motherbored's Blog
motherbored's Blog
Last Post 1 day, 9 hours Ago
Oct 11, 2008 | 7:10 AM PST
I think I inherited my love of animals from my Dad, or else he taught it to me, and it goes deep. My dogs understand what I'm saying. My first rescue was when I was 14 and it was an adventure, to be sure. Benjamin, a huge St Bernard, had taken to killing the sheep on the ranch, where he lived and his owners were going to put him down. My best friend and I couldn't stand the thought of Benji being put to death, so we took my best friend's mother's car and Benji and headed for California. You have to picture two short kids, a big sedan, and a big dog, going down the road, from WA to CA. We needed pillows, to sit on, to see over the dash. Our parents called the police and there were 3 state-wide searches for us and no one noticed these two little kids on a major highway (major, at that time, was 4 lanes). We got as far as San Francisco, when the gravity of our deed hit us, so we went to the police. Our parents drove down to get us and Benji. Benji was relocated to a new home, where there were no sheep, and lived happily ever after. My best friend and I were forbidden to see one another, but we saw each other at school and both believed we'd done the right thing. My mother used to laugh at the reunion in the SF police station; our parents walked in and there was a tearful reunion; Mom said there were ladies of the night there and even they were crying.
OMG, I just realized that this was 60 years ago!
As to dogwood, my Mom bought me a redbud tree, but it didn't make it, due to the unfriendly clay, where it was planted. I want to get another one. They grow wild, down towards the coast; it's a sight to behold, in the spring. I'm hoping we can drive down there, soon, and get some cuttings, or even a sapling.
I've also been looking for Italian cypress. We bought our eucs, when they were 2" high, from a nursery that is no longer in business. I'm looking for a place that sells the small starts in quantity, as I want to close off a part of our property, and cut down the morning-traffic noise. If anyone can give me a hint, I'll be very grateful. The places I've looked don't have the small starts. Maybe I'll spread out and go to Sacramento to see if I can find a nursery like the one that's closed.
Oct 10, 2008 | 8:49 PM PST
I was reading Bill Mitchell's reply to Rascalmamma and remembered my daughter buying some sort of collar for her golden retriever, to make Dixie (dog) stop barking, all the time. The purpose of the collar was to give off some sort of shock, when the dog barked, and it would make them stop, eventually. I was told that it wasn't painful, but I'd debate shock, of any kind, not being painful. Anyway, Dixie did some sort of bad thing and Sophia was yelling at her; everytime she raised her voice, it set the collar off and Sophia couldn't figure out why Dixie was reacting so. After she deduced what she'd been doing to the poor dog, she got rid of the collar, much to my delight.
Mike put all the ground cover down in the corner, where he has discovered he can make gardens with nothing. First it was a cactus, followed by something else, and now the ground cover; he's turning in to one fine gardener.
Brrr, it's cold here, tonight! I turned on the heat, as I was freezing. It's not that cold, but, after 90 degree weather, a drop to 63 degrees is definitely felt.
Our son gave me a house plant that someone gave him, while he was in the horse-pistol. When we got home last night, I forgot to take it in from the garage and it was a bit wilted, from the cold, this morning, but, after a few hours in the garden window, it looks like not to much damage was done.
Well, it's past my bedtime, so good night and God rest on your pillow.
Oct 9, 2008 | 8:55 PM PST
Tags: cancer , radiation therapy , Radiation
Just got home from our son's; our daughter and her son were there too, and we had a wonderful meal, thanks to Mike's culinary efforts.
Mike mowed the grass and I filled two large boxes with all the ground cover I cut back; the cover is easy to start, and it grows fast; now, I have to find a place to put it. I'll take a picture of the bank garden, tomorrow, to show you how lush and green it is. I tried to get a picture of one of the flowers, but failed, so maybe I'll have better luck tomorrow.
Went to Costco, while we were down there and you have no idea of the agony I endured! They had thrown out a tree, in their trash and I was so tempted to go dumpster diving for it, but managed to control myself... mainly, because I believe you can be arrested for something like that, can't you?
Deo has his first radiation therapy on the 24th and we will have the girls and Sarah up here, because he's not supposed to be around them. I had no idea how involved this was. I think he's afraid, but he's trying his best to be brave for the girls; they are very worried about him, so he's doing everything to help them keep their minds off it.
Well, better get to bed; Goliath doesn't like to stay up late. He's still doing well, despite the cough. Good night, all, and God rest on your pillow.
