Flowers Not In My Garden

I admire anyone who spends time outside tending to their lawn and garden.  They manage to have such lovely things around.   My poor yard is sadly neglected.  I can't help it.  It's outside, and I don't like outside much in the summer.  I tend to wilt rapidly when exposed to extreme temperature.  I prefer the indoors and opt to fuss around the house.  I let the outdoors take its natural course.  I've discovered it is pointless to try to pull weeds.  I've tried that.  They grow back at an alarming rate.   I know that my gardening friend Juju is going to read this and shake her head.  She loves her yard and sacrifices herself to it constantly. She is good.  I am bad.

While visiting relations in Missouri, I was shocked to see all the hibiscus growing in one of my family member's yards.  I'm telling you... look at the SIZE of the white flower.   It is a hibiscus... dinner plate size.  NJ had a yard full of them in all colors.  She is one of THOSE people... Juju's kind of people... good, not bad.

Just look how pretty this one is.  These delicate things don't look like they hate hot humid weather.  They look pretty fresh and happy... if a flower can look happy.

Ah, here is a little bud getting ready to spring forth.  Doesn't that sound refreshing?  'Spring forth'  I just thought the color was beautiful, and I repeat that I was amazed at all the plants and varieties of plants, etc.   This NJ had done her time in the yard with watering and weed pulling, I'm sure.

I'm not sure about a name for this funny little flower.  I hope that Juju or another kind soul who is more outside oriented will clue me in here and supply a name for this lovely little thing.  

I couldn't resist leaning in close to this one and hoping I'd get a bee picture.  What is a garden without a bee?... not a very good garden.  I was leaning in fairly close to take this picture and hoping that the bee liked the flower better than me.  I sure didn't want a bee in my nose.  

I hope you enjoy these little pictures of some of God's creations.  I'm always amazed at the things He has made.... so delicate... so intricate.   I'm glad He put them there and gave them some amazing people to care for them.   

Queen For The Day

I’m in the process of my morning routine: sipping a bit of coffee and contacting friends and family through e-mail. It is a good start to the day. Today I’m using a new mug that was a thank you gift from a friend. It says, ‘You are special today.’

My mind has been wandering around the idea of our specialness lately. It has been one of those little humor thoughts that just keeps playing around in my head. I think it started the other day with my trying to find a way to celebrate my mother’s 94th birthday.

It seems that birthdays are days when we expect to be special.... at least a little. In truth, we are special every day, but the challenge of expressing that on the one day, our birthday, is sometimes a bit awkward.

I know that finding something fun and different to help another celebrate a birthday is becoming more and more of a challenge. I took that on last week with Mother. I would dearly have loved to have taken her out somewhere special and treated her to a lovely dinner. Unfortunately, she just can’t do that. So, what should I do? I thought about having some of her friends over and fixing dinner for them, but her lifelong friends have mostly passed away or moved away. I crossed that idea off the list.

It ended up that her special day celebration was filled with cards, phone calls, a deli purchased German chocolate cake, and a Sonic burger with fries. I’ve told a few of my friends about that and they have all given me ‘the look’ or just chuckled.

In my own defense, we don’t eat Sonic burgers on a regular basis, so they are a treat. I don’t bake cakes. Trust me, the one from the deli was much fluffier and tastier than any I could have whipped up in my kitchen from scratch. I will not apologize for deli cake.

My own birthday celebrations have calmed down over the years. I’m quite content with the simple as well. I like the cards, phone calls from friends, and just keeping it simple. I’m delighted with deli cake. I always get something cute from Daughter I-Needa. I usually try to warn Son Right Back that my birthday is coming. That way he can remember to at least say ‘Happy Birthday.’ He isn’t big on birthday celebrations. As a matter of fact, I usually try to remember to remind him when it is HIS birthday. Usually I have to prime him a bit to get him to offer a little celebration spirit on my special day.

My mother and friend JuJu have birthdays two days apart. That makes it easy for me to remember JuJu’s birthday. We always send cards and call each other on birthdays. JuJu has moved to be closer to one of her sons and the grandchildren, so a little wine, cake, and dinner together with friends is now out of the question.

I called JuJu on her birthday, and we had a nice conversation. At the time I visited with her, one son had called to wish her happiness on her special day. She was also busy with her baby sitting routine. She has stepped willingly into the gap to help with all the running around that the busy life of three active children brings. The perk is that she is there and a real part of their lives.

