Feel Like Complaining

Last Wednesday Tony and I headed over to Olympia to visit his aunt (83). I only met her once about 30 years ago but he has seen her maybe once since then.  It's always a dilemma over which pass to go over. White's Pass is prettier with less traffic but also takes longer. Snoqualmie Pass is quicker but we also have to switch over to I-5 which is a nightmare, especially at rush hour and the occasional accident. My gps was trying to be nice to get me off the freeway, then back on to avoid a delay due to an accident. I got off but didn't know where to go from there and headed right into Joint Base Lewis-McChord base. I couldn't stop then and was hoping just to go in and turn around. Who would imagine armed personnel standing there? As I kept going, he yelled 'ma'am, MA'AM'! Then I started crying and told him I was lost. I just had to show him my ID and he turned me around. After that, things went smoothly. His Aunt is such a character and doesn't let muc...

I am finally finished making windchimes! I found this cool little pewter tray at a yard sale and knew I had enough silverware to do it. I also made this smaller one by smashing a spoon flat to use as the top part. I've made 15 in all and that definitely satisfied my desire to use silverware. I did end up throwing away 5 pieces but some were from thrift stores so not a great loss. When the lighting is not good, it detracts from how pretty they really are. I painted these rocks while at Kodiak's; nothing fancy but they kept me busy. I spent Friday night with Garrett and Luna. I haven't seen them for quite awhile so it was a nice stay. Luna is so beautiful and the most affectionate cat I've ever met. She actually likes belly rubs and sleeps so close, I didn't even need a blanket. That little head cock of hers is permanent and she just walks around like that. All of my bloodwork came back great, except that my BUN just got into the 'high' range but my doctor did...

This is a nice time of year to work in the yard before it gets too hot. Take a little trip to see how things are doing. Starting with the front yard, the path is really filling in with ground cover. Ground covers, Lamium and Ajuga. The Golden Currant is taller than me now, and we're fighting aphids like crazy. Still no signs of blossoms or fruit. The Mock Orange, Fire Bush, and Smoke Bush are looking great. I took about 1/3 off of the rock garden. The top part was dying because water was just running off. This flattened it out and I replanted the top and it's going to look a lot better. Heading to the back, this is an ornamental grass I grew from seeds; it's the only one that survived. It started it's life at Mom's because she had a great solarium where it could get good light and she could tend to it daily. I don't remember the name but it's supposed to get pretty tall. Slow growing though; only a foot tall in 4 years. Our Honeysuckle died back for the 2nd ...

We have a large picture window that we can all see something different out of.  My view is straight ahead and other than certain plants in the yard, I can see the bus stop's comings and goings. Two groups of high school kids get off at different times. I'd say 90% of them are looking at their phones. A lot of the same people also get on the bus. There's this one old guy that I've seen around for years; he looks a lot like Einstein with the wild white hair. One day I saw him brushing his teeth while waiting for the bus. That grosses me out so much that when I see him over there I make a point not to look. After school gets pretty busy with the same kids reversing their route to go home. When middle school gets out a few blocks away, there is one particular group that is so loud and obnoxious. Last fall they started climbing this one Linden tree and now it's dead. I'll be glad when school's out mostly because of them.  There are some homeless people that walk ...