This and That Check In

More mums are blooming in the yard.

I haven't done an exercise check in for a while, so I thought it was time. I continue to attend classes 4-5 times per week, unless there is something else on the schedule, such as a doctor's appointment. I like the line dance classes I go to and am becoming more comfortable each week. However, I wouldn't say that I like the rest of the classes. I go because they are good for me, and I don't seem to be able to push myself as hard as I need to when left to my own devices. I tried that for years, and an organized class is what I need. And now that I have the flexibility in my schedule since retirement, I can do them regularly.

However, in this morning's class, I pulled something in my groin and couldn't do some of the exercises. Hopefully, it will correct itself before too long, and I'll be back to my regular aches and pains.

Here are a few more things that have been happening around here recently.

Yesterday, Theo came over and we cooked a pot of split pea soup together. After having it for lunch, we each had a good amount to eat this week. The time before this, we made pizza beans (lima beans with a pizza twist). We still have some of those in the freezer.

After lunch, Theo casually mentioned that they were having
a family day at work, so off we went. They had lots of food and games,
but Ward was most interested in learning about the pallet jacks.

Last weekend, Ward and I volunteered to help with therapy dog certifications. The dogs and handlers have to go through a series of tests before they can go out into places like schools and hospitals. Our part was to help simulate the places they go to. For example, Ward was the grumpy old man with a walker, and I was a loud arguer. I loved watching how eager the dogs were to please. This was Zoe, a 9-year-old golden retriever who was being recertified. Recertification happens every two years.

On Friday, we planted a new crepe myrtle tree. It didn't look so big or heavy
in the nursery. I'm glad we paid for delivery, and Ward was able to dig
the planting hole where he had to cut through big roots and rocks. 

Another color of mum in bloom, along with pollinating visitors.

That's about all I can think of for now.

Until next time...

Hello, again

 Time has been flying since we got home from our trip to WV. I haven't posted since then, so I think it's time for some speed blogging, otherwise known as stream-of-conscious blogging. Also scattered throughout are pictures of what's blooming in the yard. 

If I've been doing anything with blogging, I have been working on a private blog about our trip. That way, I can add pictures where you can actually see people's faces. I'm also adding a few more photos than I did here where I was trying to summarize and not show you too many pictures. Adding pictures has been tedious because I collected them from three different places. And, of course, Blogger wasn't always cooperating. I finished with this chore yesterday. The posts are not necessarily pretty, but they will be good for recalling our trip.

Today, I went to the movies, and I think I must have broken some kind of personal record. Ward and I went to one in the summer, so that's 2 movies for me in just a few months. It was Miss Landers' birthday, so Aunt Martha and I took her to see Death Becomes Her. It's a cult classic from 1992 and stars Meryl Streep, Goldie Hawn, and Bruce Willis. It's a dark comedy among the other Halloween-type movies the theater was playing. This is the same theater that I went to in the summer, where I was freezing the entire film. Today, I found out that you can turn on heat for the seats as well as recline them. Live and Learn. The tickets were only $5, so we may actually go again. Maybe the third time will be the charm, and I will fully understand how my seat works. 

This weekend, I've been working on cleaning up our garden. I harvested the last of the lettuce and tomatoes and have been cleaning up the dead plants and weeds. I plan to cover it with black plastic this year, as the Farmer's Almanac recommended. Hopefully, that will cut back on some of the weeds in the spring.

Speaking of plants, we had our first frost this past week. Most things survived, but some did not. We're having a warm-up now, so I think we will have to keep mowing the grass. It's so happy this time of year with the lower temperatures and more rain.

I just finished reading The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown. The non-fiction book came out in 2013, and I'm a little late to the party to read it. In case you aren't familiar with the story, the book chronicles the rowing team from the University of Washington and their quest for the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. The book is intense but excellent. They later made a movie about it, but I haven't seen it. From what I read, the book is a richer experience with more background about the people. But, rarely can a movie include everything a book does.

Well, there goes my timer reminding me that it's time to fix dinner. We're having shepherd's pie from the freezer and a salad. 

Until next time...

Signs of Autumn

It's been autumn for almost a month, and it is showing itself proudly all around. Here are a few autumnal scenes in my neck of the woods.  

After a summer of meager growth, the lantana has finally come into its own - just in time for a frost that it won't survive. It seems to do this every year.

These mums give a good show every fall. The ones in the back that aren't blooming are ones whose roots got damaged by a burrowing animal of some kind.

I rescued these mums a few years back, and luckily, they have come back every year. And by rescued, I mean that someone was going to throw them away when they faded, so I took them and planted them.

A little closer look at the red ones behind the pink ones in the above picture. Also, a rescue plant.

And here is a plant that I actually pulled out of the trash a few days ago. It has perked up with a bit of water. I will plant this one and hope that it comes back next year. I seem to have more failures than successes with my rescue plants, but it's fun when they live to see another season.

Also, the trees in the neighborhood are changing colors, and the grass is happily growing with rain and cooler temperatures. Spring and fall are our busiest grass-cutting seasons.

Ward and I took a hike around a lake today and saw more changing leaves. 

While I don't like the colder temperatures and the shorter days, I do like the beautiful show autumn puts on every year. What does fall look like where you live?

I've Joined the Crowd

Anemone

Just like clockwork, five days after Ward came down with COVID, I tested positive. This is my second day, and it's not too bad. I had a fever that broke last night, and I feel better today than yesterday. Now it's just the common respiratory symptoms, a runny nose, a hacking cough, and some achiness.

Ward is on day seven and is feeling much better. In fact, according to the CDC, he's free to move about with a mask, so he's out getting some groceries for us. He is very happy to be out of the house, and we are both happy that we do not have to keep up the vigilance of staying apart. In fact, the first thing we did was sit together on the couch - a welcome change from the past week.

To get some fresh air this afternoon, I looked at some of the flowers in the yard. Even though the cats protested, it was good to get off the couch. Below are a few pictures.

These mums are quite the show-stopper every year.

A lone surviving zinnia among the mums.

Various vincas are still blooming around the yard, but our first frost last week has slowed them down quite a bit.

I put these marigolds in late, so they're just starting to bloom. 

These mums were some that Miss Landers was throwing out. I take seasonal mums that people don't want and plant them with varying success. I can usually get a couple more seasons out of them before they die out.

Same story with these mums.

Until next time...