Moss Roses - Portulaca grandiflora

One of my favorite flowers are moss roses.  You can plant a few in the spring and sprinkle some seed in between and throughout the summer they fill out and every morning they bloom with new flowers.



Moss Roses by Pink Petunias

The multiple colors and texture of the leaves make them an excellent boarder for any garden. Today I saw a man walk by with his dog.  He walked back and forth several times.  Then he stopped, took his cell phone and pointing it at the edge of the flower bed took a picture. I can see people driving by and many people find themselves staring and the colorful garden that begins at sidewalk with the moss roses.


Moss Roses by Purple and White Petunias

They are an "annual" flower but every bloom that is fertilized by the bees, butterflies and other helpful bugs, produces seeds.  Those hundreds of tiny little seed pods, produce hundreds of miniscule seeds that fall onto the ground and will come up the following year.  The difficulty is that the young plants are so delicate that they easily get pulled out in the early spring weeding. I would say that is a good reason for not weeding but it is more difficult when the weeds are larger. In the center of the picture below you can see three seed pods that have dropped their seeds and many more around it in various stages of drying.

Close up of fallen seed pod

It is absolutely amazing to see that they are so very tiny.  If you were to take a stick pin and poke it through the paper towel, it would be only slightly smaller than the seeds.  The tip of a sharpened pencil would be too big.

Close up of seeds on paper towel

If you haven't tried moss roses at the edge of your garden, next spring pick up a few plants and a packet of seeds.  They are very drought tolerant and full of surprises.

A blessing for a neighbor

My neighbor is my boyfriend's Aunt. She is at the age that she no longer drives (by her own choice.) In her yard are four evergreen trees. Grass no longer grows under two of them.  After visiting a friends place and seeing the garden they created, Dale came back inspired. He bought thirteen hostas of several varieties. He planted them spaciously in the "dead zone"


Garden under evergreens

On one side there is late afternoon to evening sun. To that side we added two hydrangea plants that love acidic soil.


Close-up of newly planted mostly shade garden

Next spring we hope to add lily of the valley around the trunks. In two years this garden should be full and covered all summer long.


Your eyes can deceive you...

I was sitting at my desk working today when I glanced over at My Jenny.  I had my camera stored at the edge of my desk.  I was able to quietly lift up the camera and snap a few pictures of my darling Doberman.


Do you see the paw?

The angle of her head, the way the light from a combination of the lamp and window hit her fur (which for some reason wasn't laying as smooth as normal) made the illusion of a grey paw on her cheek. Sometimes looking at things close up makes them easier to see other times it makes them harder to see.  So I took both types of pictures hoping that one or the other would help you see what I was seeing.


Grey Paw

This picture was cool because you can see one of her front and back paws and maybe that is why my eye was drawn to the illusion of the grey paw-print on her face. 

Sorry this is short again.  I still have about half of my typeset copy to review.  It is going to be a late night tonight!

Good News!

My next book is one step closer to being published.  "The Man I Was" has finished the typesetting process.  I will have a very short blog tonight because I need to review the typeset draft and get back to the publisher.  Although the publication date is December 2nd, I am anxious to get advance copies.

"Fall Housecleaning"

Essential Oils organized

NO! not me.  My sister. She is getting ready for surgery and others that have been through this have advise her to extreme clean her house and "nest" by preparing two places for resting in the house.


I got there when master bathroom was already done and the master bedroom was half done.
(She wasn't happy that I didn't let her get out of the picture.)

Her house has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, open concept - Kitchen, dining room and living room.
Having raised three boys, my sister has a lot of things in the house that have been partially taken apart ... just because.  She also has some things that were accidentally broken.  More of that is in the youngest nephews room. 


Cleaning is always better with a great friend!

With the help of Carmen, a good friend, Tabatha is going from one side of the house to the other side going through everything.  You know those shows that make you keep, toss and organize.  Well this is Tabatha's version. 


The dumpster at about 1/3 done

• I know I'm going to toss it - direct to the dumpster.
• I'm thinking about tossing it - move it to a room closer to the door.
• Need to keep - find a place for it.
• Organize - find a place for it. 

I am hoping that her power cleaning will be an encouragement to me.  Although she has an ulterior motive and a professional cleaner helping her.  What I need most is "organize" especially after my renter moved out and I moved all my arts and crafts stuff upstairs. 

