Coffee and...Part 17! :-D

I helped myself - thanks everyone!! Food is delish!! I bought the heavy duty paper plates, so no one will spill!

I spent the whole day outside....weather was gorgeous...still haven't gotten everything in tho. Please remind me next year NOT to buy so much. I am watering the beds now- weatherman says we are 5 inches low on rain and it is supposed to be a HOT week here (about time too...)

Haven't heard a thing from anyone today - some holiday!! Oh well, it was good to work outside all day. DH is making stew (he thought it was gonna be cold here...) I love it anytime, so that is ok with me.

I like kraut on my dogs - no ketchup and lots of mustard.. I love hotdogs and could eat them daily...

Time to move the sprinkler....just shared a brew with my DH - ice cold- hit the spot...

I love it....boy, you really have to be careful what you surf for....LOL I no longer wear lingerie, I'm back to Lolipops....remember thems.....LOL They're still great....flowers and art, what more could you ask for?

Hello all,
Better late than never, I've been at the Emergency Room with DH who is having a mammoth reaction to something. He is covered in hives all over and his fingers are so swollen they won't bend. He can't think what it was he touched, but it looks like he bathed in it!!! He has it literally everywhere and is itching like mad. He didn't sleep last night so I didn't either, I would have but ..... Well you know what men are like. He's having a bad time right now - a dental extraction and a root canal last week and now this!!
I've washed the salad bits carefully and he hasn't been near them so you should all be safe. Watch out for those Cherry Peppers though, the seeds are HOT.
Hope you are all having fun.
Carol

WOW , okus....has he seen a dr...? That's sounds too serious to be dealing with at home....just watch his breathing....has he taken anything like benedryl? That has a two-fold purpose...1. For Him....2. For You.

1..It stops the allergic reation..or at least slows it down, and slows down the itching.

2. This part is the best...it will knock him out so you can get some rest. LOLOLOL

Please call the dr...

Hap

Hey! that beer & brat mustard sounds perfect. So do the salads. Love salads, sausages and beer.(real beer, not that Bud Lite stuff). Saw Ciarello grill Portobello mushrooms on TV yesterday, with a blob of some kind of stuff on top. Sure looked good.
Had half a dozen plants from yesterdays nursery trip to plant and just not the right spot to put them in.Back to the Nursery for another beautiful glazed pot. Now the plants, and I, are happy. The roses are great. Will take some pics when my battery is charged, the one in the camera too.

Oh, Carol... how awful. I hope the ER Docs were able to help him.

Sarv, sounds like a womderful day. I'm off outside for a few minutes before eating more... tummy's stuffed.

DUH,,,didn't read the post correctly...you did go to the ER....., Carol...That's good.....seeing that he had major dental work, did the dentist put him on an antibiotic? That could cause problems....Take care.

Now I would love some dessert.....but first a dip in that pool I heard about. Anyone else? Ca'mon scardy cats................ last one in......................LOL

What's for dessert, and did anyone bring coffee? I'll be up for some in about half an hour or so.

ICK, coffee will keep me awake.....hate decaf.....I dunno......who brought dessert...I remember someone saying something.......I hope it's something chocolate....I'm addicted....I'll make you some of my fav.............darius..........Hazelnut Cream that I buy at BJ's under the Hillcrest brand...Then I put in International Delight's French Vanilla Cream..... But, for sure I don't use sugar, ...got to watch the calorie intake....LOL

Now, dern it all, you talked me into it.....bring up a chair and sit a spell.........

Hazelnut Cream sounds good! I can only do flavored coffees after dinner, NOT for breakfast. Like you, I'll have the creamer and skip any sugar. I only use 1/4 tsp. in my morning coffee anyway but this should taste sweet enough.

I'm trying to figure out what has dug or burrowed in a bunch of 1" holes where I weeded and mulched yesterday. The woman who lives in the upstairs wing says she has seen 3 copperheads here. Ugh.

Lets try for small moles.......safer......

Safer, yes, but no mole burrows along the ground evident. I just posted my querry on the wildlife forum... some knowledgeable folks there.

The ER docs filled him with steroids - he has a sore 'sit-upon' to go with his other problems - and several sorts of jollop. I had already started the Benadryl so that keeps going as well.

C'mon in the pool, the waters lovely. I think a wee slice of Pecan pie, I forgot I brought it, then I'm back in the water.
Carol

Ahhh, pecan pie will go nicely with Hap's Hazelnut Cream coffee! Just a small slice, please.... when I get out of the pool. Hope you don't mind that I'm swimming in cut-offs and a tank top. Can't fit into my bathing suit even if I knew where it was, LOL.

