Sleep, Tomato, Reading, Limb, Neighbors

 I am up at 4:30! I awoke just before 4 am. Why? I listened to my body and went to bed at 9:30 pm n Tuesday night. I am shocked at my decision. But, I had a busy day. Doing nothing, it appears. I want to go to bed at midnight and awake around 8 am.

Yesterday, we had a tree guy come to give an estimate for taking the tree limb hanging over the yard. The last estimate and only other estimate was for $1350. One limb. 

This guy gave us two estimates per my request. One for taking it down and carrying it. One for putting it on the ground. The plan was to defray our cost by allowing someone to take it for firewood. The tree is oak. The cost for cutting, removing, cleaning the yard was $300. The cost for putting it on ground. $200. 

When I was handed to two costs, I was shocked and read it twice, read it aloud. I told Tommy we should not get the other estimate, just let him get the limb. 

Can you believe the discrepancy in the two bills? The guy appeared to be lucid. 

I never see the neighbors with the dogs. I just report what Tommy tells me. However, today, I saw one of the mothers getting out of the car. The dogs were barking like mad. I suppose they miss the family and were hungry. I wonder what happened to the other dogs and the cat, though. I told Tommy I think they have no electricity. He didn't think so. Well, he came in after me and said she went in and turned on no lights. He saw her go in and on another trip to the car saw her exit the house. Since she turned no lights on, he does think they lost electricity. 

I just hope the children are okay since at least one of these women are cruel. This seems to be a family in crisis. In times of stress more abuse occurs. 

Weeds are two feet deep and toys are still strewn all over the yard. The liner for the swimming pool is lying out in the front yard, killing all the grass. The sides of the pool are falling down in back yard. Of course, all this is on our side of their house next to ours. 

When I went to Lowe's on Sunday and bought the Stella de Oro, I was looking for cayenne peppers and something else in the vegetables/herbs. For some reason, the staff had made a raised bed and put it right on the pavement. Inside the square, there were lots of tomato plants, more than need be in that small space and none were staked. So, you can imagine the jumble. There were many green tomatoes. In the midst and below the tomato jungle, I could see one reddish tomato. I reached down and picked it up. The stem had been split, either from someone pulling it or from the stress of not being staked. The length of the torn tomato stem was healed. 

I finished picking it up since it was detached and put it in my cart. When I got to the register, the woman came around to scan the two things I had. I showed her the tomato and asked if I could have it. She very cheerfully said I could. So, it is on the counter ripening. 

The alarm is set for 9 am when I need to get up, wash my hair and leave by 9:30 am. I really hate that is four hours away, and I am up. However, I doubt I will be able to go back to sleep. I slept my seven hours I require. Still, this is why I never go to bed early. Even if I evolve into an early bird, I will be ready to go back for a nap before noon. There is not much to do this time of the day without disturbing Tommy. I cannot read a book until I get new glasses. 

I 'lost' my debit card. It has been two weeks. My cc does not work. I am even out of the bank's system. I did not use it enough. HA! On Monday, I called the bank to replace my debit card. On, Tuesday night, I found it. Isn't that the way it always happens? 

Today, I have an appointment for an emergency eye exam. It has been almost a year since the tech for the stress test popped my mask into my eye and refused to remove it so the edge of the mask was not hurting. The eye in the outer corner is still giving me problems, hurting and crusting. Today, I will see about that. The reason I have waited so long is that I kept thinking it would get better. 

Alabama is screwing up educational progress once again. I am just furious. When I was in first grade, I was astute enough to know that the reading groups were not just chosen at random. I realized everyone in my group were the best readers. My son was removed from his classroom and taken to a 'special' room. He tested very low at the end of first grade. So, I sat my pregnant self down and we read all summer, despite his objections. (He learned to love reading and is now a high school English teacher.) They put him in group wrongly based on six-month old scores. He was humiliated and complained every day for a month that all the other people in the class were stupid and could not read. I had a baby the end of September, so was not even aware of what was happening. They illegally put my son in some sort of program with numbers. I trusted a very good system and it failed us. How much failure is happening in other schools without stellar records? 

I suppose I need to go and at least lie down to keep my feet from swelling ahead of a busy day in the car. I am not going to edit this post at all. 

Do you ever find random tomatoes? Or, any normally cultivated food? 

Do you have neighbor children or families you worry about? 

Have you lost a cc or debit card, only to find it as soon as you find it?

