"Getting rid of everything that doesn’t matter allows you to remember who you are. Simplicity doesn’t change who you are, it brings you back to who you are."

Sunday, March 29, 2015

The Best Things


It's a beautiful day today.  Bright blue skies and 25 degrees as forecasted. 


There's a bright blue tarp covering the peach...SM's last minute attempt to salvage the blooms.  

Yesterday was spent hauling and shoveling compost into the raised beds.  We hadn't done that in a few years and the existing soil had compacted down about a foot in some of the beds.

Not too far from where we live is Tarheel Bark.  They bag up all sorts of mulch and soils and gravels and ship them to the big box stores like Lowes.  Fortunately for us, they also sell direct to the public and we've used them for years taking our pickup for them to fill and hauling back all sorts of goodies.

I was super pleased yesterday when SM and I placed our order to see that they are now selling mushroom compost in bulk!  We bought 2 yards of the good stuff and I couldn't be more pleased.

Over the years, weed seed had blown into the raised beds and (even though I pulled them out) I decided to place a layer of cardboard on top of the existing soil to act as a weed block.  Then SM and I tossed the mushroom compost on top of that.  

Two yards filled all five beds nicely and we'll use whats left over today when SM transplant the grapes to a new location where we'll also build an arbor.



Standing back, I have to say that one of the best things about Spring is the promise it brings.  I look at that blue sky and those beds filled with rich compost and it fills me with contentment.

Yes, it's work that most folks would pass on.  
Why garden when there's a market down the street?
Why have flowers growing in your yard when the TV's on?
Why have a place to sit in the shade on a hot day when the air conditioner's on?

I hated gardening when I was a kid.  

Now, all I want to do is be outside, play in the dirt, plant some flowers, pull some weeds.

I'm so glad I'm in a position where can indulge this desire.  
This hobby of mine is time consuming and expensive.
But it's one of the best things in my life.
I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Saturday, March 28, 2015

Spring Tease

Everything has POPPED this week.  Cherry and pear trees are full and fluffy.


They remind me of cotton candy.  


All the soft wood trees and bushes have baby soft leaves all over them. 


And our peach is downright spectacular.

Too bad the low tonight is forecast for 25.  So all this spring beauty will be burnt and brown this time tomorrow.

So, no peaches again this year.  Sigh.


At least the apples might squeek by.  

I was hoping to get outside first thing this morning and haul some compost into the raised beds at least but Brrrr...It's freaking cold out there right now!  

39 degrees with a stiff breeze that's putting the wind chill down to 30.  I went out to de-poopify the yard and not only was said poop frozen, but the grass was crunchy in the shade.

It's tempting to put things off when it's brisk like this but we both know our window to get things prepped is small.

Plus, once we're out there working we'll warm up fast enough.

Have a good day Ya'll!

Sunday, March 22, 2015

Henbit Heaven

We had an absolutely gorgeous day here yesterday.  Sunny with a light breeze and 73 degrees.

Perfect for an afternoon spent out on the back porch swing.  SM joined me there during half-times of "The Madness" and it was nice to talk and read a book.

I even took a nap...HA!

I made an effort to do some yard work but I really can't seem to stand being in direct sunlight anymore.  Maybe I need more time to acclimate to warmer weather.  Funny how that goes, isn't it?

Anyway, I knew today was supposed to be mild but overcast so it should be perfect conditions for me to spend sometime out in the garden doing some cleaning up.

Look at what I get to do today.



Now, I'm not the type of girl who needs to know the name of every freakin weed out in the world but this year I was curious as to the nature of this invasive weed.  I see it every year in the late winter, early spring.  The heat of Summer kills it back so I never worried too much about it.  

This year though it's become a monster.  So I figured I ought to at least know what it's name is so I can introduce myself as spend some time today yoinking it all out.

Well...Hello Henbit.  You can read more about it here but I had to laugh at this description that I found on the NCSU website...

Henbit is a common winter annual or biennial weed found in North Carolina waste areas.

Waste Areas?  
Geez...Thanks a lot!

Now Deadnettle and Henbit look a lot alike but Henbit has a square stem.  Unsure of what I actually had, I went out in the predawn and snapped a piece off and brought it into the house for a closer look.

