Storm Warning, Feels Like A Heavy Rain

As promised; the temperature dropped, the wind raked and the limb that has been trying to make its way to the ground for years, finally found success.

I shoved it over the fence. It was starting to leaf out.
The best part is that it fell right in the dirt on the parkway and missed anything of value, people and pets included.

The sad part is that my beloved shade tree is diminishing. It really should be made into firewood; but I'm gonna try to hang in for as long as possible. It is so pretty and such lovely shade in the summer.

The limb could be touched from the sidewalk.
It was just a matter of time.

















They say we may get snow tomorrow. Some people say it won't get this far south. Either way, the weather is always a surprise and I'm starting to be able to intuit the timing of planting things.

Good thing the tomatoes are just starting to pop their little cotyledons out of the peat pods in the ice cube tray on my stove.

And good thing my friend who is an ornamental horticulturist and Alta Vista Garden board member sent me the link where I found great information about getting my soil in better condition to allow them to thrive once they get past their baby stage.

Storm Warning...

Saturday, In The Park

There were two more fruit trees that needed a dose of fish emulsion fertilizer.
I'm heating the water now to shower the smell out of my nostrils. It embeds itself forever wherever it splashes and has been following me around all day. The plants that got a splash said, "Ah, what a lovely smell."

Earlier this year before LRHG hung up her fur coat

After feeding Little Red-Haired Girl, myself and Orphan Annie Whitesocks, I donned a pair of latex disposable gloves, took tin pale in hand and went "Easter egg" hunting, (pooper scooper duty).
Little RHG has been following OAW to stealth out her drop spots and has been beating me to the punch. I know. She cannot tell a lie. Huff, huff....ewe! Stinky face. EWE!!! I have tried putting OAW's litter boxes up in the back of the bed of my old truck where she lollygags around all day,
but nooooo, she has to go wherever I have freshly tilled the dirt.
So, I am trying to out cat the cat. Out dog the dog. Chicken wire everywhere.

The two leaf bins above were tackled after the Easter egg hunt and fish emulsion. They have been sitting for quite some time, one longer than the other.
The older one was heavy with moisture. It was hard to pull the wire off. Once I managed to pull it off and turn it over, the leaves on the bottom were perfect for mulch in the bed I built a few months back. It's been full of sandy soil and not conducive to planting.

I pitch forked and shoveled it into the trash bin and dragged it over to the planter. (the wheelbarrow was embedded in my web of building materials, too far away and too much trouble to get to.)

I moved the empty wire round over to the corner near the road where there are missing fence slats thinking once I plant it with something, it will cover the bare spot.
I re-loaded all the dry, under-composted leaves from the top of that bin to its bottom and then went to tackle the second bin.

It fell apart in layers. I took the dry leaves over to the first bin, the grassy mesh I layered on the bottom of the second bin and then I put the not-completely-composted other leaves on the top of the first bin because it is bigger and can have more new leaves added. The nearly-composted leaves from the second bin, I put on the top of the second bin and watered them both to a spongy saturation.

I forgot to distribute the ash, but there is always tomorrow.




I did give several plants a little of the heavy mulch, rich and ready...

But most of it went to the planter. Then I threw more dirt on top, raked it around and watered it in.

Now for a nitrogen fixing cover crop. Any suggestions for hot, hot Arizona?

The little trees that will be a wood

The little leafy stems in the picture above are some of the trees I mentioned that sprout up everywhere here like weeds. I let them have their way as I envision myself living in a wood someday. The only ones that don't survive are the ones directly in a walking path. Even those I try to sidestep.
Anyway, it was a wonderful, achy, breaky my back, Saturday in my Park day.
I didn't water much as we are expecting a big, big storm tomorrow. Did I say snow? Can't tell by these pictures. That's the desert for you.

Weed?

This is what we saw today, ragamuffin Little Red-Haired Girl and I, as we walked along our favored path.
Since she lost part of her fur coat, the limp seems to have subsided.
Coinkydink?
Cross fingers.

"Come on, Mom."
She was ready to go, go, go...

As we started down the alley, she started looking left, which makes me look left.
It was our friend, Solomon, doing work in a neighborhood yard. Solomon is everywhere. He does everything, and I guess he's Irish now.
I think he just wants a kiss...

