I went to the home and garden show in Harrisburg today. It was the usual home and garden show that is there nearly every year. No big deal. But we did find another company near our home who sold the big 24"x24" pavers. We will be checking them out this week. While we were trying to explain what we were doing to the sales person, he seemed slightly bored with the conversation and questions. Then I showed him the graphic I had of the patio we had planned and his eyes lit up and the expression of boredom left him completely. I guess he figured we were serious about this and really needed and wanted his input. He was much more willing to talk to us after that. Since he told us that they would deliver and put the pavers right where we wanted them, we were totally interested.
Would you believe there wasn't a firepit to be had anywhere! Not even one! The copper one I found online is looking better and better.
Monday, February 27, 2006
Sunday, February 26, 2006
A Pleasant Dinner
This morning I was rooting through the freezer trying to decide what I wanted to make for dinner. We had a fairly calm day planned, making two more of the pavers and that was about it. But I also knew we'd eaten up pretty much everything I had in the fridge. I found two half pound packages of hamburger and decided to make my twice baked rigatoni. Now, the last time I made this, I promised myself that I would always ask folks over for dinner because I make a large casserole dish and no matter how we try to eat it up, there's always some that goes bad.
I decided to ask sister Lori and her husband Rick. I don't have them over for dinner much and since we'd be eating late, it might work for them. It did. Lori accepted right away and I started dinner at 8:30 in the morning.
I make my own sauce for this dish; no jarred sauces out of the grocery aisle. I used a pint of homegrown tomatoes that I painstakingly processed in my kitchen last summer. A medium sized can of tomato sauce and a medium sized can of tomato paste, rinsing out each can with drinking water that went into the sauce. Though the seasonings I used were dried, I dried them out of my garden last year. I use Basil, Oregano, pressed cloves of garlic (3), lovage, black pepper, a touch of parsley and onion powder. I then chop up a small to medium mushroom and toss that into the mix. I end the mix with some Parmesan cheese for a taste of sweetness. There's no real measure for these, just to taste or smell. I bring all this to a boil and simmer it for several hours. Since I canned my own tomatoes, they have big chunks of tomato in them. Simmering for several hours will dissolve the chunks, if not completely into smaller chunks. The best thing about my spaghetti sauce is the smell. It makes your mouth water as soon as you walk in the door.
While I waited for the simmering to continue, Husband and I went down to the basement to mix another batch of cement for two more pavers and came back up into the house to clean and straighten up for company. Then I browned the meat, drained it and put it into the sauce, brought it back to a boil and reduced the heat to simmer yet a few more hours.
Around 5:00 pm I started to boil water for the 1 lb. Of rigatoni. I cooked that for about 10 minutes and drained it. Then I added it to the sauce, mixing it well making sure that all the rigatonies were coated with sauce. Then I poured the whole thing into a 9x13 casserole dish, evened it out and covered it with mozzarella cheese and sprinkled just a light layer of Parmesan cheese, basil, oregano and Italian seasonings. I covered it with tin foil and cooked it in the over for 30 minutes at 350 degrees, taking the foil off after about 20 minutes.
Somewhere among all this, I also cut about 8 slices of bread and coated it nicely with garlic butter. Garlic butter is real sweet cream butter, whipped to softness with small chunks of fresh garlic, olive oil and parsley. I cover this with Parmesan cheese and Italian seasonings. Then I cook it for 20 minutes on an upper rack in the same oven.
Lori brought a beautiful tiered salad of tons of greens such as lettuce, peas, radishes, carrots, hard boiled eggs, a mayonnaise dressing and bacon bits. For dessert there was apricot jello with banana slices and whipped cream. It was a delicious meal with good company and great conversation.
I decided to ask sister Lori and her husband Rick. I don't have them over for dinner much and since we'd be eating late, it might work for them. It did. Lori accepted right away and I started dinner at 8:30 in the morning.
I make my own sauce for this dish; no jarred sauces out of the grocery aisle. I used a pint of homegrown tomatoes that I painstakingly processed in my kitchen last summer. A medium sized can of tomato sauce and a medium sized can of tomato paste, rinsing out each can with drinking water that went into the sauce. Though the seasonings I used were dried, I dried them out of my garden last year. I use Basil, Oregano, pressed cloves of garlic (3), lovage, black pepper, a touch of parsley and onion powder. I then chop up a small to medium mushroom and toss that into the mix. I end the mix with some Parmesan cheese for a taste of sweetness. There's no real measure for these, just to taste or smell. I bring all this to a boil and simmer it for several hours. Since I canned my own tomatoes, they have big chunks of tomato in them. Simmering for several hours will dissolve the chunks, if not completely into smaller chunks. The best thing about my spaghetti sauce is the smell. It makes your mouth water as soon as you walk in the door.
While I waited for the simmering to continue, Husband and I went down to the basement to mix another batch of cement for two more pavers and came back up into the house to clean and straighten up for company. Then I browned the meat, drained it and put it into the sauce, brought it back to a boil and reduced the heat to simmer yet a few more hours.
Around 5:00 pm I started to boil water for the 1 lb. Of rigatoni. I cooked that for about 10 minutes and drained it. Then I added it to the sauce, mixing it well making sure that all the rigatonies were coated with sauce. Then I poured the whole thing into a 9x13 casserole dish, evened it out and covered it with mozzarella cheese and sprinkled just a light layer of Parmesan cheese, basil, oregano and Italian seasonings. I covered it with tin foil and cooked it in the over for 30 minutes at 350 degrees, taking the foil off after about 20 minutes.
Somewhere among all this, I also cut about 8 slices of bread and coated it nicely with garlic butter. Garlic butter is real sweet cream butter, whipped to softness with small chunks of fresh garlic, olive oil and parsley. I cover this with Parmesan cheese and Italian seasonings. Then I cook it for 20 minutes on an upper rack in the same oven.
Lori brought a beautiful tiered salad of tons of greens such as lettuce, peas, radishes, carrots, hard boiled eggs, a mayonnaise dressing and bacon bits. For dessert there was apricot jello with banana slices and whipped cream. It was a delicious meal with good company and great conversation.
Saturday, February 25, 2006
I think I'm ready
I think I'm ready now to visit the Home and Garden show in Harrisburg. We're thinking of going Monday since it is senior day and at least Husband will get in for half price. Good deal, huh?
Anyway, I put a little packet together of our patio and want to take that up for ideas as well as possible prices for it to be done for us. You know, the older you get the less you want to do the hard physical labor, even though it is a labor of love.
This is the area we had dug out last summer. The excavator put in 6" of stone as a base for a patio. The area here is 15'x21' and it will finish out to a 14'x20' patio. It took me all this time to decide on a style of patio that I think will look nice with the house and keep in tune with the somewhat French Country/Country theme of the house and garden. I tried to wor
k with the garden areas already existing. After months of looking through magazines and building books, I think I came up with a plan that will work.
Since I already had an existing fountain, a lovely water bearer in one of the rose beds, I opted for a fire pit in the very center of the patio that will sit on four 24"x24" pavers with the 12"x12" pavers surrounding them, four on each side, leaving a full 24"x24" pointing into the corners in a geometric design. The West side of the patio will be the high side and curved. There will be an angled one pole arbor across the south curve that will highlight a curved stone bench and draw your eye to the beautiful purple leaf Kunzan cherry tree that will sit about 30' behind it. I will have Veilachenblu roses climbing up this arbor on both sides. The East side of the patio will be squared off with a pileaster on one side with a light. This area will then empty onto a path and around the house to the garage and driveway.
It would be nice to get a little help with building the patio now. Those 24"x24" paver are large and will cover the area nicely but they have a tendency to get rather heavy. We also have to level the stone and add more if necessary and about another 3" of sand before we can even think about laying pavers. We're also going to need a footer around the entire patio as it butts up to a run off area and the footer will be needed to angle the water away from the patio. So there's a lot to be done and most of it is more heavy work than not.
The firepit I've picked out is copper on cast iron legs with a lovely screen on top. It is a 45" round and has a stone table around it with a diamond pattern and is about coffee table size. All of our bird feeders, hummingbird feeders and lights are in copper so it only makes sense to have the firepit copper as well.
The more I look at this layout the more I like it. It has just the right atmosphere and I think will blend nicely with the house and gardens. What do you think?
Maybe I should send this plan off to HGTV and one of their garden design programs but then it might be to simple for them.
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Just a quick note
The first two of decorative 12x12 pavers are done! Well, almost, anyway. They need a good concrete sealer on them yet and then they will be completely done and ready for the patio. I want 20 of these spaced randomly throughout the patio.
Making the design is the difficult part. There are issues with height of the patio stone with the different sizes. These are about 1 3/4" thick, maybe a little less. The closest we've found are the 24x24 pavers that are about the same thickness. Now to find what else we can do to make these pavers reach the 24x24 we need to match the rest. I was thinking of half bricks in the chocolate color. I'll be checking to see what other options I have. I will keep you appraised of what happens.
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Did I Tell You?
A couple of weeks ago I got a phone call from a rep of the Veteran's Association. I get this call every year and every year it is someone different. Usually the fellow who calls is an older man, I can tell by the voice but this year, the voice sounded younger and stronger. These fellows will usually strike up a short conversation while plugging for a donation. Tax deductable of course.
