A few thoughts on flip-flops

 

     I am breaking in a new pair of flip-flops and it occurred to me that the manufacturers are not as concerned about women’s safety as they are men’s safety.  How can I tell this you ask?  The next time you are in a store pick up a pair of men’s flip-flops and a pair of women’s, turn them over and look at the soles.  You’ll notice that most men’s flip-flops have traction built into them.  Oh look, the women’s don’t!  In fact, the women’s flip-flops seem designed for slippage.

     Are women less apt to slip than men are?  I think not.  That’s the main reason I will buy a pair of men’s flip-flops rather than a pair of women’s.  The flip-flops I’m breaking in now are women’s and they are slippery.  I should’ve bought another pair of men’s.

     I’ll have to get out the Dremel tool and cut some traction lines into the soles before I slip and break my neck.  If anyone can do that, it will be me.  Chuck knows all about how easy I can do things like that, he was here the day two years ago when I sprained BOTH of my ankles.

Another peek into my garden

 

     It’s amazing how a dozen tadpoles can so cleverly disappear into the pond.  They hide so well it’s a rare thing for us to spot one.  I did spy one hiding in the river tonight.  I can’t wait for them to become frogs.  It’ll be a real treat to have green frogs living here instead of the bullfrogs we’ve had so often.

     G has a bullfrog in her pond.  He’s been there several years, probably because he’s not as dumb as ours were.  Ours went walk about and several were run over by cars in the alley between our house and the cemetery hunting grounds.  Hers stays in their yard, catches starlings, and completely grosses her out by leaving the dead birds floating in the pond.  He seems to enjoy the EEK factor with her.

     Our new Koi seems to be settling in well.  It’s going to take some time before he is as big as the six girls he swims with now.  I keep saying he because I am desperately hoping this one is a male.

     I still have a bunch of plants to get into the ground even though I have planted some every day so far.

It’s grilling season already

 

     I need to uncover, clean, and check the gas in the grill.  I’ve been too lazy to do it and if I don’t get it done, it’ll be past grilling season before I know it.

     Over the last few weeks, I could’ve been doing most of my cooking outside but the grill needed cleaning.  Are you sensing a trend here?

     I guess I need more incentive like the arrival of my meat order and those lovely filet mignon that are in it.  Yep, once those babies get here I’ll trip over myself to get the grill cleaned and ready to use.

     You all have a safe holiday weekend.  If you’re traveling, drive with care.

I love this weather

 

     It was hot outside yesterday and the dogs are quite spoiled by their Daddy’s need for air conditioning.  Patty spent the day sprawled out on the couch and Gavin alternated between his chair and the floor in front of the air conditioner.

     I spent most of the day outside planting some of my flowers and veggie plants and working on the pond.  I only came in to rehydrate and take the dogs out to pee.  Well, it was more like dragging the dogs out.  They didn’t want to leave the air conditioning.  DH and the dogs think I’ve lost my mind.  I hate to tell them that it took a walk a long time ago.

     I’ll be out working on the garden again today.  I need to weed along the back fence and get the rest of the tomatoes planted there.  Then on Tuesday, I need to buy more potting soil so I can put flowers in the pots out front and in the wrought iron stand that I brought home from the MIL’s house.

They MADE me do it

 

     The expression heard often yesterday by my dear friends was, “Why did I let you drag me here?”   G, her husband, and I went off on a money-spending spree (for me, not for them).  They took me to a bulk goods store they love to go to and I went over board–there was so much there I wanted to bring home.  The spices alone (cheap!) made me go hog-wild.

     If that wasn’t bad enough we then stopped at our favorite garden shop where, once again, I managed to spend like a drunken sailor on shore leave.   As I piled more flowers on my cart, I said once again, “Why did you drag me here?”  As if, I went along with them kicking and screaming.  Yeah, sure I did.  They had to hog tie me to take me along.  Now about that swampland in Florida you wanted….

     Then we went to the pond shop.  (No, no, don’t make me go in there!)  Damn it, he had two black Koi…now he has one and so do I….  I found green frog tadpoles for the pond and yep, brought home a dozen of them.

     Next time they invite me to go along on a jaunt, DH should handcuff me to the desk.

He’s like an Energizer bunny

 

      Occasionally you meet a kid who makes you wonder what sort of magic formula his parents had.   The next-door neighbor at my MIL’s house has one of those kids.   He’s fifteen and a bundle of ‘willing to work his tail off for you’ energy.   He makes his mother proud.

     G and I had more or less butchered the giant lilac bush and honeysuckle mess at the front side of the house.  I got as much of that sucker trimmed as I could reach last Wednesday and Sunday.  (We had to do something to work off the frustration of no one showing up to buy things.)

