Category: Everyday Life

First Day of May

Posted on by Markman
Love (not a recent picture though).

May. more than any other month of the year, wants us to feel most alive.

Fennel hudson

Another somewhat productive day I’d say. I finally took to task of getting the storm door glass panes out and putting in the screens for summer. My fingertips are hurting because these particular panes are somewhat difficult to get in out and there’s no real room to get your fingers underneath the mechanism in order to remove them. But with some brute strength and some sore fingertips I was finally able to get them out and get the screens in. Needless to say, Carson would appear to be quite pleased with this latest development as now he can see and smell the air to his heart’s content. And that’s really why I did anyway in the first place.

In between getting the two screens out I also mowed the lawn in front of the house as it was starting to look like it really needed it. This also marks the first mow of the season for me. After that I went ahead and manually pulled out all the dandelions that I could see. It’s a never ending battle but it’s done for now, until they rear their little yellow heads again, of which I am sure they will.

In the afternoon we took a quick jaunt over to Volante farms and got a few more plants. I still need to buy some hanging plants for our various hanger setups but it’s still just a tad too early. I assume by next weekend they’ll be good to go and be outside without danger of being too cold in the evenings. We spent a bunch of time landscaping another area, removing a bunch of ground ivy and putting in hostas, a really cool looking two-toned phlox that I’d never seen before, some other red flowering things, and then mulched it all. It looks five thousand times better if you ask me. LD’s had some great ideas this spring and they are really starting to show. We also redid part of the rock garden in the back, which is surrounded by the blue Adirondack chairs because I moved them from the patio to there. Gardening is not easy work, no one ever really tells you that part. Our backs are sore, my knee is what it is, my neck is crinkly. What the heck is happening to us?

I spent some time playing around with some different logos for the site. Not sure if I’ll ever use any of them but it helped pass some time. What do you think of any of these choices? I think I’m becoming partial to the second one, but like I said, might not use any of them.

A possible logo I’ve been playing around with.
A better option? Personal favorite so far.
A bold choice?

Love Me Some Sparkle for a Saturday

Posted on by Markman
Sparkle the goat getting a neck rub from yours truly.

I noticed that I have to keep tightening my belt lately so I thought maybe I had lost a bunch of weight, but when I weigh myself it more or less says what it always had the last year or so, in the 160s. At my heaviest I was in the 180s but I generally average in the 160s apparently. I also got sucked into watching some This Old House reruns this morning, trying to learn some things and possibly get some ideas.

I feel you buddy.

Took a ride to the Sanctuary to drop off some lettuce and carrots as they were requesting some and we had ample supplies. So we did that and hung out there for about an hour. Then it was off to Home Depot for some plants and mulch. And then finally off to help console a couple of our friends who just recently lost their pet dog. We ate Montellio’s on their back deck in the sun as we talked and grieved the loss. Never an easy thing. After that we pretty much just came home and crashed. Ended up watching a Dateline that I had DVR’d but had to keep rewinding it to watch the ending like 3 times because I kept falling asleep! Was a pretty busy day I guess.

Cool Dewd

Posted on by Markman

Anyone who knows me well enough would know that I am always trying out new and artsy type things. Here’s a computerized drawing of myself that I had been playing around with. Reminds me of a baseball card so here’s mine. Collect them all! And yes, I am wearing a hoodie that says Claw & Order: Boston Lobster Unit.

Today was sort of a busy day as after shift I had to take a drive over to Earth-1 because one of my mom’s cats was due for his yearly exam and shots and things of that nature. I’m glad to say that everything checked out fine. Strangely cool and windy today but it would appear that today is the last day of that crap and the weekend looks to be pretty good. I have a bunch of things planned that I want to get done over the weekend so we’ll see if I can push myself to do them all.

The driver’s side window on my mom’s 2003 Toyota Camry LE won’t go down anymore. It appears to probably need a new regulator and possibly the motor to go with that but she’s been having a hell of a time tracking one down, probably because the car is pretty old by this point. We’ve tried all the usual routes but if anybody has any ideas, let me know. It would only be a problem in the summer because it would get sweltering in there, but she doesn’t drive all that much anyway. And she can still roll down the other windows. Just don’t get pulled over because the window doesn’t go down, would have to open the door!

Plants are my Soil Mates

Posted on by Markman
Sunset Thursday

It was windy as heck today which made the morning seem downright chilly!

