Coffee and...Part 16! :-D

Where is everyone??? Playing in the dirt???

I had a nice thing happen today. I opened a new jar of Smuckers strawberry preserves and there was MOLD on the preserves! Yikes- looked nasty. There was an email addy on the jar, so I thought - what the heck - I'll give it a try. So I emailed them and told them of the mold. I got an email back immediately saying they would get back with me within two days. Well, low and behold, that afternoon, I received a personal call from them! They are mailing me some coupons. The gal I spoke to was sooo nice and very apologetic. Now that is fast action folks!! I'll buy Smuckers again, you can bet your bottom dollar on that!!

Today was nice out and I planned on spending all day in the garden planting. But at 10am, my folks showed up and mom and I got involved in a game of scrabble. After they left, I didn't have much energy left - so I planted two more flats of flowers, then came in and read a good book. I still have 16 cannas to get in the ground!!

Tomorrow I am going to my favorite greenhouse for a final spending spree. Weather for the holidays is supposed to be rainy and cool here- typical Michigan weather for Memorial weekend. Good thing I don't have a thing planned!! Gonna sit on my duff.

Hope everyone is OK!!!!

Brief hi to all.
Kooger what a cutie
m5 like that grandogger
Want to know why this is brief--just found out today was Wed-thought it was Tues.....Argh-hope that the plants I sent out today will make it in time.
Almost missed Doc appts again-they are tomorrow-not day after--have to hurry and do a catch up.
Sheesh, left my mind in the garden!
Hugs to all

Hey, that's a great place to leave ur mind!!

Drove home thru a thunderstorm last night and it rained and rained. Drizzled most of today too - and its cold and windy! Brrrr! I had shorts on - glad I wasn't working outside today!

Hi, I'm still around.....working my B's off at work....too much work and too long hours right now. Thinking about retiring "again".....did it about 2 years ago and got restless after 6 mo....been Real tired when I have gotten home.....by the time I get some things done it's time for bed...at least for me. Now it's 12:30am and I'm here....bad news for tomorrow.. See you all when I can....Keep the coffee going...

Hap

Hello, I made it home ok with the fosterdog. He wasn't too happy on the way home, he whined from time to time and then howled when I got out of the car for a quick pit stop and a cup of tea because I was getting yawny. His pit stop a bit earlier didn't include a human bathroom. When we got home he was happy to see the cats and they were happy to see him. It's funny, none of them seemed to know that it has been about 3 months since they had seen each other. My house kitty is already washing his ears! Sometimes she does that and then swats him just to remind him that she is still in charge. Hubby and I left here at 6 this morning and I got home at 8pm, just in time to unload the car and get my animals fed before it got dark. It was a long day. Hubby gets a longer day, he is now about half way through a 10 hour flight, followed by another short flight and a 6 hour road trip. His final destination is Romania, via Germany and Turkey. Right now I think he is about over the north pole, and probably as sound asleep as a person can be on a plane.

Tomorrow I get a complete change of pace, it's sheep shearing day! I will sure get my exercise and make up for sitting on my behind all day today. I need to be at the corrals at 6:30 to sort ewes and lambs into 2 separate groups. Shearing will start about 8. Some of those old ewes know the sound of the clippers at the end of the chute and we have to do a lot of pushing and shoving to get them where they need to go. The younger ones are dumber and more cooperative. The really smart ones keep dodging us and they all end up going last when we are tired. There will be at least 2 shearers and it takes about 2 minutes per sheep, so we have to hurry to keep up with them. Today was a warm day so it's time they got rid of their wool coats.They average about 8 or 9 pounds of wool per animal. It's funny, when they get turned back in with their lambs the lambs have to learn all over again who mom is because she doesn't look the same and they have to go back to voice recognition.

Oh, I came home from the big city with a new orchid, a purple Dendrobium in a 4 inch pot. I couldn't just leave it there with all those strangers now could I? Actually there were 2 that I wanted but I restrained myself. Aren't you proud of me?

I think I am about relaxed enough for sleep. It takes a while to quit moving after so many hours of traveling. See you tomorrow.

