July Is Just about Over!

   July is ending on a wet note, a very wet note.  It has been raining since sometime last night and while sleeping to the sound of rain on the trees is very soothing, enough is enough!  Let it stop!!
   Jeff wanted to go out for breakfast so we were out and about at 9:30 this morning.  Did our grocery shopping at Hannaford before heading to Belly Busters (ol' Dandy Donuts on State St) for breakfast.  Then it was Walmart where Jeff decided which smart phone he had to have (a SmartTalk).  The tech/salesman explained the differences, price plans and what he could expect from each one they had on display.  After he made his choice, one even set it up for him!  When we got home we managed together to call his new smart phone from our home phone...took both of us to complete the call!  And then I 'lost' the phone icon and it took Jeff about 10 minutes to find it again.  I promise never to touch his smart phone again.  I think I'll stick with my little Tracfone.
   I worked in the shop yesterday and it was a good day without being overpowering...until I did the paperwork at the end.  I had over $750 in sales (2 hats and 3 sweaters were mine) and while my charges matched the settlement slip, the drawer was screwed up.  Oh, well, Judy can't seem to figure out what I did wrong but I think I put too much in the deposit.  By 5:45pm I was exhausted and gave up and left.  I guess I forgot to bring in the flag and take home the garbage, too.  Also forgot to turn off 1 set of lights.  I swore when I sat there in the parking lot looking at the shop before I left the building was dark inside.  Wonder if we have a gremlin? 
   When I got to the shop yesterday I found a note from Theresa telling me she had sold my size 6mo pink sweater the day before.  That means I sold 4 sweaters in 2 days...eek!   And my hat display was pretty 'holey', too.  I had 6 baseball hats on hand for the big HOF weekend and they all had sold!  Luckily I had 3 with me yesterday.  I guess I better get busy and start knitting!  I have skeins of pink, a light lilac and a pretty mint all waiting to be made into baby sweaters.  There's also enough gray to do another Pretty in Pink sweater (gray with pink trim) to replace one that sold last weekend.  The 2 I sold yesterday were hoodies so I've got to replace them, too.  I'm scheduled to work again next Sunday...wonder how many I can get done before then.
   Oh, the mice are back.  Jeff found one sitting on the stove eating a leftover baked potato.  I told that to my ophthalmologist's tech and she suggested I try the electric devices you plug in an outlet.  She said they work  and won't bother the dog so I bought one.  $21 plus change. (It better.) So far, so good.  Two days and no sign of mice. 
  

I Have A Cataract

    I have a cataract that is ready to be removed.  I was told at my appointment at the ophthalmology clinic at Bassett in Cooperstown on Thursday that the cataract in my right eye is ready.  That explains why I can't read the channel menu on the TV some days or why the running scroll across the bottom of the screen is out of focus. My doctor and I agreed that because of my current problem with warfarin (my INR being out of range) it might be a good idea to get it back into range...and keep it there for awhile...before phasing off warfarin and on heparin and doing any surgery.  So, one problem at a time.  Let's get my INR back into range and keep it there before we schedule cataract surgery and besides, the need to phase off warfarin and onto heparin and then back onto warfarin after the surgery is not high on my list of 'Likes'.  Did it once, to have my left meniscus repaired and am not looking forward to doing it again .  So-o-o we'll decide next July when to do the cataract.  Hopefully that will be enough time to get the INR stable again.  In the meantime, it's a change in Rx for my glasses and hopefully, I'll be able to read the channel menu on TV. Or maybe I'll just get a pirate's eye patch.
   HOF Weekend was very successful for the shop.  I sold out of baseball hats so that's today's chore.  Should be able to do 3 or 4 to take down with me tomorrow when I work.  Yesterday I took down a size 1 Black Sheep cardigan in dark jade with raspberry trim.  There's suppose to be a matching hat in the shop but it was part of the outside display and it was too hot and bright for me to take any photos after having my eyes dilated during my eye exam.  If they're both there tomorrow I'll snap their photo and post it tomorrow night. (Opps...the hat didn't match!)

   I was down to my last 3 raspberry buttons and Walmart had already discontinued them because they labeled them 'spring items'.  I tried the manufacturer's website but no luck there, either.  They were made solely for Walmart and are now out of production.  And I did buy all that was on display every time I was in the local store!!!  Anyway, I modified the front of the cardigan a little and it got the last 3 buttons. Most toddlers who fit into a size 1 don't like buttons anyway!
   Jeff's brother and nephews were here last weekend and the 'boys' went fishing at Lowe's pond and the Erie Canal.  They got some but nothing like the big ones Jeff got last week.  It's been too hot to fish this week.  Maybe Tim will be back tonight or tomorrow.  Last week they stayed out all one night!

