I haven't used my camera

for a couple of days now.  Oh, well.  I'll get back to it but I'm just a little overwhelmed right now.  Yesterday Maggie broke through the fence again and I got a ticket for it.

One ticket, one warning, one jury summons.
My town loves me.

Our yard guy is going to look behind the fence to give me an estimate for clearing out all the weeds.  After that I'll either call TxDOT or our state representative.  I know a state representative probably isn't the right person to call but I called before and the job got done.  I really don't feel like I should have to pay to have their weeds cleaned up.  I don't know the law or anything but I did research their maintenance standards and apparently, mowing 30 feet or so from the roadway is one way they do things.  Well not only can we not access our fence because of the weeds but we can't get out there in it because we're both allergic to stuff that's growing in it.  Everything is at a standstill right now.  We can't fix the fence because we can't get to it.  All we can do it patch it from the inside… which is about as lovely as one would imagine.  I'm trying to figure out ways to cover it as well as stop the dogs from doing further damage.  Right now I can only think of plywood, corrugated metal and welded wire fencing (attached to the wooden posts from the inside).  Since the dogs can't run free in the backyard, they're staying in the cage, only getting out for food and bathroom breaks.  Oh, and vet visits.  I went to open the cage to let them out for the bathroom this morning and Maggie can't put any weight on her front left leg.  Things are so awesome I can't even tell you.

The vet opens in a few minutes.  I'd rather not take both dogs at once in my car but I don't really have any other options.  They're both due for shots and need flea/heartworm refills so whatever.  Should I take them at once?  It's easier to take them separately but it's also hard to get them separated when one would have to stay behind in the cage.  Today's already giving me a headache and making me cranky.  I'm going to see if warm banana bread with Kerrygold butter will help.

i had so much to

do on Friday.  It was the start of Memorial Day weekend and we needed groceries BAD.  It was also the first day of getting double fuel points at Kroger.  Needless to say, I was trying to get EVERYTHING done before the stores got crowded.  I got most of what we needed but after shopping and unloading, I needed a quick trip to the chiropractor.

Since I didn't get on the computer, I didn't share the b&w from Thursday.

I had gone to WC and made a stop at the cemetery because I had my camera.  Also, since Memorial Day was a few days away, the flags were out.  1911-1996.  My great-grandfather clearly didn't die while serving in WWII but he served so he had a flag.  I took a picture of his grave.

Back to Friday.  After all the running around I did, I was ready to crash.  When 6:00 rolled around I was already in my pajamas but once 7:00 rolled around, I realized I forgot to stop at Tractor Supply for cat food.  I got dressed and hurried over there.  Once I walked in the door my nose started itching.  When I got home, I could still feel allergy junk lingering so I took a Benadryl and put my pajamas back on.  I was out for the night.

I was trying to get my Instagram challenge done on Saturday when I saw these remains in the flower bed.  I took his picture.

On Sunday we drove out to Cypress for the day.  There was swimming, drinking, and eating.  Most of us had too much of one or the other.  Mine was swimming (floating).

I'm not too bad but it's the first time I'd been out in the sun this year so I knew I'd take a hit.

Sitting on leather furniture isn't the most pleasant feeling so I stayed on the sheets a lot yesterday.  Taking a break from the leather at one point, I got up to take a picture.  I got Lucille using the door as her scratching post.

For the most part, that was the weekend.  I had buttermilk that needed to be used so I made another batch of those pancakes from last week and added to the freezer supply.  Now I need to get showered, aloe'd up and dressed so I can hit up HEB.  I also need to make more tea after already making two pitchers on Saturday.  The tea consumption around here is seriously crazy.  Oh, I also need to take a b&w picture for my project.  So far so good… knock on wood.

we go through phases

around here, normally when it's hot out, where we drink a whole lot of iced tea.  We're in the middle of that phase right now.  I use a 3 quart Mr. Coffee Iced Tea Maker and during these phases I keep two pitchers of tea in the refrigerator.  When the second starts running low, I refill both.  I've been having issues with the machine lately.  It's been leaking.

