Happy 250th

 HAPPY 250TH BIRTHDAY AMERICA!

A Little Shopping

 Usually when I make a trip to Fort Wayne to shop, I try to visit several stores to make the hour commute worthwhile. I am learning to think differently now that shopping is not very easy for me. Yesterday I shopped only in Macy's. Since this was following a medical appointment, I felt shopping one store was OK.

I used my Rolloy rollator in the shopping mall (really only the one department store). I shopped for almost an hour, and I only needed to sit down once. I think this is because unlike many people who use a rollator and are bent over, holding the handles gives me the support to stand straighter and taller. This eases the pain in my lower spine. I cannot do it without extra help because my muscles fatigue quickly.

I was pleased to see that Macy's had a lot of sales and markdowns. My goal was to find a summer top that was comfortable and casual enough to wear at home. I did not want a tee-shirt, but I would have looked at Polo shirts if I had seen some. 

This Style and Co. top has one of those prints that is hard to photograph to get the real colors. The spirals look orangish or coral but really are a bright pink.

It fits well, was on sale, and should be good to wear in the summer or spring. My other two mainstays for summer are 5 years old now. They are usable, but I am tired of them. 

Though I was not shopping for pants, I saw a pair of JM Collection slacks regularly $49.50 on sale for $19.99. I own a pair by this company which I wear so often they are starting to look a bit worn.

These have a bit of Spandex and are so comfortable. I find I have to try on petite or short slacks. I have lost 2 inches from spine compression, and the regular Misses sizes are usually too long. These have slimmer pant legs than many slacks which I like. The only thing I do not like about these new pants is that they have no pockets, but at this price I am willing to overlook that.

We had been home about 45 minutes when our power went out. No air conditioner nor fans when it was 94 degrees outside. Since we had eaten an early lunch in order to get to my 12:45 check-in time at the doctor's office, we headed for Bob Evans for some supper. We had been planning to eat out. When we arrived home a little after 6 p.m. the air conditioner was running. Back to normal. 

We have two more days that will be pretty hot and humid. July 4th will be mid-80's which is warm but not beastly. I am going to grill some chicken thighs to eat around noon. Hope your holiday is pleasant.

First Farmers Market Purchase This Year

 

This morning was my first visit to the Winona Lake Farmers Market this year. I had hoped there might be some green beans, but the vendor I asked said probably two weeks yet. There were some nice little tomatoes and garlic scrapes (which I have never had the courage to try). 

I did buy a touch of color in a little bouquet. The leaves are mint. This vendor sells basil and mint and herbs as well as vegetables. I saw one zucchini which surprised me. The grower had only one and she said it was her  first of the season.

More good things coming.

Brown County Indiana

June 11th was our 49th wedding anniversary. We decided to get away for a few days. We drove to Brown County Indiana east of Bloomington on the 10th.

On our way south, we stopped at Newfields in Indianapolis. This is the Indiana Museum of Art and grounds including a garden with the Lilly mansion. J. K. Lilly who bought the Oldfields property in 1932 was a descendant of the founder of the Eli Lilly pharmaceutical company and served on the board.

We ate lunch at the museum restaurant. It was very tasty and interesting. The lower level of the dining room looks out at a fountain.

Oldfields is a 22-room French chateau-style mansion built in 1910 surrounded by 26 acres of professionally designed landscape. The first floor which is open to tour is furnished in 1930's era style and includes a great hall (living room), dining room, game room, music room, and a library which once housed 35,000 books. 

The part of the grounds we explored were paved. There is a section overlooking the White River which is rugged and steep which we bypassed. The time to come to Newfields for the garden is spring when the tulips are in bloom. I was somewhat disappointed in the flowers we saw in June. 

The best part of the garden for me was the fountain.

There were some benches on which to sit including one in the shade. It was over 90 degrees and humid so the shade didn't help much, but it was better than the overhead sun. As I watched the patterns appear in the water, I could hear music accompanying them.

We stopped at the Beer Garden as we headed back to the museum, not for beer but for lemonade and rootbeer. 

There is a nature park with sculptures on the other side of the museum. They were doing some construction so not all of the art in the outdoors was accessible. There are bike paths along the banks of the White River that tie into other bike trails in the city. We did not drive over to this part of Newfields but headed for Nashville, Indiana where we had rented a cabin in the outskirts for two nights.

We were glad that Deer Dance cabin is air-conditioned. We would have spent more time outside on the porch if it were not so steamy hot. We did eat some left-over pizza for lunch sitting in the screened porch.

Thursday morning after eating breakfast at Abe Martin Lodge in Brown County State Park, we walked an accessible paved trail near the Park Office. 

Probably the most crowded time for this park is autumn when the rolling hills are ablaze with colorful foliage. We saw a group of kids that were about to set out on mountain bike trails. I am sure there were a few hikers. People also were camping out. We had rain Wednesday night into Thursday morning. The rain stopped while we were eating breakfast. Our other stop was at the nature center.

