The Corner Yard

Ten Years and All is Well. Mostly.

noreply@blogger.com (Ribbit) — Thu, 02 Nov 2023 22:51:00 +0000

I've typed, erased and retyped this first line several times and even more in my head before the words even made it through my fingers to the keyboard. It's true what they say, the first step is always the hardest.

The child who started me on this path for the love of a yellow tomato plant, the fruit of which he would never eat, has gone off to college. My father, the ultimate Continental and artist has passed and I haven't had a viable garden in at least 7 or 8 years. The woods to the west thickened up, theneighbor's leelands block the sun from the left, my husband put it an above ground pool and deck which took some square feet and way led on to way to where there was no yield worth mentioning. We cleared the boxes, installed a shed and that, my friends, was that. It was all over before I ever made the concious decision to stop gardeing.

And I miss it.

This year I truly tried to reclaim some of the joy I felt in bringing in baskets of fresh vegetables and even missed the hives playing in the beans would cause. I missed my daughter calling the bees olives and her finding the hornworms with her perfect vantage point beneath the leaves. I missed the feeling of pride and purpose gardening gave me.

I tried six grow bags on the pool deck, but those failed miserably. The sun was only good until the woods filled in and now there hasn't been sun there in months. I also put two waist height raised beds in the other corner of the pool deck. Those saw moderate success with some tomatoes and peppers, but nothing compared to what I was used to or expecting. It's all out there quite a mess now. I need to clean it up, but doing so reminds me how much I didn't achieve.

I never forgot about the blog. Sometimes I'll pull it up to show people the pictures of the train my father drew or show what my garden used to be like to people who feign interest. I read over a few entries just now and I hardly recognize myself. The words seem to flow with a certain purpose and tick and now I can't maintain a coherent stream and delete more words than I leave in place. Perhaps that is age. Perhaps it is just being out of practice.

I've visited the other blogs I used to follow and see that many haven't posted, themselves, in just about as long. I suppose that's the nature of it. We find a hobby, barrel into it neck deep, stay for a bit, pack up and move on. Then I saw some have passed and years ago at that. May their memories always be a blessing.

Towards the end of this blog's lifespan, I seem to have branched out into other hobbies besides gardening. I see the keychains and the captured word pieces, both of which I still do. I don't keep up the blog for the keychains anymore, but there are still people who ask if I can make one here and there and it's always nice. I haven't read in a while, which is interesting. I could read hours on end and often into the early morning hours without thought. Now I've joined the ranks of my students. If I can't digest it in a thirty second blip, then it loses my attention.

I have taken to knitting. And I am pleased. It's something I've always wanted to learn. A colleague and I decided to quit saying we wanted to do something and just do it. So, we put our purses down, took our press on nails off and started learning. You can learn anything on YouTube. Now, I'm a knitter. Not a fabulous one, but I can do it. I've also started fish keeping which I love and now mind several houseplants, but there's that same sun factor when it comes to them thriving.

So, I really don't know what will become of this. Perhaps I'll keep on. It's more likely that I won't. If I do, we'll look at this as the new begning. If not, it's the closure I needed.

There is one thing, however, that ten years cannot erase.

The morning still comes early. Sweet gardening dreams.

Winding Down and Gearing Up

noreply@blogger.com (Ribbit) — Mon, 29 Jul 2013 13:02:00 +0000

As summers go, this one was pretty spectacular. Usually I'm ready to go back to school within just a week or two of vacation, but this year the kids were easy to entertain and the weather was rainy, but fantastic for gardening and for keeping the heat away.

Usually the summer gets so long and drawn out that I have to look for something to keep me occupied and it usually presents itself as a craft project of sorts. Keychains for a Cause came out of one summer's boredom and a neighbor's request for one keychain. It's still going strong and we've raised thousands of dollars for Relay for Life since then. Granny, I actually think you were the first customer! I really need to send you some new ones. So much nicer than what I started with.

Anyway, when I bought my card catalogs mid summer, one of them needed a top, so I cut up a bunch of my favorite classic novels and made this and the necklaces below it. One of my friends is a very popular independent and self published author. She saw them and asked that I make some for her to use as giveaways for her newest novel - which BTW, now has over 300 positive reviews on Amazon. Woohoo! I started off with the small glass, but then moved to a larger size which I like better.

When I posted them for her, another woman emailed and asked if I'd make her one from the poem she wrote on the passing of her husband, so I did:

Another woman contacted me and asked me to do one from the cover art of one of her novels.....

And a project was born - The Captured Word. Anyone write poetry or short stores or the like and would like for me to make you a necklace? You can email it to me in the font and margins you want and I'll hook you up. I need more examples for my page so it's an excellent trade off and a great way to celebrate your accomplishments. If you know anyone who may be interested, send them my way as well. I've got five that I'd like to make and give away.

The morning comes early - and it really will come tomorrow as we all go back to school for pre planning. Sweet gardening and necklace making dreams.

Sinful Acts in the Guise of Repurposing

noreply@blogger.com (Ribbit) — Tue, 16 Jul 2013 21:30:00 +0000

Last time I posted about purchasing an awesome card catalog. I've been wanting one for some time. It had four distinct sections and I stacked them in two places, two on top of each other. Problem was, there is only one top, so I had to come up with an idea for the other. It was a team effort. The man went out and bought me a sheet of MDF and my neighbor came over with his router to cut the grooves to fit the cabinet. We paid him in beer and dinner. It was a good trade. The next day I went up to school and found a bunch of duplicate copies of novels and plays I had sitting around the classroom and created this decoupage of my favorite passages.

It was wet in the picture above. The bubbles evened out as it dried. Here is what it looks like on the catalog.

I just love it. However, I started to feel very guilty about the books that I defaced to make the lid. I asked forgiveness of each book, but the rest of the pages mocked me in their agony, so I decided to make additional pieces of them pendants for necklaces.

