Karen sent me this photo of Della playing with Maddie's 20 year old toys I made or bought for her.  I wonder how that Unicorn is still so clean looking?  Piglet looks a little frayed.

Karen and Mark just got home from a two week visit to their second child, Susanna, who lives in Portland, Oregon.  They did a lot of hiking the trails in OR and also Washington.

She'll be starting back to teach pretty soon.

My tub garden is growing and yielding, but I think I have a fail with my cucumber experiment.

My cukes look like commas!

I'll be fine!

Remember, a couple of months ago?  I promised not to ever post about my financial problems....and then I did it again!  I guess I was just in shock from getting notice of all the increases in one hour period!  It was like a wall was falling down on my head and I was scared to open another envelope or e-mail.

I get anxious with my budget being so tight, with no extra money.  I worry about a car breakdown.  What is a tree falls on the house in a storm?  I couldn't even pay the deductible.  My house insurance had dropped the replacement of the unit itself, because it is 20 years old.  I had it insured for $35,000.00.  I do have full replacement on the contents though, and that cost just went up.  The contents are the important stuff anyway.  If the house burns up, it would give me an excuse to go live with Pam or Karen or out to New Jersey with Jennifer.  I pick NJ, then I can go to The Shore!!

I don't know why my car insurance goes up.  My car is also 20 years old  I don't have collision on it, only PL and PD, but Michigan has the highest car insurance rates. 

Sorry--I will try to keep that worry to myself.  Nobody wants to read a post about that stuff!  I guess, it's just that this blog is kind of like my journal, with people reading, that will commiserate with me and tell me it will all work out.

...............................and of course it will.  God will sustain me.
===========================
I am so sick of this humidity we are having.  I check my inside thermometer weather station, and the outside temps looks good.  But the humidity is sometimes higher than the temperature and that makes for a miserable outside experience.  Even since I had the heat stroke at age 15, I can't bear to high a temp and humidity.  It just makes me nauseous and dizzy.

Which means, I am closed up in this house!  It seems no different to have the A/C blower fan going or the furnace blower fan going in the winter.  I am still all closed up.  In fact, I get out more in the winter than I do now.  Personally?  I am waiting for September and October to get outside and clean up the gardens and the shed and enjoy myself.

I should note here, just because I am a Republican, whatever that is anymore, does not mean I don't believe in Climate Change.  In 1968 we visited the Teton Mountains.  There was a glacier on the side of the mountain formed in the perfect shape of a skillet--thus the name, Skillet Glacier.  When I was back at the same spot in 2001, only part of the skillet bowl part remained.  In fact, that is no longer a brown National Parks sign pointing to Skillet Glacier.

The horrendous fires in California.  The floods, this unusual heat in Michigan, all point to Climate Change.  Besides that, I studied about it way back in the 60's in college Geology class.  The Professor predicted these events way back then.  

However, there is nothing we can do about it and probably not much we have done to cause it.  Climate changes have been going on since earth was created.  We have had ice ages and heat waves that lasted for years.  Animals and humans died.  Volcano's erupting caused giant clouds of ash and dust that shut out the sun for years, and bringing winters of severe magnitude,  causing everything to die.  Then decades of relatively "normal" weather.  The Climate Change chart looks like a giant roller coaster, as it goes up and then down.

Right now we are in another Climate Change era.  The oceans are warming, dust storms are flying, higher snow falls and higher temperatures.

It always has been.  It always will be.
======================
The other day on Face Book, I posted that I was going to start my own business.  I would call it YouBear.  Hire about half a dozen men in their late 60-mid-70's.  You could call them to come pick up, drive you to the grocery store, push your cart out to the car, filled up the trunk, drive you home and carry the groceries into the house.

Or--you could call them to come out and trim hedges, cut-back and clean up the gardens, fix the hose connection and do any heavy work needed done.

Or, if you just wanted some company, they could take you out to dinner or sit and watch a ball game with you and just have some conversation. No Hanky-Panky involved, just Rent-A-Man for a couple of hours.
==========================
Remember that afghan I had to rip out 6 times before I understood it?  It's coming along nicely now.

I ran out of yarn, so Monday night, I got into my closet, opened up the end of the plastic yarn storage block and grabbed another skein.  I was watching American Ninja Warrior and didn't realize for two rows that the yarn I was using was a very light Ecru!  The next morning, in the daylight, I pulled the yarn storage box out so I could open it completely and found another skein of white yarn.
====================================

Lastly, just to prove I am losing my mind.  I opened up my cable bill and there was a one time charge of $15.99 on it.  Wait.  What?