I laughed with her for awhile and asked her how it was going... this being queen for the day. I think she was far too busy to be feeling like a queen. I reminded her that she had special powers on her special day. She was to be waited on and her every wish granted. We both laughed at that one. Oh, sure.

I heard from her by e-mail the next day. After her full day of kids and soccer games, the family had arrived bearing deli cake (Go, them!) and a gift certificate for a little indulgence. The arrival came shortly after settling in to watch Dancing With the Stars. That is one of the favorites these days. With quiet existence now put on hold, the fun began. There were hyper grandchildren, laughter, chat, and a recognition that it was JuJu who was queen for the day. When the celebration ended and JuJu settled back into the depth of her easy chair, she discovered the remote was missing. A diligent search under chair cushions, furniture, and in the toy box yielded no remote. Finally a call to family and a mamma’s little chat with the youngest gleaned valuable information. The remote was carefully hidden smack dab under the middle of the dining room table. Quiet was restored and the queen went to bed... another one over.

Yes, I’ve been thinking about those special day celebrations. The next one will be in July, when I-Needa is queen for the day. I have time to think and ponder that. I’m sure it will involve deli cake. Perhaps a little something special purchased to eat. I might consider a little adventure and hiding her remote. Perhaps not.

A Favorite Photo

This is a photo that just makes me happy. I took it last spring or summer at JuJu's house. JuJu loves to garden and always has pretty flowers about. I was busy snapping pictures in her back yard, and these just appealed to me. I'm going to have to ask her again what they are called. I call them flowers. I'm no gardener. Really, I'm not. I appreciate pretty yard things, but I've no real stamina or desire to keep up with the weeding process. On the other hand, JuJu is always pulling weeds or watering something. I guess that's why she has a pretty yard and I don't.

I just had to share and hope you like these too. You might even know of something to call them besides flowers.

Endings and Beginnings

In my in box yesterday was an e-mail from JuJu. It read: 'Movers here around 10:30 a.m. Come on up.' Her message was written long before the sun was up, but she was awake and preparing for her day. She had traveled the road between homes for long enough, and finally that would change. For JuJu, it was an ending and a beginning.

As circumstances change in our lives, we must at times change with the circumstances. Change can be a good thing. Some of the adaptations we make seem small, others huge. For JuJu, the move is a good thing, but it also seems to close a chapter in all our lives.

As friends do, Grace and I arrived at JuJu's house to help her with last minute little chores and to be there for her. The movers arrived and starting loading the remainder of her furniture. Grace and I followed behind with the sweeper trying to help JuJu get the home spic and span for the new owner's arrival. Those little places behind the big pieces of furniture needed a little attention. I was reminded of what I need to be doing at my own home.

We managed to sit here and there to have a feast of Sonic hamburgers and fries. With the front door having been wide open and the outside temperature in the low fifties, that nice warm Sonic burger tasted exquisite.... warmth to the tummy and heart. We love our comfort foods.

At last the truck pulled away with every last thing on it. JuJu, Grace, and I hugged and promised we'd visit. We said that it would be strange driving by the house and knowing it had a new owner. We've had lots of good times there. We've also spent lots of time there painting and fixing to sell the home. JuJu is blessed not to have to worry about the huge acreage that cost a fortune to mow or took hours of her time to mow. She doesn't have to worry about all the homeowner things on the house any more. That part has ended. She had said for a long time that the house just didn't feel like home any more, so we knew that she had moved on.

In my in box this morning was an e-mail from JuJu written yesterday evening. She had made her three hour drive and was home fine. She had unpacked her pickup, and one of the grandchildren was there eating chicken tenders and watching a Scooby Doo DVD. She admitted to feeling she was fading fast, so was hoping her son would arrive soon to claim the little one. Her life is a busy one with three grandchildren, her sons and a daughter-in-law. She won't have many moments to call her own. She is already making memories in her new place and fully into the new chapter in her life.

Good Friends Together

Last night was dinner and a movie, which spells excitement in Seniorville. JuJu and Grace were coming as it was my turn to entertain.

There are things to consider when entertaining seniors. First, there is the time element. It is cold, and none of us like to get out in the cold and dark to head home. Perhaps I should just say that we don't plan on staying late on a cold winter evening.

