Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
I always wondered how she kept her coffee warm!
Our collective carcasses became operational a little before 6:00 am, which is deeply suspicious behavior for retired people. We’ll be sending our internal timers to the shop for immediate repair. Retired and awake at 6:00 am? What is this nonsense??
Before cleaning up and pretending to be presentable for the day, I made a few modifications to the dripline. Since we moved six stalks of corn to the patio, the planter needed some additional irrigation—although, given the circumstances, “irritation” may also be accurate.
While Mary trimmed, I wrestled with the drip system until everything was properly balanced and no plant could accuse us of favoritism. We worked until about 10:00 am., at which point it was time to stop looking like garden gremlins and get ready to go.
Before going inside, I checked the berry patch!
The berries are ripening faster than we can eat them!
Here’s some blackberry trivia:
• Blackberries are not true berries botanically—they’re aggregate fruits, made of many tiny drupelets.
• Each little bump on a blackberry is called a drupelet, and each contains a seed.
• Blackberries are related to roses, apples, raspberries, and strawberries.
• Wild blackberry bushes are often called brambles.
• A blackberry plant’s thorny canes can create nearly impenetrable thickets.
• Blackberries have been eaten for thousands of years and were used in folk medicine for sore throats and digestive issues.
• They are rich in vitamin C, vitamin K, fiber, and antioxidants.
• Blackberries turn from green to red to deep purple-black as they ripen.
• In folklore, it was sometimes considered unlucky to pick blackberries after a certain autumn date because they were said to be “spoiled” by the devil.
We go out morning and night to do our picking.
I had to stop picking and eating because we had errands to do!
First, we are off to see the vampire! Yes, I needed another blood test for a doctor’s appointment next week. I like visiting my phlebotomy technician sometimes known as Elvira!
Be gentle, dear! Because Doc Cote is watching!!
After the bloodletting, we went to Benjie’s for lunch since it was right up the street!! Benjie’s was as expected, wonderful. I was a good boy and decided NOT to have my normal root beer float since I have gone over my sweet 190 pounds.
Leaving Benjie’s, we went to Staples to get a 2027 calendar because some of our upcoming events are not in 2027.
Next stop was Home Depot, where we picked up some patio hanging baskets and extra potting soil!
The Silver Fox became a pickup truck again!
Home again, home again, home again, all! Since we are having a party on Saturday, we did some decorating, and I spent an hour separating about 1,000 “diamonds” that were accidentally mixed up yesterday.
Mary decided to decorate me in the process!
While Mary decorated for the 4th, I sorted through 1,000 “diamonds” that had gotten mixed up.
We sat in the kitchen so a) Mary would have a chair that supports sitting up, b) a place where the lighting would not make one go blind, and c) a hard surface to hold the tools and supplies, making it handy! Oh, I forgot, a place to see the latest episode of “The Last Ship”!
Hard at work in the kitchen.
Diamond painting is a relaxing craft where you place thousands of tiny, faceted resin “diamonds” (drills) onto a pre-coded, adhesive canvas. It combines the principles of cross-stitch and paint-by-numbers to create vibrant, shimmering mosaic-style artwork.
How It Works:
- The Canvas: Features a printed design broken down into a grid of symbols and letters. Each symbol corresponds to a specific diamond color.
- The Tools: Using an applicator pen dipped in wax, you pick up individual diamonds and place them perfectly onto the sticky canvas.
- The Diamonds: Usually 5D, meaning they feature 5 cut facets on each side to catch and refract light. They are either round (easier to place) or square (create a tighter, tile-like mosaic fit).
It’s amazing being married to an MD who specializes in eye surgery. She performs her artwork with a professional touch!
Today’s mission: finish the July 4th 250th celebration plaque in time for Saturday’s display — because nothing says “patriotic spirit” like racing a deadline with a chisel and mild panic.
Tedioous but somehow relazing.
Each little “diamond” reflects the light so the entire thing sparkles!
We love the results.
We sat there until 11:30 pm, watching “The Last Ship” and sipping Chardonnay mixed with Perrier water to dilute the wine but still enjoy the flavor.
Yesterday, a name came to mind: John P. Mattei. He was one of my managers in the Shuttle Avionics Development Laboratory back in 1975. He took care of test equipment, console design, and all the engineering drawings we needed to hook up to the Shuttle avionics boxes that flowed through our laboratory. He was one of the six managers I had at the time.
I looked him up online today and tried to call the number, but it was no longer in service. I found out a little later that he was also not in service. John passed in 2014, almost twelve years ago. I was nostalgic and a bit sorry his name didn’t come to me earlier.
We crashed at midnight after laughing and giggling all evening long.
