Coffee and...Part 18! :-D

Boy, have you got your mother's smile, darius.....Oh, and your hair.....WOW.....and that's before Miss Clairol.....LOL Absolutely beautiful....

Darius, delightful young ladies. You haven't changed a bit, except for the tie-dye socks. Will show the beloved one your bra article when she gets home.It's the first thing on in the morning and the first thing off in the evening.
The portal is a scaled down version of this one at the Univ. of Wash. Center for Urban Horticulture.

Boy , you got that done fast and lovely house too............

Hap

Hey, that will look wonderful, Robert!

Ohhhhhhh....I wish I could see what everyone wrote today. :-(

The surgery is over, I slept most of the afternoon, DH went to the 'plant store' while I was 'indisposed' and bought me a pickup FULL of plants...and he loved the fact that he got there while the manager was having a weak moment and got it ALL for 1/2 price...just before she decided to change her mind and keep the regular prices. LOL

Thanks for all the good thoughts and prayers sent my way. You are all quite precious to me.

I'll be back as soon as I can.

~julie~

darius,,,,he's almost as good as we are....

So glad all is OK, Julie....prayers really do work...sleep well tonight and tomorrow will be a bright newer day for you....... and you made contact before 12:01.....good girl...........LOL

julie88 so glad your surgery is over. Now in just a few more weeks you will be seeing things that you haven't been able to see for awhile. Take it easy.

Yayyyy!!! Julie!!! All better and a truckload of plants! is this heaven or what? The photo of you and your mother, Darius is so typical of that period. Your mother's hairdo is perfect! Cute picture! Robert, you have been a busy guy! I'd love to have an arbor like that. I'd even love to have some wisteria, which isn't hardy here! DH constructed our in-progress garage, but had to have some assistance from his pals and our GS raising the walls and struts.

Gonna be a scorcher today, got up to 85* yesterday, and I finally caved and put the AC on. Today will be hot with possible showers, too. Have to take my trusty old Camry in to the car hospital.....last Friday when I went to golf, I got to the park, and couldn't get my trunk open. I had to flip the back seats down, and drag my clubs and bag out through that small opening, into the back seat, and out through the door. I'm sure someone got a good laugh out of my fanny waving around while I fished for a grip on the bag. Which I snagged using a package of spare windshield wipers which were in reach. Oh, stop snickering!!! LOL Then, the service mgr. asked me if I had used the valet key on the trunk. I said, of course not, that's why it's called the valet key, it only works in the ignition! I hope this doesn't cost a mint...I'm dirt poor (also plant, shrub and fertilizer poor) until Uncle Sam sends me my stipend.

Gonna go check out the bra thread. Does it count if you didn't have to wear one 'til you were 40+?? God has a peculiar sense of humor...If I went braless now, people would have trouble distinguishing my tatas from my arm flaps................on that note.....



This message was edited Jun 7, 2005 6:38 AM

I'm backkkkkkkk from the field trip. Man, was it something...I got home at 3:30pm and promptly laid down, got up to eat and went back down for the night- my whole body was acking tired...I still could lay down the whole day, but gotta kick this butt in gear.

Trip was kinda fun. You had to walk around the city and find 27 different landmarks. Good thing I was paired up with a veteran who had done it last year. She was in her mid 20's and had a lot more energy than I did. I stayed at the back of the pack of boys (mainly because I couldn't keep up with her!!) The boys could have cared less- they wanted to romp around and thought all the burps and toots were the funniest thing on earth. I kept giving my GS the 'look' and he said, "grandma, why do you keep looking at me that way" Next year I will be busy on that day!!!

Gonna be a scorcher here today - 90 with humidity. I am working in the house today, doing all the stuff that didn't get done yesterday.

Julie- glad the surgery is over for ya.

Darius - what a keepsake that pic is. I have only one pic of me about 5 yrs old. No money back then. It makes me chuckle nowadays when parents have pics done every six months.

Bal - I sure wish you lived closer to me - want to intro my DH to you... Maybe some of your work would rub off on him.

Bra article - what did I miss. I spend more $$ trying to fine 'just the right one' Where is the article????

Gotta go - need a diet coke to jump start me motor.....

Yay, Julie!!!

