Diaper Obsessed Woman Spotted Again......

This has been a very high energy week for me.  I'm just about exhausted.  It's been supposed to rain since Tuesday, I've been frantically planting seeds and transplanting plants, and everything is ready for a good rain that has yet to show up.  Every night my hands are dirty and I have to soak in the tub to get the dirt out from under my fingernails.  It's been a great spring!

I grabbed another diaper and put it in the bottom of the pot hanging above the basket of bulbs.  The diaper went on the bottom with all the tab parts folded under.  Then it got filled with water.  To bursting.  I don't even think anybody saw me.  That's what I love so much about this place.  No one is ever out, and if they are, they are doing something that has their complete attention.  Adults!  So refreshing!

I tore off the top liner of the diaper, put in some potting soil, and then threw some white violets that were growing in the yard and had been dug up with a spoon by yours truly.  Is there anything prettier than a basket of white violets in the spring?  I think not.  

I think it will work.  If it doesn't and the violets die there are more in the yard.  If they live I will put them closer to the house where the grass hasn't taken over yet and I plan to hold it at bay forever.  The less I have to mow, the better life will be for me.  Then I can pick something that I usually would not put in this basket because it always dried out so bad.  All because of a diaper.  Pause a moment and contemplate the impact this invention has had on our world.  It's kind of momentous.

So far I have one corner of a vast yard done.  It's gonna be a long summer but that's where the wild flowers come in.  I have Morning Glory and Honeysuckle planted all along the fence in back and the front porch.  You can't lose with those two in Southern Missouri.

Plus there is all manner of climbing vines that is really good ground cover everywhere.  I threw in some of that, too.

There are pots of Lavender, Sweet Peas, Lily of the Valley, Asters, and other wild flowers germinating at this moment in the barrels.  They do not need water, either, thanks to the diaper trick.

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I also threw down, and I do literally mean that, seeds for Poppies, Bachelor Buttons, Four O'Clocks, Daisys, and only God himself knows what else.  There should be wild flowers and lavender all in front where the shrubs were.

I filled in a little in the front with some Irises that Janine, the heavenly neighbor, having an even more high energy week than myself, had dug up.  She had apparently experienced a fit of what I like to call "spring cleaning" when it happens to me, and it occurred to her that she was tired of "keeping all this up".  So there was a whole barrel of Irises that were old and all tangled up and I had to save them.  IF I didn't, she was going to throw them away!  Ock!!  That woman could run the entire world.  We should clone her.  The strips in the picture below are those long roll-out fabric strips are supposedly full of seeds.  We'll see.

It looks kind of rough but if it ever rains we should see quite a display in a month or so.  Or not.  If it lives, it lives.  If it doesn't, it doesn't.  This is just life and seems to be easier and easier for me to accept as each year passes.  It's quite a relief, I must say.  This being old thing is all right with me so far.

That's also my handy-dandy little "roller alonger", passed down from my dear mother, who spent many happy days with her rear end planted on that little wagon, bringing forth life from dirt.  As does her daughter.  It is probably called a garden wagon or some more logical name.  Whatever it is called, you should get one.  You will never get stuck on the ground unable to get up with this.  Your knees will thank you.  *sagely nods*  The top lifts up so you can store your gloves, your trowels, your bug spray, whatever you like to keep with you.  And it even has 2 cup holders on top.  Did you know that is the #1 thing women google when researching new cars?  It is.  And whoever marketed this baby knew it.  I give them a solid A.

The lilacs exploded as predicted, and the air has never smelled so good.  Just look at all these blooms.  Impressive and welcome!

That reminds me.  I forgot to get gas for the mower.  It's outside time at my house.  Oh well, I don't have to worry about that right now.  Now it's time for another long soak in the tub.  Whatever tomorrow holds will be here before I know it.

The Eagle Has Landed......And Built a Nest......

So a friend of mine called me last weekend and said they had found an eagle's nest.  I was very excited and traveled to see it.

I made a journey by car, on a highway, switched to a four wheeler, through a field, walked through some quasy-muddy timber, and came upon this.

There were lots of smaller trees between us, but my chief concern was attack.  Eagles are not to be toyed with and I could just see us getting snatched bald-headed if not decapitated by some miffed parent who can see for a mile, possibly miles, people(!), and has claws and a beak that can break your bones.  Or pluck your eyes right out of your head.  Or just your tongue, first, depending on it's mood.....You get the picture.  Safety first, when at all possible.  

