Life has been busy. I'm not complaining though. 

DH's garden is starting to produce. He picked over 70 tomatoes and I made spaghett sauce with his onions, garlic, bell peppers, tomatoes, oregano, and basil. I realized 10 pints yesterday, plus two pints of tomato juice and one pint of just plain tomatoes. I used to basically do quarts, but a pint will make up a meal for us. I still can quarts, but use it for soups and stews. Since it has been extremely hot and humid, DH has spent a lot of time watering his garden. 

We took a day trip to Fairfield, Iowa. That is about 4 hours northwest of us. It was a nostalgia trip for me. My great aunt lived there and when I was a little girl, I would go and spend a week in the summer with her. It's been 43 years since I've visited, and I wanted to go back one more time to see if the place had changed a lot. My aunt had an apartment in a huge old house; I looked it up last fall and saw it was no longer an apartment house, but a single family home. I wrote a letter to the owners (I didn't know their names, just put to the owners of and the address) and sent photos I had taken when I was a kid and asked them to realize it was taken with an Instamatic and I was a kid when I took them, and shared the sweet memories I had of the place. Much to my surprise I received a nice note back from one of the owners thanking me for the photos and a little history of the house and how they have worked to keep the original woodwork and plaster. So, it was nice to see it in person. I didn't go up in the yard or to the door. I also talked to the cataloguer at the local library about sharing some photos and other stuff from my great aunt and uncle for their genealogy department and will be sending that stuff along as soon as I label it. Anyway, I'm trying to post a photo of the house below:

I went to give blood three weeks ago and much to my chagrin, I was deferred. I have never been turned away. I was told my blood pressure was too low. Which of course made me worry that something was wrong with me. Fortunately I had a physical scheduled for the next day and my blood pressure was normal. Thinking back on it, I don't think the two people at the blood drive wanted to be bothered with me. I realized that the bp cuff wasn't very tight and one started the procedure and then said her boss wanted her and someone else would finish with me and that person didn't act like he was pleased being pulled over. I gave this past week with no problems at all, so I'm thinking it wasn't me that had the problem to begin with. With the shortage of blood, you'd think people would get over their petty little issues at work. 

The maid didn't show up yet again, so I see lots of housework in my future. But I try to remind myself that I'm blessed to have a home to clean. 

Clothes shopping is just not my thing.

Years ago TLC had a program called "What Not To Wear" and I loved watching it and seeing how they helped people be their personal best. Being someone who has always struggled with weight issues, every time they had someone who was overweight, it captured my interest even more. So many times those ladies would leave the stores in tears. I felt their pain because that is what it was like for me. Being short and overweight did not make it a good experience. Plus, much of the stuff out there is just plain ugly. So, I would wear the same stuff over and over until it was so worn out and I would be forced to and find something and then the whole painful process would start. 

So, as I got older and made a little more money, I ventured to a couple of stores that I never would have thought of walking into. A couple of weeks ago we went to a store we haven't visited since before the Pandemic to buy some slacks and some blouses. One of the ladies took me to the dressing room and told me to let her pick out things and try them all on, even if I didn't think I'd like them. I discovered something -- I have been buying the wrong size in pants. She found me slacks that not only fit better, but I didn't have to hem them. She found blouses that were flattering. I tried on way more things than I bought, but we looked at things that I would not have looked at and it was amazing. One time I didn't leave clothes shopping in tears! 

I honestly feel better about myself thinking that the clothes look good. That made it worth the extra money for me.