Hi.
I love a new thread. Kick off your shoes, make yourselves at home. We came from:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1283215/
Enjoy, everyone.
Sylvain.
THE COCONUT WIRELESS CHAT THREAD NO.5
How's'it! Glad to see folks hanging out & talking story!
Aloha, Dave
That thing behind your head is a little freaky looking. Looks like a huge snake. lol.
Love the views of the ocean there!!
Sylvain, thanks for the new thread!! My boots are kicked off and feet curled up and comfy here. :~)
I feel refreshed. Thanks Sylvain.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY again, Nancy. My heart just soared when I saw this thread was active once again. I truly, truly love each and everyone of you. I know life has been difficult here and there for everyone but without each other, how could we ever get through it? Some years ago I tried in vain to organize a DG get together. I'm older, wiser, and more tired now so I would be very, very happy if all of us could join up somewhere. The Texas weather has not been kind to my flower garden and I'm thinking of turning it under and starting all vegetables. Our food chain is so mis-managed I'm afraid to eat everything. I have been through the "clean the house out" for parents on both sides. As you say, Pu'ole, I felt like I was prying and doing things I was taught not to do. We are assured of only one thing in this life.....we will all die and we won't take one thing with us.
Tomorrow is Monday and we all start a clean, fresh week. May it be the best one ever.
Anyone besides Nancy and I on Facebook? There a number of DG's on it.
Thanks Christi.
Hi, everyone.
I don't do Facebook anymore. My Facebook account has been hacked twice. As a result, ruffians posted that I was abroad, that I had been mugged, that my cell phone, my money, my ID, my return airline ticket and my passport had been stolen and I needed $1,500 wired immediately so I could purchase a plane ticket home.
I don't think so, Tim! I was in the hospital at the time and should such an adventure happen to me in my travels, I am a Canadian citizen and I would head straight to the Canadian, or U.S. embassy. The U.S. and Canada have a reciprocity pact when it comes to providing help to their citizens in trouble. Remember Tehran? That's when it was implemented. Also, I am not rich but I wouldn't have to pander on Facebook to return home to the U.S. I should have closed that Facebook account when it happened the first time. So, Facebook? No, thank you.
I bought papaya plants at the little fruit and vegetable stand at the end of our street. The HOA rules clearly state that we can't plant any fruit trees, but I'll get them with a technicality. Those are not trees. There were about 6 plants, 24 inches high in that pot for $2.99. I'll divide them and plant them here and there among the full-sun side of the house. They grow well around here because I see them peeking above the fences here and there in the neighborhood. And I know by the look of the yards that those papayas are NOT pampered. They are on auto-pilot and left to their own devices.
Take care, all.
Pu'ole, a.k.a. Sylvain.
How are you so lucky, Sylvain? To get to be quietly in the hospital and get you FB hacked all at the same time, boy what a grand slam that was. LOL
Yes, Nancy. That was right up there on my lists of favorite things in life along with root canal treatments and phlebotomists that miss the vein each and every time. Anyhow, Facebook got to be a bore after a while. How many of my friends want to read that I ate an apple, or that I ran out of dental floss today? Not that many, I bet.
Hugs.
Sylvain.
Oh, I forgot to tell you all. Have you noticed my latest avatar? Picture attached.
Pu'ole, a.k.a. Sylvain.
Yes, I did and am sorry I didn't mention it. Now the picture is cut off so I can't see your thong. Can you take a better one?
Nancy
Thong? I have to say Nay, Nay! I can just imagine you trying to scroll the picture upward to check out the bottom: hilarious. The best way to make sure there are no compromising pictures of yourself floating on the internet is not to allow such pictures to be taken in the first place. The best you'll see is knee-length shorts. And you've already seen that, Nancy. You're just plain lucky you didn't go blind.
I received beautiful white ginger rhizomes in the mail today. I have got to plant them tomorrow morning, before the heat sets in. I'm off to smoke a cigar with a glass of something definitely of an adult nature and my tablet. Dinner tonight is ultra simple: Chinese take-out. That has come to be known as a pots & pans holiday. Gail sets the table and brews Imperial gunpowder tea while I get the food, 1 mile away from here.