Ok, sports fans. It's time to play: Name That Novel! No cheating.

How many did you get? Thinking I'm going to make some hair lollies and bracelets next. I can't wait.

The morning comes early. Sweet repurposing dreams.

Cataloging Wishes

noreply@blogger.com (Ribbit) — Sat, 13 Jul 2013 14:48:00 +0000

We've been working on our basement for awhile now. We've finished all of the rooms and now we're working on furnishing it. Months ago, I bought a huge bar on Craig's List for $150, which is pretty darn amazing for the piece. Two days ago, we also found a beautiful poker table/table with four nice chairs for the bar room as well. Couple this with the repurposing I did with the armoire to my sewing hutch - this is a thrift shop/Craig's List basement, and it's looking great!

It was missing one thing. I've searched and searched and drooled buckets over the years, trying to find the one I wanted. However, they're obsolete and because of this, they've become collectable and people don't get rid of them. Finishing the basement became the perfect opportunity to finally buy one and after weeks of searching Craig's List, I found one. Four, exactly.

It's a thing of absolute beauty. The two lower cases are the exact style. The top part belonged to the base and top and the second section, although made by the same company as the top, is obviously more recently constructed because it has plastic drawers behind the wood front.

Here are the top two sections and lid. You can see the plastic drawers on one of them. They had a patent number on them that traces to 1972, so they're newer than that. These are the two that are meant to go with the base and top which is sad because they have not top and bottom for themselves.

Here are the bottom two sections. They have wooden, yet unfinished, tops and bottoms. I love the graffiti on them. Proof that kids will always be kids. They are SOOOO well made. The drawers glide effortlessly in and out. and the wood is certainly a better quality.

Compare the drawers of the lighter section (not the plastic one, the all wood one) and the darker cabinets.

You can tell how much smoother the darker one is.

The top two sections were made by Gaylord Brothers, Inc. Not so sure about the bottom section, but we found this card in there, which was quite a hoot. However, it could very well belong to one of the top two sections and just placed in this one. The cabinets are roughly the same size with the darker one being just a few fractions of an inch longer.

So far, I've stacked the two darker and one lighter wooden one with the top in my sewing room. They're great for holding my thread and beads etc. Even Duke's getting in on the card catalog action. They're too tall stacked three high...especially since I bought two more four drawer ones that will get delivered next week. ;)

What I really need is a second base. I can make a second top with some particle board with no problems, but even if I stack two on the ground, they're too low to be useful. This one with the plastic trays would be wonderful for the boy to store his Legos in. If I put some foam in the bottom of the drawers in the other lighter section, I could put them side to side and put a large piece of board over them or square them and put a board over them for him to use as his building table. I could then use the real top on the darker color ones in the sewing room. I don't think the color change will make it look too bad.

Then again, do I want to give them up to him!?! Oh, the humanity!

There's so much I want to do with them and so many ways to do them that, I can't decide. I think I'll just go down there and stare at them for a bit.

The morning comes early. Sweet cataloging dreams.

Wordless Wednesday: The One That Got Away

noreply@blogger.com (Ribbit) — Wed, 10 Jul 2013 21:03:00 +0000

Are You Kidding Me?

noreply@blogger.com (Ribbit) — Tue, 09 Jul 2013 12:12:00 +0000

Jeep: 1
Hyundai: 0
AGAIN while at a dead stop. Third time in under a year because of a driver distracted by their cell phone. No damage to me, only her since she bounced off of my rear tire, but this is getting ridiculous.

Transforming a Television Armoire Into a Sewing Cabinet

noreply@blogger.com (Ribbit) — Mon, 08 Jul 2013 12:09:00 +0000

Yesterday I posted that I intended to construct a sewing hutch from this old T.V. cabinet I found at a thrift store. We did it last night and it turned out pretty darn awesome and I'm very, very pleased with it. When we decided to finish our basement, there was a dead end hallway that then broke off to a bathroom and a storage room on each of the side walls. I knew I wanted a sewing cabinet that I could just fold up or close away, but the ones I was finding on-line were in the high hundreds to thousands of dollars. I did find a few smaller ones, but they were just that. Smaller. And stark white. Nope. Not happening. I started looking through thrift stores and Craig's List. I found several on Craig's list for cheaper than the one I bought at the thrift shop ($150), but they were also dog chewed or not as solidly constructed. This one is solid.

I took the measurements and went to the store to buy the supplies. I bought drawer slides, a peg board and pins, and a piece of particle board for the sliding drawer. My sewing machine is heavy. 22 lbs without the embroidery attachment. I knew there was no way to make the drawer slide out completely and not snap the rails, so I got the board cut and bought rails to fit the entire length of the platform. This way I pull it out just so far and the machine itself is technically still inside the hutch and the weight is not on the drawer itself. My thought was to then use the drawer pulled all of the way out to use as a large cutting surface, but the particle board is MUCH heavier than expected, however simple plywood wouldn't do. The man at the hardware store was also nice enough to cut the board to my measurements.

I painted both the drawer slide and the peg board with the same color as the walls in the room. It's very dark. I should have likely done a lighter accent color instead - and used an acrylic instead of the latex, but I didn't want to buy more paint.

My neighbor came by to see how we were doing just as I was trying to fit the peg board in the back of the armoire. I had it cut so that the bottom would rest on the armoire itself and the backing of the cabinet wouldn't have to support the weight. However....It SO was not cut to the measurements I gave him. It was 2 inches too long and about 4-5 inches too short. Oh well. I cut it down to fit. The neighbor did make a good point. If I put it flush to the back, I couldn't get the pegs to poke through. We took some extra molding from downstairs and attached it to the backing and ran screws into that to give it some space.