It's just not worth it anymore.  I've already ruined one dish towel and now that one towel isn't enough to clean up the mess.  I threw the Mr. Coffee in the trash yesterday.  This morning I did it old school, on the stove.  This is my first time so we'll see how it turns out.  Maybe I'll like it better and not replace the Mr. Coffee… which doesn't have great reviews.  I did look it up online yesterday but the leaking seems to be a problem.  Maybe I'll wait for a better model or maybe I'll find a different model.  I never had that problem with my old round one, only this last square one.

I went to help at the church yesterday.  While I was there, it started pouring.  It was bad.  Lightning flashed and all the power went out.  We couldn't stop what we were doing and we were right in the middle of it all.  We finished our stuff by candlelight, flashlight and cell phone calculators.  It was crazy.  It took us longer since we were having to go so slow.  (It's amazing how much faster you can get stuff done with the lights on.)  When it was all done, I was ready to chill.  That's when I got my daily photo.

Then I saw another photo op.

They're REALLY grainy because my ISO was really high.  I don't care though.  The darker downtime was nice.  I know there's a chance of rain today but I'm hoping it'll lay off.  After yesterday, we're good for a few days.

I need to do some research now.  I think I have blueberries in the freezer and if so, I'm going to figure out how to make a blueberry compote type of thing.  I want to make a Dutch butter cake which is really like a big shortbread cookie.  I think it'd be nice if I made some type of topping for it.  Since I think I have blueberries that need to be used, that might be perfect.  Also, blueberries are on sale so if it works, I'll buy and freeze more for another batch later on.

did I call it or

did I call it?  I did not want to get out of bed this morning.  I'm tired and my allergies are acting up bad.  I forced myself to start laundry and make the bed.  I feel better for doing it but there are still other things that need to be done.  Wow.  I'm dragging.  I took a Zyrtec D but I'm thinking Benadryl might've been better.  Oh well, only 12 more hours and then I'll take the hard stuff.

I had a gift certificate for a facial and I finally made it in for an appointment yesterday.  I took my camera and did my daily photo.

That is always relaxing.  I wish I didn't have hangups with personal space, being touched and taking my clothes off.  If I didn't, I'd totally consider a massage.  I didn't get pedicures for the longest time because I didn't want anyone touching me.  Sure, my feet are ticklish but it was the whole touching bit that really held me back.  One day I made myself go.  It was awkward and all but I got through it.  Now it doesn't bother me and I like going but there's a big difference between sitting in a chair and pulling your jeans up to your knees versus lying on a table naked.  NOPE.  I've done chair massages but those are different.  First, you keep your clothes on.  Second, I don't know.  Maybe sitting instead of lying makes me feel like I can get up and leave if it gets to be too much.  It's like having one foot in the door, just in case.  Whatever the reasons, I'm not doing it and am limiting myself to pedicures, facials, and chair massages.  Oh, and the chiropractor.  That's different though.  The thing that freaks me out there are the cracking noises that come from my neck.  He did tell me about their office doing a customer appreciation day once and said I should come and let one of the girls do a massage.  I let him know I don't like people touching me.  He let me know it was just a chair massage.  I didn't go.

So, that's that.

I was on fb yesterday and have decided that in the next couple of days, hopefully after the yard is mowed, I need to spray for fleas.  I was talking to a cousin north of Houston and she said the fleas are really bad.  None of us need that.  I have plenty of spray but it's just getting out there to do it and making sure it has enough time to dry.  I'm sure I'll have to do two applications because the stuff's been sitting in the sprayer for almost a year.  Oh well, I guess I should schedule mowing and plan a morning of spraying right after.  This is what I'm using.

Our feed store recommended it.  We'll see how it works.

Okay.  I'm getting too comfortable sitting here.  Time to get up before I remember how much I don't want to get up and do anything.

i forgot to share something

yesterday.  I tried a pancake recipe I found on Pinterest over the weekend.  It's HERE and it's Cracker Barrel Pancakes.  It makes a lot.  I should've used this recipe all the years this house was filled with teenage boys.  I always bought the little packets because they were cheap and easy and sometimes there was even enough left for me to have breakfast too.  I tried this recipe and the first one ended up in the garbage (the griddle was too hot) and then we each had two (I think) and this was everything that was left over.

