April 29, 2015

A Windy Wednesday, Again

April 29, 2015

This hibiscus bush had several blooms today.

Today was not as windy as yesterday, but it was still windy.  This morning I got up early for my allergy shots and made Ron's coffee before I went to wake him, but he was already up.  I gave myself the allergy shots and then spent time in the yard.  Thankfully it was cool (about 60 degrees) and I did not over do, because I am not to do strenuous activities for 2 hours after the allergy shots (or before).  I did plant a few little bedding plants and watered most of the other potted plants.  I had to fill the waterfalls and fountains.  The fountains run dry when it is windy because so much water blows out of spray in the fountains in the birdbaths.

Then I got my shower and washed my hair before dressing for work.  I needed to stay at the house until about 9:20, so I did a few little chores around the house and then left for work.  At the office, the morning was nice.  Ron had the doors open because it was cooler outside than inside.  That is nice, but I can't tell when a customer comes in since there is not a loud bell for me to hear.

 New plant that needs to be put in a hanging basket.

A friend from the quilt group dropped by with a gift she wanted me to deliver for her.  She stayed and we had a nice visit.  She is an excellent seamstress and turns out some lovely quilts.  We talked about the things we are each working on and things we should be working on.

After I ate my lunch, Ron left on jobs for the rest of the day.  He ended up getting back to the office about 15 minutes before closing time.  I had a nice number of customers while he was out and had some good sales.  This afternoon, I was very sleepy at the office, so finally I decided I would do some sewing.  I got more of the string pieced blocks made.  I now have 22 squares done.  This is all from scraps from previous projects.

 The 22 completed blocks

After work I went to the bank to make a deposit and then by Jeff's house, but only the two big boys were home.  I had something that Rachel was making for a friend that I wanted her to have by this evening so she could give it to her friend at choir practice.  I will see if her brother remembered to give it to her. 

Then I went by my mom's and woke her from her nap.  We visited and walked in the yard while she showed me what had been done today by a man who helps her with some of her yard work.  Another one has recently trimmed all her trees in the yard to allow more sunlight to get to the grass and plants.  We visited for a while and then I headed home, but stopped at Walgreen's for milk and bread on the way. 

Another of the plants waiting to be put in a hanging basket.

When I got home, I again spent time in the yard.  I did a little weeding and checked on several things in the yard.  I took a few photos, but not too many.  It was so nice out, I wished for a screen porch for I could have my supper on the porch without flies and mosquitoes.

Ron had stayed at the office to work so I made a sandwich for my supper and started working on the backing for the second quilt I have mentioned before.  I need to get that backing finished and deliver both quilts to Harlingen to the quilter.  She should be ready to work on them soon.

For some reason - probably the winds, my allergies are bothering me more today than usual.  I will be glad when the allergy shots start helping.  I had an email from the allergist a day or two ago telling me that it would be a while before I see a change.

April 28, 2015

Long Days Are Becoming a Habit

April 28, 2015

More flowers are starting to bloom

Since Tuesday was a long day, this is actually being written early Wednesday morning, following my allergy shots.  Tuesday morning I did get up early and made Ron's coffee before waking him.  I had to be ready to leave the house by 9:15.  It was a beautiful, but windy day.  The temperature was comfortable and the air was clean, but the wind was blowing about 25 miles an hour much of the day.

The windy day created nice cloud patterns

Mom had a couple of appointments and I had arranged to not go to the office until after lunch.  I picked Mom up and took her to have a bone density test.  There is a series of treatments that her doctor wants her to have to strengthen her bones, but it is expensive and Medicare refuses to pay for it.  The entire series would run thousands of dollars. It is a lot of money, but only a drop in the bucket to what Medicare has paid for the fractured vertebrae that has been the cause of all the problems since last September.  I fully understand that it is expensive, but you would think they would see the need to do everything possible to prevent future expenses.

Intensity!

When we finished there, we made a stop at her bank and then I took her to a store at the mall so she could shop a little for clothes.  She ended up with two tops and so did I, thanks to Mom.  We had a good time and both are so pleased that the fashions this year (at least at this one store) are so much prettier than in recent years.  The colors appeal to both of us and it would have been easy to spend more time and more money there.  It is probably good that we were limited on both. 

