Comparisons

There are two large gourds still growing and hanging on the garden fence. One is barely visible behind the leaves. Hope they have enough time to mature.  This is the first year we've grown gourds (ahem...at my suggestion) and I learned that our gourds hanging on the fence have straight necks while the ones of this variety growing on the ground have hooked necks.  I also learned that gourds are quite heavy while they are growing - for some reason I thought they would be hollow and light like dried ones.  Not so.  Guess that just goes to prove that I'm still not too old to learn.   



And this year our holly bushes have VERY few red berries while the dogwoods are practically loaded down with them.  Also the walnuts and acorns are scant in number this season.  Ummm, wonder if that's a prediction of what kind of winter we will experience.

Today is Friday and this is the day I must decide and post my week's photos in the focus group I joined.  Yippee.  Now, I need to decide which shots to upload.  It's nice to see the pictures and read the comments from fellow photographers all over the world.  Some I have corresponded with for several years.  It's nice to connect with them and to notice that my friend from Australia uploads spring pictures while I enter my fall pictures.  My friend from France experiences much more snow than we have where I live.   One lives near the sea and contributes beautiful ocean shots. Then the another photographer from Israel enters pictures with vastly different landscape and architecture.  It's interesting to see the vast optical pleasures God has given us and I would call all of it "eye candy".

Sips

Talk about beautiful weather...we were blessed with a day like you'd love to experience every day.  Lovely, lovely, lovely. 

I finally got my hair cut today, been putting that off for various and sundry reasons.  But today was the day to go under the scissors.  Little Lori who has been on a diet has gone from a size 14 to 8.  She is looking good and I'm sure she feels wonderful too. Seeing her success could spark some incentive.  It could or it might not.  It should but not sure it would last much longer than to see another sundown.  Shame too, because I would love to be forced to buy smaller clothes.

The stock market went up today, not sure why since there's not
enough good news to fill a soup can these days. But I shall try to remain optimistic.  Looking forward to 2012 though when I "hope" I see some "change".

Back Roads

I'm having supper with a friend who will be in town and will meet her as soon as her appointment is done.  Not sure what time that will be, but guess it would be good if I was ready in time to meet her.  I am known for procrastination and then rushing.  Not about all things, but getting ready in time is generally not my best attribute.  
Sometimes, in an attempt to correct my bad habit, I will get ready an hour or more ahead of time so I will arrive first.  That works if I don't get bogged down in a sudoku puzzle or a captivating chapter of a good book.  Now that I think about it, perhaps I could get ready now and be in the parking lot with a good novel and sudoku puzzle book to meet her as she's finished.  Also, being an out-of-town gal, she's not used to the back roads of our sprawling county and I could be the Great Navigator.  Oh, forget that great idea, she has a GPS...

Hint of Autumn

Today was a beautiful early fall day which started with a bit of thunder and a soft rain. The sky began with lavender hue and gravitated through several colors and ended with a yellow tint.  Thought it was unique but doubt my pictures captured the true color I saw, but I tried.  It seems Blogger doesn't want to upload but one picture tonight, so I'll try to remain patient.  Sigh. The day ended with a slight breeze and gorgeous blue skies.  Here's one picture which shows a bit of our early fall color as one shy dogwood tree hides her beauty behind another dogwood tree staunchly devoted to maintaining its deep green color.

 
I made iced tea inside for the past 3 days.  Yuck.  I was shocked at the difference the heated water method produced as compared to the smooth delicious sun tea I usually make.  Well, today was sunny enough to make a batch of sun tea and I relished the difference. Ummm -sahmmmmoooooth going down with a lasting satisfaction.  Slurp, slurp, I'll try not to make too much noise drinking this glass of tea next to me. 

I found an interesting book at the library yesterday and finished it today.  Was a good read.  Now, do I start another one?  Or play sudoku until bedtime?  Maybe I'll have time and brain power for both. 

Sweetz and I are thinking of heading out for a few days next week.  I was going to the beach with my mom this week but she slithered out of the deal at the last minute, but that gives MainMan and me a chance to go somewhere together again.  Not with the little wheeled one, this trip will have a car and motel theme.

