Hallooo!

[Regina]

'Cause I totally like fell off the face of the earth, right? :cheesy:

Well, actually, not so much. About every evening I keep thinking I'm going to get back here for a few and then I don't. Well this evening I finally did!

Okay, so what have I been doing for the past couple of months? Mainly lots and LOTS of yard work! And knocking a few things off the list of family-related stuff that has needed my attention forever.

I'm not going to talk about the family stuff because that's pretty dull. About the yard, though. I've lived on this property in various spots for almost twenty-eight years now and with other things that were more important like growing food instead of flowers when the kids were little and not enough water, plus thirteen years of health problems I've never had a yard. I've put up with dirt, tumbleweeds, kosha weeds, and cheatgrass forever. For the past roughly seven years hubby told me he would put in a small yard for me in front of the house. He never did, though. He's like that. Well, we're both kind of like that actually. He'll get caught up in his own little projects like making his own personal mini forest and planting rows of junipers and patches of alfalfa and even doing a bit of vegetable gardening and gets so lost in what he's doing he forgets everything else. Also, he's the kind of guy who usually needs a bit of a kick in the pants before he can really get going on something.

Anyway, I noticed last summer I felt a lot better than I had for a long time and still felt pretty decent through the winter. I wasn't sure if it was a fluke or not (I've had times like that before so nothing would surprise me) but about mid-May I was looking outside and remembered that for absolutely years on end there was one thing I wanted to do on our place but I could never afford what it would take. There was about a forty-foot length along the driveway where I wanted to plant a huge row of mixed bearded irises. When I first got the idea was about twenty years ago. At that time it would have cost a couple hundred dollars to buy all the plants I needed. I decided to check on eBay and see if anyone had any for sale, because you can get just about anything there. Sure enough, there were plenty of listings with the rhizomes anywhere from $1 to $3 each. Score! So, I bought enough irises to do the forty-foot length. As soon as they started arriving I started planting. Somewhere along the way I ended up double ordering a batch of them, then one person sent me twenty instead of ten. So my iris project ended up being sixty feet instead of forty.

The weather was absolutely awesome, like temperatures were rarely going above 85F here while the rest of the country was baking, so I decided to get while the getting was good. I started looking at what I had in place which was mainly one of those really old rose bushes that can get huge in the center of one side of the front of the house. I had put in a few fall bulbs about three years ago but one dog we had put that to ruination because she was constantly digging and laying in it to get cool in the summer. She no longer lives with us so I decided to try to at least plant annuals, if nothing else, in it. I fixed it all up with a rock border and bought some plants. While I was at the store I found a bag of gladiola corms being sold by a local grower for $5 for 25 of them. Well, with the flowers I bought and those there were too many plants for that small of space. I quickly put in a small bed on the other side of the porch. Okay, so it wasn't so quickly--it takes me about four times as long to do this stuff as it should. Yes, I'm a wimp.

One day one of my sisters-in-law came over to pick up some tomato plants and she had been thinning her daylilies so asked me if I could use a couple. I told her sure! I LOVE daylilies! She said she also had a bunch of hen and chicks so she'd throw some of those in too. Woot!

Anyway, I ended up at a big store nursery because I wanted some moss rose and couldn't find any elsewhere and discovered a flat of sedum, one of my favorite things to poke into bare spots.

So, to spare you all the details, one thing led to another and between forty-umpteen trips to nurseries and home improvement stores I ended up planting salvias, pincushion flowers, sedums, pussy toes, carnations, trumpet vine, snap dragons, moss rose, and peonies and some other stuff I'm not recalling right now. Oh, I almost forgot the roses! One store had Happy Chappy roses on sale so I bought two of them. They don't get tall, only about two feet, and spread about four feet wide. They put on pink and orange single flowers at the same time. I also found a pink bush-type rose with a larger single flower for $1 to start a row of big rose bushes behind where the iris are planted. There are flower beds the entire length of the house now, and most of the plants are of the types that will thrive in a desert with very little water. Years back trying to find that stuff in the local nurseries was next to impossible. We live in a desert, for crying out loud, but you wouldn't know it by what people around here grow in their yards.

