Delete and Start Again

I don't know why I can't write. I start, then delete. I guess I will just start.

Last weekend we drove up to Door County. We were looking for a place to walk. We stopped at Bayview Park. It looked like it involved a lot of walking and hubby's foot still bothered him, so we decided to leave that for another time. On the way back we decided to take a local road closer to the Lake. We stopped at Lambeau Cottage Park and took a short walk. It all felt like we were "back home". I don't know what else to call it. We lived in southeast Wisconsin since 2016. The trails have a certain "feel" about them, different from the swamps around the Fox Valley. We also discovered a map for trails around the Cofrin Memorial Arboretum, which was across the road. We plan to visit often. It's about a 45 minute to 1 hour drive, up through Green Bay.

The day before, on Saturday, I found out the creator and Administrator of the best succulent group on the internet passed away. "Papa Bear" Ken Bell, respected by all, loved by many. On Monday everything came crashing down on my emotions and I cried, over loosing things, our beloved trails, the view, Ken, you name it. On top of it all, I've been stressed because hubby is stressed, as there is friction at work. 

We've had some warm, beautiful weather, but the apartment was HOT. I turned the heat off a few days ago, but it just seemed hot. The plant room was very hot, and the sunny west window sill was baking my plants. I can't open the murder curtains (I mean vertical blinds) all the way because there is no privacy from the cars and people. My digital thermometer registered between 90 and 101 on my plants. I moved them off the sill. I tried to open the window but it was stuck. I opened the patio door (there is a screen door) and put a fan there (nice dry, cooler air outside). Our bedroom was warm, so I faced another fan in there. This was seriously stressing me out. I checked the thermostat. The heat was off. When hubby came home from work he was able to open the window, which afforded some relief.

The next day the apartment still felt too warm. At this point I was stressed and exhausted. I sat down on the couch and flopped my arm across the back. WHAT THE HECK??? HEAT rising from behind the couch. OMG the radiator was pumping out heat. It was then I realized ALL the radiators were 95 degrees. I called right away, and maintenance came over and replaced some kind of regulator that was stuck open. He said it was the third one he had switched out that day. 

So, anyway, the apartment cooled off, the window opens, that's good. Now I'm waiting for them to fix the sliding screen door, which screeches and sticks something horrible when I try to close it, and clean the air conditioner, which looks like it hasn't been cleaned since they built this place. No way am I turning it on and blowing that black crap all over. Geez.

After all that turmoil and stress, I have been concentrating on my plants. I have quite a few succulents outside now, and a few flowers we bought. This weekend we are buying more potting soil and a few more flowers. I will add pictures with captions.

Lake Michigan in Green Bay

Trail at Lambeau Cottage

Cofrin Memorial Arboretum map

Green heart I found in Bayview

Patio plants

Coral bells (Heuchera) and Speedwell, both perennials, may or may not come back.

Something the bumble bee loves

Murder curtains. They swing back and forth when I open or close them, chopping leaves along the way

New plant, senecio crassissimus, lavender steps

Sedum Cape Blanco in a pot that matches, with stones that match. Hope it lives!

From the top

Pachyveria Powder Puff looking nice and blue.

New plant, Adromischus cooperi

New plant, Oxalis Charmed Wine

Oxalis Irish Mist showing white splashes after years of growing plain!

Gold vein Oxalis

That's all for tonight.

We Got The Truck Back!

 And I found my shoes. I have one of those wire holders for hanging on a kitchen cabinet door for holding foil and plastic wrap. It doesn't fit these cabinets so I hung it on the side of a wire shelf in the closet, and stuffed a pair of shoes in it. Today I pulled out those shoes and low and behold, my little black tennis shoes were behind them.

We were happy to get the truck back. The little Ford Escape was fun to drive. The seats were uncomfortable and hard to adjust because they were manual. They didn't charge for all the extra days but we did need to pay for a new battery, because our insurance didn't cover that. Our service advisor took a picture when the truck was all apart.

Dash removed and sitting where the seats were, center console out, steering column out, seats on floor somewhere outside the truck.....=:o

We are having some nice warm weather. I even put some plants out! Tuesday night is supposed to be 37 so I brought some back in, well, it's still mild out but they were saying strong storms and wind. Here are some pictures from today. I can't tell you how happy I felt seeing my plants out there and enjoying the fresh air.

