dooley's Blog at GardenStew.com

Forever gardening!

dooley — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 16:37:01 -0400

Author: dooley
Posted: Tue Apr 23, 2013 8:37 pm (GMT 0)

I like living here in Texas because it means that I can garden all year around. True, some months are a bit difficult but we work around the difficulties and garden any way. I had a fall garden that was doing well until the grasshoppers came and ate it. As soon as we had a freeze and the grasshoppers left I planted another fall garden. It was really a winter garden but I called it a fall garden because I planted cool weather crops like swiss chard and kale and spinach and carrots. Things that don't mind a little cold and frost. We didn't get much rain and I had to water it. People look at you a little funny when they drive past and see you out with a hose in January and February. But, we got some stuff to eat from it. In January I planted sugar snap peas and they've done well. I only planted two four foot rows. I should have planted more though. I put some in the freezer and we have them with meals, mixed in with the meat or in soup. I'm still getting a handful every two or three days.They are looking a little sad and I keep thinking I should pull them out and put something else in there but as long as they are supplying enough peas to put in with the soup or the salad I'll leave them grow and water them when I water everything else. I got the potatoes planted in February and they seem to be doing well. I've only did potatoes a couple of times so I'm not sure when they need more dirt shoved around them. They look happy so mostly I just water them. I dug the back garden and weeds grew while I was deciding when to plant it so I dug it again. I planted some zucchini and yellow squash. They got a light frost once because I didn't check the weather and some didn't survive but that's okay. We didn't need 16 zucchini plants any way. I have about 8 now and 7 or 8 yellow squash. I have 5 Black Beauty eggplant, 3 Japanese eggplant (two blossoms already), 4 green pepper plants, 13 cucumber plants (some got frosted), more sugar snap peas along the fence, lettuce, carrots, swiss chard and beans. This is the back garden. I wonder how there can be room for grass and weeds but they keep trying to intrude and I keep insisting they go away. In the front yard gardens, I have the potatoes, 26 tomato plants and 9 cantaloupe. I bought some plants in little four paks and some had more than one plant in a section. I separated some of them if they weren't too intertwined but if they were I just planted two together. There are really 36 tomato plants. If they do well we will have some for salad and some for making stewed tomatoes or sauce for winter.
Sunday, we went to Home Depot for something and they had marigolds on sale. I bought two flats of them and yesterday I interplanted them with the tomatoes. They are spring and fall bloomers but maybe I can keep the plant from dying through the summer and they will help the tomatoes with nematodes, etc. I dug up two round flower beds in the front yard and put four o'clocks in one and the other has some lettuce still growing so I haven't put anything in it yet. There are some wild spider plants growing here and there in the yard and I'm thinking of digging them and putting them all in that bed, corral them, sort of. I like spider plants and had them in pots when we lived in Arizona. There is a little Indian Paint Brush that has come up in the middle of the yard and I want to move it out of the direct path, too. I have petunias in two beds and put some flower seeds in with them to fill in empty spaces. I still have some nastursiums to plant and dr has a grape vine that he wants to plant. We do not have a big yard and it's getting pretty filled up so it's going into the front yard and we'll start a small arbor with it and get another one for company. I finally got the weeds pulled out of the bed at the end of the house and some freesia and some iris are still blooming. The daffodils bloomed back in late January, early February but there are still some plants that are taking their time dying out so I can cut them off. I hoed in between what was left and mixed up seeds from a lot of annuals and scattered them in there and watered them good. I like flowers, too. Today, I went out and cut scrubby brush and devil's whip. Those things really grow fast. I don't work fast enough any more to keep up with them. During the winter I bought a couple bird feeders at a yard sale so dr built a frame in the front yard under the trees and I hung them up. There are cardinals, blue jays, doves and sparrows and other assorted visitors. I enjoy a rest break sometimes just sitting there watching them juggle with each other for a turn at the feeder. Some will just eat off of the ground. I have to be very watchful for the neighborhood cats. I planted some Giant Sunflower seeds along the front deck and out by the corner of the house. I'm hoping for some seed heads to hang from the seed frame in the winter. I still have a package of seeds so maybe will plant some in the backyard garden along the fence. Meanwhile, I'll spend part of each day pulling the weeds and trying to keep them from taking over completely. I'll have to water some this summer. It keeps saying thunderstorms but they never seem to show up. I think they are busy flooding Iowa and Illinois and places to the north of us. The sun is shining now and it's in the upper 70's but it says evening and night showers and am showers tomorrow. Last week, we got .43 inches. Every little bit helps because plants like rain better than water from the hose. The rose bushes are about done blooming so I need to deadhead them and pull off the black spotted leaves and spray them again. You see, there is always something outside to be done at most anytime of the year. More so these spring days. Sewing has taken the back seat for now. I'll get back to it though. I've been doing more shopping bags lately. They go pretty quickly and a lot of people are asking for them. I hope everyone here enjoys being outside gardening and wish everyone could garden all year around.

dooley

A little about Chance!

dooley — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 22:40:05 -0500

Author: dooley
Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2013 3:40 am (GMT 0)

I just thought I'd write a little about Chance. She was ten years old in November. We got her for Christmas in 2002 when we lived in Mayer, Arizona. She was very small and slept in a box by the bed. It was like having a small baby. Every time she started whimpering I'd pick her up and carry her outside and she'd walk around until she squatted. Then, I pick her up and carry her back to her box. dr build her a sleeping box out of wire fencing when she got bigger and it was in the laundry room. We had a small yard inside of a big yard and she went there in the day time. She learned to eat and drink on her own and liked it out there. When it got warm, dr built her a dog house out in the little yard. She learned to sleep outside, too. She learned to explore the big yard during the day but always was in the little yard at night. When winter came, we put in a doggie door and she had a bed in the laundry room again. Sometimes we'd let her out into another yard if we were out there. That house had seven fenced yards. We didn't fence them, they were all there when we moved there. She got used to checking each yard every day for cats or other imagined things. One year dr put a doggy door into the kitchen and she could go in and out at her own timing. She slept under the dining room table near the wood burning stove. She wasn't a happy camper when we decided to move to Texas when she was about five years old. We were leaving everything she knew. But, Dan was driving the big yellow moving truck and if she could see that in front of us she was okay. dr fenced her a yard when we got here and there was a long front porch which he fenced so she had a front yard and a back yard to check. There were horses out behind the house so she kept track of them and tried to keep them away from the fence.She chased cats away,too. Just barking so we would come chase them. When we moved down the hill, dr fenced a front yard and a back yard so she again could keep check and do her security rounds to keep us safe. She chased the goats away from the fence and barked when cats or other dogs came near her or our territory. Every morning she went out to the front and did a perimeter check and she had various paths she meandered along smelling for traces of cats. She than went out to the back yard and did the same thing. She slept in the house for the most part. She found it hot in the summer but when out when it got cooler in the fall and winter. dr built her a raised bed on the back deck and we put a padded bed on it. She had to come in if it rained so he built a roof over it. It had no sides but it kept off the rain and the sun and she could see what was going on in the neighborhood. She loved being out there. She kept track of everything. She could stay outside when we were gone shopping or to the farm market. When dr hung out laundry she would go down and lay under the clothesline and guard the clothes. After she got sick she wanted to be outside most of the time but we talked her into sleeping inside when it was cold out. Yesterday, she did her morning check and then came in the computer room where she spent a lot of time because I also sew in here and she had to guard me, too. After lunch she wanted to go outside so dr let her out. She went down and laid down under the clothesline. dr put her bed down there. She went to sleep. She was sleeping most of the time. When he went to check on her she had gone to sleep for the last time. We had a very difficult afternoon and evening. There wasn't anything we could have done differently but we kept thinking what if's. Today, we went to Huntsville looking for something to plant on her "grave." We want to make a little flower bed over it to mark it. I spotted some small pots of rosemary. She loved rosemary. I've always planted it and it grows into a nice sized bush. She would rub up against it and then set and sniff the air. A couple of weeks ago, I picked a branch and rubbed her with it. She smiled at me, I'm sure.
So we bought some rosemary and some small orange marigolds. She always stopped to smell the flowers.
dr and I have decided to do a Chance Memorial. There is a new shelter starting up here in our town and they need a lot of things. So, every month we will buy something on their list and donate it in Chance's name. We'll go tomorrow to get a list from them. Today, we took the rest of her unopened dog food. We will remember her with love and maybe some sorrow for all the days to come because she was a large part of our family. When it was time to eat, she was there when we ate. She went to bed when we did. If dr was watching a movie she watched it, too. She kept me company when I was sewing. We will miss her terribly. We decided that we would not have any more pets as we are into our 70's and it wouldn't be fair either for us or another pet at this age. So, that is a little more than a bit about Chance but I'm long winded when I get going.

