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In a comment that I left on Val's blog (see Solitude), today, I mentioned (and quoted) Agatha Crumm. The creation of Bill Hoest, Ms Crumm has been my favorite cartoon character since I first met her in the early 1980s. She is a crotchety old (77 years old--which doesn't seem old, now!) industrialist, tycoon of a woman whose assistant (Winsome--Winnie, for short) is a comely young thing, and whose chauffeur is the epitome of gentility. Oh, and I must say that Ms Crumm is often shown cradling a cat in one arm while stroking the cat with the other hand--a detail that endeared her to me.
Ms Crumm, as a character, just spoke to me--probably because the women's movement had finally made enough difference that we women were starting to be taken seriously in the work place. I was too old to be a yuppie (Young, Upwardly-mobile Professional), but I claimed to be one, anyway! And, I had just hired a secretary who, while the polar opposite in looks from Winsome, had all of the men on Tyndall AFB slavering after her.
I met Ms Crumm before I became a grandmother; but, one of my favorite strips has Ms Crumm's granddaughter telling Ms Crumm about the strange grandmother that one of her friends has. "She cooks stuff all day...and then she sits in a rocking chair and knits!"
Who is your favorite cartoon character? Why is s/he your favorite?
Comments
I think my favorite is Maxine (from Hallmark cards). She epitomizes the feisty spirit I have (or hope to cultivate)...LOL
Kenju--Maxine is great! Somehow, I believe that Maxine and Agatha could be cohorts in crime. Very different in other ways, they exhibit the same "I-know-who-I-am-and-don't-you-dare-try-to-judge-me" attitude.
My favorite cartoon character seems to change over time. For a while now, I have loved "Zits" as I am enthralled with his teenage angst. Reminds me so much of what happens with some teenage boys, how parents feel somewhat bewildered with their teenagers antics at times, but if they can maintain a shared sense of humor and keep perspective, the years can be wonderful.
Joared--"Zits" is a great strip! I better understand Paige, though. I, too, grew up with two brothers. 'Nuff said. *grin*
Bogie posted her results of having taken a speech pattern quiz on Bogieblog. Dudette, posted her results, and I followed suit. Putting it all together (Bogie/Dudette/Cop Car), our scores were:
| Your Linguistic Profile:: |
| 65%/55%/60% General American English |
| 15%/15%/20% Dixie |
| 10%/10%/10% Yankee |
| 5%/15%/5% Upper Midwestern |
| 0%/0%/0% Midwestern |
It isn't surprising that my "Dixie" score is higher than Bogie's and Dudette's. (My score would really have been high on Dixie had I taken the quiz 50 or 60 years ago!) I've lived in Texas, Oklahoma, and Florida, and was born in southern Missouri while, as Dudette commented, she has lived all but one year (in Seattle) of her life in Kansas and, as Bogie can confirm or correct, she has lived in Kansas 24 years, Seattle 1 year, and New Hampshire 19 years. Where in the world does Dudette get all of that "Upper Midwestern" and why in the world does neither of my daughters reflect any Midwestern? Hmm.... BTW: for those who don't know, I've also lived or spent considerable time working in Albuquerque and Los Angeles, and have spent just a few months working in Pennsylvania, Seattle (additional to the year that we spent there as a family), and the Frisco Bay Area.
There was another, one-question quiz at the same web site that, supposedly, exposes one's brain pattern (whatever that is). Here's mine...for what it's worth. There are several other quizzes on the site if you are so inclined (I'm trying to get sleepy as the electricians will arrive at 7:15 AM, tomorrow, and I can't get to sleep!)
| Your Brain's Pattern |
 You always amaze your friends by figuring out things first. You're also good at connecting people - and often play match maker. You see the world in fluid, flexible terms. Nothing is black or white. |
Don't you wonder what the distinction is between Midwestern and Upper Midwestern? There were no questions that had to do with the Wisconsin dialects or the ooot (as in boot), that you hear the closer you get to Canada.
