Out of Our Rut

 As the summer moves along, we decided we needed to change our routine a bit, a vacation of sorts.

Friday we went to the Potawatomi Zoo in South Bend. The weather was beautiful. Everybody and his cousin decided to enjoy the nice day at the zoo. The main parking lot was full. My husband found a spot about two blocks away next to the adjacent park but not near the zoo entrance. He said there were only two other parking places and that people that came after him were parking in front of houses on the streets in the neighborhood next to the zoo. He had dropped me off at the entrance. I have a handicap parking placard now, but all of the designated places were full already. 

The zoo is relatively small. It has been upgraded in recent years.

It is laid out by continent, with South and North America combined. There is no Europe. 

One of the reasons I picked this zoo is because they have electric carts that you can rent.

You can feed the giraffes lettuce for a $3 fee, but they have other feeding options so that they sometimes ignore the people wanting to feed them.

Helen accommodated them. I overheard her name spoken by the zookeeper. I did not feed her, but they allowed folks like me to come closer to take photos. 

The lines were long for the train, feeding the giraffes, and especially for people buying lunch at the Lodge. 

The leopard was awake and alert unlike the lions. We only got a glimpse of the tiger as he chose to enter his "den" shortly after we arrived. 

We spent about 3 hours there (waited about 20 minutes to get food). 

Saturday we drove to nearby Columbia City and had breakfast at Pickles Cafe. The decor is garage sale hodgepodge.

Since Pickles sits right on the courthouse square, we walked around the Farmers' Market a bit. I was not feeling up to much shopping.

I bought a bouquet of flowers put together by 2-year-old twin boys re their father who owned the booth. He showed me video on his phone. They were not giggling nor bickering. They were quite serious about their job with colorful results.

With our lovely weather continuing today, we attended the boat-in worship at Oakwood Resort on Lake Wawasee. Attendance was down compared to past summers. We had to take a round-about route through the farm fields and country because Highway 13 has construction between North Webster and Syracuse. I wonder if that affected the turnout. 

We also did a jigsaw puzzle this weekend. My husband's sister has loads of puzzles and gave us some. 

Now we are heading out to Texas Roadhouse. I especially like their pork chops and tossed salad and rolls. Makes me hungry just thinking about them. It has been a while since we ate there.

Back to our routines next week except also a few medical appointments in Fort Wayne. It is going to warm up more next week, too. Glad we enjoyed the beautiful weather while we could. The freedom of retirement.

Successful Upgrade to Windows 11

 It was with some trepidation that I clicked on the Windows Upgrade button this morning. I had some time ago run the check to see if my computer was compatible. The nagging from Microsoft had definitely increased. 

I am pleased to tell you that the upgrade went well and was successful. It took a little less than 2 hours for the download and installation and updating to complete. Since I have Windows 11 on my laptop, I was not totally lost; but I use my laptop very little so I will need to familiarize myself with Windows 11 again. It is mostly figuring out how to navigate between things.

 All of my files and programs transferred fine. I was most worried about my old Office Home and Student for Windows 10. However, it did carry it over and put it in a "folder" called Your Windows 10 Apps. It is a little confusing because when you click on the Windows start button, you have Office products icons staring you in the face. I bought the office suite for my laptop, but I really do not want to invest in that for a 5-years-old pc. I haven't even learned how to use the more modern Office products on my laptop. I do know they are different from what I am used to. If I forget and click on the icon on my pc for Word, for example, it opens but wants me to purchase Office 365. So I have to remember to go to the Windows 10 app folder and click on the Word or Excel or Power Point icons there instead.

  I remember on my laptop desperately searching for the start/restart button on the display. It is at the bottom near your name. At least I know where that is on the pc from my laptop experience.

I can't complain. Things went well. Just remember to give yourself a block of time to let things happen. 

Eyeglasses from Costco

 This morning we went to Fort Wayne to pick up my new eyeglasses I bought at Costco.

Using my Medicare Advantage plan, I paid $40. Even without the insurance, the cost was $198. For no-line progressive bifocals. Hundreds of dollars less than what I paid 4 1/2 years ago at the eyeglass shop associated with the doctor that did the exam and wrote the prescription. The frames were less expensive, but I think the main savings were that Costco does anti-glare coating and scratch-resistant coating at no extra charge. For my last pair I think I paid about $100 each for those coatings and the insurance may have partially covered the scratch-resistant coating.