Now, my friend, being a more practical and reality based, rather soothing presence, was just worrying about eagle poop.  So we stayed out of range of THAT and used our camera's to zero in.  I don't know if this is Mr. or Mrs. Eagle, but since they never actually pointed their beady little eye at us and at least screeched "just to let you know I see you, you nosy little creatures!", I think it was the Mr.  I could be wrong, of course.  It just seemed to have that "don't bother me unless I have to kill someone", kind of male vibe, to me.

But I could be wrong.  I am no expert. All I wanted was not to be attacked, snatched bald-headed, or have my eyes plucked out of my head by an angry eagle parent.  

So, we took lots of pictures.

He did not lower himself to notice our presence, which was the most I could have hoped for, and we just watched him (or her) look around and I assume guard the nest.  I guess if there were eggs someone would be sitting on them, anyway.  Maybe she was and he was guarding both heart and home.  But we never saw 2 at the same time.

It was a great time.  I didn't even notice any bugs or mosquitos.  It might have still been too cold at night.  But just look at that nest!  And that bird!  One of my favorite parts about being down here is that I see eagles almost every day. 

But not like this!  Remember to always look up.  Lots of stuff goes on that is simply amazing and most people don't even lift up their heads to see it.  Lori used to say that, and it has always been so true.  She comes back to me a lot lately.  She would have loved this, and it was so good to have her with us in spirit.  

It was a good day.

We stayed there long enough for me to imagine a story around this knothole in a tree

As a doorway for some small forest creature.........

What lies through the door?  A mansion?  Cobwebs?  A snake that will eat you up?  A wise owl that will take you in?  We don't know.  .......and I've wandered completely away from the subject at hand, but that's how it goes in the woods.  I think you probably need some time in the woods.  I know I did.

I prescribe some time outside with the sun warm on your shoulder's, wild flowers blooming, some mud, some green new grass, and if you are very lucky, an eagle suffering your presence with resignation.  You will feel better.  Unless the eagle attacks you!!  Don't forget to be safe first!!  Yeah, I have a little bit of a thing about that!  

Happy Spring.

Random Spring Rambling and The Magic Man......

Well.  It's that time of year again.  Time to Hit It.  Again.

One thing about putting things off, is you can get a lot done in a hurry.  Or at least make it look like you did. 

I have always wished that you could just move out your furniture and use a fire hose for your house once every year, much like farmers burn off their fields.  My dream house has concrete floors with big drains in the middle, plastic walls at least half-way up, and a removable roof for those days when you are mad enough to actually kill bats with your bare hands.  Also really, really nice furniture and soft warm rugs.  But that's just a dream.  Some young architect should get on this idea and make it happen.  Like with a 3-D printer or something.  Just a thought.  

Maybe The Beautiful Redhead's smashing boyfriend, The Magic Man, could make that happen.  He seems to be good at all kinds of cool stuff!  He makes me so happy, for one thing.  And if you think he makes me happy, well, just look.  Happiness seems to kind of pour out of people around him, if you ask me.

Just my opinion, of course, but that looks happy to me.
He requested his own nick-name for the blog, I was so touched.  Then 5 minutes later he showed me a video of him rolling smoke filled bubbles up his arms and blowing them around, and viola, there is was.  In addition to being an unself-conscious showman, he knows all kinds of the coolest stuff, and well, suddenly he was The Magic Man!  I hope he likes it.  

If you think it's easy for me to drift away and ramble on in print, you should be sitting on my porch right now.  I've already decided that the wind is blowing too hard to start burning leaves any time soon, so no hurry with the leaves.  Also, I have my first dandelions blooming, along with jonquils and crocus' and hyacinths and some cute little purple flower that I never known what to call, but visits every year and I think of as a dear friend.  They are all either bright yellow or bright purple, and the grass turned green Thursday, so it is just beautiful.  Thus, easy to put off things, which is just how I like it, God help me.

To Do List:

1.  Store.  We have to eat.  I could do this in my sleep, and sometimes do, I'm pretty sure.  I do not even actually consider this a chore anymore, except for the house that I have to take a shower and leave the house.  Into every life, a little rain must fall.

