Cookie anyone?

I wanted to see how the Gemini baked cookies. I use the top little oven more than the big one, but it's nice to have both because you can keep a casserole warm with the top and bake or cook with the bottom. So I went to the Acme (Albertsons in other parts) and cheated by buying those big hunks of cookie dough that you break off into little squares. They baked perfectly and tasted delish! Not bad for $1.99.

I asked Seam to make them last for more than a few days. (I did buy sugar cookie dough too that he doesn't know about).

Another bonus about going to the store I saw Mr. B., the cutest guy in the parish (as far as I'm concerned and next to my two guys). I said hello and he said he liked my mums (buying some in the child section of the cart). I said I liked them a lot too. Also saw the employee who looks like that carpenter Andrew Dan Jumbo from 'While you were out'. Wow, what a great day. : )

The front page

Link to story

A mini salute to Penguins

This photographed so well! This is about 2" x 2" stitched from Saturday morning until this morning. I would have been finished sooner if I left out the blending filament thread. I'll probably make this into an ornament. Chalk a quick finish up for me! It was stitched on a scrap piece of lavender linen.

TORNADO update-It was F1 storm with 110 mile winds. We didn't see any of that at all. The buildings effected were being rebuilt this morning already. The Mushroom Festival is next weekend and I betcha they want to keep producing for that.

Celebrity Duets

On a lighter note, I enjoyed watching a new 'challenge' show on Fox tonight. It's hosted by Wayne Brady (who is so talented in his own right) and judged by Marie Osmond, Little Richard (whooo-a) and David Foster (record producer). It's all about how well known celebrities (who are not known singers) team up and singer with famous singers. Smokey Robinson (a singer I adore too) was on along with Michael Bolton, Peter Frampton, Gladys Knight, Michelle Williams (Destiny's Child), Randy Travis, James Ingram(great) and Leanne Womack. It's surprising how a few of the above people are my age (including Simon Cowell the producer). My favorite non-singer is Jai Rodriguez from 'The Queer Eye' show-he's so cute. I'm impressed by Marie Os comments (stand on the other side of the guitar so you look better singing together-listen for the piano in your earphone for pitch). The wrestler Chris Jericho, got voted out tonight. The home audience will be voting next week! Tune in for some fine singing.

Anyone look familiar?

Wow! I just realized I've been blogging for over 2 years! Where did that time go? I use to have the basic pink blogger background and changed it at the end of last year. Some of my older posts are difficult to read-just highlight them if you ever want to read them. ; )

Tornado touchdown nearby!

Wow-when we asked for a good rain we got some...and lots more! About 3 miles away a tornado (the National Weather Bureau said that's what it was from the residences photos) ripped part of a roof off a mushroom farms' building. Here's the video of part of the event. On the news tonight were people from our church whose building was effected. We knew the guy as he and his wife are in the choir (I was at one time). The lady's sister-in-law said it looked like a scene from 'The Wizard of Oz'. The news said that about 6k people are without power. Our power didn't flicker once, but we got a little water in the basement-not too much. We'll take that over tornado damage any day! Scary stuff. Thanks to the local online news sites (CBS and ABC) for these photos).

The mushroom farm

The Semi-homemade™ Enterprise

Pretty Sandra Lee over at the Semi-homemade™ (yes it's trademarked) show on Food Network is right up there with Rachael Ray in marketing herself. I feel like I have cooked like this most of my life anyway- I took shortcuts to get a homemade looking dish to serve in the end. I'm thinking mostly things like biscuits and spaghetti sauce. Sandra does take things a step further with unique ingredients from a variety of cultures.
Anyway, she has a very nice website with even a crafty page(click on her name above). I just bought this cookbook through Amazon (I am a seller there now too).
Here's the link to a good article about Sandra. She's been crafty for years!

I don't know why I didn't buy book one first. I think I happen to see this one in Wally World and liked it, so looked to purchase it. I made the Italian pork chops from the book tonight. My pork was a bit on the thin side (I think it was for a stir fry), but it came out really tasty.
Sandra has some great ideas and I do like the way they coordinate her kitchen to match her outfit or theme. At least it's not the same boring thing every week. Guess I'm on the Sandra bandwagon now. And she looks darn good for 39!