I'll go back and hit it with blue paint later. Note to you: if you have an outlet in the hutch like this one, make sure to run the plug out the back BEFORE you put on the peg board. We had to drill an ugly hole after the fact. The, we mounted the drawer slides to the stand. We then had to pull them off, measure out and drill in the drawer and reassemble it.

Tada! Again, the drawer is too heavy to pull all of the way out. It does come all of the way out, but it worries me that it will snap or bend the arms of the drawer if too much pressure is put on it. I'm sure we could have found heavy duty drawer slides if I looked on-line a bit harder instead of just going with what the hardware store had.

I found an absolutely horribly awesome rug to go underneath it.

Mounted some stick lights underneath. I should have moved them farther back. Because the peg board paint is so dark, it's hard to see back in there. I may go purchase another set of lights to put farther back.

This is the stand where my sewing machine used to sit -I had already brought it to the basement when I took this. It's very, very small, but that's not the problem......

THIS was the problem. This should look like a desk, but instead it's where all of my sewing stuff gets thrown. This is actually pretty clean because the kids had already brought four baskets of ribbon downstairs by the time I thought to snap this picture.

And here is what it looks like now.

I still don't have everything set up inside the cabinet as it will be, but it's getting there, and I just love how the whole thing closes up nicely.

Over all, I couldn't be more pleased. What a great way to create a sewing nook AND make use of dead space.

A New Project

noreply@blogger.com (Ribbit) — Sun, 07 Jul 2013 13:08:00 +0000

It's been a long time coming, but we're finally done with finishing the basement. There is much rejoicing. I was able to talk the man into giving me a hallway down there to turn into a sewing room/closet like thing. Right now, my tiny sewing table is up here in the bonus room with all of my sewing notions and ribbon for Keychains for a Cause (which is going very, very well, by the way) strewn absolutely everywhere. It's a holy mess. Part of the plan was to convert our old TV hutch into a sewing table. It would work, but it's wide open so even when you'd fold a table up in it, it would still look unsightly. Then, yesterday, I saw this on the Facebook page for a local antique store.

It sold the day before. Grrr. However, it did get me thinking that I could do something like it with an old TV stand that closes up. I packed the kids in the car with the idea to go to the two antique stores and two thrift shops around here. On the way home I was going to stop at a Wal-Mart or Target and get the kids two Razor scooters as they've been in love with the ones our neighbor's kids have and then they could all play together instead of waiting in line for turns.

The kids loved the antique stores and thrift shops more than I thought they would and were so good that even though I was sad I didn't find what I wanted, I was still going to take them to get those scooters. Then, at our last stop, I found this baby.

Being that it's in our garage, you can tell I bought it. It's perfect and SOLIDLY constructed and for $100, it was perfect. The thing is absurdly heavy and it took three men to load and unload it. I have no idea how we'll get it in the basement, but I have to find a rug to go under it first.

I love how the doors not only open, but slide in to give you clearance. The bottom has shelves that I'm sure I could find baskets to fit. I also like how it has electric plugs on the inside so I don't have to worry about an extension cord for the machine.

Now, I just have to build it. Deciding if I should make it fold out like the one above from the width of the whole thing or just the one door, or if I should put in a sliding drawer and just have a smaller table space to work with. I'm thinking the machine may be too heavy for the support of only a sliding drawer. If anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear them.

As I was talking to the woman about loading the armoire, I lost sight of the boy and girl. I found the girl at the cash register with a blue dress and her little purse. She had gone through the racks and found a dress in her size and was buying it for $3.00. The dress was horribly stained, but crinoline and satin lined, so it equaled perfection in her book. Then I went off to find the boy and found him horsing around on some stupid rocker/runner exercise machine. As I was fussing at him to quit, I tripped over not one, but TWO scooters and since $5.00 each beats the hell out of $30, those came home with us as well. Kids were so surprised and happy with the scooters. We brought them home, put duct tape on the worn out grips and they played outside for hours with repeated hugs and thank yous. They were shocked and surprised and grateful. Good kids, that they are.

Here's the girl in her new dress and scooter, as happy as a clam.

Now, to figure out how to build this durn cabinet.

The morning comes early, although the boy did sleep until 8:30 today. We're SO playing outside on those scooters all day today as well. Sweet gardening, cabinet up-cycling dreams.

An Unwavering, Steadfast Resolution

noreply@blogger.com (Ribbit) — Sat, 06 Jul 2013 12:03:00 +0000

In my last post, I lamented the loss of all of my tomato plants. There was nothing to do except pull the useless plants and their woppy toms, discard the plants, pickle the toms and make better use of the box.

Then, the man comes in yesterday to see three of the larger green toms sitting on the counter.

"What do you think about making some fried green tomato BLTs?" he asks.

I'd never tasted or even tried to make a fried green tomato anything, but I was game. I went to the store and found the perfect bread, drizzled it with olive oil and some cracked black pepper, toasted it, slathered it in mayo, and fried up those suckers like a Food Network pro and served them to the man and the two gentlemen helping us finish the basement with roasted garden potatoes and a garden cucumber and cherry tomato (sun gold - my favorite!) salad.

Oh my goodness were they good!!! I'm never letting another tomato ripen on the vine again. These were outstanding. Why didn't I ever try this before? I KNEW I contaminated that soil on purpose. ;)

The morning comes early - even though during summer it does come decidedly later. Sweet green tomato lovin' dreams.

Soiled.

noreply@blogger.com (Ribbit) — Thu, 04 Jul 2013 15:35:00 +0000

Tomatoes. One of the main reason so many of us garden. There's nothing at all like a ripe heirloom tomato straight off of the vine. They're poetry in the round. We love the colors, the taste, the snap of the skin, the smell of the plants and the variety of uses that one standard veggie is good for. We as well know that good tomatoes are the result of good care. Water, sunlight, nutrient rich soil and a good horn worm deterrent system all need to come together in the perfect dance in order to produce those vibrant, luscious tomatoes we all crave.

