That's the thing you just get to a different level of sameness the same as every one else in the world, its the comfort of just being you in that sameness/life . I just plod around doing what I like when I can .

Quote from: Jessica_Rose on August 10, 2024, 08:41:47 PMSusan had some oral surgery Friday afternoon, so she's on a jello, yogurt, cottage cheese diet for now. She's doing well, but it may be a week or so before she can start eating more solid food.

I've had a long day. Something woke me up at 3:00am. I am rarely able to get back to sleep. I carefully got out of bed so I wouldn't wake Susan. I got dressed, then went into the kitchen to fix my usual breakfast, a large blueberry muffin and Diet Coke. I carried it over to my office, then closed the door so I wouldn't disturb Susan.

While eating, I checked the news to see what was going on in the world. I also started down a chain of music videos, trying to find some new tunes, or at least something I hadn't listened to in a long time. I also straightened up my office a little.

Susan got up around 6:30, so I went into the garage and finished waxing my Honda. I had started work on it Friday evening after a thorough wash. It still looks pretty nice, especially when you take it's age (9 years) and mileage (156,000 miles) into account. When I was finished, I asked Susan if there were any groceries we needed. so she started making a list. Not long after, I got a text from work.

I'm on call this weekend, and one of our utility processes had failed. The process collects and stores performance data, which is handy to spot trends and troubleshoot. It took me about two hours to resolve the issue and monitor it until completion. The grocery list was ready, so I headed to Walmart.

It was a bit more crowded than I expected, but I was able to find everything on the list. They even had some tomato cages on clearance in the garden shop, Susan wanted a few to use in our garden next year. I also picked up some insect repellant, it seems I always get bitten by something when I mow my dad's yard. After gathering all of the groceries, I checked out and went home.

I had a turkey sandwich and some baked potato chips for lunch, with a mint Oreo cookie for dessert. After lunch, I decided to get in some exercise -- a one hour ride on our exercise bike. After cooling off a little, I changed into some outdoor work clothes so I could mow the yard. It's been dry for the last week, so the grass hadn't grown much. Unlike my dad's yard, our only takes about 1.5 hours to mow.

After mowing the yard, I decided to wash our Toyota. It had been 6 - 8 weeks since the last wash. After drying it off, I used some ceramic spray wax to freshen it up a bit. Once the waxing was complete, I had some microwave pasta for supper, and finally a nice, long shower.

After all the excitement of transition, getting back into a normal routine takes a while. Depression is quite common after transition. I mean, once you've climbed your personal Mt. Everest, everything else just seems so mundane. The point though, is that now I am living my life as the person I always wanted to be, the person I dreamed to be. Yes, my life is somewhat boring. However, I am no longer hiding behind a mask.  I am no longer ashamed to be myself. The clothes I want to wear are hanging in my closet, not hidden away in a box in the attic or basement. I am Jessica, welcome to my life.

Love always -- Jessica Rose

Jess,

It is always nice to read about your days.  I hope you continue to get to see and help your father.  I hope you do not get wasps, bees, all kinds of bugs bothering you as you work outside.

Do you cut off the spent flower heads on any of the plants in your garden or do you just let them wilt away?   

Have a nice Sunday.

Chrissy

Quote from: ChrissyRyan on August 11, 2024, 06:03:56 AMJess,

It is always nice to read about your days.  I hope you continue to get to see and help your father.  I hope you do not get wasps, bees, all kinds of bugs bothering you as you work outside.

Do you cut off the spent flower heads on any of the plants in your garden or do you just let them wilt away? 

Have a nice Sunday.

Chrissy

Thanks, Christine. For some reason, biting insects really like me. I was bitten by a mosquito while mowing our lawn yesterday afternoon, around 3:30pm. Although she didn't survive her last meal, the itch will stay with me for a few days.

As for the flowers, it depends on several factors. For the daylilies and iris, I usually break off the flowers once they wilt. The roses are Susan's, and I let her do whatever she wants with them. We leave the Black-Eyed Susan's alone, so they basically re-seed themselves. Everything else? It depends on how we're feeling at the time.

Love always -- Jess

The tiger mosquitos are back.  We had them a couple years ago and I left water in a watering can every day and emptied it!  Then they went away!  Will try that again.  Just like you, I swat them.  Last night I sprayed my legs with DEET so they attacked my arms which made them easy to swat.

One of our daughters works for the Texas Department of Health. Her current job is related to mosquitoes. A few months ago, she attended a two-week class in Florida covering mosquito identification. There are many varieties, and different mosquitoes can carry different diseases. By knowing which mosquitoes are in the area, they can better prepare for a potential outbreak. They actually have an insectary , where they raise mosquitoes.

