Morning glories and mice......

 This spring I planted some morning glories that I sprouted from seed....I remember my disappointment the next day when I came out to water them, and all the leaves were gone.  I assumed I had some kind of bug, like the baby grasshoppers I was seeing everywhere.  I put plastic cups over the next group I planted, and I had them on there quite awhile, but they didn't like that and wouldn't grow.  So I took off the cups and the next day ~ poof! ~ all leaves gone, just a little green stem sticking up. I sprayed.  I put out traps for the pill bugs (because they were eating my marigolds).  I resigned to the fact I would not have morning glories this year, and moved on.  I did keep a net tent over the freshly sprouted flower mix I put in one part of the garden.  But eventually the zinnias were bending over due to the tent. 

Then one day I saw something like this:

That was the day I knew that the pest I have been battling was not six legged.  I got out my mouse traps.  Three days in a row I had a mouse.  I continued for a few more days, but I haven't had anymore, and I hate loading the traps so I quit putting them out.  Luckily I haven't had any more tomatoes being munched on.  But today my neighbor who knew my sad morning glory story gave me a dozen morning glory seedlings.  So I am trying again, but I will set a trap or two just in case more interlopers join the party.

The fence behind my garden has our old wood fence, and about 8 inches behind that is our neighbors fence that she had built because one of her rescued dogs was constantly jumping the fence into our yard.  So, there's that bit of a gap, and that is where they had made their home.  And munching on my seedlings, apparently.  

I hate to use traps, and Romeo asked if I wanted a catch and release trap, to which I said no.  Where the heck am I going to release them?  I can just see myself walking up the hill to the foothills with a cage and a mouse in it.  

At least I finally know what has been feasting on my garden plants.

Love, 365
  

No is easier to say than yes, but I seem to have trouble with the "no" word.....

 

I am not sure when this photo was taken, but other than the brick wall out front being stuccoed, it's pretty much the same.  It was built in 1950.  Other than maintaining the outside,  the inside has had various upgrades over the years.  It is quite beautiful.  

So, here is where I spend most of my time if I'm not at home.  

I am not exactly certain when I volunteered to help with organizing the icons in the Sunday School building.  No, wait ~ that's right, someone called me and asked me if I would like to take on the project.  For some crazy reason, I said yes.  I had absolutely no idea what I was taking on.  

I actually started the project almost a year ago.  The icons (see below if you don't know what I'm talking about) are mounted on a set of wooden runners that are the length of the building.  Well, here's a photo of what I'm talking about.....

 

Although these particular icons aren't very tall, there are some that take up the entire space between the runners.  There is also a sheet of plexiglass that fits into the the runners so that the icons don't fall out.  

That was one of the main problems: the wooden rails had warped somewhat and now the plexiglass panels fall out, as there is more room between the top and bottom of the rails due to that warping issue.  Our priest said he could get more plexiglass panels that would fit ~ but I haven't heard anything since.  So, I ruminated over how to solve this problem, and after talking it over with one of our parishioners that is a carpenter, she agreed to meet me there one day, as she had an idea.  Her idea was to bolster up the rail so that the plexiglass fit again ~ not a bad idea.  Not perfect either, but it worked for most of the panels.  

The next part of the project was to put these icons in order of their feast date.  (So usually it's an icon with one or more Saints in it, and on a particular date, we commemorate them.  Usually on the date of their martyrdom, but sometimes its for something else.)  There are about 65-70 million icons.  Ok, there aren't that many, it just seems like it.  I did go to work on putting them in order, but I unfortunately picked a date during summer Bible School for the kids.  I did get some stuff done, but it was so chaotic I decided to come back another day, haha.  

I could have (and probably should have) gone back the next week, but being me, I kept finding reasons why I could do it later.  I did meet up with a friend and we worked on one part of it, but there is still a lot more left.  I want to finish it next week...no, I need to finish it next week, because it's become the definition of albatross, and it's always on my mind, driving me crazy.  

I think that there is a sign on my back that says "sucker".   

Just remember, there is always a sucker out there, just don't let it be you.....

