Hackberry Trees, etc. #8

Certainly feeling mellow can help!

Interesting that you had so many trick or treaters Sharon, we had about a third as many this year (as above). Can't think of any small children now in our immediate neighbourhood, though many people have teenage or university age kids. Most retirees (kids left home) have downsized and moved elsewhere.

If there's too many, you have to turn off the lights. Must say we're always happy to see the back of the candies, or else we would just eat them ourselves.

Tough night for Jazz and Daisy!

might = night

This message was edited Oct 31, 2009 11:00 PM

Actually, people drive their kids into our little area and drop them off, then pick them up at the end of the street. They come from miles away, and I hardly know any of them. There are no kids that live near me, except for an 11 year old. That's another reason why I don't like Halloween, they aren't even our kids! I might feel differently if I knew them, but I didn't. It's pretty warm here, and some of the neighbors drove their grandchildren around in their golf carts. That was OK, I just don't like those that come from miles away.

Boy, that sounds like taking liberties. I'd feel the same as you.

Just the fact that the number of trick or treater here has gone down as the age of the local kids has gone up suggests that isn't happening here, at least not yet. The local younger teens will trick or treat (or at least some of them), not the older ones.

They seem to make a lot of dressing up for Halloween in the elementary schools. My experience in high schools was the classes competed, against each other, in decorating their classroom doors during the first period. A lot of toilet paper got used and we had to be careful that, in the enthusiasm, chemical lab glassware didn't end up stuck on the door.

It doesn't end with elementary schools here, the older kids get in on the act and parents just let them go. Some don't even bother to dress up. I is annoying to say the least.

Now I am eating leftover tootsie rolls. Ummmmmm...chocolate. Not the best but better than nothing.

We actually had "buy outs", when students could buy tickets to go to in-school sports events, during the last period of the day (viz. buy their way out of having to attend their last (academic) class). When I personally mouthed off against this, the School just changed the name to "buy ins".

We have no chocolate bars left!
Beginning to feel hungry, better get to bed.

Nite Sharon.

Nite Charlie...

I hated the buy outs too. Didn't do a thing for their education.
Sleep well.

Our biggest hit for the night was Gatorade juice boxes. Last year we had over 500 children and their nannies, parents or whatever. Many homeowners complained, which I was not aware of and I purchased a bunch of large candy bars. Now I have candy for sapp. LOL. My grandson say he can use the left over candy to raise money for his Boy Scout Group. It is a good thing I do not like sweets. There were several parties in the neighborhood. By the time all the grandchildren and grandchildren to be came by they had been partying from 6pm to 8:30pm. We will just tell them we were here. They will not remember and will know no difference.

Todd's wife is in first stage of labor. Will probably have a new baby grandson in the next couple of day. Look like maybe tomorrow. They just wanted to get into November. I have no idea why but in one hour they will have made it. Have a great Sunday. Love you all....

Over 500!!!
You're so lucky you won't eat candy.

November is a good month....many wonderful, gorgeous, talented people were born in November!!

I have tootsie rolls leftover. Sometimes I nibble when I walk by. Maybe I should hide them from myself.

It's a great big beautiful sunshiny day here....I'm gonna enjoy it.
Hope you do too.

I understand there is a site to send all left over candy and it will be forwarded to the troops. I will try to find the address.

Candy, cake, pie any thing sweet has never been my problem. But you put a warm loaf of Rosemary Olive Bread in front of me with olive oil, ground pepper and aged balsamic vinegar do not get between me and that combination. You may lose an arm.

Oh my, me too....and roasted garlic spread on any bread.
You just made me so hungry, and i don't have a thing except maybe toast.
Sigh.

I do love breads.....

Are you sure you are not my twin sister, just born a couple months later. Do you like Liver & Onions, roasted garlic, garlic butter, fried onion rings, fried calamari and great double dipped chicken fingers served with country gravy. I do but I do not eat them. Liver and Onions once a year because my DH thinks it is disgusting to eat Liver. I was raised on venison liver and meat.. The others are on my bucket list. My mother did not want to eat the last 45 days of her life. I want to go out eating everything I love that is not good for you. LOL. .

Twins in a lot of ways, but I don't eat beef or pork. I do however eat most fish. But yes to calamari, roasted garlic, garlic butter, fried onion rings and ice cream with caramel. And if my weight dips down very far I indulge in all of them!!!

