Araucaria Appreciation Thread

[Araucaria]

Good Tuesday morning, Thad and RM!

Thad, I'm happy you enjoyed your concert with Patti LaBelle and the Commodores. It's great they're still performing, and you always want them to do all their music, but I suspect there may be some physical limitations to what they can do.

Panthers win!!!

Actually, I'm not smelling the roses yet. There are no blooms on the bushes, and in fact I'll have to wait to see if the transplanting is successful before I start cheering. Though I already had a deluge this morning, and we're supposed to get all kinds of rain in the next few days, so at least they'll be well-watered.

I am feeling a bit better, my coughing and chest congestion are clearing up, and I have a bit more energy. But something strange is happening, which I'm sure is not good. A couple of weeks ago I noticed some bruising on a small area of my chest. I had not hit that area or anything. But it spread to my left shoulder, and has gone down my left arm, with bruising and swelling. I've never had anything like that before, and it's a bit concerning.

Tomorrow I'm supposed to cross the state over to the Gulf Coast to visit my cousin and her husband. They moved down to Florida a couple of years ago, and my visit got delayed because they had damage from hurricane Ian. I'll have to avoid politics, since another cousin has warned me that they're right-wingers. And there are flood watches out for heavy rain they're expecting over the next couple of days, so I could be traveling through bad weather. I hope they like mangos, since my tree has yielded so many of them.

 

[frankifab]

Hello Johnnie , you'd better visit a doctor to get that checked out , maybe you should see a Cardiovascular Doc . The sooner you go , the better ...

Thanks for saying hello My Friend , take lots of care

 

[Thad1527]

I've been watching the Weather Channel all afternoon, and it's been all South Florida. So much rain. I hope you've been safe and unflooded.

It's a lovely day here, but tomorrow will be warmer.

 

[PalacePaul]

Good morning, John
I haven't been here in a while... Your bruising sounds a bit concerning. Maybe it's atopic skin, I had it 3 years ago and it was scary. It's nothing serious but it needs to be taken care of. Maybe you should see a skin doctor.
Be careful if you have to drive under the rain. We had a lot of rain here yesterday.

 

[Araucaria]

Good Saturday morning/afternoon Paul, Thad, and Frankie!

I just got back from visiting my cousin and her husband on the BORING Southwest Florida Coast. Actually I enjoyed being with them. My cousin was from Tennessee and she's all sweet, hey sugar and all, and I enjoyed talking with her. I took over some mangos and it turns out that she loves them. I got to meet her husband for the first time. He's a right-winger and talks all the time, and I had to make a point of keeping my mouth shut so I didn't have to get in it with him.

I had to drive through all the heavy rain on the way out there, having to take some unfamiliar roads, so it wasn't too pleasant. But I mostly missed the rains driving back so it wasn't too bad. The deluge kept us in the house most of the time, but there wasn't any flooding where I was, nor was there any flooding when I got back home. Though apparently some parts of the state had problems.

Right now I'm on the computer, getting caught up on JUB and my emails and such. I took my laptop over, but left it in the trunk, not bothering to ask if I could get on their wifi. Actually it was good to get a break for a couple of days.

 

[Triple G]

Good afternoon, John

Glad you did not get flooded out.

Saturday was not good here. The power went out in the afternoon and the backup generator at the phone company failed, so no a/c, phone or internet. The temperature was 111F, but my house got to only 91. The cold water was still bearable so took about 5 showers.

Droved about 50 miles to get dry ice for the frig and freezer. The car has good a/c giving a nice break from the heat.

Finally, about 8PM the power was back on leading to a cool night's sleep.

There are wild rumors about sabotage and vandalism and outside interference, but in this small community, rumors fly all the time.

Enjoy a pleasant day of cool air and will not be going out.

 

[frankifab]

Hello Johnnie , I hope you are feeling better
Take care and have a pleasant Wednesday My friend

 

[Araucaria]

Good Friday morning, Frankie and Gary!

Gary, I hope you don't experience any more blackouts in the desert heat. Five showers in a day? Sounds like me at the beginning of puberty.

I bet those rumors are strange, speculating on international sabotage and such. Never mind that nobody wonders why such an operation would choose to hit a remote desert coop and not the power grid of a major metropolitan area.

Well, I'm feeling healthier after recovering from whatever that stubborn mysterious illness was. The only aftereffects seem to be an occasional cough, and I just feel tired and lazy, not wanting to do anything. But the heat might also have something to do with that. But then again, it might be my attitude. I'm feeling like I don't care to engage with the world, I don't care to do anything or get anything done, and I sure as hell don't want to engage in all the bad stuff and negativity out there. I guess it's sort of a feeling that things aren't going to get any better, so there's no point in keeping up with everything going on.