     Today while we worked on the basement, the kid, worked on the remains of the lilac bush/honey suckle mess and had it down to a two-foot high cluster of stumps.  With the ‘help’ of his young brother, he hauled all the brush to the back yard and even raked around the stumps!

     I can’t believe how much brighter the living room is with that mess gone.  If only the MIL had let me trim it all these years, but she wouldn’t hear of it.

Its time to work on the basement

 

     I spent most of the day yesterday dozing in my chair.  Those meds are kicking my butt.  I somehow have to make it over to the MIL’s house today to begin the excavation of the basement.  We have now reached the part I’ve dreaded the most.

     Currently, we’ve put a halt to yard selling the stuff and will put an effort into making the garbage men hate us again.  I foresee many, many, many bags of garbage hitting the curb. 

     Anyone who wants to help or is in need of amusement can find G and me down in the horrifying basement with our masks and work gloves on sifting through the YUCK.  Just follow the screams….

My muddled brain

 

     I tried to write today, but after my visit to the doctor and all the medications he put me on, it seems that all my brain wanted to do was SLEEP!

     I guess that is what I need to do.  Even my poor muse was affected, heck, she was downright goofy and I hadn’t taken any of the cough medicine yet.

     The laryngitis was the least of my problems because it seems that I also have shingles.  Well, for crying out loud!

What I’m reading isn’t on my list

 

     I realized today that I need to update my ‘what I’m reading’ list.  I hadn’t thought about it for quite a while.  At this point in time all those books on my list are finished and I’ve read many more since I posted it.  I’ll get around to changing it.

     I have new books that I won in the basket Nancy Martin donated to the auction.  I can’t wait to sit down, relax, take breath and dive into them.  I also have new books on my Kindle that I haven’t read.

     Yes, the old ‘so many books so little time’ whine.  I know if I want to do some reading I’d better do some writing first or Dave, Chuck, and a few other friends are gonna kick my a$$. 

     Nancy, that Donald Maas ‘Writing the Breakout Novel’ workbook might be just the trick to motivate me.  Thanks for putting that in the basket!

Thanks Mother Nature that was a nice gift

 

     After so many dreary days of rain, it was nice to see sunshine today.  I managed to get outside and plant a few of my cannas.  It’s amazing how many places I don’t have room to plant this year.  I guess this means I won’t spend as much at the nursery next week as I normally do.  My list has whittled down to veggies and (if I can find them) two more black iris plants.  Only one of mine made it from last year.

     Around six this evening I happened to be out on the front porch when we had another quick rainstorm pass through.  I grumbled and then looked off to the south and what should I see but a gorgeous double rainbow.  Who cares that it rained again.  The rainbow made up for it.  That’s what I call eye candy.

Garden news

 

     I wish it would get dry enough that I could go out and enjoy my garden.  Many of my iris plants are in bloom and I’m missing them with all the rain keeping me indoors.

     Imagine my surprise today when I went to the basement to do wash and found the cannas I had down there had sprouts and leaves.  Some of the leaves were quite tall already.  The black elephant ears I had down there didn’t look great and only one has a sprout.  I hope they made it but I won’t know until after I get them planted.

     All of the columbine are blooming, as are some of my new perennials I put in last year.  Those didn’t bloom last year so it’s nice to see them showing off for me now.

     I spent about an hour early this evening yanking weeds out from alongside the driveway where they were determined to choke out the iris I have growing there.  With the wet ground, the pulling was easy.  I now have happy iris.

PW Con Sunday

 

     Sunday rolled around all too soon, because not only I was up until 4:30 a.m., but also because it will be another long year before I will see many of my Pennwriters friends.  The last day always makes me sad.

     I slept through the alarm clock while my roommate showered and dressed.  She said she had to shake me hard before I woke up.  I didn’t hear the alarm at all but she says she heard it while she was in the shower.  Can you say, dead to the world? 

     Dave banged on our door and we went down for breakfast—I do love the hotel’s breakfast buffet.

     From 9:15 to 10:15, we had our choice of five different sessions.  In addition, from 10:30 to 11:30, there were four more offerings.  Oh, what to do what to do….  Getting more coffee came to mind.  After the third cup, I knew I’d embarrass myself by falling asleep in a session and most likely falling off my chair when I did.  I opted for the hospitality suite and schmoozing with people.

     If I had not gone to bed at all, I probably would’ve made it to two sessions and been able to hold my own in a coherent conversation.  An hour and a half of sleep makes for a foggy brain.  Five cups of coffee began to wake it in time for the drawing of the baskets.  I brought home three this year.