The Flowers I had...

I really didn't intend to have all that many flowers this year. But as it turned out I didn't do all that bad. I buy most of my plants for pots on my patio but if a plant comes back the next year I like to try and plant them in the yard somewhere. These Daisey's are a perfect example. I had them both in pots last year, so this year they are in the yard to stay.



















I am terrible with names if anyone knows the name of this flower please leave a comment but I love it. I've had it for four years now and it only blooms in the spring. The blue flowers in front are Sage.













My Irises are always a springtime treat. I just love the rich velvet blue colors they seem to flow at times.

























The nasturtiums were so vivid in color. Prominent orange and red the colors liven up any salad. They have a slight peppery taste that goes good with a poppy seed dressing

















Last but not least my Portalucas or Moseroses as some would call them. You'll notice in this one that a bee is inside one of the flowers gathering pollen.



Not to bad huh?

Sorry everyone I guess I kind of got side tracked. Things have really been growing on the patio as you can see. The Banana trees have done great as usual I have a nice little grove, and to think that a friend of mine gave me the first one four years ago and it has produced all of these. I've also given some away, so as you can tell, all you have to have is the initial tree and some patients and you could have a patio banana grove also.

My Nasturtiums have loved the bigger pot I put them in. The flowers are so good to eat with a salad. I even eat them by themselves at times.To me there's nothing like being able to enjoy the fruits of your garden. I don't have any fresh pictures but I planted some green beans cucumbers and carrots in my back garden. We've had several meals off the beans and a few cucumbers so far. The carrots are about right so it wont be long for them. I've just been experimenting so far this year, next year I hope to really be able to eat out of my garden.




My herbs are my pride and joy this year my Rosemary came back and she has really produced. I've trimmed it back a few times already I'm hoping to be able to keep this one at least another year.







This Tarragon I've had for three summers now it's a French herb, I use it some for cooking, specially poultry.








Basil, another of my favorites. My best friend came over this past weekend and I gave him all my leaves off this plant. He makes a great Pesto sauce from them and I'll get a share.





Now this is oregano. I also have some Thyme, Sage, St Johns Wart and other herbs growing around the house. Several nice things about herbs. 1) the majority of them are perennials meaning they will come back year to year 2) they are very useful, my Chamomile I use to make tea other herbs I use in cooking and they all have a fragrance all their own. I love to just run my hands over them to smell the aromas.

For starters

When we first moved into this house we already had the 24x24 patio with the privacy fence so the hard part was done already but what I needed was some way to elevate my plants to get the most from the area I had. I decided to go with a five step riser and 2x8 steps. This was the most expensive part of the project but it was a one time cash outlay and it has been well worth the investment.

I was able to find a couple risers at an old construction site plus a friend had a couple so they didn't cost me anything. The 2x8s were treated lumber and more expensive than regular 2x8s. I got 10, 8foot long ones and that cost me about $45.00 plus a box of deck screws (galvanized)and some water sealant it ended up costing me in the neighborhood of about $75.00 total.

I put the risers up two on each side of the fence then put the 2x8s on. I cut the 45 deg angles on the steps and placed them on the risers before I cut the ends off. This way I was sure that they would be even and all I had to do was take my circle saw and trim them once I got done. I used deck screws to fasten the whole thing together as they are easy to use and if you have to take the project down they are easy to remove as well. Now everything's in place to start planting. I would advise though that you treat the lumber, risers and all, with a good water seal to protect against water damage because it will see a lot more water than what mother nature provides.

Now what do I grow?

I already had some house plants to start with so I used them to decorate the risers. I'd wanted to make this more than just a flower garden, I wanted to produce something useful but you have to be careful, just like anything else living your plants grow and take up more and more space, what may seem sparse in the spring could over grow themselves by August if your not careful, so don't let your enthusiasm overload you. I stared out with some peppers, Jalapeno, Habanero, Cayenne etc etc. I've grown about five different varieties at one time. Of course these plants are seasonal and you have to replenish them every year so I decided to try some herbs as well, these are perennial and will come back each year. Thyme, Oregano, Basil are good ones because they are hardy and easy to grow. As you can tell I added some decorative plants and flowers to fill in but this was what it looked like in 2006. I've since gravitated to more eatable plants. Mose roses, or Portulaca is a good flowering plant to have, it has beautiful colors and is very hardy. Coleus is a good one for color also. I'll get more into the particular plants next installment. I hope this has given you some helpful ideas, gardening is fun so go on get your hands dirty.

Get Ready for this.

