More Movement

So, i have been sort of watching my diet and cut out sugar and no wheat, except for a bad cheat day at Taco Bell and one piece of cake for our anniversary...I am sure my aches and pains are better.  I was trying to really use elimination diet to see if i could feel better, see if the soreness was related (I think it is) and get ready to go to the lake next weekend.  Sugar notoriously inflammatory. 

DH and i went across the countryside to get these cool iron planters stand thingy's (pictures next time) and got hungry and stopped at first thing open that wasn't crowded and it happened to be Taco Bell.  Oh well.  Otherwise eating good and enjoying the fresh tomatoes and salad lately!

DH and i went to eat for our anniversary.  It was nice.  We took a pic in our convertable to remember this weird year.  

I cannot deny that i did have a couple bites of this fabulous cake.  It was good, but mine is better.  Recipe next week, i think i am going to make it for DH to take to the city.  He is going up to play golf with his brother.

I sold my Harley Davidson boots i posted picture of here last week.  $95!  I am currently in the process of gathering plans and materials to build a fountain.  This will go toward the pots i will buy.  Pictures soon!

I also sold this gas firepit (we are getting a much smaller one) and gave away these tables...and a gas grill we don't use.  We are pretty fond of just a simple charcoal grill.  

I am taking the day off tomorrow to kayak.  Hope you are enjoying August!  We have been blessed with some moderate much needed rain and cooler temps here.  Today mid 80's, about 10 degrees cooler than normal.  Love it!

hump day

Well I am really enjoying these longer days and warm evenings and so are my tomatoes!

I just hope they actually produce some good tomatoes.  I learned the hard way last year not to get water on the leaves and burned up my tomatoes last summer.  We just got a few really puny ones.  But our cherry tomatoes have always produced by the bucket-full.  This year our cherry tomatoes (on our deck) aren't doing anything.  I would have figured it was the frost we got in late April, but we also bought some decorative grass from same store that is not doing anything either.

Has been pretty hot and humid until late last week.  The heat and the work computer being down all last week promted me to find something inside to work on.  I have been wanting to streamline my home and reduce clutter (have been doing this for 10 years!).  I have a nice sized home, and love our high ceilings, but we still have to much stuff to comfortably store/access/clean around...so I have been doing another round of clearing stuff out. I work in a tiny office and am lucky to have high shelves, but wanted to put extra throw pillows way up high...so I had do something with the heavy boxes of pictures/letters/cards on the higher shelves.  Plus, I am liking my idea of storing light stuff up high.  

So I decided to go through the boxes and scan the photos and keepsakes I want to retain electronically and other than a very few printed out photos, burn all the originals.  I know it would be impossible for some people to do this - burn a picture.  But DH and I have no children so pass this on to.  Most of it is just personal stuff for me.  But photos of relatives and my family I am passing on to my sister and my niece and nephew.  

I even did my school year books, all 13.  I am only going to retain my senior scrap book and yearbook until my 40 high school reunion (God willing).  It has been a long job.  I just did a little everyday.  But I am going to have a cathartic burn pile when I am finished this week!

This plus another crate I will burn in my fire pit Friday or Saturday.  This is all I have left to go, a small pile of photos/cards and 4 more year books.  

I have gone from 4 of these big heavy boxes to 2.  One for me and one for DH.  His is FULL.

I am taking another car load to my sister in laws store to sell.  The house is looking clearer and more streamlined, easier to clean around and all the rooms function in at least one way - some two.  For example in my sitting room I can do yoga, or crafts, or just sit and watch TV.  The closet in that room is my "office".  I took the door off and fashioned a "desk" out of the lowest shelf.  Above the shelf to save space a strung led string lights.  2 shelves above that are my office supplies and the unit hanging behind my paper/envelope holder.  I have a chalk/board/metal magnet holder and a cork board next to it.  I LOVE the coziness.  Anyway, I usually work in the breakfast nook in the mornings enjoying the east view and the yard/birds/watching my dogs play.  Then in the afternoon I move to my closet and can darken it and have the ceiling fan to help keep that room really cool.

Hope you are staying cool and enjoying some fresh produce!  I cooked up a big bunch of rainbow chard last night.  Tonight we are having salad.  The lettuce is going crazy and will wind down in the next couple weeks.

Tuesday mow day

Well, things around here are looking more like normal.  DH felt good enough to go get his truck licensed today and when he came home he actually started mowing the yard!  I was hoping he would feel better but stay in out of the breeze until it got a little warmer outside.  It isn't too bad but it is not what we are used to here in mid May.

My sister and I drove up to the city for the day sunday to see my aunt for her birthday.  It was a nice trip and visit we had.  I was glad to get out of the house.  It rained on us in the morning but sunny on the way home.  We got rain all last week.  I barely got yard mowed (front only) last wed, it rained every other day.

