A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Banter Hall Coffeehouse 2204 There's Always More!

going night night.

sleep well, Sheri. You deserve it!

Good morning everybody! Wakey Wakey! Coffee is ready! Fresh juice too! It's a lovely, sunshiney day and you don't want to miss it!


Merme

Okay Merme I am awake ...not happy about it but I am awake.... juice and a cup of coffee will help... couldn't sleep last night... bet I could now!
We are having our sunshine in the liquid variety... complete with clouds and foggy wet stuff out there... cold to only in the 40's.... good day for a nap I hope after I get Mom fed settled again... off to do that now... she is almost finished the paper....
We used to make those candles too- sounds like a project for this summer,,or maybe some sand candles... looking for things to keep boys occupied ....
Nana

I've been drinking ice water this morning. My early coffee just didn't suit.

Nana I hope you get some rest today! I bet the boys would like to make candles this summer... we like the sand ones also.

Right now Maxi is out romping around with his buddies. My Saturday/Monday girl didn't show up today. So the agency has a call out to all their other girls who don't have assignments today and hopefully one will get the message and call in. Today is only for a couple of hours, so someone should be willing to pick up the time.

I was reading parts of Longfellow's Hiawatha to Maxi this morning. It got us going. Far too long to read the entire thing, but bits of it are fun.


Merme

everyone must be in the garden. It's still too windy here to do a lot. I'm concerned the little plant are going to blow over and I still haven't finished spray painting the outside furniture. We did get the gardens tilled up and I've got to get the plants outside this weekend. They're just too big.

I just can't seem to get my house cleaned up. I've been working on it since Thursday and still haven't gotten the downstairs done. Not that I'm cleaning all that good I just can't make myself stick with it. Just like now, I'm on the forum.

Forget about housework when there's gardening to be done!!!

Don and I went over to the public pool parking lot 3 times so far today. That is where the town dumps huge piles of free compost for town residents. Everyone was out there with their shovels and bags, or bins, or just plain heavy plastic spread out in their trunks or vans! Some have even hired Mexican day-laborers to dig up the compost and put it in their cars for them.

We got 18 bags full so far. I've already spread 1/2 of the bags on half of the front foundation plants - it looks so good already! Eating some late lunch and will go back out soon to do the other side. I don't think we have enough compost, but Don said we could go back to get some more after he mows the lawn! I told him it will probably be dark by then - he is a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to doing his lawn!

I just hope there is some compost left when we get back there - people were swarming to it like flies on honey!

wow, Lynne, free compost that would be great----no such things here----

I am so glad for you--I bet your beds do look nice---

sounds like pure heaven, Plants! why would so many people go to so much trouble making compost and not use it for themselves?

I've been playing around in my garden today. It got really hot so i'm gonna rest inside for about an hour before I go back out. I'd like to get some mowing done myself this afternoon. It must be upper 80's this afternoon, but feels more like upper 90's.

merme that book Hiawatha? ....I remember reading a Hiawatha Wooing way back when was in school but I think that was a poem?

I've been reading The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane (sp?) to my kidos. what a great book! I was rolling my eyes at it after the first couple of paragraphs when I realized the main character was a china rabbit doll, but by the end of the first chapter I was as hooked on it as the kids. We were all even tearing up at the end of the chapter I read to them last night. Good book!

Cricket, Lynne's town offers free compost for the residents each year.

Yes, Longfellow's Hiawatha IS a poem... an epic poem, of about a skajillion verses. Well, maybe not quite that many, but it does make a THREE CD set when spoken! So, I only did bits of it for him.

We got Maxi's bike chain back on the bike and he went for his first ride of the season today with his friend Dom. Oh how he loves that bike!


Merme

well, I guess I only read an exert from that poem then. cause I don't remember it being a skajillion verses. ha ha

I still don't get the compost thing? who, how...???

my compost looks like it'll be ready in another week or so. it's probably ready now, but when I stirred it earlier today and saw all those earth worms I thought just another week or so of worm poo. ha ha

my kidos just got back from town. they went with a neighbor boy. they were having a safety thingy. cop car rides for the kids, look inside a firetruck, fingerprinting, face painting, free food and drinks. they seemed to have a good time. hard to tell. they ran in and dropped their loot on the counter and out they went to clean on the pool. were hopping to get it cleaned out and start filling her back up tonight.

It sounds like the kids had a great time, Cricket.

The compost is a project sponsored by the town, Cricket. It benefits the townspeople and rids the area of stuff that probably would be hard to get rid of or end up in the landfill.

Yes, most people only do read exerpts because it is so long. Back in the days when kids were still expected to do memory work in school, various verses would be assigned to different students and it would sometimes be put on as a play. Most people know the opening... "By the shores of Gitchee-Gumee, By the shining Big-Sea-Water, stood the wigwam of Nokomis..." which is actually from the third chapter of Part I. There are 10 chapters in Part I, and 12, I believe, in Part II.

Merme

I'm excited that so many people are using compost.

We're watching the Swartzenegger/Jamie Lee Curtis spoof True Lies. It always cracks us up!

