My Hoya

 When my Hoya blooms it's a cause for celebration.

This Hawaiian plant is very hardy and seems to grow fast.  It has long gangley stems that may have one or two heavy waxy leaves. Sometimes I think to cut them off but after having this plant for the past 5 years I know one day a flower will come out....

 I just wind the long stems over each other to keep the plant from dangling all over the deck. Don't want to hurt it.

 The root system is almost like an orchid.  I think I may water it once a month, if that. The pot is so small, a 4in pot, and maybe one day I will repot it but am afraid I may do some damage? It has no soil, just orchid mix.

The little flowers have the feeling of wax or ceramic, depending on the days it's been in bloom.  These are about a week old now and are still going strong.

There is another Hoya on my deck and it has white flowers but so far it has not bloomed this year.. give it time. I do prefer the pink/lavender color.  Odd but there is no scent?

Today was a beautiful day here in SoFla. 

Was a hot 90' but felt oh so good to be outdoors.

I'll be joining

 Oregon Cottage @Tuesdays Garden Party

Southern Daydreamer @Outdoor Wednesday

WOW us Wednesday 

Tootsie Time @ Fertilizer Friday
 

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Birthday

 "To Me"

Today is my birthday.
I think I'll make a cake.
Mix and stir, stir and mix,
Then into the oven to bake.

Here's the cake so nice and round,
I'll put icing on so white (chocolate).
I'll put on all the candles
To make my birthday bright!

Happy birthday to me!

My loving Daughter #1 asked me what I wanted and today they came in the mail....... 

I'm in love with my new boots!
Now I can get down and dirty around the creek area of my yard.. the snakes will have a hard time getting to my ankles.


  Mr N. asked me what I wanted for my birthday also, several times this past month.   I'm not one to want diamonds or pearls but a 6ft ladder would really make me happy.  I'm so tired of using a step ladder or a dining room chair to reach high places.  He brought this wonderful ladder home for me.
  

A few weeks after the ladder he said, "I have to get you something nice for your birthday".. what else do you want?

A Pink Rose bush, a live rose, not a bouquet of roses!

Then he bought home this lovely Rose bush and it has taken the place of honor in my new "Rose Garden". ( I do have three rose bushes there already)

But now I can call it my "Rose Garden"

Then one day he came home with a new cell phone.

The AT&T iPhone.   After using it for about a week I found I really love using this phone. I can download books to read, play games, the apps are too many to mention, It has iPod included and can bring in radio stations from across the   globe. I have the internet and can bring up my email, my blog and facebook.  The best part, "Face Time".  I can dial my daughter or sister around the world and we can talk "Face to Face"!  It's really a wonderful little gadget!

 I also now use my iPhone4  to take photos.. have not taken my camera out of the drawer for several weeks now.  All the photos I post on my blog are from my iPhone.... it's not the same as the expensive cameras some of the bloggers use, but I can't afford such a camera anyway.  The nice thing is my iphone is always with me so I don't miss a shot.
Here is the birthday bouquet  my girl Gina sent this week.  Photo taken with my I phone.
(I think they need to find a new name for these new phones.. because their more than a phone. They  more like toys)

  

Birthdays have never been special to me but this year I feel wonderful.  God has given me 6 more years than the doctors predicted and I'm thrilled.

 Blogging has given me another way to make some  new friends. Although we have never met face to face.. we are enjoying our new found friendship. Thank you to all the bloggers out there who read my blog and leave such sweet comments.

Thank you Mr. N. for always being there.  Thank you new and old friends. Thank you to my girls for all they do for me and my grandsons who I adore, and to their dad who takes such good care of his family.  To my son who is always in my heart.

My new daughter-in-law and new granddaughter, I'm so happy you joined our family.  

To all who have never left me no matter my quirks.

A BIG thank you to my sister, my friend since birth.

You all have kept my smile glowing.

Thank you Lord!

I love you all

It's been a good year

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hugggggs
 Sandy

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An early B/day surprise

For as long as I can remember, Tulips have been my favorite flower.

Today a box came from the UPS guy and inside was the most beautiful bouquet and the vase to put them in. All I had to do was snip off an inch from their stems, then add water.

Inside was a card.  Wishing me a Happy Birthday from my sweet Gina and her family.
Gina has been away for almost 2 years now, far away living in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and I miss her so.  She has not been able to come home because being married to a military man the price of air fair for a spouse is not covered unless it's for military reasons. . For her to fly  to my house, with her three boys would be around $2100. per person.  That would make it from 8 to 10 thousand dollars just to come visit for a few weeks... 
I have not been able to travel that far because of a health reason. 
A heart monitor sits beside my bed  that reads my pacer, and I need it hooked to my phone modem.  Amazing gadget really, go's to my Dr's office for them to read.

Thankfully we are living in an era of modern technology and can use 'Face Time' each day and I can see and speak to her and my three grandsons.  They know who grandma is.  

The nice thing abut "Face Time"  the boys can read their favorite book to me or play a game with me, or just tell me how their day went.  But my heart aches for those hugs and kisses that only real life can bring...
June of 2012 will be when their family will be coming stateside once again and I can travel easier to be with them, and they me.  I can't wait!

