All Things EARTH... part 2

[Anita Latte]

I've been taking so many pictures! I got a new phone a while back and upped my storage to a crazy amount and have been using my phone to document when the seeds germinate, when the blooms start, first fruits, etc. Most of my photos are zoomed in a lot.

 

I saw a documentary on Netflix I think about Pixar. They were talking about the making of a Bug's Life and I think my photography is a bit influenced by that. I'm really getting down to the plants level for so much of what I am taking pictures of. My yard as a whole is not very attractive rn...we haven't done anything to enhance the lawn because we are slowing replacing the lawn and rn the weeds outnumber the grass that hasn't greened up yet because there hasn't been rain. Even the weeds are looking a little drought stricken...it's not a good look.

 

Today is my birthday! DS has the sweetest idea. He said he would be making me a meal if he were here...he wants to share something he and his roommate make often...it's what they do to enhance ramen. We love ramen. I have my ingredients list and tomorrow night DS is going to walk me through cooking while he cooks the same thing. I'm really looking forward to that.

 

We're planning on renting a boat for a bit. DH was hoping to take today off work but sadly that hasn't worked out entirely. He will be home for lunch though...but I think the boat rental is going to have to wait for tomorrow or the weekend. We'll see how the boating report is...I only want to go out if the intercostal waterway is calm. We've been having crazy wind lately and I've never seen the whitecaps like we did a very days ago. Much calmer today though...

 

Crazy that you are getting more snow Melody...

[awhfy]

Happy, happy bday Anita!!!

[awhfy]

I have fabulous news to share!  Our grandson has been selected for the Air Force Academy. He is presently enlisted in the Air Force & is one of a very few enlisted to be selected to become an officer. We are so very proud of him!  Melody

[Anita Latte]

Excellent news Melody!!!

 

My SIL taught at the academy there in CO Spgs for a while. Is that where he will be? 

[awhfy]

1 hour ago, Anita Latte said:

Excellent news Melody!!!

 

My SIL taught at the academy there in CO Spgs for a while. Is that where he will be? 

Yes, he’ll do a year at the prep school then enter the Academy for 4 years

[purduemom1]

Happy birthday, Anita! A bit late but just as sincere. Hope your boating adventure turns out to be lots of fun. Cooking with your DS is a fabulous idea! Maybe you will share the recipe with all of us?

 

Melody, congrats to your grandson, that is quite an accomplishment! 
 

Sharon

[PurpleHays]

On 3/25/2021 at 2:38 PM, awhfy said:

I have fabulous news to share!  Our grandson has been selected for the Air Force Academy. He is presently enlisted in the Air Force & is one of a very few enlisted to be selected to become an officer. We are so very proud of him!  Melody

That is indeed something to be proud of! The Air Force is the best. My BIL taught math at the Academy for a long time.

[laurspag]

It's been a busy week!!

 

First, happy belated birthday, Anita.  I hope your day was wonderful.  I don't know about all of you, but I love to celebrate birthdays.  I never did when I was younger.  It isn't about parties or fancy dinners or presents, just about being happy to have another year under my belt, and be thankful for all I have around me.  I hope you celebrated, and felt it was a special day for you.

 

The picture in the kitchen is a bit deceiving.  The kitchen has changed a few times over the years, from what I understand.  I think what happened was that when they changed the kitchen around, they never moved two two lights that were there.  Then, when we remodeled and changed it up a bit, we did not change lighting location either.  So the same mistake was made twice.  

 

First, the pendant lights were added when we remodeled, and were definitely put in the proper area for that part of the 'U'.  The pot lights that were added were in very good spots in the area between the "U" and the long wall on the other side.  In the U itself, we should have simply added a few additional pot lights to create even lighting.  Once again, we added a light where there already was one, then added a shorter version of the pendant light over the sink.  Currently, that still has the old light.  We are going to replace it with a pot light to match the others.

