Starting the New Week

Sunset

The sunset on Monday evening, when I went to take the trash cans to the curb.

I wrote myself a big long To Do List for Monday, but, I might have been a bit too ambitious when I made the list, because I didn't accomplish half the items on my list!  I took the bed sheets off my bed and washed them, then, put the new mattress topper on the bed before I remade the bed.  I called my sister and spoke with her for a bit and I called my former neighbor T and chatted with her.  I gave Dancer his monthly flea prevention medication.  In the evening, I watered the houseplants, watered the front and back gardens, and picked some more blueberries.  Later, I took the trash cans to the curb and took some pictures of the sunset.  Afterwards, I cleaned the broiler part of my stove and then, cooked the chicken drumsticks.  There were eight drumsticks in the package and I cooked them all.  There were six thighs and I froze them, without cooking them.  Then, I did the dishes and cleaned the litter box.  I also spent some time reading.  

Brunch was going to be the two leftover waffles, but, I burnt one of them to a crisp when I was reheating it!  One waffle with banana slices wasn't quite enough, so I had the leftover milkrice and chicken curry, too.  Dinner was salad, broiled chicken drumsticks with a tomato chutney glaze, and corn.  Canned pineapple chunks for dessert.

On Monday, I was grateful for:

- The new mattress topper
- Working appliances
- Phone chats with my sister and former neighbor
- Water for the garden
- Blueberries from the garden

Monday's joyful activities included chatting with my sister, reading, and picking blueberries. 

Plans for Tuesday include making an appointment for Dancer's arthritis injection and a return visit to the pharmacy for the medication that is now ready for pick up.

How was your Monday?  What are your plans for Tuesday?

Another Look at the Sunset

Where Have All the Flowers Gone? The Front Garden in May

"Where Have All the Flowers Gone?"

The theme for the front garden in May has to be the song, "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?"!  That spring exuberance of osteospermum flowers has ended.  All that remains are a few seeds that will scatter themselves or get eaten by the birds.  The garden is still green, however, and I haven't decided if I want to pull out or cut back the osteospermum and clean up the garden a bit.

The Newest Addition - A Plant in the Gentiana Family

This is the newest addition to the front garden - a blue flowered plant that M brought for me saying it is in the Gentiana family.  I don't know for sure, but, I hope it will grow well in my garden,

A Trickle of Osteospermum

April's "stream of osteospermum" has turned into a trickle, now, although this plant that is spilling onto the sidewalk is still looking quite healthy.

The "Stumpery"

Not much has changed in the stumpery.  

The Succulents Border

Looking down the succulents border, everything is growing well.

Aeoniums

This patch of aeoniums has spread.  They look a little like green roses, don't they?

I watered the front garden on Saturday, just after I took these pictures, since M wasn't here on Friday (he took the long weekend off).  

And that is the front garden in May.  Something tells me that there will be a lot of cleaning up and tidying to be done in June.
 

May Grocery Shopping Part 2

May Grocery Shopping Part 2

Today, I went grocery shopping in person at one of my favorite ethnic grocery stores, for the first time since the first Covid lockdown!  

Receipt: $25.91

In the morning, I tended to the garden with M.  We planted some of the pole beans and the blue flowered plant that M brought me a week or so ago (a type of gentian, maybe?) and a blue agapanthus "Elaine" to replace the ones I had which died.  He also finished weeding the planting bed out of which I had pulled the osteospermum and watered the garden.  

In the afternoon, around 3:00 p.m., I took the packages over to friend R.  She wanted some curry leaves, lemon leaves, and some lemons, too, so I took her a bag of those, too.  

Friend R lives just a few blocks from the large Armenian grocery store; the one that has really good produce prices.  They were selling red cherries for $0.99/lb. this week and I decided that I will go there and buy some cherries and a few other things that were on sale this week.

The store was not too crowded and I wore a mask, of course (I think I was the only one there with a mask).  I took the opportunity to do a quick walk around the store to check out the prices.  Certain things have gone up in price since the last time I was there, over 4 years ago, which is to be expected, of course.  But, I was able to get an idea of what the current prices are and, as usual, the majority of the fresh produce was cheaper than at the supermarket.  

