dooley's Blog at GardenStew.com

I've been keeping myself so busy!

dooley — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:16:45 -0500

Author: dooley
Posted: Sun Nov 15, 2009 1:16 am (GMT 0)

When we moved here to Texas I quit working and after a while I was bored and didn't have anything to do. There is a local farmer's market in town that is small and they were looking for people to come and sell yard sale stuff to make more bodies in hopes of attracting more attention. So, dr and I started taking stuff we found at yard sales and stuff that somehow got moved with us. After a little bit we decided we needed to sell something that had a little to do with food so dr started selling honey and barbecue sauce and I started making aprons and tote bags. The honey and barbecue sauce didn't do very well so he went back to the yard sale stuff.
I started making tote bags. I line them all and they could be reversed if people wanted the plain side on the outside. But, I generally use a print on the outside and a solid inside. After saying that I have to tell you that I've made three or four with the plain side out. Men would rather have a plain bag but don't mind a plaid or innocuous print inside. I make them in all sizes from 12"x12" to really big 18"x18". Our neighbor had me make him one that was 24"x24"x12". It's huge. It has padded over the shoulder straps. He takes it to the warehouse store and fills it with the things he buys so he only has one bag to carry. He enjoys the look on the clerks faces when he hauls out his bag. Until last week he has always been able to handle it. But, last week the stuff ended up really heavy. He said he bet he had over 100 lbs in that bag and he was glad the man who filled it accompanied him to his truck or he would never have gotten it out of the shopping cart. When he got home he used his two wheel dolly to haul it out of the truck and into the house. I asked if he didn't think about unloading some of it and he said, "No, because he had me make the bag so he wouldn't have to make more than one trip to the house with his stuff." We enjoyed a good laugh about it and he laughed along with us. I like making people happy.
I started making regular half aprons and kitchen bib aprons. They are of lightweight material and some have pockets and some don't. Then one of the farmers wanted an apron with one big pocket to pick his peas and okra. And with a little imput here and there one developed with velcro at the bottom so they can empty it easily at the end of the rows. It will hold enough to fill a five gallon bucket. I had to recall them last week. One of them was saying it worked really well but when it rained and things were wet the water soaked through the back and make his jeans wet. So, I bought some vinyl tablecloths at the thrift store and recalled the aprons and lined the back with the vinyl and that fixed the problem. I still have a couple floating around but haven't seen the guys to tell them to bring them back for fixing.
Then, a friend and I decided that if the men had a farm apron then the ladies needed a garden apron. So, with a little discussion I came up with a bib apron with three pockets in the middle for gardening tools, gloves, etc. There is a big pocket at the bottom that buttons. It holds what the lady picks from her yard or garden be it produce, flowers, herbs, etc. Then, up at the top there is two pockets sewn one on top of the other for kleenex, cell phones or notebook. Whatever the lady needs outside with her. Add in barbecue aprons with big pockets to hold sauces, tools and spices and kids play aprons and I have a rather long list of things to sell. Now, they've begun asking if I have anything for the holidays. I did have two and sold one of them today. So, I can see that this week I will be working on aprons and totes with a Christmas theme. I also need to make some more of the ladies garden aprons and I only have about a dozen totes left. We're working on getting the paperwork done to make it a proper business with all the legal stuff involved. That should be set up by the end of the year. It will be called "Pea Pickin' Aprons."
We are getting business cards made and some labels to sew in the seam that says "Pea Pickin' Aprons", Madisonville, Texas.
What started out as a way to help attract customers has evolved into something much more involved. Now, people come and look and we discuss what they want and what sort of material I have. I can tell them the colors and they let me choose the prints. If they don't like it, I can hang it in the stand and try again but so far I haven't had to do that.
I'm making aprons and tote bags for family Christmas presents and I've sent Texas tote bags to all of my sisters.
Last week, I only sewed four tote bags because I just had to do some work in the yard and the house needed a bit of clean up. We went grocery shopping a couple of different days.
I guess I am not bored and looking for something to do now. I find it a bit difficult to find time to get everything done. dr says, "You are retired. Do it at your pace. Don't rush it!" I do like sewing and creating new styles. It should do rather well between now and Christmas if I can keep up the amount of stuff in the stand.
The farmer was going to close after Christmas but says on nice sunny Fridays and Saturdays we can set up but he doesn't want to sit out in below freezing weather. I can't see doing that myself but on a sunny warm day, why not?
dooley

Sewing Machines can drive you to drink

dooley — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:26:05 -0400

Author: dooley
Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 4:26 pm (GMT 0)

Sewing machines can drive you to crazy sometimes. I was sewing along on a farm apron and sewed the last tie and only had about a six inch piece of velcro to finish it. So, what did the sewing machine do? It fell apart. They couldn't repair it at the shop. They would have had to send it somewhere and it would have cost an arm and a leg. So, no thanks! The sewing machine had served it's time. I sewed a lot of teddy bears, quilts and other things on it. We let it retire.
We bought a new sewing machine. The lady at the store went all through the parts and showed me how every thing worked and I thought "I can do this." We brought it home. I plugged it in and got out the instruction book. dr insists I read instructions!!
I sat down and read through the instruction book. I've been sewing most of my lifetime and all sewing machines work the same. Right! I wound the bobbin and threaded the machine and got a piece of material and put it under the presser foot, stepped on the treadle. It sewed just fine, right! Nope! It didn't sew at all. The feed dogs wouldn't feed the material through. So, out came the instruction book. dr came and read the instructions and I checked it and it didn't work. Why? I re-threaded the bobbin and the machine and it worked just fine. I did it the same way as the first time so why didn't it work the first time?
This morning it was making a clacking noise when I sewed. It's not supposed to make a clacking noise. So, out came the instruction book. It said if the machine makes noise it needs the feed dogs and bobbin area cleaned. So, I took it apart and cleaned it. There was nothing much there and it didn't matter because when I started to sew the noise was still there. I re-threaded everything. It didn't work this time. The clacking noise was still there. I thought maybe the switch that lowers the feed dogs might have gotten bumped. I took off the part that makes the sewing table and took out the little storage drawer and checked the switch. Nope, the switch was right where it was supposed to be. I switched it off and back on and tried it and it worked just fine. No clacking noise. Put everything back together, started to sew. Clacking noise is back. Took it all apart again. Tried it and it worked just fine. So, I put the things back on one at a time. When I put the little storage drawer back the noise started up again. The little storage drawer is for the extra parts they give you for when you need a different presser foot or quilting guide or some such thing. I dumped the parts on the table, put the drawer back in the machine. I tried it and WOW! It worked just fine. I put the extra parts elsewhere. Now, those extra parts were in that drawer all week so why did it just start it's clacking today?
I did a bit of sewing and finished a garden apron but needed to make a button hole. Now, with various sewing machines over the years I must have made at least a thousand button holes. I know how to make button holes and it's sure easy with a handy dandy button hole attachment. But, you don't have to use the attachment. The attachment is for if you want to make 103 buttonholes and have them all the same size and looking quite wonderful. I only wanted to make one buttonhole. In the instruction book, it gave directions for one button hole. I took a piece of scrap material and tried it and it made a good buttonhole. So, I put the apron in the machine and lowered the presser foot and sewed. Did it make a wonderful buttonhole. Nope! It sewed a zigzagged line clear across the material but didn't stop when I told it to go back. So, out came the instruction book. I may just wear that instruction book out one of these days. I wonder how much they charge for a new one? I read the instructions and I was doing it the same way so why wouldn't it make the second buttonhole. Went back and read about making the automatic buttonholes. Wow! There is a reset switch that you have to turn to do another buttonhole. But, where did it say that in the instruction book. Not under the instructions for one buttonhole. You had to read all the instructions for making their automatic fancy 103 buttonholes to find it. I only wanted to make one buttonhole so I read the instructions for making one buttonhole.
Sewing machines are a wonderful invention. They can save you lots of time to read the instruction book. They can also drive you to drink. It's a good thing I keep a pitcher of tea in the refrigerator.

