Coffee and ... for Thursday, September 14th

Good morning everyone.

Pull up a chair and fortify yourselves with your favorite morning brew. I hope today finds you all happy and healthy.

Here's the link to yesterday's thread http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/650472/

Well, it is after midnight, and Ptoohey, I didn't want the worm. Have checked all the other forums that I normally frequent, and still sitting here at the computer.

DH has a fishing trip planned for tomorrow, so I will take advantage of his absence, and raid his closet to donate something to our Methodist Mountain Missions. Can't do that when he is around, because he finds sentimental value to every piece of clothing that is hanging in the closet. I have to do this when he is gone, remove 5-10 items that he never wears, and on the whole, never misses it.

Mr. B has ear mites, or an allergy has scratched his ears to open sores, so a trip to the vet is in order also. DH grumbles about the vet bills, I remember several years ago a favorite horse of his had colic, took him to a vet clinic in Lexingon, they did surgery to the tune of $3,000. 00 plus, but the horse died anyway. So if my baby needs vet care, he will get it, even if I have to do it on the sly. LOL.

Well, that is my plans for tomorrow, hope everyone has a good restful night.

Good Night Gracie!!

I hope Mr B is only suffering from an allergy.
Toby has bouts with allergies and the meds the vet put him on are very reasonable and easy to get. We just get refills by DH asking when he picks up his own meds.

Most suffering and maladies that our fur-kids get is caused by the food they eat.

Good luck.

I caught Toby surfing doggie dating sites and he fell asleep waiting for an answer ........ lol

Humph, I think he got an answer is is doing the usual falling asleep number.

Gosh it's dark outside! I hate losing daylight too, and find November and December just too dismal for words. I bought one of those "daylight" lamps last winter at Sam's and use if for a reading lamp because the light is so bright and cheery. It is NOT an attractive lamp. Ask me if I care. As my home decor is mostly cat hair and clutter, it doesn't really matter.

Elaine, I am so sorry your DH's foot isn't healing well. It is just terrible that we don't have better medical care in a country where HMOs and pharmaceutical companies are reaping massive profits. There is something very wrong going on here. I hope you resolve this without him having to leave the country, but if that's what will work best, it might be the only option.

I have to call my DS this morning before she vamooses to golf or shop or what ever, so I'm going to leave this for now and come back later and catch up. I put some Brownies on the counter to keep you occupied until I get back.

Sheila

Morning everyone - sun is supposed to shine here, but not until evening. Clouds around for another day.

McC, that's the pits in reference to DH foot. Why is it he can return to Eng. to have it done? Must have missed something somewhere. Having medical problems and insurance problems is overwhelming. My sis (who is very wealthy) has no insurance and can only get the catastrophic stuff offered by the state - coverage is the pits and they don't cover pre-existing conditions - and she has many. She is in constant worry over it all. Good luck - my thoughts are certainly with you on this..

Vi - nuts to the bell ringer that is leaving. Hope you can find a replacement soon! The shooting in Montreal has been on our news here. how sad Things like that just boggle my mine - always asking 'why'

lauri - I need you to give me a boot in the butt to get going on cleaning here. I have two bedrooms that are catch alls and I sure would be embarassed if someone else had to clean them!! Kudos on accompolishing a rotten task!!

defoe-how true about everyone having problems. Guess no one is immune to problems - we all have to put one foot in front of the others and breathe deeply. Life goes on no matter how we worry. My life is rolling smoothly for the time being, but I know it will hit the skids sometime...always does.

Carat - remind me in a month and I will mail off a pkg to you. In fact I'll wait until you are in your new digs. No sense moving them too!!

Well, no big plans today - going to h/p and I need to do some cuttings of coleus and SPV. Also want to take snippings of my dragon wing begonia - if you haven't grown one of them - they are awesome - bloomed the entire summer.

Well, time for some breakfast- what's on the table?? Maria....sweet rolls???

M5- brownies for breakfast - now that's MY kinda food!!! I would only tell you gals/guys here- I had THREE, yes you read that right, three bowls of ice cream yesterday....(hanging my head in shame...)

Good Morning, everyone!
Been up since four thirty, could't lay any longer.
Fall is in the air-45 deg. F. outdoors, very foggy. Just saw on the news that Farmers Almanac is projecting harsh winter this year-please say it isn't so! groan
May have to start covering EE's, and nana overnight. I'm not ready to cut them back, just yet!
My tomatoes already at a standstill-I'll probaly pull them up in a week or so.
Brussel Sprouts are loving the cold tho!
Anyone else deep fry them, with a cornmeal coating? Yummm.
Anyone else think their prized clematis bit the dust this summer, only to find them having vigorous regrowth and blooms, in the past couple weeks? I was so bummed when my new clemitis seemed to "pass" away this summer. It is the beautiful 'Ramona'. I was tempted to dig it up and take it back to garden center for a refund, but dicided to wait-sure am glad I did. I'll post a pic.
Hope my DH will work some more an my plant lights, today. He is re-furbishing and painting the covers, to match my shelving and decor in my plant room. I can't wait for him to get them (8-4ft.double lights) mounted. House plants need to come back in, soon,
These are the best possible mornings for my daily three mile walk-sweat shirt and walking shorts feel great, once I "get some steam up" lol
Pretty soon, it'll be back to the gym daily to stay conditioned-but I really have more fun exercising outdoors.
My husband asked me the other day what route I take all the time-and he just shook his head when I said "Well-that just depends on what's blooming where!" :-)
Hope everyone has a great day-and that sunshine will follow you, wherever you are!
Better get out there and warm up that pavement.
Deanna

Welcome Deanna - grab a brownie on the table - and go for your walk!! Three miles - mercy me....I do two and think I am a queen!!

I have several Ramona clematis, but mine aren't reblooming. They are gorgeous plants tho. I have plant lights all over and get tremendous pleasure from them - now they look like the pits, but my garden friends understand!!

Pull up a chair and give us all the low down on you and your family!!

Sarv,
Not a lot to tell, it's just my Dh and I-both retired when still young enough to enjoy our retirement!
I joined Daves in January this year, and posted a lot this spring, before outdoor time, but have mostly lurked this summer.
I have 2 sons and a step son and step daughter, that I'm crazy about. All the kids in their 30's.
Eight grandchildren, and my three cats! can't forget them.
If I talk about "The Girls", it's the cats, not the kids! LOL
Garden is my passion, and Flowers my profession.
Managed a flower shop over 20 years, am a past Master Gardener, here in Scott County.
I love cooking, canning, reading, computering, walking, and anything to do with flowers from growing from seed to designing fresh cuts.
I'm absolutely anal about researching everything I grow,
I wish I could crochet, knit, paint, and play the piano. But, alas, don't think I have the patience for those.:-(
We have a wonderful neighborhood-with the greatest bunch of friends surrrounding us.
We're definitely home bodies, who love and cherish family and friends.
That's pretty much it, in a nutshell.
I'll be around a lot this winter, as soom as I get all my "babies" put to sleep, for their Looong winter rest.
This is my favorite thread for that-altho I frequent about 20 others.
Enough about me!
Deanna

Good Morning, GOB's... Got up earlier than I wanted because my DB wanted an early start so we could be back here before dark. Well, he's still in bed and I've been up an hour!

