Wednesday

The one little humming bird who visited my feeder yesterday, I think was just passing through.  Probably on its way to Charm's house.  I used to take fabulous photos of hummers - sat outside in the shade with my big lens on the camera, and just waited for them to come.

 

 Besides feeders, I also planted flowers that attracted them.

This little guy used to come to the feeder on the front porch at the house, then fly up to a dead branch in the old pine tree.  I would photograph him out the bedroom window.

I don't see any flowers planted here that are attractive to humming birds. 

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I have disabled the touchpad on my computer and am using the mouse.  I think the touchpad has died, or is  in the process of it.

 

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I wish I had taken my camera to art group with me today.  Vicky finished a beautiful painting and actually displayed it on the wall! We usually can't talk her into putting things up.  I would like to photograph it so you all can see it.

 

 

Yes, I do this.  And parts of poems, limericks and punch lines of jokes.

 

 



Tuesday

It's kind of a lazy do-nothing kind of day.  I love days like this. 

There was one humming bird at the new feeder this morning, very briefly.  I don't know what kind it was, but I think it was a female.  I guess I just have to be patient.

I'm thinking seriously of making some chicken salad today.  I have all the makings.  But I haven't progressed past the thinking stage yet.

 

I went out this morning specifically to walk down the sidewalk far enough to take a picture of these trees.  They are just gorgeous.  I presume they are a flowering crab tree.  I can see them from my window, but there is a stand of quakie trees in front of them. 

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In keeping with my habit of not finishing anything I start, I am working on a new, small pencil drawing of a chickadee.  I'll eventually finish those other projects, but what's the point, if I'm not enjoying the time I spend on them right now?

 

 

Monday

My friend Claire F. stopped by for a short visit this morning.  It was so good to see her.  Hope to see more of her now that she's back.

 

 

These Siberian iris are blooming outside my window.  I have to kind of crane my neck to see them, though. 

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My friend Charm said they have lots of humming birds at their feeders, up in the Boulder Lake area.  So I decided to fill mine today.

First, I will probably get evicted, or at least seriously chastised, because I tried to take the screen out so I could just reach out the window and get the feeder to fill it.  I bent the frame of the window screen.  It is aluminum, and that stuff is very unforgiving if you bend it.  Finally got the frame back in, and went to Plan B.

I got the sugar water ready, set it on that damned fence, then walked down to the end of the fence, steadied myself with the post so I could get down the bank, walked down to the other end and grabbed it to get back up the bank onto the lawn.  So far so good, but I was in my stocking feet and the bark and stuff on the edge of the lawn hurt my feet.  Also, I felt like I was tipping over all the time.

Lessons learned:

     Wear shoes
      Take along a cane or the little walker.  Although I don't even know how to use a cane.

Now we'll see if I get any humming birds or just a bunch of ants. 

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I'm listening to Dan Seals on my iPod.  My two most favorite male singers are Chris LeDoux and Dan Seals.  They both died way too young.





Sunday

My track pad on my laptop is being difficult.  If it was a wireless mouse, I would say the batteries were low.  When I have time, I will have to see if I can find how to help it - download something, reset something?  I do have a mouse I used to use with it, but don't have space on the tabletop for it.

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Barrie and Kasey put my hummingbird feeder up yesterday.  Looks like Kat is waiting for a hummingbird to show up.  It doesn't have any food in it.  I know it's too early for them, but Kasey wanted to hang it up.

 

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I just restarted my computer, using a USB mouse instead of the touchpad.  I also made some changes to the touchpad settings.  The touchpad seems to be working much better now, but I'll leave the mouse here for a while. 

 

 



I know so many people like this, myself included. 





Saturday

Kasey's birthday was the 24th, but she is having a party at PAC with a few friends this afternoon.  Barrie stopped to put packages in my pickup, and while she was doing that, both Dotty and Spur took off.  Spur came back when she called, but not Dotty.  She walked to Ridley's parking lot, calling her and looking for her.  A cop had Dotty on a leash at Sugar Shack and heard Barrie calling her.  So they were all united, and Barrie was embarrassed.  I thought it was quite clever of Dotty to find a cop when she was lost!

 

 I gave Kasey money for her birthday to buy flowers for her planters in the yard. But yesterday, I gave her a very expensive toy - a cardboard box.  Yes, it's true.  A kid will play with a cardboard box as long as they last.  This one ended up in the dumpster at the end of the day, after giving its all.

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I found out yesterday that Betty Jo H. broke her hip, had surgery, and is now in the nursing wing.  I haven't seen her.

 

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I was tempted to sign up for an on-line class on painting photorealistic water colors.  Then I stepped back and slapped myself.  My goal is to paint looser, not tight and controlled.  Got past that crisis without spending any money!

