I Will be Crossing this Bridge Today

All 5 miles of it. It is 50 years old. They just had a big 50-year anniversary celebration in July. It sways in the wind (no kidding--up to 12.5 feet in each direction! It's made to do that on purpose.)

I cross it at least twice a month, but this will be the first time since the 135W collapse. I hope I don't get all uptight about it.

After work today, I am heading north where I can allow my vices to run wild while searching for waterfalls and rainbows.

Have you ever heard of Tahquamenon Falls? It's a lovely place. I'd like to go there, but there is a raging fire spreading across Michigan's upper peninsula and the last I heard it was getting close to this natural attraction. I suppose I should check out the status of fire before heading off in that direction.

Hope you all have a great week. I will be back in a few days.

Garage Sale Treasure

Look at his table I bought for only $3.00!

As soon as I saw it I thought it would be a good table to hold a plant on the deck.
I also plan to pull out the drawer and put a plant inside.


For this year I just took my old coal bucket and stuck a shrub I haven't planted yet as well as a bunch of little heuchra containers that I also need to plant.



I figure it will last a year or two, then I will toss it out. I may paint it next year.


Today I harvested my first tomatoes.

Yes, that's it.
Sad, sad, sad.
They don't even taste very good--not sweet at all.

We did get a bit of rain last night. I don't even know how much. I thought it was enough that I wouldn't have to water the plants today, but about an hour ago I looked out and they were all wilting. Hopefully we get more soon.

August Deck Containers Video(s)

I made a video to show you my new deck arrangement and how the plants have grown since the June video.


I bought a new toy for DH. What a stroke of luck that it is just what I needed to move these big containers!

For some reason the video kept kicking out and I had to do a few to get it all in. I have no idea why. To be perfectly honest I have little idea HOW I get these things posted. I copy the code, paste it in and it's not there. I do it again and again, I go back and forth to YouTube and click things until finally it appears! Perseverance DOES pay off.

When the first one ends, click the second one to continue.

Please STOP the Blog "Awards"

I feel so good when someone feels something I have posted has inspired them enough to tell others about my blog. As humans, most of us can never get enough appreciative comments and I am so grateful to all who have good feelings to share about my blog.

You may remember a few posts ago that I acknowledged a couple of the current popular blogger awards I was given. It really felt good that a new reader had thought enough about me to give public accolades. I felt honored...............and very conflicted because I have strong feelings about the whole award concept.

You may have also noticed that I did not offer the awards to 5 other blogs like I was supposed to. I have wrestled with this decision for over a week. How could I deal with my feelings gracefully without offending the giver? I decided to wimp out and say nothing negative at all. It seems blogland loves these things and I acquiesced to the mobs. I now regret not speaking out and so here I go climbing up on my soapbox to rant.

There are so many blogs I enjoy. Any of them on my sidebar are more than worthy recipients. Of course, probably all of them on my sidebar have already been nominated. And that, my dear readers, is where my problem with these blogsphere awards begins.

How many revolutions of blog awards do you think it takes to get over one million awarded when every awardee nominates five more?

5 X 5 + 25

5 X 25 = 125

125 x 5 = 625

625 x 5 = 3,125

3,125 x 5 = 15,625

15,625 x 5 = 78,125

78,125 x 5 = 390,625

390,625 x 5 = 1,953,125

Surprising, isn’t it? Just 8 revolutions and there are nearly 2 million. It's really nothing more than the old pyramid scheme invading blog rankings.

Is it just me or do others wonder how worthy an award is when everyone has it?

Do you find these things are getting out of control?

First it was only memes. Then it was awards with a link back to the original poster (a very frowned upon way to increase hits to a blog). Now I am noticing many awards with no link back to the originator (it was the 1st thing I checked on the two I posted), so at least they were started with good intentions.

Even so, are you tired of seeing new ones crop up daily? Are people just finding it tough to come up with postings, so they use these as fillers to have something to talk about? I can see where a meme is tempting when you can’t think of anything to write about. And, even I, enjoy a short getting-to-know-you-better meme post. But some of those list 100 things about............utterly ridiculous. Who wants to read 100 things about anybody?

I just wonder when it will all end? Will the next one be an award for the blogger who started the most blog awards?

I, for one, really don't want to see blogs turning into one big award fest. I have come across so many of them lately that my eyes just skim right past the post.

I think we need a STOP the blog awards campaign.

I bet this post won't put me in the ring for a Miss Congeniality in the blogsphere award.
But I wouldn't be surprised if someone hasn't already started an award for just that.

Animal Paper-Pieced Quilt Blocks

8/26/07 All 12 blocks are sewn together and I am working on the border blocks.

8/25/07 - I have finished 12 animal blocks. Now I must decide what to do with all of them. I am inclined to just sew them all together and add a 6-inch border, which will make a 48 x 60-inch quilt.

