Coffee and...Part 50...! :-D

Yummy, sound just Yummy.

Now to go get something to snack on so the tummy doesn't rumble till dinner....

Electric fences are that quick to put up. I have a electric fence around the perimeter of the property, not sure where or how to turn it on and off yet though.

wow- you gals have been gabbing up a ton since this morning!

Did someone say they wanted to come and clean MY house??? Come on over- I'll even make some homemade cookies for us to munch on afterwards (no oreos in the house ya know...)

Just got back from lunch and movies. Went saw "flightplan" with Jodi Foster- spellbinding- see it if you can. I sat on the edge of my seat (gal next to me snored and I had to elbow her once) LOL we laughed about it.. She has been burning the candle at both ends and it finally caught up with her.

Been thinking about making one of those boiled wool bags that everyone is carrying (in Mich anyways) Anybody made one yet? I have the pattern, just need to find some wool yarn.

Maria- sounds like Samson is making himself at home. Do you have a crate for him? When you leave the house you could put him in it - for his protection and your house!! Bet ya end up giving him treats when you eat - not polite to eat in front of someone ya know... lol Those underground fence things are wonderful. Neighbors on both sides have them. Once in a while their dog comes over for a visit, but not often.

Just found our cat with another cat -and it doesn't belong here!! It's a stray I think. We had her fixed several years ago - do they still get the 'urge'??? She wouldn't come when called, but went scampering off with the stray. Naughty girl, no wonder she doesn't want to come home during the day. Sigh, if it's not the teenager you worry about, it's your pets.

DH told me he wants me to mow up the leaves - so guess I better do his bidding (for once anyhow) I overate at lunch so I need to get moving. Didn't have any popcorn tho (patting myself on the back..)

M5 - thanks for the reminder. I meant to do this before I went to town this morning, but I forgot. Is the Complete Guide the 2006 Annual with all the recipes for the 2005 magazines? I couldn't find it on the website, so I'm not sure what it is. If it is the 2006 Annual, I would like one. If you find Christmas Cookbook 3-Book Collection, Best of Country Chicken, or Slow Cooker at half price, I'll take two Christmas, two Slow Cooker, and one Best of Country Chicken.

Thanks a bunch!
Jody

Hello again. The rain has arrived. I spent about 2 hours working in the wind before the rain got here. Somebody here said they were having 70 with wind, wanna trade? We have 35 and I got cold even all bundled up. There is a big storm coming in off the Pacific, gusts on Oregon's SW corner were measured at 98mph this morning. We won't get anything like that but gusts to 25 are happening now and I emagine they will get stronger in the next few hours. I was picking up hoses and marker sticks in the vegie garden, brought a yellow pear tomato plant to hang up in the shop, cage and all because it had a lot of tomatoes on it that would have come off if I had taken the cage off. The bush beans were pulled up and thrown over the fence near the compost pile, squash vines, tomato and potato vines, all got the heave ho over the fence. All that is left to remove are 2 bean teepees and a bunch of cabbages that split. Some of the cabbage might be salvagable. I was almost ready to rototill and the rain started. One year I was down there rototilling with snow falling. DH should have taken a picture of that and called it " Die Hard Gardener".

Julie, you were wondering if my horse was behaving better, ummm, that depends on which horse. I have the one for sale who kept bucking me off, she needs a better rider and I am tired of flying lessons with hard landings. The lasagna bed is in the beginning stages, windmill not installed yet. Today I brought an old hand cultivator with a wheel up from the vegie garden, I think it and the windmill will look good together. I hope to get more cardboard soon (bottom layer) then spread out the soil I hauled and piled up, move a few daylilies into it and install the windmill, it will have to be anchored to some heavy timbers to keep it from blowing over. I don't know that I will get all that done before winter hits because I still have a few other projects.

Time to make that apple crisp I was talking about yesterday. I'll let you know when it's ready....

Hi y'all
Just heard from Darius and she should be here around7:30 or so. Supper's all ready, and I'm excited! :-) Won't tell you any details, cause she might head for the puter when she gets here. Don't want any surprises spoiled. It was her birthday, though ... ya know! ;) Maybe I can get some pics to post. ... Elaine

Okay, another silly question from the newbie here. What on earth is a lasagna garden. I am hoping tomatoes, herbs and such. Please do share....

