August Storm

Sumac Tree behind the house

Yesterday we had a storm come through that is very typical for fall, high winds and rain. It did a lot of damage though, because most trees are under distress because of the hot, dry summer we had, and they still had all their leaves.

I was in the yard late yesterday morning taking care of some branches that had broken on the Snowball Bush out front, and was dragging them to the alley, and was shocked when I got back there and half of the Sumac Tree broke off and was across the alley. I spent several hours in the yard yesterday cleaning up fallen fruit and small branches, now I get to deal with cutting this down to manageable size branches for the rest of the week.

When I went out to get my groceries this morning, I saw leaves and branches down everywhere. The picture below is of the pond at Barkley Village and there were some branches in the pond, but small ones and leaves were littered all around it too.

The pond at Barkley Village

What a blustery day Pooh! I went out and picked up apples and Italian Plums that had fallen overnight before the winds really kicked in to high gear. What a waste of time that was. The backyard is now littered with 3 times as much, and a lot of leaves and small branches to boot. Looking at the chickens next door I can't help but think of The Wizard of Oz.....

A video posted by Momma Maria (@ourladyofsubduedexcitement) on Aug 29, 2015 at 12:50pm PDT

The Mother Lode!

From all indications Hershey had discontinued my favorite new discovery from last year, Chocolate - Almond Spread. But tonight when I stopped by Barkley Haggen after work I just happened to look on the shelf and saw the mother lode!! About 10 jars and I bought 5 of them (oh yeah).

I posted the recipe previously for the ice cream I make with it. I'm already thinking that I'm going to be a lot choosier about sharing it. I have that episode of Seinfeld in my head  (are you sponge - worthy?) Oh man,  all I can say is, this made my day!

Wheels

Last weekend I rented a car for the first time in a year. Last Sunday was the Around the Corner annual picnic, and for the first time in 3 years I didn't want to have to bum a ride from anyone. But I also just was looking forward to driving. Period.

June was 3 years since my car died and I've been riding the bus ever since. For a long time it was a daily reminder of feeling like a failure. I felt like such a loser,  that at my age I couldn't afford to get a new car. At times I still feel that,  but I just have to deal with it.

But very recently I've realized that not having my own car has had other affects on me too. I feel like I'm very boring. I haven't been able to go to so many of the places I really love, and that feed my soul. It's almost like I've been hibernating or put my life on hold.

I love to go down to the waterfront and did just that last Saturday. I got a sandwich from the deli at Haggen and drove down there and just sat and ate, and enjoyed the view. I used to do stuff like that all the time.

Doing almost all of my travels by bus to run errands is so time consuming I don't have time to go somewhere just to have fun. Some places are also just difficult to get to on the bus. The truth is I'm just tired of living this way, because I feel like I'm not really living at all.

Jane Long - Digital Photography

On the same day as the post on the murals in Rochester NY, there was a post on Colossal.com of the digital photography of Jane Long, and these are soooo cool! She takes vintage photographs and creates new color images, and wow, they are stunning. Check out the post, there are a few more photos featured, but these were my favorites.

Wall Therapy 2015: Public Murals in Rochester New York

Over on Colossal.com I caught up to a post from August 14th about Wall Therapy, featuring public murals in Rochester, NY. My mother grew up in Rochester, and she would have loved this. Check out a few of the murals - pretty cool stuff.

A Little Jon Stewart and Canadian Geese

Between yesterday and today I caught up to the last week of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and shed a few tears along with everyone else I imagine, when Stephen Colbert was saying his final goodbye. No one can replace him, it is truly the end of an era. I hope the episodes will be online to go back and watch ones I missed from earlier this summer.

I better get off my can and get some things accomplished today. I am finishing up sewing a top and I still have so much work in the yard to do it's not even funny. Next Sunday is the Around The Corner annual picnic out at Hovander Homestead Park and I'm hoping the weather is good and Mother Nature doesn't chose that one day in this very dry summer to give us a downpour.

This 'n That- August 2, 2015

I am slowly catching up to things at home now that the overtime has ended at work. One of the things I need to catch up on before I possibly miss the chance is older episodes of The Daily Show. I am actually months behind, but have caught up to a few here and there including some of July.

I am going to be very sad to see Jon Stewart retire from it, but have to respect his reasons for leaving. I read a good article in today's The Detroit Free Press from Julie Hinds that pretty well nails it as to why I loved the show and him as host. He has been so funny lately skewering Donald Trump, oh man, think of all we'll be missing!

I have been feeling guilty that I am not getting as caught up as I should on taking care of the yard, but it's just been too damn hot! This has been the hottest driest summer since I moved here, and it has been so hard for me to get motivated to get outside because basically I don't feel like sweating like a pig.

I'm hopefully going to complete my latest sewing project of another summer dress today, but would like to get back to working on refinishing the top of the drafting table too. I don't think that I ever featured one of my earliest completed refinishing project before; this antique desk chair I bought from Steve's shop downtown. It had a kind of light brown finish on it, but it mostly needed to be redone because it was pretty nicked up over time. It is actually a very comfy chair.

With the pending move at some point by next spring, I keep thinking about the antique chair I got from Eddree that needs to be re-upholstered. I don't know how I'm going to deal with that yet, but it's definitely in the back of my mind.