I plan to go out eating too, but only fried things that are not beef or pork.
So yes, the twin thing rings true.
Eerie as well.

Interesting discussion on food preferences and terminal binging, but I'm with Sharon on beef, veal, pork and lamb.

Oh yes, I forgot veal and lamb.

I need to write a story segment tonight, so I'll be late returning. But I will return....

(somebody important said that a long time ago....MacArthur?? Duh, can't remember....blank mind at the moment, as usual.)

Oh. I am still binging, on tootsie rolls.
Sigh. I was hoping to fill in the face wrinkles. I don't think it's working, since I ran non stop from 9 this morning till 5 tonight. But I keep hoping.
Back soon....but if you need to sleep, that's OK.

Hope I don't detect a sugar high, Sharon.
You look great, but I may try tootsie rolls to improve my figure.
Back tomorrow,
Charlie

Ha, Charlie...goodnight.

No gardening and not much to talk about. So what do you do in the winter months?

How's the basement coming along Charlie? Finished? Probably not.

The weather is very beautiful here, upper 60's with lots of sunshine.
Craziest thing happened, there is an oak tree on the east end of my house, but on my neighbor's property. Well he decided to have his trees trimmed. He had just moved into the house, and the previous owner had not had a thing done about his trees after last year's ice storm mangled them. So the tree guys were there, and when I went outside one of them came to me and said, "While we're here we'll get rid of that diseased tree there in your front yard."

I said...What diseased tree?

He answered, The one up against your arches. It's diseased and it needs to be taken out.

So I asked what made him think it is diseased, and he answered: "Look at the bark, see how it's peeling, it's a sure sign of a diseased tree."

I thought I was going to laugh right in his face. It's my treasured river birch tree....good heavens, the bark is supposed to peel and peel and peel. What on earth ever made that guy think he could have a tree service.

Needless to say, I declined the offer and strongly suggested he go back home and study up on his trees. Good grief.....sometimes people annoy me, and I can't just let it go. People who cut down trees unnecessarily would also kick puppies and children, I think.

Anyway that was the only glimmer of excitement in my otherwise mundane day.
I hope your day was better, though except for that little tidbit, mine was otherwise very nice.
Have a great tomorrow.

Well this story is on the right thread. Tree Hackers. We have many in Las Vegas. It is scary what they do not know. But they look like they do because they have all this equipment and men working for them.

And signs on their trucks and cards to hand out.

Hi Sharon, All,

Basement insulation still up in the air and it's getting colder, though sure will be resolved. Tim's room been painted over last two days and he stopped by last night; watch movie, have pizza, do washing, download music, etc..
Routine medical today; only arthritis and contact dermatitis (he thinks from plants!). Lucky not much more gardening after this weekend when will warm up and can finish final required gardening.

Interesting about your river birch. Certainly have more faith in the arborist we use. Our major tree job now is raking up leaves. Would be nice to see the light coming through, but it's often been wet and darkish. A bit of hail today, but melted. Have planted quite a few bulbs, including double snowdrops, cheerful early little plants which we see come up, probably in March. Intending to get and plant some more daffodils (poisonous = voles (mice) don't eat them). Find the voles really like hybrid crocuses. Problem is, so do we! Oh well.

Charlie

Glad you are alive and mostly well, Charlie...today I think I am about 150 years old. But tomorrow I'll be 40 again!! ^_^

I told you about the shop where I do the displays, I think...tomorrow is the Grand Opening day, so I worked all day long getting all the displays ready for tomorrow's big event. Another DG member and her mother surprised me with a visit to the shop today. I had met her once previously, and she had seen a link to an ad for the shop that I placed on Facebook...so that was a great surprise.

Here's a picture, the DG member on the left is Muddymitts, and she lives several miles away from me. I met her for the first time at our KY RoundUp in September. To the right is her lovely mother. Guess that leaves me in the middle.

Well twin sister, you look great. Went today after shopping with my daughter and then went to see the new grandson. He is so tiny and quiet. It was a wonderful visit. My daughter-in-law's mother is there for the next two months and they are all moving to Spokane, Washington because my son is an Internist/Pediatrician Doctor and has a great opportunity. All contracts are signed and they are all very happy including myself. He has a great salary job, they are going to pay off the remainder of his student loans, "$70,000. The last two years have been tough because insurance companies and Medicare are not paying much. When he is on call, more than half the patients that show up at the hospital have no insurance, so he does not get paid. It breaks my heart he is moving away but I totally understand why. Now I will have to learn how to garden in Spokane, Washington. Love you all. On our SUV ride I will tell you all the funny stories, of today.

