Showing off a bit :D

There will be rather a few posts, but this is a great teaser, lol. So, since we got the camera it has been hectic here (we hosted Thanksgiving). But, I did manage to get a few pics of some things around here. That is the view out to our balcony. The must have, hunted for one because I can't give up my bonsai!



This is a Southern Magnolia. Seems pretty happy here in Seattle! This was sent to me by YardGranny in SC. I potted it up a while back and it has loved the weather here, frankly it surprises me as it has gotten rather cold here.


Here is the White Snapdragon. I don't grow flowers normally but this one has it's place here. Shannon fell in love with it so I will do all I can to keep it alive. It has grown on me since it flowers when it gets cold. How random is that! I guess I will have to do some research on this bugger so I know it's habits and whatnot :D


YardGranny also sent me two Mimosa's, they were happy but just to make sure, since they are babies, I have done what I normally do for my coffee tree at work (the one I am bonsai'ing) and placed their very own mini greenhouses over them. These will stay on until the last possible frost. There are a lot of mimosa here, not this color...but they seem happy to live here. I figure once they get older, perhaps next winter, they will not require this (and I will get a Bay tree to do this for instead, hehe).


I had these at the house and took them with me (note...MINE!). There is a Purple Sage, a standard Silver Sage, some Garlic Chives (thanks again Poe!) grew from seed from Ohio and a Mother of Thyme. It is so nice having fresh Thyme at any time. Yes...I had to do that ;)


And one last shot for now, the Japanese Elm with a few leaves left, my favorite Japanese Maple (about 7 years old) and some Provencal Lavendar. Shannon is a freak for Lavendar so I think this will get a bigger pot come spring so it can go wild!

GOT the camera!

WOO HOO! And is it ever nice. Sent it off with Shan today so she could play with it (this is the one day a week that she and a single co-worker, one she should probably be separated from, are alone for the day so I knew they would have fun as they do get a lot done but play all day!). There will be many pics on the way. Lot of updating to do. Dang, but I got my work cut out for me as this is not the only place that gets pics, haha. Look towards a lot of new posts, in a rather steady way :D

Thanksgiving.

I have a lot to be thankful for yet have never truly gotten into the Turkey thing. We are going to have a few friends over and instead of the 'traditional' turkey day thing, I am going to do my Cornish Hens. This way we each get our own bird and yet it is a gathering of happy, thankful people. I am most thankful for Shannon, having her in my life completes it. Having known each other for so long and now being here for each other is what makes my day, each and every day.

I might also make my Mozzarella Sticks and Jalapeno Poppers.

Looks like I get out of being the bartender as I normally am, that is being taken care of. We got some nice wine and one of the couples coming is bringing *danger!!* Jello Shots! That makes me thankful for something else...I have Friday off, lol.

On another note, hopefully our new camera shows up today (it is scheduled for delivery!). Soon, we will get back into writing (all over!) since we will be able to simply take great pictures again!

Planting Ground Covering.

Nov 17, 2008 | 1:23 PM PST

It never ceases to amaze me the simple things (the ones you think are simple) are not necessarily so. What I mean is, things I know how to do, or about, that are not so 'simple'. Take ground covers, I think it makes sense to plant something like Crown Vetch on a sunny hill that won't get a lot of water. It flowers, it takes care of itself. I say something like that and I get that look from people, that look that makes me want to run to a mirror and see if a second head popped out of my shoulder.

So I wrote it up as well :D Ground Cover Guide

Yes, those things we think are so obvious are things other people seem to be oblivious to, haha.

Kitchen Herb Garden, anyone?

That was hard, only because I tried to 'simplify' it. You, all you smart people out there, don't even think about it. Share that knowledge, spread it far and wide. You might be surprised what you know about that other people do not. One of the things I have written that gets major views?

Boil an Egg

Take that and run with it! Yes, boiling an egg. So, yes, if that does not prove a point, I don't know what does!

Share what you know, while you still have it in your head is my theory.

Fried Green Tomatoes

Nov 17, 2008 | 1:10 PM PST

Yes, it is that time again. How I love those first few and last few tomatoes. Fried.

Fried Green Tomatoes

That is MY way of fixin them :D

Either way, that has been something I have NOT had in some time as I no longer have space for tomato plants. I gave that space up to a smoker grill, lol. That is headed to storage here in about a week when our firepit gets here! FIREPIT! WOO!

I thought about asking around the farmers market, then got distracted, then I thought, hey...I COULD make room. And got distracted. Maybe I really did not want any? haha. Not so much. I did zucchini instead. I make them the same way as I do in that recipe and they were SO yummy. Guess maybe I should write that out. And Okra. I do my Jalapenos different, though. I can get okra, no problem, from the store around the corner (Heck, I can get White Truffel there!). Maybe what it is...is I just love FRIED stuff :D

My weird cat

Oct 31, 2008 | 3:18 PM PST

So, he acts like a dog. As I understand, typical of the Maine Coon breed. So I decided to treat him like one. At this point, he will sit on command. Next month (I am going to take it slow, just like the puppy he wants to be) will be 'Shake'. lol. Max, the weird cat...

