A Lilac Grows Through a Drought

This little Lilac bush was a gift to me from my daughters, Ginny and Katie, this past Mother's Day.

It is also special in that it blooms not only in the Springtime but the Summertime as well.

In the above photo you can see all of the dead grass around the Bush except for the green ring of grass that gets some of the runoff of water from my daily watering.

It's very odd to see so many dead leaves around the yard at this time of year. 

I have been diligent in watering all of my plants specifically my potted flowers and newly planted perennials.

My diligence has paid off as I discovered today when I bent over to smell the Lilac Bloom. I've never smelled one so sweet !!

Diana's Household Diaries- " I Don't Have a Dishwasher "

I don't really know why dishwashers came into my mind. But they did. A few days ago.

For some reason I had an epiphany. I realized that everyone that I know has a dishwasher.

Except me.

It's not that I've never had the opportunity to have one, I've just always turned those opportunities down. 

Every place that I have lived had a tiny kitchen including the house that we own and have lived in for almost 14 years. 


Before we bought this house I vowed to myself that we would find a home with a big kitchen. Then along came this house. It had so, so many features that we loved. Then came the kitchen. Tiny. My husband refers to it as " A two butt kitchen " because anymore than two people in it at the same time is very frustrating when trying to fix a meal.


We do however have a huge walk in pantry, one of the features that I loved. But that didn't really help the limited cabinet space being used for dishes, pots, pans, etc.


This kitchen actually came with a dishwasher. One of those big old portable one's that took up about a quarter of the kitchen!! So one of the conditions to us buying the home was that the previous owner's take it with them. Again no dishwasher.


My husband offered several times to buy me one. I didn't want it to take up precious cabinet space, so I always said no.
Here is my method for dish washing today...

There isn't much science to it. I do like to let mine soak in hot sudsy water for a bit before washing. Soaking makes it a bit easier. If "The Prairie Home Companion" is playing on the radio, I don't mind washing them so much. The show makes me laugh so it doesn't seem like such a dull job.

For many years I had two great dishwashers of the non mechanical type. My oldest son Frank and my oldest daughter Ginny. They would take turns everyday. Of coarse there were days when they would be in school that I would have to do them myself but they got them done for the most part.


Since they have long ago moved away, I do most of the dish washing by myself. I try to keep paper plates in the house but sometimes we just don't pick them up and there are always pots and pans that need to be done.


I do have two teenagers in the house and they will do the dishes when told to. But this is a very different generation I like to call "Lazy". They end up doing them about four times a week and only after several firm reminders from me or Jake. I usually get tired of the reminding and end up doing them myself.


I don't ever remember being Thanked for doing the dishes. I have however Thanked others for doing them for me.


Jake will also pitch in on the weekends when he is home. Although he sometimes doesn't put them away. He will put them away if I am washing them, I like that part!! I always make the kids put them away. Whats the point if you aren't going to finish the job.


Now there is nothing I hate more than waking up to a sink full of dirty dishes. This being something my grandmother, Laverne would always say. So I guess it sort of stuck in my own mind since I was a child.


Dishwashing is one of my least favorite household chores. I , for the most part, love housework. It calms me and makes me happy. The dishes, not so much.


I really think this is the main reason that I don't like to cook anymore, the mess that it leaves. I don't like spending hours a day in the kitchen when I could be here posting about something as silly as dish washing!!


It's a fact that I don't even know how to operate a dishwasher. I still look at them from time to time and my husband always asks if I want one. I still say no thank you.


It probably won't be too long before I am alone and won't have nearly as many dishes to wash. I imagine when that day comes, I will be sad. Or maybe not, we'll see.


Do you have a dishwasher? I have a feeling that most if not all of you do.


Or do you do it the old fashioned way?


Next Monday: Laundry, Pain or Pleasure?

July 4th 2012 8:45 p.m.

Well here it is almost 9:00 p.m. , Independence Day 2012 !!
I was sitting here contemplating going up to bed as I have to get up at  5:45 tomorrow. I have my weekly house to clean and it takes me forever to wake up anymore. I am slower, HA!!


The husband is gone, he should be sleeping by now. Somewhere north of here. Katie left with her boyfriend. They are off to the airport to see the fireworks display. Jake and I used to take her when he would be home. I always found it too hot and too crowded to really enjoy. That and the fact that I grew up in a pyrotechnic family.
Simply put, I had to help every year setting up several shows a season. It's a break of dawn till early in the morning job. Quite honestly, if I never see another fireworks show, it wouldn't break my heart. But I do understand the enjoyment that the crowds get from watching them.


