Free Food and a New Crockpot

Friday, I awoke at 2:30 am after sleeping before the news the night before and immediately afterwards. I did not stay awake to watch my favorite shows. Bummer. After leaving the house around 8:30 this morning, I was exhausted by 1 pm. I made a wrong turn and saw a "Free Food" sign. You know me, I was intrigued, especially since they were grilling. This was near an elementary school. Someone had balloons and a sign. I stopped and asked one of the women what was going on.

As it turns out, this was the beginning of the summer school nutrition program. Today, adults could eat. They invited me to return at 2 pm. Doubting I would, I thanked them. As it turned out, nothing went right and took twice as long, so I pulled in and got my food--two cheeseburgers, bag of chips and a coke. There were two thick patties on each cheeseburger. I should not have gotten these, but I do not have to cook today. Salad fixings will suffice for dinner. The second cheeseburger will be held for later.

This weekend is Rock the South Concert weekend. We are expecting 60,000 people to turn out. There are 60,000 people in the county. !!! We needed a country concert.

It is almost 3 pm, and I cannot get the dozen cans of peaches out of the car. The temperature is north of 90 F degrees and the humidity is returning. I still prefer it hot, hot, hot. I just prefer not to exert myself!

In order to cook in a crockpot, I need the four-quart Crockpot. Months ago, I broke my last one. The seven-quart Crockpot I won is too heavy for me to lift. Today, I settled for a 3.5 quart round Crockpot even though the oval is better for me.  Yes, I broke down and bought it. I have a plan.

Tomorrow, I will tell you my plans for the Crockpot. Right now, a nap is sneaking up on me.

Beware of Sales! Canning Peaches

At one store here in town there are terrific sales on things I want and will use. However, these sales are often not good for stock-up items. Miracle Whip was on sale for $1.50. I was ready to buy several, depending on the use-by date. That is important for MW.  However, the use-by date was in a month. I was grateful for the savings, but I only bought one jar.

So, Del Monte freestone peaches in a 28 oz. can were on sale at 4/$5, making the can $1.25. Regular price was $2.78, so I was thrilled.  Imagine my disappointment when the use-by date was 9/19. I bought four cans but intend to go back and buy eight more. I love canned peaches, and since I will not be canning peaches, this will have to do. The date will not be so important, especially as these will be used by next summer.

I love cottage cheese and peaches. This makes a meal for me or a snack. Of course, a dump cake works too, especially in the winter. Plus, I have used canned peaches for brandied fruit.

I do buy Elberta peaches when they are in season. A basket of six peaches is $6! However, they are so juicy and sweet that I get a dishtowel to put down to eat one. I bite into it and juice runs down my face! When I am ready to can again, I will drive to the farmer's market in Birmingham to buy bushels of peaches.

When I was about eleven-years-old until I was gone from home, gone to college, my mother would can bushels of peaches every summer. Daddy would show up with several bushels of peaches for Mama to can. At first, we did not have ac, so it was a long, hot, arduous job. When we got ac, it was just less hot, but still long and arduous.

She probably canned peaches before this time. But, this is when I remember and helped her.

When she got a full freezer, we froze peaches. It was still hot, just less hot. We loved to eat half-thawed for a dessert or snack. Just thinking about it takes me back to my teen years. I may just buy Elberta peaches, freeze them and then thaw them to eat.

There is nothing as delicious as home-canned or frozen peaches!

Do you ever find sales that are too good to be true and then discover they are almost at their use by dates? Now, I will eat older canned food, but really hate buying it almost old.

Did you ever, or do you can peaches? Is it a beloved childhood memory like mine? Do you love a juicy peach?

Tuesday

I slept one hour Monday night, so all day Tuesday, I was hurting. But, I was up for it. `It was a long day, and then I managed to delete part of the post.

First, I needed to go to the ATT store to find out what went wrong with payment for cell. What went wrong was that I never got autopay set up even though I called and gave all the information. ATT FAIL. I waited for 30 minutes for my turn and the guy was in the helping mode, so I left after fifteen minutes.

The free lunch where we pick up the meal was yesterday--hotdog, baked beans, bag of chips, lots of pickles, and two cookies. We had a bottle of water. We ate at the lake in the city while parked under a very heavy shade. It was above 90, so we needed the shade.

At home, I put on my nightgown and took a nap that I really needed. I told Tommy to wake me at 2 pm. He called me and headed to the car. By the time I dressed, half-combed my hair and brushed my teeth and went to the car, he was almost there.

