Naked bed

Here is the tree cut down to final height...I think. I will have to watch the sun so I can get an idea of what to plant there. Not sure if the hostas will thrive there or not. Might be too much sun now. time will tell. Stay tuned for further updates.

My Kaliedoscopes

Some of you know that I am into stained glass. I do it cuz I love kaleidoscopes and want to make some. Now that I have gotten the hang of soldering, I will do more. The real beauty of a scope though is in the viewing. I have taken a picture of the view but they don't do it justice. My images just do not show the sparkle and wonders the scope makes....sigh.... (Click for larger image)

New toy and no time

Ahhh...Now I know why Blogger has been buggy and not responding correctly. They have updated the site. I tried to post for several days and could not. Today I had to re-sign in and got a very different interface to post a pic. But easy to figure out. I had read on other blogs that they could not do it either.

So...here me be. And my new toy. Yup...I am a hand held gamer junky. I even got two new games but today will be busy and it wont be until later this evening that I will have time to play with it.  Heck..it has a huge manual with it too and does all sorts of things like even takes pictures and surfs the web.. Yeah...a shameless vice but gosh..I could have worse ones like cigs. UGH...at nearly $60 a carton I have no idea how people afford to smoke. I quit myself when they were $30 a carton. So now..I spend my money on the funner things...ROFL.

Sweet smells of spring

It rained all night. It is threatening to rain again. I LOVE IT!!!

Yesterday I brought in a huge bouquet of lilacs. They had just began to open. The smell of them drifted thru the house. The heady scent is wafting toward me as I type this....

AHHHHH..rain and lilacs....the smells of spring. Soon the lily of the valley will bloom. My most favorite scent of all. 

More spring blooms

I forget the name of these  but they do come up every year and they can be split up to make more plants.

I divided them last  year and will again later this summer.

Scalped

Someone stole the top. hehehehe...Gary got this far. now he just has to cut it down to about 30".

Now you can see the windows. If you look back a couple posts  you can see how the tree completely blocked them.  And now...light in the laundry room.

I only wish the tree would of gotten taller...sigh.

Birthday tulips

Here are the tulips my girls got me last year for my birthday in September. I had to wait a long time to see them but oh so pretty and oh so short lived. I wish they would stay all summer.

MMMM...cherry crisp

My cherry trees are in full blossom. That reminded me I had one pack of sour cherries left in the freezer from last year. I got it out and just took a delicious cherry crisp out of the oven. Now that I have a small chest freezer,,,I can put more cherries to freeze. I hope my cherry tree bears heavy this year. I just do not relish pitting all them And yes..I have a pitter but it does not work well on the small sour cherries. I don't supposed I could just use the whole cherry and have people spit out the pits huh?

Who chopped down the cherry tree?

I know who did it or rather who will be doing it.....Gary. And why? Cuz I told him to.

But why? Cuz it has gotten too big and a nuisance to keep trimmed.

When I put this weeping white cherry tree, called a snow fountain, in about 16 years ago, I envisioned it growing tall..past the roof line like my neighbors pink weeping cherry is. But alas...this little sucker grew out instead of tall. I have to keep it trimmed or you cant walk on the sidewalk and it also block part of the driveway. It grows fast and has to be trimmed about twice a year.

It has now decided to grow a bit taller with some branches on the left growing at an odd angle up. EWWW...just not nice looking anymore. Yes..we can keep it trimmed but too much trouble and as you can see..it casts a dark shadow on the house. Behind it is windows to the laundry room and it is dark and blocks a view. 

Time for something different. I am turning it into a gnome garden. I am having G trim the stumped to about 2-3 ft high and will put a gnome on it and other  figures with low growing plans. I am still not sure it the deutzia, on the right or the holly, on the left will stay. I will wait til the tree is down and plan from there.

Finally...Solder sucesss

Whew..took me long enough but with 5 people tutoring me today I think I just may have finally gotten a handle on soldering. I want to make more stained glass kaleidoscopes but have been very frustrated cuz I didn't seem able to get the hang of soldering. I had a little too much help and it contradicted each other but I got things sorted out in my mind anyway. Techniques for a flat panel is far different than for a dimensional piece. Leave it to me to not want to start with a beginner piece but one that several intermediate stained glasses said they would not tackle just yet. Oh well...if I can do the difficult stuff...the easier stuff should be a cinch huh? Yay for me. I stuck in there and seems now I am on the upswing of this new hobby.