2.  Flooring trip: I've reached the point where I am so sick of the carpet in my house that I am ready to tear it up and haul it out of the house.  In fact, my Youngest Baby dropped an entire gallon of milk on the living room carpet 2 weeks ago.  Then he just stood there calmly and watched it soak slowly in, as Jack and Shadow paid close attention and I was stuck in the doorway behind him, also loaded down with grocery bags.  No one got the least bit excited. I pondered on whether this was good or bad and decided that it didn't really matter right now.  Then my beloved Bissell, who I had placed my trust in, would not squirt out water, the traitorous rotten scoundrel.  And I don't know, maybe 13 years with the same crappy carpet is just my magic number, but something snapped inside me.  It was like a switch had just flipped and I said SO BE IT.  I was going to get this crap out of my house and my life and it was all I could do not to just set the whole floor on fire right then.  The voice in my head said, "Easy, now, it has taken 13 years to get to the point.  Let us not mess it up at this point." And I just calmly knew that it would happen. I wasn't mad, or sad, or even dreading the physical work of it.  It was going down, I had that certainty that has never in my life failed me, and I calmly went on making my plans for it's demise and disappearance from my life with no regrets whatsoever.  I love it when that happens!!  SOOO MUCH!!! So today I am going down there and picking something out and paying for it that is going to be that.  It will not be carpet.  Other than that, I don't even care.  In fact, the Angel just last night almost begged me to "decorate a little".  (Actually, that happened right after the chalkboard idea that I plan to do a whole half-wall of in the kitchen/living room area.  High enough for me to write copious notes to myself and low enough for Abigail, Rose, and our Charli-girl, not to mention all the kids that come along for years and years, to draw anything they want and never get in trouble.  Yes, never.  I can take anything they can dish out.  I am highly trained in this area!! :D)  Do not worry, Angel, I got this.  We are going to have new flooring, paint, ceiling, and I have 30 years of stuff to "decorate" with and I need to get it all down and group it.  Clean it.  Sell some of it.  Hang some of it back up and have it look fabulous.  

It feels right, now.  It feels like it's time.  I have put this off for 13 years, not caring about it one whit, and now that time is over.  SO BE IT.  I do not even pretend to understand it, I don't think that understanding things matters much.  You know it when it happens, that is all.  And that is enough.  I am pretty sure this feeling is peace.  And I am going to do my best to keep it.  Wow.  That turned into a beautiful rant.  :D  I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.  This is one of the best things about getting older for me.  I have always flown by my own lights, so to speak, but as you get older, you don't pressure yourself so much.  You don't second guess yourself either, and you are now without that horrible dread of not knowing what will happen next.  You know what's probably going to happen next. You've seen the same things happen over and over again until you know the patterns.  You know that unless you die, the world is just going to keep going on and you will deal with it as it comes.  Best of all, you no longer care what other people think, if you ever did.  There are so many things you simply do not care about anymore, and that makes me very happy.  I cannot speak for anyone else, but look at women around 50 years old.  If they seem relaxed, comfortable in their own skin, to have some secret peace about them, it's probably because they are, and they do.  They have earned it after years of working hard for it.  That is just life, and it is something to look forward to.  You don't have to understand how or why.  Just trust that someday, you will not feel those pressures and you will no longer wonder where you fit or what you are supposed to do.  You will know.  It will happen to you.  Let it.

3.  Rake leaves, possibly burn some, but probably not until later, especially if it's going to rain tonight.  Jack and Shadow love this more than just about anything, and race from pile to pile.  If you make the pile big enough, Shadow will jump into it and hide, with only her eye exposed, waiting for good old clueless Jack to come by so she can attack him.  Either Jack loves her so much that he lets her do this to him every year because it makes her so very happy, or Jack is just never going to catch on to some things in life.  I'll let you decide which one of those things is true.  Jack is not the smartest dog I have ever known, but he is the sweetest, which is really good during the times you want to kill him.  Like right after he eats about 15 of the peanut butter balls that your kids like best and you have just spent 45 minutes rolling into balls and freezing and dipping in peanut butter and white chocolate.  Jack also has a sophisticated palate, for a dog, and very good taste.  If you found yourself suddenly homeless and hungry, you would be well advised to follow Jack, because he would not steer you wrong.  Shadow, on the other hand, would keep you well supplied with squirrels and rabbits and I don't like to go further than that because it makes me sad, but you get the picture.  You would not starve, at any rate.  (The voice in my head started saying STOP as soon as we passed the peanut butter balls, for the record.  I think it is taking on the same kind of personality as Jonah Goldberg's couch.  And for that I thank you, Jonah.  You all help keep me laughing and on my toes).