So I panicked and called the company.  They informed me that on July 27th, at 7:11, I watched an On Demand Movie, call, "You were never there."  I told they lovely young lady that Number One:  I would never, ever pay that much for a movie.  Number Two: at 7:11 I was watching Wheel of Fortune, and Number Three:  I had never, ever heard of that movie title.

She took the charge off for me and then walked me through how to put a PIN number in my TV so that if I ever watch an On Demand movie, I will have to enter that number.  "To keep children or visitors from accessing On Demand."  I told her no one was here except me and two cats.  We decided to blame the cats.  One of them must have stepped on the remote.  (Sure.)

I must have hit the wrong button on the remote control when I was channeling hopping.  I had to go into Parental Controls to set up the PIN.  I think maybe I need a parent to watch me!!!  I really felt like I had done something so senile oriented that I was losing it.

I spent the last two weeks of July with not enough gas in my car and no money to buy anymore.  I sure wanted to visit my sister.

I got some money on Thursday, $25.00 filled only  3/4 of a tank and took off to visit my hometown, the cemetery and The Farm.  Boy, it was wonderful driving the familiar roads.  A little sad as I passed Pammies' house, in fact, I drove in the drive, got out and just sat on "my" back porch for awhile.  The sounds are the same as when I lived there--basically nothing unless a car goes by on the road.  I sure miss her being away!

I stopped in at the cemetery to visit family and Fred, and moved the cement angel dog statute to the other side of Fred's marker.  I change it around every time I stop there.  It gets water under it and stains the head stone, if it isn't moved often.  Then I drove over around the cemetery a bit and got out and stopped by my best friend's grave.  I have been having a lot of dreams about her the last week.  In fact, I woke up one morning last weekend when I heard her voice say, "Jude.  You awake?"  It was so realistic, that I leaned over the edge of the bed and looked down the hall to see who had walked into my front door.  

Sister and I had a great time.  We sat in her parlor, she on the couch, me in the recliner and talked and laughed and cooked up schemes to kind of shape up people we think need shaping up.  Of course we'll never carry out those schemes, but we had a good time coming up with some very imaginative ideas.  Then she got up and played the piano as I hummed along to a few hymns in the hymnal she has.  I can't sing anymore, but it was nice.  

It was so nice, sitting in the little parlor, with carpeting on the floor and a normal height ceiling, instead of the high ceiling and hard wood floors in her family room.  I could hear every thing she said.  In the family room, her words bounce off the hard surfaces and it is hard for me to hear her.

I was so relaxed that I practically dozed all the way home.  LOL

I probably won't have enough gas to drive to the Old School Gal Pals luncheon, but this visit "home" was so much more important for my heart and soul.
============================
I woke up Friday, still feeling relaxed and happy.  Then all heck broke loose.

I opened the mail from the day before to find that my house and car insurance both went up.  The next letter I opened, was a notice from the park that our rent has been raised.  An e-mail informed me that the budget payment on my electricity had gone up $5.00 and another e-mail informed me that my food assistance has been cut from $20.00 to $15.00.

Within an hour of waking up, my budget had increased over $50.00 for expenses.  My budget is always in the red, but this month, it showed I would only be short $2.69.  How, I will be short $48.00.  

I didn't know what to do.  I could feel a familiar chill of fear, kind of around the middle of my stomach.  I wanted to just cry, but I am always afraid if I ever start crying, I won't stop.  That is why, I never allow myself to cry--EVER!  

So, I glanced over at the picture of Jesus I have sitting on the edge of my desk and said, "Lord, I need some help here."  And went about my day.

What good would it do to worry and become anxious?  That wouldn't solve any problem and just add stress.  So, I will just assume that everything will work out.


I am like my 6 week old balloon--a bit deflated, but still up and happy!

Our friend Sally over here, posted about going back to see her childhood home.  

Her post brought up a whole lot of memories because it looks almost exactly like the first house we built after we were married.  I'll bet it was the same floor plan.

Ours was built on a slab, so no basement to put a furnace in.  Just a wall oil heater, expected to keep the whole house warm.  No registers in each room.  In the winter time, the kids beds, shoved up against each wall, would have their blankets stuck to the wall with ice.  Apparently not much insulation in the outer walls either.

