Random 3 for July 24,2024 – Walkers, weeds, fantasies

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We are in an extreme heat wave with temperatures bouncing around 100+ degrees with the humidity not far behind. We are not used to this weather. Ergo, my thinking is not working so well. Another short one!

Walking with my bud – I walked with my old walking buddy this week. It’s been many months since we walked. (Quick background: We walked together until the pandemic closed everything. Afterward we walked sporadically because her husband was dying. He died last fall.) She is cleaning out her home and doing all those things you do when your spouse dies. He was a major pack rat. She’s had two big truck loads of stuff taken away along with giving away a lot and trashing a lot. Today is her birthday. She’s 87 but you wouldn’t know it. She caught me up on her family – oldest son’s health not good, other son’s business isn’t doing well, daughter’s husband is slowly dying but won’t go into assisted living, sister is waiting to die, etc. At the end she looked at me and said, “I’m doing better than all of them!” She thinks she should feel guilty, but her husband suffered so much at the end that she was grateful when he passed. She makes me crazy with her constant chatter, but she is an amazing woman. Next time we walk I’ll talk her into a selfie, and you can see for yourself.

Neighbors – When you live close together, you have a responsibility to your neighbors to keep your place tidy. My next-door neighbor is a snowbird. She lives in the warmer states during the winter, spending only about three or four months here. The inside of her home is lovely, but she is not an outdoor person (major understatement). The planting bed in front of her house was overgrown with three-foot weeds. She had a landscaper come out. It was an older man with a pickup truck to estimate the work and assign a crew. It was so awful he pulled a few weeds to clear the walkway. I looked at the weeds and then at him. “You’re gonna need a bigger truck” was my only comment. It took another month but this week a crew showed up. It is hot and dry here. They removed the weeds but couldn’t pull the roots. Within another two weeks or so, we’ll see a resurgence of noxious weeds covering the front windows and door. She walks by it multiple times a day and doesn’t see it. For perspective it took the crew two hours to clear it. It’s not a large area. The tree she had planted last year is dying. It needs water. That’s another thing she doesn’t do. Her adult son lives with her. He sees nothing. I’m expecting a Jack and the Beanstalk situation any day now. Maybe there is gold up there.

Bubble burst – I haven’t seen the gorilla man much this summer. (During the pandemic he wore a gorilla mask.) He drives a Mercedes convertible and frequents Starbucks. He’s not gorgeous but there is something interesting about him – very outgoing, dresses well, just fun to be around. A perky person among the pre-coffee grumps. I saw him twice this week. He was pulling out while I was walking in. It was around 7:10 a.m. but he was playing loud jazz. Who plays jazz that early in the morning? That’s an appropriate time for some great rock to get your motor running! It altered my opinion of him somehow. Maybe not as cool as I thought.

This is how I feel today!

So how was your week?

59 thoughts on “Random 3 for July 24,2024 – Walkers, weeds, fantasies”

  1. Pingback: July Blogger Spotlight | BosssyBabe

  2. I love your take on adulting – but, jazz is cool. Early morning jazz is great for easing slowly into the day. This time of day I’ve turned over to Carole King and James Taylor.

    I’m sorry for your friend. I lost both my parents, wow a while ago now. They both died with Alzheimer’s and I felt relieved for them. That is no life. And I don’t think it’s anything to feel guilty about. It is hard to clean out the house. Can I be forgiven for being angry at my folks for hoarding all the crap they had?

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    • I always suggest to people as they get older to “lighten up.” Give stuff to the kids or the neighbors. If you don’t wear it, donate it. Yet as all great advice, it falls on deaf ears. We had a lot to clean out when my mom died but near as much as my friend has. Her husband saved a lot of things that didn’t work for “parts.” My uncle did that too and I remember my aunt had an auctioneer come in for a huge sale (they had a farm so in addition to old TVs and appliances, my uncle had all the farm tractors and implements.) Perhaps we all want to wait until the last possible moment to let go of things but usually it’s too late then.

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      • My parents were raised during the depression. I think they saved a lot of things with the idea that they might be useful at some point. They saved things for parts, Dad saved things that didn’t work that he was going to fix one day. Mom saved butter containers and cool whip tubs and styrofoam meat trays. It’s kind of funny because when I was growing up, twice per year we had to go through our clothes and toys and donate everything we had outgrown or didn’t play with. But I don’t think they did that again ever after they retired. I try very hard to get rid of things I don’t use or need, though I keep saying I’m going to have a garage sale.

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  3. I do enjoy hearing about your walking partner. She’s an inspiration. My mom turns 90 this on the 30th, is in excellent health, still drives well, and is firing on all pistons. I am so grateful that she is in such excellent health. And I think your walking partner sounds like someone with a long life yet ahead of her!

