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to give Thanks for all we have been given. Some of you are cooking away today preparing for your feast, there may be some of you that will be counting your blessings alone or perhaps your are celebrating your first Thanksgiving as a couple, no matter how it is done there is always something to be thankful for.
If you were able to get out of bed on your own, put on your clothes with no help - that is a blessing. If you have something to eat today - that is a blessing. If you have even one person in your life - that is a blessing. If you can sing or hum just one little tune - that is a blessing. If you can afford your own transportation 'taxi, car, bus, train or plane" - that is a blessing. And if you have someone in your life that will give you a ride - another blessing.
So while you are out in the next weeks before Christmas comes, remember to smile and let others see that you are a person with something to give Thanks for.
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! 
got lots of cutting done yesterday. The day was perfect. Had to shed my outer layer including my little knit hat. Which looked ridiculous anyway. My hubby has always tried to put me in some kind of a cap or hat - he wears ball caps and looks especially handsome in his black felt western style hat - but I just look weird. The only thing that has even been tolerable is a crocheted type I bought many years ago that I used to wear while I was still working.
Cut back all the AG's. Didn't know I had so many and they were so tall they had to be cut into smaller pieces to fit in the trash container. And of course this is the week that the yard trash won't get picked up. So next week there will be a very large pile for the nice men.
Pulled out all the beautiful annual Vincas and told them thanks for leaving behind all their seed for next year. Sure hoping the white and red ones left a lot of seed for seedlings. Brushed off some seed heads on several of the plants in hopes I will see them again in the spring. The Firespike was a real goner. One of the yucky things in cutting down frozen plants is all that mushy plant mass. The Begonias were especially bad. Since we don't usually have such frozen weather this time of year, my plants generally just dry up and are no problem to cut back or just pull off the dead portion. This year has been different from Spring right through Summer and Fall.
Even cut down the Bronze Fennel this year. Last winter I had the huge butterfly cage sitting over the plant and I really got tired of looking at it. Does anything smell better that cutting back or stepping on herbs in the garden? This fennel has one of my favorite scents - lickerish. Just gave me more energy and boosted my morale as well. So if you are lackadaisical one day - just go out in the garden and cut the herbs, it will pick you right up.
I still have a few AG's in the front that will get cut down this afternoon and haven't decided whether to cut my Butterfly Bushes back now or not. They could stay in the gardens a bit. One plant I haven't finished cutting back are the Ginger Lilies and I am wondering whether I could go ahead and move those bulbs. They don't get near enough sun where they are. Then there is that one small area I would like cleared out to get ready for annuals next year. Plus some wonderful seed I could just throw there - that is sorta like playing mother plant - dropping her seed to set for the winter. There are lilies and iris in that bed and I think they will move without a problem. My BIL lives nearer the coast of SC and he was asking about moving some day lilies now. I told him I thought it would be fine as their temps are always a bit warmer than where we live. The lilies I need to move are mostly old ones that I enjoy and have had for many years. One of them has faded over the years and is not as brilliant red as it once was, so moving them won't be a problem. I have found lilies and iris are very forgiving and that too much water is their biggest enemy.
Yesterdays tasks only took me 4 hours. It was a wonderful day in the Garden of the YardGranny.
More To Come Later
a phone call that just made your day a little easier? Had a haircut appt for 11am which was going to cut my day in half. Then Debi called and asked if I would mind coming at 4:30. Wow, would I ever and then hubby can get his ears trimmed too.
So - I am off to the yard to do the 'cut-cut-ca-dak-it' (as the little red hen says) on all those nasty looking freeze dried annuals. Then it will be mulch time.
More To Come Later.
Today Nov 23rd, would have been my momma's 93 brithday. I posted this in the forums but decided I would put it in a blog form, so I wouldn't loose my thoughts on this day.
Mom was quite a lady. Loved her fingernails bright red, but planted pansies on a cold rainy day. She loved to laugh and it was such a comfort to know that during her last couple of years she had some wonderful phone calls with my younger sisters. I had the pleasure of having her here in town and being able to take her shopping. She loved clothes though never had too many at one time.
