Manual Labor

Halloween is sneaking up on us, but it's looking like it's going to rain for the next 4 or 5 days. I think it rained the last week of October last year, too.

This is going to be super short, as Marco and I are painting the condo that we bought originally for mom and dad. We have had renters the past year, and they have bought a place of their own, and we were lucky to get new tenants. However, we have to paint and clean the place, including the carpets this week. And I'm doing the trim, and it's amazing how much trim there is in a place with only about 1,000 sq. ft. Plus removing and cleaning and putting the switch plates back on. People with arthritis should not do manual labor. Wish someone would tell my family. I could hardly get out of bed this morning, and the more Advil I take the more my head and ears buzz, so I think I'll cut back on it today.

The fires out in California are so terrible that it makes me sick just thinking about it. Hope everyone is remembering to pray for all those who are in harm's way. And of course, all our rain could be diverted to Georgia for good purpose. That drought is really bad. I don't think there's much happy medium on weather anymore.

Okay ya'll, I'm off to paint.

I love: Ice packs on sore knees.

Stay safe, Columbus.

Perfectly October

Wow, this is a day to really enjoy ~ a perfect October day. We need to enjoy it, as tomorrow supposedly ushers in the rain, and it's supposed to rain most of the week. But at least it has cooled off. The summer kicked my butt. They say global warming is happening 10 years before it was expected. But our wonderful president says there is no such thing as global warming. 'Tis a dilemma. (Yeah, right!)

Above is a pic of grandson Jared at one of his soccer games. Jared has grown up a bunch since last year. Now he's "the man" . . . it's fun to hear the adults on the sideline cheering for him. He did okay last year, but was a bit tentative. This year he is an aggressive player. And he's getting taller. Not as tall as his twin sister Jessica though. It will be interesting to see if he ever catches up with her. He was born first, but he takes after his dad's side of the family in height. Other than that, he takes after mom's side of the family with those huge brown eyes and the best set of eyelashes in Columbus.

This week we have 2 birthdays ~ Travis will be 3 and Kelcie will be 14. Those are the only 2 in October. The next 2 months will bring a few more family birthdays, including my brothers birthday and mine. Jeff thinks he's cool because he's younger than me, but I think I can still whip his butt. At least when it comes to sock fighting. Wonder if he remembers that?

Well, it's too nice to be in here blogging, so I'm going to go get the dogs and sit outside. Papaw is at the Legion doing a little bartending, so I'm blissfully alone. Wonder what kind of people are inside drinking on a glorious night like this? (Although I may just take a Bartles & James Original out with me on the deck.)

By the way, as you may recall I am a supporter of Operation Migration. I'm happy to report that it is underway, and the cranes were successful in their first flight on day #1. Day #2 was rainy and windy, so they stayed at stopover #1. It's a long trip with the ultralights, but they will make it, I know they will.

You stay cool, Columbus.

I Love: Origami

My Anniversary

I actually missed my anniversary as a blogger....... it was yesterday. So, I'll wish myself a Happy Anniversary. I know I missed quite a bit of time for various reasons, but this 2nd year I'm going to try to do at least 2 a week. That way, by setting the bar fairly low, maybe I'll be able to keep up. Hopefully, everyone will stay well, and therefore, I'll have some free time to do things I enjoy.

Today, October 4th, it's in the upper 80's outside and the airconditioner is running. I still simply cannot get over the heat we've had here in central Ohio this summer. I have "run it into the ground" as they say, but it has just worn me out. I spent the last couple of hours just messing around on the computer, which I really don't do. Maybe 15 or 20 minutes, but today was way too much.....my eyes are hurting, and I don't even feel like thinking up anything to blog about.

One thing I did run into was t.v. commercials, and one that I thought was cute was this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmmsr7PAhWU

Remember that one? So cute.

There are a couple of books that are out of print that I wanted to read again, so I'm heading down to the Half Price Books store to see if they might have them. One of them is by Lawrence Saunders (or is it Sanders??) ~ The Third Deadly Sin. He did a series of those "Deadly Sin" mystery books but I forget where he stopped. I think the one I'm looking for was published in 1980 or 1981. He didn't do near as many as Sue Grafton, with her "Alphabet Series" of books, starting with A is for Alibi, B is for Burgler, C is for Corpse, and so on. I think she is up to "S" now, and her "T" book is due out before Christmas. I've read alot of them but in random order. It kinda depends of what Meijer has on their shelf.

So ~ this is going to be all for today. I'm just too lazy and hot.
Catch you soon; you be cool Columbus!
I love: the smell of fresh flowers

Getting into fall

Today I took mom to my favorite park, Chestnut Ridge in Carroll, about 15 minutes from here. We got a lunch at Wendy's (Coke float for me......mmmmmm) and took it to the park and ate it there. I do that a lot....both breakfast and lunch, and sometimes dinner if Marco is golfing or something. (Not all in the same day.) But I can't get anyone to go with me. Now mind you, when Grandma Barb is needed somewhere, Grandma Barb goes. But when Grandma Barb wants company to do something she likes, no one is interested. So I kidnapped Miss Jean, and she found that it wasn't too bad. Our leaves are turning yellow and orange, but we're not seeing much red this year. The trees got stressed, much the same way I got stressed. I simply roasted, and actually, it was like 83 today and windy and humid-ish, so it's not really fall weather. But the world is a-changin' and I think the falls I remember are a thing of the past.

Our poor dog Buddy - the older one - is developing cataracts in both his eyes, so I have to make an appointment for him tomorrow to get the ball rolling for possible surgery. Imagine, cataract surgery for dogs. I'll bet this will cost a pretty penny. Poor Bud is only 7, so we are surprised that he's developing this problem. Dusty, on the other hand, is too ornery to get sick.

I took my African Grey Maggy to the vet yesterday, and got the I.D. band cut off of his foot (ankle?). Since he has heart problems, his feet swell occasionally, and the other day his band looked pretty tight. So he's taken care of, and all the other birds are up to date on their check-ups.

Marco goes to his new cardiologist in 2 weeks, as sadly, Dr. Stock died a couple of weeks ago. Plus, Miss Jean is doing pretty well. This calls for a big "knock on wood", plus a couple of thanksgiving prayers, but I'm hoping we're on a roll of some low-stress times for a little while. Hopefully, thru' Christmas.

Okay, Columbus you be cool ~ that's it for now.

I love: learning new things.