April Weather: Wild and Rainy

Fran’s brother was here for about five days this week. The plan was to catch a gazillion fish and have a wonderful fish fry with family and friends.

The weather was in the forties, rained like it had never rained before. The wind blew, it rained, well you know how it goes on and on. I do have something to tell you though. I was the only one to wear a raincoat and I was totally dry! You ask, “Why did you think it was necessary to go to Walmart in the rain?” Well, I thought I needed a shoe rack. It is still in my closet. I think about it every time I pass by it. I could have waited for another time to get it.

They did go fishing, caught only two throw away fish in two days by two men. Hmm, I wonder if the terrible wind and the arctic temperatures had something to do with it.

Today the forecast is for fifty mile an hour winds; Fran’s brother went home mumbling to himself about “every time I come up here it rains.” He lives in warm Texas.

Today my man is out shopping for rose bushes to plant at the cemetery. He is such a sweet man.

Will Wonders Never Cease

Today I waited in the car for Fran to get the mail out of our mailbox. I thought I must be seeing things. I thought I saw my picture on top of other things he took out of the post box. He handed the mail to me and grinned. It was a picture of me and my friend that had visited a couple of weeks ago.

It was an actual picture. On the back she had taken a pen and divided it in half. On the right side was our name (including Maggie’s name) and our address. On the left side was a very nice note. And the best part was that it cost 28 cents to mail it. Fran didn’t believe it was an actual picture. I showed him where it said Kodak on the back. How very clever. From now on I will do that to keep in touch with family that doesn’t get to see me very often.

I was telling my other friend about it tonight and she said she had never heard of such a thing either. I guess the old adage, “Will wonders never cease” still holds true! Thanks, Pam. Very much appreciated.
The picture of this mailman was a long time ago when pictures were NEVER used as postcards! lol

How Come Mama? Why? Huh?

This morning Maggie and I were out on the porch with our eyes closed, but not snoozing. We were listening to spring. We heard the birds chattering, especially the woodpeckers making all kinds of noise. Our poor light pole must have a lot of damage on its top. We could also hear wild turkeys in the timber across the road. We could hear flies buzzing as well as bees. Earlier she and I had gone for a walk. It was down right cold and I threw on Fran’s old red sweatshirt. Whoa a hummingbird dive bombed me! I thought what in the world…then I thought about my red shirt. They are so attracted to red. The doves are about the last couple of days, their cooing is so pleasant to my ears.

As we were sitting there just soaking up the spring sounds, I thought about my little folks about forty years ago. They thought spring was wonderful after months of brown. They wanted to know why the grass was green and why the sky was blue. I am sure a lot or most parents have to answer these questions or at least bluff their way out of it. I think my answers had something to do with God’s angels thought the colors were really pretty; then changed the subject very quickly. It really didn’t help they thought of more and more questions. They were on a roll. When I complained to my mother she just laughed and laughed. She said that my dad complained to her all the time about my chatter and my incessant questions when I was little. I smiled to myself because I hardly ever knew my dad to become irritated. Oh how I miss their chatter!

Just A Tad........

My friend and I have always had just a tad of competition between us. We used to be on a dart league. She took it very very seriously. I missed and had a rum and coke and laughed about it. I teased her unmercifully and she took it good naturedly but she still wanted to win. Well, who doesn’t?

Then came the flowers, whose roses were in bloom first, then whose tulips and daffodils and on and on it went every spring. Well this year I thought I would really lay it on. I called her day before yesterday and said, “ I am just calling to report to you that our first hummingbird stopped for a drink at exactly 3:55 P.M.” Probably not the happiest response I have gotten except she did say that they had just hung their feeders out. Well last night she called and said, “ I am calling to report that at 6:05 P.M. our first hummingbird stopped for a drink. However, I am sure that they have been stopping and I just didn’t see them.” Ahem! I thought to myself, Oh well now for the first one to see the first oriole. I have my oranges out for them as soon as they get here, however, so does my friend! I will definitely call and tell her as soon as one of those beautiful birds decorates my yard. Oh how I love spring and oh how I love my friend!

