Home stuff – Busy Bee Productions

Love is in the air and on the hood of my car. Playing with rocks, yet again.

Stop bugging me

One day last week I planned on making a trek about 40 minutes north to an amazing orchid and bromeliad place as I’m updating some of our lanai beds and wanted a particular brom.

This place is the BROMB.COM!

A haven for those who love interesting plants.

If you’re one of those people who like boring plants, you’d not like it.

I digress.

I decided to hold off on my trip there for another week or so because I remembered it’s love bug season and I didn’t want to sacrifice my car for plants.

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It’s a terrible time for everyone except the car wash people because they will upcharge you a billion dollars just to clean dead bugs off the front of your vehicle. bastids.

Rock cityRock headrocks in my socks

Speaking of redoing our lanai plants. It’s come to my attention that I might have a bit of OCD.

I overhaule d this area 6 years ago; ditched all the mulch and mess that had been there; simplified the plants and even used a lot of potted plants for ease of weeds.

Six years ago I was so proud of this area and now it makes me want to barf. Well, just a smidge of barf.

We at the time (my lawn guys helped) added in rocks to keep the weeds at bay.

It was all so pretty and clean when we finished. Prior to that it resembled a jungle and you couldn’t see the ~~forest~~ yard through the ~~trees~~ plants.

Recently, (panemic project) a lot of the bromeliads that we added before have been pulled out as I was tired of their BS. You know how some plants can get on your nerves.

‘The after’ I started ripping out the plants I was sick of.

Fast forward to today; Suz does not care for all the mismatched rocks; it’s chaos I tell ya.

I know. I have such a stressfull life.

Don’t be fooled by the rocks that I got

I’m still, I’m still Suz from the block.

So, a few weeks ago I started sorting my rocks as one does and I put all the gray ones in one area and I loved the look. I’m a fan of cohesiveness.

Even if you don’t love the gray rocks just nod your head and agree with me because time and money. Also, if you need tarragon, I’m ya girl.

So, I conferred with my landscape co-partner (you know who) and he agreed that the gray rocks look so much better, so to Homedepot.com we went.

Right now we have 2300lbs worth of beautiful gray Mexican beach rocks in the driveway.

Which is not even remotely close to the pool area but it’s as far as I could get my delivery guy to drop them; he was using a hand cart and I assisted in pulling/pushing this oversized load this far up the driveway.

In general the weight limit that I push/pull is 50lbs. So this is 2250lbs more than I’m comfortable with.

If only I could telepathically remove all the mismatched rocks from the lanai, and then telepathically get the gray rocks to the pool area. There is quite a bit of walking, down a few stairs and up a few stairs for all this to happen.

I should have ordered a wheelbarrow and a few young men at the same time.

My back is starting to hurt thinking of it all.

But, one day, in 2022 when I’m finished I’ll be so happy.

So, is anyone else being obnoxious about minuscule things that we can actually control?

Happy Friday Y’all!

Susan doesn’t live here anymore. Or ever.

This isn’t the first time I’ve complained about this and it certainly won’t be the last time either. So many people refuse to recognize, understand, or HEAR that my name is Suzanne.

Say it with me: SOO + ZAN

The following scenario happens at least eleventy thousand times a year:

Hostess/order taker/receptionist/phone call person:

Can I get your name? Suzanne.

Person: OK, Susan.

Occasionally I get a Susanna, a Sue, or a Suzie.

Those are refreshingly wrong names.

But…

That’s NOT my name. That’s NOT MY NAME!

That song is so good; it makes my toes wiggle and my thighs jiggle.

It became a running joke and my girls would call me Susan too.

{Side note; my Dad would lose his shit if we called him by his name, Phil. Why?}

I happen to love the name, Susan.

My MIL is Susan; although she goes by Sue.

Susan is a beautiful name. but.it.aint.my.damn.name.

It makes me wonder. Did Suzanne Sommers ever get called Susan?

Oh, snap.

I just remembered that I wasn’t on a hit TV sitcom in the ’70s, nor did I promote the thigh master.