Sarv, here's the link again http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/518100/

M5, LOL, I can just see you now reaching into the trunk from the back seat!

Good morning. Julie, what kinds of plants did you get? A whole truckload, WOW! Will he help you plant them? Can you see clearly yet?

Robert, that's a nice project you have going. Be sure to post a picture when it is finished. Are the upright posts 4x4 or 6x6? Either way it will hold up your wisteria and look great. Are you going to paint or stain it?

We could use some of that heat you are all talking about. We are in a cold spell, this morning it is about 35 with the wind blowing. The sun is just coming out from behind the clouds, the mountains have new snow, I'm concerned about the seeds I have in the garden that need warmth to germinate and the sheep we sheared about 10 days ago look cold! I hope this cold air goes back where it belongs soon. Yesterday I weeded all bundled up to keep warm, took a ride on one of my horses and got caught in a rain shower so I cut my ride short and came home colder and wetter. The wind blew all day and the showers came over and over. Not good for the neighbors who have hay cut that is supposed to be drying so it can get baled to feed the animals next winter.

The neighbors cattle were moved here to our place yesterday and the pasture is looking even more like the pictures you see of the Sarengetti in Africa! We have horses, cattle, sheep, and a guard llama all grazing and roaming around out there. I'll try to get a picture with all the different critters in it, not easy when they are spread around over about 70 acres with hills.

I need to make my weekly trip to town today, will do it this morning and hope for warmer temperatures this afternoon. I think I will go have pizza for lunch. Have a great day everyone.

Tell me more about the guard Llama....do you have guard dogs too? Would love to see pictures.
Pati

With all the concerns troubling people today, war, nuclear proliferation, rising taxes, dangerous prescription drugs, world hunger, crime, partisan politics, tsunamis, earthquakes etc. I absolutely refuse to add my underwear!

P.S. I'm very glad that none of my friends in the league had a camera handy for that shot!!

This message was edited Jun 7, 2005 10:17 AM

Pati, the llama is a more or less effective guard. I have seen him run a strange dog out of the pasture. He used to be on a pack train and they named him Pokey. I think he was retired from that because he was too slow. I'm not sure how effective he is against coyotes, but they do have a good reputation for dealing with them in other flocks, so maybe he has prevented a few kills. Some years the coyotes kill a lot of the sheep so that makes me wonder about this one but the pastures are large, the sheep spread out and one llama can only take care of so much. If there was another llama they would probably be paying too much attention to each other and not enough to the sheep.

Mary, The posts are pressure treated 6 X 6's 8 ft long on steel saddles sunk in 24" deep concrete tubes. Top of the ridge will be 11 ft. and I'm thinking about painting it a bright blue.
The guard llama is neat. There are a couple of 'Llama Farms' in our area. They are lovely critters, and I like the smaller Alpacas too. Would love to see some pictures. Too bad about the wet hay. Is it salvageable if the sun comes back and dries it out ?
Sarv, you deserve a BIG commendation for bravery above and beyond the call of duty. Having anything to do with children lasting more than half an hour requires more fortitude than I could ever muster. The granddaughters are precious and I love them dearly, but boy can they jangle the nerves.
Julie, still holding good thoughts for your healing and wishing you the very best.Get well quick so you can plant that truckload of half price plants.What a bargain hunter. See, us fellers get it right now and then don't we.
Darius, what's cooking? Any new products in mind? The biscotti and preserves are toothsome as is the choc. mint brownie. Only problem with the brownie was it seemed to 'evaporate' so fast. Do you think a self-cleaning oven would be hot enough to burn off the accumulated char on a cast iron griddle? Forgot to put it in the last wood-fire.
Well the clouds are still here and more light rain is predicted. Better get to work while I can.

M5, I agree we have too much to worry about... however I just added a bunch of documented medical studies on bras and breast cancer to that thread. You might want to read them just for the information, not to change your habits LOL.

(Cheers emanating from the Emergency Room)
I did it by myself! My favored method, though perhaps not always the wisest. DW went to a meeting at work and was not here to fret so I applied some leverage and bracing and a little at a time raised the arbor section, then turned it 360° and walked it onto the saddles. Not very exciting compared to most of the posts, but made me feel good knowing I didn't have to ask for help. (is that a guy thing?) here's it down.