dooley

Update on totes and aprons

dooley — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 20:16:16 -0400

Author: dooley
Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 12:16 am (GMT 0)

I've been thinking of doing an update on here about my aprons and totes. I've been doing okay selling them at the farmer's market and business is picking up. One of the produce gardeners asked me about making him an apron with a large pocket that he could put tomatoes in when he picks them. We started to work out the details and the other people at the market came over (there are five of them) and a lively discussion ensued and the result was two different aprons for picking produce. One for the man who wanted to pick tomatoes and another for the two who wanted to pick peas and okra and other produce. They wanted an opening at the bottom to empty the apron when they got to the end of the row. They are made on a reworked bib apron with a sort of tote pocket with a large entry on both sides and fastened under the top pocket with velcro. It went over great and I have made three of them and have orders for a couple more for the feed store. Then, Gaye and I were talking on Friday about a garden apron for ladies since the men had a farm apron. So, we looked at the bib aprons I had already made and reworked one on paper and I came home and sewed it. The men, of course, had their say in the design, too. It has three pockets across the middle for garden tools and gloves, a cell phone pocket at the top and a larger pocket that fastens with a button to hold herbs, flowers or kitchen garden produce. This and the farm apron are made with a slightly heavier material than the regular aprons. The farm aprons are denim and the garden aprons are from pink khaki material or duck. I'm not sure what you would call it. I bought it at the American Legion sale. Lots of it. That's what got us onto the subject of ladies aprons. I'm also making Halloween totes and Christmas gift bags. There is a mushroom festival in Madisonville on Oct.17th. While I am not going to set up at the festival the farmer's market is only a few blocks away on a main highway through town so we are bound to get some strays. The guy who runs the farmer's market has flyers out and has ads in the paper that we will still be there that day.
That's the good news. Now for the bad news! When I was sewing the denim farm apron this morning my sewing machine fell apart. I did the last tie for it and went over a thicker seam and the part that hold the needle came off of the shaft and it won't go back on it. Well, it goes back on but it doesn't stay. When you let go, it falls right off.
So, tomorrow we will go looking at sewing machines. It is not in our budget but we will look anyway and see what is available. Maybe? We'll see what happens! That's it. dooley

Sewing!

dooley — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 22:40:32 -0400

Author: dooley
Posted: Wed Jul 29, 2009 2:40 am (GMT 0)

I spent a large part of the day sewing. I think I will start doing more of it. I plan on making "crafty" things to sell at the farmer's market. The sign says "produce, arts and crafts." Today, I made a "practice" tote bag. I used a heavy red material. It turned out okay. I may put a cardboard in the bottom to stiffen it. I only had to take it apart a couple of times. Then, I made a preprinted apron with a bib. It turned out okay so I used it for a pattern for a blue print one. I cut it out but didn't sew it yet. I cut one two inches smaller and sewed it and it looks okay. Maybe, kid size or teen size to match the adult one. I may make a set of pot holders to match it. There is enough material left. I made a print apron without a bib. I want to make more of those tomorrow. I may make a lined tote, too. Glenda gave me some of that iron-on stuff that stiffens it a little. dr says I need to look for some webbing for handles. Some we have do have web handles and some just have doubled up material handles like the bag is made out of. I have some other ideas for things to make but I'm just getting started so the things I make will increase as I get into it. I think I did well for today because I got a late start. dooley

The farmer's market!

dooley — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 22:13:16 -0400

Author: dooley
Posted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 2:13 am (GMT 0)

We live now in a small Texas town called Madisonville. Maybe it's not so small as it has 4200 people and is larger than the one we lived in when we was in Arizona. dr always sold at the flea market in Arizona while I worked at the library. So, we brought some flea market stuff and we've been going to a lot of yard sales here. But, there are no flea markets here. They are called Trade Days and they are held in various places and are one weekend a month and people travel from one to the other. They are mostly too far for us to do that and they are generally for three days so we'd have to sleep in our truck which isn't equipped for that so we haven't been selling since we came here.
But, in May we were going into town and passed a large sign that said Farmer's Market. It said, produce, arts and crafts. So, we stopped because there was a man with a table full of the sort of stuff we sold at the flea market. Rick, the farmer who runs the place, said we could set up and sell what ever we wanted to sell. All we needed was a tarp for shade and two metal posts to pound into the ground. We hook to the posts of the stand next to us and add our two posts to the other side and the next person hooks his tarp to our posts. It makes for a long line of tarps and people.
So, we started setting up there. The man who was selling junk stopped coming and with the drought two of the farmer's stopped coming so it's down a bit.
We've enjoyed sitting there on Friday and Saturday and I like talking to the people who come and the farmers next to us. Rick is on the end and Art is next to us and Fred is on the other side of us. Anyway, I've benefited from being there by getting leftovers that they don't want to take home. Sometimes I pay a nominal amount and sometimes when I ask how much it's free because it isn't always the good things that are left and I have to sort and cut. But, I've put zucchini, yellow squash, corn, broccoli, tomatoes and assorted other things in the freezer. Not large amounts at one time but little bits every week. Now, tomorrow I will get peaches. Two dollars for a 40 lb box. How many boxes? As many as he brings for me. Could be one or two, could be ten. He says they will be need to be used quickly because they will be soft and he gets them cheap. So, I can freeze peaches, make peach jam, make peach pies and cobblers and all sorts of good things. Mainly they will go in the freezer first, I think. So, it is paying us to go sit there and sell a few things and chat with people and get stuff to put in the freezer.
Now, We still get to yard sales if they are on Thursday or early before we go to the farmer's market and lately they've had some sewing things, Material, patterns, threads, quilting stuff and of course I just had to buy it. Or some of it. I've been wondering just why I bought so much of it and have spent some time wondering what to do with it. It's hot to quilt right now and I do have Jacob's dinosaur quilt in the works. Then, I started to think about the farmer's market sign that says, produce, arts and crafts. So, what could I make out of all of this material that I could take to the market to sell. I've come up with aprons, adult and childrens, singly or as a set so grandma can teach or cook with grandchildren. Tote bags and shopping bags to carry to the grocery store or to keep sewing things in. Table runners and placemats, maybe. Wall hangings. I have a few pieces of material that would be good for those. Lap quilts for elderly people or kids watching tv in cooler weather. Pillow covers? dr says he will set me up with my own tables if I decide to do it. So, maybe this week I will try to get something put together. Aprons and tote bags to begin, maybe.
dr is going to try selling local products such as honey and barbecue and salsa's. He's been online searching out places and we will go visit a place on Monday that is about an hour's drive from us. They sell honey. Maybe we can find some other things as well or our trip.
I think with the peaches, craft sewing and day trips we will have a busy week ahead of us. I'm sort of excited to get started with it. I haven't been doing much since we moved except for the garden and a little writing. I do have a new Boomer story but it isn't edited yet so I'm not sure when I will get it posted here. Now, I think I will find that I will be keeping myself busy if I try this crafting bit of stuff.
I'll try to remember to take some pictures if I get things made.
Last week I made zucchini marmalade and strawberry jam, eight jars of each. I'm diabetic so I don't eat much jam but I've already gave some of it to neighbors or at the farmer's market.
I generally don't like to make things food wise to sell because there are so many things that can go wrong quickly and people are so quick to find fault and sue these days. I made bread last week and it turned out badly. It was like hard little bricks. I'm not sure if I goofed it up or it was the humid, rainy weather. Then, I made a chicken in my Nesco Roaster for supper one day. It's a good thing that I can laugh at myself because when I went to check if it was about done it was still cold. It always helps if you PLUG IT INTO THE OUTLET when you want it to cook something in the Nesco Roaster. Needless to say supper was a bit later than planned. I think some days I'm older than other days. I was reading where no one ever thinks they are old. I can say that's not true. Some days I am old. Most days I am not so old.
dooley

