Heating Up

"Heating up" was applicable to several things these past five days.  We were back to August like temperatures with the days reaching into the mid and upper 80's.  Unfortunately, with the magnitude of planning, organizing and preparation to be done, Joe and I were heating up because of conflicted ideas, and we became agitated with each other at times.  Meanwhile, with the event rapidly approaching, the excitement, energy, and enthusiasm of others was palpable.  Things were heating up.     

Saturday 8/9 - There are three cats in this photo.  Babe is in the corner under the plant stand.  All three had been intently watching something (probably a bug).  They usually get along okay, but when they become more charged with energy and activity (during play or feeding time), little spats occur.

With temperatures rising, the pool was very crowded during my four hour shift.  Tish came in early so I could get home and change, to go to the Playhouse with Joe.  As if we had time for this.  We had gotten quite heated about some differences in ideas we had with how to handle some things for the party weekend, but were able to resolve most issues while driving to and from town.   

We enjoyed the production of 9 to 5.  It was well done, entertaining, and allowed us to escape our busy life for awhile.  And we were able to continue to talk over plans and arrangements, after heating up about things earlier.

Joe fixed corn on the cob for dinner and we cross checked our two check-off lists.  I ran the dryer a few more minutes, heating up clothes that had sat in it all day, and then folded them.

Sunday 8/10 - I was up from midnight until 4am.  Then at 5:30 when Joe got up to leave for Cherokee, I arose again.  I spent the morning sorting through much of the merchandise I had recently bought.  I put it all into three piles... What we would need Thursday night here at the house, Friday night out at the ranch, and Saturday afternoon/evening at the library building.  





Meanwhile, out in the garage, can you find Maggie? →
She had been obsessing over a chipmunk to the point that I finally started moving things out of the way so that she could finally catch it. One less little varmint chewing holes in my bags of feed.  And now I had another mess to clean up, but it did get me to do some 'deeper' cleaning out in the garage. 

I headed to Patty’s to drop off the table centerpieces (that I don't want the guests of honor to see ahead of time).  Next I hit Food City to get more plates, napkins, and other supplies for our three evenings of entertaining.  Then I went straight to the ranch where I dropped off some stuff that would be needed for the bonfire/potluck Friday night.  Patty was out front power washing the patio and steps.  




I collected all the trash and picked up around the house a little bit.  Then I had to get to work.  It was another busy day at the pool since things have been heating up.

I had customers until the last minute and I had to ask four ladies to get out of the water at 5:55.  They proceeded to go into the restroom to shower and change.  I had everything cleaned except the women’s locker room so that set me back.  I was heating up about it, yet being very nice and friendly, but underneath feeling a tad frustrated.

Sisters and children were reporting about their packing process so my excitement level was rising (heating up) just thinking about all the precious people I love, coming to visit.  Jean’s kitty (Parm) was helping or maybe protesting her packing process.   

Courtney’s kitties were getting into the clean laundry as she was preparing for overnight guests flying in Tuesday and then also on Wednesday.


Britney’s kitty (Lupe) had been throwing up the last three days so she got meds. to hopefully clear up that problem.  She was worried about Lupe being OK for the week she and Juan Carlos would be here in the states.

Monday 8/11 - The sleep aid I took last night helped me get nine hours of sleep and I woke up feeling energized.  
These are cat toys, behind a bench I had moved away from the window in the cattery.  

After talking with Mike (the window washer) when he arrived at 8am, I moved all furnishings away from any window being blocked and he removed all the screens.  I told Mike that my glass top desk had to stay put, and he said he could work around it.

I worked my way through every room, upstairs and down, moving things where needed and raising all the window blinds.  Then I went outside to do yard work.  

My first order of business was to plant all the flowers I'd bought last Friday.  Maggie had gotten frightened by Mike once he started cleaning windows from outside, so she stayed with me outside, trembling.  

Maggie had been delighted by Mike when they 'met' because he was lovin' on her, rubbing her belly, etc.  But now he looked a bit alien and it appeared to be raining.  Because Maggie was still shaking, I took her over to see Mike closeup, and once she realized who he was she calmed down.  