Non-players in this game, kept busy with sidewalk chalk

The main limitation was that she had another appointment and it was to see her regular doctor to get some orders for prescription refills.  One of them requires a monthly appointment with the doctor.  I must say that this doctor is VERY hard for me to hear.  He speaks softly and rapidly.  He keeps his head down and sort of mumbles.  The vast majority of his patients are elderly.  So sad.  I wonder how many leave not fully understanding him.  We got the needed prescriptions for the refills and he was not real encouraging about the pain Mom has been having the last few days.  He said he could send her to a pain specialist, or a back specialist, but he seems to be out of options other than the medications he is currently giving her.  He is going to wait for the results of the bone density test.

 There is a lot of "waiting" in baseball

From there, I took Mom home.  Carmen had gone to take care of a variety of personal errands.  She had left early and was gone all day.  That is fine.  She does go to a few of her own activities, but she is there most of the time and I am sure needs a break some days.  She had gotten her hair done, went to the dentist, the bank, and shopped a little.  What an amazing blessing she is to our family.

 Practicing the moves

Before going to the office, I picked up lunch for Ron and myself.  We talked for a while as we ate our lunch and as very often happens, (we joke about this) our customers seem to smell when we have food and that is when they come in to do their shopping.  Ron was interrupted often as he tried to eat his lunch.  I spent the afternoon doing bookkeeping and preparing a bank deposit.

 Those long fingers are what makes him a great pianist.

When I took the deposit to the bank I had given them a list of change that I needed.  When they had it ready a young man brought it out to the car for me because it would have been hard for me to lift from the drawer.  When I looked, I spotted a problem - I had asked for one roll of dimes and 2 were in the box.  So I put it in the drawer and sent it back.  Then I saw I was short one roll of quarters.  So the young man came back to the car, looked at the box and saw that he had also given me too many pennies (20 rolls instead of 10).  He took the box back inside and then returned it to me with the corrections made.

 Looks like they are practicing signals

When I got to the office, I got out of the car and a roll of quarters fell out of the deposit bag.  I think he had started to put all the change in the bank bag as per normal, but realized that wouldn't work, so he put them all in a box, forgetting he already had a roll in my bag.  So I drove back to the bank to take the extra roll to him.  We laughed about it, but I sure hope they keep an eye on him.

 This guy loves baseball!

I have so much trouble hearing at the drive-up window, I was very thankful the young man came out to my car.  He was very nice and I hope he can get more efficient in his job because I will enjoy dealing with him if I don't have to worry about mistakes all the time.

 Getting ready for a good hit - which he got

During the afternoon I had a text from our daughter-in-law here in town that our grandson would have a baseball game that evening.  After work I went by Mom's to return her glasses case that she had misplaced in my car that morning and asked if she would like to go to the game.  She was delighted to go.  The weather was perfect - cool and a light breeze.  That beats some really hot games last year.  We watched as our grandson's team was defeated by a team of bigger boys who are really good batters! When our grandson was up to bat, he got a hit right away but sadly it went toward first base and  he was quickly "out".   He was having a good time and from these photos, you can tell he has all the "moves" down real well.  We had a good time and I am so glad we all went.  Ron joined us part way through after he had supper with his mom.  She was having a rough day with pain.

Little sister's favorite part of ball game is the snacks!

On the way home I stopped for gas.  By the time I got home, I had been gone 12 hours and was too tired to do anything except curl up in the recliner, but I had not yet had supper so I fixed a sandwich and our daughter-in-law in New Mexico called.  She apologized for interrupting me, but I said the only thing I was going to do was sit in the recliner and would be delighted to chat.  She had spent her day running errands and was also exhausted, so we had a good talk.  They are starting to look for a replacement for their car and she had been out test driving some different models of cars. 

 Sunset set colors as we watch the game

April 27, 2015

Monday With the Middles

April 27, 2015

Sunset to the West

Our daughter-in-law needed to go to McAllen today with a contractor to get an estimate on things that would need to be done to the house that they are trying to buy.  She took the two youngest children with her.  The oldest was at work, the second was studying and the three middle ones spent the day at our office.  They brought some school work and their happy smiles and constant chatter.

