Taking life easy

christmas cookies

2011-12-15T22:32:00.000-06:00

I made Christmas cookies today and Owen and Hali came after school to decorate them. I frosted Owens and he decorated. Hali did both, she enjoyed eating them as well as did Owen.
Hali wants a doll for Christmas and some pink stuff. Owen just wants a mouth guard for when he plays football next year. He has his cleats and shoulder pads already. He wants to PLAY FOOTBALL and I want to be there to watch.
Winter Solstice will be here in about three days and it's almost Christmas. The kids will be with their mother and her family this year and that makes Dan cry. He's trying to get their mother to let them be here overnight Christmas Eve.
The cookies break easily LOL but they all look so festive.

St. Nick comes tonight

2011-12-06T00:26:00.002-06:00

Backward, turn backward, O Time in thy flight
                  Make me a child again, just for tonight
                  Mother, come back from the echo less shore
                  Take me again to your heart as of yore.

                  Kiss from my forehead the furrows of care
                  Smooth the few silver threads out of my hair
                  Over my slumber your loving watch keep, ---
                  Rock me to sleep, mother, rock me to sleep

                  Over my heart in days that are flown
                  No love like mother love ever was shown
                  No other worship abides and endures
                  Faithful unselfish and patient like yours

                  None like a mother can charm away pain
                  From the sick soul and the world weary brain
                  Slumber soft love ore my heavy lids creep
                  Rock me to sleep mother rock me to sleep

                  Mother dear mother the years have been long
                  Since I last hushed to your lullaby song
                  Sing them and unto my sole it shall seep
                  Womanhood’s years have been only a dream

                  Clasped to your heart in a loving embrace
                  With your light lashes just sweeping my face
                  Never here after to wake or to weep
                  Rock me to sleep mother rock me to sleep

First snowfall last evening

2011-11-10T00:32:00.000-06:00

First Snow-Fall.

THE sun that dim November day
Had failed to kiss the clouds away
From quiet Nature's furrowed face,
Where autumn tears had left their trace.

And, by and by, on fields of brown
The feathered flakes came floating down
From Heaven to this world of ours,
Like spirits of departed flowers.

And fast and faster through the night,
Till Morn arose on meadows white,
And o'er the landscape lightly stepped
Where tired Nature, smiling, slept.

^__Albert Bigelow Paine.

A Poem

2011-10-16T12:26:00.002-05:00

“You think I am dead,”
The apple tree said,
“Because I have never a leaf to show–
Because I stoop,
And my branches droop,
And the dull gray mosses over me grow!
But I’m still alive in trunk and shoot;
The buds of next May
I fold away–
But I pity the withered grass at my root.”
“You think I am dead,”
The quick grass said,
“Because I have parted with stem and blade!
But under the ground
I am safe and sound
With the snow’s thick blanket over me laid.
I’m all alive, and ready to shoot,
Should the spring of the year
Come dancing here–
But I pity the flower without branch or root.”
“You think I am dead,”
A soft voice said,
“Because not a branch or root I own.
I never have died,
But close I hide
In a plumy seed that the wind has sown.
Patient I wait through the long winter hours;
You will see me again–
I shall laugh at you then,
Out of the eyes of a hundred flowers.”
Edith M. Thomas.

Weather is changing

2011-10-13T21:49:00.000-05:00

It has been so warm and sunny I hate to see it end. It rained today and they say it's getting colder and more fall like now. I have my yard work finished except I may still prune a couple bushes but maybe not as the flowers are probably set for the spring already.
Time to tackle a little more housework and do a little fall decorating with witches and goblins. Mostly have the 'potting shed' turned back into a garage. Still have the hose and grill out though.
Looking forward to farmers market on saturday to stock up on veggies to use for crock pot meals.
Tomorrow is library day and I see they are having another used book sale this weekend so I may go to that.
That's about all I've got for today.

Packers won today

2011-09-25T19:18:00.000-05:00

Rainy day. Owen was here cause he didn't want to go with his Mom and sister to take Ethin back to Michigan. He tried on his football stuff and had me take a few pictures. Then, when he want home he put on his Packer jacket from last year. He's gotten taller so it was kind of short in the sleeves. He wanted to wear it though. Kids are having their pictures taken tomorrow so I hope they have cute expressions.
Not much else going on. Didn't get any of my jobs done today.

You are somebodies reason to smile

2011-09-23T21:42:00.000-05:00

So sorry to have wasted today. The only thing I accomplished was the wash and I didn't get it finished.
Somedays I just catch up. Was cold and sunny.

wash day

2011-09-23T12:53:00.000-05:00

“Never, never be afraid to do what's right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Society's punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way.”
― Martin Luther King Jr.

So tired praying for the energy to do some yard work.
Almost time to remove flowers.
Cloudy day.
Have four good books to read. The first one is Betty White's book, If You Ask Me
I put out the recycle bin last night but it isn't recycle day. Debating if I should sneak out there and bring it back in.
I ate Hostess powdered sugar donettes for breakfast...yum
Enough dilly dallying, time to get to work.

Sunny Day

2011-09-20T11:34:00.000-05:00

...sweeping the clouds away, on my way to where the air is sweet, can you tell me how to get, how to get to seseme street
There was a time when my sibs were loving and caring but now they suck.

cold and sunny

2011-09-17T22:30:00.000-05:00

Enjoyed the day with my grandchildren.

Laundry Day

2011-09-15T22:07:00.000-05:00

also exercise day cause I have to go up and down so many flights of stairs. I wanted a single story house, kids wanted an upstairs...got an upstairs, kids moved on and I am still here trudging up and down all these steps. On the plus side, it's good exercise.
Still working in yard. Things grew so tall but don't know what they are, not flowers, not trees, must be weeds. I wish I had a weed book so I could name them LOL.
Planning to go apple picking with kids on Saturday. Always a fun thing to do. They have a hay wagon, and lots of animals and a little park. Hoping for a nice day.

A Fun Day

2011-09-14T01:29:00.000-05:00

Met my old drinking buddies for lunch and did some shopping. We had lunch at Frank and Pats Pizza place. Haven't been there in years. The pizza was still as good as I remember it was after the bars closed. I always enjoy our once a month dinner dates. We have a lot of fun together.
Did some sewing this evening and watched a little TV. Have a new book to start called The House of Stairs. I'm attracted to weird titles, hope it's a good book.
Forgot to take pictures, I meant to.

BOATLIFT, An Untold Tale of 9/11 Resilience

2011-09-11T14:39:00.000-05:00

It was asthma season

2011-09-11T14:07:00.002-05:00

and all the ER rooms were occupied mostly with kids having problems with their breathing. The only room left was the small specials room. The boy was with his parents and I was giving him a breathing treatment. A nurse came in and said there's been a plane accident in New York on one of the skyscrapers. By the time I finished the treatment and was ready to head upstairs to the Respiratory Department, the accident was already on the news. They said that a plane hit a building and smoke was coming out of it. It was live on TV, I don't know what channel. As we were all watching a plane came into view and headed right for another building and crashed it...someone said that must be the World Trade Center. I left and went upstairs. We were doing testing on the machines that day.
The TV was on in the break room and they were saying that another plane had hit in Washington DC and they thought there were one or two more that had been hijacked. I got through the rest of the work day and went home. I assured that my children were safe and at home. I remember I was shaking pretty bad. It was the worst of days so filled with horror.
When the jets fly over on game day I have to prepare myself for them, wait for them, while the game is starting so I know what they are here for. This last summer the Air Force jets scrambled twice and afterward they announced that it was a practice run each time. I guess they got so many inquiries that they finally said what it was. The Spring after that horrible day, Bellin Hospital was building a tunnel under the road by their hospital and they hauled the dirt to the trainyard less than a block away from me. The trucks would empty out the dirt and then slam the back of the truck box a couple times to get all the clay, etc. out. It would start at 5 in the morning so it would wake me up. I woke up screaming almost every day thinking we were being attacked again. I never got used to it and it lasted over two months. I finally got up the nerve to call the administrator at Bellin and told him what was going on. Bless his little pea pickin heart they moved the dump site to a non-residential area. My house is under a flight pattern so the planes fly over every day. They look like the same kind of planes. I still think of that day every time I see them. It affected everyone in some way.
God Bless America.