One weekend we worked on the lawn area proper and hubby borrowed his brother's tractor and hauled several loads of compost and smoothed it out best he could with the bucket. I raked out the rest until there's about two inches of compost all over where the yard goes. There won't be a lot of grass growing in the yard because of the detriment grass causes to eco-systems. Some grass will grow there, no doubt, but it will be the type that grows here where a bit of water hits it. Otherwise my yard will likely consist of mainly dandelions, buttonweeds, and a few other choice weeds that love it here but aren't completely invasive and don't leave stickers and pokies everywhere (my word, the goatheads this year have been horrendous). You know, I've never understood why people hate dandelions and buttonweeds so much. Both of them are absolutely great for the soil, in that they grow really long roots, breaking it up way down below. Plus, they pull nutrients that aren't normally available from way down deep and deposit that on the ground when the leaves decay. AND they're perfectly edible, although I'm not keen on the taste of dandelions. We actually use quite a number of our weeds as salad greens.

The really nice weather held up almost until last week. Since then it's turned off hot (normal for this time of year) and everything around us in three directions is on fire for hundreds of miles from lightning storms. I went out this evening to pull some unwanted weeds out of my yard and couldn't see past the nearest hills. It's just awful.

I haven't been spending much time on the computer doing anything constructive. I got some new RAM a few weeks back and I think I'm having a problem with it because my computer keeps spontaneously shutting off. I did an internet search and found that's most likely the cause so I need to get that figured out.

I really haven't started on the mess of my house. Hubby's been working on finishing a storage shed so we both decided I should take advantage of the nice weather as long as possible. Of course now the nice weather is a thing of the past for a while and he's all but finished with the building so it's time to start digging in and see if I can get this mess reined in. I'd much rather just spend all my time outside.

Likely as not, once I get the RAM thing sorted out with my computer I'll get back to working on my world. Being able to work outside thing spring, though, has been an absolute treat. My goodness, I didn't realize just how much I missed it!

[Sookielee]

I am so glad and so happy for you Regina. I can just imagine how wonderful it feels to look out the front windows with all the beautiful flowers. All that hard work will give you years of joy and smiles. Good luck tackling the inside and getting the RAM issue strait.

Glad to see you here.

[tontrin]

I'm really glad also to hear you've been enjoying that; it's been a long time, but it reminds me that my yard needs a ton of work right now, and things have been so hectic, I am just hoping to get to it.

There's also been a huge fire close to our place and the last three mornings we were "fogged" in with smoke, but this morning it was clearer. However, after days of it, it makes a person a bit miserable from breathing it; my throat is rather raw. Oh well, it looked this morning like they're on the upside of it anyway.

It's time to get back to work, so, I'll have to cut this short, but I'm looking forward to seeing what you've done in the yard, Regina.

[Ghost]

* Ghost hugs Regina

Your flowers sound absolutely wonderful! And I love the yard. :) I've always loved dandelions. I had been told that if you can blow all the seeds off a dandelion in a single breath while making a wish, your wish will come true. So once I found out that most people don't want them growing in their yard, my wish was usually that there would always be a world filled with dandelions and lots of people who love them. I'm glad that my wish seems to be working.


(Please may we see some pictures of your flowers?)

[Judy Sims]

Welcome back, Regina. We sure have missed you.:D I love to garden, too, althought my body is really resenting it now. I worked in the yard today and usually do every Saturday with the hubby. I love flowers and a pretty yard. You shound like you are really working hard. It will take a while, but it will pay off. It has taken my garden about ten years to mature, but it is really looking great now. Requires lots of work though, but I asked for it, so can't complain. When I look out my window and see how pretty my yard looks out back, it was worth it. Anyway, hope you can visit more often. Have a good time digging in the dirt. It is very theraputic. :D

[Regina]

I finally made it back!