Thinking about Karen

Every day I update what I want to do and what I am thinking about on my tribe.net profile. One part of that is 'In Song'-so I thought of Karen Carpenter's It's going to take some time this time. Youtube.com didn't have a video of that song, but they had several others that I watched. I have a hard time looking at these because I loved the Carpenters as a young teen and I did get to see them perform at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia in 1974 which was a highlight in my life at the time. I credit Karen for helping me 'tune up' my voice. My own mom is a gifted soprano, but she never taught me to sing like Karen did.
I was telling Sean maybe she should have never gotten into show business. She may have been happier living a more 'normal' life. But her voice was so beautifully haunting in it's perfection that I am glad she did. She didn't live to see 33. If her death at a young age meant anything, it meant that she brought on an awareness of eating disorders.
Looking on the internet 23 yrs after her passing, she is still so popular. I don't think anyone comes close to her voice. They can try, but there was only one Karen.

Too, too thin. Seems like the only thing she had control of in her life was her weight.

Emmy Awards

Sean and I watched these together. I watched for the funny guys-Conan O'Brien, Craig Ferguson, Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart. I was pulling for The Office the Steve Carell show-if you've never seen this, catch a few episodes. It's suppose to be in Scranton, PA. They won!
Julia Louis Dreyfuss won for her show-The New Adventures of Old Christine - I've never watched it. But she was dumbfounded and almost forget to thank her husband Brad Hall. When the camera went on Brad, he was shrugging his shoulders-both funny people!
Congrats to new mama Mariska Hargitay who said naming her son August was good luck to her this August!
Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart cracked me up introducing the reality shows-they were basically putting them down. At least The Amazing Race won again.
Seeing Dick Clark-post stroke grabbed at your heart. He's definitely been effected, but the old Dick is under there trying to come out. We always tell Sean that we lived in the same apartment complex that Dick and Ed McMahon also lived in when they worked out of Philly (Drexelbrook Apts).
I was happy for Sean when his favorite show at the moment 24 won several awards, including Best Actor in a Drama-Keifer Sutherland. Sean is collecting all the seasons of 24 on DVD.
When they showed the In Memorium, Brian and I knew most of the people like Louie Nye and Red Buttons. Sean hardly knew anyone.
Conan did a pretty good job, his opening was the best-dropping onto the scenes/sets of popular shows.
I am about halfway through my little penguin project-I have to share lap time with the cat all the time or he won't relax and get in his bed-oy!

A 'what to do' kinda day

I wasn't quite sure how I wanted to spend this overcast day. No gardening-not into 'pick axe' weeding or transplanting as the ground is so hard. The ground is cracking open-will it swallow us up? About 30 minutes or so away from here, they got rain galore last night. Tomorrow looks more promising for some much needed precipitation. Thank goodness.
I've been after Brian to bring up the Bissell deep cleaning rug cleaner for months. Late this morning I was getting into a new cross stitch project and I heard him say 'where do you want this?' Yep, today was the day that a majority of my rugs got a going over. I tried just Oxiclean and water and it worked great-the dirty water was the color of dark chocolate! I did it in my bare feet and they were sparkling clean too! Wow!! I still want to do a few more areas in the family room that I missed (under furniture) and the bedrooms.
I did tidy up my cross stitching basket and ran across a few pieces that are more than half way completed (UFOs). I get tired of them and tuck them away. Now I am tired of 'Cape May' and the other two I've been working on for a month. I may try and finish up the older ones because I haven't had a finish since the round robin project. The little project I started today may take a few days-I will show you-I promise-in a few days. It's in honor of 'March of the Penguins'. I just got a new cross stitch book called 'Traveling around the World in Cross Stitch'. My mom had purchased the same book last week. It sounded so good, I bought it on Amazon (my word cloud over on the side says I use Amazon a lot). I saved about $5 buying it there.
If it doesn't rain tomorrow, I hope to do some walking at a nearby park with Brian. : )

Tiniest teddy bear sunflower

In a vase with some tiny pinwheel zinnias

Waters are calming

Last night after I talked to my brother, he turned around and called mom. I know this because mom called me this morning. She said Ken really raked her over the coals. She was better with me, but the longer she talked, the more she drifted into her weary conversation about what was bugging me in the first place. Things are better though.
Sean was nice enough to take me to the hospital where my gyn is. Down the road in another YMCA that he went to and worked out in. I was left on the exam table for 30 minutes! When the midwife came in I told her my back was about to give out. I told her some of my bloodwork in June was a bit high. She had to add that she hoped my pap would turn out ok as I didn't sound like I was having much luck lately. How nice of her! I was glad to get out of there. Sean and I ended up in a Chinese buffet for a late lunch. Man that boy can eat!
I sure hope we get some rain over the weekend. I am just mostly using the hose and swinging it back and forth.
I signed up with Amazon to try my luck at selling books there. I still do eBay, but at least I can leave things up on Amazon for a few months before I have to relist. You know I utilize that site!
Have a great weekend!