We had flowers put in church today in my moms memory. Ruth was her name. Fall was her favorite time of year and she loved all the colors that go with it. The arrangement had those huge big yellow mums with accent mums in a rust with the statice of purple. They are beautiful. After church we took them to the retirement home where she lived for a short while so the residents there could enjoy them.
I have a real sweetie of a friend that lives there now named Ms Julia. She went through everything concerning my parents health and passing with me. And she was and remains a blessing. She is now 92 years young. I celebrate her friendship every day.
Here is a picture of mom about a year before I was born. Could'a been a model
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To say she is still missed is inadequate. It is true that your loved ones never leave you. They stay right in the middle of your soul.
Happy Birthday MOM.
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has nothing to do with the stock market. That bear would be me, in hibernation until the warmth comes back to the south. Man, I do not like the cold wind. The type that cuts right through these old southern bones. Not fun.
Have you ever been so busy you just can't remember what all you have been doing? That has been me. I think I have just been so excited about the coming visit of my daughter that I have been turning in circles. Mental ones that is, physical turning would have me falling over into a large heap in the yard or on the floor. Mental circles may be just as bad because you don't get done or do what needs to be done but they don't cause me to flop over, at least when I am sitting down. Don't know about any of you, but that statement conjures up some funny pictures. :-)
The Brugs are burned, wilted and their rotting leaves still hang. Sure hope Monday is as warm as they say it is going to be. Some cleaning of the annuals is necessary at this point. The beds really look sad. They need nice fresh mulch, which I hope will get done next week. Would like for them to look decent when the said daughter and a sister or two come next month.
I have become friends with the man at the mulch recycle yard, I now just refer to my self as - Ms Linda - and they know who it is. His name is Leon and the lady receptionist who is really nice is Faye. Want to bake them some goodies for the holidays. The big problem with that is - I like goodies way to much. So it will be a war of all my wills to bake, smell, perhaps taste to make sure they are good - and then pack them up - tape down the container and get them out there as quickly as possible.
Thanksgiving is next week and I am looking forward to being with my DIL's family. They are a nice group of folks and her sister always has both her family and her husbands family at her house. Then my good neighbor wants us to stop over and speak to her gathering of friends and family. We have gotten to know many of them over the last 24 years. My husband has asked that her sister from another little town, bring him some pecans to keep him busy. He has been picking up a few here and there but after the last visit to the church grounds and the two falls that day, don't think he needs to be picking up too many on his own. This sister has maybe 20 trees on her property but doesn't do much with them. Her grands and other family and friends spent some quiet time picking up pecans when they visit but that is about it.
Speaking the word - pecan - varies on where you live doesn't it? Where I grew up in WV they are called - Pe-cawns. with the accent on the last syllable. Then there is the southern way of Pee-cans, emphasis on the first syllable, which conjures up all types of comments. Then there is one other I know of and that is Pe-cans with the emphasis on the last syllable. However you pronounce this fine word, there isn't a better nut any where in my opinion. I love them fixed any way you like and raw is wonderful. One of my favorite is chocolate covered or roasted with salt or with sugar and cinnamon. So good. They even sell them with a pepper taste. The southern pecan is a most favorite fruit of the south, right up there with that wonderful southern Peach.
Hoping all of you get just the weather you want and have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.
More To Come Later
Day this has been. In fact this whole week has been busy. Started with Monday morning at the Y, then shopping and having lunch - didn't get back home until about 3. Tuesday was Veterans Day and we attended a dedication ceremony for the very nice Florence Veterans Park, had lunch, checked out a few places and got home again about 3pm. . I have pictures in my cell phone of the new park but haven't gotten them out as yet. Will do a picture blog on this soon.
Today is Wednesday and I started out at 10am getting a load of mulch, bringing it home, unloading and going back for a second load. With the loadhandler on the truck it is so much easier. There are muscles I have found that don't ever get much use. It takes a lot of force to get that gizmo started, but once it (or I) take hold it just comes right off the truck. What used to take both of us and about 2 hours to do I can get done in about 1/2 an hour. Still a lot of raking and spreading. Didn't know if I was going to physically be able to unload and spread both loads, but I did. Made me feel good. Still need at least one more load to finish off the front yard. After a nice hot shower I used the long massager that fits in the recliner and then used my tens unit on the muscles at my neck and shoulders. So that should take some of the tension away.