I thought bathing suits were optional....no?

Depends on if Robert shows up or not : )

Wow, what great food we have here! We can't have leftovers now can we? Good, the perfect excuse for having seconds. The ice cream will be done about an hour after we start cranking, depending on how frozen or soft you want it. Goodness sakes, you'll all get a turn. Ladies first and we will save the hard cranking for the guys with the muscles.

Oh hives, no fun at all. I would suspect something he got from the dentist since he was just there recently. I know somebody who had them bad a couple of weeks ago. Prednisone gave her some relief. Her kids loved being able to say "Mom, stop scratching". She had gone to the ER twice in 2 days before they left home, arrived at their destination and went again. Miserable having hives with 3 kids and 2 adults in a 25 foot camp trailer for 3 days and no shower. She never figured out what caused it, hadn't changed laundry products or anything like that. At least Carol's husband is at home. Hope he got the right meds to turn it around quickly.

I made a trip to town this morning to get some more bone meal. The store was out, I went other places and if they carry it at all it is in little boxes. I need lots of it, I plant everything with bone meal. If I could find 50# I would buy it. One place had 10 pound bags for $12.99 but that will be only as a last resort. It breaks down slowly so hopefully there is enough in the ground from last year to help the plants. The horse shed is providing me with wheelbarrows full of manure, most of it is quite old and so the amount of fresh stuff going into the ground is quite small so hopefully nothing will get burned from sitting in a hot spot. I'll side dress with compost later. Some years I do all the rows with homemade compost. I don't broadcast anything, just put the goodies where I'm putting the plants. A bunch of plants followed me home, well darn, I'll just have to plant them.

Yum, I forgot about the ice cream... I'll hold onto my slice of pie until we get it cranked!

Oh.....

Oh that itchy stuff sounds nasty...scratch scartch...

I drink a huge mug of coffee laced with creamer every morning. Today I got up late and instead of hot coffee, I used cold coffee/creamer and ice cubes - yummmm

Did someone say PECAN PIE!! give me a huge piece- my absolute favorite...

I don't like mice, but am scared stiff an any snake - poisonous or not. Gives me the willies....

DH went to let the cat in the other night and it was a possum at the door. Thank goodness he realized it before he opened the door. It hung around for a couple of hours - gosh they're ugly things.

I've got a big bowl of the most delish watermelon - sweet and crisp. Grab a fork and dig in...

Hi, sorry I'm late!!, Everything looks good. Love the chicken salad, the brats too. I try every mustard that I see, love the stuff. I brought my suit, so I think I'll have a swim. Tilled a new bed today, planted cannas, asiatic lilies and dahlias. Hope it turns out well. Carol, sorry about the hives, I had them 3 years in a row, about the same time of year, never figured out what caused it, but it sure was painful. Darius, don't worry about not having a suit, tank top and shorts just fine. I would'nt have a suit, but am going to Nassau in 2 weeks, so had to get one. Gosh that pecan pie and Hazelnut cream sounds good, when will it be done?

No more swimming for me..........dessert time.....!!!!!! I'll have everyTING....worked it off today for sure....I say that everynight at ice cream time....I lie, I lie, I lie.......at least that's what the scales says every morning...Drat.

After that gang....it's off to bed...can't keep my eyes open now. Then it's work in the am....BUT.....
SURPRISE, SURPRISE....... I'm taking in my letter of resignation tomorrow....thought I'd keep that for today's party....Now it will be serious gardening time....Hurray......I might even paint again...who knows....right? LOL

Yup, my last day will be the 17th of June and then it's off to see my one and only "posypeddler" and her new garden.. I can't wait. She's so excited about showing it off to me she can't sit still. But, she can't sit still anyway............ROTFLOLOLOLOLOl EUuuuuuuuu, she's going to kill me.

So, thanks for everything.....it's been realllllllllll..
Darius, we are so glad you are home safe and sound....we missed your funnies and your wisdom..
Happy Holiday to all....Love ya..

Nancy Lee

All I can say is 'a gentleman would never peek'.
Got a new pot for the coleus today. I really like all those glazed Asian pots. This is the best of all possible Memorial Day parties.

Robert, we knew you are a gentleman. : )

A friend nearby carries similar Asian glazed pots in her store but outside of my budget for the nonce.

