Seedy Saturday - Garden 'Porn'

When the temperatures are in the 90's and the humidity matches, being outside is not a fun activity.  Also, when I am working 35-40 hours a week, it's really hard to spend time outside.

So I rely on my 'Garden Porn' and my love-affair-from-afar with Monty Don of Gardener's World. 

Weekly, Monty Don tells me how to plan, plant, and propagate, all set in beautiful gardens, overflowing with bright flowers and lush green plants.

Problem is, I now have a long list of plants I never knew I wanted to grow and will need a huge garden to grow everything. Equally unfortunate, he also shows how to grow in small spaces too.

I daydream of espaliering fruit trees and raising dahlias. And I NEED a greenhouse for overwintering plants.

I also wonder why we, here in the United States, don't have a dedicated gardening show, full of practical advise and 'what to do over the weekend'. 

So, until the weather cools off and I feel like getting outside to do more than water and mow, I rely on Monty Don to keep me entertained. 

Note: I have a BritBox subscription, so I watch the new episodes there every week. But you can also watch past episodes via YouTube.

Mandala Monday

Week in Review - August 4-10

Yuck! What a week.

Tuesday I went home from work early and headed to Minute Clinic. Yes, a massive UTI to be 'fixed' with massive antibiotics. And a couple of days at home downing watering to flush out my system. So not much fun, except I did get some stitching and sewing done. A tiny bit.

And I watched 'The Upside', which is a really good movie and a pleasant couple of hours in front of the TV.

Lady K has been spending some time in my closet this week. I have had her for a couple of overnights and she likes sleeping in my closet. Right now, she has emerged with her Switch and is playing Minecraft. 

Mr. RaceCar bought her Minecraft for the Switch this past week. Entertaining and makes her use her brain to create things. However, she has her time 'restricted' because she will play it all day if given the opportunity.

We, Texter and I, braved a bit of time at Target and purchased some back to school clothes for Lady K. Unicorns and dinosaurs, sequins and glitter. What more can a girl need?

Texter is also anxiously awaiting the results of her interview for a clinic job this past week. We are all on tenterhooks as this would be a great job. Hopefully, this coming week will give us a pleasant answer.

(Break for another cup of coffee)

Speaking of coffee...

Yep, Starbucks has come to my house (not my picture by the way). We got 3 of the 4 flavors on Saturday at work. And I brought home the Caramel Macchiato and the White Chocolate Mocha. This morning is indulging in the White Chocolate Mocha. And I did put a bit in a bottle to take into work for a co-worker to try. 

This week also had me watching Miss J mow my yard. Not only did she feel sorry because I was under the weather, but my "Joe" died. I called the company and a new "Joe" is on its way and should arrive this coming week. I have to say, the customer service was great and no fuss. It's a pain I am having to replace it, but the mower is under warranty and no charge. 

Savvy got with me about being "Uber-Mom" over the next couple of weeks. Mr. Arizona is going to visit his sister and I will be coordinating getting him to the airport, taking Savvy to/from work, attending a wedding, getting Lady K to/from her dad's (for a weekend at the beach), and my work. Going to be an interesting couple of weeks.

The real downside to being 'sick' this week is on Saturday I had to come into work at 9 a.m. rather than the 10 a.m. I was planning on. Therefore, I missed out on standing in line for my Carowinds tickets for completing the Summer Break Reading Program at the library. Oh, well.

Texter discovered my Kindle Unlimited on Amazon. So we are getting more use out of it.

Otherwise this week...

• 4 days this week over 5000. 3 of those days over 10,000
• 6 posts written this week
• 1 book finished
• Sorted through Lady K's clothes to see what she has outgrown and what she can still use for school

This coming week...

• Taking Lady K to her dad early for her weekend at the beach with her grandparents
• Mr. Arizona to the airport
• Savvy to/from work
• Housework!!!!
• Repot more of my inside plants

But more now...MORE coffee with White Chocolate Mocha creamer!

Seedy Saturday - August 'Hump'

We have entered that period of time where plants are about fed up with long, hot days. And are looking more than a bit shabby. 

However, there are some bright spots in the garden.



My 'rescue' elephant ears and caladiums are starting to grow. Which is pretty amazing considering the condition they emerged from their packaging. It's a late start, but I think they will do fine and I can overwinter them in the garage.

'Michael' Meyer Lemon has about half a dozen lemons which are slowly starting to turn yellow. 

And he is also starting to put out a few new blooms. 'Michael Meyer' has also replaced most of the leaves he dropped during the winter and early spring, looking much, much better.

My three banana trees I repotted into one large pot. And the leaves which were torn up by the hail a week ago I removed. New leaves are popping out, so I think they are settling into their new home.

