Susan, these are two of Elegant Mother’s orchids. She has a white one in addition to these two. She tells me they are Phalaenopsis orchids. I thought you might like a peek at what she’s growing.

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I just realized that I am coming up on my two year anniversary of blogging. April 23 is the big day.
How does one celebrate a second blogversary? Can I expect a cake or fireworks? Do I have to do a major expose, or change my writing style? (Can you see me doing political commentary?? Get real!)
I guess I better start practicing how to say thanks to ~T~ for having hosted me for the past two years. If every someone deserved thanks, SHE DOES!

I’ve managed to get through the first attempt at giving the cat his antibiotic via his ears. The entire operation reminds me of an “I Love Lucy” set up.

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The grass has riz…..I wonder where…… Hmmm that’s a blast from the past….and true to form, I can’t remember the last line. I wonder if it was a Burma Shave sign?
I have FINALLY gotten to play in the dirt. I can’t tell you how theraputic that is to a gardener who has been cooped up all winter. I needed to cut back the spent plants and look for the newcomers. I want to take an entire roll of pictures of the garden as it is now, because I want to do a lot of moving this summer. I have several areas that need rejuvenation, and I’m eager to get to work.
Here in the Chicago area, we seem to be lagging behind in temperatures for this time of year. I’m surprised that so many plants are showing their heads, given the chill, and I may need to go spread mulch to make up for the plant matter I just removed. The bricks hold heat and release it at night, but we’ve been short on heat, so I don’t think that’s much help. The walkway is shielded from southwest, west, northwest, north and northeast winds, so that shelter might be part of the reason I’m seeing plants come up.
I’ve also tried Winter Sowing this year, for the first time, and I have ROMAINE seedlings up! YEAH!!!! I’m going to try to start a few cherry and miniature pear tomato plants this year. Wish me luck!
I’m really glad that Spring has come.

Just the door of my refrigerator….
Skim milk
Half and Half
Apple Juice
Orange Juice
Ketchup
Whipping Cream
Sparkling Grape Juice
Eggs
Butter
Margarine
Cream Cheese
Imitation butter spray
Italian Dressing
Roasted Red Pepper Italian Dressing
French Dressing
Ranch Dressing
Green Goddess Dressing
Caesar Dressing
Thousand Island Dressing
Yellow Mustard
Horseradish
Red Wine Vinegar
White Wine Vinegar
White Balsamic Vinegar
Worcestershire Sauce
Steak Sauce
Soy Sauce
Dry yeast
Gravy Maker
Kitchen Bouquet
Apricot preserves (2)
Red Raspberry Preserves
Maraschino cherries
Hot sauce
Lemon Juice
This is after I cleaned out the out of code food! I can actually see part of one of the shelves. Is your refrigerator any better?

I had breakfast this morning with the most interesting group of women. My mother and I visited one of the Illinois Chapters of the Red Hat Society. One of our friends from exercise class told us about them, and invited us to go with her. The chapter has about 35 women, and there were about a dozen present. These ladies are all over 50, wear read hats and purple clothing and are fascinating. A large number of them are politically active. Two are artists, one was a librarian, another is in real estate, and another is a principal.
The variety of women present was astonishing. The oldest member present was 89 and the youngest was in her mid fifties. They are all active, bright, inquisitive, warm and welcoming. I’m looking forward to receiving mail from them, telling me what the chapter has planned for the year.
I found women who could help me learn to embellish my quilts, one who could give me information on developing a subdivision, and several others who could talk with me about local politics. It occurred to me that a Red Hat Chapter might be the perfect place to start a “Sitters Group” to give those of us who care for the elderly a little time off now and then.
If I remember the statistics correctly, approximately four years ago at the first national convention, there were fewer than 500 chapters, and now there are 35,000 chapters throughout the world. All sorts of store are featuring Red Hat departments. You’re likely to find T-shirts with the word “Hatitude,” or bracelets, broaches, hats, purses, and purple clothing. It seems it’s become a BIG business.
If you’re interested in learning more about the Red Hat Society or want to see if there is a chapter near you, visit their official website.

Last Friday I had my annual physical. Generally, I do a battery of tests once a year, and do my darndest to keep away from the doctor the rest of the year. I still have a couple of things to get checked out, and the dreaded mammogram to do, but the results have been reasonably good. The blood tests have come back better than I expected, and that’s been heartening. I’m still waiting for the doc to realize that she forgot to ask me to pee in a cup!
For the first time, I complained about some hip troubles, and the doctor suggested that I need to so some floor stretching exercises. I like that approach. I’d rather start with the do it yourself solutions, instead of having pills pushed at me.

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This is the month when I do all sorts of tests. In October, I have an annual physical. They do a CBC and all sorts of attendant tests. I get a mammogram, and I check in with the dermatologist, the neurologist and either the dentist or the periodontist. It’s a busy time, trying to get the appointments scheduled, and still see to my mother’s needs and work.
Right now, I feel like a pin cushion!
Despite the holes, I think that it’s good to have an annual checkup. If your parents have passed health concerns on to you, it never hurts to know where you stand, and get the jump on anything that might go wrong.
So….if you haven’t made your appointments, do it NOW! Especially those mammograms, ladies! I know they are a wretched test, but it could save your life. So, buck up! Make the call.

I had to make a quick trip to the doc today. Sunday, my right eye developed a problem. Well…actually, it started with the skin around the outer corner of my eye. It felt abraded and stung if you touched it. By Monday morning, my eyelid was puffy. Now, the good thing about this was that it got me out of a visit to the dentist. She has a policy about colds, etc. If you’re coming down with something, you’re supposed to reschedule. So, I called, and they moved me to next week.
The doctor’s office was able to schedule me to see the newest member of the practice this morning, and she decided that I had a virus. I’m doing the two eye drops every two hours routine, and antibiotics for ten days. My eye is already feeling better. I was sure that it was an allergic reaction to something that flew into my face when I was weed eating on Sunday, but it seems the doc may have known better.
So, what does this have to do with Audubon? There weren’t many non-parenting magazines in the doctor’s office. I settled on the October issue of Audubon. I wish I could remember all I read. It was fascinating! I’ll have to see if there are still any issues at Borders.
Did you know that a resting hummingbird’s heart beats 250 times a minute? More astounding than that is the fact that when in flight their hearts beat up to 1200 times a minute! A group of volunteers are banding hummingbirds in the US. There are over 300 varieties of this species, but only 20 or so migrate up into the United States from Central America and Mexico. It seems that those birds return to the same gardens every summer. I can’t imagine the job of banding a hummingbird. I don’t think my hands would be gentle enough.
Habitat seems to be the subject that is on everyone’s minds. The hummingbirds are loosing the habitat they need as they migrate back and forth. They are having to depend on gardens and landscaping around homes to replace their natural habitat. The Florida panther is loosing it’s habitat, and there are now just 100 of them left. The raccoons here, have lost their habitat, and have adapted by trying to become house pets.
While we consider blacktopping over huge parts of the world, maybe we need to listen to the world around us, and see what we will loose. I understand the concerns of loggers, and farmers, and construction crews, but we have an obligation to be good caretakers of the Earth. If we disregard Nature around us, we could kill off species that hold the keys to our future. We need to find ways to co-exist. Maybe the hummingbirds can lead the way.
Alright, everyone. Next spring I expect each of you to plant trumpet vine for the humming birds!