What's in bloom.

Just a short post to show some of the things that are in bloom in my garden and in my mother's yard, yes I have been spending a lot of time in my mother's yard getting things ready for her to come home and now it looks like she'll have to go to an assisted living center for a while when she gets out of the hospital anyway. And this has to be short because I have to get the house ready for Jim and Susan to come over for dinner for Jim's birthday (Happy Birthday Jim!!!) I don't know how old Jim is today, isn't it amazing that people don't want to tell you anything if they know you blog. Actually, I haven't even talked to Jim since I found out that they were coming over tonight. Jim and I are the laid back ones in the group. We just do whatever Kathy and Susan tell us to do. Much safer that way.

Before I get to what's in bloom, I would like to welcome Shelly back to blogger-world. We have missed her posts and I am very happy she is feeling better!

Ok, what is in bloom: This is a close up of the flower of a chaste tree and a shot of the tree in the start of bloom. I love these things. They are one of the most beautiful plants I have.

Asiatic lilies come in several colors and are always prolific bloomers. These are some out of my mother's yard since mine haven't started to bloom yet.
This is black and blue salvia. I love it for the interesting blooms, I hate it because unlike most salvia this isn't a "set-and-forget" plant. As a matter of fact, it is a water hog! Let it go one or two days without water and it droops something awful.
This old climbing rose is actually from my neighbor's yard. Roses depress me. I have a couple and they don't really take that much work, you just have to stay on top of things and as Kathy will tell you, I tend to get sidetracked and then my roses get black spot and powdery mildew and aphids, sigh.

Ok, technically this isn't a bloom. Actually, non-technically this isn't a bloom. No matter what I say, this is a leaf. But this is new growth on my ti plant and I just love the color show!

Ok, May is almost over (May is almost over? Where did May go?) and so here is the checklist for June (June already? No, it can't be June already! Where did May go? { Sorry, just a little denial there. It isn't just a river in Egypt you know.})

June
Vigorous, unwanted limbs should be removed or shortened
on new trees. Watch for forks in the main trunk and
remove the least desirable leader as soon as it is noticed.
Remain alert for insect damage. Add spider mites to the
list. Foliage of most plants becomes pale and speckled;
juniper foliage turns a pale yellowish color. Shake a
branch over white paper and watch for tiny specks that
crawl. Watch for 1st generation fall webworm. Pine needle disease treatments are needed again in mid-
June.
Cultivate and mulch. Mulching will reduce about 70 percent
of the summer yard maintenance.
Fertilize warm season grasses as per April instructions.
Dollar spot disease of lawns can first become visible in
mid-May. Make certain fertilizer applications have been
adequate before applying a fungicide.
Seeding of warm-season grasses should be completed
by the end of June to reduce winter kill losses.
Brown patch disease of cool-season grasses can be a
problem.
Meet water requirements of turf.
Post-emergent control of crabgrass and summer annual
grasses is best performed on young crabgrass plants.
Continue to water deeply as needed. Apply at least one
inch of water each time.
Softwood cuttings from new growth of many shrubs will
root if propagated in a moist shady spot.

Separated at birth? You decide!

Well, for those that don't know, these are my two youngest and their two youngest (well, technically, Maddox is Jill's only, so far, so he is also her oldest). These shots really have nothing to do with my post today, I just liked them and unfortunately what Emily says is true, you start to take pictures that you just know you are going to use for blog fodder. It is so sad, I'm starting to feel like everything in my life is just for my blog. Unfortunately, I have a boring life!

Back from the lake and napped out. We just went down to Murray for one day, well, ok, a few hours. By the time we got there Jill was Maddoxed out and the wind was blowing like crazy so I took one ride on the boat and Kathy didn't even want to do that, and we ate lunch and grabbed Maddox and headed home. Of course, while we were there I did get some pictures.
Naturally, with our timing Maddox had just gone down for a nap when we arrived. You have to give the kid credit, he slept for about an hour and a half with eight adults and two other kids running around plus all the other visitors to the camp site. This was his first camping trip, and if his mother has her way, maybe his last.
Our son Keith, the only person I know that flies 800 and something miles to go to the lake with his sister and nephew. He flew in from St Louis on Friday and flew out this afternoon.
Yeah, Maddox is just hiding his face in embarrassment because his daddy has on one of those tacky "Other" University t-shirts.