Please continue to keep my sister in your prayers.  She is hoping for a phone call on August 28th telling her there is an opening for surgery on the 30th.  (That is why the push to get all the cleaning done this week.) 


Two rooms cleaned!

When I left, the Master bath and bedroom were completed.  Tabatha had made it through the laundry room storage area and she had started the kitchen.  Tabatha was leading the push by sorting, tossing and setting in a keep pile.  Carmen would come behind her and scrub down, dust and organize.  They were at a good breaking point and took a supper break.  (Yes, I did help.)

Perfect days to take the kids swimming!

Even when your kids are Dobermans.  Oh, they love going to the lake.  First they need to run around and check out the entire area.  They are well behaved and if they go near private property, I just yell "Ah, ah!" and they turn tail and come running back to me.


YEAH! Let's go swimming!

Even after her difficult day, my Jenny still loves going into the water and chasing a stick.  In fact, I have noticed that she is willing to go deeper.  Maybe it took swimming for nearly twenty minutes for her to realized that she could do it.  Are we that way?  Do we need the difficult times in our lives for us to understand that our comfort zones should not limit us?


My Jenny cools off in the clear water.

We are needing to drive further away to find a lake that has clear water near the shore.  We have been going to Goodners Lake to find a clean place for the girls to go swimming.  Or should I say playing "water fetch".


Gammy she broke my stick

 They fight so hard over the sticks that they usually break a couple of them as they run back and forth.  They are very competitive and yet at the same time they have that look of innocence. 


We got the new stick! MINE!

 My favorite time watching them is when they get hold of the sticks side by side and look like a pair of horses preparing to pull a wagon.  I wonder how they would really holster?  Hmmm.


I'm not letting go! You let go!

Before and after swimming time, well that is nap time.   My Jenny, has confiscated mama's puppy pillow - the one that I made for my nephew Isaac and Duchess thinks is hers.


Sweet Dreams My Jenny

My spare bedroom got cleared out and the bed put down.  Duchess has claimed that bed as hers to rest on.  Aren't my two girls the sweetest girls when they are dreaming?


Sweet Dreams Duchess

Yes, even when your kids are Dobermans they need a break from the heat at the lake. And for a week like this there isn't a cool time of day to take them out for a walk.  My tiny little air if fighting to keep it 77 degrees inside.  The nice thing is that it is taking care of the humidity.

Polka Fans did you see the Hutchinson Leader this week?

Some of my photos and this blog were featured in a story in the Hutchinson Leader.

http://www.hutchinsonleader.com/news/features/local-polka-bands-to-be-featured-on-rfd-tv/article_5c9df077-b322-5eb6-9a12-f408cf1ac217.html

St. Anthony's Polka Mass & Picnic in the Park

Stan's Country Dutchmen play the Polka Mass

This weekend the Watkins Catholic Church, Church of St. Anthony, had their annual Festival.  All the Catholic churches around here have an annual festival and that is where the similarity ends.  In Watkins, they have a Polka Mass directly followed by a Picnic in the Park. 


A visiting Priest joins the retired and active Priest for the Polka Mass

The day started with a couple quick thunderstorms that rolled through between 7 AM and 9 AM.  The day started hot and humid.  But as the Polka Band played the praise and worship music (Polka Style) the Lord whispered his approval with soft breezes to break up the heat.  I didn't see anyone fanning themselves despite the heat.  God was doing that for us. - Thank you Lord for the wonderful blessing. (PS. I'm not Catholic. But I am a child of God and Father Jack preaches a good homily (sermon.) Today's was a little short but he preaches the same one every year at the Polka Mass.  "Be Good!")




Train rolls by as Mass begins

McCarthy Park in Watkins is a park that is on Railroad property, has a small band-shell on one end and covered picnic areas.  They add a few temporary structures and it works perfect.  The temporary structures are the same ones that were used by the Firemen for the City Festival.  This is one of the perks of small town living.  Most of the businesses support and a involved in one way or another with the church festival.  The owners may not be Catholic but they support the local church. 

Yes, we have one church and four bars.  No we are not in Stearns County,  You need to go about ten feet out of town to be in Stearns County.  (Close enough?)  Stearns County was known for it's hidden stills during "the prohibition".  I am off the subject again; back to the Festival
 


 

Corn Dogs & Onion Rings

Cheese Burger & Fries




Fried Bread with Cinnamon Sugar

There is a Food Stand with burgers, turkey sandwiches, corn dogs, fries, onion rings, tacos in a bag, corn on the cob, fried bread, pie & ice cream, popcorn and a beer garden.  They had a 5K run before Mass and a Lil' Angels Fun Run shortly after Mass. Stan's Country Dutchmen played the mass and through lunchtime. 