Looking to the East at sunset

I was up early to get my allergy shots.  Then I worked on a few chores around the house before going to the office.  The children arrived shortly after I did and carried on with various activities.  Ron took two of them with him on a trip to check on his mother.  He left them there for a bit while he came back to the office to pick up something he forgot.  They had a good visit.

For lunch we had the leftovers from yesterday's lunch.  Then we topped it off with yogurt and cookies.  The kids were good and managed to keep busy.  Ron brought a doll house from the storeroom that I made 25 years or so ago and they spent time enjoying it.  Both of the girls did some sewing.  They each had ideas about what they wanted to do.  One was making a little toy stuffed cat for a friend.

The afternoon was slow in the office.  Two of the grandchildren went outside with me to clean up some of the area around the shop.  They worked hard.  We did some sweeping and cleaning up of areas that had been bugging me.  I appreciated their help.

Their oldest brother picked them up about 5:30 and then I went to check on my mom.  She had not gone to church yesterday due to pain in her back.  She was doing fairly well, but still in pain.  I take her to have a bone density test tomorrow morning and to see her regular doctor after that. 

Ron and I ended up going to get Mexican food for supper and had a nice quiet evening there.  We ran into a couple who used to go to our church many years ago and we had not seen them in a long time.  They attend a small mission church now.  They have often helped to start new missions.  It was good to see them.  They were meeting their pastor and some friends there for supper.

As we got home I noticed that the sunset would be great so I went to get my camera and apparently I had left it at the office, so tonight's photos are from my cell phone and are all of the beautiful sunset this evening.  It was so nice.  Today the air cleared up - we had just had several days of haze and it was nice to have clean air again.

The evening was relaxing except for watching the news.  Seeing the terrible news from Baltimore where there are riots and violence is heart breaking.  America needs to turn back to God.  I spent some time talking to our son and his wife in New Mexico.  They had a good weekend and our daughter-in-law is taking a quilting class and enjoying it.

April 26, 2015

What a Grand Day,

With the Grandchildren

April 26, 2015

Two youngest grandsons

We had a great day from start to finish.  It was really a nice day.  Our Sunday school class went very well.  Most of the regular attendees were there.  The lesson was good.  This series we are in right now is on the minor prophets and it applies so well to today in our land.

Youngest Grandson

Church was well attended and the message is one that can be put into use by all of us.  It is about how to study the Bible.  There are so many different suggestions available, but this one seems very practical.  One young boy was baptized and I saw several visitors.  Our son and his family were back and it was good to be with them.

Youngest Granddaughter

After church we brought Jeff and Barb's seven children home with us for the rest of the day.  They have selected a house and Jeff and Barb needed to meet with their realtor to go over the inspection report.  We were delighted to have the children for the afternoon so we could hear all about their vacation.  Each of the children loved the vacation time and they had done a nice variety of activities on the trip. 

 Two youngest of Jeff's children

It has got to be a challenge to plan a vacation to hold the interests of seven children from 2 pre-schoolers to 2 high schoolers and some in the middle.  There are four boys and three girls.  A favorite with all of them was the Creation Museum.  They also went to the Air Force Museum, a Kentucky Derby museum where those who wanted to, rode horses, toured a cave, and a baseball museum.  There was batting cage time for the boys, with the current Little League player doing very well in the batting cage.  They went to a resale book store and all came out with books.  They bought little toys and books at the museums.  Their tastes are so varied.

The little boys helping Grandpa

The second oldest boy bought a book on horse psychology (or something like that).  He is not interested in riding, but loves to be around the horses and just spend time observing them.  The oldest boy bought books on history and spent time on the trip finishing one or two of them.  All of the girls and the youngest boy loved to ride the horses; the youngest two riding the ponies and the two oldest girls doing a trail ride along with their dad.  Spending a day in Mammoth Cave was fun for all except the middle girl who was not wild about it.  A hike to a lake seemed to be enjoyed by all.

