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The Asiatic lilies are starting to bloom. This photo was taken June 2, 2010. The iruses are winding down. I still have a few buds and blooms but not as prolific as they were eariler.
Yesterday, I planted my portulaca's except for a few when it got too hot as the sun got up over the trees. I still have to plant my wax begonias in the shady flowerbeds but at least it will be cool. Grass needs cutting today but I have to go do some errands and help out at the church folding the newsletter. I have numerous projects to do around here and more keep getting added on. My old loafers I used for walking the dog came apart with both soles coming off. I'll glue them with goop. I wear the duck boots in the morning when the dew is heavy on the grass but I like to slip into the loafers when the grass is dry. I don't want to invest in a new pair even if I could find a pair that fits and is comfortable.
News from the Vorlon Wife.
Yesterday, I went to Bible Study. We discuss the scripture that will be used in the Sunday sermon. We we study and discuss each line in detail. It is a popular class. We meet in the pastor's study and yesterday, the room was full. If it continues to grow, we'll have to meet in a bigger room.
After lunch, I went to work with the weed wacker. I trimmed along the flower gardens and trees and went all around the yard. The morning started out foggy and by afternoon, it was clear and hot. It was 100 degrees on my deck and west side of the house.
This morning it was not foggy but I expect it will be hot again. I am washing the electric blankets and will put them away for the summer.
News from the Vorlon Wife..
Remembering Ted on what would have been our 42nd anniversary.
In memory of my family and ancestors who served our country:
Revolutionary War: great + grandfathers, Moses Lincoln, Henry Hoofstitler, Jacob Williamson, and Capt. Leonard Krauss.
Civil War: my great grandfathers, Mayberry G. Small, and Adolphus Layfayette Orrell.
World War I: my great uncle, William Franklin Small
World War II, my mothers brothers, Vernon McConnell and Raymond McConnell, my mother's cousins, Franklin Dripps, Eugene Dripps, Francis Crossan, Howard Dugan, and Allen Dugan, my cousin, Rene Baker
Korean War: my Dad, Ruric S. Orrell, Sr.
I helped Don get rid of the poison ivy growing all around his place. I wore gloves, long sleeve shirt and jacket, and jeans. I had to cut some of it from around a flowering bush. I also started cutting and pulling honeysuckle off of the holly tree I had given my mother. I had to stop because a robin had her nest with eggs in the holly tree. I hope I didn't uncover too much as it was a good hiding spot for the robin and her eggs didn't get too cold while she was waiting for me to leave.
After lunch, I headed on home.
News from the Vorlon Wife.
I went to church and then helped with the deposit. There was no Sunday School today so I went home and packed up me and Sparky and the flowers for the cemetary. I cut some of my iruses for Ted's grave and my parents grave. They were very beautiful this year. They line my walk on the west side and the blooms were prolific. I took portulacas and wax begonias for my grandparents and their familes at another cemetary. I put Sparky in his cage at Don's house while we were gone. He gets into things. He found Don's ant traps and I caught him before he had a chance to chew it. The ant traps contain peanut butter and he can smell it.
When we got back to Don's, I left Sparky with Don while I went to Burger King for some burgers. Don said Sparky sat in his lap for a couple minutes and then jumped down and got in his cage. I guess he was feeling insucure without his "Mommy".
News from the Vorlon Wife.
I helped with the Kanal Kitchen today. It is a mission we have once a month for the homeless people. I made some coffee and then rolled the plastic knives, forks and spoons in a napkin. I had help from a 10 year old boy named Owen. He comes every month and loves helping. I dried the dishes after lunch. We had hot dogs, baked beans, sloppy joes and salad. Also, hard boiled eggs that the people take with them.
I cut the grass in the afternoon. I was exhausted.
News from the Vorlon Wife.
I have been busy doing yard work. I had a lot of mulching to do and still have more. I have tow long walkways with flowerbeds lining them. I also have flower beds along the edges of the spillway in the back yard and along the back of the house. Now I may have to put one along the front of the yard as people across the street, turn around and run across the edge of my lawn making ruts. Wednesday, a neighbor girl, Emily, did some work for me. She crawled under the deck with the leaf blower and cleaned out under there. Then she helped me carry some rocks from the back flowerbed up to the front to put along the edge of the lawn next to the road. The kids are happy to do some work and earn some money for themselves. Dalton, who is a twin boy of 10, weeded my iruses. His mother said the boys are thrilled to be earning their own money. She is a single Mom with health problems and unable to work. They all live with her mother.