After showering and eating pizza at our cabin, we headed to Nashville. 

I discovered many of the shops were difficult for me to navigate since I was using my Rolloy rollator walker. Lots of steps. A few had ramps. The two-story complex with the flags had an elevator and a ramp so we visited 3 stores there. After eating sherbet and ice cream, we strolled to Lawrence Family Glass Blowers. (This shop only had a low curb to negotiate.) We bought a humming bird to celebrate our anniversary. 

They even created a glass loop with an opening for filament to be strung so the bird could hang on a stand (or in the shop from the ceiling).

It was a little cooler when we drove home on Friday June 12th. We stopped at Irion's Smokehouse in Ellwood for lunch. This turned out to be southeast a ways, almost to Marion. I ordered pulled pork and my husband ordered beef brisket. This is a small place with maybe 5 tables and counter seating under the front window. You place your order at the service counter. 

We ended up putting half of the sandwich meat in a take-home box. No way we were going to finish what they gave us.

"Artwork" on the walls and trashcan to keep you entertained.

We will eat the leftover meat for our Sunday night supper.

It was good to get away for a few days, but it is nice to be home. I think our traveling days are winding down.

What a Weekend It Has Been

 Saturday afternoon I noticed a man walking past our windows facing the backyard. He had no insignia on his clothing. He carried an orange cable. I saw that he had parked a black car in front of my house that had no markings of any kind.

He went to the "utilities" boxes in the berm separating us from the backyards of the next block of condos. He used a trenching tool to bury the Xfinity line from my next-door-neighbor's condo. 

Shortly after, when my husband turned on the television to watch a sporting event, we had no cable connection thus we had no TV. (Since we have a smart TV, he discovered later he could watch a few things on YouTube.) I picked up the phone to call to report the problem and there was no dial tone, and it said no line on the phone window. 

Using a cell phone, we left a message to be passed on to the maintenance staff. Being a weekend, one has to go through the healthcare staff. We heard nothing back. Sunday night my husband emailed a message to the lady who oversees the maintenance requests. We heard from her this morning (Monday) that the request had been passed on. 

About 9 a.m. this morning two workers tried fixing the cut lines. It took them over 5 hours to restore the landline phone service to our condo quadplex. Around 3 p.m. they restored our television connection. We seem to be the only unit in the quadplex that lost TV service.  

This morning when my husband tried to view some news on the computer and check email, he could not. We had no internet connection. Since we had internet all yesterday, I guessed this was not related to the other problems but coincidental. I called my provider KC Connect this morning.

The retirement community worker was standing in our living room making sure our TV was OK when a truck from KC Connect arrived. Turns out the line going into our condo had been chewed through by an animal. It didn't take very long for the two internet company men to fix it. 

Finally, we are back to normal: we can view television, use the internet, and use the landline telephone. Feels good to be connected to the modern world once again in our routine way. We did check email on cell phones so we were not totally cut off.

Our home technology stopping at the same time. Made for a quiet weekend. I did get caught up on some magazine reading. Modern technology is great until it stops working, and you realize how much you use it. 

Fort Wayne Japanese Restaurant

 

Today I had a therapy session in Fort Wayne. My husband drove us there. There is a large lobby as you enter the building with a less busy section around the corner with comfortable chairs. Much quieter and less crowded than the PT waiting room. I finished early and decided to step over to this quiet lobby area to phone my husband. There he was! He had discovered this area also. He was starting to doze off. 

We had lunch at Asakusa Japanese Restaurant and Sushi Bar just north of Costco. We had eaten here once before but at least a year ago. 

There is a separate large menu for choosing sushi. You fill out an order on a paper left at the table which is taken to the bar so the sushi can be made fresh. We know very little about sushi other than California rolls; we did not order any. Instead, I ordered teriyaki chicken, and my husband ordered a bento box with tempura vegetables, Katsu chicken (panko crusted and fried), and shrimp. We knew our orders included rice, but we did not know broccoli and carrots were part of it. My teriyaki mentioned that the chicken would be on a bed of mushrooms, but my husband also ended up with mushrooms in his box.

The lunch orders included soup. The soup also had mushrooms. They must have a standing order for mushrooms from somebody.

When the waiter came to take away the empty soup bowls, he asked how we liked it. I told him I liked it very much and asked what it was called. He shrugged his shoulders and said, "Clear soup". We joined him in a laugh. Now that I am home and look at the menu on the website, it does say clear soup; but it also describes it as fish-based broth with tempura crumbs, mushrooms, and green onions. 

The food was good, but like much Japanese restaurant food it was high in sodium. We were busy gulping down water. 

We ended our outing with a stop at Costco. Busy, busy, busy! We did snag a parking spot not too far from the entrance. I dozed off some in the car on the way home. Now, I do not need an afternoon nap. 