Oct 9, 2008 | 7:38 AM PST
When I was young, people said I looked like June somebody (has a whispery voice and wore her hair in a pageboy,) as I got older, they said I looked like Shelly Winters. Last night, before going to bed, I glanced in the bathroom mirror and decided I still look like a star -- Dawg the Bounty Hunter. Think I'll cut my hair ;-)
We're going to our son's, today, to cut his grass; he's still not feeling 100% from the surgery. Mike's going to make pansit for dinner, as well as fried rice -- where is the lumpia!
I'm going to trim back the ground cover, at Deo's (son) house; I should get enough to get it going all along the front fence line and maybe even some for the west end of the house. Wish I could give all of you some, because it's so dark green, with pretty, tiny red flowers and I want to share.
Hey, I found my Wacom tablet and pen; it was in the computer, all the time, but Mike had slipped a ream of paper on the shelf and it covered the tablet. Good thing the printer ran out of paper, huh?
Well, better get some coffee going, or I won't be.
Oct 8, 2008 | 3:02 PM PST
Tags: quilt , quilting
I really don't think I'm supposed to digitize or sew; I finally got my R/W module back, made a maze design for a kids' quilt block, put it on the card, went to the playhouse to test sew it and can't find a bobbin for the machine! My son put Mike's old computer in there, so I could set up another design center for the Husqvarna and, in so doing, he must have brushed the bobbin and cover off. Durn! Shame on me for complaining, because my son is such a good kid and helps us so much.
Anyway, here's the block design. I generally use Dover clipart, as it's not copyright protected, per se. I must own 100 of their clipart books, by now; never can have enough of a good thing ;-) I clean up the clipart, so as not to have too many details, this way you have a simple redwork design. The design will go on a 6" block, but can be made larger, for a larger block.
Oh, my gardening stuff: I am trying to start new eucs from cuttings and cloning gel and this is sort of a garden-type picture ;-)
Oct 8, 2008 | 10:05 AM PST
While I was watering the bank garden, I saw how much Mike had cut; wow, we're going to have firewood for years! I had no idea a eucalyptus, no matter how small it looks, has so much wood!
Ten Cent is holding his own and looking better every day. Some of my mini roses don't look so good, so I'd better get out and cut them back. I wish I knew the kind of ground cover I have there; got it from cuttings from my son and it's really pretty, with tiny flowers that the bees love. I'll see if he can remember what it was called.
Last night, Mike got a picture of Goliath, in his favorite spot and his adversaries are looking a bit miffed, that they don't get this type of treatment. That's Willy-Kitty in the front, Walter is ignoring Goliath, and Spike is on the other side of me: no wonder I don't get much sleep ;-)
Oct 7, 2008 | 6:13 PM PST
Tags: grey water , water conservation
... or the money to buy more ;-)
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Oct 7, 2008 | 1:53 PM PST
Just got home from the big city and didn't get anything, to speak of. Bought the bolt-end (8-2/3 yards) of white muslin, for the quilt squares, then called son and granddaughters and met them for banana splits, then to the store to buy the kids something to occupy them, for the afternoon, as their dad has a chemistry assignment.
When I got home, there was my R/W module, so I'm going to be digitizing until the wee hours of the morning.
Hope you all had as much fun today, as I did ;-)
Oct 7, 2008 | 9:15 AM PST
Today, I'm really going to go out and start looking for more things to grow. So far, I haven't made it to any Lowes, Ace Hardware, etc., and they've all been having sales. I also have to get some muslin, as I'm making stick figure quilt squares for children's quilts. One of my friends makes the quilts for children in foster care, hospitals, etc., so I thought this would be fun for the kids. I'm also trying to get mazes to put on squares, as kids love mazes. I usually buy Dover books, as they don't have stringent royalties; I can't draw, worth beans, and I truly want the kids to see a maze, not a bunch of squiggles.
Goliath is holding his own and I'm determined to remember to call the vet, today, to get meds for him, should he have pain.
The parsley that I planted for Mike, in a container, is really thriving;; he's so excited that he will have parsley, when he needs it. Silly man, he has all sorts of stuff in the garden, already, but doesn't use it.
Hey, has anyone ever tried sage with their fried potatoes? I add onions and chopped sage and it's delicious.
Well, I'm off... in more ways that one ;-)
Oct 6, 2008 | 8:47 PM PST
I don't think I want to be a pharmacist; too dull! I sat here, this afternoon, opening the cymbalta capsules and pouring out some of the filling. Cheaper than getting a lower dose and, besides, if things keep on going the way they are, I won't need 'em anymore.
Went out and checked all the growing stuff and the rain, even that little bit, really gave everything a shot.
