four things | twenty-nine

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I don’t know where this week went but it went fast. We finally had dinner on the deck last Sunday. It was the first not-too-hot-and-humid day we’ve had all summer. Steak, foil packets of potatoes and onions, fresh tomatoes from my plants, and a bottle of cabernet sauvignon.

Quite the feast and quite a most delicious meal.

Onto this week’s reading, watching, loving, and doing…

what I’m reading

Actually I’m listening to Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver because the audiobook was available before the digital version. It’s quite a long listen – over 21 hours. I’m about 3/4 of the way through and it’s taken a dark but not totally unexpected turn.

There are lots of f-bombs, drugs, sex, and more so be aware.

what I’m watching

It’s August. I’ve been watching the days grew shorter and the evenings cooling down (thankfully).

I was outside one morning this week with Pepper and the angle of the sun, the sounds and smells in the air reminded me of my twelve-year-old self thinking of the end of summer and the beginning of school. It was a fleeting moment but so real all the same. School begins next week here and for my grandkids.

When I was a kid, the school year began the Wednesday after labor Day and ended the first week of June. We had days off during the school year but evidently not as many as they have now. I would not want to be in a classroom this early.

what I’m loving

Procraftinating: v. doing craft projects when you should be doing laundry, cleaning, or making dinner.

what I’m doing

When we had our deck flooring replaced a few years ago, the contractor snuck in a wooden piece of quarter round to finish off the seam between the house and floor.

It rotted.

I bought a piece of outdoor (a composite of some sort) to replace it. Voila! The hardest (and most time consuming) part was trying to figure out which way to cut it so the angles would be correct. The contractor should have used the right material in the first place. I detest shoddy workmanship.

I need to paint the screw heads white and add some caulking in the corners but at least it’s not rotted.

May your week ahead be filled with joy and happiness.

four things | twenty-eight

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Relief for at least one day! Yesterday’s high temperature was only in the mid-70s. It was cloudy all day and looked like rain but it was nice to sit outside without sweating while breathing.

It’s supposed tp warm up again next week but below 90oF. I’ll take it!

I’ve been working on a sewing project and needed to change the needle in my sewing machine. I thought I had a grip on the old needle until I loosened the screw holding it in when it dropped straight down into the bobbin case. I took the throat plate off and removed the bobbin case. No needle. But I did find sooo much lint that I’m surprised it could run at all! I called the sewing machine repair guy only to find out that he was leaving in an hour for a three-week trip to Alaska! I explained the situation to him and he said that if I could hand turn the “wheel” with no resistance, I could use my machine. So I could. And I did.

No harm done. I will be taking my sewing machine to him at the end of the month for regular maintenance. I’m glad I could clean out what I could before I take it to him. I guess its like cleaning your house before the house cleaner comes….not that I have any experience with that.

Weird week of four things…

what I’m reading

I just finished Will the Cat Eat My Eyeballs by Caitlin Doughty. She’s a mortician and answered questions from kids about death. The book isn’t gory or graphic and some parts are funny. I learned a lot about what the human body does and goes through when dying.

what I’m watching

Mr. Aitch and I finished the Yellowstone series with Kevin Costner. I won’t to spoil it by telling what happened in the last season. We liked it. A lot.

what I’m loving

what I’m working on

I was cleaning out the ice bin in the freezer part of our refrigerator. While moving things around, I found a package labeled “pizza dough”. Great! Dinner solved. Except once the dough thawed, I could see bits of butter. Um, that’s pie crust, not pizza crust dough. Oops!

We already had our hearts and stomachs set on pizza so I mixed up the pizza dough, covered it, and set it outside in the 95oF shade to double in size. That took less than 30-minutes.

The recipe I use makes two crusts. I wrapped the second one, labeled it CORRECTLY as pizza dough for the next time, and stuck it in the freezer.

When it’s hot, we bake/cook on our grill which is how we make pizza in the summer.

Will the pie crust be alright if I refreeze it? Or should I just make a pie? On the grill.

I hope your week is as sunny and fabulous as you are!

four things | twenty-seven

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Oops! I missed posting anything last week. I forgot what day it was (it happens when one is retired) and when I did remember, I was too tired to think.

It’s been soooo hot and humid. One of the Book Club women asked me if Mr. Aitch and I use our deck much. We have in the past but not this year. In fact we have not dined al fresco all year! It’s just too uncomfortable to be outside. How’s your weather been this summer?

what I’m reading

Well, our Book Club met at my house last Monday. We discussed Nita Prose’s The Maid. The main character, Molly, is a maid in a boutique hotel. She takes her job very seriously. She stumbles across a murder scene and you can find out what happens next if you read the book.