A Good Day To Go Fishing

     Jeff spent this morning fishing and came home with this carp that measured 33".  Fanny wasn't sure what it was so she had to check it out carefully.  Jeff figures it weighed 20-30 lbs.  He  hooked a 'shovel 

head' pike that was about 4' long but it broke his line.  He also got a couple of bullheads and some perch.  He set his minnow trap and hopefully, it will be full of minnow the next time he goes fishing

Jeff maintains there aren't any mosquitoes at this pond just big fish!  Big bass, big pike and big carp!  And don't forget those snapping turtles!  We think this pond may be spring fed and it's probably what's left of the farm pond from when the whole area was a truck farm.
  (Jeff was happy to talk about this fish and the big pike that got away with Theresa and Brenda when we stopped at the shop today in Cooperstown after his MD appointment while I restocked my display.  I think he may try for that pike again, tonight.  Stay tuned for updates and photos!)7/21/16

We Need A Supper Joint!

    Between the hot humid weather and sharing my cold, this week cooked meals have been rather haphazard around here.  Last night neither one of us
was hungry at supper time but a couple of hours later we both were but neither one of us felt like cooking so we tried to go out for supper.  At 8:30pm on a Thursday night there's not much open  except the high-priced restaurants and the fast-food joints.  We decided to try Denny's coz Jeff always liked going there when he first moved to Herkimer.  The menu sounded good but the prices had gone up but we decided on what we were hungry for and ordered anyway.  Jeff got pot roast with mashed potatoes, veggies and garlic bread and I got a burger with bacon and cheese and fries.  With his coffee and my soda the bill came to $27.00.   Unfortunately, it wasn't worth it.  Jeff's meal was cold (cold gravy???)  and the portion size was ridiculously lacking.  My burger was sitting in a pool of oil.  Oh, well, Fanny enjoyed the burger and we went home hungry.  I guess next time we're going to have to try Applebee's  or Pizza Hut. Tonight I'm biting the bullet and cooking...spaghetti and meatballs with hot sausage and garlic bread.  I guess we've been spoiled by Belly Busters and Mona's Diner (Mohawk).  You get your money's worth of good food at both places.  The only downside is that they don't stay open for supper.

Fishing

   After babysitting with a sick me for the last 3 days,  Jeff took today off and went fishing.  He got this 5 lb, 20" bass in the pond next to Lowe's in Herkimer.  And he says,
this isn't the biggest one
in there!  Another

fisherman told him he had gotten 20-30 lb. catfish and carp from the same pond.  Jeff also got a sunfish and a turtle.  Now we've just got to figure out how to get the photos he took with my Tracfone and I sent to my email uploaded here.  That turtle is one ugly sucker!

It Only Gets Worse

       My sore throat developed into a full-blown cold and nothing is worse than a summer cold, right?  I spent most of Saturday and all of Sunday sleeping...and coughing and blowing my nose.  At least the weather was lousy so I didn't feel as if I was missing anything.  Sunday Jeff even made chicken soup of what was left of that rotisserie chicken I had gotten for Friday's supper!  Then today I had to do my self-INR test...or a finger prick...and got a really low reading (1.6).  Now I'm waiting for my anticoagulant nurse to call and tell me how my warfarin dose has been changed and if I have to go to the lab and have blood work done. (Dr. usually orders blood drawn in the lab if the meter reading is too far out of range and 1.6 is almost a full point below my range.) Now if this cold would just clean up.
   We've lost half of our corn crop to something that could pull the seedling right out of the ground!  Probably that raccoon that we've added to our
wildlife list recently.
   The folks at the florist near us on the highway own most of the land around us including the old
trolley right of way.  For years they allowed the local snowmobilers usage but lately 4-wheelers have taken over and the dirt trails are pretty mucked up. They tried posting the area but the kids didn't pay attention to the signs.  Then they tried fences but the kids took them down.  This year they told the snowmobilers 'sorry but you're out' and put cables across the paths.  And put up a game camera.
They got some good shots of the local wildlife...both
animal and human with clear facial shots of the 4-wheelers going thru the barricades.  Next they will be felling trees across the trail.  Jeff's already got permission to take down all that he wants to open up the back yard...something he's been wanting to do for some time now.
  I think it's nap time.  I hope I corrected all the misspelled words!

