Our garden

Our flowers are blooming and veggies are growing. We must have picked at least 50-75 zucchinis so far this month. We are giving them to neighbors, the people I work for and also blanching and freezing them for winter use. The tomatoes are still green but we will have beefsteaks and cherry's when they ripen. Cucumbers are still small but will get large fairly quickly in this warm weather. I love the red sunflowers but next year we will plant them elsewhere since they are covering the way to pick the zucchini which are behind them. It's like traipsing through a jungle to pick. We also had strawberries the beginning of June but they are gone now.

I took pics this morning of the garden and all the types of trees we have. We counted them yesterday and wow I didn't realize how many we have. These pics are just a few. None of these trees are older than 15 years old. They give us plenty of privacy from the road.

96 Spruce

10 Weeping Willows

8 Poplars

2 Oaks

1 Russian Olive (Fallen)

8 Mtn Ash

9 Birch

1 Elm

1 Red Cedar

1 Juniper

18 Western Larch (Tamarack)

1 Hawthorne

1 Pear

1 Apple

5 Ponderosa Pines

20 Lilac Bushes, Purple and Red Bee Balm

My friend Gina

Had a great visit with my friend from Naples Idaho last Wednesday evening. We all went to the Northern Quest Casino for dinner. Their buffet is delicious and the price is right. Jerry and I get senior discounts since we are both over 55. (I am 56, Jerry 59). Gina has a few years to go before she gets the discount though. LOL!

Gina was amazed at where we live. She thought we were in a metropolis but we are outside the city limits of Spokane in a rural area similar to where she lives in Naples. Horses, a donkey, roosters and even peacocks live around here. Peacocks are very loud!

I took Gina to the airport for her trip to see her daughter and help with her baby shower. She's due in August so Gina will be going again and hopefully will be there when her daughter delivers.

The weather here is in the 90's today. Good day to stay inside and do payroll for Jerry's company. Picked some zucchini, blanched and froze them for winter use. Must have picked 30 over this last week. Gave some to the neighbor and she is growing yellow squash so will be exchanging all summer.

I keep forgetting to take pics of things I talk about. Oops! I wonder if the neighbor has eaten her zucchini yet! LOL

How do you bloggers get the same pic next to your name when you post a comment?
Rosemary has Mimi her cat, someone else has a little cartoon, some have pics of themselves etc....

Porcupine

Ok, I went and took a look at #8 tree that was replaced with a white pine and guess what? GONE! Yep, that # 8 spot seems to have been robbed again. The good news is though is that the jury decided the porcupine was our wrong suspect. He is innocent. We do have a new suspect and hopfully he will be hung by dusk tonight. Will keep you updated. Hint: The kitties are slacking on their hunting skills.
The pics are before and after catching the guilty robber.

My friend Gina is coming to visit later today and stay overnight. She has a 6:30am flight out tomorrow morning. Since we only live about 15 minutes from the airport she will leave her car here at our house and I will drive her to the airport in the morning. She actually lives in Naples Idaho now but she and her husband lived across the street from me when I lived in Sandpoint. She and her husband looked after my late husband on many occasions while I had to work. Also took care of our animals when John was in the hospital for days at a time. So will be fun to chat up a storm tonight. Haven't seen her since 2006.

I am charging my camera up and will hopefully get some pics posted soon.

Love the summer

It's hot but I am not complaining. We have central air to stay cool in when it's too hot outside to work.

No sign of the gardener yet so this is good! I have been mowing all weekend in sections. When it gets too hot I come inside to cool off, then out I go again. I am about to do one more section tonight after I finish this blog. I can do this! I am using the gas mower that I have to push. It's all good exercise though.

Last Friday I took on another cleaning job. The house is a historic home in a section of town called Brown's Addition here in Spokane. It's a gorgeous house and the new owners are just moving in. The house was built in 1899 and renovated in 2006. It's 4400 sq. ft. 5 bedroom 5bath house with 48 stairs 4 levels. All hardwood floors. It has the historic plaque out front and is called the "Olmstead House". So now I have 3 housecleaning jobs plus doing Jerry's books for him. I have so much more energy now I am doing physical work it's unreal. I even went and played 9 holes of disc golf down the road earlier today. I think this is what I needed to get out of my tiredness slump. Summertime and exercise. I do have to admit I am exhausted by the end of the day but I think this is a good feeling of accomplishment.

Yesterday I watched my other Netflix movie, Seabiscuit. I loved it so much I watched it again with Jerry. It's hard for Jerry to sit through a whole movie without moving around. His neck starts to hurt and he has to stand up often and move around. This drives me nuts so most of the time I watch my movies by myself and totally get absorbed in them. Just like when I read a book. I have to have quiet and I go into the book itself and enjoy.

I decided after my last trip to Florence Oregon that I needed to buy a new suitcase. I needed one I could take on board or put on the cart outside the aircraft and pick up upon departing the aircraft. If I had not had checked luggage last time when I got stuck in Portland for 4 hours I could have caught and earlier flight home. Since I am off to Ca in late Aug I decided to go and buy the smaller suitcase. I got one at Fred Meyer that was on sale. It's just what I need. Hooray, I am ready to go now.

