Coffee and ... for Friday, August 4

Coffee and ... for Friday, August 4 - We came from over here: http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/634950/

On August 4, 1753, George Washington became a Master Mason, the highest rank in the Fraternity of Freemasonry, in his hometown of Fredericksburg, Virginia. The 21-year-old young man would soon hold his first military commission. In 1900, Elizabeth, the Queen mother, was born. In 1901, Louis Armstrong was born.

Pull up a chair and a beverage. If it cools down enough maybe Maria will have some treats for us. Let's talk about what's happening in your lives today. Any lurkers out there - please feel free to jump in.

Can't sleep, this is not my usual hours to be awake.What has you up at this hour????

Beautiful day at the fair yesterday. Got there about 10am and left there about 11pm. I got rain yeterday, it cooled off, day at the fair with DH, danced, ate, drank a few, ate some more. All in all a wonderful day. I was blessed yesterdsy with sunshine laughter and love. Today it feels like I'm so lucky to be me.

Morning and welcome aa. I am often up during the night too!!

Last night I slept like the living dead, courtesy of 'chemicals'!! Got up this morning and am dressed and ready to go. Wearing DM bra and her shirt - the bottom half is my clothes!! gonna try for 'LUCK' today!! Got my purse packed, money stored away and I'm set to go.

McC - sad about the rotten job people letting DH go - been there done that....DH never did get another job that paid as well, but the stress is gone and that is a health benefit! Only 4 yrs until SS kicks in - hopefully he can keep on his DM good side til then...oh well, what happens, happens...

VI- still more concerts...You amaze me with the working and attending of them.

Darius good luck with Gracie. Too bad you couldn't keep her in the house overnight - but that probably would have freaked her too! DIL found four kittens living under their camping trailer. She is a sucker for any animal. They already have two cats and I foresee another one!! They have to buy special cat food as the ones in the house have 'tender' stomachs.. LOL Can't wait until they have kids and the kids pull things on them...

I am curious. How many of you are on dial up?

Well, time for a garden walk.- we have so much dew on the ground that I practically have to put on hip boots!!

Take care all and WISH MY LUCK....

Good morning folks,

McCool, so sorry to hear about the loss of the job. And am once again, grateful to be in Canada. In spite of its flaws (and there are quite a few), the Canadian medical system would be much less likely to leave a person in the same position you are in. I think that Bonnie is right about windows opening and hope one opens soon and that you able to recognize it.

Bonnie, the concert I was at last night we the principal flute of the National Arts Centre Orchestra with Daniel Bolshoy on guitar. Very fine musicians, both. There were 4 concerts last evening. Two were pass-plus meaning an extra ticket was required. There was also a concert by a very fine cellist but it was in a small venue and sold out. We had people arriving where I was just after the start of the program after they didn't get in to the cellist. The Pianist, Louis Lortie, has an international reputation as a concert artist and brought his own $200,000 piano with him. I was there when they unpacked it on Wednesday evening just before the concert I was working on. The concert I didn't go to in the afternoon was always just a "maybe", but I decided that I'd heard that particular string quartet already and that I could better use my time. But I don't think that lesser groups get pushed to the end.

Cece - glad to hear you had a good day at the fair.

Hope everyone else has a good day.

Ann

Hi Sarv - waiting for the report on your garden walk. I don't have dial-up anymore, but did until about 4 months ago. We are now on hi-speed "lite" 100 Mbps which is about 3 times as fast as the dial-up was most of the time. Not super fast, but so far, fast enough for us. Have only 3 more concerts to work at - 2 today and the closing concert tomorrow.

Ann

Brugs this morning- they are huge like trees and the smell when they are flowering is heavenly. Several are bloom, but the blooms are hidden inside.

From garden walk - here is a real funky dahlia....I kinda like it!

And last of all - some blooming brugs - on a real short plant!

sarv re brugs...Are they perennials??? Those are beautiful! I might like to try some. I live in the same zone.

