What's Happenin'

[Deedeelyn]

Thanks so much for your support and enthusiasm. I was thrilled to have all my family show up. We got a few topics out there and my therapist and I talked about my diagnosis' and she told them I was working hard and she considers me a success case. I was proud of both my kids. My sister was alittle tight lipped but we did get alittle out of her. All of them was willing to schedule another meeting. My therapist did a great job. So we willl see how our next meeting goes.

Been up for a loooonnnggg time , got to get some shut eye.
I'll be around

Dee

[houghchrst]

Ahhh yes, shortcake's B'day party is tonight. 7 crazy 11yr old boys three of which will be spending the night. Jeez louise I have been coming here a while. You all have been with us through many a birthday lol. KFC, we actually have a child that does not like pizza, and cake and ice cream and lots of gaming. Wow that is all the rage these days. Game parties lol. Shortcake is lucky his birthday is in the winter otherwise they'd all be outside

Gotta go down and clean up that mess that I made in the basement before we get the guys here. Ugh...I obviously waited until the last minute.

Oh and yesterday all the snow we had gotten during the night melted and it rained a bit, more of a cold mist, then when I got up this morning the ground was covered and it has now just quit. Quite windy out. Shortcake was expounding on the evils of global warming yesterday. Too much Science channel lol?

Eeek I need to get to work



Just popped back in to say that at noon it was blizzard conditions. Thought we might have to postpone the party. Now the sun is shining. If it weren't so windy the sun would prolly melt the snow.

[dawnmn]

We toured our state Capital today. We learned about the art work that is hanging in the capital. Very interesting tour. Then we went out to eat and stopped at diary queen for desert.

I was so excited because it was the first time I got out of the house since last Saturday. I do take the dog out and walk him.

I sure do miss Lor, I hope she's doing better everyday.

Chris, can't believe shortcake is 11 yrs old. wow how time flys.

While downtown we got to watch the parade. First time that I had ever seen the parade.

[Buttons2]

nasty weather here is keeping me inside. am so bored I've decided to watch the pro-bowl tonight. my son is supposed to be making the final arrangements for renting the big house today. I've offered to housesit for the week he will be in CA. nice chance to get away from my housemate (a break I am desperate for!). and I plan to take my dog since the yard is completely fenced.

hope Shortcake had a wonderful BD party!

Dawn,you seem to be doing better lately & I'm very glad for you. getting out of the house & learning new things is always a positive.

[houghchrst]

Dawn that sounds like fun. I love doing that kind of stuff.

Pati sounds positively peaceful lol. Dog will love just running free. Hopefully not a fence climber lol.

Shortcake's b'day party was successful. Two boys spent the night, chowed on Church's chicken and cake all night. Yesterday it snowed all day so we have the most I think we've had so far this winter. Jeez and next month is February. Will be time to sart planting soon. Yes I am definitely doing container gardening. I have plenty of containers and seed is pretty cheap. I am going to start getting dirt here over the next couple of weeks. A bag or two here and there. I am positively excited. Also have to get stuff to clean and paint my brother's old room so we can move shortcake in.

He has a colonoscopy near the end of February. I really like the gastro we saw today. Very patient, explained everything very thoroughly to me, I had already done some research but it was perfect for shortcake. He diagnosed Encopresis officially. He sent us to a pharmacy that would fill our scrip for the stuff you gotta start drinking two days before because supposedly my insurance won't pay for it through Walgreens. I have no idea why that would be, filled at one but not the other. We even got a Saturday appt so shortcake won't miss any school for the procedure.

Okay off to watch a movie.

[Buttons2]

bye bye January,bring on springtime!

well took the dog & the cat for shots today. place was packed with little dogs. very pleased with my own dog's behavior. cat was kept in car until last minute-she's 11 yrs old now! both are in good health & just right on their weight. so happy pet day here!

then had to call my folks & wish them happy anniversary. that wasn't so pleasant. my mom's mind is definitely wacky when she tells me water goes UP.I never try to correct her anymore.

I'm soooooo ready for spring to get here! and I actually am very fortunate it's in the 50's & no storms right now.hopefully no more snow this year either. my folks live on other side of the state & have 20" if I can believe my mom.

planning to take some furniture to my son this weekend-one way for me to get rid of the last of my inventory. excited to see his new place. know how you get a picture in your mind of something & it NEVER comes close to the reality? I knew he wouldn't wait to move,he's already sleeping there even though he has to wait for TV & computer connections.