dooley

Spring is coming, it should be here any time.

dooley — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 20:33:33 -0500

Author: dooley
Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2013 1:33 am (GMT 0)

Spring is coming. I know that is is coming. I've been saying that since last fall. I planted my fall garden and the grasshoppers ate it as it came up. I was happy when we had a frost and then a freeze because I thought it would get rid of the grasshoppers. Well, there are still some big ones around out there. Not so many as before though. They are just waiting for things to come up so they can be giant grasshoppers by the end of summer. I've just been pretending that it's spring and going out on any nice day and doing spring cleanup around the yard. I still have a little scrubby brush in the front yard but I think I have it all taken care of in the backyard. I need to find the weed eater and cut down some of the grass that is growing now. Today, I went out to the storage yard and started breaking up that large pile of branches that the neighbor gave us when he cut down some dead trees. The small ones went on a pile to be burned when it's not windy. 25 mph winds today didn't make for a day to burn anything. Wish we had a chipper machine and I could make mulch out of it. The medium ones got broken up for kindling wood and put in a large storage box. The ones I couldn't break went into a pile for getting cut up with the chain saw which I don't use. Then, dr and I restacked the windows that he moved so he could build the greenhouse. They are in the corner out of the way for now. We couldn't finish everything and tomorrow it's going to be spring again and we'll have thunderstorms or so it says (60 percent chance). I have a new veggie bed dug at the front of the house and the two ones in the back dug up. Yesterday, I hoed the one in the front and dug two furrows in it and planted 35 potato pieces that had sprouts growing, two on each pieces. I had cut and air dried them. I hope they come up because they are just from the store and not seed potatoes. I've planted them from the store other years and they did okay. But, everyone around here says they have to be planted by Valentine's Day and I was three days late. I'm not sure what will go in the back beds yet, but time will tell. In the little shaped beds in the front there are snap peas which finally decided to grow and have flowers so maybe we'll get some peas. There is spinach, kale and swiss chard and a few carrots. Of course there are weeds, too so next day it isn't raining I guess I'll take my hoe and go tackle the weeds. I still have some scrubby brush to do and I need to plant some flowers. I have to do something with my honeysuckle. It's growing on the fence and I know that as soon as those goats see it, it won't be growing on that fence.
I've been doing a fair amount of sewing. Probably not as much as I should have been doing. I stopped doing aprons and tote bags for awhile and concentrated on making shopping bags for relatives in another state where they have to take their own bags now and they don't like those fiber bags. I've been making a few to sell and at the Writer's Guild book signing next week I might take some and call them book bags. I've spent a couple days this past week passing out flyers for the book signing. I hope we do well. It's a day for local or Texas authors to sell their books and sign them for the buyers. We have a Writer's Guild meeting on Tuesday night and it will probably mostly be planning for Saturday. But, I have two stories ready in case there is time to read.
One is about learning to sew. I learned to sew on a treadle sewing machine and was very impatient waiting for my legs to get long enough that I could reach the treadle and make it go back and forth. I enlisted some help from my little brother to get under and work the treadle while I sewed. Needless to say, it did not work very well. I was about six and he was about four. Not a good combination to get anything done and we ended up breaking the belt and then we were in real trouble. Mom made all of our clothes and with a sewing machine that didn't work it was a problem for everyone. I sew better now and haven't broken anything in awhile, knock on wood.
There is a small flea market opening here in town that will be the first Saturday of every month so maybe I will try selling things there. We'll see how it goes. I did well at the farm market last spring.
I know spring is coming because it's going to rain four out of five days this week. We need the rain but it could be spaced out better. dr says it's only supposed to rain at night while we are sleeping. We had an inch and a quarter last week. We'll see what happens this week.
Meanwhile, I'll just keep waiting for spring to come and when it gets here I'll wait for summer. You all have a nice spring now.

dooley

Seventy five degrees in January?

dooley — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 19:36:13 -0500

Author: dooley
Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2013 12:36 am (GMT 0)

Are you sure it's still January? Today it was 71 degrees at 4:30 pm and the weather says it will be 75 degrees and sunny tomorrow. Are you sure it's still January? It was nice a couple of weeks before Christmas and then we had about a month of cold, cloudy, rainy, dreary weather. About a week ago the rain quit and gradually it's been warming up. It says it will be 75 tomorrow but on Thursday it will be 79 degrees. Go figure!
I've been trying to get the yards in shape for spring. Last year it got away from me when I was doing all the running from one doctor to another. The grass got tall and the weeds took over and the grasshoppers had a feast. So, I've managed to get all the weeds pulled and I've raked all the dry grass and tossed it over the fence and am in the process of cutting the scrubby brush that persists in coming back. I did see when I was raking that some had dried up so maybe it's progress. I'll do some more of that tomorrow and I need to trim my rose bushes and pull off the leaves with black spot. I found a spray for black spot that says it's safe for the garden. I need to dig or hoe up the garden areas. I found some spinach, swiss chard, kale, lettuce and carrots that I can plant. I was looking at the ones that I planted in the fall. I see one row of carrots, two rows of spinach, some peas and a few swiss chard. There was one bloom on the peas. I wonder what you can do with one pea. Maybe some more will bloom. The plants have survived the wooly caterpillars and the freezes so it's hopeful. I saw a grasshopper yesterday. It was a big one. I wonder where he hid from the cold. I thought the freezes would take care of them. I thought about hiring the kids up the hill (7-9 yrs) to come and catch them. I could pay them a penny a piece. Then, I thought about it again. Knowing those boys they would do more damage than the grasshoppers. I remember when I was a kid that we always caught grasshoppers and ladybugs and fireflies. We didn't even get paid for it. Now, I know that we should have left the ladybugs but what do little kids know about bugs.
Maybe next month I can plant a few more things if it doesn't decide to freeze again. I have some bush beans and some pole beans but it does need to be frost free for those. I have some radishes and some potato sprouts. Well, enough time to think about that.
I'm still sewing stuff. I made shopping bags for relatives in California. Last week I made a couple with a cowboy design and sent one to our grandson and one to Brian's niece's son. They are both five. I put some books in the bags, hoping maybe they would consider them book bags. The Writer's Guild is having a Book Sale and author signing in February and they let me sell book bags there so I need to make some of them. I call them tote bags but shopping bags would work as well.
With summer coming I should make some garden aprons, too.
So goes my life. Hope you have a good one, too.

