Welcome to the Neighborhood

After reading Andrew’s post about nice neighbors I decided to share my latest experience. This past Monday evening I sat outside enjoying the night air when the newest homeowner next door called out, “I have some things for you.”

She offered two rather expensive items I could very well use but tried to decline. I conceded after hearing about her online auction addiction. She bids on unnecessary things just for the rush of getting cheap purchases. That knowledge and trading a few jars of homemade pickles made me feel better. Now I have a lovely garden arch and giant patio umbrella needing assemblage.

This event happened after my recent effort to cheer up a woman who lives a few blocks over. I walked over carrying a cute, smiling, cartoonish anthropomorphic sunflower complete with green arms and legs. Upon receipt of my silly gift, she began weeping.

The stories of mistreatment by some neighbors and even her own family break my heart. Sometimes they sound unbelievable. I stopped by today on my way home upon spotting her and her husband outside. Like me, she works hard doing yard work and I wanted her to know about my recently purchased handy weeding tool.

This made yanking weeds a hundred times faster and easier;
I think the handle on my Amazon purchase is longer...

Aren’t good neighbors a tremendous gift? And do you believe in Karma?

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Enchanting Abandoned Witch House Of A Famous Artist - What Happened Here?

Since this video is long, I watched it at a higher rate of speed. Old, abandoned structures fascinate me and I felt my time well spent.

Seriously, this is a discount?

My husband and I so fortunate that retirement gives us plenty of time to shop for bargains. How working parents feed their families is both a mystery and growing concern. I doubt many folks have time to check the clearance shelves or even know their location tucked past aisles of freezers just across from the small hardware selection. When I looked up my jaw dropped. It’s no wonder bottles like this remain on the shelves.

For my unsophisticated palete, a brand priced just over one tenth of this tastes just fine.

Can you imagine what the original retail price must have been? Is there any special occasion for which you’d consider such an extravagant purchase?

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Holiday Cheer – & – Fun Experiments with Food

A block away from my usual turn toward the main road I kept noticing an adorable holiday display and finally drove past for a photo. The tiny gingerbread house (far left) in particular caught my attention.

As usual, my image does not do this justice...

Meanwhile, we continue shopping bargains and a huge bag of potatoes inspired me to try cooking potato pancakes. Well, it didn’t work as planned yesterday; the patties wouldn’t retain their shape despite my best efforts and strict adherence to ingredients/directions. That’s okay. The tasty potato shreds fried with mushrooms and scrambled eggs won’t go to waste.

Today’s test came from my husband discovering store bought apple pie on sale. I’d rather bake something myself. We already had canned fried apples bought on sale many months ago and newer frozen pastry sheets. A quick search fitted the two perfectly. You can find the easy recipe here including an amusing story.

To my surprise, mine turned out as pretty...

Do you enjoy fruity confections? Are you familiar with turbinado sugar and its difference from other varieties?

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Fruits and Nuts

Yesterday I popped into my local grocer for a few items. Since fruit is such a big part of my breakfast these days I always look for sales, and seedless green grapes were quite the bargain. The pistachio sale was not worthwhile but by the end you will understand my reference to nuts.

Some of these grape sizes rival mandarin oranges!

Since I was right there the day after Halloween I had to swing by the seasonal section. Without a price marked, this wreath was expected to be beyond my budget. To my delight it was over half off (!) after I scanned my loyalty card.

It looks prettier than my image shows...

After showing my husband the wreath I laid it down on a sofa arm. And of course Terra, my nutty cat, found it immediately.

Aren’t housecats the silliest creatures? Have you seen how often the big (wild) cats act much the same?

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A Big Win, One Loud Scream, & a Gigantic Squee Over a Teensie Weensie Itty Bitty Critter

Our heating and cooling service offers gift cards via raffle in exchange for reviews. Winning a twenty-five dollar (US) for Kroger purchases delighted me. Imagine my thrill upon learning the stakes were higher. Instead of several small awards, the company owner decided a single $300 card would be offered. No doubt you know who won this time around.

Woo hoo!

My husband has been napping every midday, which leads to my second title point. He fell into a deep sleep until Polly ran under my feet. I shrieked upon feeling multiple kitty legs underfoot. Thank heaven she did not get any broken bones, nor even cry out in pain. How I kept my weight off her without falling is a mystery.

