Dot`sThoughts

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Mostly in the 20`s Fahrenheit at night and in the 30`s to 40`s days, but days are getting longer and sun is shining brightly out today. 39 degrees F now, colder out then it looks. Been above freezing the past three days, so the snow banks are gradually decreasing. Across the road there are a vew small patches where the grass and dirt are showing. Today is the first day of spring. Weather should start warming up more soon.

Started some of my garden vegetables in the house yesterday- green peppers. three kinds of tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, zuchini squash, plus a couple flowers ( sweet peas and morning glories to plant by the side porch). They should be large enough to plant outside by the time the last frost is out of the air. Here we can`t plant a garden until after Memorial Day (May 30th). Also bought other seeds to have them ready when planting time arrives. Hope this year to have more for either canning or freezing for next winters use.

Still praying for grandson Shawn to someday get back the use of his legs. Been 8 months since he crashed his new motorcycle (July ). I know the longer times goes by, the less chance there is, but have seen miracles happen in the past, so am not giving up this soon. He is getting more discouraged every day. Things should improve soon when he can get outside more often.
Also still saying a prayer for my great granddaughter Lacey Mae who is still in the Albany Hospital preemie ward. She is now 7 1/2 weeks old and so far is doing well. She only weighed 2 pound, 4.4 ounces at birth, now weight 3 pounds. The one time I put my finger in the palm of her hand she tightened up her very tiny little fist around my finger. She has been very active, moves her arms and legs a lot and one time last month I noticed her trying to get her fingers into her mouth. When the nurse heard me saying she was trying to suck on her fingers, she gave her a small pacifier which she sucked on for quite a while.

Working hard trying to keep up with all the new babies. For many years I have been knitting the hooded baby sweaters that zip down the back. Made them not only for my own grandchildren, but also for many nieces and nephews babies, plus a few friends babies. Did two more , one pink, other blue, for the new great grandchildren born last July and Halloween night in October last year. Have three more almost finished, one for the newest great grandson born on March 1st, which I first heard was going to be a girl, later learned a boy. Had a pink one almost finished when I started making a blue one. Before finishing this one I received an invitation to a nephews daughter`s baby shower. Not taking any chances this time, so making a red sweater to use for a boy or a girl. Told a daughter that from now on I will probably be making all red sweaters. Got the zippers sewed into the blue and the red one this morning, then just finished embroidering a cat on the front, next will be the flowers to add above where the grass design is. Maybe I will keep the pink one and finish it for the great granddaughter to wear when she gets big enough and healthy enough to leave the hospital. Getting harder and harder to hold the knitting needles, so wonder how much longer I will be able to keep making them. Can no longer hold a regular sewing needles to hand sew in the zippers and hard getting the thick thread under the sewing machine zipper foot to sew it on the machine. Managed to sew two zippers in this morning on the sewing machine.
Three more flowers to do and sew up the back of one hood. Then one needs to be sent out to another state, the other for the shower this coming Saturday. Then hoping my hand get a rest for a while. Hope they like them as much as everyone has in the past.

As I look at the 2 Ameryllis blooming on my window sill and have 2 more starting to bloom upstairs until I find more room downstairs to place them, I am reminded of the brother we lost last year. He used to have loads of Ameryllis plants. When I first started growing them it was with three plants that my brother had given to me many years ago. Then oldest daughter Linda gave me one - think was for Mother`s day quite a few years ago. Today must have around 20 plants since they keep making more babies. Gave away a lot of them over the years and some animal ate a few of them last summer when I had them resting on the ground near the back porch. Have been sitting them there out of the direct sun for years without a problem before. The first plant this year only had two large blossoms, second one has three blossoms opening. Wonder what the other two plants will have and wonder how many more plants will bloom this year. They are usually about three years old before they start blossoming. By the time some get too old, there are usually more already oldest enough. So have them blossoming every year so far. I often wonder how much longer I will be able to care for them properly. They need a rest period every winter and should be placed in a cool, dry, fairly dark place, so I carry them all upstairs every winter and lug them all back down again every spring. Takes a lot of trips up and down the stairs. I expect to keep doing it for as long as my arms and legs are able.
Had a lot of memories I intended to write about, but they will have to wait till another day.

Here it is a few hours later and the two sweaters- red and blue ones are finally finished.
March 21, 2011, First ameryllis plant with the two blossoms is finished blooming, the second plany has the three blooms over halfway openedand now a third plant sits in the window waiting for the blossoms to open to see how many this plant will have.
A bit colder out again today and snowed out all morning, has now stopped, so more snow to be shoveled. Spring started yesterday, so it should warm up before much longer. As my mother used to say, it can`t warm up till the snow is out of the air. Hope that happens soon.
Sitting on my table is the beautiful large poinsettia plant I received from my S-I-L on Christmas Day and it surprises me that it is still looking great. Largest one I have ever received before and can`t remember ever having one stay so pretty for so very long. Almost two weeks ago another daughter told me she was surprierd how great it looked then, because hers was already dying. Maybe it has something to do with the coolness in my kitchen/ dining area, or that it gets watered nearly every day, or maybe because it sits out of the sun. I have another smaller Poinsettia plant in bloom that is two years old now, the third plant is nice and green with no red flowers on it. All came from the same S-I-L over the last three years. This year my daughter ( his wife) told me she didn`t want one this year as he usually buys them for her, I think for his own mother and for myself. They know how much I love flowering plants.