Time flies, "don't she?". Wow.

I remember all three Michelle! Thanks for posting those! :)

And yes Chelone, we couldn't get through a single meal without the encylopedia, unabridged dictionary and atlas. But spelling is no longer of interest to many, which horrifies me. I'm not good at spelling, but I do care! I suspect many are equally sloppy about their credit card records, checkbooks, and taxes.

I've been avoiding the discussion of homework because the trauma is still too fresh. I need the distance of at least ten more years, lol. I do think democracies need a strong public, not private, school system, but we did avail ourselves of private schools up to middle school, then with no other option after that point were flung into the public school system, in our not very illustrious zip code, with mixed results. The oldest was safely tucked away in the gifted program, the youngest's grades didn't make the cut -- the counselor noted dryly, looking at his test scores which were high, that he hadn't really "broken a sweat," performance wise, grade wise. Too true. I know they're both "hot house" kids, bright, but with an average school work ethic, not overachievers. We ended up homeschooling the youngest through high school. I think the angriest I've ever been in my life was over a bureaucratic school issue. I actually flung a briefcase at the living room window, the only time I've thrown something in anger. Better get back into avoidance mode on this topic, quick! Never even did say a word about homework (it's an overused crutch, revenge of abused teachers on parents).

I need to ask Deanne, if she has a photo of the dahlia Bishop of Canterbury, to please post one. Time to face the fact that I may never see this bloom in my own garden. I always shove dahlias in borders but now am finding out they have these touchy, shallow roots that do the garden equivalent of "He's touching me! Tell him to stop looking at me!" I'd also like to know about Sue's blue tudeur. Are these store bought, or are you guys making them yourselves? If anyone knows of a catalogue to order from, shoot me the name. This is what my rose needs to grow on. Otherwise, it's off to the tool shed.

The fuchsias are exquisite. I hear that Tchaikovsky/Fantasia in my head looking at 'em. I should ship all mine right off to you, Deanne, lol.

Funny about resource materials like dictionaries. We must be some of the last fools on the planet with a complete set of encyclopedias, purchased a few years before the Internet exploded. Even though slightly out of date, we still refer to them quite often, just for the sheer pleasure of holding a book in your lap and seeing what follows abbacas, architecture, acts of the apostles, etc. I'm surrounded by reference materials in the office but usually head first to Google these days.

What a pretty Kenzie flower in the garden. I think 'bug's daughter needs a superhero comic strip written in her honor. Cindy, work plus aging parents, my sympathies. My mom has had a knee and hip replacement and has done really well. She's 77.

Re Kathy's move and the PNW, you're living my life, woman! Just kidding. I've always wanted to live in a walkable city, lit out of LA for San Fran at 19 but it didn't stick. Huge fan of Jane Jacobs, New Urbanism. Fatigue is producing nothing but non sequiturs from me, so best to say g'night here.

Denise, Napa is highly walkable, but a 'small town' in many ways. Corvallis also walkable-and smaller. My BIL's live in the SW hills of Portland and remarked to me shortly after they moved there that there were no overweight people in thier neighborhood, and that virtually everyone walked...The SF Chronicle last year ran a column about a guy who walked every street in San Francisco. Think it took him a year plus. He did even the crappiest gang infested areas , just tried to pick his time of day (apparently the gang dudes aren't up at 8 am) and when he was done , he started over again. I thought that would be really cool to do in Napa.

Kathy in Napa

'bug, the worst part is that I didn't even realize that I spelled sieve differently than you. And this morning I remembered something else important that I forgot to post, but now I have no clue what that was.

Michelle, what a great "retrospective". She's a cutie who looks like she loves your garden.

Long day today - a trip downstate to do a career day, then two back-to-back meetings on the home front. On the trip home, I actually pulled into a rest stop and fell asleep for about ten minutes. Of course, when I woke up I forgot that I had locked the doors, so the alarm started honking when I opened the door. Woke me up fast!

V.

V, at least we bantered a bit with the "Impression" word.

DH and I took in a game of croquet before dinner tonight. Reminded me of Eden and Brad's morning games. Friday he heads for Paris. We "Google Earthed" his location....and da*n I wish I were going. Yet, I need to save up and visit my twelve pound true love as much as possible, maybe Christmas? I just don't know with house painting, mower repairs, etc. We'll see.

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Morning all,

Just time for a quick hello this AM. Thanks to all of you for your kind words about the fuchsia pics. Ive had way too much fun with my camera the last few days. Its been too hot for heavy work outside so Ive just been watering and popping outside with my camera.

Eden, I think Ive got about 20 different varieties of fuchsias here, probably 80 plants or so. Yes, Im nuts, and yes, Chelone, I spend an enormous amount of time messing about with the potted plants but its a love and a passion. If I was gainfully employed I couldnt do this.

Michelle, Just love the series of pics of your little darling! What a sweetie! I took a bunch of brug pics in the last few days and Im getting psyched to design the panel. Ill have to send you pics of choices you have for a painting. Ive got several here you can choose from.

Denise, my Bishop of Cantebury also took its own sweet time blooming. I only have one plant out of four that is really setting a nice bunch of flowers. Im thinking next year when the tubers are more mature theyll probably bloom better. The BoC is in the center of this photo against the fence post.
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And here is a close up of it
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OK must run, have a great day everyone
Deanne

Yikes, V - sounds like you're overdoing it if you fell asleep at the wheel (luckily in a stopped position!) -- too much going on, eh?

Deanne, Im thinking what a wonderful obsession you've got and w/ the time you're able to devote to it, it still shines -- your compositions w/ containers, standards, etc., are all things to be admired and envied! Im happy you feel free to share them with us!

Michelle & Eden - it's so sweet to see the progression of your g-kids in age and gardens. Michelle, I dont know if you noticed or not, but I saw 2 pics of Kenzie on the garden bench & thought what a great memory to make - take one each year at that spot -- it would make a great memory book kind of thing! You're probably already doing that, but it struck me as I was admiring how amazingly quick they grow. Even watching Reed in this photos, bug - I guess you miss him a lot seeing only the photos.

Saucy, it sounds like you're going to have a great family memory too w/ the tickets you've bought - those are the kinds of memories they'll remember forever.

Mary -- I meant to say that I am in such admiration of you doing the woodworking tool thing -- I confess those big things intimidate me - I envision sawed off fingers and such -- it's something along the lines of I dont cut grass (well, I do; but it was something I never aspired to learn, LOL) -- but when needs doing, I try (usually). Now, Chelone -- yeah, I can see you hauling out those big power tools - you're fearless!

So, Chelone, when are we going to see garage progression photos?

It's another hot, humid day in the nation's Capital -- I long for rain -- luckily my house guest has been watering upon request but as she's not a gardener, I have seen things drooping that didnt get what they needed -- and it's too dark when I get home to do myself -- would love to turn back the clock to August frankly and pick up some days to have invested in the gardens. O well - maybe next year, uh? My usual mantra!

Heard an interesting tidbit yesterday - a friend is trying to meditate for 30 mins for a month to relax & energize herself for the day -- she said she was told by a psychologist recently that to learn new habits it takes 33 days (not 30) to get it into a pattern -- maybe that's why we all fail at adopting new patterns? We quit at 30 and not 33? Who knew?!! Actually, I'd like to know who/what study figured that out.

Time to start work in the trenches.

--Cindy

Good morning

I'm loving the grand child pics and gorgeous flowers - thanks Deanne. Michelle - I can so clearly remember just before Mckenzie was born, how did three years go so quickly?!

