Endings And Beginnings

Here I sit, watching the Olympics on a Saturday afternoon.  It's not what I'd planned on doing today, but it's what I am doing.  I'd planned on getting my new raised beds out and putting the water seal stuff on them, but I'm not.  It's supposed to rain for the next few days, but I didn't see that as a problem.  I'd just pull the car out and do it in the car port.  In the end, I just didn't feel like it.  Eh, I can't plant outside for two more months anyway.  I have plenty of time to get it done. 

Ever since I woke up with the epizoodies last Saturday, I haven't felt quite right.  I feel better, just not 100%.  I mostly just feel weak and shaky, and a bit lightheaded at times.  I admit, a lot of that may have to do with getting up at 3:30 AM for work the last three days.  The older I get, the harder it is to adjust. I've basically been coming home and collapsing at the end of the day.  

Despite feeling puny and coughing so much my chest, back, neck and head are so very sore, I did manage to finish this jigsaw puzzle.  

It was....challenging.  Let's just put it that way.  It was challenging because the pieces were very irregular, and didn't follow the standard jigsaw shapes.  To add to the confusion, I had extra pieces. 

Once I'd figured out they were duplicates, I remembered them from the first time I'd worked this puzzle all those years ago.  I don't know why I didn't toss them then, but they've been tossed now.  If ever I decide to work this one again, I won't have that to deal with.  I wonder, though, if I have extra pieces, did someone else get a puzzle with missing pieces?  How disappointing that would be!

I got this one out to do next, but haven't started it yet.  

I need to move my card table into the living room where I can watch TV while I'm working on puzzles.  That might get them done more quickly, even though it's not a race.  

So, while I've been watching Olympics, I began a new hat. 

Yarn:  Red Heart Super Saver Bitty Stripes

Colorway:  Crayon Box

Pattern:  Basic Beanie

Needles:  US 8/ 5 mm

This yarn is quickly becoming my go-to for these hats.  It's soft, easy to knit with, and I love the colors.  I still have some solid color yarns to use up -- most of which was given to me by friends who were de-stashing.  

Other than that, the big project for today, since I didn't do my raised beds, was to get MartyMac out of the crisper drawer in the fridge and set him on the plant shelf so he could start warming up. 

Since I live in the South with our wild temperature swings, it was recommended* that I put him into the refrigerator for dormancy to keep him at a consistent cold temperature.  You know, just in case you were wondering why he was in my crisper drawer. 

I usually get him back out mid-February to start warming up, then at the beginning of March, I put him back outside.  I'll cover him if we have a late frost, but they're very cold hardy.  I know some people leave theirs outside all winter and they're fine.  

First thing I did was to trim off all the dead traps left from last year. 

I know it looks like a lot, but as long as the rhizome is healthy, he'll be fine.  

When I was putting him on the plant shelf, look what I found. 

This crazy thing is trying to bloom again.  That's why I call them my Whatever Cactus.  

The only other thing I did today was try to figure out how I got a Real ID.  I'd heard other people say it was such a headache and they didn't fly enough to go through all the trouble to get one, and it was all just a big money grab anyway, so I was curious.  I even asked on Facebook what people had to do to get theirs, and depending on which state they are in, some people were required to bring six different forms of ID to get it.  Others who had been married and divorced multiple times said they had to bring ALL of their marriage licenses and divorce decrees, so they could track all of the name changes.  

All I had to do was renew my driver license.  I'd done that back in 2023, and I even renewed online.  When I got my new license, it was a Real ID, and I didn't have to show them anything.  The only thing I can think of is that I have my state firearms permit -- which I've kept updated even though Mississippi is a Constitutional Carry state.  

I had to turn in a crap-ton of paperwork to get that done, and get myself fingerprinted to boot.  When I got it renewed the first time, I even took my DD-214 up there so I could get my Instructor Certified sticker.  Which isn't a sticker.  It's just printed on the ID.  

Navy normally doesn't have to qualify with weapons --  unless you're special forces or military police -- but since I was Auxiliary Security, I got my pistol quals.   

Now, at least in my state, I can get my firearms permit renewed through the mail.  They said, "There is no need to go get fingerprinted again, because your fingerprints don't change."  They still do the background check and all, but they mail you all the forms before your current permit expires and you have plenty of time to get it all filled out and turned in.  

