Rita's Ramblings: a basically house-bound woman in Fargo, North Dakota blogging for friends, family, and anybody who finds it interesting. I talk about art or craft projects, my grandsons (Ian and Liam), the weather, movies, books, health, and whatever happens to be going on in my life. Welcome!
Well, the week after an infusion I don't get much extra done...except for extra naps and extra hours of sleep at night--LOL!
Tuesday
Was a beautiful day in the upper 70s where I had the place opened up. Leah dropped off Costco groceries. I did laundry.
The planters are doing well.
They're filling out.
Rabbits aren't eating them as much.
Surviving the heat with me watering every day.
Wednesday
Got a call from the office saying I never turned in my paperwork for the year. If I got it, I sent it back. I had nothing here and you know I am organized with certain things. I even double checked to see if I had filed it away by accident--nope. I absolutely think they forgot to send it. Actually, they usually hang it outside my door. Goldmark doesn't have a good reputation for things like this. Regardless, a girl came down and we filled out all the paperwork. Done for another year. I'm sure I'll get a notice my rent is going up.
I got a call from Caroline (was my cleaning girl for all those many years). We hadn't been in touch for a while so it was so nice to have a really good chat. Exciting news! They are expecting a baby girl in September!
Thursday
Leah dropped off some Cashwise groceries. I got the trash out. Listened to another of the Jan 6th Hearing sessions and finished watching Peaky Blinders. I think this is the final season of Peaky Blinders. Kind of left you hanging a bit.
Friday
Ian's actual birthday. (He had a birthday party on Sunday.) I had sent his presents with Leah last week so we did a video call where he opened them. Eight years old already!! Whoohoo!!
Weekend
Suddenly we had cooler weather again! Still is beautiful so far today...patio door open...but slowly getting warmer and warmer. Annie is always happy with the door open. Me, too! (And I am so glad she seems to be feeling better--she really scared me for a while there.)
We have bunny visitors regularly--of all sizes. Like I said--a bumper crop of cottontails this year. Do you see the two little tiny baby ones?
The trouble is...when it's been so very hot and dry (90s and 100 degrees) and I am watering the planters every day...those cute little bunnies are gnawing on the damp wood along the bottom of the planters!
Sure, they are cute...but they eat plants and planter boxes--LOL! Little buggers!
Anyways, the weekend was absolutely gorgeous! I saw a yellow-headed blackbird!
I wondered if I would see any this year. They are so striking!
I think the rabbits may have also been eating the geranium buds because early in the week was the first time I have had blossoms this year!
I've had geraniums every year and they have always done really well for me...so I hope the rabbits leave them alone now. I love that touch of red out there.
I can't get over how many cottontails we have this year! Really! This is one size...
...kind of young adult.
Then we have the teenager size.
And now there's a new crop of cedar eating babies--LOL!
These babies seem to live close by...possibly under some of the bushes along the building.
This little one is the belly flopper in hot weather--LOL!
Leah is hoping they can make it over this week to put the boards under the planters. That will help them dry out quicker...maybe less munching?
That little bunny doesn't even run away when people are walking down the sidewalk!
Today could get into the mid-80s, apparently.
One more cooler day in the 70s tomorrow and then 80s and maybe 90s again for a while. We may have a generally hot summer ahead, I guess.
My next infusion day (8th) I forgot to mention that I had already had an appointment scheduled with my regular doctor (Kessler) so that is going to be one full day for me! I have the infusion appointment at 11am and then Kessler at 2pm (usually about the time I have fallen asleep for a long nap after Leah has dropped me off--lol!). But that's almost two weeks away.
Meanwhile, I finished watching the latest season of Endeavor, am watching the latest season (15) of Murdoch Mysteries, and am slowly catching up on Call The Midwife (only on season eight!). I have laundry going right now. It's 80 degrees and sunny with big puffy white clouds crossing the blue sky. Maybe this week I will be able to get to something creative...something extra. If not...I am content and manage to be busy enough every day and never bored. What more can one ask? :) :) Till next week, my friends.
It's already 91 degrees. Was 101 yesterday and supposed to be close to 100 today. Sounds like a lot of the country is under a heat wave. Whew! I am so thankful to be in an apartment on the ground floor with an AC that works. The last two top floor apartments I lived in since I moved up here in 1999 I was lucky if it was 10 degrees cooler inside...and I wasn't even facing west!
