Birthday

Today is my birthday, and it has been a wonderful one. Everyday this week the mail brought another greeting from a friend. I honestly can't remember when so many of my friends and family remembered.

Part of the reason for this is that I have made so many good friends in this community. It's the best move I've made in years. Because of the internet, I've also reconnected with old friends who sent their wishes.

My Scrabble group took me out to lunch today. We had a very good time, then came back to my house for dessert. I experimented with a recipe and wanted to get their opinion. It's not that much of an experiment. I just made a lemon pound cake into a lemon lime pound cake. But that little change was a major step for me. I usually follow a recipe to the letter, never use my imagination.

Yes, it's been a wonderful birthday. So good, I think I'll have one every year.

German Lesson

I'm surprised with myself. I'm still setting aside an hour a day for my German lesson. I'm using Rosetta Stone and it seems to be working well.

I'm not doing as well as I would like, but since I haven't studied anything in about 15 years I guess I'm not doing so badly.

Two years ago I did try to learn French for my trip to Alsace Lorraine. I must admit that I didn't take it seriously. I listened to the cd's whenever I thought of it. I did try to learn by osmosis. I listened to the cd's as a way to go to sleep. I thought I might learn in my sleep. Didn't work. I do know that I can order a ham and cheese sandwich in French, that's about it.

The German vocabulary is coming to me quicker than the grammar and writing and that really disturbs me. You see, I consider myself quite the grammarian, in English of course and my spelling is very good too.

Even though it's getting harder, I have to keep at it. It's a matter of pride. I won't let it beat me. I'm determined to be able to speak, even if it's only a little, for my riverboat cruise in Germany in October. Today is Donnerstag.

Dryer Update

The repairman got here today, almost on time. I explained the problem and the fact that I had had the vent hose cleaned out about a month ago. He took the front panel off the dryer and I was shocked to find that it was full of lint. I now know that when the hose is cleaned, the front panel should also be removed for cleaning.

Then he went up in the attic to check the hose up there. It seemed that that was the problem. When the builder put the hole in the roof for the vent, he neglected to fully open the flap on the vent. The repairman fixed the flap and said that now the dryer should work perfectly.

It had worked so poorly before they put the hole in the roof that even the little improvement was appreciated. Today, after he fixed the flap I could feel the difference. The air in the dryer was actually hot. Now, maybe my clothes will dry in less than 2 or 3 hours.

At least I don't have to buy a new dryer - yet.

Appliance Life

Ever since I moved into my house almost five years ago, my dryer hasn't worked properly. After about two years, I discovered that while the vent hose went from the dryer to the roof, no one put a hole in the roof for the vent.

After that was fixed, it worked well until about the last two or three months. It takes about two hours to dry a small load. I must add here that it doesn't get all that much use, about 3 loads a week. I decided to get the vent hose cleaned, maybe that was the problem. It wasn't.

I finally call for a repair today and was surprised to hear that the average lifespan of a dryer is 7 years. I couldn't believe it. They don't make things like they used to. My first dryer lasted about 15 years and it got a lot more use. A repairman is coming tomorrow. If it will cost more than $100, I'll forget about it and buy a new one.

Inconsiderate People

They say you shouldn't write anything when you're angry or annoyed. This is why I waited a day and after speaking with someone similarly affected.

The problem occurred yesterday in church. This woman came in with three children ages 7 and under. She was 15 minutes late. I'm sure someone would say how hard it is to get three children dressed and out on time. I would answer that by saying that if she had tickets to a performance of the circus or Sleeping Beauty or Shrek, she would be sure to be on time, no matter how early she had to be there.

The children were restless the entire time, yet she only chastised the oldest and never said a word to the other two. The middle child, a girl, brought a stuffed animal to church. I hate to sound like a cranky old lady, but back in the day when my boys were young, we brought books that had bible stories aimed at children. My boys called them, "God books". We were always on time and they behaved themselves, sitting and standing still, no wiggling.

Back to this family. She also brought this horrible smelling hand cream with her and, of course, the children had to use it. One woman, after shaking the boy's hand as the Sign of Peace had to wipe her hand off. Then, after making everyone step over her and the youngest (she allowed the middle child who was about 5 to go up for communion, even though she was too young to receive) at communion time, she packed up and left early.

I know I should be charitable and be glad that at least she brought her children to church with her, but I don't feel very charitable. She and her children were a distraction to all around them.

Crash here

There's something suspicious going on with my mother. All week, she's been going out for about 1/2 hour. TWICE A DAY!!! When she comes back, she smells different. I think she's seeing another cat. I can't understand why she'd do that. Aren't I good enough?

I tried talking to Burnie about this, but he couldn't care less. As long as he gets his food on time he's not worried. It looks like I have to take matters into my own hands.

I think the next time she goes out I'll block the door so she can't get past me. OR, maybe I'll just ignore her, that'll teach her. I'll show her she can't cheat on me and get away with it.

What if she really likes that other cat better than me? Who'll take care of me? I can't open the can of food, I can't turn the water on either. Maybe, if I'm real nice and purr a lot, she'll forget about that other cat.

Spring Garden

Even though we might have a frost tonight, I can tell that spring is in the air. Everything just looks brighter, the grass is growing, the trees are starting to show their leaves. I'm even getting the urge to garden.

I really don't care for gardening. All that getting down on your hands and knees to plant and then to weed. For some reason, my house seems to attract a particularly strange weed. It grows very tall and has thorns very close together on every branch. The man who occasionally does my weeding (when it gets out of control) said he doesn't see it anywhere else in my development. Just my luck.

Anyway, I'm getting that urge. So, I ordered a bunch (12) of miniature rose bushes and they came today. I have no idea where I'll put them. Fortunately, they can be planted in containers. I also bought a couple of basil plants, some coriander, rosemary, parsley and Texas tarragon. The herbs will be kept in containers, but the tarragon may go into the ground. I read that it has yellow blossoms and attracts butterflies. Oh, and I also bought a strawberry plant which already had berries on it. That too will stay in a container.

I hope to have a nice garden with lots of herbs and berries and roses. Now all I have to do is remember to water them and harvest the herbs before they go to seed. What are the chances of that?