Cheesy smiles and amazingly enough, no bloodshed even though they had been together for almost 45 minutes! Actually, they get along pretty well, they just gang up on everyone else.

Anyway, we left the lake and took Maddox home with us and spoiled him rotten. He is so sure that he is going to get his way, he doesn't even cry at us. Wrapped around his finger and he knows it. Though his Nana did say no to him when he tried to climb the stairs. The "N" word really hurts his feelings, he has to bury his face in his Papi's shoulder for at least 30 or 45 seconds before he is wanting down to try again for the stairs.

We kept him Saturday night and then Sunday afternoon took him to his other grandmother's. The whole plan is so nobody gets too tired. I thought that was a laugh until we came home from dropping him off and took a FOUR-HOUR-NAP!!! To think I used to take care of three of them with no problem. Now I can't take care of one with out help. I am old. God in his infinite wisdom made sure that my children were all grown before I was too tired and senile to take care of them.

Today is Memorial Day. We need to remember that the men who died for us, did it not so we could do anything we wanted but so that we could do everything we ought.

Wayne

Thanks to everyone who has been praying for my mom and all your kind words and thoughts. She is still up at the hospital and getting more antsy every day to come home. Fortunately, the doctor doesn't want to send her home until he figures out what is wrong with her. Which amazes me, since she has always been able to con her doctor into sending her home so she could "recuperate". Anyway, she won't be going home tomorrow which is a good thing since my sister and I are cleaning her house up and we're slow!

Other than mom and house cleaning there isn't much else to report. Things are pretty slow and the weather is hot and dry. It seems like about the time I finish getting the gardens watered the plants I started on are drooping. For everyone who thought I was crazy when I labeled the purple flower a balloon flower a few days ago (they didn't look much like balloons). Here is a picture of what they look like before they open.

See, it makes a little more sense now, doesn't it?

Well, the plan is that we're going to go to the lake one day this weekend (whenever Kathy tells me to) and spend the day with Jill and Jeff and Maddox and then bring Maddox home with us and keep him overnight. Then when we're too tired to take care of him we'll take him over to his other grandparents house and they'll keep him for awhile. I'll be taking the camera with me but you can bet I won't let Maddox play with it around open water!

Love one another.

Wayne

Wow, what a weekend.

Yesterday Kathy and I cleaned the windows in the sitting room and our bedroom, did you know that tree leaves are actually green and not reddish-brown? First you have to climb out onto the porch roof and take down all the storm windows and take out the glass and clean it and clean the windows themselves and clean the frames of the storm windows and put the storm windows all back on. And it really helps if you don't drop the paper towels because they unroll all the way down! Trust me on this one.

After we cleaned we went out to a new restaurant that Jim told me about. Cheeseburger in Paradise, yes like the Jimmy Buffett song. The food was excellent and the service was great, the only complaint I have is that between the two guys they had playing live music and the sound system that they had while they took breaks I only heard two Buffett songs. Luckily neither one of them was Marguaritaville so I didn't have to immolate myself. Unfortunately neither of them was Pencil Thin Mustache, how disappointing!

So all together Saturday was productive and still rather relaxing. But then came Saturday night, well technically it was Sunday morning. At about one in the morning my mom called and told us (well, Kathy since it usually takes a lot more than a ringing phone to wake me up at one in the morning) that she had been throwing up since about 6:30 Saturday night and she wasn't getting any better and maybe she needed to go to the hospital. So it's out of bed and over to her house and call the ambulance and they load her up and take her off. First I have to tell everyone about how impressive the Village Fire Department is. I don't know how many times we've had to call 911 from mom's house, but every time the fire department has been first on the scene, calm and calming, tender and gentle with my mom. Last night was no exception, they are wonderful guys! Anyway, so then the ambulance came and did all the stuff and loaded her up and ran her into Baptist. Just before the ambulance left I called my sister and listened to her yell at me for a few seconds about that she didn't have the kids and why wasn't she called first, but after a while she calmed down and we all went to the ER for a few hours. After getting some stuff for nausea in her and rehydrating her by IV they sent her up to a room and we finally dragged ourselves out at about 5:30. Fun way to spend the best sleeping hours, I tell you! Mom is doing OK, they still don't know exactly what's wrong, but she is comfortable and able to keep some food and liquids down. Of course, if you want to know what's wrong, you don't go in on a Sunday when the labs are at skeleton staff. Tomorrow they'll run all the tests they can think of and maybe, maybe find out what is the matter. On the other hand, we've taken her to the hospital before when they've had her for a couple of weeks and can't figure out the problem and they send her home cause she just got better, so we'll see.

