Simple Woman's Daybook

 It's a Simple Woman's Daybook kind of day.

For today...

The Weather

A good steady rain moved in yesterday evening and cool things off from our weekend highs of 90 degrees or more. It's a cool 63 degrees today with clouds. Showers are possible, but we haven't seen any.

The tree that needs to come down, but it shows 
how gray and dreary the day is. Since we will be
opening the pool this week, the tree will survive
another summer, but once the pool is closed again...

Looking Out My Window

The world has really turned green in the last week. All of the trees, with the exception of the Catalpas are fully leafed out. The Catalpas are always the last to get their leaves and the last to drop them in the fall. The azaleas are nearly done, but the rhododendrons are stepping up and are incredible this year. My mom's neighbor has a huge one covered with vivid RED blooms! So pretty and unusual next to all the lavender and white. And the peonies are starting to bloom.

My neighbor's red rhody.

Mom's beautiful Peonies.

In the Garden

I can't really call it a garden. We've given up on that after several not so great years. What I do have is pots of tomatoes and peppers on the deck and one large hanging basket with a patio tomato and a cucumber bush trailing down. I planted those and my flower pots this weekend. I only have my two large pots, one smaller one, and a hanging basket this year. I usually have more, but just what I've mentioned, along with 3 bags of soil, added up to nearly $200! I do have some sunflower seeds to plant and I need to get at the end of the house where several volunteer Rose of Sharon bushes are growing up through the roses, tiger lilies, and yucca. If we can get them out with the roots intact I will plant a row of them elsewhere in the yard, perhaps as a screen (when they grow quite a bit) near the pool. The roses need the dead bits pruned away.

Patio tomato and cucumber basket.

My pretty red, white, and blue(ish) basket.

Peppers. Two green bell's and one sweet banana pepper.

Tomatoes

I have two big pots planted exactly the same.

Sweet, sunny marigolds.

Our deck. It was more enjoyable when the bigCatalpa tree covered the whole
thing with shade. However, a big mess with mildew in the best of times
and totally gross once the tree got Catalpa worms.
Do you have any idea just how much caterpillars poop???

The mess of Yucca, lilies, and roses all ingrown by
Rose of Sharon bushes. I hope I can dig them out
with roots in tact (the RoS's that is) and replant.

One perfect pink rose.

Our badly overgrown apple tree. It's a pretty tree, but rather useless to us. It's an early,
 yellow apple so the fruit has very thin skin and we are lucky to get even a 
taste of them because they draw ever bee, wasp, hornet, yellowjacket,
and other stinging bug you can (oh, and those draw skunks, groundhogs, and deer) think of
and THEY get to enjoy the fruit. A few years ago
 we did have a man stop and ask if he could gather the chewed up apples on
the ground and we said he could. He raises deer and feeds  them to the deer.
He let us come out and bring Colton to see them.

I don't think apples will be a big problem this year. I only
found a few little green ones. I think the frost took care of them.

I'm Thinking

About the bug that's been hitting all of us eventually. I had it in March. It

wasn't Covid, but it left me with no energy and a cough that wouldn't quit.

It lasted a good three weeks. Colton had it last month. Again, not Covid, 

but an ear infection and sinus infection. He's still stuffed up but it could be

allergies. Leah's been congested for a couple of weeks, but is fine other-

wise. So, allergies? Our son-in-law had what I had several weeks ago. He

still hasn't shaken the cough and hasn't seen a doctor. Tim got hit this weekend.

Not Covid, but a low grade fever and severe body aches on Saturday along

with congestion. The aches were mostly gone on Sunday and today he feels

nearly normal. Now Megan has it. Severe achiness yesterday and congestion.

No aches today, but still congestion. Whatever it is, at least it seems to be quick.

In the Kitchen

Not much. Tim hasn't felt like eating much so I've just eaten whatever all

weekend. Other than that, we've been doing some grilling and last night we

did have the frozen fish and chips dinners I'd picked up at Aldi's back during

Lent. They each had one very large beer-battered cod filet and fries.

They were really good! I know the coating is bad for you, but it got so

nice and crispy. YUM! Not sure yet what tonight will see on the table.

This Week 

Nothing much. This wonderful inflation we're facing has us pretty much

sticking close to home and being happy with it. It is Colton's last week of

school and if his daddy doesn't feel like going then I get to go to the

little ceremony they're having Thursday at the school for the kiddos who

are moving up to kindergarten next year. I picked him up today

and he had a big bag of toys and craft supplies they gave to all the

kids who are moving up.