Sign up day

2011-09-10T23:55:00.000-05:00

I signed up for a Craft Class, a Cooking Class for Vegetables (can't always eat them raw I guess) and also as a volunteer after school tutor. Gotta keep up or get left behind. It was such a beautiful day I would have thought I'd spend time in the yard. But took one look at those clothes lines that got wrecked when the big branch fell and decided no. I did, however carry out the flat of plants I bought and put them out by the barrel planter hahahahaha, they are annuals and I bought them last May. The Morning Glories are still in the tiny little pots and they are blooming. The rest are shade flowers all colors. Maybe tomorrow I'll plant them. That's a good Sunday job. Checked on the grapes today and thank God this is the off year as I don't think I feel like messing with them except to grab a handful when I'm outside looking at them. Finished the Postmistress, very good book. Now I searched and made up another list for the library but in the meantime I have two magazines to read. Woman's Day and Family Circle...they are kind of like Dr. Oz and Oprah on paper. Goodnight people everywhere.

The old bench that Hali loves

2011-09-10T01:49:00.004-05:00

To begin with the bench was just an old curb shopped piece of junk with good bones. I painted it and re-covered the seat and put it next to the side door. It has been there all Hali's life which is only five years. But over the years it got pretty warn. The back was all broken and the seat was in pieces. I was hauling it out to be picked up for junk one day and Hali thought I should fix it. Well by that time it was pretty well unusable but she likes that old bench. We sat on it for stories and to change shoes and to watch the stars at night and to have our root beer floats so it had good meaning for her. I liked it as well while it lasted but I wanted new. Well I took it apart and glued the back slats back on and removed the seat part that had broken in two. I painted it, got a board, some screws and a piece of fabric and today I put it together. I have before and after pictures so Hali can remember. Owen likes it too but he isn't much of a sitter. He's always playing football or riding his bike or doing work in the yard. This is the after picture.

Letting in a little winter

2011-09-07T23:35:00.003-05:00

Today I changed my bed sheets to the flannel ones and added the mattress warmer to the bed. I didn't turn it on yet, but it's there and ready. Didn't quite turn the furnace on but the next best thing to warm the house was to bake a cake and turn on the oven. I made red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. I also washed clothes and vented the drier inside for this one time. Couldn't work in the yard cause my left leg didn't work right and was pretty painful. I was surprised as that usually only happens when it's humid and it wasn't humid today. The wind and rain storm the other day left such a big branch in the back yard across my clothes lines. I waited to see if I could get help moving it but then ended up moving it myself. I know I shouldn't but it did work out okay. I moved it to the front for pick up yesterday...could be why I'm having a little muscle pain today.
The cupcakes are delicious.

Hali won a summer reading program prize at the Southwest library

Owen modeling a Cub shirt I got for him and holding up a sign that says the Cubbies suck...I guess he isn't happy with the shirt and cap.

Fort Howard had a picnic and open house the day before school started

Owen and Hali getting ready to sit down and eat at the picnic

The Slack boys posing for the camera

The sun is out the sky is blue

2011-08-31T11:10:00.000-05:00

Have a list to do today. So tired, unable to do it. Maybe if I rest a while and then try again.
Humidity must be increasing as that's usually when the pain comes so strong. Wah wah wah...what a baby.

cook out

2011-08-30T21:34:00.000-05:00

Yesterday had a cookout hamburgers and hotdogs, potato salad, soda, cake. Hali loves potato salad, I was so surprised. Was a beautiful day but got oh so tired at the end of it.
Today .. Went looking for a piece of wood 36 by 15 and much to my surprise Fleet Farm had that exact size. They have wooden pieces cut to size for home made furniture. Now I can finish the bench I'm remodeling. Such a wonderful breezy day. So sad to see summer winding down and school about to start. Picked up a library book today called The Postmistress, hope it's a page turner. Continuing to work in the yard...good exercise.

Sunny Saturday

2011-08-27T18:31:00.000-05:00

we are very lucky to have another wonderful day. I spent much of it outside in the gardens. Also went to the 'beauty parlor' to get my hair cut. I finally got my monthly gift for August...an electric pencil sharpener. It works really great and now I have a lot of sharpened pencils. I got the ADRC and Salvation Army Newsletter today and there are a number of things that are interesting...both trips to take and volunteer things. I also got the Birkenstock catalog...must be time for a new pair of Berkies.

Humid day with breeze

2011-08-26T15:05:00.000-05:00

I thought it was cooler than it is so only stayed outside about two hours. Replaced the porch light and started redoing the sitting bench. Now just need the energy to go to a couple stores for the fabric, wood and nails. Anakin is helping me with the work today haha.

A beautiful summer day

2011-08-25T15:38:00.001-05:00

Worked in the yard today for about an hour. Didn't get very far but at least I did some. Bought an arbor sort of thing at Steins to plant the Morning Glories on. I don't know if they will still grow and bloom but it's worth a try. Hope to get back out in the garden a little later today.
Was going to cut the grass in front too but I see I'm out of gas...oh shucks...I'll do that maybe tomorrow.

whats in bloom

2011-08-20T12:05:00.002-05:00

summer

2011-07-23T16:49:00.000-05:00

Summer again. No veggie garden this year. I've replaced my gardening time with reading time and have read a number of good books. As I sit here typing, my cats are staring at me...must be supper time LOL Was going to work in the yard today but it's nasty outside. I cut the front and side grass yesterday. It's surprising how many flowers bloom on their own. One of my sisters has a veggie garden this year and I saw pictures of it...it's beautiful. Well supper time...the meowing is getting deafening.

Easter was fun

2011-04-27T14:19:00.000-05:00

It went by fast. Forgot to take pictures.

A Daffodil Day

2011-04-22T20:15:00.002-05:00

It's such a dark and gloomy day today. As I was cleaning out the bird bath and filling the feeders, I noticed that I have a lot of Daffodil's in bloom. Now I usually don't pick my flowers because I like to see them outside, but there are so many that I picked just one handful and brought them in the house and put them in a vase...made in Japan (that's another story). They reminded me a Wordsworth's poem...

I WANDERED lonely as a cloud
          That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
          When all at once I saw a crowd,
          A host, of golden daffodils;
          Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
          Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

          Continuous as the stars that shine
          And twinkle on the milky way,
          They stretched in never-ending line
          Along the margin of a bay:                                  10
          Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
          Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

          The waves beside them danced; but they
          Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
          A poet could not but be gay,
          In such a jocund company:
          I gazed--and gazed--but little thought
          What wealth the show to me had brought:

          For oft, when on my couch I lie
          In vacant or in pensive mood,                               20
          They flash upon that inward eye
          Which is the bliss of solitude;
          And then my heart with pleasure fills,
          And dances with the daffodils.

Kids here today

2011-04-16T23:19:00.000-05:00

We colored Easter eggs and played Uno. Time went fast.
Owen read a book to me. He's a very good reader and knows a lot of big words and small words. I still can't believe he learned to read so good so fast. I'm proud of him.
Hali likes to write letter...a lot of letters in a row and is looking forward to being able to make words with them. She also likes to play guess what I drew, and make picture stories.
I'm proud of her.
It snowed today and was windy and cold so we stayed in.
We watched Kate plus Eight that I had taped from the other night. They were in a zoo in Australia and we learned a lot about the animals and got to see how the kids are growing.
In the market for a new computer but hate to do the shopping for it so it may take a while. Also getting a WII Fit and Sport. I didn't keep up with electronics since I retired and I'm not sure what I need to connect it...and hate to ask.
Was going to try church tomorrow but have decided to check out the Civil War and Dinosaur exhibits at the Museum instead.
I made hollow cereal egg treats with M and M's inside...Picture follows.