Referring to my critter encounter, a garden perusal led me to finding a few pickling cucumbers and the tiniest amphibian I’ve ever seen. This creature would fit fine on my thumbnail.

"I am huge in my sphere."

Do you think this tiny animal is a frog or a toad? Have you ever heard the song ‘Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Polka Dot Bikini’?

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Customer Dis-Service

Early this month I found a slip in our mailbox announcing a postage due package needing picked up. The sender’s name was illegible. And seeing only our surname listed left us further clueless.

At the designated office a single clerk took several minutes handling another lady’s transaction. But with nothing pressing I stood uncomplaining. When my turn came this sole employee took my notice and disappeared into the back.

Meanwhile, two other individuals arrived. Before long they began murmured discussion over growing dissatisfaction. One said she had been waiting two weeks for a package from California and couldn’t even get an estimated delivery date. I commiserated, sharing similar experiences.

The other became anxious as she had left her dog locked in the car. She thought her business would take a mere minute or so. Hearing that the poor creature had just returned from a post-surgical vet visit prompted my awkward apology.

At last the postal worker returned – empty-handed and apologetic. She couldn’t find my package anywhere. I got the sense she intended to continue searching and urged her to take care of those behind me. So she wrote my name and phone number on a slip of paper in case it turned up.

I never heard from her again and my online attempts to request redelivery proved pointless. The system didn’t even recognize its own (!) barcode number. ~sigh~ Mere days before this my physician convinced me to use the moneysaving mail-order pharmacy service. As you can imagine, I doubted the wisdom of this decision.

Lo and behold, my medications arrived within a few days. What a surprising relief.

Have you encountered similar frustrations with your postal service? Is there any chance any of you dear readers sent me something?

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An Eerie Revelation

Sorting through a box of things my father sent, I discovered a photo of my beloved maternal grandparents. A close inspection shocked me. Purchased off eBay probably fifteen years ago, my vintage eyeglass frames could have been the very ones Grandma wore during my childhood.

A Lovely Lady

I just wanted something different and thought this design looked interesting.

These came with trifocals.

She must have felt the same. I cannot tell if she wore bifocal lenses or trifocals.

Though you may not see it in her portrait,
the contrasting finishes look identical. 

Isn’t that wild? Has this sort of thing happened to you?

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More Party Pics

I did not take as many pictures as planned. Most of these are off of Facebook thanks to other attendees.

Looks like a cyclist is on this spider's
dinner menu... Yum!

My lovely niece.

The day before...

This guy greeted me along with his friend
perched on the opposite porch rail.

Spider Man Unmasked...

More decor along the detached garage...

Last but far from least, here is sweet Tux.
His frame felt frail but he doesn't act it.



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Unintended Upgrades

I can hardly believe it's been so long since I posted anything. And I sure got behind reading others' blogs. ~shakes head~ Time is just flying by these days.

And on that note we've lived in this house since 1994 (!) and have replaced a number of things both inside and out, some multiple times like the water heaters that always flood our basement. LOL In an odd chain of events following replacement of our kitchen faucet we have seen multiple small (thank heaven) kitchen appliances suddenly need replaced.

I believe this trend started when the nonstick coating on my sandwich press start to peel. Then our steamer quit working shortly before I noticed rust behind the inner coating of our microwave oven. Yikes.

I found a Toshiba unit recommended by two different sources and we've been very happy with its greater power and neat features. Meamwhile my husband found a multi use six quart GoWISE USA 12-in-one electric pressure cooker. I had no idea it's comparable to the Instant Pot friends kept touting. We've been happy with everything we've used it for: soft boiled eggs (super easy to peel), perfect jasmine rice, and even banana bread (cooked in a bowl, it looked funny while tasting great). I'm looking forward to trying a pear jam recipe.

My husband cooks an egg
(or two or three)
in this daily!

Soon to be delivered is an air fryer/toaster oven. It seems we're finally catching up with the times. ~grin~ I'm so thankful my guy is good at finding reasonable deals.

Do you have many kitchen gadgets? What do you think is, or would be, most useful in your home?

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Question & Answer Time

Inspired by other bloggers, I’d like to address some comments and questions. Thanks for the idea, folks.

Pam has asked the age of kittens Terra and Polly. The pair is just about five months old and are to receive a final CVR booster shot this very afternoon.

