Coffee and...Part 31...! :-D

Good Morning everyone!

I see we have a new 'face' ...Hi mornin_gayle (MG)....glad to see!

All this talk about 2X4's and doghouse keys...sounds like my house!

DR...you must be doing something right...you got a kid that WORKS *and* built your a deck???? How wonderful is that! (Not to mention he is a good looking kid at the same time! :-)) Also wanted to tell you how happy I am for you that your mom is doing well...should be able come home soon?

Darius...please let us know about the results of that test.

Weather forecast last night says that this next week is going to be filled with the *possibility* of rain. (Well...I'll believe it when I see the puddles! LOL) But in the meantime, I'd better get my most tender plants into the garden shed...so I can at least get cuttings made and repot the houseplants so I'm not bringing centipedes and other 'nasties' in to haunt me for the winter.

I spent several hours on Friday (read that 'MOST of the day') sorting the variety of pots I've saved from spring planting into manageable stacks to be washed and stored to used next spring. I don't why I bother...new pots aren't *that* expensive. But then I can't pass up a seed pod either! LOL

Y'all have a good day!

~julie~

Morning, everyone! It is a very nice one here weather wise, fallish but lots of sun.
I am going to dig up the cherry tomato vines, nothing but a few green ones left and they are starting to split before the get ripe, wonder why that is?
After that I am going to stop at my neighbors , their two boys have a birthday with some gifts they are only a couple of days and a year apart and very, very active lol. She is a full time mother with two more girls, their ages are 13, 11, 10 and 4. They are the best neighbors anyone could wish for, always ready to give me a helping hand, I could not tell you how often they were on the spot when I needed help with my DH when he was so sick.
Maria

Morning all,
Hi DFoe, not a weed - definitely a flower but given the right circumstances it can spread itself. When its that beautiful you tend not to mind :>)))!
Hebe/ Veronica is a very small shrub. The flowers are blue, purple, pink or white depending on variety. There are loads of different varieties, some with reddish purple leaves too. The flowers are similar to those of the Vitex(Chaste Tree) but the bush is much smaller. They were a favourite of my DH, we always had several. They strike quite easily from cuttings. Butterflys love them.
http://www.butterflygarden.co.uk/plants/hebe.htm
shows you the flowers.
Got to go and clean the pool filters now - back later
Carol
Forgot to say they are mainly evergreen, not deciduous.

This message was edited Sep 18, 2005 10:06 AM

Mornin' GOBS...

Looks like everyone has been really busy. I need to start the fall wind-down / clean-up just don't have the energy. We did get a nice soaking rain Friday so I don't have to water, excepting all my plants in pots.

DR, the new deck looks wonderful and he's a cute young man.

Maria, how great to have good neighbors!

Mornin' all! I just got finished laying the weed cloth on my little walkway in the front. Got it down, edging done, stepping stones in place. Next week I'll get the pea gravel down around all the stones and it will be done. I'm pooped now!


Darius I need to plant some things before it gets too cold and clean up too. I got a bit of a start with what I did this morning - so feel a bit better. Plus needed the fresh air and exercise.

Well - I'm off to the showers - hoping to just rest and do fun stuff the rest of the day.

Have a great day everyone.

Marcia

Morning all.
Thanks, Darius and julie, yes, mom is home already and doing fine.
dcat, I have several Hebes and they are pretty blooming in the summer time. Easy to care for and are evergreen like okus says.
aria, good neighbors are the best thing ever. Keep them!

Well, off outside to get a lot done the garden. It was down to 38 degrees last nite so need to see what I have to do to put some things to bed. By the way, I have a few brugs. from Molly, in like 12" pots and the plants are about 18" tall now. How do I store them for the winter? Will the garage be okay if they don't a lot of light?

Happy rest of the weekend all,
DR (Carol)

Almost lunch time here in Mich!! I am eating a cup of animal crackers - I go on binges were I just can't get enough of those- I do the same with oreos!

Update on medical saga: Started back on my fall/spring dose of allegra d - wallla - pain gone- can this be?? I am taking a morning dose of allegra and my 3x a day amoxocillin. Between both of these meds, I feel completely normal - what ever that may be -cancelling the visit to the root canal doc tomorrow.