*looks disappointingly at dancing jiggly thighs*

Many, many years ago an envelope arrived in our mailbox addressed to:

Current Owner

Susan Maria Martinez

My silly daughters: “Oh, you’ve been lying to us all these years, that is your real name!”

Damn. I’ve been found out after 40 years.

Now they had a new nickname for their beloved mother; Susan Maria Martinez.

That was at least 12 years ago.

And still today I’m referred to Susan Maria just when I expect Susan Maria to die.

My apologies, Susan Maria Martinez.

In this family, things just don’t die. Nicknames. Stories. Jokes. Something you said when you were five.

Susan Maria Martinez will probably be somewhere on my epitaph.

The Coach had ordered some new ball caps for me for Mother’s day and they finally arrived this past weekend.

For when I’m Susan Maria Martinez: Mamacita!

And of course, Mama Bear is another term of endearment.

What would Susan do without her people?

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Driveway surprise and Crazy eyes.

Yesterday my sweet friend Dawn, her husband Eric, and their son Camden made a surprise visit to our driveway; they brought their ice cream shop to us!

WHO DOES THAT?

Dawn does.

Dawn’s family owned an ice cream shop {Wilburs and Wilburs North} in Massachusets; that’s where Dawn and Eric met around 30 years ago.

Ice cream is their thing. And yesterday it was OUR thing too.

How sweet are they?

Btw, Suz had a chocolate sundae with coffee ice cream and ALL the toppings.

The Coach? Two scoops of vanilla.

Me: How can you be married to me and enjoy plain old boring vanilla ice cream?

He responded with something like he couldn’t handle more than vanilla AND me…

Whatever.

__________

I finished Dead to Me this weekend on Netflix.

It was so darn good.

About 10 minutes till the end I assumed this would be the last season. But those darn writers know what they are doing; they’ll be back!

Speaking of Netflix; Linds told me recently that we could update our profile pics. Forever we were each just a side smiley face.

I had a really good laugh choosing mine.

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Suzanne, aka Crazy Eyes from Orange Is The New Black

I finally watched the Downton Abbey movie. It was good. NOT fantastic, but I was a big fan of the show and I had myself a really good cry at the end because I probably hadn’t cried in a few hours.

Could you possibly have had more fun than me this weekend?

Maybe. But I’m pretty sure an ice cream shop did not sprout up on your driveway.

I have the best people.

Happy Monday.

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Gifts that delight and are my ears even connected to my brain?

I forgot to tell you and I’m sure you were wondering, but I had a nice mother’s day with my girls and my soon to be SIL.

Oh….to be in the same house and talk. And talk. And talk. It was heavenly.

I mean, it’s different than the 587 times that we’ve face-timed each other.

Can we all just think for a minute how lucky my future SIL is to have me? I mean, he IS so lucky because I am the MIL of dreams.

Perhaps I should rename my blog: Mrs. Modest the Mostest?

Oh, today is Nathan’s birthday! Happy birthday Nathan!

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He makes our Lolo so darn happy. She told me once that after meeting and falling in love with him “you know when you’re out and you see a good looking guy that catches your eye, well, now they all look like potatoes to me.”

Cheers to finding the main dish and not caring about potatoes!

Now, back to me. me. me.

Gifts from my girlies on Mother’s day; a cute mug, Reeses, tulips, nail polish, a t-shirt representing Lolo’s school, and a succulent embroidered hand towel.

Lolo taught herself to embroider even before the pandemic.

I taught myself how to grow out of my own clothing.

____________

I went to go see my dermatologist this week and then I thought since I was out, I would treat myself to some chick-fil-a.

I’ve been deprived of chick-fil-a for at least 8 weeks.

DEPRIVED.

WAS it packed? YES. But they are such geniuses; they doubled their drive-thru line.

Doubled in width, not length if that confused you.

DOUBLED. It took a few more minutes than usual, but it was worth it.

Cute chick-fil-a girl: What would you like to order today?