I bought:

Beef (boneless chuck roll) @ $4.99/lb. = $4.59

2 canned sardines, 5.5 oz @ $0.89 =  $1.78

2 mangos, $0.69@ = $1.38

2 bananas, @$0.59/lb. = $0.48

2+lb. cherries @ $0.99/lb. = $2.12

1 package digestive cookies, 400g = $1.99

1 package sesame crackers = $3.67

1 package, 8 oz. paprika = $4.49

4 cans coconut milk @ $1.19 = $4.76

Green beans @ $0.99/lb. = $0.48

2 Persian cucumbers @ 2lb/$0.99 = $0.17

Total = $25.91

May grocery budget = $100

Spent to date = $15.39 (over spent in April) + $29.47 + $25.91 = $70.77

Balance remaining in the May grocery budget = $100 - $70.77 = $29.23

I felt comfortable shopping there, today. I will continue to pick up certain things from the supermarket, but, maybe I might start going to the ethnic store in person, again, for the fresh produce and specialty items. 

I had forgotten to eat brunch, but, when I came home from the store, I had a banana, some of the sesame crackers, and later, I had two of the digestive cookies with a cup of tea.  Dinner will be freshly cooked rice (it just finished cooking) and some of the leftover stirfry (I kept a portion or two back when I made it to take to my cousin's house on Monday).

Today, I am grateful for:

- M's help with the garden and the plants he brings me
- Being able to help friend R by taking her the packages 

- A safe drive to R's and the grocery store and back
- Feeling ready to shop in person at the grocery store, again
- Daughter had an uneventful day at the conference

Today's joyful activity was gardening, although grocery shopping felt very joyful, too!

Plans for Thursday include another blood test at noon.

How was your day?  What are your plans for Thursday?

Tuesday

Cousin V's Maine Coon Mix Cat

Isn't he gorgeous?  Such a friendly kitty and very affectionate.  Very vocal, too! 

My daughter experienced her first tornado warning this morning!  We are used to earthquakes and know what to do when it starts shaking, but, we don't usually experience tornados (although there have been a few small ones in and around the greater Los Angeles area over the years) and she didn't quite know what the siren meant or what to do (although she quickly shut herself up in the bathroom to wait it out).  Later, the warning changed to a tornado watch and there was a flood watch, too!  

I had a much less exciting day than my daughter.  I brought the trash cans in, took in my own packages that were delivered today (two bags of cat food kibbles, a box of canned cat food pate, and a box of laundry detergent), checked the grocery flyers (cherries for $0.99/lb. at one of the ethnic grocery stores!) and spent some time in the garden.

The osteospermum is more or less done with flowering for the spring; there will be the occasional flowers over the summer, but, it won't be anything like that first spring bloom.  M cleared out the osteospermum growing under the orange tree a week or so ago and, today, I pulled up all the plants that were crowding out the rose bushes in one of the beds.  That bed only has three rose bushes growing in it, anyway, and one of them is the root stock rose that the tea rose had been grafted onto!  I shall ask M to add more top soil to that planting bed and maybe we will buy a few more rose bushes to plant in it.  No doubt the osteospermum will return, next year, unless I put down some cardboard to prevent it.  

Lunch was the meal I brought home from cousin V's on Monday.  For dinner, I made over the stuffed chicken breast that neighbor S had given me.  She had given me one and a half stuffed chicken breasts and when I warmed up and ate the half, I found it to be a little dry.  So, today, I sliced up the remaining stuffed chicken breast, added a can of cream of chicken soup mixed up with a can of water, some frozen green peas and some cut up fresh carrots, sprinkled it with onion powder, garlic salt, and some black pepper, and baked it in my toaster oven for 30 minutes to make it over into a casserole:

Chicken Casserole

The end result was more like chicken pot pie filling than a chicken casserole (maybe I should have added more rice than what was in the stuffing), but, I ate a portion of it for my dinner and it tasted good (and the chicken was no longer dry!  LOL)  Of course I've ended up with more leftovers as a result of my make-over, so I will freeze it in portions to make chicken pot pies, later.  