Invincible

There's a new Disney flick coming out tomorrow called 'Invincible' about Vince Papale who played for the Philadelphia Eagles for a few years back in the late 1970s. What's interesting is that he was 30 years old when he got chosen to play for the team- he was the oldest rookie in NFL history. He's from Glenolden, PA-a suburb of Philly near where I grew up (and where Brian worked for 13 yrs). Mark Wahlberg plays Vince. At 60, he's a robust man who is a colorectal cancer survivor.

Personal update-I called my younger brother who lives near mom and he is fed up with the way she is acting too. I got him to open up and he said things that made me feel so bad for him. He got a car for mom a few years back, fixed it up for her -put a ton of his own money in it, etc. She called the next day to say it was 'making noises'. See, nothing we do for her is good enough. He thinks she should work out her own problems for once in her life. Also, he gets grumpy after she calls him in the evening and ruins his time with his kids. Sound familiar? I don't know what will come of this silent treatment, but I sure hope she finally learns that we have feelings and concerns too.

Photo contest winner

Woo hoo!

Dear Dianne,
I am happy to inform you that your photo is August's winner in our photo contest! You can see your picture at http://www.touchofnature.com/photocontest.htm and you have won a $20.00 gift certificate redeemable for any items in our catalogs (expires 1 year from today's date). Just enter code ***** in the comments field when you place your order and we will apply your gift certificate to your purchase!
Thanks again for participating….we really enjoyed your photo!
Happy Gardening!
Ingrid Bagwell
Touch of Nature, Inc.


If she saw what this looked like now....well, at least it was pretty in this photo. ; )

Gardening in the Sahara

Welcome to the desert of s.e. Pennsylvania. No measurable percipitation for almost a month. The brown is slowly creeping into a large area of grass. The flowers and plants are getting brown on their edges even though I give them a drink almost daily. I'm like my friend Zoey, I am getting tired of watering and am starting to plan my indoor activities for the cooler months.
I haven't heard from my mom yet. I called her and left a message yesterday-nothing. She's making it very awkward. I don't know who she is b&m to since she isn't talking to me. Probably the boarder Jim. She'll give him a heart attack!
My friend K wrote and sent photos of herself with her boyfriend. They have proclaimed their love for each other. I am so sentimental, I got misty-eyed. My friend has been through so much in 5 yrs (operations, loss of beloved grandmom) I am thrilled for her. Only problem is her guy lives down south and she is in IL.
Tomorrow is the annual gyn visit-I'd rather go to the dentist! I ususally see the midwife-they seem more thorough then the doctor. I think they should check my fibroids this time as I seem to have problems associated with them. Sean said he would drive me down to the hospital. Wish me luck.
Today we will probably buy mulch for my fairly new flowerbed with the little box hedges. The tags say to mulch the little suckers, so I will. When it does rain, and that may be today (please Lord) then I will be a very happy gardener.
Slight update-unbeknownst to me, the fellas said it rained, just a little around 5am this morning. That is my usual 'dead to the world' time.

Subversive Cross stitch

So you like to cross stitch and think you have seen almost every chart, leaflet or book out there. Then Subversive Cross stitch comes along. A bit shocking to some, but hey it's a form of expression. I know they still don't say 'certain words' on major tv channels, but they are used in charts in this book. Not that I would stitch that word, but there are a few I may do. I was even thinking of funny ones to stitch-like 'Keep the change, you filthy animal'-from the movie Home Alone. You definitely need a sense of humor to appreciate subversive cross stitch.

by Julie Jackson

You saw the night owls...

Here are the Morning Glories! (I will find the seed packets to identify them for you).

Can't take a bad photo...

of beautiful butterflies!

Against the sky and clouds

Feeding off of a zinnia that is drying up in this draught.

And in death on a zinnia where I found him.