On the computer front it turned out not to be my RAM. We put the old back in and the problem persisted. My first instinct was the power supply but it made sense to test the RAM first so I only just got around to ordering a new power supply and it came this evening. We haven't replaced it yet, I'll probably have my son and daughter do that in the morning since they like to play with that kind of thing. They can do that while I pick the green beans. This will be the second picking so maybe there'll be more than a meal's worth. It'd be great to have enough for a huge pan of ham and green beans! We've been eating tomatoes from the garden for a couple of weeks now. First off, of course, are the Stupice. They're a small salad type, rather sweet, prolific and produce well just about anywhere. We've also been getting a few Super Sioux. I discovered that the seed that was supposed to be Amish paste weren't and the tomatoes, other than at least they are paste tomatoes and are actually setting fruit well are nothing like Amish paste, neither in looks nor in flavor. Talk about a disappointment! I'm VERY happy with the production rate, though, because we planted them on Memorial Day so that's not even two months. :D

Sookielee, thank you! It's not all beautiful yet, but it will be--I think. I did plant some annuals (snap dragons and moss rose) which are blooming their little heads off but perennials always take longer. Some will bloom all summer but most have a specific bloom time so if nothing else there's usually some pretty greenery during the off times. I wanted mixed moss rose but couldn't find them so ended up with a dark pink and an orange color. The snap dragons are mixed, though, most had multiple plants in one section of the pack so I just planted them that way. At the very least it's a riot of colors.

Ghost, that is a great wish! People need to learn to appreciate dandelions. Sure, they get into everything. Yes, they can be difficult to remove from where they're not wanted. Dog-gone it, though, they saved the Irish during the potato famine and they DO have such pretty flowers. I've also seen them blooming here into December when we have a really mild winter. Speaking of mild winters, I discovered the other day the zone map has been upgraded again. We're now in Zone 7 instead of Zone 6. I definitely won't be digging up the gladiola this fall, they can stay where they are. Typing of glads, here's a funny and true story.

A long time ago we had a different house here. This was the one that ended up going back after hubby lost his job. I put large flower beds in front of the house facing south. I planted gladiola corms and of course dug them up in the fall because they'll freeze to death. There were a bunch of teeny corms that I didn't bother with, figured they'd die over the winter, no problem. That winter we had a super cold spell, got down to -20 during the daytime, colder at night. The next spring I was out working in the flower bed when what did I see but gladiola leaves coming up out of the ground! I'll probably throw some straw over these because they're on the east side of the house and are in the shade part of the day but I'm sure they'll be good right where they are.

Yeah, I want to take some pictures, just haven't got to it yet. Some things are still quite a mess and I haven't been able to put the shrubs I need on the north side yet because there's a juniper tree in my way. (Yet another juniper adventure by hubby.) That tree has some nice size on it so I'm hoping we can save it but we have to get behind it to get it out and that's where the row of shrubs needs to go. The front yard is still mostly brown because I didn't put water on it as early as I would have liked. I was so busy trampling all over it I decided to wait on that. When I did start to water I sprinkled some purslane seed about and some of that's coming in quite nicely. Oh yes, yet another weed that will find a permanent home in my "yard" if it wants it. That stuff is awesome. It can't take a lot of foot traffic but it sure is good in salad! Come to think of it, just about everything growing in that yard is edible in one form or another. I've also been poking in thyme plants here and there. I've ended up with quite a variety. They can all handle fairly dry, some more than others, and at least one variety holds up really well to being walked on. Mostly kosha has wanted to take over the area so I've pulled a lot of that and now some better weeds and grasses are starting to grow. There's also a low-growing weed that spreads in a wide circle and the more water it gets the more rambunctious it gets. I have no idea what it's called and can't find it anywhere online. I don't think it's considered invasive but I do need to find out because I pretty much let it grow wherever. With enough water it'll start growing upright but it mows easily enough.

Judy, it is SO worth it! Yes, it's back-breaking, muscle-aching stuff and I really wasn't sure if I'd ever again get past all the aches and pains. I don't think I'd really even noticed until this evening but I'm not hurting nearly as badly as I was when I started. Of course I can't work for a whole day out there right now, either, since it's so hot so that could have a lot to do with the lack of pain. And yes, digging in the soil IS very therapeutic. I get into a garden and the whole world and its troubles just fade away into nothingness.

Tonya, just do it! On your next day off get up and blow everything off and go outside for an hour. Of course you probably won't be able to stop after an hour because you'll keep seeing things that need done. That's the problem with me and being outside. I love it out there and for some reason the work always feels so much more rewarding than inside work, and I can take breaks and look at it and plan what to do and remember it long enough to actually get it done eventually.

