Good Morning Caroline. I am in on a rest my knees break from painting my carport patio planting tanks, second coat, and one coat on the table so far. Still drinking coffee. I also need to roll on some pain meds for my hands. The stuff I got from the chiropractor seems to help and it also clears my stuffy nose. LOL

I guess the water feature is out unless I just do a small table fountain which I do have two of. So now I have two planting tanks for flowers. This year I will have to plant the larger tank with large pots as I do not have enough potting soil and my budget for potting soil is used up.

I called a mechanic to deal with the Blazer. Nothing I was not told about when I bought it and oil change and fluids changed and new shocks brakes adjusted. Little stuff that adds up to me not wanting to be a mechanic. Also the seller brought me the second set of wheels and mechanic is putting them on for me and removing the snow tires. I just really wanted some one in the know and not invested in selling it to me to look her over so I feel safer. I am such a freak out kind of person. He is a really nice guy, fairly new to the area. I heard favorable comments from some of his other customers. I just need a mechanic in my life. So he arrived at 8AM this morning to pick up my car and take it to his shop. He seems like a nice man.

I am enjoying my little Kildeer mama in the driveway and the mechanics wife was taking photo of her from afar. It just seems so odd they always nest in the driveway rocks. Just laying their eggs and calling it good. the eggs blend in so closely with the rocks they are hard to discover.

So coffee is drained and I am heading back out to paint some more after I do some quick, I hope, internet research on sun or shade requirements for a few plants I have for outside.

It didn't rain today!!

Woo Hoo ImHappy. Did not rain here either Still painting. And need to water my grass seed since it has not rained.

A cold and gloomy day here with ran sprinkles. A friend dropped by at 9:30a, ugh. I was still reading the morning paper. She brought a small gift and a card, so I shouldn't complain. So I had a second cup of coffee with her. Then we went out to tour the garden but the wind was so strong and chilly we did a quick go-around and came back in.

Haven't done a darn thing. Oh - except go to the Post Office after my friend left. I ordered a pair of green Sloggers garden shoes online Saturday from Amazon. They came today, but they were a totally different style of Slogger and were black with pink and purple flowers! So I went to the Amazon site and printed off a return label from the company that sent the shoes. First I tried to phone them but only got an answering service(?). Then when I took the package to the Post Office, the lady said her computer was showing that the address was "no good". She tried three times.

So I chatted online with an Amazon rep. Explained about the address and also about the phone number and that the seller's site says no refund unless item returned is received in 2 - 3 days. In the end, he (Amazon) decided that they would take care of the return and for me "not to worry". He filed a claim against the seller and will get my refund for me. As far as returning the shoes, he'd send an email with instructions as soon as the seller is dealt with.

Had a pot of Yorkshire Gold after all that.

It's now Wednesday, and I'm having my cup of decaf coffee. Looks like a decent day here in the northeast, high around 61.

Shades, you always have lots going on!

Schoolhouse, I hate when things get to be more complicated than they need to be. Hope you get what you actually ordered.

My "tea time" today was at the Honda place.

I had a 12:15 p.m. appointment for new rear brakes, tire rotation, oil change, and a couple minor tweaks.

I was still waiting at 3:10 p.m., but they seem to have finally taken the tires off and opened the hood.

Ooops, he just added rotors (?) and a transmission fluid change to the list.

Update - got out at 4:42 and now I'm home and down for the count!

Good heavens, caroline! It's a good thing it wasn't bleeding! Surely an emergency didn't come in that had to go ahead of you.

It didn't rain again today!

I have wanted a porch forever but with the gravel road a few feet from my house it wasn't practical to have one. The long range road plans were in the paper last week and my road is on the list for black top. In 5 years. Unless someone else gets the money. Ya think?

So I'm thinking I should be planning my porch. I have enough inspiration photos that my carpenter should be able to see what I want. And 5 years to save the money for it.

I love porches. The bummer with mine is it faces the wrong way and is way to hot to sit there in summer. If we could have turned the house on the lot the other direction this porch would have been amazing. I am now thrilled to now have the back patio and the carport patio and lots more done today but no new photos. I did find another 3/4 gallon of the soft green paint so into painting on the back patio buckets and I will now have enough paint to finish off the cut edges of the catio. Very happy about this. Dreading doing more painting but oh well. Company arriving Wednesday so I am going to have to call the yard work quits and move into working on the house.