Recommend

First: A magazine called Arthur Frommer's Smart Shopping. <----click my link and you get to read past issues! I'm only half through it and am getting shopping hints galore-i.e. Ten More Secrets of the Supermarket. Do you shop with a list? My mom doesn't. Let's not go there. They also suggest you look in the Latin food stuff aisle. I know the olive oil I buy from that section is at least a $1.00 cheaper. Do you buy flowers from the food store? That's another good suggestion-I've gotten a huge assortment of 'day old' or whatever flowers for about $3.00.
Anyway, if you like to shop, you'll like this magazine.
Second: I recommend Oxyclean! I had some staining in my new kitchen sink under the little plastic mats I have on the bottom to protect it. Well I tried Bon Ami, a Mr. Clean Sponge and then the Oxyclean. I filled the sink about an inch and stirred in a few teaspoons of Oxyclean. Lo and Behold, it took out the stains! I also tried it on a stain in the family room carpet and it literally pulled that one out right onto the paper towel I was using.
Third: Entertainment.com coupon book-It cost $30-you get dozens and dozens of coupons. We took it to the beach and saved $38 on most of our meals. I think these make great gifts!
Fourth: Amazon.com- My mom was telling me about a hardback cross stitch book she recently bought that I don't have. She paid $10.99 for it. I hopped on Amazon and found it for $3.69 or something like that. I also found a Sandra Lee Semi-homemade cookbook that I eyed at Walmart for $10 cheaper at Amazon. You have to look under 'used' when you check to see if the book you want is in stock. I bought a book for mom recently thinking it was a book about the area where she lived and it was another place in PA. I went to refund, printed out a label and stuck it on the box for a return. I am losing a little money on the postage for the refund, but at least I didn't have to keep a book I wasn't interested in.

The good, the bad and the ugly

The good-hitting Value City's 75% off and buy one get one 50% off sales. I didn't think I'd find anything, but I did after poking around. I got the cutest plant holder/weather vane. They originally wanted $24.99 for it-I got it for $6.25. It has owls on the top for decoration that tip back and forth. I think it will be the perfect fall decoration.

I got cute shoes, a mosiac covered pot, hats and a long teal scarf (for like $2 each) and other goodies. Sean got some long sleeved shirts and American Eagle 'casual style' sneaks for $8.45! I want to go back and get a tiffany lamp for the front window and an Ott style lamp (for stitching). I bought a medium size hat box to put my mom's birthday goodies in...that is if she is talking to me by the end of September...
The ugly-a phone conversation with mom. She is getting so paranoid about things. She can't manage money for anything. She has canned goods to last several months and she still spends a lot of money at the food store. I kinda raised my voice at her this morning on the phone and she hung up on me. I called her back later and she isn't answering. She complained about my throat clearing and I told her it was from her making me freakin' nervous. Nothing positive or pleasant ever leaves mom's lips anymore. She rags on me every single day and basically ruins a large part of my day. My brothers and I have mom issues-I know they probably feel like I do, that anything I do or say that pertains to mom is never good enough for her. That's just not right and it leaves a festering wound. I do love my mom to pieces-I just get so frustrated by her behavior.
The bad-well the 25 days of no rain isn't helping. The plants look okay because they get a sprinkle of the hose each night when I feel like watering them. My head is stuffed up every morning and my eyes are so dry. Darn pollen! I should do a rain dance-it would relieve frustation!

Redo

I've had this wicker chair for a while (early 90s). It was dark green and needed sprucing up. Kryon has all colors of spray paint, so I found this pretty color. I bought a yard of the paisley fabric along with the spray paint last night. I think it's a nice fix up for $8.50-thanks Wally World! I was glad to find a fabric with a little gold in it to tie in to the family room, right next door. I noticed in this photo that it looks like I missed some spots. In person it looks fine.
Before we went away I had Brian hang up the curtain rod in the front window so we would have privacy. The window's wood still isn't stained. I plan to do that within the next month; better when I can open the windows because of the smell. I also have to touch up the paint along the top of the window. I found paint that matched pretty well, but I will probably end of painting both these walls as they are dirty from the heating vents. The curtains are eggshell and the valance is attached with little beads hanging down. My question-should I spray paint the rod white or leave it the bronze color? I was thinking about painting the leaves at the end-maybe a color similar to the chair above-to look like aged copper. What do you think?