I had planned to take friend R's packages to her, today, and I called her in the evening, but, for various reasons, we decided that tomorrow would be a better day to take them over to her.

Today, I am grateful for:

- Daughter didn't have to experience a tornado, just a warning!
- She is safe and well
- Being able to order items online and have the packages delivered to my door
- Time spent in the garden
- Leftover and made-overs

Today's joyful activity was doing a bit of gardening.

Plans for Wednesday include tending to the garden with M in the morning and dropping off R's packages.  

How was your Tuesday?  What are your plans for Wednesday?

Stumped!

The Stumpery 

My gardener friend M brought me another stump or two and we placed them this morning.  We had to remove a couple of small succulents to make room for the newer stumps, but, we planted them elsewhere.   

There is an older stump to the right of the new stumpery (the viewer's right) that is half covered by the succulents:

One of the other stumps 

That is what I'm hoping the new stumpery will look like, once a few plants grow around it.  It's a work in progress.

M planted corn in a newly prepared bed in the back yard, today, and we cleaned out the poppies growing in the other half of the planting bed where the tomato was planted, to get it ready for planting some pole beans.  We will have to figure out some sort of support for the pole beans to climb on!  

He also brought me a new plant - he thinks it's a gentian.  Whatever it is, we will plant it in the front garden on Friday and hope it will grow!

I was without an internet connection this morning, but, I have one now, in the afternoon, so I thought I'll do a quick blog post. 

It's been a cloudy day with a high of only in the mid 60s (65F, right now at 4:05 p.m.)

Today, I'm grateful for:

- Being able to access the internet, even briefly
- M's help with the garden

- Water for the garden
- The small electric heater (guess who is feeling cold?!)

- Blueberries fresh from the garden.

My joyful activity today was finishing up the stumpery!

Plans for tomorrow (Thursday) include visiting my cousins.

I hope everyone is well and having a good week.  I will catch up with your blogs as and when I'm able to.  

 

A Stumpery

First There Was One

Remember this stump M and I placed in the front garden in the succulents border?

It was soon joined by this partially decomposed stump that I had in the back garden from when the pyracantha bush was cut down:

Then There Were Two

Then, I added some of the branches we had cut down from the bottlebrush tree:

And More

They joined the other branches that were already in place, which were originally placed as an edging for the beds, which are more or less covered by the succulents and the osteospermum:

Existing Branches Already in Place

What on earth are you trying to do, Bless?

Well, I've been watching some gardening videos and learning about "stumperies".  They are made by placing stumps and upturned roots as a garden feature, usually in a shady part of the garden, and planted with ferns and other shade loving plants.  They provide shelter for small garden animals and insects and as they slowly decompose, add nutrients to the soil.  In my garden, I'm placing the couple of stumps that I have and some branches among the succulents.  I am still in the process of tweaking the branches into what I consider to be a pleasing arrangement.  Currently, it looks like I dropped an armful of firewood in front of the succulents!  

Maybe I need to ask Gardener M to bring me another stump or two.  However, he is not sold on the idea of a stumpery.  LOL.

I placed the extra branches in the back yard, next to the side wall - I'm in the process of weeding this area, but, there are asparagus ferns growing here, as well, and they will grow through and over the branches in no time.  

A Second Stumpery in the Making

What do you think?  Would you consider having a stumpery in your garden?
 

Starting May

Roses 

On the first of May, I made my usual breakfast of milkrice and picked fresh flowers for the altar and mantlepiece.

M was here to tend to the garden when I went outside to pick some curry leaves for the spicy onion mixture (seeni sambol) that I wanted to make to have with the milkrice.  The curry leaf tree growing closer to the house has grown so tall that I have been having a hard time reaching the leaves to pick them.  So, I went to the back, where another curry leaf tree is growing behind the garage.  That one is quite tall, too, but, there are suckers growing around it, that are within my reach.  As I picked the leaves, I told M that we need to prune the curry leaf tree that is closer to the house because I can't reach the sprigs of leaves and I didn't like having to come to the back to pick curry leaves.  M said he could trim it right then because he had the trimmer with him.  He went to his truck to get the trimmer out and I turned around with my curry leaves to go back to the house, tripped on the uneven pavers lining the path, and fell!  