LOL deja vue all over again...I'll have a teeny slice of that pie while we're waiting for the ice cream to get cranked. Mmmmm almost forgot about dessert.

DH has gone berserk with the power washer. Did the deck. Did the rails. Did the steps. Did the concrete walks. Did the benches. Did the sidewalks. Now he's cutting the grass but we can't use it for mulch 'cuz he just did Weed'n'feed last week

. Spent the morning digging out asters that were surrounded by a nasty prehistoric weed, called field horsetail. No idea where it came from but it has spread all over the upper flower bed. Looking for a death ray to get rid of it. I put the asters in pots until I can see if any of the rhizomes of the weed survived my yanking and shaking of the Aster roots. If they still grow up in the Aster, I'll have to burn the works..

Gorgeous day. DS and DIL came over to eat and they both put catsup on their brats!! Obviously that gene came from some other branch of the family tree.

Last case of hives I got was from wearing the "patch" to quit smoking. I ended up in the Dr.'s office too. itch itch itch itch itch. Patch sorta worked but had to quit using it. Benadryl worked better than the Rx the Dr. gave me.

I'm so tired at this point, if I sit down and turn on the tv, I'll fall asleep upright. Zzzzzzzzzz... wake me when the ice cream is done.

Okay folks, I've had my pie a la mode, and coffee. Time to stretch out horizontally and watch the tube, then bedtime.

It has been GREAT, Thanks Everyone!!

ps, Hap... my friend (who is a local boy) says the crawfish crawl out of the creek at night and burrow like that.

Great party folks, we must do it again sometime soon.
Night Y'all.
Carol

Congrads Happy - you'll love retirement!! Now we have to plan another PARTY!!

Oh, disaster has befallen us. Last night DH went to get a drink and low and behold NO WATER!! It was too late to do anything - no shower etc for me. DO you know how hard it is to live without water?? DH went off to work and said he would look into it when he gets home.. Said it was because I watered the gardens all day (thinks I burned up the pump) Hope it isn't anything big... $$$$ And it is dryer than a bone here and supposed to be in the 80's... We'll hook up to the neighbors water if it doesn't get fixed today.

At least I don't have to do the dishes or laundry today!! More time to play in the garden...

sarv.....isn't gardening great? It gives sunlight to any disaster....when all else fails....GARDEN....

darius...glad you had a good time.....glad everyone had a good time......I did. About those crabs....down here, at least in Palm Beach, the only place that I have seen them, there are land crabs.....but they are about 4" across and dig holes in lawns. The holes are about 3". Are these what you are talking about? These are just near the ocean...

M5....any ice cream left? Goes great in coffee...LOL

HO, HO, it's off to work I go................14 days of work left......yippie.....

Have a great day everyone...

Congrats Happy_1, you will LOVE being retired!! There isn't a single thing about it that I don't like!!
What will surprise you, as it has other retirees, is how little "free" time you end up having! How I ever got everything done when I was working is still a puzzle to me. Of course, I have developed great skill in the art of procrastinating.... and spend way too much time in DG....!

Sarv, is there a disaster that hasn't happened to you this spring? You sure have a lot of grit to keep chugging along. Naturally, the ice cream helps....LOL Speaking of which, I might put a little dollop in my coffee this morning and dunk my biscotti in it.

Outside work to do today. See y'all later.

Hey, Hap... Lucky Gal to "retire"!! You won't believe how busy you will be then, LOL. I'm like M5, HOW did I ever find time to work??

By the way, the crawdads/crayfish are about 3" long. After doing some research this AM, I'm sure he's right about the holes being from them.

Looks better than a snake and good eaten' too....yes? Now I REALLY have to go to work.....

Good morning! It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood, ha, remember that song? Now you'll be singing it all day whether you want to or not. Actually it's not the same weather we had yesterday, a cold front moved in and the wind is blowing. I'll get more manure hauled and more seeds planted. I decided to plant the beans in a different spot from the original plan so they aren't in the part of the garden that has ants, it would be ok for now but I would be wishing for a different spot for weeding and picking them. I already got bitten by an ant yesterday, it hurt like a bee sting and now a have a cute little welt. Other things have been biting too, not mosquitos but something that doesn't like me disturbing their homes. Antihistamine to the rescue! Some bites I got about 2-3 weeks ago just quit itching and now I have several new ones.