4.  Grab paint samples for inside AND outside, although I already know what color I'm doing outside.  Steel Blue.  Paired with white it is just perfect, and I don't know why I always want to live in a blue house but I think it might vaguely have something to do with the South, and blue doors to scare away haints.  It's just right for me, and that is all.

5.  Tear up carpet.  If you have ever done this, you already know the dual feelings this inspired.  The dread at how disgustingly gross and creepy crawly you are going to feel until you get it out, that is equally balanced with the joy of knowing how much frustration will then be absent from your life and the beckoning siren's call of clean, possibly shiny, brand new space that can be cleaned with the swipe of a dust mop.  Dust mop's are what we had before Swiffer Sweepers for you young folk.  In case you didn't know that word.  I can never be sure anymore, and sometimes find myself speaking a foreign language.  If you don't know what I mean, try explaining the game where you drop the clothespin into the milk bottle to anyone under the age of 25.  

Anyway, that is my weekend, and it is high time I got it started.  I have wasted the entire morning, or added another chapter to the story of our lives, which ever way you want to look at it.  I think you know, by now, where I stand on that, aye?   

I've had all the coffee I get for the day and I've wasted enough time on the porch, enjoying the sunshine and breeze and colors.  Thanks for sharing my rambles.  Stop in again any time.

Spring Has Sprung!

It's been such a strange year weather-wise in 2013.  It's been great, don't get me wrong, but the way I figure it we are about 2 months behind.

So now that it's June and is finally warming up, we are experience spring at last!

I got a great deal on these bulbs about 2 years ago.  This spring I was moved to finally put them in the dirt.  They had begat more baby bulbs while lying on my kitchen floor in all that time.  They FINALLY bloomed.  Well, 4 of them did.

Not only have we been dealing with bird nests and trying to save their eggs, but everywhere we look nowadays animals are either making babies or raising them.  Usually we go through this in late April or early May.  This year things are running a bit behind.  The eggs I put into the wren house have not been kicked out, that I can tell, as of yet.  Still don't know what will happen there, but hey, we did what we could.  Mother Nature is what she is.

At work we recently had a Blue Heeler dog show up.  It was a female. She kept to herself, very much so.  At first we thought someone had just inadvertently brought her to town, but that turned out not to be the case.  She stuck around, so what could we do but feed her?  It stared with the crusts of sandwiches at breaks and dinner.  She still wasn't exactly cozying up to anyone, but they are really smart dogs, and we wondered if she hadn't been lost from the sale barn.  Couple days after that, she had some pups under a pile of aluminum in the yard.  This changed things, and in the best possible way. Sometimes when the world looks darkest if you will look down at what is right in front of you, good things are going on, too.  The trick is to notice them.  After she had those pups, everybody upped their offerings of scraps, dog food, farm eggs to mix with the food, milk, you name it.  Keep in mind that there are exactly 7 females who work at my place of business.  Of course we were involved, the one primarily outside being the nurturing presence that got the dog tamed down to be petted, but mostly I am talking about men here.

All I can say is that sweet little dog could not possibly have been dumped out, full of babies, in a better place.  Within 10 days of her having the pups, she was tamed enough to be petted, at least by the nurturing lady outside.  She would flinch when any hand was raised, and stayed clear of any man, but she knew what time feeding time was and allowed the woman to pet her.  We concluded she had not only been dumped full of puppies, but been beaten. By a man.  Whether this is true or not cannot be known, but we felt we "knew" them with our women's hearts.  At any rate, one of the men who lives on a farm offered to take the dog and pups home until we could give the pups (and maybe the dog, still not sure) away.  He was strongly urged by his own wife's heart in this, and in this way females always come through for each other. Especially when there are babies to consider. ;D

Add to that the fact that in a very short time we would have several (6 as it turned out--3 girls, 3 boys,) pups running around a busy parking lot with semi's traveling around.  We did not want any squished pups, however unwanted or unplanned they may have been.  Then add to that the fact that we had a mess of bunnies born around that same time, several of which we are pretty sure added to the new mother's diet.  We told ourselves that that is the way of Mother Nature, and indeed it is.  Still, something had to be done.  No way we were taking those babies or their poor mother to the humane society. No one was getting rid of these dogs unless it was one of us, and nobody wanted that to happen.. On that we were agreed.  I haven't seen so many people agree on anything so readily for a very long while.