Wild Country 99 - Minute to Win It

Wild Country 99 came down at 2 PM and sponsored some minute to win it games and played music for 3 hours.  The Festival was also the "We are live at...." promotions or public service announcements on the radio for the afternoon.


Bingo

There was a traditional Bingo booth. Normally all the seats are full.  But even in the shade it was too hot for many people to play.


Kids Play area

(It was so humid out that when I went in the house for awhile and came back out my lens fogged up.)


Kids Games

There was an area loaded with games for the kids.  There was a bouncy tent but I'm not sure that it got used.  I never saw any kids in it and I wondered if it was too hot to allow the kids to play in it.  I wasn't out there the whole time so maybe I just missed seeing the kids jumping.




Bake Walk

What would a church festival be without an old church traditional "cake walk" but now they call it a "bake walk".  A traditional cake walk is more like musical chairs.  Here they sell paddles with four numbers on them.  Two paddles for $1.00 (eight chances to win.) Yes, you can buy only one paddle with four chances.  When all the paddles are sold, they spin a wheel and the winner gets to choose a cake or baked good.  We played couple of times and won once.  Dale asked what he should choose so I told him an angel food cake.  I looked up and he was holding a three chocolate cake.  He does not care for chocolate.  So I had to remind him "Angel food cake: that is not an angel food cake."  There was actually a chocolate angel food cake there so that was the next thing he picked up.  I finally had to pick up a regular angel food and put in his hands.  Ah, my sweetie pie he can be thoughtful in his own way.

A Sweltering Saturday

Weekends are up for grabs.  So often we get so caught up in activities that we don't get anything done.  Saturday was in the high 80's with humidity in the 70's.  That means just standing outside makes you sweat.  The small blessing was the high wind. 


Duchess and My Jenny resting in the air conditioned house

I can actually show you how windy it was because a windmill at one of the businesses in town caught the wind in a bad way.  For several hours today, we heard the wind loud and clear.  If you watch the head closely, you can see the antennas wiggling in the wind.  Sorry, I had a tough time holding the camera still and zooming in at the same time.  Especially with the wind blowing as heavy as it was blowing.

Windmill gone wild

I am off on a tangent again.  For safety sake, the girls stayed with Dale today in the air conditioned house.  I did some gardening before 9:00 AM.  Then I took off for errands and shopping.  Once the errands were done, I did my kind of shopping.  I stopped by a few stores and looked at plants for the gardens. 

I know that I should have been back home weeding the gardens but I guess I will need to finish that up later.  I found some healthy looking "autumn sedum" it was just so peaceful walking through the garden departments alone.  I spent less than $50.00 but at the same time I enjoyed my day.


Adding Fall more fall bloomers to the garden 

Oooo la la! A cooking tip for quick seasoning when frying!

I love to bake and cook.  But there are times that I get overwhelmed with ideas.

I saw a Pinterest pin for "27 ways to make our groceries last as long as possible" (link below).  Great ideas but 27!  Really?  You are talking to a woman with A.D.D. and you are going to keep my attention for 27 ideas?

http://www.buzzfeed.com/peggy/27-ways-to-make-your-groceries-last-as-long-as-pos

  Here is the one that caught my eye and I am trying because it is harvest time and in a few weeks my fresh herbs will be gone.

 Preserve your herbs by freezing them in olive oil.



Frozen Herbs in Olive Oil

Oh wow! They dynamics of it.  I started with three herbs: garlic, chives and rosemary. Not all together...but that did get me thinking while I held all three in one hand.  (later)  I started by gathering everything I needed -

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Garden fresh garlic
• Garden fresh chives
• Garden fresh rosemary
• Ice cube tray

I almost grabbed my standard ice cube tray but then I thought better.  I had never tried this before and I wasn't sure how the tray would wash up after having oil in it.  After all it was a plastic tray.  I collect things.  Unusual things.   I easily found one of my odd ice cube trays.

The biggest benefit of this process is that as the oil freezes, the olive oil infuses with the herbs that you have added to it.  Another benefit is that your oil is measured in a good amount for a frying base. 

