Box-less, who knew

 I have had a finicky light switch in the guest bathroom for a couple of years.  I don't use that bathroom too much, so it was easy to ignore.  I did think I could replace a light switch with my limited knowledge, but once I took the switch cover off, I could see this was beyond my expertise.  

With company coming mid July, I finally got on the phone and called an electrician.  He came today.  He explained to me that modular homes, much like trailer houses, use box-less light switches.  The Romax cable runs through the switch and there is not junction box in the wall.  This electrician is not a fan and asked if I would be happy if he put in a junction box and new switch for both the light and the fan.  Fine by me.  

This style switch is known in the biz as Decor.

The new switches are Toggle.

There are several quirky things about the build on a modular home like mine.  Most of which become problematic somewhere along the line.  The plumbing in this place has been a real problem, event after event and the water heater, a smaller & narrower profile, is a special order, of course.

I was not aware of any of this when I looked at the house, I mostly saw the layout and the location, the rest was just details.

I'm really pleased to know that Meyer Electric in Rice Lake are so quick to respond and for a reasonable price.  I have a few other 'wants' for electrical work, now I know who to call.

I got fooled

 I got fooled by the tiny 4 pack of Coleus.  

I overplanted this 3 tier tower planter by about 3 times.  
Those tiny Coleus didn't look like much when I plunked them into the dirt, 
but now is a different story.

It is quite glamourous even though it is very full.

🍃🍃

There was some drama with the cell phone switch over, of course.  I got an envelope to trade in my old phone, but no mailing label.  After a long phone wait with customer service, they said they would mail me one.  It hasn't shown up, & there is a 14 day deadline on sending in the old phone to get the $629 credit.  So, I was getting more and more nervous.  Laila went to the Verizon store where she had made the deal and got the label emailed to me this morning.  I have already been to UPS to drop off the trade in phone.  

Crisis averted!

Lap kitty?

  From the 1st day that I adopted my 2 shelter kitties, Barley and Hops, Hops was always the lap kitty.  She would lay on me forever if I didn't move. I would wait as long as I could before making a trip to the bathroom just to not disturb her lap nap. 

Barley always found a perch nearby but never was interested in laying on my lap. Now that Hops has gone to Kitty heaven, Barley is discovering what it's like to be the only cat in this house. March was when Hops died and here we are in June and Barley has decided that she does like to lay on me. 

But Barley does not understand the concept of laying on my lap.

Barley wants to lay partly on my shoulder, partly on my neck, partly on my collarbone.

This position is quite awkward, but she purrs away and stays there for quite some time.  It is not especially wonderful when it is hot. I have to grab a towel or blanket to cover up my bare shoulders as she forgets that her claws are wicked on human skin.

I guess she is a shoulder cat.

Cats are funny.

Growing stuff

 Things around the yard are really growing.  It had been dry,  so I spend an hour or so hauling water around every morning.  My plan was to keep all the pots needing frequent watering close to the water hose, but there was some scope creep in my planning, and I brought home quite a few new perennials that have needed watering to survive because of the drought.

From left to right....The 3 tired pot is full of Coleus, the red in the line of pots is Verbena, herbs in the little pots hanging on the deck railing, Morning Glory in the 2 hanging baskets, Cascade Hops climbing the wall, and yellow petunias in the big pot surrounded by a jungle of Lupine that are about to be done.

It was a little cool & humid today,  I took a day off from watering but if it does not rain overnight or tomorrow, I'll be back at it. 

🌱🌱🌱

Both Laila and I successfully made the transition to our new cell phones.   It did not go as smoothly as I had hoped, there were swear words muttered, but we both have working phones again, so yay.  Now, we are both buying the needed accessories for the new phone. They changed the charger plug, again, of course.

Deck cleaning

 Benzalkonium chloride, will it work? 

The product label says spray it on and leave it and over the next couple of weeks,  the algae and mold will disappear with each rain.  That sounds good to me. 

Easy peasy?

Today,  I sprayed most of the bottle on the back deck & siding.  I'm hoping to find a way to clean the deck without having to power wash. Anytime you involve an engine,  there is complexity. 

