leder legends

I celebrated my birthday last Saturday... 71st time around the sun. It seems so old when I consider that number and yet it does not feel old. I am in relatively good health, I still have plenty of energy, I can still see and hear well, I read, I garden, I go out for lunch with friends, ... I could go on. Anyway... a friend took me to lunch. I celebrated , probably more than I should have  the death on the road very close to home. We took a lively ride through the countryside to Holland and had breakfast at De Boer's Bakerij and A didn't grouse once about having to wait 25 minutes for a table. The weather was gorgeous!  Later in the afternoon A even helped put up fencing around the backyard.  I considered it my birthday gift. 

  The fencing is up in part of the front yard... I think it's pretty effective BUT my deer radar is still up.  Tonight I spotted a "cute" fawn in the front yard. It might be too young to have human radar but I doubt it.  It has learned that it is totally "safe" in our neighborhood! I yelled...it looked up and continued eating! I turned on a light, opened the front door , walked within 3 feet of it while yelling at it the entire time.  It just stared at me.  When I got closer it finally "walked" away.  I terrorized it some more and it decided to go to the neighbor's yard where it continued to eat.  Finally I picked up a handful of gravel and threw it and hit it! It jumped and strolled away.  I crossed my flowerbeds and it finally had had enough and reluctantly trotted across the street! There are many more just like it that call our little part of paradise home.  No wonder we have to resort to putting up this not so attractive fencing. Le...

 My husband just started a blog and it is NOT at all like mine...that's no surprise.   He is writing about questions that have been posed in the Bible.  Questions like: Did God really say?? Check it out.  reflectionsonquestionsintheBible.blogspot.com Just highlight the address with the mouse, right click and pick the option go to...

I finally did it!  I spent some money on field fencing! Everyone knows that I am throughly disgusted with the deer that keep attacking my flowerbeds!  The neighbors have put up 5 foot field fencing around ALL of their flowerbeds!  While it has been effective, I have hesitated to do the same for two reasons. One is the cost and the other is that it is not too pretty. I think I reached a compromise... I am fencing in only 2 areas ( for now lol).  That certainly kept the price down. Thankfully,  my son Nathan arrived at crucial moment and helped me put it up.  Before that I rounded up all the pots and placed them in the area.  I used the fence, the shed and the pergola and ended up fencing just the front.  Now I have to decide if we can live with the aesthetics!

Have you ever heard of Slutty Brownies? What  an awful name for brownies! I wanted to make the brownies that either Ava or Sarah made with me years ago.    It’s a three layer concoction: cookie dough, Oreo cookies and brownie dough. I looked it up because I was not sure about pan size nor oven temperature and Slutty Brownies came up.  The recipe is simple especially if you use cookie dough from the store and a brownie mix. Three layers of gooey goodness! I am still not a fan of the name

Termites have been busy!! The exterminator had some good news--  nothing structurally needs fixing.  I also learned that the nest is never in the house. (I hope he is right). The house will be treated well around the perimeter.  The garage is also infected. There is also a compost pile and more behind the garage.  Cleanup started this morning.

I set a trap for the rodent in the backyard. I was hoping for the woodchuck but got this instead.  That was a bonus!!  The trap has been reset.. lol.

  Two inches of rain in two days!  It feels like everything is singing. 

 One couple moved out of a rental house on Monday and on Saturday a new couple and two littles moved in! We had four days to get it ready. All the walls and two ceilings got painted.  All the trim got painted. A light with a strong fan was installed in the bathroom.  Poor J had to go up to the attic a few times. It works really well. The windows all needed drapes hung which meant new curtain rods too. A broken window was replaced in the porch door. Light bulbs that were gone had to be replaced.  Two smoke detectors were gone as well and had to be replaced. I don't understand those things. The place was nice and clean except the bathtub (really funky greasy film) and the refrigerator.  The floor where their window AC leaked has to replaced eventually because there was no time.  I found a great product called rejuvenate for floors and treated all the floors.  The garage door does not work because they had hit it. We found termites (not their fault)....

  My son Aaron lives in orchard country and he grows tomatoes and sunflowers, so it's always fun to head out there. Julie's Dad has apple orchards close by. Apparently he used to have peach, nectarine and pears as well but now there are only a few of those trees left. He loves to share... Last night R joined me because she's nice and because she was craving a BLT.  She went to the local farmer's market yesterday but the line was over a block long. They only can allow a certain number of people in because the corona! She opted not to do that.  When we got there J had a few bags of premium honey crisp apples waiting for us along with the remnants of the peaches.  At this point, if they are not picked the birds enjoy the peaches so most most of the fruit is mushy. The nectarines suffer the same fate but they were not quite as ripe so we got more of those.  The pears are still very hard and very green but I'm hoping they will ripen on the counter. We raided the toma...

A couple of friends ventured out last Tuesday.  They went to new local brewery called Broadleaf.  They had beer, of course, which was good and not surprising. They also ordered food.  The menu had a variety of dishes featuring SPAM which was surprising.  Spam has been around since WW ll as a result of the need for nonperishable food for the troops. It was lifesaving  Afterwards it became a staple in most homes.  I remember getting SPAM sandwiches while in high school and I remember liking it.  With the passing of time, the country became more health conscious and  more sophisticated and SPAM was no longer consider in a positive light.  Yet it did not disappear.  Of late, there has been a resurgence of interest in this basic food. One of my friends ordered a plate of three spam slides with mango chutney accompanied by parmesan fries. She reported that it was delicious!! So tonight for supper we had fried SPAM on toast topped with a peach ...

  Bo ok club finally got together after a long covid hiatus. It was time to take back LIFE. Well...almost.  We met outside on our deck in a large circle.  It was good.  We got caught up and discussed the book which most of us had almost forgotten.  The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper.  If you have not had the opportunity to read this delightful book, I recommend it highly! We celebrated with ice cream sundaes.  I supplied the ice cream and the others brought toppings. It was good! I was worried about the sun beating down on us despite the tarps we have up there but it was a lovely warm CLOUDY day!  45 minutes after they left the rain started. It was perfect timing! That was good! I had the day planned but had to play it by ear because Aaron asked me to babysit Asher! That made me leave many things undone. I got started after 10 but got a large bag and was able to find all the piles of weeds that I tend to leave lying around. I watered LUCY. She is...