Mornin' Masters.
BTY, you mentioned some days back that lawn mowing has become a lot easier since you started mulching the clippings. I've been mowing/mulching for at least a decade, and it sure does speed up the process. I also switched to a battery-powered mower (EGO brand) 3 years ago, and I like the quiet and low-maintenance aspects a lot. The mower had a 'power-assist' to help me get up inclines, and I only risk not getting the job done on 1 battery when I use that power assist a lot. I mowed yesterday because I was at least a week behind, and we've got another rainy weekend coming.
Dave, isn't it amazing what a difference it makes when you start the day with a positive attitude? I read somewhere recently (NY Times?) about people who keep journals to keep themselves thinking positively and creatively. One person includes something good that happened to them in every daily entry in their journal. We have a friend in his mid-80s who is not in good health, and he is less alert in some of his conversations than others. We forgive him for the inappropriate things that he may say every once in a while because we know that is not really him.
Dnaff, thanks, but I'd rather sound like myself than my old self...
Holly, it makes me nuts that medical insurance will cover "wellness" visits 100%, but not visits when there is something wrong. I appreciate that wellness visits are important, and that the insurers want to reinforce behavior that will help us head off serious sickness. But isn't the primary reason we have medical insurance is so it can cover us when there is something wrong? It is just another reminder to me that it is an industry that has too much control, and that is out of control. (Rant over)
Congrats on the contest win, Enke!
Interesting that in the same post, Doug, you talk about low-tech (keeping a journal) and high-tech (new TVs).
It's a little scary that your friend may be in a six month quarantine, Twocat. I wonder how any of us would deal with that?
'Lotta talk about getting skunked yesterday. I'm glad I have very little experience with that.
Last night, DW and I made ground chicken meatballs with shredded zucchini, shallots, Panko, and herbs with a little EVO and lemon: they were interesting and tasty.
Best night's sleep in easily over a week. I was up and out by 4:35 in 68° temps with tree-drip remnants from this morning's early rain. then that stopped and I caught a beautiful sunrise between the clouds. Then more clouds moved in, and it started to rain again about 10 minutes after I got back. 5.3 RW miles for today.
Have a greta Friday.
Jay
Without ice cream there would be darkness and chaos.
Marathon Maniac #957
My GF used to say about obviously foreign names "that sounds like a good Irish name" but that was barely disguised racism at its worst. and spent a couple hours working on those awful bird vetch infestations I have in my yard.
My GF used to say about obviously foreign names "that sounds like a good Irish name" but that was barely disguised racism at its worst.
and spent a couple hours working on those awful bird vetch infestations I have in my yard.
First, I kind of don't agree that "that sounds like a good Irish name" is racist. I mean, when someone is named Liam, or Finn, or Siobhan, can't you say that these are good Irish names? Because they are, right?
Second, I had to look up "bird vetch infestation" and they do look like an annoying problem. We have that here with honeysuckle - they are a noxious woody shrub that are not native to Ohio (introduced sometime in the 1950's, according to Google) but are aggressive and invasive and may now be the most dominant plant species here. You just can't kill them, and they spread like wildfire. We have a bunch of honeysuckle bushes growing in and through our back yard fence, and DH has been trying for years to get rid of them. The only success we have had was last year, when we went around the back yard and drilled holes into the trunks with a power drill, and then squirted concentrated Round Up directly into the holes with a syringe (being careful not to spill outside the holes). Most of them are finally dead, and I am now working to cut them out of the fence. Probably not something you can do with the bird vetch, though, given that they are vines. And hey, feel free to drop a Riley picture here anytime...that is one of the cutest kids I have seen...
Jay - I agree with you about the medical insurance - that is such a broken system. Regarding battery powered lawn tools, DH recently got a Milwaukee battery-powered leaf blower and loves it. My anniversary present to him this year was to say, "sure you can" when he wanted to buy a $500 set of Milwaukee tools and the blower. (Don't we already have a million tools? Oh, never mind.)
Twocat - can't your friend still do outdoor visits with friends if he stays well away and upwind of them?
Roch - DH really wants to get one of the new 85" TVs (our current TV is 75", but he said it is outdated, and wants to move it to our bedroom, because the TV there is not a Smart TV and can't get Netflix or Prime). We saw about 5 of them next to each other at our recent Sam's Club visit, but DH said you can't trust how good the picture looks in the store because they can just adjust the most expensive TV to have the best picture. I know very little about these things, but really don't want to spend the money on a new TV right now when ours still works fine for me.
4.1 miles for me this morning in 70 degrees.