A bloomin' surprise

When I was planting some new iris rhizomes, I accidently broke this stem off of one of the year old plants. It had two blooms. It took about a week for this one (the other dried up) to open in my kitchen, but sure enough it did! It's a pretty mauve and I was pleasantly surprised to see it today. I also had a sunflower and some pinwheel zinnias sitting next to this on the countertop.

~~~~~~
I forgot to tell you my aunt fell down and broke her hip yesterday! She was operated on and it was a 4 hour long procedure. My uncle was crying to my mom on the phone. He wanted to be with his wife of almost 47 years. So sad! Aunt Mildred seems fine from the ordeal.
Mom's water heater sprang a leak and she needs a new one. That will be put in later this morning. It seems like things go from bad to worse around here.

Passed us by

The anticipated rain skirted right past us here in se PA during the night. Not fair! I peeked out the window this morning hoping that I would see a damp patio-dry as a bone. A few months ago I was bellyaching over all the rain. I had a right to, it ruined most of my container plants and our pepper plants. Funny how you figure things out when you get older-the more sheltered the container was, the better it did! I'm thinking of the pots slightly under the overhang or front bushes. I had a lovely fuchsia and pink petunia planted that looked good all year.

I just came in from watering-actually most of them got a sprinkle from the hose. I did lug 3-4 full watering cans to my zinnia and cosmos batch. They haven't let me down this year so I gave them a little drink. I hope my new iris rhizomes will make it without a good drink. I've been watering them, but it's not the same thing as a nice rain from above.

Dreamy collage

I haven't made a collage for a while. The guys couldn't get the theme of this-I was thinking 'Dreams'.

Last night I printed out about 50-4"x6" photos. My picture file is overflowing! Now I can burn a CD and delete most of them. I don't print out every photo I take, but of course the butterfly close-ups are favorites.

I tried to sell my collages as note cards on eBay-no bites! I'm thinking about doing limited editions now printed out larger. That way I don't have to print anything out unless it sells. I should get a nice assortment of mats too. There's also a site where they do the printing for you-but on mugs, t-shirts, etc.. I guess you get somewhat of a profit. Another venue to look at.

Money plant

From this mess and a nosey cat to...
A nice new arrangement! I had the little gold pears which were not easy to hang on these branches.

What's nice is that these plants were hidden in the side garden and were all ready to 'peel' apart. That is a bit time consuming but I think well worth it!

Books glorious books...

..but I'm running out of places to put them! : )
I went to about 4 book stores plus a book warehouse while away. I do this every year. There are always bookstores at seaside resorts. I bought this box set of two books from England called The Gardener's Book Box with The Garden Decorating Book by Tessa Evelegh and Successful Gardening by Peter McHey-for under $6.00! I am going ga-ga over the decorating one. For instance-creating Cameo gardens within gardens-exist solely on the basis of a theme-it can be herbs or mini veggies or lavender. They suggest you use a different container for each item or a 'sampler'. The photos show a group of watering cans with different plants. Or you could do a variety of different thymes grouped together-they show them grouped together in different terra cotta containers. The ideas and photos are so wonderful.
Another book I bought-but a few weeks ago at Big Lots was one called 'Photographing your Garden' by David Bjurstrom (I paid only $5 for my copy). I bought it mainly for the gorgeous photos. He talks about adding fake leaves to above a shot for some shadow on the flowers you are photographing. He snips off brown edges of roses in blooms or even adds some petals for fullness. Great books!!!
I do buy some to sell and did buy a duplicate of a book I bought a few weeks ago at Big Lots. They aren't all gardening books, I stick to mainly craft books for resale.
Not much is new. Done a lot of unpacking and some laundry. I watered the gardens last night and most of them today. I hope we get some rain soon. My mom was going to come out and decided not to. She is seeing water around her water heater, so that may need repair. She hasn't been out here since January!
Guess I'll go back to the stack of books. I did buy some fiction too. : )

More Bianca

With a little peek of her Philly roots.

Yeah Bianca

Local girl Bianca (almost 12) from Philly wins 'America's Got Talent' tonight. I was voting for her down in the motel room last night.

We're back!

Fenwick Island, DE

Bri and Sean headed to the beach-not too sunny the first day there.
Very white couple on the beach

We saw a trio of dolphins! Bri got the fin of one in a photo. We can't remember seeing dolphins that close to the shoreline before.

See you in a few...

We are finally taking a mini-vacation tomorrow. We are staying near a busy resort, so hopefully it won't be as crowded there. The manager sounded really nice on the phone, so that's a big thing-hospitality. I'll be taking some photos, you can be sure of that. Adios!

Close-up of zinnia