Good morning to all of you!
Thank you Bonnie and Sarv for the nice compliments and to everyone who responded in kind, wish my garden looked like Ernie's too but it rates only 1% next to the Weeds, the heat really took its toll on it.
McCool, how awful for your DH losing his job and being so sick on top of it, I am so sorry, do not understand the cold heartedness of of people.
It finally cooled off and it is raining at times, what a relief it is now 68", hope it will stay for a while

I have cable, when I had this computer first I had diel up, what a pain that was. This computer does not work properly anymore now I am getting a new one next Tuesday from Dell. They will come and install it, putting everything I want from the old to the new plus quite a few new options. Knowing nothing about computers I probably will be totally mixed up.
Here is Ernie's butterfly bush, never seen such huge blossoms

A close up

How beautiful. I am so jealousof the gardens I've seen. With most of mine just on their first season...............they're nothing compared to what I've seen.It must be wonderful to have that kind of green thumb. Hopefully in a few years my gardens can come close.

Maria, you take such beautiful pics as well. My are aways blurry orfuzzy. Van't stay still enough I guess.

Laundry done, time to go hang firsy load. BB Cherie

It will, Cece, nature just has to take its time

Going off to golf this morning, temps supposed to be "only" in the eighties, never thought I'd see that as an improvement!!

Sarv, the brugs are gorgeous, I have only one that I picked up at the MWRU, and it doesn't appear to be ready to put out any flowers yet. If I can get it to survive the winter, maybe next year it will do better. Good luck at the casino. Maybe you'll come away rich and get enough to upgrade your connection! If you are having trouble resizing, try going to Kodak.com and take advantage of their Easyshare software which is free, and lets you do a lot of photoshop kinds of manipulation of your pictures. It's pretty basic, but I use it a lot because I'm too cheap to buy Photoshop.

Ernie, we couldn't see your thumbs in the photos, but I'm sure they are very green! And you do look like a big teddy bear!! Maria surely enjoyed your hospitality, and has shared lovely pictures with us. Not sure we bought the bicycle story of how you met, however.

Maria, Samson looks extremely happy that you are home safe and sound. Are those knitting needles your daughter is holding? Can't quite tell from the photo, but they look dangerous!! I was telling Bonnie about lobster rolls before her trip out east to visit, but I don't think she got one. It's my absolute favorite east coast treat, absolutely love them. I would eat lobster no matter how it was prepared. My first taste of it was when I was waitressing at a hotel in Denver, of all places. We got free lunch after our shift was over and often it was leftover preparations from the night before. We ate cafeteria style, so you had a number of choices. One day, they put out a dish that no one seemed to be taking from, and I asked what it was. Lobster Thermador!! I went back for seconds...!! What an introduction! Yummm!

If the installers set up your new computer with all your old links, you won't have any trouble at all. It will just be faster and better. Did you get a flat screen? They are so nice!!

McCool, the job situation is terrible...can't you continue their health coverage under COBRA? At least long enough to get the necessary footwear? You should ask, I'm not sure what the fed. requirements are but I know my dorky BIL got it.

I'd better run, it's getting time to run out the door, ~~~~ at all, see you later!

Sheila

Cece,

I used to live in zone 10b where the regular rules don't apply, but since moving to zone 8b, I have to keep telling myself "sleep, creep and leap". That could be me every morning, but I was actually referring to the rule of the garden.

First year sleep, second year creep, third year leap. I have a few things that seem to have leaped right off the bat, but those are by the pond and are the exception.

I have a bunch of miscanthus strictus in my front yard that just appeared to be lazy, taking advantage of my generosity and good nature. Well, after several months of this laziness, they all of a sudden have sprouted up bloom stalks and appear to have gone into a growth spurt.

I must say though, I have a special affection for Bat-Faced Cuphea. Dogzilla has given me several cuttings, both rooted and not and I have managed to kill most of them to where they now refuse to leave her garden to come to mine. She did sneak in some Twinkle-Toes Cuphea to my roundup in June and that one loves it here too. Oh yes, about the Bat Faced, it now loves me a lot. One I bought and one that resurrected from the winter freezes.

Molly
:^))))

Oh yes, moral of story? Patience, Patience and then just a little more Patience

Molly----------that is my downfall. I have absolutely no patience left. The 12 years oif raising 4 on my own with no help to speak of has left absolutely patientless, I want all the things I forfeited in the past right NOW!!!! Its shameful I know I will appropriately give myself a good cuffing. But it's true. I have know patience. I guess gardening is a good way to get it back, or so they tell me.

