carolyncat353's Blog

The boys lost last nite-31-28. Our team is very bad on penalties, and though I wasn't there, I can tell from the write up that they beat themselves again.  Dang it!  I was looking forward to another trip to New Orleans!!

I cut 4 more heads of broccoli yesterday.  I will cook some more this evening.  I will have 2 more big heads to pick, and then it will be the 'little' ones.  Radish are doing good-just not enough!! I planted some more where I have pulled some, and they are up.  We still haven't had any real cold weather yet, though Monday nite it is supposed to get near freezing.  Yesterday the high was 80!  I don't like it that cold, but we need some cold to kill off some of the bugs!

I have managed to get some of the plants put up.  I will probably bring one or two of my ferns to my office.  We have lots of window space, and I will take better care of them there.  It rained about an inch last nite, and we really needed it!  My pansies and petunias look good, I still have some volunteer zinnias blooming, and my bottle brush has quite a few blooms left.  Yesterday it was a-buzzing with honey bees!

I am starting to do the "Major" house cleaning.  I started with the kitchen cabinets last nite.  Actually, it didn't take too long (just washing the doors, nothing more than that!).  Think I'll paint the hall a cream color, and my bedroom, too;  MMmmm-lots of planning to do!

Later!

I've been trying for the last 45 minutes to get my pics on here, and the computer hid them from  me again.  I was going to show you what I've been eating -----BOILED CRABS!!!

They were nice and big and full! I ate 6.  The other 6 I will peel and freeze the meat to use in gumbo when Clint comes in for Christmas (if I don't eat them, too!)   When Pete and I went to lunch today at one of the local eateries that does seafood cooking like you do at home, there was an older lady there (I'm guessing she was close to 80) that was eating boiled crabs.  I had to go look at them, of course, and she said "They're so good-Pick one up and feel how heavy!"  And she offered me one, but I declined, saying if I ate one I wouldn't be able to stop!   Pete was facing her throughout our meal, and he said she was in pure heaven eating those crabs (me, in about 20 years)!  When we finished, Pete asked the owner what her bill was and paid for her crabs without her knowing.   He does that every now and then-especially if they're millitary.  He's so nice!!

Anyway, I got my own this evening on my way home.  And I was in heaven!! 

I picked and ate my first head of broccoli last nite.  That was also one of the pictures I had.  My battery went dead when I was taking it, but it showed up anyway-AND THE COMPUTER HAS HIDDEN THEM FROM ME!!!!  It was so good!! (the broccoli, not the picture).  I should have about 3 more in about 2 days!  Love It!  We're having some chilly weather right now, but it appears my house plants that are still outside are ok.  Looking to get that moving them around finished this weekend!

ALL-have a Happy Thanksgiving!  I'm going to the River Boats-wish me Luck!

Later Gators!

The Score 35-7.  The boys seem to be stuck on "34-35" as their scoring point stop!  2 more games and we're on to the DOME!  We didn't go to the game last nite-too cold!! My bones can't take sitting on metal bleachers in 38 degree weather with a north wind blowing!  Whew!!

I went to town to the mall today (which I DREAD!), but I went early.  The sales are unbelievable!  I needed a new, good coat. and found one at Penney's.  $200 coat 60% off, plus I had another discount card for an additional 15% off-the coat cost me $69.00.  I bought that and a pair of jeans and a shirt and undies(!) which I needed more than the coat! All total, about $150.00.  Not bad, I thought! 

On the way home, a friend called and said she had her Dad down for a visit and they were going to the American Legion Hall for gumbo and watch the LSU game.  So, I stopped by and ate and visited, bought two $1.00 chances on the "pool board".  Came home before half-time for a nap.  Got a call a while ago-I WON THE POOL!!   $100.00!!   Not a bad day, I think!!

IN THE GARDEN- The broccoli is coming along nicely-I should have a couple of heads to cut in a few days.  I watered real well this afternoon, and planted some more radish.  They are just so g o o d!!  The frost last nite didn't do too much damage except to the coleus-It's nice and "singed" now-I pulled up some, and cut some way back.  It is kind of protected.  Eventually, I'll pull them all up.  I have GOT to clean that shed out so I can stuff my plants in there! Tomorrow is supposed to be mild weather, so I need to get started on that instead of talking about it, huh! :)

Wow-this was long!  Now you all know what I did today!!

Later!!