dooley

Memories going or there's too much to do

dooley — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 15:17:07 -0500

Author: dooley
Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:17 pm (GMT 0)

After breakfast this morning I brought my cup of tea here so I could check the computer. I checked out things and then looked at the calendar with all the days checked with x's. That's the old calendar, I thought. I pulled it down and got the new one from the shelf and put it up. No x's on it yet. We bought several calendars so I thought I'd go find them and change them, too. I took my tea cup, which was by now empty, to the kitchen. I ran hot water and washed up all the empty tea cups sitting there and cleaned off the big table in the center of the kitchen. Things tend to get set there instead of getting put away. I changed out the Christmas place mats on the little table where we eat. I swept the kitchen and hallway and laundry room and I swept up all the little twigs from around the stove in the living room. I mopped up the kitchen floor. It tends to get messy along in front of the stove and sink. I looked around and things seemed to be looking good. I heated up some leftover soup for lunch. I rinsed out the bowls and made myself a cup of tea and came in here to check out the internet for any new posts, etc. I glanced over at the calendar and saw that it was new. That's when I remembered that I had gone to look for the other new calendars. They weren't in the kitchen. They were on a shelf in the hallway. So, now the new calendars are all installed where we can look at them whenever we want to remember what day it is now. My cup of tea isn't hot anymore. I'm a little afraid to take it to the kitchen. I might forget what I went out there for and clean something else.
I do need to go put that chicken in the oven if we are going to eat it for supper though. I'm not sure just what we will eat with it. I think I may roast sweet potatoes and have a salad. We have had a lot of sweet stuff lately but I guess we should end the holidays with something for dessert. Hmmmm! Guess I'd better take this tea cup to the kitchen and see what I can find to make. No cookies. I still have a few pfeffernusse but it's time to quit with the cookies. I emptied out the tins when I was cleaning this morning. Well, I'll find something. The cupboard isn't bare as was Mother Hubbards.

dooley

Celebrating today!

dooley — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 18:46:31 -0500

Author: dooley
Posted: Mon Dec 31, 2012 11:46 pm (GMT 0)

It's New Year's Eve. It's gray and gloomy and raining. We don't ever go out on New Year's Eve. It's something we never started doing.
We were sitting here this afternoon and I said to dr, "Let's go to the Chinese Buffet in Huntsville and celebrate New Year's Eve and my birthday. We'll just combine the two and get out of the gray for awhile.
So, we jumped in the truck (well, it wasn't a very fast jump or very high) and drove down to Huntsville. I don't do freeway so we went the state highway and it was nearly empty so had a nice leisurely drive.
I think other people must have had the same idea because it was doing a great business with lots of older people and couples with younger children. We had a good meal, a nice drive and arrived back home before it got dark. Now, I think I can go and read for awhile, write my good night on facebook and be in bed at my usual time.
Looking back over this year I think that some things could have been better. The summer was hot and dry and my garden didn't fare well through it. The grasshoppers ate my fall garden except for the lettuce. They apparently do not like lettuce.
I planted a few more cold weather things on Christmas. There was no electricity in the house so it was no chore being outside during the day. It was a bit windy though so maybe the seeds will come up in the yard instead of the garden beds. I'll be watching for other things that I can plant during the coming weeks.
They fixed our road. It's a great difference between then and now. No more creekbed. They graded it so the water runs down the sides instead of across it and they put gravel and traffic bond on it so there are no more ruts going up and down it. Thanks, you good guys!
Our health has improved. It isn't great but for our age it's par for the course. Arthritis, etc. Things to tend to wear a bit after you pass 70. But, we are blessed to have made it pass 70 so we try not to complain too much other than the occasional "ouch" when we get up too fast or turn too quickly.
We have a good friend named Chance who keeps us entertained. She is 10 years old now so she also has a few aches and pains but deals well with them. She has a "blankie" than she gets covered with when she goes to bed. She doesn't move as fast but she does keep kitty cats and goats away from our fence lines.
Well, everyone have a good New Year's Eve and a good New Year! Say a blessing for all the joys of this past year.

dooley

Cold and snowy?

dooley — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 22:49:02 -0500

Author: dooley
Posted: Sat Dec 22, 2012 3:49 am (GMT 0)

It's cold and snowy somewhere but not here. Wannabe had some snow but she said the wind blew it away. It was windy here the last couple of days but today it was pretty nice. It was 64 degrees and sunny. It should be nice for the weekend and then it says rain on Christmas Eve and Christmas. Still, it's not snow and that makes me happy.
I spent the first couple of weeks in December making cookies. I do this every year. When I had three growing boys at home, they didn't last long but now that it's just dr and I they just set there looking at me so I have to eat them. Being a diabetic I surely don't need cookies. So, I give them to anyone who even faintly looks like they need a cookie. I didn't make as many as usual this year. I took cookies to the Writer's Guild party. When people were collecting their bowls and plates as they were leaving they tried to give me back the leftovers. I told them, "sorry, I'm not taking home leftovers." So they divided them among themselves. I made two buckets of cookies for the lady next door. She has six grandchildren that she wanted to help decorate cookies. I told her I would make the cookies as their Christmas present and she could help them decorate them. I made cut out sugar cookies and cut out gingerbread cookies. They decorated them last weekend. Today, I was outside and one of the little boys came to the fence carrying a small poinsettia and handed it to me and told me, "Thank you for the cookies." I ask if they were all frosted and he said yes. I asked if they were all eaten. He said no. I asked which he liked best, the white ones or the brown ones. He said he liked the brown ones. I told him they were my favorite, too. Of course, I eat mine without frosting. I remember making gingerbread boys and frosting and decorating for each of the boys to take to their school parties just before Christmas. I made about 35 for each boy. Good thing I liked baking. I was working then, too. We hadn't done Christmas shopping until this week. I made shopping bags, aprons and such for presents but hadn't really gone shopping. Wednesday we left early and spent the whole day in Bryan/College Station, just walking around looking at things. We were tired and hadn't actually bought anything but groceries. Yesterday we were tired but went into town and bought a couple of things for each other and ended up giving them to each other when we got home. Today, we ran a few errands and went and did some looking in Huntsville and did buy some things that we can wrap. Since we were both shopping together we will know what is in the packages but after 51 years it's hard to surprise each other anyway.
I found some seeds at Tractor Supply so bought some seeds for swiss chard so I can replant my fall garden. I dug it all up on Tuesday when it was so nice outside. I still have lettuce and I found two swiss chard plants and one carrot. There are two pea plants blooming if the cold hasn't gotten to them yet. The red cabbage is growing but not very fast. If I can get them planted soon they might have a chance to grow and get some rain on Christmas Eve and Christmas. I was going to buy a bird feeder but bird seed is a big high for my budget. I do keep them in water and they will have to forage for food in the woods here. Anyway, we do NOT have snow and the Christmas shopping is probably done for the year. Next major event is on January 2nd which is my birthday. I'll be 72 years old. That's probably too many candles for a cake but I don't eat cake either so that's okay.
Enjoy your Christmas and have a really great New Year.
dooley