On with the week.
Monday
I was so tired I had an over 2 hour nap after I finished blogging.
Tuesday
As suggested, I went out to pluck off the blossoms on those back coleus...only to discover that very likely some rabbit had hopped up there and eaten one off. Looked like it had stood right on the coleus--LOL! (in fact a whole section did get broken off and died by the next day.)
They didn't eat the one on the other side so I plucked that purple blossom off. I know the bees love them but , apparently, so do rabbits--LOL!
Katie came Tuesday afternoon to clean. Always nice to see her...and have clean floors and bathroom. ;)
Wednesday
Did laundry. Sprayed for bugs around my patio door after I watered--non toxic spray. Been eating up the pot of soup I made (used stew meat).
Thursday
Loving the clean patio doors--thanks to Katie!
Was just cool enough to have the patio door open most of the day. Annie was so happy. Only shut partway because of the wind blowing things around in the apartment.
Love seeing the occasional red-winged blackbird visiting. Everybody loves mealworms. A pair of grackles load their beaks as full as they can get them and fly off--to feed babies, I assume.
I finally got going again on the second huge batch of bookcards on Thursday. I had a stack of the watercolory paper to fold into signatures. Got that done. The next thing was to start on covers. Mostly the handmade paper I bought years ago and the new ink drop (gorgeous) paper.
I spent the day listening to Cog Hill Farm video podcasts...
...while I cut, folded, and paired up covers.
I had a whole bunch of odd sized signatures that I made handmade paper covers for (right side of trays)
...and then I took signature stacks from the left side (the watercolory paper) and made ink drop covers for those. The trays are divided into 2, 3, and 4-page bookcards.
By the time I had covers for all the pre-made signatures, I still had this much left. Third big batch? Eventually--yes!
I had one more tray with a few bigger bookcards with more than 4 pages. They all got stacked up and are ready for the next step--hole punching.
How long it will take me to work up to that--not sure. But I made it this far--tada!
Also on Thursday my Dick Blick order arrived...three small sets of watercolor markers. My other markers are so old that I don't know if they would last coloring 90+ card fronts anymore. I wanted to try out some other markers...so I dug out the Christmas cards Leah and I had started last year...I think...or the year before that?
We have the black card bases cut and folded--had cut the inside and outside pieces of white cardstock--stamped in black and embossed the front pieces (Christmas lights)--and picked out a sentiment for the inside to stamp on. I need to color all the fronts that are full of old fashioned Christmas light bulbs.
Made a color chart and then did a sample coloring with each of the four sets of markers. Trouble is--I like this color from this set and that color better from that set--LOL! Some are streakier covering a larger area, too. So, I brought the samples with on Friday so Leah and I could choose which markers to use.
Friday
Clinic day with Leah. I think it was up close to 90 degrees that day. I closed up the apartment before I left and it has been closed up ever since due to the heat wave.
Anyways, lots of good news. My ANC was up to 1.9!! Whoohoo! (1.5 is low normal and I haven't seen that for months.) Had the lady doctor that day--and she said they decided that I only need to see a doctor every other time now as long as I am doing so well. So next visit in three weeks I don't have to see a doctor--just get the bloodwork done, wait for results, and get the infusion if bloodwork is okay.
Leah and I figured it was because I have been on Keytruda for six months and not had any bad reactions to it. Just the being extra tired which they've said is common.
I did tell the doctor about the eye light arc and she said I should see my eye doctor. I planned to call Monday/today.
The kinda bad news is that I asked about when I was due for my next scan--thinking 3 months again so like in July or August. Not for six months! So not till November. Of course, I would rather know where I stand sooner. (They can stop shrinking, I read.) But that is what they plan. All the rest was good news, though. Well, my port has been touchier and needing more flushes...but I didn't need medication in it and waiting for half and hour for it to work, at least. They got it going. So was a good day!!
And--yes--Leah and I went through the marker samples and decided on which colors were the best. I am going to make up a sample using 4 colors and another using 5 colors and then we can decide. We are not sure if orange seems like a Christmas color or not--LOL! Neither of us care for purple in Christmas lights. So, when I have some energy again I will be coloring.
Typical--I fell asleep for a couple of hours not long after Leah dropped me off.
