Thursday, June 22, 2023

A String of Quiet Summer Days.....

This has been a quiet week howbeit a HOT one! 


Linda took this pic of us on Saturday before we left for the airport.

After we dropped her off, we went to the new nursery Green Acres and then Home Depot.
It was hot and the sun was bright and I wasn't paying attention - so this was a wake up and pay attention call for me when Louis Dean said he was feeling faint. I bought him a bottle of water and made him drink it and then stay inside the rest of the day.

Since he needs a project, I found some for him.


The pots and pans cupboard, then the Tupperware cabinet.
He's really good at organizing things.

We waited until after the sun went down to plant our new flowers, parsley, basil and such and then watered - both our place and next door.

Sunday morning we watched church online and I made a good Sunday lunch as we were having a special guest.


Tim is the gifted pianist at First Christian Church and we haven't seen him in ages!
He and Louis Dean played music together and I listened to them from the kitchen where I was getting the meal together!


Creamy Chicken (recipe from our librarian friend at  book fair), watermelon with Feta cheese and mint, pepper poppers, and a Caesar Salad.

Tim is such a great guy and it was good to catch up with him and he also helped me with the new Smart TV! I thought I had deleted all my Spectrum channels but Tim explained to me I needed to use the Spectrum remote for TV and my channels were BACK!

It was a wonderful afternoon!
I decided to take a nap about 6:30 thinking I would get up within an hour or two and go outside to water. Instead I stayed in bed until 9:30 Monday morning!

By the time I was up and around it was more of a brunch than a breakfast kind of meal.


We mostly eat healthy these days!

I ordered a gift for Louis Dean when Linda and I were at Dean and Sherry's last Friday and it arrived Monday afternoon!


I think this may be the best gift I've ever given him!

He said to capture the pic below......


"Now THIS is the way we salt our watermelon in Texas!"

This is a salt gun for killing flies and even has a scope on it.
Louis Dean has killed HUNDREDS of flies already!
He puts things out like the watermelon  to attract them and practices his shots!
Cheap entertainment and he can't stay out longer than a half hour AND he must drink a bottle of water before he goes out and another one when he comes in!

I had prepared enough food on Sunday to take over to Kimmy and June on Monday afternoon.
They recently moved and I wanted to do dinner for them and see their house.


Alas, we couldn't get the front door to lock!
This took a couple of hours to 'fix' before we could leave the house!


Now we need to fix the 'fix!'
See what I mean?

We did finally get over to see Kimmy and June and had the best visit!
What an answer to prayers this move has been for them.
There's a bathtub with a door to step in, lots more storage space, great closets and it's light and bright and spacious! Plus it's big enough that they have a friend living there with them now!
Win! WIN!! all the way around!

We stayed late and drove home in the dark - another no-no.

Tuesday was a stay-at-home day and I've been doing some cleaning and reorganizing.
Brenda was not feeling well so no Tuesday Treasures this week!

Wednesday was another stay-at-home day with a dinner party for three that night.
Ilene is our neighbor who has become a very good friend.
She was gifted with a goodly amount of apples and 


Louis Dean prepared them for me.


Do you remember Miracle Maid cookware? 
I bought a set back in 1970's and it survived the house fire in 1983.
Of course, this pan now has a wine cork knob on it!
Waterless cooking is what makes this pan so handy.
I only used about half a cup of water with the sliced apples, brown sugar and butter.
Cook on high for a few minutes and then turn the temp down to low.


We had planned on 7:30 since the days have been so hot!
However, this day had turned out to have gray skies and rain and the sun was behind the clouds so Louis Dean was able to go outside some. That is until the scary lightning started and he came right in!


Louis Dean sang and played for her while I finished in the kitchen.


Baked beans, fried apples, Caesar salad, and a chicken, broccoli, cheese and rice dish! 


What a lovely evening!
It had been way too long since we had visited - not since the Super Bowl party, I think!

So catching up with friends, staying in out of the heat, keeping house and seeing that Louis Dean drinks his water and takes his medicine - that's what I have been doing this week.


LD is loving his salt gun!!


