Farewell Hauler

Farewell Hauler, my faithful friend.

***

About a week ago, after days of ‘funny noises’.

my 6 year old Tahoe received a diagnosis

so expensive, my eyes rolled back in my head.

A second opinion confirmed the first.

The whole process of buying a car/truck is

so unpleasant,

so irritating,

6 hours later,

I felt pistol whipped.

Turning my Tahoe over,

pushed me over the edge and the tears started.


It only had 107,000 miles.

In my family,

that’s just getting warmed up.


My husband said my crying is why they lowered the price on my new vehicle.

I thought they lowered the price because of my dirty looks.

I really have lost my touch. 

 

That really wasn’t my plan.

I didn’t want to sell my truck.

For 6 years,

it never so much as whimpered

when I jumped curbs,

made u-turns,

parked illegally,

hit pot holes,

drove fast,

had its windshield cracked by spraying gravel,

filled the back end with plants,

furniture,

limestone,

and bricks,

and

junk…

 

Oh my, the junk.

 

It played my music

loud,

listened to me sing,

rehearse my AP English III lessons,

and its steering wheel cradled my head when I cried.

 

It held this precious cargo

many times.

It protected me in a wreck on 59 in Houston

during rush hour traffic.

It hauled as fast as I could handle,

(a 6 1/2 hour drive that I made in 5 1/2 hours),

to an emergency room in downtown Houston,

when my husband was

very ill after surgery.

It pulled up to the drive thru window here, 

many times

so I  could pick up 2 regular Mexican plates.

I am headed to Round Top

tomorrow in my new Tahoe

to meet my 3 daughters.

I have already told it ,

it has big shoes to fill,

and I will be reserving judgment.

***

 

 

 

Cool Colors

It would be true to say

that in my home,

blue and white and I

can’t seem to part ways.

    
I even patterned the design of my blog,

(upon the recommendation of my middle daughter),

upon the idea of a blue and white

porcelain piece.

But when dark pink enters the

picture,

I can hardly stand it. 

Remember

years ago

when the experts said our best personal

colors were based on seasons?

Well,

I am a winter-

as in cool colors.

What are you?

***

I am linking to

and

Designer Garden’s

VIP Party.

Gardening Questions

 

Everything in my yard smells wonderful right now.

When our citrus trees bloom,

all is right in my world.

I never knew this crazy jasmine would bloom so profusely.

It is a plant that will not take no for answer.

Gardening Questions:

1.  What is a wax rose?


2.  How can I get lush,layered, dense beds of perennials

around the perimeter of my yard,

in a drought and hot temperatures,

without ending up on a stretcher?


3.  I have had more thorns in my feet and hands

this past month than I had my entire childhood.


4.  What do you wear on your feet when you garden?


5. Do you think the lines of character (wrinkles)

on the face of a gardener (me)

add character?


6.  Do you ever wish it weren’t dark outside

because you wanted to go out

and work in your yard?


7.  Who is going to unload the 20 pieces of limestone

I have in the back of my poor,

mistreated Tahoe?

***

I am linking to

 

 

C.S. Lewis and Blogging

"Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another:

What! You too?

I thought I was the only one."

C. S. Lewis

This is a wonderful truth for me-

in the world of blogging.

Two reasons come to mind.


Reason #1

  There is nothing better than realizing, as C.S. Lewis states,

that someone

gets it-

gets you-

feels the same way-

and understands-

your humor and your purpose.


What joy that is…


For example,

White Spray Paint ,

is an acquired taste

I think.

I like thinking of my blog as

that quirky shop on the edge of town,

that you may occasionally frequent .


It is

-out of the way

-has odd hours

- is sometimes open, sometimes closed

-has quirky inventory

-and a funky owner,

who may seem distracted,

but is always glad to see you.

Thank you for getting it and getting me.

Reason #2

  In blogging particularly,

with the wonders of internet technology,

we take turns

when we speak to each other.
There are no interruptions in

sharing our thoughts and ideas,

whether innermost or not.


For all intents and purposes,

everyone

is listening quietly and intently.


That is a precious gift that is hard to find

in today’s world.

This builds the best kind of sincere communication.

The mutual kind.

Thank you for that and for

‘listening’

to me.

Dear Daughters

Dear Daughters,

This beautiful flower journeyed to my

yard ,

initially as one of several bulbs,

in the hands

of Enedelia,

a humble, and wonderful lady.

There is an odyssey of sorts here.

Her sister in Mexico grows these flowers,

who gave the bulbs to a second sister,

who in turn gave them to Enedelia,

who gave a few bulbs to me.

I don’t know if there is a pleasure more genuine than that.


I hope you always remember that.

   

There are all sorts of ways of looking at things,

but Enedelia’s generosity

says it clearly.

*Share what you enjoy with someone who enjoys the same thing.



*Share your offering in its humblest form and not in

its store bought form.



You clip the cutting, share the bulbs , bake the bread, or

make the pot of soup.

*Enjoy what happens next.

Love,

Mom

 

My Gardening ‘I Need’ List

In order for my gardening

to reach its

full potential,

I have decided

I need the following tools.

These items would be customized

to meet my specific needs.

*I need a super duper leaf sucker upper that

doesn’t get all bent out of shape if a few large

rocks, pieces of glass, or

other unidentifiable archaeological objects join in on the fun.

It needs to have a black bag attachment that

bags all of said objects

without me having to expend

any effort.

This would be a sort of Daisy Seal a Meal for the yard.

*I need a low rider type garden vehicle,

with a CD player and an ice chest,

that I can ride around in,

in my yard,

from problem area to problem area.