Now we wait.

🤞

Good news today

NP-C reviewed your cardiac testing from 6./21/21 and no sign of significant blockage was noted on your stress test. Echocardiogram (ultrasound of heart) revealed strong heart function, all areas move normal, and no significant valve abnormality. 

If you have continue symptoms, you may need strong medication for your palpitations. If you are doing well please follow up in 3 months. 

Be sure to follow up with the Sleep Medicine Department as scheduled.

Some great news today about my heart. No particular reason for my rapid beats or atrial fib, but if the drugs keep that in check, yay.

♥️♥️♥️

Something funky going on with our phone shipments, tomorrow will tell the tale. Will I get my phone? Or Laila's?  FedEx tracking numbers are goofed up.

☎️☎️☎️

Note to self, keep an open mind

So a downside of living in a small town is that you don't always have the Medical Specialties available to you, as is well known. 

This morning I got a phone call that the orthopedic surgeon that I was supposed to see next Friday about my knee, would not be able to see me because he is, get this, retiring.  (Now, I would think an MD would plan ahead a little further than next week for retirement, but maybe there are circumstances that I am not privy to.)  

Anyway, that is that.

So, my other option is to see an orthopedic surgeon who comes up from Eau Claire occasionally to see patients. But the orthopedic PA that I saw told me that the Eau Claire doctor was very selective about who he would do knee replacements on and because I'm overweight, I likely would not be acceptable.  (Covid was not good for my eating and exercise habits, or lack of, so there's that.)

When they called me this morning and told me that the original appointment was canceled, they asked me if I wanted to see the Eau Claire doctor and I didn't really know what to do. But finally, I decided to go ahead and set up an appointment with him and I'll let him tell me what my options are. But of course I can't get in to see him until the end of July. 

So, now I will research with my insurance and see what other orthopedic surgeons are in their plan that are anywhere near this area. I might end up having to have the surgery in another town, which complicates everything, but is doable.  I have been doing all my doctoring in the Marshfield Clinic system, but my insurance does cover other providers, so the search is on.

The downside of small-town medicine. 

I'm going to ask around at Bridge and see who's-going-to-who for Ortho problems.  

This is a pretty major setback in terms of getting anything done for my knee, and, of course, my knee is not getting any better.   But a minor set back in the grand scheme.  

Wha wha wha.

After a few hours of thought, this might be a good thing.  A  new, younger, ortho might have some new treatment ideas too.  I am very open to the new plan.

🏥🏥🏥

This Spring as I was working out what plants I wanted to put where, I almost tossed a series of 6 small pots that hang together on the front porch.  I have never been very successful in growing anything in those little pots and thought I might just be done with them.  But then, I was at the greenhouse, and saw herbs, and thought maybe I should give those a try in the little pots.

Now I have a wonderful little herb garden and I could not be happier.  The herbs were nearly gone from the greenhouse shelves before I hatched this plan, so next year I will select a little different variety.  

Basil

Cilantro

Lemon Balm

Thyme

A second Lemon Balm

I also planted Catnip, which is doing well too.  Forgot to snap a photo I guess.

So, note to self, be creative and be open to new ideas.

⚘

I planted Morning Glory seeds in my hanging pots again.  They are coming along.

I like this idea of planting seeds rather than buying a pot that is already in bloom that will be hard to keep healthy for the whole summer.  This way, I get to watch the seeds grow and hopefully will be enjoying the flowers by mid summer.

Morning Glory

Now, this might be my favorite planting of the year.  Again, I thought I might toss out this tower planter, it is kind of odd and I have never had great success with planting in it.  Talking with Mary one day, she mentioned how much she likes Coleus, so I grabbed some and loaded up this tower.  Now, it is my favorite planting in the yard.  Such diversity of color and texture and it is all going great guns in the tower.  

I'm getting my new phone today, according to FedEx text messages.  It will be fun to have a new toy.  Always takes some time to switch over but I'm pumped.

Part 2 Stress test

My prep for part 2 was nothing by mouth except sips of water since midnight.  And for 24 hours  before, no caffeine, no chocolate, no 'caffeine-free' products, nada.  