I was going to cut the grass today but the forecast is bleak for the next two days. It poured last night and things are wet this morning. It looks like it is raining now. I still have the flats to plant. I have portulacas for the sunny areas and wax begonias for the shaded areas. I have some kind of purple plant I got from my friend, Joan' greenhouse. It blooms in the shade. I want some color in the back flowerbed.
If it's raining tomorrow, I may not be able to get to the cemetary. Maybe I'll go on Sunday. We have no Sunday School so I can get an early start.
News from the Vorlon Wife.
Yesterday, I went to church, it was youth Sunday and the young people did a wonderful job with the service. I helped Ursula with the deposit and went down the stairs to Sunday School. I got there rather late and didn't know what they were talking about. I didn't see my niece and her family at the 11;00 service so I went on home.
I was tired out from all the yard work Friday and Saturday so I read a little and watched a movie. I inspected my flowers and got out my canopy. I thought it was 8x8. I found I had the wrong poles so had to go tearing through the shed to find the right poles. I found them and I also found that my canopy was 10 x 10 and would not fit on my deck. Since I had the poles out for my screen house, I searched for it in the shed but had no luck. What I thought was my screen house was my big tarp. They are the same color blue. The misquitos are very bad this year. I will have to take everything out of the shed to try to find it. Many things have been packed in there since I moved in. I had some dinner and went to the ice cream stand for a pretzel cone. I took Sparky with me and brought a dish and a spoon to give him some. He was excited about going out in the car. He seemed to know that's what we were doing as he stopped at the car door waiting for me to open it. He gets all hyper when visiting a new place. He has to check everything out.
News from the Vorlon Wife.
Friday, I went to the church thinking there was not much to do but there was a whole stack of bills that needed to be entered into the computer and paid. I spent all morning there. When I got home, I walked Sparky, had some lunch and cut the grass. Of course, the temp was in the 80's. I did the sunny areas first and then enjoyed the coolness of the shaded back yard.
Many flowers are blooming: azaleas,hydrangea, irises, peony, snap dragons, wood hyacinths, dalias, pansy, geraniums and I have a flat of wax plant begonias and portulacas.
After cutting the grass, I vegetated on the sofa with a big glass of iced tea.
Saturday, I had planting to do. I planted 10 azaleas, a hydrangea, four star gazer lilies, two geraniums, and four dalias. In the afternoon, I took my neighbor, Marlene, to my other neighbors new second hand shop, "The Bargain Barn". It is a big building shaped like a barn and has several rooms of items. I like to look through and maybe find items that I have that have been broken so I can replace them. I also look for nautical items for my bathroom and blue bedroom. I didn't see anything at the Bargain Barn but they did have a lot of nice things. One just have to be in need for the items.
News from the Vorlon Wife.
Wow! It's been a while. I have either been busy or exhausted. Last Tuesday, we cut exercise class short to help set up tables for our friend, Jean's funeral luncheon. Wednesday, I went to the church to help get the food ready, set up, serve, and clean-up. I also did yard work all week. Thursday, I took my parents anniversary clock back to the jeweler's because it wasn't working after they had fixed it. The man said, " Did you wind it up?" I felt like an idiot. I didn't know it had to be wound up. I thought the pendulum kept it going. I didn't know it had a key. I'll have to go through Don's house to see if I can find it. Meanwhile, I have a tiny wrench that was part of Ted's set. It fits and I"ll able to wind it up.
Friday, I helped set up the tables for the Ecumenical Assoc. yard sale at St. Roses RC Church. When I got home, I cut the grass. Of course the temp was in the 80's.
Saturday was the yard sale. It was a county wide event. I got a few things for myself. A pair of duck boots that are made of rubber and leather. I had two pair of rain boots which are make of plastic and crack. One pair cracked in three weeks and the other lasted six months. The grass is wet in the morning when I take out the dog. I also got a framed stained glass of a lighthouse to put in my bathroom window. I bought a cake to take to my nephew's for our Mother's Day dinner on Sunday.
