Sunday, December 13, 2009
December 13th, Almost Christmas, Making some Gifts
Here it is, almost Christmas and I still have a lot left to get done before Christmas arrives. Seems like the older I get the later I get the gifts for everyone. Maybe that is because every year my family just keeps getting larger- either with more new great grandchildren, or more grandchildren getting married. Heard a while ago that there will be at least one new great grandchild again next year.
I have been busy trying to get enough crocheting done to help with the gifts. I try to spend at least one afternoon each week visiting my Aunt in the Nursing Home.
After losing my last brother in August, my 3 sisters and myself had the home place to clear out. My Dad built this house back in 1923 or 1924 and after my Father passed away in 1975, one of my brothers moved in with my mother and he remained in the home place after our mother passed away in 1995. About a year ago, a sister-in-law (the wife of my oldest brother Fred who died last year) bought the home place. In the Will our mother had given my brother Gerald the life use of the home, where he remained until he died this past August. Then the sister-in-law wanted her house and the garage cleaned out. Last month my three sisters and myself worked for weeks trying to get all the work finished. Was hard watching strangers buying so many items that once belonged to our parents and my brother. I never realized how much there was in the house that I had bought over the years for them. A few of them I brought back home with me. November was made even harder as the 13th was brother Fred`s Birthday and the 26th was brother Gerald`s Birthday. Lost our last Uncle just a couple months before Gerald. That took such a strain on my Aunt that a few months later she went into a Nursing Home. They had been Married for 67 years. Will be even harder for my Aunt when her Birthday comes in April as that is also her Wedding Anniversary date. She is 89 years old and I worry a lot about her health. When I visited her a couple days ago she was telling me about pain she had both in her chest and in her right arm and that she still didn`t feel quite right from it. She also told me that she did not mention it to either of her sons as she did not want them to worry. She told me in confidence so If I tell either of them I would be letting her down and she would feel she had no one left she could trust to talk to. The Nurses at the home know about it and it is their duty to let her son know. I do not know if they did . She told me she asked them to see a Dr. and she said they told her they could not call the Dr over everything that happens. Since I am just her niece, I have no authority, so can not do anything. A couple months ago she had an eye infection and I was told "she will see the Dr tomorrow as that is her scheduled time". A few days later, while we were attending my brother`s Funeral, I was told that she had been taken to the Hospital because the infection had gotten so bad she was running a high fever. If it had been my mother, I would have insisted she see a Dr when the eye infection was first noticed instead of letting it get that bad. I did tell both of her sons that if it was my mother I would have insisted. Her oldest son said it did not look that bad to him.
Then last month there was all the outside items to be taken care of before the snow arrived, plus all my outside plants that needed to be brought inside for the winter. Once all that was done, I covered the side porch with heavy plastic to keep the snow off the porch and to help break the wind when the door was opened. Next, I put some plastic over the kitchen windows to help make the kitchen warmer. I made a small table frame to hold the round table top for a place to get the plants all in one place and off the floor and in front of the smaller pitcher window -in the room that once was my dining room. Today this room holds my large horse collection and now also my house plants during the winter. Yesterday one daughter told me it looked like a garden with soo many plants. All of the Amaryllis plants are upstairs where they will rest till spring except if they blossom as Some usually do blossom during the winter.
Another thing I did last month was to help daughter Linda make new front porch steps- railings and all. Her old cement steps had some breakage, making them unsafe.
Since it would have cost her a lot to get someone to break up and remove the huge old steps, I decided to just extend the porch out a little so we could make new steps to just cover over top of the old ones. She has a Ranch style home with a porch extending all across the front of the house, so wider steps looks ok. Some of her neighbors came over to tell us how great they looked. I did all the head work, measuring and most of the cutting, but to make it more her work, I had her do all the drilling and all the screw driving. That way she could feel proud of the job and also learned more about how to make plans and work better with electric tools. She is a fast learner and a hard worker.
This month I went in half on a new snow blower. My daughter and her husband who live next door to me have been helping me shovel for the past few years. This way they have a better machine to remove the snow with and since they also do most of mine for me, I benefit by helping so they can buy a better one that should last for years instead of a small cheap one.
Guess I should stop writing and head off to bed as it is now 10 minutes of one in the morning. My Border Collie Sassy will be up early waiting for me to get up and let her out and then bring her back in to feed her. She is almost 14 years old and does not stay out very long now that it is so cold out. I have to chain her up every time she goes out as we have a dog confinement Law here. Only got about 2-3 inches of snow today before it started hailing out, but almost a foot the day before yesterday. So, winter snow is starting to pile up. Was in the teens F when I let her out this morning, and got up into the 20`s F during the day. It is about 30 F now. I went out and poured hot water (with some Dawn dish washing detergent in it) over the porch steps on all three of my porches to keep them from icing up. I also poured it over the dogs steps off the side porch to remove some ice that had started forming on them. Funny how hot water with the Dawn keeps the ice from forming instead of making more ice. But it works great as long as there is enough dish detergent added to the hot water.
Sorry it has taken me so long to get myself writing again. Am still quite busy with getting gifts made and bought, but will write again when I find some spare time.
I have been busy trying to get enough crocheting done to help with the gifts. I try to spend at least one afternoon each week visiting my Aunt in the Nursing Home.
After losing my last brother in August, my 3 sisters and myself had the home place to clear out. My Dad built this house back in 1923 or 1924 and after my Father passed away in 1975, one of my brothers moved in with my mother and he remained in the home place after our mother passed away in 1995. About a year ago, a sister-in-law (the wife of my oldest brother Fred who died last year) bought the home place. In the Will our mother had given my brother Gerald the life use of the home, where he remained until he died this past August. Then the sister-in-law wanted her house and the garage cleaned out. Last month my three sisters and myself worked for weeks trying to get all the work finished. Was hard watching strangers buying so many items that once belonged to our parents and my brother. I never realized how much there was in the house that I had bought over the years for them. A few of them I brought back home with me. November was made even harder as the 13th was brother Fred`s Birthday and the 26th was brother Gerald`s Birthday. Lost our last Uncle just a couple months before Gerald. That took such a strain on my Aunt that a few months later she went into a Nursing Home. They had been Married for 67 years. Will be even harder for my Aunt when her Birthday comes in April as that is also her Wedding Anniversary date. She is 89 years old and I worry a lot about her health. When I visited her a couple days ago she was telling me about pain she had both in her chest and in her right arm and that she still didn`t feel quite right from it. She also told me that she did not mention it to either of her sons as she did not want them to worry. She told me in confidence so If I tell either of them I would be letting her down and she would feel she had no one left she could trust to talk to. The Nurses at the home know about it and it is their duty to let her son know. I do not know if they did . She told me she asked them to see a Dr. and she said they told her they could not call the Dr over everything that happens. Since I am just her niece, I have no authority, so can not do anything. A couple months ago she had an eye infection and I was told "she will see the Dr tomorrow as that is her scheduled time". A few days later, while we were attending my brother`s Funeral, I was told that she had been taken to the Hospital because the infection had gotten so bad she was running a high fever. If it had been my mother, I would have insisted she see a Dr when the eye infection was first noticed instead of letting it get that bad. I did tell both of her sons that if it was my mother I would have insisted. Her oldest son said it did not look that bad to him.
Then last month there was all the outside items to be taken care of before the snow arrived, plus all my outside plants that needed to be brought inside for the winter. Once all that was done, I covered the side porch with heavy plastic to keep the snow off the porch and to help break the wind when the door was opened. Next, I put some plastic over the kitchen windows to help make the kitchen warmer. I made a small table frame to hold the round table top for a place to get the plants all in one place and off the floor and in front of the smaller pitcher window -in the room that once was my dining room. Today this room holds my large horse collection and now also my house plants during the winter. Yesterday one daughter told me it looked like a garden with soo many plants. All of the Amaryllis plants are upstairs where they will rest till spring except if they blossom as Some usually do blossom during the winter.
Another thing I did last month was to help daughter Linda make new front porch steps- railings and all. Her old cement steps had some breakage, making them unsafe.
Since it would have cost her a lot to get someone to break up and remove the huge old steps, I decided to just extend the porch out a little so we could make new steps to just cover over top of the old ones. She has a Ranch style home with a porch extending all across the front of the house, so wider steps looks ok. Some of her neighbors came over to tell us how great they looked. I did all the head work, measuring and most of the cutting, but to make it more her work, I had her do all the drilling and all the screw driving. That way she could feel proud of the job and also learned more about how to make plans and work better with electric tools. She is a fast learner and a hard worker.
This month I went in half on a new snow blower. My daughter and her husband who live next door to me have been helping me shovel for the past few years. This way they have a better machine to remove the snow with and since they also do most of mine for me, I benefit by helping so they can buy a better one that should last for years instead of a small cheap one.
Guess I should stop writing and head off to bed as it is now 10 minutes of one in the morning. My Border Collie Sassy will be up early waiting for me to get up and let her out and then bring her back in to feed her. She is almost 14 years old and does not stay out very long now that it is so cold out. I have to chain her up every time she goes out as we have a dog confinement Law here. Only got about 2-3 inches of snow today before it started hailing out, but almost a foot the day before yesterday. So, winter snow is starting to pile up. Was in the teens F when I let her out this morning, and got up into the 20`s F during the day. It is about 30 F now. I went out and poured hot water (with some Dawn dish washing detergent in it) over the porch steps on all three of my porches to keep them from icing up. I also poured it over the dogs steps off the side porch to remove some ice that had started forming on them. Funny how hot water with the Dawn keeps the ice from forming instead of making more ice. But it works great as long as there is enough dish detergent added to the hot water.
Sorry it has taken me so long to get myself writing again. Am still quite busy with getting gifts made and bought, but will write again when I find some spare time.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
August 12, 2009 New Pillow case, 2nd picture
This is the second picture showing the sunflower butter dish closed. Was open in the other picture.
Sorry I haven`t been writing in my Blog for a while. My brother took a turn for the worst and the Dr said it could be anytime. So, I was spending more time visiting him at the home-place where he was living. This is the sane home our father had built, where we were all born, and we all lived until the day we got married.
My very brave courageous brother was in lots of pain as he had bone cancer. He had refused the Morphine because he wanted to keep his mind clear to visit with us for as long as was possible. He had other pain pills, but they were not much help. He never complained even when we could see the pain was getting more than he could bear. He had been suffering from one thing or another since he was 13 years old. When he was 14, he was Hospitalized with osteo-mylitis and he got so ill that the Dr told my mother if they did not remove the bad leg my brother would not live through the night. My mother refused to sign for the leg removal. My brother spent a year in the Hospital, then another year at home in a wheel chair being tutored at home for his schooling. Then he finally started high School using crutches. He was still on crutches when I started high School the following year. Dr`s said he would never walk again after having the knee fluid removed twice from his knee, but he proved them all wrong. His next year of High School he rode his bike to school. We walked about a mile each way to High School twice a day as we went home for lunch. Many times he had me sitting on the crossbar as we coasted down the hill beside the school. Little harder pushing the bike and walking back up that steep short hill as we started back home. I used to help him pushing it uphill. I would have pushed it up myself, but he insisted he could do it, so I just held onto the other handlebar and helped.
