It would seem that the third week of June is an eventful week. We had the summer solstice which means the days now start getting shorter. Ugh.. I’m definitely into these longer evenings when one can enjoy sitting on the porch now that life is slower due to the virus. It was also the 18th anniversary of my late husbands passing. Today is Father’s Day. A day to celebrate all the men who have influenced our lives. It is also the week that my solar panel project was completed and they have been tested to make sure they are working properly. One can tell when a cloud passes overhead by looking at the output of the panels. Pretty amazing.
I let my one rhubarb plant go to seed. As the seeds were ripe and starting to fall off, I took them off the plant and planted them. Would seem to be the wrong time of year to plant seeds, but that is when God would be planting them from the plant so we will see what happens. If only a few come up from the hundreds that I planted, that will be enough. One thing that I have not tried before. Rhubarb pie is absolutely wonderful if you use enough sugar!
While we are talking about food, I created a Ruben pizza this week. Fun to get creative with flatbread and various ingredients.
Our church distributes a periodical called “The Upper Room”. One reading this week concerned those annoying sales calls. The author speaks to the caller and agrees to listen to their message if the caller will agree to listen to a message about Jesus. Interesting twist. May be the only time during their day that they hear of the love of Jesus for everyone. Thought that was an interesting twist on sales calls.
Had my first hug since March 15th this week. Thanks John Gentry! Still have hundreds to catch up on since we need seven per day! Also had my first meal out since the stay at home rulings. Meatloaf from Hy Vee. Actually I am enjoying doing more cooking and eating a bit healthier. There has been a lot of cake however!!
A big thank you to Cindy Smith for purchasing a lovely pair of mid century modern Z stools. They were chrome with red seats and really outstanding. I prefer Victorian furniture but I can appreciate other styles as well and these were exceptional. Also a big thanks to Curtis Baldwin for picking up my stick piles. I have a lot of trees so every time there is a wind, I have branches down in my yard. Hard to haul them off in my VW.
The evenings has been really nice. I always watch the 10 o’clock news. Wednesday when that was over, I heard the ice cream in the freezer calling to me so came down to answer the call. Then I went outside to sit on the patio. The evening was beautiful. There were fireflies zipping all around the yard with their bodies flashing messages to other fireflies. The big dipper was very bright and just above the house. I have solar tulips, as opposed to solar lights, and they add a bit of soft yellow or orange light to the yard. They are really quite pretty. Got them at Menards a couple of years ago and am just now getting them put up. Should have done it sooner as they are so pretty.
Today while checking my email, I found messages from “Wlamr-t, Walmr’t and Wallgrens”. I did NOT open these messages. I am sure they were offing me a great free gift or coupon. Like you can get one hundred dollars from Bill Gates simply by clicking on a message. I am pretty sure if the sender cannot correctly spell Wal-Mart or Walgreens that the offers are not from that company. One should always be skeptical when getting offers on the internet. Also do not open attachments in emails if you are not sure of the sender. I am probably over cautious but think that is all right. Often get “ friend” requests on face book from people who are already “friends”. That means they have been hacked. Also don’t open attachments that say “you may appear in this video”. Wish there were not so many people trying to get our information, social security numbers, bank account numbers, birthdays, addresses etc. These all can be used to steal your identity.
Hope you are enjoying the wonderful weather. We got an inch and three tenths of rain this week. It was appreciated as parts of my yard were very hard.
As Illinois opens up more from the lock down this week, be kind to others. You are not a “sheep” if you wear a face mask. You are being considerate of others. Florida and other states are seeing a steep increase in Corona cases. Illinois is NOT thus far. In my opinion we should show our respect for those medical responders who lay their lives on the line to treat the sick and we should show sympathy for the families of the 116,000 plus people who have thus far passed from the virus. We should think of others first and not just think that we might be uncomfortable if we are asked to wear a mask. As Illinois takes another step toward normalcy, think of others first and scatter kindness.