One of the Book Club members offers refreshments based on foods mentioned in the book we review, which helps me figure out a menu. Olive Garden and Mexican foods are both mentioned in this book so since it’s been HOT here, heavy, Italian pasta dishes were not going to happen. I could have gone with the never-ending OG salad but decided to go Mexican with a taco salad, nachos, salsa, sour cream, and a lime infused non-alcoholic beverage. I also made a Mexican Lime Icebox Cake for dessert. Light and refreshing.

Book Club meetings also help me keep up with the housecleaning, like washing the windows both inside and out, dusting everything, scrubbing (not just damp mopping) the floors, you know, all those things no one notices unless they aren’t spotless. And just in case anyone needed to use the restroom I even did the upstairs since the first floor powder room had plumbing issues!

what I’m watching

We’re growing tomatoes in the front flower bed. Actually the two plants are in pots but they are still sitting in the front of the house. The pots were the largest I had and have blown over a couple of times with the unusually strong winds we’ve had. Mr. Aitch and I pounded a long bamboo stake down through the bottom on the pots and into the ground beneath the pots to keep them upright. I’ve trimmed the dead branches and leaves off the bottoms of the plants so they are a bit top-heavy. That certainly helped.

The plants are the Sweet 100 variety and they have produced at least 50 or more sweet, little tomatoes for us so far. There are lots of almost ripe ones on the vines that we will enjoy for the next couple of weeks.

I want to get larger and heavier pots next year so we won’t have to worry about the plants blowing over.

One other tidbit is that the deer don’t bother the tomatoes. Our paver sidewalk runs in front of this flower bed and they don’t like to walk on it.

what I’m loving

Our power went off during one of the hottest afternoons last week. We weren’t sure how long it would be off so we just sat around the house trying to stay cool. I thought about going to the basement to declutter but with no electricity, it would be too dark.

This is truly a First World problem and I will be the first to admit that I do live a comfortable life with so many conveniences.

Fortunately, after an hour, we were greeted with a cool, breeze coming from our AC vents.

I am loving air conditioning.

what I’m working on

I’ve been reading about the Swedish Death Clean method to declutter and downsize so those I leave behind don’t have as much to deal with. I’m not planning on leaving this Earth any time soon and Mr. Aitch and I are not planning on moving/downsizing to a smaller house. I do want to downsize all the crap stuff we have accumulated in this house. I did a lot of getting rid of stuff last year when we got new carpeting on the second floor. I also joined my neighbor in holding a huge three family yard sale and got rid of things we no longer wanted or used. In fact Mr. Aitch and I loaded up the back of my car with most of the leftover stuff and dropped it off at Goodwill. Outta sight, outta mind, and outta the house!

I/we still have a lot more to do but our house didn’t get this way overnight. And it’s not going to get decluttered that way either. Slow and steady wins the race.

Sending you positive vibes for the week ahead!

Patti nona

four things | twenty-six

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Words cannot adequately convey the profound sorrow felt for all those affected by the flooding, devastation, upheaval, and loss of life over the past weekend and this week. Prayers go out to everyone suffering through these hardships.

***********************

My week might seem inconsequential in comparison; nevertheless, the trivial matters remain for everyone.

what I’m watching

The summer the deck flooring was replaced, I wanted plant something colorful near the steps. That year being 2020 and all that went with that mess, plant selection in my area was very limited. I wanted perennials (lazy) and found a few orange coneflowers and something else (that didn’t survive that first year) that brightened up the steps. Orange is not a favorite color of mine but it was bright and what was available. The coneflowers expanded so I separated some of the root ball to plant in the front flower beds. Three of those transplants survived, one being huge!

The original plant is still blooming next to the deck but has changed from orange to a deep pinkish-purple. There are still a couple of orange blooms and even two white ones! Below left is the original and right the transplanted one. Is this a common phenomenon for coneflowers to change colors?

what I’m loving

Mr. Aitch and I power-washed the back deck several weeks ago…before it got so stinkin’ HOT. Our plan was to do the front porch the next day. Well, we finally got it cleaned on the “coolest” day of this past week.

Let me tell you, it was still hot! But the front porch is clean and we enjoy sitting out there in the evenings.

what I’m learning

I’m having a hard time accepting myself. My physical self. My body shape. I’ve gained a lot of weight in the past 20 years. And I just bought a new swim suit. Well, actually I bought four suits. One fits very nicely. The other three I’m sending back.

It was a rude awakening when I looked in the full-length mirror. I’m still recovering. My doctor told me that I should concentrate on eating healthy, staying hydrated, and getting exercise and not on the scales.

I’m learning but it’s a hard lesson.

what I’m working on

As I was closing the door to the deck from the outside, the door knob came off in my hand! That was exciting…not in a good way. The door frame/jamb swells in humid weather so we really have to tug on the door knob to close the door. Evidently I pulled too hard.

I took the entire knob off to figure out if it could be fixed. No clue but I did get it back to working order. I think we need to replace it.

Take care of yourself this week.

Patti