April -- The Gift that Just Keeps Giving or Gotta Love Texas Weather

We had a line of thunderstorms roll through last night about 7 p.m.  There were 80 mph winds roaring through my backyard.  It was black as pitch and the trees were blowing so hard they were almost touching the ground.  Hubs heard a thud and....well, the photos are self explanatory.

 

So, yeah, I got nuthin' to say.  

Ouch, Damn! and Treacherous

Look quickly because before too long it is going to be a thing of the past.  I am not a gardener.  I never said I was.  It wasn't part of the marriage contract.  And now I have gimpy knees.

My husband used to tolerate yard work but never loved it.  I think it was forced on him so much as a child that he really has no use for it.  If we could have an apartment with a woodworking shop he would be content.  I don't blame him.  So, when we moved to this house in 2005 he was thrilled that the HOA dues included mowing of both the front and the back yards.  That was especially good for us because we have one of the biggest lots in this garden home community.

Well, somewhere around 2007 we decided we needed something besides just grass.  Now, let it be said that I am fine with just grass but it was a little plain with just grass and a wood fence.  Stark is probably a better word.  So, we called in a landscaper and had a good deal of work done.  We extended the patio and had quite a bit of greenery put in.  It was lovely and it was all LITTLE.

Over time we have lost some bushes, some have been damaged in the weather and some things we just lost interest for.  We have replaced, changed and added new stuff.

  

Skullcap

 The ongoing problem involves a vine -- well, two actually.  One must be called "ouch, damn" because that is what my husband says every time he tries to pull it out because the thorns are rather big and painful, even through gloves.  We don't know the name of the other one so my husband has not so fondly nicknamed it "Treacherous".

 

"Treacherous"

Neither responds to any sort of removal technique.  They are prolific and have grown in and around and over everything.  Keeping this huge flower bed has become a complete nightmare.  Now, if we lived in a more temperate area where gardening could be more or less a three season activity it would be one thing but here it is too extreme and the gardening season is actually pretty short unless you want to completely die in 104 heat trying to wrestle with Ouch, Damn and Treacherous.  Neither of us like to do that so we are going to have to do something else.

We talked about just removing everything except for the holly trees and just planting grass again.  I am sort of up with that but I think he hates to do that so we are going to take everything out except for the hollies, crab apple, Japanese maple and hackberry and plant Asiatic jasmine as a ground cover and call it done.  We will be keeping the big rocks though.  I am done with flower pots and hanging baskets and all that sort of thing.  I want to hose the patio down, get a beverage and sit down and just enjoy green.  We will be keeping the big blue pots by the gazebo because they work well with purslane.

It looks under control but it isn't -- SO overgrown

You can't see the plants because of Ouch,Damn and Treacherous

Magic Mushrooms -- yum!

The Farmer in the Dell

This is a huge Hawthorn bush that is totally covered by that Asian something or other

Screwy Japanese Maple Tree-- part of it died and broke and now we have this -- it may turn into Japanese Maple Bush

from the backside looking back at the house

While I was out giving direction (haha!) I was looking around at the rest of the yard.  I am not an outdoor girl so I am usually surprised by what I find out there.  I heard a good deal of chirping -- like an argument -- and saw two female cardinals flying at each other.  When I walked closer each flew into a separate tree.  I think they each have a nest.  Then, I heard more chirping and looked up to see a large male cardinal.  Maybe it was him they were fighting over?  Hmm..

not a good picture but this is the male cardinal and he was pretty big

Then, there was a squirrel running amok around the yard and over the fence.  I don't see squirrels regularly as we have no pecan trees around.  If I see them they are only passing through.

Apparently as my husband was pruning and trimming he found a spot where something has dug under the fence to the property behind us.  I am thinking that is the passageway of the racoons that run through the yard.  We have had racoon, coyote, fox and rabbit in our yard.  However, since they built the apartment behind us we don't get to see those things anymore, just people coming in off the street dumping trash in the dumpster that the developers thought would be well placed right behind my house.  Yes.  Another story.