My husband always laughs about the one year that I told a traffic police officer how I felt about the horrible parking situation as if it were his fault!! I don't like crowds. I think I am claustrophobic to a degree. I can't stand the feeling of being trapped in a space.


So here I sit by myself which is fine. I'm tired and pretty much ready for bed. The sounds of fireworks going off in the neighborhood bothers the dogs so I feel bad leaving them downstairs but they've been alone before through it. Ruby just likes to bark every time one goes off while Roxy just sits and shakes poor thing. I can't take them upstairs with me because that is the cats territory. My dogs and cats don't get along real well. They are all stubborn. 


The real reason I am posting this is to let everyone know that I had to enable my word verification. I didn't want to as it can be such a pain but I was getting lots and lots of the "S" word. I don't want to type the word so I hope you understand. And I hope it won't stop you from visiting. I may disable it in the future but for now it is a necessity. I hope you understand.


Well kids it's bedtime for me and I hope you all had a safe and fun evening. Happy Independence Day, God Bless America. Goodnight.

" The Heat is On "

Oh my is it hot outside ! Today 90's, the next four days, 100's. No rain insight. I can't even remember the last time we had rain.

Katie's surgery went well. Better than the last time. However the surgeon also found a cyst as well as the polyp that he originally spotted. So it's good that we found it early. 

Kate is cranky and not feeling so hot. She is on a mega dose of Augmentin, which in and of itself, speaking from personal experience, makes one feel like crap!!

All in all though she is doing much better. Thank you for your concern and prayers.

I'm very busy these days so I don't know how much I will be around. I was able to get caught up with everyone this morning but with this heat and Kate being down, it's been a bit slow going here if you know what I mean!!

Take care, stay cool and God Bless.

" A Morning Glory Story " Happy Halloween, Kate !

A few of you have expressed some interest in my Morning Glories. As it turns out I actually have a little story about them. It involves Katie Rose.

Katie was always a very serious child. There was a while there that we thought something was wrong with her. She would never smile or laugh. And then one day, her big sister got her to laugh. That was a huge relief but she remains a serious young woman to this day.

My youngest daughter, Katie, has wanted me to do a post about her. Since she will be having surgery on Monday, I thought this would be a good time.

Before I tell this Morning Glory story I have to explain why I am posting Halloween photos of Kate. I went to find a few photos of her when she was younger and closer to the age in which the incident took place.

Katies' first Halloween. She was a Bumble Bee. She is still very serious.

I ended up finding a stack of Halloween photos of her. At first I thought posting Halloween photos would seem silly in June but on second thought, does it really matter? I don't think so.

The Morning Glory incident took place several years ago. It was before I got into gardening. 

Something that Katie never took an interest in and still doesn't. I'm thinking she was about five years old. So that would be about twelve years ago.

Katie as " Dorothy " from " The Wizard of Oz ". I do believe this was the first  dress that her big sister Ginny, made for her in her High school sewing class. Notice that Katie has learned to smile now!!

One day I decided to plant some Morning Glory seeds that I had bought. I thought they were beautiful so I would give it a go.

It took me several years to get gardening down. 

Lots of experimenting!!

You may or may not know that when you plant the Morning Glory seeds, it is suggested that you nick them with a knife or soak them in water overnight. It speeds germination. I chose the latter.

Kate as a Flapper girl, third from the left. Katie was an EXTREMELY shy child. She didn't want to interact  with other children at all. If it wasn't for this Pre-school that we found for her, I don't know what I would have done. The teachers were very good and understanding. She eventually warmed up to other children and made several friends there.

I went out in the yard to plant my soaked seeds. As  I  planted the seeds, the water that they were soaking in turned muddy from my fingers.

I don't like to wear gloves while planting. I need to feel the seeds or roots of the plant in the dirt.

Of coarse my sweet yet serious little Kate was in the yard with me at the time. She was standing just a few feet away from me. Piddling. Yes I said an old word. Most of you know what it means. If not, Google it.

Katie and her big sister, Ginny, who still if she could would  go trick or treating !
This was about the age Katie was when the Morning Glory incident happened.

I had left my little bowl filled with muddy seeds a few feet from where I was weeding and making holes for the seeds.

The bowl was close to Katie.

I turned towards Katie and asked, " Honey, would you hand Mommy that bowl sitting right there?" as I pointed at the bowl.

Katie in her Witches costume. I am very proud of this costume. I leaned to sew on my own with the help of a "Dummies" guide book. This was one of the nicest dresses I made. My Katie is very handy too. She also is blessed with common sense. Except for maybe in this story. But she was just little after all!!

I turned back to what I was doing, waiting for Katie to bring me the seed bowl.

" Here Mommy." Katie said.

Perhaps you can imagine my surprise when Katie handed me an empty bowl. I was puzzled.

