Window Decorations

How do you decorate your kitchen window?  This time of year, we usually have a few of these "red balls" in our window but this year we have a few more than usual.  We've been sharing them with neighbors and friends.

Every year Patrick plants his usual garden of tomatoes, cucumbers and green peppers.  The last couple years, our spring weather has been a bit unpredictable.  After the garden was planted, we would get cool/freezing nights so we weren't sure how much of his garden survived.  The cucumbers were replanted and have taken over the entire garden spot.

What we can't figure out is why the tomato plants dry up when there are still green tomatoes on them.  They get plenty of water from our sprinkler system so water isn't the issue.  Do any of you veteran gardeners have any ideas?

Also, since Patrick isn't bending much these days from his hip surgery; he was the Planter and I have become the Picker.  We seem to get it done!

It's Been a Week

It's been a little over a week since Patrick's surgery but this morning his lawn mower was calling for him.  He assured me he was ready to do this.

 

He barely got started and our neighbor stopped over for a chat. It didn't last too long.

The mowing is done but not without a little casualty with his incision; otherwise, it went just fine.

Taking Turns

This is more of an update on our summer infirmary.  Patrick had surgery yesterday on his "new" hip that he got almost two years ago.  The ball was replaced with a larger one to lengthen his leg; the cable that was wrapped around the joint was removed; and, tendon repair.  According to the doctor, all went well.  Now, the recovery begins; he came home today.  It's my turn to change bandages now as Patrick has been my nurse for the past three weeks.

Trust me, nobody would want us to post any photos of our procedures; I can hardly look at them myself.  We're just thankful we're on the road to recovery.

On the way home from the hospital today, Patrick told me that the doctor told him they would be sending him the old ball they removed from his hip once they disinfected it.  The old ball was ceramic; the new one is metal.  I wonder what we're suppose to do with the ceramic one - hang it on our Christmas tree???

Happy 4th of July

Even though our temperature was near 100 degrees today, we managed to get a nice pontoon ride in with family.  My sister, brother-in-law and 3 of their "kids", came out for their first pontoon ride (first with us).  Usually, they only come out at Christmas time and the scenery is a bit different in December.

Jim (brother-in-law) with his daughter-in-law, Sue:

 

Brothers, Craig and Marlin:

 

The women having a nice gab session (l to r Pat, Joanne, Kaylyn and Robyn): 

 

It felt good out on the water but it felt much better getting in air conditioning.  We enjoyed a nice barbecue before everyone headed back home.  It was a great way to spend the holiday.

This was taken on a different trip, but I didn't want to leave out the "captain" of the pontoon.  He was the photographer too.

 

2012 Ducks

As usual, we have been feeding the ducks again this summer.  The parade had been pretty steady of mostly Mallard Drakes up until about a week ago.  That was when the first Hen showed up with her little ones.  They weren't so little and already had feathers.  As best we can count there are either 13 or 14 of them.  The following picture is of one of their feeding sessions.

The next picture is of the second batch of little ones that have showed up with their mother.  I think there are 8 of them and they are still"fuzzy".

The last picture is a group of Drakes that show up on a regular basis.

The parade goes on and there is still the occasional Rabbit and Blue Jay that also sample the corn tray.

Patrick

Great Friends

It's great to have good friends and especially great before having surgery.  Yesterday I had plastic surgery on my leg for melanoma.  So far all is going well and reports are good.  Earlier last week, two of my girlfriends went shopping - as most women like doing.  In this case, they decided to make up a recovery basket for me to help me with my bed rest days.  There are 7 notes along with some fun stuff to open.  Today I got to open my first card - and, Carol and Marcia, it did make me giggle.  The goodies for today look good too.  How did you know Cheetos were one of my favorites.  The tea looks good - very thoughtful to buy me "diet" tea.

 

My other close friends are ones sent home with me from the hospital.  I've never used crutches before and am thankful I'm able to put weight on my sore leg; otherwise, this could be disastrous.  Also, a little like the airplanes, I have a little "black box" with a tube attached to my leg.  It's called an Acti-VAC pump and the pump is wrapped inside a bandage on my leg.  From what I was told, this is suppose to cause the wound to heal from the inside out; rather than outside in.  I guess we'll find out when it comes off next Thursday.