Take care, all.
Sylvain.
Dern!!!
Oh dear, Sylvain, your gift for gab is priceless. I have truly missed you.
We have to get him to gab more!
That we do!!
Come on...tell us a story ....
We are waiting.......
I'll do a story that my GM used to tell.
I'll tell you a story about Annie Millory
and now my story's begun.
I'll tell you another about her brother
and now my story's done.
Don't all applause at once.
Hi, everyone.
I've decided to bake me a cheesecake, come brimstone or high water. I use Alton Brown's sour cream cheesecake recipe. It's sublime. I'll make my sugarless variety and share it with a dear friend of mine.
A few weeks back, I was foolish enough to buy one of those sugarless cake mixes. What was I thinking? A cake mix... what an idea! It had the velvety texture of wet sawdust, but not as much taste as wet sawdust. We ate 1/3 of it and dumped the rest into the garbage disposal. I'm too good a baker to buy cake mixes. No, the case is settled, I'm baking a cheesecake today.
I finished removing those cursed invasive root beer plants yesterday. I'm clearing a space for some hedychium coronarium (white butterfly ginger) and a few birds of paradise my cheesecake friend gave me from her peace garden. Next project: remove the miles of dead passionflower vines that give my trellis an unkept look. I wouldn't want to get a visit from the condo comandos to discuss that eyesore. Thanks to Nancy, I have some rangoon creeper to plant there and I am thinking of planting a blue sky vine, too. Between the two species, the trellis should be covered and hopefully in bloom year-round. The caterpillars completely devastated the passionflower vine and there is not one sign of regrowth anywhere. So, off it goes and good riddance. The caterpillars can find themselves another salad bar.
Also, I have to divide and plant those papaya plants I bought this week. I wouldn't want them to get potbound and become stunted. I like things to grow. Anything that doesn't is removed quickly.
Speaking of growers, my vanilla orchid was 16 feet long when it fell and broke yesterday afternoon. I'll root the broken section and plant it a bit later. Actually, I guess I could just replant the broken section without rooting it, but old habits die hard. I don't expect to harvest vanilla beans any time soon, but the thought is pleasant.
A sure sign that winter is coming: the lotus has started dying back and going dormant. That's one plant I'll absolutely have to divide next spring. I love my lotus and they produce beautiful bloom. It didn't bloom once for me this year. The silly plant doesn't realize the danger that hangs over its rhizomes. It was in full sun, it got fertilizer tablets on a regular basis, the water was kept clean. It grew a slew of very large leaves, but didn't bloom. Not OK with me. If it persists, I'll make chinese food with fresh lotus root in it. Aren't I heartless? The rule is simple here: grow, or else. I have no time, patience or space for useless selfish divas.
Take care, all.
Sylvain.
I'm so glad to hear that the Rangoon Creeper took. Watch it for it grows fast and I mean fast!!! It likes to strangle nearby plants.
Sorry your cake did not work out, but sugarless cake??? That should of given you a clue! LOL
I too got suck ed in to the root beer plant. Pretty leaves, good smell, invasive roots!!!! Mine is gone too. Until it pops up again.
Thanks for the story.
Hugs
I purchased the same plant under the name "Hoja Santa". I have shared with everyone in creation. Going to move a bit of it to a place where nothing seems to want to grow. Maybe next year we will get along better.
Touch of food poisoning from a new Italian cafe here in town last night. Still feeling pretty yucky so guess a short nap is in order.
Aloha everyone - so lovely to catch up with everyone's news!
Pu'ole, count me in as one who just loves your posts and the way you look at the world!
How very nice to see Dave again - lovely pictures of the ocean in Hawaii, which I miss a little, but we really haven't immersed ourselves to living here in NC yet.
However, we are off this morning to Silver Spring MD to attend Frank's (DH) 50th high school reunion. Of course, he did marry a child bride (!) - it can't possibly be that long since he has been in high school! We will be driving so I can take some of the comforts of home such as my pillow etc. - so much easier than flying anywhere these days. Laurie (DD) will be staying at the house while we are gone, so no worries on that score.