Mike is going to put my battery back in the tractor; we take it out, when we're not going to use the tractor, because it loses the charge, otherwise.
Got boucoup oak leaves that I want to cut up, so they will mulch better. We bought a catcher, but nothing ever gets up in it, so gave up trying. A rake is for real farmers, so I don't do that ;-) Also, oak leaves have a tendency to get slippery, with rain, and I fall enough, as it is.
I moved a bunch of pine straw under my rose bushes and they like that. I never heard of pine straw, until I was in NC, and they really piled it on the base of their trees, there, when we were staying there for a few months. Smart people!
Oct 6, 2008 | 9:31 AM PST
Do you think bees know something that we don't? With all the talk about global warming and bees disappearing, I'm wondering. I'm not scientific minded, but I was curious, when we went days without sun spots, prior to that, we were told that bees were disappearing, etc. Yesterday, Mike said he couldn't figure out the noise, as he was under the eucalyptus trees, looked up and said there were thousands of bees there. We'd had rain, the day before. Wish I were a scientist, because, if I were, I'd keep my eye on nature.
As for bees disappearing, those foreboders who say that, should hang around here; there has been no shortage of bees, in fact, I think we've had more than usual. Same with butterflys; this year was one of the most prolific for butterflys in this area. You can't look out the window, without seeing one.
Dumb conversation, but I have a dumb brain that likes to wonder about stuff ;-)
Oct 5, 2008 | 2:34 PM PST
I don't get no respect! I was out helping Mike, cutting the eucs -- no, they're not dead; you cut eucs 3' up and they will regrow -- and he needed my help to roll one, so he could cut completely through; I bent, helped him roll it and, then, fell "ine slow motion," so he claims. Lately, I've been doing everything a little slow, I guess; I'm trying to get off antidepressants, which I've been taking for about 18 years, per doctors' advice. I finally determined that I'd rather be me, than in a fog, somewhere. Now, when I have nothing to do, I stand around and listen to my heart beat, or watch my arms to make sure they're not as big as they feel; talk about a bad trip, but I'm determined. I can't fathom how anyone can take a mind-altering anything on purpose.
Went to the movies with the girls and their dad, yesterday, and saw Beverly Hills Chihuahua; what a cute film! I just love Cheech Marin's voice, which was dubbed. Of course, I shed a tear, now and then, thinking of our Goliath; he's getting closer to the Rainbow Bridge, by the day, but we're keeping hm comfortable. Don't know if I mentioned it, but the vet found a mass in his lung, which is cancerous. He has a bad cough, but still bounces around like a pup. We try not to have our fur babies put down, as death isn't always painful, but being away from their loved ones is.
I tried to get a picture of the ground cover, with the bees all over it, but my picture taking leaves much to be desired, so I gave up, after two failures.
Our rainy "season" is over; it lasted about 14 hours. There's supposed to be more, though.
Well, guess I'll go out and see what else I can do in slow-motion ;-)
Below is Mike, waiting for my help, thinking up some snide remark to make, once I fall ;-)
Oct 4, 2008 | 5:57 PM PST
They discovered America and, guess what? I discovered that if you have two cordless mouses in close proximity, only one will work properly; the other? Good luck ;-) Last night, I let Alyssa play on my laptop and I was on my PC; my mouse wouldn't work properly and I was getting very upset, because I'd just put new batteries in it. She finally grew tired of her game and left to watch TV and, voila, my mouse worked again! In the old days, grandmothers didn't have these problems.
Oct 4, 2008 | 10:56 AM PST
This makes me so angry! I had a blog, ready to post, and lost it. Oh, well, back to the drawing board. This morning, I made beignet dough, thinned it and proceeded to make puffers. The first batch turned out well, the second was slightly black, but my loving pups didn't mind. I put the black ones on the back porch and coco, being the piggish dog she is, picked one up and proceeded to chew: HOT! She (if a dog can do such a thing) spit it halfway across the back porch. The girls complained that the puffers didn't look as good as they do on TV; heck, nothing I make looks like it does on TV, which is why I stick to making soup. The second batch turned out well, but the kids lost interest and went back to Sponge Bob, leaving me with a hungry pack of dogs on the back porch and a bunch of puffers.
It rained 4/10" last night; it feels so nice and clean, outside! No hand-watering, today. Our water bill was over $200, last month! I wish we had had a well put in, when we bought this place, but can't afford it now. Besides, the local government is trying to regulate water use -- forget the fact that we live within 3 miles of one of the largest reservoirs in California.
Enough whining; you all have a wonderful day!
