May 2009 Archives

Friday morning, I'm going to collect Elegante Mother and we are taking a road trip. We're going to Indiana to see EM's youngest grandchild graduate from high school. I've been running errands today to try to clear the path so that we can get on the road by 10:00 a.m.

I'll need to get to her condo early so that I can pack a bag for her, and be sure she is comfortably dressed for the ride. I expect the trip to take at least four hours

I have a waiver to type, and plants to water, clothes and dishes to wash. I want to leave the house in reasonably tidy shape. Second Son is going to keep an eye on my old feline buddy, Edward Scissorhands. I'm sure he will do just fine without me.

When we return, I hope to get the last of the planting done, and some more weeding. Wish me luck and a safe journey!

I've been working in the herb garden this Spring. I want to renovate the northwest arm of the raised beds, and I need Dear Husband's help to get new chat down in the walkways.

I was a sloth Memorial Day morning. I was sitting in my chair in the kitchen, reading, when Dear Husband walked in. Usually I don't see him until late in the afternoon, and it was 11:00 a.m. Apparently, with the front coming through, he had endured a difficult night on the boat in the harbor, and felt enough was enough. I gave him some tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich, and let him get his land legs back a bit.

After lunch, I headed out to get my gardening done. I watered, and then started working on the east walkway, trying to remove weeds, and getting lambs ears ready to transplant. Wouldn't you know it....as soon as I started working on the weeds it started to rain.

This is as far as I got:

Everything looks robust. I could start harvesting oregano next week, and I'll give the chives a crew cut and let them grow back. I can only hope that the bunnies decide that something other than my parsley tastes good!

We have a terrible time keeping tulips growing here. We have a colony of chipmunks who think we put them out to provide gourmet meals for the darned critters! Seventeen years or so ago, Elegante Mother, Dear Husband and I made a trip to Holland, Michigan with Frankie and her family, for the Tulip Fest. We bought tons of tulip bulbs to decorate our (fairly) new gardens, and within two years, not a bulb was left! (Picture me pouting, here.)

At any rate, we managed to get some tulip blossoms this year, so I thought I'd share them before they disappeared. It the first picture below, the one yellow tulip is not a sport; rather I think it is the only tulip left of a dozen yellow tulips from the previous year.

I believe the short tulips in front are called "Angelique." They have been with us for a couple of years. I keep waiting for them to disappear, but they may not be tasty to the chippies.

And these are the Darwin tulips, the only tulip we have ever found that rodents don't disturb. These tulips are one of the earliest flowers to bloom in my gardens, beating out many of the daffodils. The color looks to be in the pink range here, but in full bloom, on a warm day, they tend to be more of a hot orangey-red.

Elegante Mother and I have always loved the many varieties of daffodils and jonquils that are available to gardeners these days. Each year we tried to add a dozen of a new variety, so they bloom throughout our gardens. It's really difficult to choose a favorite, but I love the early white Ice Follies, and those with apricot trumpets.

These pictures show a few of the bulbs that bloomed this year.

Iris are classified as Early Spring, Mid-Spring, or Late Spring bloomers. Most of the Iris I grow fall into the Early to Mid-Spring range. They started opening here last week, thanks to a warm spell, and about half of them are open now.

In the photo below, the pink iris were the second to open this year. Behind, and to the right you might be able to see the white iris with the dark raspberry edges that was the first to bloom, and to the left, out over the sidewalk is a purple iris.

The iris in the picture below did amazingly well to bloom this year, because they were disturbed when I was dividing iris last year. The tall yellow iris would be classified as an early spring flower, while the bronze at the bottom of the picture and the very dark iris at the center right are just opening their first blooms.

I think this iris might be 'Rare Wine.' It was the most vigorous bloomer of all my iris, and I divided it last year, and shared it with friends. Unfortunately, it took me a long time to get my iris back into the ground, so I might have lost some. I'm pleased to see that this iris persevered and made it through the winter. (Please disregard the weeds.
I'm planning a special party for them next week! ;-) )

I have an office with two windows. Under the windows there are two lateral files, and siting on the file cabinets is a Wheelwriter typewriter. Edward Scissorhands, my old cat, has taken to sleeping on the typewriter. It's covered with a quilted cover, and sits in a sunny spot in the morning. I can kinda understand his choice.