Anyway, we came home and got a little sleep and Jill called and wanted to know if we wanted to go to the lake for Maddox's first time and Kathy said no. We probably should have. Jill told us later that they were on the boat and Jeff was holding Maddox and Jill was taking pictures and Maddox was enjoying himself and then when Jill took Maddox and put the camera down, Maddox picked up the camera and tossed it over the side. The good news is that they just downloaded all the pics they had in it last week, the bad news is of course now you've gotta get a new camera, and then the good news is that now you have an excuse to get a new camera and you have a little better idea of what you want.

So basically, that was my weekend. I do wish we could have gone to church, but neither one of us could have stayed awake no matter how dynamic the preacher was, especially me. Mom is doing ok, my sister is sick at home so she didn't get to go see mom this afternoon but I did and took her some stuff she needed. Kathy and I got our Sunday naps twice, morning and afternoon. And Maddox is practicing for the Majors with all the wrong stuff!

Love someone today.

Wayne

Friday at long last.

Well, here I am again. Notice Susan, two days in a row. It really isn't fair. Apparently Susan is back on the steroids so she has enough energy to stay awake so she's checking my blog every three minutes to see if I've posted. You know, the only thing that makes Susan testier than not knitting is people who don't post on their blogs.

Speaking of knitting, Kathy and a bunch of other knitters are going over to Susan's tonight for a knit-fest. I was invited but being in a room full women with sharp pointy sticks is rather unnerving. I think the better plan is that Jim and I are going out to dinner and then spend a couple hours on the porch. That way, neither of us are going to threatened or teased by the knitters. We will be talked about I'm sure but if we can't hear it, it isn't happening. I learned that when I was a child along with the whole "they can't find you if you cover your eyes" thing. Actually, people seem surprised that I used to knit when I was in high school and college (well, the first time I was in college). What they don't realize is that when I was younger, much younger, I liked to get into fights. And let's face it, there is nothing that will get you into more fights, faster, in high school, than doing something that is not exactly normal. And also, if you're looking to get into fights, it doesn't hurt to have a couple of sharp pointy sticks to take into the fight. Of course you have to remember that I went to high school before half the student body was armed.

I don't know about the rest of y'all, but I have been trying to apply to OSU Stillwater lately, and I'm wondering if they have too many students so they're making it hard or if I'm just slow. You have to fill out a 7 or 8 page (on computer) application, even if you have been a student at OSU/OKC for years. They even wanted to know what my GPA in high school was. Ok, everybody that has been out of high school for at least ten years that remembers your GPA raise your hand..... Yeah I thought so. They have all kinds of (to me anyway) silly questions and it takes so long that I can only do a couple of pages a day before I get bored and get off. Oh, well, maybe I'll be finished before school starts. All right kiddies, here is a life lesson for you. Go to college before you're too old to fill out the application!

Well, I'm going to try to do a little more on the app and finish watering the gardens and dig up some more treelings out of the garden and pick up Kathy from work and get a shower before I go out to dinner with Jim. Oh, my, I'm tired just thinking about it. Maybe I'll just take a nap until dinner.

Be good to yourselves.

Wayne

Trying to get on Susan's good side!

"Matisse makes a drawing, then he makes a copy of it. He recopies it five times, ten times, always clarifying the line. He's convinced that the last, the most stripped down, is the best, the purest, the definitive one; and in fact, most of the time, it was the first. In drawing, nothing is better than the first attempt. ~ Pablo Picasso.

Well, this is probably going to be a short post. But I have to do it since Susan sent me a nasty e-mail because I haven't posted lately. As most of you know, she has been exhausted lately and has been napping instead of knitting and we all know how testy she gets when she can't knit! Actually, I did post on Sunday, but then when I tried to run spell check on it blogger ate my post. You'll just have to take my word for it, it was the most socially insightful, thoughtful and illuminating piece of liturature since James Joyce died. And probably made about as much sense too!

