The tomatoes are peaking. I picked 16 today. That’s more than we can eat so I shared with the neighbors.
Penny and I did go kayaking with Barbara this morning. Her condo has a balcony looking over the Sound and that’s where we put the boats in. We only stayed out about 45 minutes but it was fun. I didn’t bring my camera so no pictures.
The blackberry bush is beginning to produce. Today I picked about a pint of berries-enough to provide a complete block of carbs for Penny and I for our 3 o’clock snack.
There are many more berries on the way.
I’ve been holding off picking tomatoes until they are ripe enough to fall into my hand with just a slight tug. That way we’ve been keeping up with the supply. We even dropped the diet completely for 1 meal and had Penny’s pasta cruda.
Ya think it’s time to pick these guys?
But I looked at the tomatoes today and there is no way to go on that way. I’ve got a bunch ready to be picked, so the neighbors are going to get some tomatoes tomorrow or Thursday.
Weather permitting we are going to kayak tomorrow.
I usually listen to an audio book while I work around the house and yard. I finished a book yesterday so instead of starting another today, I listened to some of the music off my computer.
My working companions included Adele, Kelly Clarkson, Taylor Swift, The Bee Gees,S&G, The Beatles, Bon Jovi, Jessica Sanchez, and others.
Kelly Clarkson has some powerful music to work to. Adele is great too. I’ve got a live version of “Puff the Magic Dragon” by PP&M that transports me back to college days.
I found that having Bon Jovi’s “Living on a Prayer” playing in headphones makes outside cats skittish.
I marveled at how rich and melodic the pre-disco Bee Gees songs were.
While cleaning out the garage and shed I ran across one of the first electronic math games we got. It’s a TI Dataman. I opened the battery compartment and tried to take out the 9 volt battery. Instead the battery came apart shedding its terminals. I got the old terminals out and put in a fresh battery hoping to see the thing come to life….and…..no luck. Nothing looks obviously broken but it has no sign of working at all. For K&C here’s what the Dataman looks like.
Any memories of it?
I’m back home again after a weekend visit to Jacksonville. It was a nice trip. Tim was out of town and we went over to help Karen out with the kids. Basically we brought the girls to school on Friday and Monday mornings . We started both those days by taking the girls out to breakfast. On Saturday we ran off with the kids and left Karen home to paint. We went to a movie and a park and dinner before return to see how much painting Karen accomplished.
On Sunday we spent the Afternoon with C&C in High Springs. I enjoyed the time we spent with them.
Tim came home Monday night and took over his normal role with the kids so we came home on Tuesday (today)
I packed our stuff in the CRV and Penny straightened out the guest bedroom and made the bed. Our cat, Brie, does not like to travel and will hide when she catches on that we are preparing to load her in the car. In K&T’s old house she could hide way in the back under the bed behind everything under the bed. It was a real effort and great pain digging her out. Now, in the new house, there is nothing under the bed and she can be easily snatched from under the bed. So, when Penny made the bed Brie did her best job at trying to hide. Here’s a picture.
Do you see the kitty? She’s thinking:
I CAN’T SEEZ YOU – SO YOU CAN’T SEEZ ME!
I had no trouble catching her today.
The drive home was uneventful
When we got home I did my usual inspection of the house and yard and to my dismay I discovered I didn’t have the irrigation turned on for the garden. All 4 of the mature tomato plants were severely wilted. I immediately watered everything. I’m hoping the plants can recover but I think 2 of them are too far gone.
On a positive note I did pick 11 tomatoes and we had some for dinner tonight.
There are also a bunch of good sized ones ready for picking this week.
We are in Jax helping Karen with the kids while Tim is out of town.
Yesterday we ran off with the kids for breakfast and dinner and had a good time.
Today we went with Sophie to get a medal she earned for reading a bunch of books.
The kids also had lunch by the St Johns river.
Sophie posed with characters – she is no longer afraid of them.
Lucy posed for me in the fire engine.
I took a picture of the whole park in the fire engines mirror.
I took pictures of the Karen and the kids by the river and Penny’s latest quilts
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We took Sophie and Lucy to see the movie Chimpanzee. Then we went to a park in Jacksonville Beach and finally ate lunch at Chili’s.
Karen just blogged about Sophie giving her Mother’s Day gifts that Sophie created. Karen said it made her feel special.
I came across this a while back. Karen made it for Penny. It’s a flower pot design – the kind you draw on paper and slip it into a slot in a clear plastic flower pot. Here’s what Karen did to make Penny feel special.
I’ve been busy catching up with months of clutter that I’ve filled the shed and garage with. Yesterday I finally got the shed shop area in order and today I got the yard cleaned up.
As if I needed another task to do—while trimming the walkway by the front door I kicked up something substantial enough and with sufficient energy to completely shatter the glass in the storm door. There went another hour cleaning up all the little pieces of safety glass. At least my shop vac had an easy time picking up all that glass.
We got the first tomatoes from the garden this week and there are many good sized one on the way. I also got some new tomato plants that should provide a late summer harvest.
Kitty Update- Both Meredith and Buzz have been around all day for the last 2 days. Meredith showed up Saturday morning after being gone for about a month. The birds have begun feeding on the cat food again. They have babies to feed.
I had my regular doctor’s appointment today and he was very happy. I lost 23 lbs since my last visit and my Cholesterol level continues to drop. My highest Cholesterol reading ever was 230 a few years ago. Today it was 130 down 20 more points since the last visit.
Now I still need to get some regular exercise into my life.
Penny and I are doing OK with the diet. My weight loss has slowed some but is still continuing. At least we found we can travel and manage the diet satisfactorily.
I’ll see the doc again in 4 months.
Happy Birthday SIS!
I went to Destin Pass to catch the moonrise. Here are a couple shots I got.
Just before I left Destin I saw a heron back in the grass so I took some shots of it. Then a little bunny came out. I ended up with the moon over Destin with a heron and a bunny watching it. I thought I was in a Disney movie.
One more fun shot.
I’ back home after helping K&T move and settle in to their new house.
I like their house – it feels comfortable and right for them.
Here is what my garden looked like after not being tended to.
The lettuce is now 3 feet tall with chewy upper leaves.
the cabbage has made heads
The first tomato has ripened:
and a green pepper too.
Here’s what broccoli does when not picked.
There are lots of blackberries coming this year.
We woke to heavy rain today so I didn’t try to do anything outside. Besides I was tired and achy. It was basically a down day and I relaxed and took a nap this afternoon. It’s bedtime now and I’m not tired yet.
No cats are outside. A raccoon is out there again. It broke into the feeder while I was gone.
Tomorrow I get back into action again.
