Have any good eggplant recipes?

My first eggplant of the season and it 'was' almost seedless. I sauteed it in oil and tossed it with tuna in pasta. To back track, I have a space near the metal basement doors that I plant herbs, flowers and a few veggies in. I threw in about 6 eggplants, two peppers and a roma tomato there. It's nice to go a few feet out the backdoor and grab something from this little patch.
And lookie what I found Eggplant coming out my ears recipes

Art cards are all the fad on eBay

I was on tribe yesterday and on the 'eBay freaks' tribe specifically. A tribe member was telling us about the art cards that are selling like hotcakes there. They are mostly original art of any kind and are about 2.5" x 3.5" like a baseball card. I was really intrigued by them and bid and won a few featuring old fashioned children as the focal design. Really neat. I think I will start a new collection to inspire me to make and sell these. The guy on tribe says he sells ALL originals and makes about $600 a month. Now that isn't bad. Maybe I should dust off my sketch book (I use to draw all the time). Maybe these little cards will be in my inspiration.
~~~~~~~~
Brian cleaned out the totally filthy shed today. I dropped hints all morning and he finally went out and was complaining about doing it. We even unloaded a 17 yr old window air conditioner in the same manner as we disposed of the old computer desk. We put a 'FREE' and works sign on it. Hope it isn't blowing too much stinky mouse piddle air in their house. But it was free! ; )
I spray painted my wrought iron patio set's chairs today. I asked Brian to please save the space he made from removing the a/c so I could put them in there this year. It's not hard to paint them, but I don't want to paint them every two years because of them being left in the elements. It totally looks better in the shed, but all the mess is in the front of it waiting for big trash pick up day which happens to be this week coming up! What do we do with all these pieces of wood? He said we can't use them in yard projects because they aren't treated? I tend to disagree. Can't you prime and paint them? I'll have to check the books I have here.
I also had a good cry from all the mess of this last week. When the screen door (it's heavy with metal decorations in it) hit me in my arm, well that was the stick that broke the camels back. I think it helped.
BTW, get an 'instant dark tan' with black spray paint! My feet are tanned that way-geez.

The Cosmos are taking over the Zinnias, but the bees and butterflies love them both. 

Black swallowtail enjoying the Cosmos 

Free landscaping business...

....only if you have shingles! Man, I am way pooped today from doing stuff around my mom's house. I went into her house with really good take out from the Concordville Inn (they just opened a 'to go' service). I got her shrimp salad and me chicken salad. I walked in to find her in a fairly warm and smelly living room with her eyes almost rolled back! No joke! It scared the sh#@ out of me. Her 'baby boy' dog had perfumed himself in some other doggie's release. Darn him. Mom 'came to' and I told her about her lunch which she wasn't hungry for yet. She looks like sh#@ too. She's lost weight again and had raccoon circles around her eyes. Her lesions from the shingles are drying up. Yeck, what a wicked thing. Anyway, no way did I have an appetite, so I ate half my lunch and debated to clean inside or do stuff outside. I did the same thing I would do here, I went outside! It was too nice not to. I got the weed whacker out and went to town in the shady part of the yard first. My 'trigger' finger can't hardly bend today from weed whacking. I moved hanging plants and statuary around. I cleaned up trash and things around her yard. I knocked down weeds. I did good. Mom came out later and said 'what about those weeds over near the shed' (Brian does this to me also). I said some other time. I even had Sean drive me up to a store to get more cord for her weed whacker. And I did grocery shopping inbetween the yardwork. Mom said 'I hate to remind you, but I need some groceries'. So I took her Sable up to the Acme (Thursday is a good day to go) and got what she wanted (she requested pumpkin pie too!)
My brother and his kids were there when Sean and I got back from getting the cording. We hardly recognized Kenny as he's getting so tall. My brother cuts the grass for mom every week. The kids love Sean and were following him around. Sean showed Ken the bumper and Ken thinks he needs a new one. We can't seem to get the State Police to give us the address of the lady who ran into Sean. (Brian is probably going to stop at the barracks today to see if 'face to face' will make a difference.) Ken and the family are going to Ocean City, MD this week coming up. That reminds me, I need to make arrangements for our OC trip next month.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BTW, I didn't go to the doctor today. I figured out what my problem was from past experience.
