Turned off the water heater for the summer on June 5th. Will save a few pennies there.
Last week I received and assembled my composter. I have a bit of stuff in it already and am now saving most of my coffee grounds and kitchen scraps for it.
I cut all my purple statice and brought it in to dry. I may try some other "dry" flowers since these did so well. The statice is supposed to be a perennial, but I am not sure it will survive the summer heat. Gonna try anyway.
I had pulled up the bird feeding patio since I am not feeding the birds and bunnies any more, and moved the hummer feeder post into the cactus garden. The pavers were stacked and ready to recycle. Monday I put the first 12 pavers down in front of the garden and yesterday I bought six more and completed the little section. It looks pretty good for an amateur job.
I am seriously considering moving the whole cactus garden and paving as much of the yard as I can. I am tired of the rock and the dead leaves. Ready for something different. I would like to have trees or tall shrubs along the fence and paving that is easy to keep clean and that won't collect leaves. The cactus in the garden have all grown too large and I have to keep a wide berth when I want to get to the composter and I can't see the cape honeysuckle that is behind it any more.
There is a section of driveway beside the palm tree that is pretty much useless and I think that might be a good spot for the cactus garden. It would be out of the way as I don't use that area or go out there very much. So I guess that might be my next project. I am also thinking I will pave in bits and pieces. A little here, a little there and it will eventually be done.
The fountain will also have to be moved eventually. Not sure where that will end up, but it won't be in the cactus garden as there is no water to that location.
Last week I also put up some black out curtains over the wide patio doorway. When I sit on the patio, the shade cloth wasn't enough to block the morning sun so I would sit there and bake in the sun. The curtains were half price clearance curtains from work and some binder clips. An easy fix that seems to be working very well. Easy to remove in the fall when I will want the extra sunshine.
I have asked Mark to pick up some poly carbonate roof panels for the garden. Monsoon season is here and I don't want to have to go and remove huge channels of water from the roof of the garden. Put a bit of a tilt on them and water will no longer gather on the roof.
I'm going to wait until fall to figure out the perennial garden against the fence. It is too hot to start it now.
The garden is doing OK. It doesn't like the heat, but there are some things that are thriving. My dandelions have settled in to their new location and have actually put out a couple of blossoms. The pepper plant has recovered and is putting out new blossoms as well. On the other side the black eyed peas are growing and most of the seeds have germinated. The rhubarb does NOT look like rhubarb and the beets and chard are leggy. The eggplant looks good tho. The citrus and asparagus have done nothing yet.
Asparagus!!
The desert willow seedlings are growing, but are falling over. I have propped them up hoping they will start to have sturdier trunks. These are the first that have survived after many tries getting them going. I always get seedlings, then they die. These two just might make it.
This is supposed to be rhubarb, but it isn't. I'm disappointed. I have no idea what it is. Will have to wait and see.
Eggplant is doing well.
The tomatoes are pretty much over. They have a bad case of whitefly that I can't seem to get rid of. They are still putting out green tomatoes, not many ripen tho. I think I am going to take some cuttings and then pull them up.
As for my foot, it isn't bad until I go to work. I finally broke down and bought some ibuprofen and will be taking it before I go to work. I have no idea if it helps or not, but it doesn't hurt. I am also changing my shoes from my Teva's to my Telics mid shift which seems to help. The Telics are really cushy and takes some of the hurt off after I have been standing for so long. Last week and the week before I had to add a back ache to the whole thing. I was not a very happy camper.
I have started receiving the bills from the doctors visits. This foot is costing way too much money. Between the doctors visits and the prescriptions, I have spent over $500 over and above my insurance just to go and talk with him for about ten minutes per visit. I am going to cancel the next one, I just can't afford it. i have no idea why I am paying over $100 per month and still have to pay the lions share of the bill.
Back to work today. Sigh...It could be worse, inventory is over and it is now the slow season. Plenty to do, not enough hours. It does go fast once I get there. But I hate sitting around all day waiting to go in to work. We keep hiring cashiers and they keep leaving so it is pretty much perpetual training. That means I can't get a whole lot done in a shift especially when half the shift I am working alone. Can't get away from the register long enough to get anything done, plus all the extra walking back and forth, to and from the register from whatever I am trying to get done.
I have no social life at all. For now, we still have Monday morning coffee and I go to that, but that is about it. I can't do Sunday morning breakfast any more because I open the store on Sundays now. I work Thursday nights so I can't do Silly Al's taco Thursday...Basically the only people I see are the customers and some of them are real jerks. There isn't much going on here right now anyway.
I would eventually like to travel some more, but would like to do it with a companion or a partner. Not sure that will ever happen. I miss Jake each and every day. Hard to believe it will be eight full years in February. I miss my other half and my best friend.
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