My mother and father moved to Southwestern Missouri when my youngest sister was in 8th grade, and you can occasionaly hear a y'all twang through her speach, while the rest of us have the Great Lakes flat sound.
We, in the family, should put together our own thoughts on regionalisms to concoct a word quiz that we like. Want to take first go at it, Buffy? (I don't recall your speech as remarkably "flat"; but, then, I was having such a good time that you could have used ASL without my noticing. *giggle*)
Although I use "y'all"; I don't recall anyone else in my family ever having done so. Think that was something that I picked up in Oklahoma. When I moved back to Missouri, it took a couple of years for my Oklahoma accent to mellow enough that I could be understood by classmates (or so they said.
I loved the brain quiz. This is the results of mine.
You have a dreamy mind, full of fancy and fantasy.
You have the ability to stay forever entertained with your thoughts.
People may say you're hard to read, but that's because you're so internally focused.
But when you do share what you're thinking, people are impressed with your imagination
Maria--Wouldn't you know that your brain would show up in those terms? (We're allowed to read whatever we wish into it--just as we would with an astrological advisory--aren't we?) Thanks for sharing your results with us. Do you speak "West Coast" American English?
I didn't notice it before, but why don't the scores add up to 100%?? Each of our language scores added to 95%. Where did the other 5% go?!
Dudette--They forgot to 'splain to us about the poll tax. Each time they poll us about language use, they take out 5% as their cut of the action. How observant of you to notice! I didn't catch it. Maybe "Midwestern" isn't working.
Because some of you have commented that you enjoy gardening photos, a few more photos--taken about the yard, this morning--have been uploaded. Actually, other than pulling about 10,000 (at the rate of 100/minute) sprout-ling trees, I spent this morning in the garage.
Absolute truth: Elegant Friend's garage is neat and clean enough that I'd not hesitate to set up a dining table and chairs to accommodate guests in it. Nor would I hesitate to eat a bit of food that had tumbled onto her garage floor--the good old 5-second rule. (And her younger son's garage is even cleaner/neater!!! I read in the Wall Street Journal a few weeks ago that the garage is the part of a home that is currently subject to drastic up-scaling. Companies are trying to make money buy selling homeowners cabinets and flooring to produce a sterile garage!)
Our garage has been getting better over the six years since we moved into this house--but--it's still a genuine mess. A couple of years ago, I moved everything out of it and hosed the garage interior down. While Hunky Husband is in Massachusetts (all my major projects get started, at least, while he is out from under foot--*grin*), I decided to bring our garage one step closer to conformity. A couple of new, deeper shelves, re-arrangement of stuff, and getting rid of bunches of stuff should help. Already I've gotten rid of a good lawn mower by setting it out by the curb with a "free" sign on it. Tomorrow, I'll put a set of steels shelves, some sheet aluminum, a pest trap (never used--still in its shrink wrap), some steel boxes, an emergency kit for a car trunk, tire chains (purchased for a trip with Bogie to Colorado in 1979, but never used), et cetera, out by the curb and hope that someone wants such junk. And, oh yes, a couple of the accessories that I should have put out with the Snapper lawnmower (including the key, which I hadn't even thought about!)
On to the photos. First, a line of irises that were transplanted from a couple of beds that were taken out of the front yard plantings and installed between the fruit trees and the pavers set for the lawn mower wheels at the edge of the back lawn--a shot along the row, and another shot athwart the row (below).
Just left of the pavers, one near the foreground, the other more distant, are a couple of volunteer black walnut trees. The squirrels go nuts (no pun intended) hiding the walnuts from the old walnut trees that are in the woods. I've already transplanted one of them into the woods, this spring. Wish someone would come around saying that they would like to have some black walnut seedlings! The white-ish blog in the middle ground is a stockpile of top soil covered with a tarp that is weighted down with pavers and bags of mulch.
Above is a better shot of the line of four junipers(that were beyond the line of irises) that will eventually shield the neighbor's fence from our view, and shield our garage from their view. Another neighbor's beautiful blue spruce is in the background--across the street from us.