Anyway... Well, not much has really been happening. I have been busy but I'm not sure I could tell you what I did. Dang, I have a boring life. Seems like most of the stuff I've done is that stuff that takes up hours and hours to do and seconds and seconds to tell about. I guess I could explain all about the miniblinds I put up in the sitting room. Took me all Sunday afternoon and into the evening not including the time Kathy had to run back to Home Depot because I picked up 1 vanilla and 4 white. Well, I pulled the first one off the right stack. Really, I can tell you all about it. Riveting stuff, really.... No, really it is!

Ok, maybe not. I guess I better just talk about what I have in bloom. Sonner or later I'll have more color but for now this is what I've got.
This is my other clematis. It's a Lady somebody-or-other. I can hardly even remember hybrid names and Kathy hates having the labels around so I usually just love the plant and don't worry about getting another one. Actually, if I get multiples I tend not to have any other plants, it si a small lot after all. Almost everyone knows this one. The beautiful calla lily. According to all the books and labels and other gardeners, calla lilies won't grow in Oklahoma. Our winters are too severe. I've had these planted for about four years now and they come up every year, taller and thicker than ever. Just goes to prove that the plants don't read the plant books. This is a geranium, Yes it is! I have more problems with this one. It kind of just creeps along the ground and when it blooms it is covered with the small pinkish, red flowers and then everybody thinks that I don't know what I'm talking about because it is a geranium! The other plants that are called geraniums are pelargoniums. No relation I promise, yes I do know what I'm talking about! I do this for a living dadgummit! I've been to school for this stuff! It is too a geranium! Oh, never mind. Think what you want, I don't care. Bah Humbug! Ok, ok, I'm alright. Well, this is balloon flower. I'll be posting another picture of this one a little later. It kinda snuck up on me. They actually look cooler before they open but I missed this one as a ball. You'll see what I mean later on.
This is beardtongue. I love this plant, but I'm not sure why. The flower isn't big or flashy or exciting or long-lasting. The plant is just a plain green. Maybe it's because it always reminds me of the lilies of the field. God makes the bees and butterflies come to pollinate it and he brings it back year after year. And if He'll do that for this insignificant plant, what will he do for me?

Be good to yourself today. Remember that The Most Perfect God loves you, and who are you to say he made a mistake?

Wayne

Well, it is Wednesday already, how time flies when your having fun... or not having fun, for that matter. This evening and Thursday evening and Saturday, I'll be helping my son=in-law D'Artagnon put up a fence. More manual labor for the old man. I'm getting too old for this.

Last night was the last class for CADD, the second class starts June 5th. Don't know if I'll be able to take it yet but hopefully I will. It is a really interesting program and can cut my design time significantly. Of course I need to find someone to give me a job in it because the bloody thing costs almost $4000. Who's got that kind of money lying around, and if you do, could you lend me the 4 grand to get the program? Yeah, I thought so.

Well, I've decided that I need to find more blogs to read. All the ones I normally read are posting less than I do, come on y'all, get busy! Things to do people to see. I'm going to close this out now. If I can lift my arms above my waist tomorrow I'll post more.

Wayne

Cat Cheesecake for Susan

Not having animals myself, sometimes I feel left out by all the animal pics flying back and forth. So when I got these from Alison I decided I would put them up just for Susan and all the others out there who can't go a day without cat pictures.

This is my ex-wife's cat. Pictures are courtesy of my daughter Alison (for some reason, my ex wouldn't let me borrow the cat for pictures).

Wayne

Home Again.

Happy Monday all. We made it back safely last night and immediately had to fall down for our regular Sunday afternoon nap. What the heck is it about Sunday that you have to take a nap?

We had a wonderful time in Ft Worth, at least I did and Kathy said she did. First of all, we got to see our daughter Alison,

which is always a treat. And a rare treat at that, since she lives in Ft Worth, is going to Seminary, this summer has accepted an internship at her home church in Honolulu that lasts from next week to two days before school starts again, and is always running around doing something. She makes me tired. We took her out to dinner and lunch a couple of times, something as a student she doesn't get to do often. And we all went out to the Ft Worth zoo and the Ft Worth Arboretum and Botanical Gardens. That's right, Ft Worth, I didn't even know that Ft Worth had an Arbotetum, much less that it was fabulous!