This year, the fellow was repeating my information and he pronounced Conestoga wrong. I corrected him, repeating the pronouncation until he got it right. I asked him if he ever heard of the Congestoga wagon. He said he did but seemed a little confused at the same time when he thought they were still being made. I informed him that they were no longer in production, at least in mass, and the only way to really get a good view of them besides a museum is on the old TV westerns. I still don't think he quite knew what I was talking about. The Conestoga wagon was built here, hence the name of the town, or the name of the wagon, i.e., the chicken or the egg. I'm sure the town was named first after the Conestoga Indian tribe that was wiped out by the Paxton boys in the 1700s. The sad part of that history is the Paxton boys were from Harrisburg and came here to kill Indians. The residents of the town had a good report with the Indians and there was no need to kill them.
This area is so full of history. That's what makes it a wonderful place to visit. Some of the towns in this area, such as Strasburg and Intercourse are almost 300 years old with homes still surviving since that age. Conestoga, itself has just celebrated it's 200th birthday. My girlfriend, Sandy and her family live in their homestead that was built by her ancestors in 1784. Though the house has sustained major renovations in the past 200 or so years, it's shell has remained the same and certain parts of it cannot be improved upon. The insulation of the house, yes it has insulation, is mud and hasn't been replaced since it was built. To replace it would mean destroying the house. It is the most noticable in the basment which is constructed of rock, dirt floor and the mud placed between the floor joist and cracks of the stone foundation. You would think that insulation, though the best around, would be privy to termites and other insect pests but the house was well taken care of, especially in later years when poisons were available to get rid of such creatures.
In terms of size, the settlers thought the Conestoga wagon a bit large. In person, my first thought was it was small. I have always wondered how an entire family and all their belongings could possibly fit in one of those things. Those people had everything in them including furniture, though be it a few very personal pieces and heirloom pieces. Maybe two average sized people could stretch out side by side in one of those wagons and keep warm on a cold night. The hitch on them would be able to maintain a team of four horses, mules or oxen. The settlers traveled the entire width of the country in these things. I find that amazing.
The converstation with the Vet was short but always enjoyable. I've always found these guys sweet at least over the phone. And this one had a lot of other people to get to that day. In the end, he went away with my pledge. Whenever they call, I am reminded of all the people I've known who are vets. Some are still with me and others are now gone. Donna - Army, April - Navy, Connie - Navy, my brother Mike - Army, Gerry - Airforce, Jimmy - Army, Donny - Army, Gary - Airforce, Joseph - Army, Doug - Marines, Ron - Army Reserves (active) and Mack - Navy. Then there is sister, Cindy, one of the many doctors that watch over the health and well being of our fine veterans.
This year, the fellow was repeating my information and he pronounced Conestoga wrong. I corrected him, repeating the pronouncation until he got it right. I asked him if he ever heard of the Congestoga wagon. He said he did but seemed a little confused at the same time when he thought they were still being made. I informed him that they were no longer in production, at least in mass, and the only way to really get a good view of them besides a museum is on the old TV westerns. I still don't think he quite knew what I was talking about. The Conestoga wagon was built here, hence the name of the town, or the name of the wagon, i.e., the chicken or the egg. I'm sure the town was named first after the Conestoga Indian tribe that was wiped out by the Paxton boys in the 1700s. The sad part of that history is the Paxton boys were from Harrisburg and came here to kill Indians. The residents of the town had a good report with the Indians and there was no need to kill them.
This area is so full of history. That's what makes it a wonderful place to visit. Some of the towns in this area, such as Strasburg and Intercourse are almost 300 years old with homes still surviving since that age. Conestoga, itself has just celebrated it's 200th birthday. My girlfriend, Sandy and her family live in their homestead that was built by her ancestors in 1784. Though the house has sustained major renovations in the past 200 or so years, it's shell has remained the same and certain parts of it cannot be improved upon. The insulation of the house, yes it has insulation, is mud and hasn't been replaced since it was built. To replace it would mean destroying the house. It is the most noticable in the basment which is constructed of rock, dirt floor and the mud placed between the floor joist and cracks of the stone foundation. You would think that insulation, though the best around, would be privy to termites and other insect pests but the house was well taken care of, especially in later years when poisons were available to get rid of such creatures.
In terms of size, the settlers thought the Conestoga wagon a bit large. In person, my first thought was it was small. I have always wondered how an entire family and all their belongings could possibly fit in one of those things. Those people had everything in them including furniture, though be it a few very personal pieces and heirloom pieces. Maybe two average sized people could stretch out side by side in one of those wagons and keep warm on a cold night. The hitch on them would be able to maintain a team of four horses, mules or oxen. The settlers traveled the entire width of the country in these things. I find that amazing.
The converstation with the Vet was short but always enjoyable. I've always found these guys sweet at least over the phone. And this one had a lot of other people to get to that day. In the end, he went away with my pledge. Whenever they call, I am reminded of all the people I've known who are vets. Some are still with me and others are now gone. Donna - Army, April - Navy, Connie - Navy, my brother Mike - Army, Gerry - Airforce, Jimmy - Army, Donny - Army, Gary - Airforce, Joseph - Army, Doug - Marines, Ron - Army Reserves (active) and Mack - Navy. Then there is sister, Cindy, one of the many doctors that watch over the health and well being of our fine veterans.
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Adventures in Cooking
Today was such a beautiful day! So beautiful in fact that I decided I wanted to cook out. The other day while rooting through the freezer, I found a steak and thought it would be nice to grill it.
I prepared the potatoes and went out to get the grill ready. I opened it and lo and behold! A mouse! Now, why wouldn't I think that there would be one? I never saw anything to indicate a mouse would be around. Usually there is a good bit of dirt and nesting material. There was none of this. But there was the mouse, walking around on top of the grilling grate. I startled the little thing and it vanished through the grate and down past the burners. I found it in the ash trap running back and forth looking for a way out. I had moved the grill away from a growing wistera to keep from scorching it. This removed the escape route for the mouse.
Every time I tried to get the mouse to try a different means of escape, it would panic and run, thus not getting anywhere. I was running out of time so decided to get the grill going and the potatoes on so I would have time to eat before heading off to work. After that, realizing that it would still get far to hot for the mouse, I kept trying to find a way for it to escape. Finally desperate, it managed to crawl down into the grease trap. There I could easily remove the grease trap. By this time the little mouse submitted to my attempts to reach him but became interested when I loosened the grease trap and took it and him away from the grill. I reached the trap down as low as possible and he jumped off heading into a world unknown. He was a brave little soul and his reward was life.
I really wasn't in the mood for roast mouse anyway and in the end, the dinner turned out delicious.
I prepared the potatoes and went out to get the grill ready. I opened it and lo and behold! A mouse! Now, why wouldn't I think that there would be one? I never saw anything to indicate a mouse would be around. Usually there is a good bit of dirt and nesting material. There was none of this. But there was the mouse, walking around on top of the grilling grate. I startled the little thing and it vanished through the grate and down past the burners. I found it in the ash trap running back and forth looking for a way out. I had moved the grill away from a growing wistera to keep from scorching it. This removed the escape route for the mouse.
Every time I tried to get the mouse to try a different means of escape, it would panic and run, thus not getting anywhere. I was running out of time so decided to get the grill going and the potatoes on so I would have time to eat before heading off to work. After that, realizing that it would still get far to hot for the mouse, I kept trying to find a way for it to escape. Finally desperate, it managed to crawl down into the grease trap. There I could easily remove the grease trap. By this time the little mouse submitted to my attempts to reach him but became interested when I loosened the grease trap and took it and him away from the grill. I reached the trap down as low as possible and he jumped off heading into a world unknown. He was a brave little soul and his reward was life.
I really wasn't in the mood for roast mouse anyway and in the end, the dinner turned out delicious.
The German Hollyhock Mallow
Malva x 'Parkefrieden'
This beauty related to the hybiscus and rose of sharron is actually a bit more pink that it shows in the photo. As the flowers age, they do turn cream to white. This plant is a herb which tells me why, especially in an organic garden (such as mine is), it is always getting eaten alive by everything; insect and animal. The leaves are used in teas. It grows about 5 feet tall, though mine gets closer to six feet and blooms from June well into frost. Over the winter it dies back all the way to the roots. I will cut off the dead just above ground level to be sure not to harm the crown.
My plants are two years old and I'm hoping as they age, they'll get stronger, nicer and more able to handle the barrage of insects and animals that eat it. So far it's been hard to get good undamaged flowers off them for the vase.
As usual, if you plan on using this herb for consumption, please be sure to check out the good and bad of it before adding it to food. http://groups.msn.com/TheGardenPath/weeklyplant.msnw?action=get_message&mview=0&ID_Message=120673&LastModified=4675555171354346113
I'm also adding an annual mallow this year to the same herb garden. http://www.vitacost.com/science/hn/Herb/Mallow.htm The variety I'm growing is 'valcon' which is a vermilion color.
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Snow
I have to say there hasn't been many snows I've failed to like or find something interesting about. We average close to 30" of snow a year usually coming in 4 to 6" increments; just enough to keep the snow blower from seizing and enough to remind us that it is winter.