POMS was playing at the theater. Tickets are $5 on Tuesday.  This movie was sooooo good. I love Diane Keaton.  I don't think we have been to a movie in over a year, so if I ever knew, I had forgotten about $5 Tuesday.

We went straight to a dinner that came with a seminar about health--baked spaghetti, lasagna, chicken alfredo, salad, and tea.

Tommy dropped me off. He left with salad greens and tomatoes.

I went to sleep immediately, awoke in the middle of the night, lost the post, and slept late today. Yesterday's meals were far from healthy, but they were delicious. Tonight, I was going to a free dinner, but did not make it. Oh, well.

Have you seen POMS? Planning to? Do your theaters ever have cheap tickets?

Tuesday was grinding pain! And, it was all my idea! Actually, Events were happening on the same day. I was not giving up any of it.

I set out with one hour of sleep.

Obviously, I deleted the rest of the post before posting. Now, I am going back to sleep since it is the middle of the night.

Congratulations to me!

I managed to post a picture. !!!!!

This was the poke salat lunch. I left my purse and camera and android phone in the car so I asked our very genial lunch companion if she would take a picture and email it to me.  She had her phone out and was using it. She readily agreed.

As you can see, I got two servings of poke salat. Tommy was pushing his plate for a picture, too, but she did not notice.

 This was a lot of meat, or just a fluffy stack.

The mother of the young mother very excitedly asked me if I always took pictures of my food. I sort of made a face while smiling and denied it. She said, "OH, I do!' They were not stuffy at all! I laughed and said that when I could figure out how to post pictures, I certainly would post food pictures, that I did this all the time several years ago.

Tomorrow is a no cook day for me. Free lunch and dinner is rare. Tune in tomorrow for the details.

On Sluggy's blog, I noticed that my posts are not updating. Is this happening anywhere on others' blogs?

Pain, Death, Meth, Kitty--A Good Day

Amazingly, today I have been relatively free of pain and completely free of exhaustion. Plus, the uti symptoms have entirely abated. Low humidity has contributed to these changes. Well, antibiotics are responsible for no uti symptoms.

If I really push to accomplish things while I feel well, I will be in pain for three days. So, I set goals and then do half the items on the list. It works for me. This beats taking pain pills! I know what I want to accomplish and prioritize tasks as I go.

Saturday night, something strange happened. I started sweating profusely and soon felt like I was being boiled alive. Then, muscles in all parts of my body started moving. It was not a muscle twitch, something different. I fell asleep that way. What can those symptoms mean? This has never happened to me.

Saturday night, the meth addict came here. I was in the bed for the night and almost asleep. He knocked until I went to the door. I just pulled back the curtain a bit. I am quite sure he could see I was in my nightgown. But, he persisted. I must have said "NO" ten times. He cannot wear me down. I am immune! He wanted a ride to the Waffle House. I called the police! AGAIN. Next time, I will tell him "just a minute" and go into another room and call the police. There is a warrant out on him.

I suggested he get my neighbor, his friend. He tried there but the friend was not home. I can go off on him and stop these house calls, but he might get even or complain to a friend who will get even with me. I had a lot of nasty screaming inside of me that only fear contained.

Kitty must have a weekend home. She has not been here the last two days. Last weekend, she was absent, also. Tommy said he saw her here on Saturday morning, but I did not. I miss her. Do cats wear collars?

This time of the year, grass and weeds grow so fast it is hard to control them. My yard needs mowing about every three days. When I could still use the reel mower, I was more in control.

Several months ago, I awoke to find that one of my son's friends had lost his mother to a traffic accident half a mile from her home on her way to work.
+. A teen texting ran a red light and killed this woman. If I checked the obituaries, I would probably find more people I know who died.

Then, a guy that I see at least once a month at a dinner had been found dead one morning. This is such a shock.

Now, that is two people I know of who died. These were not old people since both were in their seventies and active and social, working even. I wonder how many people I knew have died even though I have not heard of their deaths yet.

I suppose this is a downer post. But, this weekend was anything but a downer. As a matter of fact, this was a good day.  And, we are going to see POM this week. I love Diane Keaton.

Fun Poke Salat Festival

As I said in the last post, I did not sleep one minute on Thursday. Friday night--could not sleep or rest. However, nothing was stopping me. I just couldn't.