Erasing annoyances one at a time

Not long ago, every morning I got up, flicked on the water on the teapot to make tea for G and I. With half closed eyes I poured the water in two  cups with their little paper tags hanging down. I take mine steaming hot to the computer where I do morning email. G likes his nearly room temp so he waits while his cools.

Every now and then he complains that there is a bubble, again, in the teabag and he hates that. IF only I would pour the water real slow..then the tea bag will not get that bubble. He even demonstrates for me....time and time again. He asks why I am too lazy to do it that way and how long can it take to pour slowly anyway.

Nowadays...every morning I get up and flick on the water and make myself tea. And....not one word why I don't make his anymore. Wouldn't it be nice if all annoying things were this easy to fix?

Time line dilemma

Some things just do not make sense. I ordered some things yesterday from Amazon. Everything I ordered had free shipping. Woo hoo...nice huh?

It was not easy to get that though. Amazon was tricky. One would think that since ALL items were eligible for the free super savings shipping that they would automatically select that upon checkout. Nope...they pre-checked the "standard shipping". So I remembered to check for that specifically as I ran into that before. I dutifully changed it to the selection for free shipping. It said...free shipping...5-9 days. I can live with that. takes longer but  it was free.

I then proceeded to the payment portion of the order. Yea gads!!!! $16+ higher. What gives? The next page of this transaction again reverted to the standard shipping. Once again I checked off the free shipping option but after reading all the fine print..they DID tell me that in order to get the free shipping that  all my items were eligible for that I had to select that option. Ok! I get it...they give it ...reluctantly. Fine..once again the thing is right. I checked my whole order and payment page again. All was right this time.

A couple new baking pans,(pictured below) a couple books, ( about making decorative knots), a new Nintendo DS XL....sweet!!!!! All set...now to click the final..."order" button. CLICK!!

A congratulations pages comes up. "Your order is complete". Expected delivery dates - May 10 - May 17. WHOA!! That is NOT 5-9 days. Yesterday was April 17. I think they are holding some things hostage maybe cuz I did select "send all items together". Why are they making it so complicated?

Wait, wait..I know that answer already. They draw you in with free shipping as we all know is a fortune these days. So....they do everything to try to trick you  still paying it. Well...I will jump thru all their hoops and I CAN wait for the things. I already know they are fooling me anyway cuz every time I order things, they always come before the estimated arrival time. I am on to you Amazon. I love your prices and ease of ordering online..therefore...I will play your games. Beware people...take your time when ordering. Good deals ARE out there.

Crazy April weather

Ahhh......Spring is really here and you can tell by the crazy temps. 85 yesterday. high 60's today and 50 tomorrow. Quite a spread. But it will be nicer to work outside with the lower temps. getting garden beds ready for planting is not fun with it 85 degrees.

My tulips are plump and ready to burst open. One more rain should do the trick. I have star daffodils already open and other little yellow flowers open of which I forget the name.  My star magnolia is winding down but the saucer pink magnolia in the back yard is in full bloom and gorgeous.


Now I just need some hostas that are late to poke their heads up so I can get a few other beds ready for summer. Funny, I have some hostas up about 6 inches and others in various stages and all in the same beds.


I am itching to plant but of course still too cold for that. Won't be long though...another few weeks.

Japanese eye test

Half in...Half out

Don't you just hate it when in the middle of the night you are in a good dream and your bladder starts screaming and mixes in with that dream. So you are half awake KNOWING you have to pee but the other half is still trying desperately to hold on to the dream. Then..you are awake but so comfortable you try to see how long you can put off getting up. GRRRRRRR

Big brother day

Rain last night,,,,rain today. 

Typical Spring.

Chilly and windy

So,,,I went to see my brother and we went out to breakfast.

He wanted a bit of help learning more computer anyway.

It was a nice visit. I like my brother.

Is 9 times too much?

I just read that Elizabeth Taylor is gonna do the walk down the aisle thing again. And to her manager who is 49. She is 78 BTW.

