Susan's Place Transgender Resources

I got back from the Asian market and there was a package waiting for me.
Either a carburetor to fix the snowblower or a silk floral blouse. 
I was happy to see it was the blouse I've been waiting for!  XS is my size!  It is crop style so it is the right length for me.  I have a lot of clothes and have gotten picky about how well clothes fit.  I have some sewing machines that were used to hem my guy clothes but now I just spend more time shopping for brands that fit me.

Being retired I can take my time digging out of the snow with a shovel, but the new Chinese made carburetor is only $18.  Probably cost more to clean it and buy new gaskets. 

Just finished wrapping my roses for winter with burlap. The burlap helps them stay dormant during the thaw part of our freeze/thaw winters. I have enough roses to bloom continuously all season long.

I'm still golfing during the winter! I don' hit it very far but I can be very accurate with my irons.  Since October I've been making at least birdie a month!  Didn't one until December 17th but I got one on January 3rd!  Golf is a lot of fun when you can keep it in the fairway and hit greens with your approach shots.

Marion

Good to have you back, Marion!

~Sara

Sounds like my parcels except the blouse bit!!

Amazon said my carburetor was delayed until Monday so I went to Walmart to get some cleaner to fix the old one.  Then I get home and it says they can deliver it today!  Sure enough, it shows up at 3PM.  In less than an hour I get it installed an now my snow blower is running again!
I guess that is how it is done these days.  Buy a new carburetor for  $18 and swap it out for the old one.  Also came with a fuel shutoff valve and fuel filter.  Project for later.  Latest forecast says we will be having heavy snow in couple hours for our first big snow storm of the season!

When I fix something for the first time I usually need a new tool. This one was no exception, as I needed a fuel line puller!
I rummaged around my tool box and found a cheap 5/16" wrench stamped out of steel.  Bent it in a vise and sharpened the jaws with a file and I had my new tool in a matter of minutes!

Keep the original.  They can be rebuilt and rebuilt.  The cheap new ones are disposable.  Go ahead and use the new one, but be cleaning the old one, you'll probably need it soon.

The old one lasted twenty years without cleaning!  And it looks great inside as I always drained the gas. Nor did I run it in a dirty environment.  Most likely there are just a few tiny nozzles that got clogged so it would start easily and stop running.  The problem is the ethanol in the gas that gums up the works.

What I really needed was a new gasket and replacement hoses.  Rubber doesn't age well. Never messed with fixing small engines.  Now I've fixed both my lawn mower and snow blower in a matter of months!  Helps to have spare parts in case something goes wrong.

It is pretty amazing to be able to order something like that and have it delivered in 2 days just before a snow storm!
And then be able to have it up and running when you have never fixed that problem before.

Its amazing just how cheap these Chinese carbs are. I bought one last year for my generator. I remember the rebuild kits costing around 15 back in the day. I think its the ethanol in the gas that destroys the gaskets and seals. I run Stabil now in all my small engines. Not sure if it helps but gives my confidence I'm doing something.
Gina

When possible, run non-ethanol gasoline in small motors. 

Costs a bit more but I can buy ethanol free fuel.  I use that in my 3 vintage ('56 Chev, '57' Rolls and '65 Chev).  I don't seem to have to worry about parking them over the winter.  My Honda mower struggles a minute or more to start in Spring, but a shot or so of ether does the trick.  In my US built mower it was always a struggle to get it going every year.  I had a heck of a time with weed whackers.  I gave up and bought electric.

I flooded my Honda mower a few months ago and found out I could clear that by tilting over the mower!  I looked into getting ethanol free gas and it would be cheaper just to clean and alternate carbs as they go bad. I last ran the mower in December and will likely run it again in a month when we get a mid-winter warm spell.  So it is like I run my mower all year.  The oil in it is amazingly clean.

Also needed to fix the gas cap as it didn't vent properly but all that required was some copper wire to hold it loosely in place so it didn't tighten with the vacuum pressure!  After that it ran great!  Little lady with the big two stage snowblower!  My neighbors certainly noticed as I can help them out and clear the block's sidewalk first thing in the morning. 

I have to run my 68 VW panel on super unleaded fuel as the ethanol in the standard unleaded will kill the fuel lines and carbs, same with the Austin hot rod as the engine is 96 vintage fuel injected

When I first joined back in 2018 I mentioned a target weight of 108lb, which is now my current weight!  My waistline down to 24 inches and my bust has increased to 32A! At the time I had shoulder length hair.  Now it reaches the middle of my back. My hips haven't changed at 34 inches.

