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Post by Mini Mia on Jul 24, 2017 19:27:56 GMT -6
Glad to hear it. Mom's dog has decided her place is by my side on the double recliner, and she's ROASTING me. Today it's thunder ... but my b-i-l has been shooting turtles at the pond. He stocked the pond with some little fishies, and he's trying to keep them from becoming turtle food. So, it's me and my 'hot' side kick.
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Post by Phalon on Jul 27, 2017 6:16:46 GMT -6
It was short-lived unfortunately. I've had the first couple of lines from an Audioslave song running through my head on continuous replay for the past few days...
And in the early dawn, moving right along. I couldn't buy an eye-full of sleep.
Urgh.
Despite the humidity though (right now, Accuweather says it's at 97% - blah!), it's been a summer that's been hard to complain about overall - lots of sunshine, but periodic rain is keeping everything green and growing; even the grass hasn't turned crunchy. My gardens have never looked better in late July.
Tuesday evening after work, we all went to visit one of our client's - she and her husband have a small lavender farm (can't tell you how many lavender plants they purchased from us over the past 5 or so years - I bet it's over 500). They gave us a tour of the operation, and the inside of their house (it's a SIPs house they designed themselves - small, modern but with a mid-century air about it, and ultra-cool). It was a fun, very interesting tour, and how cool of them to open up their home and gardens to us.
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Post by Phalon on Jul 29, 2017 6:11:21 GMT -6
Sooo glad today is Saturday - my Friday. No plans for tonight except to crash.
Later, Taters. Enjoy the day.
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Post by Phalon on Jul 30, 2017 8:18:55 GMT -6
Geeze - I finally got some sleep last night; no one in the house but Hubs and I. Yesterday, I was running on three hours of Friday night sleep, and about four hours the night before.
The older kids were in town the past couple of days; LX and her friend drove down Thursday and took BP and her friend to a concert in Chicago. There's a ton of construction between here and Chicago, so they didn't get back until 3am; it's not like they woke me up coming in - I was awake anyway.
Friday night we all hung out at Xena Sis's before the older kids went off and did their own thing (until again, after 3am. and again, I was awake when they came in.). Xena Sis's son just got back to Michigan this week, with his son and girlfriend. LX and her son grew up together like brother and sister ("he's the brother I never wanted", she always says), so it was pretty much like a family reunion - it's been a very long time since the two families have been all together like that.
Beautiful day today, and I've got nothing pressing to do except enjoy it!
Hope you do the same.
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Post by Phalon on Jul 31, 2017 7:53:01 GMT -6
Another beautiful morning! The humidity has been way down these past few days, and it's now a pleasure to be outside (although my hot flashes at night haven't let up!).
Rode my bike over to Xena Sis's early for our standing Monday morning coffee date, which ended up also being a produce exchange: I brought over a few zucchinis and a gallon zip lock bag of parsley (I talked her into making parsley pesto, one of my favorite things to do with it) from the garden; she gave me (already shucked!) ears of sweet corn she got at the farm market from Crazy Cheryl's stand. Got my infused water "brewing" on the porch - parsley, basil, and orange slices.
Time to get moving. Today is errand day, though it's so nice out, it's a shame to waste time inside. I should have spent more time outside yesterday than I did; I really haven't done anything in the yard since the garden tour, and there's a lot of dead-heading that needs to be done. I did though, get something done that I've been meaning to do - and which was way overdo: clean out my car. All these months of bringing home plants, buckets of dirt, and whatnot, meant the car was trashed inside - so much so that even I couldn't stand it anymore. I remembered a "trick" my brother's ex-girlfriend told me when we were doing the final cleaning of Mom's house before closing: use the leaf-blower; it's the way she always cleans her car. My brother and I thought it was weird at the time, but it got every little last speck of dust and cobweb faster and with much less effort than a shop-vac would have taken. What the heck, I thought yesterday, I'll give it a try, even with Hubs laughing and shaking his head when he saw what I was doing...until I was done, and he said the interior of my car has never been so clean. I swear, I'll never vacuum my car again...except note to self: do not put head inside car while leaf-blowing driver's side floorboard. The gravel from the employee parking lot gets stuck in the treads of my boots and ends up on the floorboard - I got pelted on my first attempt!