It started with an RN from Cardiology putting in an IV and connecting a 12 lead ekg machine to me.  Then my CT technician from yesterday, Johanna, came in and injected the radioactive dye.  

Then the stress medication was injected. Another staffer had joined by this time and was stationed to take my BP every minute.  The stress medication gave me a feeling of panic in my chest and made it difficult to breath.  It was not a good feeling, in fact if I had this sensation at home, I would call 911 and assume the worst was happening.  The nurse & Johanna were very calming though and gave me a tip to move my feet like windshield wipers to help the medicine dissipate.  Mostly I think it kept my mind off that other feeling, gave me an alternate focus.

Five minutes goes by quite quickly and then the effects of medicine began to end.  By the time I was allowed to get dressed, I was feeling pretty normal.  I still had to wait the rest of the hour to have the CT scan, and there were some weird aches and pains in my knees and ankles, which I'm assuming was that drug taking leave.  It is a vasodialator, so it makes blood rush to the heart area which causes the stress reaction in that big muscle.  

Soon, it was time for the CT scan which went a little faster than yesterday.

My overall experience was good. The team of CT & cardiology is well timed and cohesive. I felt well cared for and their timing was precise.  It was impressive to be in the middle of such effective teamwork.

I stopped for breakfast again and then came home for a big, huge, long nap.

The results will be ready in a few days.  Since this is mainly a pre-op check-box, I'm not  too concerned about the results.  It will be good to have this baseline in my record.

I'm very glad to have this completed, I had wasted time dreading the whole deal, and it was nothing worth dreading.

My appointment with the orthopedic surgeon is July 2. Then I'll find out what is next for my achy knee.

Part 1 Stress Test

 In preparation for having knee replacement surgery in the not too distant future, I was scheduled for a stress test on my heart. 

Today was part 1 and was mostly about capturing images of my heart before it is under stress. An IV was placed in my arm, and an injection of a radioactive dye was given. Then I waited an hour for the dye to make its way to where it needed to be and finally a CT scan was performed.

After the CT scan, I had an appointment for a an echocardiogram. That went pretty well and I have to say that both technicians were very friendly, professional, and efficient. They made both procedures very smooth and as comfortable as possible. 

Tomorrow is part 2 of the stress test. I will be given a medication that will put stress on my heart and then another injection of the radioactive dye and then another CT scan.

It is always something.

♥️♥️♥️

On a different note, I retrieved my Kindle from the lost and found at the clinic. I had received a phone call a week ago telling me that it was there. It had been there since April 9th and I had scoured the house unable to locate it having no idea that I had left it anywhere. Of course, in the meanwhile, I have purchased a new Kindle and a person really does not need two. So, I'm not sure where this old Kindle will end up.

♥️♥️♥️

When I was all done at the clinic, I've decided to go eat breakfast. I went to the Rice Lake Family Restaurant. It's the busiest I have ever seen that restaurant. I'm thinking that people are making up for lost time when it comes to eating out. Anyway, as I was walking up to the door of the restaurant, there was an elderly man walking slowly, with a cane, heading in the same direction. I paused long enough that I would be able to hold the door open for him. One of the restaurant workers was holding open the interior door for him and greeted the man by name. Then he seated him in what looked to be the old man's regular spot. I heard one of the waitresses call him Larry. When I was paying my bill, I asked the cashier to let me pay for Larry's lunch. He just reminded me of how dad probably looked when he was heading into the restaurant every day after Ev was gone. So this was my Father's Day gift to my dad. Buying lunch for Larry.

Father's Day

 My plan for Father's Day was to run over to the cemetery and put a new plant in at Dad's grave. I had picked up a very pretty New Guinea Impatien. I read that deer don't love to eat those and the deer had eaten the petunias & pansies down to nubs.

Rain was forecasted, but I went anyway.  When I got to the cemetery,  it was raining a pretty nice rain.  By the time I finished my planting, I was soaked clear to my underwear.

The new plant looks really nice, pretty pink blooms that remind me of roses.  I also brought a new flag for Dad's veteran marker.  It wasn't nice enough to sit on the bench. 