After I got up and went to a food bank, I bought milk, jerky for Tommy, and cherries for both of us. He was here, waiting in his vehicle. I put away everything and we left.

I took a gardenia bush back to Lowe's. August Beauty grows well in this area, I am told. However, the scent is missing. That is the whole purpose of gardenias! Last week, I took a blossom to the car as we were leaving for a lunch. After a while he asked me if he could throw it out because it was stinky. The flower smelled like chemicals.

Poke Salat Festival, here we come. It is only about 22 miles to Arab, pronounced A-rab, accent on the long A. The day was warm, sunny, just beautiful!

We ate at the first restaurant in the town proper. This is the same place a guy and I ate in 2004. The poke salat was delicious, so it was a no brainer. We drove up and down the main drag until someone exited an angle parking place. Tommy almost let someone else get it by just sitting still. He did get the space and we still had to walk almost a block! That is way too much for me in the heat and with no sleep.

The restaurant was so crowded, but we finally found a dirty table and sat down. This place had long tables that one shared with others. A family sat at the other end and we talked a bit. Tommy was taken by this little smiley girl with two front teeth missing.

I ordered bbq, potato salad, and poke salat. Tommy ordered chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, and poke salat. I received a plate with two portions of poke salat. When I pointed that out, they brought me the potato salad as a side and tried to charge us for it!

The bbq sauce was too hot, potato salad was hot...Why would anyone put hot peppers in potato salad???  The meat was delicious. So was the poke salat. I ate two bites of potato salad and about three bites of meat and one of the orders of poke salat. I could not eat more because my gastrointestinal track was threatening me. HOWEVER, I had a great time, just knew I should quit eating.

A to-go box solved my problems. I ate the meat when I got home after Tommy left. Later, I ate the potato salad. Poke salat is still in the refrigerator.

Tommy HATES eggs. I warned him ahead of time that the poke salat had eggs stirred in and cooked in a pot.  He even ate the chunks of eggs where raw eggs had been put into the pot of hot greens.  I was surprised. He even ate mashed potatoes with skins.  When I made mashed potatoes with the skins on, he did eat it,   all the while looking exasperated. Silly man!

The name of the restaurant was "L Rancho."

While sitting and waiting on our meal, I thought I knew a man who was from Cullman standing at the counter. He moved in front of the windows with the light in my eyes, I was staring, squinting at him. He turned and was surprised to see me. He had driven over for poke salat and got two plates to go. He came and sat with us while we all waited for our orders.

We exchanged poke salat stories. When Mama and Daddy were first married, Daddy brought home poke salat for her to cook. He thought she was wrong about cooking it and rinsing it three times. He said his mother never did that, so he ate it just as Mama cooked it the first time, not allowing her to cook and rinse three times. She refused to eat it. He was in the bathroom for three days and swore to never eat poke again. He never did.

There was a craft show all along the sidewalks. We did not go to booths but just looked from afar., but not too far.  A man was playing a piano and singing. The atmosphere was quite festive.

About two months ago, I decided we would do something like this once a month. When I mentioned the poke salat festival, Tommy did not hesitate to agree to go. I didn't tell him this was the first of our monthly outings...lol.

We were back here by 1 pm, maybe sooner. He left with a gallon of milk, loaf of bread, cherries, three baked sweet potatoes, and chicken. The baked sweet potatoes were each large enough for two meals. Since I had had no sleep, I was not sorry to see him go so soon.

Have you ever had poke salat? It does not have to include eggs.

My Friday

Today has been beautiful, but I slept all day since I did not sleep one minute last night. This past week I have been sleeping a lot! I actually fall asleep after a nap. Of course, I just chalk it up to laziness and not to the uti I have. It has been a very long time (nine months?) since this occurred. So, I am taking an antibiotic!

Today, Tommy and I had a little outing planned, but I called and cancelled. Tomorrow, we will catch the second day of a festival.  By the time we head out, I will have three pills in me. Hopefully, I will sleep tonight.

Thursday night was so much fun! The finale of The Big Bang Theory was very satisfying, fabulous, in fact. Then, after watching Young Sheldon, there was an after-show program. I cannot imagine how TBBT could have ended better.

I drank the last of my milk on Wednesday night and have not had the gumption to go buy more. So, you know I feel horrible. I love milk! The car has not moved since early Wednesday.

I managed to cook cheap turkey tenders with herb seasoning last night for us to eat. The plan is to make cole slaw and have a salad. Eating poorly and becoming dehydrated always happen when I am ill  with uti.. My goal for this evening is to drink 3 bottles of water. I refill my water bottle.