Standing, ready to move.

And at last ! In place, plumbed and braced.

Applause! Applause!

I don't think it's merely a guy thing, but one of determination and thinking outside the box. The old lever and fulcrum, sorta...

Bal,

Yeah, you can't say "guy thang" around a bunch of deeetermined women!. The mother of invention and all that rot. LOL

You did good!!!! (and in the face of all that determination and stubborness, have you ever found you just couldn't do it and wanted to sit down and cry? well I have, and then that made me so mad, I got up and DID IT!)

:^))))))

I am in the middle of a "Miracle" Day! This eye is beginning to focus MUCH better than the first one!! YAYYYYYYY!!! :-D (I think it's determination at work...as well as a LOT of prayers and positive energy coming from all of you. (Thanks a million...and (((~hugs~))) to all!)

Robert, I have to tell you that it was reading your note that *made* me reply right now. (Shaking head & LOL @ and With Robert!) You betcha ya boots! You *guys* really DO go bargin hunting and I LOVE you for it! PLUS, when I read how you lifted that arbor, all I could do was nod and think..."Yep! That's the way Eric (DH) does it too!" The other tool he uses a lot are "clamps"...says he could *never* do as much all by himself without "George" "Bill" "Joe" & "Bob" (He's named the clamps...although it's difficult for *me* to tell them apart...I sure do 'thank' them for their help. hehehe)

It's a little hard for me to read comfortably at the moment, but that's because of the glasses I'm wearing. One lens is still for the cataracts and one is a lens from my last prescription. I have ONE bifocal...and that's what I'm using to TRY to read the screen with. (I'm getting one heck of pain in the neck from the angle I have to hold my head in order to use it. hahaha) That's all about to change in about an hour. I'll have both of my old lenses in, then I should at least have some sense of "normal" vision. I guess it'll be about 6 weeks before they can reexamine my eyes and get a good prescription. But in the meantime, my distance vision is SUPER!!! (I *SEE* You!!! :-D I just can't READ you!)

In case you haven't guessed, I'm *very* excited about having the worst behind me!

No Mary, I haven't gotten all those plants in the ground yet. And 'No' DH only *buys* the plants...he rarely puts them where they belong. LOL Besides, I'm not sure where I want them.

We're picking up KFC for supper tonight, so I should be able to get back on here and try to catch up on all that's been happening...and maybe even COMMENT on a few of them. (I've really been slacking off, haven't I? ;-))

Well...gotta change clothes and get ready to go to the eye doctor.

See ya later...(Mary...you can have some of MY heat...it's mighty hot and humid here. We're expecting another round of storms this afternoon and evening from the least I heard.)

~julie~

Julie, that hot and humid stuff hit us yesterday. I was out this morning at 7 in yesterday's grubbies, getting in the bedding plants under the killer tree, fertilizing and what all, came in at 10 and took my car to the car doctor who charged me $170 for fixing the linkage on the trunk lid. Did I say I was broke yesterday? Well today I'm headed for the poor house on roller skates. The dear man also indicated that I need to replace the head gasket, and a leaky seal on my oil pan, to the tune of $1400. or so.......have to see if DH can do it, he mostly works on Fords. Also should drain and flush the tranny... yikes!!! And Hobbes has to go to the vet, color me bankrupt. LOL

Good Job, Robert! Takes determination and skill to manage that kind of task alone. Half way up a long staircase in a century old home, I wondered if it was determination or stupidity to think I could maneuver a sofa up to the second floor, alone. That thought was followed by the one that went "If this thing falls on me, I'm dead." But here I am, chalk it up to pigheadedness. The only thing that stops me is heights! And mine shafts! Your arbor looks great and blue would be perfect!!! Kudos!

Julie, if you can read this, can you make do with those little cheapo glasses from the drugstore or Kmart or Wallyworld? If your dr. put in corrective lenses, you might be able to use that kind until you get a new exam. I have spares, and would gladly send you a pair if you thought you could use them. (I have them everywhere as my prescrip. hasn't changed for twenty years. ) I'll send you an email with my phone #, give me a call ...

