REFLECTIONS: 2017

Backyard Trumpet Vine 2017

Hopefully it will continue growing down the other side of the trellis. We should have planted one on both sides so they could meet in the center.

Here is a seed pod.

Funny? Confusion

My brother Tony sent me this link. I think everyone has a day like this sometimes.

Every now and again someone puts into words what so many people are feeling! Read this amazing email and let us know if you can relate.

Recently, I was diagnosed with A.A.A.D.D. –

Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder.

This is how it manifests:

I decide to water my garden.
As I turn on the hose in the driveway,
I look over at my car and decide it needs washing.

As I start toward the garage,
I notice mail on the porch table that
I brought up from the mail box earlier.

I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car.

I lay my car keys on the table,
put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table,
and notice that the can is full.

But then I think,So, I decide to put the bills
back
on the table and take out the garbage first.

since I’m going to be near the mailbox
when I take out the garbage anyway,
I may as well pay the bills first.

I take my check book off the table,
and see that there is only one check left.
My extra checks are in my desk in the study,
so I go inside the house to my desk where
I find the
can of Pepsi I’d been drinking.

I’m going to look for my checks,
but first I need to push the Pepsi aside
so that I don’t accidentally knock it over.

The Pepsi is getting warm,
and I decide to put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.

As I head toward the kitchen with the Pepsi,
a vase of flowers on the counter
catches my eye–they need water.

I put the Pepsi on the counter and
discover my reading glasses that
I’ve been searching for all morning.
I decide I better put them back on my desk,
but first I’m going to water the flowers.

I set the glasses back down on the counter,
fill a container with water and suddenly spot the TV remote.
Someone left it on the kitchen table.

I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV,
I’ll be looking for the remote,
but I won’t remember that it’s on the kitchen table,
so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs,
but first I’ll water the flowers.

I pour some water in the flowers,
but quite a bit of it spills on the floor.

So, I set the remote back on the table,
get some towels and wipe up the spill.

Then, I head down the hall trying to
remember what I was planning to do.
At the end of the day:
the car isn’t washed
the bills aren’t paid
there is a warm can of
Pepsi sitting on the counter
the flowers don’t have enough water,
there is still only 1 check in my check book,
I can’t find the remote,
I can’t find my glasses,
and I don’t remember what I did with the car keys.
Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today,
I’m really baffled because I know I was busy all the damn day,
and I’m really tired.

I realize this is a serious problem,
and I’ll try to get some help for it,
but first I’ll check my e-mail….

Do me a favor.
Forward this message to everyone you know,
because I don’t remember who the hell I’ve sent it to.

Don’t laugh — if this isn’t you yet, your day is coming!!

Link:

This Senior Citizen Has A "Senior Moment" And Comes To A Hilarious Realisation

Cucumbers & Basil July 2017

I have more Basil than I can use right away so I'm going to freeze some. This is one of my six plants.
Here's the procedure I'll try:
(From the web)

My cucumbers are growing faster than I can eat them. Here are three from the past two days.

I'll try to pickle some of them by using this recipe from Easy Summertime Sweet Pickles | McCormick

EASY SUMMERTIME SWEET PICKLES

These easy-to-prepare sweet pickles require no special jars or vacuum sealing since they are stored in the refrigerator. Perfect for when you have a bounty of cucumbers.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups thinly sliced cucumbers (1/4-inch thick)

1/2 cup thinly sliced sweet onion

1 cup cider vinegar

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon McCormick® Celery Seed

1 teaspoon McCormick® Mustard Seed

1 teaspoon non-iodized salt

PREPARATION

1. Place cucumber slices and onions in medium glass bowl. Set aside. Mix remaining ingredients in medium saucepan. Bring to boil on medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar and salt. Reduce heat to low; simmer 5 minutes.

2. Pour hot liquid and spices over cucumbers and onions. Cool slightly. Cover.

3. Refrigerate pickles at least 2 hours before serving. Store in tightly covered container in refrigerator up to 2 months.

I've heard about cucumber soup and cucumber sandwiches.

If you know a cucumber soup that's not with sour cream or yogurt, please let me know. I'll also search the web.

What's the best way to make cucumber sandwiches?

I found these two:

1. The Traditional Cucumber Sandwich is composed of paper-thin slices of cucumber placed between two thin slices of crustless, lightly buttered white bread. Wikipedia

2. English Tea Cucumber Sandwiches

Place cucumber slices between 2 paper towels set in a colander. Allow liquid to drain, about 10 minutes.

Mix cream cheese, mayonnaise, garlic powder, onion salt, and Worcestershire sauce in a bowl until smooth.

Spread cream cheese mixture evenly on one side of each bread slice. Divide cucumber slices over half of the bread slices; sprinkle lemon pepper on cucumber. Stack the other half of the bread slices with spread sides down over the cucumber slices to make sandwiches.

Any recipes you'd like to share?

Garden Progress 2017

The plants are growing past the top screen!

This is the top of the tomato plant. I'm not going to trim it, want to see what happens next. Will tomatoes grow on top of the screen?

Here's another angle where you can see in the back row how the cucumber plants are also growing above the screen.

Only one eggplant so far.

The tomato plant is doing great.

Backyard Wasp Nest July 2017

This morning Lynette found this wasp nest. She was scared and I don't blame her. The way she described it at first, I thought there was something terribly wrong with the house. I wondered if something like part of the roof had caved in.

