Recycling at it's best!

This is something you don't see every day.  And it makes my heart swell!  This building was in an area that is slated for a new road interchange among other things.  I watched as the contractors carefully pulled off the brick, and I was wondering what their intentions were.  I thought the building was too nice to tear down, but in this day and age of "everything's disposable", I assumed the worst.  I thought perhaps they were just saving the brick.  Then I saw the truck with the I-beams inderneath the building!  They're gonna move it!

This used to be the office of my insurance agent.  He's moved into another facility.  Don't know if he's waiting for this to reach it's new home.  But whomever is moving it, kudos to them as this was a nice building, and I assume moving is much cheaper than rebuilding from the ground up!


 

This is what a drought looks like!

 

This picture was taken from ground level, looking at the "grass" that WAS my front yard. 

 

 

The few leaves of green are some weeds that just won't die.   You may say that the grass looks like it was long and never cut, and so fell over.  Well, that's only part of the story.  It was at the length that we may have cut it, but we didn't, and it started dying before we could, and it's better to leave it a bit long in case of drought, etc.

 

Then the trees started taking a hit.  This is a picture of our cypress tree, which is a water hog, and it's even sitting on or close to a septic (we don't actually know where the septic is for that part of the property; we have 2.) 

 

Obviously turning more than a bit brown.  And this is at the end of JULY!!!  This is a close-up of one of the branches. 

 

It would appear that the tree is trying to hold on, and therefore losing all the leaves down to the tips of the branches, trying to hold on for dear life.  Since this picture, the brown leaves have all fallen off, but the green remains.  Since that time, we've also had about 2 inches of rain, although not all at the same time.  We're expecting more tomorrow, and perhaps next week. 

 

You may ask why we don't water things that are stressed, or perhaps even dying.  The truth of the matter is that we live in the country and are on a well.  If the well were to run dry, we'd have to dig a new one, and that costs thousands of dollars.  If we baby the well, we can get by, and save some money.   Save a LOT of money actually.   The grass will grow again.  The trees seem to be hanging on...we'll know more in a few months, IF we get the rain we still need.  (We're about 16 inches below normal for the year.)

 

If you live on city water, you can water your lawn, flowers, etc, but there is that cost to you.  Well water costs us electricity; city water costs you like a utillity.  And if the grass doesn't need trimming, then you can save money either on your lawn service, or your back, mower and the cost of gas.  To us, it was a no-brainer.

 

This has happened to us before, about 30 years ago.  It was not as bad.  We got through it.  We'll get through this, or adapt to a "new lifestyle."  Time will tell.

 

 

 

Let me tell you about my aneurysm...

...so you might recognize similar symptoms in yourself or others and get help!

It started a few weeks back.  My work demands I do quite a bit of driving.  I noticed that one eye seemed to be a bit weaker than the other.  Thought it was just eye strain from driving.  Then I had what I can only describe as a pressure around my head that was reminiscent of wearing a tight cap.  No pounding, no pain, just a tightness. This had lasted at least a week already.

We went out of town a few weeks ago now, and while I was waiting in line at an event, I had a sudden short sharp pain in my head.  Thinking I was just getting a tension headache, I ran to the car, got out an aspirin, took it, sat down for a few minutes, and then got back in line, and finished the day.  On the ride home, which was several hours, I slept as I was not interested in looking out the window or reading, even though I had a good night's sleep previously.

I thought that if the tightness continued, I'd go to the doctor.  Monday morning I felt better, and worked all week.  That Friday night I was out and about doing what I normally do on Friday night.  I bent down to put something in my car, after shopping, and I got a sudden, more prolonged pain above my left eye.  It may have only lasted a few seconds, but it felt like I was hit in the head with a hammer.  Again, there was no more pain.  I just knew this was something I had to have looked into immediately.

I drove to the fire station, and asked them to drive me to the ER.  They called the ambulance service and I was taken there.  Let me say at this time, my vital signs, with the exception of my blood pressure were normal.  Normal pulse, normal respiration.   I did request something to cover my eyes as lights were bothering me.

Once at the ER I was again given tests that confirmed that my vital signs, with the exception of my blood pressure which was off the charts, were normal.  The doctor on duty was a neuro-surgeon, and he suggested a cat scan.  It was unremarkable.  After hearing me repeat what I had experienced, he decided that perhaps I needed a spinal tap.  It sounds worse than it was.  He explained that there would be no pain, and there wasn't, and the worst thing I might experience would be a headache from the spinal tap.  I could endure a headache, as long as that sharp, shooting pain didn't reoccur.

As it turned out the spinal tap indicated blood in the spinal fluid, and another, more intensive cat scan (actually an MRI) was ordered.  That scan definitely indicated an aneurysm, and surgery was scheduled for later that morning.  All I remember of that is being wheeled into the prep room, talking briefly to the anesthesiologist, and the next thing I knew, I was back in my room, with my head bandaged, arms full of IVs,  talking to Dennis and my doctors. 

The next five days were spent in the hospital, one more day in ICU and then the rest of the time in the neuro-surgery ward.  Except for having to take medicine every four hours, non-stop, and being asked the same repetitive questions (name, birthdate) it seemed uneventful.   I was then  sent home, with medicine that I was to take every four hours for three weeks!   Most of the first week I spent in bed as I just felt too weak to get up and about.   After that I did start getting dressed, and after another week, I ventured out of the house for short periods, or just to sit on the deck, in the shade, and enjoy the cooler weather.

