Texas-short post

We arrived at our destination in Texas late in the afternoon.  C and E dropped me and most of my things with my friend where I will be staying.  I did forget some things in the van.  At least I hope I didn't forget my vitamins at home.  We slept some in the van last night but did quite a lot of driving too.   There has been way too much sitting for me over the last few days, but I am too tired to get out and exercise right now.  We spent the evening watching some of the series His Dark Materials.  It has been quite a few years since I read the books the show is based on by Philip Pullman.  There are parts that are very similar to the books and parts that might be and I just don't remember them well enough, or have been adapted for HBO.  

My happy for today is arriving safely and seeing friends.  Now the goal is to stay safe.  

Big Texas sky.

This is hanging on my friend's wall.
I like it so decided to share it.  

☮

Social Distance Responsibly.

Still on the road

We have gone by places where hardly anyone wears a mask and places where just about everyone is.  Sometimes I question my sanity at going on this trip.  The three of us in the bubble of our vehicle press forward enjoying each others company, listening to music and podcasts.   Outside the bubble we do our best to keep our distance, stay safe, wash our hands and wear a mask.  Tomorrow we will arrive at our destinations.   Our social distance group will expand.  We will leave our protective bubble.

Tonight as C drives and sings with E and my eyelids start to droop I know this is where I am supposed to be.  In these trying times I still want to be the helper.  So far that help is being an extra driver so they could get back faster.  I can't help the masses, but I can be useful with my family.

My happy things for today are:

• Getting a good night's rest at E's parents home.
• Having a healthy breakfast before we got on the road.
• Hearing stories about E's college town as we passed by. 
• Driving through the mountains in Maryland and West Virginia.
• The flat rocks in Kentucky.
• Wispy fog.
• Farms. 
• The  closed sign.
• Rocks. 
• Singing. 

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☮

Keep your distance.

From the road.

We drove until we needed sleep, then slept.  C, E and I arrived at E's family home sometime in the afternoon.  I really have no idea what time, maybe around one?  Anyhow, they live in a beautiful area about one third of the way between home and our Texas destination.  They are also in the SCA so there was not a shortage of conversation.  History and ways that history work into some current events dominated most of the afternoon.  E's dad has been reading a book called Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond and I have been listening to A Different Mirror by Ronald Takaki.  Both books seem to have a different look at parts of history and why things happened the way they did.  In the evening we watched some comedy.

They also have a lovely garden that I want to remember to take ideas from.  There are ways I want to change up the garden next year.  I don't see myself making a bunch of raised beds as planters before next year, but you never know.  The generosity of E's parents to let us stay here for the night and feed us is my happy for the day.

☮

Keep your distance.

Parting

Road Trip!!

I'm sure there are worse times to travel... none come to mind right now.  I will be spending the next few weeks supporting C & E as they handle a crisis with roommates and the apartment they rent.   They left Texas to escape the pandemic and now have to go back when that area is spiking.  We have masks and hand sanitizer and some gloves.  We will do our best to be quick about this I hope.  I have time.  Expanding my social circle is something that will have to happen, but we will continue to be careful.

Today was spent unpacking the moving van of all my stuff that has been in storage and putting it into the apartment attached to the house.  We got it all in, except for the furniture that will end up in the house after K refinishes them.  I expect to be in that apartment often upon our return.

Our Baronial curia was tonight on a Google meet.  I'm kind of liking the meetings this way.  People stay muted unless they have something to say and there is less crosstalk.   Still some banter, it wasn't completely dull.  There isn't much going on though.

So unpacking and packing for Texas was most of my day.  My happy is that I got to see the butterfly weed in bloom today.  It didn't have any butterflies, but there was a bee.  

☮

Stay safe.

Gathering

At this point I think the plan for me, C and E to go to Texas is set.  We are planning to leave Saturday morning.  Today the family emptied my storage unit and in the morning the truck with all that stuff will be emptied into the apartment.  When we are back from Texas, we will have at least a week to quarantine in the apartment with my stuff.  This is my punishment for not taking care of it all a few years ago.  

This morning I visited most of the same graves that we planted flowers on for Memorial Day and harvested seeds.  Only time will tell if I did a good job harvesting them or a bad job.  Either way I am enjoying this and hope to be able to plant some inside when I get back from Texas.  Until then, there is time for them to dry.  Since I was in the area I visited my aunt for a short time before heading back to help with packing the truck.  My happy for today is the visit and picking seeds.  I envision flowering geraniums throughout the house.  I also gathered some petunia and marigold seed.  

Collecting the dead flowers.

All the stuff is gone!

☮

Keep your distance.

Planting

It has been quite a day.  It started with me working in the garden.  I got a few more things planted and a bunch of weeding.  I am happy to report that the tomato plant that was mostly eaten, probably by a deer,  the first night after it was planted here seems to be coming back.  Another of the tomato plants that I bought at the same time looks like it shot up about six inches over night.  