Today I am going to the hair salon. I need to go and get 'spruced up'.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My pond's pump in a pita this week. It fell over now about 4 times and leaked all the water out of the pond. Some of that stringy algae got in the motor and it wouldn't work. I got it taped up and fixed (I have to tape the fountain head on to the newer pump), so I hope it won't fall over again. It makes the new resident 'Kermit' upset!

Saw this on Abby's blog...

Your Blogging Type is Kind and Harmonious

You're an approachable blogger who tends to have many online friends. People new to your blogging circle know they can count on you for support. You tend to mediate fighting and drama. You set a cooperative tone. You have a great eye for design - and your blog tends to be the best looking on the block!

What's Your Blogging Personality?

Thanks Abby.
I feel a bit better tonight. I did lay down for 45 minutes or so. I got a package of goodies in the mail from Collectibles,Inc. and they all had to be put together. I got a little fairy birdbath (the fairy is solar powered), a duck fountain that spits water back into the pond (pictures are coming);a fountain I was going to put outside but it's for inside-an old-fashioned hand pump that pours water into a bucket(noisy) and a few other things.

Very sleepy...

...I felt like I had menstrual cramps from the early evening until about 3 am when the Tylenol and heating pad helped me to fall asleep. The thing is I just went through 'all that' less than 2 weeks ago. I made an appt with the gyn for Friday because I didn't like how I was feeling. I just looked at a few pages on uterine fibroids (I had to refresh my knowledge about them). I think they are acting up and I don't know whether to wait until my yearly exam on 8/23 or to actually go on Friday. I depends on how well I sleep the next few nights.
I still haven't been down to see my mom and it will be 2 weeks tomorrow. I was telling her about the above problems and she said she 'needed milk'. Sometimes people who are in a fog of pain can't see beyond their own needs. I want to help her, really I do, but I wish she had gotten my sister-in-law to grab her a few groceries when she asked.
I want to join a 'Curves' or a similar establishment, but my cycle and fibroids rule my life. I guess I have to either live with them until menopause or try to seek relief by the doctor's suggestions. I have never had the doctor examine me, only the mid-wives. The doc looks like the carpenter on the TLC show 'While you are out'-Andrew Dan-Jumbo. Hmm.... wish me luck. I need a nap. (BTW, it's still really hot here).
Sean was involved in a fender bender yesterday with him being the filling in the sandwich between the three vehicles involved. He's fine, a little shook up though. A lady in her 30s was right near where she was going to turn and she plowed into Sean. The paint on half his bumper crackled. The front of his car that went into a van and caused damage to it isn't hurt at all. The poor kid had to stand in the heat for an hour while the police came. He was happy to tell us that he is moving into a higher math class. You know, this and my mom surely would cause me stress and screw with my insides. Geez.

Men not as fixated on skinny women

VILLANOVA, Pa. - U.S. men are not as fixated on women being
thin as most women believe, a study found. Charlotte Markey
of Rutgers University-Camden and her husband, Patrick
Markey of Villanova University, study what couples find
attractive. Most U.S. women, even skinny women, think they
should be thinner because they feel they would be more
attractive to men, but that's not the case, the researchers
reported. They studied 104 couples. All the women were in
their 20s and none were significantly over- or underweight,
reported U.S. News and World Report. In separate rooms, the
couples were asked to choose photos of women in bikinis that
look most like the woman in the partnership. They were also
asked to choose a photo of what body type they or their
partner would most want to look like. Women chose drawings
larger than average to represent themselves, while the men
saw their girlfriends as thinner than average. The body type
the women desired was significantly underweight, while men
chose a body type close to how they saw their partners now,
the New York Daily News said Sunday.

