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Welcome! I am glad you are here. Join me with a cup of your favorite beverage and see what is going on in my life and what is on my mind. I would love to have you join my site and you can do that on the left side where it says 'followers'. And please leave a comment! Thanks for visiting.

Saturday, March 31, 2012

My Next Project



Looks like work, doesn't it? With the cost of groceries and gas continuing to climb I decided to have a little container garden on my patio. I am afraid I am not doing this the most frugal way, but I decided rather late to try some seeds instead of buying started plants. So I ended up buying a few seed starter pots. From now on I will start saving my egg cartons and use them next year. It takes awhile for a single person to save enough of them as I don't eat or use that many eggs on a regular basis. My town has started offering little garden plots to residents that are free but you have to sign up for them. They even have water there so you don't have to bring it yourself. I considered that this year, but decided against it. I don't think I can handle all the hoeing, or even the bending over to plant. I can't get on my knees either. And I don't have the freezer space to freeze produce if I have too much to eat fresh. I got rid of all my canning supplies and canner when I moved and am not about to buy any either. I just want a little fresh salad.

I don't know if you can tell what the seeds are. There are green beans, radishes and romaine-like lettuce. At least that is what the package said. They look similar to romaine. The only kind of lettuce I have grown in the past, which is years ago - more like decades actually - is the regular green leaf lettuce. But I prefer to eat romaine so will give this a try. I also found a package of heirloom yellow pear tomatoes and thought they would be good in green salads. My mother grew those on the farm when I was a kid. I am hoping these are the same. The ones she grew were small like cherry tomatoes. I have always gotten started tomato plants so not sure how I will do with these. It is getting a little late to start the seeds I think, but will give it a try.

There some flower seeds there too. Have to have things pretty, right? So far I have 4 o-clocks, impatience and moss roses. And then I got a bag of strawberry plants. I thought I would put them in hanging planters that hook over the patio fence railing. They are everbearing. It will be so neat to walk out the door and pick a few ripe berries for breakfast. Before I moved here I had a single strawberry plant come up between the cracks in the cement between the sidewalk and the back porch. It was also everbearing and I had a few treats from it. I don't know how it got there as there had never been any strawberry plants there for the 15 years I lived there. All I can think of is that it was carried to that area by a bird and got washed down the crack by rain. Or maybe it was my husband sending me a little treat from heaven.

I have a huge back yard with plenty of room for a very large garden, but I rent and the landlord lives next door. He takes care of that part of the lawn when it comes to mowing, and he does all of the fertilizing and weed killing around my house as well, but I have to mow that part. He is very fussy with that and so digging up for plants, either veggies or flowers is out. Therefore, I plant things in pots. I have one of those large galvanized tubs that my husband had (and his daughter didn't take) that will also work quite well. But once it is filled with dirt it won't be easy to move so have to make sure I get it in a place where it can stay. I also have the old Radio Flyer red wagon that I had as a kid. It doesn't look so red anymore. It isn't in very good shape and the front wheels don't move very well so it can't really be used for a wagon anymore. So I may end up using that for a planter too. My patio is not very big and by the time the gas grill and patio table and chairs are put there, it doesn't leave a lot of room for other things. Therre is a large cement pad on the south side of my garage that I assume was put there to park a camper. I could put the tub and wagon there, but the landlord often parks his flatbed trailer there, and sometimes uses it to back up to turn around. We share the long driveway between our houses.

Subscribe by email

I have had the request that I put a 'subscribe by email' on this blog. It is there, but for some reason it doesn't tell you that is what it is. There are two ways to access it. The easiest way is to click on the 'submit' button in the upper right hand corner, just below the colored background where the blog title is. A small pop-up window will come up with a place to type your email address and finish the subscription. The other way is to type your email address in the barely visible white box directly to the left of that 'subit' button. Again, a pop-up window will come up to finish the subscription. Hope that helps.

When I have a little more time to work on this site I will be doing some changes to the format, I just don't know which way I want to go yet. I HATE decisions! I know there are other things I want to add after looking at what others have on their blog sites, but I have to find where they are in able to add them. So bear with me for awhle.

Friday, March 30, 2012

Disclaimer?

Is the word disclaimer the right word I want to use? Here is the definition of 'disclaim' --

1. to give up any claim to or connection with; disown.
2. to refuse to acknowledge; repudiate.

I am not sure that definition fits as I do not want to disown my words and I don't refuse to acknowledge them. What I want to say is this:

The words I write here are my experiences and opinions. I pray that I do not say something that might hurt anyone or their feelings as that is never my intention at any time. I have beem known to put my size 11 foot in my mouth a time or two, and believe me that is most uncomfortable in many ways! With my bad knees and rolls of fat, it is quite painful to get that foot up to my mouth, much less in it. You try putting a size 11 foot in a smaller than average mouth (or so my dentist tells me). But being serious for a moment, I don't intend to hurt anyone with my words, but sometimes they come out different, or are heard different, than the way I meant them, or the person hearing them may have a tender spot in that area and the words hurt. If I ever do that here, please do not take them personally. I have no idea what your experiences are or where your tender spots are. If I say something you think is totally out of order, please email me privately and we will work it out. My intention is to build up, not tear down.

Not today!

