Fruit and Such

A rather distorted photo of newly purchased fruit.

I eat a lot of fruit, especially since I discovered, through Boud, Envy apples. Now I buy those along with another favorite, Cosmic. I don't know about any of you, but I dislike tart fruit. These two varieties of apples are crisp and pleasant. Now that we have this out of the way; it's a beautiful morning. Chilly, but bright sunshine. I'm a mite distressed realizing it is already May 7th. Time is moving way too swiftly for me to catch up. Remember those long August days that seemed to go on forever as a child? Now years fly by like minutes on a clock.

The severe pain has passed but now I am walking with a cane. It's surprising how swiftly the body changes when challenged by pain. I hope to strengthen my gait over time. We'll see. 

Enjoy the day. They pass by quickly.

A Sunny Monday

Sunday morning I got up, made coffee and sat at my desk for a morning reading your blogs. I think I read two when there was a knock at the door. Neighbor Bill had stopped by for a semi-early visit with some of his frozen green beans. He is clearing out the freezer  for the upcoming crop. He also had a tax question for Mark. 

By the time he left it was approaching lunchtime, so I made a quick soup. The remainder of the day I devoted to me. The sciatic nerve pain truly did knock me off my feet. Over a week of not moving hardly at all to moving poorly showed up in stiffness, a limping gait and big time back pain. I did a series of stretches, balance and strength work. I must say, at the risk of jinxing myself, that I do feel less tight this morning.

I've ordered shade tolerant wildflower seeds to put in areas of my lawn where the only thing growing is scraggly weeds. I'd rather flowers than weeds and it also becomes a space I don't need to mow. I strew seeds in a pasture twenty years ago when I had the brilliant intention of keeping bees. Mark finally convinced me I had enough to do. Back to the seeds. There are still flowers in that field.

Dinner lately has been anything fast. Mark spends some time in the evenings, after the beasties are tucked in, lopping the trillions of trees continually attempting a takeover, so it gets late.

Happy day to you all.

Later in the Day

Wild violets. They grow prolifically on the property. They are beautiful and are fantastic ground cover. They planted themselves here and I thank them.

 

This is a late-in-the-day post for me. I had been outside mowing, then the belt came off the mower and we have to wait for Neighbor Bill to fix it. I could either clean up the kitchen or write a blog post. My answer is obvious as to which I chose. The perennials are popping out of their winter hibernation, the dandelions are blooming and it's a sunny, chilly day. I ordered a bunch of flower and herb seeds a couple of days ago. I had great success last year with basil and thyme seeds, so I'm branching out. Annuals and herbs have become so expensive I cringe. It's not warm enough to plant them now, hoping by the time the seeds arrive it will be.

I have a couple of old rambling roses I need to cut back. It's usually done in the fall but.... They are looking scraggly. Out of many, they are all the roses I have left. Oh, back to the violets. I have a friend who picks the blossoms to make cordial. I know I don't have the patience for that. I have planned for years to make cordial with the elderflowers, another plant that grows profusely here, but they have died before I get to it. Every year.

Well, that's the day so far. The horses are happily grazing on pasture and my hay bill drops way down for a few months. All of us are happy.

Blogger is Not Being Nice

Unfortunately, Blogger has stopped my comments again. Yesterday I was able to comment on a few blogs and then I couldn't. Today is another day of silence from moi. So, I'll just have to talk about myself. 

The sciatic nerve pain has greatly reduced, but not gone. Being put off your feet as an, um, elder really can quickly set back progress made over a couple of years. Regaining that progress is not so quick.

We had a wonderful daylong rain on Monday, which was very much needed. We are starting to look like spring. It's currently 42 F and sunshine. It should be dry enough tomorrow to mow the lawn, which is swiftly becoming a hay field. The gates have been opened to the pastures, allowing the horses to adjust to grass while it starts to grow. Life is trundling along. That said, the anxious dread many are feeling is persistently hovering.

I don't know why I rarely make a casserole. I need to talk to myself about this. They are so easy it's really not cooking at all. Some leftover chicken, a little bacon, asparagus, artichoke hearts and of course, onion and garlic. Voila! Dinner. And there is enough for two more meals. 

Chin up, face the day with as much gusto as we can muster.

*I was able to comment to my blog on the phone. I may need to figure out a plan to use both my phone and computer together. I can't read them on my phone, my hands and eyes protest.*

Cat-Man-Do-Have-Some-Cats

 Constant vying for his attention. Animal magnetism I guess.

Be You

This must be why I had greyhounds!

 

Back Again

Blogger has once again decided to allow my comments!