Just a few for now

I love this Silver Squill. It will grow more compact soon.

My sedum saucers are recovering from the squirrel attack

I planted some semps in there

This weekend hubby and I had fun. We bought some ginormous strawberries at Woodman's and ate them with sugar free whipped cream. Well, hubby mashed his berries into those strawberry shortbread cakes lol. Woodman's almost always has a great deal on strawberries.

My dessert

Hubby's creation

Monster berry

Normal berry

That's all the news for tonight.

Where Are My Shoes? And Other Random Stuff

 I can't find my pair of canvas tennis shoes. I know I had them before we moved. Darnit. They were so comfortable, but I rarely wore them because the soles are/were thin (not worn, just thin) and no good on trails. Hubby says he will buy me a pair, but I know how that goes.....with my feet.

Good news on the truck. Assembly day was today. Programming day will be Monday, so we can pick it up Tuesday morning. They said they have pictures of it all taken apart.

I just found out the hosting company for my website has an HTML editor. It's WYSIWYG, which is even better (what you see is what you get)...so easy. I can edit the pages right on the server, no need to downloading, changing then publishing. It's about time I update things. I think I started it in 2002.

Another former resident of Midland passed away, and there is a reunion this October. I wish I could go again. Thankfully there is a Facebook group that keeps everyone updated. My website more or less just just has some stories, pictures and a link to the Facebook group.

Hubby wants me to renew my passport. It expired but is still eligible for renewal. Not that I plan to fly internationally, but just in case my real ID driver's license isn't enough for domestic flights.

I decided to log into VisaJourney. It's been awhile, because we haven't needed any advice since hubby became a citizen. I wanted to see if there was any chatter and travel. Some people were asking if it was safe to fly and would they be denied entry on return. Surprisingly there didn't seem to be a lot of concern, unless one had deportation orders or did a crime.

I rearranged my plants AGAIN. My Haworthia and Haworthiopsis were getting too much light, so I set up a less strong light and put them there. I put some of the succulents that need strong light were the others were. I lined up as many as I could on the window sills. The rest are on the shelf in front of the window. There are nine plants sitting in the dark that don't fit anywhere. In a couple weeks they can go outside if the temperatures are ok for them.

I had some issues showing up with some of my plants, other than lighting. I am concerned about the softened water. There are so many opinions about it being safe for plants, but I don't want to risk it. Hubby said we will buy bottled water for them. I think the cheapest possible would be fine. I was filtering it but found out it won't remove the salt.

That's about it for tonight.

 

Still Not Fixed

Update on our truck as of Friday....front seats out and dashboard removed and sitting on the floor. No update today (Monday).

I got some more unpacking/donating/ tossing done. Have some more papers to go through, and more clothes.

We had a thunderstorm last night with torrential rain. Things are greening up, finally. Today I heard some cranes so I grabbed my phone and rushed out to the patio. They were circling around and calling loudly. I wonder if the former habitat that is now being filled in was their nesting place. Anyway, they flew away. 

Hubby was off Friday so we took some time to drive around, because it was sunny and mild. There are some interesting buildings along the river by Lawrence University. They are former factories converted into apartments and restaurants. We would like to explore the area more if we can figure out where to park. The Historic District around the University is really pretty. 

I edited my "Dreams" statement. I don't think my life has any more dreams. It just sets me up for disappointment. Unless we win a lottery we are never living in a house. My dreams of living with a view are fading. I'm hoping spring will cheer me up. I hope we can find places to walk that aren't a swamp. There seems to be a lot of swamps and flat, boring land with no hills around here...well....Fox Valley. Don't tell me "bloom where you're planted".

That's all the complaining for today. Need to vacuum the dead pill bugs out of the hall closet. I don't know why we have pill bugs. 

Updates & Random Stuff

Our truck is in the shop for repairs. Here is our rental. It's a Ford Escape. Three cylinder but turbo. It's a cute little car. Our insurance is covering everything. Our truck should be done Friday.

With all the stuff going on in the country, thankfully hubby's job is stable. Some rumors were going around and a meeting was called to reassure the employees there is enough work, including overtime, for several years. The company is actively hiring, and increasing wages for everyone.

Our favorite brand of brown eggs is back. The prices are stable, higher than before the bird flu, but stable. I found a double-yolk egg this morning.