So how do women feel about heavier men? Personally, I don't care for guys that let themselves go unless they have a physical problem that has caused them to not be able to exercise. Case in point, my Bri. He needs to lose about 50 pounds. His knees are bad. He never complained about his knees until he put the weight on. His tummy looks like he enjoys beer. He rarely drinks it. He eats too fast and sometimes takes seconds. His job has him in the car a lot. All this adds up to causing weight gain.

Butterfly Paradise

We have a bay window facing the backyard in our family room. The family room was the garage at one time. Why waste a big window facing the road when you can view a peaceful backyard? I have a butterfly bush planted under the window here. It's as tall as the house and attracting a ton of butterflies. Right now I see a yellow shallowtail on it. I can't even see the pond, but it's nice to see the pretty purple blooms and the 'flutterbys'.
I planted the 4 iris rhizomes yesterday and am expecting 10 more next month. My hibiscus seeds started to pop out of the pots. I planted10 and 6 are coming up. All the new plants benefited from the storm that went through here at 4 am.
I was just outside showing the guy where to pump out the septic tank. That's country living for you though we now could get public water and sewer. Maybe someday if it becomes a problem. It's the law to get them pumped every few years. Our toilets haven't been flushing all the way and the shower isn't draining that well. This should help as they pump out 1,000 gallons of waste.
I hope you saw the shows on the Titanic last night on the Discovery Channel. They were really good. Just when you think you have heard or seen everything about the Titanic, something new is unearthed. James Cameron, the director of Titanic, went down to the wreck again and had smaller robots to view parts of the ship that haven't been seen before. They got to see the Turkish baths! The tile was still in good shape after 93 yrs! It was so neat. The other show talked about the building of the Titanic which was interesting and 'reinacted' very well. Five years of work for a ship that sunk in less than 3 hours.

Think I'll become a rhizome farmer!!

You know what rhizomes are, don't you? Sounds biological, but it's just growing irises-the flower! They don't have bulbs, they have rhizomes. I was out planting some rhizomes that I purchased on eBay. I was talking to myself (in my head) and I thought, if I could grow all these neat varieties on our acre of land that we don't really use, I could sell them and make a mint! I paid roughly $3-4 each for them. If I only sold 10 a week, that could be an easy $40!!! It's definitely something we could think about. I'll have to Google iris growers/growing. I grew them in the past and they were gorgeous.
I didn't go to my Mom's today. She suggested tomorrow, just in case she needs to go to the doctor. She had a rough night last night. I still say she should put calomine lotion on the lesions, but the doctor said not to. I read in a number of places where it is okay. She is popping pain pills like crazy. Damn shingles.

My son the almost lobster...

Will kids ever listen? Sean went to the beach with some friends today. They went down in Ocean City, Maryland about 2.5-3 hours from here. I was putting sunscreen on his linen white back at 7 am. He came home here at 9:30pm all splotchy red and lobster like. I had recommended he keep his shirt on or wrap a towel around himself. I recommended water and snacks. He drank the solo bottle of water he took, but had no snacks and went about 7 hours without eating. Knowing him, he must have been starving! We eat 3 square meals, not 3 fancy squares, but we try to eat every 4-5 hours. I think he had a good time. He needed this so bad. He can learn from his mistakes with the sunscreen and snack packing.
Brian and I hung out today together. He rototilled a half moon around my circle of zinnias and cosmos so I could plant the various bearded iris rhizomes I have and am expecting next month. I miss them so much that I decided to get more and plant them in a place where I can dig them up when they need dividing. Plus they will bloom first and then the flowers seeds will follow.
I sat on the lounge chair and started a new novel! Yeah! It was lent to me by my mom and I opened it up and out fell the directions for the screen house we had so much trouble trying to assembly on the 3rd.
Brian and I went up to Kennett Square and were going to try this one restaurant out and decided on another and then we just got nachos and salads. I had a piece of coconut torte too. I love trying desserts. The food was ok. When we got home, he found a few coupons for the restaurant in a monthly coupon book that we get. We'll have to try their brunch some Sunday and use the coupon. There was a 'hot' waiter in there who looked like a blue-eyed Matt LaBlanc (from friends). If you don't look you're dead, ya know? LOL
I'll probably head off to mom's in the morning to see what I can do for her. I hope it's not food shopping.