We decided to try to adapt our movie viewing time to late afternoon. It was a long movie, complete with Overture and Intermission. Seriously. So, we started the movie and watched until Intermission. At Intermission we took our break and decided to have a snack... wine and pie. Good grief! Whoever heard of wine and pie? We are some seriously crazy seniors. We giggled a bit about eating our pie before dinner, but decided we'd live a little and try it. We could always have more pie after dinner. We giggled some more at that thought. MORE pie!

The pie held us through the rest of the movie, then I served what was a rather late dinner for us. We usually eat at five o'clock, and it was WAY past five o'clock. Thank goodness we'd had that pie. Personally, I think all dessert should be eaten first. I've said that when I get older, I'm going to eat my dessert first. Perhaps that was a start. Of course, I'm not old enough to eat it first on a regular basis. I don't know about the others, but I know I'm not old enough.... yet.

We had to wait a short amount of time for spaghetti to cook. Other than that, it was a matter of just warming the other food. I pride myself on being able to have a meal on the table, start to finish, in quick order. I've always been rather impatient with dawdling about in the kitchen and taking hours to prepare the food. When I'm ready to eat, I want it NOW. I can't really say I plan ahead much either. I just go to the kitchen and open the freezer door. Whatever pops into my head is what I fix. Thank goodness for thawing in the microwave. I call the process 'whirling'. I just go in the kitchen and whirl and see what happens.

I will admit to being slightly better prepared when guests come.... usually. There have been times when JuJu and Grace have come over that I've applied the whirling procedure, but they don't care as long as they are fed. It works.

After dinner the big question was asked: 'Okay, do you want more pie?' I laid it firmly on my guests. They wafted a bit on their decision as the idea of venturing into new territory competed with the knowledge that more pie meant more calories. Finally they said rather unconvincingly that they didn't really need (notice the word need, not want) any more pie. Pushing for a bit of history making here, I decided that having had wine and pie (a first) we should go ahead and have more pie (another first). I sliced a very small amount of pie as a finisher to dinner. JuJu and Grace have such good manners. They ate their pie. Of course, so did I.

I think I rather enjoy entertaining these seniors. We have no real etiquette expectations beyond the basics. Martha doesn't live here and isn't coming over anyway. We've all been though the years of knowing how to plan and prepare, now we are ready to just kick back and relax.

Our dinner and movie night was good. It was dark and cold, but not late, when we decided to call it a night. Soon the light will linger longer, the temperature will rise, and we seniors will happily stay a little later and enjoy being out and about. There will be more whirling and entertaining, that's for certain. Whether or not we continue eating dessert first, or with wine, remains to be seen.

Dang It

JuJu called last night for a little chat. We were having a nice warm heartfelt chat before she spoiled everything. The conversation went like this:

Juju: 'I read your blog yesterday.'
Me: 'Oh, good. I'm glad to know you read it.'
JuJu: 'So, did you do your walking tape?'

At this point, silence settled light a weight. It came back to me. The whole ugly promise I'd made in my blog.

Me: 'Uh..... I.... forgot all about the tape. Really. I really did. I completely forgot about that.'
JuJu: 'I see.'
Me: 'Well.... I did try to do the rest of it. I counted my points. Oh.... and I went to the post office and it was really cold..... so.... I shivered all the way there and back. Does shivering count as exercise?'

JuJu: 'Well, actually... I think shivering is constant moving, and that ought to be exercise.'

I just love how JuJu picked up on that and tried to help me salvage my commitment issue. I guess that is what friends do.

I really thought it was a good save and things were okay. Then I got up this morning and checked my mail and there was a forward from JuJu titled 'Exercise'

It was about how to exercise if you are over fifty. It's the one that tells you to start out with two five pound potato sacks, one in each hand. You are to extend your arms straight out from your sides and hold them there as long as you can. You try to reach a full minute and then relax. Each day you are to hold this position a bit longer. After a couple of weeks, move to ten pound potato sacks. Then try fifty pound potato sacks....... then one hundred. Finally, when you feel comfortable with this, put a potato in each sack.

Dang it, JuJu!!

Dinner and a Movie

Last night the three musketeers gathered for dinner and a movie. It is something we do. Grace, JuJu, and I sometimes seem to be a trio headed for ‘Golden Girl’ status. We’re not sure what to call ourselves, but we stick together like glue at times and sometimes just call ourselves the Three Musketeers.

