Rain!

I'm not much of a rainy day lover.  If I have to get out in rain, I tend to shiver and dread. Today, not so much.  I ventured out to the grocery store this morning with my umbrella raised to keep the raindrops off my head.  I purchased a few days supply of nutrition, and of course, a few treats.  As I returned I texted Daughter and she came out to the car to help me unload. Luckily the rain had slowed so we weren't drenched bringing in my purchases.  Yes, the Texas drought has given me a different outlook about water falling from the sky.  It is welcome and celebrated.  Still, my favorite thing to do in rainy weather is curl up with a good book.  I have several loaded on my kindle right now.  One is about two thirds finished and I have a good mystery almost finished. An inspirational insight is coming through as I read a delightful biography.  I think I'll indulge in finishing the mystery from under a blanket.

Fresh is the Best

I love to cook with fresh ingredients when I have them.  Daughter In Law filled pots with rosemary, basil, parsley, cilantro, and mint.  Two larger pots were filled with strawberry and tomato plants.  I have used all of the herbs at least once, the rosemary and mint getting daily use.  All except the cilantro are growing well, and this morning we have a lovely red ripe strawberry.  Only one has shown so far and I am anxiously circling,. trying to decide on the perfect time to pluck it off.  

What would you do with this beauty?

It's Simple, he said!

Things that need to be put together and snapped into place always mystify me.  What is it about clockwise vs counter clockwise that usually comes off my hands backwards?  Ol' Abner does these maneuvers without even thinking and I stand by, stumped.  A wonderful bagless vacuum cleaner with a washable filter is the answer to cleanliness, IF one can reassemble it and make it work again.  I used it yesterday morning and it pulled a large volume of dirt from the rugs. The last time it was used, he disassembled it,  I washed the filter and he put it all back together when I wasn't looking.  That's our usual process!  I didn't bring the instruction booklet for this contraption with me, in fact, I'm not sure I've even seen it.  Meanwhile, the rugs are clean and the blinds need a quick once over with the same gadget...if I can only get it back together!

Here's the Good Dirt!

Daisy Mae's a happy momma this morning!  I awoke to scratching on the tiny patio.  What a neat surprise DIL was sitting on the cold concrete in her jammies working over my new flower pots to prepare for planting.  Last night she and Son were sent to our local home improvement store to buy A/C filters and they returned laden with plants, soil and flower pots.  

A Strawberry and a Tomato

I sat outside and watched her plant a number of herbal offerings, and lament that they decided to forego the purchase of a tiny lemon tree.  Perhaps, I'll rectify that later this week.

Yes! I like this view!

It's feeling a little more like home.  I don't think Ol' Abner will be particularly impressed.  Maybe I'll see what Lulu thinks!

And the Green Grass Grows

Today in the big city near the coast, we worry not about yard and lawn work, opting instead to rent a living space with all that maintenance provided.  In the summer heat, I'm sure we will be grateful for those workers mowing and trimming and planting pretties.  Today I mourn the lost chance to be making things bloom myself.  I'm thinking of starting a little herb garden out on the tiny patio.  When the urge to cook hits, those will come in handy.  I may have to find some citrus mulch though to discourage critters from taking advantage of soft rich soil.  That will probably be the extent of possible horticulture events for me.

This morning, our neighbor texted two photos from the back side of the playhouse.  The grass has come in beautifully and created a verdant carpet behind the rocks. Oh yes, we do have green grass growing...I'm counting on my friends to watch it!

Coffee City

Today I enjoyed my morning coffee at Dancing Girl's house.  It's always a special pleasure to sip the brew in one of her collection of oversized Starbucks mugs.  The city named along with it's skyline view has evolved on these lovely cups through several variations. The simple originals are my favorites. My mood was set when I selected this view!.

San Diego Sunshine was the start for my day!

Music for some ears, Noise to others!

Our oldest grand daughter has been driving for some time now.  Her little hand-me-down SUV was outfitted with new tires, brakes and cleared for safety long before she began the process of learning to drive it.  Equipped with the original radio in it's non-working state, the vehicle has provided a silent ride to date.  She hasn't complained, but did check into the cost of repairing the accessory. She opted to purchase gasoline instead, a lot of gasoline.  Balancing the cost to repair the am/fm radio with cd player vs an after market installation of one with bluetooth capabilities as well as compatibility with her music player and phone, it required little thought.

Ol' Abner had searched for a couple of weeks, finding acceptable radios in places where the installation kit and other tools to make it fit and play properly seemed elusive.  It was our mission today to find the entire set of equipment.  Grand daughter's birthday is later this week and we were out of time.  He is distraught because he will be unable to go install it himself, but found a workable alternative with a little help from son-in-law.  

The package is on it's way and she should be able to enjoy her tunes as she rides, and talk on her phone hands-free.  It was Son's birthday today, and no package is headed it's way to him.  We did have a nice phone conversation with him, but I regret that not even a card was mailed. We'll have to make that one up to him!