Tuesday's tidbits......

My cheap book of the day is Garden Magic.  At this time of the year I start to dig through the pile and see what will bring me back to life.  I really can only dream as these gardens in here as they are farther South from where I live.  I did see a  pavilion in the book that inspired me to build. 

NOT MY GARDEN!  

I did that because sometimes bloggers don't always read your copy and they might think this was mine.  This is the top half of the cover photo with the agapanthus in the pot. I have two containers of this plant and I saw on of them meagerly bloom two years ago. I keep it in the basement in the winter and have had the plants for four or five years. 

It is nice that it has good foliage because I hadn't figured out what I was doing wrong with it's care.  I did learn a few years back that they like to be crowded.  So I have repotted them only once since I got them.  Also on a tv segment  last week, they showed how you could plant them in bark and not soil, if they were crowded enough, and that you had to fertilize heavily.  Wow!  That will be my new procedure.  They aren't orchids but it sounds like they are a plant that wants water and the fertilizer would maybe get them to bloom.


I was hooked on the plant when it showed up on the cover of a Garden Design magazine, and I bought them when I ran across them at a Woodsmith garden center. I have never seen them for sale locally ever again.  The article about them said they were the common filler plants in California and people tend to just glance over them as a common plant. 


I have a daily chore of cleaning the snow out the bird feeders each morning, and it has warmed up to 14 degrees F.   We were  colder than that in the night. We are suppose to be on the edge of 35 mph wind today here on the Plains so we will have quite  a show this afternoon. Tom is keeping track for me as to how many days to spring, and I am glad that he is, as I can only hope we will be able to see the ground again someday.  We are on day 63 of complete snow cover. 


Everyone take care and thanks for stopping by.......

Monday Mania.....

I needed to get the job done.  I went to the basement, found some scrap wood, and made a temporary roof for my tray bird feeder.

It is a temporary fix as it should be a pyramid shape roof that will shed the snow as a blogger friend suggested.  

So far it is scary to most of the birds. I have one brave soul on the feeder, but they will get brave. A harsh wind will blow it off so I may go get a brick from the basement and weigh it down.

At the hanging feeder, the birds line up on the mock orange bush to scout out some space to land.

 

 Blue jays being who they are usually scatter everyone and don't share.

The cardinal seems to be a peaceful bird as they are so easy for the other birds to get along with at the feeder. I have a similar picture of this blogged earlier somewhere. This is a new photo that shows the snow coming down in large fluffy feather-like shapes.

Thanks for stopping in........

Oh yes, I have an Ebay experience to share soon.  I didn't win of course!!!! 
Ok, I am wrong, I gambled and won it for way too much money. Oh well, living life is a learning experience, I will share later.

Seeing Red on Wheels........

As I dug through my collections storage cupboard, I didn't know where to begin. I have saved my old toys to share with you for the dark days of winter. I guess the next storm is on it's way. I have lost track of how many we have had now.

I haven't had the time to research which of these vehicles is the oldest.  This fire truck is missing a lot of parts but it was made by the Tootisietoy company.  It is made of stamped metal and has a hard rubber-like wheels.  

The front view shows a 40's style vehicle and can you see the little canister on the side of the running board?

This fire chief car must have been part of the set as it is made out of the same material and also is stamped Tootsietoy. The car has little silver painted stripes still on it. I am a 50's kid so I don't know the model of the car but someone out there does know.  It reminds me of the '48 Pontiac that sits next door but there were a lot of cats that looked alike.

I am assuming that this car is older, prewar era, as it is made of a soft rubber.  I don't think they used rubber for anything but the war effort in mid forties. The tires are also rubber.

I like how the makers of this truck didn't think kids would care if they could see the tires.  I am sure production was easier this way but a vehicle was never made with the wheels totally covered.  If you click on this photo you can see the silver image of the guy driving the truck.

This again is a matching piece to the truck above.  It is also rubber with painted silver accents.

The back view of a luxurious car. Some day I will get these guys dated but for now I will just share.

This is all hard plastic  It almost looks like a space alien vehicle with they way it is designed.  I believe this it the newest item in the bunch.

This is a collection that just happened. I grabbed them up before they were to be discarded. They were not my toys. I didn't take everything and sometimes I wonder why I hadn't been greedy, but my kids will either appreciate it or just throw them away.  I know one can't save every old thing in the world, but it is fun to save some of it.

Thanks for stopping by...........

Saturday specials........

I have no hope of seeing anything sprouting up outside for quite some time, but Kmart helped me get a start on spring.  The paperwhites were pretty well sprouted before I planted them. They are now greening up nicely.

Sharing is the name of the game. The end woodpecker is definitely a Hairy Woodpecker. He is the size of a robin and has a longer beak that a Downey.  The wind is blowing the snow from the east, can you see it in motion?  We had a light snow on Friday, all day, with about a couple of inches of snow.

I have broken out of my rut and am now painting again. This is the second day of work on this particular canvas and I have a few more days to go.  I am thinking of starting a new one tomorrow and  letting this one gel for a while.  


I also have started work on my commercial blog in order to sell artwork and prints and photographs.  It isn't in to the selling mode yet, but I am getting closer.  I may have to consolidate my two blogs together if I can't maintain them.  My wife says I shouldn't shut either one done, but a third blog is going to be an extension of what my creative zone was intended to be.  