We had a great feast last night, but not a balanced meal. Ate almost ALL the 5 pounds of crab, and about 2 pounds of shrimp, no veggies or salad. Homemade cocktail sauce is wonderful! Plus a bowl of butter and fresh lemon juice for the crab. Enough shrimp left for shrimp cocktails when we get back home this evening, and perhaps a full cup of picked crab in the freezer for me to have later on. Maybe I can locate the boxes of cookbooks in my storage unit today, the NY Times cookbook has a great cream of crab soup recipe.

Deanna, glad you got out of lurk mode, Welcome!

McCool, that's the pits about your DH's foot surgery.

Sarv, here's a thread about brix in garden soil, which I didn't know anything about. http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/644208/
Apparently you can raise the brix for better veggies, and maybe flowers too. I'll have to read the thread more carefully, and do some research too. My refractometer measures brix (sugar content) to see when the grapes are ripe enough to make wine. You just pick a grape, put a drop of juice on the lens and get a reading. The grapes on the sunny side have a higher brix than the ones more shaded although both taste ripe.

I need to get the slug-a-bug up and moving so we can hit the road. I'll check in when we get home.

Good morning all,

Grey day here. I actually turned the furnace on last evening to take the cold, damp out of the house. Haven’t been listening to the morning radio, but I don’t think we are supposed to see better weather until tomorrow, maybe.

McCool, being cross-eyed from looking at the computer last night, I somehow skipped right over the note about your DH’s feet. I wish I had a magic money tree to cover the surgery. And once again I’m glad that I’m not in the US medical system. Our waiting times are often longer than we’d like, but at least the cost (or most of it) is covered. I hope you are able to find a solution that works.

Bonnie - are you on Central time? If so, you don’t qualify for the worm anyway do you? If I read the time right, it was before midnight when you posted. Or maybe we could say nobody qualifies before, say 4 am. LOL Sorry to hear about Mr. B’s ears. Happy closet cleaning.

Sarv - can’t your wealthy SIL purchase insurance that will give her better coverage? She won’t stay wealthy long if she has to foot the bill for health care herself and has a major problem. Re the ringer, she stuck with us for several years even after she found out about the more advanced bell program at the nearby church. She was clearly the best ringer I’ve ever seen but my group is so varied in ability and much smaller that she will never get the kind of bell-ringing challenge that she deserves with us. I don’t blame her for joining the other group at all. Just wish she had let me know earlier. On the plus side, I have a brand new ringer joining us tonight. She’s never rung bells, but does read music.

Deanna - I have a “hardy” Jackmani Clematis which came up vigorously and then most of it died back. I think it was getting drowned from a nearby downspout and all the rain we had. Have diverted the downspout and some of it is still alive; so am hoping for the best. Your Ramona came back well - it’s lovely. Thanks for telling us about yourself. Lots of cat lovers here - even me though I don’t have any anymore. You’ll be right at home.

Sarv - if you keep on doing H & P, you don’t need the three mile walks. That’s about an hour of walking for most of us. Better done with someone else to talk to than alone.

Hi Darius. Hope you have a good trip and find the items you need from the storage. Go wake him up.

Waving to Scooter and Sheila and everyone else not addressed above ~~~~~~

Ann

Good Morning all, have been up awhile, dwadling over coffee and the paper. Got all the paper read, and all the coffee I can hold, so it is on to other things. It is gray and gloomy here too. No rain predicted, but that doesn't necessarily mean we won't get some.

ViAnn, I am on EDST, and it was midnight here, but if you insist on the time thing, 4:00am works for me. Meant to comment on the bell ringer last night, but if you read my post, it was a very negative day, and didn't want to depress you further.

Deanna, glad that you have joined in, instead of lurking. With a plant history like yours, please don't put us all to shame with your experience and knowledge. I am sure that you wouldn't think of "lording it over us". Welcome. A good deal of the members here are cat people, some dog people, and some horse people. I don't think we have any exotic pets, if so no one has said so. This house is an equal opportunity pet house, Mr. B is a Jack Russell Terrier, and Miss Boots, is a part persian gray cat. So there I have introduced my clan, oh,of course DH, 1 son, 1 DGD.

Sarv, you walk in addition to the h/p? That's great. I need to get back to walking, as this summer was entirely too hot to do that.

M5, thanks for the brownies, I will save mine for later in the day.

Darius, kick DB out of that bed and get on the road.