Since that time he has suffered with kidney stones, had the neck gland removed due to cancer that had spread. Last year we were told that he had the bone cancer and there was nothing they could do for it. On the 4th, I knew it would not be more than three weeks, so I dropped everything to keep visiting with him.
He lost his hard fighting battle on Thursday, August 20th, 2009 .
Monday, Aug.24th we held his Funeral Service. He was liked by everyone who met him and made friends very easily. He was such a good person and will be missed terribly.
We had just lost our oldest brother in June of last year from Heart problems. Our youngest brother passed away back in 1994. Now we have lost all of our brothers and there is just me and my 3 sisters left.
Some day when I feel more in control of my feelings, I will tell some stories of my life with this older brother who not only shared my High School days, but we did a lot together- even to falling down a well together at an uncles farm when we were younger. God Bless and care for him until we meet again. I love you brother.
Aug.12, 2009 Working on my sewing machine.
August 12, 2009 -Sewing on my electric sewing machine!
Today was one of those days when you ask yourself if you should have stayed in bed. Yesterday I decided it was time I stopped putting off sewing what needed to be done. I had piled up some items on the end of the font room couch near the sewing machine. There it sat all last week while I kept finding other things I felt were more important to do first.
Finally on Monday I started sewing. Finished hemming up four pairs of slacks and got the last pair half done when I ran out of that colored thread. Since I
already had one leg hemmed, I could not use another color to finish the hem on the other leg, so it waits till I can get to the store for more thread.
Then yesterday I shortened a couple of blouses that I had kept hanging on hangers and not wearing. Now I was feeling better just seeing the end of the couch cleared off and most of the sewing done.
Well, then came this morning. I decided that since I still had the sewing machine all set up, it would be a good time to make a couple new pillow cases for the small pillow I take places with me. The original cover was beginning to look worn from years of use. Maybe I should explain the importance of this small pillow. Years ago when my Husband and I were still running the Cub and Boy Scout Troops, I had an accident. My Dining room curtain had fallen and the curtain rod holder needed to be replaced. Back then we did not own a step ladder, so I often used the baby high chair to reach high places. Before climbing up onto the High chair, I took time to remove the other chairs away from that side of the dining room table-out of the way for safety. That day all the boy Scouts were meeting at our home before leaving for a week-end camping trip. Many of the boys came inside to chat with me while waiting for the others to arrive. I continued fixing the curtain rod and hanging the curtain while we chatted. Then when I was finished I started to climb back off the high chair and landed directly on the rounded top of one side of the back of one of the dining room chairs. One of the boys must have thought they were helping by moving the chair back under that end of the table. The impact broke off the tail bone and to this day I still have that separated piece of bone lose and able to move. Since this piece of bone causes pain whenever I sit wrong, I have been using a small pillow with a hole in it where the spine hits, so the bone does not get knocked against the end of the spine and causing pain running up my back to my head.
Now to get back to my day sewing to make the 2 new pillow covers-
First the thread broke and I had quite a time trying to re-thread the machine. I have a needle threader that I bent so I could push it through the machine needle. Takes me many tries before getting the threader through the needle hole.
Times like this I wish my hands were in better shape and I did not have diplopia, but I am still glad I am not really bad off like so many people are. I started sewing again and was doing well when the bobbin ran out of thread. I was glad I had another bobbin with some white thread on it so I did not need to fill the bobbin right then.
After re-pacing the bobbin, I was again sewing along when suddenly the thread got tangled on the post that was holding it. Without thinking, I just turned the spool of thread upside down to keep the thread from tangling again. Not too smart as I was reminded a few minutes later. Started sewing again. Everything was going well until suddenly the spool of thread went flying off the machine and down behind the machine. I reached the thread, but could not find the post as it had unscrewed off the machine and I figured it also must have gone flying. Looked all over and could not locate the post, so I decided to just unscrew the other post that was for winding a bobbin and screw it in the spool post spot. Then when I went to re-place the spool of thread onto the post, I discovered the post was still up inside the thread spool. Since the post is much smaller around than the opening in top of the thread spool, I still do not understand what held the post inside the spool.
So, I replaced the 2 posts back where they belonged and again started sewing.
Sewing the first pillow cover I had used the pins like I was sewing in a straight line, which of course didn`t work when sewing around corners as the pillow is almost a circle shape. So, many of the pins kept catching on the machine as I sewed. I was lots smarter when sewing the second pillow case and put the pins in sideways so the machine could glide gracefully over them. That made the work much faster and lots easier. I had just finished sewing when the second bobbin ran out of thread. Now, before putting away my machine, I should re-wind both empty white thread bobbins so they will be ready the next time I need to use white thread.
In the pictures is the small pillow with the new cover on. Also shown is my sewing machine paper can- an empty large coffee can with sewing items painted on it. I kept a second coffee can cover to add on the bottom of the can. Takes up very little room and so useful beside the machine to catch all the cloth and thread bits.
Even with all these problems, this machine works much better than my first expensixe Sears machine ever did.
My first machine was a Singer with the large foot treadle on the bottom. I loved that antique machine, but thought the new Sears machine would be lots better.
How mistaken I was. The new machine never held the tension and kept messing up till I gave up trying to sew with it. I went back to sewing by hand for many years. Then I saw an ad for a cheap machine put out by the "White Co.". Have now owned it for ten years and it still works great. Proof that money does not mean something is better when if costs a lot more.
Even now, I can still say that old treadle Singer sewing machine was a great machine. I made a lot of the kids clothes on it, plus some of my own.
Two week-ends ago I went to my older sister`s 80th Birthday party which was held about a 4 hours ride from where I live. I rode out with my other two sisters, ones husband (the driver) , plus a sister-in-law ( used her car).
. On the way the driver got lost so we were an hour late reaching the party. It was supposed to be a surprise party and everyone was really surprised to see us arriving that late. We all had a great time, spent the night in a motel and enjoyed spending most of the next day visiting before heading back home. It was wonderful seeing my sister`s family and her grandchildren and her great grand children , some I had never seen before as they live in North Carolina. The flower with the bee was sitting on the tables and the nephews wife who made them told me to take one home with me. One of the cute gifts my sister received was a butter holder. When my older sister came out to visit us this past week-end she brought us all a butter holder like hers. The glass container with the sun flower on it is that butter dish. In one picture you can see what it looks like closed up. In the other picture it has one section on top of the other. You are supposed to add warm water to the bottom section and butter in the top section and the warm water is supposed to keep the butter spreadable. I had never seen one like it before and at first i thought it was going to be a candle holder until she removed the cover. I thought that was real nice of her to give us all one.
Hoping things settle down soon so I will feel more like posting again. We are so worried about our only living brother who had a leg removed three years ago. He now is fighting a bad case of bone cancer and the Dr say there is nothing more they can do to help him. Then my only Aunt was put into a nursing home and she is having a rough time dealing with it. She lost her husband shortly before Christmas after being married for 67 years. I try to visit her as often as I can- at least once or twice a week. Plus visiting my brother and sisters is keeping me busy. I do miss reading all my friends blogs and feel I am missing a lot and hoping you are all doing well.
Just noticed the 1984 L.A. olympics mug was still on the table when I took the picture. My son had just given it to me to add to my stein collection. He said they only made a very few of them- less than 20 of them. Think he said 8 or 9, but not sure. Has the Olympic village stadium on it- put out by the Anheuser-Busch, which also made all the many Clysdale steins every year that are in my collection.
You might notice that both the napkin holder and the cup holders also have horses on them
Labels: Sewing machine
Thursday, July 30, 2009
July 30th, 2009, Sister, daughter, friends Birthday and Aunt Hazel into Nursing Home
July 30th, 2009
Yesterday was my older sister`s 80th Birthday. It was also my middle daughter`s 52nd Birthday, and a long time internet friend`s 42nd Birthday. A popular date for sure. They celebrated my sister`s Birthday with a surprise Birthday party on Sunday. It normally takes about 3 to 3 1/2 hours to drive to my sisters, but we got lost on the way and ended up getting there an hour late. We should have arrived there a half hour early. Everyone they asked either had never heard of Pulaski, or gave directions that were wrong. We ended up about 35 miles past where we were headed and had to drive back. Everyone had a great time. My other two sisters also went, the car belonged to a sister-in-law who was married to our oldest brother and a brother-in-law did the driving. Much better coming home as we drove on the Thruway part way home so we wouldn`t get lost again.
OH! How busy I have become lately. Worrying about my Aunt Hazel has turned into a different kind of worry. While in the hospital for an infection, she started getting mixed up about where she was. She was thinking she was at home and that some one had removed all her paintings off the wall and her furniture was missing. It was very hard seeing her that way. It started the following morning after she was admitted to the hospital. I keep wondering if the meds they gave her for the infection might have caused illusions, but no one else is thinking my way. After the infection was cured, things were still confused in her thinking. I noticed they were giving her shots to calm her. The first two hours when I arrived she was fine, then there was 4 hours of confusion. When I left her Saturday she asked me how many day I would be gone. Went to my sister`s surprise Birthday Party- we left early Sunday morning and came home Monday evening. So, I told her I would be gone for two days. Tuesday I went back to the Hospital to visit with her and learned her Dr told her she was going from the Hospital into a nursing home. Her thinking was very clear when I showed up to visit with her and she asked me if I was in on sending her to the Home. Of course I was not, but I am not sure she is believing me. Now, I am giving her a few days to settle in at the Nursing Home before I go there to visit her. I just hope she does realize that her going into the Home has nothing to do with me. It breaks my heart to have her leaving her home after so many years. She had grown up in the same home and when her father was ill, her and her Husband moved there to care for him and being an only child, the home was left to her. She has lived there every since. When her husband got ill, their youngest son and his wife moved in with them to help.
My Uncle passed away shortly before Christmas. He was my mother`s brother. They only had the two sons who are both married and there is a granddaughter. About the only other ones who were visiting my Aunt at home was my cousin Mary and myself.
I know it will be very hard for her. At Home she was able to get up when she wished, eat when she was hungry, do whatever she felt like doing and go to bed when ever she felt tired. She has a hand saw almost painted for me. She paints country scenes on old saws and on almost anything else she finds. She was also crocheting some still. I had bought her a large knitting case to hold her yarn and crochet needles which they probably will not allow her to have at the home and I am sure they will not allow the saw for her to finish painting it. I am hoping they do allow her to have a canvas and her paints as she so loves painting.
The Rescue Squad had told my cousin she would be transported to the Nursing Home about 1:30 on Monday. I went to visit her around 1PM and stayed till about three PM Monday and she was still there when I left. I arrived home to hear a message left on my phone from the cousin. I called him back to tell him she was still in the hospital at 3PM which surprised him. He thought they had taken her long before. I am not sure what time they ended up moving her to the Home. Later this evening I will call and see how things are going for her. My heart breaks for her. She had hoped to spend the rest of her life in her own home. She was born in 1920 and turned 89 years old on April 6th. She had been married for 67 years when her husband passed away last December. Their Anniversary was also on her Birthday, making her Birthday a sad day this year.
Last month my brother was almost moved to a Nursing Home, but arrangements were made for help so he could continue living at home.