Lackadaisical!

dooley — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 23:04:27 -0500

Author: dooley
Posted: Sun Dec 16, 2012 4:04 am (GMT 0)

I've been noticing that it's been August since I wrote a blog on here. I guess I've been a little lackadaisical in posting lately. I guess most of you know that I had a mastectomy in June, 2011. Then, I went through test after test and scans and doctor's appointments. It really seemed like I was going to the doctor or the medical center every couple of weeks. That only happened June through October, 2011. Then, it slacked off. I have a medication that I take every day and it has side effects that cover both sides of two pages. But, it sent the cancer into remission so I can't complain about it too much. The scans I had in September showed no signs of the cancer. But, I still have to take the medication and have more scans in June, 2013. But, I don't have the energy that I did before the surgery and some days I get up and just don't do anything. That's why I try to sew every day or do something in the yard. The doctor said do something outside everyday but it was hard to do in the summer when it was so hot and we've had a couple of cold spells where I couldn't go outside. The doctor said the medication would cause joint pain and she was right about that. The primary care doctor said, "No pain medication, when it gets bad get up and walk." He is right and I didn't want the pain medication anyway. What I asked was for an alternative to it. So, sometimes in the night I'm up walking around the house. Especially on damp gray days. I do try to do things outside. I planted a fall garden, but the grasshoppers ate most of it as soon as it came up. I'm hoping that the three nights down to 20 degrees took care of the grasshoppers. The peas are blooming but I notice that those black caterpillars are eating the leaves. I pick them off and toss them over the fence, but they probably get back before I get inside. The only thing doing really well is the lettuce. I have three different kind and they are all doing great. Fresh lettuce for salad. I do wish tomatoes were a cool weather crop. I want to try to get out and hoe up the other beds and replant some stuff. I started to buy some seed for swiss chard the other day but the line was so long that I put it back. Maybe after the Christmas rush I will try again. My rosemary bush is really growing. I planted it a couple of years ago when we moved here. It was in one of those gallon size pots. It is now about four feet high and spreads out about five feet. I pulled some off to use at Thanksgiving and put some in a vase in the house. I wish it were in the yard instead of the garden area. When we lived in Arizona I had it by the back door. It grew so big it blocked the driveway. I cut it and dr took it to the flea market. Chance used to rub up against it and then turn around and smell it. She loved the smell of it. Maybe I should pull of a bit and rub it on her so she can smell it. She is ten years old now. I really can't believe we've had her ten years on December 23rd. She was so small that she fit in my hand. She loved to crawl up and sleep with her head under my chin. She can't sit in my lap any more. She's long and she's heavy, not fat though. She comes and lays under my legs some nights. She was here but she went out a bit ago.
She didn't like the heat this summer so she wanted to stay inside all of the time. Now, she wants to be outside all of the time unless it's raining or really windy. We put a rug on the front deck for her. Brian build her a bed on the back deck and I made a cushion for it. She stayed out during that cold period so I covered her with an old blanket. She loves it.
Am I ready for Christmas? Well, I guess I mostly am. We didn't do much shopping. I have to mail most things so I'll do that in January when things settle down some. The kids know I'm always late. My mom and dad used to have Christmas in March when I'd get around to sending their gifts. I do have the house decorated somewhat. I put up the little bear tree. I took some pictures but haven't loaded them to here yet. I've made some cookies but took most of them to a Writer's Guild party. We go to the Writer's Guild meeting every third Tuesday except in summer and this past summer we even met at a local restaurant every month to keep in touch. I'll try to post more often and write my blog monthly again. I can't let myself get bogged down, doing nothing. Take care and Merry Christmas everyone.

dooley

Birthdays abound in August!

dooley — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 13:40:59 -0400

Author: dooley
Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2012 5:40 pm (GMT 0)

I was looking at the Gardenstew calendar for August. I added Wannabe's birthday. I went to buy birthday cards this past week. Only got three so have a few more to go.
Our oldest son, Tom, will be 50 on August 6th. He was born on dr's grandfather's birthday. Our grandson, Ben, will be 14 on August 6th. Three in the same family on Aug. 6th. Sadly, the great-grandfather has passed on from this earth.
On August 11th, Wannabe has a birthday. One of her granddaughters was also born on August 11th. We have another sister who was born on August 13th. Our youngest grandson was born on August 13th. He'll be five. Wannabe has another granddaughter with an August birthday but I'm not sure which day. We had another brother who had a birthday on August 22. He passed away during the Vietnam War. Our youngest brother just missed August, being born on Sept. 1st and our youngest son was born on Sept. 4th. He was due on Aug. 23 but chose to wait until Labor Day to show up. I think that's about ll birthdays during that period, minus the two deceased relatives.
Then, dr and I will have our 51st anniversary in August, too. That will be on the 26th. So, August will be a busy month for birthday cards. I only bought three so I have to buy a few more.

dooley

Still pulling weeds!

dooley — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 21:54:09 -0400

Author: dooley
Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2012 1:54 am (GMT 0)

Here I am three weeks later still pulling weeds or maybe I should say pulling weeds again. It's still hot here but it's in the 90's so it's not as hot as 105 or above which some of our members way north of us are having.Still, hot is hot and not very inviting to work outside in for long. dr has been working on his shed all month, too. He has the majority of it finished. When he was putting up the roof rafters and sheets of metal roofing, he would install a rafter and come inside and drink a bottle of water, go back outside and put up the roofing sheet and come back inside and drink another bottle of water. After about the third time he would have to change his wet clothing. He was running out of shirts to change into so he got up early one day and washed a couple loads of his laundry. He got it all hung out on the clothesline and it started to rain so we went and brought it inside. It stopped raining and we hung it back outside. It started raining and we brought it back inside. He was also trying to get some work done on his shed. We hung that laundry outside four times before dr deemed it dry enough to stay inside. But, with all the taking the clothes in and out because of the rain we got less than half an inch. We have lots of rainy days but not much of a downpour. Still, we are getting more than most of the country.
All the rain does make the weeds grow and Texas grows some very large weeds. I went out three days and pulled big weeds along the fence in the back yard and around trees and bushes and pots of herbs. It took me four yard wagons to haul it all out. I didn't put it in the compost because of the seeds and because some of the stalks were heavy and stringy and would take a long time to break down so I pulled the wagon out to the creekbed road and spread the weeds along where the water had carved ruts and holes. I wanted to water the bushes and trees but it was to sunny and hot so I will get up early before the sun is too high and water them. Next, I will do the front yard. I gave up on the garden because the crickets and grasshoppers are eating everything. When I went to pick the peppers they all had holes, some of them about half gone. What do you do about grasshoppers? Some are three or four inches long. dr says, "fish bait." We haven't been fishing since we moved to Texas.
The farm market hasn't been open for three weeks now because most of the people are having the same trouble with the heat and grasshoppers as I did. The peas dried up and the okra dried up and the tomatoes turned leathery. There was a man there last week with watermelons and I told him to let me know if he'll be there this week and I will come and keep him company. There is another man who is having a big yard sale and he said I could come set up my stand with him but I don't know about doing that this week. I'll have to think about it. It's really too hot to stay out all day. I guess summer time isn't like it was when we were kids or we were just able to take it more than we do now that we are "older." How old do you need to be before you can be "old." I know that senior discounts start at varying ages and the retirement age is 65 although that is going up again. People are working longer.
Well, I've moved away from the pulling weeds and working outside.
I'll let you know when I have all the weeds pulled. dr has his shed about finished and is busy filling it up.
We do get things accomplished, just not very fast.