I retired back in April and have been living by myself in a small house since my wife passed from ALS back in 2014. As there is no cure for ALS, she went on hospice for the last half year.  Medicaid paid for everything.  In the USA going quietly via the hospice option is a way to preserve any assets you have for your loved ones versus opting for costly live saving medical procedures and drugs.

Good to see you back. 

Is HRT and surgery needed to transition?  I've transitioned socially in a very accepting community but have yet to start HRT.  I don't see the benefits of HRT as outweighing the disadvantages. A loss of  height and strength is often reported.  I can't really afford to lose any of either as I'm now 5' 2"
My hair is thinning but for some reason I don't have male pattern baldness like my father. I have a big strong neighbor next door who is the manager for a chain auto repair place who I can call on for any help.  I have a very feminine hourglass figure, a female speaking voice with excellent modulation as a result of professional speech therapy, and female mannerisms.

I like competitive activities, like competing in flower shows and playing golf.  It is impossible not to notice who grows the better flowers or who has the better golf swing.  Especially when you win all the top prizes.  I also like to share what I do and get feedback on what works and doesn't work for other gardeners.  When I play golf I get to talk and share ideas on how to play better golf.  There is an art to helping your random partners play better golf.

We only got five inches of snow in Connecticut.  Then it warmed up to 50 and the warm rain melted the snow.  Not much need for a snowblower in weather like that but it is nice to have just in case we do get a nasty blizzard.  I remember when we used to get blizzards. I recall my big noisy snowblower distracting a squirrel, allowing a big hawk to grab lunch and fly away with it.

You look too young to retire!  Transition is faceted.  Where you are comfortable and dysphoria well controlled, there is no need for the HRT or surgeries?

Yes, I'm younger than the "age of invisibility."  When I walk across parking lots people will stop and wait a minute for me to cross in front them!  As a short guy I'd consistently get ignored.   Now it is totally different. My hair has been too long to be practical for over a year but I figure that this is my last chance to have really long hair so I just let it grow.  :D

I am very well off as my investments have done very well.  Sort of like when you don't worry about losing your balls and the other guy blinks first!  ;D
I was married long enough to collect survivors benefits when I turned 60.  So I can wait and then collect my own benefits later on.  I have enough cash flow that I don't have to touch my investments.

MM, I know you enjoy connecting with people as you tell your stories of chatting with this stranger or that in parking lots and at the golf course.

And I know you love sharing how you're extra-small and have an hourglass figure and you're wealthy and "win all the top prizes."

However, sharing and resharing and resharing all your points of self-pride might lessen your connecting with others. For example, I have praised Allie for her wit. I have praised REM for taking a stand against racism. I have praised Danielle for having the courage to move thousands of miles and begin a business and new life. If you share what you admire about others, you might find yourself connecting more.

But I'm not looking for connections here.  I connect with plenty of people.

I would like to show that you don't have to follow a particular path because you are transgender.

A big issue with most girls is getting acceptance from a partner.
I told my partner before we got married.  She observed me carefully and concluded I was in fact transgender based on stuff I routinely did.  That is a big issue with many relationships.  They are based on trust and keeping secrets will erode that trust.  A hidden secret can blow up a relationship.
I'd talk with her about all sorts of things but of course that only was her viewpoint on gender issues.

I used to build electronic projects but that changed when I had a stroke.  I decided I needed to get out of the house and do stuff that would help my mobility.  So I returned to my childhood and built many of the exact same models I constructed as a kid.  Except that this time I built them to much higher standards.  I also re-engineered them to function as I thought they should!  I can still do electronics construction and repair as I have kept  all my tools and junk I've accumulated over the years.  Back when I was in rehab the consensus was that  nearly all of your recovery was in the first six months.  I found that to be incorrect in my case as I learned to throw darts a decade later!  And it took another decade before my balance was good enough to walk and play on golf course that was anything but flat.

I was shoveling snow last night at 9PM!  I timed it just right so I was able to scrape the sidewalk clean of snow enough for it to sublimate or disappear without snow melt.  Today I had very good paths for walking!  Totally avoided the danger of black ice.  It seems that every year I know someone that has a very nasty slip and fall accident that requires weeks or months of rehab.

I do a lot of my cooking from basic ingredients.  I am very good at picking out choice cuts of meats and cutting it up when I get home into single serving portions.  This helps me manage my weight I only cook one meal at a time.  It is a great way of saving money as raw meat and seasonings isn't that expensive, especially when you compare the cost of home cooked meals to take out.