3 bedrooms, a bathroom, kitchen, dining room and living room.  It was all we needed.
but I must admit, 10 years later I was ecstatic to move into my grandma's big two story home!

From this:

To this:

...but when we were first married, we started out with this...

==================
I had a total crop failure on my sweet corn experiment in the raised bed out by my shed.  I think either crows or raccoons dug up and ate the corn seed as soon as I planted it!  My cherry tomatoes are coming in now and I have two tiny cucs on my "tub" cucumber plant.

I bring them in and let them ripen on the counter.  Then I pop them in my mouth!!
=========================
I have started a new baby afghan.  I have ripped it out 6 times!  The pattern is one I have never done--with puff stitches to make letters to spell out words.  As you can imagine, I have to count the stitches carefully or the letters won't line up correctly.  Plus, the puff stitches are done while I am working on the opposite side--so I can't see how they line up until that row is done.  I think I've got it now though.

Still waiting for rain.  Over the weekend, places down by Detroit got flooding downpours.  Up north of me, got flooding downpours.  The weather radar map showed green stuff right over where I live, but it never made it to the ground.  Howell--which is 2.5 miles west and a skosh north of me, got rain.  Brighton--which is 2.5 miles east and a skosh south of me, got rain.  We got sprinkles and not even enough to wet down the street.  Today's forecast--severe thunderstorms, heavy downpours, but probably not for this area.

I got my grandson-in-law's afghan done.  It had a neat edging I had never done before.  Reverse, half-double crochet.  It made a real nice rope-like edging all around the afghan.  It almost looks like red, white and blue in this photo, but it is light gray, claret and navy.  The thing is over 6' long--he's 6'5".

=============================
I have been concerned about my big gray Buddy Cat.  

Once plump (too plump) and feisty, he was frightened horribly about 18 months ago.  Since then, he has lost weight.  He acts scared and won't come out into the living room if the ceiling fan is on.  Then I noticed he wasn't jumping up on the couch for his nap, and couldn't jump up on the bed at night.

I decided he probably has arthritis in his hips.  I started him on glucosamine/chrondrotin and within two weeks, he started losing the fur on his hind quarters.  So I stopped the supplement.

There was gray and white fur all over the place.  I watched him.  He wasn't pulling it out, the fur was just falling off him.  Alopecia for sure.  I read up on it and guess what, it can be caused by stress!

In June I noticed he just seemed to be failing.  He slept under the bed all day.  He was still eating well and not over drinking, so I didn't think he had diabetes, but he just seemed...........sad.

I bought him an "egg-crate" memory foam bed for him to nap on, behind my chair.  That seemed to help a bit.  Then two weeks ago, I started him back on Cosequin.  WOW!  What a difference.  He walks a lot faster and even runs now.  He has started eating more and seems more playful.  Yesterday, he went over to their toy basket, pulled out one of the bigger toys, held it and was laying on his back giving it "rabbit kicks".

He and Maggie were wrestling last night and having a good time.  I tried to take a photo, but when they saw the camera, they stopped and wouldn't look at me and looked away, like they were guilty of something.  I noticed he had somehow jumped up on my bed and was taking his nap.  I think he was in so much arthritic pain it affected his personality.

He's still scared of the ceiling fan and if I walk behind him, while they are eating, he will run into the bedroom and crawl under the bed until I go into another room.  My poor baby has emotional problems!
======================

Best adventure so far this summer.

Down to Brighton, Staples, Bank and because Meijer is near, I stopped in to get a couple of Liters of Diet Pepsi. IT WAS ON SALE--10 FOR $10.00, 11TH ONE FREE. Yipee.

I had to run over to Michael's, but when I opened my trunk to put the groceries away, there was a medium sized toad, sitting in the channel of the trunk lid. I almost slammed the trunk lid down on him! I grabbed him, he whizzed all over my hand because he was scared.

I looked around on where to put him. There are no grassy areas in the Meijer parking lot or any other parking lot. So I emptied out one of my plastic bags, dumped him in there and tied the top.

I drove over to Michael's, parked in the only shade I could find and in and out of Michael's in 15 minutes. He had hopped around inside the bag and was nearly under the front passenger seat.

I told him to hang on tight and sped home--at 50 mph the allowed speed limit. I brought him into the house, carefully opened the bag and put a dish of cool water in for him--he didn't seem very interested.