Aria - weather here is gorgeous too - cool at night, but sunny and nice during the day. I feel almost frantic tho - worried about getting all my stuff inside before the freeze comes. I have tons and tons of annuals that I overwinter - need to take cuttings etc. Phew, does this ever end??? We have the most wonderful neighbors too. In fact that is one of the reasons that we don't move. They are just like family to us - we vacation with them and are always sharing things and helping each other. The wife is a real sweetie and thinks her DH literally walks on water. I need to hang out more with her, as I tend to grouch at mine!! Plus she is my best gardening buddy.

Got out all the pumpkin stuff this morning - time for a change in the decorating scheme.

DR - can I borrow your son. Why is it mine disappear the moment we mention helping us!! But they expect us to drop everything and help them!!

Mom said she got some 'syrian meat pies' for us- she is picking them up on Wed. and bringing them out. I asked them to stay for dinner - after they left I checked the calendar and it is our anniversary. Yikes!! DH said 'so what - just like another day isn't it?' - guess he is right =after all these years!! Can you tell he isn't real sentimenal!

Folks came out last night and we went 'chinese'- very good. Came back and played rummycube outside. We all had on our coats as it was chilly - aren't we silly!! Just can't quite give up summer I guess!!

Julie - I never have washed out my pots - I just reuse them - never had a problem - Now that I've said that I'll probably have tons of plant deaths!!

Darius- get that new heater in yet??? If not, ya better kick that landlord in the hinny to get him going!

JUst came back from passing out presents now look what the boys found near my pond, a baby snapper! Boys will be boys
Maria

morning all.....have been out in the gardens, moving things and such. Pulled up the nonproducing, worm invaded tomatoes, fried green tomatoes for dinner, along with, I dunno, whatever I drag out of the freezer. Dug out some spreading rudbeckia, see if it will grow under the poison trees since it is so vigorous elsewhere. Moved a bunch of mums.

DH finished layering the front tiers, and the mums he put there earlier wilted the first day but have bounced back and now look fine. After the weather cools down I'll stick some tulip bulbs in alongside and we'll have some spring color, and the mums will disguise the tulips after they get done blooming and turn brown.

Made breakfast, cleaned up the kitchen, and don't plan much for the rest of the day, just whatever comes to mind. Love the cool nights. Slept better the last two nights than I did all summer. Called my DS in N.C. this morning. Ophelia knocked a huge pine down in their yard, so she had to call someone to come cut it up and take it away. Her DH is still up in Michigan, probably until hunting season is over. My DH is cutting up the big branch that came down in our storm earlier this week. His buddy will take the cut up wood to burn.

Maria I did it again, hit the wrong button and had to start over! LOL

Yay, Sarv, no pain!! What a relief. And Daisy, what a weekend, Mom's home, you got to raid the farmer's market (( always buy too much) so all's well with the world. Darius, keep us informed, you should have your test results Monday or Tuesday? Then the lung guy. Wishing you well. Julie, I'll believe rain when I see it. All we've gotten so far is promises! The only thing I'm going to water now is the stuff that was moved. I quit. Except for clean up and mulching for winter. And pulling weeds and thistles. Hmmmm that doesn't sound like quitting does it? lol Just as much work in fall as there is in spring, for those of us who can't live without gardens!!

Don't need the Traveling Twobyfour this week, movie and dinner Friday night, (so what if it was Denny's I didn't have to cook it or clean up after!!) and breakfast out on Saturday so he's out of the canine quarters for the time being. But, it's only a matter of time...LOL

Who left this chocolate bar on the counter? Thanks..there's nothing like chocolate to brighten your day!!!

Meezers, am getting paranoid why does this happen when you address me? lol
That is a beautiful job you are doing around your house
Maria

Maria, this is how it looked last year before the horsetail took over. This was September....