dooley

Time sure flies

dooley — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 19:57:14 -0400

Author: dooley
Posted: Wed Jul 04, 2012 11:57 pm (GMT 0)

I was looking and it's been awhile I wrote a blog. Time sure flies these days. I remember when a month was a long time and now it's just a couple of days.
I think it got hot and humid and I just stopped doing much of anything but sewing in my air conditioned room. My garden suffered from lack of care and weeds. I watered it but the weeds just kept growing and sort of crowded out the garden. I decided that I should just go and do some every day and see if I could reclaim any of it. Yesterday, I pulled weeds for around all the trees and bushes in the front yard. I watered everything really well. Today, I was going to do the backyard but there was some wild grape vines hanging out over our road so I took my loppers and went to cut them. Of course, they were growing over scrubby brush so I had to cut it, too. Then, I went up and down cutting the heavy weeds that I couldn't pull out. The road is clear on both sides now for awhile. We went and had a sandwich for lunch and then I took my shovel and went out and pried that petrified rock out of the road in front of the house. We clunked over it every time we went in and out of the driveway. I had to call dr to help me move it and together we couldn't move it. It's 22 inches by 20 inches by 9 inches. There were two of the neighbors brothers next door so I went and asked if they would help us move it. They picked it up like it didn't weigh anything. One of them even took the shovel and filled in the hole. We tried to hose the dirt off of it but dr says we need a stiff brush. It's more like sandstone so we don't want to scrub it too hard. I think I will call the lady from the rock club and see how they clean it. I might even see if they would like it.
So, tomorrow I will pull weeds in the backyard and water things back there.
dr is going to be working on his shed. He does a little every day. It's too hot to work on it very long. He's working on roof rafters now. We went and bought some boards for it yesterday. He has metal to use for the roof once he gets the rafters put up.
Seems like we either work slower or the days are shorter because we run out of day before we run out of things to do.
Well, I'd better quit this and go "find" something else to do. Usually it finds me first.

dooley

An Award Winning Entry!

dooley — Wed, 16 May 2012 19:08:26 -0400

Author: dooley
Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 11:08 pm (GMT 0)

This is the short story that won the 2nd place award in the open reading catagory. We had to read them aloud so picture me reading, "Knock, knock is anyone home," in front of a group of fellow writers.

Emma Kate’s Flowers

My neighbor, Emma Kate, is four ears old. She and I share a love of flowers. I have a lot of flowers in my yard and she is very careful when she comes to look at them.
Emma Kate knows she isn’t supposed to come into my yard unless someone tells her it is okay. So, she stands at the gate until someone sees her standing there. I think that some days she stand there for a very long tim.
When I see her standing there I walk to the gate and ask her, “What can I do for you today, Emma Kate?” I know what she wants but I wait for her to tell me.
She tells me, “My mama needs a flower.”
I take her hand and we go and find one or two flowers for her mama. This takes a little time while she looks at all the flowers and finally chooses which ones. She goes out the gate with a little bounce and a smile.
One day, I told her, “Emma Kate, if I’m not outside you need to knock on my gate.”
She got the strangest look on her face and lifted her hand. She looked at her hand and she looked at the gate. She said, “Miss Laura, the gate is wire and there is no where to knock.”
“Emma Kate, there is a special way to knock on a wire gate. Do you want me to show you how to do it?”
She nodded. “Yes,” she said.
I opened my mouth and shouted, “Knock, knock, is anyone home. “ I shouted very loud. I bet you could hear me inside of my house.
Emma Kate looked at me like maybe I was a little bit odd. So, I told her to try it.
She said, “Knock, knock is anyone home” in such a soft voice I could not hear her distinctly and I was standing just on the other side of the gate. We practiced a few times and she got a little louder. After getting a flower for her mama she went home, walking, not bouncing and she wasn’t smiling.
Emma Kate hasn’t come for a flower in a long while. Not since I showed her how to knock on the gate. Maybe I didn’t hear her soft voice calling, “Knock, knock is anyone home.” Maybe she decided that I was definitely a bit odd to be knocking on a wire gate with my big mouth.
When I am outside doing yard work I try to remember to pick a flower or two for Emma Kate’s mama and if I see Emma Kate outside I’ll call to her and hold up the flowers. She comes running.
“Flowers! Oh, thank you! My mama will like these flowers.
If Emma Kate is not outside I deliver the flowers to her back door. Fortunately for me Emma Kate’s back door is not made of wire and I don’t have to shout, “Knock, knock is anyone home.”
We moved to another town and I don’t know if someone else planted flowers in the yard but Emma Kate will always love flowers for her mama. Maybe she even learned to shout really loud, “Knock, knock is anyone home.”

I'm not sure how award winning it is but the judges thought it was.
dooley

Another month gone by.

dooley — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 16:52:22 -0400

Author: dooley
Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2012 8:52 pm (GMT 0)

