Update April 2025

My two hearts pin which I plan to wear on my lapel when I get married to Pat

 Time for an update.

I'm tempted to write about the latest stupidity from the Convicted Felon who occupies the White House but I'll give everyone a break from his never ending quest to destroy our country with his tariffs. 

My question is, will I live long enough to see the Congressional Republicans grow a spine and finally do their job and impeach this Russian asset? I doubt it so instead I'll write about .......ME. Always an interesting subject, at least to me. (smile)

Ah yes, my hearing is back. I'm listening to a DColor mix right now as I type this blog entry.

I have my hearing back and it is wonderful! Oh how I missed those upper registers. I'm hearing them now though.

Pat is busy filling our his paperwork prior to his visit with the American State Department Consulate in Montreal. It's Pat's turn to jump through all those hoops like I had to do last September. Getting his K-1 VISA is a complicated process folks. Hopefully this last step will go smoothly and we will be able to get married by June. That would be good timing. I would like to get matching outfits for our wedding but Pat isn't having it. He HATES seeing two gay guys dressed like twins. I have to admit I'm not too thrilled about those displays of "We're together, look at our matching outfits!" Pat and I look enough alike already so that will have to do. I will be wearing my Two Hearts pin (pictured at the beginning of this blog entry). I wanted to get one for him but again, Pat isn't having it. 

In other news here at Casa Tipton-Kelly: I got my John Deere riding tractor serviced on Tuesday. It was a mobile service and the service guy did a great job. Expensive but worth it. He was friendly, knowledgeable and will to share his knowledge. He showed me how to properly start my John Deere. Later on this morning I'll do some grass mowing with my new sharpened blades. I'll be mowing my grass every other week. I'll have Jose (my local all-purpose landscaper) mow every other week. He does the weed whacking which I don't do.

Later this morning to motor on down to the VA Clinic (which is still open, Trump and Musk didn't close this one .......yet) to give blood for my labs. I have an appointment next week with my doctor for a six month checkup. 

I haven't heard from my ENT nurse practitioner but my hearing is back as I said earlier. I don't know if I need another appointment but I guess I do to go over my recent CAT-SCAN.

Time to leave for my labs. 

Have a great day!

Yard Work!

One of my favorite activities is yard work.  I find working in the quiet and peace of my back yard not only good physical exercise for my body but good mental exercise. 

It's interesting but both of my brothers hate yard work.  My brother Isaac, the brother who inherited the family home, has been busy cutting down as many trees and shrubs that my father planted over the fifty some years he lived there.  

My brother John, who lives in South Carolina, has just about finished taking out anything that grows on his ranch house property and paved over his back yard.  He now has the biggest parking lot in his neighborhood.  But both of my brothers can build.  They are both good carpenters.  I am not.  I am not mechanically declined at all (and "declined" is not a typo).  

I like my backyard.  Next to walking, working in my back yard, especially raking cut grass, is one of my personal, guilty pleasures. 

One of my big frustrations with my leg injury is that it prevented me from working in my backyard.  When I got the news from my doctor after my leg surgery that my recovery would be "eight to twelve weeks", I immediately thought "there goes the spring."

Well, I'm glad to say that yesterday, after my physical therapy session, I felt confident enough to do a little bit of yard work.  

Raking grass is one of my favorite activities. I like the feel of the gentle wind on my face. Listening to the birds' chirping, getting things sorted out in their little world. The quiet, peace and tranquility of being by myself in my own backyard.

I think a lot of my pleasure of working in my own backyard comes from my youth of growing up in a second floor apartment.  Our family didn't have a "backyard" until 1958, when my parents built a small 1,100 square foot, one bathroom (five in our family) ranch house in East Brandywine Township, Downingtown, Pennsylvania.  I was 16 years old at the time and only had a year to "enjoy" my own land.  But it wasn't actually "my" land, it was my father's and he was very possessive.

120 Washington Avenue, Downingtown, PA - 2nd floor apartment front - where I spent the formative years of my youth and missed having a backyard unlike most of my classmates whom I envied who lived in "normal" homes with backyards

After graduating from high school, joining the Army, getting out of the Army, I was back to apartment living again.  

Our family's Boot Road, Downingtown PA second floor apartment - house not there now - no back yard (of course) again - 1954

I lived in three different apartments until Bill and I bought a small townhouse in center city Philadelphia with a very small back yard.  Actually not a "backyard" like I wanted, it was a paved (flagstone) backyard with small raised beds.  To satisfy my green thumb Bill built a roof deck with flower boxes.

Our Philly townhouse back yard (still no grass) - 1969

A view of our roughneck at our Philadelphia townhouse which I expanded my "backyard" with flower boxes - my green thumb needed this

The view from our roughneck of our Philadelphia backyard - 1969

It wasn't until 1980, when we moved to our 6.875 acres in East Brandywine Township, that I finally had my own backyard.  Of course I had to share it with the deer (oh did I ever) but at least I had one.  But I still didn't have what I really wanted.  What I really wanted was a neighborhood back yard.
When we moved to Delaware I finally had my neighborhood backyard.  The year was 2006, a long wait for a back yard.

Our East Brandywine Township home - my first "backyard"- 1980

This is a long post but I had to tell you this aspect of my personality.  After all, that's what this blog is all about . . . . me.

My backyard now - finally - my dream come true - where I go for peace and tranquility - 2015