 

I was going to put him in my woodland wild flower garden, but decided that would be too small for him. He might venture out onto the lawn and get chopped by Don the Lawn Mowing Man.

So I carried him across the street to the woods behind my Jackie's home and placed him down in a lovely patch of Lilies of the Valley and Violets.

I found out later it is called a Fowler Toad--found in the south-eastern part of Michigan.

So that little toad somehow got into the trunk lid channel and rode all the way with me down to Brighton.  I have a Roadie Toadie!

I hope he learns how to hibernate before winter comes.

==========================

We have been so dry here, but my perennial garden has done well.  The flowers seem taller with more blooms than last year.  My Star Gazer Lily is beautiful.  I just had to cut one bloom and bring it inside, to place near my recliner, so I could smell the scent.

My vegetable garden, planted in pots, seems to be doing well too.  Even my experiment, of growing a cucumber in a pot, is doing okay.  The cucumber plant climbing the trellis like it is supposed too.

My perennial garden is fading fast.  Cone Flowers are now in bloom.  My Rose of Sharon bushes have very few flowers.

It is supposed to rain all weekend--even now I see dark clouds coming in from the south-west.  I can't wait!  I hope it rains all day today and tomorrow.

Friends are mad because they wanted to go to the many street and art fairs in the area.  Hey!  Those fairs will be here next year and there are later fairs to come in August.

If we don't get rain, crops are going to be very low yield, which means the farmer's won't get as much money per bushel, which means it will be difficult for them to save up money to buy seed and fertilizer next spring.  It also means higher prices in the grocery store.  It also mean an early Autumn.  I see bronze leaves on my Maple trees already.

===================

This afternoon I get my hairs cut.  I had just taught that new girl how to cut my hair and then she left to move to another salon.  I got a call last week that if I still wanted to go to my regular salon, the manager would now be my stylist.  Still the same price--$17.00.  YOWZA!!  I assume, and probably shouldn't, that the manager should know how to cut short hair.  Right?

The rest of the weekend, I will be in my chair finishing up my grandson-in-law afghan, cross stitching, working on a new baby afghan and watching TV.  

...and hoping it rains and rains and rains--nice and steady, for 48 hours!

Yesterday, we had one of those, or what I would call, a perfect summer day.  Temperatures in the high 50's when I woke up.  The window open in the bedroom, made it feel almost chilly as I got out of bed.  There was a lovely breeze and lots of sun.  Of course the temps went up during the day, but I never had to close up and turn on the A/C---which I had done most of the weekend and Monday.

At our Old School Gals Lunch last Thursday, two of the Gals were talking about cleaning under their beds and how difficult it is now that we can't get down on the floor.  I felt a bit guilty as I haven't vacuumed under my bed since I painted the bedroom way back in twenty-aught nine.

Friday I decided that I would vacuum under there. I laid flat on the floor and looked under the bed.  I couldn't see any dust.  In fact the carpeting looked brand new.  I turned on the vacuum and used the long hose with the duster/fabric thingie attachment to go back and forth, back and forth--all the way down the length and breadth.

I didn't see any dust or debris under that bed!  Apparently the bed itself and the dust ruffle had kept anything from settling under the bed!

Done!  Then the problem arose.  How was I going to get up?  

I rolled over on my back and sat up.  Great, but still no way to hoist myself up into a standing position.  So I got on my arthritic old knees and crawled over to the edge of the bed.  Now all I had to do was hang on to the bed and stand up.  For some reason, my knees didn't want to push my body up.

I thought of crawling into the bathroom and using the toilet to pull myself up, but the thought of using my knees to crawl across six feet of tile, didn't sound very comfortable.

So I put my hands up on the mattress--a very high 22" mattress and pushed with my knees and hands to get up right--then I collapsed face down on the bed.  Rested a bit, turned over and swung my legs around so I could stand.

Then I felt it!  Awful, terrific pain all across my lower back.  I couldn't stand upright.  Bent over at my waist, I hobbled into the living room and my recliner.    After about a half hour, I got back up, still bent at the waist and got my "supplies".

I took 2 pills, rubbed the horse liniment over my back and a half hour later, heated up my rice sock in the microwave and put that on my back, Kicked the recliner back and tried to rest.

