Our granddaughter is THREE! Gosh….where did the time go!? We’re going to celebrate Sunday with cake and presents and lunch.
While I worked in the gardens, Dear Husband went off in search of the perfect birthday gift. He was disappointed in his shopping. There were several things that didn’t seem to be available. Ultimately he came home with a full car, and we’ll be wrapping gifts all night! *G*
This is the year of the princesses: Cinderella, Belle, Ariel, and Snow White. I think the trip to Disney is firmly lodged in her mind! *G* I’ll keep score and let you know how many gifts featured one or more of them.

What’s with bruises?? Why is it that when I bump something and think “Boy, is that gonna cause a bruise!” that it never happens? And where do these mystery bruises come from? I have several bad ones on my arms and legs, and I have NO idea what I did that caused them. I’m sure that it’s something to do with gardening. I’m not the most graceful person, so I’ve probably bumped something and forgotten about it.
Do I need more vitamins? More potassium? Why does getting bruises seem cyclical?

I’ve lived with poison ivy so long that I’ve almost come to take it for granted. A new visitor to this blog, Andrea, asked for help identifying poison ivy, so I thought I might write a bit more on the subject. My apologies for not taking pictures of the dreaded visitor before I ripped it out.
This link from Cornell University shows low growing poison ivy that acts as a ground cover. You’ll find the leaves grouped in threes, and the edges of the leaves are notched. We find this type of poison ivy in our gardens, or mixed in with the wild raspberries. It has a genius for lodging at the roots of plants you’d like to keep, and spreads by roots on the surface or just under the surface of the ground.
This link will take you to an on-line article on poison ivy with several excellent pictures. One type of poison ivy is a climbing vine. We find it climbing the trees with a tough stem covered with aerial roots that help it attach itself to the trees. Scroll down in the linked article for a a good picture of the stems. When we find this type of stem, we tend to cut it at the base of the tree.
The leaves of climbing poison ivy turn red in the fall. So do the leaves of Virginia Creeper. To be on the safe side, I don’t touch anything turning red, unless I personally planted it, and can identify it.
You know….just writing about this is making me itch!!!
Speaking of itching…we use the Tecnu products once we’ve come in contact with poison ivy. Frequently, I can forestall a trip to the doc by washing very thoroughly with Tecnu, or I can at least lessen the effect of the urushiol on my skin. I tend to wear long pants and socks, long sleeved shirts and latex gloves just to be on the safe side.
Occasionally, in late fall or early winter, I’ll find I have a tiny bit of a rash that is very reminiscent of poison ivy, when I shouldn’t have had any contact with it. It finally occurred to me that I was picking it up from our pet’s fur. As I stroked the dog or the cat, I’d pick up tiny bits of the oil and then distribute over my arms by accident. If you have pets and a small child, this might be something you really want to keep in mind.
If you choose to cut poison ivy down, or rip it out, do NOT burn it. You could inhale the urushiol. Also, if you have a compost pile, do not dispose of the poison ivy in the compost. I tend to be an organic gardener, with a very few exceptions. Where it’s possible, I’ll use a disposable paint brush to paint Round-up, or something similar, on the leaves of poison ivy. You’ll still need to be careful removing the leaves and stems of the poison ivy, and sequestering them where you won’t come into contact.
I’ve learned to live around it. If I’m going to be at the verge of the groves here, I tend to be very careful where I walk. There’s no way you can completely eradicate this pest from your land.
If you need more pictures of poison ivy, Andrea, go to Google, Image, and type in poison ivy. They have all the pictures you’ll need! Good luck!

In the entry below, you’ll find that Dear Husband and I attended a recent concert by Itzhak Perlman, and were surprised by some of the audience behavior. I was talking about this experience with the Red Hat Ladies at lunch today, and discovered that behavior at a classical concert is not universally known.
When I described the faux pas of applause following the first movement, one of the ladies asked if the custom of waiting until the end of the piece was posted in the program. I don’t know. Because of my background, I’ve just assumed that everyone knew that tradition. Posting the guidelines in the program is not a bad idea!
On WGN720 this morning, John Williams was talking with his audience about the same subject. A grade school band director called in to say that not only did they need to teach their students about proper concert behavior, they also needed to teach the audience. Society has become SO casual, that we all act as though we are at home in front of our own TV and can do whatever we please, when there are actually guidelines for concert goers.
I tried to think what I would tell a first-time concert goer. I suppose the most important thing is that you don’t do anything which would either distract the performer, or bother the audience around you.
1. Specifically, NO TALKING (OR SINGING) during the performance.
2. Turn off your cell phone, or turn it to “vibrate” for the duration of the concert. (Personally, I’d make you turn it in at the door!).
3. Remain seated, unless you are deathly ill. DO NOT walk up the aisle during the performance.
4. Be in your seat BEFORE the performance begins, or be prepared to have to wait to be seated between the selections, or at intermission.
5. At a concert of “classical” music, wait to applaud until the entire piece is finished. The program will list how many movements there are to a piece. If you’re not sure that the piece is over, let the rest of the audience or the actions of the performer(s) guide you.
Perhaps there are other suggestions that I could make, but these seem to be the most basic. Having courtesy and consideration for the performer and for the audience just about covers it all.