So, anyway, look closely because I think all of this is going to be history and I can't say as I mind.

Playing

Remember childhood?  Remember playing?  I loved jacks, jump ropes and playing hopscotch.  I was afraid of roller skates and couldn't keep up with that darn skate key to save my life. I loved reading and coloring and playing games. Many hours were spent building a play house with quilts and lawn chairs under the gardenia bush with my cousin.  What happened to playing?

Oh, wait! We still play, don't we?

Sure we do! My playing tends to be more of the artistic variety these days but it is still playing.  I quilt and cross stitch and I am toying with the idea of making some cards.  I have even starting collecting a few tools for the projects -- rubber stamps, paper punches and such.

And, I still color.

I love these coloring books for grownups -- they are so detailed.  And I absolutely LOVE Crayola colored pencils.

Ok, there is one other thing I do to play.  Not many people know this but I doodle.  Being the extremely untalented daughter of a pretty darn talented artist I kept my artistic endeavours to coloring and writing -- I like to write as well.  I always wished I had inherited the artistic gene but alas, it wasn't to be so I just avoided the whole situation.  Fast forward to the last couple of years.  Bean likes to draw and I think she will be a good little artist with time and a bit of training.  She likes company when she draws so I draw with her.  I have learned that doodling, even if it isn't great art, is very relaxing and theraputic.  I can easily get lost in it. I have also learned that it doesn't really matter if it is fine art -- if it is enjoyable that is all that matters.

So, I thought I would introduce you to Arlo.  I love Arlo.  He is so....well...round.  And sweet.  He has a female counterpart named Gwendolyn but I couldn't find her.  She is round as well.

There is a boat on the page behind and you can sort of see it -- not part of Arlo

I am sorry he is a bit blurry -- my hands shake a little bit and I sometimes I have a hard time holding the camera still.


This is Arlo and Gwendolyn's tree.

And a couple of their BFF's

Hee hee -- they are so bad they make me laugh! I am such a silly ol' broad!

Good Thing or Bad?

For the last several years I have become more and more aware of our environment and our food sources and what is happening to them.  For the last three or four years I have been doing things to change my personal environment such as making household products, researching the toxicity in personal care products, looking at food sources, etc.  I have changed a lot of things in our home and I am comfortable with it. 

I do have a problem with food however as I don't really care for cooking as the Hubs and I have totally different tastes in eating.  I like the food my mother cooked and he likes the food his mother cooked and they aren't the same.  Not even close.  So, we struggle with it and eat out much more than we should. We are both gaining weight and it isn't a good thing so I will be spending some time today revisiting that.

However, in the last week while I have been under the weather with the dreaded stomach bug something was drawn to my attention.  I hadn't eaten for a couple of days so I sent Hubs to the store for soup.  I like homemade chicken soup but that wasn't going to happen.  I requested plain, ordinary Campbell's chicken and rice soup.  Now, I haven't eaten this soup in years but I am pretty sure I remember what it tasted like.  He came home with the "healthy" stuff -- less sodium which is ok but this stuff was vile.  I mean, like spoiled vile.  There was nothing wrong with the can and I ate about a half cup of the broth before I realized that it was really wretched.  It was so bad that I hoped I didn't die in the night from ingesting it.  I didn't go back for more, clearly, and I didn't open another can to see if there was a difference.  Could it be that my taste has changed that much?  Could it be that the soup I ate all through my childhood was always that bad?

I have found this with other stuff as well -- bread to be exact.  I simply do not like the taste of commercial bread.  I tried to eat a slice of toast this morning and I almost couldn't do it.  I have been making our bread for quite a while now and I guess I have changed my taste for it.