Tickets for the King Tut Immersive Experience just went on pre-sale, so of course I had to get some. I’m just trying to coordinate with a few other people who want to go to – we can all go together, just need to get the dates nailed down. It’s going to be over at the SoWa power station in Boston, a place I had only been to once years ago, an up and coming hip area.

The seedlings that are in the seed tray on the windowsill have all started sprouting for the most part so I’m leaving the top cover off now that some of the stalks are getting high enough to touch it.

Playing with Overlapping Columns

Posted on by Markman

A Description of Me:

“In every real man, a child is hidden who wants to play.”

I think that quote describes me pretty well. Also I’ve been playing around with some CSS code to produce that column overlapping effect where the text box crosses over into the other column that contains the photo. Pretty cool. On mobile it just kind of stacks them but in tablet and the computer it produces the effect I desire. Let me know if you agree that this is a cool effect! Also let me know if you think this is a good picture of me!

Building a Cinderblock Garden One Step at a Time

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Today we spent some time beginning to construct the cinder block garden. Actually, LD performed the majority of the labor and design, and I think it turned out beautifully! She had an appointment for a second booster this morning, so we did that before moving all the blocks about, filling with rocks and dirt, and planting the Vinca and Phlox. Then, to finish off the look, mulching and planting in a few other spots. It’s coming along beautifully, in my opinion. I believe it will all fill in nicely as these plants establish themselves and begin to flourish. That’s certainly the hope!

In the early evening we watched a TED talk hosted by Brené Brown about vulnerability which we thought was pretty good on Netflix. And then some thing about Roseanne on Reelz. We did these things while eating dinner.

Our muscles have been hurting a little bit these days. Naturally LD’s arm is a bit sore but that’s to be expected. In my latest news, I must have slept wrong last night as my shoulder and neck are killing me. Heating pad times again for this aging blogger.

Of Alpacas and Local Artisan Popups

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Started out the day by checking out a local artisan popup grouping of shops over at the Norwood Space Center. Found some pretty cool items there. Then it was off to Carver to see another popup but this one was being hosted by an alpaca farm in the area, so we got some more things and got to hang with some alpacas – the stars of the show, as it were! I got lunch off of some food truck that was there. On the way back we went to Home Depot to pick up some cinder blocks. We’re planning on designing a corner cinderblock garden up along the fence, or latest project. Something along the lines of this image. We have most of the flowers and stones, it’s now just a process of deciding how we want to stack it and how we want it to look. I imagine we’ll be working on this over the next few days. Also got some mulch for the patio area to help spruce it up a little bit more.

I was going to replace the glass panes in the doors with the screens but I heard tomorrow is actually going to be a bit on the chilly side so I decided to postpone that a couple of days. Carson likes to have the doors open so he can look outside at all the various things but he also likes the smells. He’ll be able to enjoy that better once I have the screens in for the season.

For dinner, even though I’m beat, I cooked up some rosemary infused pork tenderloin with sides of mashed potatoes and broccoli. Anyways I may hit the rack a bit early tonight.

Gametime: Rock Forest – a not too hard cute game that I found.

Happy Earth Day 2022

Posted on by Markman
Happy Earth Day Everyone!

What better way to celebrate Earth Day than than spending it outside? Because the weather was so wonderful today, we were able to finish off some spring cleaning activities as we prepare for the season’s approaching events. The most important task was to clean the patio, and we were learning as we went. It came out looking really well, in my opinion. I also retrieved the grill from storage, moved a few items, and cleaned the table and chairs. LD went out and bought some more phlox for an area near the fences. The idea was that it would eventually provide a lovely cover, similar to what it had done over the front of the house. The tulips, as well as a bunch of hyacinths, which you can see in the shot, are starting to bloom now, and there are also some small grape hyacinths springing up all over.

Cleaning My Ride is in Full Effect

Posted on by Markman
Some daffodils bloom underneath flowering trees
Some daffodils bloom underneath flowering trees

Well, I headed over the Earth-1 this morning in preparation for bringing the cat to the vet but when I got there I found out that the doctor had to cancel due to some other emergency so we had to reschedule it to the end of next week. So instead I decided to get my car washed and then used the vacuum at the place to clean out the inside. To say it was a little overdo for both would be an understatement. It’s looking all pristine now! While I was in the area I also hit up the local merchant to get a Mother’s Day card and some writing pens with a 1.4mm tip. On thing you might not know about me is that I like pens that write really thick.