We are planning on stopping at the Chesapeake Bay on the way home - crab feast (or two) is on the list!
One of the things on my new bucket list (since we moved to the mainland) is to find a megalodon (gosh I don't know how to spell that) tooth - of course I am going for the large 6 inch size tooth that will be just sitting on the shore line waiting for me to pick up...wish me luck! I have packed boots, warm coats, hats, etc., etc. for our shoreline jaunt - we are freezing!
Love to all.
Jenn
Hey Jenn,
Kihei will certainly miss you folks.
Glad to have your update, the East Coast is quite nice with many beautiful places to see. Although I am getting cold just reading your note!
Please send photos!
Aloha!
Photos aren't loading. Hope this works!
Oh, Princess K... a megalodon tooth that you would find on the shore, laying there on the sand just above the water level. I wish you all the luck with that, but I still wish you the best of luck with that. I saw one such tooth for sale once in a Key West tourist trap and they were asking $400 for it. It would look great with my seashell collection. I have just checked Ebay and searched megalodon. There are a host of such teeth for sale. Many of them are clearly identified as replicas, others just look to good to be authentic and others may or very well may not be real. None of them are asking $400.
I always wear a shark tooth charm on my gold chain. It was one of the first adornments I bought myself: a 14K gold box chain. I was 18 and I wanted gold. The jeweler threw in a shark's tooth to hang on it. I liked it and I have always worn one since then. The jaw's cartilage eventually breaks down, so I hang a new one and we're good for another 4 or 5 years. When people ask me about it, I tell them it came from a 7-foot mako shark I caught during a fishing excursion off Fort Lauderdale. As it turns out, the captain kept the fish but game me 10 or 12 teeth that he pulled right out of the shark's mouth once it had been killed and iced. And if you believe that fishing story, I have delightful farm land I could show you at low tide. I'd love to catch a shark on the line, but there is not enough money in the U.S. treasury to get me to bring it into the boat. I buy my shark teeth on Ebay and I'm very at ease with that fact.
Take care, all.
Pu'ole, a.k.a. Sylvain.
Aloha everyone,
Well, no Megalodon tooth for me - we nixed the trip to the Chesapeake Bay because it was pouring with rain the entire time we were in Maryland, we will have to wait for the spring, but I haven't taken it off my bucket list yet!
We really enjoyed the high school reunion though although Frank was sad that so many of his classmates had passed away, most seemingly in their early 60's. I really had no idea that Frank was such a popular guy during his school years! Most of his classmates were the same folks from kindergarten all the way through high school so they all had a long history together and I enjoyed all the stories that everyone remembered - so great fun, despite the awful weather.
We are in the middle of a kitchen redo here at home. It hasn't been without some snafu's but not really the kind I was expecting. No mouse nests, mummified mice, or insect infestations which is what I thought we would find in such an old house, but off the wall stuff such as delays because the installer was rear ended on his way over to the house on Saturday. Poor guy, his leg was badly hurt and we sent him home with strict instructions to get to a doctor - we hear that he is planning on coming this morning though...of course everyone else involved such as the man templating for the counters, the plumber, etc. have all had to be pushed back a few days. All in all not too bad, although using an upstairs bathroom to make a pot of tea is wearing a little thin - on the bright side the outdoor grill is turning out some delicious steaks and lamb chops under Franks great cooking skills. I am still looking forward to a rib roast in the near future as we have been without an oven for nearly four months now - can't you tell I am a carnivore of the first order! I am even looking forward to baking a cake even though I don't ever eat them as I don't like any sweets - well, Cadburys chocolate is an exception!
Work is still going forward on repairing the walls around the property although very slowly. The mason is as old as dirt and moves at a snails pace, but does great work. We are on a corner and so far he has one wall repaired and is now working on the wall that faces the other road - he did a great job on the post that the semi took out when they were delivering the furniture, but given his pace we expect to have his company for at least another two weeks!
