Lilacs and Iris

I have the most wonderful smell wafting around my house . . . Lilacs - the Iris don't have a fragrance. These pictures were taken yesterday, and there are many more flowers today. I will probably take a few more pictures if you can bear it!








These were taken for my room mate who moved right before all the blooms came out. There were tons of buds when he left two weeks ago, but he missed the blooms. I will send him a link to my blog so he can see them.

Hope every one is having a great Memorial Day and remembering why we celebrate it.

Hugs

Oh my . . .

My blogaversary was on May 13 and I missed it. I thought I'd make 100 posts before I hit a year - guess I don't have that much to say! Maybe I should quit talking to myself and save it all up for a post . . . I don't know how much of it you would understand since I really do ramble, talk to the animals, talk to the plants, etc., etc.

I thought I'd try one of those upside down hanging thingies for tomatoes. I didn't want to spend the money for the ones on TV, so I sort of made my own . . .



I hope it works - really don't see why not. You can just see the plant coming out the bottom of the milk jug, it is reaching for the sun and seems to be doing fine. It has been there for 2 days and is no worse for wear.

It was a bit tricky to insert the plants since I have them in those little peat pots that disintegrate with time. I cut a piece of fiberglass screen with a slit in it to go around the plant stems, then turned the jug upside down to pull the leaves through the hole in the jug. The screen keeps the soil from falling out and won't hurt the stems but will expand with growth. I then filled the jug with potting soil, and found a metal hanger to bend into shape so it would hang from one of the end rafters on the back porch. It's not pretty, but if it grows tomatoes, who cares!

I get lots of deer in my yard, but they won't come that close to the house, so I figure I'm safe.

Hot weather for us here over the weekend - in the mid to upper 80's. That's right after weeks of upper 50' and lower 60's and rain, so those of you that are in the 90's and 100's can laugh all you want over "my" version of hot! This week will be perfect in the mid to upper 70's.

I have 3 basic areas with grass and since my room mate moved I have to mow . . . Phew, I can only do one area at a time, and not very well at that. I did the two in the front over the weekend in the early mornings, and the backyard really needs it too, but it will have to wait a day or two - I'm not use to mowing and I hurt! My yard has different types of grass and some of it got to be about 12"+ tall!!! I won't let that happen again - it's too hard to push the mower through. You can even see a bit of the backyard Jungle in the picture above.....

I will leave you with wishes of perfect weather - your style!

Did you know . . . ?

I just read an email that I put in a folder for safekeeping - - - and as I was cleaning out all my emails, I thought that I would try it just for sh*ts and giggles.

First, here is the email:

Thought you may be interested in this email I received especially if you use dryer sheets in the dryer!

"The heating unit went out in my dryer. The repairman went in to the dryer and pulled out the lint screen / filter. It was clean. We always clean the lint from the filter after every load of clothes.

He told us that he wanted to show us something.

He took the filter over to the sink and ran hot water over it. Now, this
thing is like a mesh-I'm sure you know what your dryer's lint filter looks
like - WELL......the hot water just laid on top of the mesh!!! It didn't go
through it at all!!! He told us that dryer sheets cause a film over that
mesh and that's what burns out the heating unit. You can't SEE the film, but
it's there. He said the best way to keep your dryer working for a very long
time (and to keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out and
wash it with hot soapy water and an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least
every six months. He said that makes the life of the dryer at least twice as
long! How about that???!!!! Learn something new everyday!

I certainly didn't know dryer sheets would do that. So, thought I'd share!
Note: I went to dryer and tested my screen by running water on it.
The water collected a little but ran though the screen. I dried it off and
was ready to put it back in the dryer since the water ran through it but, I
thought was the heck it won't hurt to wash it while I had it out.

Warm soap water and a nylon brush and I had it done in 30 seconds. I then
ran the water over the screen and what a difference the water just gushed
through it with no puddling at all and this time I was running the water at
a faster rate. That repairman knew what he was talking about.

PLEASE, PASS THIS ON TO OTHER PEOPLE IN YOUR ADDRESS BOOK. NOT ONLY COULD IT SAVE
SOMEONE'S HOME, BUT IT COULD SAVE SOMEONE'S LIFE (Don't leave that dryer
running when you leave the house. Ask any firefighter!)"

Now I tried this, and yes, the water bubbled up and rolled around on the screen! I washes it, dried it and tried again. YUP, the water went straight through the screen! I'm no expert about dryer fires, but I will continue to do this in the future. I have never left my washer or dryer running when I leave the house . . . I'm not particularly fond of the idea of coming home to a flood in my kitchen when the water lines to the washer blow, nor am I thrilled thinking about coming home to my house in ashes along with my 2 cats and dog.

I'm not into scaring any one, but this really works. Go ahead and try it just for fun . . . you might find it is not so funny after all.

Hugs to all and stay safe

Happy Mother's Day and other tidbits . . .

I wish all women a Happy Mother's Day whether you have 2 or 4 legged kids. In fact I wish every woman a great day whether you have any children or not!

My daughter, in Texas, sent me flowers. They are a wonderful mix of colors and types. I'm just tickled pink. I called my Mom, in Denmark to wish her a great day. I called yesterday at 10 a.m. here my time which makes it 7 p.m. her time. She will now think about the call all day instead of waiting until evening today to get my call. The distance is 9 hours and I don't know exactly how many miles, so I have to gauge my calls accordingly.

Well, my room mate left Oregon yesterday for his trip down to Texas. I missed him as soon as he was out of sight! We've been room mates for a bit over 15 years! Can you believe that?!?!? We have had our ups and downs like anyone living in the same house, but he has been, and still is, my best friend
.


I started cleaning up his room yesterday, nothing major, just vacuuming dog and cat fur and spider webs that tend to grow no matter how much you clean, and washing the windows so I can see out a bit better. It now looks like there is no glass in the frames, but the room faces southeast and I want all the sun I can get in that room.

It will be slowly converted to a craft room, and I'm now getting anxious for that to happen, but will go slowly and not over do it since my arthritis and back problems will flare up putting me on the couch for a couple of days.



There are dark denim curtains in there as D wanted the sun to be kept at bay until at least 7 or 8. In the summer it comes up over the hills at around 5:30! I will change them out with some light green leaf print curtains. I might even be able to do that before I start the rest of the work . . . ripping out carpet, laying plywood over the press board sub floor that has gotten wet in the corner and is spongy even when dry. I will paint the floor and lay a large rug in there - I will paint the walls a light gray color - I'm in an old mobile so there is fake paneling and I hate it!!!



It will take some time to get all that done, but as I get it done, I will post pictures. The above pictures is the way it looks today. I will post them again with an after picture when that part is done.

As much as I want to tear into it all right NOW, I need to go slow!!!!

Wishing you again a Happy Mother's Day.