Next, above, looking along the row of roses on the side of the back lawn that is opposite to the previously-shown irises. All of our roses are in this line, except the old peace rose that is at the corner of the house--behind the pinon trees. The line of irises between the roses and the fence are the Wal-Mart irises--through blooming for the year.
A newly-planted white bleeding heart (above) is blooming--on a single stalk. Quite pretty. Unfortunately, I couldn't see the LCD display well enough to get the camera to focus on the blooms (you may have noticed this problem on some of the other photos, too!)
Not far from the bleeding heart is a healthy stand of potatoes that are abloom (above) --potatoes that were buried with other garbage. We always harvest a few, each year.
I have never seen potato blossoms before. They are pretty!
My garage hasn't been thoroughly cleaned since a few years ago when we had a bug infestation and had to move everything out of it into the driveway so they could spray. I took the opportunity to clean and re-arrange all the stuff, but with a full working wedding flower workshop out there, you could not imagine how much stuff there is in it: 3 coolers, 7 tables, 3 metal cabinets, 3 sets of shelves, etc. It was pure hell getting all of it moved. I'd never want to eat anything that fell on my floor either....LOL!
beautiful flower photos. I never knew either that potatos bloomed.
My garage is neat and clean :) When we moved into the townhouse and downsized we had the opportunity to get rid of a lot of stuff and I am determined to keep it that way so we won't have to go through that exercise again.
Let me see if I can leave my comment on potatoes on the correct posting, this time! Note that I had to insert a blank following one of the forward slashes in the web site address in order to get the whole address to appear in the comment column; so, if you copy the address to your web browser's address line, the blank should be removed manually.
Kenju & Chancy--Go to http://vegetablemdonline.ppath.cornell.edu/PhotoPages/ WeedHosts/EB_Nightshade.htm to check out the nightshade photos. Looks a lot like my potatoes, doesn't it? As I recall, the potato is a relative of the nightshade.
My garage has absolutely no junk in it. Um, what's that? I have to have a garage to qualify for this clean garage thing? Oh, never mind then.
I don't think I've had blooming potatos before. I always get some that grow in the mulch pile, but don't recall them blooming (of course I never really look for blooms on them - so it may just be that I missed them).
Bogie--Ever since you bought the house, I've wondered that you and your Wonderful Spouse are willing to de-frost/de-snow your vehicles in an area that specializes in winter. Glory be!
Potato Blossoms: There is a much better photo of potato blossoms than mine. Again, I have input a space after one of the forward slashes which must be removed after copying into one's web browser's address line. In addition, by clicking {previous} on the site, one may see several other beautiful photos--including a field of potato plants that are abloom. http://www.tateract.org/assets/pictures/galleries/ potatoblossoms/Desktop-Pages/Image3.html
WOW! I am SO impressed with what you've done with the landscaping. You really work hard, Cop Car, and you make me feel like a slacker!
Um....now that your garage is clean, I have a garage and a basement that absolutely, positively HAVE to be cleaned this year. Could I trade quilting lessons for company with the cleaning? Maybe what I need is someone to say "PITCH IT!"
If you ever want to swap a division of that beautiful blue iris next to the yellow one, let me know. I have several pods of iris ready to be divided, and I'd be happy to share.
Thanks for the pictures....it's fun to see what you've described.
Buffy--Thanks for noticing the results of my efforts. You made a comment to Bod about planning's being a way to prevent having to move stuff. Heck! If I had never moved anything, all I'd be doing is weeding. Fortunately, I just keep deciding, "Well, this bunch of iris would look better over there...and that tree needs to be moved...and why in the world did I ever plant that kudzu?"
We need to coordinate with HH and DH (which shouldn't be too hard while he's sailing), and with one another, to make a working vacation happen. I would love to do that. Maybe if I brought my sewing machine, and the Jacobean quilt fabrics with me.... It doesn't look like we'll be able to make it to Scotland, this year, but perhaps a working vacation is within reason (if I don't get called out to work a hurricane or some other disaster!) We could even do quilting/basement work (and maybe the garage work) during the winter if DH wouldn't feel invaded.