You do have to take in a written/printed prescription (nothing on your phone). You can get the exam at Costco; the optometrists are considered independent contractors. I had my exam from a local doctor. 

From date of order to finished eyeglasses was 10 days. Since we have Costco membership for my husband's hearing aids, getting eyeglasses there was a no-brainer. The optician who helped me select from my 3 possible frames and then did the measurements, told me that if I was unsatisfied with the prescription, I could go back to my optometrist and have him tweak the prescription. Costco would redo my lenses within 90 days with the new prescription at no added charge. 

I am still adjusting to the glasses, but I don't think I will need any changes.

Yesterday as I entered Martin's and headed to the produce section, I had to pass the floral department. Next to the aisle was a bouquet of 12 roses for $8.99. I couldn't resist. They called it a rainbow bouquet. They smell so nice.

My week is off to a good start. Hope yours is too.

Handcrafted Wooden Clock With Stained Glass

 

My husband partnered with one of his workshop buddies to add stained glass to a wooden clock that he made. The partner does stain glass pieces as his hobby while my husband does woodworking. The top photo does not do the oak wood grain justice because of being back-lighted.  The round puck is battery powered. The control allows different lights to be emitted from the puck. A very nice piece with practical use.

Winona Lake Farmers Market July 12th

 

This morning my husband and I went to the Winona Lake Farmers' Market. There was a pleasant breeze blowing through the pavilion. 

Not quite as many vendors as sometimes, but I found what I wanted: pie, flowers, honey. (Bought small tomatoes too though not on my list).

Take Back Your Home

 I recently searched Hoopla for a book about decluttering that I had seen mentioned. Hoopla did not have it but suggested Take Back Your Home by Morgan Tyree. 

This book differs in several ways from others that I have read. Its emphasis is on sorting and organizing more than getting rid of things. She does suggest that as you are putting "like with like" that you cull duplicates or unused items. She spends a lot of time taking you through "systems" so that you can identify which pertain to you and how to overcome obstacles. Some of her material deals with time management, but she has previously written a whole book about that.

She addresses in part of her book a population mostly ignored by other authors: those with physical disabilities and neurodivergent people (autism, attention deficits) and helps them to work around their challenges. People with short attention spans cannot use tips to go through a whole room or a whole category of things in a short time. She simplifies and breaks things down to make them manageable.  

She includes stories about her personal efforts and those of her clients. Many practical suggestions and successes are described.

For me, the book's perspective does not go far enough in decluttering but does get people to calm their home environments which creates  less stress. Knowing what you have and where it is located pays off.

 

Liquid Living

 Originally, I was told I would be on a liquid diet for 2 weeks after my abdominal surgery. The morning after the surgery, the surgeon said I could try some soft foods like scrambled eggs or mashed potatoes after 10 days of the liquid diet. Looking forward to that.

I want to distinguish the meals some by what I eat. For example, I am sticking to Greek yogurt and fruit juices in the morning. Chicken broth or beef broth or creamed soups for lunch or supper. 

I had the red pepper and tomato soup this afternoon. I really liked it. The butternut squash we have eaten before. At least these have a bit of texture unlike the clear broths.

Stocked up on Ensure and Muscle Milk to make sure I am getting some of the nutrients not available in soup. I bought those at Costco. The Muscle Milk is really chocolatey. The Ensure is palatable but not great. 

Jello and pudding and ice cream and sherbet also allowable on my diet. But I have a yearning for something crunchy or chewy which won't happen until around the 4th of July.

Meanwhile, my husband is in charge of his own meals. He is not handy nor experienced in the kitchen, but I have stocked a few microwaveable items in the freezer. He will go to restaurants or Grace Village dining room some of the time as well. Maybe in another week I will have reduced pain and more stamina to fix some things for him. 

It is over 90 degrees today so the popsicles I stocked up on look good, too. Keep cool if you are part of this heat pattern.

48th Wedding Anniversary

 

Today is our 48th wedding anniversary. We had talked about going to a seafood restaurant in Fort Wayne, but we have been to that city so many times in the past month (and still more to come) for medical appointments and procedures that we decided to eat closer to home at Noa Noa Wood Grill in Warsaw. Though the food is a bit on the expensive side, the dress code allows casual items like jeans and shorts. However, I decided to dress up a bit.