Pig Block (Added 8/25/07)

Polar Bear (Added 8/25/07)

Penguin (Added 8/25/07)

Camel (Added 8/25/07)

the color is off on this one. Those plain blocks are the same light gold color as in many of the other blocks, not green as they look here. This block is really irritating me. It was one of those that was not 4 inches and you had to add borders to make it 4". I thought I would add it all at the bottom so it looked like desert sand. Not a good decision! I should have added equal amounts to the top and bottom. Actually the author should have done all of that for me. This is a good example of when I said the book had one flaw....the author did not make all of the blocks the same size. If she had done it, I would not have messed it up by adding my own. If I wanted to design my own, I would not have bought the book.

Giraffe Block (Added 8/19/07)

Leopard Block (added 8/19/07)

Lion Block (added 8/18/07)

Donkey Block (added 8/12/07)


Rhinoceros Block

Monkey Block

Elephant Block

Last night I was in the mood to sew and made the little 4-inch elephant center. I wasn't sure what to do with him. After a little thought I decided he'd make a fine center for a star block.

I can see a safari themed baby quilt....maybe a different African animal in each center.

There is one little problem... I don't have a baby.

Maybe I could turn it into a tote bag. I think I would carry a fun tote bag with an elephant on it for something like library books.........I have never actually made a tote bag so I am not all that sure how to make a good sturdy one.

Hmmm....I will have to think on this on bit more.

Update: New block added (my battery died last night and I had to wait to take the pic). Lostroses, this one makes me think of you. :) (just recently lostroses got a magnificent big light-up flamingo for her yard. It's a beauty, too. Click here to see it for yourself.).

Patti asked me about the elephant pattern. Yes, it's from Margaret Rolfe's book. The book is called A Quilter's Ark and has over 50 little animal patterns. The book does not give you the star patterns. They are from a Carol Doak book, Simply Sensational 9-Patch Stars.

In my humble opinion, the Rolfe book has one irritating flaw. All of the blocks are not the same size. Like this flamingo. Instead of taking the time to design it at 4 inches, she tells you to add a little strip to the side to make it four inches. I hate that straight line. I think that the author should have made them all 4 inches. (The straight seam would look a bit better IF I had sewn it on the same grain, but my fabric was too short in that direction.) This one may be relegated to the potholder pile.

How to Deadhead Petunias and Calla Lilies

I get a fair number of people searching for "how to deadhead petunias" or calla lilies. If I remember way back, I didn't know where to cut the petunia bloom either. So I thought I would do a quick post today about just that.

Many newbies just pull it off like this:


That is not enough. It will soon set seed if you leave the little tube portion that holds the flower.

You need to cut it off behind the green tube portion. I like to use scissors because petunias are sticky.



There. That one looks so much better once all those hanging deadies are gone.

Calla lilies are much easier and quicker. When the flower starts to turn green and fall over like this.........


Just cut it off. I like to go way down the stem into the leaves so none of the stalk is left sticking up.



There you have it. I hope someone who wanders in looking for this finds it useful.

Squirrel Tails and Miscellaneous Musings

These Purple Fountain Grass seed heads remind me of squirrel tails. I can't resist touching them every time I walk by.

I took this picture at 6:40 a.m. Look how dark it was. Not long ago it was full daylight by that time.

The fanflower (scaveola) is beginning to grow up and through the Persian Shield. I like having the lighter purple peeking through.

The sunlight through the Tropicanna leaf in the barrel.

In the front you can see the chives have rebloomed, though the second bloom is always sparse.


I have found this optic grass very frustrating to use effectively.I have moved it from four different containers until I finally stuck it in the big canna pot a few weeks ago. It's right under the Purple Fountain grass.
Finally, I have found a place where I think it works well, nicely softening the hard metal edge. The problem is I expected the optic grass to grow big and tall like the Purple Fountain grass, but it has stayed quite small. It is easily lost among other large plants unless they grow very upright like these Tropicannas.

See this green sweet potato vine? You never seen this color for sale, do you? It has overwintered in this container and came back without much of it's purple/black color. You can see the darker color in a few of the leaves.

I really hate to see the containers, so I am just glad this plant decided to make a reappearance and do such a fine job of covering the big pot. I love to get surprise rebloomers!

To add to the odds of getting wonderful surprises, I sprinkle seeds of plants that have escaped my not-so-diligent-of-late deadheading. There was a time when no plant on my deck would have a chance to set seed because I was deadheading daily. I no longer find spending 3o minutes a day with scissors rewarding, so I have cut the task back to every couple of weeks. This brown stalk of seeds was a tall blue ageratum. It would be quite welcome to pop up next summer in this container. Because I store these containers with all the soil intact in above freezing conditions, so it has a small chance of surviving.

