Done!

I am done with this list -- for now. 

 Yep, me with my old crazy self got out after work and mowed the front and side yards.  Only now I'm too tired to even lift my arms, but the list is done!

Yea, I know, I know.  It still says move daffodils, but I've decided it'll be better for them if I wait until they begin dying back naturally, so they get a reprieve for now.   I reckon, though, I'd better make a new list -- which unfortunately includes making phone calls. Ick. 

Also unfortunately, it looks like one of my little cosmos has died.  I'm not sure if I damaged the roots too much when I moved it or what, but it's a goner.  Hopefully, I'll have enough germinate from the next batch to fill the bed up. 

I know this is short, but after working a 10 hour shift, then coming home and mowing, I'm plumb wiped out.  I'm going to sit and do absolutely nothing for a minute. 

Laters.

And With That

I finished another hat yesterday.  

I'm not completely sure I like this colorway, but it is colorful.   I have enough yarn left for maybe three more hats, and I'm sure some sailor somewhere will like them.  In the meantime, I've cast on another one with the fluorescent stripes yarn.  That seems to be a favorite -- well, among my coworkers, that is.  

So anyway, I'd meant to post yesterday, but didn't really feel like it.  Sometimes I'm amazed that anyone even wants to read my drivel, since it's mostly a personal blog.  But the thing is, it can't become a chore.  It's been that in the past, and I've had to take a break.  I want it to be something I enjoy writing, and that I'll enjoy reading sometime in the future.  If you enjoy it, too, that's all the better. 

All that to say, what I would have posted yesterday is this.  I got up early and was able to take a photo of my sunflowers without the glare of full sun.  

I'm really enjoying them, even though I'd never like growing sunflowers.  This afternoon, I went to Walmart and picked up some stakes and got them secured.  

We're not expecting any severe weather until the weekend, but I wanted to make sure I got the sunflowers staked before it gets here.  I feel a lot better knowing that they have that extra support now.  Oh, and I got the ones in the back yard done, too.  I just didn't take a photo.

While I was out there, I moved the two knitting needles that I had been using previously to the Bachelor's Buttons to give them a little support. 

I'm not really too worried about them.  The main reason I'm even staking them is to make sure when they seed that the seeds fall into the flower bed and not the yard.  Like this one did...

It's a beautiful plant.  It's just not where I want it. 

Speaking of beautiful, look what I found!  

Yes, that is a bud on one of my bluebonnets!  Woo hoo!  I might get one yet!  Plus, I have six packets of seeds in the freezer to plant in the Fall. I'm also considering starting some and putting the into a pot.  We'll see...

Speaking of starting seeds, I was going to start them all in the orange pots, but I changed my mind.  Turns out, I could only fit four into the little greenhouse, so I put those into one of my old greenhouse trays and put them onto the front porch. 

Even though we're likely past the threat of frost, I'm still bringing them inside at night, for fear of critters getting into them.  This is a variety of Cosmos, but I can't remember what it's called.  Cutie, I think.  The others I'd bought are Dwarf Sensation, which is what I put into my mini greenhouse -- after I dragged that old sewing machine out into the dining area and set up on it. 

That thing was heavy!  I'm seriously considering giving it away once I'm done starting seeds.  On the other hand, it's nice and level, and the perfect size for that spot right there.  

I got the other two packets of seeds planted, making sure this time plant them to the correct depth, and not send them down to Australia like I did before.  Also, I didn't plant any in the corner cells, because they don't get as much light.  

And now we wait.  

 

And with that, I was able to scratch one more thing off of my to-do list. 

Moving the daffodils will be a multi-day process, once I even decide what to do with them.  And of course mowing...My yard is still a bit soggy, so I'm trying to wait until Thursday to mow, and even then, I think I'll only do the front and side yards.  I'll leave the back for a bit.  

My purple deadnettle is starting to die back, but there is still plenty of clover and those yellow flowers out there, so I'm going to wait a while to cut it all down.  Once I get my privacy fence up, I may never mow the back again.  

