July 31. Saturday Surprise.

Woke this morning to the beep-beep-beep of the smoke detector. No smoke. Battery is almost dead. But will be checking every hour or so to make sure. 

Was 44 degrees when I fed the outside kitties and tried to walk Bandit (he didn't want to go). Pretty cold for this time of year. Came home and crawled back in bed.

Mowed the lawn yesterday. The tracker on my phone recorded three miles of walking. 

Was such a nice day I took Bandit for a hike on Hidden Valley Trail near Gilbert Reservoir. Was pretty. We'll go there again once I find out how long it is. As it was, we cut off after about a mile and took a logging road back to the main road. Not sure how far we walked because there was no cell service.

Picked up fresh corn at the Lewis Run farmers market. It was fabulous! Got a roll and whoopie  pie (which were horrible) and some sugar free peanut butter cups (which were ok). Bought a couple burgers from the firemen too.

Throat still sore. Not good.

July 30. Friday Fun.

Have been under the weather the last few days. Sore throat and ears. No fever though, so it's probably not strep. Could do without the trots. Will go to the doctor Monday if there's no improvement.

Managed brief cleaning stints in the shed. Planted more beets and green beans. Am going to have to move the eggplants. The cucumbers are crowding them out. Finally have a baby pumpkin on those vines. 

Not sure I have the energy, but the lawn has to get mowed today. Have to pick up a Wal-Mart order today too. All I want to do is sleep.

Guess I'll make a pot of coffee and do some chores.

July 27. Two-fer Tuesday.

Fifty four degrees this morning with a predicted high of 83. The grass is so full of dew I had to roll my pants up above my ankles or they would have been dripping water. 

Pulled three cucumbers from the garden yesterday and one this morning. Picked five more summer squash. Finally added some fertilizer to the zucchini and tomato beds. Probably should have put in the summer squash beds too, but really don't need more squash.

Moved the lattice board from the side of the shed to the west side of the garden behind the new cloth bed. It looks lovely there. Lettuce in the new bed has sprouted as have a couple of the beets. Have to plant more radishes and decide what to put in the left side of the planter. Probably more beets.

The asparagus is lovely.

Sorted through more stuff in the shed. One more big box to go through of my stuff. Hope to be able to throw a bunch away. Already started looking around the house at potential yard sale stuff.

July 26. Muggy Monday.

Garbage out. Garden uncovered. Animals fed. Bandit walked. Vacuum run. 

Glanced next door while opening the garden and saw their tomatoes don't have leaves anymore. Therefore I will continue covering mine at night.

Turned the motion sensor light on last night when I covered the garden. Was pleased to see it work.

Worked on the shed again yesterday. Whittled down the "save" pile considerably. Sorted through a lot of the Stampin' Up supplies. Will probably work on it some more today.

Scrubs are clean and in a bag waiting to be given away. 

Gonna have a slice of banana bread and some cantaloupe for breakfast. Feeling rather stuffed up right now. From breathing in all the dust and who knows what else while in the shed. This too shall pass, eh?

July 25. Sunday, A Typical Day of Rest.

Rest is mostly what's going to happen. No heavy chores today. Am staying out of the shed unless I go out there to listen to music. Yes, the phonograph is hooked up. Forgot to release the locks under the table, so was unable to insert the leaves. Table is too heavy for me to lift by myself without damaging it. Moved the bulletin board. Hung a couple pictures. 

Have to wash my old scrubs. Am going to ask Mary if she knows anyone who can use them.

It's a few minutes after six. The animals have been fed, garden opened and I'm sipping my first cup of coffee. Sky looks like rain again today; weatherman says only a twenty four percent chance of precipitation. You can feel the moisture in the air. (Phil Collins, can you feel it?)

Mosquitoes were rather thick and hungry over by the garden. Will have to search out standing water sources.

Gotta do some baking today. Zucchini bread, banana bread and squash casserole. Was too hot to run the oven for an hour or two when I tired of the shed yesterday afternoon. Put it off until today. Might just make banana bread and put off the zucchini bread until a cooler day.

Hooked up the new WiFi router. If I can get the desk moved I'll hook the security cameras back up. 

Coffee tastes delicious today and I'd love to have another cup, but Bandit needs his walk. 

It's gonna be a great day.

July 24. Saturday Baking.

Ahhh. That first sip of coffee in the morning sure is nice.