So, is it me?  Have I just changed my taste for food?  Is our commercial food really this bad?  I will be going grocery shopping today as we are out of everything but I won't be buying anymore Campbell's soup.   I will be buying chicken and re-packaging it so that if the need arises anytime soon I will be able to make my own soup.  Hmm..just as I was about to retire the crockpot and bread maker I think I will need to reconsider.

Food for thought -- literally.

April in Review

Oh, wait, you mean it isn't over yet?  I think I will just go back to bed.  Let's see, the week before Holy Week son in law down with dreaded evil virus.  Holy Week had daughter and granddaughter down with same virus.  Easter Eve mother in law fell and broke foot - 8 miserable hours in a very slow emergency room.  Wednesday I fell ill with the dreaded evil virus.  Fever finally broke this a.m.

What -- it is only the 10th?  Is there any point in hoping that my husband doesn't come down with it?  Nah.

Define "Old"

 

Yesterday my daughter was telling us of some comments one of her students made to her.  The student told my daughter that she couldn't believe she was in her mid-thirties because she didn't act like it! My daughter took that to mean that the student thought she was immature.  The student assured her that wasn't what she meant but she didn't particularly elaborate.  We went on to discuss how I saw my daughter and I told her that it was probably her physical appearance that brought the student to that decision and not her behavior because my daughter doesn't look much older than she did in high school.

So, I couldn't leave it alone, could I?  I had to take it one step further, didn't I?  I had to ask -- "do I seem old to you"?  Her answer was -- "no -- well, yes, sometimes".  Hmmmm.......I think I need further clarification from her.  Is it my appearance?  Well, I am sure I look my age -- well, maybe not QUITE my age but not far from.  Is it my clothes?  Well, we do tend to differ in clothing styles.  Is it my attitude -- ok, every once in a while I open my mouth and my mother pops out -- I will agree but my mother had those attitudes when she was far younger than my age. 

I don't think I have "old" habits or mannerisms (and I absolutely loathe the color lavender).  I read a lot of the same books as my daughter and I still listen to rock and roll music -- current stuff as well as "oldies" (there is that word again), we watch the same movies and I am pretty current on pop culture -- I mean if those Kardashian girls were mine they would be so grounded!  I will admit to complaining about my joints hurting but then, they hurt when I was younger than my daughter is now. 

So, what makes us appear a certain way to other people?  Is it just because she knows my age or maybe if she feels older then I must be much older.  I don't know.  I look at people like Stevie Nicks, who is a couple of years older than me, and yes, she has aged very well in spite of herself.  In person I am not sure what she would look like but on television she looks pretty darn good.  I can't even comment on the recent media flurry of Christie Brinkley's appearance.  So, does this mean I should cut my hair so I don't look so much like a bag lady or maybe make it blond?  More makeup?  Yuck. 

I think I need to have more conversation with my daughter.  Or should I?  Hmmm...slippery slope, there, slippery slope.

The Persian Pickle Club -- Book Review

Recently I have been trying to read down my list of books on my Nook.  I was in the mood for something different and not too long.  So, I chose "The Persian Pickle Club" by Sandra Dallas.

The setting is Kansas, the time period is the 1930's.  The main character is Queenie Bean, wife to Grover Bean and a member of the Persian Pickle Club.  The Persian Pickle Club is comprised of the women in the tiny community of Harveyville.  On the surface their main purpose is quilting but their relationship goes way beyond that of a needle and thread.  They are there to support each other in good times and bad -- to celebrate and to mourn -- and to solve a mystery.  The characters are strong, sassy and not without humor.  It is a good account of the mores of the day -- even small towns in Kansas had their standards, after all.  As I read this book I could just picture many of the characters as people I have known myself.  However, if this were a movie, Rita would have to be played by Jen Lilley of "Days of Our Lives" fame.

I have never read any of Sandra Dallas's other works but I will in the future.  This was a fun read.  It was engaging, seemingly without typos and grammatical errors I am finding in so many e-books, and it ended well.  I would definitely recommend this book for a fast, light read.  I know, mystery doesn't sound light but this isn't really a mystery book it is.......well, you just have to read it for yourself.