Life is a headlong rush into the unknown. We can hunker down and hope nothing hits us or we can stand tall, lean into the wind and say, "Bring it on, darlin', and don't be stingy with the jalapenos."
Thanks, Jay and good morning Holly and those to come. The meatballs sound great! Good morning to Steve, too!
Agree, Holly. That doesn't strike me as racist. Most people are proud of their heritage.
This clip on Instagram resonated with me. (Gee- I wonder why?) Steve Magness is a noted exercise physiologist and went to college with my daughter until he transferred out of Rice to UHouston. He has a great book out- Do Hard Things.
That said, I went out this morning in our worst weather yet this season- 75 and 91% humidity, and was prepared to bail. Did manage the 4.3 goal miles and took a bunch of short walking breaks during it. I think I'm going to have to skip the group long run tomorrow. I just don't have it in me and would rather be on my familiar trail where I can control things better.
Happy Friday!
Out there running since dinosaurs roamed the earth
Fly By - Two Cat I apologize for your earlier post not registering in my brain until later today.
My boss wants to talk with me about changing positions at the same property. The chat is this afternoon.
SteveP
Good luck, Steve! I think you should be running the place (not that you want to).!
Good luck Steve! Hope it is a position you want.
Honeysuckle smells so nice though.... Here we have ivy and blackberries. I don't mind the blackberries so much as you can get something out of them (pie!). But the ivy is just nasty and hard to control and climbs up the evergreen trees and kills them. They need to breed a type of rabbit that likes to eat the ivy.
3 mile walk this morning. Was sweaty. I will try to get out earlier than 8 am tomorrow.
"During a marathon, I run about two-thirds of the time. That's plenty." - Margaret Davis, 85 Ed Whitlock regarding his 2:54:48 marathon at age 73, "That was a good day. It was never a struggle."
Karen - is that book the inspiration for your tattoo?
Enke - they smell nice, but they are killing everything and taking over....
Steve - good luck!
Good afternoon all. And good luck today Steve.
I ran in cool but humid conditions this morning. I don’t think I’ve ever been that soaked but it’s good to sweat out all those toxins right?
Then I mowed in a lot more heat. I got a Ryobi electric mower for an anniversary gift 2 summers ago. Don’t jump on my husband, it’s what I asked for and one of the nicest gifts he’s ever given. I’d never had a bagger before and the first summer I bagged every time. This summer I’ve tried out the mulching feature and it’s a winner. The Ryobi comes with 2 batteries and the most I’ve used is 1 and 1/2. Though there is room for both, I keep one on the charger to save some weight. I was surprised at how heavy the electric mower is. I have a terraced yard and it’s a workout.
My to do list is complete for today. Clear sailing (and a Jack Reacher book) for the rest of the day.
Dnaff - one of my mottos for marriage is "Don't ever do anything well that you don't want to have to do all the time," and mowing the lawn is one of those things I never did, because I figured as soon as I did, DH would be calling me with "Hey, do you mind mowing the lawn today?" No thank you, I have enough to do. I managed to get out of mowing the lawn for 28 years.
This year is different, though, because DH is getting older and the yardwork is harder on him than it used to be, so I will mow the backyard sometimes while he is weed-whacking and edging the front. Although our DD has been mowing the lawn a lot this year, because DH pays her $40 each time.
Next time we buy a mower, we will get one of the battery powered ones. They look pretty awesome.
And I love Jack Reacher - I think I have read them all now. Have you read the Prey books, by John Sandford?
Holly, when I was growing up in Cincinnati, I had honeysuckle vines growing up the side of the house just outside the window and I can still remember how nice it smelled. I used to pick the flowers and sort of pull them apart to get at the drop of nectar inside.
And also, what kind of bedroom layout do you have that would fit an 85" TV?? We're moving up from a 50" to 55" in the family room. We considered a 65" but due to various room configuration issues it would at best look pretty weird. And Karen, even from a given manufacturer, 55" TVs can range from $350 to $3000. For as much TV as we watch, I think I can find something we'll be happy with.
Jay, journaling may sound "low tech", but doesn't keeping it in the Google cloud make it high-tech?
Another great day for a bike ride with the group. Today we went up the Paint Creek Trail, which was tree-lined and shady most of the way, and the recent rains have quashed the dust that often plagues us on that route. In fact, we've been avoiding it due to the dust clouds even though the place that we stop at the end for refreshment is the best of our regular stopping places. Anyway, I had a good late breakfast of eggs and french toast before we headed back to the start. I rode from home today making for 24.5 miles total.