On the other hand, I did have to show a birth certificate to get my learner's driving permit way back when I was 15, so that will still be on file, too.  Oh well, I have one and that's the point. 

And finally, I somehow ended up with a promotional credit from Amazon video, so I used it to buy The Hollow Crown.  Shakespeare. 

What can I say?  I am who I am.  

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go watch the rest of this Olympic hockey game between the US and Denmark. 

USA!  USA!! USA!!!

*I'm in a Venus fly trap group on Facebook.  The moderator has even written books on how to care for them.  He's the one who recommended I put MartyMac into the refrigerator for dormancy. 

Back To It

Well, after a bit of a hiatus to knit baby sweaters, I'm back to my charity hats.  This time, I dug through my stash and found a skein of Hobby Lobby I Love This Yarn, which I'd bought years ago and couldn't bring myself to use.  I decided it was high time I cast something on with it, especially with the new Hobby Lobby opening up in Batesville soon. 

And that's just what I did.  

This is the first time I've worked with this yarn, and I'm impressed with how soft it is.  The colorway is Royal Gorge, and it's royally gorgeous.  Heh... I crack myself up sometimes. 

OK, moving right along...

Cody and Brennan stopped by yesterday evening on their way home from Memphis and visited a bit.  We went out to eat at a local burger joint called Spencer's, then as we left Spencer's, I suddenly exclaimed, "Oh look!  A rainbow!" And Brennan said, "It's a double!"  

Sure enough, there was a huge, gorgeous, full arc double rainbow right in front of us. 

It's been so long since I've seen one of those, and pictures didn't do it justice.  At all.  I asked Cody if we could drive through the lake and across the dam, where I took a whole lot more pictures that didn't do it justice. 

But it was still gorgeous.  Then Cody missed the turn and we had to drive all the way down 333 to Highway 7 to get back home.  Oh, and we took Riverdale Rd instead of driving down to 51 Highway, so it was a nice little outing. 

Before they left, I gave them that old gas weed eater I had, showing Cody where the gas tank needed to be re-attached.  He said that it shouldn't be a problem to find screws to fit, and I said, "It's a good weed eater; it's just too heavy for me.  Ten years ago, I could handle it.  Now, not so much."  He was glad to have it, because they hadn't gotten around to getting one of their own yet.  I'm glad to have the battery operated one, because it's so much lighter and quieter than that gas monster. 

While I had the shed unlocked, I dragged that old storage tub out and put it in the back with the rest of my gardening stuff.  This morning, before it got too hot, I cleaned it out, then got the finished compost from my tumbler and put it into it. 

I tried to get some out of that big composting bag, but there wasn't much that was ready.  The way it is supposed to work is that you add plant matter into the top, and there is a little door to get the finished compost out of the bottom.  I got a few handfuls out, but that was it. I think that one will take a while, because I was putting sticks and stuff into it.  

Then I got my thatching rake out and scratched up enough ground ivy to fill up the empty side of the tumbler-- the other side having fresh grass clippings from when I mowed last week.  I only put things like grass clippings, leaves, and weeds into that one, so it breaks them down pretty quickly.  

By that time, I was pretty sweaty, because before I'd even started that, I did something else.  Remember when Ian The Landscammer left huge ruts in my front yard?  He said they were just tire tracks, so he shouldn't have to fill them in, but they're 4" deep.  So Justin The Good Landscaper had told me to fill them in with sand.  That's what I'd intended to do -- go up to Lowe's and buy sand to fill those ruts in -- but then I remembered.  

I have all of that red clay that I've already paid for.   And because we haven't had any significant rain in July, the stuff in the garden spot that I'd run the roto-tiller over a few times was still pretty loose, so I was able to scoop up a couple of bucket loads with my garden trowel, picking the rocks out as I did so, and haul them around to the front.  This is all I got done this morning, because I decided it's the day of rest, and by golly, I was going to rest. 

So that's just what I did.  I came inside, took a shower, then watched Marcy's latest garden vlog. If you watch it, you just might hear a familiar name in it...By the way, Cody and I were just talking about this yesterday, how it rained almost non stop from April to then end of June, then when July got here, it just stopped.  Seriously.  On June 30th, we were 10" above average for our area, and in July, we're 2" below average for the month.  Our total for the year is still 6" above normal, but still...By the way, I'm using the Raindrop app, and it's pretty good.  There is a free version, which is what I'm using, and also a premium version.  I don't know what's all included in the premium version, though.  I haven't really looked into it. 