Busy Saturday

Before I get into today's business, I need to tell you I've finished reading that Fire Mage book.  

It was one of those that took me three tries and a lot of determination to slough through that whole thing.  It was awful.  

It was the typical post apocalyptic story -- only this one was fantasy instead of sci-fi-- where the main character is a spoiled, headstrong, whiny, selfish, narcissistic teenage girl, only this one was incredibly stupid as well.  She's constantly moaning about how bad luck follows her, but she's too stupid to realize she makes her own bad luck by making stupid decisions. 

Not only that, the book is self published, so it's absolutely loaded with spelling and grammar errors enough to make the book downright painful to read.  The story had such promise, but the plot is thin, the writing childish, and the characters shallow and undeveloped.  I won't be reading any more books in this series.  It's time to get back to Shakespeare. 

Now, on to today's post.  I had quite a lot on the agenda, so I made myself a list first thing this morning. 

 The second thing I did was decide not to mow today, mainly because the yard is still a bit soggy from all the recent rains, but also because I didn't want to, so I got out and got the rest of the firewood moved into the back.  

I've definitely got enough wood to last for a year or two!  And look, it's all clean on this side of my shed, and much easier to refill the bird feeder, which I promptly did. 

I really want to get that thing torn down and rebuilt in a smaller size, but I can't help but think that a shed of that size will really increase the resale value of the house.  Only if I get the flooding issues fixed, the leaks in the roof fixed, and the siding replaced.  At that rate, might as well just tear it down and start over.   The real issue with that is finding a contractor I can trust.  I've been ripped off by so many, and blown off by so many others that I just don't trust anyone any more. 

The next thing I got taken care of is getting that little front flower bed cleaned out.  It was choked with weeds, but I got the ol' garden claw out and took care of those post haste.  I also lifted the edging a bit so it sits higher.  It had sunk so low you could barely see it, but now it's clearly visible. 

Then into their new home the four little Cosmos went.  

I went ahead and put the one lonely little bluebonnet that germinated into that bed as well, and covered it with a cloche so I won't forget that it's there and pull it up. 

I think next Fall I might try to plant some bluebonnets in this little bed, but I haven't decided yet.  None of the ones I planted in the back corner have done anything.  Except die, that is.  

Well, I lied to you yesterday.  I'd said I was done with the sunflowers, but look what surprised me in my seed starting tray this morning. 

Yep, another sunflower!  I moved it into this other pot right away, and now it's hanging out inside Marty Mac's cage for the time being. 

I have to put Marty Mac into a cage, because something keeps digging him up.  After the second time he was uprooted last summer, I found some old chicken wire and made this little cage for him, but in just a few days, something had dragged the entire cage across the porch and dumped Marty Mac over.  He wasn't uprooted, but that afternoon, I put the chunks of scrap concrete in there.   He's been just fine ever since.

But back to the little sunflower,  I might have messed up moving it so quickly, but I want to use the tray to start my next batch of seeds, so it had to come out.  Meanwhile, the other sunflowers are thriving.  

Even the one I had to prop up with the knitting needle has grown strong again, and I can probably take the needle out. 

I think I'm still going to get some stakes for them, even though most websites say they can stand on their own.  What with our spring storms and all, it won't hurt to give them a little extra support. 

By the time I'd done all that, I was tired and hot and sweaty, so I came in side and took a quick shower, then sat in front of the TV for the rest of the day.  I still want to start another set of seeds, but I'm going to use the other starting pots I'd bought instead of the tray. 

I'm still going to use the bottom tray and the heat mat, along with the grow lights, but not the part with the little seed cells.  I might get that taken care of later today, or tomorrow, but for now, I think I'll find a movie to watch and finish the hat I've got on the needles. 

Laters.

I Made It!

 I spent all afternoon looking over my shoulder, but I made it!  I made it to the end of my shift and out of the plant without anyone telling me to come in to work tomorrow!  

Yay, I have a weekend again!