In the afternoon, I took Sparky to the vet to get his K9 flu booster. This is the third time he's been there and he now knows what that place is. I sat down on a chair to wait our turn and he jumped up on my lap, climbed up my arm, onto my shoulder and head and pawed at the window. He wanted out of that place. When the technician came to get him, Sparky put on his brakes and was shaking. I told the young man he was scared so he picked Sparky up. When he came out, he said that Sparky was good. He was one happy dog to get out of there. On the way home, I went to the library to get some movies. One was Marley and Me. I could never get a dog or animal movie when I had Danny Boy. He would bark and carry on in front of the television. Sparky will look when he hears a dog barking but doesn't pay any more attention to it. What a bad bog Marley was. He made Sparky look like a good dog.
On my way home from St. Rose's, I drove by the Blue Max Bed and Breakfast and saw a pair of bar stools in their sale. They were make of wood and had the Hitchcock backs and swiveled. I had priced them and the cheapest I could find was $100.00 each. I asked the man what he wanted for them and they were $30.00 for the two. I said if I can get them in my car I'll take them. He helped me put them in the back seat. One going one way and the other going the other way. They fit so now I have stools for my kitchen counter. More yard work.
Sunday was church and Sunday School. Then it was off the Rick and Michelle's for Mother's Day dinner. I hadn't gotten any cards or flowers for the mother's in my family so I picked some irises for Cheryl, Michelle, Sylvia and Michelle's mother, Joanne. They were pretty blue ones. I transplanted some of them last year and Don gave me some and so did my neighbor, John. They all seem to be blue. The other's either are later bloomers or didn't like being transplanted. Don said his were a darker purple and I do see some about to bloom which may be a dark purple. It's hard to tell because the buds on the blue ones look like a dark purple.
Monday and Tuesday I was tired out and didn't do much but lay around. I didn't go to exercise class but neither did anyone else. My neighbor, John and Carol brought me a butterfly bush so I had to weed the area I wanted to put it. It was full of zoiza grass and wild strawberry vine. What a job to get that stuff out. Pray for Carol, she had surgery for breast cancer and now she has an infection in the incision.
Monday, I went to Elkton to go to K-Mart, Dollar Tree Deals , and the Acme. I needed some cup hooks for the molding I put in the laundry room to hang mops and brooms on. I needed a few other things. I then stopped at the Greenhouse to look at their plants. They had only red and white portulacas. I like the multicolored ones. I did find a tray of wax plant begonias for the back yard. I gave up on impatiens because they need so much water and we're not supposed to water the grass or flowers only garden veges or grass seed. Therefore, the impatiens do not do well. They need to be watered twice a day.
Wednesday was Bible Study. Afterward, I went to the Apple House to get some portulacas. I also got 10 azaleas which were on sale because they had finished blooming. In addition, I got 4 dalias and 2 pink geraniums. Lots more yard work to do and I need more mulch.
My neighbor, John, stopped by on his way out of the mobile home park. He was very upset and said he had to put "Baby" down. Baby was their little Bishon. John was broken hearted. I stoped in to see Diane and she gave me Baby's treats. A big box of dog biscuits and a big jar of treats. Baby was Danny's friend and Sparky's friend. Baby had either Kidney stones or a tumor and was in a lot of pain. The vet said surgery may or may not work and the chances for this coming back were very high. I will miss Baby standing in their window looking out at us as we walked by. He was a cute little guy; white with black nose and eyes. He was the same size as Sparky but a little broader.
When walking Sparky in the evening, we stopped by my neighbor, Marlene's so Sparky could see her dog, Leyla. Sometimes we walk to the mailbox together but we had both been to the mailbox already. Marlene walked back to my house with me and I showed her all my flowers. When I got to the little red Japanses maple that Tina had given me, I saw it had leaves like a dogwood. It had red bark so I thought it was a red maple. Surprise! Surprise! When it's a good thing as my dogwood had been damaged by hurricane Sandy and it doesn't look like it will survive. The wind had knocked it down. I staked it back up but it had not taken root and it has not bloomed. It has buds on it and it looks like they may bloom yet. We will see.
News from the Vorlon Wife.
I went to exercise class but we didn't finish our work out. One of my friends from church passed away and they will be having her funeral on Wed. Tables were being set up in the hall so we helped set them up.