Worked in the shed for several hours yesterday. It's still quite messy, but I got a lot accomplished. The good news is I found two working tower fans, so I can take a fan off my need to purchase list.

Am going to have to make some banana bread and maybe zucchini bread today. Also the squash casserole I bought supplies for. Sure do hate wasting food. Not sure I want to start that this morning or wait until the afternoon. Probably the afternoon.

Splurged and bought a pulled pork sandwich from one of the Friday fire hall market vendors. Bought a bee balm plant as well.

Chatted with Nancy (beagle pups mom) for a bit on our afternoon walk. She seems really nice.

Julie and Tim were out with their pups and we went to the ball park together so the dogs could play together. Bandit loves their dogs, Mishka and Sierra. They gave him quite the workout.

It's 6:30, so I guess I better throw on some blue jeans and take Bandit for a walk. The garden is already uncovered and animals are fed. Forgot to mention that Kiki was here yesterday. He looks like he's been eating better than when he was here last. Good to see.

Later tater!

July 23. Fun Friday.

Yesterday was busy. After hanging out the wash, I worked on the shed a bit. Moved the broken vacuum, fan and freezer out to the road. Swept the floor and moved a couple things around. No rain today, so I'll be back at it as soon as I finish a couple cups of coffee.

Picked up a couple bags of chopped straw and laid most of it in the garden on top of newspaper and cardboard. Put it on the north side of the garden by where the mint is planted. The goal is to not have to mow or weed wack. Was a lot of work. 

Stopped at TOPS and picked up cheese for squash casserole and a couple things they had on sale. 

Bandit and I went to the spring and filled nine gallons of water. Our usual number  cause that's what fits on the passenger side floor. Have to unload it before it leaks all over the floor. The plastic jugs last quite a while, but do get holes in them from use. 

Burned a bunch of paper garbage also.

Warmer this morning. Fifty three with an anticipated high of seventy three. High humidity again. 90%. 

Time to put on some work clothes and get this party started.

July 22. Chilly Thursday.

Was in the mid 40s for our morning stroll. Cold enough that windows were closed and to bake a bacon, tomato, onion, cheese and green pepper Bisquick quiche. Nice thing about that is I won't have to cook breakfast for a few days.

Will be planting green beans today and placing an order for chard and bok choy for Fall planting. Nice having raised bed covers to extend the growing season.

W stopped by yesterday and was kind enough to mow the back yard for me. Now all that's left is the garden area. I have half a mind to lay cardboard and newspaper so I don't have to more again. 

No rain predicted today, so will be washing clothes today. Hanging outside vs using the dryer saves quite a bit of money. Have to burn some of the paper that's piled up. Forgot to put the gasoline back in the shed before it rained, so will be using it as fire starter. Not much in the can anyway.

Need to get water soon. Not sure if it will happen today or not. Bandit could use a good hike, so it's a possibility.

Gonna start the wash and do a Spanish lesson before eating breakfast. So much to do. So little time.

July 21. Working Wednesday.

Gathered all the recycling and clothing donations and took them where they belong. Discovered that Bradford doesn't recycle plastic, but there was another dumpster there so they went in there.

Dropped plastic bags at Wal-Mart and actually went inside to shop. Picked up a new WiFi router. Was shocked at all the bare shelves. Guess I need to stock up on non-perishables that sell out again. Like toilet paper. Walking through the store gave me a glimpse of what Russians have been dealing with for years, i.e., supply distribution problems. We Americans are so spoiled.

Global warming/climate change (that some say isn't happening) is having a big impact on air quality. Smoke from the wildfires in Canada are extensive enough the hills here look foggy in broad daylight. All that smoke in the atmosphere contributes to upper respiratory problems for sensitive folks like me. 

Flooding around the globe. Germany and China have been hit hard. Other areas are seeing food shortages caused by drought. Exceedingly high temperatures are killing the old and infirm who don't have access to A/C. 

Then there's the Delta variant of the COVID19 spreading throughout regions where vaccination percentages are low.

Anyway, planted another crop of beets and some lettuce. No Swiss chard seeds to be found. Will have to order from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. 

July 20. Tuesday Tasks.

10:30 a.m. and I'm fresh out of the shower, drinking my second cuppa and eating a healthy breakfast of fresh cantaloupe, banana, gala apple and blueberries, canned peaches and dried cherries. Made enough for tomorrow too. I really need to start eating healthier. My cholesterol is high.

Have washed one load of clothes and hung them out and have a dark load ready for after I mow the grass. Jeans get so dirty doing that. 