He was soldering a fence and jumped right up to greet us. When I asked to take his picture, he went and posed in front of his soldering tools, but I can't get that picture to load with him standing up.

When we got home, we admired our own beautiful nature stories.

"A weed in a general sense is a plant that is considered by the user of the term to be a nuisance."

There are some nuisances I don't mind sprouting in my yard.
We (this area) have a prolific tree that sprouts up everywhere. Many people don't like them. For years I too pulled them out thinking they were a nuisance. As the years went by and I studied them more, (as well as when the electric bill started to look unmanageable), I realized how fast they grow, how sturdy they are, what great shade they make, and if they get too numerous....dah, wood for the fireplace! dah!
Girl needs to get a clue.
It's near impossible to grow a garden in the heat of the summer here; but people who have mesquite trees, often garden in raised beds under them. Perfect.
So I'm no longer pulling these little nuisances up. I may very well be living within a wood someday.
That will suit me just fine.

Oh, and they are deciduous, so winter the sun can come through.
Can a wood be deciduous?
I'm not sure if these are them or not, but I think they are. They grow everywhere here. Shaded alleys, yeah.

If It's Not One Thing, It's Another

It's been a long time since I was disappointed not to be going to work; but one of my favorite ladies, for whom I work, had to take a trip to the hospital last night.
I just love working in her company. We have a good time. I never know what she will be having me do. We just invent things as she pleases: dishes, refrigerator, mop, laundry, sit and talk, watch a movie she has been wanting to share!
I was up and ready and I always give a courtesy call ahead of heading out.
Her husband answered. I sure hope she is okay.
I was actually disappointed not to be going.
But, being "Ms. Jackie SpoolTeacher of all Trades", many other things were available to fill the schedule. There was the bed skirt to finish...
Another favorite lady who has me clean, had asked me to put a ruffle around her comforter so she wouldn't have to use a dust ruffle. I stated a price I thought I could manage.
When I delivered it today, I told her that if she ever asks me to do that again it will be $150!
I hugged her as I said it. But I really wanted to say, "$250"!
"Reverse engineering" anything is never what you think it will be.
Of course it didn't help that I pinned it on wrong twice. Twice!
The first time sideways. The next time with the raw edge not where I wanted it.
I've been sewing my whole life. Girl needs to get a clue.

And it was miles and miles of ruffle.
Not to mention that I tried two different ways of stitching it on and ripping it out while it was pinned on with the raw edge wrong.
So, already I had:

1. measured the bed,
2. measured the fabric (to figure the best way to cut it)(it was two twin bed sheets she had on hand), 
3. measured and cut the fabric,  
4. french seamed the pieces together, 
5. hemmed the lower edge with a 1/2 " double fold, by hand, on the machine,
6. gathered the upper edge with my ruffler foot, (actually, a gathering foot),
7. double fold hemmed the sides...

I didn't bother to count hours as I had already made the commitment to the price.

She was happy. She said, "It makes it look like a whole new room, now I need new sheer curtains."

It pays to be a perfectionist. It turned out just perfect in length. Perfect. Don't know how I quite managed that. And even though I thought the gathering foot left the fullness a little skimpy, now I can't imagine it being any more full.
Boy, that gathering foot was a lifesaver. I'd be working a month of Sundays had I not remembered I had it.

I did alarm her to be careful of the corner. Can't tell you how many times I have tripped over a dragging coverlet corner. I told her I'd take a tuck or something if it caused her a problem. I think it looks pretty hanging, but it is dangerous.
I sure don't want to be the cause of any trips to the hospital.

Another good day, although my back is complaining.

It's good to be a "Jackie of all Trades". If there's not one thing to do, there is always the other.

"Master of baby shoes, among other things."

Unnecessary Baggage

It was a beautiful weekend. The wind behaved. Last weekend, not so much. The plan had been to have the yard sale then; but since my friend and I could not seem to get ahead of the chores to make it ready, we postponed until this weekend.
GOD is great!
We had gale force winds last weekend. It would have been a disaster.
Two perfect days this weekend.