The Paved Path by the Curry Leaf Tree

It knocked the wind out of me for a minute and I was still trying to get myself up when M came back from the truck.  He offered to help me up, but, I was able to get up by myself.  Considering the fact that I have osteopenia and fell on the paved path, I was fortunate to get away with only a scraped left knee!  

Needless to say, I took it fairly easy the rest of the day.  It was not the best start to the month, but, it could have been so much worse.

M fertilized and watered the garden and trimmed the curry leaf tree.  It's still too high for me, so, I'll ask him to cut down one or two branches down even further.  It'll have to be done in a manner that will not cause the tree to die.

Brunch was milkrice, chicken curry, and seeni sambol; dinner was a microwaved "baked" potato and a scrambled egg, with sliced fresh apples and yogurt.

Today (Thursday), I did a load of laundry (which was hung up to dry, rather than dried in the dryer), made an appointment for Dancer's injections and blood tests and made an appointment for my own blood tests.  I walked up and down the driveway for 15 minutes, or so, and walked around the backyard, checking on things, being very careful not to stumble!  Some of the blueberries were turning color and I picked a handful:

The First Blueberries of the Season

Some of them are still tinged green, but, I find the slightly underripe berries to be tastier than the fully ripe ones, which tend to have a soapy taste to me!  I enjoyed the berries after I had some leftover milkrice (with chicken curry and seeni sambol) as part of my brunch.  

Dinner will be baked breaded shrimp with tomato chutney and a cucumber salad.  

As I start this new month, I am grateful for:

- I didn't break or sprain anything when I fell 

- M was there in case I needed his help to get up 
- Roses and blueberries from the garden
- Being able to set up appointments for Dancer and myself
- Working appliances

My joyful activities have included spending time in the garden and chatting with family and friends.

Plans for Friday include some crocheting, housework, and gardening with M in the evening. 

How is your week going?  What are your plans for Friday? 

The Front Garden in April

The Front Garden in April

I feel that I've been posting pictures of the garden almost weekly, if not daily, in April, but, I didn't want to skip the monthly garden overview, either!  The weather continues to be cooler than normal for this time of the year, so the garden continues to thrive.

A Stream of Osteospermum

The osteospermum is starting to spill out into the sidewalk!  Currently, it is not spilling out too far, but, I will have to see if I can redirect it to go back into the garden or trim it back!  

The Succulents Border

I've plans for the succulents border and M is helping me, although he's not quite sure what it is that I am planning to do.  But, being the obliging friend he is, on Friday, he brought me a small tree stump from a flowering mulberry tree that he cut down for one of his other clients:

Tree Stump

I'm going to ask him if he can get me another stump or two; watch this space!

In the meantime, the climbing red rose is putting on a bit of a show:

Red Roses and Purple Osteospermum

One of my friends asked me if I kept a list of all the plants growing in my garden and I had to admit that I didn't!  But, in just this one planting bed, in addition to the roses, there are three types of asparagus ferns, a jasmine vine, the ever present osteospermum, gladiolus, sparaxis (Harlequin flowers), paperwhites, alstroemeria (Peruvian lily), and a pomegranate tree which is just starting to flower:

Pomegranate Flower and Bud

Last year, there were lots of flowers on the pomegranate tree, but, no fruit!  I hope that, this year, we'll get some fruits!

Last, but, not least, we have what I am calling the "rootery":

Eucalyptus Tree Roots and Base

The base of the eucalyptus tree has exposed roots and M and I've been planting succulents in the spaces between the roots:

The "Rootery"

It's a relatively new project and the plants are still settling in, but, the hope is that they will spread and grow into a sort of ground cover at the base of the eucalyptus tree.

Close Up of a Spreading Succulent

Thank you for visiting my front garden in April.   

