WOW, since March I've not posted!!

Yep, that's when the hot flashes started...I'm about to be 52 years old.  The night sweats were the worst - I could not sleep, and seriously thought I was going to lose my mind.  The day-time ones sometimes made me have to lay down, as I would get dizzy.

I tried several herbal products (I hate pharmaceuticals) and no WAY would I consider hormone therapy, but I finally lucked out!

Complete Balance, manufactured by Natrol.  Available online - I found it on sale at my local Rite Aid.  It's not expensive, and after ONE FULL MONTH of taking it, I am SO much better, it did not kick in until a month on it though...just ordered 2 more months worth at Swanson, online.  I've been on it 2 months now.

In other news, I'm busy dividing iris, and doing general fall cleanup - and cat wrangling.

Japan

19th century  painting by  Katsushita Hokusai

I've been reading news articles this morning, about the ongoing tragedy in Japan.  My husband spent many years there in the Navy, so it has been a worrisome time for him, attempting to contact old friends.

Snow Day! (sort of)

Snowball Bush (Viburnum)

We got our annual Late February Last Snow last night - I awoke to a light dusting - so beautiful before the traffic starts moving and the streets get ugly.  I sure wish it snowed here like it used to when I was a kid.

They keep saying Global Warming is a crock, but I know for sure it's warmer on average here in the Rogue Valley now, than it was 40 years ago.  We used to get at least a foot of snow

Food For Thought

A hypothetical situation for you:

You are out to dinner, or in a club, or in a store and someone mistakes you for an employee, and asks for your assistance, or other service.  Now you know that according to the "way things are", your "social standing" puts you far above anyone who would be employed as a waiter, waitress, or shop clerk.  How do you react?

Are you insulted, but don't say anything and just ignore the person?  Do you say something cutting or rude to them?  Or do you explain their mistake gently to them?  Or maybe even help them to find the item or person they need WHILE explaining you don't work there?

I found this to be a very well-written, thought-provoking article, and I'd like to think I'd behave as the Four-star General did:  Bob Greene's Opinion Piece

Work and Fun and Games

Clematis 'Nellie Moser'

Yes, it's been awhile since I posted here - I've gotten lots of work done, and had some fun, too!


I spent 3 days going thru my shop inventory, deleting some things, and adding a bunch of new things, while at the same time creating a database for my inventory.  The software for my website does not allow me to sort and print my inventory as I would like, so now I have it all on a thumb drive in a spreadsheet.  This will allow me to sort by distributor (I have 4 different ones), making it easier to check inventory.  Time well spent!

We have a real muddy area at the back of my side yard, and I cannot get any sort of ground cover to take root there, despite repeated attempts.

Ladybugs!

When is a ladybug not a bug?                 

Always, they are actually beetles!  (Coccinellidae)  A minor distinction, I know, but an entirely different order of insect.  Bugs have mouth-parts made to suck, and feed on fluids, beetles have biting mouth-parts, and tear their food.  The ladybug's proper name is actually the Ladybird Beetle.

Spring Really Is Coming!

The first Snowdrop

I was out enjoying a rare, sunny afternoon yesterday,     

raking up the last of the leaves and doing some other 

general clean-up when I spotted them!  Snowdrops 

(Galanthus), blooming in my front border!

That is always the first sign of spring, here in Oregon, and a welcome sight they are.  They inspired me to check out the rest of the yard more closely, and I found many more signs that this strange winter is finally coming to an end.

Brandon Wilks - Nationwide Craigslist Scammer - Beware!

This is so heinous I have to tell the world:  

If you have applied for a job thru Craigslist, and it seems this is nationwide, and you get a reply from a Brandon Wilks, RUN, don't walk, and for heaven's sake DON'T click any enclosed links.

It's a scam to get your info and credit card number.  He's currently operating with the return email address of ADEXIMEDIA . com, and if you do a Google search on them

'Socks - How our garden saved our cat'

By Ted Sherman                                                         
Reprinted by permission from Greenprints Magazine
Issue #84, Winter 2010 / 11

     Socks was our family pet, a mostly black tomcat with white legs.  he had to be the biggest cat in the neighborhood and should have ruled the backyards and fences.  But Socks was a coward.  All the other cats, including the females, bullied him badly.  They'd hiss at him and spit at him and, if they caught him, bit pieces from his ears, nose and jaw.  He looked like the neighborhood chewing - uh, punching - bag.

Tax Time...

UGH - I've spent the last two days getting all the papers in order for our new CPA, we meet with him Thursday.

I've always done my own taxes, and last year I did 3 years worth of refund returns for my wonderful lazy husband, in addition to my own!  We got married in Sept. of 2009, so filed separately for that year.

A Side Effect of Quitting?

So my husband Sam quit chewing tobacco.  Hooray!   And his dentist is happy too.

It's been about a month since he chewed, however he still has the occasional cigar, maybe 2 big ones a week, and one of those little cigarillos daily.

But the last few days, he's been experiencing a strange thing - several foods have "tasted like tacos"!  Foods that really should not taste like tacos -

My Very Favorite Garden Magazine

It isn't full of information about plants and how to plant them.  It IS about the human side of gardening, and our relationship with nature.  It's about the funny side of gardening, and the terrible (and sometimes wonderful) mistakes we make.  It's about the sad side of gardening, and how one particular plant can make us cry over the loss of a loved one like it was yesterday.

A Great Garden Club

Last November, I spoke on the phone with Katie and her supervisor at my wonderful Garden Club, of which I am a life member. I get a great bi-monthly magazine from them, jam-packed with great garden and patio ideas, new plants, product reviews and tips. It's called Gardening-How-To.

 They have granted me permission to utilize the magazine for blog ideas and exerpts, so I am going to grant them a shameless plug!

Purple Velvet, Purple passion (Gynura aurantiaca)

A beautiful plant native to Malaysia,         
and can be used as a hanging plant or
not, depending on how you trim it.  

It does bloom, when it feels like it,
but it's rather picky in that regard,
and I love it for the unusual purple
'fur' that covers the leaves and stems.

String of Pearls (Senecio rowleyanus)

WARNING:  POISONOUS TO PETS, and     
possibly humans.

A beautiful succulent from South America,
and keeping it hanging prevents accidental
ingestion by pets or children.  

Houseplant Series and Cuttings Available

I have a lot of houseplants!  My whole enclosed back porch / laundry room is full.  It's a great room, with full windows on both East and North sides, so the plants get plenty of light, but very little direct sun.  The only problem is it's very hard to keep warm, with all that glass - my house was built in the 1920's, and I have old single-pane wavy glass.  But the laundry is a plus, it adds warmth and humidity!  Cuttings are available!