I have a lot I want to get done tomorrow, but let's face it.  I probably won't do any of it.  Knowing me, I'll end up sitting in front of the TV all weekend.  But I have good intentions.  I'm thinking about running up to Batesville to see what they have in the garden center at their Walmart and Lowe's.  Cody has requested cilantro and Italian Parsley, and the local Walmart still doesn't have any. 

Plus, my friend Amy told me about a nursery up in Coldwater that I want to go to, but that won't be tomorrow.  I've had enough of driving for a while.  

Anyway, on the list is to move the rest of the firewood back into the old chicken coop, and the first thing I did when I got home was to...well, the first thing I did was laundry, but nobody wants to hear about that.   I got the wheelbarrow and loaded up the little bit of wood that was here and moved my Whatever Cacti outside into their summer home. 

We really aren't supposed to have any more cold spells, so they will be fine until the Fall.  I'm going to have to spend a bit of time over the next few days getting the rest of the wood moved to the back, but it's supposed to be beautiful weather for it.  

The last thing I did was to get the last of the sunflowers planted.  I had to put it in the back yard, because there isn't any room anywhere else. 

That's it for them, but I still have all those cosmos to find a place for -- and when I say all those, I'm including the ones I haven't even planted yet.  Which I also plan on doing this weekend.  Right now, the plan is to clean out that skinny bed in front of my porch and put them there. 

I mean, I'm going to start the seeds in my little greenhouse, but that's where I'm going to put them after they germinate.  

Speaking of seeds, I got a wild hair and decided to try to catch some of the seeds from my Bachelor's buttons that I have growing in the front bed.  I'd planted a bunch of wildflower seeds in that bed a couple of years ago, and the BBs are the only ones that keep re-seeding themselves.  I'm not even sure why I want to catch the seeds, since I can just buy some at Walmart, but hey, it's an experiment. 

I got a little plastic baggy and tied it around an already wilted flower, and we'll just see what happens. 

I'll let the rest of the flowers develop and seed naturally, but I'd love to have a nice, thick stand of these.  

When I got home from work Tuesday, I noticed this one little sunflower was flopped over.  The stem didn't seem to be damaged in any way, so I don't really know why it was drooping.  I'm going to get some stakes for all of them, just to give them a little stability in the high spring winds, but for now, I used a size 15 Boye knitting needle.  

That's it for today.  I think I'll get off here and knit a bit. 

Laters. 

Just Like That

Just like that, we're back on ten hour shifts.  Man, I wanted to cry when I set my alarm for 2:45, but we gotta do what we gotta do.  However, I would be remiss if I didn't show you the photos from my trip to see Peggy -- oh, and the eclipse, too. 

Funny thing is, when I went up there in 2017 and found out there would be another eclipse in 2024, I somewhat jokingly said, "We'll have to do this again in seven years."  I never in my life thought it would actually happen, but as you can see, it did!

We had a bit of a change of plans at the last minute, due to the expected crowds in Peggy's town.  We had planned on going to the park like we did last time -- just a different part-- but when they said they were expecting some 20,000 people, Peggy messaged me and said we'd just watch from her front yard. 

That's exactly what we did.  

But I'm getting ahead of myself.  

The plan had been for me to leave the motel around 8:00, figuring that would give me plenty of time to get to Missouri, but I got ready and got the car packed a lot quicker than I figured I would.  I got tired of sitting there, so I hit the road about 7:30.  I told you about the trip yesterday, which -- except for the super dense fog -- went without a hitch.  I arrived at their house around 10:00, and Peggy finally got to meet Suzette in person. 

For those of you who don't know the story, Peggy and I had a lovely, dear friend named Suzy.  She had multiple medical issues and was in end stage kidney failure.  Suzy often mentioned how much she would like to travel, but alas, she was tied to that dialysis clinic.  

Once, she made an offhand remark about how she missed going to fiber festivals, and said if anyone were going to one to think about her.  Well, that year, I went to the Fiber Fun In The 'Sip, and put together a little gift bag for her.  It had the bags they were handing out at the door, some yarn, some knitting tools like a tape measure, a bar of kudzu soap, and this little felted alpaca.  