It took the nurturing woman to get the dog into the kennel for transport, and the dog trusted the woman to bring out the pups.  Reports are that they are settling right in out in the country.  The pups eyes are open, they are crawling everywhere, and we have yet to start guessing what the other half of the equation is, not that we really care.  Those pups are fat and happy, fuzzy and sweet as all pups are, and we are currently collecting money for their first round of shots.  If you happen to live in the area and would like a free 1/2 blue heeler pup is about 6 weeks, leave a comment or send me a message and I do believe I can hook you up.  Mama is black shot through with some white.  Papa was a rolling stone, and we are quite sure he won't be showing up to fight for custody..

3 black, 3 brown w/ black markings

Work is not the same without the dog.  We miss the dog, but we do have a bunch of baby bunnies that run around in the yard about every time you come in or out the front door.  It's really fun, not just for us but every one who comes in says "Do you know you have some baby rabbits out there?"  Do we ever!  We saved their lives!  They don't know enough to be afraid of us.  But then I don't think they have anything to be afraid of, with us, either.  Are they ignorant or solid judges of character?  You decide.

"Hey! Did you know you had a bunny out there?"

I am very proud to work where I do with the people that I do, all in all.  We know how to take a little hope and run it around the edges of a bunch of scrap pieces, good for nothing in and of themselves.  When all the pieces come together in the end, though, it is very beautiful thing that lasts a very long time. 

Time to Whack the Lilacs! and other home maintenance tips

We are experiencing thunderstorms nightly, occasional tornado watches, and ants in the house.

In other words, we are running a little late, but it's spring in Missouri.

We had about 6 inches of snow on the 3rd day of May this year, and a few days that got up to about 90, but here on May 30th, the temperatures are only in the 70's.  This means we can sleep with the windows open at night and we don't have to turn on the air yet!  It also means the ants have invaded the kitchen again, but that has come to be a spring ritual.  

Whether they come in due to drought or flood, come in they always do.  I am a Terro girl when it comes to getting rid of ants, but this year I'm doing something else in addition.  I am wiping down the counters with 1/2 white vinegar and 1/2 water that I keep in a spray bottle. It destroys the trails they follow.  At least that's what I read somewhere, and it is working.  Vinegar and baking soda have long comprised most of my cleaning solutions.  What one won't do the other will, and in dire cases, pour a little of both on and watch it work.  I also keep ammonia and bleach around, but those 4 are all you really ever need.

Oh, and if you ever need to get rust out of clothing or linens?  WHINK!  Whink is exactly what you need!  My oldest baby left a sweatshirt on the back of the dryer for about 6 months and lo and behold, when he finally got it to his room, it had rust spots on it.  I got on FB and asked if anyone had a sure-fire remedy and one of my oldest and best FB friends, Shirley, put up a link.  I trust Shirley completely, so I clicked on the link and ordered it.  It came within 3 days and all I did was squirt the clear liquid Whink on the spots and they disappeared!  Completely!! Before my eyes!!!!  In 3 seconds!!!!!  It was as close to magic as I had been for a while and I gotta tell ya, you need a bottle of Whink.  Even if your children put up their clean clothes faster than 6 months, even if your dryer isn't rusty, you want a bottle of Whink for when you have to change the toilet lid.  NONE of those are without rust, I am sure.

Tornado watches and being banished to the basement are much more fun with FB, and I found the easiest fudge recipe on there EVER, that does not involve marshmallow cream (which I do not like but will eat, I'm hypocritical like that, but only when it comes down to fudge).  All you do is take a bag and a half of your favorite flavor chips, mix with a can of sweetened condensed milk, bring to a boil, throw it into a buttered 8x8 pan, and put it in the fridge for a couple of hours.  My favorite chips are peanut butter, but I seem to be unable to keep them in the house for more than 6 hours, and so I used semi-sweet chocolate chips for our tornado warnings this week and we all survived quite happily.