Yep...Square stem for sure.  

Since I try to keep an organic garden (ha) I'll be spending the day out pulling me some henbit.  



SM is still asleep as I type this.  Hopefully I can get him out there to help.
Whaaa Haaa Ha.
 

Friday, March 20, 2015

Thought I'd Share This...

I saw this on FB this morning and after reading through Jenna's well written post, thought  "Wow!"  

The world is getting really crowded.  

I guess that means that the ratio of folks with good common sense changes exponentially.

This is just sad that an upfront, honest man has to go through this sort of crap. 

But there's a lesson here for all of us, I guess.  
No search without a warrant.
And if you're doing business with the public, retain a good lawyer.

 
Image result for stupid quotes

Thursday, March 19, 2015

Clearly, I Need More Caffeine

Yesterday I greeted my first patient of the day, a nice young lady, who came into my exam lane and sat down on the medical stool provided.

She was this little bitty thing.  Maybe all of 90 lbs soaking wet and when she sat down the stool, it was up so high her toes barely touched the ground.

So I said...

"Here, let me help you." 

And I reached over to press the ring (under the seat) to lower the stool.

I pushed it, but nothing happened.  

"Wow, you don't weigh much do you?"  I said as I pressed my hand on her shoulder to use my weight to lower the stool.

And then I said...

"Man...I can drop a stool faster than anybody."

Realizing what I'd just said I looked up in horror to find her laughing and I sputtered and fussed...Terribly embarrassed.

Image result for embarrassed

"That's not what I meant to say at all..." 

Red faced, I had to laugh at myself.

Sometimes, there's just not enough caffeine in the world to wake me up.

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Early Bloom

We've had a few days in the mid 80's.  Can you believe it?

Too much too soon.  The warm weather is forcing the peach tree to bloom.  Most of the buds are still pretty wrapped up but I noticed a couple popped on the end of one branch.




"NOOOO!"  

Did you hear my cry across the country?  

It's WAY too early for this.  

Fortunately, the temps are notching it back down to normal for this time of year.  It should be in the 50-60's right now and that's where we'll stay through the end of the month.  

With a little luck, this refrigeration might keep the peach from blooming all the way.

Maybe.

We've gotten skunked the past few years with frosts killing the blooms so I'm not hopeful.

The apples on the other hand seem to have more sense.  They are bare as a bone right now...not a bud or blossom in sight.

Who knew trying to get some fruit off these trees was so tricky?  

Makes me wonder what the local orchards do to keep things in check.

Saturday, March 14, 2015

Great Expectorate-tions

What comes in...
Must come out.  
(Ahem.)

That seems to be a bit of a theme here this weekend.  SM and I are both competing for the loudest (and grossest) coughing/hacking/spitting award.  

I personally think SM should win for the loudest.  The windows vibrate with the sound.

I, on the other hand, have managed to bruise the muscles in my ribcage from coughing.  I've never done that before and have a new found respect for anyone with a bruised or fractured ribcage.  Icing and pain meds help but resting is the key which I plan to do plenty of as we are in for a bit of a drippy weekend.

So far March has been teasing us with a menopausal "hotflash-coldflash" theme that I know all too well.  We had a few days in the 80's believe it or not.  WAY, too hot for this time of year and the trees and bushes are pushing buds that are just ready to pop at any moment.



SM went out and pruned back the apple and peach trees and attacked the 15 year old pampas grass that (while I love the beachy look) became to big of a headache to control.  I think these huge grasses work best on properties that can burn them back to the roots each year.  Our was just too close to the house to do that so SM took advantage of the soft ground and yoinked it up and hauled it to the waste recycling place.

I celebrated our Springtime Tease a little less strenuously by decorating our back porch with a few whimsical touches courtesy of Hobby Lobby.








I'm itching to buy some big pots for the deck edge and fill them with seasonal flowers.

(cough) 

I'm itching to get out in the garden and toss some compost, weed some beds and mulch some walkways.

(hack)

Unfortunately, I think some of these activities are going to have to be delayed for a bit longer so I can recuperate.