My Very Green Colorful Thumb

We Fran has been planting and planting. Fran has been transplanting and digging. Fran has had no help from me except telling him what a good job he has been doing. I also tell him where I want things, and that they need or do not need mulch. Oh, I did start some Moon Glow seeds in the house so that they would grow outside. I soaked them for so long they started to sprout, so Fran planted them today. He has done a lot of pruning and shaping.

I did help Fran’s mom with her weeding yesterday. She was tired after a few minutes and so was I, so we quit. That is the wonderful thing about getting older, you can work when we I want to. I did get a kick out of her; she pointed her little fingers at me to not pull this or to pull that because it was not a weed, this is a weed etc. It was fun. That is something I really enjoy but just can’t do.

Fran and I discussed that from now on we will only plant things that come up every year. We are just too old to be getting up and down all the time. That’s why he made the garden twice as big as it was last year. I kid you not!!!

We had an evaluation of what had been planted, divided, transplanted and on and on. We decided between us that we had enough. However, we had a bare spot around the birdbath. There are bulbs planted on the outside ring of that flower garden, but they won’t be up until mid summer. We had a conversation about what could be planted next to the birdbath that would come up in the spring, before these miniature glads. Fran had a wonderful idea. (At least it was an idea) I bought twelve dollars of artificial flowers and stuck them in wet dirt. What do you think? I wonder what the neighbors think? I wonder a lot of things……..

The Pampered Pooch

Yes, well Maggie is pampered, I will give into that, but the Pampered Pooch is the groomer’s that we take Maggie to every two weeks. I think I have mentioned I go to the beauty shop about every six weeks and I cut Fran’s hair because he refuses to spend the money on a hair cut, but Maggie gets whatever she needs or what we think she needs. She gets a bath every other week, gets her nails clipped every other week and gets Frontline once a month.

Maggie Mae has had this routine for over a year. We got her the 30th of March last year. She had been to the beauty shop the day before because of poor care by her previous owner. Every time we take her to the groomer’s she shivers and shakes and cries. We talk in soft voices and reassure her that the lady is nice and won’t hurt her. It made no difference twice a month we saw our “baby” just in misery.

Today on the way to “Cathy’s” she laid down and went to sleep completely relaxed and happy. Plus I took her out of the car and she just trotted right up to the door and walked over to “Cathy” as if to say, “ok, I am here to get beautiful, do your thing!” Maggie is very much like a child, she constantly amazes me and at times irritates me.

This week she is attacking the red mulch we put around the flowers and shrubs. It seems to act like catnip does to cats. She just goes nuts when she smells it. Fran thinks that the neighborhood cats like to lay on it and that Maggie can smell the “cat” smell. I guess it is possible, but it is very irritating not only she lunges at the mulch, but she is white. Red mulch “bleeds” on her white fur. Oh, dear, what’s a mom to do?

Snagging

Until about fifteen years ago, I thought a snag was something that happened to my nylons, nice sweaters, and blouses. A snag was something that always made me frown and probably say something not accepted in good company. Snags can be caused by rough fingernails a lot. I have gotten snags in my clothing by rough grasses and children’s toys. Once in awhile a snag can be repaired. It seldom looks like new, however, but I have been successful at times. In the fifties and sixties I have heard the “snag” called a “run” in hosiery. We fixed a beginning of a run with clear fingernail polish. That was a trick too when taking them off the polish stuck to your leg and if you weren’t careful, it really hurt.ll when I was about fifty years old, I learned another form of snag. I had often heard of a fisherman complaining about getting snags in a river especially, they break the line. Snags are usually old limbs that float and sometimes cannot be seen.

The official Snagging is fishing for Paddle Fish or Spoonbill fish. These fish are huge. The fisherman does not use bait. He uses very heavy weights and treble hooks. These “snag” the fish because they do not come up to feed, they feed from the algae on the bottom of the river. This gunk is filtered by their gills. These fish are prehistoric leftovers. Fishermen think that they are absolutely beautiful because they are so big. It is nothing for a guy to have to put them over the top of his truck to get it home to dress it out. I have seen them about five feet long; they have to be over twenty four inches long to keep them.