Imhappy 5 years ought to give you enough time to save for the porch. I think ours cost about 6K. 5 years is doable.

I wish I had a porch, or a patio. maybe this next yr I'll have that worked on. the old place is still in the back not far enough away to put something out there yet. I might check out getting a small deck put off the patio door. and in time put a small patio around that (or on 1 side of it). no steps there now - it'd be a BIG step out that door. don't think I wanna try it...

it's been a week since my surgery and I guess it's all doing ok. I went for my 3rd check up on Tues (and go back again next Tues). they keep good check on you. Most everything is back to normal - except no rubbing or scratching around the eye. it does itch sometimes and burns a bit with 1 or 2 of the drops. I just need to continue with drops this week and keep wearing the sunglasses even if the sun isn't out - it'll prevent anything from being blown into the eye.

Sight is a bit better in it when i'm looking at computer or tv screen. I check it about every other day. I'll probably find out next Tues how bad the other eye is and when they want to do it. I don't want to do it anytime soon. maybe in the fall. I think it'd be too much on my sister - and her FIL (in another state) just went thru some very serious medical things. if anything else would happen to him, it'd mean they'd have to take off for there asap. He broke his pelvis the other week and at 92 or so, i'm not too sure he isn't just giving up. His wife died 5 or so yrs back and he's been in an assisted living community for numerous yrs now.

Shades, that looks lovely. You have found a way to be outside in the mean time.

I love having a deck.

Steph it is good news to hear your eye is doing better. The only thing about putting off second surgery is the waiting for new glasses longer if you will still nee them Some times people can get away with just readers. I can if I am only reading but I do need some distance correction I can still see well enough to get along. I do wear my glasses all the time because I am used to them and the trifocals just make everything easier for me.

Thanks Eld. I do love the space and more planters planted have been added there and to the back patio. I continue to keep painting things. Today I woke to rain so no painting.

A friends husband gave me about 25 crappie so I have been busy getting them cleaned and in the freezer. Tried my hand at filet and not doing well at that so just scaling them and packaging. I needed to take a brake for coffee and to rest my hands from the cold water. EEEKK

I dashed up to get the mail and stopped at a yard sale and bought the cutest little table cabinet I DID NOT NEED. It has been crackle painted so I hope I can get that off as it is butt ugly. If not it will be crackle painted white ot turquoise over the top of the crackles. LOL I had hoped to put it between my living room chairs but it is a bit too tall. I think now it will go beside my bed. Will be god for that. The one that is there can go away. Or maybe into the guest room. I need a bed side table in there. If this works as my bed side table I will drill a hole in the back for cords to tablets for charging as I use my kindle in there all the time. Nice little drawer for my gun too.

Back to my fish processing. What a deal. So happy to have them as I love fish.

shades - yes, that'll be the downfall of waiting. but I will need someone to drive me there and stay there to bring me home and take me back to the first 2 or 3 check ups and my sister just can't do it right now. she's a mess from driving me the past 5 months. some of those appts were 4 hrs or so in the office waiting mostly. plus it's a good 45 min drive each way. she's in worse shape physically than I am. (she's 4 yrs older). She had planned for her dh to do some of the driving for me but he had to work out of town some and then go back to be with his dad this past week or 2. that's a lot to put on someone else - when it isn't entirely necessary. the left eye was on the verge of losing its sight never to be regained - that was serious. the right eye - I can see good out of it. nothing like the left was. And she needs to try to keep herself rested up now for a time in case her FIL does take a turn for the very worst. They'd have to head out driving (I think they'd drive) to get there. if he would die, BIL would definitely need to spend time there dealing with the details of a funeral and all of his dad's stuff (what he has left of it now).

I do have 3 more wks of 'recovery and check ups' on the left eye. that'll be into June - and I can drive those myself. it's about a 10 min drive down the road. After i'm cleared on the left and find out if anything serious with the right (I've had no problems with it before), I'll try my regular glasses (I'm using now) and readers and see how I do.

