Lazy days

Yesterday was a little crazy so today is going to be a lazy day. Still have the cruise to Iowa City and back to visit with the wife but other than that I’m going dormant. Yesterday the popcorn the wife ordered showed up, my new boots arrived in the mail, and a tech came and got the phone going.

The tech said the problem was due to an electrical surge. Yeah, having a tree hit by lightning 30 feet away can sometimes do that. The cordless phone used to in the kitchen and it was moved to my office. Not a problem, it’s cordless. The problem is the tech left the phone smack dab in the middle of the computer monitor.

Now we have to take the phone off the charger to see the monitor! Small problem that will get fixed later today as I’m getting ready to get on the Interstate and head west. Planning on wearing the new boots to see if they make it there and back in one piece. I say that because they’re the lightest boots I’ve ever gotten and the label stated ‘all man-made materials’ and ‘Made in China’.

We may have some pictures tomorrow if things work out and if not we’ll have something. Enjoy our Thursday.

New routine

Been seeing more of Iowa lately, 55 miles at a crack. The wife should be in the hospital for another week, and I’ve had to do some adjusting. Being a cheap oldfart I like to keep costs down and cruising time up. With gas prices what they are I almost had a heart attack when the last fill up costs me over $50! And we don’t have a pickup either.

Another cost is parking. Valet parking is $15, and handy yet parking in the ramp costs money too. Visited for 3 hours yesterday as tests had the wife sedated and she was out. For the privilege of parking in said ramp I had to cough up $4.20. Before you suggest it, we have the money I just don’t like spending it.

The wife is now on a high flow oxygen supply so she may stay in the hospital as home oxygen concentrators only go 10 liters and the high flow is closer to 60 liters. Don’t know exactly what that means but do know we can’t get anything in the house that goes that high. She is looking better though.

Here shortly I’ll head west for 55 miles and hang a left off the ramp to get to the hospital and visit with the wife. Still working on getting some pictures uploaded, and if you bear with us, we will. Enjoy our Wednesday and July will be here before we know it.

Adjustments

The flowers are blooming, we’ve had a couple of perfect summer days, and the wife is in the University of Iowa hospital. The visiting nurse stopped by and after some simple tests, called the doctor. One thing led to another, and she is in a small hospital room. They must not want her moving around much as the room doesn’t even have a bathroom.

I’ll cruise to Iowa City every day until they release her. Tests still have to be done and she’s missed a couple so they’ll do the testing up there while she’s there. She looked better when I left yesterday so the plan must be working. Rumor has it that she could be up there for two weeks so our gas bill is going up.

And we probably won’t have as many pictures to share until this stage of our lives is over and she’s back home. We will try to get some as we don’t want to lose our touch. Even the cats are confused as the wife gives them snacks in the morning, and since she’s not here that could get sporadic at best. We’re in a wait and see mode right now but hope to have some answers soon.

Until next time, Enjoy our Tuesday.

Now we know

Curiosity got the best of me and I learned a few things I didn’t know. Like did you know that each lightning strike can get be more than 5 miles in length? I did know that a lightning strike can produce temperatures greater than 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit but did didn’t know they can also produce an electrical charge of 100 million volts.

Trees are also targets for lightning as they are often the tallest objects in a given area. A tree is damaged in a lightning strike and along the path of the strike sap boils, steam is generated, and cells explode in the wood which in our case caused strips of wood being blown off the tree. Last time our tree got hit it was savable, this time it was not.

A lot of trees are damaged below ground by lightning as the electrical charge passes through the tree and roots until it dissipates in the ground. This is not good for the tree. There are lightning protection systems for trees which would have saved us a lot of grief, if we knew they were available. A trained arborist or urban forester can help you get a tree protected.

Below are a few pictures which show what the damage on our tree looks like. It goes all the way around the tree, makes 4 complete loops around the tree, and is about 35 feet long.

Someone is coming this week to get the tree down. Enjoy our Monday.

Sunday snicker

A Priest, a Minister and a Rabbi…
are called to the hospice of a terminal millionaire. The millionaire gives each of them $100,000 with the instructions that when he dies he wants them all to bury him with the money. A few weeks later he dies and the Priest, Minster, and Rabbi all throw an envelope into his casket. After the funeral, the Priest asks the minster if he threw the whole amount into the casket.

“No, I didn’t,” the minister says, “I took $10,000 dollars to provide for the congregation. I’m sure he’ll understand. What about you?”

“No, I took $15,000,” The Priest replied, “I have to provide for my small congregation and have many bills to pay. I’m sure he’ll rest easy knowing the money has been put to good use.”

The Priest and the Minister look over at the Rabbi and ask him the same question.
“Of course I did,” said the Rabbi, “I wrote him a check”

Wow!