I'll have to look at the photos to see which iris you are calling blue. All that I recall being in bloom are yellow and purple. (I do understand that our color registers may be different. The irises that I'm thinking of are definitely more purple than cornflower blue, though.) The purple iris are prolific. I'd be pleased to send/bring you some if they develop healthy roots, this year. When one throws the pods on the top of the soil, one must be sure that they are properly watered or they will wither away. Do remind me, later, if you think of it. Say, about August.
Cop Car,
Lovely photos, and the neatness of your garden puts mine to shame, although I have to admit that I'm aiming more for the lush green growth type of garden (well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!).
As far as the garage is concerned we gave ours a really good tidy about a year ago but... I'm married to someone who likes to keep things that "might be useful". As a rwsult the garage is once again rather cluttered but at least we can find everything now.
Adele--You've hit upon one reason that I tackle projects such as clearing out the garage, while Hunky Husband is away for a couple of weeks: It is easier to ask forgiveness for throwing stuff out than to get permission. And forgiveness must only be sought if HH actually notices that some of his treasures are missing!!
Story on a couple of units of (light duty, 100-year-old) steel shelves. I stacked them, along with a bunch of other trash/treasure at the street-end of our driveway, Monday evening--before trash pickup day on Tuesday. This is how I signal the scavengers that stuff is theirs for the taking! Well, the two catching bags and the instructions and keys that went with the Snapper lawn mower that I had set out two weeks ago got taken--and a couple of other items; but the steel shelves remained. At 7:15 AM, the electricians came to do a couple of minor repairs for us. I asked if they knew anyone who needed a couple of cruddy old steel shelf units for a storage shed, perhaps. One of them said, "No, but I'll carry them across the street to [Smith's] house for you!"
Of course, I turned the electrician's kind offer down. Not 30 minutes after the electricians left, Mr "Smith" came to my door, asking if he might have the shelves for a relative of his. Both he and the electricians (I had to call to tell them!) enjoyed the joke.
Adele--Where are my manners? Thank you for your kind remarks. I must confess, however, that the over-all effect of our yards is not at all as orderly as one might be led to believe by the carefully-chosen views proferred in my photos. I just don't let you see the messy parts. I can hide behind the internet! I'm like you in approving of the "lush" look; but, Hunky Husband likes the "manicured" look. Go figure!
At least until the newness wears off of my new camera, and until it becomes a familiar tool, you will continue to find photos added to this blog. (If you cry, "Uncle!", I'll stop--maybe.) Because the bi-color purple irises hadn't hit their stride when the Mostly Irises piece and the Mostly Iris photo album were posted, here is a close-up of another Wal-Mart iris (purple+lilac) that is along the fence (behind the roses).
In the newly-added First Roses (Plus) photo album is a photo of a group of purple+white irises that have crept over from the neighbor's plantings. At the left of that photo can be seen the heart-shaped leaves of the southeast-most redbud tree--one of four that are planted there (to provide a screen between the neighbor's and our bathroom windows). The background plants are the neighbor's foundation planting of flowering quince--that would take over the world if he didn't cut the bushes back to the ground every year or two.
Had it not been for Maria's comment on her roses looking a bit bedraggled, it probably wouldn't have occurred to me to check out our roses. (Thanks, Maria!) Thursday, I checked them out--and there were buds/blooms on all but one of our 7 tea rose bushes (that's excluding the dwarf roses that are shown to be already blooming in the previously-posted photo of the front foundation planting.) Here is a bud on one of the peace roses (this bush produced an 8-inch-across blossom during its second season at our previous house!) on Thursday, and a blossom on the other peace rose as it appeared on Saturday. Mr Lincoln's bloom looks particularly bedraggled because it is the most exposed of the roses and has been subjected to much wind and some rain. Thursday, while pruning out the winter kill, I noted that Mr Lincoln had lost most of its major canes (as did all but a couple of the bushes).