Just got another call from the directors office. Not only have they relocated my office to a HS campus, my office is connected to the Deans office. OH Boy. I am not sure who I made mad and how but it was a doozy. I am really beginning to wonder if I made a mistake when I accepted this extended contract.

OH well, apple crisp and a bottle of wine for me. Or a bottle of wine at least.

I was watering this morning a discovered my Datura had a beautiful open flower on it. Made me smile. Hope everyones day is well

Carat - glad you asked about the lasagna garden. LOL I'm picturing lasagna noodles sticking out of the dirt,

Mary - if I could get half of what you do in a day done, I would be so happy!

Darius - Happy Birthday! Hope you and Elaine have a nice dinner.

Maria - are you having too much fun with Samson to "talk?"

Having dinner with friends tonight. See you all later.

Jody

Ok folks, the apple crisp is just out of the oven, wait a few minutes before you try to eat it or you will blister your mouth! I brought vanilla ice cream for the top. UMMMMM.

Carat and Jasmeer, I have an old thread in the Garden Talk forum that shows my original lasagna bed. Click on my name, go to threads I started in Garden Talk, and you will find it. the title is Lasagna Bed, So Far. The idea is that you pile things up in layers and let them decay and never stir it, just like lasagna, a layer of this, a layer of that. Dig a hole and plant something adding potting soil if you are in too much of a hurry to wait for the decay process. The first layer is cardboard or lots of newspaper to smother the weeds, then you add leaves, grass clippings, dirt, etc. A foot of it will rot down to just a few inches so just add more as you have it. As you will see from the pictures on the thread, stuff grew fantastically in mine. When I got a windmill for Christmas last year I started planning another one but have just barely gotten it started. I should take pictures of the new one, yes, I will do that, maybe tomorrow.

When I say that the horse needs a better rider I mean that she needs a more relaxed, confident rider who is better balanced than I am so when she spooks (jumps sideways or stops suddenly) at something she thinks is dangerous the rider goes with her. She can handle that but can't handle me way off balance up there on her, that scares her more and it just gets worse from that point. I have come off her too many times to relax when I ride her, and she picks up on that so that makes her nervous. So then she is looking for whatever I am worried about. Not good. The friend who is selling her for me says she has two people interested already after just advertising for a couple of days. That friend rode her in the 75 mile event last weekend and loved her. We throught it would be a good selling point if the prospective buyers could talk to somebody who rode her and had no problems.

Elaine, you and Darius have a good time but don't forget to let us know what you are up to.... We want to be in on the fun.

Mary Thank you and it is nothing of what I thought. How funny and very interesting. I will be checking out that thread when I get caught up here.

Got the soil and water tests back. I am having the hard copies mailed to me since I really haven't a clue what they mean. The lady at the extension office was so sweet. She said that the water from the well and stream are clean and clear. The leach lines are good and the septic also good. I have great soil in the pasture area, they believe that a cover crop of clover was planted and then died off cause no one was there to cut and till it. They believe the wooded area must have more then just a few black walnut trees in there. The soil in several spots contains large amounts of the poison it produces. She suggests having most if not all removed as soon as possible. The inspector that went out said that while he was gathering the samples he discovered several live oak trees with the trunks diameter of at least 60 inches. She kind of joked that if all else fails we could sell the live oaks for a years income. That was shocking to hear. Once I get the test results here I can call her and she will go over them with me.

So, the house checks out, the land checks out, water is good, now to just get the loan officer to stop calling me the little woman and all will be on its way.

Just finished posting a while back when DG poofed the whole thing and I could not get back into it, guess Dave had a little problem

I ws saying I wish I had known about the lasagna garden, Mary, a few days ago I extended one of my gardens so I'd have more room for a few vegetables, .Have hardly any drainage, soil here is nothing but clay, I think I should have become a potter and not a gardener, LOL after having it dug peatmoss, manure and other good mulch was used to replace tons of 'clay',

Casey, what have you finally decided to do with the chicken ?

Sarv, I am getting a crate tomorrow for Samson. have plenty room in the garage and I do need to go for errands and dr. appointments. I bet he'll hate it, poor baby! Glad you had a good time at your lincheon.

