Mountain Mama's Point Of View

  Yesterday I was telling you about my trip to Home Depot. The Hostas, remember. Most of the plants in the garden center were pretty sad. They had the sun loving plants in the shade and the shade plants blistering in the sun. Not a lot of perennials to choose from. I was looking for ground cover and found a flat of Mondo grass, but it was so sad looking. I could not bring myself to shell out $24 for plants that would need a lot of attention to live. At least Walmart will put them on clearance.  But today I want to tell you about our meal. Longhorn Steakhouse. HeWho loves steak. I can take it or leave it. I was in a snarky mood as we entered. The man entering in front of us held the door for two ladies leaving and then entered himself. We came in after him. He blustered apologetically that he did not see me, and his face turned red. No big deal, no apology necessary. It's not like he slammed the door in my face. I said, "No problem, you were looking in front of y...

  Used to be a time when a trip to town did not require rest upon returning. Or ...... just maybe I have gotten lazy. Today I was pondering some digging around outside. Well, after the sun warmed up the cool air outside. No plans to groom myself other than washing my face and brushing my teeth. That is when HeWho said, "Want to ride with me to Home Depot to get the wire for your shed?" I paused to think, then said, "why not?" Off we went, leaving dogfood and water in the dishes. Cat food on the porch and I fed Dora two nasty meal worms and sprinkled some shrimp on her water. I scoured the side of the road for new places to explore while I road along. That's when I saw a billboard. It was advertising a pharmacy. In big letters for all to see announcing the name "Drugs and Guns". I kid you not! Do these two things really go together? Why on earth would you want that to be your logo? What sort of person would be attracted to this establishment? We can all...

  Big plans were in the works for Saturday. I was going to get so much done. I woke quite early and took the canines out the door and onto the deck. The wind nearly blew me down!! The cold wind. I went back in shivering and went back to bed. Only Mr. BoJangles had any objections to crawling back under the covers. The doxies love one nap on top of another. Not what you would call active dogs. Very suited to older women. So, the entire day was spent doing nothing. Not that there was nothing to do inside. But we sat like slugs in front of the TV binge watching Breaking Bad. I didn't even cook, since I had leftover lasagna in the fridge. I had made a cake last week. It was called a Neighbor Cake.  I had no plans to present a cake to a neighbor, just was intrigued by the recipe. It called for a cake mix and a container of frosting. The frosting was mixed with the cake mix and eggs and such, then baked in a Bundt pan. It was rather bland, much to my surprise, and despite the fact th...

  Not too long ago, I began a nagging campaign for HeWho to get staples for the compressor gun and help me build a spice rack. I nag, I own it, so what? Anyhoo, the longed-for spice rack has yet to appear, still a plan in the back of my head. I am limited in space and there are no swinging doors on which to hand things and very little wall space. I have a very narrow cabinet side next to the stove that is bare. The top and bottom. I cannot use the bottom; the dogs will want to sample things. The top, however, would suffice. It is only 9" wide. I have looked online and unless I am willing to pay more than I want to, there is nothing. I have tired of waiting for HeWho to pull the dishwasher out of the hall closet to make better use of that space. He says it cannot be done. Just means that he doesn't want to. It came in, therefore it can go back out! I present to you, my new spice rack!! The bottom of the dishwasher is empty. I vacillate wildly between Tupperware and towel s...

  It was the birthday of HeWho I love. We spent the entire day spending his (mine, too) money. We both had a great day!! After finding out that a "meadow" of about a quarter acre belonged to us. Intriguing as this might seem ... it is the leach field for the septic system. It will need to be mowed to keep trees from growing and sending their roots out to damage stuff. I lost interest as soon as I heard the word septic. I don't do septic. I can't grow anything here, and it is a steep hollow. I will NOT be mowing this area. Despite my disinterest, HeWho regaled me the workings of the septic system and lift systems that get the contents of our septic tank to its final destination, hence the leach field. Since it was his birthday, I thought it would be rude to turn the radio up and not listen. He only has one birthday a year, after all. But, as soon as opportunity presented itself, I did change the subject.  He misses mowing. He likes to mow. So do I, as a matter of fact...

This week has seen many changes outside. We hired a man to spread and level rock in anticipation of the carport. The men thought 2 or 3 loads would do the trick, with some left to play with. It took 4 loads. HeWho supervised the job. I know he was just itching to get on that Bobcat and take over! In between loads, he sat on the bucket with the guy and chewed the fat. I got so much accomplished while he was otherwise occupied! You can see the end of our driveway will flow smoothly into the carport.   Here you can see the tiny shed that was going to be mine. It will be hidden behind the carport. The drop beyond the rock is impressive. Everything slopes down towards the ravine. That shed will need to be emptied today! Limited access will make it tricky to get the boxes out. Then, trusty old Kevin, the golfcart will haul them up the drive to the she shed. I have opened all the boxes that were on the porch and moved all the contents to their proper home. Still no silverware! Much t...

Remember Dora, the adorable turtle. That is a dollar coin next to her. You might recall that she was found in the murky winter water of the pool last year, about this time and was the size of a quarter.   I could hold her between my thumb and fingers easily. She now fills most of my palm. She is still adorable and has quite the personality. She eats reptile food that comes in little pellets. She used to grab one in her mouth, then struggle to break it in half with a foot. Now she just grabs it and eats it. She likes these tiny, dried shrimps on some days and some days will disdain them and let them fall to the bottom of her tank. Her favorite food is mealworms. Smelly little things that are long and she will only take them from my fingers! She climbs to the top of her little stone cave and reaches her head up to my hand and with her mouth wide open she snatches it from me. My tulips have begun to bloom! They are in a tiny garden next to the porch of our house. Inside the She S...

