We had major internet problems last night. I had finished writing my blog, and suddenly it just went off.


Español!

Beautiful day.

OYB!

Beautiful morning.

My girls!

Full Sun Moon.

Palabras.

Adelante!

Big project today as I moved all my plants back outside.

Once I got them outside, I trimmed all the dead leaves away.

Swept all the debris out of the door.

Washed all the pollen off of the deck.

Beautiful.

Vacuumed the house.

Moved the outside plants from my room outside too.

Swept my outside carpet.

I brought out my door/ramp to get things outside. Man, am I glad I figured that out.

Watered the newly transplanted Liriope.

Filled up my tap water jugs.

Cleaned out my vacuum cleaner parts.

Cleaned and refilled the hummingbird feeders.

For the second time recently, I’ve seen a murder of three or more crows find an owl and just continue to dive bomb it to drive it from their territory. It occurs to me that me having the crows all the time is an either-or proposition. I have owls or crows but not both. I prefer the crows. They’re like flying monkeys.

Sprayed fungicide on some of my plants.

Helped the kids at the mission. Most of my kids are taking the Milestone test right now. I’ve been helping them review fractions or rounding or whatever. Some just come to hang out and play.

Cleaned off the door at the mission.

Mas y mas.

I just fed my Mama raccoon this evening. So cool to have her that close. It’s a real trust thing on both of our parts. I sat on my steps and fed her for about ten minutes. I was literally inches from her. Just kept dropping her pieces of dried dog food. So cool

Later, I spread the food out in it’s normal spot for the other visitors. I’ve seen four raccoons at a time recently.

I hope to start getting pictures of her soon. It’s hard to hit it at just the right time.

I hope this helps a lot of people.

OYB!

Beautiful day. Cold in the morning. My weather station said it was 41 degrees when I woke up.

Español!

Love my girl!

Deposited checks. What a blessing.

Palabras.

I sewed one of Everly’s plushies up this morning. She was holding her paw to comfort her.

Adelante!

Watered my transplants.

We took Jessi to get her blood work done. Everly and I went to the pet store and to Krogers to look around.

I’m not even sure what this is.

We met Penelope at the bus and went to QT for a slurpy and doughnut picnic out in the yard. It was fun.

Helped the kids with their homework. We practiced some math principals in prep for their Milestone test.

Suddenly, one of the Bengali Moms came over to our table where we do homework weeping and just absolutely distraught. I immediately went into Emergency Mode. She said she had lost her daughter. I started ordering the kids around half of them searching one direction and the other the other half. I went down the road towards QT and saw two high school girls and asked them if they had seen her. They said that she had gone to Walgreens and was being held there. I shot off that direction and when I was nearly to the door a Bengali man walked out holding the youngster. It was obviously the lost kid. Amen for finding her. I went back and told the kids to hurry over to the Mom to let her know that her child had been found. Quite the drama.

Went by my office to check the mail.

Traffic was bad. Mr. Google sent me the long way around, but still faster.

When I was nearly home, I got a call from Kathy that 911 had been called to take Ann back to the hospital. More drama.

I was nearly hit by crazy drivers TWICE today. I saw their super bad driving, gave them extra room and they still nearly hit me. Crazy. Then on the way home this guy pulls out in front of me making me really slow down. I kind of looked at him like “What the hell, man?” He stuck his tongue out at me. Crazy talk.

OYB!

Cool day. Had all my jackets on.

Huh. Can’t say I wear my mask much any more.

Love my girls!

Moana breakfast.

Español.

I bought Everly mimi M&Ms this morning. I had her separate them by color and then she counted every group. We count the cars coming towards us on the way home from Global Mall. It’s a two-lane road so easy to see. She does better all the time.

Took the girls to Vietnamese today.

I had our Easter Celebration today at the mission. I told the Easter story. Finished it up with half the group saying, “He’s not dead” and the other saying, “He is risen!”