Maxi was a little too reluctant to start the laundry which he'd been intending to do all day. Not wanting to be up half the night finishing it, I said it was time to get it started. He was playing with his DS and said "Not now, I'm busy!"

Well, that didn't go over too well, so I simply said "Give me the DS. It is confiscated until you start the laundry." He handed it to me, got up and threw the laundry in. Now he is happily playing again while the washer is running.

Because I grew up in a home without an automatic washer and my sisters and I washed clothes in every way imaginable, I do not let Maxi balk at his share in this easy task. We have super size Whirlpool washer & dryer in a convenient niche off the kitchen. It is too simple to be refused!

If he had to wash clothes in the tub or go out and beat them on a rock in the river, okay, I would be more lenient. But not with those handsome Whirlpools sitting right handy.


Merme

I hear ya, merme! I have my daughter loading the dishwasher now, and my son will be unloading it when it's done. and YES it's a saturday night and YES they are gonna do it 'cause they live here too'. (that has become my favorite saying)
I've made a small bonefire, although it is SO hot still outside this evening. hubby forgot dogfood when he went to town earlier so the doggies get treated to pork chops that are about two days thawed too long for us to eat. they are done and are cooling. gotta go out and distribute and stand between them. ME ALPHA.....no one is allowed to fight!
we watched True Lies just last weekend merme. what a co-ink-E-dink! my son (12) got nervous and embarresed during the dancing scene.....although he is 'not interested in girls yet'! ha ha

Our winds have been too strong so they aren't giving burn permits. We can't have bonfires right yet. But we sure do love them. Maybe me 'n Maxi will come sit by yours, Cricket!

I have potatoes in the big oven. We like them better that way than in the microwave. Maxi will have his in the morning for breakfast. I won't be able to wait!

Merme

come on over and sit by the fire, just keep your chair back a bit cause outside temps are still in the 70's even though the sun is down. we've had all this debris to burn for months and months but had SO many winter days where the wind was blowing too hard to burn. oh well, me likey a fire no mater what! I'm pretty tired this evening though. I'll go back out one more time and stir and add, but then I'm done.

just curious.....have you guys been hearing much about swine flu where you are?

Yes, very much. There have been 5 confirmed cases just south of us.

The Episcopal Bishop of Maine has been sending emails with tips from the Center For Disease Control to try to help keep people healthy, including information on Communion and Extending the Peace (people often shake hands or hug).

Of course the best advice and the one item most often ignored is STAY HOME IF YOU FEEL ILL!!


Merme

Cricket, what kind of stuff did you have to burn? It's been too windy to burn here too.

I just finished cleaning up the downstairs. It's taken me forever. I finally had to just make myself do it.

There are a few cases of the flu in NC now and SC.

Hi Sheri!

The dryer is running and I'm waiting for Maxi to get out of the shower so I can turn on the dishwasher. I got many things done today although I didn't feel like doing a thing and my girl didn't come.


I have to get dressed up on Tuesday and I don't know what to wear. All of my better clothes are too warm for this time of year. I don't really have any dressy summer weight things any more and I really need to go shopping! But there isn't any time for that before Tuesday. sigh.


Merme

what's going on, on tuesday Merme? you got a date?

We have a buddy that is in the tree business now. cutting and removing. most places want 40-60 bucks a load to dump. so when they work close we let them dump here for free. well almost free. they throw us a twenty or so now and then. no biggy, cause I love burning so much.

yea, I've been watching and reading the news everyday about this flu. I'm a bit freaked out. we're a bit close it seems, since schools an hour or an hour and a half south of us are now closed for days!

my schools have a plan if we end of closing about homework and such. What a mess. One of my schools is mostly Mexicans and they go back and forth all the time. I don't know how they have the money to do it because they say it costs them between 900-1800 dollars to return but they go a lot. They're children will be out of school for 2 weeks and then come back. It's hard for them to catch up and now they might be exposed to the flu. I sure hope the parents are wise.

my boss won't stop at one particular convienent store anymore cause there are too many day laborers that she says goes back and forth every weekend. I'm with you, I can't see how they'd have the money to do that. I think the concept of them going back and forth SO much is a misconception......but, I could be wrong?

Nope, they do it at least they say that's why their child or children has been out of school when we ask. They say they went to visit in Mexico.

Cricket - our town picks up leaves in the fall, in those large paper bags that we have to buy at the store, and then turns them into compost for the town residents to help themselves to in the spring. They've been doing this for about 5 years or so now, and it is very popular around here. There is a sign there that says "This compost is for town residents only. NO LANDSCAPERS, COMPANIES, OR PRIVATE INDUSTRIES ALLOWED."

Doesn't mean they don't come though... they just run when they see cops pull into the parking lot!

The town also takes all the tree trunks and branches that come down in storms, and turn that into free mulch that they dump in huge piles in the same parking lot. So far they've only done that once this spring.

We ended up making 2 more trips at the end of the day, for a total of 5 trips and 30 large black garbage bags of compost!!! AND... my parents are coming over early tomorrow morning so my dad can get 5 bags to put in his rock garden. They live in another county over the river, but Don and I will bag it for dad since he is 86 and shouldn't be doing too much heavy lifting. He will have to lift the bags out of his car once they get home though. They live 45 minutes from us.