Read up a bit on Begonia Deliciosa. It should do very well this year; according to my research it likes humidity and damp feet, but not rain. Will move it to the interior table later to make sure it thrives. 

Been working in the garden already this morning. Pulled a lot of the mint growing around the house and have transplanted it to the side of the fence next to Gulnac's  house. Once it's established, it will act as a barrier so Trudy doesn't have to look at my long grass.

Found one Cleome while pulling the mint. Guess I'll leave it out front where it volunteered.

Am a bit worse for wear after yesterday. Carting six waterlogged 1.5 cubic feet of soil from the car to the garden with the wheelbarrow was too much like hard work. Sometimes I forget that I'm 63.

Some critter swatted Bandit's  nose a good one yesterday. I looked up from digging and he was under the blueberry bushes digging in the wet soil with his nose. I'm guessing he was trying to make it feel better. Poor puppy. I think he probably got too close to Honey Bun. But that's just a guess.

Still have chores to do. Vacuuming, sweeping and mopping. So muggy I hate to move. Really would like to nap, but will nuke and drink coffee instead.

Make the most of your day.

July 19. Monday, Monday.

First really sunny day in a week. At least it seems that way. Spent most of the day in the garden. Transplanted the three tomato plants that were in with the squash. The beef steak looks okay, but the Roma tomatoes are quite shocked. Hope they recover.

Spent money like a drunken sailor. Bought a cloth raised bed from Tractor Supply. Also got a roll of landscape cloth to use for row covers. Oh, yeah. Got more soil as well. Am not impressed with the cloth raised bed, but wood is so expensive cloth is definitely more practical.

Plan to plant it with lettuce, chard and maybe beets. Seems like beets draw in the deer. 

Also stopped by Graham's Greenhouse and bought a couple cleaned and a Begonia deliciosa. The Begonia is gorgeous. The claimed were dry as a bone. Am hoping they recover now that they're planted and can spread their roots.

Note to self: stop spending money.

July 18. Stormy Sunday Morning.

Got a call at noon saying the party was a go after all in spite of the severe storm warnings. Headed over in spite of misgivings. 

Watched an old man hit a deer on the stretch of road between hilltop and the turn to Kinzua Bridge Park. The car behind me stopped. I kept right on driving.  

Followed behind a Semi, who in turn was following a gaggle of motorcyclists from Smethport through to the Sweden Valley Inn on the far side of Coudersport. During torrential downpour that was literally flooding the roadways and causing rock slides in the usual places (near Lynne Hall).

Hazardous driving at reasonably slow speeds with lots of swearing involved.

Made a call from Port Allegheny and was assured it was blue skies and sunshine at my destination and they put a tarp up - just in case. Got to Coudersport and weather seemed better, so I continued on. 

Luckily the motorcyclists took a break. Felt real bad for them. Remembered how rain feels like nails on a bike. Had a flashback to Bill driving the BSA at full speed going around the bridge curve in Ansonia. I've blacked out so many memories.

Finally got to Lucinda's. Boy was I ever wrong about her plan intention was. She wanted hippie flowers. With no planning. Ah, well. No matter. Had fun trying to paint in the rain and high humidity. It'll be cute when it's done.

July 17. Stormy Saturday.

Continued thunderstorms combined with flash flood warnings have cancelled plans to paint Lucinda's walk in freezer that's been converted into storage. Have been looking forward to it for the past week. 

Judging by the the darkness of the sky the rain should start any minute. Humidity levels are so high I've already turned the A/C on.

Found a big yellow summer squash when we opened the garden. Wish the zucchini was growing that well. Am seriously considering moving at least one of the summer squashes out of the raised bed to make room for the tomatoes to grow. Won't plant them together ever again.

Guess I'll work on brooches again today.

July 16. Friday.

Woke cold at 4 a.m. and turned off the A/C. Had a hard time falling back to sleep. Kept repeating a conversation in my head. Told W yesterday "You don't want to marry me. You don't want to live with me. You don't want to spend time with me. But whenever I'm ready to f*** you'll be right over." Think I might have really messed up. Time will tell.

Sometimes I get tired of being his dirty little secret.

Another rainy day. Guess I'll have a cup of coffee and get it started.

July 15.

Spent most of the morning sitting on the back porch working on brooches for the Pie Festival. 

Did a couple loads of laundry and hung them out to dry. Using Final Touch has really made a big difference in their softness and scent.