Extreme makeover...well almost

I'm only saying that because I got the 4th crown in my mouth today. Not a pleasant experience as the dentist had to put it in and take it out of my mouth about 6 times. I know the dentist would love to close the gap in my front teeth someday. He mentioned it years ago when I first started going to him. I told him I didn't want to look like Bugs Bunny with huge front teeth. The gap is me, it fits me. I also have a mole on my left cheek. That's me too. But what would I change about myself? The Extreme Makeover show was just on. I would get a nose job, a tummy tuck and liposuction to start off with! I would love to be able to wear a smaller size pant and skirt, without elastic waistbands. I don't think it will happen, but I think it would help my appearance tremendously.
Enough about me. I am sick myself over my mom having shingles. I was reading up on it today. She has like a 1 in 4 chance of the pain staying with her after the lesions go away because she is in that age group. She's suffered with sciatica since '03 and right now that isn't bothering her. Big surprise right? I don't know how she will live with that and be able to run a household. I don't think her future looks like rose gardens and tea parties. It just doesn't seen fair that my mom has to suffer like this.

Zinnia and Cosmos 

This daylily is gorgeous. I almost forgot about it. It's a buttery yellow and is ruffled like a ribbon flower. 

What's wrong with this passage...

From Morgan Spurlock's blog-'The climax of the season is our Binge Drinking Mom, a parent who so desperately wants her college freshmen, beer guzzling daughter to understand the ramifications of her actions that she (mom) transforms into a party girl overnight to try to teach her show her the errors of her ways. It's powerful stuff and a great end to the series'.

Well I guess the 19 yr old girl is going to drink if she has the money to do so. Her mom becoming a binge drinker for a month didn't even phase the girl. She said she may stop drinking if her mom 'got killed'. How nice. What a spoiled brat. They have a lovely big home with a pool, so obviously this girl has a lot of luxuries. Guess she wants to throw her life away. She said she can hold her booze even though she passes out and doesn't remember how she ended up where she has her head laying in the morning. I think it's really sad. If she disfigures her pretty face in a drink related accident, maybe she will change her mind. If she has that option-the other is death.

Don't drink cherry coke at 8 pm

I am getting tired, I swear. Stop shaking your heads at the late hour of this post. I was also overdoing it after dinner as it was the first 'tolerable' evening in many to go outside and weed.
We either need a new battery for the riding mower or a new mower. I am hoping it's the first. Sean tried to cut the grass in the late afternoon and it wouldn't turn over. Brian came home from work and jump started it. So we had a later dinner of Acme fried chicken, potato salad and steamed broccoli rabe (we haven't been eating that many greens lately). The mower also dies if it overheats. If we could wait until September or so...end of the season sales then.
So first I weed whacked the back and up one side of the house and I pooped out. They I pulled out these long pieces of grass out of the middle of plants, along borders, it's everywhere! I planted some white salvia in an almost all white garden. The poor cell pack sat there for a few weeks and even wilted a few times.
Going back to around 3, I did get to the post office to mail off a few eBay things. I sold a cute salt and pepper set of Pussyfoot and Marc Anthony (the Looney Tune characters) for
$42! Yippee. I made an excellent profit on it.
Brian's cousin's daughter waited on me in the Acme. She is 3 months older than Sean but is a Sophomore at Kutztown. We chatted a bit. Seems she was a little wild as a Freshman. (No, she didn't tell me this, Sean did).
My Sean doesn't want to drink at all. I even offered to have him try a beer at home and he said he's not interested in drinking. He says why would people drink enough to make them pass out? I told him if he is afraid of people making fun of him for not drinking to say he's either the designated driver or he's allergic to alcohol. Peer pressure stinks. I am sure he'll do fine though.

Pretty Rose of Sharon bush. Definitely worth having in your garden. This came with the house-lol! The bees love it. They go in one of the flowers and come out covered in snowy pollen.

A comparsion of textures-a 'skeleton' leaf against the bark of one of our old Chestnut trees. I think I forgot to flip the photo, but it looks interesting I think.