Samson and I had a very nice nap much earlier, Jody, guess I neede to make up for only a few hours of sleep night before. he is just great to have around but my neighbor worried about me, when she saw how rampunctious he is, she said he will knock you over like nothing, don't think you weigh much more than he does lol, she most certainly is exaggeratorating lol
Maria

Hi everyone,

It's been a busy day. (Did we expect anything different?) Stopped by my church en route to picking up grandtwins and sought some advice from our pastor on which of the requests for my fridge, he thought was most valid. I had narrowed it down to a couple but was having difficulty making a final decision. Also got lots of new music in the binders for the handbell group.

Got confirmation that we will play at the American Embassy on Dec. 9. I get my hairs cut next Thursday about a block from the Embassy and will visit. They said bring as little with me as possible. Things like cell phones, lipsticks, and hand cream will have to be surrendered at the door and will be returned when I leave. I'm betting they won't let me bring the tools for my handbells - assorted screwdrivers, plastic springs, etc.when we perform. I'll ask next week. I ended up this evening taking a bell completely apart because the restraining screw on the clapper had broken and it was too small for me to get my hand in to replace it without taking it apart.

By but they were a chatty bunch at bell practice. I hope my impatience didn't show too much, but I had the rehearsal plaaned down to the minute and we didn't get through as much as I had hoped because they weren't paying attention. If they want to be ready for the US Embassy gig as well as playing in church on Nov. 27 and Dec. 11, they need to pull together a bit better.

I also got a pile of tulips and daffodils planted in my new garden. Thought I was finished until I went inside and saw the crocuses I forgot. I'll get to them on the weekend. They shouldn't bee too difficult too plant with a trowel. I use a spade for the others to get them good and deep - as much as a foot deep. Doesn't get cold quite as fast and they are less likely to become squirrel food.

Julie, so glad to hear that you are feeling better.

M5, my replacement is younger, and VERY experienced working with charities. His business card says, "xx consulting - specializing in Charitable and Nonprofit Organizations". He seems easy to get along with and understands the necessity to let the volunteers keep running the place (or thinking they do). LOL He's indicated he won't feel threatened if I don't actually leave; so I expect to hang around at least some of the time, doing only what I WANT to do, not what the latest deadline dictates. ;-) I think he'll be strong enough to tell me to butt out if I overstep my bounds.

Maria, so glad that you and Samson are getting along. I, myself, prefer cats - too bad you are allergic - but I know that the dog will be really good company for you. And once you come to an agreement about the lease, wallking him should be good for you as well.

suzieq2761 - I don't believe I've welcomed you either. Hope you stay and have lots of coffee.

Enjoyed the story about the cat chasing the dog. When we bought our house in 1970, the neighbour two doors down the street had a large German Shepherd. A year or so later it which decided to make a bold move on my cat. It was one of the funniest things I've ever seen when my normally placid cat turned around and chased the dog back down the street to its own house. Don't know how my cat knew the dog was really afraid of cats, but she did.

Re golf, maybe for my retirement. Have never played and don't really know why. Maybe because DH doesn't. I admire those that play well.

mornin_gayle - I vote real tree. But some of the artificial are really good these days. For years we trapsed through knee-deep snow to tree farms looking for the perfect tree to cut and bring in - usually 10 1/2 feet high. Some of the spruces we had we almost as wide as they were high. And then there was the year that the trunk was really crooked but we didn't notice until it fell over.

Nowadays, I might almost be happy with a good artificial tree, but the rest of the family won't consider it. We haven't cut our own the last few years but one of the local hospitals sells lovely Balsam Fir which hold their needles well. We generally settle for around 9 feet now.

I missed something. What's OCD?

Casey, lovely news about the Datura.

Best wishes to Darius, should she check in, for a safe journey.

Wow! Nearly 10:30 here already. I found out this morning how many nights of staying up till 1 am it would take for me to finally sleep until the alarm went off in standard time. Should do something about the sleep deficit.

