Evening all. Here I am creeping in the back door again, but not for long because it was a dreadful shock seeing my long post disappearing before my eyes. I swear I didn't do anything to cause this disappearing trick. Anyway just popped in

And it happened again!!! ANNE

Good morning everyone, although almost midday here. We’re just back from our first walk on the moors in months. No rain first thing so it seemed a good idea to take George and Betty on a long, long walk to get rid of some of their frustrations being confined to the garden room. Me too of course and I’m also getting back ache and a sore hip from too much sitting about. It was cold walking so I was glad I had my fleece lined jacket on but at least rain held off until we were on our way home.


Apparently the wettest May on record for Wales and that’s not far from Cornwall so I’m guessing we’ll have broken records too. This time last year it was averaging 25c with glorious sunshine but 10c is our best so far although it might warm up slightly by the weekend.

A lemon teapot Lin! Perfect for Earl Grey and a slice. 🍋. Sue loved the greenhouse but couldn’t believe the trouble I went through to get it delivered and constructed. She is a proverbial rolling stone plus she appears to either upset her neighbours or make poor decisions about where to live. She’s a kind and likeable lady and is now used to me laughing at all the Facebook conspiracy theories she believes in but I can tell paranoia gets the better of her because she still says the virus is fake news so refuses to get vaccinated! Anyway, as she left here to go and view a property that’s been on the market since last October I said perhaps check out the neighbours as well as the house!
Blue tomatoes sound interesting. I’m growing black cherry and bite size this year and have been promised a golden variety from Louise next door.

Goodness Sandy, it’s amazing how those gorgeous kids have grown as it doesn’t seem that long ago you were posting photos of the newborn babes. I think you’ve been like a coiled spring waiting to bounce free of lockdown and whoosh, you’re away! Busy times but enjoyable too.

Jeri, without the dogs I’m not sure I would be committed to daily walks in the rain in fact I know I wouldn’t! Camping seems to be a favourite holiday in the UK this year as so many popular foreign destinations struggle to control the virus. Hopefully you will get your break next month. Mmm, I remember enjoying Nova Scotia lobster on an east coast vacation… yummy!

Oh Anne, I do feel for you losing posts. We’ve all been through it and when it happens to me I’m convinced it’s still sitting somewhere in my iPad waiting for me to find it. Re typing is never the same is it. 🤬

The local mobile ice cream van man must have been over enthusiastic when the sun appeared for a short while this morning because I just heard his tinkling bell ringing “Popeye the sailor man” as he’s driven through the village. Not much takers now it’s raining I bet.

I can hear plaster being scraped on to walls and yesterday we worked out how best to position the loo and it’s macerator in the old airing cupboard so I finally feel we’re moving forward.

Time for some lunch. Continue to take care everyone.
Jackie

Morning all –

Been a very busy 4 days…almost feels normal. Friday spent the evening at Scoops Ice Cream - several hours of live music with friends and family (Daughter w/ husb & kids, ex with her husb etc.).




Been doing lots of work around the house – Jean has her veggies planted etc. Had to skip the gym one day with hip issues (oddly enough Jean had similar). Had to laugh at pic I saw of The Monkees (photo) confirming we all age. I was more Beatles/Rolling Stones.




Sunday was great and spent half the day with family at my sister’s home. Her church had a guest speaker (about 50 yrs old) re: storms in our lives – it was moving. He has operated a local Chick-fil-A for 3 yrs and previous worked 20 yrs at IBM. Chick-fil-A gets 30-40k people wanting to be operators and only award about 100 and half come from existing employees. He talked of 8 yrs ago dealing w/ alcoholism (quit) and rough childhood etc. Life was going good now – until he didn’t feel well for a few weeks and on Mar 17th doctors confirmed a terminal illness - ALS. He went on to explain his faith and still feeling blessed (while admitting some rough moments too). Found it inspiring and another reminder that just being alive is a blessing.





Oop’s – Just realized that was a bit long. LOL

Sandy – Like you… Jean always washed our masks after 1-2 uses. Also kept new ones in the car just in case. Fortunately, 75% of places no longer require (although employees at gym, record store etc still wear – but have a tentative date to stop in the next month or so).

DesinyUSA is mask-free but a few stores still require. SPEAKING OF DESTINYUSA – Disneys Store just announced they are leaving next month… I can’t imagine what is going to happen – but doesn’t look good. Lots of debt and most main stores going or gone. Really miss JCP. Oh well, out of our control. I hear ya on the onion recipe – I love them and Jean wouldn’t touch a stuffed onion for $100.00 LOL.