In the Garden on Wednesday

More White Irises

There are more irises blooming.

Gaura Flowers

The gaura plant is starting to flower, too.

 

Serrano Chili Flowers

The serrano chili plant is flowering, again, too.  This is last year's plant and I left it in the ground over the winter and it is ready to produce more chilies for this year.  

M was here in the morning to tend to the garden.  He brought me more Harlequin (sparaxis) flower bulbs from his garden, mowed the grass, again, and watered the garden, both back and front.  

I spent the majority of the day watching breaking news unfolding on TV, about the protests being held on one of the local university campuses.  My late friend A's younger daughter takes evening classes at that campus as she pursues her Master's degree, and I was concerned enough to text her at work to alert her to the situation and to tell her to be careful.  The campus security officers weren't able to disperse the protesters and eventually, the police were called and, it took some time, but, several protesters were arrested and the campus was cleared of protesters, shortly after 8:00 p.m.  

Brunch was leftover tuna salad on toast; dinner was leftover soup with toast; kiwi fruit for dessert and popcorn for snacking.

On Wednesday, I was grateful for:

- Daughter had a safe journey to the conference she is attending (she was asked to be one of the panelists at the conference)
- M's help with the garden and gift of more flower bulbs
- Water for the garden
- Working appliances
- Leftovers for meals

My joyful activity was being in the garden and admiring the flowers.  

Plans for tomorrow might include putting gas to the car and maybe baking something (I've some wrinkly apples in the fridge that need to be used up).  

How was your Wednesday?  What are your plans for Thursday?

A New Week

Gazania

Monday started off with a long phone chat with aunt C and cousin N, which was nice.  Afterwards, I went out into the garden and watered the back yard.  It was a sunny day and the flowers were in full bloom.  

In the afternoon, I went to the library to return books that were due and then, I went to the craft store (Michael's) to buy more yarn for the blanket I am making.  I had run short of the off white yarn I was using to crochet a border around each granny square to make them look less random (as I had used leftover yarn to make them).  But, the store was out of the off white yarn, so I bought two skeins of white yarn and two skeins of "mauve" (which looked more like a dusty rose to me than mauve) for the border around the whole blanket.  I had to pay full price for them ($3.99 each) because they weren't on sale.  I looked around the store just a little bit in passing, as the store is set up in such a way, with the yarn in a corner at the back that one has to pass by scrapbooking and beading and art supplies, etc. to reach the yarn and then, pass by the decorative items, cake decorating supplies, and seasonal decorations on the way to the check out, that it is difficult not to see a lot of what they have!  But, I was not tempted to buy anything else other than the yarn I went to buy.  The store wasn't crowded on a weekday afternoon and I felt comfortable shopping.

After I came home, I took the trash cans to the curb for pick up on Tuesday morning, did a load of laundry, spoke with former neighbor T, chatted with friend R, watched news, and made my ham and potato soup for dinner.  It was the first time I have made this soup and it was good, but, it was just a little bland.

Tuesday was mostly cloudy and cool.  I brought in the emptied trash cans, put away the laundry I did on Monday, walked around the garden, made tuna salad to have on crackers for brunch, did a little housecleaning, watched some online videos, and crocheted.  I reheated the leftover ham and potato soup for my dinner and added a serrano chili to it and that really made a difference, I thought.  There is half a serving left; I will finish it for brunch on Wednesday.

I'm grateful for:

- Time spent in the garden
- Chatting with family and friends
- Weekly trash collections
- Safe drives to the library and craft store and back
- Working appliances

Joyful activities have included being in the garden, chatting with family and friends, and crocheting.

Plans for Wednesday include tending to the garden with M, more housework, and more crocheting.

How is your week coming along?
- 

Wednesday

Tea for Two!

Mama Cat and Chicken Little have started lining up on the steps every evening, around 4:30 p.m. or so.  They sit and wait until I give them a cup or so of kibble.  Patches comes by, later, after she checks to make sure that Mama Cat has gone away and the coast is clear!  She seems to prefer the canned food to the kibble, but, I tell her that she needs to eat whatever is given!  The canned cat food is a treat, not an everyday meal!