It needs to be low so I can reach down,

without stopping,

and grab whatever I need to grab,

with as little effort as possible.

The engineering for this

would be based on the same principal

as riding a polo pony,

even though I have never done so.

*I need a staff of robotic

yard machines that do everything I program them to do,

without giving me dirty looks,

running away and hiding,

or screening my calls.

*I need a giant sprinkler system,

in the trees,

so when I turn it on,

it rains on the entire yard.

I mean , after all,

let’s get this show on the road.

*I need a means of

discouraging cutter ants from

stripping my roses

so severe,

so horrific,

they’ll think

“That lady is nuts.”

*I need a laser chain saw

that is user friendly.

All I would have to do is point it at what

I want trimmed

and yell “Trim!”

I would never, ever have to

go to the back door,

falling into the house dramatically,

where my husband is watching television,

acting like I have just trekked the Sahara desert,

asking

“Can you come out here for just one minute?”

And finally…

*I need a dance floor in the back yard.


I am tired of stepping into holes.

***

I am linking to:

The Moral of the Story

Sigh…

I can breathe.

In my 40 bags in 40 days challenge for myself,

which has looked more like

20 gigantic bags to this point,

I cleared out one of my china cabinets.

Yes… I said one of…

From my more active entertaining days,

the bottom shelf of this cabinet held

42

crystal wine and water goblets.

Who was I having over?

An entire orchestra?

Now I can breathe.

Especially with my new ironstone tureen

from

Glory B’s in Geronimo.

Sigh…

Does anyone else fixate on handles?

You have seen my other favorite.

Here is the moral of the story

about

the words

more and less.

Sometimes when I have more,

I see less.

***

I am linking to:

 

Franciscan Madeira, Secretariat, and a Garage Apartment

For years

I have given a home

to a million pieces

of

Franciscan Madeira pottery

and Tiffin Madeira crystal in avocado green.

I just added it up.

I have had these dishes for 40 years.

Avocado green may not be on

a 2011 color wheel,

but it certainly was

in the early 70’s.

In fact , if you wanted your

refrigerator, blender ,

or your toxic set of Club aluminum cookware to match,

that was possible too.

I have a million pieces,

but I can’t seem to let it go.

I used it daily in the garage apartment

where my husband and I lived the first year we were married.

Which reminds me… don’t young people

live in garage apartments anymore?

Every night I set the table with Franciscan Madeira,

Tiffin avocado green goblets,

and Reed and Barton Regency stainless.

My menus were color coded too:

something green, ( Del Monte)

something white, (potatoes or rice)

and something brown, (usually beef).

My Madeira was at the first dinner party my husband and I had.

I served

King Ranch Casserole

Ranch Style Bean salad

green salad

hot bread

and

dessert.

I called my mother a million times that day for help.

These were all Ranch Recipes.


My Madeira was in that same apartment

when Secretariat won the Triple Crown.

That marked the beginning

of my husband and I watching sports on television

together,

while I jumped up and down in excitement.

We still do that today.

 

I have made a decision.

These dishes aren’t going anywhere.

In honor of time and family and loyalty

and surviving moves and hearing little girls growing up

and all of us thumping around in the kitchen,

and in honor of all of my avocado green sisters in blogland

who might be reading this,

and in honor of Secretariat,

these dishes are staying right here.

In fact, I am going to start using them again.

Why?

Because as my father,

(and Father Time would say),

“We’re burning daylight."

***

I am linking to

and

 

My Garden Shed

One of my favorite times of day

is right at dusk.

There is still enough light to

work in the garden,

but it is dark enough that I can turn on the little white lights

in my garden shed.

 

It is a humble place, but

as you know by now,

that is my

favorite kind.

I have posted reminders

to keep things simple while

I think,

plan,

work, pray.

It is also where I

dance,

sing,

and arrange things .

I realized recently I have a collection of

treasures in green.

I found many of these things in a crate

that was my mother’s.

Tomorrow afternoon I will be spending

the afternoon here.

There is work to do.

***

I am linking to

the following parties.

Just click on the button to see more.

Happy Belated Blog Anniversary to Theresa

One of the dearest people in blog land,

and that is saying quite a bit,

just celebrated her 2 year blog anniversary.

Happy Blog Anniversary to

Theresa of

They Call Me Ganky.

In the two years she has been blogging,

I can’t even imagine the number

of positive, supportive, cheerful,

kind comments Theresa has made

on all of our blogs.

She is the definition of a

Giver.

Happy Blog Anniversary Theresa!

 

40 Bags in 40 Days at August Fields

 This morning while visiting blogs, upon the recommendation of my daughter Lauren,

I visited a beautiful blog

titled

August Fields.

The very first post I read this morning

stopped me in my tracks.

The blogger, Sara , a lovely young mother of 5,

shared a Lenten practice

she honors.

40 Bags in 40 Days. Preparing For Easter.

The idea is perfect in its simplicity.

Clear out a bag a day of whatever is blocking

those spaces

in our homes and in our hearts.

The link is here,

but here is an

excerpt.

“…this can be a time to clear the house and make more room for God.”


Your visit will be worth every single moment you spend there.

 

 

And then, on another note,

there is her house.

Oh my.

Sarah graciously mentions in her post that she first heard about 40 bags in 40 Days

from Sarah

at Memories on Clover Lane.

It all comes full circle.

Sarah of Memories on Clover Lane

is one of the first bloggers I emailed,

when I first started blogging,

with several questions about blogging and photography.

***

I am off to fill some bags!