Love, 365 

I hope you all had a great 4th!....

 

The smallest hollyhock in the yard ~ and the only white one!  So far I have a purple one, two pink ones, and this white one.  I cut down the tall hollyhocks, they were just too leggy and not very attractive.  I tried my best to keep seeds from falling all over, but......

This is a small example of what happens when you jiggle the stalk too much.  So, no doubt I will have new ones this fall.

 

Bake From Scratch key lime cookies.....

This strawberry is huge compared to my other plants....it's a new variety called "seascape".  I will probably replace the other plants when they are no longer producing.  It was really sweet and good!

 

 

The last Greek mountain tea plant.  You can see one of the dead ones just above it.  I suppose if I can get it to grow big enough, it might self seed for the fall or next spring.  Come on, baby!! Grow!

 

I canned the apricots I bought, and they turned out good.  Really tasty on plain yogurt.  Had some issues when I decided to change the type of pectin I use, but I have it figured out.  I was so exhausted.  I have 14 jars, more than enough to share and enjoy.

 

 Looks like Abe knew exactly what he was talking about.  Did anyone watch the documentary?  It was really good......

 

 It has been a super busy day, so it's time to just chill now!  I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Love, 365 

Roadrunner 101...

 

They are fascinating birds.  They can fly, but mostly they run around ~ hence the name.  I think they are super cool because they remind me that birds are relatives of dinosaurs.  They are reminiscent of velociraptors!  You can go here : https://newmexiconomad.com/roadrunner/ if you are interested in a brief description of our state bird.

They are not shy, and once they figure out you aren't going to chase them (or sic your dog on them), they will come fairly close!  Romeo said Nike came right into the garage when he was out working in the front yard.  

Well, no excuse not to know about roadrunners now!  I really enjoy seeing them around.

Have a fab Saturday!
Love, 365 

 

 

The retired life on a Monday......

 

With the temps getting up there, dog walks are now taking place at 7am.  It is still nice and cool.  Still plenty of shade.  The dogs love the cool grass (and all the trees, haha) in the parks.  I had to take this photo, with the sun just coming up over the mountains.  This morning there were so many other dog walkers, Romeo asked me "Is there a holiday today that I don't know about??"  I thought maybe people who don't work take the weekends off in order to avoid the working folks that are out in droves on Saturday and Sunday.  

Then I had to feed the tomatoes, water some of the other things in my garden, water the strawberry garden, water my crazy lavender plant, and oregano, then the yard.  I had such high hopes for my Greek mountain tea (sideritis, or ironwort), but there are only three of the five seedlings left.  One is growing ~wow it grows rather slowly ~ the others just seem to be hanging out.  If I can't get it going, I'm going to turn that raised bed into a veg bed.   My yard isn't big enough for unproductive gardening beds.

I usually have a lizard that lives in the wisteria near my garden, and I'm happy to have them!  A few days ago there was a large roadrunner standing on the fence, going after the lizards ~ one of their main food sources.  She was too big to make much headway into the wisteria to make the catch.  Now my lizards are rather shy.  I haven't seen them out sunning themselves like I used to.  As I am writing this, she was just now out there, so I think she has put our yard on her route for breakfast.  

 

Yesterday our team at church (we make the meal for fellowship hour about twice a year) had a fish fry, and unfortunately there were about 3 grease fires.  The kid working on frying the fish was putting it into the hot oil too fast.  It totally freaked me out!  I was yelling "fire!  fire!", and couldn't figure out why no one else was freaking out.  They were not small fires either.  Finally he figured out he needed to put the basket in very slowly to avoid the flare ups.  I'm surprised we didn't need the fire extinguisher.  If Chuck wants to fry fish again, I'm going to say no way.  Just buy the fish already fried and heat it up in the oven.  I had a hard time falling asleep last night, having flashbacks on it.  

I was so stressed out that I forgot an ingredient in the cornbread I was making ~ although I didn't realize I forgot to put the melted butter in until that afternoon.  I just couldn't figure out why the recipe worked without it, but it did!  I had quite a few compliments on it too!  Weird, right?