Spring Tasks, Glass Like Effect and Ankle Twisting

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This is a photo I took a little while back inside the Boston Public Gardens during springtime. I’m also learning some CSS code in order to make this text look with a frosted glass-like effect of a background. What do you think?

We awoke to the city preparing to install temporary water plumbing in front of all of the houses so that they could work on repairing the water main around the corner. It’s very aggravating. Pipes on the roadway abound, and you have to drive over them to get into the driveways; granted, there are rubber ramps on either side of the pipe, but it’s still inconvenient. I had to go to Whole Foods in Dedham for a pickup, so I’ve already driven over it a few times.

I was able to get the dolly from Earth-1 and use it to move a filing cabinet into the basement. I’ll return the dolly when I head back there tomorrow as I have to assist in getting my mom’s cat to the vet over there. Yearly exam, shots and all.

Later we planted some canna lilies that we got from a friend and planted them in honor of today being 4/20. Get it? Canna? Unfortunely while I was putting some soil in the shed and had started to clean off the patio for a deep clean we’re doing on Friday I fell and twisted my ankle. Hopefully it’s nothing major. Of course it’s on the leg where I have the foot and knee problems. Oy! I think I got lucky with this one though. So while I was resting my ankle I decided to try to learn and play around with some CSS for the site. I spent about a half hour playing around with trying to make a frosted glass-like effect behind text on my photos. Might still need to play around with it but I have the gist of it created. What do you think? Is it cool? It’s not part of the picture, it’s literally text that hovers above it, which I can change easily.

I also spent about an hour before lunch catching some of the Johnny Depp trial live. I find it somewhat fascinating to watch for some reason, I’m not a particular fan of JD but it sounds like it was pretty crazy town.

Marathon Monday Means Goat Baby

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Springtime!

Today’s the running of the Boston Marathon but I decided to use the day to get a bunch of work done. Work on LD’s website is just about completed, I got the menus to work and just need to add some graphics. Might spruce it up more or change the layout a bit later but as of now the site is live and working. Today was also the day the electrician decided to show up and put in the new dedicated line for the sump pump, While he was wiring that up I put together a desk that LD had bought for herself and replaced the “bunny nursey” pot back into it’s place on the back deck, just in case some bunny decides to use it again.

Then in the afternoon we went to the beach for a walk and then even later on, we got to hang with a baby goat who is literally one day old! His name is Cameron and he is the cutest little boy!

Meeting one day old Cameron!

Yes, Cameron was born on Easter, and that white goat which you can see in the left hand bottom corner of this photo is Mira, his mother, which is short for Miracle because when she was a baby she almost didn’t make it. She’s turned out to be an amazing mother to her baby – it was fascinating to watch.

Happy Easter!

Posted on by Markman
Happy Easter!

My bands arrived yesterday and believe it or not, it’s actually better than the manufacturer’s one I’ve been using – go figure. Yesterday we spent some time chatting with some friends for a couple of hours outside, which was nice. Then we went to a local bakery where they live and got some bunny cupcakes which I’ll be having for dessert later today to go with our Season’s 52 Easter takeout meal. I’ve also been doing some real website work on LD’s site, it’s getting closer and closer. I’m hoping it’ll all done by month’s end. I just need to figure out some menu things and sub pages and of course some graphics. Stuff I need to still work on.

Pressure Washing the Deck for a Good Friday

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I awoke this morning to find the strap buckle on my fitness tracker/smartwatch had broken off, so I had to get some new ones from Amazon. It’s quite irritating. I acquired a six-pack from somewhere on there and I’m hoping they’ll work out. They’re due to arrive sometime tomorrow.

This morning I assembled the new pressure washer and got to work on power washing the back deck. I decided to get a new hose specifically for this device so I also took a quick run down to Home Depot to get one. First hosing down with the detergent and then blasting away to rinse it all. The flooring, the posts, the white trellises and all. It took a couple of hours but I got to say it does look really clean and nice and new. It had been a few years since we really cleaned it so it was totally due to be done. The weather was totally awesome for it today to, high 60s, sunny, not a cloud in the sky. There was a breeze every now and then which would blow some of the spray back over me but it felt pretty good.