 Notice my Dahlia in the dish of water.

I woke this morning to the bouquet standing straight and tall. I love how Tulips change their shape with the light.  This may just be the freshest bouquet of flowers I've ever received. 

How I miss them all 

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Saturday finds

 "And now I have three"

One more time, AWWWWW

 

Yes, It's Garage Sale day and I went to three community sales.. there must have been a hundred homes selling and although I so enjoy wandering I must admit, I got tired. 


But first I went out and found "Three Baby Birds" in the nest this morning..  Mom left the nest to find some food for her brood so it was easy to get in the space to take a photo or two... their so small.  No sounds from these little ones but I'm sure in a few days they will be chirping away.

"Such beautiful sounds for the soul"

Today I was on a hunt for three somethings (?) I'll know them when I see them, to put on the wall over my bed.  Nothing out there that turned me on.. but I did find this nice Angel on canvas needlepoint.  This will be good for me when I get into the need to sit mode.  It  comes on me about once a month and may last for days.
She will look nice in a pillow or for a wall hanging?

Best part, it was all of .25c. 

"Boy did I spend a lot of money today"

My A/C  is on, it's so hot.  91' right now  in this part of the country.

A good beach day for those in SoFla.

"Have a great weekend"

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New Baby Bird is Here

 Ok, All together now.....

AWWWWWWWWWWW!

After going out on the deck this morning I checked on my birds nest and to my surprise the first baby bird hatched... I was so excited, you would have thought I'd given birth...


I posted the building of the nest and the laying of 4 eggs last week.  
Just click  Here   if you would like to read the post. I can't tell you how hard it has been for us to be careful and quiet.  The bakers rack with the nest is right outside our back door and beside the store room door, where we keep our trash can and garden tools....
Mom Finch has been MIA for about an hour now, gathering food I would guess.. maybe another egg will hatch tonight... 

Yes, Spring is here!

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Gathering Herbs

 Sage

My Herbs are growing literally everywhere.

In pots on the deck, the upstairs balcony and out in the front of the house, where they get the most sun.

Greek Oregano

Italian Oregano

Rosemary

Garlic Chives

Mint

 The Tarragon and Thyme are growing in the Topsy Tervy, Basil in pots that have been covered to keep the critters out. For some reason the birds love to pick at the leaves?

Basil

Once the plants are a good size I start to harvest them. This gives each plant a chance at regrowth.  Each is washed and sorted. I think the only plant that I did not start from seeds is the Rosemary... this plant must be 5 years old. I've seen them in neighbors yards as bushes, they grow so big. Mine don't get that big because I keep cutting them.

Then the stems are removed.  

I place each in a disposal baking pan left out at room temperature.  They dry so fast this way and I never need to find space to hang them upside down... 

The drying Herbs take about 4 or 5 days.  Then I use my kitchen scissors to cut them into tiny pieces and store in plastic containers.  
I love to cook and use many of these Herbs in all my food. They add such a wonderful, sharper flavor than the dried that may be in those jars for years before you even buy them.

I noticed today my Micro Lettuce has sprouted.

When I make salad I just pinch a few leaves all summer long. 
Do you notice the Peanut Plant to the left of the photo.  Yes, the squirrels managed to dig a hole to hide their treat..... I'll let it grow and see how many I might get in a few months... just pull the plant and the roots will be the peanuts...then give them to the squirrels again.

I'm so happy "Summer is here in SoFla"...... I know, it's only Spring up North but it was 92' today here.

I call that Summer!

"Happy Gardening" 

I'm joining these linky parties

Fertilizer Friday 

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T is for topsy turvy

"T" is for Topsy Turvy

For someone with a really nice big yard I just can't seem to grow veggies... 
I've made beds for veggies several times over the past 7 years in different areas of the yard,  but I have several critters who just love to get into them.  They don't eat the veggies, they 'dig them up'.
The Armadillo come out in the night and dig for grubs and worms. There have been times I may have dozens of holes in the grass also..
Then there are the Turtles.  They come up from the creek and lay eggs and
they just love a nice soft ground to dig.  I'll tell you, twice now I would dig a hole to plant some new rose or something and disturb, without knowing, the new babies that have just hatched.  All I could do was pick them up and carry them down to the creek.   They also climb over wood fencing and don't tell me to cover the beds.. the larger critters like the Raccoon tear everything apart. So I've gone another rout.  

The "Topsy Turvy" works wonderful.  

 Not having a large family to feed I only need two tomato plants and I hang it from a chain hooked to two huge Hickory trees that umbrella my house and deck.
The deck may get about 4 hours sun and that is usually enough for the plants.
Also I have several planters on the deck with different veggies, micro lettuce and spinach, parsley and others... so I'm ready to pinch for salad any time. My herbs grow all year in pots here and I dry them for storage.  I don't remember the last time I bought dried herbs? Normally when the weather chills off  I'll bring the pots and planters into the house for the night. That usually saves them.