[Beader]

Well well, neener neener. It was 70 here this afternoon in the house with some windows open on the sunny side. That's what I get for moving to the local microclimate that's warmed up a zone. I can grow hibiscus on my deck all summer and into the fall. Fig trees abound and flourish. Mimosas. Oooo, that's right -- I have to find a hardy bouganvellia [sp] like my old neighbors had one river over. Except the deer are voracious and unstoppable, so fence problems occur and you have to outsmart the darn critters. Make 'em think they can't jump over that wire on top of your white picket fence. Goodness me, you're whipping me into a gardening lather! :o

OTOH, I had to pay real money to have someone come in to clean my house of all the allergic crap that had been accumulating -- serious dust and cat dander along with heavens knows what else. Emergency first appointment with allergy doc for consult tomorrow. When I went out on errands a few days ago and was gone for 4 1/2 hours, I came back with clear vision and less red bloodshot eyes, only to have my symptoms bloom again in half an hour. Expletives deleted! So early Monday I called for cleaning help and allergists -- any allergist , but hopefully one who could squeeze me in AND was within driving distance for the stupid shots for the rest of my life. Altho' I can certainly give them to myself, I'm not sure if they'll let me do that any time soon. Just one of those perks you get used to having a doc for a dad. Mad needle skillz. Got over my fear of puncturing my skin at 19 rather than waste half a day at the infirmary every week.

Had a lovely dinner out with sdq BF in trendy fusion restaurant, and he was on his best behavior except for the extremely loud slurping noises. He even poured my 50 pound bags of salt into the water conditioner system when we returned since it is literally tasting and smelling like a sulphuric hell every time I turn on the faucet. Yuck! One of the downsides to living in the distant countryside.

OK, see y'all around soon! Did I move south or what? I should be saying "see yas!"

[Jo6]

I have never been at loss for words, but I believe I am now. Too much aloneness, too much togetherness ((mr. Jo)) etc. Just checking in to make sure nobody has forgotten me. Yes, I am whining and I'm going to get some good baby swiss cheese to go with this whine.

Pati, glad the critters are in good shape, but I would not expect anything less from you. You have good mothering instincts. I'm sleeping about 2 hours at a time, then have to get up, usually in the middle of the night. I'm doing some better, but think a new car would probably make me all better!

Beeder, you better watch how you speak of southern speak. I might have to tell everybody you are from New Yawk, yes? I'll have to write everything here because I can't go running around everywhere until I get much better.

Speaking of shoes, I thought I was the only one that bought shoes everytime I went out. Why? I'll blame it on my Mom, may God rest her soul. We never went shopping without her buying at least 1 pair of shoes. Those things have come back to haunt me. When she passed on I was the only one of 4 girls that wore the same size she as she did. I had so many I would forget what I had, so now I have shoes for everything. This is too early in the morning to say any more about shoes. I'll continue this gripe when I feel better and find the right forum.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOY!! Hope you have many more, but without the pain. Thinking about you ((((Joy))))

Good to see so many posting and seeing some good news here and there. The sun is shinning finally, in mid 60's here, wish it would stay this way. Well, the sun isn't shining yet, its still dark, but I'm going to say it's shining.

I miss you all and hope to be back as soon as possible. I've got a Drs. appointment today. Sounds like a good day to go pick out that car. HA Well after all, I'll already be dressed, got SHOES on, hair half way decent, I need another hair cut, she didn't do it right 3 weeks ago!! Back to being ready to shop cars, I can sit in car and point, Mr. Jo can go inside and pay, I can drive it home, how hard can that be? sigh, got a feeling we are poles apart on which one I WANT. After all, I'll be the one driving it and if we don't hurry up and get it I will not be able to drive anymore!!