Because I knew nothing about varieties of tea roses when I bought our first three bushes (1996-1998?), I leaned toward varieties that I knew my mother liked. In addition to the Peace rose, one of Mom's favorites was Double Delight. Here is the bud on Thursday and the blossom on Saturday. Winding up the roses is the Fragrant Lace--purchased because it was advertised to have a great fragrance. (I know, the blossom is hidden by the foliage. Sorry!)
All of the roses, except for the 2nd Peace, were transplanted from our previous home. Originally, I had decided not to try the transplant and bought the 2nd Peace and a White Lightning (which I didn't care for and took out) as a start to planting a rose garden, for Hunky Husband, at this house. It was two years before HH sold our previous house--time enough for me to change my mind and bring the roses that I'd planted for him to this house (HH is a rose lover).
Now to the (Plus) of the First Roses (Plus). I know, I know, the display photo is not of a rose. Typepad gives two options: post the photos in the order in which they were taken or post the photos in the reverse order. I could change the time signatures on the files to force Typepad to put the photos in the order that I want--but--that sounds like work!
We've been dining high-on-the-hog for the last several days. We're having wonderful cooked greens (mostly chards and poke--the turnip and spinach leaves are too small and the mustard leaves are too old). Greens are really groovy with me, but I don't keep track of what's what--I just pick and eat them! We're also having wonderful fresh strawberries. (Thanks, Bogie, for inspiring me to plant them!) I picked a couple of quarts of strawberries on Thursday, and a like-amount yesterday. HH loves to have them smashed up and sweetened. If I get ambitious, today, I'll make a sponge cake and buy some vanilla ice cream.
Strawberry shortcake is among HH's favorites. (I remember sending it to work with him in 1959! That was when he carried a lunch pail. The sponge cake was made in a jelly roll pan so that it was thin, then cut to fit into a plastic pie-wedge container. The strawberries were in a small jar. The ice cream was frozen over-night in a small thermos. The ice cream was of "just right" consistency by the time HH's lunch period came.) You can see the healthy foliage on these strawberry plants, but I had just picked the berries so only one is peeping out in the photo.
Here are some of the gooseberries, and some of the peaches. It appears that the peaches were not destroyed by the cold snap that we had while they were abloom. How they ever got pollinated in that cold is beyond me, but I'm glad that some little buggers did their job!
BTW: I really, really, really went all out in preventive measures, yesterday, but I just couldn't help myself. I had another go at the poison ivy--harvesting at least as much as the total from my last two forays. The pants got pitched and I was really, really careful in removing the plastic coverings from my arms and latex gloves from my hands. The rest of my clothes were immediately thrown into the washing machine (the shirt was turned inside out--and all put inside a mesh bag so that HH wouldn't touch them!)
Wonderful pictures. I dislike the way Typepad orders the pictures (I wish they would give the option of Alpha/numerical order). The strawberry picture is really nice - and tempting!
Happy Mother's Day!
Oh the Iris photo is just amazing. Thanks
Bogie & Chancy: Thanks for the kind words. Except for photographing details in aircraft, this is the first time that I've tried getting real close-ups--and I, too, am pleased. Think the new camera is going to simplify my life--except for the complexity of learning to use all of the bells & whistles. It will take a short video clip (with audio) and it will stitch together shots to make a panaramic view (I'm anxious to try this). You tell it what you're up to, snap the first shot (either left or right extreme of panarama), pan over a bit, butt the edge of the image of the first photo to the edge of the next photo...etc. The software puts it all together in one view. And, they can be split apart. And it's just a little "cheap" camera. Haven't they come up with some fabulous consumer electronics (we used to call them "embedded computers")?!
Oops! Looks like TypePad remembered my name from a comment I left for Ollie, up there in my last comment. What I came back to say was that I really enjoyed your comments on Mother's Day that you posted, Chancy. Batman's mom would chastise him for driving a gas hog, too!
That's a gorgeous iris!
Our hollyhock has just opened up with a whole bunch of blooms. Maybe I'll get up early enough to get a shot of them in the morning - maybe!
I love garden pictures!