Took the last of my pills on a Saturday, and have not had any adverse effects or withdrawals, so I can only assume they did their work.  The worst part was having to set the alarm for the middle of the night so I could take them.    Now the worst part is waiting for my hair to grow back.  I did get  an impromptu hair cut from Dennis, with my guidance, and it's defintely short.  He suggested shaving the rest of my head, but I was not willing to do that.  For now, I'll just wear a scarf. 

I didn't realize how common aneurysms seem to be until I heard from many of my friends and acquaintances about people who they knew had them, only with much more disastrous results.  All I can say is...know your body, and if you've had migraines in the past, this is SO much more than that!   And don't wait!

Affordable housing

Who says you can't find a nice home at a good price, and not inflated as they were in the late '90s or early 2000s.

I pass by this place at least once a week, and its still vacant!  The location is on a nice highway that they're improving upon as I write.  They're widening the road, and even straightening it.  Right across the street there's a gas station-convenience store, and they even sell bait.  Remember threre are two lakes quite close by.   Of course, there's a bank on the other corner, for convenient local financing. 

You can see from the picture that the highway department put up a drift fence so you don't have to worry about all the street dust and dirt flowing down to your doorstep.  And look at the trees around you.  Shade and seclusion.  This picture was taken in the very early spring; they're much more green now.

Road construction should be finished before the year is out, so get packing!  But don't forget to bring a few tools.  As the sign says, this is a "fixer-upper."

Thank you, Alice Walton!

She's the power behind the new art museum, in of all places, Bentonville, Arkansas of course!  It's called "Crystal Bridges."  And unfortunately, there seem to be too many people who live in the area who know nothing about it, or how to get there!

We went a fewSunday s ago, and everything went "swimmingly" (it was pouring down rain), except the closer we got, the more we knew our directions were spotty.  So we stopped at a few gas stations to ask directions.  Almost no one knew what or where we were walking about.  Although obviously, we did get there.

The museum is all about American art and artists.  A few were immigrants, but they probably came over on the Mayflower, so we can excuse their lack of a birth certificate!

To me, the best exhibits were the original Rosie The Riveter, by Norman Rockwell.  The guard told us an interesting story too.  Seems Rosie was portrayed by a 19 year old girl.  Then Rockwell looked towards Michangelo's painting of "The Creation of Adam" for the musculature he wanted to depict.  Needless to say, Rosie is a bit too mannish, and supposedly Rockwell apologized to the original model for the way he portrayed her physique.  There are also some areas of the painting, that were omitted from the Saturday Evening Post.  I'm not going to say what...if you go see the painting, you'll know!   (...depending upon your age...)

My second favorite exhibit(s) were the Alexander Calder mobiles.  I just love them!  So simple and yet so unique. 

And the buildings and grounds are amazing.  Pictures cannot do them justice, so just go there!  I know Bentonville is NOT a destination for most, but if you're in the general area, or passing through, or passing close by, DO go there!  Oh...did I mention it's ALL  FREE???!!! (Closed Tuesdays.)

Again, THANK YOU Alice!

A case of mistaken identity.

We have mice in the country.  Of course there are mice in the city too, but in the country they seem to get into things, like your car!  And they do things, like chew on the wiring.  And that means a trip to the car repair guys, and lost time, and money spent, etc. etc.  Well, you get the picture.

So when I got in my car the other morning, and looked at the passenger seat, I thought I saw mouse droppings!  Oh no, not my new car!  Damn them...

I got out, went over to the paasenger side, opened the door, looked really really closely at the little black things (turds?) and realized...that they were thistle seeds that fell out of the bag that I bought the day before.

BIG, big sigh of relief!

They're baaacccccccckkkkkk...

The hummingbirds, that is.

Dennis went out the front door (where the hummingbird feeders usually hang) and said one flew up into his face.  I told him that's the way they tell us they're back, and want something to eat!  I had already cleaned out the feeders, and so it was a small matter to make up some food for them this morning before I went to work.  Never did get a chance to ask Dennis if he saw any more today.  I watched the feeders for a while, when I came home from work, but no one showed up.

At our old house, I had a window above the kitchen sink, and they'd hover in front of it when they came north for the summer.  Again, signalling they were back!

Interesting story about their arrival times...we have a local gal who is certified to band hummingbirds.  She gives demonstrations at the local Nature Center a couple times every summer.  She said the earliest she ever saw a hummingbird was in February, and NOT this past February, when it was so warm, but last year, when it was in the teens and twenties.  The hummingbird had probably, she surmised, come up with a load of flowers destined for Lowes' or some other big box store that get their plants early.  Not a totally unusual occurence. 

When it showed up at her house, she rigged up a light for warmth, and a feeder to keep it going.  The bird survived, and when the weather finally got warm enough, and the local plants started blooming, the bird left. 

Don't have hummers?  They need adequate nesting areas (think lots of trees and cover), and seem to prefer cedar trees (or at least those are my observations) as they can be preyed upon by a lot of things, including dragon flies!  No kidding!  And I saw a big dragon fly this afternoon...

Nothing is more relaxing that sitting on our covered deck, reading a good book as the sun sets, and listening to the buzz of the hummers' wings as they feed and fight and fuss over each other.