When Suzy left us the following April -- it's hard to believe it's been four years now-- and I still miss her every single day -- the only thing I asked for was the little felted alpaca.  I named her Suzette, and she goes with me on all the trips Suzy couldn't go on.   This trip, she got to go see a total solar eclipse.  And yes, she had her glasses on.  

Safety first, you know.  For all of us.

By the way, do you have any idea how hard it is to take a selfie when you can't see anything?  Yeah, I took about 8 and this is the best one. 

But again, I'm getting ahead of myself.  So, I met Peggy's daughter and her cat, Fiona, the sweetest cat ever.  They both got a good laugh when I told them my cat's name.  You know her as Evil Incarnate.  We visited a bit, knit a bit, then it was time for lunch.  We had chicken salad, which Peggy said was a sort of a family tradition started back when they went to Shakespeare In The Park in St. Louis.  

I said I would love to go to Shakespeare In The Park some day.  We talked, and laughed, and visited, and had a great time.  Then the eclipse started.  We moved out into the driveway, and we squealed and marveled and sat amazed at the wonder of it all. 

 Peggy's daughter went and got the colander, and we said, "Oh, wow!" at the crescent shaped shadows.

And we looked at the shadows of the trees on the ground, and wowed at them, too. 

Then we reached totality. 

And the heavens declared the glory of God, and the skies proclaimed the works of His hands. 

We heard the crickets singing, and the sunset all around the horizon, and it got cold, and we saw planets, and all too soon totality was over and the moon moved on, and it became daylight again.  The birds began their wake up songs and the warmth returned and it was time for me to come on home, still in awe of what I had witnessed.  

I'm telling you, if you've never seen a total eclipse, you need to do whatever it takes to get yourself into the path of totality.  And I do mean totality.  Not 99%.  Not even 99.9%  You need to be in the path of totality, because it's the most amazing thing you'll ever see.  

And for the next one,  I will be in the path of totality.  

If I'm still here in MS, you are all invited to my house!  

Well, not all of you, but you know who you are...

And now, since 2:45 comes mighty early, I reckon I'd better start getting ready for bed.  I still want to tell you about the zoo, but that'll have to wait for another day.  Don't become alarmed if blogging is sparse for the next little bit as I get accustomed to sleep deprivation.  I'm still here.  

Just tired.  

Hey Google, Let’s Talk

Seriously, Google Maps, we need to have a conversation about your navigation skills.   

So, there I was heading South on I-55, happily heading home from hanging with Peggy.  There was traffic on the road, but not really any more than normal.  At least, it wasn't any worse than when I came home from my nephew's weeding last August.  Funny thing is, as soon as I crossed the border into Arkansas, most of the traffic seemed to disappear.  I don't know where it went, but hey, I'll take it. 

Heh, I even ran into the same road construction as I did seven months ago -- having to straddle the rumble strips just like I did back then.  And that same freaky stretch of road that made it sound like my car was about to fall apart, just like last time.  

Anyway, I was about 25 miles outside of Memphis, making good time when Google maps sent me the message that it had found a "faster route."  

"Faster route?"  I said.  "Yes please!"  

Only Google Maps didn't take into account the eclipse traffic.  Yep, I finally hit it.  I swan I think every single resident of Memphis and Northwestern Tennessee had travelled into Arkansas to watch the eclipse, and they all seemed to hit that same stretch of road at the same time as I did.  To make matters worse, parts of I-55 were shut down for construction, so we all -- and I do mean all -- had to cross the river on the I-40 bridge.  

An hour and a half, I sat there in a line of cars that was literally miles long, creeping along at a snail's pace, asking Google, "How is this faster?"  In retrospect, I think I would have been better off staying on the highway.  I mean, there still would have been traffic, but with fewer twists and turns.  And after all of that, I still had to drive through Memphis.  In the dark. 