It rained all the way back to Rice Lake.  I got out of my wet clothes and dressed in fleece leggings and fleece sweatshirt. It's kind of nice to feel chilly after all these hot days. 

🌧🌧🌧

Yesterday I sent this photo to John Rosenow as my testimonial in praise of Cowsmos potting mix. The Verbena in these pots filled with Cowsmos is going great guns. 

Very pretty.

Ran across this guy in the backyard.

I don't know many names of insects,  I just leave them to their business.

Gross

It's supposed to be funny, but mostly to me, it is just icky.  A bar across from the Senior Center has a big event planned for next weekend.  I won't feel sad about missing it.

My 50th class reunion is approaching in July.  I didn't actually graduate from Luck, since we moved to Colorado after my freshman year, but I have always felt connected to my classmates and have maintained many strong connections.

Jerilyn Schauls was our Valedictorian and she lives in a neighboring town, 

we have lunch together regularly.

I noticed this in the Luck paper.

The Milwaukee Brewers are playing a series against the Rockies at Coors Field.  I have enjoyed seeing a broadcast from Coors Field after spending so many summer evenings there watching the Rockies.  Last night the cable company had a mix up, so no broadcast.  I dug out my radio and listened to most of the game on the deck, which was really nice.  I had forgotten how much I enjoy baseball on the radio.  Now if the mosquitoes would leave me alone, that would be wonderful.

 Summertime.

Snack Shop, B & E attempt

First some sad chicken news. 

My close friend Mary called to say that during the night Wednesday night, 

10 of their 12 chickens were murdered.

Recently Rick & Mary had beefed up their fence around the coop to 6 foot. The perpetrator climbed the fence, tore the screen off the window, and then bit the chickens on the neck, which killed them. The 2 that survived are injured and their fate is TBD.  It was a very upsetting sight when they opened the coop to let the chickens out at dawn.The chickens all had names and personalities. How awful to lose 10 pets in the blink of an eye.

Today, they added reinforced wire on the window & a trail cam. They suspect a raccoon, the trail cam will confirm that. They also picked up some little chicks. I'm sure they are on pins &  needles tonight.  Fingers crossed for a safe night in the coop.

🐤🐤🐤

I have a raccoon problem too.

This same raccoon has come every night about midnight to mess with Omaha's Stray Cat Snack Shop.  Twice I've chased him away after seeing him on the video.  The 2nd time, I slid the closure over the opening to the cat shelter, that stops him from getting in that way, but the lid on the tote flips up, & he's trying to figure that out. 

Tomorrow I'll McGuyver up a way to be sure he cannot open the lid.

Raccoons are so good at opening containers, they are little criminals. They think nothing of ransacking the property of others.  And you never see them in handcuffs.

 Sadly, Buddy the stray cat has been here a couple of times everynight too.  Hopefully the raccoon will give up soon so I can continue to take care of Buddy.

Outbuildings

 Today I worked on the outbuildings. By out buildings I mean the cat condo, and the Martin house. 

The cat condo needed a coat of paint so I two-wheelered it over to the driveway and sprayed it. It's not perfect but I did cover a lot of the rust and now I know how easy it is to use the two wheeler the tote it over to the driveway. I can start giving it a paint job every spring. 

Then I worked on putting some skirting on the Martin house. The idea was mostly to attach it securely to the tree trunk so that it would not take flight in the case of a strong wind, or in a winter storm. I first had to shim it up along the one side to give it a little bit more of a level appearance. It's not perfect but it's significantly better. And then I put the skirting on. It feels very solid to me now. 

It's kind of a cool artifact for the backyard. I got it about 2 years ago on Facebook Marketplace for $25. It sat in the garage all quarantine.  I gave it a good spray with some sealer.  Hopefully it will hold up to the weather for many years. 

 Then it was time to enjoy the fruits of our labors so Barley and I are had some deck time on a warm summer evening.

The outbuilding projects are done. But there are more projects on my list.

600,000

 It was publicized today that 600,000 Americans have died as a result of the corona covid-19 virus. And at the same time vaccine demand is waning. It's hard for me to understand why people are reluctant to protect themselves from such a deadly virus. I hope that none of them add to the already much too high count of American citizens who have died.