Good Friday

It is Good Friday.  To me, Good Friday is the holiest day of the year, next to Easter.  The magnitude of the day is overwhelming to me and brings me to my knees.  Even though I know that the joy of Easter Sunday is just around the corner, the sadness of this day never fades. 

It will be a quiet day for me as Good Friday always is.  My day will progress as usual but I will be ever aware of the meaning of the day and it will permeate my thoughts as I go through my usual routine.  How do you feel about Good Friday?

I think I have all the sick people just about well.  I am hoping we can go into this Easter weekend with everyone back on their feet. To me, Easter Sunday is like the New Year -- a new beginning.  But, until then, it is a quiet time for me.

When It Rains.....

Morton Salt -- this is the brand of salt I grew up with and still use to this day.  Below the little girl with the umbrella reads the saying "when it rains, it pours" meaning that even if it is humid or damp the salt doesn't get clumpy.  All my life when the things of life began to pile up, overlap, hit hard we would always say "well, you know, when it rains it pours". 

That is especially true of this last week.  Last Thursday my son-in-law - the one who NEVER gets sick -- got sick.  I don't mean he felt under the weather I mean he contracted some sort of vicious stomach/intestinal virus that is apparently going around.  By Sunday he was stirring around but he looked like he had been through the wringer.  He returned to work yesterday, exhausted and not 100% and he came home to .....

my daughter not feeling up to par and when the phone rang at 11:15 last night I knew something was wrong.  Yep, she had it.  It was official.  All the symptoms including a fever.  She needed her mommy.

So, I expressed the concern that I didn't really want to get sick and even though I was at their house babysitting the Bean while the SIL was ill, I didn't go around him -- he was sequestered in another part of the house so I felt like I wasn't really exposed but I knew it wouldn't be that way with my daughter because I am the mommy she needed.  So, I took down the grocery list and we headed her way this morning knowing that we would not be staying -- SIL had taken off work to take care of his lovely wife.   Groceries procured I walked into the house only to find my SIL looking overwhelmed, daughter looking terrible, feeling terrible, running a fever and whining that I was her mommy and I was supposed to make her feel better (wish I could!), and the Bean tossing her cookies, pale as a ghost, sitting very still and not talking. 

All I wanted to do was spray them all down with Lysol.

But, I am afraid it is too late.

Maybe it is just my imagination.  Maybe I am just having sympathy pains.

Yuck.

It's Official!

I have crossed over that line between a little crazy and REALLY crazy.  I recently read a book entitled "A Single Thread" by Marie Bostwick.  It is the first book in the Cobbled Quilt Series and I read it, I really did. But....I can't find it.  I can't find it on the Nook or the physical bookshelves.  It has disappeared.  I even looked in the car but I am certain I read it digitally.  And in the process of looking for it I discovered that I have a digital copy of "The Persian Pickle Club" and a physical copy that I just purchased a couple of weeks ago.  I guess I am going to have to keep a list.  Bother.

Well, moving along, I recently read "A Single Thread" by Marie Bostwick, the first in the Cobbled Quilt Series.  It is the story of Evelyn Dixon, a middle aged woman looking for a new life after an abrupt divorce.  She decided to take a trip, on her own, to sort things out and she decided on New Bern, Connecticut as the place to spend some time to gather her thoughts.  Her friends were surprised she was going to take off on her own, especially for someplace so far -- it is quite a distance from Fort Worth, TX to Connecticut!

It took one day for Evelyn to realize that New Bern would be her new home.  It took one week for her to realize that it was exactly the right time and place for her to begin her dream of owning a quilt shop -- being her own employer -- being dependent on just herself.

She set about making the dream happen with the help of several new friends -- Abigail, Margot and the angry Lizzie. They were an unlikely lot but proved to be just what she needed both business wise and personally.  It wasn't smooth sailing -- personal problems, business problems, health problems....but it was fun.