It was a sunny and warm (high of 77F) day, today.  M was here in the late morning to tend to the garden.  He brought me a new plant from his garden, a native plant known as hummingbird sage  (Salvia spathacea).  We planted it in the front garden, under the eucalyptus tree.  It's supposed to be drought tolerant, once established.  

I spent a fairly relaxed day, on Wednesday, crocheting and watching some online videos.  Later, I watched the evening news, chatted with friend R, and video chatted with my daughter.

Brunch was a scrambled egg, a slice of ham, and a potato cut up in cubes and fried, with a little diced bell pepper added to it.  Then, I wasn't very hungry for dinner, so I had tuna salad on crackers for dinner.

Today, I was grateful for:

- Another sunny and warm day
- M helping me with the garden and
- Bringing me more plants from his garden
- Being able to video chat with my daughter
- A relaxed day

Today's joyful activity was crocheting.  

Plans for Thursday include some weeding in the garden and more crocheting.

How was your Wednesday?  What are your plans for Thursday?

Garden Additions

M Making the New Trellis

Earlier in the year, I had M prune the Star Jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) vine which was sprawling all over the ground because the purchased trellis it had been growing on had deteriorated and broken down over the years.  I had planned to purchase another trellis, but, trellises are costly!  "Let's make one", I suggested to M.  "We can use some of the long branches we saved when you pruned the bottle brush tree!"  I think he was a bit skeptical, but, he always says it's my garden and I'm the boss!  LOL.  There's a reason why we get along so well and he's been tending to the garden for 31 years!

At first, I was going to do it, myself.  But, I didn't have the proper tools to trim the branches to size and, with one thing or another, the trellis didn't get built.  In the meantime, the star jasmine vine started to show new growth and flower buds started to appear.

On Friday, with rain in the forecast for the weekend, I told M not to bother watering the garden and we decided it was a good time to put together a trellis for the star jasmine.  Obviously, M did the work, while I directed and, occasionally, assisted with holding the cross pieces in place while he tied them.  I didn't want the trellis to be taller than the wall, so, M cut the poles to size.  This way, the wall will help protect the trellis from strong winds and minimize its chances of being blown down!

New Garden Trellis

Home grown, all natural, custom made, rustic trellis!  We decided to keep all the little branches in place as additional support for the vines.  Then, we draped some of the vines on the trellis to encourage them the grow up, instead of sprawling in a heap on the ground:

New Garden Trellis for the Star Jasmine Vine

I wondered if we needed to put some small rocks at the base to keep the trellis in place, but, M didn't think so.  We can always add them, later, if needed.  I told M that he should include "builds custom trellises" to his resume - he put together one with PVC pipes and chicken wire for my mother for her jasmine vine, several years ago, and now, he's put together another trellis for me.  

I love my new trellis!  What do you think?

In addition to the new trellis, we have a new plant for the garden:

New Tomato Plant

It's an heirloom tomato named "Berkeley Tie-Dye", which M selected in honor of my daughter!  

Tomato Plant Tag: "Caution: may cause flashbacks!"

Looking forward to seeing the "striking metalic green and red striped" tomatoes that are supposed to be a "delicious conversation piece" as described in the tag!  

We've had a rainy weekend, here, with rain on both Saturday and Sunday.  The garden has been well watered!  It's a bit chilly for me with night time temperatures of 46F and daytime highs of 55F, so, I've had the heater on all weekend.

I'm grateful for:

- M's willingness and help with the garden
- A new, very organic and homegrown trellis
- Rain for the garden
- A new tomato plant
- A working heater

My joyful activities have included supervising the making of the new trellis, gardening, celebrating the Sri Lankan new year, and phone calls with family and friends.

How is your weekend coming along?  What do you think of the new trellis?  Have you grown this type of heirloom tomatoes?