Is everyone as broke as I get in every May? Between the RU in GA, buying plants, fertilizers, etc., I have actually let a couple of bills go unpaid.
I have been trying to apply for Social Security since March. There is no office in our county so I tried to call for an appointment. I called and called for days on end, but never got anything b ut a busy signal. Then I had an operator check the line twice and both times she said there was no conversation on the line! (Were they leaving the phone off the hook)? I even called my U.S. Representative's office and asked for their help. It took them quite awhile to get through, too. Then they said I had to drive all the way over there (100 mile round trip) just to get a number and when it was called, they would assign me an appointment (another 100 mile round-trip). I thought that was ridiculous so I went to socialsecurity.gov and started filling out stuff on-line. They asked what I would make this year!! How the heck was I supposed to know that? I am definitely planning on cutting hours way back, perhaps only working 2 or 3 half-days a week.
Finally, I found a toll-free number and called it. They made an appointment for me for an on-line filing with a real human being. The person taking the call was really nice and friendly, too. Yesterday I was actually able to complete everything except taking my I.D. to them which I will do when I get off work at 1:00. My first check is in August. What a relief!
Of course, if a part-time job comes open at the library when archives moves there, I will take it and probably still be able to draw my full social security.
I would love to end my working career making sure archives is settled in and properly catalogued into the library's system before I completely retire. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

I guess it's time for a new thread...I've waited here for nearly 10 minutes and still don't have the "done" indication on my browser. Still have 1 pic trying to load.

So here's the new thread:
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/513965/

~julie~

This message was edited May 26, 2005 6:19 AM

Busy busy busy bunch of folks! I know about the flattened wallet syndrome, between getting new mulch (chips), trees, bushes, aerating the lawn, our pockets are down to lint and torn up seedpackets. Fortunately Uncle Sam paid me a couple days ago and we can go nuts again.
Ws, I retired in 93 and never looked back. I wasn't doing a fun job like yours, so I only missed the "social" part of working. And didn't miss that all that much! I think they just raised the amount you can earn before they start chomping off benefits, so you'll probably be fine. Good luck. Incidentally, I've noticed that their checks don't always come on the exact date..sometimes early when there's a holiday week ahead, and other times, one or two days after the normal date. (USPS problem?) I only got a couple before I switched to direct deposit. You should get the direct deposit, lots of checks are stolen from mailboxes.

Spent quite a bit of time in the back garden, the crabgrass bed, I should say. Dumped miscellaneous collected seeds in a few bare spots just for fun. I'd like to see it all crowded with a variety of bloomers, with color all season long. There's some stray phlox coming up but I think it's the "ditch" variety that becomes a nuisance, since I only planted one good one back there. I'll pull them up after they quit blooming and throw them in the stuff we take to the recycling center.

Only one new orchid Mary? Such self restraint is commendable. How do you do it? Plants just attach themselves to me until I get to the checkout. DH is just as bad.

Painter guys came yesterday and redid all the spotty areas from their work last year. I mean they totally repainted the house!! Nice to have a company stand behind their work without you having to get all mean and hostile. They covered all the plants and didn't drip anywhere that I can see. I think that when they mixed the paint there must have been a variation in the tinting because it looked like a checkerboard. This time, the head guy told me they poured it ALL in one big bucket, so there wouldn't be any difference. And today, it's raining!! What luck!!

Robert that wisteria is stunning! It's not hardy here, and I hadn't seen it in bloom anywhere. No wonder my GDIL says it's her favorite flower. Beautiful and lush, perfect for an arbor.

Marcia, I've lost a day or two here and there! I hate to tell anyone how many appointments I've missed because I forgot to flip my calendar pages....they'll take me away to the Old Folks home.

Lilacs are blooming, late tulips opening up, bleeding hearts are gorgeous, can't wait to see what happens next!!!

P.S. Defoecat, I love the Bahamas! I've been down there three times, and have always been impressed with the staff, the accomodations and the spotlessly clean beaches. After our first visit we learned to go eat at the Marketplace, where the food is much much much more reasonably priced than the big restaurants and hotels. Being genetically cheap, I hate to spend $30 or $40 on a meal when I can eat for two days on that amount.

Gotta get dressed. Not sure why.

M5...LOL It looks like you're as bas as I am with taking a long time to type our replies.

For those of you who might miss the link...here it is again.

New session of thread is
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/513965/

~julie~