Intermittent sore throat and bloody nose again. Lost count of how many days it's been. Guess I should talk to the doctor about that and cholesterol and the shingles vaccine and arthritis and IBS. Incontinence too. Guess I need to make a list.

Am trying not to "beat myself up" for being inconsistent. Have been told in the past that inconsistency is one of my faults. Have been conditioned to feel guilt in so many situations at times all progress made fades under the negative self-talk. Trying to change a lifetime of bad choices is hard.

July 13. Tuesday Blues Day.

W phoned last night to let me know that Ginny's daughter was expected to not last the night. Poor, Ginny. She's a tiny little bird of a woman and lost her other daughter a short time ago. Her husband has been dead for several years. She is ill herself and gets dialysis three times a week. She is W's sister. One of two remaining, if memory serves correctly.

7 a.m. and the A/C is already running.

Bandit is feeling poorly today. He had diarrhea yesterday and wouldn't poop for me this morning even though he's been walked twice. Will try again as soon as the rain stops.

Wore liniment covered by a sock on my hand last night in attempt to get some relief. Hand seems better, wrist still hurts. 

Guess I'll do a Spanish lesson and make a strawberry smoothie for breakfast.

Sunday, 11 July 2021.

Here's the garden scarecrow. So far it and the deer net fence are keeping the deer out of the garden. Am moving it around every couple days. Am also covering the Roma tomatoes and peppers with landscape cloth as a further deterrent. So far, so good.

Transplanted the few remaining beets and moved one of the eggplant that was under the cucumber vines. Am hoping the beets recover. 

Have put TUMS tablets in with the summer squash to provide calcium and stop the blossom end rot. Putting some tablets in with the zucchini today.

Replanting chard and beets. They still have time to mature before the snow arrives.

Waiting for the sun to dry up the dew so the mowing can get done without having to rake. Rain is in the afternoon forecast. Nice and cool right now.

Gonna heat up this coffee and get today's Duolingo  lesson out of the way. Steak and eggs for breakfast. Yummy!

July 11. Sunny Saturday.

Didn't do a whole lot today. Looked at the TOPS sale paper for next week and decided this weeks sale on meat was a better deal than next week so I went shopping. Bought two pork loins, two big packages of pork chops and two porterhouse steaks. They were all buy one/get one free. Even so the steaks were $8.50 a pound. Better than paying full price.

Also bought Fudgesickles and some sugar free Jello for snacking. Trying to break the nightly sugar habit.

Bandit and I filled up the water jugs at the spring. He guarded while I filled. Were a couple fishermen there cleaning fish when we arrived. They vacated when we pulled up. I think perhaps they were supposed to be releasing their fish instead of keeping them. Ah, well. Not my place to reprimand them.

Did a couple loads of laundry and hung them out to dry. They smell so good. That Final Touch liquid fabric softener makes the towels nice and soft. Glad Aunt Judy recommend it.

Had to run the A/C for a couple hours this afternoon. Humidity was just too high.

Felt sick most of the morning. Nausea, diarrhea and lethargic. Think maybe the melon was a bit over ripe. Live and learn.

July 9. Finally Friday.

Yesterday was a bad day garden wise. The deer once again munched on the tomatoes and cucumbers. The little bugger even chopped off the Swiss chard. 

So... I placed an order with Tractor Supply for stakes and deer net fence. Last evening Bandit supervised while I placed it around the garden perimeter, the cucumber bed,  the new and old hydrangeas and the three blueberry bushes out front. Also made a scarecrow that needs a bit more work.

Was pretty upset about the whole ordeal.

Didn't do anything constructive yesterday. Sat around and streamed tv shows and played games on the internet.

Well, that's not exactly true. I did place and picked up an order at Wal-Mart too.

Have been having thunderstorms almost every day. One had hail as big as an inch.

Today will make forty days on Duolingo. 

Gonna get a cup of coffee and start my day. Was nice of the kitties to let me sleep in until 6:00 this morning. 

July 7. Hump Day?

Was glad I left Bandit home in the A/C yesterday. At several points during the day the temperature and humidity combined to make me feel like I was melting.

Laura and I didn't go to Sand Run as I had hoped due to lack of directions. Went instead to Hills Creek and sweated our way around the 1.5 mile Tauscher trail and back again.Their trails aren't very well marked, but they aren't really known for their trails. Hills Creek is more known for fishing and swimming.  