460 days ago began the safer at home quarantining.  Every week I resume more normal activities. It is still confusing knowing when the right time is to wear a mask.  I keep one in my purse. If the workers are wearing masks, I put mine on, it is an awkward & confusing time. 

Yesterday I met my friend Vicki for coffee. It was nice to be back in the coffee shop, hanging out, chatting.  Trying to remember everything that happened over the last 460 days, it's a big blur now.  I guess I'll have to go back and read my blog.

Over the last few days, we have had ideal summer weather.  Barley & I are trying to get at least an hour on the deck every day.  I read and she lounges in her cat condo.  Today, I'm going to give the condo a new coat of paint, so we will have to skip today. 

Our view when we have our deck time.

I went over to water flowers at the cemetery, but the deer had eaten off the flowers. I added a couple of little daisy plants and hope the pansies will rebound.  I guess I'll have to buy some of the anti-munching-deer spray for plants before I go over next time.

My Verbena is blooming like crazy.  The color is so deep and bright, the camera has a hard time capturing it.

One of the plants I transplanted from friend Carol's yard, a couple of weeks ago, is already doing big things.  

These delicate, little fluted flowers are attracting the pollinators.

I love coleus. I used to only know it as a house plant, but it is a nice contrast as a summer bedding plant.   

This little tower is a fun display of the variety in color and texture of the coleus.

I wanted to figure out a location for these big flower pots so that I could quit moving them around. I've been rolling them into the garage for the winter to get them out of the path of the snowplow and wanted to find a spot for them where they could be summer or winter.  I lined them up along the back of the courtyard and planted red verbena and white surdiva.  These are the pots I filled with Cowsmos potting soil.

The photo doesn't really do justice. The Verbena is stunning, see photo above.

Summer is here. This summer sure has a different vibe than last year.

Be well, stay safe.

Hops and stuff

The ladder Hops are a bit puny this year. 

I've been hauling water & Miracle Gro down to this plant daily. 

I'm hoping it will grow some muscles. 

This is the old ladder that I bought from friend Ruby. She said it was the first extension ladder that she & husband Ray, (RIP Ray,) bought for their farm.  Ruby was clearing out her house in Luck & moving closer to her granddaughter. I paid $3 for the ladder, but it is priceless to me.

I planted an herb garden on the front porch.  I didn't think too hard when I was grabbing some herbs at the greenhouse. There were not too many to choose from so late in the year.  I ended up with cilantro, basil, lemon balm, and catnip.  All of the herbs are thriving. 

This morning, a visitor dropped by and chomped down a fair amount of the catnip. He probably went home for a nap after that.  Check the video. 

The Peony Crinkled White is blooming.  Not as many buds as last year. Maybe he needs to be moved this fall.

Aldi grocery store had a rack of hanging baskets that were nearly DOA. I picked out the 3 best, and after one night of soaking, they look fine. A Begonia, Petunia & Impatien. $2.99 per basket, can't beat that price.

Added a fountain to the red room.  The porcelain pot was from Janice's auction.  Very fancy addition to the sitting spot.

LeRoy's Iris

 According to this blog, on Friday, May 8, 2009 the uncle of my Rosenow pals, was generous and sent me home from Cochrane, WI with a carload of perennials that we dug out of his amazing gardens.

I remember there was coral bells, bleeding heart, iris and I'm not sure what else.  The only plant I know for sure that came home with me that day, is this hybrid Iris.

It seems like it only blooms every other year, but I'll check that for sure next year.  About 6 years ago, I split the root and brought half to LeAnna in Colorado.  Now she has LeRoy's Iris blooming too.

2021 is a banner year for Iris, that is for sure! Leroy's Iris has 5 open blooms and one more bud coming. Never before have I had more than 2 blooms from this Iris.

What a show off!

Fantastik!

The Yearling

 I have not seen the yearling on camera since the 1st so I'm hoping he has found a comfy spot in the woods to spend his summer.  These photos are from 5/31 & 6/1.

I don't mind the bears, if they would just keep their paws off my bird feeders.