Again, a busy bunch. I am headed out to get the plants in, which have been waiting patiently (I hope) to get planted.
We, too, are still waiting for rain. Had one whole, very brief shower, in the past couple of months. The forecaster predicted that we will go into winter still in a drought situation (probably right on That forecast).
Need chocolate......got to find a counter....Ha, found the Dove squares that came home the other day....Thank the maker (from Star Wars--major fan here).
~~~~~~ Hello to mornin_gayle. You will see me occassionally...I pop up like the proverbial bad penny. Late to post, late to garden, late to meetings, late to appointments, late to return library books...
Off to the dirt....:0 see you all later.
Darius, hugs and good wishes...

Afternoon 'yall, just returned from a local "backyard" winery. We crushed 8 tons of Merlot grapes. Very noisy and sticky work. Sure hope he is successful. He's been distributing locally and seems to be off to a good start. Can't say the same for the very pricey Italian bottling machine though. Every run has several mechanical glitches. Yesterday it was double corking and couldn't be fixed. The Tech is supposed to come out and fix it. After a rest I get to replace all the shingles that had to be removed for installing the eight new insulated windows, then clean up the mess, then make inside trim for all the windows, and do a pattern shingling on the last unfinished sun-room wall, and clean up the mess, then wash a load of dishes and a bunch of grape-juice-sticky clothes, and clean up the mess. Do you get a feeling that I'm a really messy guy ? Probably right. My sweetheart doesn't get back from her jaunt to Saltspring Island till sometime late tomorrow thank goodness. Had to clear all the Brugs off the back deck to put in the windows and it sure looks a lot better. Don't know where I'm going to hide them for the winter yet. Would build a greenhouse, but I'm maxed out as far as lot coverage goes and the only place left is up ! Don't think DW would go for a greenhouse on the roof. Wonder if I could just take the roofing off and replace it with glass???? Anyway, can't ditherpock around any more, got lots to do. Here's a 'before'.

This is 'after', but prior to 'finished'.

Looks great Robert. I like the new window size better.

Just checking in to see what's happenin'...my DGD brought me over a luscious egg custard pie! There's more in the fridge...help yourself!

Robert, I love what you've done with those windows! (Ohhhh, that my DH would think in terms of putting a green house up on the roof! I'd be ecstatic! LOL)

M5...those mums are gorgeous...*Very* nice garden!

Hi Marcia G! "I'm Late...I'm Late...for a very important date" LOL (Loved it!)

Ooops...hubby is up from the basement (NO! He's not in the canine quarters! That's where he builds his RC planes.) Time for supper.

~julie~

Oh Bal - those new windows are VERY attractive!! And wow- how many brugs do you have?? I have several too - but put mine all in the ground - now it's about time to dig them all up!! I let them sit in the barn for awhile until they lose most of their leaves, then bring them inside to an unheated bedroom. I was not a faithful waterer/fertilizer this year. Next year I need to do better. I only have two that have names - I have been very remiss about keeping them straight. Have two pretty ones in bloom now - pink with white insides.. I wish I had kept them like trees- I have stalks coming out every which way - much harder to store.

Chopped back more stuff in the garden and labeled most of my dahlias. I want to put like colors together next year - this year I have orange next to pink - shocking to look at!!

DS still hasn't returned out ladder - grrr DH called him and he said AFTER the football game. It's now after 5pm - won't be able to do much with it now...

Looking thru a cream cheese cookbook - maybe I'll treat ya all to something sweet!!

Good afternoon .... busy busy busy! even that 2x4 has been busy! lol

And a first for me on Friday evening... my first motorcycle ride with yours truly driving! Look out everyone! Actually, I m rather proud of myself. It's something I always wanted to do so now I have learned. It's quite easy if u have learned to drive a manual transmission car or an ATV. The only thing I forgot was putting in the clutch a few times while downshifting. I always remembered up and missed twice going down. Oops! At least it doesn t grind like a car (or maybe I just couldnt hear it ? Ha ha!) I drove DS's Harley cuz it's lowered and I could actually get my feet flat on the ground. Can't even touch my toes on the ground on DH's Shadow.