I don't want to say too much because it was a really compelling story and I might get carried away and share too many spoilers.  Let me just say as a Fort Worthian that has always wanted to visit the Northeast, but probably never will, I had a strong visual of what the area looked like and what the quilt shop looked like.  I could even envision how I would decorate it if it were mine.  It was easy for form a mental image of all these women -- the book really came to life in my mind.

I have now gone on to purchase the rest of the books in the series and will review when I read them.  I recommend this first title without reservation.  It was a good, cozy read.

Now I am listening to Absolute Radio 60's from somewhere in the UK on my internet radio.  I love it! Had to stop writing to sing a little "White Rabbit".

Grace Slick

I do family history for my own family but I will admit that I have done some searching on my favorite celebrities and Slick is one that I have done some research on -- I was pleasantly surprised that she is a descendant of the Mayflower families but I can't remember which one.  Hm..I wonder if we are related -- we have the same nose only mine is a bit shorter.  Oh, and my people didn't come over on the Mayflower.  And I can't sing.  Oh well.

Ah, I digress but I am enjoying feeling like a kid again with my favorite songs in the background -- but it sounds better than the transistor radios we used to carry around -- pre-ipods!

Ok, I am just being silly now.  Time for laundry.

Musing Mondays

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme that asks you to choose one of the following prompts to answer:

• I’m currently reading…
• Up next I think I’ll read…
• I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
• I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I can’t wait to get a copy of…
• I wish I could read ___, but…
• I blogged about ____ this past week…

THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: How old were you when you realized that you are an AVID reader?




I haven't done a Musing Monday for a while so I thought I would join in this morning.  If you want to participate it can be found at adailyrhythm.com.

I am not currently reading anything as I just finished the Lush Trilogy, much to my surprise.  It has been reviewed on my blog.  Up next I will probably continue one with "My Antonia" by Willa Cather which I started but abandoned to finish the first in the Cobbled Quilt series or I will begin "The Persian Pickle Club".

In the last week I bought the second and third books in the "Lush" trilogy -- Hush and Crush.  I purchased them for my Nook.

I am really looking forward to Jan Karon's new book coming out soon.  That one I will buy in hardback as I have collected the entire series and will continue as long as she continues to write them.  They have such a great, homey feel to them -- I love reading them in the fall -- it just seems appropriate.

Random Question response --

I always loved books and loved being read to as a child.  I remember, sometime before the age of five, watching my mother read the newspaper and asking her what it felt like to be able to read.  It was fascinating to me and somehow I just knew it would open up a whole world to me.  When I went to kindergarten at age five there were no curriculum guidelines deeming it illegal to teach us to read so off we went with the Dick and Jane books which I now understand were terrible learning aids.  Anyway, I remember sitting in a chair watching my teacher, Mrs. Pearce, with that great big Dick and Jane flip chart asking us to read the sentences.  I was thrilled.  When I was eight and just getting out of third grade we went on our end of the year picnic at San Pedro Park in San Antonio.  At the end of the day we were told that if we were eight and had a parent with us we could go to the library which was situated in the park and get a library card.  So, I was and I did so we went and I got my first library card.  I remember the children's section so well and the shelves that housed my favorite books by authors like Lois Lenski, Kate Seredy and Laura Ingalls Wilder.  I remember bringing home my new finds -- probably just one or two at a time -- and sitting curled up on the couch completely losing myself in those books.  My favorite time to read was when it was raining.  Most of the time it wasn't a cold rain as we were in San Antonio and my mother would leave the front door open and the windows open as long as it wasn't raining IN and I would read for hours to the rhythm of that slow rain.  I guess that is why I have always associated reading with rainy days -- there were many in San Antonio.  So I guess the answer to the question is that I have never known a time when I wasn't an avid reader or an avid listener -- either way I have never known a time when books weren't an integral part of my life.