Now my project supervisor was goofing off on the job.

Once half the flowers were planted (I couldn't do the ones by the garage window because the screens were drying there) I started weeding and cleaning up sticks and leaves.  Karen dropped in to help me out for a few hours.  I cleaned up the piles she raked while also getting some weeding and trimming done.  

At 3:00 it was time for Karen to go do chores at the ranch.  About the same time Mike got through and was cleaning up his equipment.  






I came in and started putting the furnishings back in the cattery, first cleaning floors and walls where they had been. I also cleaned everything, especially the back and unreachable sides before putting them where they belonged.

It was a Mirror Lake Blast night, and even though I was exhausted, I made it there, although a little late.  I have no photos, but this is off a video Micki took of Linda and I dancing.  The band (Run For Cover) played a lot of great dancing songs and we all had a wonderful time.  As tired as I was, I still couldn't get to sleep when I went to bed (after 10pm).  I was just too wound up.

Tuesday 8/12 - Even with a sleep aid, my night of sleep was sketchy.  Seeing a 6:30am  post of Britney and Juan Carlos at the airport in San Jose, waiting to fly to the United States, raised my spirit, heating me up into a more energized self.  







We had morning showers lingering into the afternoon, so I focused on cleaning inside.  But when it did clear and dry up somewhat, I went out to plant these three flowers along the garage.  The heather, in the middle, has really tiny little flowers you can't see.  

I did a little more weed pulling here by the house and added two bags of mulch, which have been sitting in the garage for almost a whole year.  I also finished cleaning up the piles of leaves and sticks from the beds out front by the street, but more weeding will have to wait.  

After sweeping the front porch and sidewalk, I took photos.  Can you see Shadow in this last one?





Joe got home from Cherokee and did a store run to get the rest of the drinks we would be needing.  Then I put him to work, helping me clean house.

By the time I was getting in bed at 8:30, I received this selfie from Courtney.  Britney and Juanca were safely to Courtney's condo and enjoying dinner with her and Kent.

Wednesday 8/13 - Dang it, my sleep aid failed me and I was up at 12:30, starting tea and toast and blogging.  I slept some more from 4 to 7am.  This photo was taken when a severe thunderstorm hit at 7:20.  It was pretty dark outside and raining quite hard.  







I decided to wait on ranch chores until the storm passed, so got busy preparing the guest rooms upstairs.  This project supervisor was no help with dusting.  




Monita was also in the way while I was trying to make the beds.  Why cats like to hide and zoom around in the sheets, I do not know.  







I didn't get out to the ranch until after 9am, and it was still raining lightly.  Amiga (seen here) and Zorro came right in for their late breakfast.

Once finished with the usual morning chores, I cleaned in the ranch house and got one last guest bed made and ready for Dan and his 'clan.'  









The former bride and groom, now husband and wife, having breakfast at Courtney's.  As the day progressed, I continued with cleaning house.  I was doing a deeper clean than usual so it was taking much longer.  

Throughout the day I got updates on family as they traveled, with their final destination being here by Saturday.  
Joe had driven to Courtney's and then taken Britney and Juan Carlos to Dan's.  They got to meet Vale's parents Yaneth and Ricardo, and the newest Villhauer, Layla.  

Dan was able to break away from work to join them all for a late lunch.  


Joe, with Britney and Juan Carlos arrived here at 5:00, and I was still scrambling to finish cleaning. 

Jean had arrived in Nashville, and after Courtney picked her up at the airport, they had dinner out at one of Courtney's favorite restaurants.  









Juan Carlos had work to do.  Notice that the project supervisor was right there trying to assist.  Meanwhile, as I cleaned dining room chairs, Britney and I chatted. 

Mama Styx was doing what cats do best.  
I finally quit cleaning at 7pm and made us all a quick, light, late dinner.  



Jean, the 'Cat Whisperer' relaxing at Courtney's.  