A nice sunny day!

dooley — Thu, 14 May 2009 22:24:34 -0400

Author: dooley
Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 2:24 am (GMT 0)

It was a nice sunny day today. No clouds, no rain, a little breeze and 90 degrees. Was I out in the yard, getting lots of things done. No, no and no! I'm stuck inside with a cough and sinus infection. It started when Bob mowed our grass last week and it's gotten worse. SO, tomorrow on another nice sunny day we have to go to College Station to the doctor. I tried to just call and see if he would order something but the assistant said there are too many things going around with a cough and breathing difficulty to give me something without seeing me. I've been sleeping sitting up or in the recliner chair since last week so we will go and see him. I'd really like to breathe normal again with out this nasty cough.
This evening dr went out to mow the grass again, Yep, it's grown so much in just a week or so it needs mowed again. He threatened to pound on me if I so much as stuck my head out the door. I stayed inside. I know he wouldn't actually pound on me but I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep if I went outside. Glenda was mowing all afternoon over at her place so there is lots of stuff floating around in the air. I haven't had trouble with allergies but this is Texas and they have different pollens that I'm not used to, I guess. dr doesn't seem to be bothered by it.
I worked on my bear project off and on so my next Texas Bear is boxed and ready to be mailed off tomorrow on the way home from the doctor. He will have a good home. I'm sure of it. He has garden tools so he requested to go live with a gardener. You may see him posting on here from time to time.
I'm off to see if I can get some sleep tonight. Have a good evening
Dooley

Things are getting done!

dooley — Sat, 09 May 2009 17:14:41 -0400

Author: dooley
Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 9:14 pm (GMT 0)

The last two or three weeks I sat and wished I was getting more things done. I had that surgery on my left arm for skin cancer and that put restrictions on my digging and lifting. It might have pulled the incision apart. I have a very nice, special husband who helped with things I couldn't do. You know how it is though, you would like to be doing it yourself. I did let him do the dishes so I wouldn't get my arm wet though. Dishes are not my favorite thing to do.
I did though have outside chores that needed done. So, we did planning and dr pounded in posts and put up the fences. Yesterday, he started putting down the plastic and mulch. I watered things good.
This week started out okay. Our neighbor came and mowed the extra large yard with his big riding lawn mower. It took him an hour and a half of riding around to accomplish what it would have taken us all day. We wouldn't have gotten it done with our push mower in one day. It was a hot humid day and we would have expired. Bob had it done before it was too hot. You do have to get things done early here or wait until evening. Of course, you can't have him out mowing when are sitting in the house doing "fun" things so we were out and moving things and pulling weeds and trimming here and there and getting cold drinks. Things like that. Soon, my nose was running over my chin, my eyes were burning, both from sweat and from allergies. My throat clogged up and I had to come inside and take an antihistamine. I paid Bob for mowing the yard by making him some whole wheat yeast rolls. Not a great thing to do on a hot day either but it's done and no harm from it.
Wednesday, we went to Bryan/College Station, aka BCS to the doctor. She spent about two minutes telling me my arm had healed nicely and I didn't need to come back unless I experienced problems with it. From the doctor we went to lunch at Golden Corral Buffet. I was still feeling effects from allergies so didn't enjoy it as much as usual. We stopped at WalMart to pick up a prescription I had called about on Friday. I called the doctor's office and ask the assistant to call in one for the strips for the new "free" meter the doctor gave me when I was there at the end of March. Well, we couldn't get the prescription because the doctor's office had not included a medicare coding for them. I could wait while they faxed the doctor but they were rather busy so it would be a bit before they could do it. I didn't have two or three hours to wait around so we went home.
Thursday, I called the doctor's office and the assistant muttered, "They didn't ask for a medicare code." Duh! Don't they call in prescriptions on a regular basis? Don't they know medicare prescriptions need a code to determine payment?Shouldn't they know these things? Apparently not. She said she would fax it over. I called the pharmacy a while later and they said they didn't have it yet so I called the assistant back and she said she would call it over to them. I waited awhile and called the pharmacy and yes they had it. So, for the second time in two days we made the two hour round trip down to BCS to pick it up. It was hot and I was a tad upset with them for making another trip so I didn't stop and check it before we left. I just checked that they were strips for the glucose meter and the lancets. We had lunch and came home.
We passed a little house on a rather largish yard and it had a for rent sign on the gate so we copied the number and called when we got home. I had this idea that if we were going to be making so many doctor visits it would be nice to live closer. But, they wanted twice as much rent for half the size we have now so I guess we won't do that.
Friday, we went to some yard sales and got a few nice things. I picked up one of those metal kitchen stools with the pull out step from the 50's. It still works. It will need sanded and painted because someone painted it with a brush over all the chips and dirt. When we got back home around noon, I got out the new glucose strips to check my glucose levels to see how much I needed to eat for lunch. The strips didn't work. They were for another model of the same brand of meter that the doctor gave me.Now, I have 100 strips that won't work in the meter and medicare won't pay for anymore until those are gone. I called the doctor's office and the assistant's solution was " come in and pick up the other model meter." At that point I sort of lost it and told her about the two hours round trip and half a tank of gas and the wasted trip the day before and hung up. dr says we will go buy a meter that I like and the strips and pay for them ourselves and when I go to the doctor in July we will take the whole package of stuff down and set it on the doctor's desk and tell him to give it to someone else and write me a prescription with proper medicare code and we will take it and get it filled ourselves.
Saturday, that's today, we got up and did some outside work. dr put mulch on the plastic and came back and said he didn't have enough. I tied my cucumbers to the fence so they would start climbing instead of sprawling out over the yard. We went to breakfast when we were both hot and needed a break. We made a trip to Home Depot in Huntsville and bought more mulch and a piece of plywood so he can install the room air conditioner in the bedroom. We don't use whole house air conditioning. It's bad for dr's ears and our allergies. Even in Arizona we only used fans. When we came home I cleaned the front porch, except for sweeping it, and came in and washed up all the dirty glasses and cooked some macaroni for salad for supper later. When it cools down some later I want to trim the grass along the long flower bed. With all of our coming and going during the week and not sleeping well due to allergies I haven't managed it yet. But, I think we have accomplished some things for the week so I think we can be justified if we take tomorrow (Mother's Day) off and do something fun. Now, let's see what can we find that's really fun.....dooley