My plant sale at work on Wed. was a big hit so that made me glad. I sold everything for $1. minimum. I now have $46. to donate to H.Kat. victims. And I have 2 sedum and 4 globe thistles left. Any takers? LMK (plus Julie's - planning on getting that mailed on Tues. ....finally) .

Been picking raspberry's every other day - about a quart each picking. Shared some at work - they disappeared in a few mins! pigs!! lol

Going for my second ride... talk to u all later! Have some raspberries, they're in the frig.

Hey, GOOD FOR YOU, kooger! Never too late to do something we've always wanted to do.

Hi everyone,

Seems like I've been sweating over this computer all day. Finally got a journal going and almost finished the list I wrote this morning of plant names. Don't be fooled though, there's more. Had a little frustrating trouble, but getting better at it.

This is helping me to review what I have and make decisions on whether to take them with me or not. Well, so far I haven't decided to leave anything. (This could be a transport problem)

Last night I discovered Yahoo chat. It was amazing. It aint just a chat, you can type or if you have a microphone you can talk through the computer. There were funny faces, jokes and sound effects and I played interactive pool until midnight. Even listened to two personal guitar solos and gave one myself. Can you imagine?

Been collecting seeds off of 4 o'clocks ladies. They are finally producing again after the storm. My notes show Julie, M5 and Sarv. Is this correct?

My DS and I went for biscuits and gravy at "Lil Red's Cookin" they do it well. We may just make this a Sunday tradition since we've done it 3 times in a row now. We got home and he washed my car, did my laundry, marinated steaks, and shelled some castor beans. Man do I have castor beans.

Well, he wants to go for a bike ride, so I guess I will and we can look at the gardens in the neighborhood. Then come back and grill those steaks.

Yum Yum.
See ya soon,
Molly

HI Kooger...could I get a couple of those globe thistles, too? If I can't make these grow...then I give up. I've tried probably 1`/2 doz purchased plants...and haven't managed to get them through the first winter for some reason. :-(

Howdy do Molly...yeppers! I'm one of those who wanted some 4 o'clock seeds. You play guitar, eh? I tried it many years ago...only problem was that me teacher quite after teaching me only one song. hehehe (Ohhhhh that biscuits and gravy sound GOOD! We're just about to sit down to ravioli and home made sauce...THEN we get to eat that custard pie (If y'all didn't finish off, that is. LOL)

~julie~

Hi Sarv, presently there are 72 brugs, with 7 in the ground.Don't really know where to winter them, it's a problem.The sunroom was OK for 4" pots, but these are in BIG pots now.Something creamcheesey sure sounds good.

Hooray for you Kooger.I love the looks and sound of motorcycles but was only a 13 year old passenger on my cousins when he scared the h## out of me. First and last time.

Molly, biscuits and gravy, what a treat! Trying to get cholesterol below 265 precludes any but a rare indulgence,otherwise I'd have them every morning. You have a gem of a son.

A taste of that custard pie would really hit the spot right about now.Something to ease the anger at just paying $40.00 for one bundle of cedar shingles that were supposed to be # 1's and look more like starters. Shouldn't complain, all forest products are up and quality is down so it's no surprise.

Enough of this lollygaging, back to work you loafer. Can't sit and chat with these lovely ladies all day.

Robert, I've brought my cholesterol down over several years from almost 400 to 220 at last check... all with diet because I'l allergic to the meds for it.

Lots of foods no longer on my diet, LOL.

I'm back.....had a wonderful time with DD in NYC....did all girly stuff and our mouths never closed for 4 days.

Hi Robert,

Don't dismiss the possibility of putting a GH on the roof. I put one off my second floor family room when I lived in Rochester, NY. I was up on stilts and I make a sitting area under it. It was gas heated so that I would have it for the winter. I loved it. Think about it.

Hap

Busy bunch, Robert that looks terrific! You are a craftsman, for sure. Custard pie, raspberries, I think I'm in heaven.! Was only on a motorcycle once, friend had a big BMW. It was fun but I could never picture myself on one, with me in charge!! Good for anyone brave enough to do it!

Not sure what I want to bring in this year. I have those cheap little japanese maples that are potted, and I thought about putting them in a southwest corner where they will be protected from the north winds over winter. I hate to bring them in because I have to get water from an outside tap all winter for my house plants and sometimes that means plowing through a drift. Told DIL she is getting my big ones as soon as she has space for them.