Last night I got in the groove on what to do with the front bank where the annual sweet potato vine grew so well this year. There is a nice but small place here in town that sells different sized rocks by the pound. I stopped by there the other day to look at them. Very nice. So now I want to place some small to medium rocks on the bank and plant around them. Then as I was sketching out how I wanted the bank to look it occurred to me that I have some good sized rocks way in the back behind the little patio I built. Haven't seen them in years as they are covered in leaves and vines. Am going to get them uncovered to see how they look. If they are as I remember them, it will save me some money as my planting plan comes to life. Also am thinking a couple of fence pieces at each end of the yard close to the bank might look good. That won't come until next year though.
Got a wonderful phone call from my fine daughter in OK. She is coming for a visit in a few weeks. Oh I just can't wait to see her and give her a big hug. It has been several years since hubby and I took our long vacation visited the son in TN and our daughter in OK. It was a long and tiring trip. Since then life has brought many health issues and we have not traveled that way again. Now I will have to get on a stick and get the front looking decent and blow the dust out of the house. What part doesn't get swept up with the vacuum at least. We always need incentives to get busy and 'gitter done' don't we.
So now I am really in the mood to do some Christmas decorating. Found one of those animated reindeer on sale again this year. I have two of them now and am ready to get them hooked up and nodding. Will place them in the front under the Magnolia tree next to the lamp post. One year I wound red ribbon around the post and think I will do that again this year. Maybe hang a swag of natural materials as well. It should look nice out there with the mulch in place and some decorations to share with the neighborhood.
Made hubby an almost sugar free pecan pie. It came out OK, but didn't 'set up' as much as I would have liked. We ate it anyway of course. Will try a different recipe next time. Also found a sugar free pumpkin pie recipe I want to try. My sweet tooth is just way too active. I just love carbs and so does my body fat index. Not fair at all. Hope some of you saw the 'Cathy' cartoon today. It was just for me.
More To Come Later
Garden Guide Friends for all your good thoughts for my husband and his 'fall down day'. He is fine and even commented later that despite it all we did have a good day.
And thanks also for your kindness over the loss of my neighbors dogs. She is a special person and a great gardening pal.
More To Come Later
Blog. We went around to the church to check on pecans and I looked at the - so-called by me - 'cherry' trees. My husband patiently says, Linda those are PLUM trees. Sorry about that, just wishful thinking on my part. I don't care too much for the plums but as I said I love cherries.
My hubby fell not once but twice while we were picking up pecans in the church yard. Luckily he could get himself up by leaning over onto the wheeled walker. We go no where without it as of today. He has been using his regular cane unless we had to walk a ways, not any more. The first time he fell he had his cane, the second time was my fault as I had locked the wheels on the walker and it wouldn't push of course. But he just went down on his knees that time. Believe me I am so thankful there are such things as cell phones these days. I don't panic quite so much as I know we can summon help in a moment.
My good neighbor had to have another of her dogs put to sleep. This one was Bailey a great Lab that belonged to her son that is a paraplegic. Bailey was too weak to even come into the house for their last goodbye. Turns out her hips were so soft that she had infection in them again. This time it was worse and she was in such pain. They are down to two dogs now. One a small black lab, Macy, which I need to get a picture of and 'Junya' (you got to say that as if you lived in the south) Junya is a giant of a dog that was the runt of the litter, is completely blind and has bad hips as well. Her vet said that Bailey, who is Junyas mom and Junya may have a genetic thing from birth. These two are good dogs and will help her get through yet another time of grief. My fiend has lost two other dogs in the last two years. It is just so hard.
The day is gorgeous and I am going out to clean up the mess I made yesterday at the road. Then hopefully we can get some mulch this afternoon.
More To Come Later
in Yardgranny's gardens. The sweet potato vine on the front bank had gotten singed by the cold temps we had a couple of weeks ago. So off they came. It was not too hard to first pull it back with a garden rake and then cut the rooted stems with the pruners. All told it took maybe two hours with a break or two. I had found a few big tuberous roots that were whitish in color at a couple of points,
than I was pulling back a large clump and saw a bit of red. Well now I thought, has some kid lost a red ball in here? Upon pulling all the vine back I discovered it was rubber ball sized roots. This looks like the heart of the plant. No wonder they can live in the hot, dry sun with no water. They have it all stored in these roots.