Dinner and a movie is a nice friendly little get-together type thing. It usually involves a glass of wine. We are glad that science is showing that we should have one for our health. We are all about our health. Or at least we SAY we are about our health. Anyway, we have our wine... for our health. Well, we’d probably have it anyway.

Grace had brought along a casserole... one that was full of healthy things... weight watcher style. I’m not sure whose turn it was to cook, but Grace brought along a casserole. We loaded our plates and headed for the living room to get the movie going. We could multi-task, eating and watching at the same time.

We are all rather pansies about this winter cold dark thing. None of us like it. After all, it gets dark early, and it’s cold. No one really likes to get out in the cold and go anywhere. We started the movie early thinking that it wouldn’t be so cold and dark when time to leave. I was home, so I didn’t have to worry about that last night.

Having found nothing much entertaining on TV since the writers strike, I’ve leaned more and more on Netflix. Grace got me into that months ago, and I’ve loved it. I’ve also watched a ton of movies that I’ve never seen before. They seem to have an unlimited supply, and they deliver them right to my door. Convenience and selection: I like that.

I’d selected something a bit different for the evening, I thought. It was a period piece taken from a Jane Austen book. Persuasion.... set in 1814 England.

The three of us settled in, ready to be entertained. It was a bit of a disappointment. We’ve noticed lately that in some movies characters don’t tend to ‘speak up’ and we have to turn the volume up higher. We’ve also noticed that actors don’t always enunciate. Now, both of those things are a bother. We also decided that our minds must not track as well as none of us could get the characters straight or had much of an idea about the point of the movie. We may have to spend more time on the AARP website sharpening our brains with their games. We may also need to sign up for hearing aids. Perhaps we just need a different movie.

We listened intently. I noticed we did a lot of eye shifting, trying to see if someone else seemed to be 'getting it'. We often had to ask for help with ‘What did they say?’. Usually, no one knew. We muddled through it and tried to find a few nice things to say about it. We just didn’t want to give up our evening entertainment and admit that we weren’t all that entertained. Alas, one hour and forty-four minutes later, we discussed the plot a bit. In the end, we decided it had taken a long time to arrive at a point, if there was a point.

I’m not saying we didn’t have a good time. Getting together with friends is always our good time. I think perhaps Jane Austen’s English items will be allowed to pass and we will stick with more proven movies. All in all, I think it wasn’t us... but them. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

JuJu's Blog Fodder

I had an e-mail from JuJu yesterday relating an adventure she’d had that day. I laughed and replied to her that it was excellent blog fodder. If I’m not careful, my friends may stop telling me the crazy things that happen to them. However, I’m going to take that chance today and see if I can describe her great adventure.

With the Christmas decorations returned to the attic, and the house looking a little bare, Miss JuJu ( Southern Speak) looked about her home and felt it suffered a bit from a case of the dreary blahs. It was time to punch it up, but not a total redecorating, which seemed much too big a project at the time. She just needed a little something to bring light and happiness into her decor and festive up the place.... just something to help the atmosphere.

She decided that something light or lime green would be a good thing for this ‘soon-to-be’ spring season. (Personally, I think she is trying to hurry winter along) She didn’t divulge at which store she found the answer to her problems, but I suspect a good Hobby Lobby, or something of equal value.

She decided on those popular decorating appointments known as decorative balls. She would try them on some candlesticks and in a topiary jar. It was a start. She selected five balls of various sizes, paid for them, and headed out the door.

It was a windy day. It was really really windy. As Miss JuJu made her way to the car with her newly purchased plastic sack of five green balls of various sizes, the dastardly wind swept over her, grabbing her plastic sack and turning it upside down. She gasped as three of her newly purchased soon to be lovely appointments fell out and started rolling across a very large parking lot.

(Did I mention it was cold? I don’t think I did, but it was cold. Cold and windy. That’s not a nice combination.)

So, here we have Miss JuJu with three of her precious purchases torn cruelly from her and rolling around the parking lot.... a very large parking lot... She managed to grab one. Another disappeared entirely, and the third decided to explore the parking lot.

With muffler flying in the breeze (wind) and her hair standing on end, she began an unplanned run around the parking lot. She reported that her running form was extremely geriatric in nature. As luck would have it, she had no luck.