First on Friday night, while Alison was at a potluck dinner for the Hawaii Mission Group at the Seminary (which has nothing to do with her internship) Kathy and I went to a restaurant called Chipolte, apparently a francise outfit all over the Southwest except of course for Oklahoma. The menu is fairly limited, but what they make they do really well. Take my advice, get a burrito bowl. In the burrito itself they jam about three pounds of stuff and looking around the restaurant I couldn't see anybody that could eat it neatly. I didn't even try, I just tore mine apart. After dinner we went back to Alison's apartment and all of us stayed up and taked til after midnight. Neither Alison nor I particularly like the phone, so we end up having too much to say when we do see each other.

On Saturday morning we got up and Alison fixed us breakfast and we all packed up and went to the zoo. the zoo in Ft Worth is pretty nice but doesn't really measure up to the hype. It is small but they have the exhibits wider rather than deeper so you can see the animals well. I'm not sure the animals are all that happy about it though. Once again I have decided that evolution didn't make sense,

although I can see some family resemblence, I think this fellow seems much more cheerful than I. Do you ever think that if we could communicate with the animals that they would be offended that some people thought we were descended from them?

After we left the zoo, we went to lunch at Red, White and Blues Barbeque. A Memphis style barbeque place in the middle of cowtown. What were they thinking? Apparently this is why I'm not a restauranteur. They were making a fortune. The food was great and the service was quick and friendly. I wouldn't think that they could make it but the place was packed.

After lunch we went to the gardens. Finally, the fun stuff! Well, fun for me anyway. Kathy's knees gave out before we got to the Japanese garden and I think Alison was just humoring me. But I had a great time. I may have been the only one because when I suggested we go back the next day and see the rose gardens and perennial garden the response was underwhelming.

In the conservatory they have some of the most beautiful and well kept plants I've ever seen. And the signage was fantastic (isn't it sad how excited I get over signs?). In a lot of the public gardens the plants are mismarked or the signs are missing or out of date, but they really kept up. Sounds silly, I know, but it is really helpful from an educational standpoint, after all, most people want to know what a plant is but doesn't want to spend years taking ID courses and buying hundreds of dollars in referance books. Everything at the gardens was wonderful, I was a little diappointed in the fragrance garden. There wasn't anything in bloom and most of the plants were scented flowerers not scented foliage plants. But other than that it was an exciting and magical place.

Signage.... It's not just for plant names anymore!

Thanks to everyone who kept us in their thoughts and prayers over the weekend.

Wayne

Electronics are taking over my life!

I am such a fibber! I told you guys that last Wednesday was going to be my last post til I got back, but then I finished getting ready to leave and got bored with all the other stuff I need to do, so here I am again.

I was packing for my trip and realized that I have too much stuff! I'm only going to be gone about 48 hours and am taking four, that's right four, charging cords. Well, I *have* to take the cord for the new camera because I don't really know how long the charge lasts on the thing. And then I *need* the cord to charge the MP3 player because, after all, there's about six thousand miles from here and Fort Worth that have no people or towns or radio stations or anything sowhile I'm driving I'll need my music both ways. And after all, if my cell phone goes out, how will I know who's calls I'm ignoring? So there I have to bring the charger for both the house and the car. You know, when I moved out of my parents house I fit everything I owned in the trunk and back seat of a '69 mustang. Now I go away for a weekend and can barely cram all my stuff in a cavalier. I've turned into a pack rat! Oh who am I kidding, I've always been a pack rat. But when I moved out of my parent's house it was all their stuff.

Well, Kathy went to see Maddox last night. No, I didn't get to go. I had class. And it was his real birthday! Anyway, here's what a one-year-old looks like.














I don't care what anybody says. He's cute! And he knows it!

Speaking of dour old men. You can see why there are very few pictures of me out there (no Susan, it isn't because the FBI is after me) but I'm thinking of using this one for the cover photo if I ever write a book. I think it has that indefinable quality that you can't decide whether it is utter wisdom or complete confusion.