Well, gotta go fold laundry and other drab, boring stuff.  This is the life of a retiree most days!  I must say, I really love it.  :-)

Love, 365
 

I thought yesterday was Wednesday.........

 

I don't know why I see so many chicken posts on FB ~ I don't have any, and I don't write posts about them.  But darned if most of them don't crack me up.  Especially the ones that show the human in charge putting in a swing for them, and then they use it!  Maybe chickens aren't as stupid as folks say?  

Summer is here ~ temps in the 90s every day.  The only good thing ~ my tomatoes are really taking off.  I have some lined up for ripening....
 

I read somewhere that the best thing to do it pick the fruit off when there's a slight blush underneath.  Said it doesn't affect the taste and keeps your wonderful tomatoes from being eaten my some critter.  I have been waiting for this day for 9 months!!  Can't wait to try them.  

About 4-5 years ago we purchased burial plots at Natural Burial of New Mexico ~ but we had never gone out there to see what it looks like.  So, we took a little road trip to check it out.  As it turned out, there was a burial going on when we visited.  When you are buried, your relatives are given a GPS location in case they want to visit your grave later ~ but as you can see, there's not much to see!  No headstones are allowed, although you can have a stone engraved if you wish.  

It doesn't matter to us, we have no family in New Mexico ~ and I doubt our kids would visit.  And after seeing this burial ground, I admit I wouldn't really want to go either!  But it was inexpensive.  And we don't need to be embalmed, which I don't want.  It all kind of reminds me of the wild west, haha.

**************************

I hope you all enjoy your weekend!

Love, 365 

The completetion (almost!) of an old project....

 

I am not much of a quilter.  I hope to change that, but this quilt ~ intended for my youngest son ~ has been hanging around unfinished for almost 3 years.  I finally finished sewing all the 9 patch blocks, and now I need to sew each row, then sew the rows together.  My sis, who is quite the quilter suggested I sew two rows together, then another two and so on, then sew those rows all together.  She has been doing this for quite awhile, so I'm going to take her recommendation.  I vacuumed the living room and laid the blocks down to try and figure out where I wanted the colored blocks.  Zoē thought I had put down a new rug for her to lay down on.  I would throw a toy, but she would keep coming back to it.  Silly dog.  

We have been enjoying wonderful weather here, and I'm dreading the hottest part of summer.  Today we took Demitri and Zoē for a walk at 7am this morning, and it was really nice.  Later we'll be lucky if it is below 75 in the morning.  

The garden is coming along.....

The hollyhocks are going great guns.  Everything in. the garden is doing fine, with only a bit of leaves being munched on.  I plan to use my neem oil spray this evening and hopefully remove the critters that are creating those holes, and getting rid of the pest that likes the morning glory leaves.  

Have a wonderful weekend!

Love, 365
 

Well, here we are........

These are "Heavenly blue" morning glories.  I bought a packet of seeds, very excited about having them climb the fence behind my garden.  About two weeks later, I am so excited to see seedlings!  A week later I went out to water, and the leaves are gone.  Something is eating the darn leaves.  So I tried again, but had the same result, so apparently I was supplying something with a snack!  I have clear plastic cups I'm going to put over the new seeds I planting tomorrow.  The curious thing is there are small basil plants, and small carrot tops, but those are fine.  I can't figure out what's eating them, but I'm beginning to wonder if it's pill bugs.  I hope the cups work.

There is really not much going on ~ we get up and take the dogs out around 7:15-7:30 for a 2-3 mile walk, then I work out in the garden for awhile.  Laundry.  Dinner.  Embroidery or quilting, depending on how I feel about either one.  The one thing I have to force myself to do is clean house.  Yesterday I dusted, vacuumed and mopped the downstairs, and wasn't worth anything after that.  I used to do a whole lot more in one day!  Now, I parcel it out.  Once upon a time I tried a cleaning service, but I was disappointed that they didn't do everything I normally do ~ like catch the baseboards with the vacuum, clean well around the toilet....things like that.  So, why spend the money if my standards are so nick picky?  It is not cheap having a service like that, so I'll save that money for something else ~ and there are always many "something else's", haha.