We went to the Duncan Tavern for lunch. Had a fabulous hamburger. Paula joined us for a chat and I learned that Gordon has a three year old daughter. Guess he finally got what he wanted. 

Stopped at Lucinda's house and watched barn swallows flitting about over the field until she got there (she had to work at the laundry). Visited with her for about an hour then headed back home.

The animals were happy to see me again and it was good to be back home.

There are going to be 30-50 people at the Pie Festival and I'm going to try to make 30 brooches to give as momentos. "Try" being the operative word.

Later tater.

July 6. Tuesday Cruise Day.

Cruising to Wellsboro this morning without Bandit. Feels weird to go visiting without him.

Garbage is out. Animals fed and watered. Garden watered and uncovered. Need to grab a bite to eat, wash up the dishes and gather the pendants for Lucinda. 

Have a feeling it's going to be a long day.

July 5. Not Monday, Monday.

Mere minutes ago Tigger was going cuckoo at the window. This little stinker sitting on the A/C was the reason why. Not sure what Honey Bun wanted. I stepped out onto the porch and he seemed fine.

No trash pickup today because the Boro is on holiday. Still scooped poop and vacuumed so it's ready to go tomorrow.

Tomorrow I head over to Wellsboro to hike with Laura and drop off pendants to Lucinda. Was going to take Bandit with me, but it's going to be close to 90 degrees so I'll leave him here in the A/C. Will be weird not to have him with me.

Got a load of laundry in the washer and am going to take good boy Bandit for a hike after I hang it out.

July 4, 2021. Independence Day.

Was wondering why I am cold until I looked at the temperature: 47 degrees. Brrrrr. Downright chilly. Woke up earlier and clicked on the electric blanket. Silly me left the fan on in the window all night. Sitting here with a hoodie on and yes, the hood is up on my head. Gonna be a cold walk this morning. Henrietta is sitting on my lap getting her morning head rub and keeping me warm. Will need a blanket when she moves. I'd turn the heat on to warm the house up, but it's July.

Folks all around us were setting off fireworks last night. Bandit was nervous about all the noise. He hopped up on the bed a couple times and I comforted him as best I could. He finally settled down and went to sleep. 

Glanced out the window when I turned off the fan and a buck was strolling along the hedge row. Glad he wasn't in the garden. 

Kiki wasn't on the porch waiting for breakfast. Am guessing the fireworks folks were shooting off scared him off. Will look for him later. Little Bit and Honey Bun were out there waiting for their breakfast. They're so affectionate in the morning. Sweet little kitties.

Am tired this morning. Gonna have another cuppa and try to wake up. Luke and Sasha might stop by today. Will make either Chicken Pot Pie or Chicken Masala. Will text Luke later to confirm.

July 3. Sweet Saturday.

W stopped by today and mowed the front lawn for me. Got it way too low for my tastes, but hey - beggars can't be choosers, right? Had to rake some. Guess he's trying to tell me to mow it myself.

Ran back up to Ollie's and bought a 5 x 7 rug for the living room and a couple small rugs to catch the dirt before it gets to the new floor. Looks fabulous in here.

Took Bandit to the first oil road off Droney. Passed two big ATVs on the way back out. Hate how they tear up the roads.

Gonna kick back and watch an episode or two of Yellowstone. 

Sure hope you are having a good day.

July 2. Cool Friday.

With sore hands, arms and back there isn't much in the way of hard labor that I can do. So... I went shopping for floor register vents. Drove up to Home Depot. All the vents they had in stock were either too big or too small. As long as I was in Olean, I drove over to Ollie's. Dang! They have great prices. Spent about 20 minutes going through their sofa covers to find a color I could live with and actually got two of them. Picked up some room darkening drapes as well. Almost bought an area rug, but couldn't decide on the color.

Got groceries yesterday as well.

Came home, put the groceries away, put the sofa cover on and hung the curtains. 

Gonna be cooler today and rainy as well. Guess I'll try to get the lawn mowed before the rain starts so the neighbors don't turn me in to the township for it being over six inches.

The deer has now eaten almost all the hydrangea blossoms. Wish I could shoot and eat her, but this is too close to town.

Taking Bandit for his morning walk now. Thankful for the little things.

Happy July!

The deer continues to ravage the plants in the yard. It has eaten most of the blossoms on the hydrangea. Has been leaving the garden alone since I put the flags back up. Will put a motion detector up if the rain holds off a bit today.

Going grocery shopping today after breakfast.

That's all for today.