A lazy morning, with a less lazy afternoon

Since I get up about every hour during each night, getting up for good on Saturday was more or less up to me. I almost got up before 5:00 AM, but changed my mind and slept in until around 6:00. Then I turned on the news and put on a pot of coffee. I wrote the Blog entry and posted it.

When I got my first cup of coffee, I noticed the patio was wet. I checked and so was the road, but there were no puddles in the driveway, so it must not have rained hard. I ate some breakfast and took my pills, watching old Rifleman episodes and drinking more coffee (I ended up drinking the whole 8 cup pot, which I never do).

I don’t want to imply I was feeling lazy, but it was after 9:00 AM when I finally stuck my finger for the blood I needed. Then I did the rest of the tests and filled in the log for the doctor. Next, I made out my shopping list. I wasn’t sure yet if this is a one-day or two-day errand trip (there are eight different places, in all). It all depends on the rain, I guess. Speaking of rain, it was sprinkling again when I checked.

I made the mistake of going into the bedroom before I shaved and showered. The TV was still on AMC (the channel that the Rifleman comes on) and had on El Dorado (a movie starring John Wayne and Robert Mitchum, along with a very young James Caan). I’ve always liked that movie and I ended up watching it instead of what I should have been doing. My excuse was the rain would probably stop after the movie was finished. What was funny is that Jake sent me a text a little later telling me that it was on (he knows me too well, I guess).

The movie ended at noon, so I finally shaved and showered. The towels I had to wash last night felt so soft and smelled so good I forgave the cats for yesterday’s bedspread incident. I got dressed and (for the first time today) put on my brace (I’ll pay for that by tonight). I got out the door at 1:30 PM and, by God if the sun wasn’t shining! See, I’m not lazy, just smart!!

Well, the sunshine didn’t last long. But it didn’t start raining again. And, I belatedly realized that, with my walker taking up the whole rear seat, there was no way all the groceries and “stuff” I needed would fit into the car in one trip.

But, I did alright. First I stopped at the corner and filled the gas tank up. Then I went to Home Depot and got a heat gun, two packets of flower seeds, ant spray, masking tape, packaging tape and, from the garden center, a big bag of potting soil, a bag of leveling sand and another bag of pea gravel. The last three items, I asked for help and a nice kid loaded them on a cart, waited in line with me (I had my other stuff in my walker’s basket) and then loaded them in the trunk (wish he was going to be at the house when I get there, lol!)

Next came Petsmart for some kitty litter and cat treats. I slid the kitty litter onto the walker seat and then onto the front seat of the car. No BLTs here, Boss!

From there I went to the bank for some badly needed cash and finally I hit Target, for a new bathroom floor mat (the old one had been washed so many times it had a hole in it) and some wooden spoons I wanted.

Back at home, I slid the kitty litter back onto the walker, rolled it into the house and then slid it onto the shelf above the kitty litter box. Everything else (except for what’s in the trunk) was carried in the bags they were put in. I checked the clock and it was just before 3:00 PM, so I did pretty good!

I started on the first (of two) “No BLT Garden Project.” I had bought what they call a “saddle planter” for the front porch railing from Gardeners.com. It’s designed to slip snugly over a 6-inch wood deck railing (which I have but you can get them for a 4-inch railing as well) I measured the exact middle of my front railing and slipped that puppy over it.

As you can see by the photos, there are two wells that make the saddle. Each well has three drainage holes, so I filled them to the top with pea gravel. Then I filled it the rest of the way with Miracle-Gro potting soil. Now, when the threat of frost is over, I can plant (without bending) some colorful annuals.

In case you are wondering, Carl, I slid the bags of pea gravel and potting soil half over the short lip of my trunk. I cut off a corner of each bag and slid it further enough so the contents would start to spill out into a little bucket I had underneath (being careful not to exceed my five pound limit). Then I transferred the stuff to the planter, so not too much BLT.

Moving the remainder of each bag, and the full bag of leveling sand out of the trunk did, however, involve some heavy lifting. But, no B or T!

Next I got a shovel and dug out under the rear side of the back arbor. I refilled the hole with more potting soil and that’s where I will sow the morning glory seeds after they soak overnight. I’m hoping there is enough sunlight that they will grow. My clematis is in front of the other side of that arbor.

Finally, I tackled the mail box. If you remember, I had built a retaining wall that held up the tub that got smashed when I was hospitalized. My nice neighbor, when he put in the new post, just used some of the blocks to stabilize it. My plan is to create a mini-garden around the post. This will unfortunately involve some BLT, but it has to be done.

So, after taking the “before” pictures, I grabbed my gloves, the shovel and a crowbar. I pried and pulled out the remaining retaining blocks and arranged them in a semi-circle. I dug down around the post and filled it with the last of the potting soil. Then I planted Burpee’s “Mailbox Mixture,” which is a combination of Egyptian pea vine, zinnia, thunbergia (a black-eyed Susan vine) and nasturtiums. It comes in one big bag that holds the four small bags of seeds. If you remember, I tried this a couple of years ago with very little success. But, try, try again, I always say!

In looking at the “after” pictures, I think I need one more row of blocks to raise it to road level and tie in the first course. I’ll have to pick up some more. I’ll also add additional dirt once the seeds sprout and I thin them, I guess.

I closed everything up about 5:30 PM. I wasn’t hurting too bad at the time, but I could feel it coming. I tried to watch the news (concerned about tomorrow’s weather) but a sports show ran overtime and it wasn’t on yet.

Since I only had a large glass of V8 juice for my lunch, I was getting hungry. So, I heated up a can of Hormel chili and topped it with shredded sharp cheddar cheese. I ate that with some crackers, took my evening pills and took off my brace. I lay down to watch some TV, but could find anything all that interesting on. So, I channel surfed between DIY and cooking shows (now that I'm writing this, why didn't I watch The Great Train Robbery movie I had taped? I love old England-based movies! I dunno...)

My brother Carl called me around 9:00 PM and asked about the Norton Ghost v15. If you remember, he bought his 2 TB external hard drive first, which inspired me to buy mine. He wants to do the same thing to his new computer as I do, since his old one crashed without having any backup. But, his new computer has Windows 7 and there are apparently issues with using Windows 7 with a 64 bit processor and Norton Ghost v15 (he sent me a link to a discussion of the issue). After we hung up, I checked my system. While I do have a 64 bit processor, I’m still running just Windows 2002 XP Pro, with Service Pack 3. So, I think I’m okay... I hope I’m okay... Let’s see what the webmaster thinks!

At 10:00 PM, I gave up on TV completely and started reading a book. When my eyes grew heavy, I shut off the light and went to bed.