Rewind to 'nutrient rich soil.'
Hello. My name is Alex (no, really, it is), and I've been remiss in tending to my soil for 2 years.

All cynicism aside, I really have been. For the first few years of the garden, I went to the local mulch place and got a few yards of compost and amended and tilled in like a good girl. These last two years, I just amended with bagged compost and even then only sparingly. Not my best of moves. My laziness came back to bite me in a very, very sad way.

I decided to amend the side yard's soil with your standard cow compost at the start of this year. I was lazy, missed a good window to go fetch compost with the trailer and was impatient, so I figured a few bags of the cow would hold me over until next year when I would take the trailer (note, I had this same opinion last year i.e.: laziness).

The plants started off fine. They grew like weeds. They grew tall...the leaves were another story.

They were all curled up into themselves and there were no flowers to be seen anywhere, even though the plants were huge.

If you look at an individual leaf, you can see a squiggly vein running down the center and the leaf itself was almost fuzzy looking. Very strange.

So, I began researching and found that, most likely, the cow compost I used was contaminated. Contaminated compost = woppy plants = no tomatoes for me. I like to about have cried. In my frustration I walked away from the whole thing to see if it would even out. It never really did, but eventually some of the plants got some flowers, but the tomatoes they were putting out were oddly shaped - not just your crazy cat faced toms, but teardrop like toms on Cherokee purple and brandywine plants. Those that were there were few and far between and the plants still looked quite terrible sitting there in the side yard. I was crushed, so what did I do? I took a cue from my daughter, shut down and walked away again for a few more weeks. If I don't look at them, they and the contaminated soil to not exist.

Fast forward to Tuesday night. I received a text from the Family and Consumer Sciences (Home EC) teacher at our school which showed a friend of hers - a hoity-toity chef at a local Atlanta restaurant, eating some of the canned green tomatoes I made last fall and asked when I was making more.

Cue epiphany.

We have such a long summer growing season here that it's crazy if I don't give something else a try in that bed. Maybe all hope isn't lost. So, yesterday I packed both kids in the car and busted down to fetch some more okra and pepper plants. I set the girl to picking whatever woppy toms she could find and the boy dragged the plants to the back 40. I replanted the beds and in addition to the 9 cans of salsa - using stupid store bought toms, I canned seven cans (three still in canner) of dilled green toms.

I don't remember there being so much dill in the other batch I made, but I'm sure there was since I think it's the same recipe.

In the end, I think things turned out pretty spectacular. I never would have pulled green toms just to pull green toms. It borders on sacrilege. Therefore....it all worked out to my master plan. I meant to contaminate the soil all along, just so I could do this. Why, of course I did.

The morning comes early. Sweet pickled green tomato dreams.

Ha! whaur ye gaun, ye crowlin ferlie?

noreply@blogger.com (Ribbit) — Wed, 03 Jul 2013 20:00:00 +0000

Robert Burns called it spot on. There's nothing like the shock of watching an "ugly, creepin, blastit wonner, / Detested, shunn'd by saunt an' sinner" crawl out of a lady's bonnet at church. Unless you compare it to finding one on your six year old daughter and that one leads to what can only be hundreds.

Yes, sports fans, the girl has lice.

Beware, this post has the possibility to quickly devolve into the use of juvenile and uninventive language.

The girl has been itching her head a lot. For weeks actually - Insert Mom of the Year award here, please. I checked her for lice, I really, really did. I never saw anything and assumed it was because we had shifted shampoos and/or maybe she wasn't doing a good job of rinsing it out of her hair when she showered.

So, I finally let her do what she's been asking for months on end. We cut off her "Rapunzel hair." I thought for sure she'd have cutter's remorse, but she kept that silly grin on the entire time and said, "Told ya." She loves it and it's adorable.

Here's K and her new cut and a picture of me around the same age. Scary, huh?

Anyway, as the woman was cutting it, we both remarked on a rash of some sort on the nape of her neck, but it didn't scream "LICE!" to me, but it surely should have to her, don't you think? Regardless, home we came to endure another two weeks of scratching. (God, I'm so stupid.)

Monday we were playing outside and she was scratching again. I pulled her over and looked at her head some more for dandruff or more rash or SOMETHING, and boy did I find something, that's for sure. I bet that if I would have looked in sunlight I would have seen them all along.

We went to the dr for a confirmation and the boy and I were scoured as well. We're shockingly clean. It's shocking to me since we all share a hair brush and wallow all over each other on the couches and beds and everything. *insert tirade here* The more I read about "the facts of lice" the more I realize that no one knows anything. Each site and pamphlet contradicts each other. Do this, don't do that, this kills them, this does not, pets can't get them, pets can carry them, put stuffies and pillows in plastic bags, plastic bags don't help. It's beyond frustrating.

I know it's not en vogue with the times, but the use of pesticides doesn't bother me. At this point, I don't care if the treatment kills me, I'm killing you, dammit. So, I bought what the dr recommended and I spent two hours that night treating her hair only to realize that the chemicals didn't necessarily kill the lice so much as piss them off and make them run for purchase elsewhere. Seems for every dead louse I combed out, there were three running for glory. I picked and picked and then reversed it and picked and picked again...only to look down at myself and find them crawling on my arms and clothes. Cue the Benny Hill run.

So whereas I wasn't infested before, I'm likely infested now.

I got them all. I was confident. I sent her to bed, checked her Tuesday morning and found MORE LIVE bugs. I retreated her and did the process all over again. Later that afternoon, I couldn't find a single bug. I did another perusal before bed - FOUR MORE LIVE BUGS. It's driving me nuts. I've washed everything twice over in hot, hot, hot and treated the couches etc. I'm not thinking they're in the couches because then the rest of us would be infested, right?