This info was sent to me by a friend from a friend who works in Broadcasting.  Useful information if you give/receive gift cards for X-mas:

Circuit City closing ?? # of stores ..........Ann Taylor - 117 stores closing.............Lane Bryant, Fashion bug and Catherine's to close 150 stores nationwide............Eddie Bauer to close 27 stores and more after January 1........Cache will close all stores..........Talbot's closing all stores..........J.Jill closing all stores...............GAP closing 85 stores............Footlocker closing 140 stores with more to close after Jan 1.........Wickes Furniture  closing..............Levitz to close all remaining stores..............Bombay closing remaining stores.............Zales closing 82 stores and 105 after January...........Whitehall closing all stores...........Piercing Pagoda closing all stores...........Disney closing 98 stores and more after January..........Home Depot closing 15 stores (1 in New Brunswick)........Macy's to close 9 stores after January 1...............Linens & Things closing all stores..............Movie Galley closing all stores........Pacific Sunware closing stores................Pep Boys closing 33 stores.............Sprint/Next
el closing 133 stores.............JC Penney closing some stores after January..............Ethan Allen closing 12 stores..........Wilson Leather closing all stores...........Sharper Image closing all stores.........K B Toys closing 356 stores..........Lowes to close some stores  & Dillard's to close some stores !!!!

There is no indication to where these stores are, but chances are, if any of these are in your neighborhood, you may know which ones have hardly any business and would be targeted for shut down.  That's a lot of people out of work!

Wo-Hoo!!! 34-7, We won AGA IN!  This was the first game of the playoffs!  These kids are good!  It's as good or better than watching college ball!  L O N G pasees and L O N G kicks!   Wish us luck!

In the garden, I now have some brocolli heads. I have pics under Gardens in the forums.  My angel trumpet is putting on its 2nd BIG show, but it's supposed to go into the 30's tonight, so this is probably it.  I have a pic under Wha'ts in Bloom.  I should be outside moving plants around because of the cold expected tonight, but, here I am!

 I was planning on a garage sale today, but when the weather said "High in the mid-60's with a 20 mile an hour wind", I changed my mind.  So, this morning I got an "urge" to clean out some of the garage-it's mostly garage sale stuff, and some of Clin'ts "WHATEVER".  The cat and dog were in there amongst it all, and cripes!  I ran up on something that REALLY STUNK!  All I can figure is that it USED  to be a bird, or a mouse!  I had a lot of old sheets, and things that I could cover plants with, and all that had to be washed!  I found a bag of Clint's clothes that are "give-aways", and Pete's grandson is 15 and about the same size Clint was at his age, so he'll get to pick through it before I decide if it's garage sale, or Salvation Army. He's going to a wedding today, and wanted to dress up real well, and I had a suit, and a suit jacket that belonged to Clint (both worn 1 time!), and one of them fit him.  He just loved it!   His grandpa gave him money for dress shoes and a dress shirt and tie.  He's gonna look good!

Well, I need a nap-my animals are asleep on the floor beside me-They're tired.  We worked in the garden this morning, adding fertilizer, and pulling just a few little weeds.  Newspaper works so good in the garden!  And then we will tackle the shed and move some plants!

Later Gators!   

Today is Veteran's Day, and I hope we all honored our brave men and women in some way, today, even if only in silent prayer.  Here is a picture of Orange Grove Cemetary here in Lake Charles, where one of the largest, if not THE largest flag display in the USA is held.  There are over 700 flags displayed throughout the cemetary on Memorial Day and Veteran's Day every year.  It is a humbling experience to drive through the cemetary and see them. All flags have either been donated or loaned by families.  All are numbered and show dates of service.  This picture only shows a small portion' it was beginning to rain, and the Boy Scouts were taking them down early. 

Where has everyone gone?  Seems like NObody is blogging much anymore-can't be because we're all gardening-the days are getting too short!  I'll just ramble on, here.

Westlake High won AGAIN!!  Friday night score 34-0!  We're off the the playoffs and Superdome-here we come!  Other than the football game, it has been mostly uneventful here in my little world.  I planted the rest of my pansies, and repotted 4-5 plants.  I started clearing out where my greenhouse WAS gonna be, and I'm going to move the base to where I WANT it to be. Pete is too obsessed with "perfect".  I don't care if it leaks air.  I don't care if the floor isn't level and I DON'T CARE if all 4 corners can't be anchored!!  ggrrrrrrrr!  I'm going to do it myself. (this has been going on for 3 years now).

I have pics of my garden!!  Still waiting on a broccoli head-but it should be soon!

Ok-that's screwed Up!! Anyway they're in my photos under "Garden stuff".  I also have a picture of my devil's ivy that grows on the side of my house.  It will die back when it gets cold enough, but it always returns in the spring.

Well, this one is, too!  OK-another time!

Later gators!

This blog is about my GARDEN! ! (lol) Let's get over the politcal 'stuff' .  Yesterday, I picked and ATE 4 radishes!! I had forgotten how great fresh grown radish taste-however, mine are not really doing  real well. I didn't do real well with them in the spring either.  I'm going to be dispersing more seed where I pulled some, maybe I'll plant EACH little tiny seed with a tweezer!  ????

