Hump Day

I woke up at 4:00 a.m. on Wednesday and couldn’t fall back asleep. So, I finally gave up and got up. Because of Memorial Day, today was my garbage pickup day. So, I went through the fridge and tossed anything even approaching the “use by” date.

Then I went through the kitchen pantry shelves. I was appalled! I have long prided myself on having a plethora of stuff to use when needed. Sadly, most of what I looked at was past the expiration date (in some items, it was years past time!) So, I threw away jams (blackberry and orange marmalade), chili sauce, cans of roast beef hash, sardines, etc., etc., etc. I actually filled up a separate garbage bag that was almost too heavy to carry!

Sidebar: What scares me is that I haven’t even looked at the two shelves of canned goods in the garage yet.

So much for having pantry items on hand. I think I’ll switch to the European model and shop each day for my supper as I probably threw away a hundred bucks of “stuff!”

Anyway, after I shaved, showered and got dressed, I rolled the trash can out to the road and followed it with my overweight trash bag. Then I drove to work.

It was another hot, muggy day, with thunderstorm watches posted from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. So, the morning walk was uncomfortable.

I went to Ten Yen for lunch. My fortune read: “Look around; happiness is trying to catch you.”

Then I went to Lowe’s for two things. One was my old favorite, the 8x16 inch red patio block. They don’t carry them anymore. The other was a clematis. I checked on the one out back after tying up the one in front and found it too had succumbed to the harsh winter.

As I pulled into the parking lot back at work, it started to rain. I just got inside when it began to pour! It rained hard (really hard) for about 20 minutes and then just stopped.

Sidebar: I took the clematis inside as I figured with the high temp and closed windows, it would fry in the truck cab or drown in the bed.

I walked outside in the sunshine in the afternoon, but the wind had definitely picked up.

Naturally (naturally!) it started raining just as I left work at 5:00 p.m. Again, it didn’t last long and this time it wasn’t pouring.

I found a big branch in the front yard. It fell off that dead maple that’s just off my property (or I would have taken it down years ago). I was lucky it was dead. Had that been a living branch, I could have never lifted it.  As it was, I lifted the light end and dragged it off my yard.

I noticed the rain had beat down the purple iris in the English garden, but the yellow ones were in full bloom. Since I had the camera out for the branch, I took a final picture of them.

I changed clothes and then planted the clematis. I was surprised at how big it was (they had it all coiled up on a plastic trellis). I attached it to the trellis with the Velcro tape.

When I went to get some water from the hose, I noticed the bush in the garden by the addition was blooming. I have long since forgotten its name, but it looked pretty.  The garden goes across the back of the house, from the raised bed herb garden to Jake’s patio. I realized I’ve been ignoring this garden, so I took more pictures to bore you with.

I put the shovel back in the shed, buttoned everything back up (the lawn guys left the gate open) and went inside for the night.

I watched the end of the Nightly News and then made supper. I added a chopped hardboiled egg to the rest of the deli potato salad and warmed up four more ribs. Excellent!

I putzed around a bit. The humidity had aggravated the arthritis in my left knee and I was limping. So, I was trying to take it easy.

I watched the final David Letterman show (I had taped it). Next, I watched the I Heart Country Music show until I fell asleep.