Lot of kids!

Then we scattered the eggs for the little kids to pick up.

Here they came a full speed.

The bigger kids helped the little ones.

After the party, I helped the kids with their homework.

Real bad traffic coming home. Mr. Google took me a lot of back turns to get around the wreck on 78.

Gassed up my car and checked fluids.

Picked up my groceries. I still can’t get over how few people use this service.

Released Verbal Surgery -936- The Map and the Journey.”

I thought this was interesting. From Eric Barker’s blog.

I discovered the Atlanta Carnivorous Garden last night! The guy lives in Snellville near me. Fabulous. I really look forward to checking it out one day soon.

I came in third place last week. It was a fun competition.

Just keep going.

OYB!

Adelante!

Cloudy but comfortable. Cool weather makes me do more yard work.

Had the telephone guys work on their wire today. They were finally finishing the job from months ago when the neighbor’s tree fell and clobbered out wire. It actually blocked us in at home.

Had a good talk with my Mom today. Always a blessing.

I worked on the transplanting Liriope project. Here’s the area where I’m getting the plants.

I spent this long harvesting the plants.

I keep trying to figure out better ways to get over this fence.

This is the area I filled in.

After transplanting, I blew the driveway.

It always surprises me just how far I walk in these projects.

It’s coming along. My guess is that it will take years to completely fill in. It’s the only plant I’ve seen work in the shady condition.

This is the area where I planted. I always like to leave a project in a way that is still pleasing to the eye.

Cute.

Can’t believe how long it’s taking me to get my new shoes. Prime has so spoiled me.

I dig this.

Jesse needed a sound system for her computer. I disconnected mine, cleaned the cables and bundled them up. Then took them to her office.

I thought this was interesting.

Easter palabra.

OYB!

This makes me sad. I reckon I’ll still be tracking it until it takes the big plunge.

Español!

Had a fun talk with my buddy Anthony. He’s always good for a laugh.

I saw this at Stone Mountain. Beautiful.

Harry!

While I was at Stone Mountain, I checked on my little plants. It’s scary putting them outside. I’m interested in how they’ll cope. If it looks like they’re really suffering, I’ll bring them back to my green room.

Interesting information about the war. Their trucks don’t work.

Back outside to add some more plants to the yard.

You can see where I’ve moved the leaves. Those are the areas where I will work next.

I already had the plants from yesterday’s harvest. After raking the leaves away, I dug shallow holes for the little plants.

The plants have completely bare roots. I kept them in my gorilla cart in a tub of water.

Went over to Kathy’s sister’s house to check on her. Took a pizza and some Tylenol over. Cleaned the house up a bit. Got her a heavier blanket. Took out trash. Got her some water. It’s all those little things that are so hard for her in her condition.

It’s interesting how I switch back and forth from things I get from Walmart Pick Up service and the things I get from Amazon Prime two day delivery. This cappuccino mix changes back and forth depending on the supply chain at the time.

Palabras!

I ordered some new shoes from ShoeMall.com and it is taking weeks to get them here. They were the best price and basically only outlet for the shoes I like.

That’s the highest score I’ve ever had on Duolingo. It’s primarily because of one particular test pattern that I just kill at. It’s matching an English word and it’s equivalent in Spanish at super fast speed.

Rained early this morning. That’s good because it helped me with the yard work project I did today. The soil is easier to work with if it’s damp.

OYB!

Adelante!

Deposited checks.

My Lock Screen.

Went to Walgreens to pick up some meds for K. She’s having stomach issues.

I’m having fun playing with my new “lichen garden.”

Transplanted Liriope plants from the buffer zone of my yard to my front yard. One of the hard parts was just getting over the fence. I used a step later and the wash tub. Also used my leather gloves, gorilla cart and my shovel.

First part of the project was to remove all the sticker vines. Sharp little bastards.

I dug about three inches below the surface of the plants. The first time I did it, I tried to leave dirt with the roots. Later, I realized that it was better to leave just the roots.