Study of perfection

Is this not a perfect waterlily? I have a large, rectangular plastic planter that I bought just to raise some waterlilies in. It's not quite deep enough, but it works! I have a little pump in it that moves the water around and I also change the water if it gets too dirty. The flowers have a mild aroma.

Eye allergies?

I don't know if I have allergies brought on by all this terrible humidity, but my eyes have been red and dry for the past few days. The left is worse than the right. It even had a little stickiness on the lashes this morning. (I am not ruling out hormones either!) I am using artificial tears every half hour and the eye med Panatol too. If they are still bothering me tomorrow, I guess I will call the eye doctor. I don't take my eyes for granted at all because of my mom and grandmom. My grandmom was legally blind when she passed on. Both ladies have/had cataracts and glaucoma. I have been trying to finish up a cross stitch square too, but I really think it's more allergies than eye strain though they are aching like the later (may be a side effect of the Panatol).
I am looking at all the yard work that needs to be done and just shaking my head. Weed whacking is one of the chores that I usually do. I was sitting on the back patio pulling out weeds that had grown between the cracks in the cement. It had a ton of them. A few of the beds need work. I refuse to work outside in this kind of weather. The last weeding I did was at my mom's house last Thursday.
The zinnias are mostly fun 1970s colors like yellow, pink and orange. I so enjoy going out and seeing a new bloom. I can see why my grandmom loved them.

Cross stitching update

I do have my blog listed in a cross stitching web ring, so I am sure the xs readers would like to know what I am up to. I have been working diligently on a quilt square for an 11 yr old girl in renal (kidney) failure that's due at the end of the month. It's a design of whimsical wildflowers and it says under the flowers 'may all your weeds be wildflowers'. I am about 3/4s of the way through and should get it done by the end of the week. I'll post a photo too.

Some of the stitcher's blog questions-if I have a commitment (see above) I work my tail off to get it done. It drives me crazy sometimes, like in the summertime when I am outside quite a bit, but it's also a thrill to know that I am making a smaller piece as part of a bigger item, the quilt.

Another question was if I prefer evenweave over aida. Evenweave is fine, but I don't mind the big holes in the aida fabric. Things work up faster too.

What is this?

I got this on the 75% off table. It's low laying with the daisy like blooms

Ant stompers

Yep, my rantings have lead to insomnia. Doesn't look like this mama is going to church today. We'll see though.
Holy tamale-look what I found for getting rid of ants from this page!

ANTS
Vinegar to get rid of tiny ants.
"One clove of garlic, one onion, one tablespoon of cayenne pepper and a quart of water. Steep for one hour, add a tablespoon of liquid soap and spray it around the house" for ant and roach control.
Mixing baking soda with powdered sugar and applying to infested areas.
Wash kitchen surfaces with vinegar solution and sprinkling bone meal, chili powder and powdered charcoal in and around suspected points of entry.
Pour a line of any of the following where the ants are entering the building: cinnamon, cream of tartar, red chili pepper, salt, dried mint or sage, or cucumber peelings.
Apply perfume to the entry point.
Mix a tablespoon of sugar and a tablespoon of borax with 2 tablespoons of water. Soak cotton balls in mixture and place on low lids.
Band sticky, adhesive materials around base of plants and trees to deter ants, which can carry and colonize aphids.
Border gardens with bone meal.
Mix 2 tablespoons boric acid, 2 tablespoons sugar and a cup of water. Soak paper towels, place on dishes, and set out for ants.
Mix 4 ounces of mint jelly with 2 tablespoons of powdered boric acid. Cut small squares of making tape and dab mixture on tape. Stick on floors behind cabinets and appliances.
Pour boiling water over the nest
Pour a line of cream of tartar or chili powder where ants enter house and they will not cross it.
For fire ants, sprinkle a teaspoon of instant grits on each mound.
Mixture of 10 1/2 ounces of water, 3 ounces of Tabasco sauce, 2 1/2 ounces of Dr. Bronner's peppermint soap liquid (available at health food stores). Spray where ants enter the home.