Yes, Molly I am on your list for the white four o'clocks. I finally see some blooming underneath my climber, about four plants, so I'll have to keep an eye open for seeds so I can save them for next year.

The fried green tomatoes were not very good. Ham casserole was though. Market had a "meal deal" if you bought a half a smoked Hillshire Farms ham, you got a dozen dinner rolls, a 16 oz pkg of frozen veggies, and a boneless turkey breast roast. Ham is pre cooked and was very nice. Cut it up and saved the meaty bone for cold weather soup, and have three other large boneless chunks for other meals. DH's buddy stayed for dinner after working with DH all day. Julie, those mums were last years, although we still have some that will bloom this year. They really are hardy.

I'm due for a sit down. Maybe run the tub and have a nice soak. After I have the egg custard pie sprinkled with raspberries. Hope it cools off soon. I need to bake something!!!

Gosh folks, I feel like a sloth!! Haven't done much all day. Went to church, then home to lunch. I fixed eggplant parmesan, boy was it good. Rested and read this afternoon, had to take DGD home about 5:00. Stopped at HD and Okus, they had HEBE!! I looked at it, but didn't buy as DS has me some. HD also had bulbs on sale, got 60 tulips and 60 daffiodils. I plan to put the daffodils near the day lilies then the lilies can hide the foliage later on. Don't know about the tulips. I have been searching the garden art forums, as I want to make a birdbath. Got some great ideas.

Tomorrow I am shampooing carpets, that is until my back gives out. Then after that I have all my garden stuff to clean up. I wash
and disinfect all my pots and trays. Don't want to have any kind of diseases before I even start. There is always something to be done.

Has anybody got any winter projects in mind? I would be interested to know what you plan to do.

Well I am going to turn in, I know it's still early, but have slept well the last couple of nights. Hope to take advantage of the cooler weather and saw some logs!! LOL.

Morning- supposed to be a stormy day here- even talking tornados! Yikes, batten down the hatches!! (note to self to go close the greenhouse door)

Yup - Molly I was another 4 oclock person. I've collected a ton of seeds myself and have them all in little cups.

Oh motorcycles...fond memories. When I was in high school, I had to walk a long ways to the bus stop. On the route there was a male that I was interested in....he had a motorcycle. Now my parents had specifically forbid me riding on one, but outta sight, outta mind. You guessed it, I rode to school for weeks (no helmet either) with that guy. Must of let it slip because I was grounded for the deed. How do parents find out about such things?? LOL

Our neighbors were out picking their raspberries. They have latham everbearing - man do they produce. I may have to get myself some of those for next year. Something will have to go in the garden - maybe the corn - it was nonproductive this year....

Yikes- just heard the weather - another hurricane - Rita. Oh, I hope she fizzles out...enough is enough!

DS and DIL stopped over with our ladder = didn't come until 7pm grrrr I wanted to use it yesterday! Oh well. They stayed for dinner- ham on the grill, baked beans and macaroni (yuck from a box) DH cooked and cleaned up, so I won't complain!! I just sat like a queen and looked at cookbooks.

Never had biscuits and gravy...deprived I think!! Take care.

Morning All... The day is starting out frustrating for me. My doctor's nurse is out again today. Turns out that once a month they get a 4 day weekend. Soooo, no news yet on the untrasound on the cyst on my liver. And, it's a loooong 8 days away for the lung appt.

Then there's Hurricane Rita, expected to become a Cat 3 and aiming for Texas to Louisiana sometime late this week.

My sis is supposed to leave FL on Tues or Wed to come up here and we will go to get mother's ashes and scatter them. That trip could change if Rita gets a more northerly track. She won't want to leave her house and the kid.

Good morning everyone. Wow! It takes a long time to catch up with all of you when I've been gone a few days. Everyone is always so busy. Welcome to the new folks, come back often.

