Taste Like Chicken WE 5/2 & 5/3

Thanks for the start, Chele. What's on the agenda for you and the carnivore today? Is he out of meat already? Have you seen your grocery bill rise since he is working from home, over and above the increased grocery prices? You seem to be cooking more when you feel up to it. Have the blisters resolved by now and do you have your energy back?

Denise, yes a Packo's dog would be good. I also liked their Hamburg Sandwich and every time I have a burger on bread instead of a bun, I think back to my visits there. Have you been to the original restaurant? I'll bet they have even more signed buns on the walls since the last time I was there.

So you basically had breakfast for dinner yesterday, Linda. I need to check out those TJ's potato pancakes. I hope it's true about testing errors being responsible for 2 false positives in the same person. But I've hear of 2 positives in the same person in South Korea and other places as well. Yes, that protest in MI was very scary. I heard a guy on a news show last night who is an expert on these right wing groups and he was pointing out all the subtle signs of what groups these men were affiliated with and it was really eye-opening. These people are apparently way far right and are hoping to start another civil war. I find that extremely scary. Remember that Trump called the Charlottesville people "fine folks". I wish he wouldn't stoke the fires. Do these people even vote, given that they are so anti-government? How did things go at Petsmart?

Becky, Abilene would be a bit far to go for a church service every week. Your friend waiting a week to see about going back to church is wise. Were you able to walk outside today? I hope you're having good weather and your foot and ankle are feeling better. I was shocked at how the Garmin reacted because I never had the same thing with any of the Fitbits I ever owned.

Are you still having comfortable weather today, Kathy? Have the theme parks there started opening at partial capacity? Are your neighborhood sidewalks getting a bit more crowded with the reopenings? Were you and DM able to get everything on your grocery lists this week?

Liz, get some rest and do something special for yourself. When will you be able to get a haircut again? I know how badly I need one and you used to go more frequently than I. Are things at Gary's work staying pretty constant? How are the pups?

I'll be working 2 to 6 this afternoon, which doesn't make me particularly happy. I talked to the guy that I thought might be ok with customer interaction (his 91 year old MIL lives with them and is in poor health) was hemming and hawing when I asked him. So I just said I would go in. The two people refusing to mask up do really well with the customers but we can't take the chance of giving the perception that we aren't 100% modeling safe behaviors because you know how perception is reality to the public. Some people just don't get it. If we had a director and that person said PPE could be optional, I would just wear my mask and let everyone else do their thing. But right now, I'm the one having to take the flack that the director otherwise would and I'm not willing to do that. At this point, I really don't want to run for president next year but there are a lot of people telling me what a great job I'm doing and they have much more confidence in our organization with me in a leadership role. Maybe I need to start now recruiting a new board for next year. I probably won't get a chance to check in after I get home tonight but will do so tomorrow. Happy Saturday, Chicks!

moonriver, Denise, it is a warm, sunny day here. Enjoy the great outdoors and your day off. We are expecting to reach 80° today. Our average is 68°. We had the red bellied woodpeckers this winter but I think they have moved on for the spring and summer. We still have the Downy woodpeckers visiting. The most unusual visitor we had over the winter was the tufted titmouse. Iggy and I drove to Toledo last year just for lunch at Tony Packo’s.

Karen, we left the house early this morning to go to the plant nursery when it opened at 7 am for seniors. We got top soil, peat moss and cow manure so we can prep the veggie plots and pots. I hope the plants arrive next week. The blisters are gone but the redness remains. My energy is almost back to 100% but the pain in my scalp comes and goes. It could take awhile for that to disappear. Yes, our grocery bill has risen over and above the increased grocery prices since he is eating lunch at home, but we are not spending money on takeout or restaurants or gas. The office won’t open until June. Long story. Good luck at the plant sale. I say abdicate next year, Queen of the Gardeners, unless you thrive on stress, but that’s just me.

Kathy, May 2 is Herb Day. We planted some basil seeds in the herb patch. To,orrow is National Paranormal Day. 

Becky, I hope your day is as beautiful as ours. The sun is shining, the birds are singing and a breeze is blowing.

Liz, are you relaxing at all?

Linda, what project are you working on today?

Have a good Saturday.

nybuckeye,Oh wow that's great you had a tufted titmouse. I wish I could get some unusual birds its all residential where I live and no woods but
at least I get a few woodpeckers and goldfinches and chickadees you mentioned that you went to Packos for lunch sounds good

Our back yard fountain is plug in, short extension cord to patio plug. The birds are happy to see it with this heat, including hummers. Have not seen our red-head woodpecker pair in a couple weeks. Maybe they went north.

Feeling better. Got my half hour plus in yard pruning, wet winter and nice spring sure did make shrubs happy.
Then I cleared up the mystery corner of the garage that was blocked off by delivered stuff. DH got couple boxes of the flat paper towels that go into dispensers and tp and kleenex smallboxes at one point. You can find that stuff again, but Kind of conserving that for fear of wave two. Too many people without masks out too soon.