Oh, please! Not today! Don't ask me to do anything for the rest of the day. I was too tired yesterday to write a post here, plus I had some things that were necessary to get done before this morning. And that is because I had two gals coming at 5:45 AM for our weekly Bible study. The alarm went off much too early. How can a person be so tired? My brain is scrambled and I am having a hard time focusing on the task at hand. So to those of you who checked in hoping to read some profound words (grin) today, I am sorry to disappoint you. I did have a short subject planned but it just isn't going to happen. I need my rest and sleep today. (yawn) Stay tuned. . . . . . . zzzzzzzz

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Addictions

Yes, I must confess that I have an addiction. Or, I should say that I have addictions, with an S. And I just recently found two new ones. One is Pinterest. You can get lost in there! I have found so many recipes that I want to try- which is another one of my addictions. I am a hoarder when it comes to recipes. I tear them out of magazines, cut out of newspapers, receive many from friends by email or in person, and love to buy church and community cookbooks that have TNT recipes. You know, Tried'N'True. But, and this is a huge but, I rarely cook much anymore. It isn't much fun cooking for one person and having to eat the same thing for the whole week. I could not live long enought to try a new recipe every day until I have made them all without repeating a single one. Baking introduces another addiction - sugar.

Sugar, anything with sugar in it, the gooey, rich desserts, ice cream, and even cinnamon rolls, caramel rolls, bars, cookies. . . . And we can't leave out chocolate candy! I recently said that it is like an alcoholic looking for another drink, but at least I can't get arrested for driving overdosed on chocolate. I just cannot have it in the house. If I do, it is constantly calling my name and it is not a whisper! It is more like a shout or scream.

Another addiction is with needlework. When I start an afghan or a counted cross stitch project, I can't leave it alone until it is done. Housework suffers, don't get any reading done, and I don't cook but grab instant microwave foods or sandwiches. I do watch tv while working on the project as that is another addiction. I must watch Young & Restless and Days of Our Lives, plus most of Dr. Phil, though some of his subjects are getting a little old. And then there are the evening shows -- right now there is Dancing with the Stars, American Idol, Amazing Race, Biggest Loser, Survivor, Who Do You Think You Are, The Good Wife, Castle. . . . Some nights I am taping one show while watching another, and there is a third show I would like to tape but can't. And other nights there is nothing I care to see, but that gives me time to watch my taped shows. Yes, I know I am addicted.

Then I get addicted to computer games. They do change after awhile, when I find a new one to get addicted to. Right now they are MahJong - Dark Dimensions which I found on the Good Housekeeping site. Another one is Bejeweled that I play on Chrome. I often switch between the two several times in one day. I also have Zuma installed on the computer and can play that for hours. Then there is the daily Soduko and Numbrix puzzles that I usually do first thing in the morning.

And now the latest I just found today - blogging. I have so many things rattling around in my head that can't wait to get written down. I am getting antsy to take some pictures of projects I have done and several other things as well.

I wonder when the next new addiction will show up. . . . . .

This is the start of something new.

Join me with a cup of coffee as I learn how to blog. Since this is my first time at this and know nothing about what I am doing, this site may change many times before I am satisified. I have learned things on the computer by trial and error and so it will be the same with this. They say that in order to keep old Al Ziemers away you need to keep your mind active so I hope this helps.

I am up way too early this morning because I had been lying in bed, wide awake at 4:30 and not able to get back to sleep because writing a blog was running rampant in my mind. When that happens, does that mean I better do what I am thinking about? So here I am. I am a procrastinator but at my age I may not have time to procrastinate if I want to get something done! What does a person do with so many thoughts running around in your head? I thought maybe if I write them all down those thoughts will finally leave me alone and I can get a good night's sleep. Or maybe I will end up with more and more thoughts to keep me awake? I guess I will find out.

To introduce myself I will tell you a few facts and random thoughts. I am a widow. I am a mother of three and gramma to five. I live in a rented small one bedroom cottage which presents a few challenges that you will probably hear more about. It is a long story as to why I am living here, not my first choice. I have a new hip and need both knees replaced, and my back does not allow me to stand very long or walk very far - all part of my senior life. I must live frugally since I only have Social Security and a little income from some small investments. It is a real challenge to try to live within my income and I am not doing very well with that, especially now that prices keep rising, gas is getting terribly expensive, and groceries cost more each time I go to the store. It is hard not to get depressed with it all, but I keep a smile on my face most of the time.

My name is Lorita. Now lots of people seem to have a hard time pronouncing and/or spelling it. My step-daughter, who is only 4 years younger than me and a schoolteacher, can't seem to get it right even after 22 years. When my husband and I took a bus tour to Tijuana, Mexico, they all knew how to pronounce my name as we wore name tags. But Americans seem to find it difficult. Really? It sounds just like it is spelled. I am not Loretta (like Loretta Young, if you are old enough to know who that is), nor Lor -ritt-ta. It is Lor-reeta. Think Lori, Laurie and Rita put together. A friend spelled it LaRita and I have been very tempted to change it to that as I like that.

I am 69 years old (gasp!). Where did the time go?? My kids are almost 50 (on April 12), 48, and 44. Grandkids range from 28, 27, 19, and 7 year old twins.  They are scattered from coast to coast and the closest ones are 160 miles away. I have been married twice. Divorced after 25 years to the father of my kids, and married to my second husband for 15 years before he passed away from pancreatic cancer 7 years ago. Life has been bumpy to say the least. I have many interests that will come out in my later posts, but for now I think it is time to stop, go have my first cup of coffee and some breakfast, then get on with the rest of my day. I so need to go buy a few groceries and get a refund from an overcharge on the last trip. I may post again later today as I have so many thoughts to write about.