Oldest Grandson reading one of his new books

They stayed in a vacation rental house in Kentucky that rated very high on the kids' lists.  Their mom had told me the little kids didn't want to leave and the oldest boy told me it was his favorite place to stay.  Then then went to Kansas where they visited their other Grandpa.  They all love to visit him in his place out in the country and the only mishap happened there, where the youngest boy fell running from a little dog.  He slide down in some gravel and showed me all his battle scars, but is doing fine and just wanted to be sure I saw them ALL.  This is the "toughest" of the kids and it seemed so out of character for him to have been on the receiving end of disaster.  He is usually the one behind those things. 

Nap time

I hope I haven't bored you with all of this, but I just have to say what a blessing it was to be able to hear all of their stories about the trip.  I would have missed so much if I had not been able to hear them tell me about all the fun times they had.  They were all filled with chatter as they talked about all the exciting times.  Thank you, God, for using Dr. Chang to give me a way to hear their fun stories by means of my Cochlear Implant.

Relaxing time

For lunch, we picked up pizza; all ate that except the youngest who had a hot dog.  The little boys spent time helping their grandpa plant some new plants I bought Saturday.  The big boys spent a long time discussing the Air Force museum with Grandpa.  The middle girl sewed, making a bed for the wooden Noah and his wife cutouts for my wooden Noah's Ark boat.  The youngest spent most of the day alone in the play room playing and enjoying the peace and quiet.  The little boys played with the Legos. 

Sewing time

About 5:15, Ron took the kids (except the youngest) to the church for their activities.  We met Jeff and Barb at Sears where I had hoped to order my dishwasher.  Jeff, Barb and the baby came home with us to eat leftovers for supper.  Again the youngest went off to the play room and spent an hour or more playing in there alone.  We talked to Jeff and Barb about their trip and their house.

The youngest in the Lego room alone working on her pirate ship

 and admiring herself in the mirror

They left about 7:30 and we were tired but happy.  It was a very good day. 

April 25, 2015

Feels Like Summer

In South Texas

April 25, 2015

This morning's weather forecast on television. 

After months of cloudy, damp, drizzly days, with a few days of sunshine sprinkled in the mix, the sun came out today with a vengeance.  The heat index was at least 105 and may have been higher mid-day.  During the night we had a lightening and thunder storm with a little rain.  The upper valley, about 60 miles up the river from us, had winds around 70 miles an hour and they had some serious damage in a few places.  I am glad that storm lost its strength before it got to us.

I was trying to get some lightening photos last night but didn't get any.  

This shows the rain falling, in the glow of the street lamp.

Since it had rained, Ron was not going out this morning and so he didn't wake me at 6:00 a.m. for my allergy shots.  I woke at 8:30 and was glad to have had the extra sleep.  I gave myself the shots and then had breakfast and about 10:00 took a shower while Ron picked up my mom and Carmen.  I had told Mom I would come about 10:00.  Carmen got to work cleaning and I started working on the quilt backing.  Mom sat back in my recliner and promptly went to sleep.  She later told me she knows why I fall asleep in that chair so often - it is comfy!

While Mom napped, I FINISHED the backing for one of the quilts.  Yea!!!  Now I have one more to do for the current projects of new quilts for our two youngest grandsons.  I am pleased with the one that I finished.  Hopefully I can take them to Harlingen this coming week to get them quilted.

Once I finished, Mom and I left to go to the grocery store.  We went to the Wal-Mart on the Port Road.  There is a new Wal-Mart in town fairly close to our house, but since it just opened this week, I didn't want to face crowds there.  I like the one on the Port Road so chose it today for our shopping.  Mom was a real trooper.  We walked all over that store.  We were from one side to the other and back again.  We were from the front to the back.  That has to be the most walking Mom has done in a long time.  She uses the shopping cart to give her some security as she walks (using it almost as a walker).  We stayed together part of the time, but in the grocery section, we went our own ways.

It was a productive shopping trip for both of us, but when we stepped outside it felt like an oven.  It was so hot and humid.  Part of the problem may be that we have been spoiled to a milder Spring than we have had most years, but I was not prepared for that heat.  I had hoped to mow the back yard this afternoon, but I took that off the list.