Good night, all

Ann

Hi everyone
Think I've tuckered Darius out, as she's turned in tonight. We've had a wonderful time getting to know each other. Sat around and chatted about plants and DG all night. She's a smart one ... I can tell you that! I've already learned a lot since she's been here. Got a pic of her with her birthday cake and will try to post it soon. Don't know if it turned out, but we'll see. Well, it's late, so I'm off to bed. ... Elaine

So glad you both had a nice visit
Anne

Chat, chat, chat, and chat some more. Don't you guys have any respect for a harried, rushed DG member? How do you think I am going to keep up at this rate?LOL I have thoroughly enjoyed reading today's posts. The only thing missing, where's bal and eweed? Everybody else has checked in, so do we need to post and APB on them? There's just too much to comment on, except to say I have enjoyed the dog vs cat stories. We were owners of several German Shepherds years ago, and one in particular hated cats. I was walking him one day, when he jerked the leash out of my hand, ran across the street, and attacked and killed a cat on the owners front porch, with them sitting right there. They were an elderly couple, and of course this was the family pet. I apologized profusely, offered to get them another cat etc, boy did I feel horrible. From then on, I kept a tight rein on him when we walked in that direction. Maria, I cannot tell you how happy I am that you have Samson. I agree, in no time at all he will have you properly trained!!! The thing I like about dogs, is that you can talk to them, they love the attention, you can tell them anything, and not have to worry about it being repeated, except for the dog who belongs to one of us, who writes letters. Now that would make me nervous!! My Mr. B. likes a ride in the car at least once a day. Since DM lives only about 1/4 mile up the road, I load him in the car and drive there once a day, so he can hang his head out the window, and enjoy the wind in his hair. I am getting excited about your move Carat. 14 acres--you will have it filled in no time. Sarv, I think that spayed/neutered pets still have the urge sometimes, my Mr. B humps the calico cat on a regular basis. When we have a litter of cadogs, I will let you have the pick of the litter.!!

Well the church meeting was good. Lots of good food, as this is pot luck, with the exception of the hostess furnishing the meat and drink. Glad it only happens once a month, as I would be considerably larger than I am now. Took some fun out of it when the lady across the table said that she had been sick all day. Now will be waiting to see if I caught her virus. Dang, don't people know that when you are sick, you stay home.

Well,I am off to bed. Have been sleeping so well lately, that it is almost scary. If it is the Tylenol, Simply Sleep, I am buying stock in the company tomorrow.

Night all, sleep soundly, dream good dreams, and awake ready to tackly a new day.

I made it. I have been getting the website not responding for quite a while. Now I am ready for nite nite.

Darius, I am so glad that you made it safely and I hope you enjoyed your visit as much as Elaine did. Please be careful on the next leg and let us know when you get there. You know how us mother hens worry.

Well I am exhausted from reading all your posts so let me catch up on a couple others. Sweet dreams everyone.

Casey

Devocat well I am here it's just you ladies are superior to my typing skills and I can't keep up with you all. I am more at home in my gh or my dirt or my shop than I am on this keyboard. Jenny girl ate 20 ounces of food today plus some of my sandwitch and attacked Mary the cat a few times lol that cat is so good to her it's like she knows Jenny is just a baby because she just lets her maul her untill she gets enough then she grabs on and they wrestle Mary is one nice cat.Being home I made a meat loaf yesterday and last night Linda ask whats for dinner tomorrow night lol what is she thinkingI can't do this everyday to much work.mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmeat loaf again tonight but gonna try roasting a chicken tomorrow hey I can smoke them in my smoke house so how hard can it be to do in the oven? Started fingering my tomatoe seeds and tomorrow will spend a bit of time ordering a few and some peppers seeds cant say enough good about Banana Hybrid Surpreme and some onions , Starting onion seeds Dec 1 so I better get them bought .Guess I better get the Petunia seeds ordered to about 500 and 200 of those will be waves. I know boring so I will shut up lol night all Ernie

Yum Ernie = those tomatoes look yummy - ours have bitten the dust and I sorely miss them. You start your own waves. You must give me pointers...where do you order your seeds, when do you start them etc. I love those things!!

Going to be another unusual warm day for Michigan. I must plant about 50 bulbs and then I will be done for the year and NO ONE let me buy anymore - please....