 

Without messing up the ceiling a bunch, the only thought I have had is to add a pot light in place of the ceiling fan.  I'm thinking it will be an improvement, in that it won't stand out like a sore thumb.  The downside is that I don't think we will have enough light.  So I am going to replace the light above the sink for now, and give the rest some thought.

 

I tried to get a more squared out picture of the pendant lights and the lighting in the table area.  I'm not sure if it helps unless you zoom in and look at it very carefully.  The reason I say that is because with the reflection, it is almost hard to see the edges of the countertop properly.  Anita, there is no overhang on that side for seating.

 

I am approaching this one side at a time.  I tell you more about the center of the "U" and the overhang separately, but we don't have chairs in that area.  We could, if we wanted to have them on the family room side, but we mostly use that for a serving area when we entertain.  It works out fabulous.  

[laurspag]

Slidergirl, I was thinking about your comments.  I am thinking back to when we picked the lighting, and how we chose.  I think I remember looking at a lot of kitchens, and see piles of recessed lighting and it felt a bit...blah.  We saw a light we liked that went with our dining room light, and went from there.  I do like how things coordinate, just not the placement.  I recall too that the ceiling fan was a big debate between my husband and I.  Keeping in mind that we do not have air conditioning, my husband thought it was a good choice.  I didn't want it, but  I'm trying to remember....I think there was one there previously and he like it?  I honestly can't recall, which is awful, lol.  

 

Probably, once we figure out that section, we will figure out the rest, and then do it all at once.  I just dread the holes needing patching, and the repainting, because the ceiling flows through the family room and mud room, so the whole thing will need repainting.  

 

Melody, congratulations to  your grandson!  You must be so proud of him.  

 

My neuroma in my foot is acting up again.  It is hard to believe, but when I checked that cortisone shot I had was January of 2019.  I keep thinking that can't be right?  but I checked and it is on the calendar on my phone.  So I guess if I don't get a major flare up for two years, then it is successful.  I know it took time before I felt better after the shot, and I do get some pain and numbness from time to time, but I'm perfectly capable of carrying on normally.  The last two weeks though have been rough, with a few days where I could barely walk so I guess it is time to go back.

 

With the weather starting to get better, I really want to get out and about so I need to take care of it now.

 

Any plans for all of you for Easter?  My husband already has his two doses of the vaccine.  I will have my second shot during the week, and both of my daughters will have one shot situated.  One daughter lives at home anyway, and the other is part of what I call our pod. We limit our interactions and distance, but we sanitize and are extra careful.  

 

Our Easter plans are to eat out at a local restaurant, that we have been going to for Easter for a few years now, with the exception of last year.  

[MJC]

Melody, congrats to your grandson, how exciting for all of you!

 

Laurie, sorry to hear about your foot. I hope you can get some relief in time to enjoy the warming weather. We are just starting to have light jacket days, and it feels wonderful. We actually had outdoor lunch with some friends last weekend. We hadn't seen them since NYE 2019.

 

DH had his second vaccine yesterday, and I had my first on Wednesday. We are both very excited and relieved to be on the path to better days. It has been very hard not seeing our friends and family. Last night we had planned a Passover dinner, but since he wasn't feeling well, we will have it tonight. Most everything is made, I just need to heat it up. We hope next year to have our gang of cousins over again for the whole shebang. After I get my second shot I will be able to schedule my long overdue tooth implant that should have happened a year ago. It is a miracle that my temporary tooth has lasted so long.

 

My home projects have mostly been about replacing things that are old and/or broken. So, on Friday our new dressers came, and we both still have bags of clothes and things to sort and put away. I would say we each are about 3/4 done. Since they have one less drawer than the old ones, some purging is going on. We had gotten the old ones right after we married, so they would have been 35 years old this November! We put them out for curbside garbage day, but both were taken by somebody who will get  some use from them. That made me happy.