Friday I drove into the central Oregon high desert (elevation 4500 ft) and competed in a 50 mile endurance ride with Breezy on Saturday. He did fine, we had a great day and finished about in the middle of the pack which is fast for us. There were 50 entries on the 50 mile ride and a total of 92 for all the distances. The weather was great on ride day, chilly (lower 30's) in the morning and up to about 75 by mid afternoon. Breezy wanted to go faster than I wanted him to all day, he passed all the vet checks without any problems and we were done by 2:15. I stayed another night because it is too far to drive home after riding all day and not sleeping well the night before. Sunday morning I woke up to frost and had ice in the horse's water buckets. No wonder I needed to run the furnace in the living quarters during the night. I hunted up my warm gloves and ice scraper to use on the windshield before leaving camp shortly before the sun came up. The thermometer in the truck said it was 25. I'm glad the temperature was a little warmer for saddling up and starting out on ride day. One year when we stared the ride at 6am it was only 12 degrees, other years it gets to be over 100 by mid day. The desert is an extreme climate.

Today I need to pick beans. The bush beans are still producing and now I think the pole beans are ready too. I'll cook a big pot of them with some sausage and homegrown potatoes for dinner. This year I grew a new (to me) variety of corn called Incredible and boy is it a good one! We eat corn every night when it is producing. Our season is quite short here, and with cool nights (last night 38) something that says 65 days on the packet takes about 1/3 longer. Next year I am going to put some clear plastic over the corn planting area to warm the soil before I set out my started plants to give them more of a boost so we can eat corn earlier. We had a cool wet spring so that slowed things down this year, and then it went immediately into hot summer and heat stressed the plants. These never looked heat stressed tho my other trial varieties did so I will be sure to grow it again next year.

This afternoon I'm taking a neighbor who lives about 2 miles up the road (only 2 houses between us) to visit another neighbor 6 miles away (past 2 more houses) and tour her gardens. She has a pond and a stream (dry now) and has planted all kinds of things in areas with different sun exposures and water availability. It's a real study in what will survive where since she doesn't baby anything, just plants it and says if it lives it lives. I have some of her plants, she has some of mine and of course others she got from other places. She has deer wandering through so has quite a few plants they would rather not eat, but then of course there are apple trees in her yard and the deer prefer the fallen apples and then maybe are too full to bother with anything else.

Time to get some breakfast and feed my horses. Gee, where'd the time go? I just sat down. See ya.

Wow, everyone was so busy this weekend.
Guess I was too. No cooking tho.
Was outside pretty much all weekend. Had to repot a blue potatoe bush that was in a pot with creeping lobelia which took all morning long to do. I will tell you guys. Do not, I repeat, do NOT buy creeping lobelia. It spreads and takes over everywhere! I had bought this tiny 4" pot last year and boy, did it spread! I think I finally have gotten rid of it. The poor blue pot. bush had to got down to bare roots to get rid of all the roots of the lobelia tho.
Finished my shade bed. Mowed and edged the lawns. Planted a bunch of perennial plants finally! Only have a few left to do.
Boy, those raspberries sure sound good. I have a few different kinds now. Need to investigate the Latham variety tho.
Never had a egg custard pie.
Those windows sure look good, Balvenie. You are quite a good carpenter.
Sarv, so what if your dahlias colors are mixed. You should see mine, lol. But I am going to dig them up this year and maybe try to do the color scheme better along with their heights.
Darius, hope you get some results back soon. The doc. are never in when you want them!
Well, off to work today. Julie, will send the Sweet Woodruff tomorrow. I didn't have the time or energy to dig it out of the whiskey barrel yet. It will be a chore like the creeping lobelia. I wish I could dump out the plants in it to get it all, but it has a tall and big Hall's honeysuckle in it.
Later,
Carol

Checking in to say "Howdy!"

Darius...that's *really* frustrating for you.

~julie~
P.S. Had more to say...just lost it in a whirlwind I guess. :-(

Hi Everyone,

Busy weekend. Having finished the grant application I could work in the garden without guilt. DH pitched in and we got the sod lifted from what will be my new hosta garden.

