The view on the porch this morning as I sat outside drinking my second cup of coffee. It’s going to be a hot one but this morning it is cool with a lovely, soft breeze.
We live in a beautiful part of the country.
We have to replace one of our a/c units so we’re off to Lowes to pick it up later this morning. But we did get one installed in the bedroom, thankfully. It was very hot and humid yesterday and sleeping in that cool room with the white noise of the a/c was wonderful.
We worked outside for a long time yesterday; Don doing his thing, me doing mine, which consisted of weeding and pruning, pulling up the spent forget-me-nots, and cutting back brambles. Today I’ll indulge in a little weed whacking and maybe I’ll mow the other side of the front lawn.
I’ve found that when I’ve not had enough sleep – like yesterday – I function better if I give myself lots to do and then do it. Then I have no time to indulge in ‘poor me’ thinking. That’s what I did yesterday and it really helped. Having a task to do keeps me in the present moment and I stop thinking about anything other than the matter at hand. This, of course, is the perfect time of year for that because I have all sorts of things to do outside.
I’m about to start in on a new puzzle. It’s a beauty so it should be fun. You can see a photo of it in my stories on Instagram.
And that’s about it for today. I have to get going as we’re going to head over to Lowe’s soon. We want to get back and install the new unit, so we can tackle some other chores today.
Stay safe, my friends.
Happy Wednesday.
brenda says
I love the photo…the plants and the porch. Sounds like you are loving your outside work. I must admit I only liked doing flowers. When I lived in my house and taught-high school and university-I hired someone to mow…I do miss the flowers while living in this apartment. I seldom, if ever, get upset at the opinions of others…this is a vent…quit now if you want to…I was doing my five miles of stepping-at times with You Tube on the tv…I was astounded at the interviews that 21 year old kids were giving about refusing to isolate…the virus…oh well attitude. I was seething and turned off the tube…ok…enough said on that, but it upset me to no end. Am so glad my grands-aged almost 21-kindergarten age are more mature than that. To top it off…when I turned it off, one of the grands texted to ask if I could come downstairs to the parking lot-they brought me stamps. I am blessed. Thanks for listening…
Jenny says
Enchanting view!!
linda wilson says
Yes we do live in a beautiful part of the country
We moved from Redondo beach CA many many years ago
Except for family I dnt miss it all
We still have the ocean close by but it is a more peaceful lifestyle here
Call me crazy I still like a little snow
Donnamae says
Yes, it is a lovely view. It’s very relaxing, which to me is what an outdoor space should be.
Sorry to hear about your ac unit, but at least you are able to get one. It’s hot and humid here, too. We went from the 50’s to the 80’s too quickly, and none of us seem prepared for this instant summer. We do have a few days of cooler temps…and that will be lovely.
Have fun with the weed whacker! ;)
kathy in iowa says
glad to hear you could get another air conditioner so quickly.
and that you enjoy all the work needed to make/maintain your pretty lawn and gardens.
quiet day here. has to be that way (staying isolated for at least five more days). other than missing my family very, very much, i like quiet and i like being home. the only “bad” thing about being home during the day is the sunshine shows the dust and i have no energy right now to do anything about it. oh, well. it will wait for me!
hope you and everyone else will have a safe, easier day.
kathy in iowa
Christy W says
Kathy, when I’m very sick I notice dust but don’t care. When I start caring about it, it means I’m on the way to recovery, so I hope it is the same for you. But I think that even after your isolation ends you should stay home and rest for as long as you can get away with it!
kathy in iowa says
hej, christy w …
thanks for the kind wish.
i like your barometer for starting to feel better. :) while i still have a fever and other symptoms (and dust!), thankfully i feel better than i did last week.
i hope you and your family are well, safe and have all you need and want!
thanks again.
kathy in iowa
brenda says
Get well Kathy…take your time…this is a serious illness-as you well know…prayers for you at this time…
Chris K in Wisconsin says
Donnamae is right. We went way too quickly from the 50’s to the mid- upper 80’s. No time to acclimate. This is the 3rd day and it really is draining. Thank goodness for the AC. It looks like the weekend will be upper 60’s/ low 70’s and sun. That, to me, is perfect weather!! Everything is growing like crazy, so it’s fun to see that, for sure! Great that you were able to get a new AC unit and I hope it was an easy installation!