Of the different plants you mentioned which is the picture? Beautiful red. I love bold, bright and flashy colors.

oops another load done. ttyl Cherie

Cherie,

The picture is Bat-Faced Cuphea. This one previously only grew to 6-8 inches tall and not filled out at all. Now it is about 14-16 inches tall and about 18" wide.

I really love the cuphea's. Another good one and more commonly sold at the home centers is the Cigar cuphea.

Here's my new Twinkle Toes:

morning all! I've started the cigar cuphea from seed. It was off to a slow start but it is starting to look nice. Don't know if I'll try to carry it over this winter or not.

The quilt is pretty. I am also a sage lover. DH hates green. Maybe that's why he wants a bare yard. All the green is outdoors. No green rooms in my house. BooHoo!!

Maria thanks for sharing your wonderful pictures. Ernie's gardens are wonderful. Samson is beautiful! Goldens are just gorgeous. Really sounds like I'm trying to win your favor. Just alot of praise all in one.

Whoever it was is sharing their mice or I'm sharing mine with them. The traps are out at my place also. The boys haven't caught any in the garage lately. Guess they wanted to give me a surprise! Shivers!!!!!!

I probably better get going. Plan on working on the bomb site today. I think it has dried out enough.

Hope everybody gets the weather they need and that all goes well for them. BBL Vicki

ooooooooooooooh I like that one also. Being down in the cave has drawbacks. I went and hung laundry and noticed big trucks and frontend loader in front of my house. Went to investigate and they are ripping up the area between the sidewalk and the street. A couple of workers were bending down at one og my flower beds and needless to say I was not a happy camper about that. Seems they are installing stop n'go lights at the intersection 2 houses away from me and digging up the grass to lay a traffic counter. Would have been nice if they'd let somebody know. My mailbox will be uprooted and the driveway approach. DH is NOT going to be happy. Asked them point blank why they were looking at the flower beds so intently they will not rip them up seeing as I worked my butt off to put them in. The guy said no he was just looking at my coreopsis x "tequila sunrise. Said his wife would probably want one. Boy they're lucky they'd had to fight me before they starting ripping up that......Course I'd been in jail. My gardens have become my babies. My kids are older now and they don't need me all that much. My gardens depend on me to keep them watered, fed, cleaned up, etc. You get the picture.

Talking of quilts, that sage one is just wonderful, Sarv. Linda Weed has made some beautiful ones and is still at it, I do not think she will mind showing you some of her talented work

Oh my cherie what a scary thought!!!! Riping up your babies!!!!!! One nice day and then back to reality.

Yesterday I got a weird call from the Sheriff's dept.{that's always scary] anyway they asked if my DH had a gun at this shop. Well I don't keep track of that stuff. They gave me a name and number for him to call. Of course I called him right away. He said he had traded in a gun years ago. The guy must not of ever sold it. Come to find out the guy is a retired cop that went off the deep end and was in the psych ward. I hate scary calls. That moment of panic.

Hope they don't tear up to much Maybe you can plant something there!! hehehe!!1

Good morning everyone. Finally got to bed about 1:30 am, but was up at 7:30. After cleaning the kitchen, that I neglected last night, cooked a good breakfast, and now have on a kettle of tomatoes that I will juice. Don't have time to comment right now, but will be back later to do so. ~~~~ to everyone.

anothrr one

Well first things first.

Defo--- I appreciate the cheesecake photo,but had there been some big fish swiming in the water in the background that would have really been the clincher.

Sarv---- We run two computers in this house. This lap top and another laptop that is not connected to the internet. Our church uses visual aids and background music besides the choir in the sermons. My wife does all that. They have contracts with several internet places to download music and other things from. When we had dial-up she would spend a minium of 3 hours downloading graphics and music. Sometimes twice a day. It is about a full time job anyway without long downloads. Then with dial -up you have these tiny interruptions that will stop the download sometimes. That is the main reason we went to DSL. Give you an example. The other day she down loaded something again that she had done one time before. The first time it took she thought about 2 1/2 hrs. This time it took 7 minutes. Another thing is this computer is on a seperate phone line. It was costing us 25 bucks a month. The DSL cost us 30 bucks a month for 6 months then will go to about 50. But we are not paying for a seperate line anymore. Our DSL connection is going to be upgraded in the future at no cost. They have a faster system but it is not extended out this far yet. He said it was something like 120 times faster than dial-up and this one is only 70 times faster. I do not think I could ever go back to dail-up. And Sarv why is your cheese cake photo hiding behind a blanket????