I hear thunder but I think it's far east of us, nothing happening here. I watered, but some rain would be nice. My ankles are killing me, time to put my feet up and count my blessings.

Sarv, volunteering for a field trip....I was spared that because my kids never volunteered me...a show of mercy for their schoolmates, I'm sure. My kids didn't get away with what kids now do....my DD took my other DD's little ones after school last week and they were absolute hellions. Matching my experience with them previously. I don't think I want to be around them when they hit their teens.

Wasn't I going to go put my feet up? OK gone now

Julie, Great news. I'm so happy for you. Hoping the next few weeks will be a joy and the next eye-test perfect. I understand your DH's feelings towards those precious clamps. You can never have too many clamps!!
M5, Cars are self centered egocentric piles of scrap metal. They seldom think of our needs and requirements before going bust. All they think of is 'gimme more gas and change the oil. Seems it is never just one thing at a time that we might be able to afford fixing, no, it has to be one thing that leads to another , and then another.
Darius, the first batch of biscotti turned out OK.No nuts, just orange zest and Gran Marnier for flavoring. Should go good with that sweet Italian wine my bride brought back. I smell spaghetti cooking, better go pork out.

Tell me more about that biscotti..........sounds yummy, bal....

Do you get the feeling Robert is in an enviable place amongst this coterie of women?? LOL.

This message was edited Jun 7, 2005 9:39 PM

Whoops! Meant to go Rah! Rah! JULIE!! So glad everything went well and you can see already!

Me thinks he sorta likes it......

BTW, Robert,,,,,"that was a joke, son," about the thingy your're putting up and the house behind it picture....I KNEW it wasn't yours but a commercal property....Just KEEDING.....LOL

Hap

'Gocha Hap, figgered it was you 'funnin. "this coterie of women" ? Now how is enny uv usn's sposed ta fer sher nowe hoos relly a wimmin er not?? The anonymity of DG, unless of course there's been a picture or two posted, makes it a bit difficult to tell what a persons gender may be. Darius I, circa 500 BC, was King of Persia, whereas Darius the first of DG is a lovely woman, which we know from her photo. So maybe there are more guys just lurking about, incognito. I just like this thread and the great people on it.
By the by, the biscotti was 1 stick butter, 3/4 C sugar creamed,add 2 eggs and a bit of orange zest & liquor, mix 2 1/4 C flour w/ 1 1/2 tsp baking pwdr.& 1/4 tsp salt and sift into creamed mix, stir in 3/4 C almonds if using them. Divide in two,roll out, bake @ 350° for 20 to 30 minutes, cool and slice then rebake on sides for 5 or 10 minutes. Zo Zimple even a man can do it!!!!!! LOL
Oops, forgot about that,have to go out to the shop and check on my clamps. Oly was feeling a little rusty in the threads yesterday. Might need another injection of WD-40.

Sneaking in for a quick bedtime snack, nobody's looking cause you have all gone to bed already. That's one advantage of the time zone thing. I was weeding a half hour ago but quit when it got hard to see what was what. The owls were hooting earlier when I was doing my animal feeding chores and I saw the 3 young owls all in the same tree. By the time I went back to the house and got the camera one of them had flown but I did get pictures of the remaining two. The expression "serious as a tree full of owls" came to mind. I hope the pictures turned out good, if they did I will post something here.

At dinner time I looked out the dining room window just in time to see a lamb with it's head through the rail fence eating an iris bloom. I ran out and scared him away, then put a coffee can upside down over a seedling columbine that was also within reach. Later I saw a lamb munching on a pholx, well, that one will bush out as a result, as will the shasta daisys one of them was munching yesterday. It's something I hadn't planned for, but they will be out of here in another day or so. They're cute little munchers but I wish they would stick to grass and weeds.

Today I spent about 4 hours in town and after I got home I went to visit a neighbor and see all her pretty iris in bloom. She has some colors I need! I did get some weeding done but really need to concentrate on that tomorrow.