Here's a pic from another angle. One drawback - my phone line runs trhough it. I knew it was there and fortunately we didn't damage it. I called Bell and asked to have it located. they turned me over to another agency which locates for them and which eventually came out and marked the high voltage lines to the street lights, the gas lines, but NOT my phone lines. Said Bell had given me permission to dig a foot. Well, we damaged these lines in 1991 having the lawn aerated; so I knew they weren't a foot down. The orange line marks where the phone line goes. It goes under the tree roots. Haven't yet determined if it surfaces farther south.

Here's a close-up of those lines - all of 2 inches under the soil surface. Bell will move it, but not until Oct. 3 or around then.

One other area I worked on and hope to fill with hostas. Prior to Saturday, this was FILLED with violets, forget-me-nots, weeds, and sedum. Soil is pretty good; so it is virtually ready to plant.
Ann

Off to the garden now while we have a nice day to work.

yeah, I've heard that "it's 2 feet down" before too... hmmpf.

Mary, would love some of those fresh beans and pork. best way to cook 'em IMHO - haven't done a veggie garden in years. one day will establish one in an area on the new /next door/ lot after Ive done in the witch grass that would own it if I don't. Well! that was clear ? hunh?

Darius, so again it's waiting on the Sis and kid... though I don't blame her for not wanting to leave said kid, and certainly wouldn't want to have her along. It would be more pleasant to spread the ashes on a nice bright day. How much our lives have been tangled with the weather this year. More than most?

Ruffles, all the best ground covers like to intermix their roots. It's a survival thint I think. And as my DS pointed out I garden with mostly what other folk call ground covers. Lacey is my idol. "Gardening with Groundcovers" shows the use I have made of it over the years. I wouldn't part with my carpet of pink sapponaria in the spring but it has drowned out a few Iris and a coupla monarda. Gotta go, DS here and the details of finishing this project continue.
Later, ~Blooms

Ann,

You would be surprised what this earth of ours will heave after a fashion.

Last year I cleared weeds out of the corner of my yard for a veggie garden. Not just weeds, bits of glass, broken bathroom wall tiles, tennis balls, nails.

Last month when I again cleared the spot for this years veggies, I went through the same old thing. I know northern earth can heave from freezing and thawing. Well, we even get it here too without the freezing. Last spring, my yard heaved up a blue frisbee toy from under the sod. It didn't come from across the fence. It was stuck under the sod runners and had come from underground.

I expect the same thing can happen with cable lines. And haven't I been thinking about having my utility lines buried at my new place? So I can see the problems burying them can have.

Molly
:^)))

Ahh buried lines. I've got a good one. We live on two acres of land. House is towards the front and barn at the very back of the lot. We ran a phone line/elect line to the barn from the house. We had a septic problem and the septic guys came out to augar where to put in a new drain field. They stuck the augar down and promptly chopped into our phone/ele line - now in all that two acres- what is the chance of that happening. I happened to be home and saw the guy jump. The guy taped it back up and you guessed it- lasted for a couple of months - moisture got in it. DH ended up digging it up and redoing it all himself. The guy who taped it up made light of it - like he hadn't really done anything wrong. We ended up NOT putting in a new drain field - I think they were quacks....

Went in to our local garden store and bought 100 muscari - gosh I just love those little things in the spring. It was buy one bag of 50 for 7.99 and get another bag free!! How could I pass it up!! Gas was down to 1.53 in town and I should have filled up. The news just said the hurricane might hit the rigs near Texas - oh woe is me!

Molly, I've been reading about you in regards to Chele' s new house. Benjamin Moore - I most always get that brand too - lucky me! I did get some from HD and when I took off the blue tape I had the problem of the paint peeling off in sheets. Do you really think BM paint wouldn't have done that? Wish you were closer to give me some pointers on what color where- I have absolutely NO decorating sense. I don't know if I will like it until it is done - that's why I have off white in my entire house!! Oh, I did paint my kitchen a butterscotch color this winter - I like it!

DH is off to scout hunting places with DS - now if I had asked to go for a walk - you know what the answer would have been + NO NO NO>