Grrr. Thank goodness for neighbors. I ran out of detergent and since I washed her car seat covers, I didn't want to put her infested self back in one to go to the store, so my neighbor gave me her bottle and then was kind enough to spend a half hour checking me to make sure I was still clean. How do you thank your neighbor for grooming you like a chimpanzee?

Veggies and fresh canned salsa.

So, long story longer, I'm headed down to see what the damage is this morning.

The morning comes early. Oh, and Mr. Louse? "Gae somewhere else and seek your dinner /On some poor body." You're not wanted here. Sweet gardening dreams.

'Tis Better to Give

noreply@blogger.com (Ribbit) — Wed, 03 Jul 2013 12:39:00 +0000

Sometimes I wonder why I garden. I like the fresh veggies, to be sure. We cook with the bounty of the harvest each day and night, but I only seem to put up a few pounds each year in the freezer. This year I think I've realized that I don't garden for me. I garden to give.

I love it when neighbors call up to ask for herbs or veggies. I love sending the kids down the street to drop off veggie grams and unsuspecting houses. I like it when the front office staff, teachers and parents at the school wait patiently for the Monday basket and then the Monday basket becomes the mailroom basket once the school year begins.

So, I'm still considering myself a selfish gardener. I horde my fair share and get pure and selfish joy out of seeing other people happy.

This is one of the first baskets I brought to the front office this summer. Note the three tomatoes in there. If I knew then what I know now, I would have been more selfish. A LOT more selfish.

This next is another school basket. Note the cucumbers. I didn't get a single viable cucumber last year and this year I've had enough to make two batches of pickles, eat daily, AND give scores away. Crazy how things work like that, isn't it.

This last basket was supposed to be this week's Monday basket for the school....but they are closed for the holiday week. The kids clamored to have a veggie sale in the front yard, so I let them have at it. We put up a sign, wrote in chalk on the mailbox and put it on the neighborhood's Facebook page and...

Thanks to some OVERLY generous neighbors, the kids walked away with about $25 between them. We get to go to the used book store today. Maybe....It depends on how things worked out yesterday and how they'll go today regarding that doozie that was dropped on Monday. Give me one more day and I'll fill you in completely.

The morning comes early. Sweet gardening dreams.

The Prodigal Blogger Returns

noreply@blogger.com (Ribbit) — Tue, 02 Jul 2013 12:14:00 +0000

Well, once again, it's been six months, give or take. I hope everyone is well, hardy and hale, and in full gardening swing. Me? I'm well in and well nigh done.

For each of the last four or five years I've had a panic attack when it comes to bugs in the garden. I took a cup of soapy water with me to the garden two or three times a day and took great pleasure in popping in each and every squash bug and Japanese beetle within sight, even enlisting the small ones to help scope out the enemy in the underbrush. They never saw me coming. I silently slid around to the leaf or stem where they were quietly reposing and then, with the smack of doom, upset their balance and toe hold quite effectively until they, in a state of supreme shock, plummeted unsuspectingly and met their soapy demise. Ninja.

This year? Not so much. I didn't do a fall or winter garden and the spring one was minimal, but this summer I planted hard and left everything to fend for itself. The only effort I've put in is to hand pollinate the zucchini/squash because the bees didn't show up until last week. For the most part, I've watered every other day if it hasn't rained and gone out to pick every other day as well. It was okay if production was down a bit. We still had zucchini and squash left over from 2012. I could handle the pathetic yield weights and the emotional trauma of diminutive yields, and then I come to realize that I've wasted a hell of a lot of time in the previous years.

I can't tell a lick of difference between my vigilante bug snatching methods and this one.

I have stocked my freezer, left numerous goodie bags with neighbors and family, and brought a basket full of decadence to the school's front office each Monday and there's STILL MORE. Note: This is a good thing.

Above are the two beds in the main yard. The beans on the back of the trellis on both are looking a bit sick around the gills, but that's the damage of Japanese beetles. It makes me upset, but then again, I'm likely ready for them to be done anyway (insert shocked gasp of northern gardeners whose beans may or may not be producing yet here). The potatoes are ready to be pulled. I'm just waiting a few more days for the vines to die back. The okra is going strong, the squash is busting out of the boxes as well as is the zucchini, but I've gotten VERY few zucchini out of the deal comparatively. Garlic is pathetic in size, but it is what it is.

The zucchini/squash is already full of vine borers, but it's still producing so I'll let it be for now. I think the kids and I will go fetch some more peppers/okra to put in its place when it begins to show signs of dying back. That, and we need out of the house. We got hit with a doozie yesterday. I don't know quite how this will play out, but we'll find out within the next week. NOT awesome, but I suppose it's to be expected. I'll let you know what it is and how it plays out as soon as I get round 1 taken care of.

I need to fix that box in the foreground. I forgot it got bumped by the lawn tractor.

There have been some triumphs and a very, very big garden failure this year. I'm writing up and scheduling some posts while I'm thinking about it as this one is getting long as it is.

The morning comes early - even during summer vacation. Sweet gardening dreams.

Happy Holidays!

noreply@blogger.com (Ribbit) — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 17:08:00 +0000

Happy Holidays from the Man, the Boy, the Girl, the Dog and me.

Give Me a Break!

noreply@blogger.com (Ribbit) — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 17:52:00 +0000

I've said it over and over again, but it still rings true. Do you know what I like most about winter vacations and the like?

Going to the restroom whenever I please.

That and sinfully having a beer at lunch. It's all about the beer at lunch, for that exemplifies the beauty of going to the restroom whenever I please.

It's the small things in life, my friends.

