September 30th, 2014 - Around Home

The locust tree is dropping its tiny leaves everywhere "out front" on the driveway and yard. The gigantic oak trees are dropping a few leaves, too. There are funny-looking bump things on the oak leaves. The acorns are quickly scooped up by the squirrels, but those I step on give a good "crunch" sound when I am walking around the driveway doing laps.

I bought the large sized bags of Fertiloam from "The Bloomin' Garden Place". I've lifted all four from the car to the breezeway. One broken one (rebagged and discounted) I took to the patio and loaded up a couple of large planter pots. I dragged another bag down to the cottage to load up the hanging rail boxes - six total. Now to plant them - with what?

My days (recently) are filled with doing the sorting of pictures/files for a PBS interview that will take place very soon. I'm thinking of "time-lines" and "stops" along the way - significant moments - highlighted for the "general-public". And, what are the similarities between my mother's life and mine? What have we shared? What have we learned?

There are "way too many" boxes of photos around here. I open up one and then another. As I said before, I am "The Keeper" for my mother's files, my late huband Bill's files, my late Aunt Gretna's files, mine files and some of my son's files, too! Files = photos, writings and souvenirs.

I enjoy the various "spots" around here that I call "Vignettes". I post some of these over on my Facebook page under Albums.

In the office - the side where I have two drawing tables, two old computers, paintings, file cabinets and shelves - I display Native American stone implements and a peace pipe. These items have their own history - and I believe someone "way back" in Bill's history collected them.

I remember, too, when we were growing up at Potter Farm Lane, there was a drain hole in the basement that we put a stone in to plug the hole - I know now that it was a grinding stone. I do not know what happened to it. I do know that the house burned down and it's probably buried "way down" underneath acnew home that may have taken its place.

Here's today's "Vignette" from Indian Hill, Ohio.

Christmas Cactus Rescue

This is a quick test to see if I can compose over here @ Microsoft Word Starter to do my blog. (Doing a copy/paste).

Rescuing Christmas Cactus: Was checking pot that “housed” two plants – main plant is doing OK – he’s called “Old Friend” and has survived several near-disasters. The Christmas Cactus was in its own pot for awhile, but then I decided that two different plants could share the same pot.

For several years they have “gotten along” OK. Then, the other day I noticed the Christmas Cactus was looking sad and droopy. I checked further – the stem was rotting right at soil-level. I took the Christmas Cactus out and set it aside – even set it outside to get some sun and dry out a bit.

Now I have added more potting soil back into the main pot – and am soaking the cactus in some water hoping it will revive enough that I can plant it again. There are even some new buds at the tips – indicating more blooms were starting their growth. I’ll dust the stems with rooting powder and see what happens after I put them back into the soil – hoping for another “rescue”.

I will look for pictures, too, of Christmas Cactus’ blooming.

Hope this “blog” test works! Chose to do a copy/paste - easier!

Sept. 22, 2014 - A Monday

Here it is again - another Monday - this time it's a chilly but sunny Monday. I'm already in "full steam ahead" mode - making out my daily "to-do" list - checking it off, check by check and awarding myself a "star" for thinking a particular checked-off item to be "special".

Wow Windowbox guys were here re-doing the nine window boxes (out front) for fall. The billowing geraniums and other plants are gone now.  A modified version of last year's fall boxes looks good - winter pansies, purple cabbages, some potato vines, a pumpkin and a "thriller" grass plant in the middle of each box completes the fall theme.

I have six empty planting boxes (QVC) hanging on the railings along the porch outside The Cottage. I hope to fill them with potting soil and maybe plant them, too. I have two big pots at the base of the patio steps that need "something", too. Of course, it would be something "deer-proof". (I figure I spend several hundred dollars a year "deer-proofing").

I'm still following Wheat Belly lifestyle and am really looking forward to Dr. William Davis' PBS program being shown on CET, our local PBS station.

Went to Dayton Opera yesterday - leisurely driving the backroads - enjoying the scenery (pre-fall) - some open fields, some country markets and small towns. Saw "Russian Panorama" an amazing presentation of music, choral singing and ballet. 

I'm still in the middle of a lot of paperwork - putting Mama's files in good order for an interview/filming here at The Cottage.  I'm learning so much more about how much my mother accomplished during her life-time. After watching "The Roosevelt's" on PBS this past week I realize now how altruism - "doing good" was imbedded into the minds of people during my mother and dad's generation. They had endured the depression and World War II. People suffered greatly and those who could help, did help. Mama's mother said to her daughter, "You are here to DO GOOD"!

And so, Mama (now Angel Lois) was an accomplished person who did DO GOOD and I'm now finding out things I never "internalized" at the time she was doing them! Here I am going on age seventy-eight - hoping to make it to at least 102 with all my "facilities" in tact so that I can record all this family history that's lurking in many file cabinets, file folers and archive boxes.

I've ordered supplies that help me with this project - colored file folders, Big Roo & Little Roo - folding file boxes from Boxie company and archive boxes from Exposures and from Bigso. I know to have special books rebound at Ohio Book Store - downtown Cincinnati. Writing an Angel Lois blog will help me keep her story "in circulation". And so, with energy and encouragement from my Facebook friends over on Homemaker's Encouragement - I will "do good", too! Onward!