Warming

2011-04-08T17:30:00.000-05:00

By Sunday we expect it to be 70 degrees....then by Monday a blizzard....hahaha JK.
My grandchildren were over extra long last weekend and all our projects were done, as well as our adventures and we ran out of things to do....so we painted faces of course.

Another day in the life

2011-04-07T19:38:00.001-05:00

Spring cleaning done

2011-04-01T20:06:00.000-05:00

The hardest part was hanging the new curtains. The color is called brown sugar, but they look peachy. I hung them upside down cause it looks better LOL. The kitchen is so bright and clean too. Nice to have it all done.

Anakin (cat) followed me around all day and helped me. She's such a sweetie. CC (cat) hid under the bed, she doesn't like change.

It was warm enough on the sun porch to sit out and read for a little while. I guess snow is coming again on Sunday. I take what comes along. I don't need any more snow, I have the snow balls for July waiting in the freezer.

A shame about having to throw out that Christmas ham. I'm going to have sloppy joes for Easter I think. And if no one comes over I'm going to go to a local free brunch and meet some people that are poor and old like me.

3 day snowstorm on it's way...

2011-03-24T13:51:00.000-05:00

I like to save snowballs from the last snowstorm of winter so now I'll have my chance. I use the snowballs for a snow ball fight on the 4th of July with my grandchildren. They've come to expect it, wouldn't want to let them down LOL. I also have the snowman stuff for two snowmen that we didn't get a chance to build last snow storm because it melted to fast.
Went to Festival Foods specifically to get root beer popsicles and they didn't have any

It's still Spring

2011-03-24T13:47:00.003-05:00

Francesca

2011-03-23T22:05:00.000-05:00

That's the name of the snow storm that so far has dropped 17 inches on Green Bay since yesterday.
There aren't too many advantages of being older, but one of the greatest of all is being retired so I don't have to go to work in the snowstorms. I could hear cars gunning their motors this morning as they tried to get out of snow banks. I see the plow has gone through and I wonder if I should shovel or if it will melt...nothing in the world like Spring Thunder snow.

The Calendar says today is the first day of Spring

2011-03-20T17:40:00.000-05:00

Owen says tomorrow is...March 21st...that's what I say too. Don't know when it changed to the 20th.
Happy Spring!

Owen and Hali here today.

2011-03-19T19:36:00.001-05:00

Had fun. They wanted to go shopping but I convinced them to stay home and play cards with me and make chili. It was so funny to play Old Maid with them. At first they didn't quite get it but after I stuck the Old Maid up higher than the other cards they began to catch on. We all laughed pretty hard after they started doing it too. Also we painted pictures and told drawing stories. Then I rested on the couch for a while while they decorated the windows with window markers. I taught Owen to draw stars so we have a lot of stars and Hali likes to draw people so we have some of those too. They dusted and moped their rooms today, cleaned out their closets and brought out the recyclables. I don't tell them, they just do a couple jobs when they are here. We made plans to go to the library and shopping on Wednesday. They are gone now and it's very quiet in here. I guess I'll read for a while and go to bed early.

Spring Concert

2011-03-18T23:32:00.001-05:00

Owen's school had their Spring concert today. They have such a wonderful music teacher she sure knows how to bring out the joy of singing. She also hands out little props so the kids have something to do while they are singing. The concert was short and sweet...I wish it would have lasted a little while longer. I took a few pictures, as usual, and will post them when I get them.
While filling the bird feeders today, I noticed that there are a lot of Daffodils and Tulips coming up. Also the rhubarb is growing again. I love rhubarb. The flowering trees and bushes all have little buds...except for the Lilac, that usually takes a little longer.
The big old Coopers Hawk was here having lunch today. Such a beautiful bird. My squirrel family is all pretty chubby. They ate well over the winter and I see that all five of them are still here.
The snow is almost gone except for the old drifts. Of course more snow is coming this weekend.
I walked the yard and picked up a lot of the trash that blew in over the winter. Found a whole envelope of someones pictures but they were pretty well smeared up so I just tossed them out.
I had started a blog of things I found on my walks...took pictures and commented on them...but I ended up in the hospital shortly after so that blog didn't come to life. It's still there so maybe in the Spring I'll add some more to it.
Hurts to wear shoes. I'm hoping to get to a store so I can get some slippers to wear outside until my feet heal better. I never thought I'd be one of those weird old ladies that fall down. Oh well...

Hair is cut

2011-03-17T00:49:00.002-05:00

I'm happy to have gotten my hair cut and had a nice visit with the woman that cut it. She was very sweet and funny. Didn't do much by way of Spring cleaning today. My feet hurt so bad, but I'm sure they will be better by tomorrow.
We used to have a family web site but it's been removed and my brother sent me an email wondering where it was. I guess we'll have to correspond by email now. I did enjoy the web site though and sorry it's gone.
Sunny day today, slow down Spring don't go so fast in to summer!
I found some brown sugar curtains that are almost peach colored. Didn't get them yet, still hoping to find peach.

No peach curtains

2011-03-14T23:44:00.000-05:00

I'll have to keep looking. I found some really nice tectured curtains at KMart but brown was the closest I could come to peach so didn't get any. Still have the blue ones up. Maybe people don't use peach curtains. Got some Grape water, Glucosamine, and Packer DVD. I'll put that in Owens treasure box. I see on Facebook that my nephew took his grandchild to Disney World. I wish I could take Hali, she would so love it there with all the princesses. I did get her ballet and tap dancing this winter though, that was good. All the sweet little girls she met and she loved wearing the makeup and being on stage. My hair is long enough to put in a pony tail LOL...hope to get it cut soon. Moving along with Spring cleaning.

Peach curtains

2011-03-14T00:27:00.001-05:00

Had a dream last night about the sunlight coming through peach curtains. Tomorrow I'm going to look around to see if I can find some thin peach curtains that the sun shines through! Then I have a branch I saved from my brother's birch tree that I'm going to use for a curtain rod. But first I will do the Spring cleaning in the living room. I guess it doesn't sound like a big deal but I'm looking forward to seeing how it all comes together.
Supposed to be a bright sun shiny day tomorrow.

Saturday stuff

2011-03-12T19:56:00.000-06:00

Went to Arti Gras today at Shopko Hall. So many great artists bring their work there. Plus there were projects for the kids to do and free classes for the adults.
Quite a crowd and the food was good too. I was happy it didn't snow.
The earthquake in Japan has a death toll up to 1700 since I heard last and the sunami caused a lot of devistation throughout the world, even to the US west coast. Now I hear there is a second nuclear plant involved. I hope the US keeps going with solar and wind power, they both seem safer to me.
I have no idea what time it is today, I turned the clocks the wrong way initially and then turned them back only and hour. Now I think it's almost 8pm but I don't know for sure.
Tomorrow it's supposed to be nice so I'm hoping for more outside time.

A little walk

2011-03-11T23:46:00.000-06:00

Today I walked a little further, actually four blocks I think. Just walked slowly so didn't need the cane. Will be happy when I no longer need this 'special' shoe or whatever it is. Was such a beautiful day today I enjoyed being outside very much.
Also today I spent my usual fifteen minutes gathering up a give away bag for the thrift store. Of course the danger there, is that when I bring/brought the bag there I stopped in the store and looked around. Lots of cute Spring things there. I did get two cute little Easter books and a yard of material to cover the porch chair cushion. Looks like tomorrow is supposed to be rainy and windy so I'll be doing my fifteen minutes again.