This retirement stuff gets confusing and finding my way is slow.  I will decide maybe after I have tried to keep all three up and running.   I do need time to paint and spring is coming and I have an outside to take care of, so it will be a wait and see decision.

Thanks for stopping by...........

Find the Finial..........

It is fun to be able to buy finials to finish off the tops of fences.  It is a classy thing. I was out looking for photos that had minimal to zero white.  This green looks good to me. The rails are my grape arbor. It is nice to see through the end of my fenced-in yard. I have woven wire at the bottom to keep two dogs in the yard.

Wood finials are a good way to top off my stairs also. I had a hard time deciding to buy this on the one with a ball on the top of it.

Another view with a to do item showing. Cracked because of the screw that was twisted into the wood. I can think of more finials that I have inside the house but I think they will make a photo a day viewing someday.


A light snow for us today, as our Southern and Eastern friends get blasted.  I hope everyone stays safe and warm.  Thanks for stopping by......

Missed the big day!!!!!!!!!!

Did you know what yesterday was?  Didn't you get a memo? Where is all of my caring public when I need them!!!!  Sarcasm is a fun thing when you really don't care that much.  My start as a blogger began February 3, 2009.  Some people are saying, good he can stop now, he's figured it out, now go away!

I was almost going to not blog at all yesterday due to physical problems.  Then I went ahead and put something up. It was not an eventfull day, just like birthdays are becoming, but I met the mark. 


Above is a coffee mug that the boys, with mom's help, bought for me for some special event.  It is Disney's character Rafiki from the movie the Lion King. It was bought at the now closed Disney Store.

Here is a different view to help you see it is sort of a unique thing. I put it away because it looses color by simply rubbing it against something else.  The interior glaze seems safe but colorful glazes are hard to make that aren't low fired.  Why Rafiki you might ask?  Well because he had one line in the movie that always impressed me.  It is a philosophy that seems to fit where I have been the past couple of years and where I am going in the future.

As I wrote my first blog, I didn't even have a picture.  I went on about all the things I wanted to do with my life and all the history that was then behind me.  I blogged again after my first statement and then I added a picture.

Rafiki is talking to the the young adult Lion King and the lion, Simba, doesn't think he should go back and help his pride, because things happen there in the past that he didn't want to relive or face.  This is the actual copy from the movie:

Adult Simba: I know what I have to do. But going back will mean facing my past. I've been running from it for so long.
[Rafiki hits Simba on the head with his stick]
Adult Simba: Ow! Jeez, what was that for?
Rafiki: It doesn't matter. It's in the past.
[laughs]

Adult Simba: Yeah, but it still hurts.
Rafiki: Oh yes, the past can hurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it, or... learn from it.
[swings his stick at Simba again who ducks out of the way]
Rafiki: Ha. You See? So what are you going to do?

Adult Simba: First, I'm gonna take your stick.
[Simba snatches Rafiki's stick and throws it and Rafiki runs to grab it]
Rafiki: No, not the stick! Hey, where you going?
Adult Simba: I'm going back!
Rafiki: Good! Go on! Get out of here!

In many ways our past can either break us or make us into who we become. The future from the start of my blog was really the same way.  If I knew ahead of time what I was to face in the future, I may not have wanted to even start.  I guess that is life.  As I look back at the past year, it was good.  It was also bad, as it was a year of healing for me from another year back and all of you listened and let me just be me.


Blogging has given me so many new friends, great friends.  We all support each other in this country and throughout the world, and bloggers are really a team. 
Sometimes I wonder if people think I am the little kid brother hanging around and why don't you get loss, but no one has ever said that to me. My complexes would keep reminding me that I should just stop. "You do talk too much, Larry," and yes I do.  I have learned to cut if off and quit rambling, sometimes.  But I am moving on.  More blogs to do, more things to learn than I can ever imagine from all of you.  

You are such nice people out there.  Thank you!!!!!!!

Thanks for stopping by........

One fish.......

 One blue fish, that is all I can come up with today.  I took it at the zoo aquarium this past summer. It is a lot blurry as the camera and the glass didn't cooperate.  I didn't make it out to get weather photos but they all look just the same.  I should head to the basement to get photos of my koi as they are really growing.  They don't get feed much outside with just plants and bugs, so the indoor feeding makes them grow big. Tomorrow is another day.


Barney is better and is putting partial weight on his foot.  He is more active today and I think will be healed up soon, foot or bottom of his paw was the  problem but he is not talking. I had one of those days that my body was telling to go sit down so I did a lot of that today.  My back messes up my balance some days and it's best to behave.

I found a cup and saucer that matches my Greenwood  Tree saucer that I already own. I had blog about it earlier, made in England, looks hand painted but it is not.  It is trimmed in green instead of gold, but I bid on it anyway on Ebay just to see what happens.  Ebay has another one that they found for me but it is being sold out of Australlia and they won't accept American buyers. 

Acutually I searched for it a few weeks back and Ebay is so smart it remembered and wrote me a note when the auctions came up on site. I don't know if you are familiar with how it all works, but I have a dollar bid on it right now but I bet someone in the antique business with be watching for it's last day and will snatch it out from under me.  I have five days to watch and see. I will check it everyday and work it for a while if I ever do get competition.  

Well, it time to shut this down for now. I hope all are well.  Thanks for reading......