Only 12 days until my company arrives!

I've been trying to correct something on the last blog I did - Sunday's.  One of the photos is a blank.  When you click on it (as if to enlarge it), a different photo comes up, but then when you go back to the blog, the proper photo shows up just for a moment.  I have no idea why that is.  I tried to get back and edit that blog, but couldn't find a way to do that.  Blogging still has many mysteries for me. 

I can't believe it's Thursday evening and I haven't blogged since Sunday.  Not much has happened this week, I guess.  We had a couple days of rain, which we really needed.  Plants are flourishing.  I've been busy cleaning my house.  All I have left to do are the floors upstairs.  It's just so hot up there and I'll have to drag the vacuum up the steps.  Any excuse for not cleaning!  It was lovely and cool in the basement when I cleaned down there.  I even gave the floor in the storage room a once-over. There were no nasty bugs hiding in the area rugs rolled up under the couch, although there was a spider in a web by the door.  I leave the outside light on at night, so always there is a spider living inside by the door, hoping to catch insects attracted to the light.  Usually there is a spider outside as well.  The neat thing is that, outside, there is also a toad that sits on the stoop waiting to catch the unwary insect.  I've seen him there twice lately.  I thought that the black snake seen in the front yard of a neighbor had probably eaten all the toads, but I guess the snake hasn't gotten into the back yard.  I'm not afraid of snakes, and black snakes are harmless to humans, but I don't particularly want one living in my yard!  I'd rather have the toads and lizards.

There are just a couple of items on my list of 'things to do before Kate and company arrive'.  Washing the car is on the list, but with all the rain we had, I think Mother Nature did that for me!  I did clean the inside of the car a few weeks ago.  I still have two bags of mulch and a bag of cement in the car.  Maybe it'll be cool enough tonight or early tomorrow AM to lug them into the back yard.  I can lift the mulch, but am not sure about the cement.  It's 60 pounds, although a fairly small bag.  I used to be able to lift 60 pounds, but I"m not sure I can do that now, without messing up my back. Darn, it's such a nuisance being (shhh - old)!   Maybe I'll use the wheelbarrow to haul the cement.  If I was better acquainted with the young people living next door, I would ask them to help, but I barely know the kids.  They are remarkably quiet for teenagers.  I never hear them.  Of course, if I wore my 'ears' in the evenings, maybe I would hear more from next door!  When my hearing aids are in my ears, I certainly find the world in general is much noisier than I realized.  I rather enjoyed the way it was, except for times when I'm trying to follow a conversation.

I could natter on, but I think I'll quit now.  Tomorrow I have a dental checkup and cleaning, and then lunch with friends.  This weekend, there is a shindig going on at one of the local nurseries - the one quite some distance from here.  Perhaps Patty and I will go.  We have these coupons to 'spend' and they are only good this weekend.   The only thing is:  both of us have bought most of the plants we wanted already.  Who buys plants in mid July?  So I don't know what I would spend the coupons on.  Probably if we go, we'll each find something.  They have a huge assortment of yard ornaments and furniture.  Just what I DON'T need!