Cravendale - Cats with Thumbs

2011-03-10T00:28:00.000-06:00

http://www.pallensmith.com/articles/five-great-flower-seeds?utm_source=pas_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=pas_2011-02-28

2011-03-01T14:53:00.000-06:00

http://www.pallensmith.com/articles/five-great-flower-seeds?utm_source=pas_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=pas_2011-02-28

Joan Baez, Diamonds and Rust - Live, 1975

2011-02-07T23:31:00.000-06:00

JOAN BAEZ ~ Joe Hill ~

2011-02-07T17:56:00.000-06:00

Lil Wayne Green & Yellow Freestyle (Packers Superbowl Song)

2011-02-07T17:51:00.000-06:00

Joan Baez Live @ Woodstock 1969 Joe Hill.mpg

2011-02-02T19:27:00.000-06:00

Go You Packers Go 2011

2011-01-25T17:03:00.000-06:00

Connie Gomper & The Pack! [part one]

2011-01-23T22:34:00.000-06:00

YouTube - Christmas 78's - Here Comes Santa Claus - Gene Autry

2010-12-24T21:01:00.000-06:00

YouTube - Christmas 78's - Here Comes Santa Claus - Gene Autry

CCCCCCoooooolllllldddddd!!!!!!

2010-12-16T01:01:00.000-06:00

It's been very cold. Good thing I'm retired as my car isn't working. It froze up and I don't feel like spending the money and time to unfreeze it so I'm stuck in the house for a while. Been decorating the tree, baking, cleaning and taking long winter naps.
The winter months seem to be moving along just as fast as the summer and fall months did. Not sure if that's good or bad.
There is a beautiful star that follows the moon around at night, or maybe it's a planet. I love the night sky but I don't know much about it.
My Christmas shopping is done, not much this year, and I've been wrapping the gifts.
I have a real tree...Scotch Pine...it looks like an artificial one that I put together wrong.
Well the dryer just shut off so I'll be closing for now.

2010-12-04T19:56:00.000-06:00

Fall and winter close behind

2010-10-23T22:34:00.000-05:00

The chipmonks have gone underground, the robins, redwinged blackbirds, butterflies, bees have all disappeared south. The Canadian Geese are flying in V formation for real and leaving. Frost in the morning. Got out my winter clothes and turned the furnace on just a little. Got out the flannel sheets for warmth at night. Have the garage cleaned out so the car will fit in there. Took down all the summer furniture and plugged in the bird bath. Put the snow brushes in the car...here comes winter.

Today is Wednesday, September 10, 2010

2010-09-29T21:06:00.000-05:00

This day my brother in law winged his way to heaven
To dance with the Angels.

2010-09-26T12:52:00.000-05:00

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others,
even to the dull and the ignorant, they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love,
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is perennial as the grass.
Take kindly to the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann c.1920

The War is Over

2010-09-02T20:54:00.000-05:00

When the war started I made a very patriotic wreath and I decided to leave it hanging up until the war ended. It got very, very dusty and warn, but today I took it down.

On Turning Seventy

2010-08-15T20:17:00.002-05:00

Ringo Starr celebrated his 70th birthday last week by playing at Radio City Music Hall and saying his new hero is B.B. King, still jamming in his 80s.
Joining Mr. Starr in his 70s next year will be the still-performing Bob Dylan ("May you stay forever young") and Paul Simon ("How terribly strange to be 70"). Following soon after will be Roger Daltrey ("Hope I die before I get old") and Mick Jagger, who is reported to have said, several grandchildren ago, "I'd rather be dead than singing ‘Satisfaction' at 45."
A rock 'n' roll septuagenarian was someone the gerontologist Robert Butler could have only dreamed of in 1968, when he coined the term "ageism" to describe the way society discriminates against the old.
Dr. Butler, a psychiatrist, died at age 83, a few days before Ringo's big bash. No one, his colleagues said, had done more to improve the image of aging in America. His work established that the old did not inevitably become senile, and that they could be productive, intellectually engaged, and active - sexually and otherwise. His life provided a good example: He worked until three days before his death from acute leukemia.
But as much as Dr. Butler would have cheered an aging Beatle onstage, his colleagues said he would have also cautioned against embracing the opposite stereotype - the idea that "aging successfully," in his phrase, means that you have to be banging on drums in front of thousands - or still be acting like you did at 22 or 42.
That stereotype is almost as enduring as ageism itself.
"The stories that we hear tend to pull us toward the extreme," said Anne Basting, the director of the Center on Age and Community at theUniversity of Wisconsin at Milwaukee. "It's either the stories of young-onset Alzheimer's, or it's the sky-diving grandmas. We don't hear enough about the huge middle, which is the vast majority of folks."
In fact, for most people, the 70s represents the end, not a beginning. Life expectancy in this country is still 78 - higher for white women, lower for men and blacks. It is rising, but not as fast, perhaps, as our expectations. As Gloria Steinem said of her 70th birthday in 2004, "This one has the ring of mortality."
Yet with Clint Eastwood directing films at 80 and Betty White starring in a new sitcom at 88, the pressure for 70-year-olds is not to face mortality, but to kick up those slightly arthritic heels ever higher.
The eighth decade, said Dr. Basting, is "now seen as an active time of life: you're just past retirement, that's your time to explore and play mentally." But while many will be healthy, others will not. "There will be an increase in frailty and disability because people are living longer," said S. Jay Olshansky, a demographer at the University of Illinois at Chicago who studies aging. For some people, an increased risk of stroke and Alzheimer's "is going to be the price they pay for extended longevity," he said.
The risk, gerontologists say, is that in celebrating the remarkable stories, we make those not playing Radio City, and certainly those suffering the diseases that often accompany old age, feel inadequate.
Social policy may only contribute to that pressure. The European Commission recommended last week that European workers not be allowed to retire before 70, to keep state pension funds solvent. In this country, Representative John Boehner of Ohio, the Republicans' leader in the House, suggested raising the retirement age for Social Security benefits to 70 to keep the program afloat.
Thomas R. Cole, director of the McGovern Center for Health, Humanities and the Human Spirit at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston and the author of a cultural history of aging, said he hailed anyone who, borrowing a phrase from his mother, age 85, "is playing above the grass."
At the same time, he said, "if we don't pay attention to the dark side of our 70s and 80s, we're not going to pay enough attention to the people who need help."
"We're going to make it look like if you're sick, it's your own fault; if you're not having orgasms or running marathons, there's something wrong with you. We need to think carefully about how to take care of people who are frail. We need to allow people to not feel like failures when they can't do the things they used to do."
He traces the origins of this "splitting apart" of the reality of old age - good and bad - to the mid-1800s, when people in the United States first experienced what he calls "the legitimization of longevity."
Life expectancy was only 40, but people began to believe that humans could live to be old - which they defined as 80 or more.
"People first began to say, ‘I'm here to live a long life, and if I work hard and am a good person and am middle class, I will die a good death,' " Dr. Cole said, " ‘and if I don't do these things, I deserve a short life and a painful death.' "
That split persists, he said, in our obsession with health and longevity, visible to anyone glancing across a magazine stand.
"It assumes you can control these things through willpower," he said.
Gerontologists tend to think of successful aging as taking advantage of what potential there is, staying as socially and intellectually engaged as possible. Our culture tends to measure it more in terms of how active people are.
"It wouldn't do us a whole boatload of harm to reinstate some values to contemplation," said Dr. Basting. "Part of the pressure on older people to be successful and give back and volunteer and be active and play tennis is that we are a culture of doing. We don't really know how to be. That's something that late life gives us, is time to be. But that's stigmatized."
We might take a new model from musicians and other artists growing older. Creative types tend not to retire, but their later work often reflects their different stage of life. Dr. Cole cited the roles and films of Clint Eastwood, and the songs of Mr. Simon. "Old Friends" reflected on the strangeness of 70 from a young adult's perspective, but on an album released when he was 60, he sang of "growing old" from a first-person perspective.
On the other hand, Dr. Basting said, Mick Jagger might test the limits - can he really strut like that when he's 75?
For boomers, it can be particularly jarring to watch the icons of the rock 'n' roll era aging. Robert Kastenbaum, a 77-year-old psychologist who has written extensively on aging, compares it to a 50th high school reunion and meeting the girl you had a crush on.
"This bubble-headed girl who was too sexy to exist, there she is now as the most mature, sensible grandmother," he said. "You think you can't believe the difference. The fact is both of these things are true. She was truly adorable, now she is admirable."
We need to recognize all those stages, he said, and not think there is some dissonance. "It's tolerance of ambiguity."
Dr. Butler might have agreed. In a recording of what was apparently his last interview, conducted less than two weeks before he died, and posted on 'The New Old Age', the New York Times blog on aging, he told Joshua Tapper, "Sometimes the oldest person in the room comes up with the most thoughtful thing - not always.
"I think we ought to have a realistic portrait of all different periods of life and not try to romanticize old age as the most wonderful, all these great old wise people," he said. "I think that goes too far."
Does the pressure ever let up? Maybe.
Dr. Basting, who has studied elderly theater troupes, recalled that one member declared that the age of 90 was "true freedom."
"Anything you do, people are just shocked that you're alive," Dr. Basting said. "There're no expectations at 90."