I was at wally world on Wed and picked up three amaryllis bulbs. Yesterday I thought I would pot them up, but DRAT - they were no where to be found. I searched the car, trunk, house, - then called wallyworld- they told me to bring the receipt in. I hate those darn carasoules (spx) with the bags on them - so easy to forget something. At least I am hoping it won't be a hassle!! But with gas still high, I hate to drive all the way in there - I know I will stop somewhere and spend some more $$.

mg- we've had an artificial tree for years. We heated solely with wood for several years and the real ones ended up being twigs by xmas. But I do miss the smell - I just burn pine scented candles. My artificial is about 20 yrs old and is a sad looking thing. It has lost many, many of it's greenery things. My kids are agast that I am still using it, but I am sentimental. If I were to get a new one, I certainly would get one with the lights already on it. I always put mine up Thanksiving weekend. I love xmas lights!

defo -your dog with WHAT!!! Oh my gosh, I would have freaked out.... I even hate to see dog fights- scares the willies out of me. That poor older couple....

101 and Darius - glad to see that the traveler made it safely on her first leg of the journey. Drive safely today Darius!!

Vi - impressive that you are playing the the Am. Embassy. Will it be a big gathering?

Friend called me at 10pm last night - I was already in the sack watching TV. She was in my driveway with 10 subs!! It was a fundraiser for a choir she sings in. Now I have something for breakfast!! LOL I'll only eat half (they are huge), so help yourself anyone else who eats strange things for breakfast!!

DH cleaned out the frig last night, so I have a huge pile of dishes to do. I hate cleaning frigs out....all those green things growing in bowls!!

I'll say good morning before heading out to work. Am amazed that so few posted after I did last night. You must have been all talked out.

Hey - where's that new thread?

Have a good day everyone.

Ann

The new thread is here:
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/555201/

~julie~

Maria, made your chicken last night. Thank you so much....DH, and DS's loved it enough that I had none left to feed DD when she got home. OH well, she loved her fried bolagna sandwich just as well. I really enjoyed it also, going to write down what and how much I put in before I forget. Have you ever experimented with different wines?
We had brown rice and sweet peas with it. Wonderful.....

Well, before it gets too stale to mention ... I loved reading the story the dog wrote. I thought mine was the only one who could write, though. I have a letter she wrote to my stand in Grandma claiming I was abusing her a while back because she had to wear one of those doggie halos after having surgery. She pouted and pouted. Finally wrote that letter and embarrissed me to death! :) I think the reason dogs are used as guide dogs/hearing dogs, etc. is for the therapy as much as anything. They are remarkable dogs ... but just having one around that loves you soooo much they will guide you and watch over you ... WONDERFUL, don't you think? Labs are great dogs. Right there with goldens. I've had both, and they're remarkable dogs.
Can't help but wonder where Darius is and how she's doing. If you log on, Darius ... give me a hollar, K?
She really knows her plants. Told me a lot of things last night. I'm no good with them, but love them anyway. Have a small container garden on my deck ... most of which has kicked the bucket *no pun intended) ;)
Well, like I said before ... I'm not good with names so y'all just overlook me for a while. I'd sure like to hear those bells come Christmas. I just love that.
The DH just called and said we're going out for supper, so I'll go get ready. Hmmmm, now what do I want?
... Elaine

Casey, you made my evening, you really made the chicken and liked it,
Wonderful! Much easier than roasting a chicken time wise. it is nice also with zity or just plain egg noodles, even cous cous to make it very international.
Yes, I always cook with wine (do not cook much now) but my husband enjoyed different speciality foods from most any where, he himself was an excellent cook mostly Italian and Chinese. He also knew everything about wine, as were I don't know the hal fof it.
I use sherry with some fish entrees or veal also dry Marsala can be used instead, make certain to cook it up a bit to get rid of the alcohol. (always use wine that you enjoy drinking, never use the kind that is marked for 'cooking'.
Every one who has ever had the stew I make asked why it is so good, well, I use red marsala in it , not much but it does enhance the flavor. also like to use Chianti Valpolicellaa, light spanish Rioja is terrific in beef stew. Well I could go on, have been interrupted several times, my new room mate needs a lot of attention. :-))Maria

Io1, Have to tell you, Samson is absolutely wondeerful, very affectionate, right now he does not want to leave my side, my son-in law just brought him a rawhide bone, does he ever love it, making him quiet for a while, lol
Maria

Maria
He sounds like such a sweetie. Wish I could give him a hug. Will you do that for me? My Kota girl sends him doggie drool. If you don't mind me saying ... please watch the rawhide? Get him a Nylabone. Doggie's can have problems with rawhide. My vet said nono to them as she has to remove them from stomachs and intestinal tracks of large dogs. You can get him a chick or ham flavored Nylabone from WM ... about $5? Okay, am taking my nose out now! :)
Out the door and off to Mexico! hahahaha! (mexican for supper)
... Elaine

This is funny! There are TWO threads for Coffee and....going right now. Guess no one was paying attention, Jody. Guess we'll just have to make everyone go to the PARKING LOT and find the thread they want to post in. LOL

I'm STILL going to do the 'Daily' in spite of the mix up here to day.