  The sun is shining, and I have already been hard at work outside. The poop has been scooped and the big pile of leaves and twigs I raked is ready for a match. I am feeling somewhat better, though still not my normal self. Like a heavy cloud follows me and I have to fight to get out of the shadow. Along with stomach issues making me queasy all day long. I have an appointment with a new primary care provider next week. Here's hoping the Nurse Practitioner will be amenable to listening to my suggestions when it comes to my treatment. HeWho has an appointment as well, so that we can establish our care henceforth. What you want to bet I will have to make a second appointment to discuss my symptoms? Then the referrals will begin. That will result in months of more appointments. With fuel prices as they are we have no immediate trips planned. Just one in June to see my children and attend my grandson's graduation. Might as well get all healthy!  The She Shed is coming tog...

  Not all of my plants survived the wintery weekend. It got down to 15 here. The plants in the ground were okay, but those in pots turned to mush. I brought some inside and they are okay, but some I just put on the porch due to lack of space. Lesson learned.  Never wasteful, I dumped the dead plants and their soil into the strawberry bed. I needed more soil there anyway. Now I need to choose the location for my asparagus. I was waiting for the gravel delivery, and it came this morning. Tomorrow it will be leveled and spread for the carport and driveway extension. I will wait until it is done. No need to tempt the men to drive over my new plant beds!! A neighbor warned us not to put out bird feeders and tempt the bears to snack in our yard. I forgot to ask about hummingbirds. This makes me sad; I love birds flying around in my yard. I planted blackberry and blueberry bushes, now I wonder if the bears will be attracted to those. I put them on the side of the house...

  The She Shed is here!!! Still on the truck, backing it in. Quite a slope. When going up this drive on foot, one should lean forward, and older ones should pace themselves. Going down is trickier. Don't go too fast and lean way back, lest you find yourself in a run you don't want to commit to! I am ever thankful that I have no visible neighbors to watch me, um, learn things. I can't watch this! Here it is in its final resting place. Not as far back as I would have liked, but some nonsense about safety dictates otherwise. I wanted the door facing the woods, not the drive, but the powers that be put it on the truck this way and I will not argue about it after waiting so long.  The men are leveling as I sit here eating my cream of wheat. Takes me back to my childhood. Hot cereal with a lot of brown sugar and a good dollop of milk. Nowadays it has less sugar and almond milk, my tastes have changed, and I prefer things less sweet. The weather has been so warm I decided t...

  I feel like I have been in a suspended state for the longest time. Always waiting for, well everything. First it was the closing date on the park, then it was the movers, then it was the weather to change to tackle all those boxes. Clutter makes me a little crazy. Given the man I married, this should be funny, and I joke about his inability to put anything away, but it is not funny to me. Our living space is tiny, and everything needs to be put away with great regularity. When we purchased the big shed, I was so excited that it was to be delivered so soon. My mind was so busy putting things away as I contemplated the arrival. When that was delayed, I had no choice but to resign myself that it would not coincide with my plans. Fortunately, the weather was accommodating, and I was able to get started on my gardens. This kept me busy enough to not dwell on the inconvenience. Then the rain came. Call me Karen Carpenter, rainy days and Mondays always get me do...

  I am tired after a long week of good weather! I made a solo trip to the grocery yesterday! Left HeWho has taken over the stairs to my She Shed on his own. I was gone a good amount of time, since I hit a couple of stores that had intrigued my curiosity.  I trolled Pinterest for meal inspirations the night before and saw something that reminded me of those really small wooden crates the Dollar Tree use to have before it became the Dollar and a Quarter Tree. I have been looking for a solution to storing my spices closer to the stove. It is the end of a narrow cabinet and I have yet to find anything narrow enough, but I was thinking I could definitely take the little crates apart and make a spice rack. Off to the Dollar Tree where I discovered they no longer have those little wooden crates. I was sorely disappointed. They now have an entire row of merchandise that is FIVE DOLLARS! I found some similar crates, but they were $3. I would need four and that stopped my purchase! I am...

  Remember that old TV show, My Three Sons? My Three Sons. My old guy is looking his age. Eddie is so handsome and sweet. Then we have Mr. BoJangles. Bo always looks curious. I like this picture. Toni Louise declined any attempt to capture her on film. Bad hair day? Don't know, she was just determined to not cooperate. This is not the picture I was planning for today. I was planning to have pictures of my She Shed. You remember, the She Shed that was supposed to be delivered today. The She Shed that was going to allow me to open all these boxes and have room to put all my stuff away. The She Shed I was so happily anticipating. The She Shed that has been delayed for delivery for almost two weeks. That She Shed. Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans .... My new furniture will be here next week. I was so excited that I would have the She Shed to put that loveseat my dogs are posed on. Now I will have to restack all those boxes and create a space on the porch to put it...

  We went on an adventure, in search of a She Shed. We had looked at a lot of them and were suffering from sticker shock. Lumber has gone up considerably and the prices of the woodsheds reflected it. I suggested we try a place that had a large inventory and hope to find a repo in good shape. You may recall that I had requested a considerable size of at least 10 X 10', windows being a necessity for me. Nothing fancy, just wanted to make it into a decent sewing room for me to play in. We found the place I had been looking for in Murphy. The man came out of the office to greet us. He looked at our car tags that still indicate we live in Missouri and said we had come a long way just to see him. His little white Maltese barked at us from the window. I told him what we wanted, and he showed me one and said they could order anything I liked, but it would take 2 weeks to get it. I vetoed that idea, as I need it right away. We looked at the one and only 10 X 12. It had windows and...