Just Saying Hello 5/31/2020

Thoughts and Quotes: Life is better with kindred spirits.
                                                Susan Branch

I couldn't agree more, Susan. I'm getting tired of having only cats with whom (or which, if you're not a kitty-lover and know that cats are furry humans) to converse, though one very eagerly answers back. Now if I could just find the true meaning of "meow", because that's always the answer.

Needless to say, I've been missing you, so though I haven't much to report during these boring days, I thought I'd at least check in with you.

The quote above is from author/artist Susan Branch, and if you're not following her blog, I think you'd enjoy it. Just go to www.susanbranch.com or click HERE.

Time for Others: Some had time for me. My usual gift from my kids for Mother's Day. I never know if it will be grapefruit or avocados - depends on which trees are producing at the time. This year I got both.

And flowers from my new nieces, so beautiful that I couldn't stop photographing them. They lasted for days.

The full bouquet shot doesn't do them justice. There were five white roses, five pink roses, several stargazer lily buds, and lots of pink mini-carnations, pink and white carnations, pink asters (is that correct, Peter?), and those little yellow and white daisy-like flowers.

As the lilies opened, I put them in my bathroom.

And they still looked like this twelve days later.

A couple of days later, the roses started to fade, so I had this.

I believe I might have stumbled onto something worthwhile, though. The flowers were all crammed into a piece of oasis which fit snugly into a teacup - a pretty teacup with a little plate.

I knew that many flowers would slurp up all the water more than once a day, so I took the entire arrangement out and put it into a bigger bowl. It was top heavy, so I put a white bar towel around the oasis to stabilize it. The towel was in the water, and kept supplying water to the oasis. I think that helped the flowers to last for such a long time.

And now I have only this, which reminds me of Victorian times for some reason. The dark roses are from my yard, and the white roses didn't dry well. 

And cards. Friend Barbara makes cards by computer and sent me the one with the flower pot; Chosen Niece Terri sent the butterfly card and my kids sent me the Marjolein garden card (Daughter Kathy is a master gardener). Such a nice surprise when you get a Mother's Day card from other than your children.

Things that Grow: And as you know, the growingest thing at my house are weeds. I am, however, gaining on them. I found this little garden buddy, but I think he thought he'd been busted because he immediately got in position to be frisked.

The rain finally stopped, but not until it beat up my peonies. I salvaged a few.

The Pepper and Pals Report: The kitties finally abondoned the beds in the indoor patio, even though I unplugged the heat. I don't see much of them at breakfast. I give them only dry food then, because most are out hunting for fresh meat, which pleases me no end, as my mole population has decreased noticeably. They get wet food at night, and then they all show up in stages. I know how my mother felt. With six kids and a husband eating at different times, she said that she felt like a short-order cook. Of course Miss Stinky and Mr. Ugly always clean up. They run a great janitorial service.

And the Easter bunny didn't bring me any eggs, but the Easter kitty brought me three kittens. On Easter evening I checked on the cats, and saw two babies all alone in one of the heated beds. I thought BJ was bringing them to a warm place, so I quckly closed the blind on the slider so as not to disturb her. The next morning, they were gone. They were born in the warm bed, and the dumb cat was moving them outside.

The next morning, the mowers were here and when they left, I heard a mewing noise outside my office window. I checked and found three babies, all alone, under a boxwood shrub. The mower and trimmer would been right next to them, so BJ took off and hadn't returned. It was cold, so I got a receiving blanket and scooped up the babies and took them to the heated bed. They stopped crying the minute I picked them up, and snuggled down and went right to sleep nestled in the blanket on the heated pad. About an hour later, BJ returned and found them. She immediately grabbed them up one by one and took them back out into the wet and cold. I looked under the same bush, but they weren't there.

Two days ago, they appeared on the patio with mama, fat as little butterballs, and playing as happily as if they'd been raised under perfect conditions. So far, I have only a couple of photos. They're still very skittish.

The Procrastinator: On the last blog post, (not the Malta post), I promised we'd conquer procrastination one step at at time. Remember step 1? Resolve potential emergencies. I call that The Bathroom Rule, because you know how you're busy, but you really need to go, so you cross your legs, and jiggle? If you don't handle the emergency in a timely fashion, things can go bad in a hurry, so better to just deal with the problem when it appears.

2. Take 5-10 minutes each day to review the day's priorities. Okay, let's practice step 2 this week. Some days might take me longer than that, I fear.

Things are Looking Up: More places are opening. I can use my library through the drive-through window now. And Summer is just right around the corner. My seasons go by the month (June); not the date (June 20).

Here's my June-July-August Summer Checklist. Use it for ideas to make up yours.

___ Visit a farmers' market.

___ Picnic in the park.

___ Dine al fresco

___ Enjoy a root beer float

___ Take an evening stroll (often)

___ Buy some flip-flops

___ Watch fireworks on the 4th

___ Have friends over to play games

___ Make a new flavored ice tea

___ Give the car a thorough cleaning

___ Write a letter to an old friend

___ Make cards.

___ Grab a friend and go to the mall - eat in the food court

___ Browse a bookstore or the library

___ Make a chiffon cake, or two or three

___ New summer door wreath

___ Have a summer tea

___ Crochet some doilies; embroider some dish towels or sheets.

___ Take a short vacation

___ Have Christmas in July (stole this one from Chosen Niece Carrie

___ Discard diligently

___ Watch a "summer" movie (TV or DVD from library)

I just Googled "movies with summer in the title" and got 28 hits. I do NOT recommend Suddenly Last Summer. We're looking for something fun or inspiring or a little romance. Ladies, do we ever tire of Summer Place? 

Timewasters: Things to keep you busy while we're waiting for the end of the virus. I watch this one every morning to start my day right. Click HERE. And if you like his music, you can just click this on and listen for 2-1/2 hours. Click HERE.

Or, if you prefer Andre Rieu, click HERE.

This a great one - you know how I love lists. Click HERE.

Or perhaps you'd prefer a Mediterreanean Cruise with Rick Steves. Click HERE.

Or maybe you'd like to choose a new gown? Click HERE.

And my new favorite - let's learn some history. Click HERE. This one takes some time to learn how to navigate because it has many layers. Such a wonderful website. 

Tasting: I finally found some tomato soup, so I could have my grilled cheese (havarti on Italian bread) and tomato soup before the weather turned hot. Why are the stores out of tomato soup?

And tah dah! I have a new Instant Pot. There will soon be a new heading up top for "Instant Pot" recipes, though I expect that I'll discover that it's just the trade name for a pressure cooker.  And I already have a pressure cooker which scares me. I thought with all the recipes for Instand Pot, maybe I'd feel more secure. 

And then I found these magnetized cheat sheets to put on the sides.

I've decided to set my kitchen up for function rather than looks, so I brought in my NuWave Oven, and then discovered another. Do they reproduce? I don't remember buying two.

Friend Linda gave me some good websites for Instant Pot recipes, and there are a lot on Pinterest, but if anyone has good recipes for any of the applicances above, please share. Thank you. My island is going to look as if I'm running a soup kitchen.

That's all I have for now - boring virus time.

MAKE A WISH ON THE STRAWBERRY FULL MOON ON FRIDAY, JUNE 5

WE CAN LEGALLY DRINK ICED TEA - I CHEAT AND DRINK IT ALL WINTER

BUY A NEW SWIMSUIT

WE CAN WEAR SANDALS AND WHITE PANTS

PRAY FOR OUR DESTROYED CITIES AND AN END TO THE VIRUS

AND HOW ABOUT SOME LEMONADE?

THANK YOU FOR SHARING MY LIFE