Feeling Groovy!

Loving the clouds we've had recently as they helped keep direct sun off the Actinic keratoses (sun related skin damage, a sort of pre cancer) as well as a basal cell cancer I had treated with liquid nitrogen. The daily care is to avoid sunlight exposure! These conditions are not uncommon for Arizona natives, and unfortunately I added to the daily sun assult with active unbathing in my earlier years. It's hard not to get sun exposure here! I walk, garden and stay on my patio swing for hours. What's a girl supposed to do? I'm going to have to be more diligent with my use of SPF 50 UVB/UVA sunscreen. Better late than never. They say these things take decades to show up from sun damage, so I'm paying the price for my earlier activities. Seems the chickens always come home to roost!



It has been such a wonderful spring! The wonderful weather has kept me motivated to stay on track with my walking and hiking routine and the loose clothing keeps me on my diet! Thirteen pounds lost so far, enough to elevate my mood. I AM GOING TO STAY ON THIS DIET!

Look what I found! Tomatoes! Hoping they will ripen before the heat hits. I planted four plants in the garden, looking for the best spot. So, far, that's proven to be my northern exposure block fence area. This area has produced the most beans and tomatoes.

My first "mess of beans" and just enough for me! They were delicious--I added them to my Nutri System mashed potatoes. What a treat!

A great sunset to end another great day!

Artichoke Flowers

Beautiful artichoke flowers! I have about 6 dried and on display. I just love these flowers, probably more than the artichokes!

Sun rays over my roof line. So beautiful.

Rain, Parties, and ADHD Woes

I come alive as soon as the clouds roll over the mountains. Ummm...early fall rain in the desert! Doesn't get any better!

The rain came just in time to water my newly planted bedding plants and seeds! Golf ball sized hail fell in areas close to us, and numerous autos and homes were damaged. Hail here is pretty rare. In my immediate neighborhood, we were blessed with just a great rainfall.

The new vegetables for my garden are: Pole beans, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, and China Rose Winter Radish. The radishes are nice and long so that even if a stray pest eats the tops like what happened to my last years' crop, there will be plenty under ground for me to try! At least that was my thinking in choosing the variety. I also planted kale and carrots.

And, of course, the old easy instant color: Snapdragon, Petunias, Lobelia and Alyssum bedding plants. Flower seeds planted were daisies, desert wild flowers, sweet peas and pots of nasturtiums!

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A September birthday party for my grandson's fiance-- who happens to be on the proverbial wedding day diet! She and I had one miniature cupcake.

Looks like a little wine to help forget the diet....

The biggie birthday party! Son-in-law made it to 60! Great celebration--with good food, great friends and a beautiful family!

And our favorite...Kathy's Rum cake. His fav--Strawberry Banana.

Only one more September birthday to celebrate. Ryder is one year old! Walking, saying about four words, eight teeth and the cutest smile in the whole wide world! I am so thankful to have spent the last week--and the next two weeks--with him!

One more celebration to mention--Hubby still in remission! Only blood checks and port flushing once a month until? We're hoping for a one-and-a-half to two years before more chemo. Praying for healing!

I found my glasses! They were in a strange place, put there by a strange entity to be sure. I just found them last week. I placed my order with Zinni but decided to check out a pair of reading glasses I have with a silver frame in order to compare with the new ones I had I picked out. On the floor, in a basket with another basket on top of it, and under some clothes--there they were, all folded up! I'm a "little" nuts, but not crazy! I didn't do it--I know Hubby didn't do it, so.........who????

I also found my wallet this week after losing it and cancelling my whole life, including check card and credit cards! That still doesn't make me crazy, does it? I take the Alzheimer's test often--I'm OK according to the test, and I've also had an ultrasound on my carotid artery and that's clear, but I did test positive on an ADHD test. I've always known I was a bit scatterbrained, but I don't think that progresses with age, so I don't know why I'm getting worse with these memory lapses. Just in case, I just anointed my house and I'm going to burn some sage just in case.

Summer Confusion

I waited all night for the rain to come! Not a drop! Weatherman was wrong yet again. The beautiful sunrise almost makes up for the waterless clouds.




Waiting for sun...this sight always takes away my anxious feelings...if only for a moment.

The hours when the mind is absorbed by beauty

are the only hours when we really live.

~ Richard Jefferies

Turr Tull was looking for his food this morning...


Oops! This is not food. He is a very slow learner, or he has poor eyesight. Maybe both.