The season for them is March 15 through April 30th. During that time there is a lot of bragging and complaining. The complaining is that it is too cold (I have seen ice on the fishing line), it is too hot (lots of sunburn in April, like yesterday) and of course, no results from all the work they have to go through. It is a constant cast and reel in. The poles are huge and of course, the weights are very heavy. My son told me last night that it was not very fun. They got no fish that they could keep plus he had a terrible sunburn. I have a feeling that Fran will be not having company for Snagging again!
By the way the appropriate term for this kind of fishing down here is "Snaggin'"!

The Lizotte Finch Hotel

To me, the good Lord cannot be denied when you look at a new born baby, or the coming of spring. Spring when everything turns green, blossoms with pink, red, and yellow. People seem happier, nicer to each other, and reach out to help the wild life.
Every where you stop, people greet each other with, “boy that was a terrible winter, wasn’t it?” Or “this winter was a really long one wasn’t it?” One statement is just that; “I am so glad Spring is here.”
Fran has been so busy planting trees, pruning shrubs, putting out grub-go away stuff, and a multitude of other things in the yard.
The other day we went “to town” and arrived at a farm store that has seed and bird feeders for one thing. We bought the cutest bird feeder for finches. It is a three story feeder that you fill with thistle seed from the top. As you fill, it fills the bottom story etc. Those finches go crazy for it. They kick out the seed or try to crack it and the wild birds feed on the ground for the seed the finches spilled.
Doves especially love finch leftovers.
We sit out on our screened in porch, watch the birds and visit about them with smiles on our faces and feel the soft breeze on our skin as the sun warms not only us but also the grass, trees, and flowers. Oh how welcome Miss Spring is!

Profile Pictures

One of the things that Pam and I talked about was Facebook profile pictures. I told her that she puts up this gorgeous picture that was a close up and the one she put up on Instant Messaging was a tiny tiny little picture of her by a pickup truck. She said it the profile picture was taken about five years ago. Hmm I decided to put my profile picture I use in the collage. It is not even a year and a half old and it is my perogative, it is my blog!  And besides, she is so so much fun to tease!

Any body You Know?

Fran and I were at the ATM the other day and my cell phone rang. Now you have to understand that was a very strange thing to happen. First I seldom carry my cell, secondly if I do, it is generally dead, thirdly it is turned off, or lastly it is in the car and I don’t have it with me. Well I almost didn’t answer it because I didn’t recognize the number. However, I did. The lady’s voice said, “What are you doing?” I said, “I’m at the bank getting some money, do you want some?” She said, “yeah about a million.” That’s when I recognized her voice. Then she said, “Then what are you going to do?”
Then I said, “Going to the grocery store to get something to eat. Why, all the questions.?” I knew that Pam and Chuck were on their way to Alabama. They were, but they were zig zagging around to see relatives before they landed in Alabama and they were very close to where we live. So I said, in a frenzy when will you be here. I was calculating in my head how long it would take at the grocery store, how long to clean the house, blah blah. Oh and cook!

They, including Chuck, are so laid back and easy going they fit right into the kind of friends that we have. Pam and I sat in the dining room and reminisced and looked at pictures and Fran and Chuck were gabbing about fishing and whatever a mile a minute.

They could not stay very long so we talked really fast.  As you can see, Maggie didn't want to be left out so she made friends with Chuck. (He liked to Play!)

The pictures you see were taken at seven o’clock in the morning, right before they left.

I put several pictures of their RV and their car that they have hooked up because, our driveway is narrow with a ditch on each side. I held my breath and so did Pam. The guys didn’t think it was a big deal at all.

Pam and I have been talking on Yahoo Instant Messenger for about a year. She reads my blog and makes comments. She calls sometimes and we tease each other. She and I had tentatively made plans to go see the other Golden Girl in Mesa, but I had so many legal court appearances about the killing of our Sheltie I couldn’t go this year. But hopefully in the not too distant future, the three Golden Girls will be back together again.
Can anyone guess who the other Golden Girl is? We used to be like 3 peas in a pod.

