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Hello all- This will probably be my last blog for a while. I really need to get busy packing, and picking up. I will be leaving in a short while to go help Pete load his boat, and pick up his carport area, which we are sure will flood. At this time, our local OEP says it looks like landfall will be somewhere between just east of Lafayette to the Texas state line. Like RIGHT WHERE I AM!! AND possibly stall... It's still too early to tell for certain, but the size of this thing will affect our whole state. We have reservations in ARKANSAS!! Made yesterday. I don't want to go that far, but it appears we have no choice. I need to go pack pertinent papers at our shop, and break down the computers. I have to move all my plants to the side of my house, and cram what I can into my garage and beat up shed Then, cram what I can into my car. Gas stations here have already run out of gas, ATM's are running out of money, and grocery stores are running out of bottled water. This started yesterday.
I'm sure I'll have lots of 'gardening' to do when I return. If you've never been through a hurricane-clean up takes about a year-recovery, 2 years.
Key ya on return!! (or, whenever we get electricity!) OHH LSU WON!!
Carolyn
Days go by so fast, the older you get. With the wedding prep going on, I haven't been doing much of anything in the yard. I have started mowing-It's been almost 2 weeks, and I can barely push the mower through some places!! We've had a lot of rain, and that makes the yard 'boggy', too. Hopefully, I'll finish this evening-day 3 to mow!
This morning I had 3 blooms on the Night Blooming Cereus. Last week, one morning I had 7. I tried to get a picture of that, and I don't even know how it came out! My Angel Trumpet is putting out blooms, but not the grand show yet. It's starting to yellow, and lose leaves already. I've pulled out the late cukes (that never made! and the squash) I've pulled up quite a few zinnias, those in the cactus, and this weekend the cactus will be 'removed'. I pulled out the Heatwave tomato, too. It made a few, but looked really poor, so out with it. I'm still harvesting okra and bell peppers and eggplant. I'm considering pulling the eggplant, too.
Doctor appointment Thursday about my hip/leg. Therapy helped some, but it's still not right. So far, I have to come up with about $600.00 out of my pocket for that. I just can't afford more. I can't afford that!! Going to get serious about losing about 30 lbs., and maybe do yoga? For stretching? I feel like a tight wound spring sometime that is all kinked up!! Something has to change !
Considering fall garden. Will wait until we know what "Gustav" is going to do. Please, please go away!!
AND!! Still dont know if Clint made it home! More Drama! They had to make an emergency landing in El Paso because a passenger was sick-so, he missed his connecting flight to home! Another miss! As of 8:30 last nite, he still wasn't home! it never ends.....
Later Gators!
Whew!! It seems like it went on for days!! Actually it did. Clint came in Thursday, but first he called me EARLY Thursday AM to tell me he missed his flight, and probably wouldn't be able to get here until Friday afternoon. PANIC! His buddy, Matt (the groom) got on the internet and while talking to him on the phone, directed him to Santa Barbara, reserved him a ticket and he would get here about the same time as originally planned. Connecting flight in L.A. Clint calls me from L.A., his flight is boarding and he's about #30 in line. I'm telling him to find someone with the airline and see if they will check him in right away, because HE HAS TO MAKE THAT FLIGHT!! While he is talking to me, several people in line overheard,and said go ahead of me-Everybody let him go ahead of them!! Wasn't that NICE!! There are nice people in this world-even in L.A.!
Thursday nite the boys partied at Lau'Berge-the casino here. Up almost all nite. Pick Clint up about 8:30. He made it in, but no luggage! Luggage finally arrives around 2 PM. Rehearsal at 6:00, in Oakdale, about an hour drive from us.
FINALLY-the wedding went off as planned. Matt's Mom did not show (she hasn't ever been much a part of his life), so I was stand-in Mom. He said he wanted it that way, anyway!! I love that boy! Tomorrow AM, they leave for Hawaii, and Clint leaves for CA. Tonite we will have shrimp and fish, and hopefully, sleep all nite!!