That night--I don't know what I did by accident but my phone went berserk on me. Somehow I turned on some kind of voice assistant or something and I couldn't turn it off. Nothing worked. I started hitting everything I could after while. I couldn't turn it off, switch pages, get anything to actually work. Finally in random poking at it some boxes came up to shut it down or restart, etc. I hit shut it down and it was the first thing that actually worked. Left it alone for an hour. Started it up and it was just the same!!!! Arggg!
I was trying to email Dagan and Leah...I think it was a gaming night for them. When they did come across my string of emails they told me to leave it be till one of them could come and look at it. Since alarms went off that I couldn't shut off it has been under some blankets in the bedroom so I can't hear it. They haven't come yet or emailed.
I've been super tired all weekend, though, of course (infusion)...but no phone means no back up when I leave the apartment. I always take the phone with me just in case anything happens, you know? So when I go out to water (which I've had to do every day in this heatwave) I realized how much security that phone is...even if I have never had to use it--thank goodness. I am really super careful going across those big uneven rocks to get to the faucet. When you don't have something then you realize how much you used it. No pictures. I did get a video before my phone went nuts. I am so grateful Leah has my phone set up to automatically move my pics and videos to One Drive or I would have not been able to get to my pictures for the blog. I'm used to checking the weather every morning...and playing different games sometimes. I use that phone more than I think. And even if Dagan and Leah prefer texts and aren't always quick to get ahold of--if I needed to I could call them. I do miss my cell phone. :(
Saturday
Before the phone went crazy I did take a short video of how windy it was here. You've heard me talk about how it is always windy to some degree and the air is never still here...but I thought I'd try to catch some gusty wind for you.
NOTE: Much to my surprise the shortcut to posting a YouTube video actually worked this time! At least it looks like it did. I haven't been taking videos because I didn't know how to get them on my blog anymore. At least for a while there nothing I tried worked--including their new shortcut. But now it actually worked! I hope. Let me know if it didn't.
Anyways, had another couple hour nap on Saturday and slept 10 hours Saturday night.
Sunday
Still heat and wind advisories. Was 101--heat index of 107 or "feels like" 107. When I was watering plants at 7:30pm it was still 100 degrees. At midnight it was still 87. Whew!
And I had another eye thing but without the headache. Flashing arc of pixelated light for about 20 minutes or so. I did email Leah (who will have to drive me) to ask her to make the appointment with my eye doctor--I have no phone for one thing and she knows her calendar better than I do, anyways. This was the third time with the eye lights and it is getting worrisome. I haven't heard anything yet but they don't text or call before noon with my crazy inverted hours lately. Leah knows I prefer afternoon appointments. I hope to hear soon.
So that's what's happening over here. It's 93 right now and supposed to get up to 98 again. I know a lot of areas in the US are very hot.
****
AHA! There was a tap-tap-tap on my patio door! Leah and the boys were here. Really hot for them to sit outside on my lawn chair even if most of it was in the shade. Liam didn't even want to. Leah fixed my phone--I had it on speech assistant or something like that and her grandpa uses that. I had accidentally pressed both the buttons on the side at the same time, she said.
Leah even got my tablet working, too, and my Kindle hooked up on WiFi. She is going to call my eye doctor. Ian just had tennis lessons and is on his way to a golf lesson. 94 degrees now and climbing. The grass is turning brown.
Hurray, though! I can end on a happy note. Got my phone back!!
Stay cool, people!! Or warm as the case may be. Till next week...
There's a bumper crop of cottontails this year--LOL! One little baby has just about taken up residence here.
Such a little cutie. Too small to be the petunia-eating culprit...but will grow up into one.
We have had some darker, overcast days...
...and some sunnier ones. But little rain.
Been a quiet week filled with things like taking trash out to the dumpster, watering out on the patio every other day, vacuuming up kitty litter Annie drags all over the place, writing letters, doing laundry, and cooking (hotdish, soup, and made rice). Watched a couple of DVDs (final season of Inspector Lewis) and two more DVDs came in the mail today. Had my video call with the boys over dinner on Wednesday. I'm just so happy I can do all those things. :)
Leah cancelled on our Thursday night video call--too tired and wanting to go to bed early. They are really busy this summer. Besides home schooling--Ian has tennis lessons and golf lessons, they are off to the park playgrounds quite often, trips to the zoo (I gave them a 2022 family pass for Christmas last year), visiting, picnics, visitors, etc. Nice that they are able to do more things this year, but the heat and humidity are draining, for sure. Makes me so happy, though! Got to do more while you can these days.