I requested and was reinstated in a photo club that I dropped out of a couple of years ago.  Decided I missed the camaraderie and the thrill of another photo deadline.  Now that I'm a quitee (as compared to a retiree since I'm not of that "advanced" age for a few more months, obviously I will now have more time to snap away.  Sometimes I feel I have depleted any picture ideas around here but I'm sure something will pop into my field of vision just in the nick of time.  Ahhhh, also sounds like a good reason to travel to new vistas.  Sweetz just arrived in the room with maps in hand.  Must be time for some planning...  

Falling For Fall

Sweetz honored our front porch

with his

BIG pumpkin

that grew as a volunteer in his garden this year.

 I couldn't help but put a smaller pumpkin by it

before I snapped a picture.

And a bit of whimsy

with Halloween candy tickling the ivories. 

They didn't play any frightening songs

--- so I ate them!

Here's some flowers

which are in memory of my brother. 

Wayne - miss you, bro!

We've been visiting another church for the past few Sundays. Guess we looked like prospective members

since the pastor and a Sunday School teacher

popped in for a surprise visit this morning! 

Good thing I was dressed.

I've decided to volunteer for the chaplain at a local hospital.  I started about two weeks ago and work from home, mostly on the computer then email the finished work to her.  She must have been satisfied with the first job I did, because she gave me three more jobs!  No rush, she said.  Whew, that's good.  It sure is pleasant working from home and working only when I want to.  And the dress code of jammies and slippers really fits my lifestyle!! 

Water: Good vs Evil

We're having Rain, Rain, Rain and I couldn't be happier.  I emptied the rain gauge last evening and the rain started sometime after midnight. Actually it woke me up but was a comfortable sound which allowed me to drift back to a sound sleep.  And right now we have over 4 inches in the rain gauge.  Thank you God! 

We've been dry all summer with just teensy sprinkles which was enough to barely keep some plants alive.  Sweetz had to water the garden and a few flowers and shrubs, but we've had to go easy on the water.  We've been thankful for our rain barrel since it collects a full load with about 1/3 of an inch of rain.  Since that's about all we got at any one time, we could sparingly water the garden two times if we were careful to not waste even a drop.  We got good at aiming the water spout onto the base of a plant with nary a drop wasted on the path.  I'm sure we will be contenders for the 
Wasteless Watering Crown.  The prize will probably be in the mail any day now. 

I turned over my glass of water and guess what was sitting in that area?  Yep, my cellphone.  I remember reading online that you could put the phone in rice or kitty litter to hopefully absorb the moisture to try to stop water damage.  Well, I've tried it and it seems to be ok.  Bummer...I was hoping to get a new phone.... perhaps I could sorta...you know...accidentally make another spill... naaah...

Lots of fog around these parts. 

We are still getting a few veggies from the garden, enough to eat at a meal anyway.  Yesterday we got a "mess" of green beans and had them for supper - what a delight to have beans since June.

And I chopped and froze 6 more bell peppers for the freezer.

Yellow Mums Hit the Deck

Nothing much has happened around here.  Seems life has been sorta the same ole, same ole for a few days.  I spent the day with mom today - we went hither and yon and back.  I got a couple of potted mums to put around.  One is near the back door so I can see it.  The other one is off the driveway so everyone else can see it and admire it's perkiness.  Yellow mums are just so full of life! 

But wasn't always so.  I remember all my life I never cared much for the color yellow.  Why was that?  Others loved it.  Me?  Not so much.  THEN I had a cataract removed with a lens implant!  THEN I could SEE yellow for the first time.  It used to be a dull color to me, lifeless, and mundane.  But after the surgery, I could SEE the brilliance of yellow, it's perkines, it's glow.  It has never proven to be boring ever again. Not that it's my favorite color, but it has definitely moved up the appreciation ladder.  Now, I only buy yellow mums!!     

Teasers and Pleasers

We still need rain around here but God isn't giving us any for some reason.  We had a teaser today in the form of hours of misty precipitation.  You'd get wet if you stayed outside for long which was accompanied by an overcast day.  But still no rain.  You know, the kind that literally falls from the sky and some ends up in the rain gauge.  But not today.  And there seems to be a long waiting list for rain dancers.  Pretty soon, we'll begin to see fake rain dancers advertised.  Maybe even cutesy rain drop outfits with cloud hats. Then there will be a demand for new rain songs.  But I'll stick with prayers. 