Vacations are usually a very bad thing in my life. I don't react to inactivity very well. I'm not saying that I've got down TIME during vacations because there isn't a minute to spare, what with running around and entertaining the kids and all, but when the day is done, my mind isn't tired. My mind sits and spins and I can't sleep. This leads to skeptical decision making like taking the entire yard over for the garden, putting red stripes in my hair and the like.

Good thing, is that vacations do let me take care of things that need tending. You may remember that within the last two years we lost both our dogs, a Malamute (Vladimir) and our Great Dane (Gibson). I can't remember if we still had Gibson when EG visited or not, but he was an excellent dog. Vladimir, on the other hand, was Vladimir. More on that in a moment.

Fast forward to this summer. The loss of Gibson was still fresh on my mind when the man came home and said, "How do you feel about getting another dog?" I wasn't ready and didn't want another dog. He responded, "Well....it's too late."

And it was.....

This was Duke, the Great Pyrenees when we brought him home in June. He came home in that laundry basket and was quite comfortable in it for weeks. Then, as dogs tend to do, he grew.

He still loves to crawl under this table even though he fails to realize that at 8 months, it's getting rather difficult for him to fit. See that look in his eyes? I'm coming to that.

Back to Vladimir. The dog was allergic to dog food. What, you say? I say, whatever. You can't buy venison legally here so I had to cook rice, broccoli and rabbit for quite some time. Ever smelled a house full of boiled rabbit? I broke down sobbing on a regular basis. So now it seems we're struggling with Duke. He's got terrible sores under his arms and we're thinking it may be a food allergy as well. The break has allowed me time to get him to the vet. The dr. seems worried that it likely may be a drug resistant staph infection which isn't good either, but we're looking into if he qualifies for a study being done at UGA.

Two days ago the dog was having some trouble and the man had to express his anal glands. Duke now assumes the seated position every time the man is in the general vicinity. Today, I had the unmitigated pleasure of spraying the antibiotic/steroid onto Duke's very raw under arms. This is his, "Et tu, Brute?" look. Hence the cowering under the table.

Looks like lunch is over and the kids are clamoring to go outside - in the freezing cold and rain. You know...why not. Hot showers and cocoa are in our future. Well, their future. I'll be having myself a hot tottie, oh yes I will.

The morning comes early. Hold on to your butts. Sweet gardening dreams. (I really did work out in the garden a few weekends ago. I promise to get back to gardening soon.)

What's With the Hair, Yo? (Growing up - our out. Whichever.)

noreply@blogger.com (Ribbit) — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 13:58:00 +0000

Well, we may have lost, but we were not beat. What an amazing game - and that was all I had wished for. All four of us were yelling and screaming at the television until I tried to breathe while having a mouth full of wine. I got a little taste of what it was like to drown and the girl freaked slap out. While we were winning the game - and we were for a whole chunk of it - the kids went nuts with their "Georgia Style" dance. I'll have to post it some time soon.

Got an email yesterday from a friend whom I haven't seen in a long time. She saw yesterday's picture of me and my sister-in-law at the GA game and wrote, "What's with the hair, yo?"

Ah...the hair. Reason number 3,048 that I shouldn't be allowed to have summer vacation. I'll get to that in a minute.

Suffice it to say that since this summer when I last posted we've all grown up quite a bit. Well, the boy and girl have grown up. I've grown out...semantics.

I couldn't resist this picture of the boy and girl. Every kid loves jumping in a pile of leaves. Jumping on your brother in a pile of leaves is priceless. They're both runts, still, but they're good kids. The boy's struggling with some silly behavior at school, but otherwise doing well. We've started up drum lessons again. he loves Cub Scouts and he's got a student who comes to teach him French once a week before school. The girl is attracted to shiny things. You never know if she's picking up what you're putting down. Her teacher says how quickly she learns, but God love her, she's a ding-bat. The other day, she told me that I was doing a good job as a Mom, but that there was 'room for improvement.' Of that, I am sure.

A couple of weeks ago we took a boyscout trip to "See Rock City" and then a side jaunt to Ruby Falls while we were there. We all had a great time. I love taking day trips like this. But wait...there's the hair again...It wasn't just for the game? Yeah....no.

We have a new principal this year, and he's amazing. We are able to do so much for the kids that we've never been able to. One of these things translated into spirit days for homecoming. We had character day...

Nerd day - I borrowed the boy's Mercer math camp shirt. He was a bit shocked to find this qualified him as a nerd.

and then we had decade day. My classroom neighbor sported what the kids said was the "50's goth" look, but was undoubtedly 80's and I relived my high school years with the 90's grunge. Felt strange to be in high school wearing the same thing I wore day in and day out in....high school. Surreal....even the hair is similar......

So here it is - nice and shockingly close up - you can go vomit now. I got bored this summer, and since there was no more room for more garden boxes, I bleached and then dyed a swath of hair on the underside of a side of my head red. Bright blood red, actually.

I've kept it since August and I think I'll keep it a little longer. It keeps people guessing if nothing else.
The morning comes early...and I'm headed to clean out that garden. If I don't come out, don't come searching for me. Save yourself. Sweet gardening dreams.

Glory, Glory to 'ole Georgia!

noreply@blogger.com (Ribbit) — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 20:02:00 +0000

It's game day, sports fans! Don't get me wrong, I'm not disillusioned enough to think that we'll actually pull off a win today, but the excitement is enough for me.

The boy came up to me this morning and said:

Boy: Mom, we are watching the game this afternoon, right?

Me (screwing with him): It's a possibility.

Boy: What exactly do you mean by 'It's a possibility?' You do understand that this is the most important game of my life, right?

Start 'em young. Raise 'em right. ;) He's outside now in his old H. Walker 'uniform' running around like a nut case. I threw the football with him for a while, but he doesn't so much care for playing with me because whereas he can catch everything I throw, I apparently do not put forth enough effort to catching his balls. I, however, maintain that the ball must be thrown within a 50 foot radius of me in order to be considered worthy of shagging.

