MoreDisabled Gardeners Laughing With Joy...3

We are coming from here
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/184o881
Sometimes we need to laugh to keep from crying. Sometimes we just laugh for joy.
So come and join us.
We have Carrie from Mass. Scraps from Miss. Leaflady from Mo.Birdieblue from N.C.Kudzu and Seacanepain from Alabama,Cando1 from ARK.and other VIPs from all over. So pull up a chair,or park a wheelchair, pour a cup of coffee
and join the party.
Carrie is about to let her hair down and tell us all.

She is? I don't have that much hair ....

LOL!

Carrie, maybe you could tell we southern folk about online sources for long underwear? :-) It is COLD here and I can't think of any more excuses to avoid going outside. *Kay*

MY DH always needed long johns for deer hunting. I could always get some at a sports store. Kay, i know Alabama has as many redneck hunters as Arkansas does.Thats a good thing. There was an overabundance of deer this year, so we had a couple hunting days added.
Vickie

Yeah, Kay, are you looking for silk or wool? Silk check wintersilks.com; wool I would try sierratradingpost.com for deals and smartwool (dunno, but they DO have their own website).

Thanks, Carrie.

Vickie, I asked a deer hunting friend about cold weather gear.Since he has to spend so much time just sitting still in a tree stand in the pre-dawn hours on frigid winter mornings, he seemed the natural one to ask. However, the hunter I asked told me he wears his wife’s old pantyhose. The ones that have runs. I said,
“Should you be telling me this?”
He reiterated he needed to stay perfectly still for long periods of time and the long johns from the sporting goods store felt itchy after a while. He assured me they work just as well. “Besides” he said “Joe Namath bared his hose clad legs in front of all America. If Joe could do that, there was certainly nothing odd about his wearing women’s hose under his hunters camouflage.

I’m not sure if you are old enough to remember that commercial, Carrie. I forget what hosiery brand it was.

Sultry music played in the background. The camera did a slow shot of a shapely pair of legs, the announcer said something like, “Brand X can make anybody’s legs look sexy.” Camera panned up and you saw that those shapely legs belong to the New York Jets Super Bowl hero, Joe Nammath.

My hunter friend fits the redneck profile perfectly, otherwise. He even operates a gun repair shop. But, I don’t know the rules. Does someone still qualify as a redneck, he-man, if he hunts wearing his wife’s pantyhose? Inquiring minds want to know!

Redneck or not, he's a sweetheart. He gave us a share from his successful hunt and a basket of citrus fruit for New Years. I will have to hunt some more interesting recipes for venison AND also those long johns. Not having to wear heels and stockings everyday was a major incentive for working at home. It would have to be a lot colder than this before I went back to wearing hose. If my deer hunter friend can wear women's stockings, I can wear men's long johns. *Kay*.

I do remember the Joe Namoth ad. It was about that time rumours leaked about the Dallas Cowboys wearing pantyhose and being forced to take ballet lessons.
Hope no one take my banter about rednecks seriously. I'm proud of hardworking rednecks. and as the song says country folks will survive. They've lived thru a lot of hardships just fine.
Kay, my attitude about wearing pantyhose mirrors yours.
I've always cooked venison just like i would beef, but we always liked the strong taste.
I just realized it's New Years eve.
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE.

"Oh, come on, Ma! Cut me some slack here. It's New Year's Eve and the floor is COLD!"

Photo: Fennydog takes it a step further. Not only was she on the couch, but she brought her blanket with her.

Fenny is pretty girl and she is a good dog to protect Kay.
Don't you wish you could relax like that?

When I'm in a strange city and I run out of long underwear, I buy pantyhose A FEW SIZES TOO BIG and wear them under my clothes. You can't get good long ladies' long underwear just anywhere, especially in say March or February. (Men's has that stupid fly thing in the front.)

I had'nt thought about getting them too big. It's the clinginess thing i can't take. Like some monster trying to strangle me.
You been able to dig out of the snow yet?