 

[Triple G]

Happy Friyay, John

I too feel " I don't care to do anything or get anything done" Just like to sleep. Hope your cough goes away soon.

Maybe our power situation was just a rehearsal for a major attack.

It is only 96F at 10AM. This being the first day of summer, only heat awaits us.

Been playing online this morning but will be napping soon.

 

[frankifab]

Johnnie , my mood is similar to yours , it's hard for me to get things done ... I feel quite unmotivated , sad and gloomy almost daily , nevertheless, I think you should go to a hospital and get checked just for prevention ...

I hope you have a nice Weekend My Friend

Please be cautious and take care

 

[PalacePaul]

Good evening, John.
I'm glad you enjoyed the visit to your cousin.
I never believe everything I hear, let alone widespread rumors. I know from experience that people love exagerating and making things look terrible.
Take care of your health

 

[Araucaria]

Good Tuesday morning Paul, Frankie, and Gary!

Well, I'm feeling pretty much back to normal, health wise, though mentally I'm still feeling lethargic and depressed. I'm still getting tons on mangos everyday, though I can see that most of them have already come off the tree. I've been doing some yard work in the evenings and mornings to get around the heat. The other night I mowed down a large area of tall grass, and I'm individually cutting back the grass and weeds that are getting into my plants. I'm afraid the rose bushes have not shown any sign of responding so far, even though I give them a good soak every day it doesn't rain.

 

[Triple G]

Good afternoon, John

Glad to hear you are feeling better.

I'm still here, but the internet has been out for two days. Just spend an hour going the phone menu at Frontiers to get a credit for the outage.

I do have congestive heart failure which us being treated with meds. That explains many things.

We will be about 111F today and the a/c is working well.

 

[frankifab]

Hello Johnnie , thanks for writing to me My friend

it's great to know you're doing better in spite of the issues with your mood and your garden

I hope you have a cool Wednesday later

 

[rmcrae]

Hey John!

 

[Araucaria]

Good Sunday afternoon, RM, Frankie, and Gary!

Gary, I hope your internet is OK. Generally I hear that people who have Frontier curse the company.

I'm doing reasonably well I suppose, I'm feeling pretty good, and there's not much new to report other than my ongoing garden and home improvement issues.

 

[frankifab]

Hello Johnnie , thanks for writing to me

Well , as expected the Saints' celebration brought drunktards and shady people , the sidewalks and their gardens smell of urine ... I had to water the street plants and the sidewalk cus of the stinky smell , they're still celebrating right now though ...
I guess I will have to repeat the same task later

I feel sorry for a 4 month old stray cat that lives around this area ... I haven't seen him since Friday , probably the crowds , the noisy drunktards picking up fights , and the fireworks scared him away ( I've tried grabbing it in the past when feeding him but the cat was too shy and frightened to let anyone touch him )

It's good to know you're doing well , take care and I hope you have a pleasant July

 

[Triple G]

good afternoon, John.

Good to hear your health is holding.
Saturday night I could not get any sleep. Pain and other things kept me up. Sunday was a struggle. Last night I had 8 hours and, except for being dizzy and very tired, I feel fairly good with very little pain.

It is 101F right now, rising to 113 and will remain in the range of that up to 115 for the next two weeks.

I will be enjoying the a/c and will not be going out until Wednesday. Hope the power and internet holds.


Can you believe the year is half over!!??

 

[Araucaria]

Good Thursday morning Gary and Frankie, and Happy Independence Day for those of us in the States!

Gary, I hope you're doing well and getting plenty of rest, and not having to deal with your pain and dizzy spells. Stay inside and enjoy your cool AC.

Frankie, what is it with people who can't celebrate without becoming obnoxious and offensive? I'm sorry to hear about that kitten, hope he's OK and comes back around. Of course today everybody is setting off fireworks in the States, and that terrifies all the animals, both wild and domestic. You'd think somebody would come up with a more peaceful way to celebrate, maybe with lasers and music.

To be honest, I have mixed feelings about Independence Day, sort of like celebrating a country whose ideals no longer exist. But then again, we're still here, and we still are able to do a lot of things that you can't do in many other places around the world. I have a friend that will join me this evening to watch the municipal fireworks display this evening. You can see them from the front of my house, but we'll probably make a decision whether to hang out here, or walk a couple of blocks to get a closer view. But that will involve dealing with the crowds and such.

 

[rmcrae]