Green Bay Packers Tribute

2010-08-13T00:45:00.000-05:00

2010-07-30T23:18:00.001-05:00

It isn't about being afraid in a thunderstorm
It's about learning to dance in the rain

A Poem , Hayes

2010-07-16T22:29:00.002-05:00

FAIR is each budding thing the garden shows,
From spring’s frail crocus to the latest bloom
Of fading autumn. Every wind that blows
Across that glowing tract sips rare perfume
From all the tangled blossoms tossing there;—
Soft winds, they fain would linger long, nor any farther fare.

The morning-glories ripple o’er the hedge
And fleck its greenness with their tinted foam;
Sweet wilding things, up to the garden’s edge
They love to wander from their meadow home,
To take what little pleasure here they may
Ere all their silken trumpets close before the warm midday.

The larkspur lifts on high its azure spires,
And up the arbor’s lattices are rolled
The quaint nasturtium’s many-colored fires;
The tall carnation’s breast of faded gold
Is striped with many a faintly-flushing streak,
Pale as the tender tints that blush upon a baby’s cheek.

The old sweet-rocket sheds its fine perfumes;
With golden stars the coreopsis flames;
And here are scores of sweet old-fashioned blooms
Dear for the very fragrance of their names,—
Poppies and gillyflowers and four-o’clocks,
Cowslips and candytuft and heliotrope and hollyhocks,

Harebells and peonies and dragon-head,
Petunias, scarlet sage, and bergamot,
Verbenas, ragged-robins, soft gold-thread,
The bright primrose and pale forget-me-not,
Wall-flowers and crocuses and columbines,
Narcissus, asters, hyacinths, and honeysuckle vines,

Foxgloves and marigolds and mignonette,
Dahlias and lavender and damask rose.
O dear old flowers, ye are blooming yet,—
Each year afresh your lovely radiance glows:
But where are they who saw your beauty’s dawn?
Ah, with the flowers of other years they long ago have gone!

They long have gone, but ye are still as fair
As when the brides of eighty years ago
Plucked your soft roses for their waving hair,
And blossoms o’er their bridal-veils to strow.
Alas, your myrtle on a later day
Marked those low mounds where 'neath the willows’ shade at last they lay!

Beside the walk the drowsy poppies sway,
More deep of hue than is the reddest rose,
And dreamy-warm as summer’s midmost day:
Proud, languorous queens of slumberous repose—
Within their little chalices they keep
The mystic witchery that brings mild, purple-lidded sleep.

Drowse on, soft flowers of quiet afternoons,—
The breezes sleep beneath your lulling spell;
In dreamy silence all the garden swoons,
Save where the lily’s aromatic bell
Is murmurous with one low-humming bee,
As oozy honey-drops are pilfered by that filcher wee.

And now is gone the dreamy afternoon,—
The sun has sunk below yon western height;
The pallid silver of the harvest-moon
Floods all the garden with its soft, weird light.
The flowers long since have told their dewy beads,
And naught is heard except the frogs’ small choir in distant meads.

Bridge to terabithia - Someday

2010-07-09T12:25:00.000-05:00

Gardening: Pruning : How to Prune Grapes

2010-07-05T00:10:00.000-05:00

I've been busy

2010-07-01T23:23:00.000-05:00

with the gardens. I have a wonderful veggie garden with the best tomatoes I've ever grown. I've saved rhubarb in the freezer for winter. I've had several meals with my homegrown peas and beans. My little pumpkins are starting to blossom and the birds eat the morning glories and sunflowers as fast as they grow. Or maybe it's the chippies, squirrels and rabbits. I got my monthly gift today. It's a little baby angel in angel wings and I put it in the tea garden, very cute. I trimmed back some of the wild branches in the back yard and I think maybe the hostas will bloom this year. I'm pleased that my Concord grapes are coming along as they should. All my Dogwoods are beautiful this year and putting on quite a show with the blossoms and berries. Here are a few pictures too.
Now I have to get busy in the house again. I need to sand half the dining room floor and re finish it...again. I've taken to just throwing stuff into garbage bags and throwing it out on garbage day. Maybe someday someone will find it all in an old landfill.

This is my sweet Owen and this year he LOVES to come down those two huge slides. Last week he decided he could also go down the covered one that's dark....he told me he even kept his eyes open all the way down. You can't imagine how much I love that boy. He reads books to me now...he calls them chapter books and he's only in kindergarten. I hope he never loses his curiosity for life.

Hali....that's a long A, pronounced Hailee...she is like a fish in the water. Always laughing and happy...except when she pretends to cry to get her own way. A typical girly girl....unless she's playing football or soccer, then she's a little toughy. She is sweet and soft and always considerate...a darling girl that's fun to hug.

This is my monthly gift. It's so cute in the tea garden and a remembrance of things past.

These last three are the Yellow Lily in my South Sun garden, one of my favorites.
Some old standbys from the back garden
The flowers and leaves that are growing on the garage. I believe the flowers are Clematis but not sure what kind.

On planting yet another vegetable garden

2010-06-11T19:25:00.001-05:00

Chuang Tzu And The Butterfly by Li Po

Chuang Tzu in dream became a butterfly,
And the butterfly became Chuang Tzu at waking.
Which was the real—the butterfly or the man ?
Who can tell the end of the endless changes of things?
The water that flows into the depth of the distant sea
Returns anon to the shallows of a transparent stream.
The man, raising melons outside the green gate of the city,
Was once the Prince of the East Hill.
So must rank and riches vanish.
You know it, still you toil and toil,—what for?

World Ocean Day Today

2010-06-08T23:34:00.000-05:00

What I did today

2010-05-28T22:29:00.000-05:00

I painted a ladder first white and then a little blue, I soaked Morning Glory seeds for planting, I dug out the peach tree that died because of rabbits eating all the bark off the trunk. I forgot to water the seedlings which I'm going to do right now. It's time to put the inside plants outside. I'm mourning the loss of last fall. I wonder how long it takes to get over that or if I'm just milking it for an excuse.
Meet me in St. Louie, Louie, meet me at the fair
Don't tell me the lights are shining any place but there
We will dance the hootchie cootsie, I will be your tootsie wootsie.
If you meet me at St. Louie, louie, meet me at the fair.
...just felt like bursting into song. LOL

Daffodils

2010-05-25T14:04:00.001-05:00

Last October I bought six packs of Daffodil bulbs, 15 to a pack to plant in the yard. I found them in the garage today all moldy and mushy. Better to take a day at a time than to plan for the future.
I'm going to wait until this evening and then my plan is to paint the ladder and if I get that done I'm going to soak the Morning Glory seeds and plant them tomorrow.