My next door neighbor was lubricating his hay baler today so he must be optomistic about the hay getting dry enough to bale. It didn't shower all day today, the sun was out for part of the day and the wind blew so maybe the hay will get dry enough to be baled soon. It lost some quality but is still good for feeder hay. The showery, cloudy and cool conditions are forecast for the rest of the week but the rain chance is down to 20%. Nobody is cutting hay right now, everybody is just trying to get something out of what is already down. Another nearby neighbor has some hay baled and stacked already, I hope it is dry enough because hay in a stack can catch fire from spontanous combustion and it happens every year to somebody around here who puts up hay that is just too damp. One neighbor lost 400 tons last year, that's a lot of hay but thankfully he had it insured and was able to find hay to buy to replace it to feed his cattle. Farming has a lot of risks most people don't think about.

Time for bed. Yawn...........

Yikes, woke up to thunder, lightning, and downpours. In the midst of it, I turned on the porch light and saw my best pair of shoes (almost new) Merrills out on the picnic table. I remember taking them off as DH was gonna rub my sore bunions. He had just been to the dentist and was still feeling the effect of whatever they gave him. Otherwise he would never touch my feet!! I enjoyed it while I could. Now I am ticked at myself for not bringing the shoes in. Oh well... good with the bad. My feet do feel better!

Went shopping with DIL last night. We cannot be let loose together - we both bought too much!! Laughing all the time. It was SOO hot here, that we decided to stop and try out those new 'sippable sundaes' = man are they good!!!!

Julie- glad the eyes are doing so well. I often play the game -'what could I live without' - my sight, my hearing, only one arm? I think the arm wins...

OK< who has cannas not in the ground??? I still have some to plant. The ones I did get in the ground are not sprouting so I am thinking they might have rotted.

yummm biscotti sounds good. My problem is that when I make it, I eat the whole batch...I just cannot leave it alone. Bal, do you have to use the liquor in it?? I only have beer on hand....

Speaking of cars, mine is pushing 100,000. We have replaced about everything there is to replace, so I am hoping it will go another 100,000. My kids are so embarassed at me sometimes. Last night DS was complaining that I was 'so cheap'. I said - you better be thankful I am cheap, you might inherit something when I kick the bucket. Both my kids live paycheck to paycheck - although one does a much better job at budgeting than the other. Seems like they have to have everything RIGHT NOW!

Another hot and steamy one coming up here!! Take care everyone.

Yeh, my car's getting on in years too....It's a 1990 Nissan 300 ZX.....I love it. I only have 94,000 miles on it, so at the age of 64, it last as long as I do....LOLOLOL I 've have had a few problems, but as you said, everything is fixed....Plus, all the new cars look alike.....can't tell a Honda from a Mercedes....Now with mine...............there is not doubt in anyone's mind that it's a Z.....I like that....If a new car comes out that is Really different, I may be tempted....as for now.....this is it.

Well, looky here......just looked outside and it's going to be another one of those just incredible.
CRAPPY DAYS........... It's suppose to be morning and it is as black as pitch out here. Plus, some of the clouds are rumbling....not a good sign.,,,,,,OH,,,,,it better get it out of it's system, for in 10 days when I retire, it better be nothing but sun......Hear that Mr. Sun......you better show your face!!!!! Just looked out again....It's really getting darker and darker....7am now and should have a lot of sun.....Oh well.....the kitchen at work as no windows, so what do I care....right...???? I just noticed that it's so dark, there is not a bird chirping anywhere.....Oh mercy.....maybe it's the end of the world................AAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...

Bye...loves to all........gots to go to work.....

HaP

GOOD morning, everyone! :-)

Looks like we're in for a couple of nasty storms here this morning, too. We can certainly use the rain before the grass turns into a 'crispy critter'. (Notice I didn't call it a "lawn"...VBG)

When I walked through the kitchen to get my first 'cuppa' (which I already need a second) I looked out the window at my backyard, and I realy felt blessed...again...to be able to *see* the effects of all the things I've accomplished. And probably, if the truth be told, blessed to have been able to *do* it! LOL

M5...I was thinking about getting a pair of those magnifying glasses. I actually resorted to trying to read my gardening mags with my old embroidery mag glass...and when it worked, I asked DH if he thought the glasses might be a good idea. Of course he didn't answer me (hehehe...as usual). So I take it from what you said, that they *do* work. And might just be the thing to get me through the next month or so.