Combine: 1 part active yeast 2 parts molasses 1 part sugar Mix the ingredients well. Drop a teaspoonful on several small squares of white paper. Place the paper squares along ant trails where they will not be disturbed. How does it work? The ants are attracted to the sugary feast and will consume it readily. The action of the yeast, however, will produce gas their bellies which they cannot rid themselves of. They essentially will pop. The best part of this method of pest control is that it utilizes no chemicals which could harm you or your family.
3 parts Apple Jelly 1 part boric acid crystals Mix ingredients thoroughly. Cut standard soda straws into 2 - 3 inch pieces. Fill a 5 - 10 ml disposable syringe (without needle) with mixture. Use this to fill soda straw pieces. Place in areas that ants have been observed. Keep out of reach of children and animals.

So here's my problem...

I don't know if hormones brought on my new 'rampage' about getting things fixed and remodeled in this 45 yr old house! We have lived here 18.5 yrs and have done a lot to it, but the kitchen was one room we didn't splurge on except for a dishwasher that is now 18 yrs old and a floor that's now 15 yrs old. Oh, I know what I want. Light colored cabinets for a kitchen that's always been so dark. Storage space with a counter just for my mixer or smoothie maker. A pantry closet. An all-in-one oven/stove instead of a space robbing wall oven that's difficult to clean. I have it all written down. It's my husband that never helps us to take the next step. Oh he says 'you can do it' and then I correct him saying it's too big a project for just me. I mean, let's just do it.I plan to have the Home Depot come in here. It's not a big space, maybe 11' x 12'. Our mortgage is very low now. We would never be able to sell the house with that ugly kitchen with the broken cabinets. My silverware drawer can't even be pulled out all the way without falling off the track.
So I was getting on Brian's case today and he was just clamming up the entire day.Talk about a partnership of 21 years. I have to get on my soapbox all the time now to get things done. I don't like to be bossy, really.
Wish me luck. Thank goodness for my nice gardens-my escape.

What a pretty combo! The variegated hostas are in bloom with a pale lavender flower. The purple plant popped up there, but it wasn't planted there. 

Some of the newly opened zinnias. 

I've been a bit blue today, so I decided to take a few photos to cheer me up. This is the prettiest this trumpet vine has ever been. It came from a shoot from Brian's mom's plant.

Iris info

Found this on the site where I ordered my irises...
Bearded Iris (a few planting tips)
Plant the Bearded Iris as soon as you receive them.
Make sure that you have loosened the soil very well in the garden where you want to plant these and that it gets lots of sun and plenty of air circulation.

Plant the rhizomes with the roots facing down just below the soil surface, so that when the soil settles, the top of the rhizome can bask in the sun.

Water these newly planted rhizomes well for some time until they are established; after that, be stingy with watering.

Use some 10-10-10 fertilizer right after planting and again in early Spring.

Divide the Bearded Iris every 3-5 years to prevent overcrowding and promote flowering. This is also a great time to exchange some varieties with friends, family and neighbors.

Cut off the flower stalk as soon as all the flowers are bloomed out...there is no need to spend food and energy for seed production.

Enjoy these drought tolerant beauties of the garden from early March though mid May (or later when North of Georgia) by choosing several varieties and types.

Some mini shots

Lantana and licorice plant near the impatiens

Side of house with 'showy' phlox, dahlias, blue salvias.

My pot of purple and white petunias is hidden by the phlox.

The plant in the foreground is a butterfly bush

Glazing ball near pond.

My hands are small...

but my nails are longer!
They are also a little tan. I usually don't wear nail polish (I had just put this on, can you tell?) I give all credit to that Ms. Manicure buffing block!
I have hands just like my mom.

Still baking here...

Apple munching deer

Taken 5 yrs ago. These irises are all gone. : (

I was just outside for about 20 minutes and I couldn't take it. It was like walking around inside an oven. The humidity is way up there, so I think I'll do a little tidying up since the house always needs it.