By the time I went to bed on Saturday night, I was still in a lot of pain and still couldn't stand straight.
I would have given anything for half a Percocet.  Even though my doctor knows, I had a prescription for 30 of them, that lasted almost two years, because I only take half a one at night, when the back pain is so bad, he won't write me another prescription.  With all the drug crazed people in the world now, the government is watching doctor's to see how many prescriptions they write for opiates.

I Woke up Sunday,  still bent over, but the pain had receded a bit and now my bad shoulder was hurting like crazy.  More Tylenol, more liniment.

Around 3:00 in the afternoon, I remembered my TENS unit. 

I got it and pasted those pads over the two bad areas, cranked that thing up to 30 and let the electrical stimulation pulsate for 20 minutes.  Then turned it off.  I kept doing that, at 20 minute intervals the rest of the day.

I woke up Monday morning with just residual pain in my back and shoulder.

What a horrendous weekend I spent, and for what?  

Imaginary dust bunnies that didn't exist.

ARGGH!!!

I have to tell you about the weirdest, strangest and mind boggling thing that happened Tuesday night.

I was sitting in my recliner, not paying too much attention to what was on the TV.  My cats were sitting in front of me like they wanted something.

All of a sudden, I thought of cat treats.  I haven't purchased any cat treats for my cats in a year.  I reached over to my table, grabbed the little pad that sits there and wrote down Cat Treats--thinking I would get them some the next time I go to the store.

I laid the pad back on the table and heard my neighbor "you hooing" from the porch.  I went over and opened the screen door and she said, "God has been bugging me all day to get you some cat treats."

She works at Pets Mart and handed me a sack with two XL bags of cat treats.  I just stood there with my mouth hanging open.  "Don't you want them?" she asked.

I said, "Tammy, come in and sit down you gotta hear this!"

Serendipity or........................God Whispers?
==============================
I was up at the Food Bank and saw Pearl's daughter Marge, just ahead of me.  She provides for her daughter and the two grand babies too, so she had a cart full.

She went through the check-out ahead of me--by then she had a cart and a half--I heard them say she was allowed 130# of food and she could have two gallons of milk this month instead of the normal one.

She went out to load her trunk.  I had 21# is all, I'm allowed 60#..  They asked me if I wanted cheese and I said, "No."

As I walked out, Marge was coming back in for her second cart.  "I thought we were supposed to get the government cheese?"

"Yes." I said.

"Hm-mm.  They didn't ask me if I wanted any.

I loaded up my trunk and was walking back in while she was still unloading.

I pushed my cart back inside and asked the guy that I know, "That lady in front of me didn't get her cheese."

"Oh, she has to be old to get that."  I stared at him.  "Ah, I mean older."

"Well she's got kids to feed.  She needs it more than I do...clogging up my arteries.  Ah...since I didn't get mine, can I change my mind and get it?"

He looked at me and winked.  "Sure," as he handed me the big block of cheese, "but you have to know, any exchanging of food can't be done within our sight."  Big smile.

So I walked back outside and over to Marge's car and said "You can't get cheese until you get older.  I can.  I don't like it, so please take mine."

She hugged me.  I got in my car and smiled all the way home!

Serendipity.
===========================
Today I had lunch with my Old School Gal Pals.  Only 5 showed up so we got to sit close enough to talk.  The two ladies that dominate the conversation weren't there.  We had a very pleasant time.  

The heat is coming back tomorrow, so, once again, I will be locked up in my house, blinds drawn, A/C running for as long as the siege lasts.  I hate it!

RELIEF

7 continual days of temperatures in the 90's, with heat indices in the 100's!  This is not the Michigan weather I know!

I had a heat stroke--yes, not heat exhaustion, but a real heat stroke when I was 15.  I was in and out of consciousness for 3 days.  I cannot tolerate heat, especially when it comes with humidity in the 70% range!

Being closed up in my house for seven days, with my blinds closed and the furnace fan noise every 30 minutes, bringing in cool, air conditioned air, does not make for a happy mood on my part.

This morning, I got up at 7:00.  A.M., that is, which is very early for me.  I had heard of a predicted cool front and 70 degree temps.  I ran around, pulling every window blind up to the top of the windows, pulling back curtains, raising every single window.

I shivered in the, what felt like cold air, coming in.  I opened the front door.  Oh.  My.  Gosh!

I felt like I had broken free from my prison!!

The cats went from window to window, jumping up on the ledge to look out.  When I opened the front door, they both went over and sat down in front of the screen.  Maybe they could, once again, watch the birds and the squirrels and the chipmunks.