Happy for you and your son and baby grandson.

Wish you'd hurry up with that SUV ride....and I hope you are taking notes on all the stories you've promised.

I do not need notes. The stories are fried in my brain. After living in Las Vegas since 1960, get a life, you will not believe it. I still do not believe how naive I was. But I lived through it and did not end up at the bottom of Lake Mead. Lake Mead is one of the largest man made lakes from a dam back up. . I am ready, and if I have to pick you all up we might be on the road for three months. Better bring 90 day supply of medicine and music. You know, we could do this. Just think about it. We would need a crazy woman to drive from Las Vegas to the East to pick everyone up. I actually think we need four months but could be wrong. We could grow plants in he back of the SUV. We could do a realty show. "Gardening across America". Love all of you.

Well....crazy woman, pack your bags. I'll leave the light on for you.

Love the picture, Sharon.

Shop display, a very interesting project. Carol's very fond of any sort of decorating. Must say I enjoy it too.

Tim's room's been done in a grey beige. The guest room opposite is in a green beige. We've got to tone down his bathroom which is a very bright yellow, but will wait till a fan's put in. Don't intend to downsize at this time,
but are choosing colour schemes which would not alienate a future buyer,
viz. neutral colours. Have got to like the various beiges.

Carol's father (an anaesthesiologist) did a lot of free work before the current health care system was bought in.

Don't know Spokane, but know Vancouver, north of the border. Carol's brother, John, lives in West Van (as they say). Exceptionally scenic. Climate there milder with less extremes than here, north of Lake Ontario. There's a gardening tradition in Vancouver (which is home to a lot of people of English extraction). Still our sun and seasonality makes for great gardening too.

OK, I am on my way. Listen for Eric Clapton above over very very loud... I have surround sound we can blast ourselves right out of the SUV.. Neil Diamond, Eric Clapton, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Andrea, Barbara, Bee Gees, Simon and Garfunkel, Nat King Cole, Jimmy Dorsey, Tommy Dorsey, My mother and myself. I could sing then, but not now. Love you all. Just keep smiling.

Add a little Nora Jones and I'm there, SK.

Nice color scheme, Charlie, but I gotta have some red mixed in!

Good night, folks....I finished an article and I am simply out of words now.

Below freezing last night and a bit of snow, but will be back to bulb planting weather on weekend.
Snow on chrysanthemum Mei Kyo, which is still going strong.

Snow on Arend's monkshood, which is just about finished.

Red, Sharon, reminds me of the crocosmia Lucifer. Seems so long ago. But
back next year!
Need some more do-your-own-thing dance music. How about The Stones and The Ramones?

Forgot an obvious one: The Village People! Great dance music.

Yep.....great music!

Here's to next year, Charlie...

We should drink a pumpkin martini to crocosmia Lucifer (thought I should put the crocosmia bit in) next year, Sharon!

You have the pumpkin, and i'll have something else, Charlie...
And we'll drink to Lucifer...er, the red crocosmia....
Yeah!

Hope nobody reports us to the School Board. Anyway, it's too late!

Yep!!
Nite, Charlie.

Hi Sharon,
Great gardening weather here and not going to get (gardening) uncomfortably cold for about two weeks. Worked in own garden today and we also put up Christmas lights. Have them on shrubs and around the front door. On daylight saving time (gets dark around 5.30) and seasonal lights always seem so cheerful in the dark and cold.
Was talking to David recently and he said the most important former use of the woodlots was for firewood. Haven't seen any literature so far on specific locations like Case Woodlot.
Been doing a bit of research into aspects of municipal voting. Collecting data was something I loved to do 20/30 years ago, though the research materials were very different then. Really enjoying getting back to it. Think data is a more responsible word than fact.
Charlie

Hi Charlie...
Wonderful weather here, too, and I worked in the yard all weekend. But I didn't put up Christmas lights, not yet anyway.
I did however get lots of things done, and now ....well, let it snow! Not really, it's just that my beds are ready in case it does.

Numbers do speak louder than words in some instances. Data would be one of them. I am not as comfortable with numbers as with words, though, maybe that's why I don't have your science/math background. But I sure can understand them when they are compiled, it's the compiling I don't like.

Enjoy your weather, and keep me posted.