Kenju--Isn't it! Thanks for coming by.
Pattie--Here it is Saturday and I'm still holding my breath for your hollihock photo(s)!
Addition of 7 May 2006: It's been six days since the original posting? When misery is such a constant companion (nothing major--just rampant allergic reaction to poison ivy--I've decided that I may live!), it is easy to lose track of time. It's been rainy the last couple of days, but I went out last afternoon to pick a bouquet of irises for Hunky Husband.
Decided to post a couple of photos of it to show the various colors that are abloom in the iris patch along the back fence and the one that rambles from our neighbor's side yard to ours--photos of which are included in the Mostly Irises photo gallery.
Two photos are required because one shows the blooms on the left side to better advantage, while the other shows the blooms on the right side. Note the deep mahogany bloom--the only bloom left on the weird dwarf iris plant. It was a challenge to get enough stem on it to reach the water in the vase! (Anyone who wants to teach me flower arranging is welcome to try.)
There are a few photographs, of plants in our yard, in the Mostly Irises photo album, per Buffy's request. This is a shot of a pinon that started life in Elder Brother's yard in Santa Fe, was transplanted to our house on Sunrise in 1991, and finally transplanted to the house in which we now live, in 2000. The view barely shows a second pinon-- a somewhat smaller one that is behind and to the right of the larger one. As pinons are difficult to transplant, I've been really happy about our success with these two. In the fore-ground can be seen one of several yews that are to the side of the house, and in the middle-ground is a holly that was also transplanted from house-to-house in 2000.
This is a shot along the front foundation planting. The low yellow blossoms are a sedum, the mauve flowers are small roses. The purple-leafed sand cherry/plum is the fore-ground bush; the tall bush is a leather-leafed viburnum, and the remaining bushes are choke cherries.
These mixed irises are partly in the neighbor's side yard and partly in ours--the ones in our yard having crept over from the neighbor's. The broad-leafed evergreen to the left is a euonymous. This bearded iris is in the strip between our driveway and our other neighbor's lawn. I bought the bulbs from Wal-Mart a couple of years ago. The background of the picture is a blue juniper, trimmed in pom pom style. This is another Wal-Mart bearded iris, with bachelor buttons showing to one side and behind the blue juniper. Pine bark mulch surrounds the plantings.
This is a little closer-up shot of the bachelor buttons. The bushes are dwarf burning bushes. The lime green on the ground is a sedum that is planted around the burning bushes and a redbud that is in the same area. (The redbud that has only a few leaves sprouting this spring.)
This weird little dwarf iris is a cutie--also from Wal-Mart, it is along the neighbor's fence (the one with the irises of their own), in back. Looking along that same fence, I'm sure that the pale iris in the fore-ground is a Wal-Mart buy, as are some of the others; but, a few of the irises here were transplanted from a bed that I took out a couple of years ago. (If the irises weren't so tall, the weird little dwarf iris would be seen way back in the back of this line.)
BTW: If anyone is keeping score, these photos were taken with Hunky Husband's camera. I insisted that he take the smaller camera with him to IL and MO.
Aww,gee, my pitiful four or five blossoms aren't nearly so grand or purty!
Thanks for great photos!
Beautiful flowers! and nice pics of them.
Nice pics! I am so far away from actually having iris bloom that it's not funny!
Pattie and Kenju--You're up late. (Probably not that late for you?)
Bogie--You're up early (not for you, of course!)
Thanks, all, for the comments on the photos. My using a digital camera in the sun gives new meaning to "point and shoot camera". Even with the display turned to its brightest, I can't see it. One advantage: I don't have to sit on the ground to take a photo at iris-bloom level--just bend over a bit and reach down with the camera. It does make framing a bit dicey (actually, hit-or-miss) however.
These are beautiful, but more interesting to me are the fact that 1. they are blooming now (where do you live?) and 2. the exceptional neatness and beauty of your grounds, i.e. the beautiful edging, the rock and straw mulching, the handsome fences, and the elegant grey brick and interesting lines of your house. Someone there has a good eye, and someone there spends a lot of time in the garden!