The most perfect blue sky.  The most perfect cool breeze.  

I survived!  I'm alive!!

Let me see...where did I leave off?

Ah yes.  Pammie is home from New Jersey.  She has 4 different doctor's appointments, an appointment with the Social Security office and an attorney.

She and Karen came over on Thursday and stayed for 4 hours!!!!!!!!!!!  Karen brought food and Pam painted my toe nails for me.

Oh my--we had some great conversations and a lot of laughter. 

Karen said, "Mom, your house looks great!"

I said, "I got busy and cleaned up the clutter, dusted, vacuumed and mopped the kitchen floor.  When kids visit their elderly parents and see messes, they start thinking about nursing homes, because Mom can't take care of herself anymore."

Pam said, "We've discussed this Mom.  Karen is going to drive, you will sit in the back with me and when we get to the nursing home, Karen will slow down, I will open the back door, say 'drop and roll Mom' and gently push you out!"

Karen was nodding her head.

I said, "I'm staying here as long as I can!  I don't want to end up in one of those places, sharing a room with Ditzy Donna!"

We all laughed and laughed.  Then Karen said,  "Mom, I have wondered though, if you would ever want to move into an assisted living place.  You can get assistance or none, whichever you prefer."

"Sure.  They cost about $3,000.00 a month.  Are you going to pay for that?  Besides I have a plan."

Pammie says, "What's that?"

"When you go back to Jersey, I'm going to move into your upstairs."

"How you gonna get in my house.  I'm the only one with a key."

"Pammie, Pammie, Pammie.  I lived in that house long enough to know which window I can jimmy open, or how to take the outside basement door off the hinges.  I got locked out twice and managed to get inside by myself.  I can do it again, Girlie!"

Pam pulls out her smart phone and writes something down.

"What are you doing?" asks Karen.

"Just writing a reminder.  'Make sure all downstairs windows are locked tight and basement door is bolted, chained and reinforced!' "

More laughter.

Then Pammie suggested that I move my trailer over to Karens'.  "You could put it over on their side lawn, where they used to store their camper."

"Sure," said Karen.  "The grass won't grow over there anyway."

"Mark could run me an electrical line and hook me up to your septic tank and I'd be all set.  Then you could check on me everyday so you would know I was still alive."  I said.

"I don't know, Mom.  I get so busy some days.......and what would you do when Mark and I go up north?"

"Guess that won't work," I said.

Pam said, "Guess you'll just have to stay here.  If you die during the night...probably one of your neighbor's would notify us......after awhile."
===============================
Pam looks great!  So relaxed and happy and has lost over 25# in the last six months.  I miss her, but I can't be sad that she is staying "out there" with Jen and Eric and the kids.  She is loving it so much!
==============
The rest of the weekend, I stayed inside with the blinds lowered and closed to keep out the hot sun and the A/C on, set at 75.  Our heat indices were 104 on Sunday, with humidity at 72%!  Unbearable!!  We Michiganders aren't used to this kind of weather.  I HATE IT!!!

I just finished a magnificent genealogy.  It has taken 2 months.  What a surprise my client will get when she opens her book to find, she is not Irish, like she thought.  

Her first immigrant ancestor DID come from Ireland, but his ancestor's originated in Scotland and only fled to Ireland, because of religious persecution by the (English) Anglican Church.  They were protestant Presbyterians so off to Northern Ireland they went.

I got "back" or "up" 20 generations.  Her first known ancestor was a personal friend, armor bearer and fighter for (King) Robert the Bruce.  For his service, he was given 10,000 acres of woods and built a castle on the edge of the woods.  17 generations of her direct ancestor's have lived in that castle--up until 1975.  

Her  ancestor's that emigrated to America, settled in Pennsylvania, were given several hundred acres of land there and made a settlement and eventually a town, that today bears their name.  It is in south west Pennsylvania.

I can't wait until she opens her book and gets her first glimpse of that loooong pedigree of her father's family.
======================
Therein lies the problem.  Printing the book.

I got the pedigrees printed and put together.  Took them up to the print shop to be printed out on long architect paper to fold into the book.

I came home and commenced to print out the pages for the book.  My new $40.00 printer is fantastic.  The colors for the photos are vibrant, the black print is sharp and clear.  Half way into the job, a notice came up on my page that the two inkjets were nearly empty.