scooterbug, if Toby fell asleep waiting for an answer, then maybe you should check his priorities!!

~~~~to all, gotta get this day jump started.

Aha! After gabbing with DS for a good long time, I looked at the curio cabinet and saw how dirty the glass was, so I decided it need cleaning. So I did. And then, being on a roll, cleaned all the glass top tables, tvs, 'puter screens, mirrors, Stop me before I hurt myself!!!! And I dusted too. Have no idea what came over me but it seems I have recovered and can now get back to important things.

Welcome Deanna, you'll feel right at home here, plenty of calorie free cyber treats, and coffee. I have four cats, all siamese, all super sweet and congenial, although yesterday the two young'uns were threatening to wreak havoc on the birds and squirrels that were having a party on the deck. They aren't allowed outside so they had to burn off their enthusiasm by running laps around the inside of the house.

Might clear up before evening, Sarv, we've got spotty sunshine here and it should travel across the lake before long. Does anyone even have good insurance anymore? People I know who are still working where I did are paying a hefty premium now. Retirees who left more than 10 years ago still got to keep their original plans, mine cost about $10 a month. Of course, now that Medicare becomes the first payer, it costs them practically nothing for us. And if Medicare doesn't cover, neither do they.
I'll spare everyone the grisly tales of how many clematis I've killed. Not ever planting another one. Put a climbing rose in the same spot and it grew just fine. Must be my black thumb. Also, you have won the Ice Cream Olympics, wear your medal proudly!!

Good job on the shrimp and crab, Darius!! We might not have had any leftovers. I never use a recipe for that kind of soup, just start with a good roux, and add chicken broth and whatever else comes to mind. Which is how I ended up with the crab/corn/potato chowder earlier this week. Your grape crop is really coming along, should we show up to stomp them for you?

Ann, I hope your new bell ringer works out well. It's hard to lose a good one, but understandable she would want a greater challenge. I thought we were going to lose two new excellent golfers that joined us this year, because they are way better than the rest of us old hackers, but they've decided to stay and just join an additional league. They are both very nice, so we are happy to have them.

Well, here's a ~~~~~~ to everyone else, I'm going to give Maria a call this morning and see how she's doing, then I might get dressed... see you later!

Sheila

I have SUN yipeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!! A little cool but there is sun Walked the gardens, oh they are looking sad. Some stuff still blooming but the rest..........Guess once the lawn dries out a bit I'll get out there and start doing some major cleanup. My shoes are soaked at this point just from a garden walk. The gaillardia on one side has flopped in the middle and looks awful, my coreopsis in front as well. Will have to shear that way back. Will give the asters a little more room I guess. Most of the rudbeckia are still blooming away and a few shastas still hanging on with a bloom here and there. A few of the purple coneflowers are blooming. Last June I pruned half of the back pretty much and now that is the part that is blooming. They are suposed to be purple. They look pink to me. The cosmos is still blooming out front but in the back they are turning brown and shriveled. guess I'll just pull them up.

Feel much better today than yesterday. My attitude and mood were beginning to match the weather and I just wasn't very good company. And.......I managed a pair of jeans this morning. Not my fav ones but they are jeans anyway. Now I don't have to hide in the shadows to go to the mailbox for the paper and the mail. I love sweat pants they are so comfy but won't be seen in public with them. I look so dumpy and I hate this word----fat.
The prices you pay for being happy.

I have 4 clematis 2 purple, a red and a white. The white seemed to shrivel up too in July when we had that awful humidity but its looking okay now. Didn't re-bloom but at least it doesn't look sick any ome. The red I thought started to shrivel but I guess it thought otherwise i cut the ugly part back and it didn't die back any more.

Darius your feast sounded delish.....Wish I could eat shell fish. I have tried both shrimp and crab several times., They are very good; but not worth the cramps, vomiting and itching that comes with them for me. Yep iodine allergy. Nuts. I have to enjoy shell fish throught the taste buds of everyone else.

Mc sorry your DH needs foot surgery. I missed something along the way.I too am wondering about returning to ENG????? Whats up with that. You must remeber haven't been here as long as most of you on DG and what I read I can maybe retain 2 hours? after that I am in the dark again.

Sheila great brownies did the trick with my coffee this morning. I can relate to the Nov Dec being too dismal for words. Jan and Feb are always bad for me only this coming Jan I'm going to try my hand at winter sowing and see if keeping busy working toward spring will help. Then I have ordered snow crocus and grape hyacinths and they will be starting to come up in March so I'll have them to look forward to. Or so I'm hoping if bunnies and squirrels and chippies don't get them first.

Deanna Welcome, welcome,, come back very soon.

Well going up for more coffee ~~~~~~~~~~~ing to everyone I missed. Cherie

Good morning. Fall is in the air, all 40 degrees of it with some clouds and a brisk wind. The sun is out through, shining between the clouds, and I hope it warms up soon. Fritz and I didn't get out for a good walk yesterday so I need to be sure to do it today.

VAnn, I hope your new bell ringer catches on quickly and stays with the group.

Deanna, your clematis is beautiful. I have one of the old purple ones called Jackmanii or something similiar, it is just getting established and gave me a few blooms last year. I need to get it started on the arbor, it was tied to a stake which fell over. Early in the spring it had 3 nice tender shoots coming up which the bunnies ate, but it came up again. I guess I could just cut it back for the winter because I don't think the old stems produce anything. Am I right? I'll wait to hear from you before I do anything with it. it's so nice to have a Master Gardener amongst us.

Elaine, did you happen to read anything about a guide dog who lead somebody out of the WTC down about 75 floors to safety and out of the building before it collapsed? If you didn't, send me a d-mail and I will forward it to you.

I have a lot more digging to do, it's a slow job. Yesterday I was just throwing the excess Iris on to the lawn and the weeds into the wheelbarrow. It's all still there. I hope to give some of the iris to one of my neighbors but I forgot to call her last night to ask if she wants them. When they were blooming and I had too many clumps of the same color I snipped the tip off of a leaf in each clump I wanted to eliminate since they were still blooming and when they aren't they all look the same.

When the wind came up yesterday I was watching the smoke from the fire to the east behind the mountains, the color changed from whiteish smoke to darker so I could tell that the fire woke up again or moved. The area has a small town, and a ski lodge that the firemen were trying to protect. I need to check the fire info page this morning to see what new information they have posted, but it is still too early to do it.

Ok, time to get moving. The rest of you will just have to catch a wave for now. ~~~

Morning all. Thanks Deanna for your brief bio. :) I guess that tends to put newcomers at a bit of a disadvantage since many of us have been here since Julie started the coffee thread back in12-04. You'll have to do a bit of reading to find everyone's bios. lol Sure hope to meet you at the next IA Roundup in Cedar Rapids - first Sat. in May. Here's the goods.... http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/609739/

Good news at the ortho doc yesterday. As my family doc thought, no damage to the knee cap. Just scar tissue and a bursa (fluid filled sac) on top of the knee that is a major nuisance. They will scope the knee and then do a small incision (well, not real small, abt 2") and remove that bursa. That'll take care of it! Yay! No date on when, probably first week of Oct.

Cousin's boy's autopsy was yest. in Mnpls. Did not hear any results. They must have released his body because the funeral is Sat. at 10 with visitation from 4 to 8 on Fri. eve. We are moving DD on Fri and Sat. so not sure yet how or if we're going to be able to go. It's abt 3.5 hours drive. DD has small apt. and with 2 or 3 DS's helping plus a couple friends, we should be able to polish it off fairly quickly. I'm thinking move the big stuff while she's working Fri, leave for visitation around 2 or 3, then move the rest of the stuff Sat. am. I think it will work.

McCool, that's a bummer on your hubby's foot. Sure had hoped it was healing. Having grown up in Canada, I totally understand the frustration with the US health system. I have put off many things that should have been taken care of. Not surprisingly, for myself... I didn't put stuff off for our kids' health. Typical mom thing, eh? :) There will always be problems of some sort, no matter what system you have, the world has tons of scammers, but living with some abuse is better than millions with little or no health care because of the astronomical cost. DD just quit her health care job and is going to school for CPA. She is totally fed up with greedy docs! She could tell you some stories of abuse!! 'Nuff on that volatile subject. :)

Went to the Clay County Fair yesterday afternoon. It's touted as the largest county fair in the world. Now, I've always wondered what sort of research they did to arrive at that claim, but it is a very large fair. And I had my two 'fair' goodies - a Kiwanis icecream bar and a funnel cake. They dropped the price to $3 and make them abt half the size now. They fit on a pie plate instead of a large paper plate. Fine by me, I always shared one with DD or whoever I went with but this one I could eat alone. DH was grumping at me, "trying to lose weight, eating that thing" so I only gave him one bite!! LOL

gotta go, bbl

A Big Howdy Do to all. I'm still hanging around. Was going to start visiting coffee again every day the last time I posted, however, life once again got in the way. Which isn't an entirely bad thing. Ran into sarv in another thread and she kicked my rear over here,,,thanks sarv. Glad to be back!

Nice to see everyone again. Deanna, Welcome. Nice to meet you.

Um, summer,,I'm still waiting for 4th of July. It's gone Way to fast for me. My lovelies are turning yellow and brown already and are getting ready for their winter naps. Hate that! Seems they just started looking their best,,,,,gggrrrrr

Have been working in the new and old beds quite a bit. I'm So glad that 3rd one didn't get put in this summer. Was Really dry and was watering every night. One side of the house one night, the other side the next night. Kept things alive until we got our much needed rain and everything just popped, it was great.

Clematis' hate me,,,,,,except for my indestructible Jackmani. Put a new Clematis (can't remember the name) in last year so it would climb up and around the deck railing. It came back Really nicely, was growing very well and all of the sudden Bill asked why I didn't pull the dead vine out of the ground. I looked and it was entirely Brown and dried up. Prolly I should have cut the brown and left the roots in, maybe it would have come back. Can't tell you how many Clematis' I have bought and never saw again, or saw them the nest spring, summer and that was it.

Spent a week and a half on the couch wishing for a quick and merciful death. Still have no clue as to what it was. I got an infected tooth on a Friday night. Waited til Monday to get Antibiotics, they didn't start relieveing the pain until Thursday that week. So, I lost 2 weekends to the couch. Have to get out this weekend again and do some cutting back and some planting still. Why jump on these things?

Won't take time to comment now on everything, however I WILL be back later today.

Hope everyone has a great day,
Kelly

This message was edited Sep 14, 2006 9:46 AM

Morning every one got up very, very early this AM but decided to go back to bed slept for another hour, felt much bette safter.

Sheila, just "dysoned" for the first time, thought I better give SIL a rest, :-) but now I am tired out again and coughing, grrr

Ann, what an awful thing in Montreal, what ever makes people doing such horrid stuff today one will never know, guess the worlds is getting crazier and crazier.

Sarv, how is your itch ? I hope better I must have missed it if you told us.

Darius , you don't have to have an balanced meal every day, I don't either, what you had sounds just yum

Welcome Deanna, so nice to have some one in the know on this thread but are you ever going to be bombarded with questions :-)))Still have some coffee bread left still very good so have some, it takes a lonf time for me to finish it though it was only a third of it.

McCool how sad about your DH, bad enough he is so ill with that disease now has to worry about Health insurance. I just have it for emefrgency and Dr. visits. except dental care. So far I have been fortunate, Blue cross costs more then I need to spend every month but will be able to deduct it from state and IRS .