I remember a 24" snow Valentine's Day in 1983. I remember this because Bob and I had just moved into our first house, a 109 year old gray stone in the city, a couple of months before. He had been anxious about the purchase of this home because we didn't have a down payment and he thought we would need several thousand to get in it. We had $300 and with that bought the house. I was scheduled to work that day. At that time I only worked part time at a more prestigious restaurant in the area. Well, needless to say, I didn't make it to work that day. I couldn't even find my car. The drifts of snow were nearly five feet high in spots and my car was under one of those drifts. Even though there was no way anyone was getting out of the parking lot, all the neighbors got together with their shovels and shoveled out the parking lot entirely, knowing that the city wouldn't do it until the very last thing. The roads around the little complex were all plowed and some people actually had to get to work.
We got our Newfoundland, Captain in 1986 and I recall him loving the snow. But it wasn't until the winter of 1995 that we found out how much he loved it and why. That year we were living in our second house, a ten year old brick ranch in the burbs. Bob was anxious about the purchase of this house because it had a two car garage and about a 1/4 acre of property with it. It was the dream he thought he'd never see. It was a cold year and the snow started falling early, before Christmas with an average snow of at least 8" and sometimes more. One blizzard (we don't get many of these) was 36" deep. We reached a total of 62" on the ground at once that year! Now that's a lot of snow. Many times, we'd put Captain out and he would have to plow his way through the snow and he was a BIG boy at about 32" tall and weighing 175 pounds. What all this snow did was to take away the property boundaries for the dog. He loved to go visit the neighbors while they were out shoveling their driveways. Everyone knew Captain quite well and weren't afraid of him. He considered all the neighbors friends and their children his wards. This particular snow, after visiting and saying hello to all the neighbors out shoveling driveways, he helped the children with their sledding techniques. Captain passed away later that same year.
We built this house in 2002 and every since, wouldn't you know it, there hasn't been a winter gone by without some sort of significant snowfall. The winter of 2003, the snow started falling Thanksgiving, 2002 and didn't stop until almost May of 2003. We averaged 36" a snow yet I wouldn't consider any of the snowstorms blizzards. I actually missed a day of work that year because of the stuff. 2004 really wasn't much better, though there were less snowfalls. But it was cold that year and the snow lingered, stretching from one storm to the next. 2005 was much the same. It seems that that would be par for this area as far as snowfall. I knew when we built here that the weather was a good bit different from the weather in the city, even though we are only 10 miles from the city. The southern end of the county always did seem to get worse weather especially after you pass though a small town called New Danville.
This year, so far, we got a small dusting of snow around Christmas. This hung around for awhile because of the cold temps but then melting just in time for New Years. The temps warmed up and there was no snow at all in January but we had significant rainfalls. Then there is today. Last night and today is a blizzard or at least blizzard conditions. There's been about 36" of snow here. I went to put Bratley out this morning and found the snow a bit high for him. He stands a whopping 13" off the ground so I had to tunnel a path for him to go through to do his business. We are actually shut in the house today with drifts at the doors up to the 5' high mark. The area is a wonderland of snow. So very pretty. It won't last though. The temps are, believe it or not, in the low 30's and are expected to climb into the 50's by midweek.
Bob wants to take pictures today. The snow is still falling and add the snow blowing and clinging to everything, it is quite lovely out there. Maybe, that is if we can get out of the house, and I'll add them to this blog. In the meantime, it is Sunday and we're home. There's no need to be out in this and I'm all for that. There's plenty of food in the house and so far, we have electric. Our biggest concern is having a path for the dog to be able to wander outside some to do his thing.
The pictures shown were taken with the Cannon Rebel.
I remember a 24" snow Valentine's Day in 1983. I remember this because Bob and I had just moved into our first house, a 109 year old gray stone in the city, a couple of months before. He had been anxious about the purchase of this home because we didn't have a down payment and he thought we would need several thousand to get in it. We had $300 and with that bought the house. I was scheduled to work that day. At that time I only worked part time at a more prestigious restaurant in the area. Well, needless to say, I didn't make it to work that day. I couldn't even find my car. The drifts of snow were nearly five feet high in spots and my car was under one of those drifts. Even though there was no way anyone was getting out of the parking lot, all the neighbors got together with their shovels and shoveled out the parking lot entirely, knowing that the city wouldn't do it until the very last thing. The roads around the little complex were all plowed and some people actually had to get to work.
We got our Newfoundland, Captain in 1986 and I recall him loving the snow. But it wasn't until the winter of 1995 that we found out how much he loved it and why. That year we were living in our second house, a ten year old brick ranch in the burbs. Bob was anxious about the purchase of this house because it had a two car garage and about a 1/4 acre of property with it. It was the dream he thought he'd never see. It was a cold year and the snow started falling early, before Christmas with an average snow of at least 8" and sometimes more. One blizzard (we don't get many of these) was 36" deep. We reached a total of 62" on the ground at once that year! Now that's a lot of snow. Many times, we'd put Captain out and he would have to plow his way through the snow and he was a BIG boy at about 32" tall and weighing 175 pounds. What all this snow did was to take away the property boundaries for the dog. He loved to go visit the neighbors while they were out shoveling their driveways. Everyone knew Captain quite well and weren't afraid of him. He considered all the neighbors friends and their children his wards. This particular snow, after visiting and saying hello to all the neighbors out shoveling driveways, he helped the children with their sledding techniques. Captain passed away later that same year.
We built this house in 2002 and every since, wouldn't you know it, there hasn't been a winter gone by without some sort of significant snowfall. The winter of 2003, the snow started falling Thanksgiving, 2002 and didn't stop until almost May of 2003. We averaged 36" a snow yet I wouldn't consider any of the snowstorms blizzards. I actually missed a day of work that year because of the stuff. 2004 really wasn't much better, though there were less snowfalls. But it was cold that year and the snow lingered, stretching from one storm to the next. 2005 was much the same. It seems that that would be par for this area as far as snowfall. I knew when we built here that the weather was a good bit different from the weather in the city, even though we are only 10 miles from the city. The southern end of the county always did seem to get worse weather especially after you pass though a small town called New Danville.
This year, so far, we got a small dusting of snow around Christmas. This hung around for awhile because of the cold temps but then melting just in time for New Years. The temps warmed up and there was no snow at all in January but we had significant rainfalls. Then there is today. Last night and today is a blizzard or at least blizzard conditions. There's been about 36" of snow here. I went to put Bratley out this morning and found the snow a bit high for him. He stands a whopping 13" off the ground so I had to tunnel a path for him to go through to do his business. We are actually shut in the house today with drifts at the doors up to the 5' high mark. The area is a wonderland of snow. So very pretty. It won't last though. The temps are, believe it or not, in the low 30's and are expected to climb into the 50's by midweek.
Bob wants to take pictures today. The snow is still falling and add the snow blowing and clinging to everything, it is quite lovely out there. Maybe, that is if we can get out of the house, and I'll add them to this blog. In the meantime, it is Sunday and we're home. There's no need to be out in this and I'm all for that. There's plenty of food in the house and so far, we have electric. Our biggest concern is having a path for the dog to be able to wander outside some to do his thing.
The pictures shown were taken with the Cannon Rebel.
Saturday, February 11, 2006
Decisions, decisions
The recent addition of an aquarium to our family is doing fine. We put the eight cherry barbs and two pygmy corys in and they are still there, quite healthy and very happy with their new home. Last weekend I added three (actually more like six plants). http://www.aquahobby.com/garden/e_ambulia.php This is one of them. I also added an aquatic grass and a sword plant which has taken off and now is as tall as the water line. Today I added four crustations (snails) http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/e_Melanoides_tuberculata.php. Now the aquarium is complete and I must admit, it looks nice. The fish really appreciate the plants. They are much more comfortable being able to hide in them.
We also had decisions
that we now have to make. We went to a local stoneyard, Eshbucks, to see if they had what I wanted for patio pavers. I'm taking my time with the decisions here because 1) I have the time to and 2) this is the last of our hardscape for the house and I want it to be right. I've pretty much picked out what I wanted as far as the pavers and have already ordered the decorative paver mold for the patterned piece. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll0609&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&rd=1. So now to pick out the color that I want to create these in.
At Eshbucks we found the blocks I wanted in all four sizes. The color, however, is going to be a problem. I found two different colors I liked and now for the major decisions. I knew I wanted earth tones since my house is clay and Pennsylvania brown stone. This pick is the original thought. I like the mocha pavers with the chocolate contrast for the decorative paver. Here, I found a chocolate brick to indicate the color. Of course with us making the decorative pavers, the color could and probably will be slightly different. I like these mocha pavers because of the chocolate marbled in them. It really makes them stand out.
We had decided we were finished and were getting ready to leave, wanting to get home before the snow started when I saw another paver that really caught my eye. It was a mocha with a tint of gray and charcoal swirled through it. It wasn't exactly the color that I had in mind, but it really stands out. I remembered the charcoal colored bricks from the brick patch and got one to see contrast. It is really nice. I'm thinking that since this one is off color somewhat, it will stand out a little better than the mocha and chocolate. The deck is kept a cedar color. I will probably go with the mocha and chocolate colors for the patio.
I had pretty much decided against the 24x24 blocks thinking they would be to heavy but now that I see them, they don't look to big at all for the patio. So it's back to the sketch to try and figure out a nice design so I can incorporate the 12x12 decorative stones. It will work out...It will work out.
In my ordering frenzy yesterday, I also ordered the path blocks for going through the flower beds. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4384383536&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&rd=1 I will make these the same color as the decorative pavers except maybe a little lighter, more the mocha color than the chocolate, or somewhere in between. Our beds are so big that we often find paths through the plants to get to another part of the garden. Might as well put stepping stones there and make it official.