No problem.  I snapped them out and ventured down to Brighton to Cartridge World to get refills.

They had no refills!  This printer is so new that they haven't received any cartridges as yet.

No problem.  On the way back home, I stopped at Staples.  The cartridges from the manufacturer only cost $26.00 for a twin pack!  
That's why I bought a new printer.  The inkjet refills for my old one cost, $35.00 for black, $50.00 for color.

Staples was out of stock for those particular inkjets.  BUT they could order them online and I would have them delivered to my home the next day--Tuesday.

While I was there, I decided to get a pack of the special paper I use.  It is 40#, matte finish, acid free paper.  Staples had none and guess what?  The manufacturer doesn't make it anymore.  They still produce the glossy paper, but not the matte.  The nearest kind they had was 28#, acid free.  It will work, but not what I really wanted.

So home I came.  No inkjets, but I could wait one day for them.  I'd do other stuff.
=========================
Tuesday arrived.  I had to go to the dentist for a filling, but when I came back, I saw a UPS truck pull out of the park and assumed he had delivered my new inkjets.

Nope!  
======================
I really wanted to get the books mailed out before the end of the month.
I really wanted to do that so I could get my last installment payment from my client.
I really wanted that payment so I could pay off my dental bill.
=======================
Maybe the inkjets will come today?  Although I was guaranteed next day delivery, you know how it is.  Businesses today seem to "over promise and under deliver".

ARGGH!!

Still and all, it's a magnificent genealogy and I think my patient client will be more than happy with what I found.

Robbie

I found a baby Robin, on the edge of my lawn, directly under the nest he had apparently fallen out of, and near the edge of the street.

I put him by the base of the tree and watched as Momma came to feed him several times a day.

Then, yesterday, I noticed he was not at the base of the tree, but out in the middle of the lawn again.  Not a good place.  We have two feral cats in this area and I was afraid they would get him.  Plus, it was rainy and cold.  So I got a potholder, put it in the crotch of the tree and put Robbie in it.

Man, there must have been half a dozen Robins swooping at me and chirping and carrying on.

But they wouldn't come near him.

So, I went back out and took away the potholder and just put Robbie in the protected area.

He was chirping like crazy.  Dad did a couple of walk-bys and........................

Finally, two hours later, Dad came by to feed him and Robbie was fed every few minutes for the rest of the day.

A steady procession of Momma and Dad and probably Aunts and Uncles feeding him.

Now--this morning, Robbie is not in the tree.  I can't see him anywhere, so I am going to have to do a walk-about to see where he is.

The First Day of Summer, the longest day of the year.  Yesterday, we had 15 hours of daylight.

I have never had a balloon before.

I kept hugging it.

My sister Susan and Chuck came down and brought Subways for us.  Their tradition is a cup-cake with a candle on it.

I made a wish and blew out the candle and it came back on.  So I kept wishing and blowing until the candle finally sent out a few sparkles and went out for good.  I must have had 10 wishes!!!
==================
As is a family tradition, the family member who has just celebrated their birthday, is reminded that the next day, they start on a new age.  So, I was reminded not to worry about being 79, as today I start my eighth decade!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not a bit funny and now that it is imprinted in my mind, when/if someone asks my age, I will probably reply, "Eighty".  Just let me enjoy being "only" 79 for at least the next 12 months, okay?
=====================
Seventy-Nine?  It boggles the mind.  Just stop and think, really ponder and think of your own age.  How did we get here so quickly?  To say, "A year from now," sounds so far away.

To have to suffer with a toothache for a year, would be impossible to bear.  To think of not seeing a loved one for a year, would also be heart rendering.  To think of being eighty in "just" a year, and knowing how quickly that year will go, is almost frightening.

But--I will make it and....there better be a big party, with ALL my kids and grandkids and family, with more balloons and cake, next June 21st.  Just sayin'!
==================
Now to be depressed a bit--I am starting my 8th decade AND the days are getting shorter--daylight-wise.  Heading toward the Winter Solstice where we get about 3 hours of daylight, or so it seems.  Again time--moves so slowly from December to June and so quickly from June to December.

...and with that happy thought...........

Got my hair cut Friday evening.  One side is shorter than the other. The back looks great, but it's a bit ragged where she tried to cut over/around my ears.  $17.00 with a $5.00 tip and pleasant conversation in a quiet salon--worth it. 

