Saturday, May 24, 2025
Scrapbook Saturday
Friday, May 23, 2025
Friday Frustration
That's a lot of hail and tender plant destruction. Once the hail melted she was left with this:
She had to wait until the rain dried up before they could get it all cleaned up. She said that many of her flowers were destroyed and blooms lost. Ugh!
My brother told me I should get rid of the pond. But, I love it. I've always liked a water feature. Once it's cleaned out for the season, it's fairly easy to maintain. We had 6 fish survive the winter. We'll add more soon.
Thursday, May 22, 2025
Five Things Thursday
I've heard of currants but I don't think I've ever tasted them. They are tiny--the size of peas.
I put my water bottle in there to show you how little they were--about the size of a grapefruit. I wonder if they are sweet. Actually, that's not much watermelon. I'd probably need 3 at a time!
Seems scary to me. I didn't touch it.
Tuesday, May 20, 2025
Travel Tuesday
I've included this picture just so my daughter, Sandy can see if we had the same tour guide (on the left). He was quite a character.
Here I am at the Rules restaurant--oldest in London--since 1798. The food was delicious. We had the BEST mussels. They were stuffed with bread crumbs and cheese. I always say that the thing with mussels is you just can't look at them when you eat them. They don't look particularly appetizing.
We're at the White Cliffs of Dover. This was part of the tour that took us to Canterbury. Butch felt like we would have seen them better from the water. He expected them to be more like the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland. They are definitely "whiter."
We took a tour of the "Royal Mews." For those wondering what that is, it's basically the garage and stables of Buckingham Palace. This was something new for us, so I thoroughly enjoyed it.
One of my favorite things to look for while traveling is seeing different birds. This is a magpie--so pretty and all over! It's a pretty large bird. My pictures weren't very good so I pulled this from the internet.
This was another favorite--the Himalayan Parrot. They were all over in St. James Park. Even though I've been to this park many times. I had never seen them. Our tour guide brought some peanuts so they would take them right out of our hand. Janet didn't want to do it, so she was supposed to take a picture of me. She missed it! Birds are too darn fast.
This was our first time to Highgate Cemetery. It was the most beautiful cemetery I've ever been to. We had the added bonus of so many flowers in bloom. It was so pretty and a very interesting tour.
I forgot to mention that Janet and I went to London first. After 5 days, Butch arrived. He made reservations for us at The George--the only remaining galleried inn. We went specifically for the Sunday Roast. Our reservations were for 6:30 p.m. There were 3 types of Roasts--but they were all sold out. In addition most of the chicken dishes were gone too. Butch was "bummed" but since he loves fish 'n chips, he was fine. I don't remember what Janet got. I ordered the mushroom chili. It was unusual and good enough, but I probably wouldn't order it again. Still, I was happy to be at another one-of-kine place with so much history.
After touring Kensington Palace, Janet and I walked to The Gore Hotel. We had drinks in the bar where The Rolling Stones celebrated the launch of their Beggars Banquet album in 1967. I have to admit, I am not familiar with that. I didn't have money for records.
When Janet and I toured The Tower, they were putting in the poppies in preparation for VE Day. They weren't for sale yet, so I didn't get to buy one.
"The Mall" is the road leading to Buckingham Palace. It was a beautiful sight to see it lined with the Union Jack! They were all over. It was an exciting time to be in London.

Monday, May 19, 2025
Me on Monday
I've admitted this before. I’m spoiled. But you might not know that I can throw bratty fits. Not the kind where I throw myself on the floor kicking and screaming, but more the kind where I go silent and become unreasonable. I know this, but when I'm in the midst of it, I can't talk myself out of it. I want what I want and I want it NOW!
I had an "episode" this week.
First, the background. You know I like white. White makes everything look clean and fresh--until it's not. Our house is trimmed in white and we have white columns. In the spring, everything is disgustingly filthy. Everything white is dirty. Besides the dirt, everything is covered with thick, sticky, pollen. Everything has to be cleaned--and I mean everything.
There is so much work to be done to get the pool, patio, and porch ready for the season. Here's the list:
Clean out the pond.
Pressure wash the patio.
Pressure wash the pool deck.
Clean out the pool shed.
Blow up the floats.
Clean all the furniture.
Clean and put out cushions.
Move plants from the sunroom to the patio.
Wash all the window frames to get rid of spider webs, pollen and general dirt.
Buy flowers and plants.
Re-pot plants.
Fertilize.
That's just out back.
In the front, the porch has to be cleaned.
The 6 white columns have to be cleaned.
Cushions need cleaning.
Furniture needs cleaning.
The 4 sets of French doors need cleaning to remove dirt and spider webs. Which leads top mopping up the mess inside since the doors are not air tight. It's a mess!
So here's what happened last week.
Butch and I were having Happy Hour on the front porch. I started to "wig out" about how filthy everything is. I also freely admit, I am over-the-top about this. But, I was getting myself worked up feeling like there's so much work to do and we're way behind. Nevermind that we were in England for the past two weeks--or at least I was. I guess I thought Butch would have it all done before he met me there. Well, he didn't and that's when I had my "fit." I was feeling so overwhelmed with everything that needed to be done, that I got myself all worked up and took it out on Butch--as usual. It's unfair and I know it. But when I get like that, I can't help it.
So, we started in the next day and got quite a bit of it done. But, I hated doing it. My back was killing me--it even cramped up on me in bed that night. We're too old for all of this back-breaking work! I've hired Mitchell to come do the pressure washing out back.
Also, I need to remember that it's pretty typical of me to feel tired and defeated at night with all that needs to be done. In the morning, I'm ready to tackle the world. I don't know how Butch puts up with me, but he has for nearly 54 years now. I'm so glad he does.
And then there's this. I've always talked about how well he takes care of me. My favorite thing he does is serving my tea in bed in the morning so I can read for about an hour before I get my day started. He does it in hotel rooms too.
Anyway, when we were in England, we were out and about. My hands were feeling dry. I asked Butch if he had any hand lotion--not really expecting that he would. I mean, I didn't have any since I use a smaller purse when traveling. How did I think he would? He pulled this out of his backpack:
OMG! He pulled this out! Not only did he have hand lotion, he also had mosquito repellent and a wet towelette! I've always said he can live out of his car with all the stuff he carries--including snack bars and water. Truly it's a survival kit on wheels. Well, I guess now I need to add his backpack to that list. One of these days, I'm going to make a list of everything he has in there. Oh and did I mention he has Equal in his backpack too? Like I said, he does a good job of taking care of me!I need to quit being such a brat!
Sunday, May 18, 2025
Something for Sunday
They went to Disney.
This slinky dog headband is so Jordan! I think it's adorable.
I love this picture. They all look so cute.