Me, the Bride, Groom and Clint. Sorry about the eyes-We were looking at the photographer! We really have better looking eyes!
My son will be coming in Thursday nite for his best friend's wedding on Saturday. Yay!!! Clint & Matt have been best friends since high school, and Matt is like another son to me. Clint has been in California since June-and CA. is just too dang far away!! It will be whirlwind with the reheasal Friday nite, the wedding is Sat. nite, Matt & wife will leave Sunday AM for Hawaii-and Clint will leave Monday for CA. Then I won't see him again until Christmas. His dad beat me to Thanksgiving. Darn! For 30 years that man has hunted every Thanksgiving, and this year he's going to California :(. I've quit gardening to clean up the house some (you know, get rid of the bird feathers, dead lizards, frogs, etc.) House keeping has kind of gone Ka-put!
Motley is being spayed, today. I'll let Clint take a last look at his cactus bed, cause it's coming out!! These two devil cats I have want anything that moves or flies-and I believe Motley landed in the Cactus bed last weekend. She had cactus thorns under her belly and is limping with no sign of a fight, etc., and a little swelling in one leg. The cactus bed is full of volunteer zinnias that I left alone (mainly cause I get stuck trying to pull them out!!). It also has a volunteer Rose of Sharon, that needs to come out, too. I even had some volunteer Sunflowers come up in that bed. I chased Pretty Boy off with the water hose when he was taking flying leaps at butterflies yesterday. Those cactus are nasty!
Will check with you all- Later !
The Bir d hasn't opened up enoug to warrant another pic, although someone else wanted a pic of my moonvine.
Sooo-of course moonflower on the arbor, my oldest crepe myrtle in background, Rose of Sharon sagging, hens & chicks in hanging basket above it--my awesome bottlebrush in left front. Wish I had been here for it's blooming! Every, & I mean EVERY branch was covered in red. This is about MOONVINES and I think they are gorgeous
I went out early this morning because we were supposed to have strong storms, and I usually do a yard check before leaving for work anyway- And Look!! 
It will continue to open some more-still waiting on rain-so if it's not raining tomorrow morning I'll have another!
It's hot summertime, and the living is easy! Well, some easy. My therapy hasn't improved me as much as it did last time. I will have to have a MRI in the near future, probably within a week or so. I HATE this! So much I want to do and just can't go!!
I have been chasing cats and moths and birds in my house these last few days. Dang cats catch everything and bring it in my bedroom!! Sometimes with me sleeping there! They have captured 2 hummingbird moths, butterflies, a dove, a tweety bird, uncountable lizards, geckos (I hate geckos! Naked little men!), and they even happened on a snake. At least the snake was big enough they wouldn't get near it. The cats have lept from the floor to the top of my curtains (pulled down one curtain), and feathers going everywhere! I don't get enough rest. They start out at 4 in the morning, and apparently have found where the birds nest, and raid them. 5:00 AM is too early to be chasing birds...
I've given up on cukes and squash. They will come out of the ground this week. We are supposed to have some heavy rain this pm, so tomorrow would be a good day to pull the vines. I'll rework that 8 x 8 garden and contemplate what I might put in it. I'm thinking potatoes, and maybe some green beans again. Or maybe nothing-don't know what's going on with my hip. Bugs are really bad around my place this year. The June Bugs are just eating up everything (or, maybe slugs?). I have those little tiny black ants in my 4 okra (I cut about 5-6 per day-takes a week to make a mess!!) The bell peppers won't quit. Nor the eggplant. Or the Zinnias! Thinking of pulling those up, too. They're starting to look bad, although they're still going strong! My Bird of Paradise should bloom this week. I'll post a picture of it, if the bugs don't get it first. (Or the cats!)
Later Gators!