We had the swimming pool cleared of all the trees that had grown inside it and filled in. No longer the liability it once was...all the workmen kept their eye out for snakes because they all said that it was a perfect place for copperheads, but none were seen. A very fat possum did run out as fast as his little legs would take him when the back hoe got too close, and headed off to next door...The back hoe operator was fabulous - he harvested all the stone for use on the broken walls, and picked up all the marble edges with his machine's claw (or thumb as he called it), which we had delivered to my son in law and not one was cracked or broken. A couple of the marble slabs were estimated at weighing 800 - 1000 lbs.!
If any of you have a Costco membership (I know it's Princess K's DH's favorite place!) I picked up packages of 95 daffodil bulbs for $19.95, which I thought was a wonderful bargain. I am waiting until November to plant them here in our area...I understand that deer and squirrels won't eat them so hopefully I am good to go!
Thanks for the ocean scenes Dave - I have a friend who sends me the local newspapers from Maui every now and then, and it's nice to keep up with the local news and people we know...
Pu'ole, I hope your sharks tooth has had the serrations filed off - we had a sharks jaw with teeth that were so sharp that I managed to cut myself every time I touched it!
I hope everyone is well and happy,
Jenn
Aloha, y'all.
My shark's tooth still has it original serrations on it and it terminates into a very sharp point. Sometimes, the tooth hurts me and I wake up, move it to a better location and go back to sleep. I haven't punctured the skin yet. I keep on a chain.
At the age of 18, I decided I needed some bling. So, I purchased a gold ring and a gold chain for myself. I couldn't afford them, earning $2.10/hour, but I put them on lay-away plan at the jeweller's shop and I eventually paid for them. I have been wearing them ever since: 40 years. I have always had a shark's tooth hanging on that chain. The jeweller gave me my first shark's tooth and I loved it on sight. With time, water from the shower, oil from my skin, the cartilagenous section decomposes and falls apart. The tooth falls off the chain. I replace it with a new tooth and I'm good for another 4 or 5 years.
At any rate, I wish you the best of luck in finding a megalodon tooth for yourself. And if you should be so blessed as to find two of them, I'll gladly acquire the extra one. Your price will be mine, no questions asked. I won't wear it around my neck. I'll display it with my seashells. I'll tell people it's one of them pesky sea creatures I fought off at Waimanalo beach. It will be an epic story of survival complete with dragging the shark backwards to suffocate it, pulling it up on the beach and taping its jaw shut with electrical tape. But, I couldn't just let it die on the beach, so I cut off the electrical tape and pushed it back into the sea. When everything was said and done, I found one of its teeth in the sand and kept it. I told you: an epic story. Oh, what a hawai'ian I would have been!
Take care, all.
Pu'ole, a.k.a. Sylvain.
You would make a perfect Hawai'an Sylvain!! :~)
Sylvain is certainly invited!
All are invited!
It's Cristies birthday today. Happy Birthday young lady.
Hi Everyone! So good to see you all here!
Happy Birthday Christi! Hope you have a good year!
I feel so blessed to have made it thru this year. Still taking iron infusions, now every two weeks as my count is down more. I go back next week to have it checked again. I am not retaining iron. You can read about it over on the prayer forum.
The weather here has been so beautiful! Very cool mornings 53 and warm afternoons! We've had lots of rain so the plants are thriving. The Angel Trumpets are in full bloom! So pretty!
Jeanne
Happy Birthday Princess K !
I hope it was a wonderful day. Love from both of us,
Jenn
Hau'oli lahanau, Princess! Aloha nui loa.
A song and birthday dance for you. Don't I catch anybody else peeking!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiaMk4UH_0M
Big hugs.
Pu'ole, a.k.a. Sylvain
Happy Birthday Princess K!!!
Sylvain,
Sounds like all you are feeling much better. I am glad!!
Jenn,
Glad you are taking time to visit other areas. If you like fish and had not tasted spot make sure you order it. Better still buy fresh and cook it your self. They are soo tasty.
As I mentioned previously I was very busy with a memory garden at the club to honor a golf buddy. iIt turned out very well and we dedicated it on Aug. 14 this year..I have another project to redesign our church beds, been neglected because our caretaker had a couple of heart attack.
It is now very cold here and a lot to do, bring all the tropicals in.
Take care.
Belle
What a fantastic way to start my day.....lots of chatter from the greatest people in the world.