Lin – Yes the weather has been great and really have taken advantage every day. Went to the lake just to hang and soak in some sun and smiles. As noted above – not only are the bargains leaving – so are the stores. LOL; I hear ya on the bills in the mail box… still waiting for Publishers Clearing House to come through. Hahaha. Good luck with the zucchini!




Patsy – Killing Eve -- "I have to kill you now." - everybody's favorite humorous but cold assassin “Villanelle” Hope you enjoy!

Anne – No pool action yet. My daughter said they need to get a new liner. Looking forward to the annual picnic at my nephews next Monday – but too many people to expose this body LOL. No 1000 Island cruise yet. Wanted to go, but the only “real nice 100% sun days” were booked for other commitments. Hoping June some time.

Hope to catch up on reading all the posts later.

Have a great afternoon. Hope everyone is healthy! Bob

Hi everyone. A busy day, for me at least. Did some straightening up around the house this morning. Especially needed since I dropped a container of unpopped organic popcorn in the kitchen. Of course the lid came off and I had popcorn everywhere. I think I finally captured all of it.

The repairman was here to fix my washer. He apologized for the long delay on obtaining the part. I said I thought they would call me and say, sorry, we cannot get that part. The washer is too old. He said, well, I ordered the part and they actually didn’t have one, they had to make it which is why it took longer than usual. I guess with that explanation, 4+ weeks is not that bad.

I have been washing clothing since he left.

Around lunchtime, the new service I hired last night showed up. Signed up primarily for the guarantee to keep my property free of cicada killer wasps (actually all wasps) this year. But they also eradicate loads of other bugs like ants, spiders, millipedes, box elder bugs etc. etc. The service is available both inside and outside. Price is the same but I did not want them spraying indoors. The technician said ants are running amuck due to the continual rain. He consulted with me a few times while scouting out ant hills and wasp nests.

I have been searching for a few gardening supplies but didn’t find what I wanted.

Zoom watercolor class this afternoon. It was also interesting.

Patsy, I am sorry your son had to leave early but it is great that he will return. And it is also a plus that he is earning more money for boat maintenance. We have a chilly long weekend on the way. Humm, a yogurt smoothie. Yummy!

Bob, definitely a busy few days for you and some great photos! I actually thought the two surviving Monkees looked pretty good and I recognized them. I now regularly read the updates on my home town page and I tell you what, I recognize very few of the people I knew when I lived there. A few are still quite like their under age 18 photos. A mirror like Dorian Gray? Plastic surgery? Great genes? That is definitely not the norm. For the majority, if a high school photo is also posted as well, then I may see the resemblance to their younger self.

Sandy, on the move once again this week. Busy lady! And all of those kids are going to be tall! And cute of course. I am sure you are missing your hummingbird. They are adorable.

Jackie, I am glad you did get out for a walk today. These are varieties of ‘blue’ tomato seeds I purchased.





I had some black cherry tomatoes last year. Very good yield but the skins were really tough. But I will be pleased just to have some vegetables. 🍅🥕🥬🥔🍠🫑🧅🧄
Well, maybe not all of these items.

Jeri, that looks like a nice home celebration. I hope Ed continues to heal and recover. Do you have an appointment for your second shot?

Need to move along. Storms may roll in tonight. 🤞🏻🤞🏻 We do not receive damaging hail. Wish I could have kind of cover that I could roll out over my containers in threatening weather. 🧐

Hope everyone is safe. Hi Barbie, Connie and Diane. Anne, we need you back soon!

Lin🙋🏼‍♀️
❤️❤️

Teapot, can you believe it? 🤣😂🤣

Mornin all!

Started with 100% Eric Clapton for 1+ hours on treadmill at 6am…by 9am it was sunny and 81 and headed for an 87 high. On the downside the weather report says there could be a strong thunderstorm with damaging winds starting around 12pm. Such is life…and zero chance of snow. Jean is getting ready to leave at 11am to meet a girlfriend for either lunch or ice cream (at Friendly’s). I’m going to head over to the mall and possible used music store before the weather turns. Finally back on track eating the right amounts etc.



Patsy – OMG – sweaters and coats!!! Horrible… Glad U are starting to rejoin the outside world. Completely agree re: vaccination and I do understand the hesitancy by some and I do not know what I would do with re: to young children. For me, I simply looked at the fact I am in the vulnerable category (over 65, multiple comorbidity – CVD, auto-immune issues etc) so it ended up being a no-brainer. My daughter and I never really discussed 1-on-1, but I knew her family was getting vaxed and therefore would be happy if we did…so all in all it was a win for everyone.
Things are changing rapidly around here and I have noticed policy changes at some businesses being updated from their initial notices. Everyone is just adjusting. It is nice to interact and see smiles for sure.