We did finally get away from having so many fires. I noticed none of our fires even made the national news, never mind over 400 square miles got burned off in one of them. We had multiple fires burning on three sides and every day I'd look at the news and see where three new ones had started the night before. It's been super dry this year. Normally we get quite a bit of humidity during July, enough so that watering most things once a week is ample. This isn't because of rain, because we don't get any of that to speak of during the summer, but the humidity tends to keep moisture in the ground. It's been so dry we're watering a lot of things two and three times a week. It's so dry we can easily run the swamp cooler around the clock and get up in the morning to a reasonably dry carpet. Usually our feet are sticking to it and we have to resort to running the central air for a day or so just to get things dried out. This weather has definitely been testing my plant choosing abilities. The flowers that were planted earliest are established enough now that I'm only watering them about even ten days so I think I'm on the right track with the landscaping.

One day I had gone into town to hit a nursery clearance sale. We had a bunch of gift cards with left-over balances on them for this particular store so hubby told me to take them and see what I could find. I was looking for anything useful when I noticed the air was getting really hazy. It seemed really strange to have that much smoke right there since all the fires were miles and miles away. Before long I could smell the smoke and was having trouble breathing. Come to find out, someone had apparently set three fields across the way on fire. I declare, by the time I got out of there I was absolutely sick and only a few days ago started feeling normal again. I did clean up on plants, though! I got bunches of desert-worthy plants and while a few of them look a little ragged most of them have been holding up really well.

And yes, I HAVE got started on the house! *YAY!* It's going to be slow going but I did get all of my sister's towels and bedding sorted through and some put into storage on the off chance she can ever live on her own again. I couldn't believe how many towels and such she had. I declare! I bought her a HUGE set when she moved, gave her eight of everything, and after she moved she bought more! Pretty much everything was like that with her, though. If six or eight were good, two dozen were better. I also got one pain in the rear corner area cleaned up today. Yeah, slow going but it'll get done--eventually.

I've got to get to meandering. Tomorrow is going to be a full day.

[Sookielee]

I am so happy for you Regina, you sound so relaxed. It is really a joy. Sound like you landscaping endeavors are paying off and next year you will be dancing the jig when you see how beautiful that yard is. I so know what you mean about the "inside work", but seems as though you are at least getting things started and that is always a good thing. I am sure that after the fall harvest you will have more time and energy to tackle more of the things inside.

I am so glad you stopped in, it is so nice to hear from you. If you ever have a few free minutes, give me a call. Hugs!

[Ghost]

It's really good to hear from you again, and I'm glad you are having such good luck with your plants.

[Judy Sims]

Hello there, Regina. I so loved reading all about your planting and yard. You sound like you are having a blast getting some prolonged projects out of the way. Have fun.:wub:

[Regina]

Okey-doke, so here I am again! I thought I'd drop 'round and maybe post around a bit.

I hope you are all doing well! I'm trying to remember everything I've had going on this fall and into the winter. I was busy for quite a while getting tomatoes put up. We didn't have as many this year as last but I didn't mind considering I still had gallons and gallons in the freezer from 2011. I finally got those cooked and into jars too. Somehow I managed to amass over 100 bulbs that had to go into the ground before winter. My son and I finally got those planted in early November just right after the wind started howling like crazy and the temperature dropped like a rock. I wanted to do that in October but was too busy with paper work and tomato canning.

Oh, and I don't know if anyone here cans but I tried some reusable canning lids this year and am completely hooked on them! The brand I bought is Tattler. They come with a plastic lid and a rubber ring, all of which are reusable. You use your metal bands with them and they do take a little getting used to but I can't believe how well they work. I was getting so tired of metal lids ever since Ball bought Kerr because now the Kerr brand lids are made like Ball lids used to be which were garbage then and they're still garbage now. Those lids do good to stay sealed through the winter, forget lasting a couple of years.

Then we had Thanksgiving and since then my time has been split between mainly cleaning, being tired, and taking care of family stuff. For the first time in ages it snowed on Christmas day! Well, it was actually evening, but it snowed! That was kind of a bummer because we weren't actually having Christmas that day but by the next week when we did the snow was still here and we had a little bit more. And you know what? The snow is STILL here! It's been freeze-your-butt-off weather, highs often not getting above about 12F but aside from suffering from some cabin fever I'm so thankful for it. We haven't had a real winter in close to twenty years and this last summer the insect populations were just out of control.