I wonder where this month as gone. I thought it just started and now the calandar is reading the 17th. We've been busy this past month. We planted and planted and planted some more.
We took the gift I got in the mail and bought azelea bushes and flowers and more plants.
We have 14 azelea bushes, a purple honeysuckle, a carolina jasmine, a gardenia and a red tip phontinia.
The gardenia and the phontinia got mixed in with the azeleas so we found a place to plant them, too.
We bought a new area rug for the living room. The old one has been rolled up, standing in the corner. Today, we put it in the bedroom. We moved the one in the bedroom to the sewing. It took moving furniture and other stuff around and then moving it back again. I tried to dust in, around and under stuff while it was being moved. I did some of that yesterday when we moved the exercise equipment out of the living room and put it in the bedroom. Maybe when I can't sleep at night I can get up and bicycle for awhile. dr doesn't have the weight bench reassembled yet.I have my other weights I can use though. I should have those in the sewing room so I can use them when I'm sitting here thinking about what to do next.
I always thought the day had 24 hours but it seems like I just get started and it's time to quit. I have to have more rest periods and that doesn't help get things done.
The garden is doing great. The bush beans have blossems, the peppers have blossems, the tomatoes have blossems and little tomatoes, the first planting of the sugar snap peas are picked and frozen and the second planting has blossems. The pole beans are about a foot high. I still have 17 zucchini and they are setting buds. The onions are doing well but I do have to get out there and dig around them or they will stay skinny. The kale, spinach and swiss chard and beets are growing slowly but haven't bolted yet. I pulled all of the lettuce. It bolted and was tasting bitter so it became compost. I planted flowers in the beds where the lettuce used to be. I planted some bush cucumbers, too. The eggplant has nearly doubled in size. I generally plant ichiban but this year planted the larger Black Beauty.
The roses are still blooming. They must like this weather this year. I want to take some starts off of some of them and see if I can fill the whole fence up instead of just 30 feet or so. It may not be that much but they are doing really well.
I still need to pull weeds, cut little trees, use the weedeater and water things regularly. My lilac bushes are doing good this spring. The peach trees have peaches which need to be picked off before they break the branches. Toni sent us two more small ones. The pecan tree she sent me last year is growing fast now. It's almost two feet tall. I still have a plum tree in a bucket but we can't decide where to put it. The front yard has five peach trees and the back yard has six crape myrtle and two fig trees. Well, I'll find a place one of these days.
Maybe tomorrow I can get back outside again. We've been inside since Saturday or out and about doing things. Thursday is a wasted day, doctor appointments.
dooley

More gardening and herbs, too.

dooley — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 20:34:43 -0400

Author: dooley
Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2012 12:34 am (GMT 0)

Seems like I haven't stopped gardening since last spring and summer. I planted a fall garden and kept it going all winter. I still have a couple of things left from it. Kale, swiss chard and carrots and some lettuce are still growing. I picked half the swiss chard last week and put it in the freezer. I'm going to do the other half as soon as I get the time. I still want to do the kale, too.
So, I started spring gardening as soon as plants came into Lowe's and Home Depot. I kept the tomatoes and peppers inside for about six weeks until they got to big for those little six paks they came packed into. I planted them all outside a couple of weeks ago, maybe three weeks. They are doing good and some have flowers. I want to fertilize them with Miracle-Gro this week. I watered them good yesterday. I planted pak choy, a Chinese vegetable. It is a cool weather crop and it already flowered and went to seed. I guess it was already too warm for it. The arugula and raddicio aren't doing too well either. The snap peas have lots of flowers and some small peas. I wanted to pick some and add to salad but decided to wait until there are a few more out there. The radishes that I planted earlier are getting big enough for slicing for salad, too. The smaller ones that I planted in the front yard got flattened by the rain last week but they are coming along now. The first row of beets need thinned out so I will pull some for using the leaves in salad, too.
So, I have, arugula, raddicio, pak choy, snap peas, tomatoes (Roma, Early Girl and Celebrity, 29 in all), radishes, pole beans, beets, red onions, zucchini (23), bush beans, wax beans, yellow summer squash, Peppers, green and yellow banana and some minature mixed colored peppers, carrots, kale, swiss chard, spinach and lettuce growing right now.
Today I planted sweet basil, Siam Queen Thai basil, oregano, true lavendar, cilentro, sweet marjarom, commor thyme, garlic chives, chives, and lemom balm. I have already growing apple mint, spearmint and oregano.
We have 5 peach trees, two that Toni sent me and three larger ones that we planted last fall. The three bigger ones have small peaches that will have to mostly come off because the trees branches aren't big enough to support them yet. I have a plum tree in a bucket that needs planting and a pecan tree that needs planted into the ground. I have six crape myrtle trees growing now. I bought them at a yard sale year before last and wasn't sure they would make it but they are doing well.
The red blaze climbing roses are doing well and blooming like crazy. I will post more pictures of them soon.There are ten of them. There is one bush rose but I have no idea what kind. Some one gave it to me and it wasn't marked. I have a star jasmine on the fence and it's about six foot high and beginning to branch out. I have a honeysuckle on the front fence that hasn't died yet.
When we moved down here two years ago in April there was nothing. They just bulldozed a yard out of a thicket of trees and brush. I've been digging roots and cutting little trees that pop up and trying to get things to grow. I didn't plant grass but the yard is green. Some kind of grass, but mostly weeds except for the stuff I planted.
dooley

February is almost over and it was one day longer

dooley — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 22:04:11 -0500

Author: dooley
Posted: Wed Feb 29, 2012 3:04 am (GMT 0)

Well, the second month of the year is almost over. If not for the extra day tomorrow would be March. Happy Birthday to all those people born on Feb. 29th.It seemed to be a long month for being the shortest day of the year. We did a lot of things this month. One thing we did not do was go to the doctor. I don't have to go until the end of April.
We planted some things in the garden. I made three new raised beds. I planted more peas and radishes. Chance helped dig the radishes. I had to explain to her that she needed to wait for them to grow some more before she digs them. I straightened out the row and replanted them along with a new row. The daffodils bloomed. I planted pansies and allysum. They aren't doing as well as I would like but the weather has been bouncing from warm to cold to warm to cold. The flowers are probably just confused. My tomatoes and peppers are still in the small paks. I move them outside during the day and inside at night. Maybe next week I'll move them outside or the week after. The petunias that I planted at the end of the house like it. They are standing tall. I have a few more that I want to put in big pots but still need to finish cleaning out the pots. I started, but ran into those stinging ants. They make big pus filled sores on me so I had to spray the pots and wait for them to leave. Maybe tomorrow if it doesn't rain I can get that done.
dr planted 75 red onion plants in the new long bed.
There is still room for something more and I might plant some green beans in there, too. I've been using my winter carrots so I need to plant them and I need to get my herbs started. I planted my wildflower seeds on that hilly area with all the little stumps and roots. I'll tackle that area next year maybe.
About 10 days ago we moved a ton of rock from a pile in the neighbors yard to the creekbed road. Today, I took my shovel and shoveled that dirt pile that was in front of our fence into the road. It filled up a lot of low spots. I hope it gets packed down some before it decides to rain again.
We got our wood burning stove hooked up this month and it sure comes in handy on cool mornings. Today, we hauled some branches from across the road and this afternoon we cut them into a size that fits the stove. While supper was baking (quiche) we hauled some more over. We'll cut that up tomorrow. We told the neighbor boy we will share it so he can have a bonfire in their firepit on Friday night when he has a sleepover for his birthday. He'll be 13.
We've been shopping a few times and we've been rained on a few times and it's been hot one day and warm and cold some days but it's still much better than living in the northern climates and getting snow and cold all winter.
So, March is just around the corner. I'm hoping I can get the rest of my garden planted and some sewing done. There is always something needing done and we tackle most things ourselves and help out our neighbors when we can.
dooley

We got rained on again, again and again

dooley — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 22:11:34 -0500

Author: dooley
Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2012 3:11 am (GMT 0)