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Post by Mini Mia on Jul 31, 2017 21:21:31 GMT -6
Ooh ... I gotta remember that. First I gotta get a leaf blower.
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Post by Phalon on Aug 1, 2017 4:56:49 GMT -6
Gotta say that I would not have attempted it with Hubs' big, heavy gas-powered blower - I'd have probably tore out my shoulder, and then we'd be in the same boat! He got a lightweight electric one though, that is much easier to handle and maneuver.
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Post by Mini Mia on Aug 1, 2017 10:11:55 GMT -6
Good to know. If I had looked at the big ones, I'd have probably changed my mind.
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Post by Phalon on Aug 8, 2017 6:27:16 GMT -6
I didn't see it last night, but this morning I watched the full moon sink out of sight behind the neighbor's house. It was gorgeous. August's full moon is the Sturgeon Moon, named so because this is the time sturgeons are most easily caught. Among its other names, is the Full Blueberry Moon - just in time for this upcoming weekend's Blueberry Fest in town.
Nothing to do with moons - quite the opposite - are my sunflowers. The short varieties I planted are a mix of colors - there are lemon-yellow ones with black centers, deep golden ones with almost black centers, and some that are buttery colored with green centers. All of them make me smile.
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Post by Mini Mia on Aug 8, 2017 20:56:20 GMT -6
It seemed much brighter than usual when I went out with the dog so she'd do her thing. If only she didn't need me to go out with her. But then, I'd have missed out on the moon.
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Post by Phalon on Aug 11, 2017 6:27:57 GMT -6
August: typically hot and dry. This month started out as no exception to Augusts past. Stuff has been wilting that typically doesn't - large established shrubs with deep root systems look as if they're newly planted and haven't received water for weeks. We got some rain last night though - about 1/2 inch. The lightening started much earlier - for over an hour even before the thunder started, the sky was a constant flicker with what we always called "heat lightening" though I don't know if that's an actual weather term. Once the rain started, it didn't last long, but came down in buckets fast and hard.
Eventful day at work yesterday: a big, fluffy mourning dove fledging hung out by the store all day while learning to fly, one of the crew flipped over one of the loaders while he was in it, little snake attempted to eat a large toad, and I scared the crap out of a teenage boy with a teeny-tiny lime-green grasshopper.
In the end, everyone was okay. Except the toad.
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Post by Mini Mia on Aug 11, 2017 10:49:21 GMT -6
It has been far cooler than is normal for August. I'm not gonna complain, but it does make me wonder what Winter will bring.
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Post by Phalon on Aug 14, 2017 22:45:33 GMT -6
Our nights have been on the coolish side; feels nice to sit out on the porch when I get those hot flashes, which haven't been nearly as bad as they were a few weeks ago. Days are in the mid-to-high seventies to low eighties.
Tiny bits of fall color is starting to show up here and there; probably more from the stress of a few weeks without rain, high daytime temperatures, and wind. It was so windy at work on Saturday, that the town up the road from the nursery had to cancel a big fishing tournament because the high waves on the lake were too dangerous.
I had a day today full of errands, and not even the fun kind! Did a lot of running around, accomplished what I wanted set out to do, and everything turned out in my favor, so all is good. Feels almost like a wasted day though in a way, and I wonder why is that? I guess because it took all my time, and I didn't get anything done at home.
Tomorrow, my boss, one of my co-workers, and I head to Chicago for a big trade show. It's our yearly shopping spree!!! Best part is it's not my money we're spending!!!
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Post by Mini Mia on Aug 15, 2017 20:55:41 GMT -6
Went shopping today, and it was so crowded everywhere I went. I think the locals are gearing up for the Eclipse, so they don't have to get out and about should there be tons of visitors showing up. I'm hoping I don't have to leave the house should the county get swarmed by outsiders.