Have a good day. Glad you are able to keep busy!! Whatever works is what we must do…
Vicki says
“I’ve found that when I’ve not had enough sleep … I function better if I give myself lots to do and then do it.” Hmmm. Nothing I’ve ever considered. You’re making me rethink the subject! I suffer from chronic lack of sleep for the past months and always indulge it too much, thinking I shouldn’t push it, so I’m wondering if it’s just an excuse to keep me from doing stuff around the house I don’t want to do.
Red-letter day around here. We bit in the Memorial Day holiday sales and finally got a new frig. I haven’t personally bought a new one since about 2001 or thereabouts; when a big-box store in these parts (Montgomery Ward) was closing down and we got a heckuva deal. Got a good deal this time, too. It’s brand-new and in the factory but it got bumped, so it has some damage (superficial); but, where we’ll be putting it against a wall, it won’t be noticed on that side. I guess everything in my kitchen is gonna wind up being stainless steel, which I don’t like, but we had to do what was affordable for us.
I was hoping we’d get something and have it delivered in August, so this will be really quick in a week or so, and of course I’m Covid-obsessing about strangers being in my house with the delivery of this new frig; and, if they’re not wearing masks, we will be handing them ones before they step inside. (I have noticed that my ‘normal’ home delivery people, like On-Trac or FedX, UPS and even the USPS, nobody’s wearing masks.) Clearly when you change out an appliance like this, there’s a lot of planning in general, because you’ve gotta work quickly to empty the one that’s being replaced and try to keep all that food cold while the new one tunes up; but, I told my husband, we can’t sacrifice our safety right now, and we’ll have to be careful to sanitize; don’t cut corners, take our time, be really mindful. (I remember that one of your readers went thru this some weeks back, so I’d taken note!)
I’d worried we’d have a mechanical breakdown with this other old frig, so it’s good to be proactive, and I know we’ve waited too long. (It’s noisy; I think we’re losing some suction on the doors; it’s just TIME; the old thing has lived its life, and our City will do a free pickup and recycle!) But it’ll be nice to now have some extra freezer/frig space than what I’ve got (which is a very small frig [one of the banes of my existence lately!] that’s a hand-me-down nearing age 30 and well past its prime of course; certainly not energy-efficient like what we’ll get now). With everything still so uncertain (and it’ll be that way for awhile with Covid), and needing to leave some space between grocery-shopping trips, I’m really grateful for some extra cubic feet of space in this appliance.
(Like, who knows how this is gonna go, but I’ve seen enough health experts on the TV news shows talk about another wave, particularly Nov-Dec-Jan-Feb [and I guess like what we’ve just been thru even in March-April-May], since there’s no guarantee of a vaccine, that my husband and I would be thoroughly hunkering down to the extreme degree in those upcoming months and needing to be well-stocked here in the house with our essential meds and foods [although I hope we all get a bit of a break this summer and don’t have to hole up as much {well, not me, I’m in the vulnerable category}, and the virus isn’t going away; but, you know, maybe the heat/humidity will help calm the virus down as we go into June-July-Aug, although it’s clearly not proven; just would be so nice to have people be able to get out of their houses and enjoy some of their summer after the long winter of holing up; and we’ll just hope & pray we get no more waves, like ever].)
By the way, change of subject but still on Covid and being home, did you see the ads for this upcoming one-hour TV special on Friday? May 29. 8pm eastern, CBS, called Haircut Night in America, where (remotely) the nation’s top hairstylists will be guiding front-line workers and celebs on how to cut hair at home (I’m sure the barbers and hairdressers who are just reopening are not going to appreciate this!). My husband and I will definitely be watching because we’ve gotta have that haircut-at-home for him pretty darned soon.
We’re hot every day now where I live in SoCalif. I guess May Gray and June Gloom will be periods of history only in my past (marine layer et al). Every day is upper 80s and pushing 90 by late afternoon; and it’s always windy here in the valley, but we’ve got humidity, so it’s not very comfortable. But it’s summer; so, live with it!