She was persistent. Hopping back into her car to continue the search, driving around and around the parking area, she refused to give up the search. Alas, no green balls in sight!! Although she didn’t mention any grumbling on her part, it is my imagination that asks what she said to herself as she drove around and around in search of her two missing decorative balls.

I’m sad to say that the story does not have a happy ending. Miss JuJu finally had to resign herself to having only three decorative balls. With that, she returned home. Poor baby!

Growing Tomatoes

I’ve been thinking about fresh tomatoes. That’s one of those perks of summer, but it isn’t summer. A ‘hot house’ tomato just isn’t the same as a home grown one. There just isn’t any comparison.

I’ve never been one to think like a gardener. My father came from a farming family, but I didn’t get any gardening genes. I don’t seem to like yard work in any form. I’m pretty sure when God talked about having to till the soil after the Garden of Eden incident, he specifically told Adam that it was his job to till the soil. At least that’s the way I see it. I’m not going to look it up as don’t want to be wrong. Ignorance is bliss.

My friends have, on occasion, pointed out my shortcomings in gardening. JuJu and Grace are pretty good gardeners. JuJu can name all the flowers and probably has one of each tucked away somewhere in her yard. If she isn’t shredding paper (see the shredding story), she is outside working in her yard. JuJu and Grace both believe in pulling weeds regularly. It must work as there is no comparison between their yards and mine. Mine looks like the Garden of Eden gone wrong. Perhaps that is because it has been left untended by anyone.

Oh, I try once in awhile. I’ve gone outside and pulled a few weeds. It does make the flower beds look better, but it doesn’t hold my interest for long. I don’t seem to reap any of that pure joy that others get from pulling stuff out of dirt.

A couple of years ago, I decided that I’d mend my ways, change my tune, and open myself up for the joy of gardening. I started with tomatoes. I went to a store and stood in the open air tent outside picking through the tomato seedlings. ( I don’t know if they really call it a seedling, but it sounds good to me) I pulled the little plastic picks out of the dirt and read them. I found that some had lots of letters at the top after their names. I decided that I’d best get some help, and I figured the person tending the stand probably didn’t know any more about it that I did. So, I waited. I kept reading the names and descriptions and wondering which would be the nicest juiciest best tasting tomato. If I was going to go to all this gardening trouble, I wanted perfect.

I began eyeing others who were there picking out tomatoes. I struck up a conversation or two and tried to glean some information from those who seemed potential candidates as master gardeners. I wanted a real honest to goodness experienced farmer. I needed help in tomato plant selection 101.

I was finally blessed by a man who seemed to fill the bill. He carefully and patiently explained to me the meaning of all the little letters and pointed me in the direction of some plants that just might suit what I was looking for. He has his personal choices, and I had no reserve about making them mine as well.

I purchased four little plants, some wire cages, some fertilizer, and some gloves. I thought the gloves would be a nice touch. I knew there were a few tools at home, so didn’t bother to purchase any of those.

I planted the tomatoes with great hope and expectation. I could just picture lovely red luscious perfect skinned tomatoes. My tomatoes would be bug free, sweet, and juicy. I almost felt I owed it to my departed father and his line of farmer ancestors to produce this one small crop of tomatoes. I bowed my head and asked a special blessing on my tomato crop. I did.

JuJu and Grace came over and couldn’t believe the tomatoes in my yard. The vines were everywhere and absolutely full of tomatoes. Bugs: there were no bugs. My friends just shook their heads and looked at me with a dawning of new respect. Somehow this disaster of a gardener was growing out of this world tomatoes. I smiled... several times. I smiled every time they came and commented about my tomatoes. They said, ‘CJ, I can’t believe you grew these tomatoes!’ It made me happy.

I had so many tomatoes that I purchased a dehydrator and packaged them to be used in the future. When fall came, I picked a huge box of the last green ones clinging to the vine before the hard freeze. I wrapped them and stored them in a little building behind my house. I had fresh home grown red tomatoes all the way through November and into December. I even learned to fix fried green tomatoes. Yummy!

Sadly, last summer I went back to my old ways. I have no tomatoes, and I am sad. I’m thinking about getting more tomato plants in the spring. I guess if I’m going to eat them, I must plant them and till the soil. Lesson learned.