Hot and humid, broke a heat record here in town

2010-05-24T21:18:00.000-05:00

Went out for lunch with Hali and Dan to Perkins. Hali has always asked me if she could play that machine with the stuffed animals in it so today I said sure and gave her the two quarters. She did it all by herself and actually got a Backyardagains, we were all so surprised and happy. She just grabbed it with the hook and threw it down the shoot and got it. I was so surprised I didn't even think to take a picture. I forgot what it's name is but it's the blue one, or maybe it's purple. She took it with her when she went back to her Dad's house.

Planting

2010-05-23T20:16:00.000-05:00

Today I cleaned up the garage a little more, planted three tomato plants, two rose bushes and two Bridal Wreaths and watered them. I also took out and set up the hoses and a few more odds and ends. I get tired so fast but maybe if I do some each day I'll gain strength like the old days. Was a most beautiful day today, sunny and hot. All my Dogwoods are in full bloom and I sat out and enjoyed them for a while.

Raised Veggie Garden

2010-05-21T22:29:00.000-05:00

Shopping List

1 Cherry Tomato
1 Tomato
1 Eggplant
1 Zucchini
1 Hot Pepper
1 Bell Pepper
1 Bush Type Cucumber
4 Chives
1 Rosemary
3 Basil
2 Dill
2 Stevia
1 Sage
3 Curly Parsley
3 Flat Leaf Parsley
3 Trellis/Plant Supports
Twine
1 20-inch Terra Cotta Container
Potting Soil for Containers
Organic Slow Release Fertilizer (Apply at planting time.)

May Gardening

2010-05-07T21:32:00.001-05:00

Well once again I brought my knockout roses back in the house. Snow is predicted for tonight, up to three inches. They look so pretty on the kitchen table and smell so lovely. I also planted a lot of seeds today. Spinach, Lettuce, Peas, Beans, Sunflowers, Marigolds, and Forget Me Nots. I have other seeds too but things like Morning Glories I like to plant directly in the yard. I've had my cookies and milk so now off to bed LOL. I think it's the cold that's making me tired tonight.
This year, unexpectedly, I have grown old. Although, on the inside, I haven't changed at all.

Windy Day Fun

2010-04-18T00:40:00.000-05:00

Grandchildren and I went out to Bay Beach today and flew/flied kites. It was so much fun. It's an activity I really enjoy to the fullest. A wonderful kite flying day. It was so easy to launch the kites and they flew and dipped and slipped all over the sky.

Spring

2010-04-02T16:33:00.001-05:00

O what purpose, April, do you return again?
Beauty is not enough.
You can no longer quiet me with the redness
Of little leaves opening stickily.
I know what I know.
The sun is hot on my neck as I observe
The spikes of the crocus.
The smell of the earth is good.
It is apparent that there is no death.
But what does that signify?
Not only under ground are the brains of men
Eaten by maggots.
Life in itself
Is nothing,
An empty cup, a flight of uncarpeted stairs.
It is not enough that yearly, down this hill,
April
Comes like an idiot, babbling and strewing flowers.

SPRING

by: Edna St. Vincent Millay

Rambling

2010-03-26T20:12:00.001-05:00

It's almost 8pm and the sky is not quite dark yet.
I've been going shopping and out for lunch with the Salvation Army on Mondays. It has been a lot of fun and very nice to be with people. On Monday they told me I can't go with them anymore because I have a car.
I think when I was in the hospital and lost all the memories for more than a month...I think it opened up a space in my brain and now I can remember some things I had forgotten. For example today I remembered playing on the living room rug at 618. I was playing with my brother Bobby's lead soldiers. He was there too. My Mom was in the kitchen by the window ironing. She had on a blue dress. I had on a blue dress too. My brother had on dress pants and a short sleeve shirt. I was holding one of the lead soldiers to get it warm so it would soften up and I could bend the legs to make it sit down. My brother was stacking and counting some coins. Well sort of coins, they were the color of terracotta pots. The front door was open and the sun was shining in. HaHa, I wonder where this memory was hiding.
Easter is coming. I have stocked up on eggs because my grandchildren like to color them. I think we are all going to the Zoo on Holy Saturday to take part in the bunny hop, and have breakfast with the bunny. I'm looking forward to going but never know if the plans fall through. Well I can still go cause I have a nice strong car now that loves the highways. I even got a new Easter bonnet LOL.
The rabbits were hungry this winter and ate most of my little pine trees.
In an email from my brother today he said they ate a couple of his too. He's already thinking of getting out in his gardens. I need to visit him more often this year. I almost dropped in on my sister yesterday but decided against it.
If I can dig yet this year, I'm going to plant roses on the South side. I think climbing roses, maybe seven sisters. Thinking to put butterfly bushes in front of them and then annuals in front of them. We'll see, I have big garden dreams.
Enough rambling I have to go try to eat something for supper. Mashed potatoes and corn sounds good.

My Favorite Carrot Cake

2010-03-26T15:35:00.001-05:00

Ingredients:
Butter, for greasing the cake pans
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for flouring the cake pans
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
4 large eggs
1½ cups canola oil
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 packed cups peeled and grated carrots (about 1 lb.)
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
Frosting
1 cup cream cheese, softened (8 ounces)
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (1 stick)
4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon milk or water, if needed
2 cups chopped walnuts or pecans

Instructions:
Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and pre-heat the oven to 325°F. Heavily butter and flour 2 round 9-inch cake pans, tapping out the excess flour. Set the cake pans aside.

Place the flour, granulated sugar, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, and baking powder in a large bowl and whisk to combine.

Place the eggs, oil, and vanilla in a small bowl and whisk to combine.

Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir to combine. Add the carrots and nuts and stir to combine.

Evenly divide the batter between the prepared cake pans. Bake the cakes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the edges have pulled away from the side of the pans, 55 to 65 minutes.

Place the cake pans on wire racks and let the layers cool completely, about 1 hour.

While the cakes are cooling, make the frosting. Place the cream cheese and butter in a medium-size bowl and beat with an electric mixer until very smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. With the mixer running on medium speed, slowly add 3 ½ cups of the confectioners' sugar and beat until it is fully incorporated and smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the vanilla and beat unit just combined. If the frosting is too soft, slowly add the remaining ½ cup of confectioners' sugar and beat to combine. If the frosting is too stiff, add the 1 tablespoon of milk or water.

Run a knife around the edge of each cake layer to loosen it from the pan. Invert the cake layers to unmold them. Place one cake layer on a plate. Spread some of the frosting on top. Place the second layer on top of the frosting and frost the side and top of the cake. Press the 2 cups of nuts onto the side of the cake.

The cake can be refrigerated, covered, for up to 1 week.

2010-03-12T20:59:00.000-06:00

A house that lacks, seemingly, mistress and master,
With doors that none but the wind ever closes,
Its floor all littered with glass and with plaster;
It stands in a garden of old-fashioned roses.

I pass by that way in the gloaming with Mary;
'I wonder,' I say, 'who the owner of those is.'
'Oh, no one you know,' she answers me airy,
'But one we must ask if we want any roses.'

So we must join hands in the dew coming coldly
There in the hush of the wood that reposes,
And turn and go up to the open door boldly,
And knock to the echoes as beggars for roses.

'Pray, are you within there, Mistress Who-were-you?'
'Tis Mary that speaks and our errand discloses.
'Pray, are you within there? Bestir you, bestir you!
'Tis summer again; there's two come for roses.

'A word with you, that of the singer recalling--
Old Herrick: a saying that every maid knows is
A flower unplucked is but left to the falling,
And nothing is gained by not gathering roses.'

We do not loosen our hands' intertwining
(Not caring so very much what she supposes),
There when she comes on us mistily shining
And grants us by silence the boon of her roses.