Bummed a bit because there were ants on the counter last night and this morning. I spent about 20 minutes cleaning them up. Brian saw them last night and just shrugged his shoulders and went back to the channel surfing. He could have cleaned the dirty dishes out of the sink for me and wiped off the counter, but he didn't. I was trying to remember the home remedy for ants. I thought salt, but mom says it's lemon juice. I have one of those plastic lemons and put a line of the juice along the floor near the back door. I think they are coming in there and then going along the back of the wall and up where the sink is.
A great way to clean up your yard of it's fallen apples-deer and groundhogs. They have been out eating under the apple tree last night and today. Brian and I both tried to take photos. I'll have to upload them and add one here if it's decent. I picked one and it was really sour. Guess I could make some apple sauce if we actually picked enough. I won't eat apples off the ground for health reasons (e. coli issues).
I did just place an order for 10 assorted iris rhizomes from a company in Atlanta called Touch of Nature. They will be shipped after August 15th. Sean was chuckling over the names as I read them to the man: Banana Frappe (deep yellow), Night Owl (darkest of purples) and Stitch Witch (a dwarf iris-I think it's a two tone blue and white) among others. I have the rhizomes from eBay to plant. I need to rototill the spot up first.
Better go grab a late lunch-not soup today!

Being with my Mom

I had Sean drop me off at my mom's and then he went on to his session at Penn State for 4 hours. He's up to 16 out of the 30. He said the math he was doing today wasn't hard at all. Maybe he'll be able to get into a higher math class!
So Mom looks a little beat up considering she has shingles. Her poor tummy and side look like she painted raspberry jam on herself.
I wanted to keep her company and do a few garden related things for her too. She ate the bacon on an English muffin I brought her. I then headed outside to water everything. It doesn't take as long as it does for me to water my plants, but she doesn't have certain parts of her garden laid out right-like the paths are too narrow and I was tripping on rocks or slate. I decided to plant the things she had bought at Boscov's last week. Her perennial a Gaura, like I bought was whithering up. I planted a butterfly bush, portulaca, petunias, a few lilies and some impatiens and ivy in pots. I weeded one of her beds. I was dripping in sweat! The bottom of my hair was wet 3" up!
Then Mom wanted to go to this produce place to replace some petunias in hanging pots that pooped out. She had them in too shady of a location. I drove her Sable (a lot different than my Windstar!) to 'The Produce Junction' and they had impatiens in hanging baskets for $2.99! Mom was going for the leggy ones, but I was suggesting she get fuller ones. That's just what she needed for the front of her house! They also had very full plants-all kinds and colors 4 for $5.00. So we each got the four pots, though when I was dividing them, I only had 3. I bought some pinwheel zinnias (I believe this is what they are called), another plant with star-like pink flowers and some celosia in reds for Sean's garden. I bought another miniature rose, so I hope that will do ok.
We got Chinese food (too much fried stuff) and after we ate, Sean and I headed for the Value City near mom so I could check out their reduced stuff. I got a cow grill-I may try and sell this one (it looks just like the pig photographed here), some neat metal birds for near the pond, and a handmade rug with a sunflower design for under the computer chair. I got a few more dirt cheap yard ornaments.
When we got home I jumped in the shower and then started to look through Collectibles, Inc. catalog. They also had some neat garden stuff. I don't want to overdo it outside. I have a big enough yard, but I try and keep the decorations to cute or whimiscal things. What I liked were the solar power fiber optic lights and any of those solar powered things. I have one near the pond and it looks awesome at night.

Saw a hummer today

My little cart with the succulents
I'm not referring to the Governor of California's vehicle. I was outside in my backyard and I happened to see a little guy whirl around the sage and then go pop inside every blossom of my pale purple petunia (say that fast 3 times!) hanging basket. It's the first hummer I have seen this year. Just in time for the trumpet vine that just started to bloom. Hummers love trumpet vines.
I believe I have a yellow, not lime green zinnia opening first. I went out to look at it and a blasted Japanese beetle was on it. They are such pests. Speaking of which, last week I had just gotten all comfy in bed and felt 'something' crawl over my face. I jumped up (Brian was in the guest room), turned the light on and saw nothing, so I shook the covers out and then the pillows. A few nights later in the bathroom I found the culprit-a daddy longlegs. It had to be a spider like thingie. He has gone to met his maker thanks to Bri.