Good thing for me it's only the middle of March.  
Plenty of time left for Spring Prep.

Monday, March 9, 2015

Tasteless

The weirdest thing has happened with this spat of bronchial "flu" that I've got.

I've lost my sense of taste.

Both SM and Dr Boss report the same thing happened to them.  It took awhile for it to come back, but it did...Thank Goodness.

I've never really thought about going through life without the ability to taste things.  Further "Google-ing" reveled that once the body recovers from the virus, the sense of taste comes back.  

But for some, it does not. Can you imagine?

 
Image result for tasteless food
 

Sunday, March 8, 2015

There's Kitchens For Looking And There's Kitchens For Cooking

We have a galley kitchen.  
Basic equipment included. 

A fridge that keeps things cold.
A stove that heats things up.
And a sink for running water and for dirty dishes.

Then there's the luxury items like a dishwasher and microwave oven.  We've replaced both of those items twice in the time we've lived here.  

SM calls it "planned obsolescence".  The idea that the folks who make these things do so with the thought that it will crap out on you after a few years and you'll need to buy another one.

This happened a few weeks ago to the microwave oven.

You see, when we moved in this house it had an "over the range" microwave oven.  I'd never had one like that before.  All my microwaves sat on my counter so it was pretty cool to have one built into the cabinet above the stove.  

Eventually the 20 year old model that came with the house died and SM replaced it a couple of years ago with this nice, fancy stainless steel model that we installed ourselves.

This sucker was much larger than the old one.  It was also a few inches deeper and a few inches taller so it impacted my "visual cooking area" if you will.  

I got used to it though and continued to whip up my usual delicious culinary fare.

So I was somewhat surprised a few weeks ago to see the green screen of death on the microwave panel.  

Further research showed that the flashing error code indicated that someone...(ahem)...gave the electronics on the microwave one too many steam baths.

 Image result for oops word

In my defense, it WAS Winter and it WAS dry as a bone in the house and SM WAS sick with that bronchial flu type crap that's going around (and that I have now acquired) and the moist air helped him to breathe more comfortably.

Anyhow, SM started researching repair or replacement options while Tami started using the stove to reheat leftovers. 

You know it's funny.  I never would have thought that the microwave would have been high on the list of must-haves in my kitchen.  I mean, sure...I can live without it, but it sure is nice to have that plate of food warmed up and ready to go in 2 minutes.  Let alone save me from constantly washing pots and pans after every stinking meal.

I mostly cook on weekends.  Leftovers are the name of the game on weekdays.  You be surprised how much cold food SM ate these past few weeks just because he didn't want to take the time to heat things up.  If I heated it up...Well, Alrighty Then.  

After two weeks of this crap, I was getting tired of it.  SM had gone back to Lowes (where he bought it) and had ordered another one which made him happy because they gave him a "Great Deal" on the new one.

"I still don't understand why we're replacing it with another over-the-stove model.  Isn't the same thing going to happen again?"  I asked confused.

"Yeah, that's what everybody says.  But it looks so much nicer being up off the counter and those counter models are crap anyway."  SM said blowing me off.

"But why spend..."  I started.

"Tami...Don't push me on this.  Let me handle it."  

SM was still cranky from being sick.  His mind was made up.  

So after a bit of a run around with Lowes, SM finally got his mitts on the new microwave which was sitting on the kitchen floor yesterday when I came home from doing post-ops.

SM asked me for a hand here and there and finally we hauled it up to mount it.  

"Whoa...this isn't going to work."  I said.  

This thing was even bigger than the last one.  We put it back on the floor and SM started measuring things apologizing to me.  "I didn't think to measure it.  They all look alike.  I just figured they're all standard size."  He said confused.

He pulled up the the Lowes inventory of product online and sure enough, all the new microwaves offered are this big.  They're even bigger than the broken one we just pulled out that wasn't all that old.  

Which is really weird if you think about it.  If it's supposed to go under the cabinet and above the stove, you'd think that it would be streamlined and tight.  
This new one poked out almost as far as the stove itself plus it hung down farther into the stove-top cooking space.  

There's no way I can cook like that.

"Let me research some more."  SM asked.  "We might have to special order one."  