We found an interesting place to walk just north of Kaukauna. We want to go back when the trees are green and there is some sunshine. I never realized the Fox River turns into a huge, raging river through Kaukauna. It was very cloudy, so my pictures don't do it justice. We also found another trail. We ended up walking 4 miles that day. Here is the Fox River. I see some flooding.

This area is "downwind" from the paper mill. The smell was undetectable that day.

The USDA growing zone is warmer here than it is in Hartford, which is still a zone 5a. Here we are zone 5b. Even Green Bay is 5b. Sheboygan is zone 6. I remember when Wisconsin was cold, I mean Really Cold. I think the summers here may not be as hot as Hartford.

Some of my plants are happy, some are not. The ones on the west window sill appreciate the warm sunshine and cool nights, which is how succulents and cacti grow in nature. I can peek at them through half-open vertical blinds. Vertical blinds only work for sliding glass doors. I do NOT like vertical blinds.

The shelf setup under the south window has mixed results. Some succulents are ok, some want sun, and my Jades have been wrinkling their leaves meaning they need more water, and those low shelves are no fun to water. It's not that I can't bend over, the problem is the metal rods in my neck don't allow me to look up while bending over, I have to go in sideways, and reach in to water, and then go back to make sure nothing is sitting in water.

When we moved in we noticed there was a wild area along the road. The first thing I thought of was "wildlife habitat". We could hear lots of birds but can't see it from our apartment. We asked to move to the front apartment if it ever becomes available. The red arrow points to the apartment complex.

Google street view

Then it was scraped down to bare mud and drainage pipes were put in.

My picture

Now they are filling it with dirt. No idea what they are doing, but maybe there was a mosquito problem.

That's all for now.

Plant Challenge and Other Random Stuff

 I bought a tiny sedum Sedum spathulifolium 'Cape Blanco' (Creeping Stonecrop) and now the challenge will be to grow it. I think it's harder than Lithops, unless you live in California, where it grows on rocks and sandy cliffs.

Cape Blanco. It is very tiny.

Cape Blanco growing on a rock overhanging the beach in California

Cape Blanco and Dudleya (the rosettes) on a seaside cliff in California., where it rains all winter and not in summer.

No one in my succulent group knows how to grow it, well, one person bought one 2 months ago and bottom waters it. 

Wish me luck!

Other random stuff. We asked the apartment manager if we could move to a different apartment if one becomes available. We asked for the first building, facing the fields. There would be no garage blocking the view and no parking on the west side under the window, so no privacy issue, and a normal bathtub. It's a lot to hope for, since who knows when someone might move. I just don't see this apartment as my "forever" home. The place at Oriole Ponds was going to be my forever home but you see how fast that fell apart. Are there other apartments with a view? Not within a reasonable price range, at least in the foreseeable future.

The one on the far left.

I still miss Hartford, Delafield, West Bend, Oconomowoc. 

I'm making myself go through boxes. Too many saved papers that I don't need anymore.

We are still waiting for parts for our truck so we can get the work done. Hubby has to disconnect and reconnect the negative battery terminal every time he drives, otherwise the lights don't turn off.

We bought the most delicious strawberries at Woodman's, and they were from Canada. Imported before the tariffs? 

Because of you, Judge Susan Crawford will become the next Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice, standing up for the fundamental rights and freedoms of all Wisconsinites, standing up for truth and justice, and applying the law fairly and impartially.

The impact of this win cannot be overstated. Today, Wisconsinites fended off an unprecedented attack on our democracy, our fair elections, and our Supreme Court.

We all stood up and said loudly that justice does not have a price – our Courts are not for sale.

We could not have done it without the strength of this grassroots team. Hundreds of thousands of people chipped in to fight back against the billionaires and right-wing special interest groups who sought to buy this election. And we succeeded.

We are in an unprecedented moment in this country, and this is not the end of the work we must do to safeguard our rights, our democracy, and our future.

But together, we will face and overcome the challenges ahead of us. As Wisconsin’s motto says, “Forward!”

Thank you for being in this fight. It made all the difference.

– Team Crawford

 This makes me incredibly happy, because elon musk poured millions into the state and tried to buy votes, even going to the point of paying a million dollars to two people in Green Bay and hundreds of dollars to many others in an attempt to gain a win for Schimel. I'm happy to report that Crawford won in Green Bay!