I love my wintersilks, especially when on sale. Just wish I could find them.
This week isn't even supposed to get above freezing in the day and teens at night + windy. That is Not typical NC weather. I am just gratefull that we usually have very few weeks like this one or I simply would not get out of the bed. I have a feather bed, 2 down comforters and 3 cats + 1 Poodle to keep me warm.
Love & hugs all around,
Sheri

Sheri, You have a feather bed?!! How wonderful. I grew up with one.
We're having the same strange weather. We never have this much cold temps and snow. The one good thing about it tho, it will kill off ticks,chiggers and other bug pests. Carrie seems to be getting snow,snow and more snow according to the weather chanel.
Do you get seed catalogs to curl up with. If not try it.Those flower pictures keeps the hope of warm weather alive.I've seen a new pink and white hydrangia i really want to get.
Glad you posted, i was wondering if you were all right.
scraps has'nt posted either.
I've started doing some clean up chores around the house and some crafts.
Want to make some banana jam tonight. I finally got bananas and lemons at the same time.
Everyone stay warm.
Vickie

Well, it seems that I have even once again received a dud puter froim Dell. It will be replaced of course, but this makes over 4 months that I have not had reliable puter access...grrr!

Oh how I love my featherbed. I try to get new one every couple years during the winter white sales. That + Down pillows and comforters I just dont enjoy past a couple years. It's so nice sleeping in a soft clout all toasty warm yet the covers are not heavy. (now the nearly 30#'s of cats and dog on and around me can indeed be ome rather much, but they are my babies.

Oh-h-h, a feather bed! That was my favorite part of spending the night at my grandmother’s house. Isn’t weather like this where northerners got the term “three dog night?” (Jim says Three Dog Night is just the name of an old Rock-n-roll band, as far as he knows, but they had to get the name from somewhere.) Down into the high 20’s at night here. That is cold for this area. I just hope the chill doesn’t get far enough south to seriously hurt the citrus farmers. We have few enough citrus trees that we can protect ours.
I will have my daughter in NY, Nadine in CT and my sister in VT look for women’s long johns in the stores there for me. Surely, my sister has found a local source. A Vermonter has need of them and she is only an inch shorter than I am. Mail order is my best option until then, I think. At 6’ and 180, I don’t know if they even make pantyhose a size or two larger than I would normally wear. LOL. (Think Julia Childs’ proportions) Being this tall is a real pain sometimes. I got spoiled. When my sister’s work meant occasional trips to Denmark it was so easy. She loved to shop and could be trusted to choose with a particular sister’s taste in mind. A woman my size is so common she wouldn’t get a second glance on the streets of Copenhagen. Clothes that fit are easy to find without having to pay the extra charge for a “special” sized item.
Banana Jam? I will have to Google that one. Did the snow you had stay on the ground long, Vickie?
Time to pay bills. I’m glad to be able to pay my bills online this year. I won’t have to deal with the embarrassment of writing the wrong year on checks for the first few weeks. *Kay*

You are right about the "3 Dog Night" root. It was a 3 dog night when you had 3 in bed with you for warmth, and yes it was a 60's band one of my fav's, too!

Sherri, Don't know if it'd work on modern feather beds but grandmother would hang hers out on the clothesline and turn it everyday and beat it and air it out for a week every spring. I don't remember where she stored it tho.
Was'nt that a Beatles song. liked it too.
I found the receipe for banana jam on http://www.cooks.com/html
I havent made it yet,decided the bananas were'nt ripe enough.
We got more snow last nite and due more wednesday. My car will not make it to the highway untill it melts on the road. I am snowed in!! Don't that sound like fun?
I have everything i need and want so i will injoy this. If the electricity goes off, i will have puter withdrawel tho' I will only have 2dog 1cat nights. Two of them animals are'nt big enough to warm much. Who recorded the Last little Unicorn song? I loved that one.
I injoy writing out checks and mailing them,think its a power feeling LOL. I pay my phone bill online,actually automatically. but keep putting the others off.
i'm hoping the citrus in Fla and Tex both will be spared this year.
Kay, You have orange and lemon trees? Another jealous twinge here.
Sherri, Hope you get your puter problems fixed. It is not right to not have a computer anymore. Nita, TX DD is determined not to have one. She has no clue whats she's missing.
Keep warm thoughts
Vickie

Well, DELL does continue to replace with new one now raather than refurbished. I bought an extended no fault warenty that is good till 5/10. This is a studio xps1640 and a dud so they are shipping another new one. I just am really really getting tired of having to start again from bare space with a new puter as I am not very technically minded. Each time I get a new one it puts me a week or 2 behind because of all the time setting it up that I totally don't understand. I guess once i have one that is functioning well the system improvement along with Windows7 will be worth it. The one that they lost last year came out in '03 I think when the xps' were 1st introduced.
So considering everything I guess I'm ending up with a pretty good deal....eventually!

