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Wednesday, May 20, 2020

One last post with what blooms in spring around our house...because summer is on the way

Hey book friends!  Hope all of you are well and enjoying a nice spring - it is spring most everywhere isn't it?  Here in Central Texas, we are winding down the 'spring' stuff.  Summer is right around the corner and heat and humidity are making my early morning walks not quite as comfortable as they were.  It was 97 yesterday afternoon and, though the temps will be trending down for a few days, those upper '90's will be more usual now.  Memorial Day weekend is typically a hot one in our area and often a very stormy holiday time as well.  We've had massive flooding in some years and tornadoes and other weather things that occur when a bit of cooler air bumps up against hot and humid air flowing up from the Gulf of Mexico.  Crash, boom - can you say thunderstorm?  We'll see how this year plays out.  Storms are possible.  In any case, I hope everyone will have a nice weekend.

What have I been doing differently?  Not much - ha!  I did go to the dentist this morning for a regular cleaning of my teeth.  The appointment was routine, but the steps that had to be followed at the dental office were multiple - but necessary.  Happily, all was well with my teeth and, though the hygienist used more 'old-fashioned' methods of cleaning, she was well protected and I felt very safe.  They were definitely taking hygiene seriously.  Maybe things will be a little more 'normal' when I go back in December.

I also have a hair appointment!  Wahoo!!  Now, I want to assure everyone that my hair stylist will also be taking things seriously and doing everything as carefully as she can.  She's also in a 'one-woman' shop.  Have you seen those places where hair stylists and other personal care workers can rent an individual salon?  That's what mine does.  I am her first appointment on Saturday and there are lots of rules, including wearing a mask and not blow-drying my hair.  It's so short that it only takes about 15-20 minutes to cut.  I won't be in there long and then she'll sanitize everything for her next client.  I'm going to tell her to whack it off very short, just in case the next time I can get in is longer than 4 weeks away.

Otherwise, life is about like normal or what has become normal.  I'll leave you with a few pictures of the spring 'colors' that are in my yard.  Many of them don't last all that long, so we have to enjoy them before they are gone.  And, no, I am not a gardener at all.  I have no idea what the names of the plants are, except the cactus.  Take care and maybe the next time I post, I might even talk a little about books!  What an idea!  Ha!










 

42 comments:

  1. Love all your "spring colors". I hope to have some kind of garden soon. I need to go get my hair cut.

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    1. Vicki, I know you deal with the hot/humid as well. Hope you get to have your garden.

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  2. My stylist offered to handle my May appt in her home but we just rescheduled for June. I trust her but honestly, for the cost of a cut these days I want the whole package.

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    1. I understand, Ti. My stylist told me laughing that some of her clients wanted to come to her house instead of her 'shop'. She said...no....

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  3. Lovely pictures Kay. Boy you do have summer, hot temps. We are at 72 today: sunny and heavenly. It may get to 80 for a few days next week. Our hair salons are still closed and dentists open for emergency only - even banks are by appt. or drive up/atm. My hair is now shoulder length - LOL with gray roots, which I am embracing...I earned it.

    Have a great week.

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    1. Wish we could keep your temps all the time, Diane, but nope. Summer is hot here. Which is why we like to vacation in the mountains. But not this year...sadly.

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  4. Glad to hear you're all right, Kay. Yes, it's spring here in the UK but it's not in the 90s, those temps would kill me. That said we are having a glorious spring here with temps in the high 60s, low 70s. Warm enough for me.

    No hairdressers open here yet, but can't imagine it's that far off. My hair's a bit longer than I like - I'll probably hack at the fringe with the scissors at some stage, but I've never coloured it so that, thankfully, is not an issue.

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    1. Cath, I can't imagine if I tried to cut my own hair. It would not work out well at all. I tried to cut my daughter's bangs (or fringe as you say) once when she was about 4 or 5. I think she still hasn't forgiven me. And she's 37. Ha!

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  5. I always love looking at yards and gardens in other states. I see so many varieties that I just won't be able to plant here. Thanks for sharing those.

    I still need to get my cleaning, vision, and hair appointments scheduled. As much as my hair's irritating me, I'll hold off a bit with that and try to get my teeth done first. My kids will also be going through their physicals soon so I have plenty of closed place visits scheduled.

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    1. Good luck with all your appointments, Athira. I saw a Mom with two kids yesterday at the dentist. She was leaving one in the car while the other was inside and then switching. Ha! They were older kids.