We had a reservation for 6 p.m. We could not believe how full the parking lot was. The restaurant was mobbed for a Wednesday night. Turns out that because it is close to the Wagon Wheel Theater, people dine there before going to the show. Things emptied out some and got much quieter around 7 p.m.

I wanted the halibut, but they did not have halibut available tonight. So, I ended up with snapper. It had a mango sauce, but it did not taste like nor look like mango. It looked like brown gravy. It came with rice, summer vegetables, and a piece of grilled pineapple. I thought we would share a piece of Key lime pie, but my husband said he wanted us to each have our own.

It was delicious. It must have had coconut added into the graham cracker crust as well as toasted coconut on top. I was pretty full after the entree even though I did not eat all of the rice. I finished the pie. 

Just a smear of whipped cream, a few crumbs, and the lime garnish were all that remained. And happy memories of celebrating our 1977 wedding.

Pink Flocking

 

Yesterday evening my neighbor across the street was "flocked". A church youth group put pink flamingos on her lawn. This a fund raiser. About 8 p.m. I glanced up from my newspaper reading and noticed bright pink out my sidelight windows. I didn't hear or see when they were planted. When I took a close look, I was greeted by these flamingos.

 When the lawn mowing crew came this morning the flamingos were moved up on the porch, and I was disappointed I had not taken a picture. This neighbor is a good sport. She put them back out on the grass. I didn't waste any time with this second opportunity.

Gorgeous Flowers

 My housecleaner (who is also in a Bible study with me) has a knack for growing beautiful flowers. Today she brought me a bouquet with flowers from her yard/garden featuring peonies with their lovely fragrance. What a blessing.

YAG Laser Surgery

 Within a year of cataract surgery in 2007, I had laser surgery on my right eye to restore clear vision because of posterior capsule opacification. Now 18 years later, I have the same condition in my left eye!

 I will have YAG laser surgery this Friday. It is day surgery that will be done at an eyecare center locally. I have noticed in the past few weeks that I could not see as well as I needed. The thought of my past experience crossed my mind, but I thought certainly something like that would not happen so many years later. The optometrist did the exam and verified that is the problem.

 The surgery scheduler (nurse) said everybody has different experiences after cataract surgery. Some people have no opacification. She added that each eye can also be different as in my case. At least this is an easily-fixed problem. 

The maskless male cardinal came to our feeder this weekend. My husband was able to take a photo of him. I talked about him in my January post: From a Beggar's Bowl: Odd Male Cardinal but did not have a photo of my bird, just one from the internet. This bird was born without eumelanin. It is fairly rare.

Blooms

 

One of my housecleaners remarked to me, "You sure do like flowers." I do sometimes have fresh flowers in my home, but I think she was referring to my decorating. I have 2 framed prints of flowers (irises; pink generic blossoms), a decorative cross-stitched pillow, and my bedspread which is pictured above.

I have pots of flowers on the front porch to enjoy. Geraniums, calibrachoa, and the violas are still hanging around with the cool spring weather continuing.

The geraniums are the same as what I bought last year. I was glad to see Meijer had them again this year.

Since I put the pot of geraniums under the Victorian gazing ball, I moved the violas to the other side of the porch. I expect them to fade out once hot weather arrives.

My cheddar pinks in the patio plot are in full bloom now. Once the flowers dry up, I will cut them off. Usually, I will get a second blooming later in the summer. They smell nice. I always take a sniff while standing on the patio grilling.

What is in bloom at your house?

Food Thoughts

 Notice that this is not food for thought but thoughts about food. 

This afternoon Winona IT, who Grace Village has used for a few years now, brought a little freezer of Igloo ice cream as a free treat for the Grace Village residents and staff. They did this last year as well.

They had about a dozen flavors. Usually, I would go with chocolate, but the name of this ice cream intrigued me: This Just Got Serious.

It was good, but the chocolate flavor was not very strong. Since we have a hot spell right now with temps in the 80s, the ice cream was a welcome snack.