Sheri

We'll keep good thoughts for you.

Thanks Vickie. I sure do miss my daily dose of DG

I suspect Carrie and Steph are both busy battling techno-beasties. My sympathies. I will be doing that again tomorrow. We are taking Kay’s old system to Fayette, AL. It still has some use in it just didn’t have enough memory for the programs Kay needs to run. We would like to have easy communication between Amargia and Fayette.
One of Kay’s aunts died so she is doing a potlatch. The truck is stuffed with things to be given away. I admit I don’t really understand the tradition. I am a bit of a collector and horder myself so it is hard for me to wrap my mind around. I’ve been reading trying to understand. Kay can’t really explain it in a way that makes sense to me... To her, it is just the way you do things. Like the way I would send a floral arrangement or a sympathy card. I did learn that the Indian welfare authorities have tried to ban potlatching in the past and met with rock hard resistance. At least, I know from my reading what I should NOT do. I will not interfere. They are her possessions to do with as she pleases. I imagine it was once a successful way to redistribute wealth within a community of very proud people. It would have kept the gap between the “haves” and the “have nots” from becoming very deep or wide. The house in Fayette will be a beautiful place one day, but, at the moment, it is merely old and drafty. There are 3 children in the house. I noticed things in the truck like several space heater she had s set aside for a future greenhouse and quilts that were packed away just because they didn’t match the current color scheme. A very proud group of people up there, but it is extremely bad manners to refuse something given as potlatch. Maybe, these “primitive” practices have their own sort of wisdom.

It will be a long drive tomorrow and there are those techno-veasties to face down once I get there. (I definitely hear what you are saying about setting up a new computer, Birdie.) Better get to bed. (Jim)

I just googled "potlatch" as I had no idea what you were talking about.

there was lots about western native customs of this type. Seems like an interesting way to get together to meet, visit and share with family that you might not otherwise get to see. The dispersing of a oved ones possessions can tear such great holes in relationships . I am curious as to how this is done without any of that.

Prayers for your family,
Sheri

This message was edited Jan 6, 2010 7:01 PM

I think it's a good tradition. I imagine it would be unacceptable behavior to argue over belongings of a person deceased. It should be in Anglo society.
It bothers me that so many worthwhile traditions are falling by the wayside. I like history and a historian once wrote "History always repeats it self. It will come and go in every respect but never fear it will repeat." So someday all these custums will come back.When it's necessary.
I always liked the tradition of having poundings for neighbors in need by bringing a pound(or more) of food to a gathering and making a party of it. Usually a money tree would show up too.
Vickie

Technically, I think the term potlatch refers to a specific tradition of one of the Plains or Northwest tribes (Sioux?), and can be extreme. However, virtually all Native Americans have some sort of giveaway traditions associated with grieving over someone or celebrating a milestone event in someone’s life , “Potlatch” has come to be used to refer to any of the native “ giveaway” traditions.. It is such a strong tradition that it tends to survive even among us mongrels of native descent. My Uncle always teased his sisters by telling my mother she was “an apple” (red on the outside, white on the inside) and my Aunt Della she was a raspberry tart. (Golden brown on the outside, deep red on the inside) My aunt spent her life trying to improve education and general living conditions for indigenous people. She worked on the Zuni reservation for much of her life so the giving of many honor gifts seemed the most appropriate way to show respect when she passed on. . Really the only difference between Native and European gift giving traditions is who does the giving. The person being honored or the family of the person being honored GIVES the gifts in the Okla. Cherokee way. An n indirect version of honor giving seems to be catching on among European Americans. Although, I doubt many have made a mental connection between their “new” way of doing things and old indigenous practices. More and more often I notice the family of a deceased will ask that the money that would have been spent on a floral arrangement for the funeral, be given to a charity or cause the deceased supported instead. Not so different. Just a little more impersonal. After experiencing a potlatch-type event, I think Jim is beginning to grasp the concept.
The dogs got hooded sweatshirts for Russian Christmas. I told Jim there was no way they would submit to wearing such silly things. LOL. Fenny doesn’t want to go outside WITHOUT her sweatshirt on. I will have to give them better names. I don’t think their ole farm dog names suit anymore. Precious and Fifi, maybe.
I filed away my planned blog post on sugar cane until Sept. I dragged my feet too long on that one. Cane season is Sept.-Dec. Now, working on a blog post about sowing small seeds geared to VI’s and those with conditions that affect manual dexterity. I will have to check to see if DG has a seed sowing forum. How many forums have you racked up so far, Vickie? Or, have you been too busy touring the world?
Need to go collect some red clay to do some seed pelletizing experiments. Cathy4 gave me the idea when she was talking about wild flower sowing. I’m going to try to pelletize my own lettuce and carrot seeds with the native red clay. I have no shortage of red clay. It will be very satisfying if I can find a way to make all this clay work for me. I usually see red clay as an adversary and an impediment. It is only 34 degrees, but that is as warm as it will get today. Night time temps in the teens. I have an entirely new respect for the toughness of Yankees. I can’t remember a time it stayed this cold, this long.

