What a Weekend

Whew, I'm glad that weekend is over. I am tired. It started out Saturday with our weekly outing to Home Depot, where we rented a man lift to trim a water oak in our backyard. This needed to be done before the next hurricane pays us a visit and the thing ends up in my livingroom. So we get home around 9:30 and start trimming the first of three oaks that surround my house, that was not the bargain, it was supposed to be one tree. We worked until 3:30 straight. Cutting and hauling branches. On our way to visit my dad for supper Saturday afternoon, we get a phone call that T and A's son, Scott, was killed in a car wreck around 2:30. I can only imagine what they must be going through. I know the hurt I had when Rachael died and the hurt that hits me now three months later, but a child. Yeah he was 28 but that's still your child. I pray daily that I never have to go through something like that. Just going through the ordeal with Matthew after his wisdom teeth was enough. Supper with dad and paw was wonderful, my brother and two of his three sons and my two sons were all there. I was the only girl, but it didn't bother me, I was the only girl all my life. I have three brothers. Sunday, was more of the same, we had finished cutting the branches in the tree but left a lot that still needed hauling and also cutting some for firewood. I mowed the grass while the guys worked with the limbs and logs. Around noon, I decided it was time for some me time. So, I went shopping. Bought some fish for our tank and some craft supplies and just shopped the rest of the time. Got home around 4:oo pm. I was so tired I just vegged out in the sunroom and read. Now its Monday, I need to run some errands, and get ready to leave for Texas and a funeral. How was your weekend?

Be careful what you pray for

Well the rain stopped yesterday. I really thought I had died and gone to hell. It was so hot yesterday. It was too hot to do anything. I nearly melted running errands. I hate hot weather. My dad called yesterday. He is in town for the weekend. He is the primary caregiver for my grandfather who has alzheimers. This is such a terrible disease. My dad is 70 years old, my grandmother, his mom, died suddenly in March of 05. I think my grandfather was beginning to forgot back then, but my Grandmother took care of things. Anyway after she died, I told my dad that Paw was getting forgetful. He brushed it off. He stayed with us during Hurricane Rita. I don't think he was bathing regularily anymore. The smell was soooo bad we had to ride with the windows down. Well about 9 months ago, my dad came down to visit my grandfather and found him wallowing around in feces, literally. My grandfather had not bathed in days and there was no food in the house. He said everything was covered in filth. Now understand this is not my grandfather. He was a proud man, a clean man who had taken care of his family for 75 years. Anyway, my dad decided then to take Paw home with him to live. So now every two to three weeks they come down. Dad stays at the farm, thirty acres of land in the country where he has a small home. He brings paw to paw's house in town and lets him stay there a couple of days, then they go back up to Shreveport Well, Dad and Paw are in town and we will be going to eat dinner with them this evening. I asked my Dad if I could have Maw and Paw's photo albums so I could copy some of the pictures of my dad when he was growing up. I have a couple but I would like more. Here is one that my grandmother gave me years ago.

My dad is the scrwany little one. He is the baby of the family. I asked him about that picture yesterday. He told me that the car wasn't even theirs. He thinks it was a neighbor's car. He said they didn't have a car until he was a teenager. He remembers when his grandmother died, the company that hi dad worked for loaned him a truck so the five of them could go to the funeral.

What a story. I love looking at old pictures and getting the stories behind them.

Here are some more old photos.

My Mom in her early 20's

Me - I'm about the same age.

Its about 6:00 am now, and I'm going out to the greenhouse to water.

More Later

Rain Rain Go Away

Its raining again today. Lord knows we need it, but if we don't get some sun soon I'm gonna shrivel up. Never did get around to making soap the other day. I think I will do that today. I want to make two batches, Lavender and Spiced Plum, two of my favs. I love the feel of homemade soap. Most people think its harsh and scratchy, man are they mistaken. I have several containers and jars in my bathroom filled with soap. Most of it is soap I received in swaps on Soapnuts.

And pictures of the bathroom Russ and I added on last year. This is where I enjoy using those soaps

Here are some garden shots from this week. Rio Samba Rose

Touch of Class

Mrs. Jimmy Spangler

I'm a snapdragon

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I am a Snapdragon What Flower Are You?