Lin – Glad you are so busy…but sorry about the popcorn all over the floor. A couple weeks ago, a “large” cooking dish fell in the kitchen and broke into a 1000 pieces. I was glad Jean saw it happen and not my fault – LOL – you know how guys are.

Kind of you to be so understanding about the washer repair. As for the Monkees…umm…I guess they both looked better than Peter Tork and Davy Jones right now (a little sick humor LOL). Time marches on for us all and I am just glad to feel the sunshine. Maybe, I will replace some of my mirrors with paintings. Hahaha…

So true on not recognizing people. Jean and I both have run into former classmates and not recognized them. Only a couple weeks ago, Jean told me of a tory where an old guy in the store was starring at her nicely and she thought “hey, I must look ok today” – then he spoke…”Jean, is that you?” It was an old school mate. LOL I have never attended a high school reunion and haven’t felt the urge. I do wish the old Catholic school my entire family attended since my dad graduated 1in 1928 would have one for ALL years. It was very small and I doubt there would be more than a few hundred. Love the saddle teapot…now if I only lived in Arizona.

Jeri – True – We have enjoyed being in bloom and feeling more human each day. The Monkees weren’t The Beatles or Rolling Stones – but I did have a few albums, watch the TV show and even owned a double-breasted shirt at one point (what a dork LOL).

Love your collage and wonderful to know you are walking, shopping and taking-in nature.

Jean and I hope to hang at the lake more this year. It isn’t that far and winter comes too fast. Thursday, we might take a ride to Rudy's Lakeside Drive-In (Oswego NY) on the shores of Ontario Lake. It’s been around since 1946 and known for its fish/chips – to be honest, we just enjoy being at a picnic table over looking the lake. We sometimes will visit Fort Oswego that was est in 1727 and was the site of a battle between British and French.

Off to enjoy the day before the storm

Warm wishes to everyone…. Have a great day! Bob

I'll leave you with...

Hello sweeties! We are to have REAL summer like heat on Memorial Day. 90 in Portland area, in the 70s and 80s for us here on the coast. There is little time to adjust these days. Throw off the sweaters and into a tee shirt and shorts. I will not hurt others eyes by putting on shorts. It is one of the kind things I do for humanity. Seriously!

Lin: I loved the photos of your big garden from long ago. I unfortunately do not have photos but my gram and later, my dad had such amazing organic gardens. Dad loved to experiment just for fun and cross pollinate...to tease my mom mainly. Like a cucumber that oddly looked like a squash etc.

Bob: loved the jokes! Here is a funny thing in our family. Our son and daughter love jokes and no one could tell them better than my mom, dad and my gram. They turned it into an art form. Almost as good as stand up comedians. But we all know that John cannot tell a joke! In fact he doesn’t “get” a lot o jokes because he thinks SO Literally. We laugh that he loves grade school humor. As expected he loves the old three stooges movies. Aaaaaaargh!

Jeri: your lobster feast reminds me of our crab feasts. I usually spread paper towels all over the table and there is a huge pan in the middle of the table for debris. Not very decorative but we always have a grand time.

Making extra ice cubes for iced tea and citrus water. Wonder if this heat will stick around? As you know, I’ll complain about the temp if it isn’t a perfect 63 degrees. There is no pleasing me.

Why do Hawaiian shirts always look wrinkled? My shirt looks like I got it from the closet floor or the dog bed.
Patsy☘️

An extremely busy day yesterday when I didn’t stop, from a long walk with the dogs to repotting veggies to a bit of shopping then an evening trip to the allotment. Finally we have dry weather and sunshine so everything drying out in the first plastered room finally finished by Dave. Unfortunately he messaged first thing to let me know his partner has hurt her back and Dougie their dog was sick all night so he will have to stay home to look after them. He has offered to come here Saturday to make up for it so is definitely aware how fed up I’ve been feeling.
Today I followed Jeri’s example and climbed high during our walk to exercise legs and lungs. I was a bit concerned with George who walked up very slowly but when we got to the top and he’d had one of his zen moments he did zoomies round and round chasing a lump of sheep poo. There were a few pools full of rain water too so they could both drink.


I’m now going to get myself organised to cut and tidy the lawns that have shot up in all our rain. Seems quiet without builders here but I could get used to that!!

A beautiful hummingbird teapot Lin. On our walk I was aware of the skylarks singing overhead and 2 cuckoos, one on either side of us… weeks of rain now forgotten!

Patsy, I honestly thought “why do Hawaiian shirts always look crinkled” was the first line of a joke and was looking for the punchline!! 😀🤣

Must get on. Happy Thursday everyone.
Jackie 🥰