Cynthia - how wonderful that you are making every day special for your sweet twirly-girl. It must be heartbreaking, and as every pet owner knows, none of those tests come cheap. What lucky pets they are indeed to have such love and compassion.

Kathy - a move is incredibly exciting!! I'm a great believer in "going for" things in life even if it means huge changes.

V - your humor always cracks me up LOL! Love the Monet.

I had homework last night, an essay was due to Annie's 8th Grade English teacher before this evening's open house. The assignment was to write about your child in a million or less words. It's been a good 25 years since I've submitted anything to an English teacher and I sweated over this one, double checking spellings and grammar. But it's done, the attachemnt e-mailed and I can now just enjoy the fact that Annie's teacher is interested enough in her students to take the time to read about them. (Hopefully she won't grade the essays.)

I had a lovely surprise yesterday when the doorbell rang and there was a delivery man with the most beautiful vase of flowers. I could hardly believe him when he said they were me and I ran through a mental list of people who might have sent them. For some reason this included everyone but DH (not that I have any secret admirers, but friends, family etc). You can imagine my delight when I opened the card there was a note signed "the hub", thanking me for holding down the fort. DH's business trip has been extended so long I can't even remember when he was last home. The bouquet included our favorite lilies and smells heavenly. I smile every time I walk past them.

Hope something nice happnes to each of you today

Mary

Oh Mary, the essay on your daughter, how wonderful. We each should write one ...and give them to our children at some point. I think being on the same pregnancy forum with my daughter has been a fabulous bonding experience for us. I wish there were some way I could bond more with DS. At 36 and far away, this is so tough. He's a special guy.
I'd like to send one to Charlotte too....I hope she knows!

Later
'bug

Good morning! It has been in the upper 80's here for the 3rd day in a row - is it really September? It should cool off for the weekend so I can continue to dig in my garden, mid 70's with cool nights is my idea of perfect weather.

Michelle, your garden and your granddaughter both look wonderful! I love the progression shots of her, they just grow up so fast. I've never heard of better than s*x cake, but I'll bet chocolate is the main ingredient.

'bug, your twelve pound true love is beautiful - what a charmer! I'd choose him over France any day.

Saucy, I wanted to chime in on the homework too. My DS, who is in the 5th grade, is an "outside the box" type learner too. He is very smart, but he learns much better by hearing things out loud than by reading them. He also speaks much better than he writes, so written homework is difficult for him. He has trouble memorizing anything that is of little importance to him, like multiplication facts and state capitals. The 5th grade teachers told us that the kids should not be spending any more than 60 minutes per night on homework, and the teachers for each subject try to coordinate so that they do not assign large projects or test simultaneously. The teachers have told parents that if an assignment seems to take too long, the parents can write a note on the bottom of the paper or in the assignment notebook to let the teacher know. Have you talked to Jake's teachers and let them know that you think he is spending too long on homework? Maybe they can strategize with you.

Re: the geography, when we went to curriculum night at DD's school (she is in 7th grade) the social studies teacher told us that in the first week of school, she gave the students a blank sheet of paper and asked them to draw a map of the world, labelling the continents and oceans, along with the equator (easy one) and the Tropic of Capricorn and the Tropic of Cancer. That is part of what she plans to teach them this year, and she said the kids are well on their way to being able to draw that map freehand. I was impressed! I'm sure most of the adults in the room that night would have trouble with that one (I know I would). She said she also wanted to make the students aware that the whole world does not live the way we do in the good ole USA.

Cynthia, thinking of you and your doggie family. Hopefully a solution can be found for Katy. At least she is not in pain.

Waving hello to all of you, but I really must get back to work...enjoy the day!

-Wendy

And she SCORES!!!!!!!!

So I went over to Lake St. Gardens today to pick up a couple pots for Monique and I noticed these gorgeous urns that are replicas of pieces from Longwood Gardens. Anyway, just for jollies I asked the sales person if they were part of the sale and she said no, none of the cement was on sale but she'd ask the manager anyway, and, drumroll here, they decided to sell this to me for the sale price!!!! Woohoo! I'm still hyperventilating. The darned thing weighs 142 pounds so this fuchsia will never again get blown over by the wind.

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Be still my heart....
Deanne

My post tonight will be a cautionary true story. This just came from a friend of mine who manages trust accounts in a large city that none of us live in. His client is M.

"M has a friend, T, who has a friend (D) who is expecting a big inheritance she says. But she needs a little help. Could M help? Indeed, she can. She calls me in early June and tells me of the predicament D is in. She sees no harm in loaning D $40K. After all, T is a Harvard graduate, a lawyer, and a real estate investor. Surely he can judge whether D is a good credit. So we wire off $40K. I think nothing more about it until I am in DC on business in early August and I get a call from the office about wiring some more money. Unbeknownst to me, we have been wiring money frequently at M's direct request. How much has she lent, I ask? $250K so far. What the hell? I call M who is in Moscow vacationing and she says not to worry. The loan is secure. Well, September rolls around and we are in for $374K, we get a call from a person with a Mideastern accent asking for an additional $100K to seal the deal. Naturally, we take directions only from the client and turn them down but alert M. After some investigation on her part (finally) she discovers that D is hoping to get $10MM from Nigeria. Amazingly, T is on the hook for even more than M. Each day now for at least a week I have been hearing how they are so close to getting the proceeds. They only need one more signature. The money is now in NYC!. It is so close. I ask M wouldn't it be in D's interest to board a jet and fly to NY? Silence......gee, maybe she ought to. That was three days ago... D is an inventor who owns two companies and has registered several patents. You read T's pedigree. M has a Master rating as a bridge player and tours the world teaching. Go figure."

What scares me about this is I always thought that those email scammers would be content to grab 10 or 20 thousand from someone and then disappear into the ozone. But apparently they are highly skilled at manipulating their marks. So laugh at those ridiculous emails from Nigeria, but people are falling for them. Be alert if parents, relatives or friends sound like they may have been suckered by one of these schemes.

That's my sermon for the night. The day was wobbly as events conspired to remind me of recent unhappiness. I'm shooting for an even keel tomorrow. I could use a daily thirty minutes to get my head clear and my mind focused.

This weekend I will meet the SIL's at our collective daughters' college (does that make sense? 3 SIL's - 3 DD's - all at the same school) for family weekend. We're all headed out for a late dinner after the football game, and I'm predicting that the restaurant will never be the same.

Denise, I fall into your category on homework - give me another 10 years and maybe I'll be rational. My DS was reading Michael Crichton novels in 6th grade, but wouldn't write it down on the d*** reading log, and almost flunked reading. Is it true they're changing the name of the program to "No Childrens Left Behind"? (And none allowed to excel, either.) OK, no more politics.

Time to shake the lethargy and make some din-dins!

V.

Thursday night usually ushers in Friday and thus the weekend, but there is no weekend for me this week, we have entered into our physical inventory season at my place of business and my dept is heavily involved in all locations. So, I will work Sat and Sun and then take off a few hours Monday afternoon . I ll chalk up lots of comp time so will take time off at Christmas, and probably a week off in January.

Deanne that new pot is wonderful and so Deanne ! You may however want to seek counseling for your pota-holism.

V, wow, I guess the Nigerian ambassador with the 12 mill in the trunk of the car must net some results from somewhere or those faxes would not keep coming. We always get a good laugh out of them when they show up on the fax machine in my office.

Mary, when I was cleaning out a closet this weekend I found an assignment that all members of the family had to write an essay about DS. Think he was in 3rd or 4th grade at the time. How nice that you got flowers ! And thanks for wishing all of us a happy event in our day !

Cindy, your garden cant look any more sad and droopy than mine..plus Ive got mildew showing up everywhere-the dahlias look exactly like hell.