I see online that there some sort of idiotic protest on Wall Street near the bull.  Gracious.  What lunacy!  How is that going to help our economic matters?  Wall Street isn't creating this mess - one would have to go up the ladder quite a few rungs to find the cause.  Ok, ok, I'll get off my soap box but it isn't going to be easy. Grrrr...

Mom and I went to the big city today.  We started our day with a nice lunch at K&W Cafeteria and chatted a long time over our refilled iced tea glasses.  Mom wanted some new pants so we went to Belk where she found some she liked.  The little mother is losing weight so she's into a size 12 now.  Looking good mom!!!  I'm still hanging onto my weight - I might need it sometime down the pike... Well, sounded like a decent excuse to me.  No?  Well, give me some time and I'll come up with another one more likely to score a few points.  Postprandial, we checked out the things in Kirklands and she bought a decorative Christmas pillow.  I bought nothing, didn't see anything I liked, didn't see anything I wanted, didn't feel the urge to snag one of the bargains flashing from every other aisle.  I think I might be a candidate for Remedial Retail Therapy 001. 

Miles and Smiles

Well, time sure does pass by faster when you're having heaps of fun. Here I sit on the computer and enjoy the sights and sounds of the lake life.  We'll be leaving today, gotta get things unhooked soon and head back to the homestead. But I will miss it here. 

While I was sitting here on the computer this morning, a nice lady came by and we talked for over an hour.  Well, I mostly listened, but asked a ton of questions.  She and her husband are fulltimers and they've been traveling around the country for over a year and having the time of their lives.  They are Thousand Trails members and enjoying their lives.  She was looking for the laundry facilities and see where that conversation took us - all the way to California and back.  They want to enjoy all 50 states and so far have been in 28, taking their time too.  They have 6 children and they are scattered all over the country so they have hookups at each one's home and they can stay there for a week or so and enjoy the families.  How nice is that!

Sweetz went fishing for his last morning this week and he's really enjoyed that.  He just called on the cell to tell me he's fixing lunch - yum.  Nice to have a hubby handy around the pots.  Well, it will  probably be heavy on the nuking portion and light on the pots, but that's ok. 

It turned cooler last night but was warm enough in the RV and we slept comfy all night.  But now it's time to head out of here and get back to our routine daily life.  Mom's been picking our beans and squash and whatever else she could find in the garden while we were away - also feeding the katz.  Guess we'll take her out for supper one night since that's all she ever asks in return.  Well, I help her too when she goes to the lake for her getaway time so it's nice we have each other to keep a look-out on the property. 

We had a little rain last night and the weather cooled down to a nice crisp temperature.  Love it!  Hope we had rain at home since our garden sure could use it.  It will be nice to get home but I'll be itching to head out again within two days!  Now, how do I get the MainMan to experience the same itch???  He might surprise me one day while grabbing the campground books to say, "Let's go!".  Sounds good to me.  But in the meantime, I must head back to the RV for lunch and then to head down the road to our stix and brix. 

4pm:  Well, drat - we are home.  Safe and sound though, but it just means the fun week is over.  Sweetz and I unloaded our dirties and the food plus the clothes in record time.  We've got that job down to a proper science.  He wasted no time listening to the phone messages and then headed out to water the love of his life - his precious but waning garden.  Looks like we'll have fresh beans, squash, salad, and tomatoes for supper.  That's the good part.  Guess I'll thaw some meat and start lupper.  Not all of life is fun and games, sometimes a few dirty dishes clog the smiles and miles.  Oh that's ok, life could be worse.  At least I'm able to walk and breath today.  Heard today that there have been two deaths in the little country church that we have been attending.  Is God weeding us out? 