My broccoli are growing very well, but I have no heads developing yet.  I'm so glad we can go back and check our blogs, I planted them end of September and harvest should be 45-60 days.  I'm pushing 45 days here and NO heads!  Too warm, maybe?  Today's high was 84.  And although it has been a slight bit cooler some days, most days have hovered around 80. 

My pansies seem to be doing well.  More of my snapdragons have died than survived.  I think that's more from cat and dog trauma, but they have just shriveled up and died! My cassia tree is still in full bloom; my confederate rose is almost over.  It never did put on a real show, kind of sporadic blooming, thus no pics.

Next weekend I am going to try for the garage sale.  I have many plants I would like to get rid of (sell) because I don't have the room to keep them over winter.  I am not prepared enough to do it this weekend.  According to the weather, all of next week should be mild, also, except we will have a greater chance of rain-and BOY- do we need the rain!!  I'm kind of in a somber "funk" anyway...I miss my little loverboy cat!  So does his sister-she mews a lot, which she never did before.  But, all in all, we'll be ok!

Got clothes to wash, and things to sort for my "garage sale"! 

Everybody have a good night!  And a great day!    :::::::::))) Carolyn

I had to keep myself busy this weekend, or all I wanted to do was cry.  I made my new "succulent" bed and took a pic, but it has too much sun.  I'll try in an afternoon.  Anyway, I planted my cardboard plant in the middle, with hens & chics and donkey's tail, and some kind of succulent ground cover that someone gave me  a few years ago, AND, I had gone to Lowe's early last week and bought something called "Blue Dwarf Katie Ruellia, a perennial that is drought tolerant.  From the pic, it looks like a Mexican Petunia.  I'm not much on the biological names.  AND, a lot of their plants were 1/2 off, so I got 3 more 6 packs of pansies (in LSU colors-for all the good they do-hmph!), and a BEAUTIFUL Asiatic Lily called  La. Hybrid Red Alert. 

Now, I don't know anything about Asiatic Lilies-though they look like an Easter Lily.  When I started repotting this one, it smelled sooooooo good!  I went back and got 2 more, one is orange, I know, the other didn't have a label!  I'm going to make a Lily bed in the spring.  Or should I do it now?  Help??!!   High today here was 80, and low tonite is 49 or so.  Supposed to be like this for another several days.  CommentS?

AND, I planted a little crabapple tree I had, and repotted 2 other plants.  Sandpapered and painted the stand for my chimenea, and put a few plants in the ground.  Now, the time has changed, and I hate it.  Too much time to be inside mourning my cat. >(     I think I have a little sunburned face!

Later Gators.

Thank you for all the kind words about my loss of Pretty Boy. I live outside the city limits in a somewhat "country" area.  Across the street/road from me is 9 vacant acres, and Pretty Boy would sit in the front yard and just yearning look across the road.  I knew that xomeday he would venture over there; just hoped what happened, wouldn't.  I have never been one for keeping cats inside; and when Oreo disappeared I did a lot of research on cats and learned a lot.  Cats don't roam far from home, and are quite territorial of home.  My cats are well fed and loved, so I know they don't go far.  Everyone in this neighborhood is pretty tolerant of each other's pets.  I'm lucky.

Oreo disappeared Oct 1, 2007 when I had some workers at my house. He was an almost dead stray that showed up where I worked.  I brought him home and he became a beautiful cat. I had him 1 1/2 years. I am convinced that the Pitt Bull that lived next door at the time, got him.  Then, the day after Christmas last year, I had my oldest (15 years) cat put to sleep because she had developed oral cancer and could not eat or drink. (3 months after losing Oreo).  Then, Feb 8 of this year, I had my next to oldest cat (13 years that day) put to sleep because she had kidney disease and the doctor said we couldn't do anything more for her.  After 2 months with no pets at all, and starting to work in my yard, I couldn't stand it anymore.  My first memories of life had cats in them, I have ALWAYS had a cat,  so I got 2 kittens from the pound.  Pretty Boy & Motley.  I had them 2 weeks, and Peanut needed someplace to live, so now I have him, too.  Long story, but Peanut is actually supposed to be Clint's dog, the ex-girlfriend's dog and too much to tell.

Today, Me, Motley and Peanut finished clearing out the cactus bed (Yay!), and put in some sand and garden soil mixed to plant a "succulent" bed there.  I have a Cardboard Plant that I am going to put in there, too.  I got it as a gift about 4 years ago.  I saw one when we had gone to Moody Gardens in Galveston and commented about it.  I googled it a while ago and Great!, it's highly poisonous, and there is no antidote for it.  Hmm, a suicide plant.   I'll post a picture of this when I'm through.

Again, thank you all.  It is much appreciated.               Carolyn