Yes, I taste it. But I’m a picky eater, and even I can’t predict what I might like or dislike, so I take a small taste.
Went to the first of the summer’s free Concerts in the Parks last night. Our park is on Mondays, and last evening was beautifully pleasant. Toted our camp chairs over and sat among the huge evergreens with a few hundred others while a band played some countrified music and kids and dogs frolicked. One of our favorite vendors was there, so we had us some Cajun for dinner, followed by ice cream from a local purveyor.
Today was a commuting day. I rolled over and looked at the clock, and it was 04:30. I don’t remember the alarm going off five minutes earlier. About 25 miles down the road, I was in Bellingham. There were four deer walking north on the right shoulder of the freeway. There was a female, what I assume was a male (no rack), and two young ones.
We live on a quarter-acre lot. The property goes all the way to the road behind the house, but there’s a creek there, and a rather precipitous slope going down to it. Over the years the back third of the property has become overgrown with blackberry bushes, horsetails, laurels, holly, ivy, the occasional cedar sapling, and other growing things. When my friend owned the house, he put up a wire fence before the drop-off to keep his dog contained. That made it difficult to do any yard maintenance, which is hard enough with my destroyed knees. My friend also put up a low wooden fence between our lot and the one next door. It’s pretty much rotted away.
Over the weekend I pulled out two 8-foot sections of fallen-down fence and put the pieces in the fire pit. A bit of kerosene got them burning nicely. I cut two 8-foot sections of the wire fence. I started swinging my machete, cutting everything that grew. Working up a sweat and growing tired, I decided to knock off. After kicking back on the deck for a little bit, admiring my handiwork, I got out the lawnmower. I was just going to mow the three- to four-foot tall blackberry bushes, ivy, and whatnot behind the shed. Oh, what the hell. I’ll just mow along this section of wire fence I didn’t remove. OK, I’m at the part where I removed the wire. May as well mow over the area I hacked.
I cleared out a pretty large patch, but it’s pretty small compared to the rest of the overgrown area. Maybe I’ll do some more clearing on the weekend. It will be tougher going, as the ground is steeper.
Fifteen years ago when we were house-hunting, we saw a listing of a house on an acre at an amazing price. Well, we found out why - most of the acre was vertical! The level portion of the lot held the footprint of the house (a modest-sized rancher) with maybe 5’ of back yard before the precipice, and just enough space in front of the house to park.
We decided to pass on that one…
swampie, no doubt about it, you are going to be Senior Warden. I have never even been proposed for the vestry, which shows those doing the nominating are wise.
It’s actually a very nice yard. I’m thinking I may eventually build a wall along the back section of the property line (where the fallen-down fence was). That would provide a more durable line of demarcation, and also prevent the never-there neighbour’s overgrown back section (which is much less steep) from growing over into our yard. Along this hypothetical fence, I could terrace the close part and put stairs on the far part to get to the creek. And I could have a retaining wall put in before the drop off, and get some of the fill the county gives away free to backfill it. Expand the yard a bit.
But there’s never any money… 
My free sandwich was terrific. Spidey may post pictures later but ---------- I walked in and the older lady at the counter asked if she could help me. I pointed over my shoulder with my thumb and asked “does that qualify for a sandwich or do we need to consult the rules committee?” She looked out the window and at the same time the young lady next to her did as well. Turns out the younger one was the manager. She said “Oh God - that SO counts!” The lady I originally spoke to said “But you have to ride it in” but as I started for the door she seemed to change her mind about that part. 
It was fun and I am glad I did it.
Now to take the scenic way to work. Ohio; be afraid. Be very very afraid.
PS ------ I think I have a germ of an idea what my next bike will be ------- a sidehack themed after a pirate ship. Complete with swivel gun. This would allow me to combine two things I love – riding and blowing crap up. And maybe it would score me some free food at Long John Silver’s!
It’s about 450 feet or so from the house to the beach, but I’ve been too busy with yard work and dealing with login issues to hang out there. There has been a grey whale in the bay the last couple of days.
Someone shot some drone footage of it.
Well, I’m back (and unarrested).
United Airlines was actually on-time, so I got to my house at about 9:45pm. Went around back to the window I had told my neighbor to leave open, they had, but it was smaller than I remembered it being (it has been three weeks) and I couldn’t get in. Fortunately one of the front windows was also open and larger so I did make it into my house. Had to wait until near midnight to go to bed, I had the thermostat at 82F while I was gone, so had to let the house cool, and then woke up about 5:30am. One nap already and a second may be in the offing.