I can't keep up with all the eggplants on this bush! It loves this 110 heat, and I will definitely plant this again next June.




Another project for Hubby! This will be the second remodel--maybe the third--I see two wall paper patterns under the existing mustard colored sheet rock wall. The stairwell closet was full of collector dolls. The hall and bedroom are the new storage places until we finish. I am skillful at stumbling over confusion--having practiced all my life! A few months ago I made the mistake of selling my large desk and two large bookcases. I replaced it with an unsuitable computer desk . I miss having my books close by, so down came the stairwell wall! Let the fights began! My Hubby and I don't work well together, but our love of doing projects usually overcome the battles that follow! We only stay mad until he understands that I am right. It doesn't take very long at all, and it does place a terrible burden on me to know everything and have to always be right. He doesn't understand that part yet for some reason. After 35 years, you would think....

I Can See Clearly Now...

I can see clearly now! I ordered my new glasses from Zinni Optical on the 9th and they came in yesterday. Only eleven days and faster than the local vision center. I am pleased with the service and my glasses are perfect. I'm so glad I found this way of buying glasses. Normally I would never have have taken a chance with mail order glasses, but since my daughter and her coworkers use this service and love it, I figured it was a safe way to save some money. (PS--I am not a paid shill for this business, just a very pleased customer.) I have a pretty simple prescription as my problem is mostly needing the reading lens, so I'm not sure if more complicated eye problems can use this service.

Dinner tonight! I found the two eggplants hiding from me under the zucchini leaves, so I checked and quickly picked all of the ripe vegetables I could find. I sliced and battered the eggplant, fried it in olive oil, steamed zucchini, and also some broccoli that was not from my garden. There are five eggplants maturing now, so in a few days I will make eggplant parmigiana.

Life is good!

Enjoying Blue Skies From The Inside

Vincas are planted! Just in time for the 100+ degree days of summer. Today it is 110 degrees.

The air is crystal clear and the sky is beautiful but we are experiencing a high ozone-heat alert. Strong sunlight and hot weather cause ground-level ozone to form in harmful concentrations. We've been advised locally to stay inside! I'm enjoying the view from inside sitting on my swivel-rocker chair pushed close to the window.

Our summers here are only for dreaming of our fall gardens...and dreaming of getting to the cool country! Changing my garden plans a million times over in my mind keeps me in a smiley mood.

Getting lots of green peppers. One plant is plenty for us and I still have a few left to share.

I planted a cantaloupe in the bed before the sprinkler hoses were buried so that means we have another fall project added to my ever-growing list.The longer the list the more cheerful I am, as opposed to my hubby's "enough already!" attitude.

I haven't had a good juicy ripe watermelon for at least three years! I keep buying and tossing!! Have you noticed that most of our grocery-bought fruit --in fact most of our food is just not very good anymore. It's not because I am losing taste in my old age, it's just a fact! It's like everything else has become...just not good anymore!! Hopefully as I become a more experienced gardener I will produce the tasty foods of the past. Not sure what to do about everything else!

This bed will remain empty until fall. The heirloom runner bean is still alive and producing flowers. Just like the package said--the beans won't set until fall! A few random seedlings are sprouting but they won't last through this heat.

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"I am spending delightful afternoons in my garden, watching everything living around me. As I grow older, I feel everything departing, and I love everything with more passion."

- Emile Zola

My Veggies are Legal!

I only bought one eggplant and the lone eggplant is about 3" long. The plant has had a lot of blooms but they aren't setting yet.

I love the blossoms on the zucchini. I found a receipt for squash blossom soup but I need more plants before I can try it-it sounds good! I don't know why I haven't grown veggies all my life! It's really fun watching them grow and develop.

The Candy Cane Zinnia is not very healthy looking. The package said the Zinnia flowers should be big and bold, but they are only an inch across.

This can't be a sunflower! But, maybe it is some form. The planting mix was various sunflowers, but this is so different than the sunflowers I'm used to. I like it, though.

The stalks are loaded with buds so I should have a good crop soon. These are the only two that have bloomed and I can't wait for the show!

This is planted in the wrong place, but I just had to have it and I will have to prune it to keep it in the space. It is a Mexican olive (Cordia Boissieri) and it will have lots of attractive blooms year round.

We are in the middle of another redo!! In fact, we are in the middle of about three--replacing the entire sprinkler system, doing my secret garden and tiling the pony wall in front.