The photo today is an interesting view we don’t usually see, right? There’s your car and the little red shed where we’d see Henry? And the funky patio?
brenda says
I can relate-the exterminator came to the apartments, and I was almost paranoid…anyone coming in-especially in a building where seniors live…he did wear a mask but…take care…enjoy the new fridge…
Marilyn says
Your flowers and lawn look so pretty. It is soothing and comforting. Hope your air-conditioner installment went okay.
Marilyn
Kay says
Here in Wisconsin we went from cool days to warm ones so quickly. And I’ve spent all of them outside as much as possible – weeding, sitting on the patio or on the front porch. I love the flowers on your porch.
We dropped my car off for an oil change and Dean went in while I waited in his car. He said no one in the place was wearing a mask. I just cannot get over the disrespect of so many when it comes to such a simple thing that’s been asked of them. As I sat on the patio stitching today, I listened to my favorite 1940’s big band playlist. I thought about my parents and all the others who came of age listening to that music. All the sacrifices they made, first living through a major depression and doing without. And then either going off to fight a world war or supporting the troops from the home front and doing without even more things. And my grandmother living through the 1918 pandemic and losing an infant and a toddler to it.
There’s not much being asked of us right now. And yet there are those who cannot even be bothered with the inconvenience of staying away from crowds and wearing a face covering. What have we become? Well, anyway it’s a long playlist and so I spent a lot of time listening and thinking. I decided that I didn’t tell my parents nearly enough how much I appreciated what they had to live through and deal with so that eventually me and my siblings had the carefree childhoods we enjoyed, But then again each generation usually takes for granted what came before.
Take care.
Kay
Vicki says
Your grandmother; tragic. But what a beautifully-written comment, Kay. “I thought about my parents … the sacrifices they made, first living through a major depression and doing without. And then either going off to fight a world war or supporting the troops from the home front and doing without even more things.”
I’ve thought the same thing so many times since the whole eruption of Covid. I even look at myself and say, “Where is your patience?” Are baby boomers such a self-indulgent/me-first generation that we can’t abide a little sacrifice? I say that because it’s my own age group (the retirees) who are sometimes surprisingly in the grouping that isn’t being as careful as they should be; my friends, my relatives, people I know to be smarter.
(Experts are saying to look at wearing a face mask as the kind and selfless thing to do for others. Loving kindness.)
It’s when we wish our dear parents were still around, so that we could ask them all the questions we never did … and use their wisdom and experience to guide us through this difficult time.
And on Memorial Day, it kept coming into my thoughts about the service of those closer to me, like my dad, my uncle; my uncle’s father-in-law. All were in the army in WWII; the father-in-law served in both world wars (he was older of course, and was in the reserves, so not only had he fought in Europe in WWI, but then in the jungles of New Guinea in WWII). My uncle was in both D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge. Dad was luckier; he didn’t see combat although he served from 1943-46. How my uncle and my father escaped Korea, too; thank goodness, because it wasn’t the same for many WWII vets. If I could only talk to them now, to fully comprehend … and just try to understand that kind of bravery when called to BE brave.
Kay says
Thank you, Vickie. I’ve been a way from the blog a while and just saw your nice comment about MY comment. :-)
K.
Roxie says
What an absolutely lovely view! Worth all the work just to sit back and enjoy the result…peaceful…calm…relaxing.
Claudia says
Thank you, Roxie! Stay safe!
Robyn C says
Lovely front porch picture. How is the jigsaw going?
Had my day surgery today. Am so glad it is all over now. I was awake while he operated – not a pleasant experience!!!!!!! So glad my finger can now start to heal whilst I’m home. Was even able to wear my face mask in the theatre whilst I was being operated on. Can’t write much with left hand.
Looking forward to reading your next post.
Claudia says
Jigsaw is going well. I haven’t spent much time at it as yesterday was full of other things we had to do – see today’s post – so I’ve really just started it today.
So glad your surgery is over, Robyn. Rest up and take care!
gina says
Gorgeous view on the porch – taylor made for a glass of wine. Staying busy is my secret weapon for feeling and sleeping better. Catching up on blog posts, too. Come see me at cannaryfamily.blogspot.com. Happy Thursday!
Regula says
Enjoy your porch. The United States are a beautiful country. I would love to travel from the west to the east coast one day. Until then I enjoy a glipse of this beautiful landscape in movies now and then. :-) All the best! Regula