Mom and I came to my house so I could put away my cold things and then I took Mom and Carmen home about 3:00.  Once I returned to our house, I sat in that comfy recliner to cool off and once I was cool, I fixed a little lunch and then returned to the recliner and napped until 7:30.  I couldn't help it; the heat had just zapped my strength. Once I got myself awake, I did a few minor chores and eventually fixed my supper about 10:00 p.m. 

I did work in the yard briefly around 8:00, filling feeders and ponds and watering hanging baskets.  They had all dried out in today's heat.  Then I spent some time on the computer and saw I had a blog viewing from another country: Nigeria.  The last couple of months have brought 4 new countries: Fiji, Peru, and Bahrain, besides today's country of Nigeria.  That brings the total to 86 countries and just under 46,000 page views.

This evening Ron changed the filters on my Cochlear sound processors.  These should be changed every two months.  The drying blocks for the drying units are to be changed every two months.  All of these products can only be bought from Cochlear and they are expensive, but it is minor in relation to the ability to be hearing again.  Tomorrow afternoon we will be keeping the 5 youngest grandchildren and I will be delighted to HEAR all about their vacation.  I expect I will be on "listening overload" by the end of the afternoon, but will be spending the afternoon laughing and loving, hugging and hearing.

April 24, 2015

It's FRIDAY!!

April 24, 2015

String Piecing Quilt squares I worked on today.

This morning I got up early, made Ron's coffee, spent time on the computer, ate my breakfast, woke Ron up, sat in the recliner and promptly went to sleep.  I think I had put in enough effort for the day.  I was later getting to the office than I had planned, but it was not very busy today, so it really did not matter.

On my way to the office I was stopped at an intersection waiting for a green light and noticed that the weeds in a vacant lot at the corner were taller than the cars passing by.  All this rain is really keeping the lawn mowers going all over town.  If a vacant lot is ignored, the weeds really get tall in a hurry.

During the day I waited on several customers.  A couple from our Sunday School class stopped by.  They will be moving out of town next week and it was nice they took time to come visit.  We will miss them a lot.

I spent some time in the after noon sewing (working on squares for the project at the top of the page) and it was nice to get to do that.  I just worked on String Pieced squares since they are quick and easy to do at the office.  I now have 18 of them made.  Not enough to do anything with yet, but I will keep going.

Just before closing time I left to go by Mom's house and pick her up for supper.  She was treating us to supper and we went to Jason's Deli.  It was not as crowded as last week, but we were earlier.  We had good food and a nice visit.

After that, Ron came home and I took Mom to a couple of stores so she could do some shopping.  Following the shopping excursion, I took her home and then came home to do some sewing - which I have not yet gotten to.  I talked to our daughter-in-law in New Mexico where they had a good rain storm this morning and a little hail.  The mountains out their back door have fresh snow.  Here, we are running the air conditioner.

Tonight we have a 100% chance of rain - could be over an inch.  I just hope it will drown the mosquitoes.  Our son who lives here and his family have been on vacation for two weeks and arrived home tonight.  I will keep 5 of the children Sunday afternoon and am looking forward to hearing all about their trip.  They have had a good time traveling in the mid-west.

I love scrap quilts and I do have lots of scraps.

Tomorrow will be a busy day so I better wrap this up. 

April 23, 2015

Things I Don't Like to Hear:

Mosquitoes!

April 23, 2015

Male Golden-fronted Woodpecker

The mosquitoes are big and hungry.  All the recent rains have produced a bumper crop of the annoying little blood suckers.  One has been chasing me all evening in the sewing room and I am having no success killing him. 

This morning was allergy shot day.  I gave myself the shots and then worked in the sewing room.  I am trying to straighten things up a little.  I had dishes to wash since I don't have a dishwasher and I baked some muffins for breakfast.  I put fruit out for the birds and filled the ponds and feeders - trying to keep away from mosquitoes in the yard.

Male Golden-fronted Woodpecker

On the way to the office I stopped to pay the utility bill.  I actually understood the lady on the speaker at the drive up window.  That is a place I have trouble hearing - any drive up window.  At the office, Ron was busy preparing some locks for a customer and so I was waiting on customers most of the morning.  The afternoon was a little slow. 