I am out of steam tonight so this is the best post I can manage..greetings to all

Kathy in Napa

Deanne, the urn is truly beautiful and it fits so well with the other garden art you have. I guess thats what I need are cement pots so that they don't tip.
Question for you, do you overwinter irsene 'Purple Lady', do you have luck with cuttings? Also, are you going to save your dwarf papyrus?

I looked over what I had taken for cuttings tonight and notices all the purple ladys were wilted.

Michelle

Michelle

Can't wait to read over posts in detail, but unlike last night's post, I won't write when utterly exhausted. Wrote about 340 pages of testimony today and my body is shot. Sounds like a rough weekend ahead for you too, Kathy. Deanne, you're a peach for posting the photo of the dahlia. That urn is FF beyond words. My dahlia came from Plant Delights and it was pretty small. I glanced and saw Tropic of Cancer and wondered if Henry Miller is on now No Child Left Behind reading lists. Must read more carefully later. Nite, all.

Morning all,

Well we apparently got some rain last night so I can wait until I get home from the gym to do the watering this morning. Thats a good thing. ~~ I saw the strangest thing around 5:30AM when I got up, these two guys had one of those car trucks that have the ramp to actually pick the car up instead of towing it. Anyway, they stopped in front of the house, one guy jumps out and gets into his pick up truck which was parked across the street. They both speed off. The car on the truck was a big SUV, I think it might have been one of those Cadillac Escalades. Im assuming they must have done a repossession.

Denise, sorry you received such a small plant from Plant Delights. I also got a pretty lousy order from them this spring. All the plants were really tiny, havent amounted to diddly and originally arrived two months after I placed the order. Ill never order from them again after this experience.

Michelle, yes, indeed, cement is the way to go! ROTFLOL. Unfortunately it would need a professional crew and a forklift to move in a cement pot big enough for my Charles Grimaldi. I guess it will remain tied to the tree for the time being. Seriously though, Ive found some awesome buys recently. Id only had a couple pieces before this year because they were just so darned expensive. ~~ RE Purple Lady Ive not been over wintering it but did take successful cuttings of it in the spring. Ive found that some cuttings, like the fuchsias, root better in spring than fall for some reason. Have you tried starting them in gel or soil?

Kathy, so sorry you have to work the weekend. Thats a bummer but I know youll enjoy the time off at the holidays. ~~ RE mildew, Ive had a rash of it show up in the most unlikely places the last couple days. My Heliopsis Lorainne Sunshine has spots all over it. Ive also got some starting up on the dahlias again. Grrrrr. ~~ OK, OK I do admit that I might need an intervention with the pots soon. LOL

V. thats a pretty scary story and even more frightening is that people fall for that stuff.

Wendy, thats a great geography teacher. The students will always remember that lesson because they arent just memorizing it but drawing it.

Mary, how lovely about the flowers! That was so thoughtful of him. How neat about the essay! I know the feeling about grammer, spelling etc. I have a very dear friend who has a PhD in English! Every time I write her a letter or an email I get self conscious about my writing and expect it returned with corrections. LOL

Cindy, sorry about the drooping garden. I sure hope you get some rain soon. Here is a pic to cheer you up. As requested.
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OK time to get my day started. Have a great Friday everyone.
Deanne

A grayish morning so far here. I'm not sure what direction my day will take yet, but DH's is organizing for his Paris trip. I have decisions to make about paint color for the house trim, trees to be pruned or eliminated, indoor and outdoor tasks to complete while DH is away. I always hope to accomplish way more than possible. At least meal prep is at a minimum.

Tonight will be a dinner out with the French Club. A sweet retired lady I've only met once has sent out an invitation that includes the following:
light supper: Vegetable Soup, Crusty Bread, Cheeses and something with apples for dessert. I'll happily do the food, but suggest that people should bring the beverage of their choice, beer, wine etc.
Sounds very"Autumn" and wonderful to me.

Yesterday my bulb order arrived. Hurray! Tulips (three varieties), winter aconites, blue anemone blanda, Camassia, fritillarias....This should help me look forward to spring.

Lots of talk about dogs here. We aren't quite ready yet for a new one, but just thinking about this brings back wonderful puppy memories.

The Nigeria tale from V is such a sad one. These days it certainly is not Nigeria alone. I hear lots of similar Chinese tales along those lines as well. About 10-12 years ago I knew a woman in Toronto who was the victim of a bank scam. These were very clever dudes who convinced her artfully. This was an older woman who was tough, one you'd never guess would fall for such a thing...or anything! But she did! Too sad.

And continuing on the theme of sad news on greed and human nature, I fear Deanne witnessed the theft of an SUV. That vehicle is likely already on a boat on its way to far off lands. Beware girl, that same truck may be rehearsing to carry off your CG, pot and all!

OH! This morning I heard from Jane. Some of you may remember her from Idylls long ago. She is still camping with her husband and two children at every opportunity. Her daughter is in grade 9, son in grade 8. Her house is still being worked on (whose isn't?) and she is taking course through her workplace on "Stress management" and "Women in skilled trades and technology". And she still gardens too! That was such a pleasant surprise to receive.

OK, breakfast is next.
'bug

TGIF!

How did it get to be almost October?

Sue

Good morning

I'm savoring today as this was my last week of part time hours and today my last without work. I'm sad September had to come to an end. I'm planning on spending today shoe shopping (I have only sandalls and boots, nothing in between), playing the violin and stocking up on groceries. We had heavy rains the last couple of days and the gardens have perked up, somewhat dishevelled but in their last fling of color. I have some very pretty pink asters I'm enjoying this year mingled with the purple verbena and tall nicotiana. My huge mass of Sweet Autumn Clematis that covers a rather ugly arboviatae is in full bloom making a lovely background.

Deanne - I fogot how lovely Windy is.

GB - how neat to hear from Jane. Didn't she put in a new garage last time she was posting here? Nice to hear she is doing well.

Waving Hi to all.
Mary

Very quick happy Friday while doing rain dances, lighting candles, reciting mantras, and doing everything possible to coax moisture from those clouds outside.

Deanne -- How the heck did you get those out of your car???? Just beautiful as always.

Kenzie is a real little girl!! How fun to remember ....

More to say but no more time.

Best -

Martie

Mary what a lovely gift from your DH its nice to know hes noticed your 150% isnt it?

Wendy re homework I had to laugh when I heard about your DDs 7th Grade assignment would you believe I had that one as a final exam in the 12th grade? That year was International History I recall and while I thought it was a bizarre exam, when it came time, it was one of the most profound ones I still remember to this day the names of the nations may have changed; but I still retain a sense of the globe, latitudes/longitude relationships, and all the inter-connectiveness of the world. One of the most useful things I was taught, memorized and retain (eeks) almost 40 years later...

Deanne OMG!!! Those are Campagnia urns (as Im sure you know) Ive been looking at those exact pots for a year longingly wondering how to afford. How fortunate you are I will have to visit to drool on them! I continue to be amazed that we love such similar things.

Yes, rain here! 2 inches Fa la la maybe the garden will be saved after all.

I am going thru some extreme irritation w/ my houseguest still unemployed and seemingly un-interested in temping to pay any of her bills I know shes an adult, but its starting to get to me; I fear her collection agencies are going to be calling me and harassing me (she forwarded all her mail to my address & Ive gotten the first call already trying to hunt her down). I value our friendship but am at a loss as to how to get her to make some concrete accomplishments in moving on landing a job and acquiring enuf to rent something if she continues to default, no one is going to loan anything to her. . . . and she cancelled out this a.m. on a 2nd interview at a firm because she decided the job was not the "one for her" (regardless of the fact taht the firm had NOT offered it to her... sheesh) -- okay enuf on that subject. The repo guy story, Deanne, made me think of that theyll probably be showing up on my doorstep for her car before too long. Ive decided Ive been too much of a hostess; I need to get back to my own routine and Chloes and let them live around it maybe that will be sufficiently uncomfortable.