My neighbor asked me what I was going to do with them and I said toss them out. She thought I should have left them on the bank as she has at least one plant that comes back every year. But!!!! I am not sure I want to deal with this every year and really, really want to find something that I don't have to mess with at all once established. What that will be is a mystery at this point however. Told my husband I was harvesting supper! He wasn't impressed with my gardening skills.
Then I dug the two Drawf Nandinas and replanted them in the new area in front that is to be mulched. The edger/trencher was next to get some use today. I went around the area that will be grassy in the front yard mostly so I can see better where to spread the mulch. With the first load I couldn't see where the line was to be for all the dead grass and grass/weeds that are dying out from the cold weather.
Hubby tried to pick up some pecans from next door and at our sons house but they were no good. None of the pecans we have picked have been very good this year. Doesn't surprise me though because last year there were so many you couldn't pick up all that were on the ground. We will try the trees at the church tomorrow and if they don't show very many on the ground we will quit looking. Also want to check the cherry trees that grow on the church property. I can't remember when a friend and I went to get them last year. I did see one tree that had small fruit this week but only at a distance. I love fresh picked cherries.
My son has a problem right at the bottom of the steps to his front porch. There is a drainage problem there in that when it rains it runs in rivulets across that bottom step and makes a mud puddle. So today he was off and decided to check that area in regards to how level it was between the step and the yard. When he dug just at the first half brick step there was a huge piece of concrete that had been put there who knows how many years ago and had gotten covered with dirt over time. He dug it out and laid it aside. I then asked him if he had checked to see if there were more large concrete pieces in that area. He looked up at me, grabbed the shovel and dug three feet from that first piece and - yep - there was another huge piece. He put that one aside and I told him he ought to check in between those two pieces and - yep - there was another one. We had a laugh at this scenario and he didn't find any more concrete pieces.
So now he knows number 1 - why the water didn't just drain away and number 2 - why the grass wouldn't grow there other than it is a shady area. So I imagine his plan of using gravel and sand and perhaps bricks just in front of that short first half brick step will work fairly well. This is a temporary thing as he needs to put in a driveway and walkway one year soon. Yard work in a new yard/lawn yields all sorts of surprises.
The weather here has just been beautiful and after a morning of errands and looking for pecans (note to self-buy more potting soil) I am hoping to be able to do more gardening. Even if it is just unloading a truck full of mulch. (second note to self - take picture of Loadhandler in action) :-)
More To Come Later
hauling in more mulch this week. I did spread the first load out a bit this weekend. And then those beautiful annual Sweet Potato plants have been blackened. They do not like cold weather at all. They will have to be composted. The Angel Trumpets on the other hand just keep going. A few yellow blooms got bit by the cold snap but my yard still has plenty of color around. It has been a good year for my plants.
We go in the morning to get the flu shot and then Tuesday to VOTE. Don't know which will hurt the most. This has been a difficult year. And it didn't help that all the campaigning started so far before election day. So all of you go put in your vote then sit back and wait for the results. There isn't a person in this world that can balance a trillion dollar budget, get the troops back and even out the economy in the first year, much less four years.
Have decided to move the three Knockout Roses off that hot, dry bank and put them up in the yard where I can enjoy them. Will put some Lantana on that bank and start some Purple Heart wandering plant. The PH seems to like to grow just about anywhere. I sometimes wonder just what that bank will really end up looking like in the next few years. I can't seem to be satisfied with anything I think of. So next year will be another experiment for the bank.
Going to the movies this afternoon with a friend to see 'The Secret Life of Bees". My hubby always states that he didn't know bees had a secret life. Oh well, no trying to get him to understand the love of sappy movies for women. The book was excellent and through Sue Monk Kidd's newsletter, I have found that she is more than happy with the results of the filming of her baby. So I am taking a hankie along for the trip.
More To Come Later
Just got back from the movie and it is excellent. I can recommend it to everyone. So true to the book, no wonder the author was so proud of the outcome.
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