 

We are also waiting for a new TV stand to come on Wednesday, as well as a new vanity table for me. I have curtains picked out but I haven't ordered them yet. And now the big torchiere in our bedroom does not always turn on, so today I was hunting online for a new lamp.

 

Last week we got new desk lamps since his was broken and they were a matched set. Last month the pleated window shade in our our home office broke, so I ordered a new shade and curtains too... our cat had climbed the old ones a few too many times so they were pretty ragged. The new ones are a bit lighter both in color and style which is a nice result. With the new lamps too the room is just a bit perkier looking.

 

I have been busy with work for the lake board and am the writer/editor for most of our member and public communications. This is a busy time as the board is organizing projects for the busy season that begins on Memorial Day. We are doing our annual membership signup and lining up all the contractors we use for things like weed control and clubhouse maintenance. It is quite a production keeping things up and gearing up for summer. But I am glad to have some work to do besides house projects.

 

DH had some use it or lose it vacation days, so last Tuesday we went to the Bronx Zoo. It was a fun day and so great to be out of the apartment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[awhfy]

Everyone is doing home projects!  We just ordered a 12x16’ steel topped gazebo (it’ll take about a month to come in). The size has Les moving patio pavers & I’m moving rock. I’m feeling every year of my age tonight!  Melody

[MJC]

Super cute and comfy dress:

 

https://www.coldwatercreek.com/dresses/superbly-soft-pocket-dress/211040568220.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shop&&src=PGOG5001&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIwrDhiIbW7wIVymJyCh0ojwF-EAQYAiABEgI7DfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

[MJC]

Some great Lands End colors.

 

Coriander Brown:

https://www.landsend.com/search/S-xea?initialSearch=true&q=coriander brown

 

Sunwashed Red:

https://www.landsend.com/search/S-xea?initialSearch=true&q=sunwashed red

 

Dark Olive Floral:

https://www.landsend.com/products/womens-pull-on-7-chino-shorts/id_345902?attributes=44967,46187

 

Olive Green Floral:

https://www.landsend.com/products/womens-plus-size-u-neck-jersey-t-shirt/id_329748?attributes=46379&rd=true

 

 

[awhfy]

[Anita Latte]

Thanks for the birthday wishes! I had a different kind of birthday I suppose...we usually celebrate birthdays in terms of weeks LOL and even months...like it's my birthday this week so we should get to do whatever I feel like doing.

 

My week opened with my BFF from 7th grade...I have known her since 4th but we didn't become besties until 7th...getting in touch with me again. I moved away the summer after 7th and we stayed in touch all throughout high school...and then still in college...and then times between contact got fewer and further between. It's been years now since we've be in touch...but total awesomeness...she and her family are moving to Raleigh...so I am PUMPED, because she has mostly stayed in CA. Home to home we will be less than 8 hours away. Very exciting stuff.

 

It was just so windy all around my birthday...and for real...there was a yard project that I really wanted to finish...so we went out for a nice lunch at a waterfront restaurant in town...which was great fun:

 

 

 

DH helped me finish the fruit guild...which means that he used an electric tiller that I bought on Craigslist for $25 (score!) to tear up the weeds and what little lawn there was...and I raked through to remove the vegetation. He cleared the area around the mailbox for me to plant what I am calling a butterfly garden. When he was done with the tilling part, he took over the combing through part and I got to plant the butterfly garden. I transplanted and divided some African iris and liriope...and snagged a sprig or two of Mexican petunia from other places in the yard. Also planted the cheap lantana I bought $4 tax free for a huge one gallon. DH finished clearing the fruit guild and I could finally plant the cheap society garlic I had also gotten. I was able to get 3 plants from each gallon because they were so overgrown and root bound.

 

We also finally planted some trees and bushes we had purchased. These things have been weighing on me so it was outstanding to get these things done! And sometimes you really need the brawn of your DH to help make it happen. So YAY!