The first day I sat in the purple plastic Adirondack chair and faced the sun. I forgot to wear a visor as it was so nice. Too much vitamin D. Sunburned nose and forehead. Aloe Vera seemed to soothe it and diminish the damage.
Day two, same position, but with visor.
People came and went in gentle cycles and most people left with something.
The ultimate goal is to shed unnecessary baggage, stuff and not add to landfills. Still a long way to go.

I have been telling Little Red-Haired Girl that it is time for her to shed too. I have been trying to reduce her caloric intake; but it is terribly hard to tell what she looks like under all that fur; so today, after Church, I got the scissors out. I made sure I didn't open the drawer where I keep her toenail clippers. She flees at the sound.
I managed to "trick" her and we sat out in the sun and I "clipped" her.
I will eventually shave her. Her hair is so dense and it is still a little too little sun to bath her and get her dry. I opted to clip and bath her later, then use the electric tool. She will have to look like a ragamuffin for a few weeks because I don't like to force that much drama on her all at once.
I think I can feel her ribs again.

I'll have to tell on myself. I was just doing some testing.
I had a stained glass hanging breakfast lamp that has been moving around my stuff for about ten years now, at least. Never have I found a proper place for it. The glass would probably fetch $20 to purchase alone.
It had gotten rusty from hanging out in a tree, just for lack of a better place to put it's heavy self.
It came to me in a package of things I purchased from a vendor at an antiques mall where I was working when he finally decided to close his shop.
I wanted to put a $20 tag on it, but know how yard sales go, so I put $10.
The first interested couple asked me if I would take $5 for it. I just couldn't stomach the idea, so said, "Sorry, no."
As they left I peeled the $10 tag off and put on a $15 one. It was about 30 minutes before another man asked me if I would take $10 for it. I grimaced and groaned, wondered if I could change it again to $20 and get $15, but decided that I had learned what I wanted to know. People just want to think they are getting a deal. I should know that by now, I have worked most of my life in retail where things are perpetually 50% off.
Off what? I'd really like to know.
So, as the fur flies, we made out okee dokee. Lots of stuff gone, happy people with their deals and almost enough to cover the property tax!
Remember, this is Podunk, Poughkeepsieville. But we like it just the same.
Little Red-Haired Girl is glaring at me on the floor wanting something to put on her new thin ribs.
It's an hour late for her.
Better go. She'll start her hula dance if I don't.

Race To The Finish

"Sunny Afternoon"

..."These writings expressed a yearning for a simpler, more contemplative life. 'If you drive a car at 70 m.p.h. , you can't do anything but keep the monster under control,' he expressed." Krutch

Whenever I am driving on the freeway, it is inevitable that a pile of cars will come zooming up from behind. If I don't see them coming, I stay wherever I am and let them roar by.
I do resent it when I am going the speed limit and someone in the slow lane is going 30 miles slower and one of the zoomers starts tailgating or even flicking their lights; but most times, I just move on over. What's the hurry? I just don't get it. Of course that could be because I haven't had a "real" job in so long. I guess I have forgotten the drama, horrible stress and anxiety of conforming to expectations.

I did hear lately that people who suffer from guilt lead more productive lives. On the other extreme of that are those who suffer no guilt (sociopaths). They are at the top of the heap, (the 1%?). I wonder how they define "productive"?

The picture above is from a box of note cards I bought enough years ago that they were "made in the USA". The artist is Sally Rosenbaum.

“I like to show moments in time that invite reflection and celebrate the life of sensation, inner thought and contemplation."

This painting seems to sum me up pretty good. French country chair, aluminum teapot, cup and saucer, flowers, garden, purple, sun and contemplation...I try to keep a card nearby for viewing pleasure. 

I can't tell you how many times all the zoomers flew by me for us all to end up lined up together at the bottom of an off ramp. Not too far ahead they got; but I guess it made them feel powerful or something to race ahead of me.

All I know is that while the zoomers were racing to the finish line, I was toddling along, trying to suck in the scenery and enjoy the journey, not the getting there. I seldom, seldom have music on as nature seems to instruct my thinking in a better way. Maybe on a long journey, like from here to California, I will turn on some tunes; but invariably, I will start reminiscing and "wishing" to go back in time. Once in awhile I can stand a little of that, but mostly it's better not to trigger those emotions. And, it kind of eats up today.