~~~~~ to everyone who is here and may be here later


On my way to make the pie for tonight

Back from the work out joint - did my regular routine and added 'abs, arms, and buns' tape to the workout. My shirt was wet, so I think I worked off the 3 bowls of ice cream from yesterday!!

GG - welcome back stranger - glad the boot in the back side sent you over here. Now with all that sickness -did the scales go down?? If I can drop 10 lbs being sick, I think it was worth it!!

I have ton of clematis - only lost one this year and that was on a tree that DH chopped down. He ripped the climbing structure off the tree - said it looked dead- duhhhh.

kooger - hoorah - no major surgery for you!! Let's celebrate!! My mom has no knee cap - how weird is that. But she had the total knee replacement a couple of years ago, so the knee is metal now anyhow. The only thing she cannot do is get down on her knees to scrub the floor. I told her that at 82 she shouldn't be doing that anyhow!

M5- $10 bucks for insurance - lucky you. Mine is 200 a month and I think that is a steal. Ours could be ripped out from under us at any time tho. I washed windows a couple of weeks ago - you'd never even know it - they are spotted, splattered looking again. Well, too bad, I'm not doing them again til spring.

Vi - it's my DS that has no insurance. No they can't get any from a private insurer as they have major health problems. They have to get a state sponsored one. Guess even their big bucks won't help them find insurance...DS is such a procrastinator that she probably won't even have surgery until she qualifies for medicare and then they can pick up the tab.

Darius - I think I see gills sprouting on you!! Boot that DB outta bed- you guys have places to go!!

Oh drat- I left the screen door open a foot for the cat to come and go and a dragon fly just flew in....I have to go chase him outside again! BBL

An insurance system that is supposed to cover medical costs, but won't cover people who actually have the problems is for the pits. I guess it's because it's all for profit?! I find it hard to understand why the will doesn't seem to be there for non-profit insurance (government) in the US.Certainly the Canadian system has lots of problems, but it's a lot better than the awful uncertainty that some of you feel. There are major problems with a systemthat encourages people to put off health concerns until they get worse or really expensive.

Mary - I think you're right about Jackmanii. It blooms off new growth, I think; so it's a good idea to cut it back in the fall. I don't always do that though. Here's a pic of mine LAST year. As I said, this year half of it died back. I have another Clematis, name unkown, at the front of the house which is doing much better now that I've removed some trees, but there were TWO planted together and only one survives.

Kooger - good news about the knee. Hope you are able to work out both moving DD and getting to the visitation.

Kelly - nice to hear from you. Are you talking about the earlier dental problem or did you have another one? I hope it doesn't recur.

Maria - yes, tragic happenings in Montréal yesterday. Apparently the gunman had a web site blog which was really disturbing. This is a good site for further info - http://www.cbc.ca/ It looks as though two of the other people shot might not make it. But police say they've learned from similar happenings in the past. At another masacre in Montreal 17 years ago and at Columbine and others, they tended to surround the site, but not enter it. Nowdays they enter right away to confront people like this and "neutralize" them. Probably reduced the carnage. I guess there are a lot of disturbed people in this world.

Better get cracking on lunch. Have to pick up the twins for Kindermusik in a bit more than an hour, stop by the church to check bell set-up, and pick up my orchestra music. Will take bell music along to Kindermusik as I will have to rethink assignments with the loss of the new ringer and a newbie coming in.

BBL

Ann

Kelly!! I knew you weren't dead, cuz I saw you in the MWgardening thread! Geeez, you've been through the mill haven't you. I hope you are all better now, and don't get laid up again. Glad to hear I'm not the only clematis assassin around here. I have no luck at all with them.

