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Musings on anything. |
 My blog was filled up. I'm too lazy to clean it out. So I started a new one. |
| I have something that looks like a grapevine that wraps around trees, shrubs, ladders, telephone wires and grows upward and crosses over to other things. You have to pull it up out of the ground. But it will grow back! I had an extension ladder behind my shed that I couldn't move because this vine had wrapped around it tightly to a nearby tree. I tried pulling the ladder to break the vine, but that didn't work. I severed it from the ground, but discovered I had to keep cutting it all the way up. It starts out thin, green and flexible. It gets very thick and brown, almost like a snakeskin pattern. It twists all around itself and puts new shoots out in different directions which twist around other things. That makes it very hard to pull it out of shrubs or out of tree branches. I thought at first that it was confined to one area of the yard, then discovered it in more areas along the edges. Getting it out of my holly trees was a sticky situation! Now it's all over the yard, which is a little too big for me to do by myself. I noticed for the first time that the leaves are turning colors and it's putting out some colorful berries. I asked a gardening friend, who volunteers to keep the church yard up along with many others. She gave me the name which I can't remember. The berries draw the attention of the birds who eat them but can't digest them. So, they excrete the berries all over the place which is why the vine is so prolific. So now when I am wringing wet with sweat and bleeding from broken branches puncturing my thin skin, I listen to the birds who no doubt are complaining about me taking away their berries. But it's their fault my trees and shrubs have so many dead parts. It's not a lovely vine. It's a killer. While building up a huge brush pile, I'm thinking of stories for Halloween, about the killer vine that can't be destroyed! I am only seeking justice and revenge against the vine that wants to devour and destroy Mother Nature in my vicinity. |
| My vacuum cleaner makes noise but won't suck up dust. I looked it up online: that brand only lasts about 7 years. I've had it about 8. YouTube has a video for replacing the motor, but I can't find a source that sells them and I'm not mechanically inclined. My late brother could have done it, so I miss him in many ways. My bedroom lamp needs rewiring. Who knows how old hat is. The dishwasher, about 20 years old, isn't getting the plates and bowls clean (I do pans by hand). The washer is acting up. It is only about 6 years old and won't empty all the water but stops mid-cycle. My computer is Windows 10, and in a few days won't work with the Internet. The wheelchair ramp out the back is splitting, and the rail is falling off. No wheelchairs are currently in use at this house; I like to walk off that side of the porch, however, to do yardwork or take out the trash. I am on a restricted budget, so prioritizing repairs or replacements is important. The ramp can wait; I just make sure I always step over the supporting 4X8 underneath the slats. I can use a broom and not replace the vacuum. I can keep opening the washer and readjusting the load to continue, until my finances allow a repairman to adjust it. The web says they only last about 8 to 10 years. I remember when people had washers or dryers for decades. In fact, my dryer is at least 30 years old and has had only one repair. The article online said that refrigerators and freezers only last a maximum of 15 years. Not only are machines not built to last for decades, but the repair people have also become scarce. The labor is expensive, and the workers have to keep updating their knowledge of newer models and computerized parts. Keeping a home stocked with workable tools is an ongoing and expensive process. It's not a poor, poor pitiful me thing. It's modern life. We should tell new homeowners, and other young people starting out, just get used to it. You're never home free! |
| I am not as liberated as I thought. A week ago in the downtown branch of my library, I went into the ladies room. Someone came in after me. I went to wash my hands and this unattractive woman wearing a mask was really taking her time to wash her hands. I lathered, rinsed and used the blow dryer. She had been eyeing me in the mirror the whole time, but never said a word. She wiped her hands-on loose-fitting jeans and proceeded out. I noticed her shape was like a column, a stout, not curvaceous column. Something hit me that this was not normal. She was not wearing any straps or bands under her shirt, but it occurred to me this was a transgender person. I told myself I was okay with this. We accept LGBTQ at church, so why not everywhere. My privacy hadn't been violated. This is the world we live in. I assumed the mask was to avoid germs before any upcoming surgeries. I made that mental note about shape and clothing because someone in