I think for her it is nice. No one likes to be alone and if she found someone for her declining years...my hats off to her.

As for me...no way could I do that 9 times. I am in my 2nd marriage and would not do it again. Way too hard to start a whole new life. I got enough complications now. Can you imagine the complications of 8 times? All the exes and kids and moving. I have way too much junk to even contemplate a third let alone a 9th.

But it does show just how much people hate being alone and without a companion in our later years. I would have a beau if I found myself single again...but another marriage? Not sure on that one. One thing I will be sure of though, he won't love me just for my money cuz I ain't got any!!

Thinking of new fridge

Nothing is wrong with our fridge. It works just fine. But I have been looking at this one with 3 doors. I love the bottom freezer. And it is probably more efficient than our 15 year old one.

But gosh oh my...fridges these days are soooo pricey. This one is over a grand...ouch! And it is small too...only 30" wide which is what we need cuz of a built in space but it serves us just fine. We do not do a lot of entertaining so even holidays are not a problem.

I do like the smaller doors too. Maybe if we wait..the price will come down...sigh......

Resources Fair

Today Gary and I went to a resource fair at our local Senior Center. Basically it was a fair that had vendors showing all the things that a senior might want or need such as retirement homes, rehabilitation centers hearing aids and well...you get the idea. Each vendor had to put up a $25+ gift basket for a door prize and many had other prizes you could win at their table. Yeah...a way to drum up business and get names of potential customers but still some nice prizes and gift baskets.

Nearly every table had pens, nice ones and not just the cheap stick bics, candy and other handy dandy little things like pill containers for the purse, bandaid packets, hand sanitizer, pocket magnifiers, cick for the visor for sunglasses and our local police had nice little lights for being safe plus other things. . Our local state rep had all sorts of nice things like chapstick, small pocket leatherman type gadget, tote bags,key rings, maps and other small things. There were tote bags filled with info and gifts by many also. All in all...sorta like trick or treating for the older kids..LOL. Of course there were many cookies and fresh strawberries and one vendor even had some hot food-zita and tomato sauce. I also got some full size microwave popcorn from the table of the apartments for senior living where my brother lives. I was sorta hoping to win 2 weeks of lessons and an in-home small chord organ. sigh...no call for that one. You did not have to be present to win anything. I filled out a ton of entries though as one never knows if you win if you don't enter. It was a fun couple of hours.

We have things backwards sometimes

I just went to my favorite daily laugh blog and this was there:

 We are the only country where we have homeless without shelter,
children going to bed without eating, elderly going without needed meds, and
mentally ill without treatment.  Veterans homeless on the streets – yet we
have a benefit for the people of Haiti on 12 TV stations, ships and planes
lining up with food, water, tents, clothes, bedding, doctors and medical
supplies. Imagine if we gave ourselves the same support that we gave other
countries. 

I was always taught that charity begins and home and I have wondered about this very thing many times. I know full well that the rest of the world does need help. I also know that most nearly every church supports foreign causes as well as doing wonderful things for our own country but I can't hep but wonder why they don't have more programs to help the elderly population and veterans that are fast becoming bigger with each year. Yes yes..I know resources are limited but my mind says...lets help "home" first.

Sometimes this blog has other thoughts not only laughter. I go even though it is anti-Obama. 





 

BLT cocktail

When a BLT sandwich just won’t do, head to the sultry speakeasy PX in Alexandria, Virginia. Here, Bar Chef Todd Thrasher serves up a meaty mix of bacon-infused vodka, tomato water and ice cubes made from lettuce water in a glass rimmed with bacon-salt.

EWWW...doesn't even sound good to me at all. Click the link below to read about other strange drink combinations. I will stick with wine or margaritas please.

Outrageous cocktails

In Harmony

This morning I got an email with a link to a huge barbershop quartet.

Ambassadors of Harmoney

But while there I got caught up in the links they put in the side that are related and while watching watching this one....

Masters of Harmony

I watched very transfixed on the faces. I never realized there were so many ways to move a mouth when singing. I am no a music person and can't carry a note to save my live and therefore have not been exposed to many choir concerts.

I have been always amazed though by Barbershop quartets and anyone singing acappella. I wanted to spell it occupella...silly me. Even spell check won't spell it right.