Even the girl got into the action. She's so much fun to watch football with. For some crazy reason she can pick up the whole field with those little eyes and catch penalties before the refs throw flags. In a game earlier this year, we're all sitting on the couch and she yells, "Holding! You can't do that!" The man and I look at each other like she's nuts, the flag is thrown, and....it's holding. Crazy.

It's been since my freshman year in college since I've been to a Georgia game, but this year my sister-in-law's friend, who has season tickets, went into labor and couldn't use theirs. Woot! Game on! It was just so awesome to be part of the crowd again, and the day was just beautiful.

Here we are, living the life. The kid behind us was hysterical. I must say, we had an absolute blast.

That all being said, we're exactly an hour away from game time and I've got to go get a shower and into my gear. I'm not saying we'll win, but if the Dawgs bring their game, this should be exciting to watch.

The morning comes early. Sweet gardening dreams....if you commit to the G.
GO DAWGS!

UPDATE: The girl's telling us to take our places and get ready and I just found the boy in all of his glory.

He's committed, for sure. ;)

Spanked

noreply@blogger.com (Ribbit) — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 22:43:00 +0000

Second post in one day after a six month hiatus. Don't get too choked up, now.

Hmmmm...may need to rethink this blog title before I publish or strangefettishgoogleman may make another appearance. Then again, life is nothing unless lived dangerously, and that is why when I was transporting the boy to a pool party in August, we took the 'safe way.'

On the way to that particular end of town, you come to a crossroads. You can go the way of twisty, dark, narrow, residential streets, or the more modern, 'safe' route with newly paved, wide streets and the same minimal traffic volume.

We chose the 'safe' way.

I should have just risked my life dodging the random escaped cow on the dangerous way.

So there I was, minding my own (fill-in-the-blank) business, driving my merry tuchus off. The car in front of me wanted to turn left, signaled such, and stopped until traffic cleared. I stopped behind and it was when I was at this dead stop and minding my own business that another car came flying around the corner (he was texting) and slammed into a Grand Cherokee that slammed into my merry little tuchus.

Yes, folks. That's third party damage. The passenger in the first car came through the windshield and both passengers in the Cherokee were carted away by the ambulance as well. The boy and I were the only two that walked away.

I was so upset. The Saturn was such a good car. It was paid off!!! *commence sobbing* However, they said it could be repaired.

And then they called to say the frame was bent in three places. They totaled it out.

I just notice that I tend to write in very short, very insignificant paragraphs. Look, here's another. ;)

Anyway, we were so set that it could be repaired that I never thought to look at/for another vehicle. On my way home I thought, I rationalized, I compromised with my own self and I was remarkably agreeable to myself, but the line was going to be drawn on one point and that line was non negotiable.

Later that night, after the kids went to bed, I sat down next to the man as calm as I could be and said, "I honestly don't care what kind of car I drive, and I don't have much of a reputation, but what reputation I have will NOT be driving a minivan." (Apologies here to everyone who loves their mini van. I know y'all are fiercely protective of them.)

Since I was in high school, I've been obsessed with Wranglers, pointing them out at every turn and going out of my way to park next to one so I could drool. I've coveted a Wrangler like others want a Ferrari or a perfect round of golf. It wasn't going to happen. Ever.

I gave the man my pitiful, "Please Lord, don't make me drive a mini van" face and he said, "I thought you wanted a Wrangler."

Well, Yeah.
He apparently had one all picked out and had been putting money into another account to save for 'the day.' It just came sooner than we expected.

So, here you go

Here she is. She's so dark, dark green that it looks black in the regular light, so I put her in the sun for this shot. She's stock, but beautiful. It wouldn't hurt my feelings to lift her and put on larger tires, but that day will come.

So after the shock of being spanked while at a God's honest dead stop twice in a matter of three months (the first left no damage), I'm thinkin' I wound up on the better end of the deal. I'm a giddy girl.

"Recieve what cheer you may; / The night is long that never finds the day."

noreply@blogger.com (Ribbit) — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 20:15:00 +0000

Hi. It's been some time since I've updated the blog. I hope you'll forgive me. *bows head in humble supplication*

I could make a thousand and one excuses why I haven't blogged this century. The kids ran me ragged over the summer, I teach more students than I ever have in one semester and the essays are piling up, the curriculum has changed so I've had to start from scratch, both kids are now in school and completing homework, we've gotten a new puppy, my car was totaled, my camera is wonky, my shoulders hurt to sit and type, Blogger was giving me fits...the list can go on.

Fact of the matter is: I quit.

I just stopped posting and then stopped for so long that it was difficult to go back to the pattern. I wanted to. I set aside time to. It never happened. I wanted to read your blogs. I missed your friendships. Life got in the way and it was easier not to blog or read others for doing so made me even more guilty for not blogging.

A vicious cycle, indeed.

I felt the blog was getting stale. I wrote the same things over and over again. Here's some zucchini. Look, here's some more zucchini. Guess what I harvested today.....zucchini! You all understand, I'm sure. The summer garden simply overwhelmed me. I was bringing baskets and baskets up to the school over the summer and for the greater part of this school year. Never have I had a better harvest....and now you won't believe me, for there are no pictures. ;)

I was burned out with the garden. I didn't plant a fall one, and as a matter of fact, most of the summer garden is still out there, waiting for me to remove the frail grasp of soil it maintains. I just haven't mustered the determination to clean it up.

Reading back over this, it sounds as if the waters have closed over me and I'm paddling with half a limb, but all is truly well. Things have a pattern and there's a stable routine to our day. I could truly live life as a dog and eat the same thing day in and day out. Throw me a peanut butter laced treat every now and again and I'm a happy, happy girl.