Anyway, it's supposed to cool off later this week, so I may get out and fill up the wheelbarrow with that stuff and really fill those ruts in.  But tomorrow and Tuesday are still supposed to be brutally hot, so it's going to have to wait. 

And finally, for no other reason than that he's totally cool, here is my Venus Fly Trap, Marty Mac.

His growth has really exploded this year, but I've read that this is typical when they get to be about 4 years old.  I'm afraid he'll out grow his pot and I'll have to split him soon.  

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get something to eat, then watch some TV and knit on this hat some more. 

Laters...

It's That Time

Time to put that last little sunflower seedling into its permanent home.  

I put this one into my little flower bed in front of my porch, and protected it with a cloche. 

It will quickly outgrow it, just like the others have.  I'm thinking next year I might plant a whole row in this bed.  It'll give me a little more privacy in the front of my house.  I kind of wish I'd thought of that before I planted all of these...

which are doing great, by the way.  

The Incarnation of Evil was there to supervise the whole operation, but I don't think she approves. 

A bit of good news.  This little cosmos that I'd thought was done-for seems to be making a comeback.  

I know it's a blurry picture, but it seems to be growing a bit.  Even if it doesn't make it, I've got plenty more in the mini-greenhouse.  

Speaking of making it, I've been trying to kill this rose for about 5 years now, but it keeps coming back. 

It's even got buds on it!  Well, as long is it is out of the fence -- which I hope to get replaced sometime this summer or fall.  If I can ever get my act together enough to make a couple of phone calls.  And you know how I feel about those. 

Oh, here's something.  I finally got a good photo of my Bachelor's Buttons.  Or a halfway decent one, at least. 

And of course, the one I didn't plant is the one that looks the best.  Go figure. 

 While I was doing all of this gardening, I got Marty Mac out and trimmed all of his dead leaves and traps. 

He has fully recovered from being transplanted and is looking so much better.  If I can keep the critters from pulling him up, he ought to thrive from here on out. 

I reckon that's it for today.  Oh, I'm still plugging away at the piano, but it's slow going.  I'm hoping I can get a song recorded for you in a couple of weeks.  

OK, now that's all I have for you. 

Laters. 

Life!

Life! Life!  I have given my creation liiiiife!!!

Ok, yeah, that was a bit dramatic, but look at what I found when I got home this afternoon!  

This is one of the sunflowers I planted, and there are three altogether.  I hope the rest germinate, and I hope they survive.  Still nothing from the other two types of plants, though, but look what else is showing signs of life.  

This is what I believe to be a wild blackberry.  We shall see.  

While I was wandering around the back yard, I found some violets starting to bloom. 

And more of my daffodils are starting to open up.  

Unfortunately, my little bluebonnets look like they're dying.  My friend who lives in New Braunfels is already getting blooms, but mine are struggling.  I know I should probably just give up, but I'd really love to have a little stand of home here.  I'm considering getting one of those big, half-barrel looking planters and planting them year to year.  It looks like that's the only way I'm going to get me some bluebonnets.   

In the midst of all that, I decided to repot my Venus Fly Trap.   I left him in the same pot, but separated the rhizomes and spread them out a bit. 

He looks pretty rough right now because he is just beginning to come out of his winter dormancy.  He'll settle down in a few weeks and start putting out new leaves.   I probably won't need to re-pot him for another 2-3 years, and by that time, he will need a bigger pot.  

All that to say, my poor potting table is in the back part of the shed that used to be old chicken coops.  I had it tucked right up against the back wall, but the only problem is it's so dark back there I can't even see. 

I kept having to bring Marty Mac out into the sunlight so I could see what I was doing.  I finally got fed up and re-arranged.  I brought the potting table up towards the front of the old coop where it's got plenty of light now.  

It's much easier to see what I'm doing now.  Alas, it's much easier for you to see what a mess I left...Eh, I'm going to re-pot my Whatever Cacti soon, and I'll clean it all up soon. 