I think it is time to break out the Loreal preference and dye the hair. It actually doesn't look too mad, kind of fluffy halfway between ears and chin finally. The new stylist thought shorter would give me more control. Well that has been a disaster for almost three months!

we get a reprieve to upper 90s for a couple days.

Chele Thanks for the start.

Karen We are having hot weather but beautiful.I walk in the mornings while it's still a little cool.It got up to 91 today and tomorrow it's expected to be 94.My ankle still hurts so I will ask the surgeon on Wednesday.I don't understand about the Garmin either.The Versa 2 is the best Fitbit I have ever had.I hope the sale went well and you aren't too exhausted.

Chele We have a little red cardinal again this year that keeps running into the big window in the master bath.It's been hot but a pretty stiff breeze.

Linda That's how it was in HEB yesterday.Too many people without masks.Today in Walmart all but one sweet little old lady who probably didn't have access to one were wearing masks and they were busier than I had ever seen them.I guess now that so many people are working from home they are going there more.

Yesterday was also World Naked Gardening Day, Chele. Our retired director made sure we were aware of that. We did keep our clothes on while selling plants. Dale is of the same opinion on abdication next year. I had a long talk this afternoon with the guy who used to be treasurer but quit in the furor over the greenhouse. He asked me how being president was going and I leveled with him that it had been difficult between the director retiring followed by covid. We'll see how things go after the next few months. I can only serve one more year, but if I don't come back next year, I know it will be the same people who have been in charge before and that has caused some problems. Maybe I just need to be one of those volunteers who gets in their 25 hours a year doing projects and is never seen at a meeting. It's a thought! Had Packo's changed much last year when you were there? Did you get Black Kow or a generic manure? I guess your grocery bills have been offset by the other things you aren't spending. I was surprised at how few cars were at restaurants when I came home yesterday, which would normally have been dinner rush. Some restaurants didn't even appear to be open. I'm glad the blisters are gone and it's going to take a while for the redness to fade. We aren't seeing as many woodpeckers these days either, but we can hear them so I guess they have more preferred food sources available.

Kathy, I discovered today that the master gardener who was president the first couple years I was in is the grandson of the guy who started the Bush company. They started canning tomatoes and not beans. Pretty interesting to hear the history from an insider. One of the local TV stations sent a reporter to Gatlinburg yesterday and the crowds are definitely back. No social distancing and very few masks. GF who lives there went through town a couple of weeks after the lockdown and said it was like a ghost town. Our cases are rising pretty significantly across the state because they are finding a lot of positives in the prisons, but I'm afraid the lack of adherence to guidelines is going to drive us up even further. As we've said before, can't fix stupid.

Packo's has an actual gift shop now, Denise? When I lived there, they had a counter with t-shirts and I think that was it. I hope you have another stellar weather day. Do you work at all on weekends?

Linda, I'm sure the birds love your fountain in that heat. We had a pair of red-headed woodpeckers all winter but haven't seen them this week. I'm glad ou're feeling better and managed to get so much done. You're wise to stockpile stuff when you can because you know another round is coming. I found out today that freezers are apparently in demand here and there are none to be had. I'm relieved that we have a big one and I hope it continues to keep running well. Enjoy your "cool" weather. I wasn't happy having to work the sale this afternoon, but was glad I did because about 1/3 of the people were wearing masks when they drove in, so it was good that I did. It was only 1/3 but it was a start. My 2 problem children and the daughter of one were the only people from our organization not wearing masks, so I was happy that everyne else complied. Loved the cartoon and meme.

When we lived in Austin, Becky, my favorite time to run in the warm weather was in the morning. Sometimes I would do the neighborhood around Barrington Oaks and about once a week I would go to Zilker. Then it was back into the AC for the rest of the day. We had male cardinals do that at the other house. The theory is that they don't realize it's their reflection and are looking for a fight with another male cardinal. Use to drive me crazy having them bang on the window until he wore himself out. Does it seem that any time you go to the grocery store these days it's a lot busier than it ever was at the same time on that day pre-Covid? I actually am pretty tired today.

Liz, hope you're having a low key weekend and the weather is great. Is Gary going to put in any veggies this year?

I got in over 10K steps yesterday, which I don't get very often since I lowered my goal to 7.5K. It's a laundry day and the first load is all the "covid clothes" I have worn in public for the past couple of days. Then it will be time to change the bed and do that laundry. Then after Dale gets back from running, I have a load of workout clothes. I've already made 3 quarts of herb teas and I think I have a leg up on the UTI, but will continue to treat to make sure. Things start back to a bit of normalcy this week with the return to Osteo and probably at least some time at Gold's. Maybe next week I will try the other local gym and then make up my mind if I want to start going there or go back to AF. Hope everyone has a gorgeous Sunday.