This is a major project and the last of the big hard scape projects. Well, then, yes there is a hot tub on the list of things to get but that won't be for some time. I want the garden to grow in some and get well established first.
We also had decisions
that we now have to make. We went to a local stoneyard, Eshbucks, to see if they had what I wanted for patio pavers. I'm taking my time with the decisions here because 1) I have the time to and 2) this is the last of our hardscape for the house and I want it to be right. I've pretty much picked out what I wanted as far as the pavers and have already ordered the decorative paver mold for the patterned piece. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll0609&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&rd=1. So now to pick out the color that I want to create these in.
At Eshbucks we found the blocks I wanted in all four sizes. The color, however, is going to be a problem. I found two different colors I liked and now for the major decisions. I knew I wanted earth tones since my house is clay and Pennsylvania brown stone. This pick is the original thought. I like the mocha pavers with the chocolate contrast for the decorative paver. Here, I found a chocolate brick to indicate the color. Of course with us making the decorative pavers, the color could and probably will be slightly different. I like these mocha pavers because of the chocolate marbled in them. It really makes them stand out.
We had decided we were finished and were getting ready to leave, wanting to get home before the snow started when I saw another paver that really caught my eye. It was a mocha with a tint of gray and charcoal swirled through it. It wasn't exactly the color that I had in mind, but it really stands out. I remembered the charcoal colored bricks from the brick patch and got one to see contrast. It is really nice. I'm thinking that since this one is off color somewhat, it will stand out a little better than the mocha and chocolate. The deck is kept a cedar color. I will probably go with the mocha and chocolate colors for the patio.
I had pretty much decided against the 24x24 blocks thinking they would be to heavy but now that I see them, they don't look to big at all for the patio. So it's back to the sketch to try and figure out a nice design so I can incorporate the 12x12 decorative stones. It will work out...It will work out.
In my ordering frenzy yesterday, I also ordered the path blocks for going through the flower beds. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4384383536&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&rd=1 I will make these the same color as the decorative pavers except maybe a little lighter, more the mocha color than the chocolate, or somewhere in between. Our beds are so big that we often find paths through the plants to get to another part of the garden. Might as well put stepping stones there and make it official.
This is a major project and the last of the big hard scape projects. Well, then, yes there is a hot tub on the list of things to get but that won't be for some time. I want the garden to grow in some and get well established first.
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Spring Has Sprung...
...at least under my growth lamps. Each year I try to start a few of the plants I will want out in my garden or in the flower beds. Usually some of the warmer climate plants anyway. This doesn't always happen, but I try most years. This year I planted two flats. One flat of the Texas salvia, which I love. Usually it has no problems with reseeding from year to year but the coral ones has stopped reseeding or at least they didn't reseed much at all last year. So I got a packet of seeds and started a flat of them. I just put those in with the help of Shalimar who was totally intrigued with the tiny mouse turds. She saw my total annoyance. The other flat has ten Valencia bell peppers (orange), eight Nigra hollyhocks, eight Vulcon mallow, four moonflowers and two Grandpa Otts morning glories.
This morning as I was misting the flats and checking them, I saw something that wasn't there yesterday. It was one of the Grandpa Otts http://www.gardenguides.com/seedcatalog/flowers/morningglorygrandpaotts.htm morning glories pushing out of the dirt. It's been about eight days since I've planted that flat and have been anxious to see some sort of life protruding from the brown seed starting dirt. I noticed this afternoon that the other morning glory pot has the dirt distrubed and am hoping to see the other morning glory tomorrow. I only planted two of these since it is common knowledge that morning glories don't like being transplanted (especially this variety). I have more seeds to start out side when the frost is done. But, by starting these in peat pots now, I'm hoping to get some bloom from them earlier. From the pictures, these morning glories seem exceptionally pretty and I can hardly wait to see them.
I'm also trying, again, the moon flower. http://www.gardenguides.com/seedcatalog/flowers/moonflower.html Another type of morning glory or should I say night glory but for some reason, I've never been able to get these to grow. I followed the directions in my book to soak the seeds over night in warm water. I'm still waiting to see if they grow. There is also the fact that these seeds are about three years old and that might make a difference as well. I'm still waiting. I'll let you know.
It's good to see the seeds beginning to start. It gives me hope for the spring and the garden again. I never did get ready for winter this year. I hear we're to get about 12" of snow this weekend. YUCK. At least I won't have to drive in it.
This morning as I was misting the flats and checking them, I saw something that wasn't there yesterday. It was one of the Grandpa Otts http://www.gardenguides.com/seedcatalog/flowers/morningglorygrandpaotts.htm morning glories pushing out of the dirt. It's been about eight days since I've planted that flat and have been anxious to see some sort of life protruding from the brown seed starting dirt. I noticed this afternoon that the other morning glory pot has the dirt distrubed and am hoping to see the other morning glory tomorrow. I only planted two of these since it is common knowledge that morning glories don't like being transplanted (especially this variety). I have more seeds to start out side when the frost is done. But, by starting these in peat pots now, I'm hoping to get some bloom from them earlier. From the pictures, these morning glories seem exceptionally pretty and I can hardly wait to see them.
I'm also trying, again, the moon flower. http://www.gardenguides.com/seedcatalog/flowers/moonflower.html Another type of morning glory or should I say night glory but for some reason, I've never been able to get these to grow. I followed the directions in my book to soak the seeds over night in warm water. I'm still waiting to see if they grow. There is also the fact that these seeds are about three years old and that might make a difference as well. I'm still waiting. I'll let you know.
It's good to see the seeds beginning to start. It gives me hope for the spring and the garden again. I never did get ready for winter this year. I hear we're to get about 12" of snow this weekend. YUCK. At least I won't have to drive in it.
Friday, February 03, 2006
A Lost Friend
It was February 17, nine year ago when I first met Ken. I met him on the Rose board, a question and answer area of AOL. He was a gentle, helpful man who had answers to some of my more stupid rose questions. Everyone on that board was helpful.
About two years after I first started visiting this board, a group of us decided that we wanted to go on a trip together. Families included. At first there were quite a few but in the end only about a dozen of us went. About a year later, I started putting together group gatherings for the Mid-Atlantic bunch. Ken, from New Jersey at the time, was among those invited. We usually went to Longwood Gardens or Hershey Gardens getting together about twice a summer.
The first time I actually met Ken in person he was driving a Miata which I recognized even if I didn't recognize Ken. And how could I. I'd never even seen a picture of him. Yet, somehow, I knew him when I saw him. I boldly went up to him, my roses in hand and introduced myself. He stared at me for a moment before he realized who this strange woman approaching him was. He introduced me and Husband to his beautiful wife Andrea and off we went to meet the rest of the group in front of Longwood's entrance. This was a time when many of the Mid-Atlantic board friends had met and we started chatting as if we were old friends. Well, in a way, I guess we were. We'd been chatting for about 3 years on line so when we got together, we actually picked up conversation where it had left off the night before. The getting to know you stage was already done. It was a beautiful day and the gardens were wonderful. After some time touring the grounds, we hopped off to the picnic area for some of the best homemade food the East Coast had to offer. And so went our group meetings where ever we would meet.
June of last year, Ken retired from his job and he and wife moved to Washington. This was his dream. He loved it out there and bought a house a couple of years ago. During vacations and time off he and Andrea would go out there to see about the remodeling efforts to their new home so it would be ready for them when they were. In the meantime, Ken got cancer. He fought it valiantly for two years. When his doctors thought they had it under control, he moved to his Washington home. Shortly after he wrote to say that the cancer had come back but that he would fight it once again. Three weeks ago, Andrea wrote to say that he had given up the fight and stopped treatments. He passed February 2nd.
Ken was a good friend...Someone I cared very deeply for. He will be missed. I had promised Husband I wouldn't buy any roses for the garden this year since I had so many that needed homes as it is but there is one I will be planting. Sharifa Asma. This was Ken's favorite rose. I will plant one to remember him.
The Mid-Atlantic rosarians from the AOL rose board. From left to right Margy Hope, Maria, Carol, Julie (me)and Ken standing in the back. We were the group at Hershey Gardens that day. Our families were there as well, standing by waiting for the picture to be taken.
About two years after I first started visiting this board, a group of us decided that we wanted to go on a trip together. Families included. At first there were quite a few but in the end only about a dozen of us went. About a year later, I started putting together group gatherings for the Mid-Atlantic bunch. Ken, from New Jersey at the time, was among those invited. We usually went to Longwood Gardens or Hershey Gardens getting together about twice a summer.
The first time I actually met Ken in person he was driving a Miata which I recognized even if I didn't recognize Ken. And how could I. I'd never even seen a picture of him. Yet, somehow, I knew him when I saw him. I boldly went up to him, my roses in hand and introduced myself. He stared at me for a moment before he realized who this strange woman approaching him was. He introduced me and Husband to his beautiful wife Andrea and off we went to meet the rest of the group in front of Longwood's entrance. This was a time when many of the Mid-Atlantic board friends had met and we started chatting as if we were old friends. Well, in a way, I guess we were. We'd been chatting for about 3 years on line so when we got together, we actually picked up conversation where it had left off the night before. The getting to know you stage was already done. It was a beautiful day and the gardens were wonderful. After some time touring the grounds, we hopped off to the picnic area for some of the best homemade food the East Coast had to offer. And so went our group meetings where ever we would meet.