I have spent so much time visiting them and the rest of my family, that I haven`t had time for writing in my blog. Hoping things settle down soon so I can again start visiting my friends blogs. I miss reading them.
Yesterday was my older sister`s 80th Birthday. It was also my middle daughter`s 52nd Birthday, and a long time internet friend`s 42nd Birthday. A popular date for sure. They celebrated my sister`s Birthday with a surprise Birthday party on Sunday. It normally takes about 3 to 3 1/2 hours to drive to my sisters, but we got lost on the way and ended up getting there an hour late. We should have arrived there a half hour early. Everyone they asked either had never heard of Pulaski, or gave directions that were wrong. We ended up about 35 miles past where we were headed and had to drive back. Everyone had a great time. My other two sisters also went, the car belonged to a sister-in-law who was married to our oldest brother and a brother-in-law did the driving. Much better coming home as we drove on the Thruway part way home so we wouldn`t get lost again.
OH! How busy I have become lately. Worrying about my Aunt Hazel has turned into a different kind of worry. While in the hospital for an infection, she started getting mixed up about where she was. She was thinking she was at home and that some one had removed all her paintings off the wall and her furniture was missing. It was very hard seeing her that way. It started the following morning after she was admitted to the hospital. I keep wondering if the meds they gave her for the infection might have caused illusions, but no one else is thinking my way. After the infection was cured, things were still confused in her thinking. I noticed they were giving her shots to calm her. The first two hours when I arrived she was fine, then there was 4 hours of confusion. When I left her Saturday she asked me how many day I would be gone. Went to my sister`s surprise Birthday Party- we left early Sunday morning and came home Monday evening. So, I told her I would be gone for two days. Tuesday I went back to the Hospital to visit with her and learned her Dr told her she was going from the Hospital into a nursing home. Her thinking was very clear when I showed up to visit with her and she asked me if I was in on sending her to the Home. Of course I was not, but I am not sure she is believing me. Now, I am giving her a few days to settle in at the Nursing Home before I go there to visit her. I just hope she does realize that her going into the Home has nothing to do with me. It breaks my heart to have her leaving her home after so many years. She had grown up in the same home and when her father was ill, her and her Husband moved there to care for him and being an only child, the home was left to her. She has lived there every since. When her husband got ill, their youngest son and his wife moved in with them to help.
My Uncle passed away shortly before Christmas. He was my mother`s brother. They only had the two sons who are both married and there is a granddaughter. About the only other ones who were visiting my Aunt at home was my cousin Mary and myself.
I know it will be very hard for her. At Home she was able to get up when she wished, eat when she was hungry, do whatever she felt like doing and go to bed when ever she felt tired. She has a hand saw almost painted for me. She paints country scenes on old saws and on almost anything else she finds. She was also crocheting some still. I had bought her a large knitting case to hold her yarn and crochet needles which they probably will not allow her to have at the home and I am sure they will not allow the saw for her to finish painting it. I am hoping they do allow her to have a canvas and her paints as she so loves painting.
The Rescue Squad had told my cousin she would be transported to the Nursing Home about 1:30 on Monday. I went to visit her around 1PM and stayed till about three PM Monday and she was still there when I left. I arrived home to hear a message left on my phone from the cousin. I called him back to tell him she was still in the hospital at 3PM which surprised him. He thought they had taken her long before. I am not sure what time they ended up moving her to the Home. Later this evening I will call and see how things are going for her. My heart breaks for her. She had hoped to spend the rest of her life in her own home. She was born in 1920 and turned 89 years old on April 6th. She had been married for 67 years when her husband passed away last December. Their Anniversary was also on her Birthday, making her Birthday a sad day this year.
Last month my brother was almost moved to a Nursing Home, but arrangements were made for help so he could continue living at home.
I have spent so much time visiting them and the rest of my family, that I haven`t had time for writing in my blog. Hoping things settle down soon so I can again start visiting my friends blogs. I miss reading them.
Sunday, July 05, 2009
Fourth of July, 2009
Independence Day 2008.
A Day for thanking all who fought, who were willing (and many did) to give their lives to give us the Freedoms we still enjoy today. God Bless them all and all those still fighting to keep our country free both today and all through the years.
While growing up I was often marching in the Parades with the girl Scouts, then for years we would walk the kids to the corner on the main road so they could enjoy seeing the parades. A few years ago they even had a small parade that went by the end of the road where I live now and to watch the fireworks going off at the firehouse about a half mile from my home, we simply sat out in chairs in our front yard while the kids laid on the blankets. I remember for a few years before that when we drove to see fireworks and sat on the car hood to see over the crowd. Then a few years ago they moved the fireworks up on the mountain at the ski center. Now the trees keep us from enjoying the fireworks from our own yard. Seems funny how we can see the lights from the ski center, but not the fireworks. Maybe it is because we live only a mile or two from the mountain that the trees are hiding everything, or maybe they are setting them off towards the other side of the mountain. I do miss seeing them, but not enough to drive through that madness of vehicles to watch it.
I usually have my flag flying in the flag holder on the front porch, but I had to leave it inside this year due to rain. In the past almost four weeks we have only had three good days with out rain. Actually only two clear days and it did rain for a short time in the morning of that third day, but the afternoon was nice. Rained again last night, but clear out right now. They are saying more rain tomorrow and most of next week. I am hoping they are wrong as there is such a thing as too much rain for some of the farmers crops, such as tomato plants to keep the plants healthy. It has helped keep my many flower gardens filled with blossoming flowers. But, I still have to go fill the bottom water holding section on my earth boxes that my garden plants are growing in. There is a cover on the boxes with only the plants them self growing through the poked holes so they do not get watered by the rain. Might be a good thing since my tomato plants do not get over watered that way.
My first memories of Independence Day were of celebrating this day at home with my family. As we grew up and had families of our own, my parents continued holding the great family Picnics where all relations were invited to attend. I remember all the work my parents did to feed everyone and to make the day so special for everyone. Over the years as the families became larger, everyone started bringing a dish of food to share with others. My Dad was the outside cook, while my mother did all the oven and salads cooking. I still remember those large containers of lemon flavored drinks, iced tea containers and coffee always ready to serve and re-blemished as soon as any container started looking over half empty. There was always my mother`s home baked beans and her famous baked rice, her chocolate cake and her apple sause cake, plus often her molasses cookies. It rook hours to make her baked rice because she first cooked the rice in a large kettle for hours on the stove until it looked like cooked oatmeal. Then she would add the ingredients to the rice and pour it into a large rectangular metal pan and cook it for a few more hours in the oven till the rice was real tender, but not dry. She would always add raisins to just half of the pan and leave the other half without the raisins to satisfy everyone who attended. I will always remember how long it took to make her rice because every year for the past 14 years I continued making it for the picnics. I was the only family member who ever learned how she made her rice. One time I tried on my own and it just never tasted as good as my mother`s. So, I asked her to let me know the next time she intended making it so I could come down and watch her. It ended up with me doing all the work while she sat and instructed me, so that is how I learned to make my mothers baked rice. Yesterday was the first year I didn`t have to make the rice because no one got together for a large family picnic. Seems like the family members are so much fewer and many live farther away and not as many were attending last year to make it seem worth it this year. Many of the families grown children and grandchildren are working and unable to tend, others are off camping or otherwise busy.
I remember after my Father passed away in 1975, my mother, with the help of all our family continued to hold the cook outs in her back yard for quite a few years. Then my oldest brother moved the huge family picnics from my parents back yard next door to his large farm. This is the same farm where my father grew up and that we had rented many years later from my father`s sister. This was where we lived when our twins were born. My brother bought it years later. One time my mother told me she wished the picnics were moved back to her yard again, but it never happened. I know my oldest brother thought it was a lot easier and lots less work for my mother and I do not think he ever knew her wishes. Been 34 years since my Dad stood at the BBQ cooking and my Mom hosted the 4th of July Picnic for all the relations on both of the family. We had lost our youngest brother the year before we lost our Mother. It now has been 15 years without Ken and 14 years since my Mom cooked her beans and rice, cakes and so much more. This is the second year without my oldest brother around to host the picnics at his farm. The last few years he was in a wheelchair and unable to do anything so each of my 3 sisters families and the youngest brother`s family and my family took turns being in charge of running the games and handling the grill and other doings which was still being held at his farm. Last year one of my younger sisters held a small get together picnic at her place. Only about 25 - 30 attended. I can remember many picnics when there was way over 150 attending. There were horseshoes, bad mitten, water balloons, and so much more to keep everyone enjoying the day. For a few years my brother had his son (who was not only a fireman, but trained in setting off fireworks), set off fireworks on his large farm. One year many of those attended drove to my brother`s camp, where that year , the fireworks were set off out over the lake. The ground was too dry and fear of a fire made it to dangerous to chance having fireworks on the farm that year.
So many many memories I still have from those years and years of family picnics with so many relatives showing up all at the same time. I remember you couldn`t walk two feet without finding another relative to chat with. The back yard was loaded with lawn chairs and if you got up, don`t expect the chair to be still empty when you got back to it. All of my the family brought their chairs to add to my parents and there were the picnic tables that my Dad had built. Some years they even borrowed chairs from the firehouse and even kitchen chairs often ended outside. The porch steps were usually loaded with sitters and to go in or out of the house meant some had to move. My mother also would toss down blankets on the ground to sit or lay on- great places for the crawling babies to play and sleep under the trees. Many of the kids played basket ball using my ball and hoop that my Dad had hung on his garage over the garage doors, plus crochet, horseshoes , a ring toss game and other games were set up in different areas on my parents property. There was never any kids fighting because there were so many games to play to keep them happy. I used to marvel that there was over 150 people together and all getting along. And food,- there was so much food and so many different kinds that no one went home hungry. I cannot remember ever seeing half that much food at a wedding or other big doings. There was always so much that I can remember my mother talking many into taking some of it home with them at the end of the day. People would start showing up early in the morning and most never left till long after dark, so eating went on all day. After all these years, my kids still remember the fun at the grandparent home when they were kids still in school.
This year I find myself missing those good old days when you got to see relations you hardly ever saw during the rest of the year. Most of them are gone today and it seems the younger grandchildren today have their own life to live and are not as willing to work all day, come home to get the kids ready and to rush off to a family picnic. In my day and in my kids day, we were always willing to rush down to join everyone, even if they had worked all day- they still showed for a few hours after they got out of work.
The best part of growing up are the wonderful family memories we made together. We were a lucky group of 7 children- I had three sisters, three brothers, three were older and three were younger- cannot get any more in the middle than that. Since our parents believed in family doing things together , we were left with some wonderful memories for all to share and cherish for years to come.
God Bless our Troops and bring them home safely is my Prayer. Keeping our country and other countries safe and free so that all those in Service can soon be headed back to their homeland is also important and Prayers also go out for that.
A Day for thanking all who fought, who were willing (and many did) to give their lives to give us the Freedoms we still enjoy today. God Bless them all and all those still fighting to keep our country free both today and all through the years.