It was lovely. We need to do something like this more often..
Itzhak Perlman was as impressive as ever. I’m still astonished that our little theater was able to book a performer of his caliber. The room looked to be sold out.
There were three selections scheduled (no Mozart, alas), with an intermission between the second and third. We were rather surprised to see Mr. Perlman leave the stage after the first selection, but he was having difficulty with his bow. The tone quality of his violin was noticeably uneven, so I suspect he chose to leave the stage to select another bow.
When he resumed, he launched into Strauss’ Sonata for violin and piano in E-flat Major, Opus 18. This piece has three sections. I’m sure he was surprised at the vigorous applause at the end of the Allegro (the first section). The audience quieted, and he went on. When they tried to applaud at the end of the Andante cantabile, he waived his hand in a little “no-no” gesture, and went on.
He’ll probably remember my town as the “Hicks in the Sticks.” It seems that a large part of the audience has not experienced a classical performance before. The rules of the road for this type of performance are that you applaud only at the end of the piece. Despite all this, I’m glad so many inexperienced concert goers attended. I hope they’ll tell others what they learned.
Perlman was quite funny about the applause. He had to be coaxed onto the stage with extended applause after his third selection, Three American Pieces by L. Foss. At that point he had to announce the selections he was going to play for us. At one point, he said that he’d been talking to Mr. Strauss out in the back, and that Strauss said it wasn’t necessary to applaud between movements. *G*
There must have been easily 1000 people in the audience, probably more. Of all of those people, just ten were poorly behaved. Just before Perlman started to play the Strauss, someone’s cell phone rang, right at the front, near the stage! Someone else was rattling candy wrappers. Several other people felt it was okay to walk up the aisles as he played. This is another of those situations where I mourn the switch to more casual manners. Many of the members of the audience had no idea what was expected of them, but most rose to the occasion. It was delightful to see so many people enthralled with classical music!
Thank you, Itzhak Perlman, for a wonderful concert!

The time has come that strikes every woman’s heart with fear. My hairdresser has retired.
I feel so abandoned. She’s gone without a farewell, or even a hint that she was thinking of this.
And what’s worse, is that I have a perm scheduled in two weeks! One of the other stylists has done my hair occasionally, and she will step in to see that my hair continues to get the care it needs. But…..I used to be able to plop myself down in the chair and let K do whatever needed to be done. Now, I’ll be asked, “What would you like?” And I don’t have a CLUE!
Yes……I’m hair inept. I’m embarrassed to admit it, but my hair does what it damn well pleases. I’d SO like to have a fashionable hair do, but that implies that I might have to actually DO something to achieve that state. It’s just not going to happen. When the fashion of the day is BALD….I’ll be right there!
Until then, wish me luck settling in with a new stylist.

We have a rare treat in store for us tomorrow night. Dear Husband and I will be going to hear Itzhak Perlman perform. Last fall, when the list of performers for our local venue was published, I bought tickets to three different performances: Stomp, Garrison Keillor, and Perlman.
I love “classical” musicn and would go to any concert of this type, but I chose the tickets for Itzhak Perlman because Dear Husband goes around whistling arias by Mozart. I think they may have scheduled something by Mozart for this concert. It was DH’s birthday gift last fall. He’s had to wait a LONG TIME for it to come to fruition.
We’ll go to dinner, and then head to the concert. We’ll be up later than usual for a week night, but what a great reason to stay up! I won’t have pictures on Friday morning, but I’m sure I’ll have comments about what I expect to be a great performance!

Nan has posted! She’s met the challenge of 50 head on and come through it just fine. Go visit to see what she had to say, at Just My Opinion.