There’s plenty of monkey grass to harvest. Just a matter of getting it done. It also clears up the very back of my property.

Careful!

I removed quite a few plants.

I spent a little time getting the vines off of my back fence.

Moved to there front yard to plant what I’d just harvested.

I dug a hole, then put the plant in the hole and filled it back up with the dirt I’d just dug up.

Eventually, I had a series of about 5-7 holes. I’ve learned it’s best to do one layer of holes at a time. If you do too much you start stepping on the new plants.

Then I put the plants with the exposed roots into one of the holes.

Last step is to tamp the soil down well with my foot. Got pretty muddy.

When all the plants have been transplanted, I then give them a good watering down. That helps settle the soil. The soil was absolute loaded with earthworms. All these years of mulching leaves has really raised the quality of the soil enormously.

I harvested a second load of plants. This time I just dusted all the dirt off and just took the plants. Way lighter load and I didn’t really need the dirt in the front yard.

At the end of the day, I take pride in cleaning all my tools and leaving them ready to go for the next time. I also dried the shovel off and sprayed it with WD40 to keep it from rusting.

Rinsed off the mud from my shoes.

Spent time cleaning off my work shoes, gloves and other tools.

I worked over three hours. I had done a lot before I remembered to turn Runkeeper on.

Cleaned off my outdoor carpet. It’s slowly getting covered in moss, which I think is kind of cool.

Released Verbal Surgery “Be Me, Maybe.”

It’s all about the stories we tell ourselves.

Gorgeous. Tad cooler today.

OYB!

Palabras!

Read this week that Hartsfield Airport in Atlanta is again the busiest airport in the world.
Con trail proof.

This one almost looked like it was twisted.

My girls!

Deposited checks.

Adelante!

The Spanish course just goes on and on. Just like me.

One of the best weeks I’ve ever had. I still have some really strong competition. I just broke into the top 3 this evening. Usually there are massive repercussions the next day. This is especially true on Sunday, which is the last day. The last few hours can be exhilarating as everyone is trying to answer more questions than the others.

Apple and peanut butter breakfast.

Stone Mountain Kid’s Park. One of the very, very few parks that has shade during the summer. I like getting Everly outside with other kids doing athletic things.

We went to Stone Mountain to eat at the German Bakery. The actual name is the “Village Corner” but I prefer what it does rather than where it is.

We enjoyed sitting outside on the deck.

I liked the shadow patterns.

Loved the food and the lemon squares.

Looked for Jesse’s birth certificate. I found a couple of copies, but not the original certified copy.

Penelope’s first comic. She said she wrote the “Veggie Not Burger” for me.

She’s so silly.

Helped the kids. They are all getting uptight about the Milestone tests.

I did a lot of lessons. My brain just seems to be absorbing more and more. I keep making connections and filling in the gaps.

Went by my office to check the mail.

I did some more timed tests at my office just after 6 PM. I love the speed, knowledge and coordination of answering things as fast as possible. I just kill at that.

This was the tally board for this evening. I pulled into 3rd place. Maggie has pushed way ahead a couple of times. Look how far the top four are from the rest of the pack.

Battle of the language nerds. It’s so funny.

It all works together. I listen to Harry and get big chunks of the story. I still don’t get it all, but I keep getting higher and higher comprehension.

This bilingual thing in Spanish is really important to me now. It just makes such a huge difference in the community. Huge.

I probably spend at least an hour and a half studying every day. Some days double that. I listen to Spanish at least thirty minutes every day while I’m driving.

OYB!

I got this message right as I was pulling out of my driveway.

I spent nearly three hours studying.

Here’s my view as I study.

Adelante!

Helped Jessi print some files.

Cleaned off my outside rug.

Finally took my little pumpkin outside. It started to get soft on the bottom. I’ll let it finish recycling outside. I’m curious just how long that will take.