And last, but not least, I remind you that between Memorial Day and the Fourth of July, it is time to whack your lilacs down to about 3 feet high.  I was terrified the first time I did that, but it was well worth it.  Then your lilac bushes will send their energy into their smallest little runners, and the next year your bushes will be wider and more uniform in height.  Don't be scared, be brutal.  It's for their own good, and they will be more and more beautiful for it.  You can also get starts by digging those little runners up and putting them in a pot for a couple of years.  After that it should be ready to be transplanted outside and they make really wonderful funeral or wedding offerings that will never be forgotten.  I have a white and a purple lilac, and while they both bloomed for a few days this year they were covered in snow and frosted severely when they tried to hang on.  Next year I hope they will do much better, but it all depends on the weather.

Happy spring cleaning!

Time to hit it again......or not

It is that time of year when, if you live in the Midwest, you start to think the weather is going to get warmer.  I say you think the weather is going to start to get warmer because the sun is out longer and the breezes are no longer Arctic winds.  Most of the time.  The fact of the matter is that Mother Nature is teasing us.  She knows we are tired of the cold and the dark.  She also knows we are desperate enough to believe it will change pretty quick despite years of evidence to the contrary.

If I had a dime for every time I've torn the plastic off the insides of the windows at the first sign of the weather warming up, only to be fighting an Arctic blast a few weeks later, I would be sitting pretty.  Have you ever tried to figure out how to get a quilt to stay over windows to keep out a draft?  If you live in a city and think a "quilt" is something you order out of a catalog and weighs less than 25 pounds, you should know that your education in this area had been sorely neglected.  I know they are pretty!  I know they are expensive!!  But that does not make them a real quilt, my dear.  The only way you can get a real quilt to stay over windows would be to nail it, and that would be sacrilege with a real quilt.

It's that time of year when I know I should start spring cleaning, but I would much rather sit in my warm bed and pop bubble wrap instead. 

What?

You don't pop bubble wrap in bed instead of facing bleak realities?

You should try it.  You will like it.  You will want the smaller bubble wrap, trust me on this.  It is much, much cheaper than therapy, assuming you even live in an area where that is geographically possible, which I do not.

This time of year I am lost in the purgatory of not being able to see the end of the tunnel or a justifiable reason to look very hard for it.  I am reluctant to change my winter routine of staying warm and going to bed early. 

Especially if I have bubble wrap on hand. 

Methodically popping bubble wrap while mulling over situations in your life results in more logical thinking and calmer heart rhythm.

No, I don't have any science (!) to back that up but if you try it you will see for yourself.

  It also leaves plenty of time to notice how many cobwebs have accumulated over the past several months and make a plan of attack, once you decide to hit it again.

Or not.

It will come. 

I will know by the bright sunshine that will illuminate the cobwebs in the corners and the marks on the walls.  It's been a long winter, and somewhere along the way the Grand Finale decided to put some nails in the walls. They also had some wild swings which resulted in two (2) perfectly hammer shaped holes in two (2) different rooms.  That I did not ask about the details says a lot about the state of my mental health this winter.  Actually, it says a lot about how mothering tends to wear one down, but I'll save that for another post.

It's not all bad.  I used to get really upset and cry about stupid stuff like that.

Which actually makes me laugh real laughter now.

Live and learn!

For now, let's concentrate on the fact that it is spring, almost.  Despite the temperature, look what I found poking their little heads up today:

These are surprise lilies, naked ladies, whatever you want to call them.  I used to get excited every year when this part came up.  Because I forgot that this is just the green part and means nothing except at some point there will be very fast growing flowers with NO LEAVES, and whenever that point happens, it will be a surprise.  That they will probably by buried under 2 inches of snow by Saturday will affect their progress not at all.

Also,

These will be jonquils and will not let us down.  They will have pretty yellow flowers soooon, very soon.

And here is a shot that I took of the full moon last week that made SHADOWS as long as it was out.  How clear and beautiful were the nights that this moon lit!  I certainly hope you took the time to notice and appreciate it.  I know I did.

Hold on.  Just a little bit longer.