A Little Exercise

 

I spent about an hour this morning weeding the plot next to my patio. Not strenuous exercise, but I did work up a sweat since I was in full sun.

Yesterday I took the Rolloy for a walk again. I went further this time. I enjoyed the beautiful peonies in bloom over by the Community Center. I sat down in the shade of a fir tree as I continued down the block. A rabbit crossed over right behind me, about 3 feet away. When I tried to get out my phone so I could take a photo, the rabbit hopped around the corner of a building. 

We are in for a stretch of really nice weather through next week. I hope to spend some time sitting in my rocker on the front porch enjoying the geraniums and the hanging pot of fuchsia.  No exercise in that, but it will make me happy. 

Hubby's Woodworking Projects

 

My husband's most recent woodworking projects have been building automotive vehicles using plans he borrowed from a friend. Above is a roadster with a jump seat.

Below is a vintage truck.

His current project is a bulldozer. He bought plans online from a toy company.

He is a skillful woodworker and good with small details. However, he has in the past built furniture and keepsake/jewelry boxes. 

He does his woodworking in a shop owned by our retirement community that is within walking distance of our condo. There are two other guys who use it regularly: another woodworker and a stained-glass designer.

 Right now, with our pleasant weather the overhead door is up. The workshop was previously a garage to which Grace Village added lots of electrical outlets, additional lighting and new flooring. There is air conditioning and heating so the shop can be used year-round. In the deep-freeze of January and February, the heat pump gets coated over sometimes and does not work efficiently. There can be some downtime then. 

My husband did considerable woodworking before retirement. It is nice to have a pleasant place to use and companions in retirement.

Rolloy Rollator

 

My back pain ramps up fairly quickly while standing and walking. I purchased a Rolloy rollator so instead of searching for a place to sit to get relief, I have my own seat with me. This is mainly to use outside or at large venues like museums or shopping malls. 

It arrived Wednesday; I took it for a spin this afternoon. I think it is going to be just what I need. It has wide wheels for stability. I tried it on some grass, and it moved easily. 

It folds up compactly so it will fit easily in the car. Some people use them at airports either putting them in the overhead bin or checking them at the gate. I will not have trouble navigating the aisle of an airplane so I would choose the latter option, having it ready to use after the flight walking throughout the airport. 

There is a "backrest strap" which I think would be awkward for me because of my kyphosis and curved spine. The backrest has to be removed each time you fold up the rollator.

It also has a bag that attaches at the front.

We are renting a cabin in Brown County Indiana in a few weeks, and I hope to walk some of the nature/easy access trails of Brown County State Park with this device. On the way south, we will stop at Newfields in Indianapolis. This is the Indiana Museum of Art, gardens, sculpture garden, and the Lilly house. I am not interested in the art museum this time around. I want to wander the grounds weather permitting. We will also try walking around Nashville, Indiana to look in shops. The Rolloy will get a testing. 

My surgeon told me last fall before my sacroiliac fusions that I would still have considerable back pain. The best thing that came from those surgeries was that my weak legs regained strength. For now, I adapt with a rollator for lots of walking/standing and with a stool in my kitchen to do cooking and cleaning. 

It was raining when I went to bed last night. Today it is gray with a few drizzles. A chance of rain tomorrow, too. I may have to wait until Monday to have a dry day to take my Rolloy for another walk. 

Beaucoup Blooms Inside and Outside

 

My house cleaner brought me what she calls "wildflowers" from her yard. She likes to share her spring and summer blooms.

However, I already have some other bouquets. Last Saturday while at Fort Wayne, I bought some blooms from Trader Joe's. They are in my sunroom.

Plus, the flowers I bought at Walmart over a week ago are still hanging on. They look a little worse for the wear, but I am keeping them because the two roses smell so delightful. The Joe bouquet has one red rose, but it has no fragrance. When the Walmart flowers fade away, I may take the white statice and add to the Joe bouquet to lighten it up a bit.

Also, I bought some geraniums for the front porch and a hanging basket of fuchsia

 

I don't have a green thumb, but I have had good success with geraniums on my porch. This is my first fuchsia. We'll see if I can keep it alive and thriving.

Flower enjoyment season.

Iris Progression

 

A friend gave me a stem of iris buds and blooms a week ago. I have never tried putting iris in vases; I do not have enough of them to use that way anyway. She was leaving for the weekend, and she said you might as well enjoy it since I will not be home.

In the photo above, I have already snipped off the two spent blooms that were open when she gave the stem to me. They lasted a day and a half. But it had lots of buds, and you can see that another one had opened fully and one part way.

Above the two are still fully opened but drooping a bit and a different bud has opened.

I snipped off a wilted bloom; but on the right you can see one bud left.

The final flower opened today. That means I had blooms for one whole week. 

This afternoon I bought a little bouquet at Walmart. I have been feeling a bit down this week. Flower therapy for sure.