C and E are having problems with one of their housemates in Texas and have to go back sooner than planned.  Most likely I will be going with them and flying home.  Plans are still be sorted and we are hoping to leave on Saturday.  It is rather scary.  Before they leave we are hoping to get my storage unit emptied and into the apartment here.  It will be a busy few days.

My happy for today is that I planted more seeds.  I'm going to ask K to send me pictures of the garden while I am away.  

☮

Keep your distance.

Early Birds

Z and I got up early this morning to work in the garden.  The crawling onions were finally planted.  We also got more lettuce, carrots, spinach and two little rainbow tomatoes planted.  The black flies were biting so we didn't stay out too long.  After breakfast I went back out intending to clear around the fire hydrant and the weeds growing along the sidewalk.  Turns out the sidewalk in front of the property is long.  I got it about half done before being too hot and tired to do the rest.  The important part of clearing out by the fire hydrant is done.  I don't know, maybe the town comes around and clears around them every now and then.  I'd prefer it is cleared now.  

The rest of the day I napped and took it easy.  I hadn't slept well and then got up early to work in the garden.  That and the heat took its toll.  My happy is eating a radish from the garden today. The first vegetable of what will hopefully be a good harvest this year.  Hopefully I will get some more seeds in for things that there is still time to grow.

Another happy is listening to the birds sing as we worked in the garden today.  There is usually some kind of bird activity here.  This morning was the joyful, morning bird song of hungry birds that were able to feast on the bugs that Z and I had disturbed.  

Radishes!

Mullein.

This is an older prescription bottle.  
The bottom is glass and the top, a hard plastic.
It will be washed and repurposed.

☮

Wash your hands.

 

Monday

It took me many hours to get motivated this morning.  Once I finally pushed myself out the door I got busy and seldom took breaks.  And yet I feel like I didn't accomplish much.  I've decided that weeding is super important but it is hard to see progress.  Moving dirt is hard and is a good upper body exercise-which I need.  Since my FitBit isn't working I used the app Map My Run while I gardened.  Turns out I walked over two miles today in the almost six hours that I tracked.  I'm downloading a free step counting app for my phone.  The one I have on there now only has me active for 25 minutes today which is not accurate.  

There are things since we moved here that have not been pulled as weeds.  Some I still think I should, but others are proving to be flowers, so I am glad I waited.  One of the plants I was going to pull turns out to be yellow foxglove.  It is pretty.  It is confirmed that some plants in the front yard are butterfly weed.  The flowers have just started to open and I look forward to seeing more bloom.  The common milkweed is blooming now.  I'm going to try to collect the seeds of this and spread them in the back where there is just all the slash.  The common milkweed is the Monarch butterfly's preferred plant for laying eggs.  Flowers are my happy for today.

Buttercup

Yellow Foxglove.

Butterfly weed

Common Milkweed

Sunset

☮

Stay safe

Happy Father's Day

We had a mellow day.  There was puttering around the house and the yard getting little things done.  I did a bit of weeding and made some things to make noise in the garden.  I can't call what I made wind chimes.  They didn't chime when there was a light breeze.  They will make noise if something knocks into them or the wind blows hard enough.  I'm skeptical that these makers of noise will be loud enough to keep any animals out of the garden.  I made most of them with wire coat hangers and old silverware or other old metal kitchen items.

When it was too hot to be outside (much of the day/week) I played computer games.  There is an air conditioner that will hopefully make its way into my room this week, but for now I have a fan that I can hardly feel from across the room.  This is turning out to be one heck of a hot season.  

The battery in my Fit Bit died again today.  It only lasted about a week this time.  When my Fit Bit Zip was new the battery lasted three months.  That was five and a half years ago.  I ordered a Fit Bit Inspire HR through a health program from work tonight.  I will have to remember to charge it every five-ish days.  I can do this.

My happy for today is that we finally identified the trees that line the border of the yard by the driveway.  The are a Privet tree? bush? These are large enough to be trees.  It seems that they are normally trimmed two or three times a year but that hasn't happened here in a while.  

The flowers on the. Privet

It is hard to see, but there are forks and spoons hanging here.

Blueberries.

An old cookie sheet, a steamer tray and a rack to make noise. 

☮

Stay safe.

Summer Solstice

We had an online event today.  There seemed to be lots of small technical problems but I think the content was pretty good.  There was an A&S competition and classes.  There was also a puppet show and some pageantry.  It was very stressful for me and because of that reason I am glad it is behind me.  I'm not sure why it was stressful, most likely just the online aspect.  We were going to have an unofficial online bardic in the evening but it rained so we canceled it.  Wet wood and fire pit was too much when there were so few people that were showing interest.  The bardic was not part of the event, more like a post revel that we didn't do.  I'd like to think that we learned a bunch and if we need to do something like this again there will be less technology problems.  There were some really awesome arts and sciences that people have been working on.  All the martial arts were missed though.  