I have out done myself this year. Now I'm working on the chronology. I want to take you through step by step and show what I've done to my back patio so that you can do the same next year. Cool huh?

Be patient don't go away I'll, be back promise.



Here look at this till I get back.

Well the crappy time of year is here again. The weathers turned cold and icy and I've had to pull all my banana trees in from the patio. The peppers have died and my herbs have gone into hiberrrrrrnation . I hate the cold weather!

It seems that the cold weather is when we all go into debt. Of course before Bush we had cheaper heating fuel so you used to get a break in the winter. Gas was a lot cheaper than electricity. Not now my friends, I believe my winter bill is higher than my summer bill, thanks George.

We also have to buy all those warm winter cloths that cost so much. Except at WalMart where everything is cheap including the wages and benefits. I'm so thankful for Chinese people who will work for nothing to keep me warm. Who cares if the buttons are poisonous and painted with lead base paint, I just won't chew on them as much.

Then we have the Holidays. Tada! Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years, all paganist celebrations lumped together so that you don't notice that everything is going to hell outside. Of course with out them there would probably be a lot more suicides, at least with the Holidays you have something to look forward too and thanks to all your well meaning aunts you have enough scarves, gloves and underwear to make it through to April.

It's almost as if like hibernating bears we have a ritual to prepare for winter {{{January, February, March}}}. We start off with candy on Halloween to start on those layers of fat we'll need to survive the cold winter with nothing but reality TV on the tube. Then comes Thanksgiving! This is your chance to pile on those winter layers on someone else's dime. If you play it right and hit all the sisters and cousins early you'll end up at Mom and Dads where they will load you up with leftovers for a month, which coincidentally brings you to Christmas.

Christmas, that time when the rich feel bad about being rich. They seek out some poor unfortunate family to shower with presents and joy, food and good will. The family learns that if they are lucky and can survive another 364 days, 365 in a leap year, they could be showered with presents and food again. Reminds me of that parable about teaching a man to fish as opposed to just giving him a fish. Here's a new one "Teach a man to fish and you have a self sufficient human being who can survive on his own, give a man a fish and you have a slave forever" . Anyway I'm just being dark, I hate winter! Christmas is your last chance to warm up before the onslaught of cold, snow, back aches, colds, sniffles bla bla bla. Of course there's most of the things you ate at Thanksgiving except they replace turkey with ham, in some cases they serve both. As with Thanksgiving the pecking order remains the same Moms last then out of town with the goody's before your siblings get wise. Then it's the last chance before spring, holiday New Years Day.

New Years day comes in with a bang, why? because we spend New Years eve getting shit faced and even the closing of the frig on New Years day sounds like the bombing of Berlin. This is like the last mind numbing celebration that slips you into the deep freeze and hibernation. An interesting Holiday where the day before is more the celebration than the actual holiday itself. We can't wait to get to our favorite haunt, friends house or if we're lucky stay home and have friends over, the later is really the most fun because you get to get up in the morning and see who passed out on your couch. We consume at lest twice as much alcohol as our cars need to make it through the winter, then we pass out and wake up wishing we'd installed cable in the bath room so we could watch football uninterrupted. New Years day is spent watching endless football, it's like a cram course in college which now pays dividends we have bowls and bowls of football, enough to get us into mid January at least, who knew that FarlyRedikles University and Technical school had a football team?

Thats it, if you haven't made it to this point with enough blubber to make it through to spring you'd best be looking for a condo in Florida because now's when the Big Chill sets in. Good luck my friends see you in the spring.

"I love the smell of kerosene in the morning, it smells like...warmth" ...mmmmmm

Anyone have cheap tickets to Jamaca?

It's that time of year

I hate it when the wind starts to chill and this year it seems to be chilling faster than usual. Here in the Ohio Valley the trees have barely begun to start to turn. I know the colors are beautiful but the chill in the air reminds me of the cold of winter and how bleak and bare things are. I long for the first buds of spring and the flowers that follow.

If you like fall foliage we have a lot of beautiful places, not far from here, to see. The highway through Bardstown past the Jim Beam distillery and on into Springfield, Lebanon, Campbellsville is always good scenery spring or fall. In spring the Dogwoods are everywhere and the fall colors are magnificent. I65 to "Elizebethtown" is also very scenic.

Going north on I65 you come to Henryville known for the Henryville forest and it's overlook. It's a breath taking view and in the right time of year the colors are indescribable. It's just a short drive from there up to Brown County Indiana where people come from miles to see the fall colors.

