…when I wonder what’s going on in Dear Husband’s head.
I’ve told you that he is not a gardener. He really doesn’t care for any of the outdoor chores, not even those having to do with maintenance on the house. He makes his living working out of doors, so the only other time he cares to be outside is when he is sailing.
I had assumed that he was aware of the work I do on the gardens. I usually come in, muttering about aching knees or a crabby back, or beat up fingers, so you would think he’d recognize that SOMETHING is going on out there.
I finished cutting back spent plants in the driveway garden, and part of the sidewalk garden, and my pride and joy….the herb garden. I need to spread compost and mulch, and put protective rings around three roses, but I’m well on the way toward having the gardens prepared for winter. I know that he knows I’ve been doing the work, because he can see the piles of leaves and cuttings dispersed around the grounds.
The herb garden, in particular, looked really lovely by 4:00 yesterday afternoon. I was thinking about taking a picture of it to post here. So, I was rather surprised to see Dear Husband unwrap a block of cedar timbers and start carrying them into the herb garden. These timbers will be used to replace parts of the raised beds in the herb garden that have been hollowed out and reduced to sawdust by ants. Right now about six of them (easily ten to twelve feet long), are stacked on one side of the center box. Four more are at a crazy angle across the south end of the garden. It looks like a giant was organizing his pick up sticks.
I VERY calmly suggested to him that he might want to stack them somewhere else until he could get to the job. We’ll have to talk about where.
Take my word for it. The garden looked really nice.

I’m trying to decide if I have a mild case of flu, or whether I’ve just had too much exercise and a cold front has come in.
Elegante Mother and I got flu shots on Wednesday morning. In the past, they’ve never bothered me. My arm felt a tiny bit heavy last night, but I figured it was most likely due to the gardening I’d been doing.
In all fairness, I’ve led a very sedentary life lately. Then, the Dragon Lady needed a stand in, so I rose to the challenge. I led exercise on Monday and Wednesday, and on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, I spent the afternoons cleaning out the gardens and getting a little raking done. This morning I moved about 650 pounds of bird seed into the winter bins.
A cold front has moved in, so I got that gardening done just in the nick of time. It’s been gray all day, and now is so dark that the sun must have decided to go down a couple of hours early. We’ve had a fitful rain, and are expecting snow showers this evening.
So….am I sick, or am I responding to unusual exercise, coupled with a major drop in temperature? Darned if I know. All I can do is wait it out.
I think I’ll collect the cat and a quilt and go sit in the recliner for a bit. He won’t mind, and I’ll enjoy his warmth. Maybe I’ll take a book with me, just in case I can keep my eyes open.

Frankie, my youngest sis, has not had the time to blog since Band Camp started back in July. She and her oldest daughter were here to help us when I hurt my knee. They went home to the two week band camp, and they’ve been on the run ever since. Frankie was Uniform Mom for this year’s marching season. She headed the crew of ladies who saw to it that everyone was dressed appropriately, in a clean uniform in good repair, whether they marched inside or out.
Marching band ended in October, so I thought for sure she’d find a moment to blog. And something really momentous has happened, so I thought for SURE she would blog….but nothing. So I’ll do it for her.
Frankie is a grammy! Her step-daughter gave birth on Tuesday morning at 11:35, a healthy baby boy. He came out at 7 pounds 6 ounces. My nieces are aunties, now! *G*
Congratulations, Frankie and Major Frankie, and the new Mom and Dad!

I love using natural things as decorations. We save pine cones, and use all sorts of dried plants and herbs in wreaths and bouquets. One of the naturals I love to use is dried milkweed pod.
I’ve had my eye on several stands of milkweed pod along one of the fields just east of me. I was concerned that the “Weed Ladies” of the Naperville Heritage Society might beat me to them, but I had to wait for dry weather to try to harvest them. Yesterday was gorgeous, but I was in my gardens. Today was much the same, but Dear Husband came home just as I was finishing cutting back plants. I asked him to be my driver. I didn’t want to have to negotiate the curb in the SUV.
So, he gave up about 15 minutes of his precious late afternoon sunlight to drive me down the road. I think he did it because he got to sit and listen to the classical music station while I cut the milkweed.
You know of course, that most of the milkweed are still in the process of releasing their seeds. I have them stored in the garage until I can spend the time teasing the silk and seeds out of the pods. It’s a chore that I don’t plan to put off. *G*
I still want to gather an armload of teasel and some curly dock. I’m going to create a bouquet with all three of the weeds, wrapped with a fall colored ribbon, for my oldest sister. She knew I planned to collect the weeds and said she wished she could, too. If they come too late for her to use this season, they’ll store well for next year.

I blogged the other day about the decals we have on the windows to help the birds avoid striking the glass. There’s a grove of trees to the north of the house, and their reflection in the windows lures the birds into thinking there is an escape route where there is actually window. I’m sure one of the hawks has learned to use the windows to his advantage when hunting near our feeder.
I was mistaken about the source of our decals. A friend gave two sample packages to Dear Husband, and it turns out they were being distributed by the Morton Arboretum, in the western suburbs of Chicago. The good news is, I kept the packaging, so I can share the manufacturer!
2004 Window Alert by Schock Associates, Inc.
P. O. Box 1609
Bend OR 97709
800-733-2753
Info@WindowAlert.com
There ya go. The product has worked for me. You peel the leaf shape off the backing paper and apply the side that was to the paper to the outside of a clean window. Couldn’t be any easier, and it works. I’ll have to do an update to let you know how it fares during the winter.
Now, go forth and save some birds!