Today, being a shopping day we went to Huntsville. We left home in the fog and stopped and had breakfast and went to the bank. Then, we started to Huntsville. It was still a bit foggy and I had my lights on and wipers going intermittently. We drove in and out of fog and it got a little misty as we got closer to Huntsville. Our first stop was Home Depot. I wanted some wildflower seed mix to put in the front yard where all the little stumps and roots are now. We went into the garden dept and I bought 8 small Early girl tomatoes. I know it's early and if I put them outside they will need to be covered at night for awhile. But, they were about 40 cents each. We also bought a pot of Greek Oregano and a pot of Sweet Mint. dr bought a metal trash can to hold hot ashes until they cool.
Second stop was WalMart. I wanted to get a few things in the grocery section to make some cookies to take for snacks and lunch at the Writer's Guild Sale. It's potluck for all the authors and guild members. I heard thunder and told dr I bet it's raining. He didn't want to hear about it. I went ahead to the sewing dept and bought some thread. They were out of the ribbon that I wanted for bookmarks. We checked out and sure enough it was pouring rain outside. We had parked just five spaces out from the store but we were soaked when we got the bags put in the back and ourselves put in the front of the truck. We wanted to go to HEB next so the lights and wipers came on and I backed out and went out the exit and started toward HEB. It was pouring rain so hard I could only follow the next car by following the tail lights.We drove through some water flowing across the street and some in low spots in the street. We made it to HEB and I parked in a space right up by the overhang of the store. We got soaked by rain getting from the car to under the roof. Our feet were wet from the water running through the parking spaces. Of course, it was still raining when we came out and there were people blocking the overhang waiting for the rain to let up. If they waited, they waited a long time. We loaded our bags and got into the truck, more wet than before. We decided to go for lunch while we waited for it to stop or slow down some. Lights and wipers came on and we slowly made our way to the street. Pouring down rain making it difficult to see again. We got to the restaurant and I turned into the parking lot. The restaurant is built into a slope so the water was running down the slope across the parking lot. I went through the water up the slope and parked by the door. We, again, got wet going from the car to the door. We were not alone as the restaurant was almost full of people waiting out the rain. Most were equally wet.
They had to shut down one section of the restaurant because water was coming under the back door and making the carpet soggy wet and slippery. The water in the parking lot was up to the bottom of the door on some cars and people were running to move them up the hill some.
It did slow down some by the time we were leaving so we didn't get so wet going back to the truck. We stopped for gas but the pumps were under an awning/roof so that was okay. We started home, but didn't get far before the rain started coming down in buckets again. Lights and wipers came on and I slowed down to a crawl. Good thing most of the traffic was on the interstate road. I didn't have to worry too much about someone running over me or me hitting someone in front of me. Would you believe with the poor vision that some people don't use their headlights? It took us more time to get back to Madisonville and the rain was stopping when we got there. We decided not to stop for anything in town and proceeded on north on the highway. We didn't get two miles down the road before...not rain again, but SUNSHINE! We had sunshine the rest of the way home. The creekbed that thinks it's a road down the hill to our house wasn't too slippery and we made it without sliding this way and that way.
We unloaded our purchases and then, we went and changed out of our soggy wet clothes. Ha! Warm again! I think I will stop going shopping because the same thing happened on a bit smaller scale last month, only we were in Bryan instead of Huntsville.
We've had four or five rains like that in the last six weeks. The cattle tanks are full, the ditches are full and the fields look like lakes. But, the weather people tell us the drought is not over. It will be back full force in the summer. Thanks, guys, you sure know how to spoil a good thing.
dooley

Yard and gardens!

dooley — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 21:54:32 -0500

Author: dooley
Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2012 2:54 am (GMT 0)

I looked here and saw that I haven't wrote a blosince November. My I'm getting lazy. So much has happened that I'm not sure where to begin so I will tell you about my yard and gardens. You all know that it was carved out of a small woods so there are roots and small stumps everywhere and whenever we dig a space we have to also dig roots. Then, those little youpon trees travel by root and come up again where we just dug them out.
In the back yard we make a small garden, put down black plastic and cut holes in the plastic for the tomatoes. That was accomplished last year. There are eleven rose bushes, 10 of them climbing around the fence. I tied the longer branches to the fence last fall and have started pulling some smaller ones toward the fence. They didn't lose their leaves this year. Well, not all of them. Now, they have new leaves and are getting a few buds. I hope it doesn't freeze them. Along the east fence I planted two rows of green peas and a row of rose radishes. It said they were salad radishes. The radishes and peas are about two inches high. When it's warm they grow and on cooler days they just sit there. The aurgula and the pak choi are coming up but the raddicio? is not up yet. I should have read the directions better there. I thought it was like leaf lettuce but it gets heads so I will have to thin it a lot. I wonder if I can wait until it's big enough to move somewhere else. I started to clean out the holes from last year but haven't finished that yet. I cleaned out the flower pots that I had marigolds in last year though. I still have some larger pots that need to be cleaned out. I stood and looked at them today but couldn't decide if I wanted to do them yet so didn't. I took my pointed hoe and dug up thistles and clumps of weeds for the goats.
Chance helped me with that. She filled in the holes left with her nose.
I have five crepe myrtle and two small fig trees in the back yard but they haven't started to bud yet.
In the front yard, I have the small bed of pansies. I put mulch on them today and filled in the spaces with turtles (not real ones). We have the winter garden (8x8). It still has carrots, swiss chard, kale and I just planted two rows of spinach and a row of swiss chard. We dug that 4 x 16 bed last week and have it about ready to plant. Would you believe that when I was hoeing weeds today I found some already growing there. I have four circular beds 4 to 6 ft across with lettuce/mesclun growing. What I had for winter bolted. I haven't pulled it out yet though. I wanted to see if it would seed itself. I did dig around and plant new seeds where there was spaces from cutting the older stuff. I have some black plastic along the front of the house that I want to take up and dig a bed for herbs there. We have three peach trees that we planted last fall and I noticed that two of them have small leaves and some flower buds. I hope it isn't too early for them. dr says they have to have time for growth so we will need to pick the fruit off this year anyway. (sigh) I went around to the end of the house and checked on the daffodils. They are blooming and making a cheerful spot. The pansies and allysum that I planted there are looking good and I noticed some of the freesia that I planted last spring are starting to come up. I carefully hoed between things to loosen up the dirt. The iris that I got from toni aren't getting buds yet but the greenery is doing nicely. So, that's my garden and yard up to date. It still needs lots of work. More in the front where those little youpon keep trying to take over. It's getting nice enough to be out for a couple or three hours a day. The doctor said I need to get more exercise and being outside is g more fun than that exercise bike or weight bench.
dooley

No more weeds!

dooley — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 20:28:53 -0500

Author: dooley
Posted: Sun Nov 20, 2011 1:28 am (GMT 0)