Right below the bananas are the two cana lilies I started from seed. I'll probably start additional ones in January so they will be ready for potting outside when the weather warms up. And below them, my passionflower vines are slowly growing. To their left, my plumeria has grown several inches and put out lots of leaves over the summer. I am so excited to see what happens next summer.

The mums which Lady K picked out last year, hung in through tons of neglect and is covered in buds.  My vanilla orchids, the 5 little cuttings I bought earlier in the year, are taking off. So much so, one cutting is now about 18 inches long. Another two are starting to take off. Two more are still sitting there. But I am really happy with the fact I have 3 'vines' doing well. Now I need to get about 9 more feet before it thinks about blooming!

Other things going on in the garden outside...

• I cut back the pot of mint because it had gotten so shaggy
• I cut off the seed pods from the different basils
• I put the Dutchman's Pipe vines into a large pot
• Divided and cut back the dumb cane and waiting to see if it takes off

Inside there is a bit of action also.

I picked up a marbled miniature rose. One went to Miss J for her birthday and I keep one. I also picked up two tiny peperomia plants - rippled and acorn.

Along with a silver pothos. The peperomia are upstairs with the Desert Rose and the pothos is on the window sill with my hoya and my new...

White Bird of Paradise!

My houseplant newbies, I am blaming on my enabler at Oakdale Greenhouses. I stop in on Saturday morning for a bit of plant therapy before work and he 'shows' me the new arrivals. Evil, evil man!

On the list of 'to-do's' is sorting out where I am going to put the plants when they have to come inside for the winter. But that's a couple of months away at the minimum!

Fabric and Fiber Friday - Nebula and Witch Update

This week has been, well, a pain.

In my sides.

It seems I allowed a massive UTI to creep into my body. So for the past two and a half days, I have been mainly at home, guzzling water and antibiotics. And peeing.

I have managed to get a tiny bit done on Nebula.

I am on the middle 'goose' of the flying geese portion of the border parts. Hopefully, I will have all 42 parts on it's way to the third goose by the end of the weekend.

I have also started working on my Halloween Witch again.

This is her status on 01 August.

And today...

And here she is today! Just a bit in the center of her dress and then it's onto the beads and backstitching.

It's back to work today. A long day. 

But first, coffee before I start drinking water again.

Tuesday Sundries - Good Neighbors

I was brought up to do it all on my own. Stand on your own two feet. Looking back, I think it led to me isolating myself and contributing to my depression.

While I am still selective (read picky), I have opened up a bit and am learning to really appreciate the friendships formed by doing so.

Case in point -

Miss J, my neighbor across-the-street-behind-me.

She enables my plant 'collecting'. She dislikes the HOA more than I do. She walks Amani on those days when I have a long workday. In fact, she loves on Amani so much, the dog walks out the back door and looks across the street for her 'buddy'.

She also...

Fetches 'treasures' off the street for you when you text her and let her know she needs to check out the 'trash' around the corner.

I was heading for work and couldn't stop, but I saw enough of this table/desk that I was interested in it. I will be needing places to set plants come fall and I have to move plants back inside for the winter.

But I didn't see the front of the desk until I walked inside after work and picking up Lady K and there it was! I never expected to see it transported to my house.

It's a really nice piece of furniture and will make a great plant table. That is it will if I can keep Lady K from claiming it for HER desk. After all, she pointed out, I have a desk. Mommy has a desk. She needs a desk. Plus, it has a large drawer on the front, perfect for her crayons and markers.

Sigh.

Right now, my issue is finding a place for it. I feel I will be rearranging and cleaning up the spare bedroom sooner than I planned so I can put plants in there for the winter. But that's a few months away.

Mandala Monday

Week in Review - July 28 - August 3

It's hard this morning to try and recap my week after learning of the two mass murders in the past 24 hours. However, I have plans to bombard my lawmakers to do something other than shedding crocodile tears while protecting the NRA. Enough said on that topic. I have ranted about it already.

So...

Second cup of coffee on my desk.

Lady K is busting to get back to school. She can't wait. And this year she will be in after school care at the school since Texter and I are both working now. But she is excited.

Since she spent a couple of days with me this past week, we picked up some of the last items on her back-to-school list. And what could be more important than the sequins and fur unicorn backpack? Complete with a hood! And there is a matching lunch box. 

On Thursday, I picked up Texter and we did a little bit of Goodwill shop-hopping. During our drive, she received a call about a job she has applied for. This coming Tuesday she will have an interview at a medical clinic. A job in the field she trained it!

Needless to say, she is excited and her phone calls from the head office in Florida and the local office where she will be working have been very positive. This will get her not only into a job where she can use her schooling, but also out of the heat and off her feet which will help her health. Fingers crossed.