I had a little trouble falling asleep at my usual bedtime.  I had decided not to do a sleep aid.  Normally I can barely stay awake while reading in bed, but after lights out, my mind was racing.  It wasn't so much anxiety, but excitement.  Things were heating up.

Make Ready

We continued to attend to many tasks as we worked to make ready everything for the coming wedding celebration event.  We wanted to ensure both houses were neat and clean and in a usable state.  This also included getting the yards, pastures, buildings, fences, etc. into presentable shape.  We kept busy with cleaning, organizing, assembling, fixing, and completing any tasks needed to be done so we could entertain a lot of guests while also participating in the fun and activities, not being bogged down with work during the time of their visits.

Saturday 8/2 - I had a slow, easy, actually kind of boring shift at the pool because the temperature never got much above 80° and it was very overcast, even threatening to rain all day.   

From the pool I went straight to the ranch where Joe was already working.  Together we trimmed all the low tree branches along the fence line between the side pasture and Jem's back field.  




While Joe hauled the branches off, I did some wound care on Rico's legs.  Bonnie help me with that process.  We think he is scrapping the insides of his legs against each other while kicking at flies on his belly.  The nails from his shoes are hitting/scratching his legs. 

Next Joe took down the three window boxes I had previously removed all the dirt from.  You can see how rotten they were in this photo.  






I don't think the house looks too awful bare without the two boxes under these windows.  And now I don't need to worry about planting them, keeping them watered, and weeding them.  So much less work involved.  The third box came off the shed by the barn.  

While Joe struggled with unscrewing the boxes, I cleaned behind and inside the chicken coop.  Although I needed his help hauling out the tarp, which collects a lot of poop, under the roost.  









I got a quick photo of Zorro and Amiga before I left.  They were up by the yard, and always look so happy together.

It had kind of misted on Joe and I a few times, and looked like rain at any moment, so we weren't sure music at The Grove was going to happen.




Joe had seen on Facebook that somebody posted that tonight's concert was postponed until tomorrow night.  I showered and dressed to make ready for dinner at Stonehenge.  








We drove right by The Grove on the way to the restaurant, saw that the concert was in progress, so turned in and parked.  Dinner was beer, pizza, and ice cream from food trucks, while listening to the Neal Diamond tribute, two person band.
 

This is Micky with Nancy, who we have fondly nicknamed the Crazy Church Lady.  She is a hoot, and one of the fun, people loving persons I know.  

Most of Neal Diamond's music is not great for fast dancing, but Joe and I did enjoyed several slow dances.  

These last two photos Vernon Martin posted on Facebook.  The second set always brings out more dancers because folks have had enough 'liquid courage' by then. 









We got home at 8:20 and I was quick to make ready for bed and soon hit the hay.

Sunday 8/3 - This photo of Ava pretty much sums up the day.  
Shirley and I skipped church because it was raining fairly hard.  I was hoping the pool would be closed for the day because I had a ton of clerical work and house cleaning to attend to, but that wasn't the case.  I did however work at my computer all morning.  

One sizable task I made a big dent in was to make ready for our new veterinary visit for the horses this fall.  I had collected all the past records (from our former vet) for five of the six horses, and started typing the important, needed information into an e-mail to send in.  


As luck would have it, or not, I did have to go into work.  Four of the six total customers we had today, were still there when I arrived.  But by 3:30, the rain had become so hard and steady, they gave up and left.  I did get to close the pool early.  
This is one of the only two photos I took today.  It is the empty soap bottle from the dispenser in the men's restroom.  The new bag replacements we had would not fit in the now empty dispenser.  So I sent this to Josh, our pool maintenance man, requesting help.  


During my almost three hours at the pool, I remained in the office most the time, because of the rain.  I called and spoke with Courtney and Cathy as I continued to make ready and finalize plans for the party and whole four day weekend.  Joe and I had also Face-timed with Britney and Juanca to settle a few other arrangements.