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  6. I don't look forward to summer any longer. Too hot and humid here in Northwest Louisiana--not as bad as Central Texas, but not pleasant. I need to get my six month dental appt. re-scheduled, but that isn't a problem. Keep the AC running, Kay!

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    1. Jenclair, believe me, we keep the A/C running. It's a horror when there is ever a problem with A/C. Things are much different than when I was a kid. We didn't even have A/C in schools until I got to high school. It was horribly hot.

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  7. I love my hairdresser, but a friend visited her shop this week and there were no masks, no preventative measures. I don't think I will be able to visit her shop. I will have to find another route to get my hair cut, I suppose.

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    1. Ah, well, I can see why you would wait. My stylist was very clear about what they had been told and she's also the daughter of retired nurse. I trust her to wear her mask, clean her 'shop' and whack my hair off. LOL

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  8. We have the same purple plant, I believe it is Texas lilac. I also have many Mexican hats right now, that I did not plant. I have a hair appt next week too. Very excited about that! Same restrictions/preventative measures you mentioned.

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    1. I'm horribly excited about this haircut, Gayle. And she's not even going to blow it dry, which means it will dry flat and wispy. I'll have to hurry home and wash it again. LOL

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  9. Love the cactus flowers! And yay for hair salons reopening. Especially when they're being so safe about it. Have a great weekend! :)

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    1. Yes, I am very excited, but I also trust my stylist. She was very specific and clear about what she would do.

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  10. Lovely photos. I am not in a hurry to go for a dental appointment or get a haircut. That close contact is too scary for me right now.

    Our dentist is now taking appointments because my son had one for this week but he rescheduled for August.

    Hair salons are not open yet here and I have not heard from my stylist, but she had two kids and a husband and I am not sure who they have been in contact with so... My son gives himself and my husband buzz cuts (so cute) and I am willing to try letting my hair grow longer anyway.

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    1. Tracy, I understand about not being comfortable with going out to places. I will say that my dentist's office might as well have been an operating theater or at least the area that hygienist took me too. She was covered head to toe and wore a face shield as well. She had more PPE on than my daughter uses at the hospital I think. LOL

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  11. I'm still unsure about a hair appt. My stylist (also a one-woman shop) hasn't called to let me know she starting up again. Fortunately, we're not going anywhere, so I'm not particularly concerned about the state of hair. The dentist hasn't called yet either. :)

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    1. My stylist did call me and we chatted for a while about life in general and also what her shop would be like for now. I've gone to her for about 20 years and so I do trust her to do what she says she'll do. That being said, I think everyone has to do what they are comfortable with.

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  12. I love that little flower on the succulent! It's summer weather for sure right? Too hot for me already. I'm glad you have your hair appointment coming up and good for you and your stylist for taking all precautions. I am going to wait a bit longer to go as my stylist is not a one woman shop but my hair is way too long! It's in a ponytail all day. Hope you have a great weekend, Kay. I'm just hoping people don't lose their minds and still take precautions as more things open up here in Texas.

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    1. Iliana, my haircut went very well and since my stylist is moving to another location, I was able to make my next appointment as well. Her new one-woman shop will be a lot nearer to me. Yay!

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  13. Lovely pics, Kay! I love the cactus with the flowers.

    It's good to hear that services like hairstyling and dental are reopening. I'm glad to hear your hair stylist is making all the safety precautions. I've seen many people here queueing outside the salons on the first day they reopen and decided that I'll wait a while to visit even though mask wearing is still mandatory. I suppose we all have to adjust to the "new normal" from now. Hope you've a great weekend!

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    1. It's fun that cactus flowers exist, right? I think they are quite lovely. Haircut went well and we had a good weekend too. :-)

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  14. I'm glad to hear that you are doing well and that things are opening up where you are. I'm in Illinois so we are closed until June but then things will begin opening back up as well. Luckily, this is summer time and I work from home already so not much will change. I'm just hopeful that things will start to feel more normal soon - whatever normal really is at this point :)

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    1. I think we'll get used to however things will be as a new 'normal'. I keep seeing such dire predictions about young people and how their lives will never be good, etc. I then think about our grandparents and great-grandparents who lived through tough times - the Great Depression and wars. Humanity will survive is my thinking.

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  15. I haven't bothered to look at my calendar in a long time since I haven't had anything on the schedule but grocery shopping. After rescheduling doctor, dentist, and hair appointments that had been postponed due to COVID, I actually have kind of a busy week ahead! LOL. It will be really weird to leave the house EVERY DAY this week. I'm not sure I'm ready for it!