Thanks, Deanne, for the meditation flower shots of the day! I can come back to look & calm myself down.

Marys talk of shoe shopping reminds me that I need to do that myself desperately.

V- that is a very scary story.

Happy Friday all Kathy, dont work tooo hard!

Cindy

Back from the gym.... Well I didn't do 60 steps per minute but I did do my hour on the stairs. Ugh! I wish I enjoyed the gym time but it still feels like penance even after all this time. LOL

Martie, te, he, that is the million dollar question. It took puzzling it out for an hour before I recalled that Doug has some car ramps in the garage, I set them up on the tailgate next to each other so I had a wider platform, slid a plastic bag under the urn so it would slide (I was a bit scared as it slid a bit faster than I anticipated) got it to the ground then using padding I rolled it end over end up to its spot in the garden. It only took an hour! LOL

Cindy, how cool you know about these pots! It's called the 'Longwood Arabesque Urn'. I've been looking at them on the Campania catalog for a while now so when I had an opportunity to ask if they were on sale I took it. I was hyperventilating waiting for the clerk to hear back from the manager. That Campania Longwood Collection is to die for! ~~ So sorry about your 'house guest'. She sounds a bit like my DD. It's sounds like its time to ask her to move on or she'll never turn things around. WE now have so many harassing phone calls from DD's bill collectors we are probably going to get rid of the telephone for now and just keep our cell phone numbers.

Mary, how great you've gotten some significant rain. I could really use a bit more here. There might be more today but right now the weather radar doesn't look too promising.

OK time to get showered and then get some deadheading done. I can't keep up with cleaning up the dying foliage this time of the year. I get to the point where I just want to weed whack the whole thing down!

Deanne

V. that Monet photo is amazing! Id like to see the unaltered image too it looks like the wildflower area must be putting on quite a show The pharmacy story was very funny. I wonder if were having similar problems Im off to see my doctor next week because things are getting annoying!

Cynthia I hope has lots of days left to her for good times with you and her grey housemates. Best wishes to both of you.

Deanne The attention to detail that you invest in your garden is mind-blowing! The results are impressive too. The blueberry and meringue pie provoked mixed reactions. Randy liked it; I thought it was bland! I think meringue works best with tart fruits like lemon, rhubarb and red currants. I make meringue pies with all of those. Blueberries are too mild-flavored to offer enough contrast I think. (Plus I think I added too much sugar and made it too sweet...) Wednesday our garden buddy resident at the longterm care center came for lunch. She liked the pie and took the rest of it back with her to share with her tablemates for dessert at supper. I think maybe an almond crisp topping would work better with the blueberries added to the list of upcoming pie experiments I pre-baked the pie crust for the blueberry pie. Then I cooked the filling in a pot and added it to the baked crust, put the meringue on and just baked the pie in the oven at 350F long enough to brown the meringue. Heres the pie crust recipe for you:

OatmealPie Crust::

Ingredients:

3/4 cup Flour

1/2 cup Quick rolled oats

1/2 tsp. Salt

4 T. Vegetable oil

3 T. Ice water

Directions:
Combine flour, rolled oats and salt in mixing bowl. Slowly drizzle in oil, mixing with a fork until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add ice water slowly until mixture begins to form a ball. Spray a 9 inch pie pan with on-stick spray. Pat the pastry evenly into the bottom and sides. [For baked pastry shell: Prick pastry with fork in several places. Bake at 400F 15-20min. until light golden brown ]

gb Ack! Your comment about bulb order arriving reminded me that mine did too when I was out taking pictures earlier this morning. I left it sitting on the front steps and forgot about it! I just ran out and brought it in. (If I hadnt read your post, it would still be sitting there when Randy comes home tonight :-)

Cindy is your friend/guest going for counseling of any sort? It sounds like she needs it.

Im still feeling dopey but not sure why. Its sunny now although weve had a bit (not enough!) rain in the past few days. It looks like I should be able to do more brick work this afternoon. Im in the home-stretch now, working on the last run of brick edging (which will likely take two weeks at least to complete.) Heres what the larger ramp looked like when I finished it last week:

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Just popping in for a second here. I too wondered about Cindy's friend. It sounds like a case of depression to me...that needs attention. I'd suggest a trip to the doctor and/or a counselor to turn this around. I'm not saying she doesn't have reason to be depressed at life's events, but that she needs to perhaps add exercise and mental activity to her daily calendar. A job search and follow up are a necessity no matter how she feels. Simply moving on to camp at yet another friend's place and vegetate would not be a cure. I know from experience that you can deny depression for just so long.

I have laughed and laughed reading the remarks on homework! I basically set the "cruise control" for English, French, Geography, History, and Biology... but had to really work at Math. and Chemistry; Math made more a good deal more sense after they added Geometry (LOVED IT) and Chemistry was easier when I discovered it actually had significane in equine nutrition! But both were "work". I really do "tip my hat" to those of you who are parents! we chatted about this the other night and both the helpmeet and I think we'd either home-school or investigate a private education. SADLY, I share Denise's sentiments nearly EXACTLY. (I want to see that contraption you use, BTW).

Deanne, I have LOVED that container for about ever. I see my case of urnyearn has now entered the chronic phase.

Kathy, you have been holdin' out on us, girlfriend. :) I think your decision is a very exciting one, indeed! but probably a little unsettling, too? I understand the need to tap the equity in one's home and appreciate the angst that accompanies such a decision. But this will be a great move and once you're settled we'll descend on you like 7 yr. locusts. ;) it's very exciting... at least from Maine!

Reed is quickly leaving the "blob" phase behind, 'bug. It's almost scary. But you know how i feel about kids... which leads us to dogs... . It takes time to venture into the "pool" again. I know. But you will, and in your own sweet time. I will go to my grave being a tireless advocate of the pedigree-less cast-offs that languish are daily "destroyed" in the pounds across our countries. ;) Every single pet we've had (with the exception of Larry) was someone else's "cast off". We recycle, lol! Charlotte was a very, very lucky dog.

And how's Katy? I've thought of Cynthia and her pack/pride combo. several times this week. Do SO hope things are at least the same, if not improved. You need some late summer sunshine, my friend.

And Miss Mary! I can't remember the last time I received a bouquet. What a lovely, considerate, appreciative gesture from someone who OBVIOUSLY "gets" the effort required to keep the home fires burnin'. I can think of few as deserving. About train sets: my brother had one, too. It occupied 2-3 sheets of plywood in the cellar. Papier mache contouring, etc. Multiple tracks and electric switches all of which he did alone. I was 6-8 yrs. old? and instead of tellling me "don't touch!" he patiently showed me HOW TO USE IT, so I wouldn't do damage when I did the inevitable... "sneak". And that's why I love my big brother so much. I never broke anthing, either. My brother nearly failed to graduate from HS because of his "attitude problem". LOL :)

I need to shut up and let you guys come up for air.

How's the puzzle coming along, Marian?!

Afternoon all, I have nearly ended another week of covering for the boss and his wife as they vacation. Im beginning to think that if she doesnt want to be at work it may be time to retire. Either that or Im going to ask for a big raise. Fortunately things have calmed down today.

Chelone, you may have urn yearn, but at least you are close enough to visit it.