During the afternoon I got so sleepy, I was glad Ron wasn't out on a job.  I finally put my head down on the desk and napped a few minutes.  I came home about 30 minutes early and worked in the sewing room and watched the birds, but there were few.  Ron got home and we went to meet our friends for supper.  They had been out of town for a week and we had lots to catch up on over supper. 

White-winged Dove

The restaurant was very quiet when we arrived, but there were some ladies who came in about an hour later for a party and they were noisy.  I tried adjusting my Cochlear sound processor, but still had trouble hearing.  We didn't stay much longer.  Our friends were tired after about a 10 hour trip and I wasn't hearing so it was time to leave.

At home I worked again in the sewing room.  I am still needing to finish the backings for those two quilts.  I made progress on one tonight!  I also spent time on line with one of our sons catching up on what is going on with him and his family.  Technology is great.

 White-winged Dove

April 22, 2015

Another Late Posting

April 22, 2015

Hooded Warbler

Again I didn't get a blog posted last night.  It was a good day.  I got to the office a little earlier than usual and left a little later than usual which made for a long day. 

At the office, Ron was out most of the day and I had a nice variety of customers.  The most interesting was a lady who needed extra keys to give to a realtor for the house that had belonged to her mother.  The lady was from out of town and was glad to see that after all the years that she had been away, we were still in the same place.  She is the only family member who lives anywhere near our area and she is 3 hours away.  She was just going to take what she  and the family wanted and give the rest away.  Her brother and the realtor talked her into hiring an agency to do an estate sale.  The more she talked the more I knew she needed to have the estate sale.

The discussion reminded me that often our family doesn't know the value of the things we have.  They may know that we love them, but they don't know their value in dollars.  Ron and I have tried to let each other know what things we have that are the most valuable.  In our family, after our deaths, our things would be available to our children and their children, but some things we have might just be clutter to them.  When we have a hobby, we usually hope someone in the family will want to follow in our foot steps, but if they don't, all those items will be just "stuff and junk" to them.  The lady and I talked about how often family members end up keeping things just because, "they belonged to Grandma."  I don't want my possessions to become a burden to my family. 

Recently one daughter-in-law saw a new necklace I was wearing and said some day she would love to have it.  I need to write that down.  I would love for her to have it.  I want each of them to have things that bring them joy to use and have.  My mom has told me to write my name on the back of things I want.  We should be able to do that without making the person feel we are eager for them to pass away so their possessions can be passed on!   These are just a few thoughts that came to me yesterday after talking to the lady.  I do love to be able to converse with customers!

In the afternoon at the office I paid bills and worked on assorted paper work.  The only real problem I seem to have at the office hearing customers is that some of them will come in without full information that I need to help them and they often pull out their cell phone, call their boss, and then hand the phone to me.  Doesn't work.  I can't hear them.  Same thing when they don't speak much English, they will call someone who does speak English to have them talk to me.  Doesn't work.

Another thing I did during the afternoon was that I located on line a video I had watched a while back on a quilt square that I wanted to make.  I had figured out the measurements, but could not find the directions.  This time I took some photos in case I have trouble locating it again.  I don't always save them as I should! The two photos here are from the Fons and Porter site.  Can't wait to try it out. 

After work, I went to the post office and then to a store to look at dishwashers.  The saleslady was quick and helpful.  They had the model I want.  She said they would meet the price at the other place, but that they are having a sale Sunday and I might want to wait until then.  Thank you, helpful saleslady!  We will check on it.  They will have to order it and it will add about a week or so to the waiting time, but I can live with that for a lower price.

Knowing it is migration time and I am low on bird seed, I stopped at the grocery store and got some on the way home.  I did have a hooded warbler and a yellow warbler on the waterfalls last night.  I will include one photo, (at top of page) but I must explain why it is a terrible photo.  It is hot and muggy here now.  My camera had been sitting in my nice cool house and then I stuck it out the window to get the photo of the warblers and the lens fogged up.  It was about 10 minutes before the lens cleared up.  I went ahead and took one photo after about 8 minutes in case the bird left (and it did). 