    I know the frustration of neighbors who don’t take are of their outdoors. We work so hard on our outdoor landscaping, and right next door they do the bare minimum. We spend a lot of money every year having THEIR trees professionally pruned as they are a liability to our property. I’ve complained now for 30 years (yes, that long) and nothing has changed. So I appreciate you letting me gripe on your blog. My family and friends are really tired of hearing me rant. LOL!

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    • Two houses ago my neighbor had huge trees, pine and maple on the property line. One was pretty dead and the other semi-dead. I asked them to get them taken down. They told me they don’t like to cut down trees! (Like I do?) Anyhow, the maple fell in my driveway barely missing my husband’s car. They were on vacation to we had to cut it up and remove it from our yard. Then the pine fell on my property too just missing my house. I was so angry. Their response was that if there was damage they have insurance. Nothing at all about my inconvenience because of their inaction. They were nice people but really bad neighbors for a variety of reasons.

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  4. I don’t like high temperatures and high humidity either. We broke our all time record at 95 F in Bristol on Monday. It just makes me grouchy. As we are a long way north we still have quite short nights so it does not get cold at night.

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    • Love that idea. I talked about having goats at my last house. I think they are so cute. My uncle had sheep on his farm but the big ram could get pushy so us kids weren’t allowed around him unless my aunt was there. Somehow he listened to her.

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  7. Your walking pal sounds like she’s getting the most out of each day which is a good thing. As for weeds, I had to smile at your description. I have a neighbor with noxious weeds climbing up the side of the house, some trying to reach a tree, and a variety of trees grown from seeds dropped by birds that have become 4-5′ tall. She and I had a conversation a while back, and she looked at me and said, ‘they’re green.’ I’m all in for recess, and I hope it includes a cold drink because we have the same miserable weather here.

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    • Not all of the neighbor’s weeds were green sadly. They killed a thriving juniper that was there too. This morning (Monday) I went out for coffee and I don’t remember it ever this hot and humid at 7:30 a.m. It’s like Florida. They are predicting rain by noon. Hope so although it should be better it’s still going to be a hot week. Normally I’d say it’s almost August but this is insane for this area.

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  9. I’m glad you got to catch up with your walking buddy, and it sounds like she had a lot to get off her chest! It is definitely irritating when people won’t keep their property at least tidy, even if it isn’t fancy. Hope things cool down for you there 🙂

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  11. Sounds like your walking pal has a lot of spunk for her age and amongst her family. It must be disconcerting watching family members passing or with health concerns and there you are rallying at age 87. Sounds like my friend Ann Marie who will soon turn 80, who volunteers to help her elderly friends and elderly friends in her apartment building, taking them to early-morning or inclement weather appointments. Nothing fazes her. Wish I was more like she is. It was hot and sticky here with multiple storms – still expecting one overnight, then cooler weather. I am starting to look forward to Fall – too hot in this new norm.

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  13. Yes! I’m looking forward to seeing a photo of your old walking companion.
    I always liked the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. Fairy tales are the best! They’re the only stories everyone knows and understand.
    Hey! What’s wrong with jazz? Not my favorite, but nice once in a while.

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  14. I think some people choose to ignore weeds and overgrowth. It’s the “if I don’t see it, it isn’t there” philosophy. In the meantime, neighbors have to put up with the mess. We have a few of those in our neighborhood too. So far, we have had good temps (in the 70s) but that will probably change as the summer goes on. Fortunately, our high temps don’t come with very high humidity so it’s a bit more tolerable.

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    • At our last home, new neighbors bought a house on the block for $600K (it was a HUGE house). They didn’t weed for the first two years. It looked abandoned and was a real eyesore. If they could afford the house, why couldn’t they afford someone to come in and weed? (which is what they eventually did)

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  15. Yeah, hot and humid here, too. But we’re supposed to get a reprieve the next few days. I know what you mean about neighbors who should be considerate. We’ve had that back yard neighbor with the dogs barking incessantly. It’s so inconsiderate and I told him so one day when I’d had enough. I’m not the only neighbor who called the police on him during covid lockdown when we were all confined at home listening to that racket. Lately, though, it’s been better. It appears one of the dogs passed away, and the other one is getting too old. He still barks, but at least it’s not for hours at a time.
    Enjoy your recess. 🤸‍♀️

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  16. It has been in the upper 90’s with high humidity most of the summer. I try to walk in the morning before eight but sometimes I go around six. It’s hot and humid even that early. Not being a morning person it takes extra effort. I try not to be grumpy but not always successful. Your walking buddy sounds lovely. She is probably happy to have some to talk to.