Why don't they use American names and just call him "Eddie"? It's an American Storm! Anyway-National news doesn't have a thing on where it actually came ashore. Actually on the Texas/Louisiana Border. Flooding in lower Cameron Parish, some electrical poles and lines down. Wind gusts up to 60 mph in Cameron, proper. Galveston is only going to get rain, just like Rita. They missed on that one too. I would bet 75% of you on GG have never even heard of Hurricane Rita. It wiped out Cameron in 2005, and did tremendous damage in the Lake Charles Area. Thousands of HUGE trees down, roofs gone, buildings destroyed-never heard of on the National News.
Anyway-All is well here. A few branches down-wind gusts here in Lake Charles only about 30-35 mph. We had that much wind this past spring!! My rain gauge this morning showed less than 1/2 inch of rain, although it is still raining. Yard and house are fine. Small branches down, but the rain that is falling is falling lightly, so it is soaking in. We are lucky!
We are officially under Hurricane Watch for Euduardo (however it's spelled). He's still a tropical storm, but moving slowly, so we feel that he will become a Hurricane. If he doesn't get stronger than a category 1, I will stay. I sure hate to evacuate with 2 wild cats and a dog! Supposed to be headed toward Galveston-well, so was Rita. Even if it does bypass us, we will have lots of wind and rain. The rain should start early afternoon today. We can use the rain-just not 7-9 inches at one time! An evacuation order has already been issued for lower Cameron Parish (the town of Cameron was completely wiped out with Rita in 2005). Flooding is a great hazard there-3 feet above sea level.
And it was a H O T weekend! 102 Saturday on my patio thermometer. Sunday was near the same. At least I got the grass cut! Picked about 6 bell peppers, and that many eggplant. We had fried eggplant with mozarella cheese last nite! Good-too lazy to cook the pasta to go with it. I cut about 5 little okra yesterday, too. Since I only have 4 plants, I'm not expecting a large harvest. I found 2 EXTRA LARGE cucumbers that I missed. Still haven't gotten to eat a cucumber from my garden. The squash are just "there". They got to looking real bad, and I thought they were goners, and now there's lots of new leaves, and some blooms-no female flowers yet. Arrrggh!! I want squash!
This hurricane/storm will bring some saltwater rain with it. Hopefully, it won't damage the garden too much. It's the oppressive heat afterwards that gets you!!
All take care-stay cool!
Carolyn
It's August already, and I feel like I missed the 4th of July. Why is it going so fast! I've been missing for almost a week, and haven't read a thing! Is there a way to go back for 2-3 days and see who's written what? I haven't even read any forums!
I am heavily involved with the NRA in this part of the state, and we had our annual banquet last nite. We did well, though not as well as last year. Actually, we are "Friends of the NRA", 1/2 of our funds goes to National, and the rest stays right here in Southwest La. We benefit organizations such as the Boys Scouts, 4-H Clubs, Law Enforcement Agencies, etc., as long as it is going towards Gun Safety Programs. For the past several years we have been First in our state, and last year #7 in the nation in raising funds. Last nite, we again, will be first in the state. In this Southwest part of the State, we gave away over $40,000.00 last year, and benefited several agencies.
Anyway-that took a lot of planning and preparation (we have about 600-700 people attending). Now I can breathe for a while!
Actually, my garden doesn't look too bad! I cut my first 3 okra 2 days ago, and will have some to cut tomorrow. I only had 3 plants survive, so my pickings are gonna be slim! I have picked 3 canteloupe- and they are good! My bell peppers and eggplant are still producing, and the tomatoes I cut back are putting on new leaves and starting to bloom. We are in for an extremely hot weekend-temps predicted to be in the upper 90's. It's water, water, water!
The flowers and house plants are sort of at a stand still-too hot I suppose. Surprisingly the sweet potato vines I planted 2 or 3 weeks ago took off and are doing great! I'll have to take a picture of that. I will move my last loads of dirt this weekend, and then start contemplating what, if anything, I will put in a fall garden. My okra will last into October, as will the bell peppers and eggplant (but I tell ya, I've about HAD IT with the eggplant!) Doesn't leave much room for "Fall Stuff", although we can plant some things way in November.
It's late for me-headed for a shower and BED! Didn't get to sleep until after midnight last nite-I be tired.
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