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    1. Yay for a busy week! I told my hair stylist that it was a banner week last week because I had two, count them, two appointments. LOL

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  16. I'm glad your dental office took all the necessary precautions. I'm due for a 6-month checkup next month, but I'm going to hold off maybe until the end of the year. We're in Phase 1 here on the coast and expect to see a lot of tourists now that short term rentals have resumed and restaurants are re-opening (with regulations, of course). We're staying home since those tourists will be traveling from areas that may have higher infection numbers than our little county. I noticed today we had another confirmed case and I wouldn't be surprised if there's a jump by mid-June. I can hold off on my haircut for many, many months, but I'm glad you are able to get in, especially as the first customer of the day! Sorry about your weather. I remember how miserable I was during the summer months when we lived in TX. I won't tell you how cool it is here... :) Take care and be safe!

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    1. I suspect your dentist's office will be taking precautions. As I said, my hygienist looked like she could be an operating room. Ha! I do understand about the influx of tourists to your area. And, no, don't tell me how cool it is there. LOL

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  17. Such pretty flowers! My son had a dentist appointment, a doctor's appointment, and a hair appointment in the last few weeks and it's been fascinating to see all the precautions they're taking. The hair place was the most normal but it's a small place that only has a few people in it at the best of times and they were spacing appointments to give them a chance to sanitize between patients. At the pediatric dentist they were checking temperatures in the parking lot and then a hygienist was coming out and taking the child from the car to go inside while the parent waited in the car. My son said they were big partitions between each chair and they were basically in hazmat suits. I'm sure if you had a little kid or a kid with anxiety they'd allow you in with them but we were fine. We have had crazy storms lately which is making the temperatures go crazy. Sometimes it's in the 90s and other days it's in the 60s! Hope you have a great week!

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    1. Yes, I think that dental offices probably are doing well with sanitizing, etc. And it's nice to know that one could still go there in a tooth emergency. Hope you guys don't have too many storms, but I know that, like us, this is storm season.

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  18. Beautiful photos! I've been loving the spring weather we've been having. Our salons are still closed. With restaurants in the area just beginning to open up for dine-in service, I imagine salons won't be far behind. I don't mind the length of my hair, but both my husband and daughter have commented on the amount of gray that is coming through at my roots. I broke down and am waiting for a hair dye kit to come in the mail. As much as I loathe the idea of coloring my own hair (I've never been completely happy with past results), it might be for the best. With all the budget cuts coming, there's been talk of furloughs in my agency. Might as well try to save money where we can. I'm not sure I'd be comfortable going to the salon anyway at this point.

    I do need to schedule a physical for Mouse and an optometry appointment for me. Although, I admit I'm not sure what will happen if I need new glasses, which I'm sure I will. I am not sure they want customers trying on a bunch of frames. Stores won't even let people try on clothing or shoes at this point. I don't imagine glasses are all that different.

    I hope you have a great week. Good luck at the salon! Stay safe and well.

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    1. Wendy, I bet your eye doctor's office has things well in hand regarding trying on glasses or they ought to. As I said, the dentist was completely on top of things. Good luck with coloring your hair. My stylist was saying that she probably would be dealing with a few clients who had tried that while at home - hopefully with decent results. LOL

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  19. Pretty pics. You are brave to go to the dentist & haircutter .... I'm glad you felt safe at the dentist. With extra precautions things should move forward. I'm considering going to the hair salon in a week or two, maybe with a mask. I think the last time I went was in February!

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    1. Yes, my stylist and I both wore masks and I didn't even have her shampoo my hair. She would have, but I had just done that and she therefore didn't have to mega-sanitize her shampoo chair. She didn't blow my hair dry and it all only took about 20 minutes. LOL

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  20. I had to pop back in and take another look at those Central Texas flowers. I miss traveling but it's lovely to be able to see your photos.

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    1. Always glad to show some Texas flowers, Deb!

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  21. Pretty pictures. 90s are too hot for me. I'm a 70s kinda gal. Gage has some weird bumps on his left foot right now so we're avoiding our walks in the parks until we get it figured out. We're missing some ideal weather right now. I've never been to a one woman hairdresser shop. Gage needs to see a dentist but I've been putting it off. Still, maintenance happens :)

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    1. Yes, I was afraid if I didn't go to the dentist there would be some kind of issue that would then involve pain. I might have had a nightmare about that. Ha! Anyway, all was well and I felt very protected. The poor hygienist was likely burning up in all that PPE.

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