While growing up I was often marching in the Parades with the girl Scouts, then for years we would walk the kids to the corner on the main road so they could enjoy seeing the parades. A few years ago they even had a small parade that went by the end of the road where I live now and to watch the fireworks going off at the firehouse about a half mile from my home, we simply sat out in chairs in our front yard while the kids laid on the blankets. I remember for a few years before that when we drove to see fireworks and sat on the car hood to see over the crowd. Then a few years ago they moved the fireworks up on the mountain at the ski center. Now the trees keep us from enjoying the fireworks from our own yard. Seems funny how we can see the lights from the ski center, but not the fireworks. Maybe it is because we live only a mile or two from the mountain that the trees are hiding everything, or maybe they are setting them off towards the other side of the mountain. I do miss seeing them, but not enough to drive through that madness of vehicles to watch it.
I usually have my flag flying in the flag holder on the front porch, but I had to leave it inside this year due to rain. In the past almost four weeks we have only had three good days with out rain. Actually only two clear days and it did rain for a short time in the morning of that third day, but the afternoon was nice. Rained again last night, but clear out right now. They are saying more rain tomorrow and most of next week. I am hoping they are wrong as there is such a thing as too much rain for some of the farmers crops, such as tomato plants to keep the plants healthy. It has helped keep my many flower gardens filled with blossoming flowers. But, I still have to go fill the bottom water holding section on my earth boxes that my garden plants are growing in. There is a cover on the boxes with only the plants them self growing through the poked holes so they do not get watered by the rain. Might be a good thing since my tomato plants do not get over watered that way.
My first memories of Independence Day were of celebrating this day at home with my family. As we grew up and had families of our own, my parents continued holding the great family Picnics where all relations were invited to attend. I remember all the work my parents did to feed everyone and to make the day so special for everyone. Over the years as the families became larger, everyone started bringing a dish of food to share with others. My Dad was the outside cook, while my mother did all the oven and salads cooking. I still remember those large containers of lemon flavored drinks, iced tea containers and coffee always ready to serve and re-blemished as soon as any container started looking over half empty. There was always my mother`s home baked beans and her famous baked rice, her chocolate cake and her apple sause cake, plus often her molasses cookies. It rook hours to make her baked rice because she first cooked the rice in a large kettle for hours on the stove until it looked like cooked oatmeal. Then she would add the ingredients to the rice and pour it into a large rectangular metal pan and cook it for a few more hours in the oven till the rice was real tender, but not dry. She would always add raisins to just half of the pan and leave the other half without the raisins to satisfy everyone who attended. I will always remember how long it took to make her rice because every year for the past 14 years I continued making it for the picnics. I was the only family member who ever learned how she made her rice. One time I tried on my own and it just never tasted as good as my mother`s. So, I asked her to let me know the next time she intended making it so I could come down and watch her. It ended up with me doing all the work while she sat and instructed me, so that is how I learned to make my mothers baked rice. Yesterday was the first year I didn`t have to make the rice because no one got together for a large family picnic. Seems like the family members are so much fewer and many live farther away and not as many were attending last year to make it seem worth it this year. Many of the families grown children and grandchildren are working and unable to tend, others are off camping or otherwise busy.
I remember after my Father passed away in 1975, my mother, with the help of all our family continued to hold the cook outs in her back yard for quite a few years. Then my oldest brother moved the huge family picnics from my parents back yard next door to his large farm. This is the same farm where my father grew up and that we had rented many years later from my father`s sister. This was where we lived when our twins were born. My brother bought it years later. One time my mother told me she wished the picnics were moved back to her yard again, but it never happened. I know my oldest brother thought it was a lot easier and lots less work for my mother and I do not think he ever knew her wishes. Been 34 years since my Dad stood at the BBQ cooking and my Mom hosted the 4th of July Picnic for all the relations on both of the family. We had lost our youngest brother the year before we lost our Mother. It now has been 15 years without Ken and 14 years since my Mom cooked her beans and rice, cakes and so much more. This is the second year without my oldest brother around to host the picnics at his farm. The last few years he was in a wheelchair and unable to do anything so each of my 3 sisters families and the youngest brother`s family and my family took turns being in charge of running the games and handling the grill and other doings which was still being held at his farm. Last year one of my younger sisters held a small get together picnic at her place. Only about 25 - 30 attended. I can remember many picnics when there was way over 150 attending. There were horseshoes, bad mitten, water balloons, and so much more to keep everyone enjoying the day. For a few years my brother had his son (who was not only a fireman, but trained in setting off fireworks), set off fireworks on his large farm. One year many of those attended drove to my brother`s camp, where that year , the fireworks were set off out over the lake. The ground was too dry and fear of a fire made it to dangerous to chance having fireworks on the farm that year.
So many many memories I still have from those years and years of family picnics with so many relatives showing up all at the same time. I remember you couldn`t walk two feet without finding another relative to chat with. The back yard was loaded with lawn chairs and if you got up, don`t expect the chair to be still empty when you got back to it. All of my the family brought their chairs to add to my parents and there were the picnic tables that my Dad had built. Some years they even borrowed chairs from the firehouse and even kitchen chairs often ended outside. The porch steps were usually loaded with sitters and to go in or out of the house meant some had to move. My mother also would toss down blankets on the ground to sit or lay on- great places for the crawling babies to play and sleep under the trees. Many of the kids played basket ball using my ball and hoop that my Dad had hung on his garage over the garage doors, plus crochet, horseshoes , a ring toss game and other games were set up in different areas on my parents property. There was never any kids fighting because there were so many games to play to keep them happy. I used to marvel that there was over 150 people together and all getting along. And food,- there was so much food and so many different kinds that no one went home hungry. I cannot remember ever seeing half that much food at a wedding or other big doings. There was always so much that I can remember my mother talking many into taking some of it home with them at the end of the day. People would start showing up early in the morning and most never left till long after dark, so eating went on all day. After all these years, my kids still remember the fun at the grandparent home when they were kids still in school.
This year I find myself missing those good old days when you got to see relations you hardly ever saw during the rest of the year. Most of them are gone today and it seems the younger grandchildren today have their own life to live and are not as willing to work all day, come home to get the kids ready and to rush off to a family picnic. In my day and in my kids day, we were always willing to rush down to join everyone, even if they had worked all day- they still showed for a few hours after they got out of work.
The best part of growing up are the wonderful family memories we made together. We were a lucky group of 7 children- I had three sisters, three brothers, three were older and three were younger- cannot get any more in the middle than that. Since our parents believed in family doing things together , we were left with some wonderful memories for all to share and cherish for years to come.
God Bless our Troops and bring them home safely is my Prayer. Keeping our country and other countries safe and free so that all those in Service can soon be headed back to their homeland is also important and Prayers also go out for that.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Just another rainy day/ Aunt Hazel.
Another day stopped by rain.
Monday, June 15, 2009
This has been one rainy spring so far. Saturday I decided to make a small picket style fence to sit in front of the trash barrels. At my daughters they had some scrap treated lumber which I felt would work great. I started checking out the boards and cut the smaller pieces into the length I needed and then decided to make the top with the slanted sides and a small flat center to match the picket fences we had in our back yards. I was doing great until I ran out of the smaller boards (about 9-10 foot lengths that made two uprights each) and needed to cut some very long boards down as they were too long to cut in my shop. These boards were long enough to cut three good picket boards with more board left over. So, I asked my Son-I-L- if he could cut them in half for me. He has the saw for doing it and all I had was Walt`s heavy electric saw and with the pinched nerve in the right shoulder I knew I would not be able to hold the weight long enough to do all the cutting. As it ended up, my Son-I-L not only cut them shorter, but did the rest of the top cuts on them also. Well, I could have cut them on my table saw, but there are a lot of long boards that would need to be moved before I could turn my saw sideways to accommodate the longer boards. Then I found some thick boards that made good posts by just cutting them into about 3 1/2 inch widths. Son-I-L owns a hole digger, so I didn`t even have to dig the deep holes for the three posts. With me holding the level we finally got the three posts put in. Then I decided to add a wider board along the bottom of the posts a short distance above the ground. Then I used another wide board, cut in half lengthwise to make two narrower support boards which we screwed a short ways down from the top and one across the center. These I did on my table saw. Then I held each upright picket cut board in place while my Son-I-L- screwed them all onto the support boards. Daughter thought it looked nice when we finished and said she would paint it.
Would have been easier and faster to have put it all together on the ground and then just set the posts into the holes. but if you have ever tried to dig 3 holes exactly the same distance into the ground, you know how hard that is to do. Even harder into uneven ground where you cannot mark the poles to be sure the same length shows above the ground. I did level the ground some to make it a little easier. We finished just as it started to rain. We ended up hurrying to get all the tools out of the rain. Never realized how many tools we used until we were rushing to pick them all up- the heavy cutting saw, drill, shovel, hoe ( I used leveling), post hole digger, hammer, 3 different size screws, level, right angle ( used when cutting the boards) , plus the smaller saw used for trimming the end on one board.
Yesterday ( Sunday) I spent the day working on my long narrow flower beds that run along the front of the house on each side of the front porch. I had to trim the grass before starting. Most of the rocks had worked down into the ground and needed to be dug out, then I weeded them well and added more soil in the front where the rocks were to sit. The floor boards on my front porch are painted redwood color, so I decided to use the reddish brown colored mulch around the plants I put into the flowerbeds. I finished one side and came in the house to rest for a spell, then went back out to do the other side. I was almost finished when again it started to sprinkle. But I still managed to keep working. A lot less tools to take care of in the rain this time- just the wheel barrow, shovel, the grass trimmer, rewind the 100 feet of electric cord onto the reel, bring in my phone, rinse off the garden gloves and hang them on the clothes line.
When we finished my daughter told her husband " Now that you know how to build a picket fence, you can build me a short one to keep the kids in the play area and away from the flowers when they are out back". His reply was that you can buy one already made. Ha Ha.
One problem that I have is -too many cordless phones. The old one I mostly use outside and in the shop, one sits beside my bed and when I went for a new one for my computer line I ended up with a two phone set, making a total of 4 cordless phones. Saturday I had taken out the mate to the comp phone as the phone rang and that one was the closest phone when I ran inside to answer it. Big mistake . I had laid it on my son`s snowmobile out of the way while carrying the boards and marking them for cutting. That was located near the back of the property, close to where the boards were piled. But the work was being done out front a short distance from the road where the phone couldn`t be seen. Rushing to get everything inside out of the rain, I never went back into the back yard. So, my phone was left out side. Since I never use that phone- it usually just sits on the charger out of sight. This morning when I got up, I suddenly remembered that I never brought it back in and it was outside from Saturday morning until about 5:30 am this morning (Monday). I was surprised to see that even in two rain storms, plus the night moisture , when I opened the battery case no water had gotten in. Now I am waiting to see if the dead battery will again take a full charge. If I owned less phones, I would have had to remember to bring it back inside the first night. So, guess there is a bad side to owning so many cordless phones. But, I also keep one of the old style phones that isn`t a cordless just for extra safety.
I haven`t started anything outside so far today as we are expecting a thunder storm according to the weather report. It did thunder a bit yesterday while I was putting everything away, but it didn`t last long. I just read a severe thunder storm warning going across the bottom of the TV screen , warning to get inside if you hear thunder , and that there might be hail with this storm. It is almost 1:30 now and it is supposed to be about 15 miles from me by 2:15, but it still might not reach this far. I can hear thunder way off in the distance now.