This spring, we have had a rufous sided towhee visiting at the window. This little bird thinks he can see his competition in the window, so there's lots of posturing, and pecking at the glass, and flying up parallel to the window pane.

When the cat discovers the bird is there, he goes into instant hunting mode. I've been worried that he's going to hurt his nose on the screen, and yesterday I had to move a geranium that has been grown in that window, lest he break off the branches.

My brother has a cardinal that is in love with his own image in the right rear-view mirror of one of his trucks. I've heard of other birds who couldn't be persuaded that it was just a reflection.

If this little bird isn't careful, Ed will find him one day, and that will be the end of the posturing.

I'm very ticked! I have been listening to WGN radio all my life. It's a monster station out of Chicago that blows away all the competition with it's wattage, and it has ridden on the top of the ratings for most of that time. My favorite announcer was, and always will be Bob Collins. Unfortunately, we lost him in a light plane crash, and I suspect the the WGN ratings have been in a tail spin ever since.

I was really ticked when they canceled the Farm Show at noon, a number of years ago. I wrote a letter of protest at the time and got a canned response about the fact that they needed to address the new ratings system, and they had to provide programming that pleased those who live in Chicago and the collar counties around the city. Unfortunately, WGN has SO MUCH power that it reaches all the farmland in surrounding states, not just counties, and basically they felt all those people could go hang. I got what little I knew about the farm market from WGN, so I was set adrift, too.

Then, the trend was toward men who had stand up comedy background. I adjusted to Steve Cochran, but I thought it was the last straw when Gary Meyer (Mayer, Meier.....however you spell his name) was hired for the 1:00 slot. I figured I could listen to books on tape or CDs while I worked in the office,

Well...I was wrong about it being the last straw. That came yesterday morning when "The Girls" announced that the radio station was changing their programming, and that I was listening to their last show. I am so ticked! "The Girls," or Kathy and Judy (Kathy O'Malley and Judy Markey) have been sharing the microphone at the 9:00 a.m. hour for twenty years. They are of an age where they may have wanted to consider retiring, but the station took that option away from them. What's worse, the station doesn't have anyone hired for that spot. There was NO warning it was going to happen, and when I went to the Website to comment, I discovered it has been totally revamped. There was a 'kiss off' note saying that The Girls last show was yesterday. They gave an address for the station e-mail, and when I got the last "Girlfriend Gram." I found addresses for both the women.

It takes a fair amount to get me to write a letter of complaint, but this succeeded. I understand demographics. I understand that what stations charge for their ad time is based on ratings, but rather than buck the system, WGN has let itself be cowed and now will sound just like all the other stations in town. It used to be a really big deal to be invited to work for WGN. I doubt it will be such a big deal in the future.

I expect to listen to the local classical music station a lot more now. I might tune in to the college jazz station. CDs, and cassette tapes of books will fill my day. I'm so sorry to loose a lifelong friend this way, but I think it's time we went our separate ways.

Goodbye WGN Radio, and best of luck, Kathy and Judy!

And purple and lavender and pink and yellow and gold....

I was working in my veggie garden this morning. I planted two well established tomato plants, one a Celebrity, and the other is a cherry tomato. I planted four tiny yellow pear tomato plants, and two Better Boys. I have one more cherry tomato plant to put into that bed. I've got cages around all but the Better Boys so far. I planted four bush-style pickle cucumbers. Does anyone know if they need to be caged for support?

I watered everything I planted and all the plants waiting to be planted, and the containers that I wintered over. I even watered the plants I put in two weeks ago under the window at the front of the house. The only thing I missed was the parsley plants the rabbits have been enjoying.

I had a chance to see all the weeding that STILL needs to be done, so that I can plant the annuals in the front gardens. I need DH's help in the herb garden to move one timber into place, and then I can finish planting in the herb garden. I have tomato plants left over, and I'm giving some thought to growing them in containers. I HATE to throw things away, but it might be the better choice,given that the chipmunks have a colony and have invited ALL their relatives for the summer along the front sidewalk. They'll probably burrow into the pots and kill off the plants.

I thought we'd have a pretty poor iris display this year, but it's coming along nicely. I was in the midst of dividing my absolute favorite iris when Mother had a seizure. I found homes for most of them with friends and family, but I think mine were out of the ground too long. I'll have to see how they do. Right now I have one iris that is yellow, another than is a delicate pink, one very ruffled one that is white with a raspberry edge on the petals. I think several dark ones will open later in the season.

