Starting with a Bang: June 30 - July 5

 

Monday, June 30:  The following quotation is something I read in Fiona Ferris' latest post on her blog.  It struck me hard, and I wanted to share it with you all in case it resonates with you as well.  

...you don't get confidence so you can do the thing, you do the thing and get more confident as a result.

How often do I think I'll wait until I feel more confident to do the things I feel less than confident about, like use a pressure canner?  Yeah...still haven't gotten up the nerve.   But reading that quote today I thought of things I need to just do.  

Yesterday evening, a friend of John's came by.  It was wonderful to sit and chat with our friends.  I hadn't seen them in ages.  At first, they protested they had ice cream in the car, but I suggested they could stash it in our freezer and visit just a little with us, so they did.  I laughed a little to myself because I've known them for years upon years.  We all lived in the same small town.  We sort of drifted through the same community doings at schools, church, workplaces, etc.  It was so lovely to catch up with them once more.

Before they left, they gifted us two huge coolers of corn.  They'd driven up here to give it to us, it wasn't an afterthought.  I think one of the things I love about gardening season is the generosity of gardeners.  I put something like 2 dozen ears into the freezer.  Sam came and took nearly 2 dozen more.  Katie said she'd take a whole cooler to share between herself and a friend.  When Sam came by to get the corn, he brought five zucchinis with him and promised me he'd have blueberries today.  He was here this evening when I came in and delivered about a pint or so.  I couldn't resist dipping into the bag to sample a few while we chatted together.  So good!

We had fresh corn tonight for our supper.  Oh, gracious it was good!  

This evening when I was looking over my little 'garden' of pots, I noted that I had my first tomato blossom.  This year...maybe, this year, I'll have my own tomatoes to enjoy?

Tuesday, July 1:  It feels odd that I'm not making goals for July.  I don't really know when I'll be off duty, so I have no clue if there will even be much of July left for doing anything.  However, during the next to the last week of July, John and I are having lunch with his friend and former partner.  They've invited us wives to attend and I'm very much looking forward to that.  

Debbie and I have a sort of special relationship.  I wouldn't say we are intimate friends, but we pretty much shared the same schedule, heard the same tales, attended the same work parties and stood the same tests for a bit over 20 years.  Bess used to refer to Debbie and me as "Sister Wives" because as she said, "Y'all are really only married to them every other week.  They are married to each other on their work week!"  And she was more right than not.   

After the older kids left home and especially so after Katie left, if the guys were working the holiday shift I got invited to attend holiday gatherings at their home.  Andy and Debbie often hosted the working medics for Fourth of July barbecues, and they always asked the wives.  I was also at their home for Christmas and New Year's at times.  It made the whole wife of a paramedic thing much more bearable if you want to know the truth.  I used to get rather blue at having to attend everything on my own during John's work weeks.  Not just church, but family dinners, friend's invites, special church events, fish fries, etc.  It was rather nice to actually be with my husband at a barbecue or holiday dinner!

The few zinnias that came up from all of the hundreds of seeds planted, finally started blooming.  This evening the skies were black, thunder rumbling and threatening us loudly.  I looked out at the blooms and decided I'd just run out and cut a few for a bouquet here in the house.  I tried to choose the older blooms and leave the newer ones to get larger and fuller.  I am pretty sure that some of the seeds I planted were meant to be Benary's Giant Zinnias.  I can assure you not one of the ones blooming appear to be that variety at all.

You know, I paid really good funds for seeds and while they were a couple of years old, one would think they might have done something other than sit and rot.  They were meant to be from a really good dealer as well, and heirloom variety.   Ah well.

The basil is thick and lush and can't seem to get over 1 inch tall...The oregano looks sickly, yet the sage, planted in a separate area but the very same soil is thriving.  Go figure.

The baby looked tired today.  Katie thought he mustn't be feeling well but his temperature was normal.  His appetite certainly hadn't suffered either.  He didn't take much of a nap this afternoon either.  When he woke, he kept appealing to me to take him up. Only getting him out of the play pen proved to be the wrong thing to do.  What he actually wanted was to get on the floor and explore, stand up at the back of the couch and throw everything off the sofa table behind it, crawl over to his brother and pull his hair.  Changing his diaper was like fighting a wild animal. I put him in his bouncy seat and said, "Get some of that energy out!"  That little boy bounced so hard, his little feet hit the floor sounding like a proper foot stomp and he went to work on jumping like he could make that thing get up and go somewhere if he worked it hard enough.  I've never seen him so wildly active like that.  All he had to eat at lunch time was green beans, lol.  Makes me glad he didn't have spinach!