June of last year, Ken retired from his job and he and wife moved to Washington. This was his dream. He loved it out there and bought a house a couple of years ago. During vacations and time off he and Andrea would go out there to see about the remodeling efforts to their new home so it would be ready for them when they were. In the meantime, Ken got cancer. He fought it valiantly for two years. When his doctors thought they had it under control, he moved to his Washington home. Shortly after he wrote to say that the cancer had come back but that he would fight it once again. Three weeks ago, Andrea wrote to say that he had given up the fight and stopped treatments. He passed February 2nd.
Ken was a good friend...Someone I cared very deeply for. He will be missed. I had promised Husband I wouldn't buy any roses for the garden this year since I had so many that needed homes as it is but there is one I will be planting. Sharifa Asma. This was Ken's favorite rose. I will plant one to remember him.
The Mid-Atlantic rosarians from the AOL rose board. From left to right Margy Hope, Maria, Carol, Julie (me)and Ken standing in the back. We were the group at Hershey Gardens that day. Our families were there as well, standing by waiting for the picture to be taken.
Decisions, decisions
Should I or should I not do laundry today?
Today is a beautiful warm day that reminds me more of early April than early February. Forecasters are warning us that winter will make a return this weekend. OK as long as it doesn't snow I'll be fine. However, this wonderful warm winter has set my mind to a project that we must think about; the patio.
Last April we ran across an excavater who was working in the area and asked for an estimate to excavate for the patio we eventually wanted to put in. He not only gave us a good price, but actually did the work that day. We didn't argue with him when he wanted to do it that day because there was the property next door that was under construction but not owned by an individual and he could bring the heavy equipment up that lot without destroying our new grass lawn. Still, we weren't ready financially ready to finish the job, and for a the purpose, I didn't even know what I wanted. I just knew where I wanted it and approximately the size. He gave us a 15x27 foot patio
area to work with.
All this past year, we've been walking on the stones as if they were the patio. They are well settled now and ready for the block, brick, slate or whatever we would decide to put down. The one thing I was pretty sure about was the layout of the patio and where I wanted curves and where I wanted angles. I had ideas on how I wanted to decorate this patio but nothing solid. All this past year, whenever we were at a home improvement store or large nursery we would look around at the block and patio stone that was available trying to get ideas. Nothing appeared to grab me. It was all the common stuff and I truly wasn't interested in trying to make it unique for a unique patio. The end of the patio at the water fountain I want rounded off blending into the curves of the flower bed and to the step of the arbor. On the end where the bird feeder is, on the outside only, I was a pollster with a lamp. This was the layout I was sure about. The rest was up in the air. The common stone, tile, slate, patio pavers just didn't seem to cut it. The color would be a combination of the house color and darker colors, all earth tones, to match the house. This I was sure of. The one last thing I was sure of was the outside curve of the fountain area, I wanted an arbor angled across with a curved bench seating area.
With no more desire than to sit in front of the computer the other day, Husband decided to shop eBay. He searched around and found some interesting patio molds and showed them to me. PAY DIRT!!! It helped when he stated he thought it would be interesting to make our own patio pavers for the project. I agreed hole heartedly but am a little concerned that it might be more work than we anticipated. Still we will get what we want, the color we want, etc. I'm thinking 12" square tiles x 2" thick, most of them plain (we may even be able to buy these at the local home improvement store, if we tire of making them) and get several molds of a decorative tile that really takes my fancy. There are several I've seen that would work wonderfully. I want approximately 20 of the decorative tiles in a chocolate color and the other 980 tiles just plain in the clay color of the house. The decorative tiles will be scattered randomly throughout the patio. The wooden arbor will be set on small pollsters in the outside corner of the rounded end of the patio and I'm still debating if I want the bench built into the patio or if I want to use a small curved concrete bench you can pick up in any nursery or garden department of almost any store. I do like the idea of the little concrete bench. It would tie in the small sitting area I have on top the hill under the tulip poplar. On this arbor I will grow two Veilachenblu roses, once blooming ramblers with small mauve roses that actually look blue. They should be exceptionally pretty when you enter the patio from the lighted entry, looking across to the arbor with the blue roses and the brilliant pink flower, purpled leafed Kanzan cherry tree with the little cement bench.
This is the last of the high cost hardscaping projects we have planned for the property. We have several other landscaping projects slated, but not like this one. Now to make this project a reality.
Oh, BTW, I've decided not to do laundry. There simply isn't enough of it for the washer to bite into. I'll do that another day.
Today is a beautiful warm day that reminds me more of early April than early February. Forecasters are warning us that winter will make a return this weekend. OK as long as it doesn't snow I'll be fine. However, this wonderful warm winter has set my mind to a project that we must think about; the patio.
Last April we ran across an excavater who was working in the area and asked for an estimate to excavate for the patio we eventually wanted to put in. He not only gave us a good price, but actually did the work that day. We didn't argue with him when he wanted to do it that day because there was the property next door that was under construction but not owned by an individual and he could bring the heavy equipment up that lot without destroying our new grass lawn. Still, we weren't ready financially ready to finish the job, and for a the purpose, I didn't even know what I wanted. I just knew where I wanted it and approximately the size. He gave us a 15x27 foot patio
area to work with. All this past year, we've been walking on the stones as if they were the patio. They are well settled now and ready for the block, brick, slate or whatever we would decide to put down. The one thing I was pretty sure about was the layout of the patio and where I wanted curves and where I wanted angles. I had ideas on how I wanted to decorate this patio but nothing solid. All this past year, whenever we were at a home improvement store or large nursery we would look around at the block and patio stone that was available trying to get ideas. Nothing appeared to grab me. It was all the common stuff and I truly wasn't interested in trying to make it unique for a unique patio. The end of the patio at the water fountain I want rounded off blending into the curves of the flower bed and to the step of the arbor. On the end where the bird feeder is, on the outside only, I was a pollster with a lamp. This was the layout I was sure about. The rest was up in the air. The common stone, tile, slate, patio pavers just didn't seem to cut it. The color would be a combination of the house color and darker colors, all earth tones, to match the house. This I was sure of. The one last thing I was sure of was the outside curve of the fountain area, I wanted an arbor angled across with a curved bench seating area.
With no more desire than to sit in front of the computer the other day, Husband decided to shop eBay. He searched around and found some interesting patio molds and showed them to me. PAY DIRT!!! It helped when he stated he thought it would be interesting to make our own patio pavers for the project. I agreed hole heartedly but am a little concerned that it might be more work than we anticipated. Still we will get what we want, the color we want, etc. I'm thinking 12" square tiles x 2" thick, most of them plain (we may even be able to buy these at the local home improvement store, if we tire of making them) and get several molds of a decorative tile that really takes my fancy. There are several I've seen that would work wonderfully. I want approximately 20 of the decorative tiles in a chocolate color and the other 980 tiles just plain in the clay color of the house. The decorative tiles will be scattered randomly throughout the patio. The wooden arbor will be set on small pollsters in the outside corner of the rounded end of the patio and I'm still debating if I want the bench built into the patio or if I want to use a small curved concrete bench you can pick up in any nursery or garden department of almost any store. I do like the idea of the little concrete bench. It would tie in the small sitting area I have on top the hill under the tulip poplar. On this arbor I will grow two Veilachenblu roses, once blooming ramblers with small mauve roses that actually look blue. They should be exceptionally pretty when you enter the patio from the lighted entry, looking across to the arbor with the blue roses and the brilliant pink flower, purpled leafed Kanzan cherry tree with the little cement bench.
This is the last of the high cost hardscaping projects we have planned for the property. We have several other landscaping projects slated, but not like this one. Now to make this project a reality.
Oh, BTW, I've decided not to do laundry. There simply isn't enough of it for the washer to bite into. I'll do that another day.
Monday, January 30, 2006
Winter
Usually the winters are full of indoor projects. At least it's been that way for the past three years. This year has been wonderfully warm, almost pretty outside. I'm not complaining, mind you, but just an observation. I've been able to be outside and walk more this year than the past three. This weekend so no exception.
I was outside wandering around the garden taking note of things that need done. The artemisia is ready to be brought down for the winter. For some reason I can never remember when to bring this down. I think I've done it in March and other times in October. Either way, it always appears the next spring to give me a low border hedge of soft blue.
While outside (I was outside wandering around the garden for three hours), I took an assessment of the roses. A week earlier or so I was out and checked them all. I have several that aren't really for my zone 6 garden and a few that are simply tender. I try to keep the more tender one on own-root stock since they seem stronger in the long run. A week or two earlier all were doing superbly. This weekend was a little different. We'd had a cold snap throughout the week and a rare thundersnow. The cold took it's toll on the roses. My more tender roses are now showing sign of suffering and some die back. This is normal for these roses. Several others will have to be purned back hard. My Peace rose is looking very sad and this makes me sad. The Peace rose with it's history has always been a strong grower in my garden. It if makes it through the winter and gives me any kind of decent growth, I'll be taking cuttings of it this year. Actually, I had been thinking over the past several years of doing just this with all my grafted roses. The own root roses are harder to get started, but in the long run are usually stronger and longer lived. My soil isn't as rich or loamy enough for my Julia's Rose but since this one is own root, it's been able to maintain and with a very good fertilizer, Mills Magic Mix, twice a year it's actually been able to improve.
