Starting the Garden

Trying to keep my mind off of smoking, eating, remodeling, and friends illnesses. I could start exercising, but that my send my body into a state of shock. I haven't been this good to it since I was 6.


I love to grow things and make things. Since I live in SW Florida, it is time to start the garden. My daughter Katie started this last year, and has gone to NY for college. I decided to take over her garden this year.

















When I was in CT last month, I took some pictures of my old garden that my daughter Carolyn has taken over from me. The sunflowers inspired me to plant some here, I hope they grow here.






This is a portion of my old perennial garden with some black eyed susans and an old copper thingy that I salvaged from my mother-in-law a few years back.






I miss the perennial gardens from the northeast. I have none here in Florida. I suppose I should take a class on Florida Gardening. It is a different gardening world here. You have to plant things that tolerate extreme sun, heat, and drought. Then in the winter, you have to plant things that like water, heat, and sun. You also have to be careful about exotic and invasive plants that harm the ecosystem and take over. Things just grow like crazy here. You have to trim everything back or it will take over the yard.































UPDATE Check it out, one week after planting sunflower seeds I have plants with the 2nd set of leaves already. This is amazing. The package said 7-21 days for germination. I hope they make it, stay tooned for updates

threes

So much has been happening that I haven't blogged about. It seems I just don't know where to start. Remember Kim's 50th birthday? Well a few days after her party, she found out she had lung cancer. It has been such a rough few weeks for her and her friends & family. She had surgery this morning, they removed the cancer and a few extra parts. Please, send up a prayer for Kim and her recovery. It is very hopefull and we are gratefull for that.

Ok, now Joan, I have a very very bestest friend who has been through hell with her back and has reached the end of the line for hope. She had surgery Tuesday to see if a pain pump would help. The surgery was aborted due to scar tissue which hampered insertion. She needs a miracle. Please send up a prayer for Joan and her family.

And then there is Elinor, she is my cousin. She just had two hip replacements on Monday. She is doing well and a prayer is in order for her also.

It comes in threes they say. How can we help our friends get through the rough spots? It all boils down to the simple fact that we are powerless to do anything really. We don't have any magic or secret potions. No one does. I try to think about how I would feel in their place and what I would want from my friends. I think that mostly I would want them to 'get it', no sympathy, no pity, no diversions, or syrupy cards. I would want them to really understand how I felt and what I was going through. And just be there and listen to me, really listen. I wouldn't expect them to have any answers or profound wisdom, just genuine support and caring.

It is really difficult to put yourself in their place, I don't want to be in their place, but being a friend means trying on their pain and suffering in order to be there for them. There is no way we can truly feel their suffering, but we can get a sense of it from our past experiences. If we are at a loss, then being quiet and being there is ok too.

How to keep your man entertained.....

send him to this site

http://josplumbing.com/

Let me know if he clicks on her boobs.

Twister in paradise, OH MY!

How to tell a twister is
approaching 101

• Strangers call you Dorothy and complement you on your lovely red shoes at home depot


• You ask your husband why the lighting strike you just saw left a funny smoke cone in the sky, he says it's a water spout and you think, "cool".


• You wonder why all those birds are flying in circles and are sparkling in the distance
• Your kid calls you and says " there is a tornado warning in the county", you husband laughs and says, "there are no tornados here". They didn't give tornado warnings on XM radio.

• Your kid calls back and says, "I can see the f&*%^n tornado down the street", then the phone cuts out......




• Husband says, "he is such a drama queen, there are no tornados here"




• You drive back by the area you just left 10 minutes ago and the street is littered with roof tiles from the house that it blew off of.




• The street light poles are leaning at a 90 degree angle

We are still in denial as we drive home through the driving rain. As we get closer to the house, the sky is clear and sunny. There is a distant green tinge to the sky where we came from. We find the boy a little freaked out (the boy is 24), but safe and sound. The cable is out, but we have power.

We were definately blessed!!! The hubby has reluctantly agreed that it probably was a tornado, because I am always right. (I finally got him trained after 27 years)