In addition to mosquitoes, we have chiggers. These are so small you can't see them without magnification. Their bites aren't very painful, but usually result in a mild burning sensation which can last several hours. The bites cause skin discoloration that looks like a rash. In my case the rash doesn't itch, but it lasts for a week or more.

Love always -- Jessica Rose

Quote from: Jessica_Rose on August 11, 2024, 07:47:48 AMOne of our daughters works for the Texas Department of Health. Her current job is related to mosquitoes. A few months ago, she attended a two-week class in Florida covering mosquito identification. There are many varieties, and different mosquitoes can carry different diseases. By knowing which mosquitoes are in the area, they can better prepare for a potential outbreak. They actually have an insectary , where they raise mosquitoes.

In addition to mosquitoes, we have chiggers. These are so small you can't see them without magnification. Their bites aren't very painful, but usually result in a mild burning sensation which can last several hours. The bites cause skin discoloration that looks like a rash. In my case the rash doesn't itch, but it lasts for a week or more.

Love always -- Jessica Rose

Even Alaska has mosquitos. But the South has a lot of bugs, and in a number of places, snakes, crocs, and gators.

Chrissy

Jess,

I would think you two would have a lot of roses with your name.

Did you say you had hydrangeas?  It was some kind of plant deer would chomp on.


Christine

We have several hydrangeas. They are doing well, but none of them have bloomed yet. We also have some hosta, which is supposed to be a favorite of deer. Before getting the fence, the deer would snack on just about everything we had planted. The only plants they didn't like were daylilies, iris, Indian hawthorn, and some other bushy shrub that I don't like either. We know adult deer can jump our fence, we've seen it happen. But so far, our fence has deterred further browsing.

Love always -- Jessica Rose

I think deer eat acorns too.  Not walnuts. 

I hear that hydrangeas can change color, depending on the PH level of the soil they are in.

I should look into how to make soil more basic or more acidic, as I plan to get a few plants and they all seem to have varying preferences for soil.  Maybe it does not matter for some plants.

Christine

Quote from: Jessica_Rose on August 11, 2024, 09:55:13 AMWe have several hydrangeas. They are doing well, but none of them have bloomed yet. We also have some hosta, which is supposed to be a favorite of deer. Before getting the fence, the deer would snack on just about everything we had planted. The only plants they didn't like were daylilies, iris, Indian hawthorn, and some other bushy shrub that I don't like either. We know adult deer can jump our fence, we've seen it happen. But so far, our fence has deterred further browsing.

Love always -- Jessica Rose

I am no expert, but I did have success with hydrangeas in an earlier part of my life.

If the plants are new, they may need a year to settle in before blooming.

Once established I used a little phosphate to encourage blooming (same trick worked for lilacs). You may have to hunt a little for a garden store that sells phosphate in home-gardening sized bags.

Not all hydrangeas species react the same. If I remember correctly acidic soil helps them bloom blue. More alkaline will turn them pink. Your local garden shop should be able to help.

I never bothered measuring acidity of my soil. I figured where I was tended to acidic. So I used a lot of lime to get pink blooms. If you are careful you can get alternating pinks and blues, if you have more than one plant.

~Jenn

We have six hydrangeas. Two were marketed as pink varieties, and two were blue. The other two came from my parent's house. I've heard the color of their blooms are related to the soil pH. I think someone once mentioned burying a few rusty nails near them to make the blooms turn blue. Four of them were planted early last year, and I think the other two are two years old now. I'll mention using phosphate on them to Susan. Although I do most of the digging and planting, Susan performs most of the daily care. Oddly, that sounds similar to having and raising children -- I did the planting, and Susan took care of them.

Love always -- Jessica Rose

Quote from: Jessica_Rose on August 12, 2024, 08:59:10 AMOddly, that sounds similar to having and raising children -- I did the planting, and Susan took care of them.

 

I think flowers are a gift from God.

Some of those snowball plants look cool too.  They are not hydrangeas.  They have flowers in shape of balls, whitish to greenish.  I do not know the real name of those plants though.

The 'snowball' plant is a viburnum (according to my friend Ms Google). Hydrangeas and viburnum are similar, but viburnum get much larger. Our hydrangea died back over winter, and the deer munched on them before we got the fence. They seem to be growing well right now, hopefully they will bloom for us within the next year or two. We don't have many daylilies blooming right now, but the roses and Black-eyed Susan's are trying to take up the slack.

