Memorial Day 2022

 

It is an absolutely beautiful day here in Chaumont, NY. There is a cemetery across the street from our house and this morning the Cape Vincent American Legion saluted the veterans interred there. This is something the legion has done for many years. At the request of The Better Half I used her iPhone 12 to catch a video of it. The bugler  playing taps did great job. 

Here is a link to it on my Facebook page 

Garden Plants, Oil Change, Covid Test, Birthday Sunday May 22, 2022

Some of our flower pots ready to put to use. I bought flowers a week ago, hopefully have them potted tomorrow. 

Weather today: High was 71 in the morning. Cooled to 60 by late afternoon. Cloudy and overcast ll day with some light rain at times.  

It was a full day for us here in Chaumont, NY.  I finally got our tomato and cucumber plants in the garden . Still have flower pots and containers to do.  I took a break around noon and had a delicious Sierra Nevada Torpedo IPA. I set the bottle down on the bench amid some flowers and was moved to snap a picture of it. Totally unplanned, a serendipitous visual moment. 

Sierra Nevada Torpedo extra IPA. One of my favorite beers. Gardening never tasted better.

After that I changed the oil in my 2011 Kia Sedona mini van. That chore was overdue and went off  without a hitch.  

For a couple of days the Better Half has been feeling tired and run down. Enough so that we decided to give her an over the counter Covid 19 test. It was a brand called iHealth. Very simple to do. Results show up in 15 minutes. Her result was negative. No Covid 19 present. An oximeter reading showed she has normal oxygen levels. 

At 5:30 we visited the Better Half's daughter B in Rutland to celebrate her daughter's 11th birthday. We had pizza, salad, and an ice cream cake from Carvel.

Tomato plants in our garden, Chaumont, NY. Planted today, Sunday May 22, 2022

Rain, Sump Pump, & Meek's Cutoff May 19, 2022

Flooded basement of our home in Chaumont, NY. House is at least 120 years old with a less than ideal limestone foundation. 

 

Yesterday and today we had plenty of heavy rain. This evening, around 6:00 discovered the basement was flooding with about a foot of water and more flowing in. The sump pump is quite old, at least 10 years, maybe as many as 15 years of service. Recently the switch was sticking. I bought  new pump a few weeks ago. I figured it failed. I quickly replaced the old with the new, plugged it in and it wouldn't go. I fiddled around and it started up. 18 minutes later it quit. The electric outlet had no power. Maybe a breaker tripped. I got and extension cord and plugged it into different outlet. It ran for 10 minutes and stopped. I checked the cords, connections, gave something a wiggle and it started up. Worked fine and pumped all the water out in less than an hour. I'll troubleshoot the electric problem tomorrow.

Earlier today I put some blinds on windows in one of our clay street apartments that I just leased to a young yesterday. She is a 27 year old Certified Nurse Assistant and seems to be very nice. The blinds are cordless, cost $18 and change at Home Depot.

I then went to bank and also bought some flower and cucumber plants at Seaway Gardens Watertown. 

Dropped in on my Celebrity Brother for a quick 20 minute visit.

Finished the evening off watch a 2010 western movie titled Meek"s Crossing. About some settlers getting lost crossing a desert in Oregon in 1845. 

One of the new blinds I installed today on apartment No.3, Clay St., Watertown, NY. 

Botched Blood Donation

   

My blood donation failed when technician evidently missed my vein. Yet the insertion point seemed to bleed more than normal and I was wrapped up with a tourniquet bandage, instructed to leave it on for 1 hour.

Friday the 13th 2022.

I went to Red Cross in Watertown, NY this morning to make a blood donation at 11:00. It went normally until the needle was inserted into my arm. My blood did not flow properly. The attendant tried to adjust it somehow, became frustrated and called a supervisor to assist. They could not get the blood to flow as it should. Re-adjusting the needle caused me some pain. They put a blood pressure cuff on my arm and pumped it up, I assume to create extra pressure that might assist the blood flow. I'm speculating and didn't ask them for an explanation. I got the impression that they missed the vein. The super told the subordinate that she should have used a different, adjacent vein. They decided to unhook me and abandon the donation. The insertion point seemed to bleed more than normal and I was wrapped up with a tourniquet bandage, instructed to leave it on for 1 hour. That was a first. Over all I was uncomfortable about how it all went. I left concerned. 

I then went to the Sportsman's Barber Shop and got a haircut. $14.00 for the cut, I gave her $20.00 (4^.00 tip). 

Went home from there and helped the Better Half carry in some groceries. About 3:00 I went back to town to do some painting on our Franklin St property. At 5:30 I showed a Clay St apartment to a young woman. She wants to lease it. She seems like a good person. Will probably rent to her.

Got home about 6:30 and mowed our lawn. It was quite warm today, hitting a high of 80 degrees.