We got the heat wave during Friday night.  In anticipation, I closed up the house when I went to bed and turned on the A/C to 74.  The A/C helps so much to keep the house dry--that's the main thing to me, and of course cool.

Saturday, I stayed in all day.  I took down the curtains and washed them and the windows in my office.  This is one of the scary chores I have to do once a year, but I got my spring housecleaning done while it is officially Spring.

See that window ledge between my desk and the windows--I have to stand on that and press my calves back against the desk to keep my balance while taking down the valance and washing the windows.  I clear off my desk, so I can sit on it and spin my bottom around to get to the windows.

Windows all washed--on the inside at least.  The outside would involve a ladder and, well..........

I even dusted that big hunk of driftwood while I was up there.

The hardest and scariest part is hooking the valances back up.  I am so tall that my nose is level with that top frame and it makes me kind of woozy to stand there and bend down to see where the valance hooks are.

Well success.  Curtains washed, starched and ironed.  I didn't put a hand or elbow through the top window pane nor my knee through the bottom  one.  WHEW!

I stepped out at 9:00 in the evening to re-fill the Orioles feeder.  Still hotter than bling! I have to fill it twice a day.  I have two pairs of the beautiful orange and black birds.

Sunday, I stayed in all day too.  Mostly watching the golf tournament and a good movie.

Monday, stayed in all day again.  This is getting a little confining even for me.  I did get a hit on the genealogy I am doing that took me up to 1260, so that kept me busy all day--or 5 hours of the day.

My Maggie cat likes to sleep on a plastic bag.  I don't know why--seems weird to me.  So when I empty one out, I throw it down for her.  It looks a bit untidy, but.............

 Different day, different plastic bag--same result.

============================
So nice and cool and low humidity this morning.  Daughter Karen came over with an early birthday gift.  15 bags of dark brown mulch for my Lilac/Hosta garden.  I've wanted to get this done for a couple of years, but it was too much for me to do.

It was like a jungle in there.  Lilac suckers growing up all over, weeds, little Maple trees.  I sat in my camp chair and went along digging up what I could reach, Karen was on the inside, contending with cutting down the suckers, little trees and putting Round-up on the weeds.

By the time we got the clean-up done, it already looked 90% better.

Then she went to work, hauling bags of mulch and getting it all put down.

 Beautiful.

While Karen was putting down the mulch, I was packing yard waste bags with the debris we had cut out, trimmed and pulled up.  I wasn't in any hurry because the yard waste people come at 7:00am every other Tuesday morning, and I knew that today I had missed them.  I would have to store the bags in my shed for another two weeks.

I had one bag filled when I heard what sounded like the garbage truck.  I looked around and there went the yard waste truck up the street behind me.

Wait.  What?

I hurriedly filled another bag and hauled both of them out to the street.  Ran back to the wheelbarrow and stuffed another bag with what remained.  The truck was at my neighbor's, as I quickly hauled the last bag to the street.

I told the guy what happened.  

"I can't believe you are this late today.  You guys are never late."

"Well, we had some truck trouble this mornin', " he said.

Lucky me.

Karen was putting the last touches on the mulch and I was hauling tools back to the shed, when it started sprinkling.

Lucky us.

I was tired out, had a sandwich for lunch and watched my Soap.  I knew I had to go to the bank and also to Walmart to get some stuff.  I decided to wait until tomorrow.  Then, I noticed I had 1/2 litre of Diet Pepsi left.  So I hauled myself into my car and headed up toward Howell.  Stopped at the bank and then started on toward Walmart.  There was a lot of traffic and in order to get to Walmart, I would have had to move over two lanes to turn left at the light.  I just decided it was easier to stay in my lane and turn right into the Meijer store--what's the diff, right?

I dragged myself back toward where the Pepsi is located.  I figured I'd just get a couple of jugs to last me until another day when I felt more like shopping.  I saw the yellow sign, "10 for 10.  11th one FREE".  Oh.  My.  Gosh!

Now if I had gone to Walmart, I would have missed that sale and paid $1.58 for a jug of Pepsi.  If the yard waste men hadn't had truck problems, I would have to haul those 3 bags to my shed and in two weeks, remember to haul them all out to the street.  If Karen and I hadn't just finished up when we did, we would have gotten rained on pretty hard.

Those coincidences that I credit to God Happenings.  On the way home from the store, thinking about those 3 incidences, I just laughed and laughed.

What a great day!