I already can't believe how much more I can see on my computer screen using just my left eye. a wk ago I could see a screen - but nothing on it. today I can see all the type for my post and a pic to the right - I can't actually read the type but last week I couldn't have even seen it there. Doc said he was putting in a distance lens in the left. I figured he'd know which was better cause he could tell by my glasses which way was my worst. I do know that yesterday I parked in the W lot within about a foot of the post in front of my front end. last wk I'd park and get out to find I had a good 4' yet to the post!

I can't believe all this left eye stuff has been going on for 5 months! waiting 3 or 4 for the right is ok with me (so far). hopefully, summer will go fast. I don't want a lot of daytime trips out in the 110-120 degree temps. I usually go to the store in early evening - about an hr or so before dusk. the sun is over the west of the little mountain on my west - and I drive to my east. no blazing sun overhead!

i'm so glad this bad eye is taken care of now. I hope doc doesn't mind seeing me once a yr whether the eye bothers me or not! I'd just as soon not get that far gone on it again. he did say there was a lot of scar tissue in it.

oh, and I don't go back to the retinal doc until Sept anyway. I'm not sure what input he'll have on it. maybe none since the problem he thinks / thought might exist is only on the left one. i'm sure he'll have a better idea once the surgeon updates him on what he found in there during surgery.

my sister says they just keep looking in and behind my eye cause they can't figure out why it's all empty back in there...

Hi everyone. I'm sorry I've not had time to properly respond, but I'm jumping through hoops trying to get everything ready to head out to Arkansas. I had hoped to leave Sunday, but "due to circumstances beyond my control", the money transfer from one bank to the other was not made in a timely manner so I have to wait until Monday. That will still leave me plenty of time to get there before her graduation on the 15th.

I also had to see the doctor to straighten out prescriptions. They never get them filled correctly the first time. I can't be stuck on the road without the proper diabetes meds. My A1C was out of control the last two checks so I'm going to be extra dedicated to taking everything correctly, on time, and try to not eat so much. The new/additional insulin has seemed to reduce my ravenous appetite. I had a good 106 reading this morning!

Steph; I wish we lived closer. I'd be so happy to drive you here and there and everywhere. I could put all the drops in your eyes, too. Then, when you were recovered, we'd take a road trip and visit all the other tea-time attendees! Wouldn't that be a hoot! Maybe we wouldn't tell them we were coming; we could just stand at each front door, grinning like Cheshire cats until they figured out who we were!

I have so many Purple Martins now; an entire wave came zooming in. They are fighting beak and nail over the gourds. Mr. Ed and his neighbor have swarms, too.

caroline - that's so nice of you to say you'd do that! that'd be really fun to pop in and surprise everyone (I think we'd need addresses tho). If we didn't, I wonder how long it'd take the others to figure out who we were... we'd probably have to tell them before they called the police to report 2 nutcases on their property!

you're mentioning the drops made me think of something - hopefully, on the right eye, I can get the 'shot' instead of drops! doc said no to it because of the condition of the left one. the right one doesn't have the same problems! that'll save me all the drop 'dropping' into the eye!

do the PMs ever get hurt when they fight over a gourd?

Oh, please let me know if you are coming to Iowa! You KNOW that would be the day I left home. I'm here 6 days and 20 hours a week any other time.

if I ever win the lottery I'd buy a motor home and hire someone to drive me around the country site seeing. that'd be so fun to come where you all live and visit - and see states I've never seen before.

I need to buy a ticket...

Buy me one, too, and if I win I'll pay you back.

Burrrrr it is so cold out there considering how nice it was a few days ago. I did bundle up in coat with scarf around me neck to paint the second coat on the buckets for the back patio. I just wanted them done. Now I hope it does not rain. Sun was out now windy and cloudy. Oh well. Not doing it again.

I had ideas of doing some traveling but I am really not into it. Anyone is welcome to come visit me and I will not even ask you to work LOL

I finally took down all the winter curtains and filled one tote in the garage with them. This way I can just haul the whole thing in next year and have the curtains all together. Now I have two dresser drawers empty in my closet. Where the curtains used to be and in my sewing room and now they are all together. Material that was in the dresser is now in the sewing room. I might fold my winter sweaters to put in the drawers and give myself more closet hanging space.