For those who are more used to digital cameras than I am, and that is almost everybody, What should I set my pixels on? The thing defaults to 2816x2112 which seems a little excessive to me. I know that the more pixels the fewer shots but the bigger prints, but what is a happy medium? And should I even worry about it? After all, with the memory card the thing will hold 171 pictures. Will I ever take more than 171 pictures before I have a chance to download them somewhere? Probably not. But if I do print anything I probably won't print bigger than 4x6. But then I have my pictures as my screen saver and I really like when the whole screen is filled up. But then... oh well.

I'm going to close this off. There are some things I need to finish before I leave.

Be good to yourselves and someone else today. Pray for someone, hug someone, laugh with someone.

Wayne

Twice in one day? How could we be so lucky?

Yes, I know I said I wasn't going to post for a few days, but the camera that favorite daughter Laura (yes, sending me presents will elevate you to favored status) arrived. I didn't think it was going to get here until Thursday at the earliest and was afraid it wasn't going to get here until after I left, but it came!!!

So for Susan, who asked that I post some pictures of what is blooming in my yard here we go!

An iris. This is actually a much darker purple than the picture makes it look. Don't blame the flower or the camera blame the operator.

A jackmanie clamatis. This one I like.
A Japanese maple. Yes I know that it isn't technically in bloom. But the leaves are beautiful. Prettier than the picture certainly. Again, blame the operator.

A different Japanese maple. Very finely cut leaves. This one is kind of a dwarf ever since an elm tree fell on it. After having the entire top knocked out it put out several more branches all in a whorl and hasn't grown any taller.

Well, that's all for now. Maybe I'll be able to figure out the camera and get some better shots in Texas. Have a wonderful day.

Wayne

The Shadow Knows!

Have you ever had someone give you advice that they thought would help that was completely and utterly useless? A friend of mine was talking to me about my blog and he suggested that I start another one that was either all gardening or all rants and keep everything separate. Oh yeah, like I don't already have enough trouble keeping this thing up! All I need is to have another one of these things for Kathy to yell at me about. Maybe that's it. My friend doesn't really like me and he wants me to get in trouble! Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? (And Susan thought I would have a problem digging myself out of the title!)

Well, speaking of not keeping up, I probably won't be posting for a few days (I can hear it now, "So, what else is new!). I'm going down to Ft Worth for a couple of days to visit my daughter and go to the Arboretum and zoo. Hopefully the new camera that my other daughter is sending me will get here in time that I can take it with me and when I get back I will have cool pictures of all the travels. Or more likely, I'll have blurry somethings that everybody will be saying, "What the heck is that? Is that a hippopotamus?" (No, it is a self portrait, but thank you for boosting my ego.)

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago Emily did an A to Z list on her blog, and I was very impressed. So since I really had no idea on what to write today I thought I'd steal..... I mean, emulate her wonderful idea.


Accent: Pure Okie (you should here my Latin with an Okie twang)
Booze: Used to be vodka and pineapple juice (it sounds grosser than it is) or marguarita on the rocks, now it is usually a shiraz (yellowtail) or gertztraminer (yeah , the spell check is going to love that one!)
Chore I Hate: Cleaning the bathroom. Kathy would add weeding. I love to design and install, hate maintainance.
Dog or Cat: Used to have both, and when my youngest was a child, snakes, frogs, spiders, and she tried to take a bat home from Alabaster Caverns. Now I don't have a pet. But Kathy claims cleaning up after me is almost as good as having a dog.
Essential Electronics: MP3 Player. Of course I guess I have to keep the computer to load it, and once I get a digital camera that will probably take over my life too.
Favorite Cologne(s): Melaleuca made one called Mate, but they stopped. When it runs out I'll have to find a new one.
Gold or Silver: My wedding ring is silver, but I try not to wear it where it can get messed up. The only other jewelry I wear on a semi-regular basis is a steel nail cross that my daughters gave me years and years ago.
Hometown: Born in Oklahoma city. Dad was in church work so we moved all over the southern US. The bad part of that is that anytime I'm around someone from somewhere else I unconsciously pick up their accent and they think I'm making fun of them.
Insomnia: Goes in cycles. Lately, yes.
Job Title: Landscape Designer/Student/Gardener.
Kids: Two sons, four daughters, four grandsons, four granddaughters.
Living arrangements: Wife.
Most admirable trait: Funny
Least admirable trait (added): Sarcasm
Number of sexual partners: Nobody's business!
Overnight hospital stays: One, almost thirty years ago. I hate hospitals!
Phobias: Ants, high places
Quote: Nature is a green mother!
Religion: Raised Southern Baptist, now more or less Bapticostal
Siblings: Older brother, older sister, we're all adopted, so I don't know if I have any blood kin out there or not.
Time I wake up: Around 6:30 am
Unusual talent or skill: I don't think I have any. Kathy claims I know a little bit about everything but not enough to be useful.
Vegetable I refuse to eat: Brussel sprouts. Let the baby cabbages grow up for goodness sakes!Worst habit: Procrastination. And forgetting what the heck I'm supposed to be doing, a side effect of the ADD. Making lists helps.
X-rays: Oh Lord, everything. I did martial arts when I was younger and stupider and have had so many x-rays I'm surprised my kids don't glow in the dark.
Yummy foods I make: People rave about my walnut pie.
Zodiac sign: I'm a non-believing aquarius.