If anyone happens by this, I'll catch everyone up directly and shove in pictures where I can. The wood is coming toward Dunsinane.
The morning comes early. Sweet gardening dreams.

Victory

noreply@blogger.com (Ribbit) — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 18:54:00 +0000

It only took five years, but I've grown peppers.

Squashtastic!

noreply@blogger.com (Ribbit) — Fri, 18 May 2012 22:02:00 +0000

And there's more in the fridge. I wonder if you can make Granny's zucchini cupcakes with squash?

Squash Bugs? Already!?

noreply@blogger.com (Ribbit) — Fri, 04 May 2012 01:04:00 +0000

Dammit.

Inhale, Exhale - Just Breathe

noreply@blogger.com (Ribbit) — Tue, 01 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Congratulations to a girlfriend of mine whose first novel is being published today! It's been amazing watching the novel take shape from an idea, through rough drafts through to editing and now publishing. Kendall isn't new to the publishing world, but this is her first full length novel and I couldn't be happier for her. I was lucky enough to have snagged a preview copy of Inhale and it was fantastic. I can't wait for the other two books in the trilogy, Exhale and Just Breathe to come out in the coming months.

What else is fantastic about the novel is being a whale activist herself, she's donating all proceeds to whale education. How's that for dedication?! If you're interested in paranormal romances, you might want to check it out. The reviews on GoodReads and Amazon say it all!

Here is a trailer she made for the novel and a synopsis. Follow down the page for more information on whale education and Inhale.

<p>http://www.youtube.com/embed/IzdnOcph8RI</a>" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></p>

INHALE

Strangers in reality, inseparable in dreams…

After years of suffocating under her boss’s scrutiny, whale biologist Zoe Morgan finally lands a job as director of a tagging project in Hervey Bay, Australia. Success Down Under all but guarantees her the promotion of a lifetime, and Zoe won’t let anything—or anyone—stand in her way. Not the whale voices she suddenly hears in her head, not the ex who won’t take no for an answer, and especially not the gorgeous figment of her imagination who keeps saving her from the fiery hell of her dreams.

Gavin Cassidy hasn’t been called to help a human Wyldling in over a year, which is fine by him. Still blaming himself for the death of his partner, he keeps the guilt at bay by indulging in every excess his rock star persona affords. That is, until he’s summoned to protect Zoe from hungry Fyre Elementals and learns his new charge is the key to restoring order in the dying Dreaming. He never expects to fall for the feisty Dr. Morgan…nor does he realize he may have to sacrifice the woman he loves to save an entire country.

*This book contains graphic language, sex, and some violence. Not suitable for readers under the age of 18.
**The author will donate all profits from the sale of the JUST BREATHE trilogy to programs that educate people about whales and the challenges they face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kendall Grey

Blog: http://www.kendallgrey.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/KendallGreyAuthor

Despicable Tweets: http://www.twitter.com/kendallgrey1

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5108885.Kendall_Grey

Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hmcmg

Round 1 - FIGHT!

noreply@blogger.com (Ribbit) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 22:44:00 +0000

That

Sucked

Ass.

I ain' even gonna lie.

Round 1 is done. Three more to go, but none should be as bad as this. The woman kept asking if I wanted a break. You could tell she didn't like my answer. I could see the shots - they were the viscosity of rubber cement - there were three full to the brim syringes. There was a beginning and an end. I told her it wasn't like pregnancy - a nine month unending hangover. This was childbirth and there was an end. An end I could see sitting on the table next to me. Plod on, my friend. And so she did, but I made her laugh and she pressed the plunger too hard, too fast. Such is my life, although in hindsight it was just as terrible as the rest.

So, sports fans, it's done. The rest of the rounds are just shots in the arm.

Good news, this morning we caught a cat. The wrong cat, but a cat. The animal control called my cell around 3 and said they were at the house getting the cat. They reset the trap and by 5 we caught the right cat. He's in the trap caterwaling now. I'd be pissed, too. I can't believe it was that easy to get him.

I keep playing in my mind how grateful I am that he came after me and not one of the children. We were all three of us standing there together. He had his pickings. He picked me. Thank God.

The morning comes early, and all will be and is well.
Amen.

Raise Your Hands!

noreply@blogger.com (Ribbit) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 22:59:00 +0000

Come on, everybody! Raise your hands in the air if you love, love, LOVE rabies shots!! Woohooooo!!! Par-tay! Go, Ribbit. It's your birthday. Go, Ribbit. It's your birthday.

Ok, it's not my birthday. That would make this suck all the more worse.

Rabies shots start tomorrow. Animal control was wonderful and came out to set a trap. They're being very helpful. The Dr. at the clinic I went to yesterday was seemingly unconcerned about rabies, but I called my regular dr today just to make sure the bite was in my file along with getting the tetanus shot and she's 150% convinced that rabies is an immediate risk and I need to start treatments tomorrow.

You can't make this stuff up.
I wonder if there's a rabies awareness color I can start for Keychains for a Cause..... :) Hey, if I don't laugh, I'm going to cry....which I did - right in the middle of class after I got the innitial phone call. Then, as I was walking back to the classroom a magnificent senior asked if I'd be his escort for the baseball team's senior night - their last home game. After school, I ran to animal control, back to the house for them to set the trap and then back to work to fetch the kids. We got the student a candy bar 'flower' arangement, the kids and me a pizza and went back to my school to eat so I could get some work done and then went to the ball field. While we were standing in the middle of the field, the second call from the dr. came through. I had to leave the field to take the phone call. I felt bad for the kid, but since he was in the class where I teared up, he understood, but I still think it looked bad.

I'm telling you, you can't make this stuff up.

At least I'll have a better chance of surviving a zombie attack.

The morning comes early. Damn that cat. Sweet gardening dreams.