Because I felt ill, I have not picked up all the trash that an animal dragged from the garbage can. But, I stopped the pilfering by placing a Rubbermaid bin destined for garbage pickup inside the top of the can. THEN, I will put my one garbage can with a lid for trash. I put trash that is not inviting in a separate can. The Rubbermaid bin has a hole in it, so it does not collect water.

In a few minutes, I need to go take the hypertufa pot off the pot it is over, the mold. Right now, it is wrapped in plastic. All I need to do is keep it damp and wrapped in plastic for another month.

Odds and Ends

Tommy and I were talking on the phone when the conversation turned to times to microwaving food. He said he microwaved everything for three minutes, no matter what the food! I was and am shocked. It is no wonder he complains that some foods don't do well when microwaved. Also, he covers nothing, wraps nothing. He proclaimed he had done it this way for thirty years. And, that makes it right???  So, there is no hope.

A couple of weeks ago, I gave him two bare hotdogs for lunch--no bread of any kind in the house. He did have vegetables and fruit and cheese.  Then, the last time I saw him he began describing in ecstatic terms and voice how those were the best hotdogs he had eaten in a year. Well, I found a good brand last year on a great sale, and I hated them. But, we ate them anyway.  So, now we have no more of those nasty things.

He did not know it, but I had bought my favorite brand--Zeigler's-- on sale and had served him those. These are the best hotdogs. Well, I prefer King Cotton, but those are not sold here. They are a brand from Memphis that came here for about a year and then disappeared. It made me sad to see them go.

Moving my trash can to a different location had kept the animals out. However, three nights ago, they discovered it. So, I am back to picking up garbage from the ground. Next week, I will see what a trash can with a lid will do for the situation. I give up.  AND, I forgot to ask my friend to take the trash to the road tonight, so I have to live with this one for another week. ugh

Tuesday night, I slept wrong and woke up with an aching shoulder. When I tried to move my arm, it did not respond, just sort of hanging there. It hurt all day. A nap made it better. Don't ask me how since I was lying on that side during the nap. I got little done today because I felt crummy otherwise.

I could not find a local class for any languages and put aside that goal for right now. Actually, only Spanish is taught around here.  I did decide to do classes for other things. Some are free. Some have a small fee. The hypertufa class was $15 which I will recover by making enough hypertufa items to cover the class and materials costs.

I think my cat might be a Maine Coon Cat. She is huge. And, she does have tufts of hair sticking from her ears. I have always wanted a Maine Coon Cat.  I will ask the vet. Does anyone own one of these?

Does anyone ever microwave everything on the same setting?

Kitty Visits

When I had a dog, someone said that if I fed her inside once in a while, she would want to protect the house since it was hers, too.  She was never going to be a house dog, but I let her in once in a while to feed her after doing so for about a week. I allowed Kitty to come inside once, hoping she would not disappear in someone else's house. She was gone for three days after I was given her.

On Monday night, she came in and walked to the kitchen, looking at everything. She gave a few things a head rub, marking them. Then, she went straight out after a 30 second visit. She spent the rest of the night, sitting on the two cap blocks that Tommy needs to get into the house. AND, she meowed all night. I fed her and gave her water. Still she meowed on and on.

Tuesday, she almost knocked me down trying to get in. I backed up and closed the door because I had left my purse. A few minutes later, I let her in. She ran hard as she could to the kitchen, looking around and looking up at the counter..noooo, not there. I took my electric flyswatter and used that to try encourage her to leave the kitchen.

No, I did not turn the electric flyswatter on, just used it as something to guide her. She tried to go into the laundry room, then toward the bathroom, and stopped by my bed, looking up at it. I said, "No." She stopped looking up on the bed and started to go under the bed. Another uhuhuh stopped her, and I nudged her toward the door.

She is going to trip me! Outside, she is just all in front of me, even on the steps, meowing all the time. Even when she was not mine, she meowed to me lots. I have never seen a cat that meowed so much.

She does seem to understand "NO" and a sharp "UHUHUH."

Okay, enough of cat adventures.

Today, was a perfect day, low humidity, no rain, blue skies. The privit flowers are gone, so allergies are less but not gone. I spayed water on my hypertufa pot and covered it with the plastic again. The weather in parts of the country makes me sad for the people enduring it.