We are still waiting for the rain.

Relaxing in my Tropical Paradise

This magazine was in my mailbox when I came home from work this afternoon.

Isn't it one of the most gorgeous covers you've ever seen?

Oh, to have a garden shed like that one! Instead of the one I have.

(I guess it's better than having no shed.)

I immediately changed into more comfy clothing (i.e. I got as nearly naked as I can get and not be arrested). After a full day of pantyhose and heels, I just need to get that stuff off! Once I get out to the deck, I pray that nobody sneaks up on the deck without me seeing them. Believe me, witnessing Zoey in skimpy clothing is not a pretty sight.

Then I juiced one of the large limes DH bought me this weekend and whipped up a salty Margarita and went out to sit among my tropical paradise and read the mag.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh, now this is the life I was born to live!
If I hide back in my little corner, I can't see all the deadness out in the yard. It almost feels like I'm in a tropical paradise.

While reading I came across a hens & chicks wreath that I thought was very, very similar to the wreath I made.
O.K. it's a little fuller than mine, but don't you think it's pretty similar? I need a little more moss for mine. It's very hard for the plants to grab hold.

After I finished my cold beverage I decided to go out and cut a few sprigs of purple phlox to bring up to the deck so I could at least enjoy it there. There is nothing enjoyable about looking at it in the nearly dead gardens. I could hardly find enough flowers to make a centerpiece. I clipped a few dahlias, etc. from the deck containers and stuck everything in the birdhouse planter.


Here is a close up.

I am happy with it now.

I get bored with the same mugshot so I changed my profile picture again.

I think we all need to remember to take time each day to smell the basil. So you will be seeing me smelling the basil for a while. .. and not just any old basil...notice it's a very nice purple-leaved variety.

I Am Tired of Dumping Outdated Milk Down the Drain

Today I noticed my unopened half gallon of milk was about to expire.

Every two weeks I throw away unused milk. We rarely drink it and yet I need it on hand for cooking. A few times I put the nearly-full container in the freezer thinking I could unthaw it if needed. That does not work too well because I usually only need a half cup or so. To unthaw the whole jug for such a little bit takes forever and then I end up tossing the rest anyway.

So today I decided to freeze it in muffin tins. Each tin holds 1/3 cup of milk.

After it was frozen, I ran the bottom under hot water for a few seconds and each cube popped right out.

I put them in a freezer bag inserted inside a plastic container.

Look at all those tiny one-third cup portions just waiting to be needed. They will thaw in no time at all.

I Made the Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes Today

As you will see it's been a cooking marathon Sunday!

Of course I did not follow the recipe exactly as I posted it a couple of days ago. For one thing, I changed the chocolate chips to raisins as I wanted more of a breakfast muffin than a cupcake.

Whenever I use raisins in cookies, etc. I first put them a saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil. I then turn off the stove and let them sit for about 1/2 an hour. Instead of hard little blobs in the muffins, I ended up with soft, moist morsels.

I also used walnuts instead of pecans because that's what I had on hand. I used buttermilk instead of regular milk because I had some of that in the freezer and I wanted to get rid of it to free up freezer space.

I made some in a mini bundt pan, some as hearts and some in my overpriced silicone muffin tins that I have only used once before (with less than ideal results). I sprayed everything with this Crisco baking spray. Even the silicone muffins tins which are not supposed to stick.
They all turned out quite well.



I still had buttermilk to use up so I decided to make a non chocolate batch. I had a recipe for zuke bread that I got in 1977 from a Coast Guard wife when I attended a wine tasting party at her house. It didn't use buttermilk, so I just made up my own recipe based on that one. I decided to use carrots and zucchini for the nice orange specks of color the carrots would add. They turned out great--look how pretty they are.


Only one of them stuck. Guess which pan it was. It was the silicone muffin pan made specifically as nonstick! Don't waste your money on those things.
I STILL had buttermilk left and did not want to refreeze it, so I googled "zucchini chocolate cake buttermilk" and found a recipe at cooks.com. It was almost identical to the chocolate cupcake recipe, except it used one cup less flour.


I just sprinkled the chocolate chips on the top of each 9-inch layer.

When they were cooked, I wrapped each layer and froze them. I stuck the recipe in the tin in case it's so good that I want to remember the recipe.
I will frost it with cream cheese frosting when I decide to serve it.

As if all the baking wasn't enough, I decided to use some of my fresh veggies to make a beef vegetable soup.
Don't you love all the bright colors?

It turned out good. We had it for lunch and will have it again for tomorrow's dinner...and probably AGAIN later in the week. I made a huge pot of it.

I cooked ALL morning, but now I have a freezer full of muffins and a few dinners for the week. It was cool this morning so it was a perfect day to use the oven.