In other news, they've got this new thing going at work -- besides the weird music, that is.  Instead of just posting the announcements on the screens like they used to, now they have two of the HR people giving them like a news break.  They call it ADP News You Can Use.   The main problem with that is, you can't hear them.  If anyone is paging, or any machines are running, or a forklift is driving by they completely drown out the sound from the TV screen.  

One thing they're going to start doing is having a couple of employees of the month.  Other than that, I have no idea what the rest of the announcements were.   But I think what they're really doing is trying to convince us that this isn't a horrible and toxic place to work. 

The chamber of commerce announced yesterday that a new industry would be coming to Grenada soon, and Milwaukee Tools has started accepting applications, and the "core group of employees who will stay with us no matter how badly we treat them" are going to be aging out and retiring soon...

I think they're starting to panic a bit.

More about that in another post.  Right now, I need to get something to eat. 

Laters.

Overboard

I only had two things on my shopping list, and I almost didn't even go, but I was out of ice cream, so off to the store I went.  Where I went a little overboard.  

My reasoning was that since I didn't have any bills to pay this week, I could splurge a little.  Alas, that little turned into quite a bit.  Let me show you some of what I treated myself to.

First up, I found some flannel pants in the women's department.  

  

And look at this, pockets!  Functional pockets!  Don't believe me?  Look at here.  Do you see my phone in this pocket?  

No?  Because it fits all the way in it!  Usually in women's clothing, the pockets only go so deep that the phone has to stick out like this.

I don't understand why clothing designers think women don't want pockets.  Here's a hint:  WE DO!  Give us pockets please!

OK, moving right along.  What with it getting a bit cooler at night, I wanted to create myself a little hot chocolate bar in my kitchen.  I already had some plain and some peppermint marshmallows, so I put them into little jars, then I got some sprinkles to add to it. 

The peppermint sprinkles were left over from last year, but as soon as they switch from fall baking to winter baking supplies, I'll pick up another jar of those.   The other two I got this morning.  Plus, there is whipped cream in the fridge, so I am all set.

Now I just need the cold weather to get here. Except that I still need to find some firewood.  Except also, we are under a burn bad due to the drought.  I don't think it includes fireplaces, but it's been so very dry why take chances?  I mean, hypothetically it's possible a spark could go up the chimney and catch something on fire, right?  

Any excuse not to have to make a phone call...

Speaking of drought, here is the latest map, released just a few days ago.

My county is half severe and half extreme drought.  Even though it's been gloomy and overcast the last two days, we haven't gotten a single drop of rain, and there isn't any in the forecast for at least 10 days.  

Yesterday at work, I over heard two of the other brazers talking.  I mean, they talk all the time, but something they said caught my attention.  

"I don't mean to be getting all up into your conversation," I said, "But I heard you say chicken and dumplings, and now I want some."  Then we got to talking about chicken and dumplings.  One of the other ladies was telling us she always makes her dumplings from scratch.  I mentioned that I used to, and we mentioned the frozen kind you can get from Walmart.  Dumplings, that is.  You still have to cook a chicken and make the broth and stuff.  Honestly, I was going to get them because I still have half a chicken in the freezer, but then I said, "Nah" and got the next best thing.

Despite the fact that I got some chicken noodle soup out of the freezer, I might just eat some chickens and dumplins for supper tonight. 

The last impulse purchase I made was this.

I'd seen people posting on Facebook about getting it, but I hadn't found any until today.  Now I have some!  Then I checked out, got all the way out to my car, and realized I hadn't even gotten the ice cream.  Oh well, I've been eating too much sugar here lately anyway. 

I got home and put my cold stuff up, and oh, by the way finally got the live vole this thing brought into the house

back out of the house.  Then I put on some gloves and picked up quite a bit of deer poop to add to my compost tumbler.  The instructions say to tumble it every three to five days, and I guess I'll do that once the newness wears off, but right now, I'm tumbling it three to five times a day.  Since yesterday, I mean.  And I keep peeking inside to see if my stuff is composting -- even though I know it takes more than one day.  While I was out there, I got my compost fork out and stirred up my big pile of compost.  I really need to sift the dirt out and use it to fill in some of my low spots in the yard.  Maybe in the morning I'll do that.  Or maybe not.  