transition would be attempting some clothing changes. I didn't want to stare, so I missed some things. I stepped into the hallway to see "her" going up the steps to leave, then turning to come back. I exited, too, only to see her outside on the porch. That's when I noticed a full heavy but short beard under the mask. This was no transgender person. It was a man! A short, stocky man. I had been had. I was expecting a woman, so it hadn't occurred to me that it could possibly be a man in the woman's room. The more I thought about it, the madder I got. I wish I had realized it while I was still inside the building. Now I know my feelings. I do not want to share a multiple occupant bathroom with a man! I am not that open minded. More buildings are going to need single occupant bathrooms to avoid the perverts. What if I had been a teenage girl, instead of an old woman? I was safe, but not everyone would have been. I was revolted. |
| I have been growing dwarf French marigolds for years. I started with one pack of seeds. Each fall I save the seeds in airtight containers and plant them in the spring. I put them in pots, so they have limited space. My neighbor plants hers in the ground, and they bush out and get taller than mine. However, it has come to my attention that there are more than just a few varieties of marigolds. Besides French, there is the Mexican marigold (yellow and simple), the African marigold, and many, many others. There are some in our city par park that I can't find on the Internet. they seem to be put in the ground as potted plants, not seeded. They are beautiful deep orange, some even appearing to be little flowers inside the bloom. So next year I plan to branch out with marigolds. (I also save the seeds from my coneflower blooms.) One year I tried geraniums. I bought the plants in a little tray from Lowe's. Most of them made it up to winter. I kept them under a plant light in the garage and wrapped the pots with towels for warmth. The following winter there weren't so many. I put them by a good window in a storage room. They made it through the winter with personal care, but faded away in the sun and downpours on my deck. Of that batch, several years later, I have one still growing, one only recently withered away. Plants don't last forever. I've learned that sage plants, in pots or the garden bed, only last 4 years, then die. I have some about six years old still making a wonderful fragrance. I love to pick the leaves just to small my hands afterwards. I could use them for cooking, but don't require them. I have a beautiful thyme plant out front, but I don't have much need for the leaves. Once I had a thing for begonias. They were cheap, so I bought several. I thought most of them died in the garage that winter, but apparently, the remains were dormant. I put the planter outside. Something knocked it down, maybe a deer looking for my hostas in the flower bed. Later on, there were little white begonias growing in the cracks of my patio slates. I dug them up and potted them, so that year I had a lot of beautiful white begonias. Last year I wasn't feeling well and did not do much to preserve my plants. This year, I had no begonias in pots, but I discovered one growing between the slates. I dug it up and hope it will survive transplanting. It was very small. So seed, and roots under ground, like tubers, will surprise you. Sure exotic flowers may be breathtaking. You may feel great pride in raising healthy orchids or other worthy plants. But these simple flowers can bring such pleasure. |
| I do volunteer work at a local clothing center. We take gently used clothing and shoes, hang them and put size labels only on men's pants. It's kind of dusty and the building is quite old. I always do the sweeping at the end of my shift. You wouldn't believe how the dust bunnies multiply. Each day there is a different group, and each one sweeps and takes out the trash. Good Will also takes rags now, so everything that isn't worth saving we put in the rag bag. Good Will sells them by the pound. We also give Good Will things we just can't give away, like woolen items that need dry cleaning, men's suits, evening dresses (except around prom time). Our customers are either homeless or recent offenders who get vouchers from social workers or probation officers. They get free stuff, coats and shoes included. Others just want bargains and can stuff a paper bag full for six dollars. If it's baby clothes, they can get enough for all the kids they know for that low price. Our paying customers are many nationalities and income levels. For them shoes are $2 including work boots, and coats range from $2-$5 depending on value. There are regulars, like a deaf guy who loves the Steelers. The volunteers love to present him with Steeler items just to see how excited he gets. And growing families; they may only come in every other month or so. Then there is the guy who owns a secondhand shop; he comes looking for jewelry and men's belts. We aren't so eager to serve someone