Mary, how fun to receive flowers. Although DH buys me flowers, he has never had them delivered. One thing I told my son many times after he began dating, was flowers are something most women appreciate.

bug, your bulb order sounds similar to my bulb purchases on vacation. The French club meal sounds simple but yummy. I made an apple crisp from the apples off our tree. I added walnuts and served it with ice cream and caramel sauce. A nice autumny dessert. (for the lurking English teachers, I know that autumny isnt a word)

Deanne, I wont worry too much about the Purple Lady as I do seem to be able to find it locally. Some of the other things that I like to keep I cant always seem to find in the spring. I was reading about the papyrus. I understand that to root new ones, you just float one of the flowers in water. I was also wondering about your eupatorium Little Joe. How does it look at this time of year? I have Gateway and it looks like heck. I really had hoped when I bought them several years ago that they would look good later into the fall.

Cindy, I actually did think about a picture on the same bench each year, but I dont believe I have accomplished it. She may come over this weekend to go to the apple orchard/pumpkin patch so Ill have to get one.

It now gets dark at 7:30 so that gives me 2 hours outside after work if I eat after dark. I did manage to put the trim on the shed window last night and take a quick tour to "enjoy" the garden this a.m. before work. Darn I wish I were independently wealthy. I have a purple dome aster that is absolutely huge this year and in full bloom. The Lady in Black asters are just getting started and they are so sweet. The roses have really taken off again. There are actually quite a few things that look so good yet.

Michelle

Hmm... Michelle, I've never before considered the concept of "visitation"! :) (bet Deanne never did, either!).

What nice chatty posts to enjoy on a Friday evening along with my dirty rice and the Cubs game. Sorry, but the baseball addiction is getting very serious right now. Once I finish my milk, I shall move on to a celebratory glass of wine.

Mary, how nice to get the flowers! My DH is back into his heavy travel schedule. He won't be home until late this evening, and he is only home 1 weekend in October! I may have to tell him what your hubby did. ;)

Sue, I knew September would rip by, but it still amazes me that it's basically over. I'm still waiting for 2 people at work to tell me they finished August billing!

Deanne, I need to second Mary's comment on having forgotten how lovely Windy is. Your new urn is lovely, also. I put a link below for a handy little thing that I got this year. Unfortunately, it's no longer available at that site but perhaps a local garden center would (or will) have them. I think they are fairly new on the market.

Woody, the original photo was almost totally black - there was not much light. If I am home early enough on Sunday, I'll try to get a photo with enough light to show off the aster display.

Bug, how nice to hear from Jane. I was just thinking about Barb in BC recently and wondering how she is doing.

I stopped at the store after work to pick up a bag of dog food. Came home with two 44 lb bags (sale time) and a 5 gal tiger eye sumac. How do those things happen? Oh yeah, I picked up a medium size cast iron skillet also. Those of you who don't have farm supply stores in your neighborhood don't know how much fun you're missing!

Speaking of farms, I saw a great idea the other day of an outdoor "coffee table" made form a galvanized steel watering trough. The trough was planted with succulents, and there was a square of glass in the middle to use as a table. I couldn't tell from the photo what was underneath the glass - seems to me that plants would fry under glass in the summer. I may investigate this idea a little further.

CUBS WIN!

(sorry)

I need to go fold some laundry and pack for tomorrow. I hope everyone has a great weekend! I'll be back on Sunday.

V.

Yo-ho Idyllers, a brief stop by this evening after a long day in the inventory trenches. I am not operating at 100% brain power
Cindy, Im really sorry to hear of your difficulties with your rescue project. Its really crummy that you stepped up to the plate to help someone and could be taken advantage of. bugs comments about depression may be on the money- sometimes our troubles can galvanize us into inactivity. Your friend is probably so wrapped up in her own issues that she cant see far enough to recognize your frustration. Her own world is all around her; yours is not. Hoping she can see the way to help herself and things get better for you both
Woody, always so nice to feel a conclusion of a project is around the cornernow that I am putting my house on the market my projects have just begun-Im hoping for a 6 to 8 week flurry of activity .

Chelone, unsettling yes, but this wont be the first time I packed up and skee-daddled to a new place. Of course that was 20 years ago ! My mind is just going thousand miles an hour trying to anticipate any issues, problems, hidden costs, etc.

Hey Michelle, my Gateway looks like heck too, and in fact I have chopped it back because it was laying on top of two roses.

Thats all for now, time for some baseball.

Kathy in Napa

Kathy, very cool that you're making a major move! But it's a lateral move and you're not getting any closer to Idyll Central (where ever that is.) If you're buying and selling at same time it doesn't really matter how hot the market is, because you make it up on the buying end. One thing that's worked well for me is to find the new house before putting the old house on the market. Takes a lot of stress out of the situation. Most people do it the other way, because they're worried about selling. Houses maintained and priced right will always sell fast.

I love the Kenzie sequence :) I remember when she was born too. Agree that a 2007 bench photo is in order!

Woody, do you have GB's blueberry pie recipe? It is THE best blueberry recipe. The oatmeal crust does sound really good though.

Deanne, that urn is beyond stunning. I must be behind in my gardener's education as I had not heard of Campania or the Longwood line. I googled a bit and love it all. Excellent score and the fuschia is perfect in it!

Cindy, You're a good friend. I hope your friend get focused soon so that she doesn't lose you. I do think that you need to have a talk with her about taking control of her life. You've been going through some changes this year too and need your life back.

I express mailed Katie's MRIs (366 of them!) to THE greyhound vet at Ohio State on Thursday. And neuro is sending her spinal tap results from July. I feel better just having more clues now. When she's sleeping in my office everything is normal like it always was. When I take her downstairs or outside I get teary because then it's so obvious something has changed. When I started carrying her up and down the stairs in April, I was impatient with it and wanted her cured. Then it became a comfortable part of the routine to carry up Katie and then go back for the coffee cup. (I adding kissing her back to the routine before I set her down.) Now I'm just happy that I get to carry her up and down the stairs.

She's started her meds regieme and the bucket of pills below will wipe out the thing in her brain if it's bacterial. If not, well, she gets to eat 270 pill loaded meatballs :) in addition to her regular supplements. Dannie and Monty are feeling unloved because they only get two pill loaded meatballs a day.

I call this one: "Valley of the Dolls Dogs"

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It's already a beautiful week-end here! 55F when I got up and mid 70s today. A little rain this week which perked up the gardens some, but they really suffered from drought and I'll be glad to finish them off in a month.

Hi to all! Cynthia

Good sunny morning all,

WE are also in for a gorgeous weekend. Perfect for doing some heavy work outside. Im going to try to get Doug motivated to help me move the rock wall next to the shed. Weve been planning on making that path going next to the shed larger for a while now and this is a perfect weekend to do it. Well see how the motivation factor works. We are both on our lap tops in our PJs in the family room and its not looking like we are going to leap into action anytime soon. I wanted to post another pic of the Charles Grimaldi because yesterday I cut off 127 flowers, the day before I cut off 92 flowers. This is how many are left this morning. What an amazing plant!
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Here is my little white one that was a cutting from Sue. What a beauty.
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Cynthia poor Katie! Poor you! At least she gets to enjoy a meatball snack. That photo is heartbreaking.

V, thanks for that link. Monique and Les have that pot lifter and its a nifty contraption. Id decided when we were at Sues moving pots around a couple weeks ago that I need to get one.