Can you think of any reason in the wide range of cost for limb removal?

Have schools failed your child? 

Hardest Parts of Getting Older

Tommy's garbage needs to go out on Thursday night since it is picked up on Friday morning. I was still awake and heard a truck on Thursday morning, so I rushed in and woke Tommy, telling him to take out the garbage to the road. He moaned and started moving to get up and take out the garbage. Then, all of a sudden, he stopped uncovering himself. "Today is Thursday." He moaned and started covering up. I was relieved he started snoring in about 30 seconds. All this week, I have been one day ahead or a day behind.  It was the limb truck!

It seems that all day Saturday Tommy managed to eat often enough and the right food to control his low blood sugar. I still have not relaxed yet or stopped being hypervigilant about what and when he eats. 

We don't know what is up with people next door. They are never home except to feed the dogs once a day. I suppose they leave something for them to eat and drink and refill it in the late afternoon. Maybe they only are fed once a day usually. Tommy said they were all whining this afternoon, whining for a long time and like he has never heard. There were four to six kids living there with the two mothers. Then, the boys disappeared. Now, I have only seen one girl. Tommy said another woman was staying with the two mothers. Then, it seemed one mother, her children and the third woman were gone. I don't watch them or see any of this. Tommy tells me when he goes out to take the garbage out to road or goes to mailbox. 

The dogs lie in the yard all day whining. They do a lot of barking when one of the women comes home. Their yard and carport remain a disaster. Maybe they will move. Of course, there could be worse neighbors. 

I bought two blouses that did not fit. I have been looking for the receipt for a week and finally found it. That is equal to finding money in my book! I think that was the highlight of my day. 

Several of the twelve things in the article below do not apply to me. 

12 Hardest Parts of Getting Older – That No One Really Prepares You For (msn.com)

Do any of these hard parts of getting older surprise you? Can you relate?

Do you ever panic when you think you are late putting out the garbage, but you are not? Do you wrongly alert someone else?

Tree Situation

 Mower came today. Before he went into the back yard, I told him about the tree and asked him to tell me exactly what is going on. He said the tree is bent and bending the clothesline pole. NOT good. He can only trim a few feet, that a tree trimmer will have to get the rest. It is not several limbs, just one limb that is at least 24" diameter. Good Grief! He has to dodge to get under part of it to mow. The rest he uses the weed eater underneath to get the grass.

Now, the mower can barely mitigate the situation. So, we have to deal with the backyard neighbor. We can be civil about the situation. However, any problem I had with the myriad neighbors in the tacky rental house were always very hostile.  A paid tree trimmer is only option here.

I have choices. 1) speak to them civilly. Leave if they get cranky. 2) have it done, pay for it, and take bill to them. 3) let/expect them to get the tree person and hope it all turns out okay, 4) Expect the people to pay when we have it done.

The tree is a monster with the huge branch bending from about 40' above the ground. So, this is not something for a person with a chainsaw. I want someone licensed and bonded to do the work. This is not my first rodeo with a tree. This will ruin Tommy's fence if the huge limb falls on it. 

We drove by the house behind here and the yard is immaculate front and back. Not a blade of grass out of place. They have two grills out back on a patio along with furniture. There is no way they have not seen this problem. So, I suspect they will not want to pay for this removal. I have never seen anyone outside, so who knows whether they are old or young or what. I have to lean forward to see out of the dirty kitchen window and through a screen and through a dirty storm window. 

This makes me anxious. I will get a quote first. 

Mower raised the blades another inch for four-inch cut. The St Augustine will keep weeds from sprouting. Plus, it looks lush, like it should. It will also survive better any bit of drought or heat this summer. I have tried to get Tommy to let it grow higher instead of scalping the lawn, exposing dirt where weeds thrive. Maybe he will let me get a tree or three planted next--crape myrtles. 

Tommy has heard my plan for his lack of noticing his condition before he passes out. I will be at his appointment with Endocrinologist. I will have his monitor info on my phone even if he has a monitor in his pocket. Before this, he has said he does not need me to help monitor. If I don't, his diabetes will land him in hospital with head injury or broken bones, OR in the morgue. 

I made a list from the Publix ad and Tommy went in. Tomorrow. 

We have been watching Elkhorn. Anyone else? I love it.

Things like this tree bending my T-pole to hold my clothesline are what disturb my sleep at night. 

What would you do about the tree branch leaning? This is a branch that is tree sized and very wide.