Tony mentioned that he didn’t know young cats lose their baby teeth. Well, I didn’t either. ~grin~ In fact, when Luna adopted me in 1999 I didn’t realize they shed their claws (!), let alone this tooth replacement.

Liz made the wise suggestion of purchasing a kitty teething toy. Funny enough, I purchased just such a product long ago and forgot. Found in a bagful of ‘like new’ toys, this cute wiggly worm hasn’t inspired chewing.

As packaged years ago...

Neither Luna nor Tilly, our feline angels, showed interest back in the day and the same can be said for geriatric Jezebel. Oh, well.

Did you know that some animal adoption agencies send several follow-up questionnaires? Can you believe some apartment dwellers lie about having told their landlord and, upon discovery, return the adoptee(s) rather than pay extra on rent?

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Another Fine Kettle, Fall, Flowers, and a Funny Photo Fail

A so-called kettle of circling red-headed vultures are not experiencing hard times such as the comedic 'kettle of fish' tribulations suffered by the legendary Laurel and Hardy, but they are fun to see. The birds might migrate south or perhaps stay the winter, a cool surprise one year.

Like bubbles in a cauldron...

While we enjoy those flocks all throughout their stay, our many neighbors' maple tree leaves are season specific. Lucky us, only a few strays land in our yard each autumn.

Atop my rustic birdhouse...

Daylight hours are growing shorter and our plants are making the most of them. The deep purple aster came from one of two bought during my garden center visit.

I harvested more tomatoes, peppers, some
'pink fairy' baby's breath, as well as
cosmos along with the aster.

The altered shutter speed proved more interesting than expected. This cosmos flower almost looks angelic.

Ephemeral Beauty

Meanwhile, silly Jezebel left her tongue hanging out long enough for me to snap photos. And of course, I botched every one.

Unfocused, but at least recognizable.

Do you think our kitty was in the midst of grooming? Or was she perhaps deep in thought?

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Fall Fun at the Garden Center

Browsing garden centers is one of my favorite relaxing activities, even if I leave wishing we had the space and money to bring home half the plants. A coupon gave me the excuse to shop and what a delightful surprise to find elaborate decorations around every corner and down every aisle.

Spongebob Squarepants (!) greeted me...

Upon checking out I praised their efforts and learned that one employee spent that very morning bringing over all her creations one by one. My timing could not have been better. Skeletons, witches, scarecrows, festive flower displays, and every type of ghoul and creepy crawler abounded. I don't want to overdo it, so here a few more of the most unique.

Cousin It among the perennials...

 With these next two, one was beautiful and the other downright creepy. I'm sure you can guess which is which.

The Lady of the Harvest

At least it's not the 'Headless Horseman'!

Are your local businesses and neighbors going all out as ours seem to be?

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The Up Side of Falling Backward

Autumn’s cooler weather lures me outside like no other time of year, especially with the lower risk of insect bites. I decided to take advantage after my husband had gone to bed the other evening. Taking along my iPod speaker, I sat chilling to music and playing digital solitaire.

Unbeknownst to me, my patio seat’s legs shifted to the edge as I ‘chair danced’. In one breathless moment I went from relaxing upright to staring at the branches of my crabapple tree overhead. Thank heaven nobody witnessed it. Of this I’m quite sure, as no laughter rang out along the windswept street.

It took me several moments to compose myself before crawling off my overturned chair lying atop our coiled garden hose. That probably cushioned my landing somewhat. While my upper arms and hip are a bit sore, the spots aren’t showing bruises. What a blessing I didn’t hit my head on the brick wall, faucet, or even lose my eyeglasses. They did fly off the top of my head, but with a short flashlight search those spectacles turned up.

Best of all, so did a delightful animal surprise. At first I thought a large earthworm crawled onto an unused plastic chair tucked near the weeping crabapple’s tree trunk. But how? Then I noticed tiny legs. Knowing Ohio has salamanders and seeing one are two very different things. Alas, I was too shocked to grab my iPod Touch for a photo. The one below is courtesy of the Wildherps website.

This little guy might be a different species, though the description fits here. I think the tiny creature was stunned as me at our introduction.

Can you believe there is an aquatic species known as the Eastern Hellbender? Have you ever seen a wild salamander?

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