And finally, remember the protective cage I made for Marty Mac?  And remember how just two days later, something dragged the whole cage across the porch?  Well, yesterday, it occurred to me I still have some concrete chunks from when I dug up that old fire pit that was behind the fence.  Yeah, I don't think anything is going to be dragging this around.  

If it does, I'm selling the house and moving, because I sure don't want to run up on anything that strong.  

Now, if you'll excuse me, I really need to get a few more hats knit for my charity box before I mail it off. 

Laters.

The Trouble

Last weekend while I was at Fiber Fun In The 'Sip, a vendor had several of those faux fur pom poms sitting on her table.  You know the ones I'm talking about.  They look kind of like this:  

Well, there was this one person who was there at the FFITS, walking around shopping and spied the pom poms sitting on the table, and this one person walked up to the table, picked one up,  and exclaimed, "Oh, look!  Tribbles!"

I can neither confirm nor deny that that person might have been me. 

In other less dorky news, I finally got the hole in my sock repaired.  

Only now, I'm almost scared to wear it.  What if I punch another hole in it?  How did the hole get there in the first place anyway?  

I still  haven't done anything with the new sock I've cast on, other than knitting a cuff. I've been browsing my knitting books and the internet, but nothing appeals.  I think I might just do another ribbed socks like the ones pictured above. 

Other than that, there really hasn't been anything going on lately.  My big project for today -- other than paying bills and shopping -- was to make a protective cage for Marty Mac.  Something has been pulling him up, so I've been kind of afraid to leave him outside, especially at night.  I bring him in when it gets dark then put him out before I go to work, but I still worry that something will get him.

The other day, I noticed there was a lot of loose wire back in those old chicken coops, so when I got back in from town, I went out there and cut a big chunk of it off. 

By the way, that's not dirt.  It's old chicken poop.  I want to eventually compost it, once I finally get my tumbling composter thing.  

Also by the way, the deer seem to have gotten fairly comfortable with me being in the back yard and didn't seem at all bothered by me being out there. 

The big doe let me get quite close before retreating into the woods, and even then, she didn't go very far. I guess it didn't help that I had a full bucket of corn in my hand.  To fill the squirrel feeder, you know. 

Anyway, after a few moments with a wire cutter and some zip ties, I had a nifty little cage to protect Marty Mac from whatever was pulling him up. 

The only problem was that it's too big to fit on that baker's rack I have on the front porch, so he's sitting on the floor until I can come up with something better.  

I guess that's it for today.  If you'll excuse me, I'm off to browse more sock patterns. 

Laters.

I Broke Down

I broke down and turned my air conditioner on when I got home this afternoon.  It wasn't even that hot in the house, but it's been so muggy what with all the rain we've had recently.   You want to know where it has been hot?  

My work area.  

That's part of why I turned on my a/c at home.  I have to be hot at work.  I'm not going to be hot at home. 

Speaking of rain, that last round of storms -- you know, the one that caught me by surprise -- did a number on Marty Mac.  I'd had him out on the front porch, but I guess he was too close to the eave, and the driving rain washed a lot of his soil out of the pot.  One of the first things I did today was to get out and essentially re-pot him. 

I lifted him up to the top of the pot, and replaced the washed away soil, then trimmed the dead and dying traps off.  He looks much better now.  He looks way better than he did when I first got him, just over a year ago.  By the way, it's perfectly normal for traps to die off after a while, and new traps grow in to replace the dead ones, so that's nothing to worry about.

OK, remember back a few weeks ago when I cut my contributions to my 401(k) back and I said I'd start getting emails nagging me that I wasn't saving enough?  Yep, I called that one.  The very first paycheck after the change showed up, I got one.  You aren't saving enough.  Your mix isn't aggressive enough...

Yes, I know that, but I can't worry about retirement if I can't keep the lights on now!  But I probably will raise my contribution amount a bit anyway, since we're getting this little bit of overtime.  I'm also still debating on cutting off my internet.  I'm thinking I may put it in vacation mode for a month, just to see if I can get by without it.  I mean, I'll still have my phone data and hot spot, so I won't be completely cut off.  I think my dependence is more psychological than anything at this point.  

On a related note, did you know all that ground ivy I've been trying to kill for years is edible?  