A Day Off

dooley — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 22:11:23 -0400

Author: dooley
Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 2:11 am (GMT 0)

We decided we'd been working too hard so we would take a day off. We couldn't decide what we wanted to do so we went to breakfast and took the Texas Road Map with us. After staring at it for a time we decided that what we really needed to do was go to Home Depot in Huntsville and buy some garden soil in bags and a hose reel. So, after remembering to go to the bank first, we headed to Huntsville. We looked at all the potting soil. We are going to mix the potting soil with some garden soil from the yard, some mushroom compost and some of the packaged potting soil and use it for the buckets for the tomatoes. We, also, found a discarded bathtub that we want to fill with soil after cleaning it out good. It actually looks very clean now but we will do some further cleaning on it. We bought a big bag of Miracle Gro with moisture control and six bags of Scott's garden soil. It says no sticks in it. We bought a lemon balm and a marjarom plant. We bought a couple of hose reels that faster to the house. I thought the others were a little too pricy. We went and looked at refrigerators. We have a double door one that comes with the house we rent. Half is refrigerator and half is freezer. It works just fine but it takes up a lot of space and neither side is really big enough. We found one we like but they charge too much for delivery because their store is too far from Madisonville. It's not our fault their store isn't closer. We didn't buy a refrigerator today. We went to Trinity. We were going to go a little further but we stopped at a sausage shop and had lunch and bought several kinds of sausages and some other stuff. They had barbecue sandwiches so we ate lunch there, too. Then, we went to Trinity and looked around and bought a couple of things at the Alco store. Since it was after two we turned around and headed back. We stopped at the WalMart store and bought three six paks of red petunias and a nine pack of mixed purple ones. I'm not sure what I will do with them. I want to buy geraniums but I haven't found any that I want to buy yet. I can't decide what I want anyway. I had some nice ones in Arizona and I gave them to Dan. I couldn't bring them along. We bought a couple more bags of potting soil, too. We got home about 4:30 so we did spend quite awhile off doing stuff and seeing things. We will go back to that sausage shop. I bet you can guess that we had sausages for supper and strawberry shortcake though we bought the strawberries yesterday. Tomorrow we are going to go to Normangee to a six family yard sale to see what we can find. I hope it isn't canceled. It's forecast to rain, but not until afternoon. I need to get out my map to see where it is at before we start out not knowing what road is where. A map is a good thing to have when you don't know the area. So, we will get up early and go exploring again tomorrow and if it rains in the afternoon, I will read my book so we can go to the library on Friday. Next week we have to go to Bryan/College Station because I have a preop on Tuesday with paperwork and on Thursday I will have that skin cancer off my arm. We will see what else we can get into down there. I need to look at my map and see what is close. I hope you had a good day, too and did just exactly what you wanted to do and not just what you had to do.
dooley

doctor's appointment, part 2

dooley — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 13:32:08 -0400

Author: dooley
Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2009 5:32 pm (GMT 0)

We got up early and had breakfast, went over to let Oreo out and left here about quarter to nine. The fog let up by then but it drizzled rain on us all the way so had to use the intermittent wipers. We got there about ten and got right in to see the doctor. We had a good talk about things. He ask questions, I ask questions and now, I have a new glucose meter and a changed medication and a new set of instructions. I have to take and record my glucose every day. I haven't been doing that as regular as I should. I have to ride that exercise bike at least a mile a day five days a week. I did 2.25 miles today. I have to take and record my blood pressure Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I have to "watch" my diet and "try" to lose some weight. I do not have to have my thyroid checked until sometime in July and I do not have to go back until then. So, for being "squeezed in" it was about better than a regular scheduled visit.
It took about half an hour total.
Then, we went to Home Depot to look for a lawn mower. Riding lawn mowers were the ones of choice, but not in our budget. They had some on sale with high wheels on the back. It's a gas push type. We bought one of those. Our yard surely needs the grass cut but now it's too wet. It says not to use it when the grass is wet. I know it clogs up under the deck and stops the blade from turning.
We stopped at Golden Corral and had lunch. I ate a lot of salad. I also found some sugar free chocolate pudding but ruined it by adding a little vanilla ice cream. I found a cookie, too.
We got back to go to the surgeon for the biopsy on my arm. That took all of two minutes. We got down the haul to the elevator and I had to go back for my hat. We went to WalMart and got all disgruntled and MAD. The girl told us it wasn't done and it would be about 45 minutes. The doctor sent them by computer at 10:15 and it was a about 2:30. I went down to the Pharmacist window and asked her about it. She went through a stack of papers and said, "Oh, you're the one. It came through by computer but it printed over top of each other so we couldn't read it so I'll have to call and see what it is supposed to be." Now, shouldn't she have already done that. Then, they were going to put it on the bottom of the stack. I told her I'd had a long day and had a long drive home and I wasn't going to wait another hour or two to get a prescription that should have been done and waiting for us when we got there. So, she filled it while we waited but then she gave it to the girl at the pickup window and there was a line about two isles long so it took another half hour to get through the line. I couldn't even holler at that girl because she was a trainee and was there by herself and looked scared enough as it was. I did remember to drive carefully coming home even though I got behind a couple of drivers out for a slow crawl home or where ever they were going. We stopped at the store and dr went in and bought some deli stuff for supper It's thundering and bad weather is coming. I'm out of here. dooley

doctor's appointment

dooley — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 15:03:30 -0400

Author: dooley
Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2009 7:03 pm (GMT 0)