 

The surgeon originally told me that I'd be spending one night in the hospital BUT yesterday said it would be up to me and how I felt after recovery.  Fortunately, everything went according to schedule from check-in, radiology, and even a little early for the 2:00 surgery time.  I've never been in a hospital so had no clue what to expect.  When I woke up in recovery, I thought I was still waiting to go into surgery.  Gotta love those drugs.  The first thing the anesthesiologist told me when I woke up was "I think you can go home" - then, I thought I was dreaming.  I passed all the necessary vital tests and walking with crutches plus eating (hadn't eaten or drank anything all day).  I was home around 8:00 pm.  These are my other "good friends" but only for this week.

 

Last but not least, I've got a very attentive and wonderful "nurse" who has been doing remarkably well - even with his sore hip.  I couldn't do this without him.  He is having a follow-up surgery on his hip on July 5th so I have to be back on my feet by then so I can take my turn at being nurse.  So far we're going good - and it's only Day 1.

Patrick thought I needed a photo op when we got home from the hospital yesterday.  I bet he didn't think I'd dare use the picture here.  Note the neat bed tray - specially made by Patrick.  He does enjoy making things - anywhere from bread, pies, cookies, bird houses, and now trays.  What a guy!

 

If you have my e-mail address, drop me a line - I've got lots of time on my hands these days to chat.

Baker in the House

Most people that know Patrick know he gets up before the chickens - usually somewhere between 4:30 am and 5:00 am.  He does a lot of "research" on the computer during these wee hours of the morning too.  Lately, it's been new recipes.

This morning he tried out one of those recipes called Crusty Bread.

Of course, we needed to get a new pan for this bread; the regular loaf pan wouldn't work.  Yes, it's cast iron and very heavy.

The bread was baking when I got up this morning - the kitchen smelled great.

My experiment today is crock pot lasagna; the pictures wouldn't be as pretty as the bread.  The bread should go good with it.

Our Watch Dogs

Earlier this spring, we were concerned about the Bluebirds returning to the house they claimed last year.  It looked like the swallows were trying to claim it and there are plenty other houses for them closer to the river. Little did we know how territorial the Bluebirds are; they didn't need our help at all.

The picture that I couldn't get was when the Bluebird was chasing the squirrel across the neighbor's yard.  Also, we discourage the squirrels from coming around the bird feeders.  This morning the squirrel tried climbing the Bluebirds' tree after I chased it way, but didn't stick around very long.  The birds had it running in circles around the tree - pretty funny to watch.

Doesn't take much to entertain us.

Big Bird

It's normal for us to look out our kitchen window and see various birds; e.g., Gold Finches, Blue Birds, Blue Jays, Hummingbirds, Nut Hatches, and Chickadees.

This morning Patrick looked out and saw this walking in the back yard.

It was alone and we have no idea where it came from since we're along the water.  It didn't seem too concerned about the photo shoot either; probably, better than another type of "shoot".

Updating!

A couple weeks ago, during one of our several thunderstorms this spring, we were awakened at 1:30 AM by our security company calling to let us know they received an alarm that our smoke detectors went off.  They wanted to know if we were OK.  Lightening didn't strike our house and we didn't notice any smoke or damage - at least not at 1:30 in the morning.  It was later that we found out the television in our bedroom was hit with a power surge.  It was an old set so we weren't too sad when we had to take it to the recyclers.

We had been talking about getting a new television in the living room, but were waiting for that TV to "die" but it didn't.  We decided to move that TV into the bedroom and get a new one for the living room.

After dropping off the old television, we stopped just to look at some new ones so we could see the difference in screen size and picture quality.  We did a little more than look.  We found what we were looking for and brought it home.

Of course, we had one of those huge entertainment centers that weighed a "ton" as it was solid oak.  After checking Craig's List, I decided to give it away instead of competing with the 92 already listed for sale in our area.  One of my nephews found a home for it.

We ordered a new TV stand which arrived last week.  It had to be assembled and after we unpacked the box, one of the main pieces had a broken corner.  Patrick called right away and they shipped out a replacement part which arrived today.

The first two pictures are the old entertainment center.

Some assembly required!

 The assembly begins!

 Finally, the update is complete and we're enjoying the view.

One TV down, three to go.