Comparing Butterfly bushes

Baby butterfly bush-see the tiny purple blooms-just planted. Though it's not where I really want it.
White butterfly bush-on the side of the house-it's getting big!
Mammoth butterfly bush-the window there is about 6 feet wide-so you see how large it is!

A study in gardening

Today I ripped all of the cosmos out of this bed. I wish I had done that sooner as I really didn't appreciate the gladiolus on the other side (not shown) as they were consumed by the cosmos. We planted all the box hedges and I planted 10 new iris rhizomes. They are one of the easier flowers to put in.

The zinnia and cosmos bed-they are over 5 feet tall! The butterflies are just loving it out there.

The raspberry color of the Gaura looks neat against the mica flecked rock!

This is Caryopteris (Bluebeard spirea) next to a Purple Majesty ornamental millet plant.

Director Todd

I'm really impressed! The guy on the end next to James Gandolfini and John Travolta use to ride on my school bus! I knew Todd was an Emmy winning screenwriter for a Billy the Kid tv movie back in 1994 (but check out all his writing and directing credits too). He wrote a movie screenplay called 'White Squall'. I should have guessed he was doing really well when I read on our high school alumni page (class of '77-my class) that he lives in Malibu, California! Rock on Todd! (I emailed Todd at the alumni site and told him to put one of these director photos on there).


From the Reeler: Things got considerably lighter following a screening of Todd Robinson's film Lonely Hearts, which features a scowling John Travolta as a homicide detective on the trail of the 1940s' notorious "Lonely Hearts Killers," Ray Fernandez (Jared Leto) and Martha Beck (Salma Hayek)...
You know the 6 degrees of separation theory-well, when I was a teen I went to a car show to see the 'cutest Sweathog' John Travolta. I stood in line for 2 hours with my friend, you went up to a table where John sat, he looked at you and he signed the picture. I have it somewhere!

Every joint hurts

I way over did it in my iris garden today. It was such a beautiful day and the Fed Ex guy brought 10 more iris rhizomes-white, gold, blue and white, pale yellow-that's all I remember. We arent' going to be home for a few days next week and I knew I had to get them in the rock hard ground sooner not later. First I had to get to the area where I wanted to plant them. Out came the weed wacker again and zoom zoom-it attacked a lot of the weeds. The darn ww cap has a piece out of it now-the spring wants to come out of the middle (I think Bri did it when he was using it in the tomato patch). I'll have to get a little duct tape to cover it or see if my mom has a spool cartridge from one of her old weed wackers. I also managed to get both Sean and Brian to help me plant the rest of my miniature box hedges-10 today but 15 in all. The dirt was horribly dry. I hope I got the rhizome roots covered good enough. I may toss some potting soil around them too. The tall grass was unbelievable. That's what took the most time to clear out. I also pulled up cosmos (I saved seeds from them already). Everything was in and watered by 7:30. I'll have to post a photo tomorrow. I like the little box hedges-but not their cemetery smell (though I heard the smell compared to cat's litter box). I am utilizing the deep heat rub tonight.

Goodbye Mike

Mike Douglas, Former Television Talk Show Host, Dies, AP Says
Aug. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Mike Douglas, a former television talk show host and singer, died today in Florida, the Associated Press reported, citing his wife, Genevieve. Today was his 81st birthday.
Douglas died in a Palm Beach Gardens hospital at 5:30 a.m. after being admitted yesterday, AP said, citing his wife. She said Douglas had been receiving treatment for dehydration for the past few weeks, although his death was a surprise, AP reported.
Douglas hosted guests and performed big-band music on ``The Mike Douglas Show'' from 1961 to 1982. He interviewed seven former, sitting or future presidents, talked to Tiger Woods when the golfer was in preschool, and hosted about 30,000 guests during the show's run, AP said, citing Douglas biographer Tom Kelly.
Born Aug. 11, 1925, Douglas worked as a staff singer at an Oklahoma City radio station before serving in the U.S. Navy in World War II, AP said. Douglas's politeness on air in the 1960s and 1970s stood out from the anger prevalent in America at the time, AP said, citing Tim Brooks, executive vice president for Lifetime Television Network.
(AP 8-11)
Footnote:
I had the pleasure to be in the audience of the Mike Douglas show a few times when I was a teen. It was an awesome experience. He was a nice man who shined a little light on Philadelphia at the time.

Friday's Feast

APPETIZER

Tell about a toy you remember from your childhood.
I had a Hasbro Thumbelina doll that looked like a real baby. I slept with her, cut her hair and just loved her to pieces. She made up a litttle for not have a baby sister.

SOUP

If you could make one thing in the world absolutely free for everyone, what would it be?
At least one hot meal a day.

SALAD

Approximately how many times per day do you think about your significant other?