Michelle, you can see E. Little Joe to the right of the brug in the first photograph. It still looks fantastic. I decided to try an experiment this year and have been deadheading it as the upper flowers passed. The plant keeps sending out new buds from the lower axels. It is still making flowers. ~~ RE papyrus, I just cut back all the top growth and put the pots under the lights for the winter. The ones in the pond have babies floating on the surface of the water and Ive potted up a couple of them and will probably do a few more. The one Im concerned with wintering over is the gigantic one in the container garden. That baby is about seven feet tall now and Ive no clue what to do with it. ~~ LOL about visitations! The Idylls are invited to visit anytime of course.

OK Im off to do something productive with this beautiful day.

Deanne

Only have a moment and want to go back and read, but had to share this with you ... 'Grandpa Ott' morning glory sure makes it's presence known! Will be trying to seed collect from it as soon as I remember how if there is any interest ...

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Martie

Now, a proper good morning. Rich is at DsD's painting her kitchen and I have all day to putz. Just how cool is that! There hasn't been a day like this in a bit, so plan on taking full advantage.

Love the idea of flowers delivered from DH, Mary. I haven't gotten flowers delivered from Rich since the 2nd day we knew each other. Feel he's made up for it, though, with tolerance for an ever decreasing lawn. LOL

Yesterday made a cold berry cobbler and was very bad and used lady fingers for the crust. Think I'm going to try a cold version of oatmeal next time. Makes sense.

Someone asked about if my containers were concrete. Yes. I have two authentic Della Robias and the rest are just plain old stuff that I've collected over the years. I can't bring myself to use plastic, yet, though my back wishes I would. My next major container purchase is going to be a tall iron urn for the end of the driveway. Iron so we don't have to bring it in and I love it when it ages. Friend of mine's BF runs an auction house and is on the lookout.

Kyle's UK tip of the week: When traveling the countryside and not thoroughly understanding diction when getting directions, ask again. He did report that he has thistle seeds for me as a result of the adventure. Hmmmmmmmm. Classes started this week so at least most of the time I'll know what country he's in.

With all my experience with depression and domestic violence and mental health and family rescue, the one thing I couldn't do was house an abused woman for more than a few days. It's clinical, and what happens is the victim takes on a victim status that swings as far as the abuse swung the other way. It becomes increasingly difficult for the woman to see past the victimization, and a certain feeling of "owing" comes into play. Though normal, it's not healthy for the protector at all. Congrats to you, Cindy, for being irritated rather than totally sympathetic. Is there anyone you can team up with to give her a good wakeup call? It sounds mean, but is truly one of the first steps in helping an abuse victim not be a victim anymore.

Kathy: Your attitude is going to make all the difference in this move, and it sounds right on. There will be a lot to do, but remember that buyers like to add personal touches, so don't spend money on decorating, per se. I've learned over the years that it's better to take $5K less on an offer than spend $2K and a ton of time making things look beautiful.

How cool, Marian, that you have all those old records mentioned on Chelone's "music" thread. If your record players work, they are coveted by collectors far and wide! Very neat.

Time for another cuppa and long garden walk. Gotta love lazy days.

Everyone enjoy! Taryn -- if you're out there I miss you!

Martie

ditto what Martie said re Grandpa Otts (please!) He's one virile old man. Lovely photo, Martie.

So nice to have a Katie report. If Dannie & Monty are feeling unloved, how's poor Wicky feeling? Bet he needs a couple placebo meatballs thrown his way. Can't wait to hear what the experts think after slogging through all those MRIs. Of all professions, I think I'm most in awe of the medical sciences. My middle brother had the congenital Legg-Perthes disease, potentially crippling, and a very clever Dr. Craig of Children's Orthopaedic Hospital designed some splints to wear for a year when my bro was 5 YO, gradually pushing the hips back in alignment, thus curing him completely without surgery and no future limitations. My mom has been donating to that hosp faithfully ever since, over 45 years.

Cindy, what a predicament to be in. Lots of good advice here. While she's waiting for the "perfect" job to line up (right!), any old source of income will do to contribute to your household. I have no idea how that concept is delicately communicated, especially, as Martie so eloquently put it, to someone whose "reality contact" is tenuous and muddled with victimhood issues. I heard that term from a psych doctor testifying yesterday and thought it was perfect. Maybe a refrigerator magnet with "Industria ditat!" -- "work enriches," loosely translated.

Great to hear that Purple Dome aster is a keeper for you, Michelle. Just planted one myself. I'm tentatively heading in the direction of focusing more on fall perennials as possibly more reliable here since we have such a long coolish fall. I've flip-flopped in this garden direction before. What few salvias I have are just now stirring into life. A smallish 'San Carlos Festival' has one intense magenta flower open with a few buds, so it's getting exciting...The gaura Corrie's Gold is infested with scale so may have to yank those. In a tiny garden like mine, this is a tragedy of epic proportions and means I have to rethink everything, lol. Kathy, just think of the size your new garden will be. It will be so exciting to go house-hunting with you. You'll be taking us all along, virtually speaking of course. Sounds like Cynthia's already got your back.

Re trains, a friend of my DH does an elaborate train set at Christmas that runs from the tree in the living room, out the windows at the front of the house then back inside. I think he may have redesigned the windows to make it work, lol.

I DO want some of the galvanized steel watering troughs and seriously envy any of you with regular access to feed stores.

My moral dilemma of the week involved the shopping ctr I was working next to all week having landscape plantings of the most exquisite agave, leaves nearly pure yellow with a thin green band at the margins, overgrown and congested with pups. No, I didn't but I was tempted.

Chelone's music thread has been most amusing. I was once so enthralled with a performance of Jackson Browne at the Roxy on Sunset Blvd. that I failed to notice my hair had caught fire from the table's candle. An alert waitress extinguished me before much was lost.

Trying to think what I'd do -- Paris or grandbaby...Paris or grandbaby...Kidding! that Reed's a charmer. So you've all been following along with Kenzie since that age? And probably Bella too. wow...

Did just a quick skim..I'm actually supposed to be hunting up info on a bonus daylily. Wasn't having any luck, so thought I'd pop in and say a quick HI to all. Anyone hear of JoJo? It came from Giblert Wild, but there's nothing on their site about it.
DD went to clean her old apartment and Jim is out running soybeans, so I've got some time to get plants in the ground. I've got company coming tomorrow, but I'm going to work outside today and am telling myself I'll tidy up inside tonight. Fortunately, the company isn't really...it's my brother, so I don't REALLY care if he sees the filth. I can blame it on DD's move ;)
Just quick comments...LOL @ Valley of the Dogs :)
Cindy, good that you're irritated with your friend. I've been the victim, and came to the conclusion I'd rather be who I was MEANT to be, rather than the victim that he made me. Good friends and good family helped me get back on track. Far better for her to get any job until the right one comes along, and start getting her sense of self back. If it takes some tough love, she will probably thank you for it later. As a matter of fact, the DB that is coming tomorrow "tough loved" me, and we ended up being much closer than we probably would have otherwise.
Okay, seriously, I've got to get busy. Wish I could comment on all, but I'm doing a fair job keeping up with everyone, thinking of you often, and loving all the pictures!
Have a great day, everyone!
Brenda

Yes Denise, watching the babies on the Idylls grow has been loads of fun. We're going to need a new photo of the twins soon too! I never thought of myself as a 'baby person'(rather like Sue & Chelone...) but things have somehow changed recently. :-)

Today is one FANTASTIC day! Clear, sunny, cool. Just beautiful. I had various chores which I zipped through (cat litter, dump, etc) and then ended up at the agility demo over at the vet's for a doggie fix. My friend who taught Charlotte at puppy school was there and she offered to go with me (when I'm ready) to judge a new puppy for temperament. How sweet is that?! She also remarked on what I already knew, that Charlotte had an extraordinary temperament. A wonderful companion indeed. There were kittens and prizes and neat people there.