VIola- I have huge hosta beds under pines. They look gorgeous, however they have really grown together. I need to pull some up - just need to make some more beds. The only problem is that we have several pines that are dieing, so my shade beds may become sun beds before I know it. I went on a garden tour of a guy who grew hostas - he ringed each bed with the same kind of hosta - man oh man- was it exquisite. Mine is just helter skelter. It was so eye catching. If I ever redo mine, I will do that. He also had a huge deck and the entire deck edge was covered with individual pots of impatients - now that was a bit much.

Darius - tomorrow will come soon- give that doc office a call asap!! And let us know the results. Hope your sis is able to come up for a visit. I just told my kids yesterday to creamate me and dump my ashes amongst my flowers. I heard them say to each other- what if she isn't living here anymore? Hmm, gotta give that one some thought!

Time to watch Oprah!

sarv48 REALLY planning hosta beds sounds like a lot of trouble. I think about it a bit, plant and them move them when they get too large or I don't like the way they look or think maybe they want more light or more shade. lol How many of you REALLY plan your gardens? Or are you like me that there is sort of a plan in mind until you go shopping and just HAVE to have this plant or that?

I bought a garden book and wrote nothing in it for 1 1/2 years. Then I started to at least write down new perennials. Think I'll go to loose leaf instead. At least I have comprehensive lists, complete with pictures, of the (now 46, thanks to Sanannie) varieties of hostas I have and similar lists of the ones I want.

I was down 2 pounds in the weight loss challenge - that's an extra 1/2 hosta in the spring. ;-)

Ann

Busy busy busy....I've been without internet all day. We had a good storm blow in last night, and I was just about to turn off the main switch for the computer and cable, when I heard a little pop like when a light bulb blows.....thought it took out the netgear interface because this morning I couldn't get on the 'net. Called TimeWarner, and, you guessed it, busy signal. All day. So, I packed up a chocolate bar, and went to see "An Unfinished Life" which was very good.

Came home to a message on the machine. DD invited me over to "help" make apple pies and pasties.....in her inconvenient kitchen. I suppose I disappointed her because I said no.....unless she wanted to do it here. Plus, I haven't a square inch to spare in the freezer. Between the vegetables I froze this summer, and that huge ham, I could barely get the bag of ice back in. Not to mention I can make 4 pasties for us in under an hour, and I don't have to drive 40 miles to do it. Bad mom. ###slap###

Maybe by tomorrow Darius will finally get some news from the dr. They don't seem to understand how we sit on pins and needles after they insist we need some kind of test....it is frustrating.

Mary, what a fabulous ride. How lucky it was comfortable the day of, instead of freezing cold. You have remarkable endurance!

All those new garden beds!! You've got me thinking I should maybe enlarge ours just a wee bit....Since I need to move some hosta (see pic) that would be a good opportunity to do just that! I want to complete that circle of the pale ones under the tree. There's three or four "strays" out along the edge, and two or three dark ones right under the tree. They don't much like the hot sun out on the edge of the bed, but we couldn't tell what color they were when we moved them the first time, the buds were just coming up in spring. Now I'll have to mark them!

Those underground connections are tricky. When they put in our cable connection, they left the wire laying on top of the ground for about three months. A week after they came and buried it, we got a postcard apologizing for the delay and saying they would be out in about a month.........LOL Makes you wonder if they ever know what they are doing....

Got to start some dinner. Gonna try that tomato pie someone posted in the Recipe Forum, and make Zatarain's Dirty Rice. Had the box for a long time and just never used it. Hope we like it. I'm sure it would be better made from scratch but I'm becoming a lazy cook. If it's not good, I'll do it the right way next time.

Nice rain most of the night, wish there were more. Not like Rita, just a good soaker. Windy and sunny right now. Hope you got some if you need it, and not if you don't.

Darius, we took my dear step mom's ashes and spread them in the woods at the property which was her parent's original homestead, and later was purchased by my dad after it had been out of the family for years. I think she would have liked that.

Edited for lousy spacing............

This message was edited Sep 19, 2005 4:33 PM