I do love snapdragons. I also love blog hopping. I hop to this blog site from another and found this cute little test.

Things That Make Me Smile 21-30

21. Talks with my Mother My beautiful Mother and Andre

22. The beauty of the Louisiana Plantation Homes

Nottoway stands overlooking the Mississippi River. This enormous mansion, completed in 1859, reflects an unusual combination. Greek revival architectural elements blend with innovations that were the fanciful desires of the original owner. Not only is the floor plan irregular, but the house contained many elements that were innovative and rare in the mid-19th century, such as indoor plumbing and hot and cold running water. 23. The energy of a Mardi Gras Parade 24. Watching the hummingbirds fight over my feeders 25. My new Grandson, Logan

Russell and Logan

26. A Mardi Gras Ball 27. My roses 28. Breakfast Duty at School 29. A New Orleans Accent 30. The way my husband thinks I'm beautiful

Back from Houston

Today will be another just like yesterday. Run errands in the morning and hide from the rain all afternoon. I'm getting pretty tired of all the rain. Summer is almost over. We go back to school in about 3 weeks. I'm going to miss my days at home doing just what I want to do. Our trip to Houston was fun. I went to Garden Ridge and bought, and bought and bought more stuff. I bought a wedding album for myself at 75% off. I just started scrapbooking and I am doing our wedding so get lucky there. I also bought a bed in a bag for my bedroom, well you know the old saying you get what you pay for. Anyway it will not be put away for a couple of months waiting for my oldest to move out, when he does, it will go in our newly refurbished guest bedroom. I also splurged on some Lemax Halloween pieces. I love to set up the little villages. I really like my christmas village. It takes me days to set it up, but what fun. The halloween village is growing, last year was the first year I set it up. I have harvest houses on one end and the witches and goblins on the other with a grave yard in the middle. I have a built in bookcase in my dining room that measures about 24 inches deep by 90 inches long. You would think that this area would be enough. Last year it was perfect for my Black Bayou village, but the Christmas one, well Russ had to build an additional 24 by 36 inch table that we add to one end that makes an L shape out of the counter. This year.... I think we are going to have to expand again. Anyway I bought a grim reaper sitting in a grave yard and a Halloween Carnival table scape. I bought some more of the little black lights that when its all set up makes the village very eerie. Russell insisted on a 5ft tall skeleton dressed as a pirate that dances and flappes his jaw and signs, Super Freak, Well Dressed Man, LaGrange and Slow Ride, he is hysterical. My step son does a haunted house and Russ and Matt take part. We will work this pirate into the house this year for sure. The Gardens are very green and lush because of all the rain. I will post a few pictures of the yard, if the darn computer cooperates. I need to upload the ones I took yesterday. I just barely missed a perfect shot of a hummingbird yesterday. I was hovering over the sages I picked up the camera, focused and the darn thing buzzed off. Maybe this morning he will be back. I have fresh nectar.... After I return from all my errand running I think I will make some soap. I am going to make a batch of lavender, just for me. I am not even going to share. I might even make a batch of spiced plum just for me also. I love those two scents. I also want to make some more powder. I made some for a swap last year and it was scratchy. I need to figure out what I did wrong and fix that mess. More Later. D

Chuck Norrisisms

Let me start off by saying that I have a 19 and 15 year old. That in itself is a scary thought, but the things these kids are into amaze me. Both of them are really good kids, knock on wood. My oldest, Jacob, has always had this really wierd sense of humor. He recently bought this shirt about Chuck Norris. Something about evolution and Chuck Norris allowing animals to live. Anyway when I asked him about the meaning behind this shirt, he showed me this website. This stuff is too funny. My favorite is

Chuck Norris is the reason why Waldo is hiding.

I know its stupid, but I just got the giggles over it.

We are going on a road trip this weekend to Houston. I haven't been there in ages. We normally go to New Orleans, but after Katrina I'm too afraid to go. The reports coming out of their are still heart wrenching. Children living on the streets alone or actually in gangs because their parents are either missing or dead. The violence is horrible. With that said, Jacob and a friend are going down there this weekend. Keep them in your prayers. They are going to stay with another friend, so hopefully this person will steer them clear of the bad areas.

Here are pictures of my children goofing off as usual.