I have an azalea, a hydrangea, two buddleias, a Russian sage, and a miniature lilac to plant, and I think the rhubarb that wintered over is going to become part of an ornamental garden! I also need to pick up potting soil and refill the containers for the sidewalk, so I can get them planted.

MY peonies are astonishing. I didn't protect them with compost last fall, and I haven't fed them, but the temperatures and the rain must have been just right because they have more buds than I can ever remember seeing!

So, with the exception of a bad knee holding me back from weeding, I'd say we're moving right along with the gardens. I hope you're having the same good luck!

Warning, warning, this post is NOT about wine....the lovely beverage. If you have a low tolerance for self-pity and whining, read no further!

It's that time of year. I become a boat widow for the 2009 season tomorrow morning at 4:30. Dear Husband has the boat ready to be towed to the yacht yard, to be craned into Lake Michigan.

I HATE the days when he has to tow the boat. The last two times he brought it home, he had tire disasters on the trailer. I have asked him to buy one more spare tire, but he feels that is an unnecessary purchase. He told me he has four new tires on the trailer, and a spare, and he feels that should be enough. I was so ticked that I told him not to call me if he got another flat tire. That sounds so harsh, but the entire situation worries me, and makes me angry. Second Son said he would keep his phone on, and I'll give DH SS's phone number.

SO....it's time to be planning FUN WEEKENDS! Next weekend I plan to fit in a trip to see Angels and Demons. I love Tom Hanks, and I enjoyed the book. The following weekend, I'll be taking a trip with Elegante Mother to see her youngest granddaughter graduate from high school. And some time after that, I hope to make a road trip to Iowa with Frankie. The Antique Market, the Farmer's Market, perhaps a trip to the Art Institute in Chicago, are all on my list of things to do. I'm open to suggestion!

Wish DH luck tomorrow. Think positive thoughts for him, and if you pray, pray all morning, please! *G*

I seem to be adrift on the sea of my life. I surely need to make a choice and "Just Do It!" as Nike exhorts. It's a beautiful day, sunny and bright. We should make it to the 70s following a gloomy, chilly, day of thunderstorms. A wise woman would be out there weeding, instead of sitting at the computer, given that more rain is coming for the next couple of days.

I had planned to move my quilting things from the bedroom to the newly renamed "Quilt Studio," but I need to wait for Saturday for help with the heavy things. I need to move two tables and a shelving system, and one of my nephews is looking for a little work. I can't send him out to mow, so he can help me make the move.

I had a grip on the office work, but there is always filing and bill paying, and things of that nature. I could be doing a little laundry, make my bed, vacuum, or even get a start on dinner, but none of that seems to interest me.

I've learned that sometimes I need to choose one thing, and that will lead to another, and another , and another, until most of the stuff is done. It's that very first step that seems to be so difficult, and it's made more difficult by the advent of the computer. I like to start my morning with an on-line crossword puzzle and my e-mail, and I'm finding it more and more difficult to walk away from the computer.

Addicted? Yeah, probably. I think I'll go make my bed.....

For all my friends who are mothers, Happy Mother's Day! I hope that your families are pampering you, and that you are enjoying a day of ease with beautiful weather.

Dear Husband and I will be going to visit with Elegante Mother shortly. I made a carrot cake in a bundt pan that has the look of a cathedral. I also made a pan of brownies, using the recipe that my mother always used. I thought she might enjoy the chocolate. (Don't we all!?)

We'll pick up a fruit tray that I ordered at the grocery store, and an orchid . Dear Husband found a wonderful card. I'm hoping that EM will enjoy being the center of attention, and have a good day.

So...go forth and have a GREAT DAY!

For my friend Cop Car, and anyone else who plans to garden vigorously this spring, here are a few warm-up movements to do, before you swing that ax!

These exercises are done to a slow count. Don't hurry through them, and if they hurt, STOP!!

While standing, move your arms as though you were swimming forward., and then do the backstroke. Follow with side strokes to the left, and then to the right.

Shrug both shoulders forward several times, and then shrug both shoulders back several times.

Reach up left, and then right, as though picking apples. Reach forward. Reach left and right.

Extend your left arm to the left, and your right arm to the right. Move your arms in a huge circle, as though you were turning a giant doorknob. Reverse the direction.

Pretend that you are drawing back a taut bowstring....to the right, and then to the left.