Along with Tomato plants I have herbs included in the side pocket/holes.
My Topsy Turvy has 6 spaces that I have filled with Tarragon, Sage and Thyme.
I use these three because they hang and will not get intertwined with the larger veggies.
Herbs are a large part of my Middle Eastern way of cooking. I use no salt and the herbs give the flavor needed.  No meat will be found in my house except when Mr. N demands meat once every few months.. then I'll give him a pork chop... thats another story.

From the bottom hole I have two Italian Banana Peppers.

Two tomato plants, one cherry and one full size,  have teeny green tomatoes blooming out.

Once I put in the plants and the potting soil that is all the work involved.
Using soil that continually feeds for 4 months leaves the only thing to do, water, depending on how hot it is outside I simply pour a gallon into the top hole and watch the excess come out the bottom.
Then sit back and watch it grow.
This is the second year I've used this same Topsy Turvy.  It did not show any wear and tear from the previous year.  I did wash and dry the Turvy and put away till this year....  For $9.99 I sure got my moneys worth.

This is my time of year.   

Planting and watching Mother Nature do her thing! 

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I'll be linking to

Tuesdays Garden Party 

Jenny Matlock @ Alphabet Thursday

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wind chime

 

How I spent my Sunday afternoon. I rebuilt my broken wind chime.

After a stormy night last week, I went out to find my very old wind chime laying in a heap on the ground... broken in so many pieces.  The wood that holds the string for each chime broke in two. Leaving a pile of parts. I guess it was time. This wind chime has been hanging in the tree for almost 5 years. 
Now that I have the above photo taken, today I notice the trees are all bursting out in new leaves... only one week ago they were completely bare?  Was nice to have the sun out back for the winter.... this is why I can't grow veggies.
Oh well, back to the wind chime.
I really hated to loose this chime, it made the sweetest sound on windy days and nights.

I carefully collected all the parts and laid them out wondering if it was at all possible for me to put it all back together?

Why not?  

I got out some scrap wood, my saw and drill then sat down to think.

How can I repair it?

I would have to cut a new circle of wood and put in holes for the string.

I cut the wood for the wire to thread through.. used my drill to put in 6 holes then thought of the wire or string?  What would work and not fall apart in time...
The Fishing Pole... yes, Fishing wire!  If the fishing wire would hold a 40lb fish why not the wind chime?
So I sat with an Iced Coffee and patiently threaded the fishing wire through each chime then up through the wood circle I cut... this went on for almost a half an hour until I had each lined up perfectly.
Drilled a hole for the part that will touch the chimes when the wind blows and it worked... A cup hook was screwed into the top and another heavy duty string to dangle from the tree... 

This was quite a save..... it worked!

Now the sweet sounds of my wind chime can be heard all night just outside the sliding doors of my bedroom.

 I'll be joining these linky parties


Finding Fabulous


Lovely Crafty Home

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The Green Thing

How Wasteful the Older Generation Was ... 

In the line at the store, the cashier told the older woman  that she should bring her own grocery bag because plastic bags weren’t good for the environment.  The woman apologized to him and explained, “We didn’t have the green thing back in my day.”

The clerk responded, "That's our problem today.  The former generation did not care enough to save our environment."

He was right, that generation didn’t have the green thing in its day.

 

Back then, they returned their milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store.  The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over.  So they really were  recycled.

But they didn’t have the green thing back in that customer's day.

In her day, they walked up stairs, because they didn’t have an escalator in every store and office building. They walked to the grocery store and didn’t climb into a 300-horsepower machine
every time they had to go two blocks.

But she was right. They didn’t have the green thing in her day.

Back then, they washed the baby’s diapers because they didn’t have the throw-away kind. They dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts – wind
and solar power really did dry the clothes. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing.

But that old lady is right, they didn’t have the green thing back in her day.

Back then, they had one TV, or radio, in the house – not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a hankerchief, not a screen the size of the state of Montana . In the kitchen, they blended and stirred by hand because they didn’t have electric machines to do everything for you.
When they packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, they used a wadded up old newspaper to cushion it, not styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.

Back then, they didn’t fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. They used a push mower that ran on human power. They exercised by working so they didn’t need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity.

But she’s right, they didn’t have the green thing back then.

They drank from a fountain when they were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time they had a drink of water. They refilled their writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and they replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.

But they didn’t have the green thing back then.

 

Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or rode the school bus instead
of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service. They had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And they didn’t need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.

But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful the old folks were just because they didn't have the green thing back then?

 

 

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The Eagle Family

For all of you who would love to follow the development of an Eagle family check out this URL.
  

Eagle Nesting Mom and Babies

The baby chicks were hatched in the past three days high atop a tree at the Fish Hatchery in Decorah, Iowa.   Its a live stream 24 hrs a day and so interesting to watch as the chicks grow then fly away.

I took these photos off the site with my iphone so their a bit grainy... Here is dad bringing in the rodents for the family.

Watching this is like a Science Lesson... so if you have kids, this would be a great way to spend the weekend....

Click here to enjoy the Eagle's Nesting

Have a great weekend!

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