I have two doctor's appointments tomorrow. You know how much I hate going to doctors. I did only have one in the afternoon but I called yesterday for a refill or renewal on prescriptions and now I have another one for the morning. I do get to go have lunch in between. I wonder why doctors can't just renew a prescription. I was just there last month.
It's cloudy today and says we might have heavy rain with hail this afternoon and evening. It did say there was only going to be clouds tomorrow but now when I look it says clouds in the morning with the possibility of heavy rain in the afternoon.
I'd say the possibility is 100 percent since we have to be out and about. We'll leave Chance in the house. She does have shelter outside but she hates thunderstorms and inside she can at least hide from them.
It rained yesterday and last night. I looked at the beds that I planted. There is lots of little green things coming up. Unfortunately, I think they are little blades of grass and weeds. I don't think I will pull anything just yet though in case one or two of them might be the stuff that I planted. The morning glories are liking the rain and appear to be doing some serious growing.
I got my oatmeal bread made yesterday. Would you believe one loaf is almost gone. Darn! I wonder who is eating it? It sure does make good toast though. In the interest of losing weight, I did leave off the peach jam this time. Now, I need to go and ride the exercise bike. I wonder how many miles it will take to work off a couple slices of oatmeal bread toast.
Maybe, I'll try sewing instead. I got my bear project all ready to sew. That sounds like a better idea than riding an exercise bike any day.
You have a good day now and have one for me tomorrow.
dooley

Busy, Busy!

dooley — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 21:52:49 -0400

Author: dooley
Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 1:52 am (GMT 0)

The forecast is for rain starting tomorrow and lasting through Saturday. Scattered thundershowers, Isolated thundershowers, Stray thundershowers, and just plain thundershowers. I wonder how many ways there are to say it's going to rain and maybe there will be thunder with it.
But there were some things started that needed to be finished before the rains come. I had pulled the grass and weeds from the ends of the porch and dug the dirt and put the tile into place so I need to finish the beds. I hauled compost and filled the beds. I planted pole beans on one end and cucumbers on the other end. The end with the cucumbers was a little wider so I added a row of swiss chard. Then, I dug out the little bed between the rose bushes. I had dug it out when I was pulling weeds out of the rose bushes but it seemed too early to plant anything so I just left it except for some compost. The henbit was trying to reclaim it. I pulled the weeds and dug it up and raked it out and put tiles around it. I planted a mix of annual flowers in it. It's about two by four feet. I planted another tub of greens and put a row of radishes in it. The lettuce and spinach has been going at a speedy rate.
I went over and watered some of the pots of plants at Glenda's. I know it's supposed to rain tomorrow but the dirt was looking dry and who knows where the rain will fall. Sometimes here and sometimes there and sometimes not at all. I went and got the camera and took some pictures. I knew Glenda would like to see the tulips, all two of them. I hope more will come. There are a lot of yellow wildflowers but they didn't show up well in the pictures. dr wanted to go to town to look for a caulking gun and some caulk to finish the door project. There was a little storage area at the end of the porch but it didn't have a door so we didn't like leaving too much in it. Now, it has a door and I don't have to bring my tools inside every time. We went to WalMart and got the caulk and he bought a hammer. The one we had disappeared, never to be found anywhere. That is until we stop looking for it. It will be right where it should be or close to it. We stopped at the thrift shop but didn't buy anything. We had a hamburger and came home.
I made red beans for supper with assorted vegetables and had the left whole wheat bread. Now, tomorrow I think I will make some oatmeal bread which is what I was going to make when I made whole wheat bread. I think I accomplished what I needed to do today. I don't know what I will do tomorrow if it doesn't start to rain. I guess we will need to go to the library since I have finished my books and the one dr wanted me to read, too. I have another bear project I want to start and that will be something to do when it is rainy outside.
dooley

It's raining, it's pouring

dooley — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 21:55:40 -0400

Author: dooley
Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2009 1:55 am (GMT 0)

I remember chanting that when I was younger. "It's raining, it's pouring, the old man is snoring, he bumped his head on the end of the bed and didn't get up until morning."
There must be a lot of sayings about rain, like "rain, rain, go away, come again another day."
Anyway it started raining here in the night on Tuesday and it's still raining. It's rained steady and fairly hard at times. We've even had some thunder with it at times. I haven't seen lightening though. It's quit sinking into the ground and is making puddles in all the low parts of the ground. Chance has to be pushed out the door a couple of times a day and if I don't go out with her she stands on the deck and shivers and won't go down in the yard unless I go out with her. She beats me back to the door when she's finished. Oreo has been going right out but she runs a couple of circles around Glenda's car to check that she's not in it and then does her business and heads back to the door. Both dogs need a good drying when they get inside. Along with the rain is some cool temperatures and we sure don't want them wet and cold for too long.
Everyone is saying "Isn't this a nice rain. We really need it." I could cheerfully do without it but I guess the grass, trees and plants need it and the ground needs it and well, I guess someone needs it. But, couldn't we just have a little each day or just have it one day a week or .... All day and all night for three days and more is a bit much!
It does make good weather for making soup. Today I made 13 bean soup. That's 13 different kinds of beans, not just 13 beans. I bought a bag of mixed beans at the store yesterday. I bought several bags of beans of different varieties. Tomorrow, I think I will make chicken soup with home made noodles. I hope it stops raining by Sunday but the forecast says it won't stop until Monday. So, maybe vegetable beef soup on Sunday. But, when you make soup you also have to make fresh bread. Today, we had white bread that I had made two days ago. We finished it off. I'm thinking that tomorrow I will make whole wheat bread. I'm making more of my own bread these days since I'm home and not working. I think I am eating more of it, too. I'll never lose any weight at this rate.
Goodness, Chance and dr have both gone to bed. Maybe they are hoping the rain will disappear during the night. It won't. It's going to rain forever and ever.
dooley

Spring and choices or decisions!

dooley — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 20:22:32 -0500

Author: dooley
Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2009 1:22 am (GMT 0)