My second photo of the day was this selfie of me, in my hoodie, drinking hot chocolate because I was so cold.  I had gotten wet closing up at the pool and it was only 70° out and not much warmer in the house.  I did get more work done here at my computer, working on a song play list.  I was listening to many of them.  I also took some time to play a few games.
 

Monday 8/4 - Patty had informed Joe and I about a hornet's nest being constructed on the ranch garage.  I took a look (and photo) when out there to do morning chores.

Work at the pool was unbelievably slow even though it was a nicer day than Sunday.  It was very overcast and threatened to rain, but never did.  







I contemplated going back to the ranch after work, but was anxious to get home.  Joe had gotten the shop ready for a new crop of hay by moving the remaining 40 bales over to this spot.  Now we just need to get our hay cut, baled, and in.

I was watering transplants in the back yard at home, and then decided to fill in with a little more, so I moved a few additional tiny Lenten Rose around the concrete lantern.  







Noticing moss growing on this rock ↑, I chose to clean it off because I like the look of the bare rock better →.  





← And this is the bare spot I moved the moss to.  










So it is now green by the rock at the top of this photo.

I did a touch of weeding and then it was time to get ready for Mirror Lake Blast.  

Joe had grilled sausage, eggs, and pancakes for dinner, so I had a little, and then scurried off to The Grove.  Soul Fish played and other than seeming to be a bit slow (the beat just wasn't as fast as the original songs) they were a lot of fun to dance to.  I got some aerobic exercise.

Tuesday 8/5 - I’d had a horrible night of sleep.  I had turned the lights off at 10:00, then tossed and turned for over an hour (I remember seeing it was 11:00 when Joe came to bed). And then he coughed a bunch.
Joe proceeded to have some coughing fits during the night, which woke me back up and I just could not turn off my brain and settle into a good sleep.  I got up at 3am thinking I might go back to bed, but that never happened.  



I met Joanne and Betty at the barn at 8:30 and we proceeded to enjoy a very nice ride.  I rode Zorro since he can’t go as far and I didn’t have as much time.  He was a little bit full of himself throwing some little cow hops and also rushing much of the time but otherwise did very well.  When we left Betty and Joanne and headed back to the ranch, he settled right into a smooth little racking gate (video).  We probably went 3 miles, while Betty and Joanne ended up going 7.2 miles.  

After my ride, I had some chores to do, including dumping the debris from the chicken coop and cleaning up some branches from a tree Joe had cut up in the spring, after it had fallen down.  When I went down to dump the second wagon load, Joanne and  Betty were in the barn, caring for the horses.  We tried fly leggings to see if that would help Rico's legs heal from all the scratches.   I appreciate Joanne doing extra loving and care on him.




I drove home at noon, fighting sleep all the way.  Lunch was eaten on the deck with my book and I took over an hour nap.  It was not sunny, so I didn’t get too hot.

Before dinner time, I decided I had so much to do I needed to get going.

I trimmed shrubs and weeded right out front, seen above.  Shadow was brave enough to watch from a safe distance.  He is getting tamer, but still quite feral.  I can sort of pet him, just before feeding him, because he is super affectionate (rubs against my legs), but otherwise he won't let me near him.  






Feeding time for other wild ones, who also are getting tamed, but not my intention - really shouldn't be.  





It is counterintuitive to attract the deer to the yard with a little bit of corn and then get frustrated when they eat some of my  plants.  But I love them and this was their home before it was ours, so I feel like I need to do whatever I can to share this space with them.

By bedtime, which was earlier than usual, I had sent a long play list (including several songs in Spanish) to Terry.  I was glad to have that done.

Wednesday 8/6 - Joe accompanied me to the ranch for morning chores, having things he needed to do out there.  It was an overcast morning, but cleared off later.  









The horses, except Banner, who tends to stick to himself, were having a 'pow-wow' up at the fence between the side and front pastures.  




I cleaned the bowl of chicken grit/calcium.  They get egg shells (seen at the top) and going clockwise - chick grit, oyster shells, and granite adult grit.  All of this will be totally mixed up by tomorrow.  







