroom suites and 3 good sized closets. After dad died, she donated all his things except some neckties and cashmere sweaters. There is no reason to 1) have as many clothes as she does (very little of this is old) or 2) store 1/3 of her clothing in the garage (it would all fit in the house— the dressers upstairs are mostly empty) at any time.

Iris— I am sorry you've canceled your outing as the result of your exhaustion. Both mom and DH have mild heart failure that was diagnosed as a result of that very symptom. They're on medication now which has really improved the situation. I hope you find a solution soon.

Jo C— I am so very sorry for the situation in which you find yourself. I can feel the frustration and unfairness of it all in every post. Your parties sound as though they were wonderful events. My niece's party would have been like that but alas not this year. I'm OK with it, but Mom'll be disappointed. Sometimes she hosts a birthday party for herself later in the month— maybe that'll happen instead.

I'm catching up around the house today. My bestie has her surgery and is reporting as I write this. I hope things go well for her.

HB

Morning all, today my wife Jeannie turns 83.Am taking out for fried clams and going to eat them at the local beach called Winter Island. The weather is wonderful 70 no humidity no clouds and a nice little breeze.

David— I'll be making the trip at some point. I hope. I still have an aunt and a couple of cousins left in suburban Boston and DH lived in Brookline for 5 years while in grad school so it's a favorite get-away for us. We have split the week a few times spending a weekend in Cambridge and then heading to Gloucester or Rockport for the midweek.

HB