Choices! I've always hated making decisions or choices. Here again I'm faced with decisions. I moved from Arizona to Texas. I had flower beds and gardens all set and every year I added things to them. I moved the vegetables around so they didn't grow too many years in the same spot. I grew things in pots if they didn't do well in the desert soil such as it was. It was very alkaline. So, now I am in Texas. What grows well in the Texas soil. It isn't the same as Arizona soil. It isn't even the same as the soil we had when we lived in Wisconsin. It seems to be sandy. I added some mushroom compost along the front of the house and raked it into the soil. Maybe I should buy a big bag of potting soil and mix in with it, too. When I planted my lettuce and spinach I mixed potting soil, MiracleGro moisture control soil and mushroom compost and it seems to like it. The spinach is outgrowing the lettuce two to one. I bought a new tub yesterday and will start some more lettuce and spinach. I'm thinking of adding a row or two of beets for the greens. dr likes the greens and they would add to the salad, I think.
I dug along the front of the porch to plant vines. dr put up fencing for the vines and tomorrow he is going to add a gate so we can close off the space. Chance will be able to go out with us in the afternoon and evening when we sit outside. I'm hoping the vines will grow up the fence and provide a windbreak and close out some of the afternoon sun. Now, I'm trying to decide if I need to dig it a little wider to plant some lower growing plants. Do I need something other than the vines. I know the morning glory vines have flowers at all the levels but I think the sweet peas only have flowers higher up or am I mistaken there. I think I will look for some more vines too. I found some hyacinth beans. I think Netty sent them to me and Glenda gave me some. I like Scarlet runner beans, too. I have a small packet of cardinal vines. I have a melon that my son Tom sent me that is grown mostly for fragrance. They are called pocket melons because ladies used to carry them in their pockets for the scent. I am thinking I will also plant some morning glories around Chance's fence in the back. I want to put some hollyhocks along her fence, too. Maybe some lower flowers. She likes to "stop and smell the flowers." I've seen her doing that sometimes. She loved the rosemary that grew in her yard in Arizona and I just might plant some more for her here.
So, with the big yard I still have a lot of space. I'm going to dig a circle around the windmill in the front yard and fill it with mixed flowers. I was thinking of planting the cottage mixture and the wildflower mix and a perennial mixture. I have a package of each. I also have some zinnia that I could mix in with them. But, dr thinks that would require a large circle and he thinks about four feet all around would be enough. That would make the bed eight feet across. I don't want something that climbs on the windmill though because I like to see it turning. Do you think beds dug around trees look good? There are several trees and bushes in the front yard. Some of them have oxalis growing around them and it looks good. Would it be too much to have circular beds around the trees if I have the big circle around the windmill?
I need to get a start on some green stuff like Swiss Chard before it gets way too warm for it. I did see some Swiss Chard listed that says it's tolerant of heat and drought and would grow through the summer. I'm not sure of that. It may be too late for Kale. I usually grow it more in the fall so it can go through a frost.
I have 10 different tomatoes and 8 different peppers and 18 different melons to find a space for. I know the yard is big but I really wasn't planning on digging up the whole space. Whatever I plant has to have a fence. I mean for the vegetables and melons. The neighbor works nights and he said when he came home at 6:30 am the other morning there were nine deer in his yard. He has dogs too and they didn't chase them. I just know they will move here if I don't put up a fence. In Arizona we had to put up fences, too. They were for javalina and cattle that roamed at will. Ranchers didn't have to have fences. If you didn't want the cows on your land you had to fence it. Most people did fence their yards. Who wants to clean up after cattle and javalinas?
I'm going to start seeds in my peat pots tomorrow, I think if it isn't too windy. I probably should have started them already but there is that word "decision" again. I'm really not good at making decisions so tend to put things off rather than making a wrong decision. I'd much rather someone else made decisions or told me I was making the right one. dr says I have to decide. He's not the gardener.
There is just too many choices here and I'm still learning my way around. I ask a lady at the garden center about the soil here and she told me she didn't know. She was just buying what her husband put on the list for her.
Does anyone want to make a list for me?
dooley

Civil War Enactment

dooley — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 23:30:39 -0500

Author: dooley
Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2009 4:30 am (GMT 0)

Today, dr, Glenda and I went to a civil war enactment. We had a great time and walked all around the encampment and took a great lot of pictures. We will post them as soon as we get them uploaded and sorted out. The enactment people were trying to be as authentic as possible and were dressed in period clothing and camping in old fashioned tents. We asked if they were waterproofed. The man we talked to said that each year they were dipped into a waterproof substance which generally worked. We just asked because it was quite cloudy and windy. Rain wasn't in the forecast until Monday but they are there tomorrow yet and it could rain on them. They were all cooking over campfires and using the iron pots and old cooking things. A few had some modern things interspersed but not too many. I had to laugh at one lady. She had on a really elegant black dress with red lace and a hat with the lace hanging down the back. She was wearing high heeled boots and holding her dress up with one hand and trying to keeping her hat on with the other hand. Over her arm she was carrying supplies in two WalMart plastic bags. I wonder couldn't she find any cloth shopping bags. When the enactment started they were shooting with black powder and fire came out the end of the barrels of their rifles or pistols. There were big cannons going off and filling the air with more smoke. Sometimes it was so smoky it was quite hard to see the people. Soon, there were "dead" bodies laying on the ground and these wagons were going around picking them up. The confederate army wouldn't pick up the union guys but they went through their supplies to see if they had anything then left them there. There was a union officer who "died" right near us. But, he kept sitting up and shooting. Once the horses ran right over him or so it looked. He sat up and shot at them when they were past. I think he was supposed to be out of action but didn't want to quit.
There were vendors there selling things like you would have bought. Candles and clothing and cooking pots and dishes. Glenda bought a really cute miniature tea set. I would have bought some books but they were a bit overpriced. They did have some nice dresses though. I wouldn't have any where to wear one but they were beautiful. I'm glad we don't have to wear those long dresses and all the petticoats under them. I had a hoop under my wedding dress and it was a pain to walk and sit in it. Pictures will come tomorrow, hopefully. Between dr and I and Glenda we certainly took more than a few.
dooley

Chance took a walk!

dooley — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 20:27:56 -0500

Author: dooley
Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2009 1:27 am (GMT 0)

Well, actually Chance took a run. dr and I were getting ready to walk over to Glenda's this afternoon. When I opened the door Glenda was coming up our step onto the porch. I was surprised to see her when we were going out and forgot that Chance was in the house instead of out on her deck. She heard Glenda and darted past me. She did actually stop by Glenda and then seemed to realize she was out in the front yard. She took off like a streak of lightening. I thought she was going over to Glenda's which is what she done last time but she headed down the driveway and out into the road. I'm sure glad none of those pickup trucks were flying low through there. I was right behind her, going as fast as I can which isn't as fast as Chance. I can't run much at all anymore since I hurt my knee. I kept hollering at her to stop and she kept going. She did stop down by Bob's house when his four dogs came out to check her out. I thought I would catch her. I was trying to sort of sneak up on her so she wouldn't run. Bob's dogs went back under his fence but Chance couldn't figure out how to get under the barbed wire. I almost caught her but at the last second she sensed me there and took off again. She made it to the end of the road and turned the corner. I was still back by Bob's and thought now I would never find her. dr went back after the truck figuring he could catch up to her if she got too far ahead of me. When I was almost to the corner that DOG came back around the corner, smiling and wagging her tail, and sat right down in front of me. Of course, I grabbed a hold of her harness and started chewing her out and turned to go home. It was by now a few "city" blocks from the house. Luckily dr was coming with the truck. Chance was panting hard and thought "Oh, boy! A ride back home." Wrong, dr got our and hooked up her leash and he walked her back home. I was panting hard too, but I got to ride home in the truck. Chance got hollered at all the way home and stuck out in her yard. We ignored her until supper time. We went on over to Glenda's and fixed the railing on her steps. When we came home she was laying right up against the door. She now realized she goofed. Will she do it again? Sure, as soon as she catches us with the door open. I want to get a screen door for the front as we had one in Arizona and she never went out of the door even if the screen was open. But here, it's every chance she gets. We are thinking of sectioning off a bit of the porch with lattice so if she gets out she can only get onto that section of the porch. It would have a little gate. Sort of like the entryway some stores have to keep the heat or cold out of stores. Chance may have recovered from her walk but I'm not so sure about dr and I. We are getting too old to run races with the dog.
dooley

MORE seeds

dooley — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 19:48:10 -0500

Author: dooley
Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 12:48 am (GMT 0)