Aren't we lucky 

Just Another Wednesday

As you can see, I'm quite the fine lady of fashion.

Blogger kicked me off commenting again yesterday about halfway through blogs. I also couldn't, again, comment on my own. I gave it a go on a few this morning and I'm back in. At the moment. I had a fine day yesterday despite that inconvenience. Still in a lot of pain but it's improving. My fine day started with a call from a longtime young friend. Young to me, 47. I met her through horses and have become good friends over the past 20 years. She always has amusing stories. Then I had a nice conversation with my longtime blogging friend, Lori. Another wonderful time spent with a kindred spirit.

We will see how long I get with comments today.

Ouch

Someone in this photo has a name change. Chunk. I think it's obvious which one.

I'm hobbling along with walking sticks and a grimace. Ever hear of the piriformis muscle? A small muscle in the derriere which can press on the sciatic nerve. It's my periodic tormentor. It chose to make itself known again last Thursday. The amount of pain the little jerk can cause is disproportionate to its size. Stretching, massage, not sitting too much but not doing too much, either. This is now my day-to-day. It's improved some.

That's the report from the pain in the ass with a pain in the ass.

*Blogger has stopped publishing my comments again*

I'm Back, Baby!

Fickle blogger is allowing me to comment again. Yahoo!

 This is a quote from a book I am reading that hit a chord with me.

*amended to include authors name

Howard Englander

No Reply

Yesterday and now again today I am unable to comment on my blog nor anyone else's. I can read, but comments won't publish, even when I switch browser. I'll keep trying.

In the meantime, Ben likes to wreck the fence. Mark said he fix the electric fence and tighten the vinyl fence. Eventually.

 

Sunshine

It's a sunshiny morning, brisk but bright. The only plant leafing out are the honeysuckle bushes. Otherwise, still bare. I'm reading a book Boud recommended, Embracing Elderhood, by Howard Englander. I'm not very far into it but I am liking it. I enjoy his writing style and what he has to say.

I'm going to embrace my elderhood. I may have had a Freudian slip. I initially wrote embarrass my elderhood.

 

Cats and Fish

Do you think he'd like the world to just go away?

I can't say I don't have moments myself.

Gatto's doppelganger Tabs. Or is the other way around?

Our rollercoaster weather is still rolling. 50s F yesterday, 80 today. Tomorrow back to 60s. 

I was productive this past week, from cleaning, sorting and organizing the mess of the broom closet to doing the same in the bedroom. Yesterday I finished that job by steam cleaning the two large area rugs in there. I have an over-sized bedroom. The rambler type addition put on in 1973 had a living/dining room combination. After the 1984 addition put onto the east end, it was no longer needed as that. When we bought the place we closed it off from the kitchen to make it a bedroom. It's larger than it needs to be, but there it is. The middle of the house is what is left of the original. The kitchen, laundry and butlers pantry. Yes, it has a butlers pantry, large enough to put the washer and dryer in there. A very odd home indeed! A complete mess when we bought it. I loved a house that needed work. Mark just shook his head.

I think I will give my back a rest today, then carry on with sorting, winnowing, sort of, and cleaning tomorrow. 

I bought a bag of frozen mahi mahi at Costco. I saw the price and said nope. Mark, who has become me as I have become him, said if you like it, buy it. Who is this guy? I did. We had it for dinner last evening, with a lemon, butter, garlic sauce. Accompanied by couscous and my second favorite vegetable, broccoli. I think perhaps cooking and baking keeps me sane during these chaotic, frightening times. It makes the world go away for a short but valued time.

 

Horse. Dinner. Bread. Oh, My.

My first born, Tempered Steele (Remington Steele x LF Diamond Rose) otherwise known as Babe. She was perhaps three in the photo. She is now 32 and chugging right along. She produced some very nice foals, including one halter champion.

And then a bright, simple dinner of leftover pork loin, leftover sweet potato and some nice green broccoli. We do have meals which do not contain pasta. Pasta is just so darn versatile. Just don't break the spaghetti! 

This is a recipe I got from Denise a couple of years ago. Irish soda bread. I make it often, sans raisins. It's so simple and very good. She added a good one to my bread repertoire. 

I also made a batch of sandwich rolls from the same recipe. They look a little rough but I didn't want to handle the dough too much. They still taste good. I make some larger for Mark and smaller for me.

We are having a dreary, on/off rainy day. I still have some soup I made a couple of days ago and today is a perfect day for soup at lunch. That's it. Have a perfectly wonderful Saturday.

Mama Mia

A little profanity

 Do not break the pasta. Seriously.

It's a written in stone rule.