Your garden is lookin" good, Cop Car. Does your pinon produce edible "nuts" and do you use them?
lucyd
ml--Thank you for the compliment. The look of neatness comes, largely, from my taking care in finding the "right" way to point the camera. I am trying to produce neatness--for the sake of the neighbors and Hunky Husband. I actually prefer a more naturalized setting; but, alas, Hunky Husband equates geometric regularity with goodness. Of course, he is not the one who puts the time in (and I find that I put in less time as the years have gone by). Eventually, I hope to have the yard in shape so that it will all look neat without taking so much labor--especially in hot weather! BTW: I will take credit for the brick--it is lovely (wish I could send you one so that you could see the subtle pinks and taupes). HH wanted red brick; but, when he went to pick it out, he called me at work in frustration. We ended up buying the brick that was my first choice!
Lucy--Thank you, too, for your compliment. No, although the pinons are about 20 years old, now, they've not produced nuts. If they did, the critters would probably beat me to them, but I do enjoy eating pinon nuts (a habit picked up when I lived in Albuquerque)--without using them in cooking. As HH's mother cooked Yugoslavian style, many of her recipes originally called for pine nuts. Except for baclava (and, maybe not it), I doubt that she ever used pine nuts after coming to the US.
Lovely shot of the front foundation planting. Looks like a lot of work goes into your garden.
I like the look of the brick on your house. Nothing like that in New England.
My husband was the gardener in the family, all I did was water and help with the raking in the fall.
Have I missed something, is the camera something new for you?
Enjoy your garden.
Our roses are in abundance, but the hot desert sun will soon reduce them to small wilted flowers. I have planted Zinnas in three beds in the backyard. They love the bright sun and the heat so bloom well into the fall.
Thank you for sharing your beautiful photos.
Thanks for sharing the photos with us. Beautiful plantings and flowers.
chancy
ml--You asked where we live and I just ignored your question. Sorry! We live in Derby KS--a few miles SE of Wichita.
Millie--I had never seen any brick like these, either, and HH believes that brick is defined as "red"--lol! I believe that we were told that an ice cream store chain (Braum's) was using the brick for all of their new stores (this would have been in 1999); but, maybe that was a different one. When I got to the brick display room, HH told me to ignore what I knew about his preference and tell him mine (he got confused by the wide variety available--he had probably thought that there were only four bricks among which to choose!) I picked out three different bricks and HH went with my first preference. I bought a new camera on a whim, the other day (see my posting on Impulse Buying.) Until then, I had been using HH's camera. You were lucky to have someone doing the yard work. That isn't something that HH ever learned to do since his dad did absolutely nothing at home (he worked long hours in his drug store.)
Chancy--Thank you and glad to see you around.
It's astonishing how many kinds and colors of bricks there are to choose from! When we were getting ready to build our house, I told DH I wanted a rosy brick, and then over a month or so gave him addresses for about 24 houses that had brick I liked. HE ended up choosing our brick, and I trusted his choice implicitly, because 1. He has good taste, and 2. Being a bricklayer, he knows which bricks are good quality. "Used Common" bricks were the rage in this area in the 80's and 90's but they are not the best from a structural standpoint, because they have been USED, and cleaned and re-used.
You're very fortunate that HH went with your choice! *G*
Your iris are gorgeous, and mine are just this week forming buds. How lucky you are to live in a warmer climate!
I hope the poison ivy has been vanquished. It sounds like you had a pretty extensive case!
Oh my dear Cop Car,
It's the absolute worst. Poison ivy, I mean. I'm totally not an outdoor person, believing (as Fran Lebowitz said, "There's nothing natural about nature...")but I've had a raging case of poison ivy. I thought I'd go mad and be disfigured for life.
I admire your devotion to HH. The iris arrangement looked perfect to me. Hope you're feeling ever so much better. Oooohhhh.
lucyd
Looks like a great arrangement to me!