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Post by Phalon on Aug 16, 2017 6:35:57 GMT -6
I totally get that you wouldn't want to go out when there are a lot of visitors around - being a tourist town, we deal with it here every summer! This past weekend was Blueberry Fest; BP kept bugging us Saturday to come down to the brewpub where she just started working - she was working that night. The last thing I wanted to do after work, was make myself presentable enough to go out to eat, and fight the larger-than-every-other-summer-weekend crowds to sit in busier-than-usual restaurant. She is proud of her first "grown-up" job that isn't fast food, or where she's stuck in a kitchen, so we went, walking instead of driving because we knew we'd never find a parking spot even remotely close. (Unbeknownst to us, there was a table waiting for us, and BP picked up the tab as an anniversary present.)
We were right of course - walking through town, traffic was backed up, and we were glad we walked. Coincidentally, (which we didn't find out until the next day), on the same block as the restaurant, there was an altercation over a parking spot. A bystander recorded it on his cell phone, and posted it to Facebook - two videos lasting about a half hour that have gone viral locally; you can't talk to anyone without them mentioning it.
It happened on what is normally a busy street except for foot traffic, about a block from the main street though town, most of the restaurants and shops, and away from all the festival activities; there is only diagonal parking on the street in front of the sidewalks. Apparently, a car coming down the street sees that another car is backing out of a parking spot; the car stops to let the parked car out, intending to pull into the spot once it's vacated. Before that can happen, two women - a 60-to-70 year old and a 30-something - jump out of the vehicle that's behind the car waiting to pull in, and stand in the now vacated parking spot. The car waiting (probably not understanding that just happened) attempts to pull into the spot. The women walk out into the street and block the car, and the older women starts yelling obscenities. This goes on for a while, until the driver of the vehicle they jumped out of pulls around the car the women are standing in front of, and "steals" the spot - it, "of course" as the man recording all of this notes, has Illinois tags. Because of the diagonal parking, and since they had to pull around the other car, they are parked in the wrong diagonal direction, hanging into the spot next to them - which happened to be handicapped parking. The vehicle is effectively taking up more than one parking spot, and because of the odd angle, they are blocking the car in the handicapped spot from leaving. The vehicle that was waiting to pull into the stolen spot pulls behind the vehicle with the women, and sits there....for a half an hour, waiting for the police, who I'm sure on a busy festival weekend have much more pressing things to do than settle a parking dispute.
All of this over a parking spot! The women get fined when the police show up, and the other car drives away. And people wonder why Illinois visitors have a bad reputation around here - and why we can't wait to "get our town back" after tourist season.
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Post by Mini Mia on Aug 16, 2017 18:41:40 GMT -6
I think the county draws in the hunters during hunting season. Or used to. I read the warmer winters are keeping the geese further north, so maybe not so much anymore. Plus, the deer seem to have some type of disease, so I don't think anyone would want to put them in their freezers. We're a small county that is drying up fast. We're not even equipped to handle a swarm of people. It's a shame a few have to ruin everything for others. It seems like the planets are causing havoc with any peace and tranquillity we could be experiencing.
So sweet of BP. You must be both proud and sad at the same time. It sure doesn't seem like she should be this old.
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Post by Phalon on Aug 17, 2017 6:32:18 GMT -6
We aren't equipped for the crowds that some of our festivals draw - what were once small local events have grown too large for our small town. Perfect example is the fireworks over the Lake during 4th of July; when the kids were young, we used to walk down at dusk pulling both of them in a wagon, spread a blanket on the sand at the beach to watch. Now people come from all over as early as 10am, their vehicles lining residential streets, and walk down to the beach with coolers packed with alcohol, carrying around open containers (not legal) and try to grab a spot somewhere close to the beaches. Last year there was a riot on North Beach just before the fireworks started, caused by people drinking all day. Police closed and evacuated the beach (though South Beach, separated from North Beach by the channel, was still open). This year went smoother - they made some streets right-hand turn only so that all traffic funneled in and out through check points where coolers were searched for alcohol, and offered shuttle service from the Meijers (a box store) just outside of downtown into town; they've got a gigantic parking lot. Police were brought in from neighboring towns and the county. The precautions certainly helped cut down on the rowdiness of the previous years.
