“Those we love don’t go away; they walk beside us every day. Unseen, unheard, but always near, still loved, still missed, and very dear.” – Unknown
Sue was my soulmate. “A soulmate is someone that gets you. It’s a connection of minds, mutual respect, and unconditional love, and a total understanding. It’s about being yourself and knowing, not only that person is following and understanding your thoughts but is right there with you, side by side.”
We had so much fun together, no matter where or what we were doing. In the kitchen, where my talents were limited to prep and cleanup, we were a fantastic team. Whenever I think about us in the kitchen, the “souffle from hell” comes to mind. We never could figure out what we did wrong, but we saw the souffle rising, and then it grew and rose some more and kept going running over. What a mess! We laughed until we hurt!
She always made my day. I love her so much!
Is that the “come hither” or “pour a little more” smile?
OK, it is time to get busy, but alas, nothing opens up until 9:00 AM, so into the new bathroom to hang pictures and mount the Alexa to the wall!
The post office finally opened, so the Grey Ghost took me there, and then we decided H&H Nursery was the next stop. Fresh goodies to plant, although August is a lousy month to plant, it might be worth a try!
I woke up singing this tune! Is it an omen?
While cleaning up the spent plants, I found several Swiss Chard plants and attempted to transplant them. Well, they should be transplanted late in the day, not at noon! Their condition was critical late in the afternoon, but the water provided them should give them a boost by morning.
This poor plant is why you do not plant in August!
This bed is one hundred twenty square feet. It is four feet wide by thirty feet long. That way, one can sit on the side and easily reach anywhere. It took about an hour to move the straw mulch, and in four segments, the amendments were added, and the dirt turned. Vegetable fertilizer was added to Epsom salt and fine minerals to give the soil a boost.
Did You Know? Epsom salt was named for a bitter saline spring at Epsom in Surrey, England. It is one of many naturally occurring mineral salts, a compound of magnesium and sulfate. Epsom salt helps improve flower blooming and enhances a plant’s green color. It can even help plants grow bushier. Epsom salt is made up of hydrated magnesium sulfate (magnesium and sulfur), which is essential to healthy plant growth.
Today two tomatoes, three musk melons, watermelon, and three Swiss chards were added to this bed.
Watered and ready to grow.
The same treatment occurred in this bed. The bed is full of worms, and every hand-shovel full of soil revealed worms doing their thing. The earth is excellent, but it took years to convert the adobe to the fertile soil.
Freshly till and loaded with amendments!
For those faint of heart, please bypass the next couple of photos as the subject turns to everybody’s three-letter word — SEX.
The winter squash is looking pretty good, and I showed Carri about the difference between boy and girl squash when she visited last week to go shopping. Well, on the same vine, there are two types of blossoms. The girl is featured on the left, and her partner is on the right. It has been proven over the years that there is no DIRECT hanky-panky between the two. Mother Nature’s little wonders take care of moving the “magic dust” between the boy and the girl. In my garden mum’s are often planted adjacent to the corn and squash to promote…well, you know!
Time for Sex Education Class.
Time for the old man to rest as four hours in the hot sun working is enough. The tummy was saying, “Time to eat, fool!”. The refrigerator was checked for science projects, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
Two burger patties were located with a sell-by date of 8/4 on them, so into the pan, they went. Two burgers for the old man might seem a lot, but being old and cunning, one burger got devoured as served the other one lost his top and bottom bread; thus, 190 calories deleted immediately. Loads of protein and about seven-hundred calories, that number can be lived with!
Calories consumed means a brisk walk is necessary. Because of the time, the walk was cut a little short but could feel the digestive system working as the old body floated down the street like a butterfly, sometimes stinging like a bee.
The map says it all!
Returning home, it was time for the hot tub! It was still light out, so the new swimsuit was tried, and, by golly, it worked much to the dismay of the neighbor in the two-story house across the street with binoculars. It stayed up the whole time, and the size 34 fits me! One hundred ninety pounds is a good thing. My mind immediately went to Johnny Cash’s song about “Big John”. Remember, “He was broad at the shoulders and skinny at the hip, Big John, Big John.”
Time to hit the hot tub! Check out the glasses; you can see a selfie being taken!
The cover on the tub was pulled back, and all looked well, so I slipped into the boiling hot water to soothe the muscles. Perhaps Epson salt was needed in the water? Silly me! You should put zero Epsom salts in your hot tub. It is not OK to put Epsom salts in a hot tub. The extreme salt can cause damage and destroy your hot tub, costing thousands in repair or replacement.
The water is boiling so it is ready!
Out of the tub, into my favorite lounge chair in the blink of an eye! Cellphone in hand, a call was placed to Miss Robin to make arrangements for lunch tomorrow. We developed a coordinated attack plan. It involved breakfast at 11:00 AM at Hoff’s Hut!
I sit in the patio many evenings.
The chairs are now covered for the night, and the patio swing is already beddy-bye as evidence by his snoring!
Ready to receive a drink, too bad, it is grape juice!
Inside, it was puttering in the kitchen time for a few minutes, and then a call to Diane was placed to visit with her for a while. She is enjoying retirement and requested several pictures of the new bathroom.
After lunch and me in and out, the kitchen still looked presentable.
After the hot tub, it was shower time. Alexa is now permanently installed on the wall in the bathroom, so the alarm can be set to prevent me from taking a thirty-minute shower!
Today the pictures were also mounted along with Alexa.
You can see Miss Alexa in the reflection!
Mary texted me about 9:00 PM and shared a photo she mentioned last week. Thank you, Mary! Sue was with Irene at the Candlelight Dinner Theater for the annual Christmas Play. Being the man about town, Irene and I are going to Patty’s Place tomorrow evening for dinner to celebrate her birthday! She said she needs to get out of the house so this will be good for both of us!
Sue and Irene at the Christmas Play in December
At 10:00 PM, the TV automatically turns on and set to “The Middle,” so the laugh and giggle quota for the evening could be met. Good night all!