One I have high hopes for is Lovely Lorrie. I had gotten two of these, one for my sister Lori and one for myself. I had gotten the one for sister first and realized soon after that this was one mighty strong little miniature and pretty to boot. I liked it so much, I decided to get one for myself. This rose, however, is very hard to get so I had to wait a year for mine. I planted it out with the other miniatures and of course, right away, Husband sprayed it with weed killer before realizing what it was. He immediately dug it up and washed it off with soap and water; all the leaves, roots; the entire plant before replanting it back into the ground. We've been holding our breath with this little one all year. When I looked at it this weekend, what tiny canes were visible above the mulch were not only plump and green but little pink buds were protuding from them. It certainly didn't grow much, but if there's life there's still a chance.
The rose I'm most worried about in my garden right now is Chrysler Imperial. I picked this one up at Wallmart for
a whopping $2 late in the summer. I put it back in the garden nursery for the winter with my other roses that not yet have a home. Right now, it appears dead. The shock and stress of being in a pot and abused by a big box store may have been to much for it. I didn't pull the mulch back to check the bud union. If that is still alive, it could still grow back and even get pretty. Look at my Margaret Merrill. What a beauty now! Yet, it too, was a boxed rose from Wallmart that I paid a whole of $2 for. For years it was a one-cane wonder producing only a few flowers each year. Now it's one of the largest and most prolific shrubs in the garden. The fragrance of this rose is one of the most alluring and similar to the favorite fragrance of City of York.
So far I've ordered only three miniatures for this year. An old favorite I left behind when I sold my other house, X-Rated, a miniflora that is outstanding in the garden and a new variety called Sassy Cindy. I got two of these, one for sister Cindy and the other for myself. This one too, is a miniflora and I'm looking forward to seeing it. The color reminds me of my patio rose Snow Ruby but I'm hoping with larger flowers and slightly stonger canes. Snow Ruby is beautiful but doesn't appear to like this garden much. I've had a lot of trouble with it over the past four years. Yet it still returns every year.
I was outside wandering around the garden taking note of things that need done. The artemisia is ready to be brought down for the winter. For some reason I can never remember when to bring this down. I think I've done it in March and other times in October. Either way, it always appears the next spring to give me a low border hedge of soft blue.
While outside (I was outside wandering around the garden for three hours), I took an assessment of the roses. A week earlier or so I was out and checked them all. I have several that aren't really for my zone 6 garden and a few that are simply tender. I try to keep the more tender one on own-root stock since they seem stronger in the long run. A week or two earlier all were doing superbly. This weekend was a little different. We'd had a cold snap throughout the week and a rare thundersnow. The cold took it's toll on the roses. My more tender roses are now showing sign of suffering and some die back. This is normal for these roses. Several others will have to be purned back hard. My Peace rose is looking very sad and this makes me sad. The Peace rose with it's history has always been a strong grower in my garden. It if makes it through the winter and gives me any kind of decent growth, I'll be taking cuttings of it this year. Actually, I had been thinking over the past several years of doing just this with all my grafted roses. The own root roses are harder to get started, but in the long run are usually stronger and longer lived. My soil isn't as rich or loamy enough for my Julia's Rose but since this one is own root, it's been able to maintain and with a very good fertilizer, Mills Magic Mix, twice a year it's actually been able to improve.
One I have high hopes for is Lovely Lorrie. I had gotten two of these, one for my sister Lori and one for myself. I had gotten the one for sister first and realized soon after that this was one mighty strong little miniature and pretty to boot. I liked it so much, I decided to get one for myself. This rose, however, is very hard to get so I had to wait a year for mine. I planted it out with the other miniatures and of course, right away, Husband sprayed it with weed killer before realizing what it was. He immediately dug it up and washed it off with soap and water; all the leaves, roots; the entire plant before replanting it back into the ground. We've been holding our breath with this little one all year. When I looked at it this weekend, what tiny canes were visible above the mulch were not only plump and green but little pink buds were protuding from them. It certainly didn't grow much, but if there's life there's still a chance.
The rose I'm most worried about in my garden right now is Chrysler Imperial. I picked this one up at Wallmart for
a whopping $2 late in the summer. I put it back in the garden nursery for the winter with my other roses that not yet have a home. Right now, it appears dead. The shock and stress of being in a pot and abused by a big box store may have been to much for it. I didn't pull the mulch back to check the bud union. If that is still alive, it could still grow back and even get pretty. Look at my Margaret Merrill. What a beauty now! Yet, it too, was a boxed rose from Wallmart that I paid a whole of $2 for. For years it was a one-cane wonder producing only a few flowers each year. Now it's one of the largest and most prolific shrubs in the garden. The fragrance of this rose is one of the most alluring and similar to the favorite fragrance of City of York.So far I've ordered only three miniatures for this year. An old favorite I left behind when I sold my other house, X-Rated, a miniflora that is outstanding in the garden and a new variety called Sassy Cindy. I got two of these, one for sister Cindy and the other for myself. This one too, is a miniflora and I'm looking forward to seeing it. The color reminds me of my patio rose Snow Ruby but I'm hoping with larger flowers and slightly stonger canes. Snow Ruby is beautiful but doesn't appear to like this garden much. I've had a lot of trouble with it over the past four years. Yet it still returns every year.
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Pets
It was 10 years after my Newfoundland died. I've been pining for a dog ever since. Captain was my buddy and pal. We adopted him from a breeder; he lived with us all his life and died with us as well. He was a huge dog full of life and love and as gentle as a lamb. When people would come to our house, I'd tell them the dog was fine, but to stay away from the cat. Suzie was nasty but weighed in at a whopping five pounds. Everyone thought she was a kitten. I always thought that was funny. Yep. She was a sixteen year old biddy, cranky to the hilt and would just as soon bite the hand that fed her as she would look at you. She was nasty and no one would believe me.
Captain passed around the 4th of July and Suzie followed him October 31st of the same year. During the first few days of November I adopted a pretty little six month old stripped kitten from the animal shelter and named her Chloe.
I always compared Chloe and Suzie. Suzie was like Elizabeth Taylor. She had been a beautiful brown Maltese with stripes and blotches of every shade of brown, tan and red. Her fur was as soft as silk and she was tiny, only five pounds. Suzie was also always so elegant and sure footed, bossy and temperamental.
Chloe, on the other hand, was a large girl weighing in at fifteen pounds at her peak. Her face seemed divided right down the middle, half being dark and the other half being light. Chloe, pictured, was a brown tabby mackerel patch. Large, fur like cotton, bold, doplic and even tempered, she was definitely a pleasure to have around. She was our only pet for eight of the ten years I had her.
For eight years Chloe helped fill the void of the lost pets. But I still pined for another dog like my Captain. But when he died, we went through the nightmare of trying to get him to a vet when he became immobile in our lower level. 175 pounds of dead weight. We managed to get the dying dog to our vet where he was watched over until his death.
Finally at my doctor's suggestion we decided to adopt another dog. We didn't want to go through the horror we went through with Captain so decided to adopt one a bit smaller. One of my favorites has always been the Shetland Sheepdog so went to a Sheltie rescue on line. These people were wonderful, sending me pictures of young adult dogs they had ready for adoption. They showed me all the more timid cases because our home was quiet with no children and would probably be best for the more difficult to place dogs. From there, I picked out two that I wanted to meet and made an appointment to see them. We went there and met both the dogs. One was a Merle and when introduced, he said hello and went running off with the other dogs that were the kennel owners. The other was a Tricolor that when introduced said hello and went running off with the other dogs but came back to sit and be with us after a minute. His name is Diamond Hills Pretty Boy Little Brat but we call him Bratley. Bratley was a three year old breeder that came out of a closed down puppy mill. He had spent his life in a cage without much human contact or even contact with other dogs. It's been three years since we've adopted him and he still isn't without issues but he fit with our household and has adjusted to being a pet. He's very worried about pleasing us and we do recognize this. He's with us all the time as if he still can't believe that he finally has a pack of his own. He's a quiet, pleasant, sweet boy. He and Chloe became fast friends.
January, a year ago, Chloe was discovered to have bone marrow cancer. We tried treating her several times, but she continued to fail forcing me to run her to the vet in an emergency. After a thorough examination my vet recommended that it was time. This was heartbreaking since I'd had her only ten years. I was looking forward to another seven to ten. Suzie was seventeen when she finally succumbed to a stroke. It was a few days later when I saw a little coffee colored, five month old kitten at the animal shelter who was just so pretty. But with holding her, I noticed a rumbling in her chest that sounded like a lung infection. When I inquired about this, sure enough it was an upper respitory infection that the shelter knew about and she was being treated for. I left her behind thinking I didn't want another sick cat. A few days later I went back and she was still there. On a second meeting I noticed the rumbling in her chest was gone and my vet had told me during the week when I had inquired that an upper respitory infection was common and he could fix her right up. So this time I took her home and called her Shalimar. When we went to the vet, it was discovered that she had a very nasty case of pneumonia which chewed up her lungs and sinuses. She's in good health now though her breathing is strained. Her vet is impressed that she's come as far as she has. She is now my newest feline love and will stay with me all her life as well.