You can see the wasps going into and coming out of the nest.

This looks like a very scary and unhappy face.

Now we'll have to find someone to take down the nest. This is the first time such a large wasp nest was in our yard.

This Week's Image

From the Web

A Sailor Aint a Sailor Aint a Sailor Anymore.

Responses to "Thank You"

In response to "Thank You" I grew up with "You're Welcome". But now I hear "No Problem" most of the time. It seems a little strange to me. Was there a problem possible? Does the response mean that the person prevented the problem you almost caused?

"No worries" is a little like "no problem". Was there something I should have been worried about?

A possibility from English Language & Usage:

"It was no problem for me to hold the door for you, because your ease of access is more important than me getting to my car faster."

Or Maybe

"The main difference is that you're welcome is meant to be polite while no problem is meant to be friendly."

I like this idea even though it's a bit hard to follow:

"Based on the other answers it seems not everyone has the following connotations with both terms, but I would argue that "No problem" implies that you did something out of the ordinary for someone, however that you did not consider it a problem. So in a sense you're disregarding the "thank you". In contrast "You're welcome" seems to imply that you appreciate their appreciation, as you in no way disregard their "Thank you".

Another idea from English Language & Usage:

Other languages can be just as confusing.
In Italian from the site: Italian 101

PLEASE:
Per favore is the most commonly used form of Please but there are other forms including

per piacere,

per cortesia,

THANK YOU:
Grazie or Thank You, comes from Grazia meaning gratitude or consideration.

Grazie Mille, literally means a thousand thank yous or thanks a lot.

Grazie Tante, means thank you very much.

Grazie di tutto, means thanks for everything.

Grazie di cuore, is the equivalent of thanks from the bottom of my heart or sincere thanks.

Grazie infinite, means infinite thanks!!

YOU'RE WELCOME:
Prego (but for me this sounds like please)

Other alternatives also include Non c’è problema, (No Problem!)

Di niente, (It's nothing)

From the link: Prego - a useful word | ITALY Magazine

Words by Pat Eggleton

“Prego” often causes confusion because it is used a lot.

It can be used to mean “You’re welcome” or “Don’t mention it” after someone has said “Thank you”.
- Grazie.
- Prego.
A shopkeeper might use “Prego” as an equivalent of “How can I help you?” He or she is inviting the customer to say what they want.
- Prego, signora?
It can be used to mean “Come in”, usually with a hand gesture indicating the way into the house or room.
Sometimes “prego” is used for “after you”. It is pronounced a bit like “Pray go” and that’s not a bad way of remembering this meaning!

Other languages have their own ways to say it.

Any ideas? "My pleasure" sounds best to me.

This Week's Image

New Outdoor Lighting

Years ago I installed these types of lights myself but now I'm just not steady enough. It's not worth it to take a chance on falling and injuring myself.

The jobs were so small that I had trouble finding an electrician. Thank goodness I know a dependable handyman. He's very honest and does good work.

The old post light was crooked and falling apart.

Installing this motion detector security light over the garage is as easy as changing a light bulb. But not for me.

Frank the handyman estimated the job to cost about $100 if there were no problems. He wound up charging me $75. What an honest man. He also took away a rotting wooden swing and patched a banister while he was here, no extra charge!

This part of the house has two windows that are hidden from view. I was able to put this light in myself. There's no wiring. You just position it and plug it in.

This bright light operates with a motion detector. It makes it safer from a break in. The area is safe but we feel a little vulnerable in our somewhat hidden home. Maybe I'll get a security system someday but I don't think we need one right now. It's probably all the scary movies we watch late at night that stimulates our imaginations.

Anyway, now it will be easier to see our way into the house from the driveway at night and it looks good.

Have Any Malapropisms to Share?

Here are a few I've heard of:

He was on the horns of an enema.

I can assert the truth of it, without fear of contraception.

Enfield Cinema - Sinfield Enema

Nooks & Crannies - Crooks and Nannies

Horse drawn carriage - Horse drawn cabbage.

Soldiers go to war - Shoulders only shrug.

The street is called Juble Early Drive named after the Civil War general.
Not Surly Gerbil Drive

She wanted to fry her kitchen.
It's safer to fry your chicken.

Brooklyn was hit with a tomato.
Much safer than being hit with a tornado.

Grand Union Station
Not Grand Onion Station

She failed her addition.
I hope she won't also fail the audition.

It's a Dog!

Most thought it was a cat, which is what I would have guessed. This is a photo out in the snow at another time. Here his eyes are somehow two colors!

Week's Image June 25th 2017

This Week's Image

Cat or Dog?

I took this photo late at twilight and edited it.

National "Leon" Day June 25

I've never heard of this holiday before.

I guess it makes sense for homemade crafts.

Here's a quote from the site which explains it:

NATIONAL LEON DAY

National Leon Day marks June 25th as six months away from Christmas day. Leon is Noel spelled backward and is a day some crafters begin planning their homemade gifts and decorations. It can also be a day for those who miss the winter holidays to have a mini winter celebration in June.

HOW TO OBSERVE: Crafters, get your hot glue guns ready! Start planning your ugly sweaters now to beat the crowds! Use #NationalLeonDay to share on social media.

NATIONAL LEON DAY HISTORY: Within our research, we were unable to find the creator of National Leon Day. Link: NATIONAL LEON DAY – June 25 | National Day Calendar