Today, I had nothing in particular to do. I bought a few groceries and went to the pharmacy after a text message. I was told to come back tomorrow. hmph

Did you do anything exciting or not exciting today?

CBD for Pain

The pain and exhaustion I feel from fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome are unimaginable to most people, even to me some days. Yet, the only relief available for a potential "cure" has been meds for depression, something that changes my brain in ways I do not want. Even these drugs may not help.

Today, I saw that a health food store in town sells CBD oil. (CBD oil is made from marijuana.) Even so, I am leery of this treatment. Besides, I do not trust health food stores. Once, a man who owned a health food store told me that Valerian is less processed than Valium, making the Valerian safer and more effective. He said they come from the same plant. Well, I knew that was a lie, and I suspect he did, too. He had tales like this to induce me and others to buy his products. I was an early user of the internet and knew how to find answers. He closed and moved.

When I had a hysterectomy three years ago, I awoke from surgery and tried to pull the little oxygen delivery system tubes from my nose. The nurses kept telling me to stop and pulled my hands away. Finally, I understood and quit. I had to use these all day and the next night. When I awoke the next morning, I was free of the chronic fatigue that I awake experiencing EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

For three long years I have wondered if it was the continuous oxygen that made me feel better. Finally, last month I googled "oxygen helps chronic fatigue." AND, studies show that oxygen is good for chronic fatigue symptoms--fatigue that is not relieved by sleep or rest. Of course, it appears that a person must spend hours in a bariatric chamber to be helped. I am quite sure that is expensive and not available in this small town!

Would you try CBD oil for the pain, and maybe the exhaustion?  There are side effects I do not relish--convulsions is the major turnoff.  I have never used marijuana, yet. When I am 90, I would like to have just one hit. My lungs will probably not like it...lol. I also wonder if the little things in the end of my nose would deliver enough oxygen, just at night to relieve the fatigue. What do you think? Yes, I know I need to consult a physician. Maybe someone has had experience with these problems or cures.

Today, a neighbor helped me by lifting my hypertufa pot from the car, moving another plant from a table, and putting the hypertufa pot on that table where he put it under a tree. Then, he lifted and carried three bags of soil from the car to back yard. Whew!

While on that side of the yard, he reattached my hose to the faucet. The guy who mowed must have removed it. I tried really hard to screw it back on, but could not.

He saw my new cat, "KITTY." She appeared to be hunting over there. I talked to her and petted her and fed her. She is not gone completely, at least! He saw his cat here, apparently "hunting" where Kitty once hunted.

These little things that once I could do are now major chores.

Maybe. . .

Just, maybe my yard has been rid of horrible little chipmunks. There are signs.

Yesterday, as I came into the house, I saw a bit of color I had not seen in several years--a wild strawberry. For years I would eat them straight from the ground. This is not a case of gathering a bowl full, just a few here and there as I walked to or from the car each day.

The second sign is the return of Hosta. There were about eight huge Hosta that were destroyed last year, or was it two years ago. Plus, the two Hosta in pots on each side of entrance to back yard were destroyed. Tiny bits have returned and not been eaten.

The third sign is the lack of interest in my yard by my new cat. When she was not mine, she spent every day stalking chipmunks in my yard. Now, I never see her! Part of the problem with her absence is that someone else has appropriated my cat.

At any rate, I found a wild strawberry Saturday. It was bitten, so I just picked it and looked at it and was happy. I have hope. I wonder how much nutrition wild strawberries supply. ???

That reminds me--I have strawberries in the refrigerator that need my attention!

My hypertufa pot is still in the car because it is too heavy for me to lift. It is on the board and wrapped in plastic. Every day I must unwrap it and spritz with water to keep it damp so it will set up. If it dries out, it will crack.

Okay, I have things to do. And, I am hungry and in need of an injection so I can eat. There is no rain today, unlike the last four days, so it is going to be a good day no matter what happens.

Do you ever see or eat wild strawberries? Mine are the size of a green pea, sometimes twice the size of a green pea.

YOUR TURN

Mother's Day

I have a new hummingbird feeder. Today, I will make a sugar solution to fill the red glass vessel. Since rain is predicted, I will wait until Monday to hang it.

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned to Tommy that I wished I had hummingbirds in my yard.  He said he saw them all the time when he was out in the yard, mowing or feeding the hens. WHAT!?!?!? He never told me that! He swears he did.

