Just need to talk to my friends (221)

Good morning. The plumber was here yesterday morning and then I took mom to Lowe's (for a new showerhead), the cemetery, the nursery, which is 13 miles north of her, picked a tree (white dogwood) made the case for them delivering/planting outside their usual area— TBD), went to the farm stand (where the lady gave me a couple of freebies because I was the good daughter taking mom out), drove mom home, stopped by the clubhouse to get a second ARC form (mom spilled coffee on the one I'd already filled out) and stopped by the township Zoning Office to get a plot plan. I was so wiped out when I got home, DH took me out for dinner.

DH took a shower in the hall bath; it leaked. I'll bother the plumber on Monday. Meanwhile, I need to scrub the ensuite stall shower he repaired. Fingers crossed it really is.

I hope all have more exciting plans than I do.

HB

If the bags were intact, I'd eat them.

Happy August!

August is one of my favorite months—even though it's still deathly hot here, it does begin to cool down a little, so I call it the month of hope. We're supposed to be in double digits most of the week, so I'm giving thanks for that.

Lorita, I'm glad you got the work done and the wasps sprayed. My dad had wasps a couple of years ago in the house and he wouldn't kill them (he's kind of a pacifist), but we finally got him to call someone to take care of them. I had wasps on the front porch several years ago, but they got sprayed with no hesitation.

Good night, Lorita. It is so nice for you to see the moon reflected on the pond. The other day I saw a full moon. And I saw a bright star, maybe it was Venus. The evenings are cool and sitting on my balcony in the dark does help with feeling feverish.

Iris

Good morning. We have a rainy week forecasted but it's dry and calm at the moment.

Lorita— I am impressed that you arrange your own food deliveries. I'd love mom to do that but she's resistant and not tech savvy. I prefer to pick my own produce and meats, so I get it.

It never occurred to me that one could order snacks from QVC. Woe. I had to google space balls. A couple of the stores near me carry them. I've had their popcorn but not the space balls.

Sandwich— Wasps can be tricky. If you get stung, it leaves a marker that you're a threat other wasps can detect for well over a year.

Judith— I have a couple of massive black locusts along my back fence. They're a bit messy as trees go but I agree the quality of the shade they offer— respite from hot rays of sun without gloom— is worth it.

Iris— Maybe it's a miserable summer cold. Whatever it is, I hope you're on the mend soon. My friend who travels masks on the plane to avoid getting sick coming or going. She and her DS did a dive trip a few years ago and he got COVID but she didn't.

Eaglemom— I hear you on the cost of ophthalmic medication. They tend to be so expensive. Mom's eye injections run into the tens of thousands each year.

The broccoli cut isn't always protective. My next-door neighbor has one that gets a regular crew cut/broccoli trim and it's split in storms twice in the past 10 years. The arborist who trims my stuff says you have to go in and trim all the branches that grow perpendicular to the branch before cutting back.

Mom's needs to go because 1) it throws her kitchen into shade which makes it hard for her to see with her AMD (sunlight is better than artificial for her) and 2) it's just too damned big for the space. Her front lawn is tiny— it's 42' wide with a double wide driveway and 30' deep from her front window to the curb including a 3' easement/grass strip and a 3' sidewalk so more like 24'. The HOA will permit her to plant elsewhere on the lot; she doesn't have anything out back (she only owns 20' from the rear of the house. Beyond that is community green space with a pond. It's a shame, when she moved in the pond was really pretty but now it's choked off by species callery pear volunteers as the result of so many Bradfords in her neighborhood.
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Quiet day today. I need to work on the HOA submission. Dinner is going to be sheet pan nachos. DH and I hit the Amish market last night just before they closed for BBQ chicken. It was his ruse for buying more fudge.

Have a nice day all.

HB

GG, I enjoy your posts, just wish you would use bold. Some old eyes find that easier to read.

Iris, love your pictures and enjoy going on trips with you. Hope you’re feeling better soon.

Lorita, I’m glad Byron was able to take care of those trees. I know you were concerned about them. Hope your good weather holds. Weather here in Virginia has been comfortable. We finally got a small amount of rain. The storms split and go around us. We’re in a severe drought.

HB you’re a good daughter, taking care of us old ladies is a chore. Seems there is always another doctor appointment. My son is the taking on those duties.

Nothing much going on here. As usual the deer ate all the leaves off of the hydrangeas. No flowers agin this year. Our birdbath raccoon has babies now. So cute. Hopefully they will move on No bears so far this year. Son is at an antique show in NH, Daughter in Law just got back from NY and brought her daughter with her, it’s nice to have a little move going on in the house.

Everyone have a good day, stay cool and hydrated.