I'll definitely make these again because 1) they're good and 2) breakfast for days (hello, freezer).  I even warmed up the maple syrup from the refrigerator instead of using the regular stuff from the pantry.  I think I might need to do that more often.

I could've gone about my day and not shared the recipe but this blog really comes in handy when it comes to new recipes.  I share them here mainly so I can come back and find them and remember what I thought about them or any changes I wanted to make.

I went for my walk yesterday and when I came home, the dogs were watching through their peep hole. I decided to get my daily photo.  (And yes, I already had my camera on me.)

Archer's turn to look.

He seemed excited enough.

The rest of the day went on as normal, clouding up a little here and there and then, all of a sudden, I took another daily photo.  I thought about saving it for a day when I didn't take one but then that wouldn't be playing by the rules.  I made the decision at that time that more than one picture will be okay.

Rain.

It was awesome.  Also, I didn't have to water the yard this morning.  Other than saving on water, it probably wouldn't have been that big of a deal.  This was one of those mornings where I woke up without an alarm and had tons of energy.  It's 7:00 and I've already made the bed, started laundry, made breakfast (bacon, eggs, and blueberry muffins from a packet), picked up in the bathroom, washed dishes, straightened the living room, and done this post.  So yeah, I'll probably crash by noon.  Either that or tomorrow I'll be drained with no motivation.  Whatever, I'm taking advantage of it today… right after I have another muffin.  TCB

I'm not even going to complain

about this computer being slow because unlike other Apple products in this house, it works. (I'm talking about the Macbook, definitely not trying to jinx the iPads or Cosme's current phone.)

I was online over the weekend.  I read and watched a few things on photography junk and then I pulled the camera out.  (Okay, so the 27" computer might've played a part in it too but the other stuff did me in.)  I'm taking one b&w picture a day, using the same lens, my 50mm.  (Yeah, yeah… I started something similar before…)  I don't plan on doing anything adventurous or anything, it's just a day in the life type of thing.  And since I don't tend to stick to things, there might only be one picture.  I hope not but I'm just being honest.

I think I might start small and plan for a week.  If it doesn't last that long, oh well.  If it lasts longer, that'll be nice.  So here's my first picture.

This was yesterday.  This is how and where I plan.  I need notebooks and a calendar.  Normally there would have been a laptop in front of me but, well, we all know how that story ended.  I could've come in here to the computer but there's something about the space and light with the dining table.  Oh, I was also needing to look for stuff in the pantry and cabinets so there's that too.

I was planning on going for my morning walk soon but my stomach's being a little spazzy.  It started yesterday after dinner.  I promise I won't let that have any influence on today's subject for my day-in-the-life photo project.  Maybe it'll wear off once I start moving around and doing all my junk.  That's what I'm hoping for, anyway.  Oh well, I guess I'll go find out.  There are chores to be done.

look at this, will

you just LOOK AT THIS?

I'm on the iMac.

This is a bird I was watching a few days ago and took pictures with my camera.

I contacted Adobe and they sent me another link to install on this computer.  I'm back in business.  I'm in a quiet corner of the house and not in the middle of the kitchen but who knows, I might get used to that.  I don't have a window beside me but I do have one behind me.  I also have a ceiling fan above me.

I had decided a while back that I was done with Apple.  I knew when the day came for my Macbook to crap out, I wouldn't get another one.  One of the reasons was that mine is a 17" and I think the largest they have now is 15".  This iMac is 27".  There is no way I'm going smaller than a 17" now.  This is kind of awesome… just don't remind me that this computer is older than my laptop.

Okay.  Time for lunch.  I just had to get on and get back with the program.

I got excited when

I signed into Adobe on the iMac and saw my purchases. That bubble popped when I figured out the link from 2013 was good for download for three years.  I’m back where I started basically. While I do have a computer I could type from, I can’t edit pictures.

I’m still on the iPad for now, which is the reasoning behind the lack of posts.

I made shepherd’s pie again today. I also remembered to put in the refrigerator. I made strawberry scones today too. They were almost finished when I realized I had one cup of powdered sugar, 1/3 of how much I needed for the glaze. I ended up whipping up some cream. What little sugar was left after the cream was finished, was sprinkled over the scones.

But that cream was pretty good on top.