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    • She seems to do ok. I walk around 8:30 during the hot summer. This morning it was 80. Way too hot, way too early. Hopefully we will get some relief tomorrow and will knock back to high 80s and low 90s. However, my crazy cats still look for sunspots to sleep in.

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  17. You made laugh hard with the “Who plays jazz that early in the morning” comment. I play jazz every day, but come to think of it it’s almost always at cocktail time only. I guess I agree! 🙂 I remember that walking partner of yours — yes, please take a picture of her. She sounds like an inspiration to the rest of us. I can’t imagine living next to someone who won’t take care of their yard! – Marty

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  18. It seems like far too many people just don’t seem to notice how bad their yards are anymore. At first I thought it was just millennials or Gen Z’ers but even some older folks buy a nice home and then promptly let the yard go to hell. So sad, I just don’t get it.

    Bless your chatty friend for moving forward, literally. A lot of peeps would just give up with her family.

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  19. I sympathize with your weed woes. My old back door neighbour was a meticulous and wonderful gardener. I could only see his yard from my upstairs window in the summer as it had a tall and very thick dogwood privacy hedge, but in the spring it was a glory of daffodils, tulips and snowdrops. First thing the new neighbours did was tear out ALL the shrubs and flowers and even a few small trees, as they said they only wanted grass for minimal upkeep. Then they cut down the privacy hedge!!!! Now I have a wonderful view into the mess in their back yard, including a pile of rubble from a patio they were going to build last summer and dead tree branches from their enormous tree, which also sheds in my yard during windstorms, but at least I clean them up and dispose of them. I planted three dogwood shrubs on my side of the fence in a hope to someday replace the privacy hedge. They are away camping every weekend I guess so they don’t see the mess, or maybe don’t care.

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    • I never understand removing a privacy hedge unless it’s a lot of work but then replace it with something. There are 4 back yards that face each other here. We are one of them. Both we and the next door neighbor have 2nd story decks. We need to keep the underneath weeded as that’s what the other 2 homes look at. I did a planting and some larger shrubs will give us all privacy but the next door neighbor never goes out her basement. Last year she hung a tarp out to dry in June and never took it in until August. The back neighbor had to look at it all summer. It looked like a rag hanging in weeds.

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      • Maybe I should consider myself lucky then with a pile of stone rubble and big dead tree limbs? The privacy hedge did require clipping occasionally but really I would have put up with an unruly hedge over nothing. When they were tearing everything out I asked her if she didn’t want the daffodil bulbs that I would take them – she said she’d put some on my back step. Never saw any. I wondered if they realized that taking down the hedge would also give them a clear view into my back yard, like maybe they didn’t think about it from their side, but I mentioned it when it was being cut down and she said all they wanted was grass to mow?

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  20. Your walking buddy sounds like she’s one strong lady – bless her heart……It’s been hotter than Hades here and the mosquitoes seem to be loving it because there’s a bumper crop. Today’s real temp will be 100 with index at 105. I thought this was planet Earth – not the Sun????!!! too bad about the next door neighbor who seems to have a weed fetish. We are lucky – neighbors on both sides take care of their lawns and gardens. Nobody around here is “yard obsessed” but care enough to keep things neat. Yay.

    Keep cool if you can………
    Hugs, Pam

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  21. Good week here. Temps tolerable especially in the morning and evening. Water temps also tolerable. Got to see my grand-nephew for the 3rd time in as many weeks. He’s a charmer. Also saw the rest of my sister’s family. Watched a couple of decent movies, including the new Downton Abbey. Read a couple of good books, including Iona Iverson’s Rules for Commuting. Ate lots of good meals. Had a good dental check-up. Vertigo issue resolved. Attended a Life Writing course at the Library. In short . . . good week!

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  22. I don’t understand people who own houses with gardens if they don’t enjoy them or like looking after them. Why not live in an apartment then? Or a condo? Do they not realize there are other options?
    Your walking buddy does sound amazing! Perhaps you are the only person she can talk to in the way she needs to, hence the chatter stream? I would guess you are great listener and maybe she doesn’t have many of those in her life.
    I’m with you about the adulting. Already feeling the decision-fatigue that comes with moving and there are many weeks yet left to go.

    Deb

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    • There are other alternatives especially for someone who travels. At a minimum she could have a service take care of it. The lawn mower stud muffin would do it for a price. Or she could put in things that don’t need much water with landscape fabric and stones. Many alternatives. My walking friend is amazing. She is not living in a large home with a very large property (half acre? full acre? something like that) and taking care of it herself.

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