Last Thursday Jerry noticed that one of his tiny tamarack trees (about 2ft tall) had vanished. He had planted 15 out towards the back of the house and 5 in front of the property by the road. We just couldn't figure out what happened. Deer would just chomp off the top probably but there was no sign of a tree ever being there. Weird! Friday evening our dog Happy was acting very strangely and was determined to be inside the house. We let her in and looked out towards the tall tree close to the house and saw a porcupine in it. It was then we figured what ate the little tamarack tree. Glad Happy wanted inside. I have heard of dogs getting porcupine quills stuck in their snouts and have to go to the vet to get them pulled out. We haven't seen the porcupine since and hopefully he went on his way to other trees to nibble on.

Does anyone out there know why swallows fly low over fields in swarms? We must have over a hundred here.

Time Flies

Here it's been almost a week since my last blog. Busy busy in this beautiful warm weather!

Let's see, since last Sunday's blog I watched my Netflix movie "Number 23" and said I would let you know what I thought of it. Weelllll! WEIRD is the word for it. Anyone that has seen it knows you can take any number and make almost everything in your life number wise = a specific number. For instance, my number is 24. Sooo many things have happened to me or about me on the 24th. I didn't realize the number meant anything till years after all these events happened and I started taking note of all the 24's in my life.

1) 1st time married October 24th 1970.
2) 2nd time married July 24th 1976.
3) I was 24 when I got married 2nd time.
4) 2nd husband Jesse's birthday Sept 24 1948.
5) My daughter Jessica's birthday April 24th 1978.
6) My daughter was 24 days late when born.
7) My Mother was 24 when I was born.
8) Boyfriend Tom passed away March 24th 1993.
9) My best friend in California got married May 24th 1980.
10) My property address in Lake Isabella Ca was 1124.
11) My property address in Long Beach Ca was 5424.
12) Lost Cutie dog Jan 24th 2003.
13) P.O. Box number in Sandpoint ID #24.
14) Late husband John asked me to marry him June 24th 2000.
15) My parents got married Oct 24th 1959.
16) Flew to Florence Oregon last Dec 24th 2007.

Now you tell me if this isn't strange. See if you can take a number and do it too.

Tennis anyone?

As I was growing up my parents paid for me to have tennis lessons. I think I was around 11 or 12. I got to wear pretty tennis outfits that made me feel pretty. The problem was that I really wasn't any good at the game of tennis even after the lessons. In fact I began to despise the game altogether. Those were the years I started to rebel against my parents for one reason or another. Fact is I have never been interested in tennis since. (my brother and mother still play).

Today, I thought I would put the TV on just for some noise while I was putzing around the house. Yes, Mom I was cleaning again! LOL. Anyway I happened to click onto the Wimbledon Championship game between Federer and Nadel. I watched in awe as the two men played, amazed at the shots they were dealing. I actually sat on the couch and watched them play another set. I guess it was the longest game in the history of Wimbledon. 4 hours and 45 minutes. With two rain delays and almost nightfall Nadel won the Championship. What an exciting moment for him. He played a magnificent game. Maybe next year I will watch again.

Tonight I am going to watch my movie from Netflix called "Number 23". Will let you know what I think of it.

4th of July

I was planning on spending this whole weekend working but.....

I got out early yesterday and mowed the grass around the house. I want to fire our gardner cause he is just too expensive and he mows over some of my plants at times. Really pisses me off. We have 5 acres but we only want around 2 of them mowed.

The gardener sold me a little riding mower and said it would only last a couple of years. So we made a deal that I would mow the area around the house and he would take care of the rest. This way I thought it would cut down on the cost. The last time he was here both Jerry and I were gone. I will admit the yard looked nice when we got home that night but he still charged Jerry the same amount as if he'd done the whole yard himself. Made me mad but Jerry didn't mind that much. Arrrrrggg Men!!! Anyway the gardner told me to try out this bigger mower to see if I liked it better than the tiny one he sold me. (the belt broke on mine and hadn't had time to get a new one yet.) So I was mowing with his mower one day and he happened to come by. He went ballistic on me asking if I checked the oil before I started mowing. I am a woman, how did I know I was suppose to check the oil EVERY TIME I used it. Geez! You don't have to check the car oil everytime you drive it someplace!!!! Anyway he went on bitching about how much time and money it takes to keep these mowers in tip top condition blah blah blah. I went and found some oil and of course he put it in still ranting that I could have burned up the engine blah blah blah.

A few days after that he stopped by again and I just gave him one of my disgusted looks that could kill. He just looked back and said "WHAT?" I left and went into my office to work. I heard Jerry yelling at him about the way he treated me over his mower. They argued for about ten minutes then all was quiet. I came out and asked Jerry what happened and he said he told Ronnie to take his damn mower and leave. We don't know if he will be back. Hope not. I know it is hard work mowing but I can do it even if I have to buy another heavier duty one. Right now I am using my old Sears gas push mower. Talk about getting exercise :) Jerry is helping too.