A Year Spent

Nothing much is happening on the old homestead so I have been going through my computer to clear out photos. I came upon these taken in 2020 by the realtor's photographer. This is where I lived from age seven, when we returned from San Diego, until I was twenty.

I spent 8 months emptying, cleaning and refreshing the house. Matthew helped me the final two months. I started at the beginning of May, finished and sold it at the end of December.

This was the last block to be developed, during the 1950s. This house was the model home, which my parents bought when development was finished. The rest of the neighborhood was 1940s, mostly bungalows. We were on the Eastside of St. Paul, a 20 minute bus ride to downtown.

The time I spent there that year was cathartic. I enjoyed giving the home a new life. It felt like I was lifting sixty years of weight from both the house and me. I could feel the lightness as I went along. Being alone most of the time was also helpful. I went along, going through memories, both good and not so good. Matthew and I realized it was our therapy.

Checking In

It is now official. I am an old cat lady.

I'm not feeling chatty at the moment. I'm not going to go on about the why. I will say I caught the last 45 minutes of the 1 1/2 hour press conference yesterday and leave it there. We were 23 degrees F this morning. There is a warmup this week. We just follow the bouncing ball. I look forward to getting out in the gardens and play with some dirt.

 

Worth a read 

Gatto knows how to make the world go away.

I know how to warm the kitchen on a chilly day.

The next three days will be snow, then rain and then snow. We do need the moisture but couldn't the weather gods just pick one? Silly question.

Monday, What Can I Say

Yes, I have the humor of a ten-year-old boy.

 

We the People

My hometown.

Bruce Springsteen was here, but he didn't sing that song.

 

When Do We Hit the Bottom of the Rabbit Hole?

To the Moon 

So. Now the plan is to spend 20 billion dollars to build a livable structure on the moon and send astronauts there every six months. To what end? In the meantime, insurance subsidies have been pulled, housing is in short supply and outrageously expensive. We are spending billions on an unauthorized war we started, with the help of Israel, eying Cuba as the next place to show our superiority and turning longtime allies into foes. The cost of living has become unlivable, for many, truly. Yet, fly me to the moon. Yep. That's a solid plan. Hey, are we great yet? Cause I think if we were mediocre before I'd rather that.

Another Monday

Matthew spent decades in the back of a closet. I brought him out yesterday, deciding Mark should have him gracing his office. I was a stickler for having professional photos done. I believe he would have been about eight. What hair he has left is very dark brown, looks black. Odd it can change like that. He will be fifty-two next month.

I've spent the last couple of days helping Mark set up a new computer. I guess I'm the tech guy. Today he'll call the tax software company to get help downloading the tax files and then he should be done. Leave it an accountant to wait until tax season to do this, as the computer was purchased in February. I have been a Mac person from day one, so working with this system was not my bailiwick. 

My other accomplishment was getting the anti-glare film on the south facing windows of his office. Since the large tree that shaded this area of the house had to be felled the sun, even with the blind drawn, has been too much. You don't know how necessary a large tree is until it's gone. I guess that can be said about a lot of things.

I threw together another leftovers meal yesterday. Leftover faro and pork loin with broccoli, tomatoes, onion and garlic. Took all of about ten minutes. Tops. 

Today my excitement is laundry. I know, you wish you had my exotic life. 

 

More Photos

As some know, I've been going through the large amount of photos I brought home from my parent's home after my mother died six years ago. Today I'm going to make it mostly all about me.

My brother Robert. And me. He's three years younger so I was maybe five.

Our dog, Duchess, when we lived in San Diego. She was born 2 months after me and died when I was 14. We grew up together and I loved her and she loved me.

Me at maybe four with, I suppose, a cousin from the paternal side. I didn't know that side well but this would have been the grandparents house. German Shepherd puppies.

The grandparents, Blanche and Arthur. Me with the doll they gave me for Christmas. The doll my mother told (screamed) my father to put in the attic because a seven year old did something that terrible that she never saw it again. It was in the attic when I sold the house. I left it there.

Duchess.

Blanche and Arthur at their home.

I got to know Blanche about a year before she died. I started going to her house several times a week. She was nothing like I'd been told she was. She had a library full of books and she let me take whatever I wanted. I got many family heirlooms from her. Better late than never that I got to know her. She was a regal woman, smart and independent minded. She was pleased she got to see and know me before she died.

Frieda

My cat has an obsessive problem.

 Throughout the day, she must do this. And lick plastic.

Let it Snow

March

This is standard March weather. Wednesday will be 50 F. March is like riding the rollercoaster. Snow is expected throughout today and all day tomorrow. Later the wind starts to howl so there will be blizzard conditions. We have no need to leave home.