 

Garden Fresh Garlic

I chopped my garlic, added the extra virgin olive oil to the tray, then put the garlic in.  Then I went onto the chives and ended with rosemary.  They were going to get their own trays for each one.  But one of the garlic cubes was a little low on oil and I didn't want to pour more and over-pour the tray.  So I added some chives in with the garlic. 

Herbs in Olive Oil (to be frozen)
Starting at the top and moving clockwise: 1 garlic, 2 chives, 2 rosemary, 2 garlic, and garlic & chives.

BOOM! POW! KABOOM! My brain starting exploding with ideas.  I could easily MIX any spices together that I wanted to - how cool!  I always say, "explore the possibilities". 

The website recommended that Works best with rosemary, sage, thyme, and oregano. Dill, basil, and mint should always be used fresh.

Do you see why one of the ideas was enough for me?  It did almost explode a little bit out of control.

WARNING:  Take them out as you plan to use them.  Just the few minutes on the counter to photograph them and they were melting fast!  I had to pry them out of the tray but that could have been the designer tray that I chose.

 

 

...can't be unique without u and i

Every single person is unique. I have tiny feet - short and wide just like my Dad's mom.  My toes are appropriate to my feet.  Dale calls them my worms because subconsciously, I wiggle them.  ALOT!  (It is a family trait.  I have video taped my sister wiggling her toes too.)  My toes are also very tiny compared to Dale's. 


Unique Feet

Despite my toes being tiny, I stub them all the time.  I think I stubbed a couple of the left toes a little too often.  The ball of the foot is that cushy part of the front of your foot.  Now, if you touch that part of your foot and move your fingers around until you are almost touching your toe; that is where the pain is from stubbing my toes.  It is considered part of the ball of my foot but it actually feels better when I've been walking.  I say it that way because common pain on the ball of the foot comes from walking and mine feels better after walking.

I had my sister torture me last weekend and pressure point the areas.  I was nearly screaming but it needed to be done.  I've been able to give myself a daily pressure treatment every day and it is getting better.  I have almost been tempted to seek out an acupuncturist to see if they would be able to help.  I have had acupuncture done in the past.  I'm just not that sure that it would help. 

I did check out the reflexology charts and what showed up was interesting.  Reflexology teaches that there are portions not directly linked to parts of your body that will affect that portion of the body.  A spot in the arch of the foot can help alleviate stomach issues.  The section of my foot that I have been pressure pointing affects the neck and eyes.  I did need to have Dale pressure point my neck last night.  Hmmm!

Oh it is terrible to get old.  It feels like one day you wake up and say to yourself, "those can't be my hands with those wrinkles and that can't be my body with those aches and pains.  I am too young for all that stuff."

A childhood memory and an update on mercury and lead

Hopefully I don't date myself with this memory!

When I was a child we got a carton of milk and a packet of crackers during the school day.  We could register for regular milk or chocolate milk.  I think it was all 2% back then.  But what I remember most was when you had chocolate milk, you had to shake the carton.  The chocolate flavoring separated from the milk and would sit like syrup in the bottom of the carton if you didn't shake it up well. 

 

I don't think it is necessary anymore but I can't seem to break the habit.  I've never liked the flavor or regular milk.  So when I do drink milk, it is chocolate.  Sorry, I'm getting off target.  My doctor changed my detox method for my heavy metal issue.  For these three months, I am taking a supplement that needs to be added to water.  There are four flavors, chocolate, berry, mint and gluten free strawberry kiwi.  "Dynamic Fruits & Greens" with Superfruitox (TM) Proprietary blend of certified organic super fruits: acai, goji, mangosteen, noni, and pomegranate.  One serving is equal to 20+ servings of fruits and vegetables.

I thought "Chocolate, you can't go wrong with chocolate flavor."  Oh I was SO VERY WRONG!  It tasted like burnt chocolate mixed with water as directed.  The doctor had told me that I could mix it with other things including yogurt.  I have learned to like some yogurts but I could not imagine adding burnt chocolate to them and still be able to eat it.  So I mixed it with milk.  (I started with one serving to make sure that it was okay.)  It was palatable and I mixed the rest of the container of milk.  Since it is a high fiber detox, it does separate as it sits and like those days of old; I need to shake the carton. 