After dinner I had to clean afterall - I thought of Sheri while I was doing that. I really didn't want to, but with mom coming over I really HAD to. The cats are all starting to shed big time now that it's spring, and it needed a good once over anyway.

you put your leaves in paper bags? That's such a good idea. Around here everyone uses big plastic bags that never break down. I see them at the streets waiting to be picked up. your town is smart.

We HAVE to put them in paper bags that are sold for that purpose - otherwise they will not take them! All the stores such as Home Depot, LOWES, and even the grocery stores sell them here. The bags are biodegradable.

Where my parents live, they put their leaves in piles at the curb and a truck with a huge vacuum comes along and sucks them up - it's so much easier than having to bag them up!

either way is better than the plastic bags.

I've been watching 48 Hours. A person can't get away with anything anymore. Technology can prove anything.

that sounds like a wonderful practice. thanks for explaining! my mind was trying to figure out WHERE the TOWN came up with the materials, ect. to compost. in our town, the debris is thrown into the same pit the road kill goes into. I guess that is a bit 'enviromental' as well, but I really like what your town does!

yea, sheri....they SAY they went to mexico. but I know what these people make and it is not enough money to be going back and forth! I know they send most of the money they make back to mexico, but what's left over goes for food and electricy, and a bit of rent. I guess we'll know more as the days pass.

we've been told that if a person is relatively healthy and washes hands and is not around a person with the flu coughing in their face, that they'll be safe.

Our town and county hires private companies to trim trees away from power and telephone poles, street trees, etc. When they are working anywhere in our area we encourage them to dump their dump trucks full of shredded stuff up here. We have piles and piles of the stuff. I especially like it on my dirt roads near the house. It keeps some of the dust down. I don't like all that gets here like the palm fronds. But it is easy to pick through. We also shred it a bit finer than they leave it before laying it down.
More and more towns are getting into the 'green' of mulching as opposed to dumping. Call around your area and see if you can find something near you, Cricket.

do you have your own shredder Tina?

Yes we have a smallish shredder.

Well I am going to make a hot cup of Red rose tea and try to settle myself down. I feel strangely hungry tonight and if I don't go to bed soon, I'll be nibbling the night away!

Maxi gave it up and went to bed. He is worn out from all the fun he had outdoors. He really rode that bike of his!


The great thing I love about the weather we are in now is that though you need a fan on to move the air about, it makes it cool enough that you also need a heavy blanket! If you skip the fan, it is too stuffy to sleep. I just adore that cool-enough-to-need-a-blankie-air-in-my-face. I sleep really deeply like that.

I've had my nose in a book all afternoon. All the novels I've read from this author have been detective or spy stories. This one hooked me into before I realized it is a tale of someone having "preminitions" (sp?) about a future tragedy. I don't read such stuff usually, but the writer is good enough to make me want to know how the story plays out!

Merme

I've taken allergy medicine so I'm outta here.

Good night Sheri

Merme I hear ya with the fan on,, I sleep with the window open a bit too,, it still gets chilly at night, so I still use a light wt blanket,, But I love the fresh circulating air,

just popping in to say "hi" & good night to everyone.

I too like to have it cool in the house in the summer to the point where one needs a blanket to sleep it took me years to convince Rod that that was the best way to get a good nights sleep when it was warm weather----

we have ceiling fans now and I love them to bits but before them we had a very nice "Patton" floor fan that did the trick.

but again---nity nite

Good Night Carol ~ Angels on your Pillow

Good evening everyone! Had an okay day today. We went to breakfast with the kids grandma who is in town from Washington DC. Then the kids went off to spend the day with her. Aros and I came home and I passed out on the couch. My sciatic has been bothering me something awful and whenever I'm in pain I just want to sleep. A friend of mine dug up a couple of rose bushes she didn't want and instead of tossing them she offered them up for free so I picked those up today. I have no idea what kind they are or how to care for them yet but I planted them in a sunny spot and I'll go from there. I'm just excited to have a new plant to learn about and grow! We went to a couple of home improvement stores and I found myself an electric hedge trimmer. My first power tool, whoohoo! I'm excited to try it out but it's raining, which is probably good because of my back. The kids just got back home, they had dinner at the space needle this evening. Spoiled kids, they had steak and lobster for dinner. Tomorrow, if my back cooperates, I'm going to try to get some sewing done. Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

Good morning, everybody!

Maxi is still sleeping so I am sitting here listening to a Vivaldi Concerto in B Minor for Violin & Orchestra. I like many pieces in B Minor as it seems to soothe my ears while connecting with my soul.

We have an overcast day but we haven't gotten a single drop of the rain they forecast for this entire weekend.

But I'd sure like to know what is UP with the local ants this weekend. For the first time ever since we have lived here, I have a small invasion of them around my sliding glass door. Don't know why they want in all of a sudden. We do live in a country setting so critters are not unusual... just not in the house!

Merme