Pati, I've come down off that high, well mostly, so you can be assured I'm just insane, not CRAZY insane! lol lol lol It was too late to take back that click on send button before I realized I sounded like a raving lunitic

So, I'm still alive and am happy to see so many of you alive too. Has anyone had any word from Loraini? I think about her so much and we all miss her. I pray she will be good as new soon. ((((Lor))))

Take care all, Jo s

[tic chick]

julia, you post anywhere you want cause we're just glad you're well enough to post !

well chris, i got those sweet pea seeds today from meijer. they are supposed to smell very pretty and they're called the "galaxy" mix. strong stems and mixed bright colors and the vine is supposed to grow 15 ft. high, so my 8 ft. high lattice will be spilling over with flowers. let's see, it says blue, rose, scarlet, salmon, light purple, red and white flowers. i will start them inside, maybe early april and take them out to get sun and bring them in the house if there is a danger of frost until may 5th. i think that's the last expected day of frost in this area.
knockout rose bush 2.jpg
(you can double click on the left hand side of your mouse right on the pic to make it come up on a larger screen, then just use the backspace in the upper left corner of that page to get back to the post. make sure you see a little hand when you click on the pic. you can do that with all images you see in posts here )
this is MY rosebush that i planted last year. the white lattice behind it is where the sweet peas are going to climb. the rose bush grew from about 18" to 3 ft. tall last summer, cause roses LOVE fertilizer and water and we certainly had enough rain last year (rainiest year since 1888 in detroit) and i fertilized it every month. I'll try and put a pic from my garden in my next posts so i don't screw it all up doing it at once.

all the seeds in the store were just calling me...lol...jean, buy me! plant me! there was some lime basil there that got my attention...all those herbs. i will plant a little herb garden in pots and put them on my front porch. oh! and i bought a fire pit. yes, a truly useless item, but i spend so much time outside and there are those cool nights and i know the dogs will love to lay by a warm fire in june and september and october. i am having my silver maple tree trimmed on monday and i asked the arborist that's thinning it out if they could cut me some thinner branches for firewood. it's going to have to season until next year, cause you can't burn freshly cut wood, it will just smoke and smell. maple chips are good to put in bbq's, but i don't have a wood chipper.

well, it's late and i am dog tired .

thank you all for sharing and caring,
jeannie

[Beader]

Plant Mania!

Hi Jean,

Your rosebush looks yummy and healthy. The previous owners here left two huge climbers set over trellis arches in the fence, but I'm falling down on the job with them. One summer was very dry and the next, very wet. Plus they get grey spots on them and look generally displeased with my [lack of] treatment of them, poor babies. I need to learn Roses. The chemicals they left seem extremely harsh to handle , so I'm a bit intimidated by them.

Tell me about Sweetpeas, please. I think I've done more with herbs here because they're stinky so the deer don't usually eat 'em. Did you know there's also a Thai Basil? And a dark one, maybe African? And I've got my favorite jasmines wintering over in the Bead Room along with an odd little scratchy low palm thingy.

The arborist would probably be happy to chip up some of your larger branches and leave a pile for you. All the bulky stuff with leaves, they would just as soon not have to dispose of it elsewhere. I know, I lived with a Tree Guy.

Yo, Jo,

I'm from Philly, so no mention of New Yawk, please! :ambivalence: I was just commenting that my move fifty to seventy miles south shouldn't affect what expressions I type. Back home, the plural form of YOU would be "yous" or "yas", depending on where it fell in the sentence. No diss meant on Southerners! Mint julep, anyone?

[tic chick]

hey sher,

the grey spots sound like powdery mildew. personally, i would never use chemicals. if a plant has to be chemically disciplined, it has no place in the garden. anything you use will eventually spread to other plants in the area. so give your chemicals to someone else.

okay, a couple thoughts and suggestions:

make sure your roses are getting enough sun every day, at least 8 hours. don't water them at night or water the leaves. if you water them at night, the water tends to stay on the leaves and around the leaves at the base of the plant. the darkness and your warmer micro-climate make lovely conditions for mildew. if your trellis seems a bit too full, you also need to get more air circulating through it to dry the leaves after rain. cut the thickest canes out at the base of the trellis. see where the trellis is the fullest and if you can follow a thick cane to the bottom and then cut that one right there and carefully pull and untangle it out of the trellis (i would do 2 the first year and see how that goes). fertilize every couple months...or give a little bit every month, that's what i like to do. you have to water when it's a dry season cause underwatered plants get stressed and develop stuff like mildew and yellow spots. during a good rainy summer, you can just water the base of the plant during the hottest months, a deep watering once a week is better than a little water daily. you want to develop strong roots. i just turn my hose on very low and let the water run at the base of the plant for half and hour. i basically do that with all my big plants (bushes).