 



 



Friday

 

Kasey arrived at 7:30 this morning to spend the day. I leave the door unlocked for her, she comes in, starts the coffee pot, opens the drapes, and gets the iPad.  What a difficult child! 

She forgot to bring the cookies I sent home with her last time she was here, but I happened to have some graham crackers, which hit the spot. 

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They turned on the sprinklers here this morning.  The lawn and the mature trees look great, but the flower beds are pathetic.  They are choked with weeds, grass, and dandelions.  I think they didn't budget much for the care of them because they were planning on tearing down this building.  So the flower beds have been neglected.

 

And I have missed seeing Boo and Maggie around here, the two Border Collies who belong to Ken, the maintenance man.  When I asked him why Sublette Center didn't want the dogs in the building any more, he told me it was a certain person who worked for the city.  Seems she didn't approve, so the dogs have been kicked out. 

 

Someone is on a power trip, I think.  I guess because we are a public building, she can do that.  I wonder about all the dogs that visit the nursing wing, used as therapy.  I hope they are immune to her whims.

 

 

 

This is Clyde, Kasey's cat.  Seems he has gone on a "walkabout".  I know a lot of cats tend to wander around in the spring.  I hope he comes home soon.  He is neutered, so he isn't just out tomcatting.

 

 



Thursday

Art group was nice yesterday.  Judi, Vicky, Lenore and I were there, and we had such a good time visiting.  And we all accomplished something.  So nice that Vicky is able to paint a little now.

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My neighbor caught me sitting in the big room while my apartment was being cleaned.  And of course she made me promise to attend the "Word Therapy" session this afternoon.  If I told her I didn't want to come, I think I would feel like I was kicking a puppy.

 

Then I went into the dining room for a coffee refill, and got trapped again by people who were wanting to talk. 

 

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 The neurotic cat has maybe been pushed over the edge today. She never leaves the apartment, and today she went out in the hall with me when I started to go down to ride the exercise bike.  I kept walking, just to see how far she would go before she chickened out.  She stayed with me, and walked all the way down that long hallway, protesting every inch of the way.  She stayed in the room while I was riding the bike, and started down the hall with me when I came back.  Then she decided to just sit down and cry.  I came back to the apartment without her, and could hear her wailing.  When I came back, she had gone back into the room, and came when I called her.  She stayed right beside me.  I haven't been able to walk across the floor since them.  I have a cat wrapped around my ankles.

 

Have I ever mentioned that Barrie has made me promise I won't die until after the cat dies?

 

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Tracy posted this picture of the view from the deck at their new house.  Very nice!

 



Wednesday

I'm so ready for a nap this afternoon.  I don't know why I'm so tired.  Must have been something I dreamed. 

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I just talked to Ken and Kevin about some things.  First, they promised to put the bench back outside the door, said they'd been planning on doing it.  But when I asked about the fence, they weren't so agreeable.  Ken said they are required to have it because of insurance.  I still think they could remove just one end of it so someone could walk straight out onto the lawn, which is level.

 

Ken said I should not be using the fence as support to climb down the bank to the street, and that if I walk down the sidewalk past the flower beds, it gets level so I can get to the bird feeder I'm going to put outside my window.

 

He told me it's good for me to walk, and I told him he was a nag! 

 



Monday

Barrie and Kasey just left for the store.  Barrie is going grocery shopping for me this afternoon.  Good kid!

Kasey turned seven years old Saturday.  She was supposed to go to her Dad's place for her birthday, but I guess he wasn't able to come get her.  He's supposed to have her every other weekend, but that very seldom happens.  Funny after all the fights and threats the last few years, he doesn't spend much time with her.  Not that we're complaining!

Uncle Will?  Well, maybe.  I remember my dad's uncles talking about him, said he married Aunt Betty.  I'm not sure that gives me any bragging rights.

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Barrie posted a video of Kasey bottle feeding a kitten out at the animal clinic.  Someone left a box of five orphan kittens at the dump.  And whoever found them brought them to the animal clinic.  I wasn't able to share the video, but could capture one frame from it.



Sunday

Just finished watching the Indy 500.  I am not really that much of a NASCAR fan, but enjoyed watching this.  I don't think I've ever seen them completely stop the race for a time because of a wreck.  It made for an exciting final 8 laps.

I was kind of rooting for Marcus Andretti.

Pinedale had connections to the Indy at one time.  The owners of the Speedway once owned the Circle S Ranch up the Green, and Don B.  lived there as a caretaker.  Maybe he is still here.  He also drove a pace car.

 

And Leroy N. moved here and stayed until his death.  He was a race car driver, and also drove the pace car at the Indy.

 

And if you remember Gracie Jones, she was married to Parnelli Jones. He won the Indy 500 in 1963.

 

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I got in a couple hours knitting this morning while the race was on.  I can knit while I watch.  If I miss something exciting, they show it over again!