7 days...8 hours

Oct 29, 2008 | 7:49 PM PST

And STILL no camera. It is frustrating but the flu has been outrageous. My seller was in the hospital, they are in CT. Here we are in Seattle and as I watch the flu ravage the city...I have to admit, it has to be bad there too. I am just now getting over it and Shannon is too, my poor honey. Even Max had a cold or flu or something. He has fought it off, the tough fuzzy *bleep*. Tippy? Oh, you have not met her yet, she is a rescue dumpster kitty from downtown Houston, Bayou Kitty. She is tough, not a problem.

I promised myself I would get in here and post more often, camera or no. So...here I am!

OK, so the terrarium needs a new light, I know I put pics up once but don't want to drag them out as there are different things in it now. I will get a light and when I have the camera SHOW you :D The peppers are doing great and my little coffee (Nigerian) is very deep glossy green, I think it is enjoying the fact the light is out (well, it is working but Shannon was right, the plants are scared when it is on...it's like a haunted house...all the ghosts of plants gone by..running around...it's all spooky and flickery). The Dragon Fruit trees are happy as can be too. I know rather a few of you out there got some of this particular seed, did you plant them? How are they? What kind of light/soil/pot are you using? We should share our knowledge because I for one, have complete confidence no idea what I am doing with them! They live, they grow, that is good, eh?

We got a new aquarium, the old acrylic one was on it's last legs, well...at least as a filled to the brim with 60 gallons fish tank. It has gone to new pastures with a new lease on life and has already become a turtle tank. The woman who came by (it was cute, she had this HUGE truck she borrowed and normally drives a PT Cruiser) was so excited, she had contacted me (I used Craiglist, for inner city dwellers, Craigslist is THE thing, got my place there, my job *all of them both in the last 6 years or so*) second and the first guy flaked so I called her. She lives south of here like a half hour or so and immediately said "I can be there in about an hour and have GPS". Cool. They went to the pet store first it seems because when I was helping her with the tank and light she mentioned they went and adopted turtles already, lol. It will be perfect for that, I am so happy it gets to be used again.

So, anyways, back to the tank. I have a thing for LIVE plants in my tanks, water or no, haha. The big tank, the 60 gallon is great. It had this hodge podge disco dayglo ick for gravel. We ditched it. 120 pounds of that crap...dumpster bound right away. I got river rock and DAMN it looks good. I was hesitant and it seems Shannon was too but she was NOT going to say anything. Then it got wet and wow...I have to get pics, all I can say. I had her arrange the 'furniture' in it (we have this great castle that is going to go in it, just have to afford it) and that worked great. Don't you love convincing someone to do something they think they don't want to do and then finding out they really liked to do it? Yep :D That reminds me...must blog about the pumpkins but NEED PICS! (they came out really cool, traditional cool, yo).

So, got all the fish moved, everybody is happy. Then I got to the plants. I had a couple plants I refused to move, all they did was constantly SHED crud in the water, leaves all over the place *note, water onion cool looking, puts out neat flowers like lilies...going all the way to the top...do NOT want* and they did NOT move with everything. But..I have what appears to be an Amazon Sword but I have more correctly ID'd it as a Peruvian. The leaves are slimmer and not so big. So I will get an Amazon, lol. There is another neat looking bugger that I don't know the name. It builds it's offspring on the tips of it's deep green leaves..little leaves with roots and all cute...I can tug them off and plant them all over. So I have.

So, I finally get to the point of this story. I have some lava rock, red lava rock, in there for...um...ambiance! Yeah...that's the ticket. So I guess that is what the brick is, eh? Ambiance? Well, you do find them on the bottoms of river beds! And Sea Monster and Count Francis love the brick!!!

Oh..yes...
no ADD here..no way. The story! That is what I was getting to!

The lava rock and the neato babies on the ends of it's leaves plant. So it has been multiplying. To the point I am thinking I could hedge it together, maybe it could act as well as Sedge (grassy bottom level water plant) and protect the babies that I know are getting laid in there and just being Caviar!) or sell them. So I put them all over. The fish do like to tell me where to put them since they will leave them some places and constantly uproot them in certain spots. Fine, I listen. I looked at that lava rock tonight and a couple plants rolling through the bubbles (we have about a foot and a half air stone that I hooked a two hosed air pump to one hose with canula tubing) that flood the back, it was neat but I had to replant them. No, not there, the fish don't want it there. No, not there. Already plants there!. The rock! yes! They will root in it if they stay on more than a couple days. I found some good spots that had cracks or a depression and weighted them with a piece or that river rock.

Just. Need. Pictures.