Feeling the effects today; when you have plans and are going places and seeing things, you ignore the aches and tiredness; today my body is getting it’s own back on me. Did manage to unpack and sort stuff, laundry is in my near future, but all in all it’s good to be home.
Normal reading and comprehension of all others will commence tomorrow. Until then all y’all take care.
Because I can -------- my second
SCORE
today! I may have to buy a lottery ticket before I get into irk!
Day seven without coffee. The humans have no clue that I walk among them.
Lotteries are a tax on people who are bad at math.
I’m alive did something useful today was even up by 6 yay me …
Put in some job apps … probably not gonna get hired
at any of em but I figured why not …I’ve only had one real job for about 8 Saturdays i worked as an insert at the la times … i quit because i wasn’t fast enough putting the paper together and at the time it was only 40 bucks a paycheck … the other thing I did was "under the table " and mostly for video games anyways …
Not old, just classic! 
swampy, I’m with you on the Ick Fil A. They don’t have a bad side salad, but their chicken isn’t as good as others. Not to mention their despicable politics.
Feel better soonest nava!
Johnny, your lot sounds a bit lik my SIL’s. She lives on the highest spot in her suburb, but, for years, her back yard was a jungle beyond the basement garage door (the house is built into the side of the hill) because it was pretty much straight down hill. She had it cleared a few years back to install chainlink fencing (ugly neighbor situation) and did a terrace effect with timber and quite a bit of river rock to keep the jungle at bay.
I’s tahred. It was in teh mid nineties today with humidity of 74%. That makes even taking the dog out a chore. Nevertheless, the floors are swept and mopped and the trash ready to go out to the dumpster in the morning.
My fundie SIL took me to an ick-fil-a when I was in Atlanta a few years ago. The chicken sandwich was okay. In those days ‘spicy chicken’ wasn’t a thing, so you could get an okay chickie sammich just about anywhere. The same can be said for 5 guys, their burger is okay and so are their fries, but not any better than a dozen other fast food joints.
I consider lotteries cheap entertainment, and occasionally I win sumpin. Not much, but sumpin.
Mango chicken curry for dinner tonight. If Wifey doesn’t come home soon I’m gonna eat without her.
I got the new die cutter set up in the studio and have cut a sample. While there will be a learning curve, the bigger curve will come when I go to a scan and cut machine. I will still keep the old die cutter because I have loads of software for it, but after retirement, I’ll have a ton of time to learn the new one.
So I ended up having to work. The do laundry in an un air conditioned laundromat. Definitely going to bed early.
Flytrap, yeah. But it is fun to think of all the good I could do with lottery winnings. After I got the sinning out of the way, of course.
Evening all. Got three weeks of mail sorted out, all the bills are paid and the garbage sorted out. Was so proud of myself I had my monthly 5 Guys dinner tonight.
Some interesting stuff in the mail. Got an unsolicited copy of the “Epoch Times”, a newpaper that claims to be “an independent newspaper with the goal of restoring accuracy and integrity in Media.” Inside is the headline "Trump Insider Says President’s Foreign Policy Shaped by Compassion and Balance…I don’t think I’ll be subscribing.
Also got a notice that I owe the State of Ohio About 8 grand–trouble is, I am not “Dave’s Tire” and I haven’t bought anything in the State of Ohio outside a lunch or a hotel room in 40 years. Will have to investigate it more before sending the reply it deserves which is not $8,000).
A/C went off this afternoon, fiddled with the control panel and flipped the breakers off and on and now it’s working fine.
doggio, done the summer laundromat thing–nice way to lose weight without paying for a sauna…
Red, congrats on the new cutter.
Bumba, haven’t been in a Chick-fil-a in my life and have no interest in doing so, but 5 Guys has a better-than-average burger and their fries should be classified an addictive substance by the FDA (IMHO).
All y’all have a good evening. Expect a little longer sleepage tonight (I hope).
For what are probably fairly obvious reasons, (right now, I have a rainbow mohawk!) I’m no fan of the Jesus Chicken place, but it’s a good thing that Five Guys is a bridge toll away. Otherwise I’d probably be eating there once a week or more.