sweet peas are an annual. read the directions on the packet. you can either start them early in your house in a sunny window or sow them directly in soil once danger of frost has passed. i want to contain my sweet pea vine, so i will plant them in pots and either hide them behind something (my rosebush) or dig a hole partially in the ground so i can put the pot in about halfway. then it's easier to train them, keep them in one area and take out the pot in the autumn.
close up of coneflowers.jpg
(remember to click on the left side of your mouse twice to get a bigger view of the pic, then use your back arrow in the upper left corner to take you back to the post. make sure you see a little hand on the pic before you click )
these are my echinacea's. they're called "red-hot papaya". they have double rows of petals. this pic shows 3 of the 4 stages of the growth of the plant. it starts out with just the center flower, which has a lot of little seedy looking things in the middle. then the lower petals form. then they get longer. they flower in late summer through the frost. the petals start falling off and the last stage is just the top round ball with little seeds in it. you can leave that for the birds, or let the seeds fall and new echinacea's will grow, but i cut off the balls (i am terrible), so i can control the plant's spread. the plant does spread underground and get's wider each year. when everything else is dying in your yard, you still have these bright orange flowers. i am planting an almost entire perennial garden cause i get tons of sun in that area. i am putting up plants with different flowering times so i have color interest throughout the year. the most work i will have to do is divide the plants every 3 years or so, depending if they are crowding too much or i want some elsewhere. i might put some annuals in the first couple years to fill in some bare spots until my perennials start taking over.

hope you are enjoying my little gardening pics and info.

thank you all for sharing and caring ,
jeannie

[Beader]

Hi Jeannie,

The computer ate my post once already, so let's see what happens with this shot of my fragrant yellow roses over by the side yard. BTW the wind can be extremely fierce here, and one set of canes is now hanging by a thread. The others had to be bungee-corded in place.

[Jo6]

Jeannie, that rose bush looks almost like a total different bush!! You loved that bush into growing, blooming and the leaves are so perfect. I love it! You are reallying comming along in that garden and I'm sure enjoying it!!

hello everybody. nobody around today, guess they are getting ready to watch the Super Bowl. I can't keep my mind on anything for any length of time so I will probably watch/sleep thru it.

Deedee, I'm so glad things are looking up for you. I worried about you. It aseemed everything just started falling in around your ears all at once! Thank God it has all worked out and you have family working on relationships etc. and I am proud for you.

I have missed you all and hope I'll get stronger everyday. Today is the pits though. Don't know exactly why, but Fibro is screaming at me. My skin is sore to the touch. I pray it will all level out soon.

My love to all of you, Julia

[clouds z]

happy birthday to joy

[Buttons2]

[B]very busy weekend for me. packed up furniture for my son Sat. now my shop is almost empty! Sunday AM took the load to my son's house. I really like his new place & was amazed at his view of Mt. Baker,the local bay,etc. & then walked the yard & discovered filbert,walnut,fancy pine tree,hidden Japenese Maple,old fashioned wall flowers & more I couldn't identify just yet. he even has a madronna tree! he will need to hire someone for yard work since he's too busy & yardwork is not his thing.

stopped for lunch @ a horrid Mexican place-never go there again.

got home in plenty of time to watch the game & got very upset seeing local news streaming across bottom of screen about the house exploding & killing those two boys. the story has been on going in this area for over 2 yrs now,hopefully they will find the mother's body & my heart just aches for the grandparent's. it was national news this morning so perhaps some of you know what I'm referring to.

OK,on to happier stuff: Sher,deer don't like foxglove or lavendar. just a thought on how to keep them away. they LOVE pansies & will eat them to the ground.

Jo,hope the doc appt. went well & you got to at least go look at new cars! envy all of you that can wear pretty shoes! I'm stuck with my ugly Birkenstock's forever more.

Jeannie,you've got flower fever for sure! I also have a rose with mildew. it's an antique rambling rose I got a start from years ago. I clip off the grey areas & pray.

I had some laughs watching the commercials yesterday & was thrilled a local bunch of young people go their ad on.......Hollywood awaits! of course I loved all the dogs. dogs rule!

we had sunshine all weekend & it was so nice. same for today-yeah! gets me outside & I need that.

could use some advice on buying a new washer/dryer. (giving old set to my son). want front loaders & not too much fancy dials/buttons. figure much easier on my back to not have to bend over so far! Joy, I know you got a new set not long ago (steam washer?),are you pleased with it?

hopefully a better week ahead for all of us.