I tend to batch cook, have some pork belly slices that I froze as they were reduced price due to close to sell by date. Thinking sweet and sour stir fry but will cook them in the air fryer first to get rid of a lot of the fat, carrots and Monge to as well for veg intake.

The air fryer is great for making pork less fatty.  I sometimes heat up prepared pork from the Asian Market in the air fryer.  I learned that if I cut the top off a 1/2 gallon milk carton I can stick the air fryer basket in it to drain the oil!

Wandering the aisles of a grocery store looking for markdowns is a great way to save money.
Just have to remember that you don't have much time before it spoils.

I like to  dress nicely to put myself in a good mood for grocery shopping.  I also pick my shopping times so the store is less crowded.
I think this helps get better service.  Last time I bought day boat scallops the guy spent the extra time to pick out the extra large scallops that are great for searing in the pan with hot butter.

Our air fryer would smoke as the fat from chicken dripped onto the heating elements. I found if we put a few slices of bread in the basket to catch the grease it helps. 
Gina

When not in use, it is best to unplug the air fryer, not just turn it off, to help prevent fires.

A cleanable and replaceable liner has proven helpful to use in my air fryer.
The cleaning seems to be easier too.


Chrissy

element is in the top on mine, took 2 big paper towels to mop the fat up just.

Just got a purple crop blouse through Revolve, a popular Internet shop for clothes.
I'm really short, so this is very figure flattering when I wear it.  I do a lot of "retail therapy." 
My wife used to pay for a therapist "out of pocket"  as insurance wouldn't cover it.  "Retail therapy" is less expensive!
(https://i.imgur.com/YTFY4Bgm.png)

Instead of moving, I transitioned at work over several years, first wearing nail polish and high heels, which made that distinctive sound on the linoleum floors. It was a pleasure to switch to women's clothes as I have a feminine hourglass figure with hips that are a tad larger than my chest.  I started before the Pandemic.

After the Pandemic some women began to wear excessively casual clothes to the office, so a dress code was instituted.  I wore skirts to the office, as they were allowed while shorts were prohibited.  But, all good things have to come to an end eventually.  I realized that I had more than ample savings and it didn't make a lot of sense to continue working past 60, so I gave six months notice.  A few months later they hired another Tgirl, who happily maintains the "in your face" evidence that we exist. She wanted to move to a new city after transitioning, and our company was the ideal fit for her!

I was getting take out sushi and spotted a pink Hello Kitty Mitsubishi Mirage on my way home!
A cute little car made in Japan.  I also drive a cute little car made in Japan.

When I go out I'll often wear a little bit of dark red lipstick.  It doesn't take long to put on and helps as a gender clue.

My go to lippy is a bright red or an orangey pink? hard to describe but it goes with any clothes with orange or pink in them.

The bathroom sink drain was getting slow so I cleared it with a rubber plunger.
I filled the sink with water and instead of pushing down on the clog, I pulled up!
The suction pulled the clog up and broke it up in pieces to be picked up and tossed in the trash.
Much better than using nasty drain cleaners.

Marion

Tip on the telly in a house cleaning program, baking soda and white vinegar followed by a boiling kettle of water. Baking soda and a bit of washing up liquid to shift calcium stains around taps, tile grouting and things like that using a tooth brush.

I changed the gender identity information this week with both my doctor and dentist offices.

I find it much easier to present as female.  When I used to present as a guy I'd often fall into the uncanny valley between male and female! 

Danger Zone!  The uncanny valley between male and female is a danger zone!
It sets off all sorts of alarm bells.

Drag queens are safely out of the danger zone.  They aren't considered threats.

It is like an airplane flying near its stall speed. 
You may think  you are safe, traveling slowly, when in reality you are in great danger of tumbling out of the sky if you lack enough altitude to recover.

Based on this thinking, if you are going to out yourself, best to go full throttle and present as convincing a female image as is practical.  Avoid being right in the middle, thinking that may be easier for people to accept.  Being in "uncanny valley" makes it harder for the people you wish to reach.

I have found that it doesn't take much to look more feminine. Too often drag and cross-dressers try too hard and end up way over the top.