The Front Side of the Front

It has been such a great week here at Thousand Trails.  Nice RV "resort".  There are so many things to do here that we've been entertained all the time.  Not many people here and nearly all are geezers who like it calm and quiet.  One lady parked not far from us takes a nap outside under her awning every day.  And not a short snooze either.  We walked all around half the park today.  Checked out the miniature golf, the shuffleboard area, the horseshoe pit, the volleyball area, the basketball courts, etc.  Lots to do if we had the energy.  Something happened to my energy level after I passed 55, it got zapped to the four winds.  But we did walk again today and ended up going all the way around the big lake, took the long way too.  Up and over some hills and down the other side and around the pool and by some picnic tables.  I was sore after the first trip on day 1, but today it didn't bother me so much.  Yep, I'm getting in shape!!!  Well, at least it sounds good.

We drove around the countryside this evening with Sweetz thinking it would be nice to treat me to a meal out as a change.  Found a Chinese restaurant in this tiny town and it was pretty good.  We couldn't eat half of it so we have takeouts and will probably have the rest for lunch tomorrow.  The sky was strange today, changing from sunny to overcast to sunny to cloudy to sunny again about every hour.  Then something happened about 5'ish when a front must have blown through.  The temps have dropped quickly and no telling what it is outside now.  Last I looked it was 65*.  That's a huge change from yesterday being in the upper 80's.  Heard it would be chilly tonight, so we best be heading back to the little nest soon to warm it up for the night.  I've found myself deep into a good book, so think that's what I'll be doing tonight until the sandman rocks me to sleep.  Tomorrow we will be heading back home and it surprises me that the week went so fast.  But isn't that always the case when you're having fun. 

Lost And Found

While Sweetz and I walked the trail around the lake yesterday morning, I lost my sweater.  It was chilly when we left for the walk but I quickly warmed up with the exertion of the walk.  I tied it around my waist but somehow it came off somewhere along the trail.  So, today after searching the RV and car, I realized it was missing.  Since it's one of my favorites, it HAD to be found.  Sweetz said he'd walk the trail with me again to see if we could find it.  About half way around the lake, there it was - waiting for me folded nicely on a picnic table where some nice trail walker left it for me to find.  Doesn't matter who found it, I'm just grateful for their thoughtfulness. 

We went to "town" today and had a delicious breakfast at Bob Evans and then did a bit of shopping in Michael's and a few other places. Got a few things which should help keep me out of trouble. Poor Sweetz got tired of waiting for me and went to the car to sit out my unusually long shopping spree.  Since I don't usually care for shopping, he was as surprised as I was when I found so many things that interested me.  We ended up at Wal-Mart for a few groceries and supplies that we needed for the RV.  When we returned to the campground, I fixed a nice lupper and then we went on the Search For The Sweater hike.  But that had a happy ending, so even though I was tired and hot, I was smiling - and still am.  Yeah, things like finding favorite sweaters can do that to you!  

We ended up in the Adult Building where no one under the age of 18 is allowed.  Wow, what a nice thing for us.  But there's no danger this week since all the kiddieloos are in school except for the one home-schooled kid here who is definitely no problem. We worked on a puzzle that someone had started but left the rest for the next puzzle people, unless it's still unfinished tomorrow at which time we'll grab a seat and work on it some more.  I didn't play the piano in that room today - but did yesterday - woefully out of tune with keys that don't play and the rest far off the scale.  Doesn't make playing fun when a piano is that badly out of tune.  Maybe if we return here sometime in the future, some nice soul will have it tuned.  There is a podium and hymn books and Bibles, so there must be church services there on Sundays, but it must be a strain on the ears to listen to it.  Although I'm sure God only hears the most beautiful notes.  After working on the puzzle awhile, we played a game of Scrabble - of course I let him win, but it was fun anyway. 

I finished my book last night, so as soon as I finish this, I think I'll head inside to grab a book and maybe I'll read outside in the lingering sunlit hours of the day.  It's a grand week and I'm sure having a great time.  After all, geezering is a tough job so some away time is needed to get back on track. 

I have a heavy heart for a friend of mine who's having a hard time at work, but I do want things get better for her.  Also another friend will be having surgery tomorrow so I'm praying for both of these friends that good things will come from these tough days.