I think it's easier to feel comfortable when you can either comment or not on the previous days posts...and it's SO much easier to feel free to just 'check in'.

Hi Maria! Hi Casey! Hi Elaine! Hi Jody!....and I'll bet there are a few others I saw but didn't see. LOL

~julie~

Duplicate post...Heee Heee
Casey

This message was edited Nov 4, 2005 3:59 PM

Maria I dont want to alarm you but I quit buying them for my kids when one of them almost choked to death. She had been chewing on it for quite a while and it was pretty wet and soft one of the other dogs tried to take it and she bolted it down I didn't know this for a bit I saw her bolt it down but didnt think any thing of it till I saw her laying on her side kicking her feet like she was having a fit. What a job getting my hand in her mouth far enought to fish it out. To this day there have been no more of those things here. You are probably safe enough since Samson is an only dog. There are some chews called greenies that are good for their teeth and breath and they really like them.

All this talk of Chicken prompted me to roast one for dinner tonight never did that before looked for directions just got impatient and decided to wing it. rubbed it with salt and black pepper sprinkled with garlic salt covered with a layer of sliced lemon then a layer if red onion and next a layer of sweet peppers. To go with this mashed potatoes and winter squash green salid and that will do me .Worst that happens here is I am banned from kitchen lol hope its good.

Carat most seeds will do fine saved for a few years but there are some that dont like it just have to take your chances just try to germ a few far ahead of normal seed starting time so you have time to replace them if they don't want to go. Some soak older seeds in a dilute solution of peroxide some use a bit of dilute MG fert.

Now wine and the cooking of things with it I have fond memories of a keg of home made concord grape wine when I was about 14 no more wine in my life thank you not by glass bottle keg or used in any thing that goes past my lips lol. Can you see four of us in the milk house telling eah other how good it was oh boy we not only got sicker than sick but got some the next day or get a whipping lol those were still the days when if you violated rules at some ones house the Dad figure treated you as his own lol yes I lived and did so without wine in my life. Ernie

Beautiful pic Ernie. And good for you with the chicken. I am sure DW will love it. Thanks for the info on the seeds.

I still give my Cleo a piece of raw hide every now and then but before I go to bed I will find it and throw it away. Neighbor had a puppy that swollowed a piece and needed to have surgery to have it removed.

Well, you did scare me, Ernie, he loves it now have to take it away :-(
but it is so huge, how could he possibly swallow it/ unless he should bite off a hunk? Nevr had them for myother dogs, but gave them han bone or other gig real bones.
Maria

Maria I get the cheweez for my dogs and have been told they are fine as long as they do not try to swallow big pieces!
I have the greenies but Skillet is still to young to get them so feel bad just giving it to Opus so will wait for a bit.
Hi Samson!! :-))))

I'm lost! :)

AWWWWWWWW

You are only lost when you don't find your way to the dinner table. Otherwise you can just claim late.

Maria it is large now but as he chews it it will slowly get smaller and with each chewing it will absorb moisture eventualy it will become small enough for a big dog like him to get it down. Let him have it for now just do like Carat and get it before you go to bed. Sure didn't mean to alarm you.

Lol the chicken was a hit it was even kinda pretty dressed in all the veggies. Most slid off with the heat and next time I will put a tooth pick in each slice to keep it in place.

It's going to be a fun weekend son just called he is bring his daughter for the weekend shes almost four and cute as a button this will be her fourth visit and we are happy.

Julie how could you miss me lol I am the one with the hair on my legs and face ha ha.

First time in a garden

Gabby 10 meet Abby almost four ok no more pics

Ok so I lied but this is it see how that old dog hangs out with her

Ernie, they are both beautiful. I notice how Gabby knows who will give attention and the good scratches under the chin.

Casey