Now this link there are proper cheescake photos on.
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/631939/

This message was edited Aug 4, 2006 9:15 AM

I hate to sew. So anybody that sews I give them a lot of credit for the design and the patience it takes to make something that beautiful.

a picture

Ves I did suggest putting a magnolia tree there and some daylilies. Was told no because the city owns 33ft from center line and they can rip up when they want to. They'll put the mailbox back when finished and asphalt the drive approach at city's expense but not magnolias and such should they ever have to rip up again. Just trying to make my life difficult.......yeah back to reality. Well load of towels to hang then thats done. Will btart deadheading and weeding. ttyl Cherie

beautiful maria. thanks for sharing.

Chereie,

That's interesting as to what the city/county will pay to replace on the easement.

When I lived in Lauderdale, they tore up the streets and the easements to put in storm drains and city sewer lines. The contractors hired to do the job were required to replace all mailboxes, grass and trees that they took out. Ithink some of the homeowners were even given a choice of the replacement trees.

:^))))

Quick note: Working on bomb site and found a small blue Vicks jar. Not broken LId rusted away. 1960's???

IIIII I don't know

Back from my first trip to the Vet. I had planned to do some shopping at a Sam's Club and some farmer's markets but neglected to take my Sam's card or a checkbook. May go back early and do that before I pick up Gracie between 4 and 5:30.

Y'all were right about the difficulty in getting Gracie into the cat carrier! And Boy can she howl. My portion of the spaying (assuming they do spay her if she's not with kittens) is $11 after the chit from the local animal shelter. The rest (shots for distemper, rabies and a feline leukemia test) might break the bank as they offer no help with those.

Maria, Linda's quilts are lovely! Nice photos, too.

Molly, the Bat-Face looks great. I had one once, an annual up here.

{{{{{ McCool }}}}} how sad for your DH, foot pain and then losing his job. Unemployment compensation doesn't go far these days even if he is elegible. Maybe you should divorce him so he can get Medicaid although without his income into the household, he might qualify anyway. Then there's Public Health. You pay based on income, and for me at least, yearly pap smears and mamograms were free even though I had a modest income.

BBL after I fetch Gracie this evening.

Good morning. Oatmeal anyone? With raisins or dried cranberries and sunflower seeds. Oh, I know it doesn't sound quite as good as the cheesecake somebody mentioned earlier, but that's all I have to offer at the moment except a slice of canteloupe or some green grapes. When I was at the store they had small bags, maybe a pound, of cherries that are gold and red, I have had them before and they were really good, maybe Royal Ann or something close to that, but then I saw the price, $5.99, and put them back.

Hubby brought home a few ears of corn from a local fruit stand, they are just a bit overmature but it is corn on the cob and it's summer! My corn is still about 2 or 3 weeks away, I see little ears and lots of tassles. Maybe I need to go talk to it.

Annrguy, are you a regular lurker on the coffee thread? We'd be glad to have you join us another time, not just when you can't sleep. Sleepless nights are the pits. We all have them from time to time.

McCool, it is so sad about your husband's job. I hope he can find another one that doesn't require him to be on his feet, and I hope insurance will pay for his special shoes. What was his job? It seems that companies have no loyalty to their employees any more. Used to be that they would help a guy get over those rough places.

Darius, I'm wondering if Gracie is free at home or on her way to the vet today. Your planned day, if Gracie cooperated, sounds like a full one.