Buffy--HH and I discussed brick for a long time before I finally caved--realizing that most of the front of the house is in window-area, anyway, so there wouldn't be enough brick to worry about. I guess that my caving gave HH permission to cave, because he had my absolute permission to go pick the brick that he wanted. Your DH and my HH have one thing in common: good taste (as attested to by their choice in wives?)
Lucy--I know that there are people who are averse to the outdoors; but, I'm not sure that I've met one, before! How in the world did you manage to get poison ivy if you aren't an outdoor person? I remember finding myself sliding down a hillside while birding at age 14, realizing too late that it was poison ivy through which I was sliding. But, as I said, I never reacted to the stuff until age 66.
Bogie--Thanks! I'll arrange flowers for someone as easy going on the subject as you, any day.
All--Thanks for all the good wishes on the poison ivy. Once the cortisone ointment was applied, healing was immediately evident. By last Friday or Saturday, everything was looking pretty good. I even went to the fitness center, this morning, and only grossed out one person. (Elegant Friend grosses easily! *smirk*) Now if the chiggers would go away!
Cop Car,
It's true. There are some city-folk who never learn to appreciate the outdoors as recreation. I am one. Therefore, I can understand the irony of my getting a terrible case of poison ivy---like nature getting back at me for my bad attitude. It happened this way.
My daughter-in-law Carole's family lives in MN. Most of her brother and sisters have lake homes there. Jack, Carole and I went back for a family reunion and I, determined to make a good showing, took part in hikes, outsdoor games and, fatally, helping them clear "brush" from the perimeter of Uncle John's lake property. I wasn't a hacker, I was a gatherer. And what I gathered was a heck of a case of poison something. I broke out in unbearable, itchy welts from my shoulders to the tops of my shoes.
I was in my 70s at the time and had never been exposed so I imagine it
Sorry, my computer correctly intuited I was blabbling on too long and so cut me off. But there you are. Nature and I seem destined to remain respectful adversaries! (Though it doesn't mean I don't truly appreciate the efforts of others!) Keep postings pics. I love 'em.
I have a couple of iris plants that look similar to your weird little mahagony iris's. However, mine are more maroon with a gold center. Have no idea what they are called.
I WANT A PINON TREE!
Maria--I have waited far too long to respond to the plight of your roses--wilting in the desert. You definitely have a challenge, living there in Ridgecrest; but, isn't the desert lovely when the spring rains bring forth the blossoms of the wild plants? I envy you your climate.
Lucy--What a tale! I at least knew that I was working with poison ivy--and to wear latex gloves, throw away the gloves, take care in handling/washing the clothing; but, you didn't have a clue, did you? I do wonder if you hadn't had some small exposure, before, though. My understanding (right or wrong!) is that one must have previously been exposed for one's immune system to produce the all-out attack that yours did. Hmm... Thanks for the comment on the photos. Encouragement helps! BTW: Hunky Husband isn't really an outdoor person, I should note. He golfs and, occasionally, mows. That's the extent of his outdoor adventure except when he, like you, is being a good sport and humoring the rest of us!
Pattie--If our pinons ever produce nuts (or if I find seedlings), I'll try to remember to send one/some to you!
Oh, stop. You're going to make her think you care or something. (She hasn't seen this yet so I still have a few hours to live.)
Posted by: Wichi Dude | May 28, 2005 at 12:16 PM
Thanks for the well wishes! I had a really great day.
As always, we had the garage door open when I heard a man's voice in the garage. It didn't sound like Chew and I was still trying to figure it out when Bogie appeared in the kitchen. I yelped and she jumped! We had a few minutes to visit before they had to leave for the airport.
A few hours later CK and Chew came by. We all went to dinner and chatted about the last week and a half.
All in all a non-productive, very relaxing day!
Posted by: Dudette | May 30, 2005 at 10:03 AM
We were surprised that WD and Dudette were there, but were happy that we could make an un-announced birthday visit to her!
Amazingly, we were the ones to get the presents as she was just taking banana bread out of the oven and sent some home with us - delicious!
Posted by: bogie | May 30, 2005 at 04:09 PM