This week is looking pretty sunny and our garden and tomatoes really need it!  Was weird to get out after being in self quarantine for over 2 months.  We took a big piece of carrot cake by my Grandmother's residential place and felt sad not being able to see her.  Hopefully next month we can.

My girlfriend T is coming down from the city to stay sat night.  I made her this cute ottoman.  I asked her if she wanted fringe or no fringe, she said surprise her.  Which way do you like it?

Free Lawn Decoration - Score!

My brother in law has some land.  He saved me a giant flat rock that was broken in half.  I picked it up when DH was up in the city for a doctor's appt.  We buried in ground couple of inches, flanking our driveway.  I am going to fasten house number on one side.  The solar light faintly lights the rocks at night.  We buried these Sunday afternoon.  It was hot work.  It was good timing that BIL and his wife were in retirement town to see DH parents, we got to see them.  We missed them when we stopped by their house in city Thurs.  We had dinner with everyone Sat night and lunch Sunday.  We shared some of our homegrown tomatoes. 

We are still getting a few tomatoes.  They did not grown large, but better than a lot of people's.  We are still getting quite a few grape and cherry.  Some are split from all the rain.  I just cook those and keep in freezer.  I blend them up peel and all with hand held blender.  I will use this for pasta sauce or soup stock this winter.

Monday we mowed and I watered everything.  I got a couple new hoses from Walmart.com that are silver and look sort of like aluminum.  They are lightweight and don't kink.  Don't take up so much room in the grass to mow around.  While I am gone this week, DH is installing a couple of hose keepers on the front and side of house.  We did have a keeper hung on back for large house - that does most of my rear garden/landscaping. 

DH is also going to buy pool noodles and electric tape and repair/rewrap the 3 outside/free standing water spouts to insulate them.  He also said he would research how much insulation/what type of machine rental to blow it in we need.  Then we are going to install a little more flooring in attack to store stuff we don't need down below taking up room. 

Honestly, we go back and forth between continuing to work on this house and look for a smaller yard.  But, I am fine with taking over all the mowing, if I have to.  The riding mower is nice, but not high dollar like some of our friends/relatives.  I know people who have $1000 in just their seat.  So, seat bounces DH around quite a bit, hurting his back.  Next time we mow, he going to try push mower.

We went through lake area on our way back Friday afternoon, spent one night with our Florida friend.  We missed his wife this trip.  DH staying home with the dogs this weekend, I will be by lake again.  Spending some time with my aunt/cousins at the lake, then some time with an out of state school friend - we are all 4 girls going to run by see our other friend who has cancer.  I will get to see friend and wife too, from Florida.  Going to be away from DH for 10 days, which we hate.  I told him I have about 4- 6 weeks left at work.  Then I am taking another break.  I am tired.  Got up this morning and drove to city at 4am.  Not too bad when it is warm, I can't imaging trying to do this when it is cold.  Yuck. 

Feast

We have had 2 fire alarms at the hotel since Saturday.  Sat morning someone burned some popcorn badly enough to fill our entire floor with smoke.  I grabbed the dogs and my purse and ran outside, DH following.  Then Monday night at 12:30am it happened again.  It just lasted a few seconds and stopped, so we did not leave the room.  I think the one on Saturday gave some of the kids on exchange working the summer at an amusement park the idea...I hope it does not become a repeat thing.  We are growing weary of the hotel, we have made it through 1/3 of our stay.

I enjoyed a great hot yoga class last night.  My girlfriend brought me even more homegrown tomatoes!  So, after yoga I had my usual smoothie and I also had a beautiful hearty perfectly ripend tomato and some of my refrigerator pickles I make every summer that remind me of my mom.  She cut hers much thinner and peeled the cucumbers and added onion.  I did not have onion Sunday when I made mine, I just peal a strips spaced about 1/2 inch apart and cut them thick.  Then I usu add salt and pepper and a pinch of celery salt and sugar and AC vinegar and water.  Sunday I did not have celery salt, but added splash of balsamic vinegar and lemon pepper seasoning, and splash of Cajun seasoning.  This is great summer food, easy to make in our tiny extended stay kitchenette.

Look at my cute doggy wanting a bite of my veggies!


Have a wonderful Wednesday.  This is my Thursday, as I am taking Friday off to oversee the finishing of kitchen floor at RH and I am leaving Thurs right after work.  DH is going to bring our suburban and park it at RH in his shop.  We have decided the extra belongings we had stored in it - we will not need and if he needs suits/shirts/ties for work - it will not be until Sept and he will have enough notice, that he can just bring some up one a trip beforehand. 

So, I will have tiny bit of unpacking to do Friday or Sat and few light chores, but I am mostly planning to relax at RH and tidy up, do a little cleaning after kitchen floors are done.  And I finally get to put down my rug I have had rolled up for 4 years - not wanting to trample on it with all our moving stuff in...Can't wait!