So many of my blogging friends discuss weighty issues, or serious matters. I frequently feel like a butterfly flitting among you. But, one of my Red Hat Lady friends has said that my blog reminds her of Samuel Pepys…..a daily journal. I stopped fretting once she gave me my niche. *S*
So….today, it’s windy and in the 60s, on the cool side for many of you, but heavenly to me. The apple trees have bloomed, and the wind is scattering white petals over the lawn. It looks a bit like snow in spring. Elegante Mother says that the flowering trees and shrubs seem to be blooming more densely this year. They look drenched in color.
I need to get out the book on shrubs and trees and do a little studying. I’m having trouble identifying some of the blooms that I see. There are four or five shades of pink, and white blooms, plus the lavender/purple of the redbud. Crab apples, apples, cherries…what else is blooming out there!?
Yesterday, we made our first trip to the nursery. I’m happy to say that Elegante Mother outspent me! She was buying plants for the containers at the front door. I was buying herbs, and a few things for the sidewalk gardens. I still have some cleanup to do in the herb garden. Dear Husband has two long areas of the outer arms that need understructure or support of some kind, but that won’t keep me from planting.
I need lots more basil, salad burnet, two taller rosemaries. I probably bought enough thyme and lavender. I have two tiny lemon verbena plants, which we grow as an annual, but I’d like to find two bigger plants. I may check out several other nurseries, and stop by the big discount stores for some annuals. I was surprised that my favorite nursery didn’t have Victoria Blue Salvia on their racks.
I think a chipmunk and his extended family have made a home under the thyme. The ground is mounded where it used to be flat, and some of the thyme plants have died off. I’m going to take the opportunity to dig up that stretch of the bed and add some compost to the dirt. That’ll freak out the rodents! *G*
One of the chores each spring is to empty the containers and throw away spent plants. Most of the containers are planted with annuals, but I have sage, mint, iris and a rose in containers. I set up a garden sieve over the wheelbarrow last night, and ran the soil through the sieve. I’ll mix in fresh potting soil, some of that stuff that holds moisture, and some compost, and refill the pots. Then, I can set the plants near the containers, and Elegante Mother can decide what goes where. I’d like to get that chore done before Friday, when the Quilting Bee meets here.
Our lilacs are in bloom. I brought a handful in for Elegante Mother’s sitting room.
I pruned the shrubs back near the veggie beds. I have to turn the dirt in the veggie boxes, and add a lot of compost. I want to use the walk-behind mower back there, too. I’M RECLAIMING THE VEGGIE BEDS THIS YEAR! Wish me luck.
Now ends the writing of the gardening info for this week! *G*

It’s Monday morning, and I have just 15 minutes or so to let you know what we’ve been doing before I start my week.
Friday, April 27th was my youngest sister’s birthday. You know her as Nan, from Just My Opinion, although she has been too busy to blog for some time.
Elegante Mother, Dear Husband, My-Sister-The-Nurse and I drove down to the wilds of Indiana for the weekend to help Nan and her family celebrate. It was a WONDERFUL weekend!
We left the Chicago area early in the morning on Friday and rolled into their driveway about 4:00 in the afternoon. We ambled through the fields rather than taking the tollway system (which in my opinion, needs to be blasted off the face of the earth where 294 & 80 join and pass south of Lake Michigan!) When we arrived, I realized that she’d figured out we were coming. It was supposed to be a surprise, but the girls cleaning their rooms must have given it away. *G*
Nan’s hubby, The Major, was an outstanding host. He went grocery shopping Friday afternoon, and bought enough food to feed the homeless in Indiana. While we were there he served smoked pork chops, salmon, and rib eye steaks, all cooked on his new outdoor grill. The only thing I was requested to do meal-wise was to put together salads, a real hardship! *G*
We chatted Friday evening. Saturday, we had a lazy morning, and then the ladies drove to the most wonderful nursery to buy plants for Nan’s container garden on the deck. We spend the afternoon outside rocking in the deck chairs, sitting in the sun, or shade, as one wished. That afternoon, one of the girls came flying home from a baseball game to get ready to go to the Jr.-Sr. Prom. Wow…..that’s an experience to live through. I hope Nan will post a picture of the couple. Nan had to hem the dress which was perhaps an inch too long, and do her daughter’s manicure and pedicure. A friend helped her with her makeup, and she wore her very long, curly hair piled up on her head.
After dinner, we chatted, and waited for the prom-goers to return home. Nan’s oldest daughter and her boyfriend watched movies. It was the most bone-less weekend. We just eased through the day and enjoyed each other’s company.
Sunday morning The Major put on the most amazing breakfast! Bacon, waffles, scrambled eggs and juice. It really hit the spot. We had time to gather on the deck once more, to sit and chat before it was time to pack up and hit the road. Dear Husband was facing a payroll with a new version of Quick Books, and we were a bit concerned about having adequate time to wade through the new program. It was really hard to pull ourselves away.
Pictures….we took a last gathering of pictures on the lawn….piled into the car, and we were off!
I’m SO glad My-Sister-The-Nurse was able to join us, and SO glad that we got to help Nan celebrate. It was just an exceptional weekend!
Happy Birthday, sis!