The only reason I still have good insurance is because my former employer has their home office here, and is very very conscious of their public image, and cutting off benefits would be such a black mark on their pristine track record they just bit the bullet and let us keep our plan. I'm sure the thought of a long line of elderly and infirm ex-employees picketing in front of their grand offices sent cold chills up the executive spines, as it would have been headline news here. Besides, as I said we are all covered by Medicare first, and don't cost them all that much. So, it came down to weighing Bad Publicity vs. minimal costs.

Kooger, you are far kinder than I would have been after that remark!! He wouldn't have gotten a crumb from me!! I did the fair this year, so I should be good for five years at least....then DH can push me around in a chair.

Mary, what a clever idea clipping the iris while they were blooming!! I'll have to remember that one next spring when I replant the tulips I salvaged from the front gardens. I had them grouped by color, but now they are all mixed up together and I have no idea what they will look like! Sure wish those fires out there would get under control, or you'd get a good rain storm without lightening and soak everything down.

I did call Maria, but she must have been snoozing, so here's a thought. ***Maria, you don't have to vacuum the whole house at once. ****

Then I called Bonnie, and got no answer there but she called me back. In the meantime, I finished dusting, did the ceiling fans, did all the mirrors and tv screens, and vacuumed the rest of the house. Bonnie said I could take the rest of the day off, so that's exactly what I am going to do!! (Thanks, Bonnie....LOL)