Jenn, you should have been a professional designer. I'm sure they could find a slot for you on HGTV. Not to be negative, but, are you missing all those wonderful fruit trees? I still think of leaning over the rail of the deck just a tiny bit and plucking a big fat avocado. The food gurus are now recommending an avocado everyday along with virgin coconut oil for everything that ails you.
Thank you for the birthday wishes. I recommend each of you check out Sylvain's link. Makes me "homesick" for Hawaii. I know that isn't correct as I have never lived there but I did leave my heart there.
Mike's mother (95 1/2) has been occupying our time almost to exclusion of all else for these last two weeks. Long story and I won't go into the details. Health Care and the Doctor are going to evaluate her today. From our perspective....extreme old age is a curse.
I have been neglecting DG and I intend to correct that. Love to all.
Hi, everyone.
Bellieg, I read your post while drinking my coffee: one eye covered by my coffee cup and the other on the screen. You talked about your church's beds. I told myself: "Mmmm... My kind of church. If the preacher is boring, you're on a bed already, so you might as well take a nap.". Then I came to my senses and realized what you were talking about. I can be so dense at times, I scare myself.
Food gurus are a strange species of people who are as fickle as weather vanes. They point in whatever the direction the wind happens to be blowing. I have to admit that I am a tad dismayed at this new claim that we should ingest more coconut oil (virgin or otherwise). I thought that coconut oil was full of bad cholesterol. At one time, coconut oil was just good enough to make inexpensive and harsh hand soap. Times change.
When Gail was found to have slightly elevated LDL levels, it was one of the first things the doctor asked: do you eat coconuts or use coconut oil in your cooking? We lived in Montreal in those days and the coconuts available in supermarkets were not worth lugging home. Coconut oil was something you found in processed foods we didn't buy anyway. And now, it seems you're just another extremely unattractive bump on a log if you don't include coconut oil in your diet. We use canola oil in this house. It's a neutral-tasting oil that contains more Omegas 3, 6 and 9 than olive oil, but there is a conspiracy from the olive oil producers to cover up that fact. And I always cringe when these TV "chefs" throw liberal amounts of extra virgin olive oil over and into everything. I specially cringe when they use it to fry stuff. Extra virgin olive oil shouldn't be heated. In my view, it's a classy condiment, not a frying oil. That's the job of peanut oil.
My position on this is clear: the less fat you eat, the better. The more Omegas 3, 6 and 9 you ingest, the better. When in doubt, use butter because we all have to keel over at one point, so we might as well enjoy it while we can.
I'll now step up on my soap box.
Had our sweet, dearest and precious Lord meant for us to eat liberal amounts of extra virgin olive oil, cows would produce it instead of milk. But Nay, Nay... cows produce milk and cream. Who am I to interfere with His Will, with His Grandiose Plan for the universe? So, once in a while, it's butter to the rescue and Praise Him, Aleluyar, Aleluyar!
I'll step down from my soap box now, if nobody minds too much.
Take care, all.
Sylvain.
Hello Everyone,
My how the weeks fly by - I just wanted to pop in and wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving.
We are having a very quiet day today, not even having the traditional turkey meal! Our daughter and son-in-law are coming over this afternoon and we are going to bbq some steaks that SIL got from somewhere in Omaha I believe. I am rather glad not to have to do all the cooking as the kitchen is still in the process of being remodeled although it is almost functional now, and is so much better than the kitchen we had when we bought the house. Everything seems to have taken such a long time to get straight because life got in the way at every turn! Most of the cookware is still on the floor in one of the bedrooms!
We are trying hard to embrace the beauty of the changing seasons here, but when we saw snow flurries yesterday we couldn't put our noses out of the door because it looked so cold! We are missing the tropical sunshine a lot, but are making plans to go for a trip to Costa Rica sometime in January to replenish our vitamin D! Frank is especially looking forward to snorkeling in the ocean again.
I hope you all check in and tell us about your day, and what you are up to in general - I do miss you, and would love to keep our wireless thread alive...
I hope everyone's day is wonderful and spent with those you hold dear.
Love to all.
J.