The back roads of Lexington are also great for picturesque scenery. Through the horse farm country, over to Frankfort, Harrodsburg and down to the Gorge. The States of Kentucky and Indiana supply a pallet of fall colors, thats if you get into that sorta thing LOL.
I really don't mind fall as much as winter. It's when those cold subfreezing temps run up my pants leg that I want to take up my son-in-laws invite to come to move to sunny Southern California.

Next weekend should be a good weekend for color. If we get out next week end we'll take the camera and share some of the scenery with you.

Go Cards!

The System

Now that I'm back to work it's kind of funny and in a way indicative of how the cut back in federal and state funds has caused a brain drain at some public service offices.

Through a crazy series of events I spent the first part of this summer on administrative leave from the hospital I work at. I'm back to work now, in a department that is more suited to my skills, with a pay raise I might add. So it seems to have turned in my favor at least for the time being.

I didn't even register for unemployment for the first week I was off. I didn't anticipate being off over a week and I just didn't want the hassle. Then things started happening and I applied the following week. Everything was going good, aside from a slight delay in the beginning we were doing okay. Then came July 4, 2007!

My scheduled day to turn in my benefits was every other Wednesday. On July 4 this year I requested my check as usual but when I got done and pressed the last key it gave me an error message. I freaked and as it turned out for good reason. When your on unemployment and only getting a percentage of your pay every other week missing a paycheck is crucial so when I got the error message I immediately emailed the address given to me on the web site. The following day the person on the other end of the email wrote back and informed me that I needed to come into the office and get a review. I wrote back and asked if I needed an appointment. I had tried to call, right, I could be retired and on social security before they'd answer the phone at the unemployment office, so I sent an email. Now we're at Friday and I received the return email from the person on the other end telling me no I don't need an appointment.

So that you'll understand fully my dilemma, I live on the south end of town, the office I was going to was approx 20 miles away in the heart of the city. We have one car and Nancy takes it to work, 25 miles in the opposite direction, however all is not lost. There is a bus stop about three blocks away from the house. So I catch the bus and go downtown. It was an interesting ride and I'm a people watcher so it was entertaining as well. The bus dropped me off about half a block from my destination and I could pick it up there to. Things are looking up I go into the office, wait in this line and that line only to be told, at the end of the line, that I didn't have what I needed and had to go back home to get it. This is where it started getting stupid.

You see I was on administrative leave. That meant that I was technically still an employee but wasn't getting paid. they couldn't understand that, and one of the things I needed to get was a history of where I'd looked for work. I had applied for ten jobs but they were all through one guy one phone number. You starting to see the problem? I had to go home and be creative about who I'd contacted about work, then return the next day with the information. I knew God was punishing me for those things I'd done, at a very young age, with my sisters Barbie doll. Oh well such is life.

The following day I took the bus down to the corner of 6th and Cedar, walked in, confident we could take care of business and get this over with. The unemployment gods were shining their light on me. I stood first in line, only because no one else was there. Lady took me in the other room, I showed her my stuff, she wrote on the computer, bang, zoom we were done! Look out, that was too easy. I asked the lady "We done?" she said "yes" I said "You sure?" she said "yes" hot damn I've been forgive. I walk the half block to catch the bus, I'm in a good mood. I took my seat on the bus and headed home...I should a known better! I no sooner walk in the door and the wife says... "The Lady From The Unemployment Office called"...sheeeeaaatt..."You need to go and reopen your claim". What? I didn't close it why should I reopen it? I knew it was too good to be true.

The following morning I took the wife to work. I'd had it with riding the bus, I was going to leave my carbon footprint everywhere. I drove down to 6th and Cedar that morning with a deep sense of dread and despair. I knew I had been sucked into the vortex of unemployment compensation hell and there was nothing I could do, I was at their mercy. How right I was. I no sooner walked in and was ushered to a computer and ordered to reopen my claim. I protested but to know avail the computer showed nothing for July 4th and even though I told them it was there no one bothered to look. After opening my unclosed claim I was ushered over to a guy who filled out some forms and said I'd probably get my check in a week to ten days. "A week to ten days?" I protested, but again to deaf ears. No kidding here's how crazy this is. On July 4th, had my information gone all the way through I would have check in hand on about the 6th of July this is now the 11th of July and this guys telling me it'll be at least the 18th before I get a check and since I had to reopen my claim I won't be able to claim again till the 24th of July. My brain is swimming and I have to go get Nancy from work but I vow to return, and the look in my eye told them I would. In fact I got to know a few by name I'd been there so much.