Have I ever mentioned how much I hate driving through Memphis?  And I sure wish they'd ban those halogen headlights...

On the bright side, I got to see a full rainbow, which I haven't seen one in ages.  And on the brighter side, that one spot was really the only traffic I ran into the whole way.  I'd planned on stopping at the Mississippi welcome center and doing a Suzette update, but by the time I got through Memphis, all I wanted to do was get on home, so I drove the whole way without stopping.  Not even once.  

I didn't make it home until 9:00, and yes, I got up at 3:30 to go to work this morning, so I'm a bit wiped out. 

Eh, I suppose I can't really blame Google for not anticipating the eclipse traffic.  The trip up Sunday was a different story altogether.  I drove up Sunday and went to the zoo, but now let me preface my story by saying I know how to get to the zoo.  I've been there dozens of times.  The way I go is simple and straightforward, but this time, I wanted to see what Google Maps showed me.  Maybe it's easier and less trafficky.  

Nope.  

I don't even know where Google took me, but it was definitely the long way around.  I ended up going past the zoo following their directions and came in from the opposite side as I usually do...I mean, the far side of the zoo entrance.  I won't be doing that again.  

I had a very nice time at the zoo, but didn't really take a lot of photos.  I did get this one of the newborn giraffe for you. 

He is only a few days old.   I'll talk more about the zoo in a later post, because there was something very exciting there.  

After leaving the zoo, I headed to my motel, which sits right on Highway 51.  But instead of taking me straight up 51, Google sent me up Highway 14, then I had to take another road and come back a bit to get to the motel.  So yeah, I don't completely trust Google Maps so much. 

When I finally got to the motel, I had a brief moment of panic when the clerk checking me in couldn't find my reservation.  I opened the Hotel app and showed her the confirmation, and she was able to find the number she needed to check me in.  For some strange-odd reason, the app had booked the room under my user name, not my legal name, but in the end all was well. 

I got checked in and was on my way to my room, when I passed another woman I'd never ever seen before in my life.  And she started talking to me.  She told me about her husband, how she and her best friend track each other on their phones, their houses in Florida, where to get something good to eat...I finally got away from her, went up to my room, and by then I was so tired all I wanted to do was take a shower and lay down.  That's just what I did. 

Suzette, on the other hand, apparently had a pretty wild night of partying, because I found her passed out in the floor the next morning. 

Now, I have to give credit where credit is due, because after getting Suzette some hot coffee and sobering her up a bit, we hit the road and Google led me straight to Peggy's house with not a whit of a problem.  Indeed, the biggest problem I faced was that the fog was so very thick.  Seriously, as one point, I was just following the car in front of me, hoping that driver could see where he was going.  

It was so thick, when I crossed the Mississippi River at Caruthersville, I couldn't see the river, I couldn't see the bridge, I couldn't see anything.  All I could think was, "I sure hope there isn't a cargo ship under this bridge."  Thankfully, there wasn't, and Suzette and I made it safely to Missouri,

then on to Peggy's house. 

Which I will tell you more about in a later post.  Right now, all I'm going to do is sit and rest a bit.  

I'm plumb knackered.

Almost Made It

I almost made it.  Almost.  

Group Leader Shark came around just after lunch and told five of us to come in at 4:00 AM tomorrow.  Sigh...That means this will be short.  Very short, because I need to get my behind in bed.  But I wanted to show you what came in the mail today!  More seed catalogs!

Yippee! 

The only other thing I did today was move my peppermint plant from the pot it was in to the raised planter.  

It wasn't doing so well in that pot, and I'm hoping being in the bed will perk it up a bit.  My sweet mint is so much bigger.  Oh, and look!  My spearmint is making its appearance, too. 

 I'm still checking the garden center at Walmart for herbs, but so far, they haven't had much.  If the weather isn't too bad in Memphis Sunday, I might drive around and see if they have any nurseries or anything like that.   A big city will surely have more to choose from that this small town I live in.  

