Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
We were up and running early because we were heading in completely different directions. Mary was off to see the tax accountant (because nothing says “fun morning” like paperwork and panic), and I was taking Bob Z. to the hospital for a minor medical procedure.Sounds simple… except first we had to play driveway Tetris with the entire fleet, relocate the van to the neighbor’s house like we’re hiding evidence, and get Precious (Mary’s car) prepped to go out—because Precious doesn’t “leave,” Precious requires a full production with wardrobe, negotiations, and a security detail. It’s very seldom that Mary and I are apart!
Hang on, it’s going to be a rough one!
We rolled into the hospital at 9:01 for a 9:20 appointment, and—brace yourselves—those miracle workers took Bob back right on time. I know. I didn’t think hospitals could do that either.
Unfortunately, the head transplant ran a little longer than expected. Lots of paperwork, I assume. Anyway, Bob finally comes out… and I’m sad to report the doctors did everything they could, but he still looks the same. So either the procedure was a total failure, or they accidentally put the original head back on out of habit.
Bob still came out as ugly as when he went in, so the procedure did nothing!
They call this the wireless age, bah humbug!
We met the boss at home, and she was fuming over the tax issues. We decided on a stiff drink and some spicy Mexican food.
I ordered the 46-ounce Grande Margarita optimized for St. Patrick’s Day! Bob could not drink today because of the procedure, Mary could not drink enough because of taxes, and I drank anything that passed under my nose.
“Race you to the bottom!”
Bob did sip the drink as the straw passed by his lips! We all heard the “slurp, gurgle, belch, slurp, asperate, ingurgitate” and other disgusting sounds as the liquid libation transferred up the dual straws.
The drink was big enough to take a swim!
I’ve been teaching my kids, grandkids, and now great-grandkids how to “bite the tortilla” for years—basically passing down a sacred family art form.
And today I finally got to introduce Mary and Bob to tortilla-based artwork… where the canvas is carbs, the brush is your teeth, and one wrong move turns your masterpiece into “oops, I ate the evidence.”
Having sharp teeth is an advantage!
One bitten into and displayed, one has a choice! Eat it, wear it on your head, or as a mask!
Le Petite Chapeaux on display!
After lunch, we drove home, and Bob continued to his home in his truck. Bob had fully recovered and was feeling quite good. We were very happy to repay Bob for the help he gave me when I was laid up in the hospital for two weeks last September.
Mary spent some time online and on the phone getting additional tax information needed for our returns, a job she truly does NOT enjoy! I headed to the backyard and, while practicing for May 2nd’s WGND, I pounded in the sweet pea stakes, planted and watered 18 lettuce and 6 Swiss chard plants. Mary joined me after a while and planted her sweet pea flowers, a gardening tradition.
Mary loves these flowers, and for two months, she has been bringing flowers to everyone we visit!
Did you know there are flowering and edible sweet peas?
Sweet pea (the flower: Lathyrus odoratus)
- Not a pea you should eat: The common sweet pea is grown for fragrance and looks; its seeds/parts are toxic if eaten in quantity.
- Famous for scent: Many modern varieties were bred for bigger blooms, sometimes at the cost of fragrance—older lines can smell stronger.
- A climber: It uses tendrils to grab supports and can grow several feet tall.
- Cool-weather lover: It thrives in cool spring temperatures; heat shortens flowering.
- Name origin: “odoratus” literally means “fragrant.”
“Sweet pea” (the edible vegetable: sugar snap/snow peas)
- Snow peas: flat pods, eaten pod-and-all.
- Sugar snap peas: plump pods, sweet crunch, also eaten pod-and-all.
- Peas are legumes: They help enrich soil through nitrogen-fixing bacteria.
Mary also did some last-minute planting in the front yard. Tomorrow we will go to Home Depot for a few additional tall flowers, and I will get the pipes/fittings I need to install the drinking fountain! Yes, we will have a drinking fountain in the garden for those hot summer days.
Since the plumbing comes from the house and it is all buried underground, the water will be cool!!
We worked until it got too hot, then went inside, made a few calls, and headed to the swim spa to relax our muscles. The outside temperature was still in the 80s even at 8:00 pm. We sat, talked, and just enjoyed life. We went inside and changed into our jammies. Mary watched a movie, and I set up the website to accept the images from our upcoming trip to Hawaii.
We crashed at 11:00 pm!