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Here it is Tuesday and the phone charged up ok and I used it today. Went out and hooked up the hose sprayer and watered the front yard. Grass is nice and green and flowers are doing well. Picked some lettuce from my garden boxes, then painted an old wood rectangular table that used to be my small work brench before I built myself a much larger one. I am thinking of painting the table top to resemble tile blocks and might sit my small water fountain on it along with a few other items. Then sit the table out near my back porch close to the larger flower bed. Later I am hoping to add a standard under a real large table like top that resembles what would make a wonderful table to sit with company in my back yard. It is shaped like an 8 sided very large table top. I have some pieces of treated posts that would make a great base once I decide how I am going to hook them all together and how I can add supports so it can not tip over. If I have good luck, I plan on making some sort of framework under the table top to fit tightly over the center standard. This way, I would be able to remove the top and put it inside the shop during the winter since the top is not made from treated wood. A lot of planning, next thing is to carry them out. The edging around the table top extends up a little so nothing could fall off it. Still a lot more planning to do before I can begin working on it.
I have looked at that table top taking up so much room in my shop for a few years now and hope to do something with it now. Wish I had a nice patio to sit it on, but that is too much dreaming and I do not have the proper space for building a patio, or even to enlarge my back porch that much. Hope my plans are not to much for me to accomplish. Time will tell.
When I was last out side it was starting to sprinkle, but I do not think it will amount to much tonight. Supposed to be nice tomorrow, then more rain the next few days. The farmer must love all this rain.
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Here it is a nice day for a change- Wednesday, June 17th, 2009
Started the day out by driving down to check on my Aunt. Sat and crocheted with her till her youngest son came home from work around 4pm. Wish I knew a way to help her handle living with out my Uncle. I know from experience that time is the only thing that helps. She feels she has nothing to live for without her husband. Being 89 years old, she is not able to do all the things she used to do and feels she is just a burden to everyone. Today I reminded her that her sons and their families needed her. I understand how hard it is finding yourself alone after many years of marriage. I told her that her sons just lost their father and that they needed her now more than ever. I was hoping that getting her to remember that they were also missing him as much as she is might get her thinking of how they felt and why they needed her so much.
I did manage to get her laughing a couple times for the first time in months. I went after her mail for her and took care of her trash can after the trash truck picked up this afternoon. Things she would have done herself in the past. She hated leaving everything for her son to do after he came home from work.
I got her talking about lots of happy memories that were connected to many of the items in her home that she has kept over the years. Her eyes did brighten up while she was telling me how she obtained the medium sized wooden pig that once belonged to her grandparents, and about the painting she did by copying a picture off a card some stranger had sent her many years ago. This stranger was riding a bike across country and had stopped at the little country store that my Aunt was running while her husband was off in Germany fighting in the second World War. This young lad was stopping to rest and she gave him a free ice cream while she listened to him talk about his travels. When he tried to pay for the ice cream, she insisted it was free. Before he left he had asked her to write her name and address on a paper grocery bag for him. Months later she received a Christmas card from him thanking her for the free ice cream. He did sign his name, ( Larry something) , but his address was listed from " A windstorm that passed through". Today, over 50 years later, she still wishes she knew where he lived and how he was doing. The picture on the card was a nice winter scene and the enlarged painting she did looks just like that card. She told me that listening to him talking about his journey was the brightest part of that week and she wish he knew how much it had meant to her. i enjoy listening to her telling me her stories about the past and I know how much my just sitting quietly listening brightens up her day. She is very hard of hearing, so talking is easier for her than trying to carry on a two way conversation all the time. i waved to her son who was driving in as i was leaving. He is always thanking me for spending time with his mother. As I told him once, he doesn`t owe me any thanks because i enjoy visiting with his mother. Saddest part is that one of my cousin and myself are the only family members who ever stop to visit with her. I wish more relation would stop to visit with her once in a while. It sure would mean a lot to her. Some day they might find them self alone that way and then they will realize how it feels to feel abandoned that way with few visitors to talk to. I wish they would realize it before it is too late to brighten up her long lonely days.
Tomorrow, Thursday, I am off again to see my eye specialist. I know I will need to have the prisms in my glasses changed again as things are not as clear again. My Dr hates to change them until he actually has to. I was told by the place where I have my glasses done that there are only so many different prisms and that is why the Dr likes to wait as long as he can before changing them. But, working in a wood shop around so many kinds of large saws and other electrical tools, I do not feel safe waiting that long. As I told the Dr I have to see as clearly as possible to be safe in my shop and also for driving my car. So, I will just keep praying there are enough prisms for me to keep changing them for as long as I am around to need them.
Over 5 years ago the Dr told me that in time the prisms will turn my eyes crossed and he was surprised it hadn`t already happened. Now, here it is over 5 years since he told me that and so far it has not happened.
God has been good to me this long, so I have Faith that he will continue getting me through the hard times ahead. No need to be worrying until I have to, that is my motto.
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Now, for the weather ahead- weather report says more rain tomorrow (Friday), again Saturday, thunder storms on Sunday and rain again next Monday. Haven`t heard any further ahead, so wondering when our next dry day will arrive. Neighbors must think I am crazy as using the earth boxes to grow my garden in means I need to use the water hose and refill the bottom section of each earth box with water every day, even on the days when it rains. Wonder if my neighbors think I am crazy when they see me standing in the rain, holding the hose pouring water into the boxes? :) But the boxes have covers over them and the only openings in the covers is where the plants are growing, so the rain doesn`t water them.
Monday, June 15, 2009
This has been one rainy spring so far. Saturday I decided to make a small picket style fence to sit in front of the trash barrels. At my daughters they had some scrap treated lumber which I felt would work great. I started checking out the boards and cut the smaller pieces into the length I needed and then decided to make the top with the slanted sides and a small flat center to match the picket fences we had in our back yards. I was doing great until I ran out of the smaller boards (about 9-10 foot lengths that made two uprights each) and needed to cut some very long boards down as they were too long to cut in my shop. These boards were long enough to cut three good picket boards with more board left over. So, I asked my Son-I-L- if he could cut them in half for me. He has the saw for doing it and all I had was Walt`s heavy electric saw and with the pinched nerve in the right shoulder I knew I would not be able to hold the weight long enough to do all the cutting. As it ended up, my Son-I-L not only cut them shorter, but did the rest of the top cuts on them also. Well, I could have cut them on my table saw, but there are a lot of long boards that would need to be moved before I could turn my saw sideways to accommodate the longer boards. Then I found some thick boards that made good posts by just cutting them into about 3 1/2 inch widths. Son-I-L owns a hole digger, so I didn`t even have to dig the deep holes for the three posts. With me holding the level we finally got the three posts put in. Then I decided to add a wider board along the bottom of the posts a short distance above the ground. Then I used another wide board, cut in half lengthwise to make two narrower support boards which we screwed a short ways down from the top and one across the center. These I did on my table saw. Then I held each upright picket cut board in place while my Son-I-L- screwed them all onto the support boards. Daughter thought it looked nice when we finished and said she would paint it.
Would have been easier and faster to have put it all together on the ground and then just set the posts into the holes. but if you have ever tried to dig 3 holes exactly the same distance into the ground, you know how hard that is to do. Even harder into uneven ground where you cannot mark the poles to be sure the same length shows above the ground. I did level the ground some to make it a little easier. We finished just as it started to rain. We ended up hurrying to get all the tools out of the rain. Never realized how many tools we used until we were rushing to pick them all up- the heavy cutting saw, drill, shovel, hoe ( I used leveling), post hole digger, hammer, 3 different size screws, level, right angle ( used when cutting the boards) , plus the smaller saw used for trimming the end on one board.
Yesterday ( Sunday) I spent the day working on my long narrow flower beds that run along the front of the house on each side of the front porch. I had to trim the grass before starting. Most of the rocks had worked down into the ground and needed to be dug out, then I weeded them well and added more soil in the front where the rocks were to sit. The floor boards on my front porch are painted redwood color, so I decided to use the reddish brown colored mulch around the plants I put into the flowerbeds. I finished one side and came in the house to rest for a spell, then went back out to do the other side. I was almost finished when again it started to sprinkle. But I still managed to keep working. A lot less tools to take care of in the rain this time- just the wheel barrow, shovel, the grass trimmer, rewind the 100 feet of electric cord onto the reel, bring in my phone, rinse off the garden gloves and hang them on the clothes line.
When we finished my daughter told her husband " Now that you know how to build a picket fence, you can build me a short one to keep the kids in the play area and away from the flowers when they are out back". His reply was that you can buy one already made. Ha Ha.
One problem that I have is -too many cordless phones. The old one I mostly use outside and in the shop, one sits beside my bed and when I went for a new one for my computer line I ended up with a two phone set, making a total of 4 cordless phones. Saturday I had taken out the mate to the comp phone as the phone rang and that one was the closest phone when I ran inside to answer it. Big mistake . I had laid it on my son`s snowmobile out of the way while carrying the boards and marking them for cutting. That was located near the back of the property, close to where the boards were piled. But the work was being done out front a short distance from the road where the phone couldn`t be seen. Rushing to get everything inside out of the rain, I never went back into the back yard. So, my phone was left out side. Since I never use that phone- it usually just sits on the charger out of sight. This morning when I got up, I suddenly remembered that I never brought it back in and it was outside from Saturday morning until about 5:30 am this morning (Monday). I was surprised to see that even in two rain storms, plus the night moisture , when I opened the battery case no water had gotten in. Now I am waiting to see if the dead battery will again take a full charge. If I owned less phones, I would have had to remember to bring it back inside the first night. So, guess there is a bad side to owning so many cordless phones. But, I also keep one of the old style phones that isn`t a cordless just for extra safety.
I haven`t started anything outside so far today as we are expecting a thunder storm according to the weather report. It did thunder a bit yesterday while I was putting everything away, but it didn`t last long. I just read a severe thunder storm warning going across the bottom of the TV screen , warning to get inside if you hear thunder , and that there might be hail with this storm. It is almost 1:30 now and it is supposed to be about 15 miles from me by 2:15, but it still might not reach this far. I can hear thunder way off in the distance now.
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Here it is Tuesday and the phone charged up ok and I used it today. Went out and hooked up the hose sprayer and watered the front yard. Grass is nice and green and flowers are doing well. Picked some lettuce from my garden boxes, then painted an old wood rectangular table that used to be my small work brench before I built myself a much larger one. I am thinking of painting the table top to resemble tile blocks and might sit my small water fountain on it along with a few other items. Then sit the table out near my back porch close to the larger flower bed. Later I am hoping to add a standard under a real large table like top that resembles what would make a wonderful table to sit with company in my back yard. It is shaped like an 8 sided very large table top. I have some pieces of treated posts that would make a great base once I decide how I am going to hook them all together and how I can add supports so it can not tip over. If I have good luck, I plan on making some sort of framework under the table top to fit tightly over the center standard. This way, I would be able to remove the top and put it inside the shop during the winter since the top is not made from treated wood. A lot of planning, next thing is to carry them out. The edging around the table top extends up a little so nothing could fall off it. Still a lot more planning to do before I can begin working on it.