Then I spent time at the knit shop buying needles and wool for winter fun by the fire. There's a famous pattern for a jacket that is knit in one piece that I've been eager to try, so I'm all set to start...that is once the blanket I've been working on is finished. Fall is the time I get excited about new knitting projects.

DH did NOT send flowers, but he did email from Paris that he arrived. Often he doesn't and that really infuriates me.

Off for some lunch and then the garden calls!
'bug

A fantastic day here except the extreme wind. I decided to work in the potting area as that is on the north side of the house and the wind is cut alot. I'm taking containers apart and potting up what will come indoors.

Kenzie spent the night and left around 12:30. It was rainy this a.m. and she was supremely disappointed that she couldn't go outside. We had planned the apple orchard and pumpkin patch for today but I'm sure it would be too muddy. I put an old oversized sweatshirt on her and let her go out for a while after the rain quit.

Denise, I joined the Idylls a little over 3 years ago and Kenzie will be 3 in Nov. She has informed me that she is going to have a Care Bear birthday party. Bella is several months younger than Kenzie and Eden has been around longer than me.

We did get some garden pictures, but with the extreme wind, she may have quite the hair do. This year it is much harder to get her to sit still for pictures so most are "action" shots. Did I mention that my dad calls her the Energizer Bunny?

Deanne, what patience it must take to deadhead that brug.

Martie, the MG is very pretty. Is Grampa Ott a big reseeder? I'm still trying to rid myself of some from years ago. I wouldn't mind one that doesn't take over my world.

I leave Denise with a picture of 'Purple Dome' which actually was several days ago and has many more blooms today.

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Michelle

Bella's playing so I'm going to try to squeeze in a post. We've been putting up Halloween decorations this morning. So what are the Idyll kids being for Halloween this year? Bella's chosen Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. She been watching the movie. I even found her a pair of ruby slippers at Target. I have most of my plants in, still a few to go, but it looks like this week will be warm. I still need to spread all of that mulch though. We'll be having the old maple trunk that held up the moon and clouds taken down next week. The back garden has had lots of changes to it's landscape this season.

Michelle, I loved the picture sequence of Kenzie. Hard to believe she's almost 3. Here beautiful big blue eyes don't change though. My Purple Dome's are just beginning to open. Yours is beautiful.

Marie, you asked about Bella's music cds. Let's see, she listens to Raffi, the Wiggles, some of the Disney movie soundtracks, especially Mary Poppins, also Laurie Berkner, Dan Zanes, some of the Baby Einstein classical cds like Baby Bach, Baby Beethoven etc. She loves the Theme from the Mickey Mouse Club for marching and dancing, and sometimes I put on broadway showtune cds for her, Gypsy, Oaklahoma etc.. Oh and we listen to the soundtrack from Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella often. I like that one alot! Probably not for Reed though, lol.

Cynthia, Katie's pill collection reminds me of my mom's. I hope something in there helps! I too am more than ready to put my garden to bed for the season this year.

Deanne, love your new urns. I looked at that Longwood collection online last night. Oh my! So many beautiful things.

Cindy, I have to say you are a nicer person that I. I would not be able to tolerate a friend staying with me like that no matter what the circumstances I'm afraid. You are very kind! I hope she realizes how lucky she is to have you.

Here's the list of those who've indicated they want to participate in Creepy Guy's Idyll Adventure

Denise
Chelone
Cynthia
Mary
Saucy
Michelle
Martie-I've got your address, no need to send it
Deanne-I need you to email me your address

If anyone else wants to be involved could you send me your address this weekend so I can send him on his way early next week.

Bella's ready to move on to something new so I've got to run. Hope you're all having a great weekend and your weather's as nice as ours is here. We're doing the apple orchard/pumpkin patch tomorrow afternoon, it's supposed to be in the mid 80s.

Eden

What a shrub that Purple Dome is! Thanks for posting that, Michelle.

Saturday and alls well, went to work at 6 this morning(had to drive an hour away) and got back home about 3:30. Not to bad for an inventory day. Tomorrow I go back but probably will only be a ½ day situation.

V, my best wishes to your Cubs. Ive always had a soft spot for them and will most likely root for them in the playoffs . Bet the poor old Brewskies though they had it dialed into after holding the lead for most of the season.

What strength of character you show Denise-resisting the urge to pilfer an agave pup. I would suspect that no one at that shopping center gives a rats a*** for that agave and that your theft would go unnoticed-however you didnt hear it from me ! (Betcha if you called the property manager you could get permission !) Well, I must say that even at my worst I never caught my hair on fire lol ! I did have my share of experiences in and around Sunset Blvd though. Do you remember Wallachs Music City on Sunset and Vine???
I will be sure to take the Idylls house-hunting with me ! Hey , did you ask about noisettes? The only one I have right now is Boule de Neige , and will absolutely have Madame Alfred Carriere one day. If I had to pick. Mme Alfred would win the day.

Martie, I have Star of Yelta which is quite similar to Grandpa Ott, and it re-seeds like mad. This year I was not diligent enough in my thinning and it has engulfed Sombrieuil and one of my Rudbeckias.
I agree that I need to be careful with how I spend my house sale prep bucks. My house will list in the 675k range. 2 to 5k is a drop in the bucket. I expect to spend 10, mostly in plumbing issues and kitchen and window upgrades.

Hiya Brenda-glad you checked in..sounds like you are a busy lady-its that harvest thing. The harvest season is quite intense here in Napa, and the company I work for furnishes many supplies to the vineyard folk.

Eden, Im all for Reed listening to Cinderella , especially the Rogers and Hammerstein version- I did not discriminate gender wise and my son is even more into show tunes now than DD. When we did car trips in their younger days the soundtracks were a great way to keep them entertained. Oklahoma was definitely a favorite ! The address for Creepy Guy has been sent. I am pondering his visit . (oh, and my kids were also very fond of a video I taped of Sweeney Todd with Angela in her glory-I edited out the gory stuff. !)

Ok everyone, I have some chores to do and some baseball to watch. Catch yall later !

Kathy in Napa

Happy Good Morning!

Ky's fav at age 3 was the 1812 Overture. He could stomp and jump and slither and by the time that winter was over, had it memorized and had a little dance thing that looked almost the same each time. He also really liked the Chipmunks Christmas record, even in July. Really, the roundedness of his musical exposure as made a huge difference in his willineness to try anything "once", except whiny country.

Kathy -- "One Meatball" is one of the alltime classic showtunes, IMHO, and is highly underrated. Perhaps it's because I was madly in lust with the guy playing the character when I costumed Sweeney Todd in college???? LOL

I have no idea of G. Ott will reseed since this is the first year I've had it, but I really wouldn't mind if it took over the mailbox garden. Remind me I said that next Spring.

Today is house cleaning time. All the windows are open and maybe the wind will dust for me? Wishful thinking :0

Later, alligators. AND THE RED SOX CLINCHED!!!!

Martie

Thanks Eden, those CDs are food for thought!

Errands to run now, then the tree man arrives to give me an estimate...I KNOW it will be way more than I can afford. He won a huge lottery last year...I didn't!

Maybe I should pick up a pumpkin this time too.
Later,
'bug

Good Morning, Slow start here this morning. Brad's off playing racquetball and I've yet to do much of anything. It's a beautiful day though for a visit to the apple orchard this afternoon with Bella. She's such fun these days and says the funniest things. Her new word is "need". Megan told me she says "I NEED to go to grandma's!" She also NEEDS candy and every toy she sees advertised, lol. Michelle's post had me looking at old pictures of Bella and the oldest one I could find on this computer was this one from August 05, she was 6 months old

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and one from May 06, a couple of months after her 1st birthday

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Aren't those funny? It's fun to look back but unbelievable how quickly time has passed.