Last week's project was sorting and reorganizing all my Christmas junk. I was trying to find stuff I could get rid of and did find a few things to toss but toward the end realized somewhere a whole box has gone missing. I also started collecting for a whole new color theme because I found some stuff on clearance when I went to the craft store after Christmas. I already have something like eight totes of Christmas stuff and keep kicking myself for picking up more. This is why I've avoided after-Christmas clearance sales for years. Do any of you remember growing up with the same Christmas ornaments year after year after year? That's how my mom did it until sometime in the seventies when she bought a used metal tree and a bunch of bulbs and a color wheel from a friend. Eventually she went back to using a real tree and the same old ornaments with the new ones mixed in AND the color wheel. There was none of this, "Oh my gosh, I've got to have a woodland theme, and blue and silver stuff for the dining room, and the glass balls and the whole set of mouse ornaments and my angel tree and...and...and.... What is wrong with me anyway?

By now three of the center rooms of the house are clean enough to start on the end rooms. I declare, I can't even move anything in those rooms without sending myself into a sneezing and coughing fit. My room is next then my son's room. Maybe after we're done we'll be able to get a decent night's sleep, me because my sinuses won't be so stuffy and him because he needs a new mattress.

We also have a lot of fix-it projects this year. This cold winter has driven home just how bad our windows are. Almost all of them need replaced. The goofy things are about five feet long and four feet wide and I want to go with shorter and maybe narrower. Windows that long look great in an empty house but are not so great when it comes to furniture arrangement. Our house doesn't have a lot of walls anyway which is a big pain in the rear, then to have the few it does with windows nearly to the floor is even worse. I'm also wanting to paint--it needs it and I'm way beyond tired of stark white walls. I don't think the household budget can afford my ambitions so I have to come up with a way to supplement. Maybe I can use some of my excess junk to help that along.

I spent weeks of my leisure time a couple of months ago setting up my SimCity 4 game with scads of custom plug-ins and am finally getting to enjoy that game a bit. I can't believe I've had it practically since it was new and have barely played it! I've also been playing a little bit of Minecraft with my son. I've been TRYING to not be so obsessive and compulsive with things and start spending time with some of my other interests. That's not as easy as it sounds, is it? Another thing I'm working on is not biting off more than I can chew. So many things I've wanted to do and still want to do but lately I've realized I don't have forever. (Geez, I hate when reality just smacks me in the face like that.) So I'm trying to better prioritize.

I'm going to stop this rambling nonsense because there is one thing I've got to do before I leave here tonight.

[Dini60]

Welcome back Regina. Wow, you've been a busy lady.

[Judy Sims]

Welcome back, Regina. Wow! You make me tired just reading all you are doing.

[Sookielee]

I love that you seem to have made some headway with the house, sorry it added to your to-do list, but as you know such is life. Big Big Kudos to you for using the old to finance to the new. This is such a cool thing as you get satisfaction on so many levels. The little frugal monster in me is jumping for joy.

I so wished I lived closer to you, I swear I would raid the pantry in exchange for a couple of hours of hard labor.

[CD43]

Oh my gosh ... you've REALLY been busy ... and this little tid-bit is priceless ...

Quote:Oh, and I don't know if anyone here cans but I tried some reusable canning lids this year and am completely hooked on them! The brand I bought is Tattler. They come with a plastic lid and a rubber ring, all of which are reusable. You use your metal bands with them and they do take a little getting used to but I can't believe how well they work. I was getting so tired of metal lids ever since Ball bought Kerr because now the Kerr brand lids are made like Ball lids used to be which were garbage then and they're still garbage now. Those lids do good to stay sealed through the winter, forget lasting a couple of years.

I had starting playing around with "canning" a few years ago, and am needing to get back to it ... thank you so much for this helpful hint!!!

[Ghost]

* Ghost hugs Regina

You are reminding me more and more of my favorite aunt when I was growing up. It's really nice to see you back.