The Phone Saga Conclusion

Poppies

Yesterday (Tuesday), I returned to the phone store and spoke with R, the more helpful salesperson who had helped me much earlier, when I bought my new cell phone.  I explained the situation with the phone black box device and how I had received a new SIM card, which the previous salesperson said I needed to call the phone company to activate, and which I wasn't sure would even fit the device and, therefore, I didn't activate it.  He checked the card and said it was already activated!  Then, he inserted it into the device and I brought it home to see if it would work. I had already mentioned the option of having a second line put on my cell phone, but, I wanted to try everything else I could to get the device to work!  Before I left the store, I asked him till what time the store would be open and he said till 8:00 p.m., but, he leaves at 6:00 p.m.  He wouldn't be in the store on Wednesday, but, he'd be there on Thursday and Friday.

Well, unfortunately, the device didn't work!  The service indicator light remained solidly red.

Still Not Working

Well, boo and hiss!  So, I went back to the store (it's only about a 10 minutes drive).  And, to make an already long story short, I had the home phone line added to my cell phone.  According to salesperson R, it was a transfer of the number from one device to another and there was no additional cost!  He told me to use that number pretty much as I used the old home phone, just to make and accept phone calls and not try to text,  I'm fine with that. The cell phone number I had shows as my primary number and the transferred home phone number shows as "home".  

While I was at the store, another older lady came in asking for help and a different salesperson helped her.  I couldn't help overhearing the conversation - apparently, she, too, had to switch from a landline to a cell phone and she has never used a cell phone before and didn't know how to retrieve her messages and needed help to figure out how to use the phone.  I could really sympathize with her!  My current cell phone isn't my first, although it has new features; but, I have my daughter to show me how to set it up and use it, as she has the same type of phone.  

After I came home, I unplugged the home phone sets.  I need to find out where I can recycle them.  I will keep the black box device for a bit, just in case the phone company asks for it to be sent back to them (I had to send the old device back when I received this one, two years ago).  

It was around 5:00 p.m. when I got home from the store and it was 81F!  I watered some of the plants in the back garden - the blueberries, the newly planted out aloe vera plants, and some of the potted plants.

Then, I sat down to watch the news and unwind from the whole phone saga!  I guess I could have saved myself a lot of time and stress if I had been able to decide to go with a new cell line at the very beginning, when I first spoke with Salvador in Mexico City, but, I was resistant to that option at the time.  I felt like I needed to try everything else, short of having the phone company come out and rewire the house for a landline for double what I am currently paying for the basic services package or paying triple for the same services I had and that doesn't take into account the charges for the service call and rewiring, etc.  I shall give this a try (having the home phone number as an additional line on my cell phone) for now and see how it works out.  I guess it is a matter of getting used to it.  

Brunch was a scrambled egg on toast; dinner was leftover seafood potato balls.

On Tuesday, I was grateful for:

- Helpful salespeople
- Being able to have the home phone number transferred to my cell phone
- Safe drives to and from the store
- A sunny, warm day
- Garden flowers

Tuesday's joyful activity was getting the phone issue resolved (hopefully!)

Dogbane/Scaredy Cat Flowers

Today, Wednesday, is another sunny and warm day, with a high of 82F.  M was here in the morning and he watered the garden.  We also noticed that someone (the City?) had filled the irrigation bags in the parkway with water:

Filled Water Bag

It's the first time that I've noticed that they've been watered!  

M also bought me a packet of corn kernels to plant!  We have to figure out where to plant them and dig a new bed!  

Lunch/Dinner Compliments of Neighbor S

Neighbor S called me in the early afternoon and brought me a delicious meal of cooked salmon and bulgur wheat salad.  I warmed up a little of it and had for brunch; the rest is in the fridge for another meal.  I offered her some aloe vera plants for her garden, but, she didn't want any.

Today, I am grateful for:

- Another sunny and warm day
- M's help with the garden
- Neighbor S being as caring and generous as always
- Working appliances and equipment
- Electricity and gas to power those appliances

Today's joyful activity was spending time out in the garden. 

Peach Leaf Curl

Peach Leaf Curl

Caused by the fungus Taphrina deformans.  