What a storm! The prediction was for heavy rain, thunder and lightning, hail, and high winds. Boy howdy! Around 2 am I went from sound asleep to standing in no seconds due to the loudest boom I ever heard. Thought I was back on ship and the big guns were firing, all of them and all at once. So I did what anybody else would do and went out to have a look.

In the pouring rain and blinding lightning flashes I couldn’t see any downed trees or anything obvious, so I had a cup of coffee and thought things over. That’s when I noticed we had no phone or internet, the TV however did work. So, I watched a re-run of NCIS New Orleans while I thought things over and thought things would look better when daylight came.

Wrong! Turns out the boom I heard was lightning hitting the old pine tree, again. Looks like the second time’s a charm as it will probably have to be cut down due to the damage. The lightning followed a path down the tree blowing bark, branches, and wood chunks about 50 feet in all directions. To say the tree is singed would not do it justice.

The reason this post is so late is I just got our internet back up. Turns out the second time’s a charm on rebooting the modem also. Makes me wish we could reboot the phone. But we came through the storm without losing power and the wife slept through the storm so there is that. Enjoy our Saturday as it’s here now anyway.

Decent day

Clouds were waltzing across the sky like couples on a dance floor, the animal world played like children, and the flowers started to brighten the day. That’s a decent day to us. Even sat outside with the wife and a neighbor for a few hours enjoying it all.

Won’t be long now and our world will be full of colors like this and we can hardly wait. This is the first one to bloom this year and we think it bright enough.

A little hard to see but this is a baby praying mantis on the garbage bin lid. Always thought they were born in big numbers yet this is the only one spotted so far. It kept moving until it ended up our bushes that are near the garbage bin.

This kitten is usually the one with an attitude who decided to be shy yesterday. Usually this one has a look that dares you to try and get closer. Think she was guarding the water bowl from something.

Finally, this is the biggest of the latest litter and acts like it. While these cats are feral they do let us get close and take pictures. We get to watch them without having to brush cat hair off our clothes. It’s a win/win situation. Enjoy our Friday as we’ll leave shortly to restock the kitchen.

Over another hurdle

This little one is under the roof of a bird feeder and seems to like the place. The kitten hasn’t started hanging pictures or putting down rugs so it may not be permanent. The new mama cat and her five kittens have really confused the rest the feral herd who run like the wind when the kittens get close. We can only hope these cats get over it soon.

Yesterday we went to Iowa City as the wife had a consultation with one of the potential transplant doctors. We found out several things and even liked a few. The wife has cleared the first hurdle and after more tests will go before the transplant board to hear the final word on the subject.

The doctor explained that the wife should have no problem with this board and when approved would be put at the top of the list due to her health. We also found out that it would be a double transplant with both lungs replaced and got a graphic description of what that would look like. The doc sure didn’t pull any punches with that.

And it’s going to be another hot one, but that’s good. The corn will be as high as an elephants eye by the 4th of July and delicious. Enjoy our Thursday as it may be the last one we see this month.

Did it again

For most of the day it was decent but hot. Later it started looking like the picture above along with thunder and lightning, but no rain. So I decided to cruise out to the farm supply store and get some things I needed to keep the car looking nice. Found all the supplies needed to wash and wax the car so decided to mosey over and look at boots.

My boots are no longer waterproof, and the non-slip sole is smoother than some tires from back in the day. The wife was wanting me to look online then she would buy them, but there’s something about seeing the boot, feeling the balance and weight, and checking out the stitching. I found the perfect pair of boots, at a reasonable price and was ready to get a pair in my size.

Then I looked down at my feet and realized I was wearing the exact same pair of boots! Granted, the new ones would be waterproof, yet I laughed. The idea of picking out the same boots was funny. So, I put the boot back on display and walked away to pay for my other purchases. I’ll look another day. Enjoy our Wednesday as we’ll be out of town for part of the day.

Smoke

We know this is late but so are we. Been one of those mornings were everything is taking longer than expected. But we digress. Went out to have a smoke yesterday and after lighting up I noticed the smell of burning wood and electric wiring. Then I saw they gray smoke above the trees rising in a column. Went in and told the wife there was a house on fire about a quarter mile away and went back out.

Around 10 minutes later I heard the sirens and shortly after that the smoke got denser. Sometime after that I looked up to see a cloud of white smoke and knew the firefighters were winning the battle with the blaze. Later there was no smoke at all which I took as a good sign.

Turns out the fire was just down the alley from the house the wife and I bought after we first got married and a good friend had died in that house a few years ago. Felt like the Twilight Zone part II. Not sure if the house is salvageable or not but at the least it’s going to need a roof and wrap around porch. Didn’t venture over to watch as the place holds too many good memories that I’d like to keep.

Don’t believe anyone was hurt was hurt in the fire and that’s always good. Material things can be replaced. Enjoy our Tuesday if you woke up breathing and sorry for the delay in this mornings post.