Why does this blog sound like a bitch blog? Ok let's get on to happier subjects. Am I suppose to be writing all this or just little tid bits of stuff?

Also yesterday I did a lot of paperwork for the business. About 5 hrs worth. I then took a break and noticed Happy (Red Heeler)had taken off again. I wondered if she heard fireworks and got scared. I called and called and no Happy. I got in the car and drove down the road to our friends house that has a disc golf course. (Happy loves to join in the game) She wasn't there. I started back home and I glanced over at my neighbors house and guess who was behind the gate. Yep, good ole Happy. I noticed the neighbors had company so I was hesitant to go get her. I stood and yelled for her several times but no one heard me. I am sure Happy did but she was getting spoiled. Finally Patty came to the gate and invited me in. She said Happy always comes to visit her and she usually hears Jerry calling her and lets her out. My voice doesn't carry well enough.

Well I ended up enjoying the 4th of July at the neighbors with wine, hamburgers and some very nice people. Got home about 10pm just in time to look out the windows to see some fireworks going off downtown Spokane. Happy was still a bit aprehensive of the fireworks so she slept on Jerry's side of the bed instead of her bed on my side which is by the sliding glass door.

My neighbor Patty just loves all animals and takes care of Happy and our two cats when we go overnight someplace. She spoils them ROTTEN and has often said she wished she had found our two cats first. (she loves them that much). They are brother & sister, grey in color and we named them Ashley and Smokey. They were only 8 weeks old when we adopted them from Spokanimal. They think Happy is their mother.

Ok, I have to get back to cleaning this house now. I have scrubbed all the baseboards in the bathrooms and kitchen before mopping, washed all the saucers under each house plant, washed all the rungs on the dining table and chairs. Now I will start on the rest of the house. Work work work and I love it. Maybe I need a brain scan???

Florence Oregon

Well I just returned late last night from visiting my parents in Florence Oregon. I arrived in Eugene Friday where my parents picked me up at the airport. Was up in the upper 80's degree wise.

Florence is about 68 miles from Eugene and a very scenic drive. We stopped off at the La Valle winery for a tasting before heading back to Florence.

My Dad is going to be 83 this October and is in a lot of pain from brusitus. He sometimes doubles over while walking the pain is so severe. He is also a diabetic so has to be careful of medication he takes. His doctor has given him some pain pills but he says they don't help. He also has to do excercises to relieve the pain. I DON'T WANT TO GET OLD!! I think if I end up with ailments that are so painful and make life so hard, I will try and find Dr. Kavorkian or someone like him. I hear Oregon is one of the few states if not the only one that has assisted suicide. Don't get me wrong, I am no where near getting to that point yet. But..............

My visit was nice. We went up the coast on Monday but it was so foggy we couldn't see a thing. No pictures in other words. Had some nice dinners in town. I had lots of clams and mussells.

I arrived home last night around 11pm, came home and went straight to bed. I was tired because we left very early in the morning for Eugene because I wanted to do lots of shopping at places like Bed, Bath and Beyond, Old Navy, Chico's and Trader Joe's. Can you believe the closest Trader Joe's to Spokane is in Seattle? Sure would be nice to have one closer. I love their Green Tea bath soap. I also bought some English Stilton cheese and put it in my suitcase. When I got home it looked a bit squished but still tasted good. I put it in the fridge last night and we had a few nibbles of it this evening.

Jerry leaves to visit his son in Seattle tomorrow morning for the 4th of July. He won't be back till next Monday. I have so much work to catch up on it's going to be a working weekend for me. I also have to clean this house. For being semi-retired I am always busy doing something. Usually Monday's and Wednesdays are my "free" days. Tuesdays I clean a house, do laundry, take clothes to the cleaners and pick up cleaned ones etc... This is just a part time job till the end of August. The wife and kids take off for the summer and leaves the Dad behind to work. I guess he doesn't know how to clean, do laundry or any other domestic type of household work so I get to do the job every Tuesday. This week was Wednesday though since I didn't get back from Florence till late Tuesday. Tomorrow, Thursday I also clean a house for this wonderful family. The two little children are so adorable they remind me of my own grand kids. This house is 5,000 sq feet and three stories. Well so is the other one I clean too.

I also work for Jerry's moving business doing the bookkeeping. Every other weekend I do payroll so guess what I will be doing this weekend. Yep, plus all the data entry for the last two weeks in order to do payroll. As I said I have a lot of work to do this weekend. I also pick up the revenue and drop off at the bank almost every evening. So you see it is a pretty busy life here in Spokane. Oh and of course don't forget all the gardening I like to do too.

We have tomatoes, lettuce, zuchinni, cucumbers, bell peppers, strawberries and lots of herbs growing. Jerry also planted a lot of sunflowers that are getting pretty tall. Will try and get some pics posted soon.