I asked, " Katie, what happened to the seeds in the bowl?".

To which Katie replied innocently, " The bowl was full of mud Mommy. I threw it in the dirt." !!!

Throw it in the dirt she did. Of coarse there was no chance of me finding the seeds at this point. It was so cute that I couldn't be angry with her.

But I'll tell you what. Those seeds took. And they grew. They took over the entire fence that year.

The actual Morning Glory plants that Katie " Planted". They still continue to come up  every year.

Those Morning Glories still continue to come up there every year. Some years better than others. It's pretty shady in that area.

Since that year Katie has grown into a wonderful, smart, clever, artistic, funny, moody yet loving young woman. And I suppose she was the one that really got her Mommy loving those Morning Glories. They were particularly beautiful that year.

I guess I would say that my Katie grows as beautiful and wild as the 

Morning Glories.

" The Week That Kinda Sorta, Well... Sucked !"

Last week was pretty nice. I took the week off of my part time jobs. I enjoyed not having to leave the house much. Just do things around here that I wanted to do. Yes, last week was pretty nice.

This week however started out with bad news. 

Katie was going somewhere with the car on Sunday. I don't remember where right now and it doesn't really matter.

Jake just so happened to be standing in the driveway, facing the car, when he noticed something on the tire. He stopped Katie and upon closer examination, noticed that the steel belts were popping through both front tires all the way around the tires.

These tires were only fourteen months old. I don't even put 10,000 miles a year on my car.

Of course being that it was a Sunday, I couldn't do anything about it until Monday after Jake would be gone to work.

When I did take the car in I had to buy two new tires even though the tires were still under warranty. And that is because way back last winter when Katie had a flat tire after accidentally driving in a ditch, the tie-rod got bent when she backed out of the ditch.

So the part was ordered and I returned on Wednesday to have it replaced and the car aligned. The good news is the car rides like new once again. Bad news, it costs about $500.00 in repair work.

I don't blame Katie, Hell I may have tried backing out of the ditch myself. I actually did this once with our pick-up. But that's another story for another day.

Yesterday Katie had a routine doctor's visit with her ENT. Katie has to have her ears cleaned out every six months or so as she has eczema in her ears.

She also has had surgery in the past for nasal cysts and polyps.

  

She's been stuffy for a month. She's a bit paranoid about this. I can't blame her. She takes allergy medications regularly.

The news wasn't good. We both were fearing the worst. The ENT found another polyp. Oh my poor Katie. Her mood changed instantly. So did mine.

The surgery is scheduled for June 25th. The good news is that we caught it early and this surgery will be much less invasive than the last one. No packing! That made her a bit more relieved.

She had a horrible migraine for a week after the last surgery. The doctor assured us that should not be the case this time.

When we came home, all Kate wanted to do was take a nap. But not before telling me that the day after the surgery she wants Biscuits and Gravy, Ice Cream and mom's homemade Chicken with homemade noodles.

I'll be doing some cooking that day. I am grateful that I don't know how to make homemade Ice Cream. Please do not send me recipes or directions!!

So I guess that's life. You get a good week and you get a bad week. We'll muddle through.

Keep the Faith and keep on goin'.

I hope you all had a GOOD week!!

" Pet Peeves "

1. The lack of manners and the growth of rudeness in the world today.


Oh how I miss hearing "Excuse me". Am I the only one that remembers these words?


2. When people meet up with someone they know at the store and block the entire isle to talk.


I often run into people that I know at the store and immediately push my cart as far to the side as possible. It's not that difficult!


3. I absolutely detest when one doesn't own up to a mistake they've made. Excuse after excuse is given for their mistake or poor behavior.


Can't anyone say " I'm sorry, I made a mistake." anymore?


4. You will have to envision this one. 
You are driving down a two way street. There are cars parked on the opposite side you are travelling.
An oncoming car decides that they would much rather run you off the road or hit your moving vehicle head on then pull to the side and wait for you to pass. 


If the opposite car insists on coming on through, wouldn't they rather hit a parked car instead of a moving one? Or better yet, wait five seconds for the other car to pass?


5. You will not starve to death. Please do not attack the meal like a caveman.


6. Clean up after yourself in the bathroom.


7. Do something right the first time. It will not only save aggravation but it also saves time. You won't have to redo what you've already done!!


8. Please don't take your bad day out on me. I may have had my own.


9. Tailgating. I will slow down. And really, tailgating a Semi Tractor-trailer ? Do you really think you're going to move that big truck with your itty bitty car ?


That's just playing a dangerous game.


10. Pick up after yourself. Leave things as you found them. At home and at work.


What are some of your Pet Peeves ?