Bratley has a problem with Shalimar. She is an active young cat and loves to rub against anything sturdy enough not to fall when she breathes on it. He's as much a rubbing post as the nearest piece of furniture. This annoys him but he's becoming tolerant of it. She likes playing in his fur and he just sidesteps away from her. I think they are friends, though he seems often annoyed with her. They will sleep in the same room, but Shalimar is a huggy cat. She finds a chair to sleep in while he stays on the floor or his bed. They don't really share beds, not like Bratley and Chloe did.
There you have it. The animals of my life. Will there be more? I don't know. Only time will tell.
Captain passed around the 4th of July and Suzie followed him October 31st of the same year. During the first few days of November I adopted a pretty little six month old stripped kitten from the animal shelter and named her Chloe. I always compared Chloe and Suzie. Suzie was like Elizabeth Taylor. She had been a beautiful brown Maltese with stripes and blotches of every shade of brown, tan and red. Her fur was as soft as silk and she was tiny, only five pounds. Suzie was also always so elegant and sure footed, bossy and temperamental.
Chloe, on the other hand, was a large girl weighing in at fifteen pounds at her peak. Her face seemed divided right down the middle, half being dark and the other half being light. Chloe, pictured, was a brown tabby mackerel patch. Large, fur like cotton, bold, doplic and even tempered, she was definitely a pleasure to have around. She was our only pet for eight of the ten years I had her.
For eight years Chloe helped fill the void of the lost pets. But I still pined for another dog like my Captain. But when he died, we went through the nightmare of trying to get him to a vet when he became immobile in our lower level. 175 pounds of dead weight. We managed to get the dying dog to our vet where he was watched over until his death.
Finally at my doctor's suggestion we decided to adopt another dog. We didn't want to go through the horror we went through with Captain so decided to adopt one a bit smaller. One of my favorites has always been the Shetland Sheepdog so went to a Sheltie rescue on line. These people were wonderful, sending me pictures of young adult dogs they had ready for adoption. They showed me all the more timid cases because our home was quiet with no children and would probably be best for the more difficult to place dogs. From there, I picked out two that I wanted to meet and made an appointment to see them. We went there and met both the dogs. One was a Merle and when introduced, he said hello and went running off with the other dogs that were the kennel owners. The other was a Tricolor that when introduced said hello and went running off with the other dogs but came back to sit and be with us after a minute. His name is Diamond Hills Pretty Boy Little Brat but we call him Bratley. Bratley was a three year old breeder that came out of a closed down puppy mill. He had spent his life in a cage without much human contact or even contact with other dogs. It's been three years since we've adopted him and he still isn't without issues but he fit with our household and has adjusted to being a pet. He's very worried about pleasing us and we do recognize this. He's with us all the time as if he still can't believe that he finally has a pack of his own. He's a quiet, pleasant, sweet boy. He and Chloe became fast friends.
January, a year ago, Chloe was discovered to have bone marrow cancer. We tried treating her several times, but she continued to fail forcing me to run her to the vet in an emergency. After a thorough examination my vet recommended that it was time. This was heartbreaking since I'd had her only ten years. I was looking forward to another seven to ten. Suzie was seventeen when she finally succumbed to a stroke. It was a few days later when I saw a little coffee colored, five month old kitten at the animal shelter who was just so pretty. But with holding her, I noticed a rumbling in her chest that sounded like a lung infection. When I inquired about this, sure enough it was an upper respitory infection that the shelter knew about and she was being treated for. I left her behind thinking I didn't want another sick cat. A few days later I went back and she was still there. On a second meeting I noticed the rumbling in her chest was gone and my vet had told me during the week when I had inquired that an upper respitory infection was common and he could fix her right up. So this time I took her home and called her Shalimar. When we went to the vet, it was discovered that she had a very nasty case of pneumonia which chewed up her lungs and sinuses. She's in good health now though her breathing is strained. Her vet is impressed that she's come as far as she has. She is now my newest feline love and will stay with me all her life as well.
Bratley has a problem with Shalimar. She is an active young cat and loves to rub against anything sturdy enough not to fall when she breathes on it. He's as much a rubbing post as the nearest piece of furniture. This annoys him but he's becoming tolerant of it. She likes playing in his fur and he just sidesteps away from her. I think they are friends, though he seems often annoyed with her. They will sleep in the same room, but Shalimar is a huggy cat. She finds a chair to sleep in while he stays on the floor or his bed. They don't really share beds, not like Bratley and Chloe did.
There you have it. The animals of my life. Will there be more? I don't know. Only time will tell.
Saturday, January 21, 2006
Something New
Husband hit me up today with what he wanted for his birthday. Mind you, his birthday is more than a month away. He said he wanted an aquarium. Expensive as going on a vacation. Anyway, I said that if that what he wanted, we could do it. He wanted to look around today and I had no problem with it but I didn't really expect to buy one today! But we did.
We got a small 12 gallon aquarium, the bottom stones, three nice hiding stones, a heater, a small bubbler with a pump. The filter and light and hood came with the outfit. We got it home and set it up in the TV room where we would see it every day. It sits there now, filtering the water. I had put some bio filter in it to start a natural bio filter for the fish. That's all that's in it right now. By the end of the weekend we'll go get the fish, a thermometer and a net. We have enough food to start them and some stress coat to put in the water with them. We've even decided on the fish we want when we get them.Bob has decided he really likes the Rummy Nose tetras http://www.fishlore.com/profiles_rummy_nose_tetra.htm They would look really nice with the black gravel with blue specks and the pink hiding stones. We will get about 5 of them since they are school fish.
I like the Cherry barbs, my favorite since I was a kid. http://www.fishlore.com/Profiles-CherryBarbs.htm These fish in the carp family are also school fish and we will get about 5 of these as well. They will also be quite pretty in the little aquarium with the black gravel w/blue specks and pink hiding stones.
Both these species like a lot of plant material as well as rock formations to hide in. However, we need the fish first to start the nutrients needed for the survival of living plants in the aquarium. The plants will be put in after about 2 weeks. These little fish will eat the plants, nest in the plants and hide in the plants.
We will also get a couple (2) ground feeders http://www.fishlore.com/Profiles-Corydoras.htm There is a giant variety of this species and we found some that would fit quite well.
In the back of the aquarium we will put a mirror to hide the electric cords it takes to operate the thing and make our tiny 12 gallon look twice as big. I'm also hoping to fool the fish into thinking there are more of their kind helping them to be a little braver.
I've been keeping fish since I was a teenager. When Bob and I got married we had a 150 gallon tank that we actually raised fish in. We had several filtration systems including an underground filter on it as well as about 3 heating units and several ariators. The back was made up of stacked shale and the rock formations were also made of stacked shale. We kept live plants in it as well. The fish would die from becoming egg bound in the females to landslides crushing them and sometimes getting eaten by other fish. We changed about 15 gallons of water a week, replacing it with fresh water and vacuuming the gravel. The plants flourished with the decaying fish food and fish emulsion and what water I took out of the tank was used to water outside plants. Fish in this tank were forever laying eggs and caring for young. Yes, they do care for their young in most species anyway.
It's going to be quite a change being used to taking care of a 150 gallon aquarium down to a 12 gallon aquarium but the little tank fits perfectly in the house. It'll be nice to have fish in the house again.
In the end, we decided on eight cherry barbs, carp family, and two pygmy corys, catfish. I think these fellows are a good choice. The Rummy Nose tetras were just a bit delicate to put into a brand new aquarium.
Monday, January 16, 2006
Cabin Fever
So far this winter season has been relatively warm. I have to admit that I'm spoiled. I've been able to take my walks and e
xercise with the dog most days and have enjoyed it. The past couple of days have been windy and very cold to the point of obnoxious. It certainly didn't take me long to get cabin fever. I wandered around the house this morning looking out the windows at the bare trees and barren garden beds wishing for spring and forcing myself to realize that is it still January. I've got some waiting yet. I study my garden catalogs for plants that might be nice in my garden this coming season and dream of warm weather, shorts, short sleeved T's and flowers. Oh, the flowers...
Liasion. One of my favorite Bearded Iris. I had this in my garden some years ago but left it behind when I built this house thinking that it was a fairly popular bearded iris and easy to find again. For a number of years I was unable to find it but found it on the web and immediately ordered a couple of tubers. I've had these now for three years and they are multiplying nicely. I've been pleased with them and as usual they are as beautiful as I remember them.
In 2003 I went on a bearded iris event where I decided it would be nice to have some put into a rock garden that we had built on the major hill behind the house. Originally we had been mowing this hill, but it was nasty and we often took chances of tipping the tr
actor to cut it. So we decided it was time to start planting in that hill with rock gardens so we didn't have to worry about mowing it or tipping the tractor when we tried to mow around the trees that I had planted there. So, a visit to Shriner's got me a few iris as well as some I found on Ebay. Would you belive it?! I actually got some really nice bearded iris on ebay. But one that may edge out Liasion was one I got from Shriners, Gnus Flash. I was curious about the blotched bearded iris and had gotten a couple of them. Gnus Flash was the largest tuber and gave me several stems of blooms that sang out "Look at me!" I have to admit I was impressed with this one. It has a very exotic look to it that makes it stand out. Other bearded I got that year but don't have pictures of are Isn't This Something, another blotched iris in a wine color; Romantic Evening, an almost black iris with a bright orange tongue that looks almost neon; Raspberry Wine, as the name implies with a purple tongue; Gypsy Dancer, a pale yellow with lavender shaded falls. I have pictures of this one somewhere; and Total Recall, my one reblooming bearded iris that does live up to it's name in a creamy yellow and white. I have pictures of this one as well somewhere and have made a couple of canvases from the photos as well. Very pretty iris. These will come into bloom again about the same time the roses do.