So, if I'm going to loaf the rest of the day, I'd better get started...
~~~~ to all

Sheila

Ugh, opened the doors and now I'm sneezing and hacking again..............

sarv48, Kelly and defoe
Ok here I am, no I didn't get to work but will post this and then drag myself away from the computer.

I just had to tell a story about one of my cats. She is very good at communicating her needs, wants desires. I was working in the kitchen a few min ago and she started to 'tell" me she wanted something. I showed her I was only cutting tomatoes and she wouldn't want that, then I checked their food and water, ok there. I had already opened the front door for her to look at the critters burying acorns. Finally I said "show me". She ran down stairs took me over to the cat box and stood staring at it until I changed the litter. I guess it had been to long for her. We use the clumping kind and she didn't just want the clumps out she wanted all new litter.

Over and out until I have my sculptures done.

zen - welcome - what a smart kitty!! We were at friends house and when we went there I saw they had rope of bells on their door knob. I thought their door bell didn't work. Later I heard the bells chime and someone said " Buddy is here" = when the door was open, in strolled a huge black/white cat!

M5- I think you are preggo - cleaning like that. Slow down, smell the flowers, read a book - you're making the rest of us look like slugs. I just finished a bowl of ice cream for lunch - DH took the leftovers I had planned on having -so it's his fault.

Still haven't changed out of my sweaty workout clothes and now I feel chilled. Maybe a warm shower is the ticket-but then I'd probably crash on the couch...

Welcome Zen, just stick around, you will enjoy this group, and their zany goings on. We laugh, we cry, we rant and rave, commeserate with each other, and all in all a good way to spend some time. We have cyber treats with no calories, also a cyber 2x4 for use on unruly husbands or other relatives. Since I know you from other threads, just give others a brief bio, and let them know something about yourself. (she's an artist). Don't just lurk, but actively join in.

My absence this morning was to take Mr. B to the vet. I called at 9:40 to ask if I could bring him in sometime today, a long pause, and the voice said, can you be here by 10:00? Sure thing, so rushed to throw clothes on, and turned a 20 minute drive into a 15 minute one, and walla, I'm there. Mr B remembered his last visit there and didn't want to go in. Once in the exam room, he got in a corner under a chair, and I had to peel him away from the wall and floor to let the vet look at him. Well, they swabbed his ears, and examined it under a microscope, and the verdict is a yeast infection. So 2 kinds of meds, and a $122.00 bill, and he will be good as new!! I don't want to give the impression that DH doesn't care enough about his animals to take them to the vet, he complains about the price, and he is right, it is expensive. So I took Mr B while DH is on a fishing trip, not because I want to hide it from him, but to save my hearing and sanity! Since there is not much going on for him to complain about, would have had to listen to that theme until something else comes along. I like peace and quiet.

Well, I did give permission to M5 to take the rest of the day off. She had been such a good girl cleaning, but honestly, she confessed to me that she only did the cleaning because Maria didn't answer her phone, and because I was gone. She was so bored that she stooped to the cleaning mode!!

I ran the dustmop over the kitchen and entryway, not because I was concerned with the dirt, but because DH mowed last evening and there was grass everywhere.

Mary, wow 40's, that is pretty chilly. We are having a gloomy day, but they predict by the weekend we will be back in the 80's.

Viann, gosh it just seems like kindermusic was just over, and now they are starting again. Where did the summer go.

Sarv, did you get that dragonfly?

Hi GG, glad to see you back. Now don't you go running off again with a promise that you will return!!

Maria, I am sure that SIL wouldn't have minded using the vac. Please don't overdo, these things take awhile to get over and back to normal.

cc glad you got some jeans on. I know you will feel better.

kooger, glad you got relatively good news on the knee problem. Sounds like you will be doing some time juggling to work in everything this weekend.

Well, I don't want M5 to be lonely this afternoon, and feel bad that she is doing nothing, so to help her feel better, I am joining her, and making something for supper will be my next bit of work.

Have a great afternoon, and I will BBL

zen,
our little "girls" could be sisters. Baby(our scaredy kitty) "shows us the way" several times a day, and night! She will sit right on the computer mouse, on top of our hands, and whine until we get up and say "Show me the way, Baby." Her tail goes straight up in the air, and she leads us to either the bathroom sink(only place she will drink water) back door(only door she will go out), plant room counter(only place she will eat), or to our bedroom (where she spends 75% of her time-under the comfort!!). If the bed isn't made yet, she walks around and around the bed whining, until we make it. Sometimes we laugh till we cry at her antics, other times she drives us nuts!! LOL
Don't want to overload you on the girls' personalities, so will feed that to you a little at a time.ha

Please , please don't even think along the lines of me trying to "lord it over" on anyone.
You remember that old saying,"Looks good on paper.........BUT,will it work?" Same goes for research. Nothing ever replaces good old common sense and "been there, done that". Period.

I have learned so many plain, old nitty gritty things from Daves Garden folks, that I've never seen in a book.

Kooger, as I've been lurking for some time, I am fairly caught up on most of your "Bios"- know most of your names, troubles and victories you've all shared, where you're from,etc.-maybe not enough to pass a written test, with an A, but I bet I'd get a C+ or B-! Ha.
Just for the heck of it, I'll throw in occassional pics of my home and yard, so you can get a better feel, of where I'm coming from. Ergo, meet "The Herd"
Deanna

Me again. Just looking in for a bit while I have a cup of tea. Fritz and I went for our walk and I was right, it is cold, so a cup of tea is just what I need now.

Deanna, what is the tall plant with the pink blooms? Are those Elephant Ears on the right, the herd? I never tried to grow any of those. Heck, I never tried to grow a bunch of things, and in the (non)process probably spared them a slow agonizing death. And you sound like you know as much about us as most of us can remember, so you are doing very well.

Maria, try just part of the house next time you run the vaccuum. Do a room or two and then put the machine in the next room where you need to use it and shut the door. Do not open it until the next day. What kind of pie are you making?

As I have been digging and cleaning the big lasagna bed I have been deciding where to move some things. I have 3 lilies that I need to relocate, I haven't decided where they will go but I do know what I will move into their places. Nice thing about the lilies, they can rest in a box while I decide since they are about to go to sleep anyhow. But first I need to haul in more sheep barn compost from the neighbor's big piles. He has several piles each in a different stage of decomposition, so I can get soil, almost soil, or some with a lot of mulch in it. He also has some ancient straw I can use to make a mulch layer.

Meezers, clipping the iris leaves is quick and easy, and unless the leaf is lost for some reason it is easy enough to see when you are looking for it and doesn't ruin the appearance of the plant in the meantime. I do think tho, that I will clip more than one leaf next year, and might also experiment with writing the color or name of the plant down kind of low on a leaf on the back side of the plant. Maybe the sun won't fade it by the time I need to look at it.

ZP, welcome. It's funny but when one lurker says hello it gives somebody else the courage to join us. Really, we are harmless and not even scarry.

Kooger, I think you were due for some good news. In spite of having another family member's funeral coming up so soon after the last one, you do sound more upbeat today with some good news on the knee. It will be all healed up by the time you want to be getting into the garden in the spring. Have your plans for employment gone anywhere since the other job went poof?

VAnn, that is a beautiful clematis. I hope mine will get that large. It will need some better soil around it for inspiration, it is competing with tree roots, and also an invasive flower and the dreaded quackgrass that didn't get pulled out last spring. Bad, bad gardener for letting too many things wait until tomorrow or next week.

Cute cat stories. Our most communicative cat communicated too much in the wrong way (spraying in the house) and is now outside 24/7, but when she was inside she would pester me until I followed her to whatever it was that she wanted. She talked a lot, and my hubby would laugh at us. We also had one that patted a doorknob that rattled when he wanted to come inside, but when he wanted to go out he just sat and stared at it.

I'd better get busy on the housework while I wait for the day to warm up a bit more. The wind isn't as strong as it was earlier, so that is good. Dirty laundry became clean and is flapping in the breeze, dishes moved to the dishwasher, but that is all I have accomplished today in the housework department.

Just hopped out of the shower and my parents pulled in!! They drive right across our grass to our slider as neither of them can walk very far. Good thing I had clothes on and the place was cleaned up! Mom and I played 2 games of scrabble - she womped me good and was delighted!