But geez...while trying to spell acappella, I found that it really should be a cappella....being two words. ahhh..confusing to me too. But here is a better explanation that I can do.

http://www.singers.com/a-cappella.html

Now you can see why I get lost on the web...one thing..a simple thing like reading an email, leads me all over.

For meat lovers

I love meat. I just don't always eat it for every meal though cuz I love veggies too. But these two sandwiches look soooo yummy.

The first one: Swiss cheese, pepper jack cheese, bacon and two fried chicken fillets—plus the Colonel’s sauce—are the ingredients in Kentucky Fried Chicken’s new Double Down. Notice what’s missing…the bread. Reported by KFC to be just under 600 calories, the new menu item is currently being tested at franchise locations in Rhode Island and Nebraska.

The second: a meatloaf sandwich.

Meat as the bun...a fantastic idea in my eyes. Not that I would do it. But I used to fantasized about getting a huge bucket of KFC extra crispy and just eating all the skin and coating. I don't have a sweet tooth but a "fat" tooth instead. Nothing too greasy for me. I will still eat the skin off  crispy turkey at Thanksgiving but I cook my chicken skinless these days. I even prefer a burger made at home with regular ground beef and not the extra lean. Heck..If I am gonna eat a burger...which is rare...I want to eat a good one. And cheese....never met one I didn't like. Like candy to me!!

For more of these "extreme" sandwiches..click below.

NO-bread sandwiches

Star magnolia 2010

Here is my star magnolia in nearly full bloom. The wind has knocked off many of the blooms though. Still...a pretty sight with no leaves yet to obscure the flowers.  I took this picture only moments ago in a slight wind.

A real Obsession!

This guy just might be a little too obsessed with someone named Brenda. Ya think?

Silly fun

It took me several tries to get this shot

and then I was trying to get George to smile.

It was silly fun.

Happy Easter

Isn't he cute? 

Happy Easter to one and all.

New Freezer

As you can see, Puzzella found the new freezer and claimed it as a new sleeping place. This arrived yesterday morning and I am gonna love it. All we have it the refrigerator freezer and with my baking GF foods, it gets filled fast. NO more digging for stuff. Finally I can store more berries, cherries and fresh garden veggies. I plan on making more tomato sauce this year too.  While it is small and about the size of a dishwasher...it will be just enough.

Spring well underway

Yesterday was a very busy day for me. We got the new freezer delivered and it is running just fine. Then I spent the day outside. I got all the windows and siding washed on the back of the house. My herb garden raked and a huge 30"diameter pot moved. I even got the raspberries cleaned out and dead wood removed. 

I had the dickens of a time fixing the hose reel. Seems that every time I turned it on full, the hose popped off the connecting piece...the little hose that went from the reel to the water spout. GRRR...was not a fun experience and I was drenched from it. I even transplanted some chives that were getting too thick. I have tons and tons to do but it is a labor of love. I love gardening and being outside. Good thing with such a huge yard and about 17 garden beds.

24 years of ups and downs

Here we are after 24 years of marriage. many ups and downs. I think we are too old or set in our ways to ever split...or maybe we just have too much stuff to have to move and it is just easier to stay put.

I took a bunch of pics with the auto function and found several I liked so I cropped two and you get them both.

Puzzella and two-toned hair

Meet Puzzella. She is supposed to be on the front porch but has a mind of her own and is still sleeping on the kitchen counter.

I fell in love with this little dragon while on a recent visit to my old hometown to meet up with an old friend. A recent post tells all about it. Soon her little butt will be sent to the front porch.

I thought I should  post an update on my hair. I have decided that I will not color it to see what my real color is and it is a sloooooooow process. I am in the two-toned stage but I think with my next hair cut the color will be more even. Actually it is many shades and to me looks dreadful but not much I can do and must bide time while it grows out.

BTW..for those that don't know it..this REALLY was taken today. Don't let those Christmas lights fool ya. and NO..it is not an April fool's prank. I really do leave them up all year. At least we take the tree down.  Our "ambiance" lighting. Saves time at the holiday time too. Both G and I are in perfect agreement with them. At least we have one thing we agree on.