Joy, of The Joy of Six, and I have met, through the auspices of Ronni, at Time Goes By. We haven’t actually met face to face, but that could happen. Joy and I both live in suburban Chicago.
Joy blogged today about the one year anniversary of her husband’s death, and I encourage you to go read what she had to say.
Just after reading her blog, I found the message below in my mail. It seemed serendipitous, and worth posting.

Continue reading →

On the way to exercise this morning we saw a great blue heron in the conservancy area. I thought we were past the season for herons and egrets, so it was a surprise to see him fishing.
It’s a grey day, lots of clouds and no sunshine, and it’s a bit on the chilly side.
I had intended to cut down spent plants yesterday, and I should have. I’ll have to wait until tomorrow or Wednesday to get into the gardens. It rained this morning, but I think the rain has moved off.
We’ve been waiting for this weekend. It’s time for the annual birdseed sale. On our way home from Indiana two weeks ago, we picked up the black oil sunflower seed. Now we’ll be looking for the seed that draws the woodpeckers, cardinals, and blue jays. We’d like to encourage the juncos, the nuthatches and the chickadees, too. Cop Car says we have an overabundance of sparrows and house finches. They are pushy at the feeder, so everyone has to fight to get to the seed.
As soon as the raccoons go into hibernation, we’ll start filling the silo feeders with chipped sunflower hearts. Until the raccoons snooze, there’s no point in putting out the silos because they climb the crook that holds the silo and bring everything down.
After the windows have been washed, I plan to put up more of the translucent “leaves” that came from the Nature Conservancy. They help the birds to realize that they are flying toward windows, rather than open space.
One of our contractors shared them with Dear Husband, and they’ve been a great gift.

The class lived through another day of my leadership at exercise. All but one of the songs that we work to went well. The cardio song is a medley of Four Seasons hits. It goes on forever, and the changes and steps are difficult. Inevitably, I get lost somewhere along the way and we march and pump our arms a lot.
Dragon Lady has a lot of faith to leave her class in my hands. I may make some changes to the routine before Wednesday to see if we can’t get through the session with fewer pauses to laugh. *G*

The following story came to me via e-mail this week. Unfortunately, there was no credit given for the creation of the post. If you know the writer, I’d be most happy to give credit where credit is due.
As you know, my mother, who will be 90 in about six weeks, lives with us. I am accustomed to her response to matters of this sort. I think I may share this with her and encourage her to follow suit. *G*
Subject: Getting Even with the Bank
Sometimes killing them with kindness is the best approach! I’m sure we have had our share of these about our call centers…
A 98 year old woman wrote this to her bank. The bank manager thought it
amusing enough to have it published in the New York Times.
Dear Sir:
I am writing to thank you for bouncing my check with which I endeavored to pay my plumber last month.
By my calculations, three ‘nanoseconds’ must have elapsed between his presenting the check and the arrival in my account of the funds needed to honor it. I refer, of course, to the automatic monthly deposit of my Social Security check, an arrangement which, I admit, has been in place for only eight years.
You are to be commended for seizing that brief window of opportunity, and also for debiting my account $30 by way of penalty for the inconvenience caused to your bank.
My thankfulness springs from the manner in which this incident has caused me to rethink my errant financial ways.
I noticed that whereas I personally attend to your telephone calls and letters, when I try to contact you, I am confronted by the impersonal, overcharging, pre-recorded, faceless entity which your bank has become.
From now on, I, like you, choose only to deal with a flesh-and-blood person. My mortgage and loan payments will therefore and hereafter no longer be automatic, but will arrive at your bank by check, addressed personally and confidentially to an employee at your bank whom you must nominate.
Be aware that it is an offense under the Postal Act for any other person to open such an envelope. Please find attached an Application Contact Status which I require your chosen employee to complete.
I am sorry it runs to eight pages, but in order that I know as much about him or her as your bank knows about me, there is no alternative.
Please note that all copies of his or her medical history must be countersigned by a Notary Public, and the mandatory details of his/her financial situation (income, debts, assets and liabilities) must be accompanied by documented proof.
In due course, I will issue your employee with a PIN number which he/she
must quote in dealings with me.
I regret that it cannot be shorter than 28 digits but, again, I have modeled it on the number of button presses required of me to access my account balance on your phone bank service. As they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
Let me level the playing field even further. When you call me, press buttons as follows:
1– To make an appointment to see me.
2– To query a missing payment.
3– To transfer the call to my living room in case I am there.
4– To transfer the call to my bedroom in case I am sleeping.
5– To transfer the call to my toilet in case I am attending to nature.
6– To transfer the call to my mobile phone if I am not at home.
7– To leave a message on my computer (a password to access my computer is required. A password will be communicated to you at a later date to the
Authorized Contact.)
8– To return to the main menu and to listen to options 1 through 7.
9– To make a general complaint or inquiry, the contact will then be put on hold, pending the attention of my automated answering service.
While this may, on occasion, involve a lengthy wait uplifting music will play for the duration of the call.
Regrettably, but again following your example, I must also levy an establishment fee to cover the setting up of this new arrangement.
May I wish you a happy, if ever so slightly less prosperous, New Year.
Your Humble Client
(Remember: This was written by a 98 year old woman)
JUST GOTTA LOVE SENIORS