Doctor's Visit

Two hours to the doctor, two hours in the waiting room, 20 minutes with the doctor, and 2 hours home made this a pretty miserable day. I have had a melanoma and this place on my chin showed abnormal cells that would become a melanoma. It was enlarging so it would have required a surgeon in another year. So, I'm glad it's done, but it was a long, tiring day. Happy Halloween! I have real stitches and a real bandage for my costume.

Stuff

We had a guy come out to work on stuff today. We needed a new battery for the generator and gator. We needed the fireplace and remote to work. Now the fireplace and generator work. Larry still has to get a battery for the gator and get it in. The placement of the battery makes that a difficult job, but at least the old battery is out.
The guy also looked at the shower in the guest room and thinks he may be able to fix it without tearing out the whole tile wall. But he can't do it tomorrow because we're playing doctor tag for part of the time tomorrow.

Fall Color

The dogwood trees are beautiful in the spring when they bloom, but are also gorgeous on the gall when their colors range from a pinkish orange to dee Burgundy.

Faith Justified

A while ago an 18-wheeler backed into me. It was going slowly and I was sitting still. I tried to back up but threw it into fourth instead of reverse so killed it. It didn't do a lot of damage and the driver said to get an estimate and he'd send me a check. I got the estimate and sent it to him after offering to get a second estimate if he thought it was too much. He said it was about what he'd thought it would be. He called and said he'd sent the check but it didn't arrive. Some other mail went missing, too, so I called him back and asked if his check had cleared. It hadn't. Today we met and he handed me a check. He seemed like a nice guy and I'm glad he was:)

Peaceful

We wanted a vacation near the water in cool weather. We did it and enjoyed it, but it wasn't what we were expecting. It was listed under Gulf Shores/Pensacola, but was actually a cove. Another camper said his reservation on the beach at Gulf Shores had been cancelled because Nate had closed access roads, so I guess we did OK. It was under a tornado watch when we arrived and pouring down rain, but was sunny and cool for the rest of the week.

Vacation Idea

We used to take vacations. We've taken touring vacations to see famous historical sites, theatre vacations, sport vacations, and relaxation vacations. We had only taken vacations to see family members for the last seventeen years. Those vacations might include theatre or national parks. But we've decided to start saving a monthly amount toward a relaxing holiday once or twice a year. I am really pleased about the idea and that it is Larry's idea!

Angry Dream

Larry woke up angry because he dreamed somebody had a garage sale and sold everything in our metal building. I said at least it was cleaned out. He said but we didn't get the money! He was upset for hours.

Religious Rant

Larry gets on a rant occasionally. Mostly I'm not a participant. But this one was about our community not showing respect for the Amish as they call them Amish and Mennonites interchangeably. I listened for a while without comment and finally said I don't respect their religion. He expounded for a while about their work ethic, etc. I said they allow their young men time to leave the community to experience other ways and return. Women aren't given that chance. I don't object to people believing how they think is right, and I don't throw rocks at them, but I don't respect the religion. I named several families and he agreed their work ethic was nothing to brag about. Finally I said that I respect a couple of families, but not the religion. So he dropped his rant and the subject.

Yard Sale

They are either having a yard sale or refinishing the floors.

Lab Results

Today we went for our doctor's evaluation of our lab results. My results were all right, including blood pressure. Larry's results were better on some things and not so good on others. It's annoying to not have a clue how to fix something that's wrong. I understand medication is a solution and must sometimes be used. But a diet fix that cancels everything out for one thing or another is just frustrating.

Putting Stuff Away

It's easy to put things away, but putting all the stuff together so I can find it next time isn't so easy. If four of the pieces are in one place and one is somewhere else, it's tough. Cleaning the stuff before stowing it is one of the problems and why the last piece may end up somewhere else entirely. One of Heinlein's books had a computer that would tell you where to put something and later tell you where to find it. Lots of things in books are nice.

Taking a Knee

It looks respectful to me when the football players kneel for the anthem. They pretty much bow their heads, too. If they mooned during the anthem, that would be disrespectful.

DIY Laundry Detergent

https://www.diynatural.com/homemade-laundry-detergent-soap/
There are a lot of sites that tell how to make this. I make five gallons of the liquid recipe and it lasts me about a year. I use 1/2 cup of the liquid for a washer of clothes. Some laundry soaps make me itch, but this doesn't. I like it, it's cheap, and it works. When I started to make the second batch (a year later), I found the borax and Arm and Hammer washing soda had solidified. I chipped it up and bagged it in large Ziploc bags to prevent that problem. The third time I made it, I went ahead and mixed up the borax, grated fels naptha, and washing soda, writing "add 5 gallons of water" on the bag. I tried putting the bar of soap in the food processor, but grating with a hand grater worked better for me...and was a lot quieter. I've used this for three years now and don't think I'll ever go back to buying detergent. It's easier to buy it, but it's cheaper to do it this way because the borax and washing soda make more than one year's worth...and is cheap to but in the first place.