Several times. He calls me twice anyway to check up on me, which is nice. I wonder what he would like for dinner, etc. Just the other day (in my mind's eye) I had him dressed like 'Mr. Darcy' from the DVD I was watching (Pride and Prejudice). He had the long jacket with the high waisted trousers and his curly hair was poufy-he looked-interesting! ; ) Sorta what I had in mind:


MAIN COURSE

What is something you believe in 100%

I've been reading blogs lately where the individuals said there is no God (actually two blogs and blogs I use to read all the time). I believe there is a power greater than us and that even the smallest things are miracles. I find it odd that people who have children may make this kind of statement.

DESSERT

Name one thing you have done this week that you would consider a "good deed."
I went to my mom's on the intention of taking her shopping and ended up cleaning half her kitchen.

Classic JT

This is from 1979-also the first time I saw James Taylor live. Enjoy!

For you Pride and Prejudice fans

Congrats to Josh

Josh Blue won Last Comic Standing tonight. This is awesome for a young man with a disability, though he also plays soccer on a special nationwide team. He has cerebral palsy. Check out one of his earlier performances:

Love sick pup

Mr Darcy wanting his woman
Matthew Mcfayden in the 21st century

Yard long beans

Aren't these funny looking green beans? Some of them are longer then the recommended 18"-I didn't think they were ready yet! I actually acquired these from the outside of the fence. They are Liana R.S. and called Asparagus or snake beans too. I wish you had seen the cat playing with one of these-it was funny! The Chinese have been growing them for thousands of years. We had these for dinner last night (broken into manageable pieces) with butter and bacon pieces. Don't they look smashing on my new countertop? Can you tell I just watched an English movie-'Pride and Prejudice'?
Today I harvested some Cosmos seeds. I think they are so gorgeous-so bright and cheery. And easy to grow. Most of my containers went kaput on me.

This song was driving us crazy!

Teddy collage for Pea

After I weeded around the pond(no frog escapees, but one was sitting piggyback on the floating alligator), I came in and played some Sims2 (definitely a game I have to get use to) and made this for my sweet new friend up north, Pea. I hope you like it. I try not to pick 'the usual' photos. I put a little boy in the middle because I know you have sons. There is Radar O'Reilly's teddy from M*A*S*H up in the right. I found a teddy that looked like my Sean's Boo Bear (near the middle kinda on an angle). And it wouldn't be a proper Dianne collage without a vintage photo! Enjoy! (click to enlarge)

The benefits of Peroxide

Thanks to my friend Terri for the forward. I tried it as a mouthwash-only for one minute though and my teeth felt really clean. I'd love to brighten my smile too!
The health benefits of peroxide.
This was written by Becky Ransey of Indiana
"I would like to tell you of the benefits of that plain little old bottle of 3% peroxide you can get for under $1.00 at any drug store. My husband has been in the medical field for over 36 years, and most doctors don't tell you about peroxide, or they would lose thousands of dollars."
1. Take one capful (the little white cap that comes with the bottle) and hold in your mouth for 10 minutes daily, then spit it out. (I do it when I bathe)
No more canker sores and your teeth will be whiter without expensive pastes. Use it instead of mouthwash. (Small print says mouth wash and gargle right on the bottle)
2. Let your toothbrushes soak in a cup of "Peroxide" to keep them free of germs.
3. Clean your counters, table tops with peroxide to kill germs and leave a fresh smell. Simply put a little on your dishrag when you wipe, or spray it on the counters.
4. After rinsing off your wooden cutting board, pour peroxide on it to kill salmonella and other bacteria.
5. I had fungus on my feet for years - until I sprayed a 50/50 mixture of peroxide and water on them (especially the toes) every night and let dry.
6. Soak any infections or cuts in 3% peroxide for five to ten minutes several times a day. My husband has seen gangrene that would not heal with any medicine, but was healed by soaking in peroxide.
7?
8. Fill a spray bottle with a 50/50 mixture of peroxide and water and keep it in every bathroom to disinfect without harming your septic system like bleach or most other disinfectants will.
9. Tilt your head back and spray into nostrils with your 50/50 mixture whenever you have a cold, or plugged sinuses. It will bubble and help to kill the bacteria. Hold for a few minutes then blow your nose into a tissue.
10. If you have a terrible toothache and cannot get to a dentist right away, put a capful of 3% peroxide into your mouth and hold it for ten minutes several times a day. The pain will lessen greatly.
11. And of course, if you like a natural look to your hair, spray the 50/50 solution on your wet hair after a shower and comb it through. You will not have the peroxide burnt blonde hair like the hair dye packages, but more natural highlights if your hair is a light brown,
faddish, or dirty blonde. It also lightens gradually so it's not a drastic change.
12. Put half a bottle of peroxide in your bath to help rid boils, fungus, or other skin infections.