who's going to make a profit. There is another secondhand shop that will send jewelry they haven't been able to move; they are cash only, but all profits are split for local charities. The Salvation Army is the only other place to give things away. At this time of year, we get the leftovers from the Methodist yard sale. A number of churches collect gloves and hats, but don't give them to us until Christmas, when the need isn't as great. We also collect brand new unused men's underwear, a frequently requested item. Unfortunately, when a family member dies, the family has to get rid of the clothing, so those items come still in dry cleaning bags, and sometimes are very out of date. The kind of people who come to us do not want long coats, ladies' suits, or styles from 20 years ago. Good Will gets them. They might be needed for theater or an older person who still has those tastes. (I know how that is. I still like costume jewelry and shoe styles from the 90's.) But, please, when making a donation, no baby throw up on clothes,no rips or gross stains. And, like Joan Crawford said in Mommie Dearest: No wire hangers! |
| Last year this time, I still had health worries. I wasn't sure I would be around this year. I didn't plant flowers in the fall, because I doubted that I would be here to enjoy them. I bought some red and yellow iris bulbs, but put them in a pot instead of the ground. That way my niece could take them to her house if I died, instead of just letting them go to the buyer of my house. That plan didn't work. I left the pot close to the wall of my house. The rain from the gutter overflow drowned them and made them rot. The red ones never bloomed at all. (The yellow ones were pretty.) This year, while still having no guarantees of tomorrow, I am physically much better. My surgery worked; I'm off all blood pressure meds. I am exercising and doing all but cutting grass: I don't have a lawn mower. But I have hand tools and have cut weeds, shrubs, etc. I'm planning some matching flowerpots which I haven't used in years with red zinnias for next year. My elephant ears are pretty much gone, I believe, because they don't get enough sun. So I have other plans for seeds in their place, some short flowers out away from the shade. I've discovered that thyme, while I don't harvest it and use it, makes a lovely plant against a white wall outside my garage door. I'll do that again. I'm still harvesting coneflower and marigold seeds to plant in the spring. I may put some in the ground next time. It's amazing how feeling better and having more energy affects your outlook. Plans still have to be made, no matter what the doctor says, as long as you will be able to carry them out. |
| I think cell phone companies have their own vocabulary. Unlimited /data to me means there are no limits. You can look up all you want, text all you want, etc. I understand storage of deleted messages and photos is a separate issue. Three months in a row, I have gotten notices that 90% of my data has been used up. Once I went over! How can you decipher 90% of "unlimited"? How can you use all of "unlimited"? Was there some fine print I missed about what "unlimited" means? I have stopped researching things on Safari. I don't send texts or answer the calls (mostly SPAM). Still I've used 90% or all of my data plan. Maybe it's time to change carriers. |
| I am fascinated by the flowers planted around our downtown area. It's about the only thing down there I like. The area is full of vagrants, beggars, and is dirty and noisy. But the flowers are outstanding. They use such striking colors and varieties. I have dwarf marigolds at home, but they are not the same variety as these big beds of yellow and orange short flowers. And they appear to be plants, where I grow from seeds. They are contrasted with a tall black looking leafy plant and purple spires. And more dwarf white daisies. I would love to see them put out the information for the public to identify the plants, even to take a tour and look at them. On the former Main Street, which is now a bricked in outdoor mall, there are huge round pots with gigantic plants surrounded by coleus. Again, they use some blackish or dark purple plants, which are very healthy looking. We no longer have a local newspaper, so there is a problem of where to print the info if one of the horticulturists was willing to share. It is a well-educated area with lots of writers, so there should be some affordable newspaper with such local tidbits. Meanwhile, I snitched a bloom while no one was looking. I recycle the seeds. Maybe if this variety works, I can plant some more marigolds in my yard. The Good Lord willing. |
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I marvel at the things I'll be able to tell my grandkids about someday. Life is accelerating - or maybe it just feels that way!
I completely sympathize with your desire to declutter. I have more stuff than you can shake a stick at that didn't actually belong to just my wife or myself throughout the house.