I have looked at that table top taking up so much room in my shop for a few years now and hope to do something with it now. Wish I had a nice patio to sit it on, but that is too much dreaming and I do not have the proper space for building a patio, or even to enlarge my back porch that much. Hope my plans are not to much for me to accomplish. Time will tell.
When I was last out side it was starting to sprinkle, but I do not think it will amount to much tonight. Supposed to be nice tomorrow, then more rain the next few days. The farmer must love all this rain.
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Here it is a nice day for a change- Wednesday, June 17th, 2009
Started the day out by driving down to check on my Aunt. Sat and crocheted with her till her youngest son came home from work around 4pm. Wish I knew a way to help her handle living with out my Uncle. I know from experience that time is the only thing that helps. She feels she has nothing to live for without her husband. Being 89 years old, she is not able to do all the things she used to do and feels she is just a burden to everyone. Today I reminded her that her sons and their families needed her. I understand how hard it is finding yourself alone after many years of marriage. I told her that her sons just lost their father and that they needed her now more than ever. I was hoping that getting her to remember that they were also missing him as much as she is might get her thinking of how they felt and why they needed her so much.
I did manage to get her laughing a couple times for the first time in months. I went after her mail for her and took care of her trash can after the trash truck picked up this afternoon. Things she would have done herself in the past. She hated leaving everything for her son to do after he came home from work.
I got her talking about lots of happy memories that were connected to many of the items in her home that she has kept over the years. Her eyes did brighten up while she was telling me how she obtained the medium sized wooden pig that once belonged to her grandparents, and about the painting she did by copying a picture off a card some stranger had sent her many years ago. This stranger was riding a bike across country and had stopped at the little country store that my Aunt was running while her husband was off in Germany fighting in the second World War. This young lad was stopping to rest and she gave him a free ice cream while she listened to him talk about his travels. When he tried to pay for the ice cream, she insisted it was free. Before he left he had asked her to write her name and address on a paper grocery bag for him. Months later she received a Christmas card from him thanking her for the free ice cream. He did sign his name, ( Larry something) , but his address was listed from " A windstorm that passed through". Today, over 50 years later, she still wishes she knew where he lived and how he was doing. The picture on the card was a nice winter scene and the enlarged painting she did looks just like that card. She told me that listening to him talking about his journey was the brightest part of that week and she wish he knew how much it had meant to her. i enjoy listening to her telling me her stories about the past and I know how much my just sitting quietly listening brightens up her day. She is very hard of hearing, so talking is easier for her than trying to carry on a two way conversation all the time. i waved to her son who was driving in as i was leaving. He is always thanking me for spending time with his mother. As I told him once, he doesn`t owe me any thanks because i enjoy visiting with his mother. Saddest part is that one of my cousin and myself are the only family members who ever stop to visit with her. I wish more relation would stop to visit with her once in a while. It sure would mean a lot to her. Some day they might find them self alone that way and then they will realize how it feels to feel abandoned that way with few visitors to talk to. I wish they would realize it before it is too late to brighten up her long lonely days.
Tomorrow, Thursday, I am off again to see my eye specialist. I know I will need to have the prisms in my glasses changed again as things are not as clear again. My Dr hates to change them until he actually has to. I was told by the place where I have my glasses done that there are only so many different prisms and that is why the Dr likes to wait as long as he can before changing them. But, working in a wood shop around so many kinds of large saws and other electrical tools, I do not feel safe waiting that long. As I told the Dr I have to see as clearly as possible to be safe in my shop and also for driving my car. So, I will just keep praying there are enough prisms for me to keep changing them for as long as I am around to need them.
Over 5 years ago the Dr told me that in time the prisms will turn my eyes crossed and he was surprised it hadn`t already happened. Now, here it is over 5 years since he told me that and so far it has not happened.
God has been good to me this long, so I have Faith that he will continue getting me through the hard times ahead. No need to be worrying until I have to, that is my motto.
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Now, for the weather ahead- weather report says more rain tomorrow (Friday), again Saturday, thunder storms on Sunday and rain again next Monday. Haven`t heard any further ahead, so wondering when our next dry day will arrive. Neighbors must think I am crazy as using the earth boxes to grow my garden in means I need to use the water hose and refill the bottom section of each earth box with water every day, even on the days when it rains. Wonder if my neighbors think I am crazy when they see me standing in the rain, holding the hose pouring water into the boxes? :) But the boxes have covers over them and the only openings in the covers is where the plants are growing, so the rain doesn`t water them.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Monday, Memorial Day, May 25th, 2009
Monday, Memorial Day, May 25th, 2009
When I was a kid Memorial Day was a special day. A day to give thanks to all who fought for our protection and to keep all the freedoms we have been accustomed to. A Day to remember all those who gave their lives to keep our country free and all those who came home with so many terrible disabilities to handle the rest of their lives. We owe them all so much. Now that night time is almost here, I need to go out and bring in my Flag. I do fly our beautiful American Flag on all important holidays unless the weather is bad. I need to bring it in as it might rain tonight, plus the frost could ruin it. I live on a short street with only about a dozen families living on it and as far as I can see, I believe my Flag is the only one that ever flies on my street. I love seeing the furls of the flag as the wind blows it. Wonder if kids today ever heard of the word furls. My father and most of our neighbors used to put out the flag when I was growing up, plus all the schools also used to have the Flag flying in the yard. Leaves me wondering what ever happened to respect for our country. Did removing the -standing and saying the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag with your hand over your heart in all schools before class started every day- did it cause the younger generation to lose the respect for our Flag? If so, then do we have to blame our generation for allowing it to happen. Looks like we need more people making our laws that did the war fighting and so knew the hard struggles they faced fighting for our Country. It is our generations that keep complaining about the lack of respect from teenagers today, and also our generations that are making the new laws removing God from all important places. I noticed they still keep God in the Inaugural process when putting a new President in office, so shouldn`t all others in offices need to do the same? If they can`t put the word God on plaques in the Court Room, then why do they still have to swear on the Bible to tell the truth, nothing but the truth? How can using the word God be wrong and using the Bible be correct? Are they not basically standing for the same thing. Wonder what would happen if all Lawyers also had to swear on the Bible to tell nothing but the truth? Would they be able to win their cases as much? God Bless all those who fought to keep our country free!!
I finally thought spring weather was here so I started putting the plants in my Earth boxes . Started some of my vegetable plants in the house months ago. This year, instead of using the miracle-grow soil, I decided to try out those small peat pods to grow in. They were being advertised so much, I expected good luck using them. Big mistake. Everything started growing faster at first, but soon the plants were bending over ( less than an inch tall) and couldn`t stand up because the stems were too weak and spindly. Next year, if I am still able to garden, I will go back to using the soil, not those peat pods. So, I ended up buying many of my plants at the nursery place.
As for the large reg. tomatoes, those I usually get from a son-in-laws father who has his own small green house in his own back yard. A while ago my Son -In-Law came over to tell me he has the tomato plants from his Dad sitting on his side porch any time I am ready to plant them in my boxes. Heard on the TV that it was going down to 34 degrees F tonight and that we should cover everything outside as we might have a wide spread frost. So, I have decided to leave the tomato plants on the porch overnight and plant them tomorrow. Will mean a couple boxes less to cover tonight. I will be covering the boxes holding the lettuce, pepper plants, zucchini, cukes and a few others I have already planted in some of the boxes. Green and yellow string beans are planted, but not growing yet, so no need to cover them. Also have other containers with carrots and beets growing which might need to be covered. Sometimes I wonder if all this work is worth it, but once I start eating those fresh grown veggies, I am always glad I did grow them.
Thinking of the old days when we used to have the huge gardens on the farm, now those were real busy summers. We continues having the farm gardens even after we moved up here. Relation owned the farm and allowed us to keep farming way out back. We would even grow enough potatoes to feed our family all through the winter months. Helped a lot needing less money for groceries and leaving more for other necessary items. I still can a few beans, beets, carrots and tomatoes, but nothing like the amount I used to can. But still enough for one person. I still have a few more canned string beans, and carrots from last years crop. I am hoping to can more carrots and beets this year than I did last year.
We usually do not have to worry any more about having a frost after Memorial Day, but this year we might have it tonight on Memorial Day evening. Weather seems less dependable every year, or so it seems.
Yesterday I finally fixed up the two boxes for the cemetery- one goes on Walt`s and the second if for my parents grave. I thought of taking the boxes down today, but after seeing the traffic (when I made a fast trip early this morning to the grocery store), I have decided to wait till another day. Supposed to rain most of this week, but the first nice day we have, I will take down the boxes which are filled with flowering plants and some long trailing Ivy.
When I picked up the plants and soil yesterday, I saw a small water fountain that wasn`t very expensive, so I decided to buy it. I have always wanted one for my yard, but never would spend the money on one. I told my daughter I decided to buy it, that maybe at my age , it was time I stopped worrying about every spent penny and started having a few things I have always wanted. She agreed. I also saw a pot holding a climbing Mandevilla flowering plant with the wooden trellis in the pot that the plant was already climbing up and decided instead of planting the morning glories this year, I would sit this plant in front of my taller trellis beside my side porch and let it climb up that trellis. When my daughter saw me looking at the plant she decided she was going to buy it and give it to me as an early Birthday gift (real early since my Birthday isn`t till Sept.). I read on the directions that in the winter it can become a house plant, Hope I have good luck keeping it inside next winter. The flowers on it are large and pretty.
To get back to the water fountain, It is just a small fountain and the top resembles a flower with the water cascading down from the flower top to one water holding place, then has small streams cascading down in different areas all around the fountain from the first dish like section to a second larger one below it. Small enough to make it easy for me to store when winter arrives so the weather will not destroy it and it should last me for years. now, I just need to decide where I wish to put it. If I had a patio, it would have been put on it, but since I do now have a patio, maybe place it by one of my flower beds.
Thought of setting it in the center of the flower bed out back, but then decided against it.
I should bring down my wooden glider swing and replace the top board so I can again sit out on the back porch in it on the cooler evenings. I used to sit on the back porch with Walt in this swing and either knit or crochet on Christmas gifts. One year it got left out on the back porch and the dripping eaves destroyed the end section of the top board. I do have the wood and the needed router to make the groove needed for the top board, so my only excuse for not having it already repaired is just too lazy to get it done I guess. It just seems like there is always something more important that needs doing first. Time to stop looking for more work that needs doing and take time for things to enjoy while I am still able to work in my shop.
I was intending on writing a tribute to my mother for Mother`s day, but just couldn`t get my mind working on it. As i mentioned in my last post, this year mother`s day fell on the same date that my Mother had died- May 10th, 14 years ago and her birthday would have been 4 days after Mother`s day on May 14th. So, Mother`s day started out feeling the loss, but it brightened up once my children and some grandchildren showed up, plus my newest great granddaughter that was born on my birthday last Sept. was also here to visit with me.
Last week was another happy event. My youngest granddaughter had invited me to her "Grandparents Tea" at her Pre-School. I wasn`t sure if I could make it, was hoping for nice weather. Turned out a nice day and when I arrived I saw little Latasha walking around looking lost among all her school friends and their grandparents. When she saw me, her mouth dropped open, her arms went up and she came on a run to meet me. It was fun seeing the excitement on her face and she kept telling her friends "this is my grandmother". I was told when she got home later she was still so excited that she kept telling her baby-sitter that her grandmother was there. Her Mom said she was still talking about it when she go home from work. Made me feel great knowing how happy it made her to have me make it.