 

DS and I cooked together Friday night. Use a seafood flavored ramen...cook the noodles with chicken broth and add the seafood package seasoning. Carrots are added at some point. And at the end, get a whirlpool going in the pot and add eggs like for egg drop soup so you get egg ribbons. Any other seasoning that you prefer, like Sriracha, soy sauce, etc. Fresh green onions at the end. It was tasty and filling and I was thinking to myself that I was pleased with his additions to ramen...I don't think I ever thought to doctor it up when I was in college.

 

Melody...I bet you are going to love the new gazebo! Shade is so nice...and a solid roof is nice because it can be pleasant to be out in a windless rain. 

 

Laurie...so sorry that your foot is acting up again. Time does fly, it does not seem like 2 years ago that you were talking about it last.

 

Love the zoo photos Margaret! I've been thinking about going to our county zoo...I love a good zoo. The last zoo I frequented in Sedgwick County was one of the best. We were members and DS loved it...we went on zoo walks 3-4X weekly that summer...he was 2.

[awhfy]

Anita, love your super happy photos!  

[PurpleHays]

On 3/30/2021 at 1:36 PM, Anita Latte said:

My week opened with my BFF from 7th grade...I have known her since 4th but we didn't become besties until 7th...getting in touch with me again. I moved away the summer after 7th and we stayed in touch all throughout high school...and then still in college...and then times between contact got fewer and further between. It's been years now since we've be in touch...but total awesomeness...she and her family are moving to Raleigh...so I am PUMPED, because she has mostly stayed in CA. Home to home we will be less than 8 hours away. Very exciting stuff.

Ah Raleigh. It's right next to Durham--where I live. And I work in Raleigh. What part of CA is your BFF moving from?

[Anita Latte]

20 hours ago, PurpleHays said:

Ah Raleigh. It's right next to Durham--where I live. And I work in Raleigh. What part of CA is your BFF moving from?

 

Yeah...I keep thinking about how we were living in Winston Salem before moving down here to Florida two years ago. Missed it by THAT much. Still...less than 8 hours away beats the current situation. When we were in the same schools we were in the Bay Area. She moved away halfway through high school up to around Sacramento and more around there and between the Bay Area. I think she was about 1.5 hours from the East Bay. Are you familiar with CA?

[PurpleHays]

2 hours ago, Anita Latte said:

 

Yeah...I keep thinking about how we were living in Winston Salem before moving down here to Florida two years ago. Missed it by THAT much. Still...less than 8 hours away beats the current situation. When we were in the same schools we were in the Bay Area. She moved away halfway through high school up to around Sacramento and more around there and between the Bay Area. I think she was about 1.5 hours from the East Bay. Are you familiar with CA?

I lived in Norco/Corona in Riverside County in the 80s with the ex and when the oldest was a toddler, then in Merced/Atwater in the ?Central/San Juaquin? Valley (also in the 80s) while I was active in the Air Force. Castle AFB is closed now.  My older daughter lived in Irvine and lives in Sonoma County now. She's in law, so she spends some time in Sacramento.  She loves it there--other than the cost of living. I am somewhat familiar with both those area.

 

My BFF lives in the greater STL area, so I get friends living far away. At least it's easier to keep in touch now that when we had to write letters.

[awhfy]

I understand long distance friends. My lifetime BFF lives in upstate Maine. My other good friends are in MA & FL. Very few here in CSprings now...everyone moved 😢. Melody

[laurspag]

Margaret. I love your zoo pictures.  You take wonderful photos.  Our zoo is open, but our weather has been....interesting.  Literally, the temp can be in the mid 60's one day, and snowing the next.  It has been the strangest week from a weather perspective.  We lucked out, because they were expecting us to get about 10 inches of snow between last night and early today, but the front they were watching picked up speed, and so they changed it.  It's been snowing off and on all day, but it is just sticking to the grass right now.

 

My second shot was today.  Yay!  as of right now, my arm isn't even sore.  I may do a few exercises with weights shortly.  That is one thing they tell you - drink lots of water, and move your arm a lot.  