My dad is still doing OK. He's been at home for two weeks. My brother and a neighbor are checking on him every day or two. My dad is starting to complain about a sore throat again, which was his complaint prior to being diagnosed with cancer. They were not able to remove all of the cancerous tissue during his surgery. Of course, it could be just a sore throat. He did relinquish his drivers license, but we're not sure if he really understood the paperwork he signed. Susan and I plan to visit him again this weekend, and mow his yard.

Love always -- Jessica Rose

Cherish all the time you will be able to spend with him this weekend and future visits.

Thanks for the snowball plant information Jess.

There are relatively inexpensive gizmos that measure soil pH levels.  I do not know how reliable they are, they look like meat thermometers with a long probe!

Christine

I am glad your dad is doing ok and made it two weeks without incident. That's a good sign. When you visit again, you will get a better idea of how he is really doing. If he is doing well, maybe you can relax a bit. I am sure it is stressful traveling back and forth. I realize it is a labor of love, but it can still take a toll. Don't forget to take care of yourselves too.

Thanks Lori and Christine! I would feel guilty if we didn't visit at least every other weekend, but it does take a toll on us. Time on the road, and less time for us to take care of our home. For better or worse, these trips will eventually come to an end.

Susan and I visited my dad over the weekend. We normally leave around 8:00am, but we had to wait until 12:30pm due to a delayed FedEx delivery. As soon as we got to my dad's house and unloaded our car, I changed clothes so I could mow his yard. It has been hot and dry for the last week, so several areas didn't need to be mowed. The heat index was 105, so I was really happy to finish in just two hours. We were all getting hungry, so I asked my dad what he wanted for supper. He asked for a McDonald's 'Big Breakfast'. We reminded him that it was supper time and suggested a cheeseburger, and he said that would be fine. Usually my dad wants to ride along, but this time he wanted to stay home. Susan and I went into town, picked up supper, then went back to my dad's place. He only took four bites out of his burger.

After supper, my dad went to bed, so Susan and I drove to my brother's house so I could get a shower. After cleaning up, we talked about my dad's situation and tried to come up with several contingency plans. He seems to be getting weaker every time we visit. He's eating less, and sleeping more. He has signed a few checks for estimated tax payments, and his signature is becoming less and less legible.

Sunday morning, I droved to McDonald's to get a 'Big Breakfast' for everyone. Susan stayed behind so she could water all of the plants around the house. After breakfast, Susan and I went into town for a little while. On the way back, we picked up sandwiches from McAllister's for lunch. Once lunch was over, my brother and his wife came up to visit. While they set up his medications for the next few days, I started both of my dad's cars. One of them almost didn't cooperate. I don't think either of them had been started since mid-June.

My brother and his wife left around 2:00pm. Susan and I headed home at 3:00pm, and made it home just before a big thunderstorm hit. We didn't have any damage, and the storm cooled things down quite a bit. Our high temperature on Sunday was 105 (40.5C).

I got a text from my sister-in-law this afternoon. It sounds like the FBI is interested in my dad's case. They need to run the evidence through their lawyers before making a final decision, but it sounds like there is a good chance they will prosecute. I'm expecting a call from them Tuesday afternoon.

Love always -- Jessica Rose

About ten days ago, our self-propelled battery-powered lawn mower decided to become a standard push mower. I could probably get it repaired, but after spending $200 to replace one of the batteries last year, I decided to cut my losses. I bought a new Honda gas-powered mower that should last for quite a while. It was on sale at Home Depot for 30% off. I used it Thursday, and it cut really smooth. It's definitely louder than my old mower, but ear plugs are cheap.

I talked to the FBI agent twice last week. He had a few questions about the sequence of events, along with questions about a few of the checks my dad had written. He's reasonably sure they will move forward with the case, but they need to run it through the district attorney's office first. We should hear something by the end of the week.

We had to call an A/C repair company on Friday. The air conditioner for our bonus room above the garage didn't seem to be working. They checked the system and determined the blower motor had failed. They ordered a new one, but we're not sure when it will arrive.

Since we didn't have anything planned this weekend, it was a good opportunity to do some work around the house. Yesterday (Saturday), I got rid of some empty boxes we had been storing in the garage. Today I exercised, then spent an hour pulling weeds in our garden. I'll probably straighten up my off a bit this afternoon.

We have a new pet, a very large yellow garden spider. It had been hanging out near my office window, but Friday night it moved to a dining room window (yes, it's outside). I was able to capture a house fly and toss it into the web, and the spider pounced on it! Now we're on the lookout for other annoying insects we can offer.

Love always -- Jessica Rose

Our new pet, Charlotte

Charlotte is beautiful!

I'm glad you have a chance to get caught up on stuff, and that progress is being made on your dad's case. Hopefully, it will get resolved soon.