Well, I am back. Just went out to cover all the plants and moved what I could up onto the back and side porches. Hope the new ones I just planted in the flower beds across the front of he house make it through if we get the frost. Sure is feeling quite chilly outside and it is only 7:45pm. Feels like fall weather, so we probably will get the frost. reads 48 degrees F on my porch, but that cold wind makes it feel more like 30 degrees. I thought we were done with the cold weather and some warmer spring weather was here to stay. Now expecting it to go down to 34 degrees. Shows you can never count on the spring weather to stay, even if the May month says it is spring.
Have already brought Sassy, my border Collie, inside for the night. She has started wanting to stay indoors all the time unless I put her food and water out on the porch to interest her in going outside. I always bring her inside in bad weather as she is getting old and I think the dampness might bother her, especially on days like this when the chilly wind is blowing. Sassy turned 13 years old this past March. One day over 13 years ago, we were visiting at their trailer and here was this tiny about 3 month old puppy. She was chewing on the large cats ears and also on the old cocker spaniels ears and no one was correcting her, so I decided to teach her it was a no. Seemed like the more I corrected her the more she was following me where ever I walked. When it was time for us to leave, this little puppy beat me into the car and hopped up onto the back seat. I removed her, but she squeezed behind my seat into the back again before I could shut my car door. Then I carried her all the way to their porch and put her up on the porch and hurried back to the car. Still she beat me in before I could shut the door. The nieces husband told me to take her home. When I said I couldn`t take their dog, I was told I had to because the puppy had chose me and she had never followed them around like she was following me. Our niece agreed with her husband and also told me there was a small dog at the local Mall pound she wanted to get, but already owning three dogs, she couldn`t, but if I took Sassy, then she could get the other dog. As far as we knew she never did get another dog and they moved from the trailer soon after wards. Sassy was named by my husbands niece and her husband before they gave her to me and since she came when called, we decided to keep her name. On her papers she is listed as Sassy Babe. She was the first dog that Walt got real close with. He taught her how to walk backwards in front of him and today she still often slows me down by walking backwards through the house in front of me. When I am in a hurry, I wish she hadn`t learned to walk backwards, but most of the time it doesn`t bother me. I sure would miss her company and hope to have her for many more years, but sometimes I notice that her kidneys are starting to leak a bit and that causes me to worry more about losing her. Vet tells me she is doing great considering her age. He was surprised at how good her teeth still were at 13 years old. but she does loves her chews and her meaty or milk dog bones and they do help keep the teeth clean and stronger. There was a spell when she started getting too overweight, but I was able to get her weight back down to between 50 to 55 pounds and the vet seemed pleased about that weight. At night I keep a long piece of cardboard, covered by plastic which has layers of newspapers over the plastic just in case she should leak while sleeping. It is not continuous yet and I am hoping it never gets any worse. Love and depend on her too much to even think about not having her here with me. She gives me such a safe protected feeling, so living alone I can go to sleep at night with no worry. Any noise outside and she will start barking, rather she is outside or sleeping here in the house with me. I have learned the difference in the sounds of her barks, more sharper when someone has entered my property, duller when she is just trying to send a cat or squirrel out of my yard. She is loud when it is a larger vehicle such as a town or garbage truck going down our road. Still another sound when it is just the whirring sound of the cars and trucks on the Northway a few blocks from my home. The Northway is our local speed road and is much higher in the air -way above our local roads so the sounds carry loud at times. I remember when it was first built. Many of the neighbors used to complain about the noise, especially the loud clang made by the long delivery trucks with the second trailer added on the back- we call them piggy backers- two large enclosed carriers attached together and then connected to just one cab. It sounded like home to me as there was just a huge wooded area- large forest- between where I lived and where the railroad was located-- about a mile or two of woods going from our home where we grew up to the Railroad station. We would lay in bed at night and listen to the loud clang noise made when they would back up the train and slam into another car (train section) to connect it to the end of the train. Well, the piggy backers made almost identical noise as the two sections rattled where connected. So, I was used to hearing that loud clanging noise.
Our local railway closed up for a few years after I was married, but then it re-opened and is still in use today, being used both by passengers and also for transporting supplies for factories. I got to ride this train when I was a Senior in high school. We took the train -about a 4 hour drive- from our town to New York City on our senior trip that year at Easter time. After spending 4 days seeing all the important places in New York City, even went up into the top of the Statue of Liberty and also up into the torch, what a view of both New york City and also of New Jersey, plus out over the ocean that seemed to stretch forever. Gave you a great feeling knowing how - probably millions or more by now- of immigrants came through this port to become US Citizens so many many years ago. A couple years later they closed off the way to the torch for needed repairs. we then rode a bus from New York City to Washington, Dc where we spent 4 more days visiting where our President lives and where all our Senators and Assemblymen (and women) sat when they passed laws for our country. I remember how we found the seats saved for those from our state and we sat in them to get the feel- seemed like the feel of power must sit there. We were also allowed to sit in the presidents chair and other important government officials seats. The Cherry trees were in blossom when we were in Washington and i still remember how beautiful they looked and the wonderful aroma these cherry trees gave off. I still have the picture of our class and those from many other schools, some from our state and many classes from other states-all sitting on the hugs green lawn that stretched out in front of the Capital building. We saw houses where early president had lived and learned a little about the way they lived from the style of furniture in those houses.There was so much that we got to see that week. Even though there was many more important buildings for us to see in NY City, many of the kids in my graduating class wished we had spent just 3 days in NY City and the 4 days in Washington DC. It was beautiful in Washington that time of year. People there seemed so polite and friendly, while in NY City it seemed like everyone was in such a rush all the time, heading off in every direction. We did get to spend a few hours shopping in the large stores, such a Gimbals and other popular places we had only heard about and never expected to set foot in. Some were a little too expensive for us school kids, but it was still fun to check out the items bought by the rich. I had saved my baby sitting money to spend on this trip. I bought gifts for my parents and my baby sister, then found some small items to bring back to other family members. In my old scrapbook I still have the receipts from Gimbals for some of the items I bought there. We stayed at the New Yorker Hotel.
I still also have the very long pencil with a three pointed flag on the eraser end. This flag has a picture of our New York Capital building on it. This I bought when my eighth grade class made the bus trip to Albany, which is the capital City in our state of New York. On that trip, we left on Friday and came back home late Sunday night. Teachers didn`t waste any time during that trip, we were constantly seeing one important place after another, including where our own State laws were made. I wish schools were still continuing these trips when my children were in school. I would have loved them being able to enjoy such education trips and all the fun that goes along with these trips.
When I was a kid Memorial Day was a special day. A day to give thanks to all who fought for our protection and to keep all the freedoms we have been accustomed to. A Day to remember all those who gave their lives to keep our country free and all those who came home with so many terrible disabilities to handle the rest of their lives. We owe them all so much. Now that night time is almost here, I need to go out and bring in my Flag. I do fly our beautiful American Flag on all important holidays unless the weather is bad. I need to bring it in as it might rain tonight, plus the frost could ruin it. I live on a short street with only about a dozen families living on it and as far as I can see, I believe my Flag is the only one that ever flies on my street. I love seeing the furls of the flag as the wind blows it. Wonder if kids today ever heard of the word furls. My father and most of our neighbors used to put out the flag when I was growing up, plus all the schools also used to have the Flag flying in the yard. Leaves me wondering what ever happened to respect for our country. Did removing the -standing and saying the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag with your hand over your heart in all schools before class started every day- did it cause the younger generation to lose the respect for our Flag? If so, then do we have to blame our generation for allowing it to happen. Looks like we need more people making our laws that did the war fighting and so knew the hard struggles they faced fighting for our Country. It is our generations that keep complaining about the lack of respect from teenagers today, and also our generations that are making the new laws removing God from all important places. I noticed they still keep God in the Inaugural process when putting a new President in office, so shouldn`t all others in offices need to do the same? If they can`t put the word God on plaques in the Court Room, then why do they still have to swear on the Bible to tell the truth, nothing but the truth? How can using the word God be wrong and using the Bible be correct? Are they not basically standing for the same thing. Wonder what would happen if all Lawyers also had to swear on the Bible to tell nothing but the truth? Would they be able to win their cases as much? God Bless all those who fought to keep our country free!!
I finally thought spring weather was here so I started putting the plants in my Earth boxes . Started some of my vegetable plants in the house months ago. This year, instead of using the miracle-grow soil, I decided to try out those small peat pods to grow in. They were being advertised so much, I expected good luck using them. Big mistake. Everything started growing faster at first, but soon the plants were bending over ( less than an inch tall) and couldn`t stand up because the stems were too weak and spindly. Next year, if I am still able to garden, I will go back to using the soil, not those peat pods. So, I ended up buying many of my plants at the nursery place.
As for the large reg. tomatoes, those I usually get from a son-in-laws father who has his own small green house in his own back yard. A while ago my Son -In-Law came over to tell me he has the tomato plants from his Dad sitting on his side porch any time I am ready to plant them in my boxes. Heard on the TV that it was going down to 34 degrees F tonight and that we should cover everything outside as we might have a wide spread frost. So, I have decided to leave the tomato plants on the porch overnight and plant them tomorrow. Will mean a couple boxes less to cover tonight. I will be covering the boxes holding the lettuce, pepper plants, zucchini, cukes and a few others I have already planted in some of the boxes. Green and yellow string beans are planted, but not growing yet, so no need to cover them. Also have other containers with carrots and beets growing which might need to be covered. Sometimes I wonder if all this work is worth it, but once I start eating those fresh grown veggies, I am always glad I did grow them.
Thinking of the old days when we used to have the huge gardens on the farm, now those were real busy summers. We continues having the farm gardens even after we moved up here. Relation owned the farm and allowed us to keep farming way out back. We would even grow enough potatoes to feed our family all through the winter months. Helped a lot needing less money for groceries and leaving more for other necessary items. I still can a few beans, beets, carrots and tomatoes, but nothing like the amount I used to can. But still enough for one person. I still have a few more canned string beans, and carrots from last years crop. I am hoping to can more carrots and beets this year than I did last year.
We usually do not have to worry any more about having a frost after Memorial Day, but this year we might have it tonight on Memorial Day evening. Weather seems less dependable every year, or so it seems.
Yesterday I finally fixed up the two boxes for the cemetery- one goes on Walt`s and the second if for my parents grave. I thought of taking the boxes down today, but after seeing the traffic (when I made a fast trip early this morning to the grocery store), I have decided to wait till another day. Supposed to rain most of this week, but the first nice day we have, I will take down the boxes which are filled with flowering plants and some long trailing Ivy.