13. You can also add a cup of peroxide instead of bleach to a load of whites in your laundry to whiten them. If there is blood on clothing, Pour directly on the soiled spot. Let it sit for a minute, then rub it and rinse with cold water. Repeat if necessary.
14. I use peroxide to clean my mirrors with, and there is no smearing which is why I love it so much for this.
I could go on and on. It is a little brown bottle no home should be without! With prices of most necessities rising, I'm glad there's a way to save tons of money in such a simple, healthy manner.
I will add that after I had Sean, I had an infected hangnail I couldn't get rid of. My neighbor suggested plain old peroxide and that did the trick.

A very full day yesterday

Sean and I went out to lunch and did some shopping yesterday. I had promised to take him to The Olive Garden and that's where we went. I do prefer their dinner menu. If you are in the mood for endless salad and soup, this is the place for lunch-under $6. We didn't get that. I don't eat soup when it's over 90 degrees out. I got eggplant parmigiana and Sean got a seafood linguini-both were good. Take out is great (for Bri) and they give you a huge salad, breadsticks and all the fixings along with the main meal.
Kohl's is across the street from the restaurant. They are trying to move out the rest of their summer clothes-60% off. I mainly bought a few tops and a few cute pairs of sandals. I got a gorgeous purse with squares of 'leather' in salmon, browns and greens. Recently I had seen a similar purse in a magazine and then on a local tv show. I got a $34 purse for $14.
Next we headed to Best Buy as I wanted a computer game called Sims 2 that my tribenet pals play all the time. You tell the Sims people want to do, etc. I tried the demo so far and it is fun!
I had to go food shopping after dinner which I dislike as I don't like loading the van in a semi-dark parking lot. I mainly went for the cat as he was hating the food from last week.
The show Treasure Hunt was in Philadelphia last night (I could finally settle down at 9 pm). A member of the 4 teams left had to walk on the ledge of a building-on the 22nd floor! They were of course wearing a harness, but a few of them had feet bigger than the ledge! They got to the end of the building and had to lean down to read a plaque (for a clue) on the building which said Founder's Hall-Girard-they had to go to Girard College. They found their answers and opened them under the dome-a big room that was very rundown looking-chipped paint, etc.. It's not a college at all, but a school for kids in grades 1-12 who are of financial need and in a one parent household.
I called my mom at 10pm as I thought she was mad at me from an earlier conversation. She said she had tried to call my uncle and he wasn't answering the phone. She had called his stepdaughter and she had a call in to the facility. What happened was my uncle had fallen down on the way to look in his closet. He skinned his knee, but once down, he couldn't get up again. Thank goodness my mom called Dorothy as he wasn't checked for a while. Now he is wearing a med-alert kind of thing around his neck. He is so weak, but he is eating better.
So I had a restless night from all the commotion.
I hope to just do quiet things today. : )

Froggie escapees

After a lot of hard work, I sat down and made this (click on the photo to enlarge):

Boy, I have fun with that paint program!

Glorious Sunflowers

Down the road they planted 100s of sunflowers this year. I think the goal was to sell them and raise money. Though not a huge area, they jammed packed the space. The sunflowers are all facing away from the road, like they are shy of all the gawkers going by like me!

Finally a day to garden

I went to the shed and got out the tangled orange cord (thanks Bri) and the trusty old weed whacker. I was a sight to be seen-old bleach stained pedal pushers, my old flower shirt with a gray tank under it, my hair in ponytails and my protective eye gear. At first 'my pal' was letting me down-humming and hardly cutting. It sounded tired. I thought-oh no, there goes the Toro! I unplugged it, flipped it over and pulled some more nylon cutting cord out-presto! That did the trick, it was it's old busy self again! So I did the borders in the front yard, down the sidewalk and up the flagstone path. The heat was starting to get to me by the time Brian came out to trim the hedges. I discovered 'the magic' of the mist dial on the hose-that helped revive me several times.
About 1:30, after 2 hours and sporting a beet red face, I gave up and came in. Brian worked a little longer, but I am far from finished yet. I believe you should try to keep it neat where people see it (that's outside) and worry about everything else later. I may go out again tomorrow. I am a little sick right now-I think I overdid it. We didn't go to church. Again there's always tomorrow.

Family collage

You know I couldn't resist collaging those old photos (plus some). I even added photos of my brothers and I as grown-ups. They are each getting a copy along with our mom.

Old photo time again

Christmas 1972-Dianne, Kenny and Don
At a circus around 63-64. The big kid is brother Dave with Mom (tinted-sky sorta fixed)
Like two peas in a pod-Dianne and Don about 6 and 7 with Chin-chin (tinted)
Far-out! Red and green all the way! That's mom, Kenny, Chin-chin and Great Aunt Edna who lived with us back in 1973.