Deanna- nice looking plants. I recognize the elephant ears, but I too would like to know what the pink is - You are in the same zone as I am - maybe I should give them a try - you have to dig them for the cold weather tho don't ya? I think your kitty has you wrapped around her little finger (tail?) Mine is outside right now stalking grasshoppers- funny to watch her!

Well, two lurkers in one day - bring out the goodies- we need to celebrate!!

Well, true to my word, I have not done a thing this afternoon, except walk to the mailbox and retrieve the mail. The couch and Mr.B have been my companions. We rested, napped, watched tv, and both of us thoroughly enjoyed it. The only reason, I am mobile now is I am on my way to the kitchen to start supper. We are gonna have a chicken stir fry, salad and garlic bread,so not a lot to do.

Will be back after the kitchen is cleaned.

Hi "guys",

Thanks for the moral support. DH denied it, but he sure did seem rather depressed yesterday and I know that I felt like somebody was trying to hammer me into the ground. For those of you that I managed to confuse ----- Sorry! DH is a British citizen even though he's lived here for over 20 years. If he could have the procedure done there, National Health would cover it, but we're not sure whether or not we could get it arranged via long distance or not. The podiatrist suggested that it should be done ASAP and that could be a problem too as he might end up on a waiting list. He just spoke with his brother a half hour ago though and there might be some light at the end of this tunnel. My BIL said that DH was certainly welcome to stay with them and he is making inquiries on that end and will get back to us. My BIL had a very perplexing health problem recently and chose to go to a private doctor to speed things up. In the end it cost him around $5,000, so that might be another avenue to explore as even the non-NH medical care (and medication) tends to cost only 1/4 what it would cost here. All in all, DH and I are feeling a bit better since some doable alternatives seem to be out there.

I think that a couple of you asked if I'd be staying here if DH goes to England and the answer is yes. Much as I'd like to be with him while he undergoes treatment and recuperates, we can't afford to close my store as it is now our only source of income (except for small payments from a temporary disability policy he had through his last job ----- and we have no idea how long he'll get those.) There's also the matter of plane tickets which aren't usually all that cheap.

Deanna and zen, loved the kitty stories. We have four of the critters in the household, but I don't think that any of them are quite that smart! The youngest is definitely not a "show me" kind though. It's already very obvious that she believes in "If you want something done right, do it yourself." She just loves to tear holes in the kitty litter bags and spread the stuff all over. When she decided that she didn't like the state of the litter box, why she just started using it fresh from the bag. DH poured the rest into a big bucket and put a plastic washbowl on top as a "lid". Yesterday morning he found her jumping up and down beside it, apparently trying to figure out how to get the cover off.

Hi GG, welcome back! Sorry you had all the illness and infections to deal with. How's your "other half" doing these days? Is his job still working out okay?

Sheila, sounds like "attack of the body-snatchers". Is that really you? Please don't go too crazy with the cleaning. I don't want to be the only one here with attack dust bunnies. Thanks for the brownies too. I haven't had a real one for ages. Last time I made any I made the "No Pudge" ones and they just don't really do it for me.

Maria, what are we going to do with you? Seems no matter how many times it happens, you're always surprised when you start coughing after trying to be Superwoman. I'm sure that your family and Samson would rather a messy house and a healthy you to the alternative.

Bonnie, you sure are right about the expense at the vet's. They are getting almost as bad as the health system for people. The last time we took three of the cats in they wanted us to get Tangerine's teeth taken care of to the tune of $300.00 or so. The vet that my mother uses charged $100.00 for a tooth cleaning as opposed to the $180.00 ours charge for that, but her cat came back so over-anesthetized that I wouldn't dare take Tang, who's old and has other health issues, there. Now that you've found out that it's a yeast infection you might want to go back to last Saturday's Coffee thread and re-read Mary's treatment instructions. If he ever gets it again, you could save a lot of money and it would probably be better for Mr. B than whatever the vet prescribes.

kooger, I'm so glad that the diagnosis on your knee was a lot better than expected. Of course, it would have been even better if it was something that would clear up on its own, but at least this doesn't sound as invasive.

V-ann, hope the new bell-ringer works out. Is the one who left at least still going to play at the wedding?

The clematis is lovely. I don't think that I'll ever try growing it though, we just don't have enough sun in our yard. Much as I like flowers, the small areas that I have that get enough sun are reserved mostly for edibles. I have some flowers in the back of the veggie garden where it's too full of ledge and tree roots to plant anything else. The only flowers that are likely to survive there are real "rough and ready" types too, as I just don't have time to fuss with them. There's an oak tree back there that I'd love to have taken down because it isn't healthy and is constantly dropping small branches on the garden as well as shading the area, but we just don't have the money to do it at the moment.

Well, I guess I'd best preview to see who's been here while I've been typing away. I'm back and only three of you posted, so I'd best post this before a lot more do.

lol Mary, just took a picture of Strawberry/rhubarb pie, will serve it with vanilla icecream just for DD and SIL, they will be here any minute
Have some they will not eat all

BBL

Maria, you are such a tease....pass me a piece..

Oh Maria, I'll have that instead of a hamburger! After being taken over by aliens this morning and forced to clean, they made me go and finish hemming those bargain pants I got at Kohl's.. ...So I'm still hunched over the sewing machine when DH comes home and not a thing thawed or ready to make for dinner! So, frozen burgers go in the Foreman grill, and he can fill up on chips if that doesn't do it.

Don't know what got into me, I usually only clean like that when I'm ****ed off about something!

Deanna, I have four EEs that I tried this year but it took them so long to sprout, they are nowhere near that size. Those are spectacular. I guess I'll be digging mine up and try again next year.

Elaine, that sounds a bit more promising for your DH than it did when you posted earlier. My dear old Oskar was the best cat talker we ever had, he would lead you to what he wanted, or tap you with a paw to get your attention. I still miss him so much. And don't worry, there are plenty of dust bunnies breeding under the refrigerator and behind the washer and dryer, so there won't be any shortage later on.

LOL Zen, can't blame you for putting the naughty kitty out, once they start that and there are no health problems causing it, it's almost impossible to make them stop. I only had one cat, ever, that did that, and he was almost certainly brain damaged from near starvation, before we adopted him.

Well, I'm going to go stare at the hamburger patties and try to convince myself they are filets....and probably won't be back tonight because SURVIVOR is starting, and I am absolutely hooked on that show.

Sarv, bite your tongue!!!

Sheila

Sheila, you called me how nice of you but sorry I missed you i only was out of doors pulling some weeds and taking pictires of the dahlias that seem to have come to life . Pleas try again!

I haver never been able to grow clamitis either, was told the roots have to be in total shade, whether this is so or not I do not know, in any case they always looked stragly and something ate them as fast as leaves or blossom appeared, I gave up after a few years. I saw one at a neighbors house it is just beautiful, all with prolific white blossoms completely hiding the garden arch.
You all have been busy posting while I was getting dinner ready for DD and SIL. Beef bourguinon was very good, worth all the work. Already did one load of dishes am too tired to to clean out the washer and start the next one. I do not know why I always have so many dishes to wash, must be because I use all the "soup to nuts things"

Where is everybody? Miss reading new posts though I do not respond to every one but ~~~~~~~to everyone.

oops wrong picture, sorry! Here is the right one

Both collages are lovely, Maria! Thanks for sharing them.

I know it's kind of early, but I'm tired (so what else is new?). Just finished salting the rims of a dozen margarita candles. I have another craft fair this Saturday and just can't work up any enthusiasm, but will do it anyway. I'm a bit low on some things, but should have enough stuff to make a decent showing. I've done this particular show for the past two years and have yet to set up outside (it's supposed to be out on the town common) due to horrible weather. Both years they managed to squash all the crafters who showed up into the town hall instead. Please keep your fingers crossed for me. Everyone I've talked to there says that they've done really well when the fair is outside. There are apparently a lot more people who attend in good weather.

Will see you all tomorrow. Here's the link to tomorrow's thread http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/651099/

This message was edited Sep 14, 2006 10:35 PM

Mary and Sarv,
Yes, the EE's are the "Herd". My DH nicknamed them that 20 years ago, because of the way the "Ears" sway in the breeze. You can just imagine a herd of elephants ambling along, when those big "ears" start swaying. Most of them get to 44-46 inches in length, now. Only thing I hate about them is digging them in the Fall. UGH!