I Didn't Even Feel Like Knitting

    I spent yesterday in the shop in Cooperstown developing a sore throat.  And no, it wasn't caused by sitting in front of the AC all day because we don't have AC in the shop.  By the time I got home, I was tired, sweaty...I had taken a shower that morning but you couldn't tell...and generally in in a bitchy mood.  I had to stop at Walmart to pick up my Rx's so I called Jeff and asked if a rotisserie chicken would be OK for supper.  I saw that they had just filled the pizza display case so I grabbed a pepperoni pizza, too.  Fanny met me at the door...bouncing off the inside but it was locked and she was no help opening it. I had to put some of the grocery bags on the porch floor to get the door unlocked.  Once the door was open Fanny was all over me...or maybe she smelled the cooked chicken and the cooked pizza?  Anyway she wouldn't leave me alone...even following me to the bathroom!  I finally had to yell at her to leave me alone and let me pee in peace before Jeff called her and tried to get her to go outside.  I guess I hurt the dog's feelings because when she came back in she stayed away from me...for about 5-10
minutes.  We all ate the pizza for supper and Jeff had the chicken for his midnight snack.  He had gone to Belly Buster's (the old Dandy Donuts) for breakfast and came home with a loaf of their great rye bread and half a dozen of donuts.  Yum!
   All I got done in the shop yesterday between the few customers I had was read a book.  I put a

(click on the photo to enlarge it.)

display on the side of the building but had to take it down when it started to rain.  And boy, did it rain!  Our parking lot became a lake with our garden an island in it!  Once it stopped the water finally drained away but for about 20 minutes after that downpour, it was Lake Doubleday out there!

   Today I woke up with a croak instead of a voice and have been drinking hot sweet tea all day.  My throat still hurts but is better than last night but now

I'm freezing.  I made myself some pastina and butter (that's acini pepe for you nonItalians).  But

I'm still in a bitchy mood so I think I'll just grab a book and go to bed. 

(click on the photo to enlarge it.)

As The Garden Grows

     While Jeff's been busy in his garden, I've kept busy knitting.  Here's my latest Pin-stripe hoodie, a size 6months, with the last of the 5/8" baseball buttons.  Now I'm working on a size 1 hoodie with a navy hood and navy sleeves and a white body and white ribbing.  The buttons have gotten larger, too, 7/8", but that's what I could find.

    Jeff got the new gutter pipe put together.  It still needs the float, tubes and water source but Fanny decided to inspect it anyway.  She decided it's at the right height for her to get a drink if Jeff leaves one of the holes free of a planted bag.  Jeff's thinking of rebuilding the raised boxes this summer but I suggested he replace most of them with the gutter pipes.

   The bush beans are doing well in their landscape fabric bed, but you can't beat the potatoes in the Rubbermaid tubs!  They are all doing well but this is the bushiest!  Jeff is hoping for 10lbs of potatoes per tub.  Wouldn't that be nice?  Just have to wait and see.

Almost the Fourth of July

       The gardens are growing.  Jeff got another length of sewer pipe and more 2x4's to set up another gutter garden.  I think this one's going next to the box garden out front.  The greenhouse is full! 

Got tomatoes and peppers showing already and the corn and beans have popped thru the landscape fabric! 

The blackberries are getting nice and fat.  The birds won't go into the greenhouse where they are but the chipmunks....  We'll see who gets to the berries fires, me or them! 
Wally from next door bought a 1940's era farm tractor and parked it across the 

driveway from our garden...his comment on our 'farm'?
   The shop had a fantastic June, the best in our 43 year existence!  Hope July follows!  I started a pin-stripe hoodie yesterday, this one's a size 9months, and should finish it tomorrow.  Then I'll start another one, probably a size 1. 

I should have them both finished by Friday when I work again.  Those little sizes go fast but I lose time when I have to stop and untangle those balls of yarn!

   Today Jeff's sister, Sherry, and my cousin, Ed, came over for dinner.  It was an 'in-side picnic' with chicken, potato and macaroni salads, baked beans and corn-on-the-cob.  I saw "S'more's cupcakes"

at Hannaford yesterday and decided at $6.99/6 I could make my own. Haven't figured out how they 'toasted' their marshmallows, so I used a candle and did OK.  Our guests brought watermelon and cantaloupe.  No one ever goes away from our table hungry!  My poor little refrigerator is bursting with leftovers but that means I don't have to cook tomorrow!!

    We added another thing to Fanny's ever-growing 'But I'm Afraid of That' list the other night  when a lightening bug got in the house and was flying around the bedroom after the lights were turned off.  Boy, that bug lite up the room like a green LED light!  Fanny sat up on the bed, then got off the bed and went under it, and finally, left the room.  When the bug flew into another part of the house, she came back to bed.  Did it chase her back to bed?
   We went out Friday night and of course, left the porch light on.  When we came home, Fanny and Jeff took their time coming into the house and a bat got to porch before they did!  I came out of the house to see what was taking everyone so long and saw the bat flying around, bumping into the laundry room window.  There was a large, clear plastic Rubbermaid tub on the porch that was empty so I picked it up and stood behind the bat.  It tried to fly away but flew into the box instead.  I just walked to the door and turned so the poor creature could find it's way out.  It flew away.  I don't like to kill bats because they can eat their weight in mosquitoes every night! 

But I was glad it was on the porch and not in the house.
     Tomorrow will be the 108th anniversary of my father's birth.  The 4th of July was always celebrated in a big way in our family with a party for him with family and friends...especially at camp!  Hope he's still celebrating.  Happy Birthday, Dad!