Me And Johnny Appleseed

I kind of knew what Johnny Appleseed felt like today. Fran had cut down three trees this spring. My rule and a lot of people’s rule is if you cut down a tree, you plant one. We had always wanted some fruit trees. Well, we are in our sixties, we certainly don’t plan way into the future, but I surely do want to see these trees that Fran planted today bear fruit.

The other day we planted lilac bushes and a mock orange. We also planted some double daffodils that were yellow. My friend said she would like some white ones. When we were at Fran’s rental house there were some white ones in the timber that surrounds his land. He dug up six of them and planted them in amongst the yellow flowers. He was going to get my friend some too. I got to looking at them and I said, “ I sure hope those aren’t wild onions!” Fran said that he was wondering the same thing. I broke off a stem and rubbed it between my fingers and decided that it was absolutely not a wild onion, but we couldn’t figure out what they were. We then named them a wild flower. That fits, don’t you think? Any way they were very pretty.

Back to the trees. I have told you in the past that Fran and I love to go to the flea market. The Amish sell a lot of things there. Today I bought a large loaf of whole wheat bread and four fruit trees. We bought two Jonathon apple trees and two peach trees. The peach trees are a new breed. You can slice them and leave them out and they won’t turn brown. So another words, they are low acid. We spent less than half the price of nursery price for the trees.

Hopefully we will not be like Johnny Appleseed and will be able to eat the fruit from the trees that we planted. What fun that will be!

Easter Memories From Years Gone By

I don’t remember ever having an Easter egg hunt outside when I was young, but one either Saturday or Sunday my dad “hid” egg candy in plain view for us to find. He put them on top of the door jams in window sills etc. because they were CANDY not eggs! Oh well, it was fun and so much out of character. And dad enjoyed eating the candy because it was way too sweet for me. Yuk!

I am sure you have heard that when you get older or sicker your short term memory fades, but your long term memory is pretty much down to the detail perfect! Well, not always especially with me, but it is much better than the short term. I remember what my dress and shoes looked like when I was in sixth grade. I think it was important for two things. I wore my first pair of knee high nylons. Second reason I got a new pair of new shoes, they were white which was fine. White was acceptable on or after Easter. However, they had a tiny little heel on them. I was so proud. You also know the saying, “pride goeth before the fall?” Well the next thing my dad said, “You have really big feet. I am going to call you slough foot.” Oh, boy yeah that hurt. I knew he was teasing, but I was always a big girl and didn’t need reminding. Mom stepped in and said her favorite thing when he upset her, “Ray!” She never called him by his name, then he changed tunes and said that a great building needed a firm foundation. Oh well, the damage had been done. You have to keep in mind I was eleven.

Now to the good stuff. My dress was purchased yes, not home made, at Penny’s. It was light baby blue with white Polka Dots that were tiny. The neckline was rolled from shoulder to shoulder. I was not able to find anything like it on the computer. It had three quarter length sleeves, a tight bodice and a wide belt. The skirt was about twelve inches from the floor and was pleated with six inch pleats. Now how about that for a memory?

I wore a ponytail with curly bangs. I really was quite cute. My new spring coat cost twelve dollars. It was a baby chick yellow and was kind of spongy. Rosie, my sister had a white one. We looked very nice and mother reminded us that pretty is is pretty does. Yes, mother. Her quotes still haunt me. Lol I hope all of you have a Happy Easter, beautiful weather and spread and receive lots of joy.

Gray And White Or Not.....

        


Last week-end we were playing my new favorite game at my daughter’s house and her youngest child started giggling and said, “Grandma’s hair is gray and white.” Then all the kids and grownups I might add, started to giggle and chuckle.
I chuckled too, but I did think about the easiness of letting my hair just do it’s thing and not coloring it or putting perms in it. Besides that it is very expensive to do both.
I was talking to my daughter yesterday and we were laughing about her little one’s remark about my hair. I told her I still don’t recognize myself when I look in the mirror. I told her that my husband misses the curls and I miss the color. She said she doesn’t miss the curls, but she does miss the color.
Hmm, I guess I have a decision to make. What do you folks think, do you think I should go back to color again, or leave it, like Nickie said, gray and white? Oh by the way, there is only a few months difference in the age of the pictures. Mercy, can you believe it?