When I was in Lowe's about two weeks ago, something swooshed past my head. I flinched a bit and turned my head to see a hummingbird landing on flowers and going round and round, gathering nectar. This was in the store proper, not out where there are flowers or even out further where the nursery is open to the sky.

I was so shocked and so inspired, deciding someone could give me a hummingbird feeder for Mother's Day. In another store, I found a moat to hang above it so that once filled with water, ants could not get onto the feeder.

My one fear now is that a raccoon will climb up and knock the feeder down.

Books and Hypertufa

hypertufa

Ugh! A stalled cold front will bring more rain.

Well, it will be good for my plants on the table. The only way to insure chipmunks don't destroy plants is to sit them all on a table or the swing.

I have been meaning to visit the used bookstore where I have credit from some of the 800 books I purged about ten years ago. Since I had resolved to only get books from the library, I have bought few books. Besides, I needed to use the rest of the gift certificate I gave to Tommy for his birthday one year.

THEN, I read she is selling the shop and said everyone should redeem gift certificates and credit. So, I went there before I even came home today. I really don't know what he would like, but The History Room was where I started.

As it turned out, I needed to have the gift certificate, but I used my credit and got three books:

The Yankee Comandante by Michael Sallah and Mitch Weiss.  I was not aware this book was about Cuban Liberation fight. But, I will read it and expect it will be worth the time. $3 for a  hardback--160 pages.

American Creation Triumphs and Tragedies and the Founding of the Republic by Joseph J. Ellis. I suppose the title is self-explanatory. $5 for another hardback--270 pages.

The Civil War Years A Day-By-Day Chronicle by Robert E. Denney. $6  and 606 pages. This book really does go one day at a time. Sometimes, one date has entries from MS, Antietam, and Charleston. Many of the entries are from letters sent home. Other entries are from published books. I think this book will be interesting, something to take in the car to read when I have waiting time.

Thursday, I learned to make pots from perlite, peat moss, and Portland Cement. This will make stepping stones and many other items.  We started at 6 pm, actually, a bit earlier than the class should have started. By 7:22, I was through and had gotten the food provided.

Our snack, mint tea, pasta salad, and brownies. Little boys came in and ate all the brownies from the community building. I am not fond of mint flavor. Salad--rotini pasta, grape tomatoes, and asparagus, and oil dressing. The tomatoes and asparagus were raised at the Agriplex. I have never had raw, crunchy asparagus. I would use it in a salad.

This is a nasty project, calling for a mask and heavy rubber gloves. The pot will take months to dry for used and needs several steps in the meantime to finish it.

Hard to believe!

I visit my blog occasionally and never can get in until today. This is too good to be true. Well, I am going to post before I invest too much typing only to be disappointed.

A Garden and a Cat

It is late in the year, but a 'garden' is in the plans. My allergies have been so horrid that I could barely go outdoors without suffering. Surely, some of you have been experiencing the same thing. In the backyard are some really big pots, the size to plant tomatoes.

I now have a little greenhouse to plant seeds in for herbs and such, the little greenhouse is a bit longer than a 9x13 inch cake pan. The car will house the greenhouse. One year, when I germinated the seeds in late February, the car was perfect for germinating seeds. The second year, I put the greenhouse in the car in May and everything germinated and died. It was sad. So, this year I must be careful not to allow the germinated seeds to fry.

Back to the "garden." The huge pots will sit on cap blocks Tommy bought for me to elevate him as he comes into the house. I will need more. The plan was to elevate a board on the cap block. My friend insisted putting each pot on a pedestal of cap blocks would be better, and I would not have to buy boards. Well, now I have to buy more cap blocks! I suppose it will all work out.

My neighbor is moving. I kiddingly asked him for his cat. He gave her to me. My yard is her hunting ground. She stares for hours, looking for chipmunks. The chipmunks destroyed all my Hosta. I am now growing Hosta on a table. Where is the fun in that?

Just as I am getting better, the privet hedges are blooming!!! The ENT will have lots to work with.

As for the past, I saw my first daffodil on New Year's Day, the same day I saw my first mosquito...in the house. Last week, the first mosquito outdoors landed on me. Today, I killed a hornet in the house! That was scary, so I will have my friend look for where it got into the house. I am quite sure I have a hornet nest in the yard

I found a new old dinner to attend. This church had a dinner and invited the community. They now have it for their members, and I was invited. Great for me.

Somewhere is a list of what I intend to plant. I will post that tomorrow. What are you planting this year?