And...with your arms extended, fling your arms to the left so that your left hand bumps your back (kidneys) and the right arm bumps the left shoulder. Reverse the direction of swing.

Keep in mind that these are all warm-up movements, and should be done slowly to wake up the joints. You can also do them as a cool down.

Our exercise guru always advises us NOT to do anything that hurts. I hope this helps.

OUCH! I need a new body!

I spent about four hours on my hands and knees in the garden under the front sitting room window. It was heavily mulched last year, but a lot of seeds were trying to take root, and I have an infestation of crab grass. I got about half of the garden across the front of the house weeded, and I planted a dozen or so annuals and perennials.

I need to plant a few more rows of spinach and dill, and this time I'll add a couple of rows of romaine, too. In about ten days, I can plant tomatoes.

My efforts are puny compared to my sister and my niece and my friend, Cop Car, but I'd really need a new body to keep up with them.

I hope to do some more gardening either tomorrow afternoon, or Saturday, depending
on the weather. It's Spring, after all. We dance to Mother Nature's tune.

If I can only keep my eyes open, I plan to go out into the gardens today!

We are supposed to have a 50% chance of rain today, and more rain coming the next few days. Most of this area is really saturated, but my gardens have dried enough for me to get into them.

Ten days ago, we were in Indiana, visiting my youngest sister, Frankie, for her birthday. I always enjoy a trip to the nursery with her. They are just a bit ahead of us on the last frost date for the spring, so we go and stock up for her gardens. I can never resist picking up a few plants for my gardens, too. This year, I seem to be attracted to small shrubs and perennials, but I brought home a few things for the container gardens, too.

I have an area under one of the front windows that seems to have some weeds despite a thick layer of mulch. I'm going to strip out the weeds, and then plant several things to create an English cottage garden look.

I've also ordered a catalog from Cooley's Gardens, in Oregon. Last year I was dividing the iris when EM became ill, and I doubt that those that were planted (late) will make it back. I'm looking at it as an opportunity to introduce a few new iris into my gardens.

The little azalea we planted last year bloomed, and it's gorgeous! The bridal wreath looks like it came through the winter well. I bought another dwarf lilac to replace one that died off two years ago. I hope this one will pull through. On my trip to our local nursery, I hope to pick up ornamental grasses for the back of the east driveway garden.

I'm halfway done weeding the herb garden walkways and boxes. I have one entire arm of the herb garden that I want to renovate. I can't decide what I want to grow, so a visit to the nursery will help there, too. I'll flip through some of my herb books and magazines to see if I can't get some other ideas. I need to buy a LOT of basil, and some more parsley. I'd like to get at least two rosemary plants, and some lemon verbena.

Okay, enough talking. I better get to work! I hope you all have the chance to play in the dirt, too!

As the sun sets into the west..... (Can't you hear that guy who used to narrate the Looney Tunes cartoons???)

What a weekend! It started with the cat waking me about thirty minutes early Saturday morning. Actually, that turned out to be a good thing. I might not have finished everything that needed to be done before I needed to arrive at Elegante Mother's. I had to pack, start the dishwasher, feed the cat, and load the car. On the trip down I needed to shop for groceries for EM and make a stop at the bank for our company. I was there a few minutes early thanks to Ed.

Once we were on our own, we took off for the mall to get EM's nails polished. That took less than 20 minutes, and we were hardly out of the nail salon when we smudged one of EM's thumbnails. We went right back, and they corrected the problem in about 60 seconds! This time, we went and sat in the mall so that her nails had a chance to dry.

Last year my mother lost close to 30 pounds. She's tiny, and weighed 128 so I suppose she could afford to loose a couple of pounds, but not THIRTY! She was down to around 100 pounds when she left the nursing home. She has resumed eating, so our next stop for the morning was to visit Carson's to find some slacks with a more comfortable fit. We also found three pairs of Capri pants that were too cute to pass up, three pairs of earrings, three costume jewelry rings and a bracelet, and one embroidered t-shirt that goes with a sweater she already has! Because we used a Carson's charge card, we received numerous discounts, and then they gave us another discount along the lines of "family and friends." I think we paid less than half price for everything! There's nothing EM loves more than shopping and getting a bargain!

We stopped in the mall to have lunch before taking all the loot back to the condo. We had time for a one hour nap, which we BOTH took, before we needed to drive north to meet six of the family for dinner. EM put away a corn muffin and a smoked salmon Caesar salad, and then tried to inhale an immense plate of bread pudding with ice cream and whipped cream. I was worried she was going to explode!