I’m stopping here because I only have the patience to add one picture. Also, it’s already 6:00pm. That’s about 12 hours later than when I usually post.  I really need to figure out a new system this weekend.

This broken down

laptop situation has me all thrown off. I think I’m going to have to turn to the iMac because only having my phone and iPad just doesn’t feel right. I need more. I need a bigger screen. I need a real keyboard. I need a better setup. I liked having my laptop at the table. I could open the blinds and have plenty of natural light while watching anything that might be happening outside. Sure, with my iPad I could go outside and have as much natural light as I want but no. That’s it. Tomorrow I’ll get on the iMac. I’ll find photo editing software and reclaim my routine... without being by the kitchen window but I guess two out of three isn’t bad.

I know that post

looks wonky and uneven with different sized pics. This is the wonderful world of iPad posting.

🤬

I think I figured

out how the pictures work. I still don’t like this. I like typing on an actual keyboard. Whatever. I’ll deal with this for right now.

We had a little drama over the weekend.

I heard Archer barking. Thinking he wanted an a/c break in the cage, I opened the door to let them in. He came in, put his head down and gave me the look... the look that he’s reminding me that he’s a good dog and he doesn’t have anything to do with any of Maggie’s shenanigans. I called for Maggie. She didn’t come. Where could she have gone?

Oh.

,

Great. Eric and Paige were supposed to be there any minute so we could do Cosme’s birthday lunch.  Cosme was making a quick run to Walmart so it was just me. I took off on foot calling Maggie. She never came. I saw Eric and Paige pull in at the house and called them to come get me. They picked me up down the street and we took the usual walking route, the route I know the dogs have disappeared to before. Still no Maggie. We came back to the house. Cosme was now behind the fence calling for Maggie while Eric and I were in the backyard... where I almost stepped on a dead possum. I screamed. I told Cosme to come on back and right after Eric and I had come back in, Maggie came running back through the hole. The dead baby possum tells me there must be a nest or den of them back there that she found. 

We went around behind the fence to replace the boards but TxDOT doesn’t like to keep up with their right-of-way behind our house. 

I told Cosme we weren’t going to risk getting into poison ivy because I know there’s some in there. 

I took pictures and am trying to find a good way to email them to the state... without a computer.  Until that gets cleared out for us to access our fence, we rigged it from the inside. Now we wait for TxDOT to TCB so we can TCB.  I’ll also get out there this week and start hanging chicken wire down low. We definitely aren’t planning to win any Yard of the Month contests.  

I’m ending this now because while I am able to post, doing it from my iPad really sucks.

I’m coming to you today

from my iPad and I don’t like it. I don’t like it one bit. Something is going on with my laptop. The graphics are spazzing out on me. Whatever.  Luckily I thought it was crapping out a while back so I got stuff off of it and saved to the other hard drive. Maybe I got it all. Who knows. All I can do now is nothing. I guess I can look into repair costs but I won’t spend too much. Why would I?  Oh well. That sucks. 

The good news is my iPad allows me to get pics from my phone. The bad news is I can’t figure out why it won’t let me share two I took this morning. The last photos available are from May 1st. I don’t know. It’s always something. 

I’m going for a walk. 

can we just take a moment

to appreciate my gardenias?

I planted this shrub... I don't remember when.  It was years ago, maybe ten?  Anyway, it's blooming right now and it smells so good.

I also think my watering schedule is paying off.  The grass is looking better.  I like watching the sprinkler when the sun is coming up behind it.  I guess it's just a chill kind of thing.

What is not a chill kind of thing is when it's still dark out and I'm moving the sprinkler and come back to the house to turn it on and see a bug.  (Said bug was probably a tree roach but seemed flatter.)  What's even less chill than that is when I used my flip flop to swat him dead, he somehow flipped from the house to my shoe to MY SHIRT.  I swatted him off and killed him WAY dead, no acrobatics this time.  I ran into the house freaking out and pulled my shirt off as soon as I shut the door.  I had to get the roach cootie shirt off.  That was definitely not chill.

A little later I came in here to open the computer and started hearing a noise.  It sounded like a sprinkler's stream hitting a window.  That was weird because I didn't have it set to hit any of the windows.  I went outside to check and somehow the sprinkler had come loose and scooted its way out of the ground at an angle.  It was watering the front flower bed and front door.

