What Do You Do At Lunch . . . Besides Eat?

One nice thing about working in downtown Cleveland is that there are several nice garden spots within walking distance of my building where I can go to read at lunch time. Here is a picture of the closest one which is always open. When we had 80 degree temperatures the second last week of April, this is where I went to read. It's less than a 5-minute walk away and is sort of sheltered from the wind.

This is a picture of the Cleveland Public Library garden which is my favorite lunch time get-away; a 10-minute walk. It has a big bird bath in the middle and it's fun to watch both the birds and the squirrels. It opens the first week of May and stays open I believe through October. Many people enjoy this peaceful are in the midst of their work day.

Lastly, about a 15-minute walk away is the wide open grassy mall with benches, flower borders and a big fountain. I usually don't go here to read because the benches are uncomfortable, but it makes for a very nice place to walk.



How do you break up your work day? Do you actually take time for an hour lunch (Gerard only gets a half hour)? It really is a good idea to get out for awhile and stretch your legs, get some fresh air and give yourself a break.

Keep The Ants Away With A Moat and A Use For That Good China

When I got home from work Friday I was greeted by a slew of ants crawling in my cats' food dish and all over the place mat under it. This was very distressing to me. I wish I could have gotten a picture of all those ants that I came home to, but unfortunately, my digital camera battery died that morning when I tried taking a picture of Manny lying in my wardrobe closet. I grabbed up the dish and squished those little tiny ants as they crawled around in the dish. Every time I stirred it up, I saw some more!!! By the time I got them all and went back to the place mat, most of them were gone but I did get some.

I knew I couldn't spray anything like RAID around in the house because it would hurt my cats. I decided to go to my friends on the Internet through Twitter but didn't get any help there. Then I remembered about http://answers.yahoo.com. You can search for a question and if someone has asked it before, chances are there's several answers to it. Sure enough, other people had the same problem and I found a great answer byKatslookup--not suspended yet.

She said to spray Home Defense around the OUTSIDE of the house, windows, doors, down spouts but also place the bowl inside a larger dish filled with water so there is a moat around the cat's food bowl. Ants can't swim so won't be able to get to it! She said after they realize the food source is no longer available, they will leave.

So, I went looking for a slightly bigger bowl I could use and guess where I found one. In the basement storage closet from among some of the good China that belonged to my parents which we never use. Well, I dug out one of the soup bowls and after killing the spider that was in it and cleaning it up, it worked perfectly. The cats food dish is a good China bowl that belonged to Gerard's parents. (Nothing but the best for our cats!) Anyhow, it works! There have been no ants crawling in the food since, just some on the mat around the bowl now and then which I promptly squish with my fingers.

Can you guess where we went first thing Saturday morning? At 8 a.m. we went up to RiteAid for the RAID. Then Gerard went to the gym and library while I learned football drills for coaching sports camp, then we went hunting for a new battery for my digital camera, finally finding one at Best Buy after trying Radio Shack and OfficeMax with no success. Whew, what a relief! What would I do without my camera to take pictures for my blog posts? We ate lunch at Arby's and then played two sets of tennis at Elmwood Park. After all that, I was just too tired to do it so waited until yesterday to spray.

Have you ever used Yahoo Answers find a solution to a problem? You might want to give it a try. What do you use your good China for?

(For Spunky Doodle's post about this, click here.

Our Best Reads--Sophie's Heart and Adventures With Ari

Here are out best reads for May:

Karen's: Sophie's Heart by Lori Wick
Sophie's Heart is a contemporary, heartwarming Christian romance about a grieving widower and his three children who hire Sophie, a Christian immigrant from Czechoslovakia, to be their cook and housekeeper. It's a fun journey seeing how the family comes to love Sophie and how she slowly becomes more Americanized. Throughout the book, the author reveals Sophie's heart through her prayers and one can see what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ by reading this book. I enjoyed Sophie's interaction with her friends, her driving instructor, Alec but most of all with his children. It was refreshing to see how the oldest one, Rita, helped her instead of resenting her. This book gives great insight into what Christian living is all about!

Gerard's: Adventures With Ari by Kathryn Miles

Big Surprise--Wonderful Book! I really enjoyed it!

I went looking for a book at the library while waiting for a book I ordered to come in. First, the cover caught my attention. I thought, okay, just another dog book, but no! This is a wonderful book!! It's the story of Kathryn Miles, who you will grow to like very much, and of course, Ari, you will grow to love!! This book I enjoyed so much. One of the best parts is the interaction between Kathryn and Ari. It's so good. I also liked the month-by-month to see how Ari grows. Also you see the outside through Ari's eyes. All emotions are in play during this book. I hated to see it end. Don't miss a chance to read this one--it's wonderful! Hope Kathryn has another book in her. Two paws way up for Ari! I came away from this book with the feeling I just spent a week with a good friend. Karen read it too and liked it.


Read more of our book reviews at Zemeks' Updates-What We've Just Read

4 Things I Learned This Week-Part 21

Twitter

I just discovered how to add video and pictures to Tweets on Twitter: For video: http://twitvid.io and for photos: http://twitpic.com. Just use your Twitter ID and password and then upload you video. There's more ways too that are mentioned at mashable.com.

Short tweets are more likely to be retweeted than long ones.

Pool Shark In Diapers

If found this video at Living Life to the Fullest. I used to have a miniature pool table like this one when I was a kid. This kid is really good!

Wallpaper

Ever hear of heat-activated wallpaper? I didn't either until I saw it on New York Renovator. Wonder what it does? Well, the sample shown there was a green vine type print and when it got warm, pink flowers would show up! Do you have any heat-activated wallpaper? Have you even heard of it before this?

Lots of Tips

I came across a whole list of great assorted tips at Jodi's Journey. Easy things that will take care of ear mites, fleas, wet dog, headache, sore throat, toenail fungus, stuffy nose, bee killer, arthritis relief and more! Worth checking out--you're bound to find something there you could use. (I haven't tried any of these yet so can't guarantee they work.)

Enjoying Wildlife Along The Way--A Nice Walk

I love my early morning walk to the bus stop on sunny mornings when it's warm. It's just invigorating and I usually find myself praising God on the way. Our neighbors are into yard work so our street is quite pretty. Here are pictures of some of the wildlife I encounter along the way:

These two little barking dogs greet me as I approach their house with loud barks and then their owners come out to quiet them down. They're kind of cute though! I especially like the little brown one.





Another animal I sometimes see along the way is a bunny rabbit. This guy stayed still letting me take his picture before hopping along through other yards down the street.

The secret to enjoying my walk is to give me plenty of time. I used to cut it close, giving me just 10 minutes and if something held me up, such as hunting for my cats before leaving, I'd miss the bus or have to really run to make up for my late start. Now, I allow myself 20 minutes and if I don't leave right on time, it's no big deal. This cuts down considerably on my stress level to start the day and I even had time to stop along the way to take these pictures! Often the birds are chirping and today a whole bunch were in the street, but I ran out of time so didn't get their picture.

On some days, I'll see cats out too. One time there was one in the tree on the tree lawn and one house on the way has 4 white cats that are outside a lot in the front yard.

This past winter one morning, I even came across a skunk! It was running across the sidewalk about 12 feet ahead of me. That was when it was still pretty dark and before I carried my camera so didn't get a picture of him.

Once on the bus, I generally read and the time goes by quickly. Not a bad way to start the day! Do you enjoy going outside early in the morning? This is something I intend to keep doing even when I retire (not walk to the bus stop, but at least walk or work in the yard early). It's my favorite time of day. I love this time of year when it's light early.