When someone looks at you, what do they notice first? Hair? A feminine hairstyle, short or long works. Their subconscious mind is already taking in data to decide. Eyes? A little eyeliner works so well that I skip the mascara. Lips? A light touch of color is all that is needed. Some people like bright reds but I prefer dark pink. Maybelline Color Stay stains the skin, so after wiping it off, I still have a hint of color. As they scan down, next is boobs. Big or small, ANY will register. If the overall look is feminine (not slutty or overdone) their subconscious will whisper "female".

FtM can use the same tricks. Shorter hair in a masculine style. A little smoky eye shadow around the mouth can give the illusion of a five o'clock shadow. Shoulder pads to make the torso look wider at the top.

I agree that "going all out" is the way to go to stay out of "danger alley". But it doesn't require heroic efforts to signal your gender. Observe how most women (or men) dress, talk, and behave in general. If you can mimic what they do, you will blend in perfectly.

I wore high heels to the garden club meeting and bought freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.
I made two cookies without any chocolate and made the cookies really small since everyone seems to be on a diet these days. 

Winter in New England is drab and dreary so I opted for some bright color in my outfit, wearing a florescent yellow shirt over a light green crop top.  I picked out blue jeans with a shiny fabric.

Pass the shades!!! All the colours of a flower bed dear.

I think it is more feminine to read the room and adapt to what your audience wants, hence the small cookies and providing an alternative for those who don't like chocolate.

I had spotted someone new and had a conversation, identifying myself as one of the more experienced members.  I found she wanted to grow roses where there may only be enough sun for them to flower once during the year, yet she wanted modern repeating roses.  I suggested she may want to consider old garden roses and hook up with gardeners who like give away roses that are out of commerce because they don't repeat like modern roses.

Suggesting your fellow member mine someone else's garden for old school roses who's going new school is a good idea, Marion.

I just got my annual fix of See's chocolate! 
$90 for two boxes of dark chocolate, five candy bars, and assortment of Easter themed candy.
The weight goes to my hips to maintain my hourglass figure.  😀 

I bought my first glass nail file from the Mark Twain gift shop twenty years ago.
They really make a difference in keeping my nails properly shaped.
I decided to stock up and bought eight new ones via Amazon.

A box of aluminum plant tags for properly naming the hundreds of flowering plants I have growing around the yard.  A sharp pencil leaves a mark that won't fade in the sun. I've also used Avery labels and a laser printer to make tags that last twenty years but it is useful to be able to make tags without a computer.

Your lucky , mine just goes to my tummy--------

I have a glass file that I use too. I love it!

Mmmmm I can smell the chocolate from here.

Hugs!

Quote from: davina61 on March 13, 2024, 02:43:38 PMYour lucky , mine just goes to my tummy--------

Mine goes to my head.

I like labeled plants, Marion. A couple hundred, huh? Whew! More than I have and my garden is an acre. I do a lot of mass plantings.

Got my state and federal tax refunds.
When I was picking my retirement date I realized if I timed it right, I could earn just enough money to fall into a lower tax bracket and pay less taxes on the money I earned.  That is because taxes are based on earnings over a calendar year.  I got to work on my garden as Spring finally arrived.

Spring is early this year!  My roses are already leafing out this year.  Well ahead of the yellow forsythia.
The daffodils are in bloom.

Still way to wet to get on the soil here and still more wet stuff coming next week.

I live north of you, Marion, and my garden is quiet. I think my azalea buds might be slightly larger, but this might be wishful seeing. However, I'm happy. I built my garden to be pretty in the winter too, so I look outside and enjoy plenty of color and my critter feeding stations means it's always busy outside too.

I'm wearing my most challenging pair of high heels tonight.  A barbie pink Cole Haan with just four straps in front and none in back.
Wearing high heels helps my balance.
(https://i.imgur.com/TF0PK8ym.png)

Very pretty shoes Marion.
 I have started working my vegetable garden yesterday. Hoping to get in some cool weather stuff soon.
Gina

Marion does windows!  The last owner of the house installed bay windows with vinyl trim that blew off in nasty winter storms.  I got on a ladder and pounded it back in with a white rubber mallet, then cleaned the windows with glass cleaner.
 
I've been digging out perennials to make way for a new rose bed!  The ground is quite workable as the temperatures have stayed above freezing.  I remember times in which the ground was still frozen at this time of years.

Over 2-1/2 inches of rain and it is still coming down!  Lots of ponding in the backyard but fortunately just a little in the basement.