Dear Husband and I are fortunate to have an exceptionally talented grand nephew, who has participated in ten of his high school productions in the past four years. Last year he was incredible as "The Master of the House" in "Les Miserables." Last night we got to see his final high school performance as Mr. McAfee (the Paul Lynde role) in "Bye Bye Birdie." It was a hoot! We really enjoyed the evening. I really hope this young man will get involved in college musicals. He's incredibly talented.

We made it home around 10:45. I helped EM dive into some jammies and she crashed for the night. I followed around 12:30. I woke at 6:30 and checked on her. She was still sound asleep. I tried working on the crossword puzzle, and finally decided to go back to bed for a bit. We were finally ready to start the day about 9:00.

Our first order of the day was lunch at Red Lobster. Mother truly loves lobster, but can only eat so much, so we order her one of the small lobster tails. I left all but one of the Cheddar Bay biscuits for her (I was afraid she'd break my hand, otherwise.) She asked to take them home with her so she could leave room for dessert! *G* She wanted to take her iced coffee with her when we left, but I told her we would stop at Starbucks.

It probably took us 20-25 minutes on the tollways to get to Morton Arboretum. We missed the peak display of the daffodils by a couple of days, but in return we hit the most gorgeous display of redbud, crabapple, and flowering shrubs that you can imagine. We drove the main trails on both the east and west sides of the arboretum, and it was like being at a ping pong tournament, with our heads swiveling right and left so as not to miss a thing.

EM loves her newspapers. When we left the arboretum, we stopped to pick up the newspaper, and then we headed to My-Sister-The-Nurse's home. Her family was gathering for a special birthday dinner for her husband. She had all the preparations in hand, so we were able to sit out on the deck and chat for an hour before it was time to return to the condo.

We were rather surprised to find that Sophie had returned to the condo earlier than we had expected. Luckily, everyone knew her by sight, so the management was called to let her in. It's a problem we will have to resolve before she goes on her next break.

I believe that my mother enjoyed the weekend. She was very disappointed when it was time for me to go, and leave her with Sophie. As much fun as we had, it's clear that we wouldn't be able to do this type of thing day in and day out. Unfortunately, each time we have these extended weekends, we get to see first hand how fast EM is changing, and we are very aware of the loss in logic,verbalization, and the ability to accomplish anything that involves multiple steps. We need to treasure these weekends with her, because it won't be long before this particular setting won't be possible, and she will have to return to a nursing home.

Bogie told me not to worry about the weeds in my gardens, that they would still be there waiting for me. She's so right. Spending time with Mother is much more important.

This is my weekend for "Mom Duty." Elegante Mother has moved to a condo halfway between my two older sisters, in the round the clock care of Sophie, a Polish lady. Sophie works for 13 days, and then has a little more than one day off, so we need to have someone stay with EM while Sophie is away. My-Sister-The-Nurse did the very first week, and Frankie did the second. It's my turn at bat.

We have plenty planned. Tomorrow morning we will go to have her nails done, and then shop for several pairs of new slacks. We're going to have a light lunch and fritter away a few hours before we meet the family for a very early dinner. We are going to go to a high school performance of Bye Bye Birdie, and the family will gather for dinner near the school. One of my grandnephews is performing, and this will be his final high school performance. I believe that he has been in every production the school has offered in the past four years. Last year he played "The Master of the House" in Les Miserables!

Sunday, I'll let EM sleep in, and then I'll take her to Red Lobster, so that she can have her beloved ,lobster. I plan to drive through Morton Arboretum, if she is up to it, and if not, we will sit around and read the Sunday papers.

Elegante Mother can't be left on her own now. I worry that once she left her apartment she might not be able to find her way back, and we have not provided her with an ID bracelet yet.

We have had a week of rain, and this weekend would be the perfect time to pull the weeds I see sprouting in several of my gardens, but it will have to wait until Monday. Tuesday morning I have one of the two dentist visits that occur every year, and I can come home and do more weeding. I need to get it done before it totally gets away from me! The daffodils were gorgeous. Many of them are still blooming, and the tulips have opened.

Quilting bee met tonight for our May visit. I should have headed to bed long ago. It will be a busy day tomorrow.

I hope you're all having a great spring!