Well, hope y'all learned something. Probably not.

Be good to your inner child this week. Buy him a balloon.

Wayne

Monday Again???

I'm not sure how this works. Why is it that every day I get up and it seems to be Monday again? Surely I'm not missing the rest of the week? What happened to Wednesday? Usually a nice slow day but I can't remember it! Oh well, Maybe I'll take notes next Wednesday so I can figure out what the heck happened.

Last Saturday was Maddox's (otherwise known as grandchild number 7) birthday. Thousands and thousands showed up to celebrate. Well, maybe it just seemed like that many. Jill came earlier in the week and cleaned the house (probably should have made her come after instead of before) and Jeff grilled hamburgers and hotdogs. Luckily the rain had stopped by the time he started so neither he nor the food drowned. Everybody ate and talked and had a wonderful time (at least I hope so) and Maddox made out like a bandit. They gave Maddox his own little cake and now their is chocolate icing on the ceiling, the walls, the floor, the dog.... Wait, we don't have a dog, where the heck did he come from? Never mind, hallucination from chocolate overdose. Susan and her husband were there and she suggested I might have pics on my blog. Sorry, no. What I probably should have done is confiscate everyone's cameras until I downloaded all the shots. But by the time I thought of that everybody was gone. The good news is that our daughter Laura is sending me a camera so from now on I won't have to complain that no one has sent me pics, I'll just have to complain that I went senile and forgot to take the camera somewhere. I probably won't have any more photos on the blog, I'll just have to come up with more inventive excuses as to why they aren't there.

Well, other than that I haven't had any excitement. It is kinda sad, ain't it? The only excitement I've had was a One-year-old's birthday party. Well, besides that I finished Susan's third article, so here it is:


Landscaping Design for Vintage Homes, Romantic Style
As a landscaper and gardener, I think all gardens are romantic, but there is a separate style called romantic. It is characterized by using plants and materials that engage all five senses and embraces privacy. It is by far my favorite style to design and install, but it is also the style that takes longest in time and money to really mature.
Sight: As in any garden the first sense that is drawn in is sight. Using colors and textures the palette is of pastels, blues, purples and greens. Red is used as an accent, not a principal, color and whites are used to blend the colors in a harmonious body.
Smell: Most gardens incorporate scents in gardens, (after all, what are roses for?) but the romantic garden brings scented plants to the forefront. Sweet flowers, leaves that release their scents when brushed against, herbs that are bruised underfoot, all are used in the romantic garden.
Sound: Birds singing, the fountain bubbling, the breeze whispering through the leaves. All are used to great effect in the romantic style.
Touch: Use soft foliage, tender petals, and allow seating close to the water to dip your fingers into.
Taste: Yes, taste! Fruit trees and bushes, edible flowers, honeysuckle (the only style I even suggest this in) sweet herbs that you can break off a leaf and chew. This style is the one to use both plantings and containers to incorporate all your favorite tastes.
Privacy: Outdoor walls, hedges and screens, these are the reason that the romantic garden takes so long to mature. Plant the shrubs tight and use annual vines to cover until the perennial vines and shrubs grow tall. Place a sitting area blocked on all sides from view, close to the water and surrounded with all your favorite scents.
Now just find someone to share your Eden with.

Have a good day, find someone and make their life an Eden.

Wayne