The summer doldrums have given me posting doldrums. I was casting about for some Friday Letters ideas but ... nothing. It finally dawned on me that I could do a Right Now post. When I searched through my archives, it turns out that I haven't done this since August 2021, so the last Friday in July seems like a good time to catch up.
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| John's tomato jungle |
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| The bean, cucumber, and zucchini jungle |
Making - Things with garden produce. Cucumbers in sour cream, tzatziki sauce, zucchini fritters, zucchini marinara ... and hopefully some ripe tomatoes soon.
Looking Forward To - Visiting my SiL, her husband, and our niece in northern PA next week. We had planned a visit two years ago, but then covid. I still have the vodka and bottles of tonic I was going to take, so all I need to do is get plenty of limes and I'm ready to go.
Grateful For - No longer having to make the drive to MD. When I looked back at past posts, I'm reminded of how much that shaped my life (and how very much I disliked it) for more than three years. I'm glad that chapter in my life is finished!
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| Look how she's smiling! (I don't think that was exactly how I looked.) |
Celebrating - That I'm finally all signed up for Medicare and its associated Parts. I started researching the whole process in April and May of this year, turned 65 in June, and finished the signing-up in late June. They sent me some new piece of information every week, and I finally received my Medicare card earlier this week. You can't do much until you get your card, but once I had that official piece of paper I had to choose a prescription plan and supplemental (Medigap) insurance. That took much of yesterday and I just shook my head at that system - Plans A, B, D, G, K, L, M, N, and each one is offered in NJ by 12 or 13 different insurance companies. I finally found a plan and a company that seem like they will work for me, but I haven't yet been to the doctor with Medicare. Wish me luck in August (and when I decide to sign up for Social Security)!
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Found under the stove: 51 cents and a motorcycle.
Justin called dibs on the motorcycle, so Ryan gets the 51 cents. |
Cleaning - My kitchen, quite thoroughly. It started about a month ago when I saw a few little black ants on the counter. I cleaned, sprayed, and put out ant baits. John sprayed outside. Ever since then, these ants have been the bane of my existence. Each time I went into the kitchen it seemed like they had appeared at some new location. I've removed and put away lots of things that were on the countertop, cleaned more and often, and sprayed often (being careful around food and food preparation surfaces). Last night we pulled out the stove to make sure the nest and queen weren't behind it. (They weren't, just a lot of greasy dust, 51 cents, and a motorcycle.) I'll spare you a picture of that whole mess, but I think that everything that can be cleaned and sprayed in the kitchen has been cleaned and sprayed. I even tore out some insulation underneath the kitchen in the basement and sprayed there. I haven't seen any live ants on the counter in 24 hours, only dead ones, so I'm hoping that the little buggers have taken the bait back to the queen and they're all dead. The only good ant is a dead ant.
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| Some of these ant names seem less than scientific. |
Wondering About - The phrase "bane of my existence". Supposedly the word bane comes from "bana" which means destroyer. The ants did not exactly destroy my life, but they sure caused me a lot of unhappiness and frustration. Someone recently told me that filling ice trays was the bane of their existence and I just laughed at the hyperbole. (Ants are clearly more of a bane than filling ice trays.) :-)
Wishing For - A good soaking rain (really any rain would be most welcome).
What's going on in your world right now?
Have a good weekend and see you in August on Monday!
Hard to believe it's the end of July, isn't it? We get ants in our kitchen every year. This year was not so bad. I get the little traps I can put out (usually on the window sill) and Fletch puts the big green ant stakes in the yard. He also put one in the window box that is along one of our kitchen windows - I'm pretty sure that's where the ants were coming from. I have not seen an ant in the kitchen in months!! I need to get busy researching Medicare gap insurance. We are only signed up for Part A since I am still working and have insurance...but I'm thinking that gap insurance may end up being cheaper than what I pay at work!!
ReplyDeleteOh, and we got a very good soaking rain last evening...hoping you got it too.
DeleteWe have definitely arrived at the doldrums part of the summer, but pretty soon we're going to be hurtling toward back to school time, so I'm trying to savor it! I am also glad that you are not dealing with the drive back and forth to Maryland, although I kind of wonder if you'd rather be doing that than dealing with all the work required to sign up for Medicare and its associated parts (seriously, how does the average person manage to do all that? I now understand why there are businesses whose sole purpose is to help people navigate the Medicare system).
ReplyDeleteWe had several soaking rains yesterday, including one that caught me when I was out on my walk (and turned it into a quick run home). I hope some of that weather finds its way to you!
I woke to rain this morning, and I am hoping for a soaking rain all day, although I doubt I will get it. I went outside on the porch and just enjoyed the feel and sound of rain. It's lovely since we are 6 inches behind and in a severe drought. I hope it is on its way to you, Bonny. Perhaps a good rain with a drop in temps will help your doldrums. Your garden jungles look really good to me! Glad you navigated signing up for MC. SS was an easy sign up for me. For household ants, I highly recommend Terro Ant Baits. I have to use them every year, but they have always taken care of my ant problems. Hooray for no MD commuting! Saying anything is the bane of your existence is a bit of hyperbole, but it's a great way to express one's extreme distaste of a situation, don't you think?
ReplyDeletegolly! I am not looking forward to signing up for medicare or social security...but I guess everyone does it so I can as well when my time comes. Your garden looks great even though it's been a dry summer.
ReplyDeleteWhy or why is wading though the Medicare Morass so complicated? In Nebraska there is a free public service, SHIP, (State Health Insurance Program?) to help sort out the information. We find it especially useful for the prescription coverage. Ants are very persistent. We finally hired a professional exterminating service and haven't seen any for the last three years. I wish you the best of luck keeping them at bay. The garden jungles look great, especially for such a hot dry summer.
ReplyDeleteI wrote one comment and it disappeared? The garden looks great. I imagine you have all kinds of tomatoes and other veggies. As for ants, we finally hired a professional exterminating service and they haven't reappeared for several years.
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