[MJC]

[awhfy]

Here’s the reworked patio. The new 12x16’ steel top gazebo is due in on the 14th

[Anita Latte]

Melody...your patio looks wonderful! You're going to have so many wonderful days there! Les looks very proud of himself...as he should. Landscaping is hard work...OMG...I know you said you were sore too from all the rock moving around that you did. We have been doing landscaping ourselves and so I know exactly what you are talking about.

 

We've been trying to move forward with the natural pool idea and we've run into a bit of a snag in the whole design...the dreaded pool safety statutes. It's a major problem really because the whole idea of what we are trying to do is basically have the swimming "pool" be more pond-like in appearance and in fact, the appropriate builders for it are pond builders more than pool builders because the construction process is basically a modified pond more than anything...and figuring out how to have the pool safety measures in place is challenging.

 

We figure we need to tackle the backyard as a whole...because the pool design will need to address the grading of the yard and the removal of so much earth could mean a redistribution of it or full removal...it all depends and so...the backyard is still just a mess.

 

Meanwhile...the front yard fruit guild is finally all planted and mulched. The trees and bushes are on drip irrigation. All that remains is for me to plant the spots where we incorporated some compost/manure where I plan to plant squashes and melons...and let the vines sprawl all around. I'm planning on starting some other plants from seed...by common name, lavender, black-eyed susans, coneflowers, cosmos...and then once they are ready...to plant them in the butterfly mailbox garden and in the fruit guild.

 

The cinder block gardens are going strong...here's our Grace kitty...

 

You can see the drip lines in the beds and in the "pots". The beds are all mixed beds with my first attempts at interplanting. The nearest bed has tomatoes, calendula, french marigolds and basil in the bed...all started from seed. The flowers are nasturtiums...and there's herbs and other things in the pots. The larger bushy green in the far pots are cilantro. And at the bottom of the photo are blueberries...which are in the fruit guild.

 

I've been having so much fun with the gardening...it's a lot of work...but it is very rewarding. I have fun photographing everything too...just to share...

 

 

 

 

I especially love the blueberries!! Fascinating to see them develop...

 

 

 

[Anita Latte]

On 4/1/2021 at 7:13 PM, PurpleHays said:

I lived in Norco/Corona in Riverside County in the 80s with the ex and when the oldest was a toddler, then in Merced/Atwater in the ?Central/San Juaquin? Valley (also in the 80s) while I was active in the Air Force. Castle AFB is closed now.  My older daughter lived in Irvine and lives in Sonoma County now. She's in law, so she spends some time in Sacramento.  She loves it there--other than the cost of living. I am somewhat familiar with both those area.

 

My BFF lives in the greater STL area, so I get friends living far away. At least it's easier to keep in touch now that when we had to write letters.

 

My Great Grandma lived in Lake Elsinore...and in the 80s I would go visit her every summer. I would fly alone to the Orange County airport. I'm pretty sure that we drove through your area on the way. What I remember most is that there was a road that Grandma and I called the PEU road...as in Peeeeeeyouuuu...because it stank so bad with all the cow fields on either side. Grandma took the country roads and avoided the freeways if she could. She also was leery of the air conditioning causing the car to overheat so she didn't use it much...and we would have the windows down and would take turns playing out taking deep breaths and saying....pppppeeeeeeeeuuuuuuuu.

 

I left CA when I went to TX for college and basically determined that I didn't want the CA lifestyle of the high cost of living and the hours of commuting in the traffic and haven't lived in CA since then.

 

We have extended family in STL. My Grandmother on my Dad's side and her sisters were all born there and many of my cousins are still there, but I haven't been in touch with them for years. 

 

It is much easier to keep in touch with friends living far away. I don't do FB or other social media but I find that texting is the best. Especially across time zones...having a rolling conversation is usually a happy part of my day.