Me: A diet Arnold palmer and a cobb salad, please.

Cutie: We don’t have any salads today.

Me: Ok, a chic fil a sandwich combo with a diet Arnold palmer, no fries; the superfood salad instead.

Cutie: We don’t have any salads today.

Me. *dead face because we both have evidence that I’m an idiot.*

I’m constantly surprised at what comes out of my mouth.

Happy Friday. Anyone doing anything fun yet?

No?

I’ll be hanging at the homestead; piddling in my gardens, sorting photos, watching Dead to Me on Netflix, thinking of other ways that I’m wonderful, complaining about laundry, etc…

Living the flipping dream.

Be well, my friends.

XOXO

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The one where I was content to drink dirt, witness a reptile romance, and still be a good human.

I had an (almost) surprise visitor on Friday morning.

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Linds decided to drive to our neck of the woods and pick up some juice from an open juice bar. She brought me a few, picked up a puzzle, and loved on Max for a few minutes.

Even though Max was adopted by Lolo, he lived with both girls for many years and he absolutely LOVES Lindsay. He was so happy he was whining/crying/moaning; it was cute and weird. But, he’s cute and weird.

Anyhoo… she brought me two fresh-cold-pressed juices of my choosing; one of them contained beet juice. There’s nothing better than drinking something that tastes like dirt; it was reminiscent of my childhood.

****

Saturday morning I opened the door to go outside and I found two snakes ‘gettin’ jiggy wit it’ on my sidewalk.

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They’re common blacksnakes; we have a lot of them and they are essential.

Like healthcare workers for my yard.

I felt bad that I interrupted them, but I suppose I didn’t really interrupt because they kept doing what they were doing, like what my eyes saw didn’t matter.

I stepped back inside and then I wondered if I really saw what I thought I saw.

The next step, of course, was to google: Do snakes have sex?

The answer was YES and it can take hours or a whole day. I surely hope I didn’t mess up their day; plus, that poor girl!

My life has been so exciting that I actually pondered this for a while.

***

We had a really nice weekend. Our event on Friday night was more fun than we should be having on our couch.

Aside from the musicians playing some tunes, there is constant chatting on the side with some awesome people from all over the world. (85-90 people were with us)

It was fun ‘talking’ with our friends who we’ve not been able to see while listening to the music and raising funds for Liberty Manor.

***

A lot of you have asked about how I like wordpress.com compared to blogger; so far I really do like it.

I’m going to work on a post about the pros/cons as soon as I feel like I’m a semi-pro.

I hope everyone had an equally pleasant weekend; whether on your couch or on your porch swing.

XOXO

Peer pressure at home, you can refer to me as Mother Nature and Doing some good while sitting on the couch.

Can I just tell you all, that your sweet comments really make my day?

I love when someone takes the time to visit my little corner of the world and then leave me a nice note. YOU.ROCK.

It’s like you were on your way home from the store, I just so happened to be at my mailbox when you drive by and we catch up for a few minutes.

I was face-timing with the girls earlier this week, as I’ve been doing a lot.

Mostly Linds and I; she’s alone 24/7 and has in the past struggled with some health-anxiety issues; I’m proud to say, she’s killing it during this quarantine. Cooking, cleaning, working on a movie list and calling her Mom whenever she feels like it.

I’m so proud of her.

HI, LINDS!

Sometimes during our face-timing, we can drag Lolo away from her dog and school work.

I distinctly remember when they were little and when one wanted to talk to me, then the other would too.

My head would spin trying to hear both and give equal attention.

Well, that part has not changed.

They both stated that they were waiting for me to update the blog with a new post; but how can I do that if I’m face-timing for hours at a time?

What say you? There are 22 more hours in a day?

Honestly, I’ll never complain about my girls wanting to talk with me.

During one of our extra-long face time sessions, Lolo began preparing her dinner in the crockpot. Linds was giving directions and then they began to make deviled eggs together.

They asked me to make some too, but I only had 3 eggs.

Later, they sent pics of their deviled eggs via our family chat.

