Okay fellow water garden fans, did you have a good Christmas???
Hubby gave me four new water garden books that were on my Amazon wishlist and a few non-water-garden-related gifts!
How did you do?
Hope everyone had a safe and fun Christmas!
Elizabeth
Was Santa good to you?
I got a new wheelbarrow and a nice fat gift certificate to Rare Find Nursery (and unmentionables). Really! It's what I wanted. My old wheelbarow is an "heirloom". It's well over 50 yrs. old (my Dad's), probably close to 60, solid metal, tips real easy and so heavy it makes my arms fall off. I really, really wanted a new one. It looked pretty funny sitting under the Christmas tree but hey, it was #1 on my list.
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100344354&marketID=314&locStoreNum=3801&categoryID=501674
You definitely have to be a die hard gardener to want a wheelbarrow for Christmas.
ic - Book titles? Always looking for good water garden/koi reference books.
Snapple: No underwater video camera????? My heart bleeds for you. Weren't you nice to Santa?
I asked for for two books on concrete garden works and recvd them (I ordered them for myself for my husband to give to me. . . we are weird like that . . .). Both are written by Sherri Warner Hunter whom I was advised here at Daves is the best of the writers about this subject. Did that make sense? Anyways, no other interesting gardening items because I think I have everything I need at the moment and am saving my big $$$ for the koi and pond and Spring. I will pull out all the Pond and Plant wishes for Valentines, Easter, April Fools Day, Memorial Day . . . LOL!
Nah, no camera. But I didn't mention the Garmin. I am the most directionally impaired female on the planet.
I have dead reckoning inside a shopping mall but can't figure out east or west to save my life. Never could.
My cars are littered with stuff printed out from mapquest. For business I wander all over the metropolitan area
and "wander" is the operative word. The garmin is to save my DH and employees back at the office from trying to figure out where I am from cross streets and getting me where I need to go over the phone. I'm pathetic.
Good for you! In my last car purchase (2 years ago) I bought a used car that had a navigation system in it. I love it. Occasionally there are places that do not show up on the system (like my home address. . . weird). Because of it I feel like I put my brain on hold in the car because I don't have to think. If I take my husband's car (a nice sports car-convertible) to someplace new I regret having taken the nice car because it doesn't have the navigation in it. My husband thinks I'm nuts because I always, ALWAYS, loved his car over my "family" car-until the navigator.
I am the same way, can barely direct you across the street. Are those stand alone navigation systems pretty good? What kind would you recommend? I would love to be able to drive places but get lost too easily so I have to wait for hubby who has an excellent sense of direction. NOT usually a good thing. LOL
tetley - DH picked a Garmin based on recommendations from Consumer Reports. Garmin and TomTom are the two highest rated, with Garmin generally rating modestly higher than TomTom for most models. He picked the exact model at Amazon that had the features that I would probably use. The one he got is upper end but not top end - Garmin Nuvi 760. It went on sale at Amazon. I've already tried it out. I could figure it out by my self - TaDa! It updates the maps for free from the internet ( which I already did ). It will also do "hands free" cell phone and traffic updates. The Ohio legislature is making noises about restricitng cell phone use while driving. If you go to Amazon and search for Garmin, Amazon provides a list of all models with their individual features. You can then select which one meets your needs and your wallet. I will say this about the Garmin I have, it's super easy to use. I was able to use it immediatley without any fuss. The thought of never being lost again is almost too much.
I mean, if it's 1:00 in the afternoon and its raining and someone says you just go "west" on Lincoln Ave. how in the #@%% are you supposed to know which way is west?! You might as well tell me to go to the moon. I do know where up is.
I can see tetley now, programming in her favorite garden/pond center addresses and zooming off with no DH along to er, ahem, "supervise" .
This message was edited Dec 26, 2008 9:03 PM
Yeah Tetley would be happy without someone looking over her shoulder at the garden centers . . . I would hate to have my husband with me at a garden center. I would feel that I would have to get in and out as if I had a plan and not be able to meander and touch and smell the roses . . . Men (my man does anyways) always feel that they need a reason to do something. Plus would I really want him to see the bill or the "Actual" amount of plants I really bought as compared to what I show him (I am a confessed plant hider . . .).
Regarding my navigation system: One thing I do not like on my system is the lack of ease in programming the location. I wish I had a stylus pen system so that it would be faster and easier to correct rather then my turning a knob back and forth through the entire alphabet and number system. I however love the verbal warnings of when a turn is coming up. Also, make sure you check with your mobile phone, some have navigation on them. My iphone has it but I have never tried it out. My husband uses it though. I believe it also has voice commands in it.
The Garmin is a finger touch screen. No knob(s) to turn or stylus necessary. I can't stress enough its ease of use. If you can point you can operate it. The screens are so simple that you can't miss.
I just finished some pond supply ordering (Aquaticeco). I like to have all my stuff on hand when spring comes 'round. Today I got activated carbon, new media bags and spawning brushes. From Labrakes I got String Agae Buster. They had a really decent price so I got a season's worth. All I'll need to get is probably more dechlorinator. Plants will come last. The lilles will have to all be repotted. That's a job I just dread because the big tub weighs over 35 lbs. I always get a chilly soaking getting it in and out of the pond. Funny, staring out the window here at the outdoor Christmas decorations and all I can think of is spring and getting back outside. About 90 days I reckon.