I need to admit that I am a little bit afraid of the mint.  The berry flavor actually wasn't too bad.  I just needed to block out drinking grit.  I've been eating between 1500-1800 calories a day.  I should have been losing weight but my body just would not drop the weight.  I think the antioxidant blends in these detox are helping because I'm seeing the scale drop a little bit.  Notice that I said "a little bit" so that you don't get too excited.  My doctor has indirectly told me that if I can drop the weight, that the heavy metals will clear out easier.  I am eating fine because my cholesterol is almost down to normal without any meds.  I know that they would like to see me 20-30 pounds lighter.  Who knows!

Lord Come Quickly

Dear Jesus, hear my prayer.

"Bored" children kill a man for entertainment; Lord come quickly.

A young man craves attention and threatens children in a school; Lord come quickly.

Inappropriate sexual relations have somehow become right: Lord come  quickly.

The American dream of working to success is dying for Americans: Lord come quickly.

Possessions and acquisitions are becoming gods for many: Lord come quickly.

Political correctness is becoming more important than Your will: Lord come quickly.

People in power over our country, schools, churches and more are abusing their power: Lord come quickly.

The opportunities for entertainment; TV, movies, books are filled with debauchery portrayed as normal and acceptable: Lord come quickly.

Your children are losing sight of you: Lord come quickly.

Depression and mental illness is growing: Lord come quickly.

Excessive drug and alcohol use are growing and out of control: Lord come quickly.

Cancer and illness are increasing: Lord come quickly.

My heart breaks as I see the world today.  I can't imagine how much more Your heart must be breaking seeing your children walk away from righteousness and a relationship with you.  Keep those of us trying to walk in your Word safe and protected from the evil around us.  Keep us focused on you and spreading your Word.  But please Lord come quickly. Amen!

Hurray!

Hurry up and wait!  Good news/bad new it always seems like it is wait, wait, wait.  The text is at the type-setters and the front cover has been completed and approved.  They are finishing the back cover (and spine) then it will be on to the printers.  It doesn't sound like it would take such a   l o n g time!



Front Cover Final

But here we are again waiting for the next step to be finished.  The official publication date for the book is December 2nd.  But I will have some pre-sales copies available before that date.  Those pre-sales copies will be sold at a book signing.  I am so excited!

I am also deep into book three.  I love it when God whispers confirmations on the direction of the book.  I can't share too much for details but I will say that in my notes I had mentioned creating a craft room for physically and mentally disabled homeless people where the finished items would be sold at an attached store.  Then last Sunday night on "Secret Millionaire" the organization NIAD Art Center http://niadart.org/ was premiered.  I have contacted them and they are willing to allow my characters to use their organization as an example as they build this new outreach.  I accept that as a God whisper. 

Parade Time

In this area of the country, Catholic Churches have an annual "Church Festival" and fundraiser.  There is always food and fun and in the case of St. Boniface Catholic Church in Cold Spring, Minnesota they also have a parade.  A VERY LONG parade. 


Parade Float

Dale works for an assisted living center that also has a Cold Spring location.  Since Dale's trailer was used for the float, he ended up pulling it in the Sunday morning parade.  We left town at 7:45 AM.  We did not know for sure how fast we were going to be able to drive pulling the trailer. 


91 year old Princess

As a winter activity, the assisted living centers both had a Valentines Day contest for Prince and Princess.  The theme of the float was "your home is your castle".  So people dressed up in Renaissance period clothing.


Valentine's Day Prince & Princess

Back to the parade.  We were right behind a Girl Scouts troop. They were funny to watch.  They were tossing out miniature tootsie rolls with four girls on each side.  One would toss, then the next would toss in the same place and on and on.  There were piles of tootsie rolls and then nothing.  They ran out about 3/4 of the way through the parade.



Girl Scout Troop

We were spot 40A.  I think there were around 80 places.  This cool purple car was one unit that we drove by as they waited.



Cool Street Car

 A residents and family join her for parade day with a few extra friends.  They wave in support of the Cold Spring residence.


Kids run for candy



Wait! We are getting pelleted with candy!



Piles of tootsie rolls



Now there is a point of view - at the top of the stairs



The watchers are as entertaining as the floats or parade units.

 Duchess and My Jenny obviously enjoy people watching as much as I do.  The back windows of the van don't roll down and they are slightly darkened.  It was sad that the people could not watch them.  Dale was thinking if he drove in another parade, he would need to create a clear viewing pattern for the girls to see outside and the people to see them. 


Duchess and My Jenny watch the crowd

There it is the Cold Spring parade from a different point of view.  Always look for the different points of view.