For lunch LD treated to Capt. Marden’s Seafood from their food truck through the web, since it’s Good Friday and all, no meat you know! Then we went and did a few errands and some billing and stuff. It’s just before 6 pm now and I’m pretty fried. Probably just going to order a pizza, watch some television and rest my knee and back and crash on my heating pad. All in all it was a good Friday.

Unsettling Scenes Down the Street

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I witnessed something really strange this morning. As I was going about my morning routine I noticed a woman run across the street and then a man chased behind and tackled her to the ground in someone’s front lawn from across the street where she was running. They both fell to the ground and then it seemed to me like the guy might have been yelling at her. At first I thought it might be a domestic thing and was going to phone it in to the station but then they got up and started walking away down the street away from me, the guy clearly in control of her. Then I thought maybe it was a drug thing, like maybe the woman was tripping or something. It was too far down the street from me to really tell what was going on. I saw a car or two stop down there, perhaps the drivers trying to assess the situation. Anyways, I saw a cruiser then drive around down there so I figured that they would take care of it. A few minutes later the same cruiser drove by me and I didn’t see anything so I guess maybe it was much ado about nothing. Still, it was a little unnerving to me.

Preparing a List for Spring Break

Posted on by Markman
The man. The mystique.
The man. The mystique.

After work, I did a bunch of things today that I wanted to complete today and over the next few days, just in case you’ve been wondering what I’ve been up to.

  1. Cleared off the back deck in preparation for us pressure washing it clean. I’ve been doing some research on how best to tackle the job on the composite.
  2. I did some research on how I’m going to implement some of the things on LD’s website.
  3. Because the previous flowers had faded, I purchased an Easter bunch of flowers for the vase. There are some stunning blue hydrangeas in the mix that attracted my eye. Perhaps a photo will be forthcoming.
  4. The lavender seedlings on the windowsill are starting to sprout. Pretty exciting!
  5. Played around a bit with my social media accounts and made this “drawing” of myself.
  6. Disassembled an old dehumidifier for ease of disposal. Also preparing to replace the glass panes with screens on the house doors and to bring out the grill from storage. I have a feeling we’ll be doing a lot of grilling this year, as we did last year.
  7. Cleaned up some leaf/yard waste for the town pick up tomorrow.
  8. As I was cleaning up some stuff out front, I noticed a tiny bunny scurrying about. When it heard me poking around, it raced to safety, but I left it alone and am delighted that they seem to be doing fine. We were so distraught last week when we disturbed their nest unknowingly but they’ve all left now to live their lives.
  9. The town is starting to dig up all the streets in the neighborhood around here to reline all the sewers I believe. It makes getting around pretty annoying and I have to plan my route accordingly every morning so I’m not late. Going to be wonderful I’m sure once they start working on the entire street in front of the house. Not.
  10. I’ve been trying out a new knee brace for my right knee. So far I’m liking the way this one feels. It’s more or less to stop me from overextending the tendons that hurt when I bend it too far. Ah, the joys of aging. Like they say, “I really don’t mind getting older, but my body is taking it badly.”

An Exciting Draft

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It was kinda cool last night watching the WNBA Draft of all things as LD’s trainer was there to support her daughter being drafted into the WNBA. The kid is amazing too as she was ranked 5th in the draft. She ultimately dropped to 7 but still that’s pretty freaking good. And it was cool seeing them all on television as the team picked her. Plus we can all say, “We know those people!” Cool!

Industrious for a Sunday

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Before Noon:

Today I’m feeling quite accomplished! I finished assembling the hose box we got yesterday before noon (I didn’t realize it needed to be partially assembled, but I figured it out). Instead of laying strewn around all over the place, the hose is now neatly wrapped and placed inside a fashionable looking box. I trimmed and disposed of some weeds that had been growing under the patio. I dumped the ash from the firepit that had accumulated over the course of the previous couple of social outings. I took down the outside lights from the back deck so that I could power wash it clean later and trash any lights that were no longer functional. I’ll rehang the working lights once everything is done to that section. Finally I air blew some leaf detritus off the decks and patio for a cleaner look. Like I said, feeling pretty accomplished! I also learned how Square works a little bit!