OK, I need to get off of here and go to bed.  If 3:30 comes early, 2:30 comes even earlier.  I swan, one of these days, I'm going to find a job where they work normal human being hours!    

One Step Closer

Yep, I'm one step closer to being ready for my mini-vacation.  I finally got the oil changed in my car.  I usually wait until I get message from my car, but I wanted to get it done before I drove up to Missouri.  I'd planned on doing it one day last week, but didn't go because it was supposed to storm, and I wanted to be home before said storms came through.   Then I was going to do it Tuesday, but again, it was raining when I got off work. I knew it was supposed to, but had hoped it would stop before the end of my work day.  It didn't, so I put it off again. 

I almost procrastinated one more time, but convinced myself to go ahead and do it by telling myself to get it done so I wouldn't have the chore hanging over my head any more.  Now, my little car is all ready, except for getting the radio fixed.  I found a website that has steps to fix what might be the problem, so I'm going to try that -- maybe this weekend.  If it doesn't work, then I'll just have to find some other way to listen to music. 

Like, I just remembered I have Pandora on my phone.  Hmmm, I wonder what other music apps I have...

Anyway, while I was there in the store getting my oil changed, I picked up a new skein of yarn for my charity hats.  

 This color is Mexicana, and it ought to make some colorful hats for the sailors.   I briefly considered going ahead and doing all of my weekly shopping, but didn't.  I have to go back into town tomorrow anyway because I left the bills I need to pay on my kitchen counter. 

And finally, there is no need to debunk this meme, because it is as true as true can be. 

That Was A Bust

Remember how I'd said I wanted to plant some of my sunflowers on the east side of my carport?  And the problem was that the previous owners of this house were absolutely addicted to rocks, but I was goin g to try to dig up just enough to get my sunflowers planted?  

Well, this afternoon, I got out and tried to dig a spot up, but I couldn't.  The rocks were simply too densely packed, and I gave up pretty quickly.  Thought I originally hadn't wanted to put any more there,  I fit one of them into my front flower bed, so now I have five of them in there. 

That's all I'll be able to fit into that bed without interfering with the bachelor's buttons -- which are starting to open, oh, by the way.  I tried to take a photo, but the wind was blowing too hard.   It's really kicking out there, and it's supposed to get cold again.  Down into the low 40s, but we're not expected to frost, thank goodness.  Still, a spot of hot chocolate here in a minute won't go amiss.  

I put another sunflower here in the back yard, amongst all those yellow weeds. 

Those are called creeping buttercups, and they can be edible, but have to be prepped just the right way, so I don't fool with them.  But I digress...

I still have one more sunflower in the little cup, plus a few cosmos I need to find a place for.   Then I have several more seed packets I need to plant. I have no idea where I'm going to put them.  I want to put them out by the back fence, since that's always been kind of an unsightly area.  A few flowers will brighten it up a bit, and I've read that deer don't eat cosmos, so they should be OK there. 

Speaking of cups, I bought some new seed starting cups from Amazon.

 

They're pretty sturdy, and have soft silicone bottoms to make it easier to push the root ball out.  I'm going to use these next time I plant seeds, but I'm still going to put them onto my heat mat and under my grow lights.  When I get it all set up, I'll show you what I mean. 

While I was there, I ordered a couple of new hummingbird feeders.

I've already got one filled and hung up, and I'll try to get the other one hung soon.  I have another one of those hook things that you stick into the ground.  I just need to decide where I'm going to put it.  I don't think we're going to be working Saturday, so maybe I'll have time to get some of this done, in the midst of packing for my trip.  

Speaking of, it would seem the weather is going to throw a bit of a monkey wrench into my weekend plans.  I'd planned on driving up to Memphis and going to the zoo on Sunday, but current forecast is showing storms that day.  I'll have to keep a weather eye on the weather...HAHAHAHAHAHA!  

OK, moving right along....