Doug, runnin' cycling in Rochester, MI
"Think blue, count two, and look for a red shoe"
Good Morning.
Thinking of you Dave, and Annabelle, and hoping she gets the help needed so she can live her best life.
I decided rather last minute to take today off work. DH had a bunch of errands, running around to do, and I didn't want out dogs outside when it's supposed to be over 100 today, so since I didn't have much going on at work anyways, or least nothing that can't wait until next week, I took the day off. They are asleep, and snoring quite loudly, in the cool house.
I got out for a 4.5 mile run this morning. Didn't start running though until 8:00 and it was already about 70. it's now almost 80 at 10:30 a.m. Yep, gonna be a very hot one today!
Tammy
Hi Masters. Yes, thank goodness its Friday!
It's a hot day here too (upper 80's now), but I'm in the office today, so it's freezing inside. I'm about to go out for a short walk to warm up, I think.
I don't have much on the schedule for the weekend, but boy has it been hard to get up much before 7, so I'm going to catch up on some sleep. I think just getting back into the regular work mode is tiring (right now). I'll try and do better next week! Even if I'm working from home I really need to be up before 6:30 to have time to get some kind of workout in. Hmmm.
I hope everyone's weekends get off to a good start.
Anne
To clarify, when my grandfather said that about "a good Irish name," he was being bitingly sarcastic. Remember, when our country was young, many groups of immigrants were treated terribly, and the Irish were at the bottom of the pecking order for a long time. And it wouldn't be an Irish name he was saying that about, but think rather sounding Polish, Indian, Chinese, etc. I always thought it a sad commentary coming from a Lutheran minister from Norwegian immigrant parents. But, that was the America he grew up in and he didn't really change.
The vetch is also a pretty plant, with beautiful purple flowers. I think that's why a lot of people don't do anything about it. Well, that and the fact that it's a monster to deal with. They can wrap up and around a birch tree and almost kill it (maybe they do sometimes), covering it with their pretty lacy leaves and purple blooms. And the bees love them. But when they're thick and established, you can't even walk through them. When I realized they were crawling all over my lilac trees and appearing above the garden, I declared war. They'll be back, but they won't flower or go to seed on my lot this year!
I'm taking a break from Jack Reacher but will start up with The Sentinel soon. Getting near the end and have the John Sandford Prey series lined up to go. DH has read all of these years ago and is reading the Reacher series again with me. It's kind of fun doing it that way, but I go through them faster with my hour of reading time on the bike every day.
I can't imagine having a TV in the bedroom! We don't have any screens in the bedroom at all, except for our Kindle e-readers, and it's really just DH who does that. DH won a smart TV (I think a 75"?) in a contest a couple years ago and it's almost embarrassingly huge in our not-so-big living room. Kind of got used to it, but I still think it's way too big.
Rainy day today. Maybe I'll get some vacuuming done??
I declared war.
GET OFF MY LAWN!! (shaking fist)
I have read all the Prey books, and even went through all of them again a few years ago as audiobooks. I also love his Virgil Flowers books, which are in the same universe, and the protagonist of the Prey books, Lucas Davenport, is a good friend of Virgil Flowers and appears in most of them. Actually Virgil appears in some of the Prey books, too. And right now I am listening to the audiobook The Investigator, which is starring Letty Davenport, Lucas' adopted daughter who is now grown up (age 24) and starting her own adventures (there's another one of her books after this one). She started out in Naked Prey as a 12yo and I think was also in Wicked Prey. Hmmm, may have to go read those again now. I love a good prolific writer. I am just finishing up the Michael Connelly books.
Roch - we have one of those long low dressers, maybe 6' long, in the bedroom, and that's where the current TV is. I think the 75" would hang over the ends a little, but not much. Mostly I think DH is trying to make an excuse to get the 85". Our livingroom downstairs is pretty big - I think it was two rooms once, but someone took the wall out - so the TV really doesn't look too big for the room (not that DH would care - in his mind there is no such thing as a TV that is too big).
Erika - I don't personally like watching TV in the bedroom (although I have it turned on to the news in the morning when I am getting ready for work), but DH and I have gotten into the habit recently of watching about 30 minutes of something lightweight in the bedroom right before bedtime. (Currently we are working our way through The Big Bang Theory.) I find that after watching something intense, like the new Jack Ryan episodes, I like to watch something lightweight and happy before I go to sleep, or I end up having intense dreams all night.
I woke up early with the intention of running 5 miles, but then I decided to scrap it and I stayed in bed until it was time to go to my father-in-law's.
It was pancake day at the Woodlands Retirement Community. I like Fridays there.