Hubby had a small boat, not used, and traded the boat for the labor and materials for the sprinkler system. After a couple of mistakes it looks like it will be finished this weekend--just in time to plant the Vincas! I have been buying a few flowers vines and shrubs and planting them in pots. I don't have any room for them but that doesn't stop me--just have to have them! You would think at my age I would have more control. I hope I live long enough to correct all my bad habits!

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Glad you asked...the AZ SB1070 law is only 16 pages and mirrors the Federal law. Do you wonder as I do, what is going on in America? No one seems to think it's important to read the law, only listen to what others who haven't read the law say about it. Lest we forget--Illegal is not a race--it is a crime! My hope is for DIVINE INTERVENTION, as obviously nothing else will work.

Little Surprises Make My Day

Turr Tull just finished his brunch and instead of going into his newly built house he has been sleeping on the patio. After all our hard work, he hates it! It is the same area he went to after his return home, and we decided that it was the best place to build his home.

We used building blocks and covered the top and sides with about 6-8 inches of dirt. Not sure what the problem could be. He lived at the neighbor's home under bushes and ate only what they had in their small back yard. I wonder if he enjoys being treated like a king, having food delivered once daily? Could it kill him to show a little gratitude and move into his new home that was built with love, and located in a secret garden? What more could he ask for? What an ingrate!

I am growing an artichoke plant for the flower rather than the artichoke, so the largest one will stay on the plant. I will harvest the others when ready. Ummmm!

This was on the clearance table at Lowe's. Can't find the tag but it is a hibiscus and the flowers should be orange. It will be a small plant and a good container plant.

In the side yard in a neat row, Silver Puffs (I think), grew without any supplemental watering, and they are now in full bloom. The seeds were planted three years ago in a flower bed and they never came up! I love that my garden is full of surprises each season, and I am still amazed that seeds can come alive without any help from me!!!

Gazania

For Flowers that bloom about our feet,Father, we thank Thee;
For tender grass so fresh and sweet,
Father we thank Thee.
For the song of bird and hum of bee,
For all things fair we hear or see,
Father in heaven, we thank Thee.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Summer's Coming On...

I found this at a half price sale at Goodwill. I paid $2.50! I always look for yard art, and so far, I've had pretty good luck finding interesting things. They are cheap enough to keep until I tire of them, then off to Goodwill where I donate them back and look for something else.

Bacopa White...

I love having draping plants on stands. Too bad these won't look so hot in another month, if they make it through the heat. Just about the time they start hitting the ground, the heat comes.

This Sacred Datura is from a cutting a blog friend sent me last year. This is the third bloom of the season. This night blooming flower is so pretty!

Here's my Ultra-Dwarf Santa Rosa Plum from Lowe's. The tag said it is a perfect container plant. I have had it about a month and it is still living, so that's a good sign that it will last, at least a while.

This bell pepper plant is the one that lived through the planter remodel last year. This is the first time that the peppers have turned red! They taste pretty good--same as when they were green.

My sweet peas are higher than my six foot block wall! I'm still passing out bouquets, but noticed seed pods on a few. Oh well--I need to get used to it--everything will be gone before the end of May.

The Rock Rose Poppies just bloomed! These are very late this year. They are growing in my flower beds and side yards.

I love 'em!

While having lunch with the Grand kids, we spotted ...

A dove making her nest in the O of the restaurant sign. This nest looks pretty safe. At another restaurant nearby, a dove is trying to nest on a scupper right next to the restaurant's door. There's always debris there from the nest. I predict that nest won't last long--just like most dove nests. However, the fate of this next will be because of a man-made disaster, not nature. They are not the brightest birds when it comes to locating nests.

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We were blessed on Easter with a surprise visit from our grandson, who is stationed at Ft. Knox, Kentucky! It was quite a shock seeing him standing in the doorway at a local restaurant. Then, making it the perfect holiday, two brothers and sister-in-law arrived from out of state. I hadn't seen my one brother in six years, so it was a rare family reunion.

I haven't even tried to watch my diet over the past few weeks--I just ate everything in sight! I use the excuse that it was a holiday, visitors were here, etc. etc. Problem is I'm still eating and I'm not able to stop! We all had such a good visit!!

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Hubbie decided to have a port implanted after having 36 IV's. His arm veins started hiding from the nurse and it became very painful for him to go through each time he needed chemo, so having the port will make it easier for everyone. He is doing very well with the treatments.