Other forecasts are showing cloudcover for nearly the entire path of totality except for New England and...parts of Missouri.  Hopefully, it'll be the part where Peggy lives.  Even so, I'm still going to drive up and hang out, even if that's all we do.  I'd love for her to be able to come down for a Fiber Fun In The 'Sip one year, and meet Amy and Christi, and Leann if she comes. They are all such fun people.  We'd have a great time.  

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for...it's meme debunkeration time!  This one has been floating around social media for a few weeks now.

There is absolutely no reason why you'd need to shut your pets up with the blinds closed. I'm a bit bumfuzzled as to why anyone would even think this is necessary.  I mean, what exactly do you think will happen to them?  It'll be the same as it is every night when the sun goes down -- only it'll be the middle of the day.  Your pets will be fine, even if you leave the blinds up.  

That's about it for today.  I think it's time for that hot chocolate...

Laters.

Dear Place Of Employment

If the machine operators in tubing "don't have time" to do their jobs, then what in the name of all that is holy makes you think the brazers have time to do their jobs and ours?   You keep piling more and more of what should be tubing's job onto our shoulders, and yet you can't seem to figure out why our production keeps dropping.  

What did you think would happen?  

Fix the problem and you fix the plant. 

Thank you.

That is all. 

I Knew

I knew right away what kind of day it was going to be when I was at work, just a working away and I got a little peckish.  I reached into my cooler to get my breakfast....and it wasn't there.   Neither was my lunch.  Sigh...I'd forgotten to pack my lunch.  I had to get one of those overpriced sandwiches out of the machine, but at least I had something to eat.  

I'd planned on going into town after work to see about getting my car radio fixed, but I was just too wiped out.   I'm starting to feel that hike out at the nature preserve Saturday.   Plus, it being Monday.  I always feel a bit bad on Monday from getting up at 3:30 after being able to sleep as late as I want on Sunday.  I came home instead, and ate some leftovers from my Easter dinner, and I'm starting to feel a bit better, but I was really dragging there for a while.  

Which brings me to my next point, and that being that I made myself an Easter dinner yesterday, just like I said I wanted to.  Since I didn't find a reasonably priced ham, I opened one of the canned hams I have in my emergency storm prep stash and it was pretty good.   I also made myself some mashed potatoes and opened one of the jars of gravy I bought back before Thanksgiving and Christmas.  It was a nice little dinner for just me. 

I briefly thought about watching The Ten Commandments -- you know the one with Charlton Heston as Moses, because it's kind of an Easter tradition, but I didn't.  That movie is nearly 4 hours long, and I just don't have that long of an attention span any more.  So, instead, I watched an episode of Call The Midwife, and a couple of episodes of Doc Martin, and a few more things I don't really remember.  And I knit a hat while I was doing all that watching TV.  

This is one of those colors that just won't photograph accurately, and I don't know why.  It's actually more of a dusty teal color, and it's really pretty. 

In other news, I had to pull the garden cloches off of four of my sunflowers because they were smashing into the tops. 

Hopefully, we won't have any more frosts, but I'll have to keep an eye on the weather anyway, and try to figure out how to cover them if the need arises.  Plus, I've got two more that need to be planted

I'm going to have to go into town and get some garden soil if I'm going to put these flowers on the east side of my carport like I want to.  Maybe tomorrow...

And finally, I keep saying I'm going to start a new blog segment called Meme Debunkeration, where I debunk some of the memes I see getting passed around social media.  It's been hard to get it going, though, because I know that people don't want their pet memes debunked.  They want to believe what they want to believe and therefore, they want to see memes that back up their beliefs -- true or not. 

Anyway, I've been seeing this meme float around for a few weeks now, mostly by these young people who don't want to work a 40 hour week, but still want to get paid for a 40 hour week. 

What these ignorant, lazy kids have forgotten -- or never knew-- is that before Henry Ford standardized the 8 hour shift, the norm was 12-16 hours a day, six days a week, and none of that was considered overtime.  And kids as young as 4 years old worked those shifts alongside adults.  

Boo him?  You should be cheering him.  I know I am.