When we moved here and I saw this big yard I thought,
"Wow!" I can plant lots of things. I thought that one section of that long porch would make a fine greenhouse. But, we've rethought that for now and are building something on smaller lines on the east side of the house. I bought a black tub, 25 x 19 x 6 inches high and I'm going to use it for salad fixings. Lettuce, spinach, radishes, etc. I have several kinds of lettuce seeds already and some spinach, too. I thought I would buy a couple more of those tubs, too and try some early vegetables in them. I think beets might grow in them and some other greens that I can use in salads while they are small. They will fit in our cold frame/greenhouse type thing very nicely.
As for seeds, my oldest son sent me seeds, I brought a few saved seeds with me, Glenda sent me some seeds, I bought a few seeds and today I got a package from Netty. Thanks, Glenda and Netty. Now, I started a garden book for myself listing seeds I have, seeds that I would like to have and seeds that I will still buy. I listed in the book all the seeds that I have now and there is 135 different ones. Now, I wonder if that is enough to fill up this big yard. I still want to buy some herbs as plants so I can use them earlier than seed started ones. I did so hate leaving that big rosemary bush back in Arizona. I do have a basil plant already growing on my counter.
I need to make a list of the seeds that are annual and the ones that are perennial and think if I want mixed up colors or beds of all the same colors. Do I want a huge bed or small beds, close or apart? Yikes! It's a good think I still have a bit of time to start the ones that need to go into the ground as plants. Some seeds do better put right in the warm ground. I'm going to put some dianthus in a bed maybe tomorrow and I'd like alyssum in with them but it's just a bit early for those I think. The ground is too cold. So, I have some research to do first and maybe I'll start on it in a bit. I wonder if I google some plants if I will end up back here.
On another note, last week I went to the doctor. Glenda kindly consented to share her primary care doctor with me. I found that I liked him very much. He sent me for a full panel of lab tests which I went and had blood drawn for yesterday morning. This afternoon a girl from his office called and said that they had the lab work back this morning and everything looked very good and the doctor told her to tell me, "Good job!" I'd been worrying about the thyroid levels since it had been three months since I had a test for it. But they are still in the middle of normal. The doctor did assure me that they would go down. It sometimes just takes longer in some people. Of course, it took many years to grow back and over produce and raise the levels so I guess maybe a year isn't too much for the going back down part. My diabetes is in good control. My A1C was 5.9 which is lower than last time so I am pleased with it though I will work at lowering it just a bit more. I'd like it to be down around 5. Andy said his was probably higher but I'm diabetic and he is not so it doesn't count with him. Not yet anyway. My son Dan just went through the testing and came out very good. His was borderline a couple of years ago but he's got it down to normal levels now. He'll just have to be tested every so often to make sure it's staying in control.
So, the list of things needing done is growing shorter. I still need to have my eyes tested and see if I need new glasses. The eye doctor called just before we moved and told me it was time for a checkup so I guess that's on the list.
Now, I guess I will look and see what I have to do next. I think, go wash the supper dishes.

dooley

I have seeds now

dooley — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 22:21:12 -0500

Author: dooley
Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2009 3:21 am (GMT 0)

Today, I was going to work outside and I did start out to do that. But the mailman came and we had to go make a deposit at the bank from a check that came in the mail and the bank closed at noon. The truck didn't want to come home so soon so it turned and headed too Huntsville. We ended up at the super WalMart. dr wanted to look at ladders and find out how much they would cost. Now, he knows and can plan on when to fit one into the budget. Some things don't fit into a budget, they just have to come when they appear. But, a ladder will have to fit into the budget. But, we had to go in through the garden dept because that is where we could find a parking place that wasn't out in the back forty. I bought two six paks of dianthus, a wine color. We bought nozzles for the hose we bought last week. Then, I found the seed section. I bought 20 paks of mixed flowers and vegetables. They are the cheap seeds but if any of them grow it will be worth the money. I probably won't need to buy anymore seeds. Tom sent me seeds, Netty sent me seeds, Glenda has seeds to share. I probably won't need to buy a lawn mower with all the seeds I have or will have.
But, I do like flowers and would maybe just grow flowers but then I like vegetables fresh out of the garden, too. I don't like weeds too much and there always seems to be more weeds than flowers and vegetables. I wonder why? We plant seeds for flowers and vegetables and water them and feed them and end up with a reasonable amount most of the time. But, the weeds just come up on their own and no one waters them unless it rains and no one feeds them and they grow just fine and dandy. They try to take over the flower beds and garden. You keep pulling them and they come back twice as thick because you loosened the dirt for them. But, they'd be there anyway. I've seen weeds growing out of little cracks in rocks. Why won't our seeds do that? Is it because we baby them too much? Maybe they've been bred to be finicky. It must be the seed people's fault. Oh, well! I think I must be about ready for bed. Tomorrow is another day and while it is not going to be as warm as today it won't be raining and I can finish cutting those weeds and make the goat happy.
I may even fill my peat pots and plant a few of those seeds.

dooley

A beautiful sunny morning

dooley — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 11:03:05 -0500

Author: dooley
Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 4:03 pm (GMT 0)

It's a beautiful sunny morning and the temps are climbing so soon I shall go outside and see what I can find to get into today. Yesterday it was sunny so we went and cleaned up the branches that we dragged over here last week. We will use the big pieces for kindling wood and eventually cut the small stuff for mulch. Right now the birds are enjoying it. They climb through it and under it looking for bugs, etc. I doubt they will find much. The cats are staying away thanks to some well placed water spray.
We bought a lawn table and four chairs last week. They had been stored outside for sometime under a tree. They were covered with a green mold so yesterday, I washed them down with a soapy bleach water. dr washed them off with a hose. I think when it is a bit warmer they will receive a coat of paint. They are metal with a heavy plastic ribbing for seats. We are going to purchase a set of cushions for the chairs. There isn't an umbrella but it will be on the porch anyway so we aren't worried about that at all. Whole set was just ten dollars.
We bought a large dining room set from the same lady. It only has five chairs but that's okay, too. I want to recover the seats. The lady offered some green upholstery material but I'm not sure I want green. The color matches the china cabinet pretty close so if we get it fixed up we'll have part of a set anyway. dr says we are collecting too much again so we are going to stop for awhile. (Yeh, right)
I finished with the rose bushes and they are looking better. They are getting lots of new leaves. I was thinking of feeding them but maybe it's still too early for it. I'm not sure when roses start to bloom here. I know they bloomed early in Arizona before the weather got hot. It will be interesting to see what kind of blooms they get. I could ask Glenda but I'd kind of like the surprise, I think. The little narcissus blooms disappeared. Do animals eat them? Glenda has been losing some plants, too. She thinks something is digging hers because the whole plants are gone. She says it is not something, but someone.
I might start digging some flower beds because I will have to do it slowly or my knees will protest big time. When we are ready for the garden we will find a place to rent a tiller, I think. I am NOT digging a whole garden. I can finish cutting back those big weeds along the fence line too and make a compost place in the back corner. I cut some thistles yesterday and fed them to the goat. The horses ate a few but I think the goat got the most of them. I'll run out of weeds and things to feed them pretty soon. They have food but do like a snack now and then. They do like apple peels and cores and carrots, too. No wonder they hang around the fence when I go outside.
So, with the temps climbing and the sun shining why am I still here on the computer. I'm out of here.
dooley

