“Magureni Abbey Ruins” – Paul Militaru Photography
Filed under Paul Militaru Photography
Photobucket – Taiwan
Filed under Awe-Inspiring Photography, Mother Nature, Waterfall gifs
As I was cleaning out and mulching flower beds today, I gathered some of our last flowers of the season so that we could enjoy them inside. I thought you might enjoy seeing them, too. We have pink hydrangeas,
twice blooming deep purple iris,
various colors and types of zinnias,
and some barely pink or white hydrangeas.
Arkansas Good Roads via Cindy Bassnett Thurman
Filed under Arkansas, Awe-Inspiring Photography
Today I started my fall cleaning out of the flower beds and adding the leaf mulch I’ve been making. I’ve done 4 out of the 14 brick flower beds we have. I’ve learned that I need to run the leaves through the mulcher another time before putting the stuff in the beds. That’s easy, and doesn’t take a lot of time, since they’ve been through once.
Village News
I’m bringing in some last hydrangea that are still pretty, plus some zinnias and some roses. I’ve used two of the six leaf bags of mulch I’ve made.
I was taking a break and my husband came in from the shop, wanting ‘my help’ on his set up for reloading ammunition. What he ACTUALLY wanted was for me to watch him do the reloading cycle, oohing and ahhing over all the steps involved and the precision equipment he has now. It’s an interesting process. I love the set of scales he has. He has a special spoon for each type of ammo that allows him to get really close to the amount he needs. Then there’s another wonderful thing that puts out two or three grains of gunpowder at a time while he watches the scale to get the amount as close to perfect as possible.
Since I oohed and ahhed over his reloading set up, I had him come out to the garden, where I spent three hours cleaning things up and harvesting yesterday, and then out to the front of the house to look at the flower beds I’ve finished so far.
He’s back to loading more ammo, and I’m finishing my break before doing another cleaning-out/pruning/mulching session. The weather today is absolutely perfect for working outside. It’s cool enough that I would need long sleeves or a hoodie to be comfortable just sitting. While I’m working, I couldn’t be more comfortable – unless I were about 50 years younger….
I hope YOU’RE having a wonderful day, too!
Filed under Gardening
Filed under Favorite Quotes, Good Thoughts
“White Lady 11” – Paul Militaru Photography
“White Lady 31” – Paul Militaru Photography
“White Lady 41” – Paul Militaru Photography
Filed under Amazing Animals, Paul Militaru Photography
Nick Hanauer
My husband asked me to take a few minutes to watch a TED talk on You Tube this morning. I did, rather grudgingly, because I wanted to get busy with my to-do list for the day.
My husband and I are getting long in the tooth. We’re pretty set in our beliefs. We both reacted the same way, amazed that this man changed our long-held beliefs about income inequality, minimum wage and how capitalism works. I felt it was an epiphany!
This is NOT a political talk. It’s a talk about what works, and what doesn’t, and why – concerning capitalism and economics in our country. He asks us to consider some new ideas that will help all of us.
If you can make the time, I ask that you watch and listen to this and consider his ideas.
Filed under Important Ideas to Consider
Have you ever started to do one thing – and then got distracted by something else so that you didn’t do the original thing at all? That’s what happened to me after we got home from Lunch Bunch and errands today.
I got ready to mulch leaves, getting out the mulcher unit, canvas barrel, big rake and the power cord. Before I started that, I decided to check on my husband, who was out in the shop doing some stage of reloading ammunition. He was fine and happy, so I went back toward the house and my mulching.
As I got toward the house, though, I decided that I had better do the garden first before I got too tired, so I got my gardening scissors and harvest bucket and went back out to the garden. It’s almost 3 hours later, and I still haven’t mulched one leaf…
I did, however, get the garden under control.
This is the raised bed square foot garden now. There are six 4’x4′ raised wooden ‘tables’ full of Mel’s Mix (combination of peat moss, vermiculite, and as many different kinds of compost as we can find or make. We’re using mushroom, barnyard, and cotton burr mushroom, plus some we’ve made).