When I got home, I did some weeding and mulching before the showers came. I need to get more mulch.
I was tired from yoga Monday night and exercise this morning and doing the yard work so I watch a movie and did some reading. I took when it was raining and he went part way down the walk, turned around and ran back to the house.
After dinner, I heard him getting into something. He was chewing on a package of toothbrush refills. I don't know how or where he got them from. Then he had tissues ripped up on the sofa and livingroom floor. I had taken them out of my handbag and put them too close to the edge of the kitchen table. He jumped up and got them. Then, I heard him into something in the computer room. He had an ant trap in his mouth. I didn't see any chew marks in it but was concerned and called the Vet. Since there were no chew marks, the Vet thought he'd be OK but to monitor him. What a mess he can be.
News from the Vorlon Wife.
I have gotten behind as I have been quite busy. I had a full day on Friday, weeding, mulching, washing clothes, giving Sparky his bath, and spring house cleaning. I went to Sears in Middletown to get my microwave. They replaced the magnatron. good thing I got the extended warrenty. I usually don't get them but in this case, it paid off. The microwave was recommend by Consumer reports but Kenmore could be made by several different companies. I probably got one made in China.
Saturday was more of the same cleaning and weeding and mulching.
Sunday, I went to church, helped with the deposit, went to Sunday School and then went to the second service. A couple from church had their wedding during the 2nd service. They didn't know what to do. They thought if they had a wedding no one would come. Pastor Mark suggested to have it during the service and everyone would be there. They had been engage for two or three years I don't know if it is a 2nd marriage for Marilyn but it is Bob's 2nd marriage. He was a widower and his adult children were not happy about the engagement. They had like Marilyn but change when they became engaged. they even had a prenuptial agreement to protect the children. I guess they finally worked things out as the children attended the wedding.
I did more weeding when I got home. I weeded the front along the fence. I hope I didn't tear out the seeds for the portulacas. They sprout in early June although everything is late this year.
Ants! I got rid of them in my kitchen but now, they are crawling all over the blind in my computer room. I had to stop typing and get out the ant traps. I sprayed all around the perimeter but I think they got underneath the trailer and crawled up the inside. I'm not about to crawl underneath. I do have a plastic ground cover down but there are giant spiders under there and there could be snakes. Horrors!
News from the Vorlon Wife
Yesterday, I went to Bible Study. Tina brought strawberry short cake for everyone after the class. It was yummie. In the afternoon, I cut the grass. It had grown long since the rain. I had to wait until the afternoon for it to dry off. After an hour rest with a glass of iced tea, I took Sparky out for his walk. My neighbor, Marlene, gave me a bag of produce. It was mostly rutabegas with a couple onions, a cucumber, and a pink grapefruit. I was done in and so was Sparky. The heat gets to him. On our walks, he lays down in the grass in the shade. I did trim his fur and when it gets warmer, I'll have to get him shaved down close.
My comment section is getting spammed. If you don't see a comment link, scroll down until you find one. The spam commenters seem to be from China or some foreign country as the English is not quite right.
News from the Vorlon Wife.
I'm back. I have had a busy schedule and the spring pollen has got me down. I've been doing yard work and sneezing all the while. It makes me feel exhausted. Things went well for Don but I found that my friend, Carol has cancer. Carol has been my friend since early childhood. We went all through school together. Her sister lives across from my brother. I've had a lot of car expenses. After I had the new tires put on and the air conditioner fixed, I had to replace the battery. It went dead while at Don's and the service station that used to be across the street from Don, had moved a couple blocks away. Don called them and they came and got my car started. The battery was 5 or 6 years old so I had them take the car and put in a new one. I didn't want to fool around with it going dead all the time. It seems like I just replaced the battery but I did that shortly after Ted died and it's been 6 years.
Sunday, my family had a birthday dinner for me and for my niece's husband, Sean. We went to Red Lobster in Christiana, DE. The traffic was horrendous. All the roads in that area are being worked on and we couldn't get anywhere. It was a mess. The dinner was supposed to be at 3:30 and we didn't arrive until 4:30. Fortunately, my niece Tina arrived around 3:15 and there was over an hour wait to get a table so we didn't have to wait to sit down.
News from the Vorlon Wife.