and we have ... ZUCCHINI !!

This is the garden that hubby was able to plant this year. I labelled the plants but the labels are difficult to see. Around the outside of the circle, starting from the bottom left corner (not labelled and almost out of the shot) is a cantaloupe plant, yellow crook-neck squash, cucumbers, zucchini, and spaghetti squash. There are also green onions and carrots in there some place. In the center are Roma tomatoes, cherry tomatoes and yellow bell peppers.  And my whirly-gig watering thingy that doesn't work any longer. So it has become a decoration... or something shiny to frighten the birds away (yeah, right).

The garden is smack-dab in the middle of our back yard, because we believe the original owner of this property had an above-ground pool there. Hubby has owned this property since 1985.

I took the above pictures on June 23rd... one week ago today. 

Last night this is what we discovered: 

A six-inch zucchini with many more in the offing. Zucchini is the most devious and deceptive of vegetables. I bet there are more this morning and this one has grown to nine inches by now.  Zucchini for supper (fried in a bit of butter, garlic and onions).

A very tiny yellow crook-neck squash and several more starting to blosssom. Hubby said that he has noticed we have a lot of bees and butterflies in the garden.  Hooray for pollination!!

The Roma and cherry tomatoes are also starting to show signs of becoming ripe. We only have one of each plant; but last time I planted tomatoes, I had so many I had to learn how to can... LOL
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As I mentioned, on Wednesday I had steriod injections in my lower back, to help calm my inflamed sciatic nerve. The procedure was not as horrible as I imagined it would be. I was home by 11 a.m.  I did end up sleeping most of that day. I am not having any negative affects from the injection and will say that the ol' back is feeling pretty darn good.  Have to watch my blood sugar level as I am told that the steroid will tend to make it elevated.

Thanks for stopping by... have a great weekend

just a thought...

Tomorrow morning I am having steroid injections to help calm my sciatic nerve (it feels more like nerveS, at times... maybe it is?). 
I just talked with the surgical nurse. She says I will have a twilight-type anesthesia. Who is she kidding? I will be out for most of the day. Well, I will wake up and pee for them... and take a drink.
Hubby isn't sure he will be in any shape to go with me. He is not at his best early in the morning.  Chris says he can drop me off on his way to work and then pick me up and take me home after. 

So I will leave you with this thought to get us all through the next few days... LOL

The Rose Bush

In April 2008, our neighbors went away for a few days. We entertained their dog -- a sheltie -- while they were gone. For doing them the favor, which we really enjoyed, they presented us this rose bush. The pink/yellow and sometimes red flowers are beautiful.  We planted it next to the step down from our lower deck.  Mr. R (my husband, Richard) used Miracle Gro when he planted it.

One year later, it looked like this.

two years later....

three years...

and today...

This fall we will cut it back (a lot) and transplant it to a spot in the yard where it can grow and grow some more.  It will keep our other rose bush and our geranium company along the back fence.

It will fun to watch it grow again. 

Thanks for stopping by.... have a great weekend :D





HOOKOPOTAMUS 1

Yes, that is me.  I have discovered how much I enjoy crocheting.  It used to be that I would only crochet in the cooler months, but now it’s pretty much a year round thing. And it used to be that I would knit and crochet -- the knitting needles are gathering dust.  Dave Barry puts it so very well:  There is a very fine line between a hobby and mental illness.

This latest craze of mine started when my granddaughter fell “in love” with Panda bears.  I searched for a pattern that I could either knit or crochet a hat for her and finally combined a couple of patterns to create this:

Then I added funfur yarn and it became this:



SPORTS FANS EVEN ASKED FOR HATS:

New England Patriots

Chicago Bears       

Jacksonville Jaguars

Green Bay Packers

Cincinnati Bengals

AND THEN THERE WERE … THE ANIMALS: 

There are many more, but I won't bore you with ALL of them (LOL). I am so proud of these creations.  They were one-of-a-kind… the pattern was basically in my head.  And suddenly, it seemed, everyone had a “specialty” hat.  All kinds were seen around.  So I looked elsewhere, for projects. 

Look for "HOOKOPOTAMUS 2" coming to this blog soon...

Thanks for stopping by *wink*



Fathers' Day 2012

This is my dad.


He worked hard to make something of his life. He graduated from Perdue University with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and continued on to get his master’s degree. He got a job at General Electric in Schenectady, NY and then was transferred to the transformer division of G.E. in Pittsfield, MA.

He and a friend designed and built a sailboat from scratch.

He met and married my mom. And when they found that they couldn’t have children, they adopted me and then my sister. My mom did not have to work outside the home. When I was little, Dad rocked me to sleep most nights. We were punished – even spanked. He sent my sister and me to college. He was what people would call a good provider. He saved money. He was mature. He made decisions that were reasonable and well thought out. He required that we respect him as well as other adults. At times, he was difficult to know and even more difficult to love. [I did not think of him as an affectionate person.]

He designed our home. We moved in when I was 4 years old -- and part of me still lives there. They sold the home in 1987 (I was almost 40). By that time, I was married, divorced and had three sons to care for.

He retired from G.E. in 1972. His retirement lasted 30 years. He and Mom became snowbirds.

In the end, this intelligent man succumbed to Alzheimer’s. In a sense, it was wonderful to see the joy in his eyes when he rocked his great grandchildren to sleep. And, it was sad to see the mind vanish.

He was a quiet man. He kept to himself. He wasn’t a social butterfly. He was opinionated and stern.

But he was my dad.

And I can now appreciate and love him even more for who he was.

Well, the LETTER may come to life again.  I have convinced myself that I have been busy. Actually, I have too much time on my hands.  So I now think that, on occasion, I just might stretch my fingers on this ol' keyboard again and tell you what is going on in my life.

HOWEVER, it is baseball season and I do plant myself in front of the TV to watch my favorite teams: SF Giants, Oakland A's, and Boston Red Sox.  Sometimes there is a Yankee game thrown in there for good measure. I have accomplished a lot of crocheting projects while watching these games.  Pictures will posted on an upcoming blog.

[Oh boy, I am thinking of more and more things I can write about - I better find my old notebook :D]

To catch you all up on what is happening... Hubby is still in remission from his cancer. He just celebrated the 4th anniversary of his stem cell transplant.  I see him finding more energy and stamina. This year he actually planted a garden for us. We can't wait to see more growth and vegetables on our table.

My oldest son still lives with us. He works for National Security as an account manager (in 3 years he has gone from being a "plain old" guard to being in charge of security at the Sacramento Convention Center to being an account manager).  The downside is his company phone rings at lot - at all times of the day and night. 

As I mentioned, I have been crocheting. My sciatica has decided to become a permanent pain in the arse, so I will have some cortisone injections on June 27th.  I'm a bit nervous about that.

The dog is still crazy.  She seems to enjoy being a mouser. I have tried explaining that title is usually reserved for cats -- she has NO concept.  If it runs, she chases.

Thanks for stopping by... I'll be back :D