Watched the hearing a day late and will watch the one today sometime later, too, I imagine...or parts of it. Had that weird arc of light in my eye again briefly on Friday. If it happens again I will probably have to go in to see my eyedoctor. Macular puckers could be up to some nonsense. Had a few pajama days. Just one of those weeks that has flown by.
Annie is still jumping up on my chair on her own. This is what I see--her little head peeking over the footrest. She rocks back and forth a couple times and then has made it every time so far. Makes me so very happy. Makes her happy, too. (We all hate to lose our independence, don't we?)
Saw a half grown cottontail out there, too. That one is probably big enough to nibble on my flowers.
You know there are parent-sized, full grown ones about, too. LOL!
It turned really hot--for up here anyways. Been in the 80s and near 90 for days with like 75% humidity. Had to close up and turn on the AC.
When I am out to water...well, it looks like someone has mowed a good-sized patch of grass in front of the planters.
Well, guess who?
That baby bunny (growing fast) parks itself there to chew on the grass. As you can see, it sprawls out in the heat on its belly and grazes--LOL! Has made itself quite to home. Doesn't even always hop away anymore when people walk down the sidewalk.
You'll have to pardon my rain splattered patio doors. I am hoping it is nice out tomorrow afternoon when Katie comes and that maybe she can clean the glass for me.
I water out there about every other day. On the days I don't I usually put clean water in the bird dish using a plastic gallon jug (which I also set out to use for watering the inside plants). When I refilled it one day it had overflowed so I set the wet jug on the rug in the pantry to let it dry off before I stuck it behind the door. Mistake. Look who found it!
Annie is always so thirsty. She has followed me into the bathroom every time--even in the middle of the night--just to climb in the shower and beg me to pour a little glass of water in there for her to lick up--for months and months. It's our routine. After I wash my hands I have to fill the little drinking cup and pour it on the side of the shower so she can lick off the water.
Well, now she is waiting and crying by the bathroom door as I wash my hands and wants me to go add water to the top of the water jug in the pantry!! Good grief--what we do for our critters. I'm sure she's convinced it tastes better than any other water. Her actual water dish is right there just a few feet away--ROFL! I don't know how much longer I will want to deal with the jug of water in the way in the pantry--LOL! But--hey--she's old...and she trusts me to look out for her welfare...and Annie thinks this is important--LOL! So--for a while longer, for sure.
Oh, BTW--the coleus I cut back that had frostbite...died. Not a surprise. The new ones battered by the storm are alive, but not growing much at all.
Look about the same a week or so later. Maybe filled out a tiny bit, but the leaves look all stunted.
Fingers crossed they bounce back.
The rest of them are doing okay.
The back coleus have flowered! That usually doesn't happen till fall?
I think the rabbits have let up on the petunias finally.
But not one of the four red geraniums has had a flower?
They usually do really well for me.
The other blooming coleus.
I planted half the amount of flowers as last year but they are doing fairly well and filling out. They were way too crowded last year. I had gotten carried away by the new planter boxes--LOL! The weather has been stressful (and damaging) for them but they are surviving.
One of these days McFamily will show up out there to put the boards under the planters. They'll have to all come because it takes two people to tip/lift these big planters so we need Dagan. I might be able to tip (not positive) but I know I can't lift with my bum arm and cranky back--LOL! Leah says they're too heavy for me to tip probably. Hopefully they won't need actual lifting, but if they do--we will definitely need two people. The boys would come with, of course, but not be helping with this project.
They're so busy--so whenever they can make it and work it in is fine with me. :) :)
Anyways, that's the week from my little corner of the world. Annie is sleeping on the floor near my chair.
I am going to heat up some soup and watch one of the DVDs that came today. Both are movies this time. 2 Guns with Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg from 2013 (how did I miss this one?) and The Courier with Benedict Cumberbatch from 2021 (I'll watch anything with Benedict--same for Denzel). Glad I have AC. They predicted 80 and it is already 85.
I have Katie coming to clean tomorrow and it's infusion day on Friday. Hope all goes well at the clinic again. I do feel so very blessed. My days are filled with gratitude and contentment. Spread the love, people!