A lime green color zinnia about to open. Some white wildflowers are peeking out there. 

Remember my 'crop circle' of flowers from not even a month ago? They are starting to open! But look how big they got. I think I'll do 2-3 of these next year.

This hibiscus is gorgeous! 

Piggie grill which is now is a plant stand. Sorry you can't see his cute little tail! 

We're having a heat wave...

....a frickin' tropical heat wave! I went out to do a few things for a lousy half an hour and I was in a dripping perspiration. The humidity was way up there. I managed to get 3 loads of wash done and I'm not finished yet.
I found plants for the piggie grill, in fact I did take a photo with the three pots of pink geraniums in it! Will post soon. I was going for begonias, but the geraniums were perfecto!
Good frozen food alert-Perdue makes a pretty decent 'Bourbon' chicken. We had some tonight with wild rice. Not fatty and a lot like the coating they use on Chinese food chicken. We all liked it. Sliced up a nice fat beefsteak tomato too (from the produce stand).
Settled in for 'I Want to a Hilton' which is rather lame, but there isn't much on in the summer. Did Mama Kathy clone herself in the form of her daughter Paris? The only difference besides age is that Paris has a squeaky voice. I did catch 'Queer Eye for the Straight Guy' where they cleaned up a nudist. That was hysterical. I think those guys are so cool. I could easily be 'girl'friends with any of them. ; ) If you haven't caught this show, now's the time and you will have to watch it every week.
I also like '30 Days' the show by 'Supersize Me' guy Morgan Spurlock. That's on the FX channel. It's like a 'Wife Swap' of sorts, i.e. he has put a Christian in a Muslim environment and a straight guy with a gay roomie. Not to be missed.

High from shopping

About twice a year, I go on a shopping frenzy. The stores want to unload their summer clothing and outdoor things for my first round of shopping. Sean asked if I wanted to go down to Delaware to a few stores. He hasn't taken me shopping for a while, so I went along. We went to AC Moore the craft store. Now that store use to make me go bonkers, now I just look and maybe pick up a few skeins of DMC floss and some freebie crochet directions. I have lots of craft items at home already.
The next stop was Kohls and we ran into their 70% off sale. Woo hoo! I am not picky about sizes when it comes to buying clothes I like (meaning I will go up a size or two in the skirts and maybe down a size in a top if it stretches). I got about 4 skirts, 5 tops, a purse and some jewelry for under $100. I thought that was great. I like new clothes. I tried them on tonight, and aside from having tremendous tummy bulge, they looked fine.
We then went to the Goodwill so I could scope it out for eBay. Their prices were great and I did find a few things for resale that were really nice. This is the same Goodwill that Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie went to for their show (last November).
We were hungry and thought a new Ruby Tuesday in the area was open, but it wasn't, so we went to Pizza Hut. After the Hut we decided that since Value City was down the road, we would hit their sales. I got some new towels, a cute skirt, and lots of little things, one of which is a pink pig grill that I plan to use as a plant stand. They had a cow too-only $7!!
We had fun together out in the heat. Now I can concentrate on my mom who was diagnosed with shingles today! She went to the doctor for her back and this morning her tummy started to pop out with the blisters. I hope she started taking the medicine in time to help allevate the symptoms. I feel so bad for her. She's really suffered a lot these past few years.

This is the bottom half of the pond area where I planted the Speedwell (under left), Bitter Root (like a hens and chicks plant) and the Red Rock. The Gaura can't be seen here. I use the children's chairs to make it look quaint here.

My 25¢ miniature rose next to the variegated hosta.

Look how big my butterfly bush is!
There's a mysterious pink bubble on the back of my bench there. Click on the photo to see it in larger prospective. I took 18 photos yesterday and this is the only one that had that circle on it!

My calla lily next to my new peachy hibiscus. The flowers are pale peach. Excuse my dirty flowerpots. That's from all the rain we had on Friday.