I created a lichen garden today.

Cleaned up the St. Francis shrine. Added some more wood pieces.

Spent time working on my back yard today. First things is to pick up all the dead limbs and put them in my compost.

When I first saw this I thought it was a mushroom. Turned out to be an orange peel.

Got my lawnmower out and fired it up.

The yard was pretty overgrown.

I ended up pulling it most of the way. Too hard to push.

It was hard. I did about half the back yard. All the hardest parts. Ran out of gas and so did the mower.

Watered the wisteria I planted. It’s a super big transplant shock the way I have to harvest it. I hope they all hang in there.

Worked on cleaning the area below Jessi’s window. There’s some kind of sediment that discolors the brick. This is what it looks like.

I scrubbed with a broom and a solution of Oxiclean.

Harry!

Always more.

I scored a little over 4,000 points today. You have to work hard and fast to do that!

OYB!

Girls!

Palabras.

Everly played with her plane. I liked the seatbelt job

K and I went for a walk around the Doggie Park. I had Everly’s beginner bike for her to ride on. We had fun.

Always learning. I think it’s great to see a new plant, open an app, take a picture and voila! Here’s everything you’d want to know about that plant! Fantastic!

These plants were along the trail. Several kinds of berry plants.

Took me awhile to figure out what this is for. Finally realized it was for a trash can.

I saw this on some young pine trees. Miles tells me it’s a fungus that is bad for the tree.

After our hike, we went to the park to let Everly play.

Picked up some trash as I went around.

Hippy plate.

I like finding shiny things. I’m like a crow.

This is in my front yard. So many flowers!

Perhaps the worst design for a clock face EVER.

Always great to see Penelope! I brought her some chocolate cake.

So creative. Cars in a parking lot going around the forest. Now that I think about it, the picture probably relates to our hike around the Doggie Park! Not sure why I didn’t realize that until this moment.

Helped the kids at the mission.

Paid bills.

Cleaned and refilled feeders and water bowl.

Released a new episode of Verbal Surgery “Inposture.” Are you feeling me?

OYB!

Ordered groceries.

Español!

Beautiful morning.

Love my girls!

Shot.

I love Everly so much. She is such an angel child.

We went to Gigi’s house to get a doll accessory that Everly wanted. I thought Gigi could use a pick me up. Everly is just a ray of sunshine. She was in a meeting, so we went for a short walk.

I’m on a diet. Eating less and higher quality. Fruit just tastes so good.

Interesting match for my word of the day.

Everly and I had a fun FaceTime with my Mom. Always a blessing.

Adelante! I figured out a new way to gain experience points with one of the matching challenges. I can do that stuff at full speed. And what makes it fun is there is always faster!

We went on Safari to Stone Mountain. I noticed an area with lots of fallen trees. We practiced walking on them.

Always learning!

Always watching the sky for unusual clouds.

Helped the kids with their homework.

Harry!

Checked the mail and made sure my ficus tree is ok.

Processed the checks. Includes signing, alphabetizing and taking pictures for our records.

Went to Walmart to pick up my groceries.

Gassed up my car and checked the oil.

Deposited the processed checks. Took pictures of the receipt. It gives us a scanned b/w image of each check to match up with the ones I shot.

I went through my “store” in my truck of the winter clothes. I have a LOT of jackets, sweaters, hats, and gloves. Every time we went to Goodwill I’d check on jackets. I just kept them in my store for them to look at. There was almost always something new that they hadn’t even worn, so that was fun.

I went through clothes at their house today and started to build my Summer Store. I needed some of the basics. I also got pajama stuff.

Helped K get ready for her eye exam. She needed directions to the place.

I’ve become very competitive in Duolingo. But sometimes you get in groups where the top three are just outstanding. I’m still learning. In fifteen minutes I made 800 points. That’s answering a LOT of questions really fast. Like 900 questions in fifteen minutes with an accuracy of over 97%.