Fall garden from the side.
Fall garden from the front.
New beds we just finished that we’ll start using in the spring.
It had been over a week since I’d been out in the garden, so there was a lot to do. The ‘fall’ weather has been more like summer this year, just now starting to cool off, so some of the plants are trying to bolt. I’m hoping that the dip in temperatures will prolong the harvest, but I’ve been really pleased with the head lettuce, in particular.
This is today’s harvest. The lettuce is a combination of ‘salad blend’ and ‘head lettuce.’
The broccoli is trying to bolt, but I’m still hopeful we’ll get more good eating before winter.
SO – now that the garden is under control and the harvest has been washed and put away, I’m resting a bit before going out and doing the leaf mulching I was trying to do in the first place!
cliparting.com
Filed under Gardening, Square Foot Gardening - Raised Beds
“Last Day of Summer” – Paul Militaru Photography
“Leaves” – Paul Militaru Photography
“Magnolia Leaves” – Paul Militaru Photography
Filed under Mother Nature, Paul Militaru Photography
P.L. Travers – Mary Poppins via Encurious.com via Melissa A. Eastman
Filed under Favorite Quotes, Reading is FUNdamental
Penne, France via Sebastien Toulouse via email from Marsha Koenig
Animal House for Real via email from Marsha Koenig
Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library via email from Marsha Koenig
Sabrina Page, Manhattan Animal Care & Control via email from Marsha Koenig
Filed under Amazing Animals, Awe-Inspiring Photography, Family
I saw a post on Facebook about two products by Dermalife that might help my skin, and an offer to get samples at almost no cost. I got on the website and ordered the two samples for a total of $10.94 on August 10th. I received the samples from a company called Healthy One out of St. George, Utah. As is usual with promises vs actual results, I was less than excited after using both for a week or so. I thought that was the end of it.
But NOOOOOO!
We got our credit card statement on 8/24 and had been charged four charges we didn’t recognize – one from GreenCoffee for $89.95 and the other from Garcinia for $92.53 – both companies out of Utah. We marked these, but didn’t file a dispute until we got another charge from each company on 9/10!
The disputes went back and forth. The companies then produced paperwork showing that I had, in effect, signed a “contract” by ordering the samples, saying they could send more any time they wanted and charge me, unless I called them within 10 days to cancel the contract. There was nothing on the website that I saw, and I wouldn’t have gotten the samples if I had seen this. There was nothing on the receipt I received for the samples, either.
Since the companies were able to produce my credit card number, etc., and their paperwork about the contract, the credit card company told us that they were closing the disputes in the companies’ favor.
I called both companies involved today, asking them to be SURE my ‘contract’ had been cancelled. A guy from India told me that the contract had already been cancelled. I called the two companies (two different phone numbers, of course) but talked to the same Indian man both times.
I then called the credit card company back, asking what recourse we had, if any, if either of these companies chose to send – or not send – products and charge me for them any time they wanted. I had no actual proof that I had called and canceled.
I admitted that I felt dumb for not checking for the catch on the samples offer, but that having four different names involved in ordering of two samples bothered me. Since the disputes had been closed, I asked if a note could be put somewhere not to accept charges from either of these companies again.
The nice credit card lady did some checking. She reopened the disputes, gave us one permanent credit (I don’t for how much) and told us they would call if they needed anything more from us.
I don’t know how we’ll come out on this, but I wanted to warn everyone not to order samples online without reading every bit of fine print on the website. Check for any catches in the offer. Make sure you know what the name (or names) of the company are, and keep the receipts. File any dispute early and stick to your guns until the matter is settled.
Filed under Challenges, Changes
Filed under Good Thoughts
Filed under Mother Nature, Paul Militaru Photography
Dr. David Friedman
Puns for Educated Minds – thanks to Marsha Koenig for her email.
9. A hole has been found in the nudist-camp wall.
The police are looking into it.
10. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
11. Atheism is a non-prophet organization.
12. Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway. One hat said
to the other: ‘You stay here; I’ll go on a head.’
