Surprise Item Shopping

 Despite gloomy weather some days, and rain drizzling for hours, there has been beautiful sunshine on those same days. We do sit in the park for about 30 minutes to an hour each day. The hummingbirds are still here, delighting us with their antics. We have a large shepherd's hook and a smaller one I bought at a yard sale for $3. Actually, it was a trade. 

It has been so much fun to see one of the smallest hummers sitting on the small hook. Tommy said he sits there because the diameter of the larger hook is too large for the little feet. I suppose that is correct. 

I haves spent many hours tired and sleeping Friday and Saturday. I don't know why, but I have suspicions. If I am right, I will tell you. Nothing has happened, good or bad, to report or complain about. 

I am still reading at night, but have decided my present book is too heavy to hold up in bed. So, it may become a book to read at night when I don't care for what is on the TV. Maybe I need to read paperbacks in bed? 

Only three boxes of patterns have been sorted, and there are at least that many to do. Since no one has indicated she might like a pattern through the mail, I may have to get rid of them locally. There is a church that has a yard sale when weather is permitting. My friend at a country church says no one in the church sews. That stumps me! Tommy suggested calling and donating them somewhere. I will just have to get over the fact that most envelope patterns will just be emptied, dismantled, and be destroyed! 

For dinner Friday night, I cooked two preformed patties and put the rest of the packet of onion sauce on it, and we had vegetable of some kind...lol. Saturday night, I used a package of precooked  browned ground beef (93/7). This package had been defatted by pouring boiling water over it while in a colander. 

I had a really cheap name brand Taco kit. So, I used that and had to buy tomatoes and green onions. It was sooooo good. I even had lettuce to go on it.  The meat seasoning and the taco sauce was so hot I only used a bit. But, Tommy used more. I just threw away the rest of the seasonings. 

I can tell it is getting cooler because one of those huge outside roaches made it into the house. Last year, I serendipitously sprayed the porch and the front door and never saw another one. I did the same today. Now, tomorrow, I must do the back door. I hate those critters! 

The crocheting is not coming along well at all. I need to get lighter colors so I can see what I am doing! Or, I can crochet outside. 

When I went to a big box store, the cashier threw my bags into my electric cart. When we go home, I was shocked to find a bag with a smoked turkey tail. Now, you know I did not buy that or steal it...lol. I put it in the freezer to give away. I know the store will not put it back in stock. Plus, I struggle to even find an electric cart. If it were disposable plates or a can of food, I would return them. 

Since I sent my dil's birthday card late, thinking it was the following month, I did get that mailed in time this year. I have heard there is a planned slowdown of mail delivery. Have you heard that? So, her card has two weeks to arrive from the day I mailed it.

Have you ever gotten home with items you did not purchase? What did you do with the item>

I Made a New Friend and Another Died

 When we go to the park, we end our trip by driving along the road that has ball fields on the right and houses on the left. Then, we turn around and come back along the road with the houses now on the right. We get a view into back yards which is very interesting. 

I was thrilled with the dozens of bee hives in one back yard. We, of course, decided soon that these held no bees. Last week, I commented to Tommy that I supposed they were not planning on raising bees since there is the third year the hives have been empty.

Tommy commented that they must be going to move because there were two moving vans in front of the house since he could see they from the park. I wanted something they had removed from one of their utility buildings.

We drove into our subdivision and went to the house. One of the movers went in and told the people we wanted to talk to them. The woman was very nice, telling us the were moving to Childersburg. 

I wanted to buy the four-foot Santa blow mold. She was adamant about keeping it. It was filthy, many years of filthy! But, she held firm and, of course, I gave up. We talked chickens, Hosta, and she gave me plants--Jacob in a boat. I think that is what she called the purple plant. 

As we were leaving, she said to me, "I wish I had met you sooner. Here we are moving and meet you." I felt the same way. She was very nice and friendly. Her husband had to call her away from our car to help move. He had gone straight back and gotten the Santa blow mold and stuck it into the bed of his pickup truck. I would place good money on the fact he would not tie it down and it would blow out. But, I kept my mouth shut. 

When we went to the park two days later, they had removed the hives and other items. I want one of the five foot chickens she left that are made in Mexico. I will have to see what she will take for them. No, I would never take things left in a yard where someone had moved out!

For some reason I was piddling around on my Facebook and found a curious notation under a picture of my only, that I know, transgender friend. I wonder about the notation and finally figured out Dana had died. Over several years, I had encountered her at group birthday parties and such. She was nice and I have no idea how she died in 2010.  I still talk with the other people who knew her, so I will have to find out. It is not that I am that distant from these people, but things happen to connections when you have been away as I have. 

So, I lost two friends this last week. 