The pink flower is a mandevilla vine. Since it's also Tropical, I cut it back to about 3' tall, pull the pot out of the ground, trim the roots back, and repot in a freshly disinfected pot. Put it under my lights for the winter and by spring its raring to go back outdoors.
Whew! Spent the last three hours "captioning" all my summer photos. I've burned several CD's to send to family and friends, as the files much too big (20 mega-bites) to send over e-mail.
Captioning makes those pics so much more enjoyable for "flower-challenged" folks who love to see pictures, but get more enjoyment when they know what they are looking at! LOL

Sheila, I can just imagine you "Wishing" those burgers into Filets! Cute

Maria,
Strawberry, Rhubarb pie. Yumm! Haven't made one in ages, but just love them. May I sample?

Bonnie,
Know what you mean about the vet.
My Sasha is a sweetheart, but has to be put to sleep to be groomed. Her hair gets so long, and she gets so miserable, just spends all her time trying to groom that long stuff, has horrible yukky hairballs, and actually licks bare "trails" over her body. So twice a year, we have her groomed down close. Each time, it runs around $270.00 OUCH!
But, she is so much happier and content with short hair, so we do it. It's really odd the way it takes her 2-3 days to get her equilibrium back, after a haircut.

Did someone mention Aliens? Well, they struck here, too! My husband and I are both smokers (hanging head in shame), but we can't stand a yukky, smokey house-so we each have an exhaust fan in our computer rooms, as well as one in Bathroom, and Kitchen. Yesterday, we tore them all apart, cleaned thoroughly and put them back up. Talk about a job. Then we scrubbed his office top to bottom, including windows, pictures, computers (has 3 up to date and on-line, at the moment; sometimes has more. HA) I affectionately call him a "Wannabe Computer Geek"!) Then we tackled the bathroom, top to bottom.
I just re-read this and almost sounds like we're pigs, who do a "clean-up" every mellenium.LOL
Not the case at all, but after a while those daily and weekly cleaning don't really cut it-and you need to bring out the BIG guns.ha
Well, Kitty is out surveying her domain right now. It's a nightly ritual she has , to make sure we're all safe! After she travels"her highway" that goes all the way around the house, she roars like a lion, to let us know all is well. It's the funniest thing. Here she is:
BBL, Deanna

Deanna, I hang my head in shame with you. Years ago we were 2 smokers, but DH was in an accident in intensive care for 2 months, and when released from the hospital was "cured" of the habit. I know what you mean about cleaning the smoke from the fixtures. I do it about 4 times a year. That is so cute about your "patrolling cat". My Miss Boots, is sedintary, and the most activity she partakes of is running to the kitchen when we eat supper. Don't know what's up with that as we never feed her from the table.

Maria, that pie looks sooooo good. Please save me a piece!! I planted a rhubarb this spring, and the plant is enormous. Like a good plant mommie, I didn't do anything with it this year, but wait until next year. Those pictures (even the wrong ones) are beautiful.

M5, I didn't know that there was a requirement anywhere that all dust bunnies had to be banished from the house. I always have them, under the fridge, behind the washer, dryer, under the hutch (I ain't gonna move that thing). I thought that in order to breed that there had to be at least 2 residents at all time!! What in the world came over you today? I gave my permission to do nothing, and you still had to go and hem those pants!! I sometimes will put myself in a trance when eating burgers, and even convince myself that it is prime rib, filet, etc. Just depends on the depth of the trance whether it works or not. Usually not.

McCool, your post sounds so much more positive than last night. I sure hope that the England connection works out, and that he can get the needed treatment at a much reduced price. I certainly don't know what folks do without insurance. Mine is a perk of my previous employment. It costs me nothing, except co-pays and believe you me, I certainly am thankful for that. As to the disability payments, sure hope that they continue long enough to get you guys through this crisis.

Sarv, since my DM can't walk very far, every event that is held at this house requires her designated driver to pull up to my front door. Everytime, I just pray for good dry weather, as DH has a conniption if anything defaces his lawn. Just heard on the news that next week's weather is in the 40's. I had hoped for some more sunny warm weather, but guess I will start the process of closing down the pool. I am just wondering who will be brave enough to get in that cold water and do the final vacuuming? My robotic vac does most, but will still have to use the manual one to get at the debris in the bottom. I think I am the nominee, and I have decided that sweat pants, and sweat shirt should help some!!

After supper, I went to take a check to the neighbor kid for mowing the cemetery ( I am treasurer) and got a good surprise. The kid who mows is DH's cousin's child, er man, 22. Discovered that DH's aunt and cousin from Florida were visiting, and stayed to chat with then, as we don't see them often. Took Mr. B, and since we are just next door, he got tired of waiting on me and walked home. Well, stopped to pick him up, and went to DM's, as he has to have his evening ride!! Then to a neighbor's to share our county paper, where Mr. B socialized (that means sniffed) all their dogs. Came home, put the drops in his ears, and he has been pouting ever since. How can I get him to understand that baths, meds, are not punishments, and that he doesn't need to be upset about it? I have tried giving him treats after the treatments, but that isn't working. Any suggestions?

Well, need to check some other forums, and then probably straight to bed. Hope you all have a good night's rest, and wake ready to tackle the new day.

Night Gracie

Hi folks,

Won't try to respond to the messages since my last post, but I've skimmed them.

Took the twins to Kindermusik. Got to the OSO office to pick up my music for the oct. 3 concert. Major work is Dvorak "New World" Symphony which I've played before, Copeland's "Appalachian Spring" which I've also played and part of an Ives work which is new to me. But I think the music of Ives is really neat.

The other orchestra doesn't have a concert until late October but is doing Mendelssohn's Italian Symphony which I've never played but know fairly well. Was on a drop-the-needle identification list of repertoire when I took music history.

Also went to bells. They have a lot of work to do to get ready to play on Sept 24. We will play the same piece again on Oct. 7 at the wedding of a gal who played with us for several years. (Now moved out of town). New ringer is finding it difficult, but will be OK in time. Whether she should play next week, I'm not sure. Might ask organist to direct and let me play.

DH arrive home safely from his trip to the Netherlands. Has been in bed for awhile and I should get there soon.

I've spent the evening working on my thread about the Japan trip. I've narrowed the pics down to about 45 and edited them smaller. Am writing text to go with them. With a bit of luck, I'll get it posted tomorrow.

Hope you all have a good night.

Ann

PS This is a smokers' "cage" at a Japanese shopping mall

Suzie has made it to Las Vegas safe and sound. And she brought the wind and the ever illusive rain with her. DH said he had rain for about 20 minutes in the down town area. At my work we only had wind blowing the dirt and sand around. Thankfully I had some sort of forethought and cleaned up my mess and moved the dresser to a dry area. Not much rain here but it would have been enough to stop me from working on it tonight. I managed to get another side done. All that is needed now, the front sanded before I fix a couple of damaged spots, prime painting, and then I can start sanding again.

I had to go to Lowe's tonight after work to get some more sand paper and a couple of other things. While there I ran into someone that I haven't seen in 18 years. I met her during my wild younger days, reconnected after we both had our daughters and discovered we gave them both the same first and middle names. We purchased our first home on the other end of the valley and her and her now ex purchased a new home even further away. We slowly drifted apart after that. After noticing her I thought to myself Susan had eyes just like that. Guess thats because they belong to her. (Her eyes are emerald green and shaped almost like cat eyes). Very different. We exchange numbers and I plan on calling her this coming up weekend so we can get together.

Defoe, give Mr. B an extra little hug for me. Poor little guy having to itch so bad that he is making himself bleed.

Meezer I am with you on the dislike with the winter months and the lack of sunlight. I purchased one of those lights to help me with my moods and I amazed at the difference. I am thinking of getting another for the livingroom. My boss bought me one for work. (I think she was trying to tell me something, LOL) and I have one in my sewing room. Its great for seeing detailed work.

Thanks Sarv..... I am going to need all the seeds I can get once I get moved. I use to think that 3 miles sounded like to far to walk till strapped on a pedometer. I walk an average of five miles a day and that is in heels. You would think I should have some awesome looking calves. But NO!!!!!!!!


Okay, I started reading and writing around 7pm my time, dinner and my youngest stepped in and now its after nine and I cant hardly keep my eyes open. I started to read the rest of the posts and the screen is moving so I am giving up. I will comment tomorrow. Good night, sweet dreams to all, and ~~~~~'s to boot.

Casey

I'm back home from our trip that should have been 9 hours and ended up being almost 13 hours. DB made a zillion stops. I'll update tomorrow, too pooped tonight but I got a lot of what I wanted from storage. Wanted more, but no room.