Found out from the oil maintainence guy that if I get a new oil tank, I'll need to remove a shelf installed by the former owner above the old oil tank.  They used the shelf for cloth dryer supplies.  I was going to rip it out until I saw electrical wiring attached to it.  It had two shelves, so I shortened the four 1x3 wood supports with a fine bladed miter saw to hold just one shelf above the oil tank.  Full body workout standing on a short ladder to saw the two back 1x3s.  Made half a dozen trips to complete the task, doing a little at a time and keeping an eye on the trickle of water on the basement floor that goes from one window and out the door.

That was fast!
I had my 30k car service Monday and needed new ball joints.
They were able to get the parts from a nearby shop and I got the car back that day.

But in the process I ended up playing phone/email tag with the guy who sells the oil tanks and figures out what needs to be done.  We managed to meet and he sent the contact via email the next day.
He said they could install it the very next day after a weekly meeting.
Sure enough, they came 45 minutes early and left in time for lunch!  Now I have a new oil tank!

Interactions are different when you are female. Guys look for affirmation from women.  Told him I'm an engineer so he knew he didn't have to explain anything.  But I also mentioned that electricians make really good money if they can pass the tests.  Told him about the car service wasting the day so the phone tag didn't matter and gave him a chance to vent about one of his own issues getting a simple oil change.  Guys like to be able to share stories like that.

I had the work area cleared away inside and out.  With a tarp over the dryer. They were all smiles that morning.
The guy who gave me the paperwork said he had time to hang the dryer duct from the ceiling behind the new oil tank!  They caught a nice break in the weather.  Now it is back to wet rainy weather.

Bit of a storm here this afternoon, watching horizontal rain past my kitchen window.

Yesterday I deconstructed an old recliner purchased twenty years ago from Bob's Discount Furniture.  The fabric was attached with lots of steel staples.
It is fun to see how stuff is put together.  It used a lot of plywood.  I now have a large lazy Susan or rotating platform to play with.

I used to rely on cooking thermometers but I can now smell when foods are important cooking temperatures from a distance!  I've now been cooking for a decade.  Today I'm cooking corned beef brisket in a slow cooker for dinner and will be having Teriyaki flank steak for lunch.  Yesterday I got up early and had the corned beef for lunch and the flank steak for dinner.

I used to wear heels all the time at work but stopped when I retired a year ago.
I wore heels the other day when I went out to get my eyes checked.  I ought to wear heels more often!

My investments are doing great since I retired! 
My  SS widow's benefit covers most of my expenses since the house is paid for.
Plan to spend more time fixing up the house this year. 
Yesterday I moved a room darkening blind to the master bedroom after breaking off some brittle slats in the old one. 
The old one was 11 years old.  We had a guest and they broke the one it replaced.  Bad luck spot for blinds!

You're a busy bee, MM. Good for you!

Busy on dear, nice to get jobs sorted.

Quote from: davina61 on April 04, 2024, 11:51:11 AMBusy on dear, nice to get jobs sorted.

She's a dervish!

Planted a new rose bed between two long asphalt driveways.
A dozen big hybrid tea roses from a friend who is moving in a week.  Took me four hours to dig them up.
An ideal location with all day sun and excellent drainage.

Used to be a perennial  bed.
I transplanted a bunch of peonies as the soil was soft enough to dig them out with minimal damage to the brittle roots.  Ended the day by finding an Asiatic Lily under some weeds.  Moved it to a spot that is easy to see from the sidewalk.

I moved my fragrant roses to locations about five feet from the sidewalk so folks can smell them.

There was an old rose that got smothered by plants that I cleared, last year it put up 2 stems about 3 ft tall and no flowers. Now it has put out 3 long shoots so I am wondering if its just wild root stock? Will see what happens to it this year ,if its gone wild it will get dug up.

Old garden roses and root stock bloom on old wood, which means they wouldn't bloom on the three long shoots that just came out.  They would bloom on the two 3ft tall stems if left long enough to produce lateral growth out of the bud eyes on the stems.
Many OGRs fell out of favor because they would only bloom once in the late Spring or early summer in favor of modern roses that would bloom two or three times a year, typically in cycles seven weeks apart.

In New England a lot of yards have too much tree shading in the fall to allow modern roses to re-bloom unless located in choice spots away from the trees.  OGRs are a better choice if the roses don't get enough sun to bloom again.

I talked with my neighbor about her new roof.  A big crew of guys did it four hours.
I think they realized they need to do some improvements to their home when they heard about my new oil tank.

My wife commented years ago that she doesn't dress properly. She is a busy manager.  When she worked as a manager at Nine West they told her she needed to wear high heels.  A decade later she looks like a girl going off to school with her backpack!  I say this because dressing appropriately is a skill that is learned.  It doesn't come automatically!