Today, I announced I wanted KFC. Now, Tommy is not a person to turn down going out to pick up food. When I came here, I fully grasped how often he went out to pick up fast food! Today, it was delicious, as usual. We had to sit and wait for the biscuits. Of course, we did and were not troubled by the time involved. But, we were on the KFC lot for 45 minutes. UGH However, the meal was delicious. 

It is 8:30 pm and I now have to go in the kitchen and cook 12 large, fat, and full ears of corn. All the kernels except for meals will be frozen for this winter. I will freeze the kernels from two ears in each bag. And, then put those bags into one big bag. Thankfully, I have a huge pot for the boiling.

Monday night, I continued to crochet the granny square. I only made the first round the night before. It occurred to me last night that something was wrong, it was raveling from the start. So I pulled it out. Then, I was crocheting a very tiny cap. It fit right on my thumb! Of course, I had only made three groups of three double crochet. It was an easy fix, but silly mistake. 

My goals for everyday: crochet or do some handwork, read a physical book, listen to music, and exercise/march. Of course, I read on the computer, listen to Rod Stewart, and sporadically exercise this last month. I am going to buy an apparatus to listen to different music here in the living room. It won't be fancy, just cheap. Tommy's clock radio is awful when music is on. 

I had an appointment in Cullman today for the allergist that comes from Birmingham. Instead of my going there, he called me. He has sent me a prescription for allergies, head congestion. It is a spray. We spent so long at KFC that I just wanted to get home before dark. 

We are supposed to have four days of rain, so we will be home. How is your week coming along? Fun? Work? Education? Activities? Eating well? 

Corn, DL, OUCH, Reading, Crochet, Tuna, Birthday

Tommy is in the front yard, shucking corn. We were given dozen ears. I may cook it all and cut the corn off and freeze most. At least, it will not go to waste. Tonight, we will have five big meatballs given to us. I may cook all five and freeze two, not sure about that either. We will have a salad, anyway. 

Thursday, I renewed my driver's license that had expired almost two years ago. I thought my hair would be okay. No, it was not. I can say with confidence that is the worst dl picture I have ever had taken. Hopefully, the color picture on the permanent dl will be better. No, I have not driven since it expired. I hope I still know how to drive...lol. 

I bit my tongue the worst I ever have yesterday! It was at the very back of my tongue. I could hear the teeth going into my tongue, sort of like biting into a juicy apple or a stalk of celery. I cried, could not finish eating and barely could shut my mouth. Then, just an hour later, I was using a straw while riding in the car. The car hit a ripple in the pavement and the heavy straw hit me in the mouth, trapping my lip between teeth and straw. That swelled up nicely. Then, I sort of choked when I coughed. Something lodged itself in the opening in my throat to my Eustachian tube. That hurt and caused a terrific earache until this morning. 

Reading I Alone is difficult because the book is heavy, too heavy to hold up while reading in bed. My hands hurt so I can barely read one chapter. I have made that my goal every night. This is something to consider when choosing what to read. I may have to limit heavy-book reading to sitting in the living room.

Last week, I found a penny while entering Publix. Yay me! 

Crochet is going to be present in my life once more. Supposedly it is good for my brain. I bought a new hook and thread. I keep losing my hooks! Now, I have the yard and hook in a storage bag.  I am on the lookout for dirt cheap yarn at yard sales. My goal is to make blankets for dolls. I just keep making the square larger, about 18", and finish it with a shell stitch around the outside. No, I have no idea what I will do with these, probably give them away. It is too bad I don't have some of the yarn from my house.

The last time I bought a crochet hook, about two weeks ago, I never got home with it. The hook probably fell through the basket on the electric cart before I arrived to the checkout. As soon as I got this hook  home, it went straight into a bag with the yarn. 

When I found StarKist Tuna for $0.77/can this spring, I bought about 24. The problem was--each can was stuck to another, completely covered in tuna or something sticky. Now, I need to remove the label and wash each can, marking "tuna" and the date with a marker. I will know what is in the cans with just one word on each of them. I think this is why these cans were so cheap! 

There is an estate sale across the street where the guy died last year. I am going, but not on the first day. I will wait until Saturday and probably return Sunday.  A company must be doing this sale. I love estate sales although some times they are sad if the person is on the premises. 

The front porch is being cleaned off one item at a time, sometimes one item a day. I have done nothing to it all this year, but now, the humidity, if not the heat is down so it is comfortable. Okay, I don't break a sweat the thirty-seconds I "work."

I am not ill, just my usual tired all day. So, I have done nothing for my birthday week. I made it a week since I cannot have a long day celebrating. Saturday, I will be 75...impossible! Where did the time go?

Tommy just brought in the corn--12 perfect ears. Nothing was brown, malformed, full ears. This will be good eating, just not tonight. 

Do you find items fall out of the grocery cart? Have you ever bitten your tongue or inside your cheek so hard it hurt days later?