I was weeding the garden when Joe zipped into the yard to show off his new mower.  It is a zero-turn, but easier to operate with the steering wheel rather than the two levers that use differential steering (video).  

We were home by 10:00 and then I put Joe to work helping me with yard work.  He did weed whacking, ran the chain saw, and cleaned the deck and deck furniture.  You can't see much difference in these two photos, but the yew and bottom branches of the hemlock tree had been trimmed in the second photo.  






I ran the electric hedgers and trimmed bushes around the house.  This also involved raking up all the branches and hauling them away.  

This holly really needed trimming and required me to stand on the top rung of the ladder and I still couldn't reach high enough.  I got out the long handle (extending) trimmer to reach the top, but then had to cut each branch individually.  


I quit out in the yard at 5pm, feeling good about what I had gotten done, but overwhelmed with what is left to do.


This is Shadow, rubbing up against my legs.  I can barely walk when he does this because he is literally 'under foot.' 

Joe dropped in out at the ranch for a second time, after dark, to spray the hornet's nest.   

Thursday 8/7 - I was up at 2am, napped from 7:00 to 9am, and drug through the rest of the day.  UGH


Britney sent this very cool photo of the view from their apartment - watching it rain downtown, in San Jose. 

This photo was shared by Vale on Facebook.  Precious little Layla napping during her weekend visit to Chicago.

I made some phone calls while computerizing and 'finalized' my shopping lists that I continued to add to as I thought of more needs for our five day party weekend.
 
My gym visits have been greatly reduced, once last week, once this week, and I probably won't get there next week.  The same has been true of my riding time.  

I did get to the gym today, from 10:30 - 12:30.  I hit Food City to make my order for the wedding party food trays and also picked up some needed groceries.  
My planned time in the yard did not happen because we had a 'surprise' thunderstorm that dumped ¾" rainfall on us just after I got home. 


I went early to do afternoon ranch chores because I had some tasks at the house and with the horses.  
I noticed these eggs left in the manure pile after Joe had removed several tractor bucket loads.  I'm thinking snapping turtle probably.  I covered them back up.  
  
 





I put swat on Rico's lower legs since he did not keep on the fly leggings.  I also gave Amiga Previcox and treated her hooves. 

Being short on sleep, I went to bed early.

Friday 8/8 - After morning chores, I hit the trail with Betty and Joanne again (like we had Tuesday) with Joanne on Rico and I on Zorro. 









At one point , after Joanne had gotten Rico to gait nicely, I tried to get a (video) of them.  But of course, he wouldn't do it for the camera.

Zorro did very well today, much better than Tuesday.  We went about the same route as Tuesday and covered a little over three miles.

Side note: Yesterday we were told by our hay guy that he wasn't going to cut our hay this year because he didn't have time.  He has been stringing us along the last two months.  Why didn't he just say something to begin with?  We are extremely frustrated.  After spending time and money to fertilize and spray weed killer, to get a good hay crop, we are left with nothing.  And now we have to bush hog the tall, stemmy grass we have, so we can at least put the horses on the field.  


Zorro and I headed back on our own and I had him go to the ranch through the woods on the trail along the two back fields.  Jem was using our tractor to bush hog his field so I had Zorro stop up at Jem's back gate to watch for a minute.

Once untacked, I got to work in the ranch yard again.  I picked up some weeds, transplanted some flowers into the two pots by the fire place chimney, and cleaned up more brush behind the cinder block wall.

Then I was off to town to get $356.00 worth of stuff at Walmart, several flowering plants at Lowe's to spruce up our landscape, and pick up the wedding dress and JC's pants and shirt.

Much time was spent getting everything unloaded, but I still need to sort through things.  We have Thursday open house here, Friday potluck/bonfire at the ranch, and Saturday's main event - the wedding party; all to make ready for.

My day ended with 3hrs of much needed frustration release, having a few drinks and dancing at the Light & Lively 'Back To School' party.  Linda and Micki made the night extra fun.