Again, the wifi here is slow so I'll probably not attach any pictures until we return home.  But I did look at them and I have several good ones to remind us of our fantastic trip.  And yes, the wifi is slow, but I'm grateful for it no matter the speed.  Sweetz is fishing on the other side of the lake - just wondering if I should get the skillet out and heat up the oil...

A Shady Site

Well, we finally got away.  Sure is a great feeling to head to the hills in our little wheeled home.  We are at a nice CG "resort" in the beautiful state of VA.  It's pretty nice.  Heard today from a fellow camper that it had gone downhill, but they've been fixing it back up.  Has two lakes and is quite spread out with nice shady campsites.  We have a grill and a fire ring.  We were too wound up to have a fire last night, especially since the ranger on duty came by and visited with us for an extra long chat.  By the time he left, we decided to nuke something fast for supper.  

There are some beautiful scenes around here - right in the foothills of the Virginia mountains.  I've taken quite a few photos, haven't looked at them yet, but I'm sure some turned out decent enough.  The wifi here is slow, so probably won't be posting any pictures until I return home. I don't have the patience to wait that long -  gotten spoiled with Time Warner's speed.  One fellow camper was using his Verizon hot spot card and had great success with it.  Ummmm, sure makes me want one.  Might have to bite the bullet and get one.  

We walked a lot this morning after breakfast.  And we found some nice fellow campers to chat with too.  One man had been fishing for a couple of days and still didn't like the fact that he couldn't catch a "big one".  Sweetz is really hoping he will have better luck when he tries it.  It's quiet here with the little kiddos back in school, mostly us slow 'n go geezers out for some quiet life.  There's even a tv in here and it's OFF.  Man, that's got to be a first in our lives! 

 

Prepping For The Road

We're wanting to go RVing for a few days. Sounds like fun to me - get away from my usual life. We packed our little wheeled home and have reservations at a nice resort.  Life can't get much more fun.  My neighbors and mom will be looking after the place and the katz while we take our life on the road for a few days.  We packed a little of this and a tad of that - and of course, hope we don't forget the keys. 

Since we are still getting green peppers from the garden, I decided I needed to get them chopped and frozen before we left.  They will be tasty this winter. And today while I was chopping them - they  impressed me as being so obviously a beautiful Christmas holly green.  Even had two red peppers and mixed them together - reminds me of the Christmas season coming just around the corner.  Only thing missing was something gold.  Guess next year we should plant some gold ones.   Might have to start playing Christmas carols when I chop peppers the next time...

Hangers, Boxes, and Clothes

We did get some much-needed rain from Lee and as close as I can calculate, it was about 3 inches.  Each inch was celebrated.  That should at least put a short damper on our drought.  We've had a bit of sun today which was a beautiful conclusion to the passing of a hurricane. I even wore a light sweater today in the house.  Imagine that, since just last week we were sweltering outside with temps over 90*.  The weeds are wanting to take root in the flower beds which seem happy even in dry hot weather, whereas the flowers want to be coddled and pampered. Some herb snippings are drying inside and things have the look and feel of the tail end of a long hot summer. 

Mom is home from the lake. Seems she and Ruth had a good time relaxing, eating, reading, and talking. We got together today for lunch at a Japanese restaurant which was quite tasty.  There was too much food, but I ate all I wanted and left the rest. 

Today, I was going to work passionately in my craft room.  I got started with a burst of energy but a couple of telephone calls diverted my enthusiasm.  I'll work on this project another day, it's not like today is my last chance.  I measured for a new Closetmaid project.  Never could decide on the perfect one and I'm thinking a professional could come through and knock this project out in a couple of heartbeats.  Won't happen since I'm not willing to trade my money for something I can do myself.  Yep, I know, it will be a long time before I can get it done, but I'm thinking it has to come with a whopping case of job satisfaction!

8:32pm:  I'm watching the Republican debate.  So far, I'm liking what I'm hearing. 

Laboring on Labor Day

Laboring on Labor Day isn't so bad when there's no laboring at work on other weekdays. So, this was just another calm day at home. We did finally have a bit of much-needed rain but only added up to 1/4". Hope more comes with the edge of Lee moving through. We can easily use several inches.

