Among Friends

[Winifred]

HA hA!! Got the Fence shored up and ready to go. The heat is slowly showing up ere i Sunny Sou Cal - I think it will probably be a nasty hot summer to balance the frigid wet : "winter." Not Sure I am ready for that.

Today was a blessed day in most ways. Got to see - briefly - Ricky and Leach for little over an hour. Those are my two great great Grands who were sent to Colorado. Their Paternal  Grandmother lost her Father about a month ago and tomorrow they are having a memorial service for him. She call and said I could visit with them but I was the only one. JUst do NOT like these kind of rules as I had both children most of their lives - Leah will be 4 in August and Ricky was 5 this past February but I will keep my mouth shut for a day or so since they are here on a sad mission and I do not want anyone to get a potty mouth aimed in their direction. Hopefully it will not happn.. I get along super well with the Grandma but am sure CPS has a tight whatever on her controls. They are NOT nice people. I will have to tell the kids relatives and so many friends and am praying everyone will understand I could NOT tell them - did not want to create waves. I do not agree but will follow the rules given to me. I got to see them and we had a ball. They were doing super well in their Colorado environment and I cannot and will not be critical of that.

OK, I loaded up with  some more Cinnamon and Raisin Bagels from Aldi's - also got some watermelon and tangerines - getting ready for the warmer weather.

Hope all sleep well and wake up raring to go tomorrow morning.

[Bird mama]

@Winifred   thank you so much for shoring up the Back Fence.  

I have tears in my eyes because I am reading about a prayer answered.  If you don't believe what I'm about to write, I'm okay with that.

I've been praying so hard that an opportunity would present itself for you to see Leah and Ricky in person.  I was praying for you, not the rest of your family. 

I'm serious as a heart attack when I say that I don't see why you have to tell anyone in the family about the visit.  I could be wrong however I get the feeling you are the one who was most twisted up in knots about the kids moving to Colorado.  I'd go so far to put money on it.

Freddie, take the blessing and say nothing. It will only create more drama if you say something and you don't need that.

[yock]

@Winifred Well I guess I'm out of practice. My long full of wisdom post just pooped. It's probably for the best.  You've always put the children first and have seen for yourself how well they're doing.  In this case the agency actually helped the children to have a happy, normal life.

you gave your best you deserve the reward

the family  may never say anything to you about it since they don't seem to see a reason to check on you. I know I'm biased.   

[Bird mama]

Whoo we had a thunderstorm blow through here that dropped some sizable hail.  I was worried for my windows for a few minutes.  

[Bird mama]

Well, it's been cooler and breezier here today and I made the most of it.  I had an evergreen shrub alongside the fence near the front gate that I should have pruned better over the years.  It grew outside the fence and I cut it back big time.  I had to use the polesaw I bought from here from the sunjoe people and separate the branches from the chain link fence.

I need to prune the sides and top (I'm tired).  Once I took that big section out, I knew it would look funky from the street so I decided to use that fence slatting material I bought in 2016. 

It took me a few hours to add the slats to the small part of chain link fence at the front of the house.  While I was at it, I did the gate too 

My hands are a little tired but I'm glad I did it.  I've wanted to slat those two pieces of fencing since I bought the stuff in 2016.  One less thing on my Bernie do list.

I still have several slats left that I think I will add to the back fence.  I originally bought this stuff for the back fence where the pines and evergreens looked a little thin.  I did the back yard fence in 2016 and then kept putting off the front.

[Winifred]

Weather still not nice enough to sit outside and eat and chat. Hopefully in a few days and then I will die from the stinking heat.

Got the weeds taken down yesterday, no, of course I was NOT the one who did it - had a good helper. Now to once again spray to get rid of the weeds way out back. First time I have ever had to spray a second time. Oh well!!!!

Hope all have a super good day!!!!

[Bird mama]

Good Morning Freddie @Winifred   I started my morning at the Home Depot buying this thing.

Because my property borders a field that is not treated for weeds and because I get touchy about chemicals in my yard I have the occasional dandelion that pops up.  9 times out of 10 a rabbit or the groundhog eats it.

Almost 2 weeks ago I went to tell my next door neighbor that the tree crew was coming to do a big job on the silver maple (which at the time had a limb over her driveway).  She looks at me and says do you fertilize your yard.  I said, fertilize?  No. 

She then says, if I had your dandelions I would be effen mortified.   She then proceeds to tell me that she hates dandelions with a passion. 

I could have shared with her what mortifies me about her backyard like the fact she don't pick up her dog's poop, has an open barrel with some garbage bags in it that if I'm lucky she gets rids of 2x a year.  Also that barrel fills with water and becomes a breeding ground for mosquitos.

This is between her garage and my fence.

I bit my tongue and reminded her that I spot treat the dandelions each year and that it's been a cold and rainy spring.

The conditions for killing dandelions are better today and it should remain dry through tomorrow night.

You know, this retirement has been an educational experience for me.  You really don't find out what kind of neighbors you have until you are home all of the time

I need to reach out to the contractor that installed the privacy fence on the one side of the yard in 2007.  I think this is the year I get a matching fence on miss dandelion's side.  It'll be expensive because my yard is long but then again you can't put a price on peace of mind.

[Bird mama]

Well, I tackled the fireplace crown this morning.  I set the ladder up, got the creeps and decided to access the first floor roof through the second story spare bedroom. Suffice is to say, I've applied the 2 coats of the brushable chimney crown repair/sealant and am alive to talk about it.

No hurry to repeat the experience, I am not fond of heights.

[yock]

oops

[Bird mama]

Betty @yock   I set up the little giant ladder around 9am.  I ended up having 2 cups of Maxwell House coffee while I stared at that ladder and said, once you crawl up you are not going to want to crawl down.

I used the window in one of the upstairs bedrooms to access the roof.  This way I was already on the peak.  I sat down and scooted towards the chimney on my butt.