Was a productive day here and I am tired.

"Buy me one, too, and if I win I'll pay you back."

a ticket or a motor home? lol!

I always forget to buy a ticket. I don't even know how they work anymore. I do know they're double the price these days. used to be 1.00.

I'm gonna check 'em out online - so many different ones these days.

thx shades for not planning to make us work...ha! we'll watch you...

notice I said in a motor home with a driver... I couldn't go far cramped up in a car and surely not with me driving!

I don't know how to buy a ticket, either. I don't want to embarrasses myself at the counter. And I forget, too. Even when I think I will get one when I go to town, I never think of it again until months later.

It's a new Tuesday. No one started a new thread.

Even when I think I will get one when I go to town, I never think of it again until months later.

that's so me too! I've decided I need to go online to the website and read up on some of the 'games'. I can manage to buy a quick pick - and that's it! the machine picks the numbers, all I have to do is give them 2.00. of course, then I usually forget I bought one and don't check it. I've heard that on the scratch off ones, they often get a 2nd chance to win. so if I can figure out how those work, I think I'll buy one of those.

Jeeze! I don't even know how to do that. And that's why I don't want to embarrasses myself at the counter. I don't even know what to ask for or how much it will cost.

I started tearing my work room apart this morning. It's going better than I had expected. The cheap $5 tv stand I thought would replace the wooden stand that ended up being a couple of inches too narrow is working. BUT it's awfully close to the ground. I didn't think about that. It won't look beautiful but I might have to find some 4x4 scraps and jack it up a bit. If it quits raining and I remember I'll go out to the machine shed and see what I have. No doubt enough for one side and not the other. Maybe 4 tin cans! Actually, if I spray painted them... Hmm what's for dinner today?

I'm going to see what else I can consolidate. It always looks so .... junky? crowded? Like I just moved in? It's too bad this didn't start out in a room farther from the kitchen. No one ever gets much farther than that and then a straight view into it from the kitchen table. On the other hand, I don't have much company.

I'm on the road to northern Arkansas. I left late Monday afternoon. I drove through most of North Dakota, all of South Dakota, skipped back and forth down the Iowa and Nebraska borders, and am almost through Missouri. I'm about 50 miles north of Rolla and will trudging on to Mtn. Home, AR.

My niece is graduating this weekend with two bachelors degrees, both "with honors." I would not miss this even if I had to walk barefoot the entire way!

"Jeeze! I don't even know how to do that. And that's why I don't want to embarrasses myself at the counter. I don't even know what to ask for or how much it will cost."

yep, that's me too. I found out it was now 2.00 when I tried to buy one with 1.00! and all those new games - that's why I decided to look online. I've never played the scratch offs before. thought I'd give it a try. i'm not going out today or I'd get one. will have to wait to play the Sat lottery.

I was out for 3 hrs yesterday and I'm zonked today. had my 4th eye check up. it was good. now it'll be 2 wks til I go back - unless I have any problems. then I'd call them asap! I think that'll be the 1 month period and all should be well with it.

our weather turned chilly yesterday - and rainy. I'd just decided on Sunday it was time to pack away the winter pjs. I didn't get it done yet, so I pulled out some heavier pjs for last night. they don't get packed far away. just out of the cabinet and into a bin in the closet. and my summer tank tops, t- shirts and shorts jump out of the bin and into the cabinet.

Caroline,

I was in Mountain View a couple weeks ago, quite near Mountain Home I think. If you like old timey music or crafts swing by. There is a state park/folk life center, where I bought three beautiful handmade brooms and other crafts and the old timey musicians are out on porches jamming every evening. Watch out for ticks though.

Wow, well done Niece!

Steph, did you get a ticket?

Imhappy - no! I didn't go out today. couldn't find my sunglasses that fit over my regular glasses... bummer. didn't find til mid afternoon.

went out with my sister yesterday to get pedi and hair cut and was so tired when I got home. couldn't sleep last night - only got 3 hrs sleep so figured I should just stay home today. I can get one tomorrow but the draw won't be til Wed.

I really need to remember to do that!