 

 Happy Memorial Day to all our veterans and service members......We remember 💗

If you have Netflix, check out the documentary on Lincoln.  It is so well done.  I wish we had a president with his honesty and dedication to the well being of the citizens of this country right now ~ when apparently it is most needed.

Love, 365 

 

Garden adventures.......

As you can see from this photo, my hollyhocks are blooming already.  This must be the earliest I've ever seen.  I attribute it to our very warm March.  I went ahead and planted my seedlings, even though technically our last frost date is mid May.  

I was so excited that my morning glories sprouted...I checked them every day, and then one morning, poof!  They were all gone.  I think a bird ate them, thinking they look like worms.  I have replanted more seeds, and put some netting over it so they don't munch down again. 

Currently watching Iga Swiatek battle McNally, and it's a terrific game.  The first set she won 6 to 1, and lost the second set 6-7.  That's a huge turn around for McNally.  

I finished cutting out and sewing the squares for the 9 patch quilt I am making for my youngest son.  I can't believe I started it over 2 years ago.  I am motivated to get it done, and ship it off to him!  I have other sewing projects I really want to get to.  I am really not a precision sewer.  I just do it, and then I noticed that some of the blocks are 1/4" bigger than others, so I'm going to need to trim them all to the same size.  What a pain.  

I received my issue of Bake from Scratch, and decided to try their meringue lemon bars.  I guess I'll have to let you know because they have to stay in the fridge overnight before making the swiss meringue.  The worst problem with baking when there's just two of us is having all this stuff hanging around.  If I can I freeze it, but this one can't be frozen, so......    

Now for a little Mother's Day humor:

 

 

Happy Mother's Day to all of you Mom's!

Love, 365 

I'm back!....

 I knew it had been awhile since I've been here~ things have finally settled down.  That last month of Pascha (Easter) was totally crazy.  There was just so much going on.  Extra services at church, about a billion flowers being delivered, baking and egg dyeing.  Of course, I  ended up with a migraine, a really awful one that took two days to recuperate from.  It's been two weeks and I finally feel I am catching up with all my usual chores and projects.   But today I had to take a break and chill.  I am doing that by binge watching The Closer.   I had never watched it, mostly because Romeo doesn't really like the gruesome aspects of murder victims.  Somehow it doesn't really bother me.   

                                                                Oh, nooooooo! 

He doesn't have any problems watching me do an emergency amputation on Mr Bill's leg, which was hopelessly mauled by Demitri.   Sadly this surgery did not save Mr Bill for future maulings.  But the dogs loved hearing him say Oh, noooooo! when he was tossed for their play.  

 

The two of them often keep track of neighborhood goings on.  

This year's kouvouklion.....

 

                                                                    Christ is Risen!

 Adorable myrrh bearers.....

Holy Saturday.....

Gorgeous petunias I found at Costco.....

Next week I am finishing painting the bedroom.  You know what's funny?  Romeo says "when are WE going to start on finishing the painting?", when he never picked up a single paint brush over the past years painting projects.  Haha

 

Well, I don't have much else!  I hope you all have a great weekend!

Love, 365 

 

 

The scent of wisteria.....

I have never seen my wisteria so full of blooms!  I keep the windows and back door open so that the scent will waft in, and it's the best freakin air freshner ever.  

 

I took a photo while looking up at the underside..... 

 

The construction of each and every flower......amazing.

 

There are a LOT of bees.  They are busy though, and even though I was hanging out trying to get photos, they ignored me.  I do worry the dogs will snap at one and have their head swell up.  Which is why we keep liquid Benadryl on hand.

 

I really can't explain how big this plant is.  I planted it 26 years ago.  The main stem is probably 7 or 8 inches in diameter.  The other side of our fence is probably 20 feet, and it hangs almost to the ground on the other side.  

This was taken a couple of days earlier before it really opened up!
 

Love, 365