Finally, got the synthesised voice for my screen reading system right. It was the Neo-speech "Paul" voice I had on my old system, not Tru-voice "Peter". Duh. *Kay*

Please don't insult poor ole Fenny by callng him Fifi.Bet he'll still protect you from snakes.
Cricket hates clothes but she'd really freeze without them.
The synthasized voice works for everything that comes across your computer right?

A PDF file can give me grief if I can't change the formating, but other than that, I haven't run into any problems. And, usually there is a way to turn PDF files into HTML format.

You're probably right. A dog that takes on snakes really shouldn't be called Fifi. Jim tells me her sweatshirt has a camoflauge pattern so it is a respectable garment for a big, bad, mongrel farm dog to wear. With her short, single layered coat nature did not design her well for cold weather. Tate has the thick, double coat typical of a lab, but Jim claims she still needs the sweatshirt because the cold makes her arthritis worse. Her hoodie is a sporty gray. Not a "Precious" color. I guess I will continue to call them by their old names. Calling them to heel by the names Fifi and Precious would probably reduce their effectiveness as guarddogs. No one takes Fifi's seriously. *Kay*

Actually, I just thought it would be funny to see. Kay gets her work clothes from the military surplus store. Thought it would look cool to see she and Fenny both out there in camos. Doing battle with the wicked weeds. Photos soon. Doubt there will be anything to photograph regarding the mystery flowers. A brave jonquil poked its head up a few days ago, but the cold nipped it down fast. I imagine the mystery shrub shared that fate. Will still keep an eye out when I go that way again. (Jim)

LOL My jonquils have more sense than to pop their heads up right now. looking forward to the pics. I really hope none of us have lost anything by this cold, I'm wondering about my daylillys and fig tree.Don't know if i'll replace the fig again. It's in as protected a place as i've got.
I'm determined to get a pink and white hydrangia this year too. Surely the iris made it they are cold weather plants.
I heard gas prices have started going up because of this cold. There is something not right about that happening.
Stay warm and think SPRING
Vickie

When you say you want a pink and white hydrangea, Vickie, do you mean a pink one and a white one or is there one with pink and white combined? I would not worry about the fig, even if it freezes to the ground. They will come back from the roots, if the ground itself doesn’t freeze. If you have snow, that is a good thing.
The only green, growing thing my DW actually seems to dislike is pine trees. When I ask her why, she told me about working the winter season as a tree planter in Texas when she was young She said one morning she woke up to find snow on the ground so she burrowed back into her sleeping bag . Certain that she would have the day off. Her crew boss came rattling the tent asking her why she wasn’t on the work site. He informed her that if there was snow on the ground, the ground was insulated. Meaning, it was a planting day like any other. Production with that company was 2,500 seedlings planted a day. After hearing that story I understood why my DW has such a negative attitude toward pines. Loblolly sounds like a curse word coming out of her mouth. Serious case of pine burnout! Snow at Christmas has a powerful sentimental appeal. But, snow, in general, holds no attraction for DW. Her tree planter experiences probably explain that. As well.
I’ve pondered the mystery of why people here look forward to a snow year. Came up with the following:

One, it is a rare event. No familiarity to breed contempt.
Two, Here, snow disappears in a day or two leaving barely a trace . No mud season!
Three, they don’t have to go about their everyday lives in the snow. Even a light snow closes down schools and businesses. If I could sip cocoa and look out a double-paned window at a pristine landscape, I would like snow too. LOL. (Jim)

It's a new hydrangia.Pinky Winky, Bloom starts out white,turns pink but keeps new blooms coming so has a white and pink bloom.I'm waiting to see if i get a catalog from Millers Nursery(NY) to see if they have one. I've ordered bushes and trees from them before and like them.Otherwise i'll order from Jung.
DD went on a corn tasseling trip to Kansas when a teenager. She did,nt mind it but there was no bending over.The weather was good and she earned good money.
Same sentiments about snow here.
i'm so tempted to say snow or no snow i'm going to town.enough is enough. Just heard Atwoods has their spring gardening stuff in.
Vickie

Here is what the fashionable farm dogs are wearing this winter. If you look carefully you can also see the latest fashion for milk crates. She created a planter by lining a milk crate with an old denim skirt of Nadine's and drapeing it over the outside.