The squash seeds I have soaking will be planted in cell packs temporarily and started in the gh since the weather is going to be cool for several days. Corn will get a modified version of that, planted in toilet tissue tubes. Then I just make some holes in the garden and plant tube and all without disturbing the deep root the corn makes. This year I got 3 new varieties to try because Early Sunglow doesn't seem to be available anymore. Germinition was spotty last year since the seed was old. I plant a lot of corn so a few years ago I ordered 1/4 pound instead of packets to save money.

I discovered that my remaining bean seed is all pole beans, that old reliable Kentucky Wonder that my grandfather grew! Bush beans do better here but I might get out the poles and put up a couple of teepees and grow some of them just for fun. The sun and windy conditions we have takes a toll on pole beans so although I would rather be standing up to pick them it is more practical to plant bush beans. Just not as easy to pick them. Would you believe that the wind blew the teepees down one year? So I anchored them with a 5 gal jug of water sitting in the middle and tied it to the junction of the poles with hay baleing twine. The poles were just reasonably straight branches that blew off the cottonwood trees and guess what, they were so fresh they rooted! I had a hard time getting them out! No, no, no, I didn't want trees there! Chopped them out of the ground with an axe.

Last evening after it was too dark to see to plant seeds I got my new plants into their planter. The planter is half of an old water heater that was used with a wood stove, remember those? I have several of them, they are cut in half lengthwise and make good watering troughs or feed troughs for pigs, and nice planters when they get holes in them. I planted mine with mixed colors of portulaca, a plant that can take the heat. It's next to the greenhouse door, serving as a colorful door stop and a nice bright spot. Most old farms have a few of them. Yesterday I got a good buy on some Russian Sage to plant on the south side of the gh but still have to make the flower bed there. My original plan was to put yucca with the R sage, but I couldn't find any, so will fill in between them with portulaca and maybe plant some calendula seeds, too. Probably that is better because I have the flexability to change the accents every year.

Hap, we will countdown with you and come to your retirement party.We could have all sorts of seafood on the grill.

Carol, how's your hubby today?

Time to eat and get moving, my horses are watching the house to see when they get breakfast. Etc, etc, etc....

Morning All,
Glad to report DH has improved enormously and slept last night!! Still lumpy and itchy in the odd spot but nothing like yesterday. He is now under orders to wear long pants long sleeves gloves and goggles before he does anymore weed wacking!! The doc thinks he wacked something that his skin didn't like, then, when he changed afterwards, before he showered he probable scratched all sorts of bits that weren't exposed in the first place and spread it around. I've had a good look and can't see any sign of poison ivy, and the doc said the rash wasn't right for that, so heaven knows what caused it. He has never been allergic to anything in all his 64 years so he's a bit shocked! Its me that reacts to everything, but I've learnt to be careful and keep the antihistamine handy. LOL

HAP you will love being retired, life is so busy, I too don't know how I found the time to go to work. You get to like work week days better than week ends and holidays, there are so many fewer people on the roads and in the stores. Wet weekends are no longer a problem - you have all week to cut the grass so you don't need to get stressed out trying to cram everything into your spare minutes. Its great!!
Mind you Mary makes me feel exhausted just reading what she has been up to!!
Julie hows the eye now? and when is the other due for treatment?
Got to go and play with my yard for a while - see y'all later.
Carol

Okus- glad that a DH is almost recovered with the itchies. I used to get hives so bad that I would take a stiff hairbrush and brush my skin HARD!! Doc never could find out what caused them - said it was probably just a buildup of stuff in my system and when it hit a certain point- out popped the hives. Haven't had them for years now. (knock on wood)

M5 - life is full of ups and downs - I've learned to roll with the punches. Nothing is ever as bad as it first seemed. MIL just called and wants me to take her to the hospital for her monthly blood work. She has such a sensitive nose that she will probably complain about me smelling. I'm gonna enjoy the ride!! LOL

I've still have stuff to get in the ground, but with no water, I have to wait. I did resort to lugging some water jugs filled with stinky pool water, but man, that is toooo much work...

I usually spruce up to take my MIL, but today I am wearing blue jeans and a shirt- too bad if I look like a hick.

Well, gotta get on the road!!

Hey everyone, the party was great. A retirement party sounds in order. I retired 5 years ago, and still wonder how I every got everything done. Lucky for me, I am an organized person, or it wouldn't get done. Taking DMIL to physical therapy tomorrow. She broke her hip last year and is still not able to walk real good. This is in addition to caring for DM. Gardening has taken a backseat to being a MEDICAB driver!!. Tilled and planted a new flower bed yesterday. Put asiatic lilies, dahlia and canna in it. Hope it does well.