Thursday morning, I'm headed back to 6th and Cedar with fire in my eyes. I get off the bus and proceed into the office. I demand to see someone now! Okay there was no one there again and I got right in, but it was a good thing! I figured it up that they were going to screw me out of a weeks pay and I was going to say something even if they had security throw me out at least I'd gotten a transfer token and the bus ride back would be free, but the strangest thing happened. Out of nowhere came an all knowing angel. She showed me that the unemployment service had indeed sent me the checks that I had turned in the time for on July 4th and that I should resubmit for another check on the 16th as usual. She understood that they had forced me to reopen my claim. She would not only delete that unfortunate mistake but she would give tongue lashings to all those responsible for the previous days activities. All was again right with the world. I took the bus home.

The following day the check came and we had money for the bills, I had dodged a bullet, right! It is now July16 and I am about to put my trust in my new found angel and apply for my next check. I called the number, put in my social and then the dreaded words " You can not apply for your check yet" "you must wait 13 days for your employers response" AAaaahhhh! And to make matters worse I got a check for half of what I was planning to claim! They were taunting me, teasing me, it was a conspiracy out to get my sanity. I couldn't help but wonder how many other unsuspecting souls they had done away with in this fashion? Do they get a bonus if they drive you completely mad?

I took the bus to 6th and Cedar again. To Elenore the bus driver "this is the book I told you I would write" hope the grand baby's are better and Clarances bypass goes fine. I took my book "The Truth", with jokes, by Al Franken my check for $277.00, that I have no idea why I got it, and went into the office at 6th and Cedar. Where the hell did all these people come from? The worst day for me to have to wait in line and I draw number 179 and the machine said the were on number 109. I went and got lunch then came back. We sat and sat read and sat sat and read, if I ever hit the lottery I'm buying lounge chairs for the waiting room. finally the numbers start to move only because people have gone home, retired or died since they came in, and here's my chance, the kind lady says, "179", I'm in! I explained to the lady that the angel who sits at that deck, and I pointed to the angels desk, the angel was gone. They must have figured out she was intelligent and got rid of her. I told her how the angel had straightened things out and that somehow no one listened to her(I thought I was the only they didn't listen to). I told how I got here in the first place and wasn't she here when the angel handed out the tongue lashings? She agreed that they make it much too complicated but she had only been there 6 or 8 months, she didn't know which, so it all looked good to her and what was my problem. She had me nailed. Even though the angel promised me it was fixed they had me. I just had to resign myself to the screwed up wait and hope they didn't hold my check in protest again. I started to leave but I had to give it one last shot so I asked to speak to a supervisor. Maybe she didn't like me telling her that "I may be unemployed but I'm not stupid" but she had an attitude that was not in the least what I would expect out of a public servant, but the power suit and calves like a linebacker should have given me a hint. To make a long story short she told me to wait till Sunday the 22nd to file, I reminded here the other lady said the 24th to which she spewed "I don't care what the other lady said, I said Sunday the 22nd". A tip of the "Mr. Courteous" cap to the supervisor of the unemployment office at 6th and Cedar and I left never to set foot in the office at 6th and Cedar again, hopefully.

Then came Sunday, that faithful day Sunday the 22nd of July. I was up early that morning. I waited, 8:00am came, I knew I could life the receiver and dial the number but I waited, I wanted them to be able to get it right before I called. Here it was now 8:45 time to call I dialed the number it connected to that familiar recorded message and asked if I spoke Spanish and when I said no it continued in a English, with my luck I would have figured it would continue in Spanish then I'd really be screwed. It asked for my social security number and I complied. If you have ever experienced complete anguish this was it. "You are not eligible to claim benefits due to your 13 days not being up" and "you may claim your benefits after July 5th 2007"! I know, it's time to turn this bus around and head for the barn. I swear thats exactly what the message said I asked my wife to listen and she'll verify it.

By now I know the wheels are off and I need to call in the heavy hitters, damn the torpedoes and if they got an e-mail address then "you got mail"! I emailed my congressman, my state senator, Mr e-mail on the unemployment page and a bunch of my friends and don't you ever think that don't work. hehehehehe

The following morning I received a call from my state senator and the race was on. I talked to comptrollers and controllers, secretaries and gurus and don't you know that by the end of the day I was more confused than before. I wrote my senator back and told him they didn't read any better than they listened and by the time all of that got straightened out it was the 24th I applied for my checks they were tracked by all the afore mentioned officials and on the 26th I received my last full check.

In retrospect I wanted to leave this as a testament of how screwed up things could get but they all worked out, somehow, in the end. LOL Someone posted a new Ben and Jerry's Ice cream flavor that explains it real well a combination of pistachio and chocolate called "Cluster Fudge"