Dressing appropriately is something that I can now do easily now that I can buy stuff off the rack that fits.  They don't make much in the way of clothes for short guys.  It was a lot of work trying to alter clothes to fit.  Now I can buy crops styles that don't need hemming!

Life as a woman in the USA means that you will be judged constantly by how you look.  I'm OK with that.

Sorting out sexuality.

I was happy to hear that Rachel in Philly was able to sort it out and find a partner who she gets giddy over! 

I think a lot of us have a "type."

Did you know that "You Belong With Me" foreshadows her current relationship with Travis Kelce?
She is attracted to #12, who catches the ball to win the game!  Travis is a tight end!
Her alter-ego, pushes him away in favor of the quarterback, right after the game winning celebration.
Quarterback is the alpha male on football field who gets to make the split second decisons on where the ball will go. 

Why not an alpha female hooking up with an alpha male?  Hard to have two leaders in a relationship!

This video was way back in 2009!  Taylor put in a lot of work singing the National Anthem at sporting events to gain valuable experience with singing in front of crowds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuNIsY6JdUw

I know most folks don't have the visual memory to recall details like this.

Here is the willow tree that I've been pollarding to keep it small.  It is about twelve years old.  The yellow flowers to the left are forsythia.

(https://i.imgur.com/lauc9oom.jpg)

You taught me a word, MM: pollard!

Your trees are way ahead of ours. I love the first flush of green. So bright and pretty.

The one pollard willow that was/is at my grand parents and then our house on the common was over 6ft in girth so how old is that?

Quote from: davina61 on April 20, 2024, 03:07:47 AMThe one pollard willow that was/is at my grand parents and then our house on the common was over 6ft in girth so how old is that?

One of the coolest things I saw in England was Weeping Willows trimmed on the bottom. They looked like Beatle 'dos.

I got my new flannel lined Eddy Bauer jeans!  They fit perfectly with no need for hemming or a belt!
I wore insulated Eddy Bauer pants all the time this winter to stay warm.
I look forward to warmer weather so I can wear short shorts and crop tops!

Dropped an large ugly branch off my maple tree. Most of it, anyway. 
I'm thinking of cutting off the bark near the trunk to let the wood season in place.
Then dropping a much lighter log onto the ground.
I chop up the wood with a bow saw and put it on a huge compost pile!

I harvest the compost or "black gold" to feed my rose bushes.
I know it contains no herbicides, a danger if you buy soil amendments.
The lack of persistence is what makes RoundupSpecial. 
It allows quick replanting without the need for a long wait.

I had some snow  crab.  I found the shells were soft enough to cut with my Hello Kitty pink scissors.

Yesterday I did some more tree trimming with my Silky pole saw.
I did something different.  Instead of using my arms I used my feet to raise the saw up and down!
As I've been doing a lot of walking with heels I can do that!
This allows me to hold the saw with my arms fully extended, to cut a branch high off the ground.

Just got a new watch.  Most of my watches have small faces that are sometimes hard to read.
This one is easy to read but will never be mistaken for a man's watch. The strap fits,  With one hole to spare!
The Indiglo is a really nice feature.  The face lights up when I touch the crown.

(https://i.imgur.com/u8oBWG5m.png)

I had some decaf Paris tea and Chinese coconut Gau heated in the air fryer for breakfast.  Gau is a sweet steamed rice cake similar to Japanese mochi.

Cute watch, MM.

I don't wear watches anymore, but I would wear that!

Thats just (pea) nuts

I have another big tree in my yard.  It is about 30ft tall and trunk is too big and heavy for me to take down safely.  It has been cut back for years but apparently it loved the wet weather and grew really  fast.

I bought my first micro mini skirt for $17.  It fits perfectly.  I'll wear it around the house when the weather gets really hot.  I save on the electric bill by not running A/C during the summer. Connecticut is 2nd only to Hawaii in how much we pay for electricity.

I can look out the window and see purple lilacs straight ahead and purple wisteria in bloom to the left.
Wonderfully fragrant when I'm outside in the back yard.
It is very peaceful back there with tall shrubs surrounding the yard on all sides.

When I had my own place, I planted lilacs, English lavender, and honeysuckle near the house. I could open the windows in the summer and the fragrant breeze blowing in was heavenly!

Mum has white and blue lilac in her garden, the bees love it. I have 2 more lavender to plant between the ones we put in last year and the rose arch.