Amber sent us a case of this for her dad.
He drank his first one and said it was pretty good.

The 'other' Linda sent me this .....



I will close tonight's journal entry with this photo from Sheryl - Nita's master gardener's neighbor.
The flowers are from the Memory Garden for Nita she created.

It's a few days shy of being a year since we lost Nita.
Deanie and I were visiting yesterday on FaceTime and it was good to talk together about her.


We miss her every day....
and look forward to meeting her again in Heaven.




12 comments:

MadSnapper said...

your header photo of you is the best i have ever seen. you look wonderful. the salt gun looks fun and the only good fly is a dead fly, so there is that.
glad you are watching the hydration in LD, your heat is even hotter than ours. we are in the mid 90's with feels like temp that are your regular temps. I take water out to bob also.
also love the pic of you and Louis Dean. hope the door problem is fixed, ours has a trick to locking it. the door is OLD like we are

Donna said...

Very pretty header photo! The present you bought for LD looks fun! Glad he likes it...
I know you are missing your Nita...big hugs to you.
Donna

Estelle's said...

This was a lovely post Linda....you are so very good to visit, invite and include your friends....yes, the lazy days of summer....looking forward to all already....hugs and blessings

Deanna Rabe said...

The salt gun is genius and LD will have so much fun killing flies!

Sounds like you guys have a good plan with the heat. Stay hydrated and cool.

I'm glad you've had restful days, and days of hospitality. Its good for the soul to spend time with good friends.

photowannabe said...

Friends and restful days at home sure are good medicine.
I'm glad you are keeping na eye on LD and keeping him hydrated.
It's fun to have company that can be casual and feel like family.
I know you are missing your precious sister and I wish I was there to give you a hug or two.
Love your header photo so much.
Sue

LC said...

I love your posts and photos. I am far from being a creative Linda, so I find double enjoyment in your words and images.

Ginny Hartzler said...

I have never heard of a salt gun, what fun for him! How do you do refills? What a beautiful photo of you in the header! I have been hearing on the news how hot it is there. I remember that waterless cooking being advertised on T.V., a really long time ago!

Anonymous said...

What another good post! It's been hot here too, and humid!What a neat little salt gun for LD. You are looking good and I know your meal to which you invited your neighbor was delucious. I wish Ed would try casseroles. There are so many good ones.
Sending love,Trudy

Debbie said...

you said "quiet summer days" but the days you wrote about would be "busy summer days" for me!! all of the food looked so good, i'm glad i had already eaten. i'm so glad you are keeping a close eye on ld, those texas temperatures can be brutal!!

is there anything ld can't do???

Pamela M. Steiner said...

So many wonderful photos and stories in this post. I loved your pictures of you and Louis Dean too. But the one at the end with your precious Nita is really a treasure. My heart goes out to you as you approach this anniversary. But yes, you will see her again one day in heaven, and what a glorious day that will be! That Salt gun is quite the "weapon". Looks like a fun thing to keep Louis Dean busy and out of mischief! Yes, staying hydrated is so important in this summer heat. I really can't stay outdoors for very long. But we've been having lots of rain, and that is a blessing. I enjoyed this visit so much. Have a blessed weekend.

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

While I had never heard or seen a salt gun, it looks like Louis Dean really is enjoying his gift! That is really a nice header photo of yourself, Linda, and the one of you and LD that followed is just as nice as you both look so happy, always. It's good that you are both keeping out of the heat as much as possible and drinking water too. Thankfully, the weather here (Nashua, NH) has been on the cool and rather wet side, so no complaints here. The best get togethers are with friends and sharing home-cooked food. I know your emotions will be all over the place as the anniversary of Nita's passing draws closer, and sure the happy memories will help you through, like that lovely photo of you both.

Susie said...

Linda, Still so hard to believe your sister Nita is gone. Your love for her will keep her in your hearts. I enjoyed the sunflower facts. Isn't it nice to have a meal with old friends. We need to do that more often, well I do. LOL Dead eye LD shooting flies made me laugh out loud. That man's mind is always thinking of ways to get things done. Love you guys. Blessings, xoxo, Susie