After going to the bank, I stopped at Martin's to pick up a few things. I used to buy a slice of strawberry pie this time of year from Richard's restaurant, but they closed down a few years ago. I saw in their ad that Martin's had strawberry pie. Pretty pricey, but it will just be a one-time splurge to enjoy strawberry pie again.

I placed a Home Chef order which arrived today. I plan to eat the salmon tonight, the stuffed meatloaf tomorrow. I do not always see things on the weekly menu that interest me, but these two did.

This week has been super busy. Once the choir concert is over on the 20th, things will slow down a bit. I am looking forward to a less-busy schedule.

Drippy Day

 

We have had light rain since about 11:30 a.m. We drove to Fort Wayne on a less-travelled road, getting off of Highway 30 with so much truck traffic. It would have been more pleasant without the rain; definitely less trucks. Saw some farmers have readied their fields for planting. A few already have little green sprouts. 

We enjoyed lunch at Casa Grille on Dupont Road. Then I saw a gastroenterologist about whether to have my LINX device removed. He said I might need to do that, but first he wants me to try a different stronger PPI. The past 3-4 weeks I have had acid reflux including while in bed along with some swallowing/regurgitation problems. He wants me to try the new med for 6 weeks to see if it helps my problems and what kind of side effects I have. 

Since I am also having some swallowing problems in the upper esophagus, he has ordered a modified barium swallow test. I will call in the next few days to set that up. 

I kind of laugh when I tell people that which of my problems get attention depends on which specialist can fit me into their schedules. It has little to do with my priorities. This gastro doctor wants to see me again in 6 months, but the scheduler can only find openings 7 months out. I did finally get an appointment with a urogynecologist (well with the NP) after waiting over 4 months. That will be in June. 

I get along as best as I can. I talk to Holly and the Lambs pretty often to keep my spirits up, to remind me God is in control. I am His little lamb. 

Past Bargains

 Do you, like me, feel a little thrill when you find an unexpected bargain? Some really nice things can be found at garage sales and rummage sales; of course there is also a lot of junk. Sometimes it is a discount coupon that allows you to buy something you probably would not buy at the regular price. I do not make it a practice to go to garage sales, but once in a while I will go to those nearby.

This set of two Lenox Winter Greetings bowls I bought at a church rummage sale. They appeared to be unused as they sat in the original box. I paid $2 for the set. I had gone to a sale in the North Webster community center, and somebody from a church in that community had posted at the exits information about a rummage sale close by. I mostly use these bowls at Christmas, but sometimes I continue using them for several more weeks since they have a winter theme. They came with lids for storage or to use vented in a microwave. 

A few years ago, I went to a community garage sale in a nearby neighborhood. It was starting to rain lightly when I perused some items. They lady saw me looking at a hammered aluminum basket; she said, "We are not getting many customers because of the weather. We are cold and tired and ready to close up our sale. If you want that, you can have it for fifty cents." I have a few other hammered aluminum items, and yes, I did want it at that bargain price. 

Another item I purchased for fifty cents was a Pfaltzgraff Yorktowne trivet. I had to work to find this item. We had an "antique"/consignment store on Winona Avenue in Warsaw that had been divided up into lots of different rooms. I was about to leave with nothing when I talked myself into going down into the dimly lit basement on a rickety staircase. I held tightly to the railing. It was spooky down there. Here was the flotsam and jetsam of the store, things they had taken in but didn't feel were worthy of a nice display. I have two small bowls, a sauce/gravy bowl, and a pitcher in the Yorktowne pattern. The trivet fit right in. Recently, I searched eBay to verify this was Yorktowne. All of the Yorktowne trivets had the company blue and white logo badge, but otherwise they were pure white. Somebody had painted the basket and flowers of the trivet I bought. It is unique. I like its rustic nature, and blue is my favorite color.

When I lived in Mesquite, Texas, the Hobby Lobby issued a coupon for $10 off anything in the store. I did not have anything in mind, just walked around the store browsing. Then I met Ellie. I found her tennis shoes worn with her Sunday-best dress and her hat hanging down her back by its ribbons charming. I think she was $12. I never would have spent $12 on a frivolous trinket, but $2 sealed the deal and she became part of our home.

Through the years I have worked to down-size our home and get rid of stuff, but I am not beyond the temptation of a bargain. I enjoy all of these things. What kind of bargains make you smile?