Down get me wrong, though - tourists, for the most part, are fun. It's just the rude ones that seem to leave a lingering sour taste in our collective mouths.
Gotta run...that teenager that brings us a combination of pride and aggravation gave me money for gas - but left my gas tank empty enough that I don't have enough gas to get to work! Guess which I'm feeling now - proud or aggravated? Urgh!!!
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Post by Phalon on Aug 17, 2017 21:58:53 GMT -6
Hhmmm, Joxie....with all those extra people in town, might'nt it be a good weekend for a yard sale?
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Post by Mini Mia on Aug 17, 2017 22:09:22 GMT -6
It probably would ... if we had stuff ready to sell. The clothes I went through are still where I put them. I've been searching through drawers, but left the stuff where I found them until I have room for them elsewhere. Threw out very old nail polish. There are plans to get started on it soonish though.
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Post by Phalon on Aug 20, 2017 7:41:14 GMT -6
BOLL. Spoken like a true (and fellow) procrastinator!
So have the eclipse tourists descended upon your area yet? My slow internet this morning (typical summer tourist high-volume Sunday morning occurrence) made me wonder if, with your already slow internet service of late, the influx of people to your area has affected your internet speed even more.
Very pleasant morning here now! Our mornings have been nice all week, actually - but the days have been a mixed bag of hot, humid, windy and rainy. I really need to get out there today, and do some work around the yard; some of the gardens are looking late-summer weary.
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Post by Mini Mia on Aug 20, 2017 22:48:00 GMT -6
I haven't been further than Church, which is on my narrow country road. I asked my Aunt today at Church if she noticed more people being out and about, but she didn't notice a difference. Facebook friends are mentioning people they've run into at the local eateries though. And they're coming in from all over. My local weather app shows clouds moving in just about the time of the eclipse, so the people coming in may not be too happy with their choice in location.
Yesterday morning I gave up on watching social media videos on my iPhone. I was able to watch videos later in the evening though. Which so far is the norm.
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Post by Phalon on Aug 21, 2017 9:34:22 GMT -6
Happy Eclipse Day! (is that a thing?)
It's only supposed to be about an 80% eclipse here, around 2:30ish this afternoon. Skies are mostly sunny, but with a few clouds.
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Post by Phalon on Aug 21, 2017 11:34:00 GMT -6
It's starting....looks like a hungry "Pacman" right now, kinda.
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Post by Phalon on Aug 21, 2017 11:56:38 GMT -6
Now, it's a crescent moon in reverse - it's the sun that's the crescent.
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Post by Phalon on Aug 21, 2017 12:24:05 GMT -6
Upside-down smiley face.
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Post by Phalon on Aug 21, 2017 12:36:08 GMT -6
The "crescent sun" is facing the opposite side now.
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Post by Phalon on Aug 21, 2017 13:31:23 GMT -6
And it's just about over - just the tiniest bit of black against the sun, like someone took a small nibble out of it.
It didn't get dark here, even during the fullest coverage - it just looked as it does when it's cloudy, but was noticeably cooler, and at one point there appeared a wispy fog that came in.
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Post by Mini Mia on Aug 21, 2017 15:30:16 GMT -6
It didn't get totally dark here either. I didn't get to see or take a picture of the 'twilight' ring though due to trees and buildings. Needed to be somewhere that is flat with little to no objects in the way. It seemed like forever for it to get here, but once it did it was over with very quickly.
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Post by Mini Mia on Aug 21, 2017 15:33:08 GMT -6
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Post by Phalon on Aug 22, 2017 4:26:01 GMT -6
Hubs got glasses, so I was able to see the whole thing; there was an unobstructed view in our backyard. It lasted nearly three hours from start to finish. I was doing stuff inside, but every 15 or 20 minutes I'd go out and check its progress. Before yesterday, I really didn't think it was something I'd spend time watching, but once it started, it was really cool. The most coverage we got was the upside down smile - just a tiny sliver of sun showing. Glad I got to see it.
The weirdest thing, I think, was how noticeably cooler it got - it was hot and humid, and then suddenly felt like a cool fall day.
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