I wandered away to let him vent his frustrations on the internet.

After a few minutes to allow him to decompress, I came up to him.

"Hey."  I started.  "The way I see it, you've got two options."

SM looked up at me.

"I'm a cook.  If you want me to keep cooking, then let's take this monster back and get a nice little counter-top model so we can heat up all my yummy leftovers."

Then I smiled at him and lifting shoulders up in a shrug said...

"Or you can hang this nice looking microwave back up on the wall and start eating frozen TV Dinners for the rest of your life." 

Guess what's sitting on my counter-top as we speak?

Saturday, March 7, 2015

When I'm 64

When I get older losing my hair
Many years from now
Will you still be sending me a valentine
Birthday greetings, bottle of wine?
If I'd been out till quarter to three
Would you lock the door?
Will you still need me, will you still feed me
When I'm sixty-four?

 I could be handy, mending a fuse
When your lights have gone
You can knit a sweater by the fireside
Sunday mornings go for a ride
Doing the garden, digging the weeds
Who could ask for more?
Will you still need me, will you still feed me
When I'm sixty-four? - The Beatles

I've been thinking lately how my role at work is changing. 

How I'm perceived as an "older" co-worker.  A mentor.  A teacher.

I've been with the same group now for 15 years and I'm getting used to the fact as the years have gone by, my younger co-workers (and patients) look at me like I'm a Mother figure. 

When did this happen?

Somehow I've become reassuring and dependable.  
Knowledgeable.  
The "go to" person when the shit hits the fan.   
The one who knows how to change the toner in the copier. 

Say what?

The other day Dr Boss asked me to scan and email her something.  
She's standing in front of The Beast.  
The Beast is this huge ass "do everything" copier that sits in control central. 

Dr Boss is mystified by The Beast.   
She's not the only one.  
Everyone is to a certain extent.  
So many buttons.  So many drawers.  
Paper is being sucked in and spit out to the tune of various beeps and alarms.  

Sometimes The Beast needs attention.  

When it does, everyone runs away. 

Or they come get me.

"Could you show everybody how to change the toner?"  She asked.  "We had a bit of a copier meltdown the other day when you were gone.  Nobody knew what to do."

"Really?"  Geez...

Toner is right up there with paper jams.  I can't tell you how many times I've walked up to The Beast only to find ERROR flashing and no one around.  Paper jams six ways to Sunday.  Everybody runs when there's a paper jam.  Just like everybody keeps hitting the CHANGE LATER button when the toner is about to crap out.

So later that day when the toner error message came up again, I gave a shout out, gathered all the little chickies together and pointed... 

"See?  Look.  Pictures." 

I pointed at the step by step pictures on the inside of the toner door.





"Toner's under here." I tapped the lowest door with my foot.  
Again with the pointing.  
"Pop this out, twist off the cap and TaDa!" 

Little heads nodding. 

Uh huh.

Yeah, right.

Everybody scatters.

Maybe I'm kidding myself.

Maybe the REAL reason I'll be gainfully employed when I'm 64 is because I'll be the only one left in the office who knows how to change a light bulb in the microscope.  

Or use a screwdriver to tighten up that chair.  
Or fix the TV feed, backup the computer, replace that gasket.

I can't find my way around a FaceBook page or photoshop a selfie but I can do a lot of things you young chicks can't.

I guess that's what they call job security.



Sunday, March 1, 2015

Turning The Corner?

I have to admit February zipped by pretty fast.  

It was a rough one weather wise but I got through the day to day minutia easier that SM did.  

The drag of being sick for a whole month is wearing on SM's last nerve but he continues to plug along.  Me?  I've managed to avoid the worst of the creeping crud (so far) and am happy to get through the worst of Winter without having slit my wrists (emotionally speaking that is).

Continuing with my monthly sunrise series of snaps today is less than inspiring but here it is!  Welcome to March.




It's gray with freezing rain coming down. You can still see the snow in the back garden area.  Hard to believe the day might actually come when we can get back there and putz around.  The ground is really boggy out there.

Truly... I can't let this post get published with this gray dullness.  Here's to hoping for some color really soon.