Afternoon:

We went out to Home Depot to pick up a pressure washer, which we’ll use to clean the decks early to mid-week. Then it was over to Staples to get a three-hole punch so we could punch holes in all the recipe cards we’d gathered and placed into a binder. Also started putting away some of the winter things that were outside live the shovels and the reflective poles in the ground.

Evening:

Winding down with some television and to begin reading an old book that was laying around, You Just Don’t Understand: Woman and Men in Conversation. Looks a little outdated but still could be interesting and enlightening. I’ll give it a shot.

Bouquets and Bustle for a Spring Saturday

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Spring bouquets

Today was spent getting things ready for spring and taking advantage of the opportunity to get things organized.

Vacuumed and assisted with the better arrangement, cleaning, and organization of the sun room – getting there – measured the top of the old toy chest we bought at a yard sale years ago to see if we could purchase some sort of pillow/cushion for the top to turn it into a seat with storage underneath.

The Big Pencil

I then planted the tubers I dug up last year into one of the raised beds – got them in there before it started drizzling rain outside. Also planted some lily tubers and some other seedlings in a new area out back which is going to be something of a “prairie” type area. LD planted some pansies and hyacinths out front.

Loaded up the car with some crap I hope to dispose of over at Earth-1 next week. Also returning the Big Pencil back to my “Hall of Trophy’s” over there.

Later in the afternoon, we drove to the hardware store and purchased a wrap for the outdoor hose, which I intend to install tomorrow. I’ll be working on LD’s website as well, getting it ready for prime time, over the next week.

It was a wild weather day as today had a little bit of everything, sun, wind, rain, clouds, even a rainbow.

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Posted on by Markman
On a shooting location

Our relationship might not be perfect, and certainly has its ups and downs, but our love for each other is still strong and is wonderful all the same, and that’s all anyone could ever ask or hope for. I am truly blessed to have found you. I just want you to know, that when I picture myself happy, it’s with you.

In a world where so many things can be uncertain, you are the one thing that I will always be sure of. Better than I was, more than I am. And all this happened by taking ourselves hand in hand. Happy Anniversary Ladydoc! I’m so glad to be able to spend this day with you, and all the days with you. Seriously, you’re amazing! This lowly kid from Somerville hit it big when he met this Jersey Girl.

Sunset is My Therapy

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Sunset Love

Sunset is the only therapy I need. There is something magical about it, it makes you feel things. And with every new sunset that feeling is always different. And the beautiful thing is that no matter what you feel, as long as you feel, you are living and that is all that matters.

-Tadas Petrovas

Cluck You

Posted on by Markman
Just some roosters hanging out

The highlight of the day was a brief visit to the Sanctuary. Despite the fact that it was closed to the public today, the owner let us in because we’d been regulars for a long time and were dropping off some produce for the animals that LD had kindly procured. While wandering about, I came across a flock of roosters who were just hanging out and thought it would make a good photo. So there you have it. We sowed lavender seeds in a lot of seed trays earlier in the day, which I later placed on a ledge in the house to germinate. We’re hoping to be able to transplant them into the garden in a few weeks. We also have some butterfly mix, stargazer lily bulbs, and some gaillardia to plant. I’ve also been hydroponically growing some garlic bulbs in a big glass jar contraption I had set up as an experiment of mine. The green tendrils of leaves are starting to sprout up out of the jar, pretty fast growing.

Because the dianthus pot outside appears to be empty, it appears that the surviving baby rabbit must have fled sometime last night. After all, they were almost ready to depart, so I don’t feel as horrible as I did yesterday. I couldn’t really tell if any of the lettuce we left had been eaten, but maybe since the pot I laid in in seemed to be moved this afternoon. I guess we’re going to have to leave it as I’ve now designated it as a bunny nursery since this is at least the third time that a rabbit has placed it’s babies in it to develop and grow. Who knows how many others we may have had in there without knowing!

The Push and the Pull

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Be water.

Half of me is filled with bursting words and half of me is painfully shy. I crave solitude yet also crave people. I want to pour life and love into everything yet also nurture my self-care and go gently. I want to live within the rush of primal, intuitive decision, yet also wish to sit and contemplate. This is the messiness of life – that we all carry multitudes, so must sit with the shifts. We are complicated creatures, and ultimately, the balance comes from this understanding. Be water. Flowing, flexible and soft. Subtly powerful and open. Wild and serene. Able to accept all changes, yet still led by the pull of steady tides. It is enough.