Spring rains and cooler weather are lovely for the garden plants, but, unfortunately, those same cool and wet conditions encourage this fungus to grow in the cells of the leaves of peach and nectarine trees as the new leaves emerge.

Peach Leaf Curl

They cause the leaves to grow unevenly in places, which creates these wavy deformed leaves.  Eventually, the fungus forms spores and the leaves turn yellow and fall. The experts don't recommend picking the leaves off the tree because the green areas of the leaves will continue to photosynthesize and make food for the tree.  However, fallen leaves should be removed and disposed of, so that the spores don't get into the soil.  New leaves will replace them and, provided the weather is warmer and dryer, the new leaves won't be affected.  However, if left untreated, the fungus can affect the fruit production, spread to fruit, and damage the tree, itself. 

More Damaged Leaves

The treatment recommended is to spray the tree with a copper and oil solution during the dormant period. once in the fall after the leaves have fallen and again, in the spring, before new leaves emerge.  M sprayed the tree, last year, but, maybe it wasn't enough.

So far, only the peach tree seems to be affected, the nectarine tree seems OK.  

The poor peach tree!  We will start thinning out the fruit, this week or next, and maybe we'll remove some of the more damaged leaves at the same time.  Maybe the early bearing variety wasn't such a good idea, after all, with the wetter springs we've had last year and this.

The Phone Saga Continues on Friday!

Dracaena Plant

I moved the dracaena plant to this end of the dining table to make room for the plant stands at the other end.  This plant originally had three branches, but, one of them died and the other two were rather spindly looking, except for this side shoot that sprang from one of those side branches.  This side shoot is growing vigorously!  I cut off the dead branch and the other spindly looking side branches; the good branches have been cut into shorter lengths and put in a vase of water, to see if they will grow roots.  If they do, then, I'll pot them up and there will be some baby dracaena plants!  

The phone was working just fine this morning.  In the afternoon, I was on the phone with one of the monks at the temple when the call dropped and then, I couldn't call him back!  I checked the black phone box and, yes, the network status light was a solid red.  Later, I tried to reset the phone.  I unplugged it and plugged it back - no luck.  I turned it off and on again, and still, the red light was still there.  Finally, I pressed the reset button with a paper clip and that worked!  I had phone service, again!  My daughter called a little after 5:00 p.m. and there was no problem.  Friend R called around 8:00 p.m., and I was able to chat with her.  Later, however, after dinner, I checked on the phone and the red light is back!  My daughter thinks it might be the SIM card, so, I will be going to the phone store to see if I could get a new SIM card for it and see if that works.  If not, I guess I will be getting a new phone system!

It rained on Thursday night/early Friday morning, but, there was not rain during the day on Friday.  It was cloudy and cool though.

I spent a relaxed day.

I did some laundry, including washing one of my wool sweaters by hand (it is now laid out flat on a towel to dry).

I had a brief phone call with my cousin who moved to Florida - she has dementia and is almost non-verbal right now, but, her daughter called to say that my cousin had mentioned my name and when asked if she wanted to talk to me, had indicated yes.

I had a phone call (the one that got dropped) with one of the monks at the temple - he had emailed me a speech he needs to make in English at a funeral and asked if I could read it over and make any edits as needed to correct the grammar, etc.  I made the edits and sent it back to him; I consider it a blessing to be able to assist them in this way.

Later in the evening, M was here to tend to the garden.  He planted two geraniums I had growing in pots in the front garden and divided and planted some of the aloe vera plants in the ground, too.  There are dozens of baby aloe vera plants!

I watched news in the evening and later, chatted on the phone with friend R.  The phone was still working; it went off sometime after that phone call.  Still later, I video chatted with my daughter.

On Friday, I was grateful for:

- Being able to talk with my cousin
- Being able to help the monks at the temple
- The phone working at least part of the day!
- Other working appliances
- M's help with the garden

Today's joyful activity was video chatting with my daughter.

Plans for Saturday include more laundry and maybe some baking (I've some overripe bananas that need to be turned into banana bread or muffins).

How was your Friday?  What are your plans for Saturday?