It was nice when we got up this morning so I took my cup of tea and went and sat in the yard with Chance. I took my camera but the birds did not come. The sky turned cloudy and the wind started so I came in and made apple/raisin muffins for breakfast. Last night I made apple cobbler for dessert. I started to make pie but my pie crust turned out tough and doughy. I even followed the directions this time. I digress. After doing the kitchen cleanup I took my loppers out and started on the weeds in the storage yard. I haven't been in there since spring so some of the weeds were like little trees. I lopped them off and threw them into the goatyard. The goats love weeds. I got all the weeds cut with a little help from dr. I cut and he cleared them away. I picked up all the broken glass from a window falling over. I still have some trash to bag up for the dump. But the yard looks like a yard again instead of a dump site. I moved a stack of lumber waiting to be used into the storage yard out of the edge of the driveway. Another job accomplished. dr took me to lunch because I needed a break. Then, I finished the little part up by the deck at the top of the driveway. Now, all of the weeds are gone. Well, there are a few here and there but most of them are gone. I just wanted them gone before it started to rain. We did get dribbled on off and on but nothing measureable. I watched the weather a few days ago just after our last measureable rain and the weatherman said not to expect more rain for five or six weeks. Today I went to weather.com and the ten day forecast has rain six out of the next ten days. Wednesday and Thursday are going to be sunny and nice for Thanksgiving travel. We aren't going anywhere but I know that many people do go to family dinners.
My little fall garden is doing well. Maybe between rain showers I can thin the carrots. I need to pick some spinach and some lettuce to encourage new growth. I think there may be enough swiss chard for a quiche too. I have cheese, too so maybe for lunch tomorrow. I have four circle beds with mixed lettuce and one is up enough to pick and the others are growing except the one little bed with the rabbit waiting patiently for it to grow. The birds have been leaving it alone. I've been thinking of putting a bird feeder out there but first I have to discourage the neighbors cats. I wonder how I will do that without hurting them. I do use the hose and get them soggy. It doesn't seem to discourage them from trying to get dinner out there. I keep things cut short so there is no place for them to hide.
Chance chases them out when she sees them.
I guess we are almost ready for winter now. I'm not a winter person so I hope it doesn't last too long.
dooley

What a start to the summer!

dooley — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 19:59:17 -0400

Author: dooley
Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2011 11:59 pm (GMT 0)

I was just re-reading my last blog. I posted it on June 1st. My garden was doing well and I had all kinds of plans for sewing and the farm market. But, that was about three days before I found that lump in my left breast. That blew away the plans but not the summer. It's hot and humid here and dry. How can it be so humid and dry, too. I guess the humidity is what keeps some things green and growing,like the weeds. The weeds really got out of control while I was mending from the mastectomy. I finally went out yesterday and pulled and cut weeds and threw them over the fence to the goats. I didn't get near finished. dr helped and we restacked windows that we bought to make a greenhouse. dr worried that he was working me too hard but it felt good to be back doing things and we took several water breaks and rest times. Then, he took me to lunch. We stopped at the thrift shop and I found a few pieces of material. I didn't do much sewing yesterday though. I try to sew at least one thing every day. Sewing was something I could do while mending. It was sitting and I have a/c in here. I did a lot of reading, too. Last evening I sat down and tried to make a baby apron. I did get one made but I see a couple of changes I want to make in it. It needs to be a couple inches longer and maybe the bib part needs to be just a tad bit wider. I also need to buy some velcro for the tie around the neck. I put a snap on this one but it was just a trial one. Velcro will give a little more adjustment to the ties. I've been trying to make some smaller tote bags and more kid stuff. I've been doing well with the aprons since the farm market moved to the town square. We get more people through it. They were deciding that we would close for the month of August but last week decided we won't close for the month of August. It is hot but we take lots of water and we come home at noon or one o'clock. I had those orders that I got done. A lady wanted me to make her granddaughter a denim bag with a Miss Kitty on the front but that's a copyrighted pattern and I can't do that. Maybe a different kitty but not that one. I'll tell her that next week. She was going to let me know how big it should be. I made matching aprons for my son and grandson for their birthdays which are in August. I made a pink tote bag with a John Deere logo on the material for my granddaughter. When she was younger she loved John Deere tractors and machinery. She's 15 now so maybe she has outgrown them. I saw one at the store not too long ago and thought about buying it and didn't. Then, I found a piece of the pink striped material and bought it and made the tote bag myself. I need to think about making something for my daughter-in-law since I have something for the rest of the family.
I might make her a tote bag, too.
The garden has about seen it for now. I'm going to get some seeds started for planting the first part of September. I think as hot as it is now that the frost may be late enough to grow quite a lot of things. If we get the greenhouse built I can grow some vegetables in it, too.
My pumpkins didn't do so well,Two of them died but one is growing and has several leaves now. I don't think it will be the biggest one though.
So, that's about what I've been doing this summer. Mostly sitting around doing nothing. I'm feeling much better now and only have two more doctor visits on August 3rd. One to the surgeon and one to the oncologist who will monitor for five years before they can say it's over now. But, they did get all the cancer cells so I don't have to have radiation for five weeks. Thanks to all of you who sent prayers and good thoughts. They worked!!
dooley

It really is summer weather here!

dooley — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 22:00:28 -0400

Author: dooley
Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2011 2:00 am (GMT 0)

We've been having summer weather here since early March. I'm not a cold weather person so I like the hot weather. Usually when the sun goes down it cools off 20 degrees and it's nice. We've been having a lot of wind and that helps, too. We go out into the front yard with Chance. She checks things out and comes and plops down by our feet. Tonight there is no breeze so we didn't stay out too long.
It's been hot and dry and windy and the Texas drought makes everything dry. I water most every day but only vegetables, flowers and trees. No grass here! The rain we had was very welcome and the plants enjoyed it and grew several inches. I have the tomato jungle. The tomatoes are ripening slowly so we can keep up eating them. We eat a lot of vegetables and fruit in the summer. We stopped at a farm market in Huntsville this morning. I bought, would you believe it, tomatoes. I also bought eggplant, onions and little red potatoes.
At the grocery store I bought green beans, zucchini, peaches and strawberries and bananas and two kinds of leaf lettuce and romaine hearts of lettuce. I didn't buy cucumbers because I have half a dozen from the garden. I see some more growing so maybe I can keep Chance in cucumbers this summer. I noticed I have two wee yellow squash also. I'm glad the vegetable garden is doing well because the flowers aren't doing much at all. I only have petunias and impatients blooming and one marigold. I planted morning glories twice and the only ones to come up are the ones that I didn't plant. I don't know where they came from. They are on the garden fence.
I have a rose on the bush that isn't a climber. I'll have to remember to get a picture of it. The black eyed susans are doing well. They are a wildflower here and are seen all along the road and in fields. Chance likes them.
Maybe I can catch a picture of her smelling them. I never seem to have my camera handy when I need it.
The local farm market started in May, a couple of weeks ago. Now, starting on Saturday it is going to move to the town square in the center of town. We'll see how that goes. On Friday it will be still at the old place. So, I've been doing some sewing the last several days. I'm trying to increase my inventory of children's aprons and tote bags. One of my sisters sent me some fabric suitable to it.
The first week a young girl, maybe six or seven, looked at the aprons and tote bags and wanted to know if I made them or bought them. I told her that I sewed them. She talked her grandma into buying her an apron so she could learn to cook. Her grandma wanted to know how she was going to learn to cook. She told her that you are going to teach me. Grandma bought her an apron. She must have been six because grandma said it would be a present for going from kindergarten to first grade.
When they were leaving the little girl turned around and told me, "You are very creative." I waited until they were gone to laugh. It just tickled me when she said it. Very grownup!
I need to increase my tote bag inventory, too. There are many things I need to do and staying inside when it's so hot that heat stroke is a possibility is a good time to do it.
dooley