Filed under Grin for the Day
Thanks to Marsha Koenig for her email.
Filed under Amazing Animals, Awe-Inspiring Photography, Family
My husband is finishing running the mower and the push weed whacker out of gas so that we can store them until next spring. Essentially, I’ve been out in the yard the whole day trying to cut down what remained between what we affectionately call the ‘civilized’ part of our back yard and the hill below, mostly left wild.
Since we’re getting a little long in the tooth these days, we hired a young, strong highly recommended guy to cut down stuff to open our view back up and also create a fire break in the case of wildfire. He worked as he could on the weekends, holding a full-time job with the city and also taking care of the lawns of about 20 people.
I used one hand-held weed whacker which lost its cap for the cord about a third of the way through the job. My husband found a replacement cap and ordered it on the net. Meanwhile, I used the second hand-held weed whacker. It worked for a time and then I had to stop to pull out more cord, since what I was cutting was really too much for the little thing. After this happened for the fourth time, I stopped and came in to rest.
My husband got out our push weed whacker that looks much like a small lawn mower, saying it would make quick work of the remaining stuff. We couldn’t get it started, though. We decided that there was condensation in the gas and had to work with it for a LONG time to finally get it running. I used it and was able to do quite a bit more, but the land slopes pretty violently down across the yard and I didn’t want to end up on my head half way down the hill with various parts cut off. We also had stuff sticking up here and there that was too much for even the push around whacker.
Since the breeze was coming UP the hill, my husband took lighter fluid and a lighter down past where Shane had cut and lit it up while I stood ready with the garden hose with a sprayer attached.
The fire made quick work of the remaining stuff, and there were only a couple of small spots that were up in the yard portion.
My husband kept trying to get me to react more slowly to the fire, but to no avail. I did NOT want the thing to get out of control and burn the house down after we had spent all this money and time trying to prevent just that!
There’s still some neatening up we can do, plus more burning we can do if we get a really good rain, but the main part of the clean up is done now. We can again see the valley from anywhere in the back yard, and we have a reasonable fire break, making me feel a lot safer.
I had planned to do a lot more in the yard today, but I feel good that we at least finished one of the things on our to-do list.
Filed under Gardening
Dr. Seuss – The Lorax – via Encurious.com via Melissa A. Eastman
Filed under Favorite Quotes, Reading is FUNdamental
HubPages
I’m trying to clean up the edges along the civilized part of our back yard with the weed whacker. Some of the weeds I’m trimming come up to my chest!
So far, I’ve done 2 half-hour sessions and have killed one weed whacker. The cap that holds the weed whacking cord came off, the tabs that hold the cap on broke off, and the spring, cord roll, and cap pieces fell all around me.
I brought that weed whacker in the garage, along with all the pieces, thinking maybe we can order another cap for it.
Meanwhile, we have an older weed whacker that is working, so when I go out again as soon as I’ve cooled off, drunk more water, and gotten my breath back, I think I can finish the job.
Earlier today I was planning to do this trimming, create leaf mulch, and do two sessions of yoga….. Maybe not so much……
Filed under Acting Like a Grownup, Gardening
The Rainforest Site via Sherry McGrath
Filed under Mother Nature
Amy Adenoro Terrell-www.keyword-suggestions.com
I’ve been on a roller-coaster since about the middle of October. At that time my husband finally got serious about trying to avoid sugar. That might sound easy, but it’s been pretty traumatic around here. He LOVES sugar and was in denial about his problem and its inevitable consequences. I’ve been scrambling to figure out what we’re eating while trying to find something he can drink instead of soda, something to eat besides candy, and then some kind of dessert for him to look forward to.
I’ve also found, in my research so far, that simply trying to get sugar-free everything isn’t the answer. First my husband is REALLY sensitive to any alternative for sugar aftertaste. This week we’ve finally settled on Arizona Peach Sugar Free Tea, after buying and trying at least six other things. We found sugar-free hard candy easily enough, but he’s finding out the hard way that eating too much sugar-free candy has its consequences. He’s cutting that back on his own now. We’ve found ‘no added sugar’ pies that are good, and he likes a kind of cobbler that my wonderful cousin-in-law/friend Murray gave me.