Good Friends!

dooley — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 18:58:36 -0500

Author: dooley
Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2009 11:58 pm (GMT 0)

A good friend called on Monday evening. He wanted to know if we would be home today. He and his wife were thinking of visiting. They are from Black Canyon City where we lived before moving to Mayer (in Arizona.) They moved to Texas about 10 years ago. Sure doesn't seem like that long ago. They live in Hawkins which is about three hours north of here. We had been talking about meeting them somewhere so they wouldn't have to drive so far. But, they got up early this morning and drove down. We met them in Madisonville and had lunch and then came out to the house so they would know how to find us next time. Interestingly enough, they passed a couple miles from us on their way into Madisonville. They had to leave by 3 pm to get back home by dark. They neither one like to drive after dark and like us, neither one is too fond of freeways and interstate highways. They use the rural state highways as much as possible. We hadn't seen them in a couple of years and then it was such a flying visit. They were in Arizona over Thanksgiving but we were already headed for Texas. They were really surprised to get our Christmas card from here. We really had to talk fast and we filled every minute except when they were following us home. Marv and dr sat in the living room in the recliners. Judy and I made use of the rockers, but not on the porch. It was nice out but too breezy to sit outside. dr noted after they left that Judy and I certainly found a lot to talk about. Well, he and Marv weren't slacking off either. We will try to get up to see them, maybe next month. Like them, we will probably leave early and come home early. It's good to have friends willing to drive six hours round trip to stay only 4 or 5 hours to visit. We used to set up our flea market stand next to Marv every Saturday until he moved to Texas. We didn't know Judy as well because she worked as a cook in a local restaurant and didn't have Saturday's off. In all the time we were friends, I think we didn't visit in our homes more than a handful of times. Most of it was during the flea market days. Good friends are good to have and to keep, even from a long distance. She was saying they were thinking of moving again one of these days. Her feet like to wander and Marv goes with her where ever they wander. They moved to Texas because their youngest was in the military and their oldest lived in Texas. But she says their oldest moved on down the road and their youngest moved back to Arizona when they got out of the military. She says they have nothing to keep them in Texas now. They may move more east or maybe back to the west but not Arizona again. But for now we can go visit them and they can come visit us.
She quilts and we talked quilting. She doesn't garden much. She says she doesn't have a green thumb. I don't know how green my thumb is but I still like to garden and what ever grows is welcome. Maybe even the weeds if that's all that comes up. When we were growing up we would have been lost without a garden where ever we lived. It was useful with seven kids to have the garden available when payday was still a couple of days away.
Anyway, we had a good day visiting with old and good friends.
dooley

A week for exploring things!

dooley — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 21:03:24 -0500

Author: dooley
Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2009 2:03 am (GMT 0)

We had a week of exploring things. Last Saturday we went to Jewitt. There is a flea market there the second Saturday of each month. We found it right away. It is on the main street of the town. It isn't a large town but it has a fair sized flea market and we walked all around it. The thing is, we left before breakfast and we were only going to one yard sale. We bought a couple of small things and then we decided we'd head for Jewitt and stop on the way for breakfast. We passed another sign for a yard sale and detoured but didn't find it. We headed for Jewitt again. We went through Normangee and spotted a restaurant. Did we stop for breakfast? No! We decided to go on to Jewitt and eat there. We found the flea market first. We walked all around it. We saw a lot of things. We saw chickens and ducks and other small animals. We saw a rocking chair but we left without buying anything. We looked for a place to eat and only saw a Mexican restaurant that wasn't open yet. So, we backtracked to Normangee and had lunch at the restaurant we bypassed at breakfast. We went inside and there was no one there and we sat down and ordered, wondering why no one was there. What would we get? But, we must have just arrived in a lull because when we had eaten and were leaving the place was full and busy.
We saw some places we want to go back and explore but Chance was inside and we hadn't planned on being gone for long so we headed home.
On Sunday, we only went and got the papers and back home. It wasn't a very nice day so we spent time inside with Chance.
On Monday, we decided we were going to Huntsville to explore and see if we could find any resale shops. I found some listed in the internet yellow pages. We looked around the town square and found some antique shops which had some very nice things but they were rather pricey so we didn't buy anything. We stopped at Home Depot and checked thing out but again didn't buy anything. We came home empty handed.
Tuesday, we were going to go to Bryan/College Station with Glenda but the water line was shooting a geyser into the air and by the time it was fixed we decided it was too late to go any where and get back at a reasonable time. So, we decided we would go on Wednesday.
Wednesday morning, Glenda called and said she wasn't feeling well. We decided we'd go for a ride and wouldn't you know we ended up going to Bryan and exploring on Texas Avenue. We found a grocery store and bought a few things and found our way back home. It was a long way to go for just a few groceries.
During the week, the utility company came around the area and cut trees and brush away from the right away for the electric lines. We hauled a lot of the branches into the yard to break up for kindling and mulch.
Thursday, we stayed home and worked on cutting it into sections and stripping the cedar (needles) off the branches. I decided that I would use the needles as mulch around the rose bushes. I had pulled the grass out from around and through them and put compost around them. I didn't get finished so I worked some more on that on Friday. But, about noon we decided to go back to Home Depot in Huntsville. dr wanted some 2 x 4's to do a project and some to build a small plastic greenhouse on one section of the porch. I wanted to look in the garden section. We bought the lumber he needed and a roll around toolbox (a small one) which he needed. I found a garden cart which I needed. So, for about the first time all week we came home with something.
Today, we got up and went to a yard sale. then we went to breakfast and decided we would go to Bryan/College Station and see if we could find a flea market I had seen listed on the internet. After getting in the wrong place a time or two we found it but it wasn't doing much business so we headed back to Madisonville. As we left Bryan we saw a yard sale sign and stopped. We didn't find a yard sale but we found the neatest yard I've seen in a long time. This older couple lived there. She did quilting and he made wooden yard ornaments. She had a yard full of garden junk and lots of little yards and gardens and it was so neat. I sure wish I'd had the camera but I didn't. Anyway she took us into her little house where she did quilting. She had a quilting frame hanging from the ceiling. We got to discussing quilting frames and quilting and we'd made a lot of the same ones. But she had made a lot more than I ever made. She said she'd made about a thousand in her lifetime. She sold them for the cost of making them. Needless to say we came away with a quilt. I will get a picture of it tomorrow and post it. It's a handkerchief quilt. Each block has a butterfly made from a flowered handkerchief. She does it all by hand except she sews the border with a sewing machine.
I finished the yard work when we got home. I still have some branches to cut up. I'm thinking of where I want to make some flower beds in the front yard. I think the back yard will be taken up with vegetable garden. Maybe! You never know from one day to the next what you will do or where you will go. The quilt lady told us of a couple of flea markets we should visit so maybe we will go next weekend to another flea market. We plan on going to Bryan with Glenda on Tuesday. She has a doctor's appointment and maybe she can show us some things we've missed.
We still have a few places to explore and I'm sure we'll find more places as time goes by.

dooley