Sandy

Lorita— I had to stop by the farm store to pick up a few things. They were busy so I had to park around back where I saw this girl and thought of you.

@Lorita There were a couple of young families enjoying their ice cream near me; we were about 10' back from the fence. She broke was from the others to wander over to see us.

My area used to have a lot of dairies but there are only 2 within 10 miles of the house anymore.

Despite an initial negative Covid test, I am positive that I have Covid, based on my symptoms of "razor blade" sore throat, heavy coughing, fever, chills and weakness. False negatives with home tests are not uncommon for various reasons. The main point is to isolate until no longer contagious and to be aware of complications.

Lorita, I will need to learn how to order groceries online because I have run out of refrigerator food except for some grapes. I do have canned goods, some potatoes and an apple and a banana, they will have to hold me until I can get out to the market.

Something interesting I have discovered. Waste water is tested for viruses. Apparently Covid level is high in LA County waste water. Influenza A and B and RSV levels are low. This suggests to me that Covid is endemic aside from the winter season.

Iris

Lorita - I'm glad your back is doing better.

How could you tell that the cow in HB's photo looked upset?

HB - I'm glad you had a quiet day, you really deserved one.

I like your photo of the cow you saw.

Sandy - I'm sorry! I'll do my best to remember to bold my posts. A weird thing that happens on this site (and only this site), when I bold something it doesn't look bolded. I have no idea why.

Beth - It sounds like you had a great day yesterday! And you're very ambitious going into the gym on a weekend.

Iris - Please take care of yourself and get lots of rest.

As for me — I'm almost done with the photos! I have a large shoebox filled with sorted photos that I'm going to take to my cousins. I have them labeled as best I can. Woo hoo!!

My s.o. brought to my attention that tonight at DNA Lounge in SF (where we aren't), they're doing movie night tonight: Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness (the sequel to Evil Dead II). I love those two movies! I am absolutely positive that I passed the bar exam because I watched Army of Darkness the night before the exam. It was hilarious in the broadest of ways. That movie is like if the Three Stooges decided to make a horror film. I laughed until my sides hurt. Here's a little clip (totally safe to watch, nothing gross). Ash (Bruce Campbell - the ham), has to say the magic words to get the book. The magic words are Klaatu Barada Nicto (from The Day the Earth Stood Still). He screwed it up.

My guy is lucky I didn't put us on a plane just to go do movie night in SF! 😄

Let me know if my post is in bold - it claims to be bold, but it doesn't look bolded to me.

Good morning. I was awakened by a rare morning thunderstorm. The rain should clear out before I take mom for her eye injections. Seems like we just did this; it's been 8 weeks. The summer is flying past quickly.

Iris— I wonder if you should go to urgent care or your PCP for further testing. The sore throat you're describing could be strep. I've always felt sicker, as an adult, with strep than even a bad bout of flu.

Lorita— Sometimes a car won't shift gears if it's out of automatic transmission fluid. Could your resident vermin gnawed through the lines. Is there a puddle under the car? I used to have brake line issues with my old Wrangler because I didn't drive it enough; unused the lines would rust and leak. When DS started driving it as his daily because the Cherokee finally died, it never happened again. Maybe Judith is right that it needs more time on the road.

GG— Ironically, the entire post was bolded except the lines where you asked about it.

Your post about horror movies getting you through the bar exam successfully reminds me of the story DH tells about writing his thesis. His alma mater only gave a week or two to write it up and he'd already given up his apartment ahead of accepting a job here, so he was set up in a Howard Johnson's Motor Lodge with a rented typewriter taking breaks only to go to see Jaws daily. He says by the end of it all he was rooting for the shark.

Ron— That cabin looks amazing. I'm so glad you're getting a chance to live the cabin-life you were hoping for when you moved even if it is only for a week.

Are there any trips or activities where you live now that are appealing to you?

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I'm catching up on some laundry this morning. I hope I can get the towels and the darker clothing done before I head out.

Aside from mom's appointment, I want to sort out an additional battery for her POC. At her current 3L she goes through a full charge in a little over 2 hours which is very limiting. It can run off of home current but having access to an outlet in a restaurant or on a commuter train isn't a given. A second battery could keep her untethered for longer. Niece and I decided it was OK for her to go to Rockport for a couple days at the end of the month.

Hopefully they can see her sister while they're up there. My aunt was making noises about coming for her own birthday. Auntie will be 91. Her vision is worse than mom's. She has a bad knee and her hearing isn't great. The thought of her taking Amtrak from Boston to Trenton alone terrifies me. Last time she came, she nearly missed her stop because she opted to ride in the Quiet Car.

HB