A handsome dog and planter

That's Taterdog. Fenny got cabin fever as bad as you seem to have. She ran off to play in the woods and refused to settle down to do something as mundane as hang with her mistress while she was gardening. I make the dogs go naked in the woods. Afraid they will get snagged on something. Besides, the bobcats and foxes would probably laugh at them. (Jim)

Hello hello hello! I've just finished reading everything that happened to you-all in the past week or so. It's a little warmer up here - a little snow is ok but when it is really cold forever, we get cranky. I mean it is 30* - 40* instead of 0* - 20*! We laugh when DC or somewhere gets half an inch and closes school for a week ... we worry when the year is only three weeks old and we've had three blizzards. But THIS is the January thaw!

Carrie, we have missed you! Was afraid you were lost in a six foot high snowdrift.
I found some green things growing under my leaves. They were probably weeds but at this point WHO CARES!
I wanted a old time homecooked meal today so i threw a head of cabbage,a small pork roast, some unpeeled potatoes,pinto beans,an onion into a slow cooker with water and salt and pepper and had it for lunch and supper. I'll have 1/2 of it to freeze.
My Dish Satelite quit working today. A repairman is coming tomorrow to fix or replace the box.I will miss Judge Judy and NCIS. I will probably survive.
Wrist has been giving me fits today.Change in the weather???
Vickie

Welcome back, Carrie! *Kay*

Poor wrist - my tendinitis is still bothering me a lot. (Yes, it's tendINitis, not tendONitis, despite my every instinct!) I see the MD again in February. Not too much snow here now, just enough so I get stuck every time I go out of the driveway. (There's a dip there, you see.)

Hi, Carrie. I was beginning to think you were like the flowers there and weren’t going to poke your head up until the spring thaw. This thread has lagged a little without you.
I’m trying to decide whether I should be worried or not. There are at least fifty pots on the porch planted with seed. And, the VI’s show no sign of letting up on the sowing anytime soon. They claim they haven’t made a dent yet in what is in “the seed bank” and they plan to put it all in the ground (“empty the bank”) this year. Not to mention, the seeds on the shopping list!
We have two refrigerators in the kitchen as things stand. I got tired of opening the door to get food out and finding seeds being cold treated, or bulbs being chilled because our climate doesn’t offer enough chill hours. Now, there is a “food fridge” and a “garden fridge”.
It seems the gardening frenzy starts earlier and earlier every year. Has obsessive/compulsive gardening been recognized and given a diagnostic code by the psychologist yet? Do my associates need new doctors and lots of meds, or (as they claim) just a new greenhouse and lots of potting soil. Maybe, they are like teenagers and this is an act of defiance against Mother Nature. They know Mom’s going to catch them and put them in their place sooner or later, but they are determined to party hardy until then. It seems the tighter Mom makes the reins, the more they are determined to take the bit in their teeth and gallop. That explanation feels closest to the truth. I’ll go out for more seeds and potting soil tomorrow. It is cheaper than psychotherapy and medication.
Vickie, Mike (Nadine's Dad) always got REALLY grumpy without his Judge Judy. Maybe, there should be a diagnostic code for Judge Judy addiction? At least, a support group. Hope you have JJ back and your wrist is feeling better. :-Jim)

Definitely, more seeds, more potting soil and a GREENHOUSE!!!
I’m not sure a man who spends as much time playing World of Warcraft as one we all know, has any room to talk about obsessive behavior. I sit here on my side of the room listening to grown men and women talk about dungeon quest or whether dragons or flying carpets get you from place to place faster. It is spooky! It might not be so bad if it was a bunch of teenagers. But, these are (allegedly) responsible adults who include a police officer in Louisiana, a college professor in California and a great-grandma in Canada. I keep expecting Rod Sterling to show up to do his monologue. “You are now entering the Twilight Zone.”
Hope you are feeling better, Vickie. I’ve convinced my DH to wait until Wednesday before he calls out the National Guard to make sure you are alright. :-)Kay*