When I picked up the plants and soil yesterday, I saw a small water fountain that wasn`t very expensive, so I decided to buy it. I have always wanted one for my yard, but never would spend the money on one. I told my daughter I decided to buy it, that maybe at my age , it was time I stopped worrying about every spent penny and started having a few things I have always wanted. She agreed. I also saw a pot holding a climbing Mandevilla flowering plant with the wooden trellis in the pot that the plant was already climbing up and decided instead of planting the morning glories this year, I would sit this plant in front of my taller trellis beside my side porch and let it climb up that trellis. When my daughter saw me looking at the plant she decided she was going to buy it and give it to me as an early Birthday gift (real early since my Birthday isn`t till Sept.). I read on the directions that in the winter it can become a house plant, Hope I have good luck keeping it inside next winter. The flowers on it are large and pretty.
To get back to the water fountain, It is just a small fountain and the top resembles a flower with the water cascading down from the flower top to one water holding place, then has small streams cascading down in different areas all around the fountain from the first dish like section to a second larger one below it. Small enough to make it easy for me to store when winter arrives so the weather will not destroy it and it should last me for years. now, I just need to decide where I wish to put it. If I had a patio, it would have been put on it, but since I do now have a patio, maybe place it by one of my flower beds.
Thought of setting it in the center of the flower bed out back, but then decided against it.
I should bring down my wooden glider swing and replace the top board so I can again sit out on the back porch in it on the cooler evenings. I used to sit on the back porch with Walt in this swing and either knit or crochet on Christmas gifts. One year it got left out on the back porch and the dripping eaves destroyed the end section of the top board. I do have the wood and the needed router to make the groove needed for the top board, so my only excuse for not having it already repaired is just too lazy to get it done I guess. It just seems like there is always something more important that needs doing first. Time to stop looking for more work that needs doing and take time for things to enjoy while I am still able to work in my shop.
I was intending on writing a tribute to my mother for Mother`s day, but just couldn`t get my mind working on it. As i mentioned in my last post, this year mother`s day fell on the same date that my Mother had died- May 10th, 14 years ago and her birthday would have been 4 days after Mother`s day on May 14th. So, Mother`s day started out feeling the loss, but it brightened up once my children and some grandchildren showed up, plus my newest great granddaughter that was born on my birthday last Sept. was also here to visit with me.
Last week was another happy event. My youngest granddaughter had invited me to her "Grandparents Tea" at her Pre-School. I wasn`t sure if I could make it, was hoping for nice weather. Turned out a nice day and when I arrived I saw little Latasha walking around looking lost among all her school friends and their grandparents. When she saw me, her mouth dropped open, her arms went up and she came on a run to meet me. It was fun seeing the excitement on her face and she kept telling her friends "this is my grandmother". I was told when she got home later she was still so excited that she kept telling her baby-sitter that her grandmother was there. Her Mom said she was still talking about it when she go home from work. Made me feel great knowing how happy it made her to have me make it.
Well, I am back. Just went out to cover all the plants and moved what I could up onto the back and side porches. Hope the new ones I just planted in the flower beds across the front of he house make it through if we get the frost. Sure is feeling quite chilly outside and it is only 7:45pm. Feels like fall weather, so we probably will get the frost. reads 48 degrees F on my porch, but that cold wind makes it feel more like 30 degrees. I thought we were done with the cold weather and some warmer spring weather was here to stay. Now expecting it to go down to 34 degrees. Shows you can never count on the spring weather to stay, even if the May month says it is spring.
Have already brought Sassy, my border Collie, inside for the night. She has started wanting to stay indoors all the time unless I put her food and water out on the porch to interest her in going outside. I always bring her inside in bad weather as she is getting old and I think the dampness might bother her, especially on days like this when the chilly wind is blowing. Sassy turned 13 years old this past March. One day over 13 years ago, we were visiting at their trailer and here was this tiny about 3 month old puppy. She was chewing on the large cats ears and also on the old cocker spaniels ears and no one was correcting her, so I decided to teach her it was a no. Seemed like the more I corrected her the more she was following me where ever I walked. When it was time for us to leave, this little puppy beat me into the car and hopped up onto the back seat. I removed her, but she squeezed behind my seat into the back again before I could shut my car door. Then I carried her all the way to their porch and put her up on the porch and hurried back to the car. Still she beat me in before I could shut the door. The nieces husband told me to take her home. When I said I couldn`t take their dog, I was told I had to because the puppy had chose me and she had never followed them around like she was following me. Our niece agreed with her husband and also told me there was a small dog at the local Mall pound she wanted to get, but already owning three dogs, she couldn`t, but if I took Sassy, then she could get the other dog. As far as we knew she never did get another dog and they moved from the trailer soon after wards. Sassy was named by my husbands niece and her husband before they gave her to me and since she came when called, we decided to keep her name. On her papers she is listed as Sassy Babe. She was the first dog that Walt got real close with. He taught her how to walk backwards in front of him and today she still often slows me down by walking backwards through the house in front of me. When I am in a hurry, I wish she hadn`t learned to walk backwards, but most of the time it doesn`t bother me. I sure would miss her company and hope to have her for many more years, but sometimes I notice that her kidneys are starting to leak a bit and that causes me to worry more about losing her. Vet tells me she is doing great considering her age. He was surprised at how good her teeth still were at 13 years old. but she does loves her chews and her meaty or milk dog bones and they do help keep the teeth clean and stronger. There was a spell when she started getting too overweight, but I was able to get her weight back down to between 50 to 55 pounds and the vet seemed pleased about that weight. At night I keep a long piece of cardboard, covered by plastic which has layers of newspapers over the plastic just in case she should leak while sleeping. It is not continuous yet and I am hoping it never gets any worse. Love and depend on her too much to even think about not having her here with me. She gives me such a safe protected feeling, so living alone I can go to sleep at night with no worry. Any noise outside and she will start barking, rather she is outside or sleeping here in the house with me. I have learned the difference in the sounds of her barks, more sharper when someone has entered my property, duller when she is just trying to send a cat or squirrel out of my yard. She is loud when it is a larger vehicle such as a town or garbage truck going down our road. Still another sound when it is just the whirring sound of the cars and trucks on the Northway a few blocks from my home. The Northway is our local speed road and is much higher in the air -way above our local roads so the sounds carry loud at times. I remember when it was first built. Many of the neighbors used to complain about the noise, especially the loud clang made by the long delivery trucks with the second trailer added on the back- we call them piggy backers- two large enclosed carriers attached together and then connected to just one cab. It sounded like home to me as there was just a huge wooded area- large forest- between where I lived and where the railroad was located-- about a mile or two of woods going from our home where we grew up to the Railroad station. We would lay in bed at night and listen to the loud clang noise made when they would back up the train and slam into another car (train section) to connect it to the end of the train. Well, the piggy backers made almost identical noise as the two sections rattled where connected. So, I was used to hearing that loud clanging noise.
Our local railway closed up for a few years after I was married, but then it re-opened and is still in use today, being used both by passengers and also for transporting supplies for factories. I got to ride this train when I was a Senior in high school. We took the train -about a 4 hour drive- from our town to New York City on our senior trip that year at Easter time. After spending 4 days seeing all the important places in New York City, even went up into the top of the Statue of Liberty and also up into the torch, what a view of both New york City and also of New Jersey, plus out over the ocean that seemed to stretch forever. Gave you a great feeling knowing how - probably millions or more by now- of immigrants came through this port to become US Citizens so many many years ago. A couple years later they closed off the way to the torch for needed repairs. we then rode a bus from New York City to Washington, Dc where we spent 4 more days visiting where our President lives and where all our Senators and Assemblymen (and women) sat when they passed laws for our country. I remember how we found the seats saved for those from our state and we sat in them to get the feel- seemed like the feel of power must sit there. We were also allowed to sit in the presidents chair and other important government officials seats. The Cherry trees were in blossom when we were in Washington and i still remember how beautiful they looked and the wonderful aroma these cherry trees gave off. I still have the picture of our class and those from many other schools, some from our state and many classes from other states-all sitting on the hugs green lawn that stretched out in front of the Capital building. We saw houses where early president had lived and learned a little about the way they lived from the style of furniture in those houses.There was so much that we got to see that week. Even though there was many more important buildings for us to see in NY City, many of the kids in my graduating class wished we had spent just 3 days in NY City and the 4 days in Washington DC. It was beautiful in Washington that time of year. People there seemed so polite and friendly, while in NY City it seemed like everyone was in such a rush all the time, heading off in every direction. We did get to spend a few hours shopping in the large stores, such a Gimbals and other popular places we had only heard about and never expected to set foot in. Some were a little too expensive for us school kids, but it was still fun to check out the items bought by the rich. I had saved my baby sitting money to spend on this trip. I bought gifts for my parents and my baby sister, then found some small items to bring back to other family members. In my old scrapbook I still have the receipts from Gimbals for some of the items I bought there. We stayed at the New Yorker Hotel.
I still also have the very long pencil with a three pointed flag on the eraser end. This flag has a picture of our New York Capital building on it. This I bought when my eighth grade class made the bus trip to Albany, which is the capital City in our state of New York. On that trip, we left on Friday and came back home late Sunday night. Teachers didn`t waste any time during that trip, we were constantly seeing one important place after another, including where our own State laws were made. I wish schools were still continuing these trips when my children were in school. I would have loved them being able to enjoy such education trips and all the fun that goes along with these trips.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Mother`s Day 2009
Some flowers in bloom in time for Mother`s Day. First picture shows the flower bed along my driveway from the front end, the second picture shows the same flower bed from the other end. The other smaller flower bed is out front and the flowering tree is near the back porch.
Mother`s Day -May 10th, 2009
Today is Mother`s Day and also the date that my mother passed away-May 10th.
Her Birthday was May 14th. It has been 14 long years since she died- on May 10, 1995
I sure was thinking of her and remembering how we used to go to visit her every year,
both on her Birthday and on Mother`s Day. We never missed one year without visiting
with her. She was a wonderful mother and will always be missed.
The day started getting brighter when company started arriving. I have seen all my 6 children and their mates-plus a phone call from my step son. A granddaughtetr stopped with my newest great granddaughter who is now 8 months old. While I was playing with her she let out a burb and gave us both a bath. Even I had to change my clothes. But she is a sweetie. Later a grandson stopped with his wife and three of my great grandsons. Then a received a second phone call from another grandson who lives in Virginia- about 7 or 8 hours drive from me. Two other gandchildren came with their parents. So, I have had my 6 children and their mates, 4 grandchildren and one`s wife, and 4 great grandchildren stop here to visit with me and wish me Happy Mother`s Day, plus two phone calls- one from my step-son and one from another grandson who lives too far away to visit.
I know Later tonight my daughter-in-law in North Carolina will also phone me. She phones me every week and on every important Holiday plus on my Birthday.
I received a lot of nice gifts, but the best gift is always having them phone me or drop by for a visit. Isn`t it wonderful when grandchildren not only think of their own mother, but also of their Grandmother on Mother`s Day. I have such a wonderful family. My table looks like a flower place with so many flowers and flowering plants sitting on it, plus one large one is already hanging on my side porch.
Well, I better make this a short post as I just remembered I promised a sister-in-law that I would phone her back. She phoned me earlier and when my company started arriving, I asked to call her back after everyone left and I do believe it is important to keep my promises. Plus I also need to phone the Hospital to see how my brother is doing. He was having trouble standing on his only leg. I think they plan on putting him back in therapy.
Happy Mother`s day to all the ladies everwhere.
