Weeds

Ever notice that even in a drought situation the only things that seem to keep growing are the weeds?

The one thing you really want to be rid of and they just keep growing green and proud while everything around them is brown and dieing. And when you do get a little rain, they grow that much bigger, greener, and prouder.

It's like they're mocking us, standing there sticking their little tongues out at us going, "Plaff!!" If they had tongues that is. But who knows, maybe they do and just do it when our backs are turned. Or worse yet, they give us the finger, or in their case, the leaf! If they have leaves that have little parts sticking out it would be easier for them, like say dandelions. Yeah, they're real dandy alright.

You never know what they're up to but we all know that unless we use the nasty stuff, they just spring up all over the place. They're like rabbits that way, just keep on multiplying whether we like it or not.

Some weeds are eatable. I guess we could pick those ones and eat them, like the dandy dandelion. And you have to admit, seeing a whole field of dandelions with their little yellow flowers is pretty, but in a yard, they're a pain. But I guess we can be thankful that we have something green growing.

Those Lazy, Crazy Days of Summer

Yep, they've been lazy, but not too crazy, except the weather, and too hot to get up the gumption to do just about anything.

Hot, I'm not kidding! We're under an excessive heat warning that started Saturday afternoon at 1:00 until 9:00pm tomorrow night. It's been the hottest summer that I can ever remember. We've been breaking into the triple digits here all last week and now again this week. We actually hit a high here at the house yesterday of 107.9! I'm not sure how correct our little weather thingy is, but that's what it said at about 2:00 in the afternoon. We had one day, Friday I think, that only made it up to 92 and it actually felt a lot cooler than it had. Funny how that happens after such hot temps. It's supposed to be like that by the weekend this week too.

The time on it was never set forward, so it's an hour behind.

Note the humidity level, 47%. No rain in sight.

Yep, it's been real dry, so much so that we're in a drought situation. On the news last night they were saying that only 23% of the corn crop in the state is at excellent condition, down from 62% at the beginning of July. The 23% is probably up in the northern part of the state. They've had more rain up there.

And about those bike riders participating in this year's RAGBRAI (Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa), it can't be easy riding across Iowa even in the best of conditions, but doing it in this heat...?! I hope they're keeping themselves well hydrated.

The pups seem to be comfortable here in the house though. On top of the air conditioners going, we also have fans blowing at which Jake is sleeping in front of at this moment. He, Rolli, and Angel vie for that spot here in the living room and Jake always gets the one in the hallway, laying half in and half out of the bedroom in front of it. We've also made sure to keep two jugs of water filled so that we can refill their water bowl when needed. They also don't stay outside very long either, even Rolli is coming in instead of wanting to stay out.

They're saying that we're going to have above average temps until October. It'll be interesting to see what winter has in store for us. The last time we had a hot summer, we had a really bad winter with really cold temps and lots of snow. I'm thinking that it may have been when we had the bad ice storm too, but don't quote me on that. We'll just have to wait and see.

That Max!

He is such a little stinker.

We just had some much needed rain this morning and the back yard is wet. When I got back from taking David to work, I let him and Jake out, Angel and Rolli had gone out before I left.

Well, as many of you know, Max is part Jack Russell and JRs like to dig which means Max likes to dig. Sometimes when he and Rolli are outside together, she'll egg him on by starting to dig herself. Yep, she can be a little stinker too.

So, I let them out and was standing by the door to let them back in and what does that little brat start doing, digging. I yelled at him and he knew right away that he was in trouble, he came slinking back into the house, head held low, tail between his legs. Jake came in and wanted dried off as soon as he saw me take out one of their towels, so Max went sneaking off to his favorite spot under the dining table. I swear I even saw him wagging his tail a little, but as soon as I was done with Jake, I called him back and wiped his paws off. He knew I was not happy with him. He also knows it won't last long.

He's lucky that he's so cute. I tell him that it's the only thing that saves his little butt when he misbehaves. Of course I'm just joking when I say it. This is his forever home.

Am I in trouble?

Did you know...

That the Pittsburgh Steelers were founded on this date in 1933? They were founded by Art J. Rooney whose son owns them now. May they never leave Pittsburgh.

Look Ma, No Cavities

Went in for my semi-annual teeth cleaning and checkup this morning. I still have some of my own teeth on the bottom, thus the appointment. Everything checked out okay, which I was glad to hear.

It's funny, I take better care of the teeth I have left than I ever did when I had all of my original teeth. My very first dental appointment wasn't until I turned 13. Back then, people didn't think baby teeth were important so a lot of people never saw a dentist until after they had all of their adult teeth. That was the way for my siblings and I, but it was also because we were being raised by my mom with little or no help from my dad.

Even after we started seeing a dentist, I still didn't take the care of my teeth seriously. Boy, do I wish I had.

I did try after I got married and we had dental insurance, but it seemed that every time I scheduled major work to be done, Dave would end up getting laid off. It actually made me afraid of going to the dentist for fear that the same thing would happen. Thankfully the year before last I finally bit the bullet and decided that I had waited long enough and things were stable enough, plus my niece was getting married and I wanted to go to the wedding with a nice smile, so I went to AllCare and started the process of having the past 30 something years corrected. Wouldn't you know it, just as I was trying to set up an appointment to start the second and then the final stage of the process, they went out of business. Poof! Just like that they were gone. I couldn't help thinking that it was just my luck and what was I going to do now?

Luckily for me and the other patients who went there, there was only the one office in Des Moines, AllCare came to an agreement with another dental firm in the Des Moines area to take AllCare's patients. They were pretty quick about it too, unlike in other parts of the country. I was able within a few month's time to have the process completed and finished a month before the wedding. I was thrilled, I finally had my smile back and I'm happy to say that this one turned out just as nice as my original one, which I was told when I was a teenager, was a very nice one.

Let me tell you, it's so nice to be able to smile again and not be embarrassed. It's a great feeling. Now, if I can only get my weight down to what it was then, that would be the icing on the cake. ☺

Happy 4th of July

Have a Safe and Happy Independence Day!

Please, if you drink, don't drive. Also, if your town does not allow fireworks, please abide by the law. The drought is spreading and many areas are dry. It only takes one spark to start a wildfire.

God Bless America!