Wednesday, July 2:  This morning Caleb told me "When July gets here..." and I stopped him.  "July's here."  "No, Gramma, it's June!"  "No, it's July.  Today is July 2nd."  He said, "Wait a minute..."  He walked around the corner where his Mama has hung the calendar and looks hard and then comes back, "It's still June.  It's right there on Mama's calendar!"  I laughed and told him, "That's what Mama's calendar says because she hasn't changed it yet.  But I promise you it's July!"  He remained unconvinced.  After all, the calendar was the only thing that could be right.

Henry is bored with the jumper and bored with the playpen.  He wants to get down on the floor and roam around.  Or if he's on the couch to snatch whatever he can reach: remote, pillow, phone, brother's toes, something on the table behind the couch.  He has laser focus and strength like a Grizzly bear.  100% determination, too.  The only confinement he really enjoys just now is the highchair.  

And heaven help anyone who has something to eat and fails to give him something as well.  What a ruckus he can make.  Wailing, gnashing of toothies, whining.  He's pitiful.  He's starving.   

I've had a really good week with Caleb this week.  Bless his heart, today when Cody came home early and said "You can go home if you want..." Caleb started crying.  "But when are you coming back?" he wailed, just as Cody said, "And I have tomorrow off, too so you don't have to come over."  "Monday.  Well actually, Sunday, because Grampa and I want to see Bella.  But I'll be here on Monday to start the week with you and Bella."  I didn't mention we were coming for Bella's birthday on Sunday because he would have pestered his parents to death over when Sunday was coming.  "Not until MONDAY?!"   He acted as though he doubted his chances of survival, lol.   At least I know he'll miss me...

I went to the grocery store.  I don't know about anyone else's area, but July 4th ads didn't hit until today.  In the past you could count on 10-14 days of July 4th specials.  Not this year.  I bought a lot of groceries today, more than I've bought all month long.  I went about $100 over but I stocked up on several things that are on sale right now that likely won't be on sale again until Labor Day.  Soda, chips, cream cheese were on decent sales.  I stocked up.  I bought a lot of produce and a handful of other items on my list (not grits or white vinegar, sigh).   My initial total at Kroger was $265.  Then all of my e-coupons and digital deals came off, as well as two physical coupons.  That brought my total down to $165.  I had $130 cash and paid the rest with the debit card.   

Then I headed over to Publix.  Two items I'd gone in for weren't available at all.  I bought four 8-ounce blocks of Athenos Feta cheese.  I plan to freeze some of that.  I like making the roasted tomato and feta sauce for pasta.  I like Feta tossed in a salad, or with the Cucumber and Tomato salad or with Chicken Souvlaki on a pita...Plenty of ways to use that!  My total there was $65.  That included a $17 Sansevieria that I simply had to have.  I love those plants and was sorry to lose mine two years ago. I'm happy to have found another.  This one even has pups (new plants) in the container with it.

John was off to Columbus today with Sam to get the truck back from the collision center.  Hard to believe it's been over there for a month or more.  John was very nervous about driving back.  I felt his anxiety all the way over at Warner Robins and mentioned it to Katie.  She said, "You always do that with each other."  We do.  It's true.  I knew he would do just fine, but he always has an overload of anxiety about any travel to a lesser known or new area.  

I am home. I'm so glad to have tomorrow off.  John and I may sneak away for lunch on Thursday or Saturday.  I'm getting the Manor House kids tomorrow evening to spend the night and start off the July 4th holiday with.  I expect they will stay through lunch before they head back home again.  

Speaking of those kids, I went over the calendar for July and was so disappointed to find that Reynolds has nothing except on Saturday for Summer Reading.  The kids are with their mother on weekends so I can't take them then.  Weekday programs are mostly starting at 4pm in Butler and I can't make it to Reynolds before 4pm...So it looks like Summer Reading is going to be a bust this year, sigh.  Not to my liking at all!  I was so looking forward to doing this with the kids.  

Millie and I are going to start work on our fairy garden.  I don't know just what we'll use as our base.  I have a load of moss growing on my patio, that lovely cool plush sort of moss that stays damp and green on the concrete and will stay green on soil if I remember to keep it misted.  We have a few figures to use.  I have a plastic container I want to turn into a house but in the meantime, we can use our blue glass stones to make a stream and eventually perhaps I can find some small plants that will do well to add in.  

I'm going to go ahead and publish today.  Tomorrow, I want to concentrate completely on resting.  I may sneak outdoors to garden for a wee bit, but I'm not going to jump into a lot of deep cleaning and housework.  That can wait until Friday after the kids are back home.  

In the meantime, I'll wish you all a Happy Fourth of July.  I hope you all have a lovely holiday weekend.

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