Experience List

I saw this meme on another blog and thought it looked fun. All you have to do is bold the items you've done on this list. It's odd that it only has 99 items, but that's the way it came. Try it yourself. I was surprised at how many of these things that I have done, but also surprised that I hadn't done some of the others.

1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland/world

8. Climbed a mountain.

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a Marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Gotten flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten Caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in Arlington Cemetery

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

A Feast!

My son planted a Black Mission fig tree last fall, and he has been getting figs all summer and into the fall! I picked these yesterday and ate them all at one sitting! The tree is still loaded and some more should be ripe this weekend.

My daughter also has a Black Mission tree and it has had only two good crops this season and that is fodder for some sibling rivalry! They send cell phone photos of their respective trees, with text messages arguing about who has the best crop, who has the most figs etc. Then, they call me to come over and do a taste test! You know what mothers. do....I tell each that theirs is the BEST! They still believe me even though they know I tell each of then the same thing! It's "Mom said mine was the best, yadda yadda.... My children are in their 40's! I just walk home from my daughter's with my belly full--waiting for the next round of fresh figs!

Happy Days, Small Pleasures

I just had to have this sweet potato vine that I saw at Lowe's. It takes a lot of watering but it looks sooo good! There are actually two kinds of plants in this arrangement. I guess they are both sweet potato vines, but one is a bronze color. At first it looks like dry leaves in the photo, but if you enlarge the picture, you can see it's alive and well!

Flowers floating in a fountain at my Granddaughter's wedding. More pictures to follow after I get around to ordering them.

The Blue Plumbago went into a pot because I just don't have any place left to plant. I had one planted in the front courtyard that lasted one year. I just love the blue color, and hopefully it will last longer.

I was disappointed that I didn't get any blooms on the lithops this fall. I stared out last year with five in this pot. They just dry up and disappear overnight.

Each beautiful fall day puts me in a great mood. I try to focus on all the wonderful things I have, not what I lack. In fact, I can't think of a single thing I need at this moment! All the small, repetitive pleasures add up to happy feelings in general! I am happy I have two lithops left--I wasn't any happier when there were five!!! Go figure!

Random Plantings

I rescued this Elephant's Food plant from my neighbor's unattended side yard. Last year, it only had one section that appeared alive. I spotted a perfect branch to start a bonsai like Julie at A Succulent Life. She has instructions that I will follow as it grows, and hopefully it will grow into a beauty.



My "Husky Cherry Red" patio tomato has been producing dime sized tomatoes since September, and although quite small, they are delicious! I have been getting about three ripe ones a day, just enough to eat when I water the plant.

Flower beds are filling out. I have had a lot of trouble this year with random plants dying overnight. I try to fill in as quick as possible. This bed is full of petunias, snap dragons and lobelia.

My greatest hope is that my beloved sweet peas make it though the season. No-see-ums are eating them away! I check the plants at various times of the day to see what it could be--but no luck! I haven't over-fertilized, I use only Miracle Grow. They are getting the proper amount of water so I'm not sure what could be eating away at them. Come February I may go into a depression if I don't have sweet pea bouquets throughout my house every day, and my family will miss their daily delivery. I talk to the the plants every day and tell them to hang on and overcome this plague ! They know how much they mean to me! I am keeping the faith and know they will try hard! Sometimes though, nature out trumps our wishes.

We are having perfect weather--a little above normal --but gorgeous days, perfect for flower watching and swinging away in my swing and taking a daily walk around the lake! Did I ever tell you I live in the most perfect spot in the world? The fall, winter, and spring here are pretty close to heaven. The summers are really close to hell, but I wouldn't trade it for anywhere else!!!

Pill Box Collection

Click to enlarge

Over the years I have started numerous collections. My pill box collection started when I received one as a gift. A perfect size to save and pack. I then decided to pick one up wherever I traveled. I always stopped at antique stores to look for another for my collection. There weren't a lot to choose from and in some places, I couldn't 'find any at all. Finding pill boxes was never a priority, and I didn't like to spend time combing dusty stores while on vacation. However, it was always fun to find one by happenstance.


There are about seven 7 countries represented here. I keep all the boxes in a tin that held buttons from another of my collections. As I've gotten older, I've eased up on collecting. No room, no interest, and no money to spare on unnecessary stuff! Except plants of course, but I've even cut back new ones as there isn't any more space left in my small garden.

Fall Brought a Wedding and Bronchitis

Well, the big event happened--my granddaughter got married this past weekend. This is what's left of the wedding cake. It should have been saved for their first anniversary, but they decided to serve it at the next day's 'Thank You' BBQ. The honeymoon will be to an undisclosed location in December, after her college classes end for the semester. (She graduates in May with a degree in Education.) The cake was four layers; German chocolate, champagne, strawberry rum, and carrot cake. It was exceptional!

Their flowers were beautiful, with fall colors displayed on the fruit and foliage.

Some of the flowers had burnt orange-tipped yellow roses. I wish I knew the name of these, I'd love to plant some.

I have been very sick since just after the wedding with my very first bout ever of bronchitis. More pictures to follow soon as I am feeling better.