On Monday I received my foot massager. It isn't an expensive one, but it's nice. While I like it, I think I really need a hydro massager. Will have to think about it. Lady K also gave her approval to the massager when she was here.

It was a long week at work - 40 hours! And because I would have gone over 40 hours, I was lucky enough to leave work early Saturday. So I came home and did some yard work and some repotting of plants. I am trying to get some of the plants which will be brought inside or into somewhere more 'protected' over the winter, into pots and established before I have to start bringing them in. I was assisted in the potting with Miss J who was actually celebrating her birthday!

I didn't really do much other than work and attend to Lady K this past week. But I did accomplish the following:

• Walked 5000+ steps 6 days out of 7. Three days were over 10,000 steps.
• Finished 4 books. Actually, I started and tossed 3 of those.
• Wrote 7 posts

This coming week:

• Pick up Lady K from her dad Sunday after work and then drop her off Monday afternoon at her mom's.
• Await the results of Texter's interview on Tuesday
• Stand in line for my Carowinds tickets from the summer reading program
• Working 35.5 hours this week
• Get the next step of Nebula finished 

But for now, yet another cup of coffee and some breakfast before heading into work.

Mass Murder Rant on a Sunday Morning

I don't often air my political views on my website, mainly because I have very dear friends who are on both sides of the 'aisle'. And I attempt to respect that. I won't say I am 100% effective in that, but I try. 

However, TWO FUCKING MASS MURDERS!

And, once again, I am sure our lawmakers will be standing around, sending their 'thoughts and prayers' to the families of those murdered.

SCREW YOUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS!

My father owns guns. As did his father. My dad would go dove hunting every year and uses his BB gun to scare off coyotes from around the property. 

I grew up in a household knowing there were guns are where they were stored. We didn't have a safe for the guns. They were stored in a closet or under a bed and I knew they were there. I also knew if I messed with them there would be trouble.

I have friends who hunt and own rifles and handguns. I hiked with a gentleman who carried a handgun in case we came across a bear or mountain lion and he needed to fire it in an attempt to scare them off.

That's fine. I have no problem with that.

What I have an issue with is any idiot can get their hands on a gun which fires countless bullets in a matter of seconds! This isn't hunting for the meat. There is no purpose for owning such a weapon other than saying you own one. 

Unfortunately, our current slate of lawmakers all seem to be in the pocketbook of the NRA and are only concerned with sending platitudes rather than actually doing something to stop this and make it more difficult for this kind of thing to occur. 

Fine. I will uphold your right to own 'arms' as guaranteed by the Constitution. Give me your AK-47 and I'll hand you a musket. 

I have owned a gun. I don't any longer. But I do still have a weapon. It's called 'my vote'. Believe me, I will be using it in every election coming up. Beware! I am armed and dangerous.

Seedy Saturday - Summer Growth and Hail!

The sound you hear is the sound of my ass dragging this morning. 

I worked a long day yesterday and then drove Lady K to meet up with her dad and got home late last night. So after dashing this out, I'll hop in the shower and go to work for another long day. But a bit of plant updates first.

Thursday night we had a thunderstorm come through. Heavy rain and a bit of dime-size hail.



My emerging caladium now has 'eyes'.

And my banana plants, which were finally deciding to adapt to their new home, had some shredding.

Another tropical which got a bit of damage is my plumeria.

It has also grown about 8 or 9 inches and looking really good - even with hail damage.

And my poor peony.

It was suffering from the heat and humidity and then the hail hit it. Hopefully, it will shrug it off and comtinue on. 

Despite the hail damage to bits and pieces in the yard, there is some definite growth over the summer.

My hyacinth beans are plumping up and I'm watching them to save the seeds when they start drying out.

My five cuttings of vanilla are doing well. Three of the cuttings have taken off, one of which is a little over a foot long. I'm not giving up on the other two cutting which seems to be sitting there and not doing anything.

My avocado is now about 3 feet tall on the main trunk. It really shot up after being repotted a few months ago. 

Out of the garden I have harvested these...

There is actually another one in the kitchen. I need to cook these and can or freeze the pumpkin to use in pies later on.

Michael Meyers Lemon has filled out! He lost most of his leaves over the winter and looked a bit mangy.

He even has started blooming a bit. There are 5 or 6 lemons which have made it through the summer and are starting to turn a bit yellow.

Last, but not least, is my ginger.

She has really filled out with sprouts and they are about 2 to 3 feet tall. I wish she would flower for me. But I am hopeful about the ginger root in the pot as it seems the pot is 'warping' a bit. I am keeping my fingers crossed it is from the ginger root growing so large.

But now for a shower and into my work clothes. And a cup of coffee to take with me!