The good news is that the doc told me the second surgery is *amazing*! She also told me that I had gotten corrective lens replacement AND that my eyesight, as it stands now is 20/30 and 20/25!!! WOW!! What a difference from the 20/4000 & 20/2000 a few weeks ago, eh? :-D And the really good part was that I could read farther down the chart with the 'new' eye after only one day than I can with the 'old' one after 3 weeks! (All I'm waiting for now is the correction for the close up (computer screen and reading) vision. Doc says that's only 3-4 weeks away.

Mary, I really had to LOL when I read about your lamb eating your iris. Not that it's funny to hear about 'pests' in the garden no matter how cute they are. But has anyone had TURTLE problems this year? :-D I have had snapping turtles invading my space for the last day or two. Y'all would have laughed yourselves silly watching me with a rake trying to convince a HUGE mama turtle to 'move along', I'm telling you, my adrenaline was in running in HIGH GEAR...I *didn't* know those creatures could JUMP *that* far...OR grab on to the teeth of a rake THAT ferociously! After I got her to STOP digging in my canna bed, she later decided that a spot under my $50.00 daylily was better anyway. Argh! (Oh, I don't *spend* that kind of money on a single daylily...I was the lucky recipient of a wonderful gift from a dear friend.)

Robert, you have a point with your comment about how do we *know* for sure we're talking to "wimmin" ? Several sessions back we did share photos, though. :-D But like DH tells me, that's not, necessarily, an good indication of who we're talking too. (He's always wanted to join some of my groups as "Philamena" and talk back to me. hehehe THANK goodness, he doesn't know how to type!) Oly, eh? That's a good name for a carpenter's helper! And that injection of WD-40 is something even I know about. Duct tape and WD-40 will fix just about anything, as far as I'm concerned. :-D

Hap! Retirement??!!! CONGRATULATIONS! I can speak from a year's experience, it's WONDERFUL!

Well, hubby (my resident weather prognosticator) just informed me that there's a RED CELL heading in our direction and that I'd better get OFF the computer before it gets here. What he doesn't realize is that if *I* shut down...HE doesn't have Internet access! (HAHAHA....)

Gotta run,
~julie~

LOL Julie send that rain over here I'm sick of dragging that @$# hose around.

And we have roses!!

Hap, are you going to be able to find enough to do after you retire??? LOL Retirement can be a killer for those workaholics that are cut adrift with nothing to occupy their waking moments. If, after a few days of retirement you find the boredom and endless sunshine of Florida more than you can handle, I'll offer you a position as Head Gardner and Lawn Engineer. Wages and Benefits are nil, but during our traditional weekly Summer the rain is markedly warmer. Congratulations, retirement is a very enjoyable profession and I bet you will love it. ( I've been 'toiling' at it for 14 years now)
Julie, the news just keeps getting better. That is quite a big improvement. Sorry to hear of the Attack of the Marauding Snappers. 'Betcha it would smart if one of them got hold of an appendage or two.
edited to add: The second biscotti run is out of the oven and much better. Crispy rather than cementicious! and laden with pecans, dried cranberries and citron.The dough was terribly sticky though. Darius, Queen of Biscotti makers, can you describe the ideal dough consistency? Hadn't thought about making any till I tasted yours and saw how good it can be. Rains back, better take a nap and let it go away.

This message was edited Jun 8, 2005 10:54 AM

Robert, my dough is usually somewhat sticky. At the end of mixing everything together, I often add another 1/4 cup or so of flour. I'm always afraid too much flour will de diastrous!

I drop mine by spoonfuls in somewhat of a log shape onto a coolie sheet with a silpat. I use the brush & egg wash to smooth them into better shaped loaves.

Julie, I am so pleased that you are pleased that your dr. is pleased that you are pleased....whew......ya know what I mean...Praise the Lord...

Bal...I hope that this retirement takes. I tried it 2 years ago and lasted 6 months. But I will be 65 in Sept so maybe I can sit still a little longer. I am an executive chef and the thrill of the kitchen is hard to leave...even harder to duplicate....it's a rush....every day....I can't describe it. But the body pains etc, I can.....I hurt. ...Everywhere....So I think it's time to hang up the towel.

I love my garden and I also like to paint. It didn't work 2 years ago, but I hope it does now...we will see......

Hap

Anybody home?