I also discovered in my reading that, even if you cut out all the sugar you can, your body uses carbs to manufacture its own sugar! He tried giving up his cold cereal, but was unhappy, so we’ve done the next best thing – Special K is the best one for diabetics, since it’s not made from wheat.
Since low carb eating is also good for diabetics, I found a low carb for diabetics cook book. This is an ongoing process, but it took my attention and motivation away from my own challenges. In the past week I’ve gotten serious again, trying desperately not to eat after dinner, except for my orange dream bar as I used to do. This has been remarkably hard to do, since I’m staying up until at least midnight because my husband’s restless leg problem is better if he goes right to sleep, rather than our reading in bed as we’ve done for a hundred years or so. I found that delaying our dessert until 10:30 or so helps with my eating anything in sight…
________________
I’m finished with the excuses now. I’m back on my “low carb and exercising” horse again. With all the flailing around for almost a month, my weight loss is now 41 pounds. My inches loss is now 18.25″.
I started yoga (for old broads, 60+) about a week ago and I have to say I enjoy it. I’m not in any danger of becoming a gym rat, but I don’t dread doing yoga and really do feel relaxed afterward. Today I’m planning to do the last two sections on the 2nd DVD: “Legs” and “Overall Flow” (I think it’s called.) The DVD series is called, “Gentle Yoga.”
We’re supposed to get rain late tonight and into tomorrow morning, so I’m planning to do weed eating across the back yard where we have to clean up a bit after wonderful Shane cut down a bunch of stuff to open up our view again and create a fire break. I also plan to create a lot more leaf mulch while the leaves are dry, harvest lettuce, etc.
I’m disgusted with myself that I allowed myself to be thrown for a loop over the changes needed in our lifestyle. I excuse myself a bit because I’m very fond of my husband and want him to live – feeling better and better – for a good, long time. That involves finding replacements for the important luxuries in his life. He seems to be adjusting pretty well now after some depression. He still threatens to stop all the good efforts if his sugar numbers don’t get lower as fast as he would like. That’s an ongoing discussion as well…
I feel good that I’ve stayed on my low carb plan really well the past two or three days now, and some of the regained lard is coming off. The yoga is making me feel looser and stronger, though I did have a bit of leg aching last night. I think I’ll feel better and better as I continue my practice. The last two sections today, plus my day doing yard work, will be a really good amount of exercise for me today.
I hope that you, also, will try to
taolife.com
Filed under Acting Like a Grownup, Attitude, Challenges, Changes, DIET!, exercise, getting the lard off
“Dandelion Fluff” – Paul Militaru Photography
Did you blow on a dandelion as you made a wish when you were a child? I have fond memories of that – wishing for the stars – and then some.
Today I would do it again, if I had a dandelion. I would wish for as many days like today as possible.
It was, in some ways, an ordinary day for us. We did our chores around the house, went to town and did our errands. I did two more sections from my new yoga DVDs and was so relaxed I took a nap. While we were out, my husband asked me if I wanted him to cook steaks on the grill tonight. It was a perfect night for it. The temperatures cooled off and there was a beautiful breeze on the deck. We plugged in our rope LED lights that go all the way around the inside top of our deck, so it looked quite festive. Our dogs and cats were with us, enjoying chasing the occasional ‘something’ across the yard in the grass.
We just finished our glorious dinner, celebrating the weather, the fact that we’re trying to get healthier, and that we are together. I ate my steak, enjoying every bite, and my husband also enjoyed a baked potato, although I convinced him to be satisfied with a much smaller one that he is used to eating.
He is happily enjoying a book now. Recently I re-read “To Kill a Mockingbird” for the umpteenth time. I got on Netflix awhile back and ordered it, so I’m about to go in, grab my ice water, and enjoy one of my favorite movies of all time. The day was all I could wish for. I hope my virtual wish, looking at this beautiful photo by Paul Militaru, comes true.
creativeartworksblog 