A minute later, the Coach asked for some deviled eggs for when he got home.

I texted that we ONLY HAVE 3 because PANDEMIC.

Being a man of simplicity, he said, that sounds like 6 halves.

I succumbed to deviled egg peer pressure.

I’m much easier than I appear.

***

Last week I attempted to switch over to WordPress as opposed to blogger.

Why you say? Because I’ve not had a reason to bang my head against a wall until I can’t feel anything for quite a while.

It’s a task that will take me some time, and I hope I don’t give up and succumb to google/blogger for the duration of my blogging life.

The rumor mill around town is that WordPress is not as limiting as the blogger platform and I dream of NOT being limited.

***

Thursday morning we woke up to a nice heavy rain. My first thoughts were we’ve been needing rain and my second thought was: “My garden caterpillars are going to drown.”

I exclaimed this to Coach and he said: it’s nature, they’re used to it.

I don’t know who he is or who he thinks he’s dealing with because I AM NATURE.

This morning I woke up and apparently we’ve gone back in time…back to January.

The Coach has all the doors and windows open, it’s 61* and I had to put a sweatshirt on over my PJ’s. THAT Is glorious as it’s been in the high 90’s daily.

We actually have some plans this weekend! *suz shouts from the rooftop*

Do you remember all the events/fundraising we do for our disabled veterans?

Well, it’s mostly the Coach, but by default, I get to be a part of it too.

He’s got two events planned for August and September on the East and West coast of Florida with our beloved songwriters.

Tonight, he’s arranged an at-home event with songwriters via Stageit.com. It’s a ‘pay what you can’ concert with 100% of the proceeds going directly to Liberty Manor.

The mission of Liberty Manor for Veterans, Inc. is to promote the developmental and social needs of disabled, honorably discharged veterans who have fallen victim to homelessness by providing them transitional, supported housing and establishing objectives designed to attribute to self-sufficiency.

Liberty Manor is doing SO much good for our veterans who have served our country and then have through various reasons, become homeless.

Reading the success stories hit my heart in a big way.

So, if you’re not doing anything tonight, tune in. 7:30. We personally know all of the songwriters and you’ll be pleasantly surprised when you hear the stories behind the songs that you hear on the radio.

So, that’s all from me. This was longer than I had planned, but what else do you, me, us have to do?

SADLY, NOTHING.

Have a great weekend and thank you again for being my friends who live inside the computer.

Can you tell me how to get, how to get out of Funky Town?

Can you hear the opening song to Sesame Street and NOT smile?
No. You can’t.

The Coach and I were able to see the sunset via the boat this past weekend.

The beaches are closed, but luckily the Gulf of Mexico is still open.
For now.

I’ve been in a bit of a funk. Not sad; just feeling funky.

I’m itching to get some garden work done; updating my veggie garden. I have a plan but need to execute it and finding a day where my arm isn’t bothering me is a problem.

Also, I’m itching to get to my happy place; my local nursery.
They’re open, but I’m not going because it’s really unnecessary.

I’d like to be acknowledged for actually following the rules.

Should I wait by the mailbox for my acknowledgment gifts?

If you say I need something for my itching, you’re not wrong.

I started rereading this book this week; It’s been about 20 years since I read it last.

I don’t remember the details of the story, but if I kept the book this long, I must’ve really loved it.

I am staying busy with daily household chores and my butterfly raising.

Our yard is a flurry of butterflies; lots of different flavors; not just monarchs.

I found a slew of zebra longwing and gulf fritillary larvae in my bed of plumbago the other day and I was so excited I might have had to change my outfit.

Their host plant is Passion vine…so, apparently, passion vine found it’s way into this bed without even asking me.

THAT fills my little funky heart to the brim.

How are my people on this fine Monday?
Wait, Tuesday?
Yeah, Tuesday.

XOXO

Stop bugging me

Rock city*Rock head*rocks in my socks

Don’t be fooled by the rocks that I got

Rock cityRock headrocks in my socks