Ribs

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Babyback ribs and slaw make a great lunch! Larry grilled the ribs today and it makes a holiday of any day.

Frost

Today we had a light frost. I've gotten everything in the greenhouse that needs to go. But I didn't clean up first so that's on my list. I cleaned where I put my cuttings and plants. But in February I'll need space for seedlings. So I have until February!

Easy Day

A little tidying up inside and out as well as a little shopping made for an easy day today. There is still plenty to do, but no rush about it.

Breakfast Buffet

I don't usually see anything new on a buffet, but we went to a diner-type place after our lab work yesterday and saw French toast with had been battered and fried paired with chocolate gravy. I don't know that I would have gotten it if I hadn't seen somebody with a plate with only that. So I asked what the French toast was and then got it myself. Really! Chocolate for breakfast:) It reminded me of our first breakfast in the hotel in Germany where we had Nutella.

Poppers

When I first made poppers, I took the seeds and veins out of the jalapeños and filled the halves with cream cheese. Then I wrapped a half piece of bacon around each one and baked until the bacon was crispy. This way uses real bacon boots stirred into the cream cheese. It's quicker and still tasty!

Porch

Today I moved almost all of the flowerboxes and baskets to the tire garden to dump the dirt and begonias. I pulled the dichondra silver falls off and stuffed them into a couple of big plastic bags to dry out. Hopefully the seeds will fall out as the strands dry out and I can try to grow next year's batch from the seeds.

Worry

We went for lab work this morning. I seriously hate no-coffee mornings. I asked the lab tech to run the A1C immediately so I'd have the results before leaving. I worry. It's probably better if I don't eat Butterfingers while I worry! I had the stitches from my biopsy removed and then went back to get the results. They were ok, so three months before I have to do that again. The assistant brought me a cup of coffee while I waited for the doctor to remove my stitches.

Satsumas

RFD TV showed a clip about satsumas grown on the Sessions Farm in Grand Bay, Alabama. It was a nice clip and had one of Larry's cousins on it.

Satsumas

RFD TV showed a clip about satsumas grown on the Sessions Farm in Grand Bay, Alabama. It was a nice clip and had one of Larry's cousins on it.

Looks and Show

I asked the receptionist if the community room was reserved for our meeting. She said she didn't have a copy of the schedule but would find out. I heard the call and heard her tell the other person she didn't have a copy of the schedule. After the call, she told me the community room was scheduled for our meeting. She then said she doesn't know anything but is just there for looks and show. I told her, "Good job! Keep up the good  work!"

Finished with Cuttings

I'm finished taking cuttings and now need to take the flower boxes and baskets down and dump them. They are heavy and somewhat awkward to move. So I'm not looking forward to that part of the fall process.

Fried Okra

A neighbor brought over some pods of okra today. I sliced the pods and soaked them in a beaten egg while the oil heated up. Then I dredged the egg drenched okra in cornmeal with salt and pepper. It was wonderful. Soaking the okra in the beaten egg allowed the cornmeal to stick to the okra.

Cuttings

Today I started taking cuttings for the greenhouse so I'll have them for next year's flowerboxes and baskets. I'm going to take more, but I've stopped watering outside so they won't be so heavy when I dump them.

Pressure Washer

Pete brought a broken pressure washer and tried to fix it. I tried to use it today. Some of our buildings have a gray scummy looking mess on them. I was disappointed in the results. It's difficult to decide if it is the pressure washer's fault or lack of pressure from our well.

Gardenias

I dug out the pots that contained gardenias half planted in dirt and carried them to the greenhouse today. The low plastic containers under them aren't all in place yet, but I've started locating and placing them. Since the gardenias were surrounded with impatiens, I started taking them out and adding them as green manure in the compost bin. One side of the bin has impatiens that are growing and blooming...an unusual sight in a compost bin.

Greenhouse

Today I started organizing the greenhouse. Putting cuttings in the greenhouse works better when there's room. So, I started.

Awful News

I don't know these people, but the wife is a doctor and her husband, an RN, shielded her. He died, but she wasn't harmed. I Sam sorry our area has lost a good man.

Volunteering

Today was a normal Tuesday. I volunteered at the hospital and didn't do much else. I hope I sleep more than four hours tonight!

Quiet

When we've had company, and they leave, the house seems very quiet. It isn't as bad as when the kids started to leave home. That was quiet and miserable. This is just quiet. I guess we finally got used to the quiet and it doesn't feel like somebody died.

Helpful Friend

Today Pete fixed my water pipe for the back porch so I can have flowers out there again. He also replaced the front door handle so my key works. He is a wonderful guest:)