With fall coming soon, I decided to harvest what will probably be the last of my herbs for this season. Since I love to cook with herbs, I want to preserve all I can. What I have already dried will be enough but now I will be able to sprinkle to my heart's content whenever I want. Today, I picked and am air drying basil, chives, thyme, and sage. Ahhhhhh, the kitchen is smelling divine right now.

Today seemed like an egg day. So, I boiled four eggs and plan to devil them. Yummm, one of my favorite foods.

And I cut a few flowers from the backyard to enjoy inside during all the rain we hope to receive. Yeah, now I can enjoy some fresh flowers while listening to days of rain. Well, one can hope. Blogger is acting up tonight - am thinking I need to get this published and then play around with it to see if I can figure out the situation.

Will Lee Bring Us Any Rain?

Since rain is forecasted for the remainder of the week, thanks only to Lee coming up the Tennessee Valley route, we might get some of the wet stuff.  Nothing yet, but the atmosphere is ripe with humidity. 

After a nice morning spent at church, we met our friends for a lunch table full of food and fun.  Sweetz and I each ordered a flounder plate, was pretty good.  He ate all of his, I brought half of mine home for a meal tomorrow.  That is, if I can keep his grubby hands out of my take-out container.  Yep, and it is one of those white styrofoam ones.  Not green, you say?  Well, perhaps I can justify it if I promise to reuse it.  Might paint on small squares and shrink them with a heat gun to make buttons?  Naw, then maybe I could use both the top and bottom as paint palettes?  Maybe getting greener?  Well, how about a large belt buckle?  Gracious, that wasn't even funny. Ahhhhh, got it...cut it up into squares to use as tic tac toe markers!!!  Oh come on, be patient with me until I can figure out something.

We have a big pumpkin growing in the garden on a vine with HUGE leaves and large stems.  This picture doesn't do it justice.  And the best part?  It came up as a volunteer.  I might need to measure it one day to determine the circumference. Sweetz is just hoping it doesn't rot in the rain we're predicted to get this week. I put my camera lens cap on top to help illustrate the size. 

Sweetz planted gourd seeds this year and we have 3 different types.  Here's two of them.  I did a bit of research online one day a couple of weeks ago and one author said she leaves her gourds to dry right in her garden over the winter.  I Plan to follow that advice - sure sounds easy enough plus it keeps the dangerous molds outside.

These whitish gourds have a straight neck if they grew suspended on the fence, but sport a crook neck if they formed on the ground.  This one's neck is crooked, but doesn't show that well in this photo's angle.  The second type is the orange ones with knotty areas all over them. The third type is the cute little orange and green ones like are found for sale before Halloween and Thanksgiving.  I'm not planning to treat mine but am letting them all dry naturally - out in the elements.  They are losing their brilliant coloring at this point but I understand that is normal.  Nope, not sure what I will use the gourds for.  It was a experiment in variety.  Next year, I told Sweetz we will plant more beans and peas so we can eat the produce. 

And this fella was found today enjoying one of my zinnia blooms.   

Life Can Be Stimulating

OK, here I am faced with the new working layout for the Blogger.  Bear with me during the learning curve.  Well, actually it doesn't seem too complicated, but just a new look with things in different places.  OK, guess the layout guy is happy that he got our attention.  I'm assuming the blog itself will look the same to the viewer - not sure about that, but I'll go with this for awhile, then maybe I'll change my personal preferences in a few days.  Gotta keep the brain stimulated.

For the past year while I have been an early "quitee", I've tried to avoid getting out on Saturdays.  I remember very well how crowded the stores and restaurants are so to be kind, I usually wait until the weekdays to get out.  That way the worker bees have the roads and checkout lanes to themselves. But honestly, I can't really tell the difference anymore with the traffic flow on any day.  All days seem about the same to me.  But today was a day to get out and about - the roads were calling my name.  I ran a few errands that could have waited and drove around some country roads to feel the freedom in my bones.  It was much hotter than I thought it would be - still went up over 90* today.  Drat, when will the temps stay down??? A teen nearly hit me while she was texting and driving.  Hope she made it safely home.  And a biker nearly ran right into me while he was zooming downhill turned nearly 100% around looking behind him at something! Perhaps weekday driving would be less stimulating for me! 

