Working in the Yard

I started this morning working in the yard. I watered all the plants. I picked up sticks, weeded the flowerbeds and put mulch in the backyard flowerbeds. Before I could get the front completely finished, it began raining. I fed and watered the animals too. Then just before the rain began we decided to give Slinky, the dog, a bath. After about three days, he begins to stink. So, twice a week, he gets a bath. What a dog. he really is high maintenance.

Then I baked some peanut butter cookies.

We went to the Red Cross volunteer banquet at noon. It lasted until about 1:30 then we helped clean up and took Kathy Newman home.

After we got home, we went to the grocery store. A very busy day.

Rose of Sharon in Bloom

This is my favorite time of year. The flowers around our home are in full bloom and something blooms constantly. These Althea or Rose of Sharon bushes were planted the year we moved here five years ago...all but the largest one. It was already here. There was no shrubbery around the house. It was just a plain house. A friend, Karan, gave me two of these bushes. They were growing in her walk and she wanted to get rid of them. Fortunately, they are some of the prettiest shrubs we have.

Every morning, I get up and feed Missy and Slinky and give them fresh water and then I begin watering my flowering plants. I make myself a cup of tea or coffee and sit on the patio and enjoy the birds and the flowers. It's a lot of work but well worth it. The one here on the lower right is just beginning to bloom. But these lovely shrubs will bloom for months and will grow almost anywhere.

The hanging baskets are on our porch area. Those are vining geraniums and asparagus plants.
Bob painted the porch floor yesterday so everything out there looks nice and fresh.

Soon the crepe myrtle will be in bloom. It's a later plant but is another one of those plants that will grow anywhere. They die back in winter but come up again from the roots and often grow as large as a tree as do these Rose of Sharon.

Cataracts

Today Bob and I went to the doctor in Bartlesville to look into the possibility of getting surgery for his cataracts. They have become bad enough that he has trouble reading street signs. The right eye is the worst eye. He will have surgery on it the first Wednesday in July and then a month later, he will have the surgery on the left eye.

Hopefully, following that procedure, he will at least be able to see better. His hearing is very bad even with his hearing aids but he does fine if he's not in a crowd or in a noisy room.

He made himself unavailable to FEMA so they won't call him up.

We went to the hospital's ice cream social on Friday evening and he enjoyed visiting with my cousin Sue, shown here.

Great Weekend!

Our son, Scott, from Fort Leonard Wood came for the weekend to visit and we had a really good visit. He will leave Sunday morning because he has a date waiting in the Ozarks. This afternoon, our daughter, Leslie and her husband, John, invited us out to swim in their pool. They will meet us later at the Tavern on the Plaza for steaks.

They are preparing to begin a new home, their first in thirty three years of marriage. They are very excited and I can't blame them one bit. I am so glad Scott got to go out and see his sister and brother-in-law. He is so alone.

What's With Congress?

What's with this congress? After holding out for months, the Democrats have passed the war funding bill...without any stipulations. Then they are going to pass the FISA act too today, allowing the government to spy on all citizens without a court order. That is treasonous. It is unconstitutional.

It all began with Nancy Pelosi saying there would be no impeachment for this treasonous administration. What is the deal the Democrats have made with the administration? It is a mystery. The Republicans impeached Bill Clinton for lying about an affair but we are giving a pass on this administration which has committed high crimes and misdemeanors against the American people. None of this makes sense to me.

Inconsiderate Grandson

I am angry with my youngest grandson. He is just graduating from Coast Guard boot camp and was to have come to Fort Leonard Wood to see my son, his father, for his nine day leave. He was to have called last weekend to tell him where and when he would be coming in.

My son did not hear from him so he didn't know whether he would be coming to Springfield ot Saint Louis. Out of desperation, Scott called his ex-wife to see if she had heard from Jerod. Sure enough, he had decided to go visit his mother instead and didn't even bother to tell his dad. I was furious with his inconsiderateness.

It is just another of his signs of immaturity. A mature person is considerate enough to call about a change of plans and not just expect a person to figure it out for themself.

I have written to him ever since he went into the coast guard but will not bother to write him again. He has never answered any of my letters anyhow.

Computer Work

I spent yesterday afternoon working on my sister's computer. They had 501 spyware clogging up their machine. The new AVG anti virus free has added free spyware protection. It took well over an hour to scan their entire computer but we got it done. They have a dial up connection so it took nearly three hours to just download the program. That is just another reason why I am glad to have a cable connection.