Kathy, for some reason I didn't receive your email. My address is lmcilhargie at hotmail.com so could you try again? I figure maybe you emailed me through GW. Those never come through for me.

Hope you all have something fun planned for today!

Eden

I feel terrible about my short posts on Idyll, I really do, but I am trying to squeeze it in and that must count for something.

I posted on Chelone's album thread thinking I'd post here next then we're off to breakfast....and pumpkin shopping....and then to unload the trailer of the lumber that will sister up the too-small rafters in the room to be the Glorious Four Season Sunroom.....I ordered my 6 22" wide skylights last night.

This project could take years ;)

I love Valley of the Dogs! Zeus likes a good chicken hotdog for pill hiding....cut it into 1" pieces and cut an X in the center - I can fit two large pills in there! Meatballs sound more tempting, though. I won't tell him what he's missing.

Bella's gonna have a blast in the pumpkin patch today (or did she go yesterday?) and Eden will have prime picture taking opportunities. I loved it when they were Bella's age....now they want the biggest pumpkin they can find! Time to start growing those 900 pounders for fun! We're all talking about it....

I am working on the pond area today. I have to move some plants, but most is going in the compost. I may have to work on the rock wall and am aprehensive as I've never done a rock wall....

Gorgeous threads from all who posted. I'm taking notes on what to add to the fall garden. Woody, I'm especially impressed when you show pictures of your hardscapes...that's a lot of work! Deanne, you and Doug picked a perfect weekend to move that wall, and I know you two are the ones to accomplish such a feat!

I'm going to go outside now and get started....maybe I'll feel ready for Idyll Phase Two while I mull your postings over in the garden.

Saucy

The huge dog and I are back to walking. He's up to a solid 3 miles with no hint of a limp or soreness. 'bout time blow out the other knee now, huh? It's interesting to watch him react to the road work; he's had it pretty easy the last few months and it's taken a few jaunts to get back into the "polite walking" and compliantly responding to "heel" when it's required. I have this thing about talking while I burp (I know, I know), and this morning I managed this: "Do you want a walkie?". He went totally mental, barked like a fool, and began to chase his tail before dashing down the stairs and repeating the performance in front of the door. LOL. (I'll have to practice that one some more).

Cindy, you have my sympathy, as well. I know how bad Mum was in 2003, after her cancer diagnosis. She essentially refused to get out of bed, get dressed, eat. She weighed a whopping 84 lbs. at her lowest. Clearly an anti-depressant was called for. As for waiting for the perfect job... she can't have it, because I WANT IT! Seriously, that's an excuse for continuing the present (in)activity. I can't recall the guy's name (big guy, played for the Philly Sixers, kind of a jerk) who refused to give panhandlers money. When asked why, he replied it wasn't any harder to ask, "would you like fries with that?". Sometimes, when you hit the bottom hard the best thing to do is "get busy", start doing something to change your circumstances. You are a very good and kind friend!

I went into the bedroom this morning and realized that the entire window seat was covered with the contents of the helpmeet's pockets... months' worth! I sorted all the pocket change, threw out the candy wrappers and rusty screws, organized the other receipts, tools, and assorted other goodies. I have decided that the window and the view through it are no longer going to be compromised by the clutter of sloth. I suspect this will not be warmly received, but I don't care. ;) (the request to declutter the dining table will not be met with great enthusiasm, either).

OK, time to hang the blankets out and contemplate a load of bedding... or maybe tomorrow morning...

(Just remembered the big guy's name: Charles Barclay).

Seeing little BellaTheBall beaming reminds me that I spoke with DGS on the phone last night. For some mysterious reason he has been behaving like a charm. He's always good when alone with Sarah, but when with Mom or Dad, the impossible nonsense and whining begin. Dad returns tonight too, after a two week absence. But he was full of talk of being Harry Potter for Halloween, of enjoying the photos I sent him of his holidays here, of singing to his baby brother and a possible sleepover. Later I received a new email address for him. I hope he uses it a lot and that it helps his manual dexterity and creative writing skills. Just last week he was punished for playing computer games instead of math exercises during math class. Oh brother, what a kid! His Mom made him write letters of apology to two teachers, rake and bag 3 bundles of leaves in the backyard and stay grounded in his room for a full day. I don't agree with all of that, but I'm sure he'll remember it.

I finished off the blanket I've been knitting last night and now am trying to crochet scallops around the edge. Crochet isn't really "my thing".

Chelone...I'm sure DH will be thrilled to comply with your requests. He'll surprise you and say "I thought you'd never ask my darling wife!" Well, maybe not.... But when he's done, there are tools on the back room table here and a cluttered DR table as well. I cleaned up his sheet music last night. On the other hand, I do admit to being less tidy than he.

There's so much work to do in the gardens...I don't know where to begin! I've added three pots of mums to the front entryway. (sort of like using deodorant rather than showering...) Maybe I'll go deal with laundry first.

Wishing Ei would drop by with her news and PHOTOS!
'bug

The little girl two houses down who races with her friend up and down on the sidewalk in front of my house just informed me that she noticed my picket fence is broken. It's been hit and one of the pickets is split in half lengthwise. Now I wonder how that could have happened? She didn't know, lol.

Eden

Eden, one day long ago Sarah's tricycle went missing. The nasty kid across the street was the suspect, but we weren't sure. Why steal an old tricycle anyway?
DH decided to talk to the kid, appropriately named Damion. He was sympathetic. DH laid it on thick. The poor little girl was so sad and was in tears - yada yada yada. Damion said he'd look for it and amazingly found it 3 minutes later behind the apartment buildings at the corner of the block. I wonder how he knew to look there....

I have not been very productive outside this summer. I've kept up with lawn and done some occasional weeding, but haven't really devoted any considerable to time to any one thing. It has seemed as though everything I've wanted to has somehow been linked to something that had to be done before. And let's face it, the attention around here has been focussed on other things.

I mowed a neglected corner of the yard today; on a high setting and then progressively lower, raking up the finest clippings. I have a bunch of rescued ferns from the garage site and I think they'd probably like it over there with their compatriots (Osmunda cinnamomea). I have a large stand of Polygonatum commutatum to dig and divide and figured some of that would probably like it over there, too. And 2 Astilboides tabularis that have been surviving in pots on the north side of the house since the end of July.

"Where's my stuff?" was the reaction to the clean window seat. I showed him where it was, and told him I washed the stash of the clothes that had been piled there, too. "But they weren't dirty...". They're cleaner now! I requested that the dining table be addressed this week and received the assurance that it would be. We'll see.

I'm pretty good at picking up after myself, actually. My desk is not lookin' so great, but the bulk of it is magazines that I need to either save or toss. And Medicare Summary Notices that I need to file away. The shop is a disaster, too, and it makes me crazy to have to search around for a pair of scissors (we have close to a dozen pair!), a stapler, seam ripper, or staple puller. It's also a hazard to step on scraps of fabric or recently removed snap buttons... they're SLIPPERY! I NEVER leave the shop without tidying up my space, but no one else does that for me. And it can really wear me down.

Balanced my checkbook today and had the pleasant discovery that there was more in there than I thought there was; evidently, I forgot to write in a deposit I made nearly a month ago. :)

Funny about the broken fence, missing tricycles, and whining kids... . Lookee at all I've missed. Not.