I do now.  The ground ivy, the cannas, even the day lilies.  All this stuff I've been trying so hard to kill is all edible.  I have a veritable supermarket right there in my back yard.  I've still got a few more plants I need to positively identify before I start chowing down, but I'm well on my way to being able to forage for food.  Which reminds me, I need to get out and pick some violets before they stop flowering.   And I want to move some from the big patch out by my utility pole into the back yard, and try to get my stuff a bit more organized.  

All of this almost makes me not want to mow.  Not that I can anyway.  I went out and checked my front yard and it's still way too muddy, and we've got more rain on the way.   Sometime, I've got to get someone to bring some dirt and fill in the low spots in my front yard, but that's money I can't afford to spend right now.  

Such A Doofus

I swan, I can be such a doofus sometimes.  

So, Becky, what doofusy thing did you do this time?  Well, I'll tell you.

I was sitting there watching TV, when I decided I need a break from Time Team and Masterchef Jr, so I binge watched all three seasons of The Chosen again.  In one episode, it was a scene which took place at night, just after the sun set by the look of the sky.  There in the background, the full moon was shining bright. 

It struck me then that when he was here on Earth, Jesus walked under the same moon I go out into my back yard to look at.  While I was sitting there, all awestruck that the creator of the universe once walked under the same moon that I do -- you see where I'm going with this, don't you?  

I did the old V-8 forehead smack and said to myself, "You doofus!  Jesus created that moon!"  Which, despite my doofusiness, is still pretty amazing when you think about it. 

I did another doofusy thing today, as well.  I cast on another hat

despite not even being halfway done with the one I already had on the needles. 

And I'm currently fighting the urge to cast on a third.  Clearly I've been infected by cast-on-itis.  If only finish-itis was as easy to contract. 

Apropos of nothing, Marty Mac has come out of dormancy and is putting out new growth. 

I'm starting to put him outside during the day to get him acclimated to full sun exposure, and once it's warm enough, I'll leave him out all the time.   Probably after this next cold spell, I'll be able to put him out for good, and just keep an eye on the weather unless there's a late frost. 

I guess the big news of the day is that I got my writing stuff all organized and put away.  In the top drawer of the little brown filing cabinet I put my stationery and envelopes. 

Into the bottom drawer went my wax stamps, stickers, and washi tape. 

And the pens and ink are safely tucked into the desk drawer. 

I still need to get a lamp of some sort, but for now, it'll do.  Here we see my latest letter from my Canadian pen pal just waiting for me to write back. 

Since I was on such a roll with my cleaning and stuff, I dragged this box out of the back of Cody's closet to begin sorting through. 

It shouldn't take too long, because it's half empty.  It's got junk I stuffed into it in a mad cleaning frenzy to sort through later.  Well, guess what?  It's later.  

I did a quick glance into the box, and most of this stuff can probably be tossed, if I can just bring myself to do it.  Seriously, both this box and the other one I keep showing you -- if someone had come along without me knowing it and thrown everything out, I'd have never missed any of it.  Except that little pink thing in the bottom right corner up there.  I'm definitely wanting to keep that. 

The rest, I'd have never even remember I had it, but now that I am seeing it and holding it, I'm having a hard time getting rid of it.  A big part of it is, I hate throwing stuff into the garbage if it's something someone out there might be able to use.  The flip side of that is, I hate dealing with the idiots in the local free bees group.  

I'm sure you can relate, because stupidity is pretty much universal. 

And finally, James has put their house on the market.  I mean, we all knew it was coming, because he's been talking about it for a year, but it's still a bit of a bummer because it had always been the family gathering place ever since my aunt and uncle built it back in the mid 80s.  Their house had always been the gathering place, even when they still lived on Travis St.  

I told Cody I wish I had enough money to buy it, but it's way out of my budget, and I doubt I could take care of that much land anyway.  Not by myself, I mean.  My other cousin might be buying it, but I don't know.  I hope she does, or one of her kids.  At least that way, it'll stay in the family.  It's all Winfree land out there anyway. 

Now, if you'll excuse me, I got my tax refunds yesterday -- yes, that fast -- so I'm going to go to Amazon and do a little shopping.  Not too much, because I've still got to make up for not getting a paycheck this week.  Oh, and one more thing, I got my unemployment debit card in the mail today.  There's nothing on it at the moment, but I'll have it in case they do another shutdown later in the year.