Olive oil...and it worked!

I have a confession to make.

I made brownies last weekend as a thank you for some people who had done some good deeds for me.  They were from a store-bought mix.  I did read the package to see if I needed milk, or eggs, or whatever to finish the mix.  I did need eggs and so I bought a dozen.

What I neglected to notice was that I also needed oil, preferably vegetable oil.  I didn't have any.  I didn't buy any.  I didn't want to go back out and buy any either, as it was a long day, and I just wanted to finish the brownies!

I did have olive oil, extra virgin olive oil.  High quality olive oil.  Expensive olive oil.   And it is a vegetable, isn't it? 

So I figured that I would try it, and taste sample the mix before I put it in the oven to bake.  It seemed to taste fine, so I made the brownies.  After they were cooled, and cut up, I again sampled a small piece.  Still seemed just fine, and so I delivered the brownies and went home.

I did save a couple for my husband.  I did not tell him how I made them.  Of course as soon as he saw them, he had to eat one.  I held my breath.  He pronounced them very, very good!  I then told him what I did.  He said, if anything they were not as overly sweet as usual, and he appreciated that.

I don't know as I'd do that again, as olive oil is more expensive than vegetable oil, but if I do, I'm still not going to tell anyone. 

You want hummingbirds?

Try planting this flowering vine!

This is growing on our fence.  It's native to the area.  It's known around here as Trumpet Vine.  Huge orange flowers, with deep throats for the hummingbirds.   Can become a nice woody vine, with rather large, stout stems.  I've also seen a yellow variety, but orange seems to be more prevalent.  I don't know how it propagates naturally, although I do know you can take a cutting from a more tender spot, and get it to grow from that start.  I did find these pods on the end of a branch, and so assume it may also start from some sort of seed?

It can spread by trailing branches on the ground or by discarded cuttings.  It can also be considered a pest, due to the spreading, but it is my experience that it's no where the problem that honeysuckle can be, plus it's a much more showy plant.    This particular plant also bloomed twice this year; once in June, and again in August, drought nonwithstanding!

If none of this appeals to you, you can put up the obligatory feeder, in  place that doesn't get direct, hot sun (at least that's what I think), with some trees or shrubbery closeby that they can nest in.  This picture was taken on my covered porch.  The bird was competing with a bee, which if you look closely,  you can see in the picture.    The birds are very bold, and very wary at the same time, and can be hard to photograph with just an inexpensive digital camera!

The bird won!
 

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!