Also about the same time the roses come into bloom are the clematis. I had tried a couple different varieties of clematis on my arbor, but the one that is the most impressive is the L. Candida. I ended up exchanging all the others for just this one, four plants on my arbor along with the roses, New Dawn, a lovely pink repeating rose, very hardy and disease resistant and the once blooming rambler, Veilanchblu, a large rose with smallish mauve (almost blue) double flowers that bloom so heavy you can't see the leaves. There will be some changes in the next year or two with the roses on this arbor. I like the New Dawn with the L. Candida and will want to replace the Veilanchblu with another, probably one that I root off the original. However, I will only move Veilanchblu to a new site when the patio is complete and we put a sitting area around it with another arbor. Then, once it is established or maybe before I move it at all, I'll start a rooting from that plant as a second one over this arbor. I am also entertaining the idea of putting two or four more L. Candida with these roses as well. Since the clematis is a repeat bloomer, often blooming almost constantly until late October, it will ad flower interest to this arbor when Veilanchblu isn't blooming. L. Candida is a beautiful clematis as you can see with flowers up to about 5" and is as heavy bloomer. It is very impressive. So much so that my mother wants three for her home and my sister wants one for her home. They saw a two year old plant that was nearly 10 feet tall.
xercise with the dog most days and have enjoyed it. The past couple of days have been windy and very cold to the point of obnoxious. It certainly didn't take me long to get cabin fever. I wandered around the house this morning looking out the windows at the bare trees and barren garden beds wishing for spring and forcing myself to realize that is it still January. I've got some waiting yet. I study my garden catalogs for plants that might be nice in my garden this coming season and dream of warm weather, shorts, short sleeved T's and flowers. Oh, the flowers...Liasion. One of my favorite Bearded Iris. I had this in my garden some years ago but left it behind when I built this house thinking that it was a fairly popular bearded iris and easy to find again. For a number of years I was unable to find it but found it on the web and immediately ordered a couple of tubers. I've had these now for three years and they are multiplying nicely. I've been pleased with them and as usual they are as beautiful as I remember them.
In 2003 I went on a bearded iris event where I decided it would be nice to have some put into a rock garden that we had built on the major hill behind the house. Originally we had been mowing this hill, but it was nasty and we often took chances of tipping the tr
actor to cut it. So we decided it was time to start planting in that hill with rock gardens so we didn't have to worry about mowing it or tipping the tractor when we tried to mow around the trees that I had planted there. So, a visit to Shriner's got me a few iris as well as some I found on Ebay. Would you belive it?! I actually got some really nice bearded iris on ebay. But one that may edge out Liasion was one I got from Shriners, Gnus Flash. I was curious about the blotched bearded iris and had gotten a couple of them. Gnus Flash was the largest tuber and gave me several stems of blooms that sang out "Look at me!" I have to admit I was impressed with this one. It has a very exotic look to it that makes it stand out. Other bearded I got that year but don't have pictures of are Isn't This Something, another blotched iris in a wine color; Romantic Evening, an almost black iris with a bright orange tongue that looks almost neon; Raspberry Wine, as the name implies with a purple tongue; Gypsy Dancer, a pale yellow with lavender shaded falls. I have pictures of this one somewhere; and Total Recall, my one reblooming bearded iris that does live up to it's name in a creamy yellow and white. I have pictures of this one as well somewhere and have made a couple of canvases from the photos as well. Very pretty iris. These will come into bloom again about the same time the roses do.
Also about the same time the roses come into bloom are the clematis. I had tried a couple different varieties of clematis on my arbor, but the one that is the most impressive is the L. Candida. I ended up exchanging all the others for just this one, four plants on my arbor along with the roses, New Dawn, a lovely pink repeating rose, very hardy and disease resistant and the once blooming rambler, Veilanchblu, a large rose with smallish mauve (almost blue) double flowers that bloom so heavy you can't see the leaves. There will be some changes in the next year or two with the roses on this arbor. I like the New Dawn with the L. Candida and will want to replace the Veilanchblu with another, probably one that I root off the original. However, I will only move Veilanchblu to a new site when the patio is complete and we put a sitting area around it with another arbor. Then, once it is established or maybe before I move it at all, I'll start a rooting from that plant as a second one over this arbor. I am also entertaining the idea of putting two or four more L. Candida with these roses as well. Since the clematis is a repeat bloomer, often blooming almost constantly until late October, it will ad flower interest to this arbor when Veilanchblu isn't blooming. L. Candida is a beautiful clematis as you can see with flowers up to about 5" and is as heavy bloomer. It is very impressive. So much so that my mother wants three for her home and my sister wants one for her home. They saw a two year old plant that was nearly 10 feet tall.If Husband and I do decide to renew our vowls for our 25th anniversary next year, I would want to do this early June in my garden when the roses, iris and clematis are in bloom.
Saturday, January 14, 2006
A Party
I really don't like this picture much but everyone else seems to. But then, I really don't like any pictures of myself. This is a picture of my family. Across the back, the men from left to right are: My Brother-In-Law, Rick, Husband, Bob, Lori's youngest son, Eric, Cindy's friend, Kevin and the young man sitting is Lori's oldest son, Nick. The girls, left to right are: Lori Lynn, middle sister, me, oldest sister and Cindy, youngest sister. My brother and his family didn't make it because they got stuck in Breezewood on a sheet of ice. Dad didn't come either. He was in the hospital with pnenomia. It was a small Christmas party but a nice one. Gifts were small as they usually are for this type of party but Christmas is for mostly getting together and enjoying each other. I hosted the party this year, the first in over 10 years. Working for a newspaper, I don't get very many holidays to celebrate on the day itself. This was a major event for me since this party actually happened Christmas Day. It was a good day.
Sunday, January 08, 2006
An Anniversary Dinner
This past Wednesday was our 24th anniversary. Usually we try to celebrate the day but I was unable to get off work that day so we decided to celebrate today. Husband had made reservations at one of the finer restaurants in the city, The Pressroom.
We had eaten there several times before, my latest time was when I celebrated my 20th anniversary with the newspaper and was treated to dinner by both my foreman and production manager. Having eaten there before I had some choices that the production manager found tantalizing. The time before that, a friend and her husband had come to visit and we'd made reservations there for lunch. It was an elegant lunch and we had been quite pleased. So, was the choice of today.
As always, going to this restaurant meant that at least some of the dinner choices were already made. Of course the meal was started with a lovely glass of white zinfandel. Then there was the soup, Baked French Onion which is probably the best in town. Then the salad with the usual house dressing. This dressing is like none I've ever eaten before. It is a honey/mustard dressing that is deliciously sweet and very exotic. Of course, once the soup and the salad were finished; and I did eat every bit of both, the main course came. The choice here was Veal Marcela with a baked sweet potato w/honey butter and green beans stir fried to a find delicacy. The meal was incredibly fine but as usual left no room for dessert or even a specialty coffee. That was to bad too because all the desserts looked so wonderful. Maybe the next time we eat there, however, I've said that with each time we've eaten there no matter the occasion.
Oh, BTW, I do enjoy the white zinfandel more so than any other wine. It seems to go so well as an opening to the meal. With the meal, maybe a Chablis or Burgundy but always to start, the white zinfandel seems to fit best for me.
It was quite a lovely evening and one that we will do only on special occasions. The next one will be Valentine's Day. We will usually always celebrate that with another fine meal at one of the better restaurants in the county. One other restaurant of note for us is The Log Cabin http://www.logcabinrestaurant.com/home.cfm. And, one that I especially like, The Catacombs http://www.bubesbrewery.com/catacombs.htm. However, Husband isn't to keen on this restaurant because he is a bit claustrophobic. Understand that the Catacombs is in the lower level of the brewery's basement and has a really cool atmosphere. It it pitch black in there except for the candles that light the tables and the food is hauled from the kitchens in the upper levels. It is a magnificent restaurant and very unique but you must make reservations a month or more ahead. We'll see where we decide to go for Valentine's Day. I will probably opt for the Log Cabin this time since it's been a number of years since we've been there.
Saturday, January 07, 2006
Some Old Stuff
I was going through some old stuff this evening and found a couple of pictures that brought back memories.Here my Newfoundland, Barharber's Captain Black and I are at a water rescue class. Captain always loved these classes and when his turn would come he would dive right in and do his job. It was his owner that didn't seem to get it most of the time. Or maybe I just wasn't good at playing drowning. We took the water rescue classes in the late 1980's. Captain was a young adult at that time weighing in at a hefty 175 pounds. In this picture he was actually swimming. His feet didn't quite reach the bottom of the lake.
This picture is my all time favorite.Captain's first real outting was when he was about 5 months old. He was in the back of the pickup with the two kids, Jim and Jen and they played the entire trip to a local park where we all wanted to take Captain for a walk. It was a fun day, but as soon as the truck had stopped, Captain wanted out to explore this whole new world. It took Jim and Jen all they had to keep him in the truck while this picture was shot.
Once out of the truck, Captain was his usual gentleman self. He never lost this quality throughout his entire life.
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