My happy for today is breaking out in song with the other family members in the house while getting some dessert tonight.  

Sometimes, it is hard coming up with things to write about.  Yesterday, I forgot something.  For K and Z's anniversary yesterday they brought me home a gift.  Not for any particular reason, but it is pretty so I am posting a picture.

Tree of Life with beads for the Chakras.

☮

Wash your hands.

Juneteenth

Today is K and Z's tenth wedding anniversary.  They went off for the day and drove to the mountains site seeing.  C, E and I stayed home to be the adult for Gideon.  We mostly took the day off.  I got very little done in the garden, a little planting of flowers outside the garden, and I re-potted the petunia.  I also tried to plant new petunia with what I hoped were seeds in the pods I have been trimming off.  Unfortunately I don't think the flowers pollinated, so I don't think there were seeds with what I planted.  So I made a half-hearted attempt to pollinate the current blossoms.  Most likely another plant is required and it won't work, only time will tell.

In the evening we lit a fire and had a Google Meet for anyone to join.  Ideally there would have been bardic.  Instead, we chatted with the few folks who tuned in.  The important part is that it worked and we can try again tomorrow, after the event, and maybe this time have those songs and stories.  The fire, seeing some friends online and the lightning bugs that entertained us are my happy things for today.  I am very grateful for the help that C and E provided in getting the fire going and dinner tonight.

For their tenth anniversary I gave them what my mom gave me and my now ex-husband.
No other details because we are hoping to pass it on to C and E someday.

Behind the fake brick chimney in the living room is another fake brick chimney...
and a real fireplace. 
Behind the second fake chimney appears to be crumbling brick, so that was left on.

Petunias!

☮

Keep your distance.

Chili

Another day at the farm weeding and digging dirt.  I did some mowing in the front of the house and may have identified some of the flowers there.  Time will tell when the buds open what will be revealed.

Right now I am exhausted.  I couldn't get to sleep last night and so my eyes don't want to stay open.  With that said, it is time to tell what made me happy today.  

It was dark when I went to turn the water off for the sprinkler tonight.  There were lightning bugs in the back yard.  Just a few.  A few is all it takes for me to decide that I don't want the back yard's grass mowed.  There will be paths. Or maybe just not mowed as often.  We'll see. 

The other happy for today is dinner.  We have been rotating through the adults to make dinner.  We had six adults and one night of left overs.  With Four gone, we are short one night of the week.  Gideon is now taking his turn making dinner.  Today he made chili in the crock pot and some corn bread to go with it.  He did a great job.  He learned to use a knife to cut some peppers and onions.  He even chose to adapt the recipe a little.  I'm very impressed with my eight year old grandson's attitude and determination to get this done today, as much on his own as possible.  Dinner was yummy.

Chop, chop!

Bird prints.

Dinner!

Story:
This can crusher belonged to my dad.
Today K and C cleaned it up, spray painted it, and attached it to the table.
They plan to sit out in the shed with a cold can of something to drink and watch the people pass by.

The cans will be properly crushed and recycled when done.

My dad would do this with a can of beer sitting just inside the cool cellar.

Folks in the neighborhood who knew him would stop by and say hi, maybe sit for a while.

☮

Stay safe.

Dirt

Dirt is heavy.  I know, an obvious observation.  It turns out we didn't have enough of the garden netting stuff to line the wattle area that K built.  Instead I lined it with cardboard.  Since we just moved, we have plenty of cardboard.  The next step is to fill it with dirt.  Two wheel barrows full later and the bottom is covered.  I figure four or five more and then I will put in the soil that we purchased.  Hopefully that will be enough since I need help with the full wheel barrows.  The previous owners of the house left piles of dirt from when the property was lumbered, we have dirt.  We also have crawling onions that are waiting to be planted.  So much planting that could still be done.  And there are things that never came up and then the deer problem.

We moved some boxes today and in one were some older utensils.  These will be made into chimes that might help to deter the deer and other animals from the garden.  So many things that need to be done and not enough time and energy at the same time to do it.  When I think back to when we first got this house, I think I wanted to wait a year before we worked the garden.  I'm not sure if I changed my mind, didn't voice my opinion loud enough, or just caved in and embraced it.  Whatever happened, I'm hoping for food now and need to work for that to happen.  Maybe we can save money and get an eight foot fence around the garden next year.  Haha!

My happy things for today are:

• productivity
• cherries
• naps and the fan in my room that made it possible to nap
• made my step count again just by doing the things that need to be done
• roses
• 
  

I'm also undecided about whether I miss walking to get my steps.  I'm not doing as much as I should be around here and still, at least sometimes, getting my step count in.  There currently isn't enough energy to walk too.

Box garden,
hopefully it will work better than it looks.

Cherries.

Peaches

Roses

☮

Stay safe, wear a mask, keep your distance.