Asking for Roses by Robert Frost

Little Jack Horner sat in a corner eating his Christmas Pie
He put in his thumb and pulled out a plum
And said what a good boy am I.
Here's my new Plum P.T. Cruiser

2010-01-08T14:22:00.001-06:00

The Heart’s Summer

By Epes Sargent

THE COLD blast at the casement beats;
The window-panes are white;
The snow whirls through the empty streets;
It is a dreary night!
Sit down, old friend, the wine-cups wait;
Fill to o’erflowing, fill!
Though winter howleth at the gate,
In our hearts ’t is summer still!

For we full many summer joys
And greenwood sports have shared,
When, free and ever-roving boys,
The rocks, the streams, we dared;
And, as I looked upon thy face,
Back, back o’er years of ill,
My heart flies to that happy place,
Where it is summer still.

Yes, though like sere leaves on the ground,
Our early hopes are strown,
And cherished flowers lie dead around,
And singing birds are flown,
The verdure is not faded quite,
Not mute all tones that thrill;
And seeing, hearing thee to-night,
In my heart ’t is summer still.

Fill up! The olden times come back
With light and life once more;
We scan the Future’s sunny track
From Youth’s enchanted shore;
The lost return: through fields of bloom
We wander at our will;
Gone is the winter’s angry gloom,—
In our hearts ’t is summer still.

New Blog

2009-12-31T21:46:00.001-06:00

http://scrapsandscrapes.blogspot.com/
This is the blog I started shortly before I got sick.

Happy New Year

2009-12-31T21:33:00.001-06:00

I had a trip to the hospital on October 30th in the rescue squad and emergency surgery. It seems I had a ruptured aneurysm and then was in a coma for a couple weeks. Right now I'm back home and doing a lot of exercising to strengthen my muscles. I have home health to help me. Will be back to normal very soon but can't run and jump yet. I did not have access to a computer for most of this time. I'm sad to have missed Halloween and Thangsgiving but I did make it home for Christmas.

Almost Halloween

2009-10-28T19:45:00.003-05:00

Northwest

Looking South

Towards the East...backyard

The North side of my house

Owen and Hali, my silly grandchildren...posing with pretend smiles

I love you guys!

I have a big bin of dress up clothes for them and they are deciding what they want to be for Halloween

Poem

2009-10-25T14:36:00.002-05:00

I hacked into the old history of the Internet and came across my first blog from 2004. One of the entries was this poem by Robert Frost

Thursday, September 30, 2004
11:39:49 AM EDT
October
O hushed October morning mild,
Thy leaves have ripened to the fall;
Tomorrow's wind, if it be wild,
Should waste them all.
The crows above the forest call;
Tomorrow they may form and go.
O hushed October morning mild,
Begin the hours of this day slow.
Make the day seem to us less brief.
Hearts not averse to being beguiled,
Beguile us in the way you know.
Release one leaf at break of day;
At noon release another leaf;
One from our trees, one far away.
Retard the sun with gentle mist;
Enchant the land with amethyst.
Slow, slow! For the grapes' sake,
if they were all,
Whose leaves already are burnt with frost,
Whose clustered fruit must else be lost
-- For the grapes' sake along the wall.

....Robert Frost

Daddy

2009-10-08T18:02:00.002-05:00

War, what is it good for...absolutely nothing.

As summer fades, this is what's in bloom, etc.

2009-09-21T19:02:00.004-05:00

Some of the garden critters

I'll write the name as soon as I remember it...have lots of these

Pretty littly dainty pink flowers in the pink garden

Also in the pink garden

It's not quite four o clock

One of the Morning Glories peeking out of the fence

These are the size of dinner plates, I have white and pink ones

The is the after bloom of my sweet autumn clematis

My thorn apple tree waiting for the birds of winter

Goodbye again summer...

2009-09-20T17:32:00.001-05:00

You ask me what I did today.
I could pretend and say,"I don't remember."
But, no, I'll tell you what I did today --
I stored September.

Sat in the sun and let the sun sink in,
Let all the warmth of it caress my skin.
When winter comes, my skin will still remember
The day I stored September.

And then my eyes --
I filled them with the deepest, bluest skies
And all the traceries of wasps and butterflies.
When winter comes, my eyes will still remember
The day they stored September.

And there was cricket song to fill my ears!
And the taste of grapes
And the deep purple of them!
And asters, like small clumps of sky...
You know how much I love them.
That's what I did today
And I know why.
Just simply for the love of it,
I stored September.

Very short silent movies of very young children playing

2009-09-08T17:21:00.007-05:00

The little story lady

The little Mama

this is how the knee got skinned...

Olympic divers at practice

The Lord's Prayer (from the New Zealand Prayer Book)

2009-09-06T19:26:00.001-05:00

Eternal Spirit, Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver,
Source of all that is and that shall be,
Father and Mother of us all,
Loving God, in who is heaven:
The hallowing of our name echo through the universe!
The way of your justice be followed by the peoples of the world.
Your heavenly will be done by all created beings!
Your commonwealth of peace and freedom sustain our hope.
With the bread we need for today, feed us.
In the hurts we absorb from on another, forgive us.
In times of temptation and test, strengthen us.
From trials too great to endure, spare us.
From the grip of all that is evil, free us.
For you reign in the glory of the power that is love now and forever.

Amen

It's still summer

2009-09-01T23:42:00.003-05:00

Been doing some knitting again. Have a lot of spun yarn and purchased yarn to work with. Since it's so cold I may as well start knitting. Now if I could just think of a way to knit, read, and play on the internet at the same time.

Time again to call out the witches

This is one of the reasons summer is so wonderful.

My crop of tomato in the Elf garden.

Owen started school today. He and his sister stayed here overnight last night and he got picked up this morning by his Dad. All excited and packed up with his supplies. Hali was very sick and hadn't slept all night so I wasn't able to see Owen at school on his first day or get a picture of him walking in the door. Hali and I went back to sleep and slept for three more hours until her Dad came back and picked her up. She was on her way to the doctor.

He wanted to bring his football...he relaxes more when he has a football with him. His parent's said he couldn't take it though, because there were too many other things to do at school today and they didn't think he'd get a chance to play with it. May Owen's guardian Angels protect him from the perils of life and keep him sweet and hopeful. I love you Owen...give 'em hell!!

Summer Reading

2009-08-27T21:47:00.007-05:00

I won the first prize for the adult summer reading program at the library. The prize was a bag of books as shown in the picture below

And this is the book bag they all came in.

Also the grands belonged to the childrens summer book club and got a trip to the fair, a trip to the museum, a trip to the train museum and a McDonald's Happy Meal as their prize. We went to the fair and took a few pictures. It was a rainy day but they had on their splashing boots and had a great time.

When we got back to the car on this hot rainy day we found a pile of snow next to the car and of

course we had to play in it for a while...

Owen learned to ride his bike with the training wheels off.

And Hali has decided on a new hair style which she wears everywhere. She says she doesn't want to have bangs.

Going to Farmer's Market and the Boutique in the morning. Children are away for three days so hoping to get some weeding and pruning done in the gardens.

2009-08-14T11:14:00.001-05:00

Drouth weights the trees, and from the farmhouse eaves

The locust, pulse-beat of the summer day,

Throbs; and the lane, that shambles under leaves

Limp with the heat—a league of rutty way—

Is lost in dust; and sultry scents of hay

Breathe from the panting meadows heaped with sheaves.

Now, now, O bird, what hint is there of rain,

In thirsty heaven or on burning plain,

That thy keen eye perceives?

It's Summertime

2009-08-12T13:22:00.004-05:00

2009-08-08T23:52:00.000-05:00

Gentle eyes that see so much,

paws that have the quiet touch,

Purrs to signal all is well,

and show more love than words could tell.

Graceful movements touched with pride,

a calming presence by our side --

A friendship that takes time to grow --

Small wonder why we love them so.

Preserving Hydrangas

2009-08-07T12:41:00.002-05:00

It's interesting how certain flowers evoke a sense nostalgia: roses, hollyhocks and hydrangeas to name a few.