Anyway, the roach and sprinkler mishaps are over and done with.  The rest of the day will be awesome.

In Vikings news, we finished.  Now we are waiting with the rest of the world.  That show is good.  I can't believe I couldn't get into it the first time I tried to watch.  I've decided though that if I'd been a viking, I'd probably be the person who walked around beating the drum.  Luckily, I wasn't a viking and I'm the person who only needs to eat breakfast and wash clothes.

for a few minutes, it got a little

rough this morning.  I'm always super sensitive to smells.  I just did the litter box and it almost didn't end well.  I'm recovering right now. 

I was looking online over the weekend, thinking of all the things I could ask for when my birthday rolls around.  It all started because of Pinterest and pergolas.  Anyway, I ended up at this grill somehow, not that I want or need it.  A grill with wifi.  How have any of us managed all this time?

I guess they took hotspot to an all new level.

We also ran out of dog food on Saturday.  I didn't make it to the store because I had other things going on, like cleaning and Vikings.  They were fed for the day so I decided I'd go Sunday morning for food.  We let them outside before heading to Kroger.  This is how our dogs let us know we failed them.

They expect breakfast as soon as they go out and if they don't get it, they lay there staring at the bowl until we get the message... or until food magically appears.  We got the message.

I felt like drawing or something along those lines the other day.  In junior high, when we first learned contour lines and how to draw our hand, it became a goto for me.  Can't think of anything to draw?  Draw your hand.  That's what I did.  Oh, then I added my stick of charcoal on the page so my drawn hand could hold it.  It's not awesome or anything and I've done it plenty of times but it led to a mess and that led to me getting my camera out.

I haven't looked at the pictures yet but maybe I'll pull them up today and share tomorrow.  I don't know.  There wasn't anything awesome there either, just me wanting to do something. 

We've also started the first half of the fifth season of Vikings.  After this we'll be caught up.  This show is seriously good.   We were about to head to bed last night but we had to see how a situation played out.  We ended up watching the whole next episode.  We turned everything off in the living room and watched a little more in the bedroom.  I don't even know when the rest of the season comes out.  I guess I need to look that up so I can stay on top of things.

Now I've got to go turn my water off.  I'm determined to get the grass looking good again.  I really think it was the snow we got.  I noticed there are quite a few yards that normally look perfect and this year they all seem a little off.  Glad it's not just us.

I think I might go finish that oatmeal I started before doing the litter box.  Toast might be a better option.

i came this close to

calling and canceling Trugreen yesterday.  Our yard doesn't look good this year.  It could look a lot worse but it doesn't look good.  It doesn't look like we've been paying a company to treat it.

Look at all the junk growing in our yard.

I've been watering this morning. I've also been walking around tearing off the strands of crab grass that drop all those little seedlings for us to have even more crab grass next year.  It's annoying.

We could just do the lawn on our own like we used to.  Then again, it does look better with Trugreen than it ever did with me doing it.  Besides, did Maggie eat the spreader?  I don't remember.  She ate a lot of our lawn stuff.

Oh well, I'll keep on doing my best.  At least the gardenias are blooming and I get to smell them every time I go out to mess with the sprinkler.

Thinking about all of this is leading me to think about other things, like when I was up at City Hall to pay the water bill and they can't explain to me why our bill spiked so high last month but was back to normal this month.  They told me to check for leaky toilets.  I told them I'm sure a leaky toilet didn't fix itself.  Also, everyone in the neighborhood had the same complaint.  They told me to check the meter reading... STOP.  NOT MY JOB.  While I'm thinking about everybody not holding up to their end of the deal, it leaves me thinking about TxDOT and their inability to maintain their weeds behind our fence.  I think I'll give them a call today.  I shouldn't have to pay someone to get back there and clean out property that isn't mine and if they give me permission to do it, again, NOT MY JOB.

Oh boy, this post sent me on a downward spiral fast.  Well, it sent my mood on a downward spiral but not so much the blood pressure.

Changing the subject.

Update on Vikings: we started season 4 last night.  I can't believe it took us so long to start this series.