With the  latest tropical storm nearing the Gulf Coast, that area apparently will be hit with generous rains.  We could certainly use a bit of that if they want to share.  Of course, Texas seems to be in a drought situation, so they should get rain handouts first. I spent some years on the Gulf Coast, just two blocks from the beach in the town of Pascagoula, MS - that's located between Mobile, AL and New Orleans.  Bet they are getting hammered about now with some excessive rainfall.  Being that area is so flat, there's little opportunity for runoff - except the sandy soil is porous so that speeds drainage along.  In contrast, our soil here is predominantly red clay, so we tend to hang onto our water for a day or two which then dries from a sticky glob to a hard compact mass. Wonder if the soil is perfect half way between these two locations?  Doubt it - they probably have another soil malady to dislike. 

I read an entire book today - yep, I really really did.  Talk about grabbing my interest!!  This one was about a mail order bride situation where the bride balked - wonder if that was the first incidence of runaway bride syndrome.  I have two more books to hold me til Tuesday when the library reopens after a scheduled holiday.  We do want the librarians to enjoy their long weekend although the weather forecast sounds like we could get some much-needed rain.  That isn't the kind of forecast the workers want to hear, but we need to refill our lakes, ponds, and streams around here.  Of course, it will make for some sad fishermen on our low-level city lake and disappointed backyard grill owners.  But it's sorely needed so bring on the rain!  We can grill another day and fish another weekend. 

Keeping Things Sharp

I know I'm not an English professor...but, really!!  There's a sorta 
"friend" who is a teacher who writes online with an error in about every other sentence.  Obviously, she spends no time proofing nor cares what the world thinks of her writing.  Can you imagine what the parents think when she writes little progress notes about how Little Johnny is doing! My brain gets all twisted up and I'm ready to reply with corrections in red but I stop myself each time.  It would be understandable if there was an occasional error - but they shine like twinkle lights on a Christmas tree!  Ok, I vented.  I'm entitled.  And hopefully, I spelled all the words correctly in this blog entry.  Whew, but I feel so much better getting that off my chest.

A friend asked me to eat lunch with her today so I grabbed a shower, washed and dried my hair, and in less than an hour I was out the door.  Can't keep the working girls waiting I always say.  As I pulled up at the front door, she had someone in the nursing station call to tell me there was a code so she wouldn't be able to come out immediately. That was ok, and thankfully I had my own emergency plan... a sudoku puzzle book in my purse. So, I sat and worked one while I waited...and she saved a life.  When she came to the car, she was fresh as a daisy and off we went to a local restaurant.  Nice to know that if I had an emergency I had my own nurse at hand!  The food wasn't all that great, but it was the visit with a friend that got the high marks. 

I had some grapes for an evening snack - sweet ones too! Yum.

Our pencil sharpener died today so I put a note on the blackboard to remind me to buy a new one.  You know every good sudoku puzzle solver needs a sharp pencil!

Sometimes We Hit Some Surprise Curves

While talking to Sweetz this morning, I realized that August was history so flipped the calendar and lo and behold I had a scheduled appointment I had forgotten about.  Wow.  OK, so I moved quicker  and got ready to head out.  Sweetz suggested we go together and we'd do some shopping and have lunch while we were out.  Sounded good to me. We checked out this and that and found some surprises along the way.  These were the good kind though.  No hints yet - we'll keep these close to the vest for now.  We did get some groceries though so now I can have a bowl of cereal in the morning.

Got a picture tonight from my DIL of the new dog - looks like a nice 4-legged guy that I think they've decided to name Champ.  For some reason...I like that name better.  

The skies darkened this afternoon and while Sweetz and I were out hitting a badminton birdie back and forth across the net, we started hearing some thunder.  Since I was already tired, I decided I needed to quit.  We didn't get any rain unless you count the 6 drops that practically evaporated in mid-air.  I ended the evening chatting with a friend - nice way to end the day.  Tomorrow I'm having lunch with a friend - not sure where we'll go, but it doesn't really matter.  What matters more, is time spent with someone we hold dear.  There will be no judgment or criticism - we get along so well that way.  Time for this lady to hit the hay, tomorrow is another day to share with others.