Cece, your day at the fair sounds great. I haven't been to a fair in a few years, I always seem to be gone to a ride when the local fairs are taking place. The Idaho State Fair is about 3 hours away and always very hot, my hubby doesn't do hot very well, so maybe I just need to take my neighbor and go. I'll have to check the dates. Too bad about your flower beds next to the street. They call that progress. Maybe the guys who were looking at them felt bad about having to dig up something so pretty. Are they through out there? Is anything salvageable? My Tequila Sunrise Coreopsis didn't make it through the winter. I had 2 of them last year, no sign of them this year. Paying for perennials that preform like annuals doesn't make me too happy. They were pretty but not pretty enough for me to go buy them again. Marigolds would have been a better choice. And I have a few blanket flowers that live through my harsh weather, both the winters and summers.

Maria, thanks for sharing Linda's beautiful quilts with us. They are a lot of work and beautifully done. Does she enter them at the fair or quilt shows? If not, she should. Ernie's butterfly bush is fantastic!

Sarv, your funky dahlia is great. I was looking to see if other blooms were half one thing and half another but I only saw that main one in your picture. The digital camera is a lot of fun for you, I'm glad you have it.

Dial up here too, and that isn't likely to change unless we go the satelite dish route. The upside to this dial up is that it is a local phone line (no charge for all the time I am connected) and that when I have problems I can call tech support at an 800 number and talk to a real, friendly, helpful person to untangle my mess, no charge there either. We pay about $15 a month. Yes, it is slow as molasses, but except for trying to download some video or something with a lot of pictures in one email, it works ok. Of course hamburger is great if you've never had steak. No cable out here, and not likely to be any time in the next 50 years! The phone company replaced the lines along the road but of course not the 300 ft or so to get to our house, so that probably limits our service somewhat. However, it works and I'm thankful for that.

Ves, good thing the guy was already in a safe place by the time you learned about his connection with the handgun. Tracking down all the loose ends takes time and a lot of footwork and phone calls. That is what my hubby does, so that when cases go to court there are no holes in the case and no surprises. The local DA has a good success rate when it comes to getting guilty verdicts. Do you know what this individual did with the gun? You say he is off the deep end emotionally so I hope he didn't hurt anybody. Police work is very stressful and takes a toll on families and individuals, higher than normal divorce rates and things like that, some people just don't handle the stress.

Molly, those are interesting flowers. I'm guessing they might be a tropical type. They are something I don't think I have ever seen for sale.

I have a bunch of stuff to do today, starting with spraying another wasp nest I found, and maybe I can track down a few more, I know there are some in the hay barn, I'm just not sure I can squirt them with the Raid because they are so high. I could climb up on the new haystack and get some of them I think. Life is full of adventures! Back later. ~~~ at the folks I missed.

cece .................. re brugs

Brugmansia are tropical trees that came form the Brazilian rainforest.

In our area you need to keep them from frost or freezing.

Wintering over as cuttings or in a big pot that is allowed to go dormant for the winter in a dark cool area.

They vary is shape and colors can range from whites to yellows and shades of pink.

Some are shrubby and some are treelike.

Okay, the canning is done. Had 15 quarts of tomato juice. Not a lot, but every little bit helps.

Oz, I am so flattered that you thought my picture "cheesecake"!! I have to confess, when I am in the pool, the fish go to the other side, they are shy and don't want to be photographed. Aw Oz, 67 is prime, so don't just throw in the trowel and rake, keep on going, take up another horticulture adventure.

Maria, those are beautiful pictures. I have probably 40 quilts, most made as gifts by DH's aunt, I made some, his grandmother some, my DM and I have made a few. So we will never be cold here-assuming I can actually let someone use them for the intended purpose.

Well, I have to get dressed to go to the grocery---again, DMIL didn't give me all of her list on Wednesday. Have to go by the church and pick up the cooker as it was too hot to bring it home last night.

So off to do some more stuff!!

Later

dial up thats where dial nu. right..? see dummy here..

cece its so good to have days like that together..

Maria the quilts are so beautiful enjoyed seeing them..

i love bat face c. tried it once yes it croaked to.

Flowers are all lovely the pictures really good.. I have been trying 3 or 4th yr now to get one to bloom never makes it done all says to..

everyone have great week end..enjoy .

103 here and gas went up to highest so not going to venture out..

This is the only plant I have that was not bothered by the heat
white phlox 'David'

a close up

Oh, and this is Ernie's other talent, building ships, this is a tugboat , brand new perhaps Ernie can eplain about it better then I ever could