Okay, that didn't work.  I need to get stuff done before I get dressed and go throwing fits all over town.  Let's hope some of the chores keep me distracted.  Nobody needs to deal with that today... especially not me.

whoa, things got a little

busy there for a minute.  Monday was busy and I just didn't have time to get on the computer.  I started the day off making a shepherd's pie and needed to fill out certificates for the church.  Making Tuesday's dinner at 7:00 Monday morning wasn't necessary but I knew I wouldn't have time to cook on Tuesday and wanted something we could easily reheat when we got home.  (It all worked out because I was so tired by the end of Monday we had Tuesday's dinner that night too.)  Cosme's dad needed a ride to MD Anderson Tuesday so I took them and waited at Eric's while they met with his doctors.  His first appointment was at 10:30 and Eric asked if I'd pick up McDonalds when I came over.  Well, we got to the hospital a little earlier than expected.  I dropped them off at 9:40.  It was just about to turn 10:00 when I got to Eric's neighborhood.  I went ahead and stopped at PetSmart for cat food.  (Then learned that it's $8 cheaper at Tractor Supply so decided I'd wait to get it when I got back to Angleton.)  I drove over to McDonalds and decided I'd go in to order.  Not sure if they served lunch at 10:00 or 10:30, I hoped that if they knew I wanted to order lunch and I was only a little early, they'd bend the rules.  I asked what time lunch was served.  10:30.  I told the cashier I'd just stand there until it's time, a whole 30 minutes.  I waited.  About 15 minutes later a manager said she'd noticed I'd been standing there and asked if I needed help.  I told her I was just waiting for lunch to be served.  She asked if they told me they couldn't do it and I explained.  She rolled her eyes at the cashier and told me to just ask for a manager next time.  She took my order and referred to me as "my lady" the whole time.  I felt fancy and I liked that.  The odd thing is, that's not the first time I've been out where the workers have called me that.  Anyway, I got our food and left.  Back at the apartment I realized they gave me an extra apple pie.  That's what I'm having for breakfast... because that's what fancy people do.

I was dreading the drive from The Heights to the Medical Center and then from the Medical Center down 288.  I picked them up around 4:30 and traffic really wasn't that bad.  Well, it was bad but not as bad as I predicted.

Rewinding and totally out of order, I was at Kroger on Friday.  They had pork shoulder roasts on sale for a good price, 88 cents a pound.  I wanted to get one but they were so big and I didn't know if we could eat that much pork roast.  I mean I would normally make pulled pork but did we really want bbq after 2 weeks of it?  No.  I didn't know what else to make with it so I started to walk away then one of the meat counter workers asked me if I got a roast.  I explained to her why I didn't get one.  She told me she used one for carnitas.  She said it was a crock pot version that was finished off under the broiler for crispiness.  I asked her for the recipe and she sent it to me.  Then I picked a roast and they cut it in half so I could store the rest in the freezer.  I used this recipe HERE.  I took her advice and added more lime to the crockpot and only used plain chili powder since I don't like the heat.  It was really good.  We didn't use the tortillas I bought but instead ate it with rice and black beans, like something we'd had in Puerto Rico.  We still have a little in the refrigerator so we might even have that for dinner... since I left the shepherd's pie out last night.  WHY DO I DO THAT??? I COULD KICK MYSELF!  I've got to learn to just put it up as soon as I'm done, even though Cosme wanted to hurry and pick back up on our Vikings marathon.

About that... I started to watch Vikings a year or so ago.  It was a slow start and I just couldn't get into it.  I stopped.  I started back up a few weeks ago and then I couldn't stop.  I got halfway through season 3 and told Cosme he NEEDED to watch it with me.  I started over from the beginning.  It was still a slow start but once it gets going, it's really good.  So if you want a good show (that's about to start its sixth season), watch Vikings.  It's on the History Channel but we're catching up on Amazon.

I've got to go get stuff done now.  I need to do the laundry I didn't do yesterday and make another dessert.  I think I might spend a little time drawing today too.  I'll start on all that after I dump out the ruined shepherd's pie.  That bothers me.  Shepherd's pie is one of those things I really like but never think to make.  Oh well, at least this time we'd gotten several servings out of it... but we could've had several more.