There's no question these are beautiful in the garden but if cared for properly you can also use them inside.

There are 2 methods you can follow to preserve these blooms and both involve drying.

The first is rather simple. All you do is remove the leaves along the stem and bundle 5 or 6 of them together and hang them in a cool dry place.

The other method actually involves water. Just prepare a solution of 2 parts water and 1 part glycerin. You can find this at your local pharmacy. Now the way this works is that the water and the glycerin are drawn through the stem of the plant and the water evaporates through the petals leaving the glycerin. This makes the bloom more soft and supple to the touch and it also helps to preserve the color and the shape of the bloom longer. To help with the uptake of the solution I cut the stems at a SLIGHT ANGLE before sliding them into the vase. It's important to remember that the best time to cut hydrangeas is when the petals are showing a slight green color. These processes of preserving are a great way to enjoy hydrangeas through the fall and winter. From the garden, I'm Allen Smith. P. Allen Smith Gardens? Copyright 1999 - Hortus, Ltd

Trash Can Compost Bin

2009-08-07T12:19:00.003-05:00

It’s a small compost bin made from a rubber trash can. It’s just the right size for small spaces; it has a lid to keep out the critters and it’s easy to maneuver around the garden.

Materials:Rubber Garbage Can with a Locking Lid (Choose a size that will provide you with enough compost, but still be manageable. Just make sure the lid locks.)
Drill with a 1/2-inch twist bit or a hole saw bit
Bricks or Concrete Blocks to Raise the Garbage Can Off the Ground
Yard Waste

Directions:Drill holes in the bottom and on the sides of the garbage can to provide plenty of air circulation. Place the garbage can on bricks to raise it off the ground. This allows air to circulate under the can and prevent the composting material from becoming stagnant. Some gardeners prefer that the garbage can sit on the ground so earthworms can help with the composting.
Add kitchen scraps, dried leaves, grass clippings, and disease-free plant material.
It is helpful to chop kitchen scraps into small pieces so that they will break down quickly.

Good to Know: What's that smell?If your compost bins starts to smell, it’s not getting enough air. Simply turn the pile and add more brown material such as dried leaves.
Keep the compost moist and turn it every two weeks.
To turn, just put the garbage can on its side and roll it around. Make sure the lid is locked in place.
A piece of rebar or a bulb auger attached to a drill are also useful tools for stirring up the compost.
Be mindful of how much you put into your compost bin.
You don’t want it to become too heavy to manage.
If space allows, build 2 trash can composters so that you can allow one to compost while you fill the other.

What can you put in your composter?
Uncooked vegetables and fruits.
Be sure to cut them up into small pieces so they will break down faster. This is helpful with a small compost bin.
Grass clippings.
Dried leaves.
Disease free plant material.
Shredded paper.
Avoid sticks and woody plant materials because they will not break down.

The Color Orange

2009-08-06T20:07:00.004-05:00

She loved the color orange. Even when 'the boss' told her that orange finger nail polish wasn't appropriate to wear working in the hospital...she still did and just laughed about it. She also wore orange scrubs and was quite happy, always a smile. When she got cancer she asked me to make her a 'cancer cap' out of fuzzy orange yarn, and I did. She wore it everywhere. I made her another so she could change off. She died last week. Her husband delayed the funeral a little so he could send her 'box' to an auto body shop to be painted orange. It was bright and shiny and beautiful with white angels at all the corners. At the wake she had on an orange flowered dress, her fingernails were orange and she had beautiful orange flowers to match her casket. Last Thursday when she died there was the most beautiful huge orange sunset. I wonder if she requested that. She leaves behind a daughter in middle school, a son who is married and on his own, a husband who adored her, two dogs and a cat.

Violet

2009-07-24T00:15:00.003-05:00

I have been trying forever to get this African Violet to bloom. Well it finally is in bloom. Just three little flowers...wow I did it! One small step for mankind LOL.

The compost bins are taken down and in the front at the curb for garbage pick up tomorrow. The compost is in several garbage bags, also at the curb, but I haven't much hope that they'll actually get picked up. I expect them to be ripped open and left laying in the front yard....yellow jackets, hives, poison and all. I hope I'm wrong.

Ear ache today, went to doc...simple ear infection...oh no...I have a hematoma in my left ear. How'd that get there. Have ten day supply of antibiotics...and a ten day supply of probiotics.

No, none, zero, zip grapes on the vines. I pruned them back and furtilized them and loosened the soil around the bases. Second year of no grapes. Last year they were frozen out, this year, who knows.

I hope to continue yard work tomorrow. While I was picking up my meds, the garden shop near by had a very pretty blue bird bath. I got it for the South Garden which is fully in bloom and also has tomatoes, peppers, beans, lettuce and rhubarb free for the picking.

I have a whole ritual of exercises I'm doing daily and so far not causing any pain. Plus gardening, hoping to get a little healthier.

That's about it.

Flowers

2009-07-15T23:19:00.002-05:00

I got this pretty bouquet of flowers from Jenny.

I flower pounded some of the petals and leaves and this is how it turned out.

I have a frame to put it in as I think I will hang it in my Spring Garden room.

Flower pounding is new to me. My sister had the idea for it so I got all the supplies

for when we meet the next time in the park. I just couldn't wait to try it out.

Summer Caretakers of the Garden

2009-07-13T21:52:00.003-05:00

The garden at Elmore school where Owen went to school last year was in need of a summer caretaker so I volunteered for the job and take Owen and Hali along to help. We weed, hoe, water and pick whatever is ripe to take to Salvation Army. It's a lot of fun and we can play in the park during the watering time as there is a handy dandy sprinkler to use. The top picture is the vegetable garden, with corn, peppers, asparagus, beans, lettuce, tomatoes, pumpkins, watermelon and squash. The middle picture is the wildflower garden. I know the white ones are daisies LOL. The third picture is the butterfly garden with the milk weed in bloom now. I'm waiting for the butterflies to arrive in August.

After we were finished we went over to Tower/Atkinson park and did a few underducks and played a little baseball. Was talking to a very nice young man with two children, one of them was playing with Hali as she was about her age, the other was a toddling baby. He said they lived over at 618 Roy, can you imagine that. I didn't say anything about having lived there but I was happy such nice people were taking over the old homestead.

And last of all, of course, we had ice cream at Hansons. A pleasant evening.

Around the House

2009-07-11T21:44:00.004-05:00

I went out to pick rhubarb for a pie I'm making tomorrow and thought I'd take some pictures of what is growing. I don't know all the names so it's easier to do a collage LOL. Upper left is Milkweed in bloom for the Monarch Butterlies that live here briefly before they migrate. In the middle on the May Altar is a bouquet of flowers I got today from Jenny. Bottom left is my Hosta garden in the dark. Next to the hosta garden is my compost bin which is very old and homemade and this year the yellow jackets moved in. On the bottom in a little picture is the very first African Violet I got to bloom, I finally did it right.

Kitty

2009-07-10T14:04:00.002-05:00

July 4, 1997 to July 10, 2009

The Ten Best Things About Kitty

1. He loved Sparky very much

2. He was soft

3. He groomed himself very well

4. He had the softest purr you ever heard

5. He loved to play silly games

6. He sure enjoyed his catnip

7. He loved us with all his heart as we loved him

8. He was a cuddler

9. He liked to eat and roll in his oat grass but never ate the houseplants

10. He liked to lay in a sunny window and watch the Robin's nests.

Teddy Bear Picnic

2009-07-07T17:54:00.003-05:00

Old Fashioned picnic at the library
Owen and his friend from last summer got back together today at the Teddy Bear picnic at Southwest Library.

Holding their 'rent a bear' Teddy Bears...ours got left at home

Hali enjoying her cookies and milk compliments of the Red Owl Store

Lots of fun, games and books and picnic lunch