So, as for eating up time...here is the image I just spent a good one half hour trying to figure out how to load. Finally, I resized it, which still didn't help. So, I went to "edit HTML" loaded it there. Voila! I cropped it about six time from the original before resizing, uploaded it to picassa several times, before, finally the HTML thing seemed to do the trick. As it turns out, I like this croppeddddd image the best. Just so glad it stayed horizontal! Now lets see if it's there tomorrow?!!!!

So, I was Ms. SpoolTeacher today, progressing along on the dust ruffle one of my housekeeping jobs commissioned me to devise to stitch around the perimeter of her coverlet so she doesn't have to try to scrunch that silly box spring ruffle under the mattress.
I was so delighted to remember that in my box of tricks attachments was a ruffler foot. Saved me hours of gathering by hand. Phew!!!!

It was a race to the finish, in slow motion... as Old Fool says, "A time traveler traveling through time at 1 second per second (sps)"

The Wind Chime Was Complaining of Bashing

A little right of center above the top clothesline wire is Venus. It was so vivid when I went out to retrieve the clothes that have been hanging there for two windblown days now. It's a pin dot in this picture; just shows how steep the camera skills learning curve is ahead of me.

I have longed for a clothesline for years now, but just couldn't "find the time" to rig one up or imagine actually going through the movements to use it.
Necessity. It gets things done alright.

Nickels being hard to find, somehow the time came along to find some time.

Awhile back, my friend in Gilbert asked me if I wanted a few things she was getting rid of. One item was a canopy. She wasn't sure of what condition it was in, but I decided to take it home and inspect it. Turned out the tarp part was pretty bad, so I threw that away and set the skeleton frame aside.

As nickels got tighter and tighter, a light bulb went off and I rigged up the canopy frame as a clothesline. It took me another month to unearth some kind of wire or rope to string across. I made due with the frame and just draped clothes over it in the meantime.
What a luxury to have the wires now...it's all a matter of perspective. I'm a little shy of pins, but I'm sure some will surface soon.

(Not much of a skill, but I do need to remember that the lens shutter keeps sticking.  Hence, the black streaks in two corners.)

The clothes smell so nice bunched up in my arms and when I go to use them. Crispy and crunchy too. They feel so clean this way. Sun disinfected. No bleach required. And they soften up the minute you use them or put them on. Sure, wrinkles fall out nicely in a dryer. I'm starting to like my disheveled look.

One leg of the frame didn't want to behave. It was stuck. Liquid wrench, ruining the aluminum holes with a screwdriver trying to leverage it out, breaking the foot off...I finally went on a scavenger hunt for a rig to level the leg.
Several things didn't work. Then one day while I was trying to get something from underneath the old Christmas tree stand that I just couldn't seem to part with even though I only ever use my vintage aluminum tree anymore...when the stand came tumbling down and hit my head...another light bulb moment...three kitty food cans and two pie pumpkin cans later...

Voila!!  Fairly level and wind resistant. Nothing has fallen yet and today they said we could expect gale force winds. It's still up as the wind chime complains of bashing.

I've been very busy lately cleaning other peoples laundry, dishes, floors and fridges.
But today I took time out to attend an SBA sponsored USDA Farm to Market Meeting. I almost left during the first segment while they were reciting the hoops one must jump through to use government money..zzzzz...but I endured and next came a lady touting the Farm Bureau with much of interest to share and a local man who grows, packs and distributes locally sourced organic produce.  I was there as a representative of Grace Chapel, my church, because we are in the troughs of creating a community garden. Mostly what I learned was that I need to take a lot of gardening classes or just start doing it.

I like the quote Patagonia Orchards, LLC has on their site:

If we do not permit the earth to produce beauty and joy, it will in the end not produce food either. ~Joseph Wood Krutch

The apricot's in bloom. The bees are busy. It's starting to green.
Just do it!
Oh, and I got a new pair of walking shoes and me and Little Red-Haired Girl went for a couple loops around the neighborhood. She left a present for my friend (as she always drags me to his house to see if he is home),  and I left him a pooper scooper bag! That's what friends are for?