I fixed supper, read a while, and talked to our daughter-in-law in New Mexico.  Our son had been sick, but is better.  She had met with a friend for lunch and enjoyed the time with her.  It was a good day for her and for me.

April 21, 2015

Delayed Blog Entry

April 21, 2015

Mourning Dove

It is nice when the birds will pose in a good setting.

When I sat down at the computer last night to write my blog, I found that my husband was running a scan on the computer and it was going to be a couple of hours before it was ready for me to use.  I went to bed!  Now, at the office, while he is out on a list of jobs, I think I have time to get yesterday's entry written.

 Mourning Dove, with White-winged Dove to the right side

We got up at 6:00 so I could do my allergy shots and I spent time working on the backings for the two quilt tops I want to have quilted.  I cut some of the fabric, but have not finished.  I have all the decisions made on one of the backings, but not on the second one.  Don't know why I am having so much trouble making the decisions.

 White-winged Dove

During the morning, I was at the house waiting for the repairman to come fix my dishwasher.  Water was not coming into the dishwasher and so even though it went through the cycles, nothing was happening.  I had also been asking him to get me a price on new racks for the unit.  The company had said we would be the first job in the morning.  He arrived at 10:30 after Ron called to see where they were. 

 Watched dove watching me!

While waiting, I was bird watching and saw a Ruby-throated hummingbird and a Rose-breasted Grosbeak.  Of course they were not interested in waiting for me to get my camera.  These are just migrating through the area and I would love to be at home all week to watch for these and other birds that stop by for a snack before heading north.

Mourning Dove

After investigating the situation with the dishwasher, and making several phone calls, the repair price and the price for new racks totaled as much as a new unit, so guess what I am going to do.  After he left, I went to the office and Ron left on some errands for his mother.  When he got back, I had lunch before he left on some jobs.

Nasturtium

I spent the day sorting out things I had missed the previous day while I was at the house while we had no air conditioning.  By late in the day I had a couple of deposits ready to take to the bank.  I had waited on customers during the afternoon and did a little cleaning.  At closing time, I went to the bank and made the deposits and  got some change.  I returned to the shop and left the change and then went by my mom's house to see how she was doing and to see if she wanted to go with me while I looked at dishwashers.

Periwinkle (Vinca)

When I asked Mom, she said yes before I finished my question.  She is really suffering from cabin fever not being able to drive.  While she got ready, I took some photos of her flowers.  She walked around the store, getting exercise while I waited and waited for a salesperson at the store.  The unit I had thought I wanted, after doing research on line, turned out not to be what I wanted after I looked at it.  I decided on the next model up.  I texted Ron to see if he would come meet me but he was just headed to his mom's for supper.

Ron's mom's Easter Lilies are starting to bloom and are beautiful!

I took my mom home after stopping to let her pick up supper for herself and Carmen.  Once I had taken her home, I went by Ron's mom's house.  Just opening the car door brought the sweet smell of the Easter Lilies.  I felt like I had walked into a florist shop.  Prior to going in, I took some pictures of her flowers before it got dark.  Ron and his mom were just finishing their supper and I stayed to visit with his mom for about 30 minutes before heading home to have my supper (at 8:30). 

The plant looks like a Cosmos, but am not sure if I am correct.

It was a long day.  I had trouble hearing the salesperson in the appliance department and she was less than helpful.  I had finally said, "This isn't your department is it?"  She said no, but her department was next to it.  The unit I finally had decided on was one she said she had never seen before.  That unit and the one I originally thought I wanted had a feature I really liked and I asked about it and she had no idea about it - had never known they had that feature.  Frustrating.  I am SO glad I did research before I had gone to the store.  Appliances must be one of the biggest income departments at this place and yet it was un-staffed for a long period and then they sent someone who did not know their products after my mom went to ask that they send someone to help me. 

Larkspur 

 Sorry the picture is not great but it was almost dark.  I will try again soon in some sunshine (if we get some).  I look forward to have some sunshine on her Easter Lilies for photos.