Jacob - who needs a hair cut something bad,

Matt and The Grandman - Logan

Took picutres of the garden again today, will post them on Monday,

Master Gardener Meeting I attended a Board Meeting for Master Gardener's this morning. It was good to see my gardening friends and to share gardening stories for the morning. I left armed with 10 completed applications for the 2006 class. I am now responsible for interviewing these individuals to see if they are still interested in going through the class. We have 65 applicants and 30 slots to fill. I'm just glad that the final cuts are chosen by a lottery drawing. After that I came home and started cooking meatballs for supper. I'm making either meatball stew or Spaghetti. Other than that I am just picking up the house and listening to music on the radio. I am hoping to get outside after it cools down a bit (its 98 with a heat index of 107) and water the porch and patio plants. I also would like to sneak off into the greenhouse and play awhile.

Here are some Garden Shots Mr. Lincoln - very fragrant - one of my favs

I am very pleased with the way my newest rose garden turned out. It's a bit more formal than my other ones but I am enjoying having morning coffee out there. My wonderful husband made this for me for my birthday this year. These are the best roses a woman can get, I cut a fresh bouquet just about everyday.

Yesterday I posted a picture of my greenhouse friends and didn't think to explain it. In early june I was working in the greenhouse and reached up into a small cubby where I keep my screening material and something flew out at my face. I screamed and hit the deck. My little Lucy was barking and I was having a cardiac. Once the dust settled I found that I had a bird's nest in my cubby with five little eggs inside. Since that day I watched on a daily basis the prgress of the Momma and Papa birds as they took care of their babies. I took pictures daily once the eggs hatched and was very sorry to see them go. They took flight on July 2nd.

Just a few days old

About a week old

This Rose is Gene Boerner. When I took this picture the bush had 65 buds and blooms on it. It is a good show stopper.

Well, my family is coming in from work, more later.

10 more things that make me smile 11. Cajun Dancing 12. The tinkling of windchimes 13. A cool crisp autumn morning 14. The smell of the burning of the sugar can fields during cane harvesting 15. Looking at old photo albums 16. The mischievous tinkle in my Dad's eyes 17. Memories of drinking Cafe au lat with my grandparents 18. Spending the evening with my brothers 19. Watching Lucy (the dog) and Casper (the cat) play together 20. My husband's smile

Lucy and Casper playing around

Babysat our grandson last night for the first time. Russ and I had a blast. He was so good. I can't wait to do it again. We had more rain today. The gardener in me says yeah, but the woman who is going stir crazy being cooped up every afternoon is saying argh. We only have 4 weeks of summer vacation left and I don't want to miss a minute of it.

Here is some garden shots

My Greenhouse

Greenhouse Visitors

About 10 years ago, I was challenged by my friend, Rachael, to list 101 things that make me smile. It sounded like a simple list to make. Well, let me tell you, it was one of the hardest things I have ever had to complete. Here is a sampling of what I wrote 10 years ago. 1. My son's (J) inquisitiveness 2. M's (my youngest son's) boundless energy 3. The smell of coffee in the morning 4. Rain on a tin roof. 5. A long hot bath. 6. Dinner with a friend. 7. The peacefulness of Christmas 8. Old classic, sappy movies. 9. Planting flowers and watching them grow 10. Rachael's laugh. These were the top 10 thing that made me smile. The only thing that has changed on this list is I can only smile at the memory of Rachael's laugh. She passed away in April of this year after 12 long years of battling cancer. She has been on my mind today. Maybe that's why I thought about this list and decided to re-read it. I have also decided that I will be re-writing my "things that make me smile" list over the next couple of days. I think it will be interested to see the changes. I challenge anyone who reads this to make their own list. It's an eye opener. Russ and I are going to be babysitting our grandson tonight. It is the first time his parents are leaving him with us. We are both very excited. He is a cutie, but then I guess I'm biased. Here he is at his 1st Fourth of July Bar-B-Que.

Isn't he just handsome.

Beginnings

Bienvenue I figured that I would take the plunge and set up a blog. So, please bear with me while I learn how to do this. Wohoo I added my first Picture. This is a tropical hibiscus called appropriately enough "Bienvenue". This was taken this spring with my camera I recieved for Christmas. One of my passions is gardening. Another is taking pictures of what I grow.