You all know exactly where I was heading with that! I would love to go to nurseries and public gardens without having in the back of my mind that I had to hurry through because I had someone else along that was there only because they had to be. And yes, I am also a good plant hider. My garden is up a hill and hubby does not linger very often so it is actually easy to do (except when he is at the garden center with me to begin with!) I will definately be looking into getting one of the models you suggested Snapple. Time to start saving up again. :^)
Gift from Santa?? We decided not to spend much this year since we are treating ourselves to a 6 weeks vacation to Philippines, singapore andMelbourne Australia, a callaway driver,a jacket and a matching shirt from the country club that we belong to. I got a nice card and calls from our children as well as gift certificates from them.
My husband bought a Tom-tom 2 years ago and he always comment that it is the best investment next to me. It had saved us from argueing. I never learned to read maps and what it means if a number is odd or even!! LOL!!! Have a nice weekend evrybody!!! Bellieg
Map? Odd number, even number? Is that a foreign language? LOL
That's a honey of a trip!
Bellieg: Sounds like the recession has hit you hard this year . . . (I'm happy for you!). At first when I read your post I thought you were winding us all up. Make sure you post pictures when you return. When do you leave?
Great trip planned. I used to live in OZ (Native's nickname for Australia) and absolutely loved it there. I want to take my kids there in the next few years before they are too old to really enjoy interacting with the koalas, and roos. They actually let you touch them at some of the parks and zoos. Well, they did back in the 1980's. Our dream trip would be Hawaii, NZ, (Sydney and the Reef),OZ and China and Japan. My husband is mostly interested in NZ (another amazing place if you the outdoors). My 6 year old loves Panda's (China) and my 9 year old loves all things Japanese (Nintendo, Sony, Pokemon and all Asian girls . . . don't ask about that last one -lol!)
Wow Bellieg what a trip! I hope that everything goes well and you have the time of your life. Please keep us updated.
My new year's resolution is to start putting money aside every week staring on Jan. 1 so that once a year hubby and I can do something we have never done before. That could be a trip or an extravagence that we would never normally consider. I would love to go to Australia to see Koalas and Roos or to India to meet Dinu in person and maybe get one of those beautiful saris.
That does sound like an amazing trip! Our big extravagance in 2009 will, hopefully, be the large outdoor pond. We'll see how far along we get with that.
Honestly, the thing I was most excited about that I received for Christmas was a pair of tall, waterproof, lace-up Ugg boots. I thought that they were made in Australia - shearling lined and all that - but the box actually said "Made in China." I kind of felt like that was a huge rip-off, since the boots were very expensive!!!
tetley, If you go to India to meet Dinu I'm going too!!!
ic - My daughter is at this moment using her Christmas gift card to get a pair of Uggs. I didn't know they were made in China, but then what isn't these days.
MM - Do you think we could convince Dinu, if we compensated him well enough for his time and trouble, to ship some of those hand carved Indian millstones?
1.Yes uggs is Australian with its famous shearling lining. Our daughter owns every color but i refuse to spend that much money. Yes they are made in China!!
2. i still have to ask DH what the odd or even numbers on iterstate signs mean and will let you know.
3.We are leaving in few days for the 6 weeks vacation. Actually it is my College reunion but we decided to see places since we are there anyway.this had been in the planning since early this year not knowing that the economy will go down, DH suggested to cancel but our plans was almost final. i am very excited, I wish we can play golf but we are not bringing our clubs. They reduced the weights so much that it will costs too much to pay extra.One thing I learned is Australian visa is free if you go apply in person at their embassy. Our travel agent was charging 200.00 each while the internet was 99.00 each. We saved a fortune!!!
4. What is Indian millstone? What do you use it for? Gardening??
I will post pictures at the travel section. Enjoy your weekend!! Bellieg
Bellieg, look at the thread "moving pond to new location" we were having a conversation with Dinu about the millstones lining the edge of his pond. He has quite a collection.
I'm also in awe at those millstones! I found a few places that sell granite versions online but the stones themselves start at around $250 plus shipping (probably nearly as much as the cost of the stone, given the weight) and they are all brand new, nothing old looking.
Bellie, you can set a water reservoir under the millstone, then put in a little pump, landscape around with rocks, thread the tubing to the top of the opening of the millstone after you lay it flat on the reservoir with rocks, and voila, you have yourself a really neat bubbling fountain.
Tetley-I can get you a sari or two around here. They are quite pretty but hard to garden in . . .
Millstones from Dinu? I think I blew it when I told him that they were worth so much around here.
Ugg boots. When I lived in OZ everyone wore boots everywhere-like to the beach and work and uggs were just some cheap boots that with the USA dollar to the OZ dollar they were about $7.00 each. They weren't the prize they are considered now. Back then I think they were manufactured by hand or small business. They might have been bought out or remarketed or copied. I wouldn't wear them because it was either too hot or raining and they aren't water proof.
Good things to buy in OZ that were cheap 30 years ago. Dunas=down comforters. I still have a few left over I bought- so many and shipped them via snail mail and gave them away to my family and friends. They were about $25-60 each depending on the warmth rating.
Sheepskin rugs. I can't remember how much but I got one that was very large for about $20.00 that I gave to my nephew-he still has it.
Makeup-name brands. I found that name brand makeup was imported from communistic places and was very cheap. Makeup isn't something that is widely used there. Pantyhose cost a mint down there. Good panty hose was hard to locate that I had to get my friends to ship it tome.