Translate

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Green Bean Harvest






The first green bean harvest from the DS's postage stamp garden. Have to grin...he planted this garden and was so excited about the first harvests and then got sent off to Arizona for a job that will last for the next several months. But never fear.. DSIL is on top of things.


When he called and told me about the green beans, he said the tomatoes are coming along wonderfully...nice, juicy and red...and the birds love them. He said every one that he has tried to pick had been pecked out by the birds.

I guess they have tried everything from scare crows to fake owls, but nothing seemed to work. He said he grew tired of it, so down to Home Depot he went..and voila'... bird netting over the tomatoes. I haven't heard in the last day or so if it is working as well as he hoped...but will find out...

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Harry Truman


This popped up as a forward in my email today. I like Harry Truman. He became President the year I was born, so I didn't get to hear or read any of this first hand.. just wish I had.



HARRY TRUMAN HONOR IN POLITICS

The Buck Stops Here

'It doesn't matter how big a ranch ya' own, or how many cows ya' brand, the size of your funeral is still gonna depend on the weather.' Harry Truman.

When President Truman retired from office in 1952, his income was substantially a U.S. Army pension reported to have been $13,507.72 a year. Congress, noting that he was paying for his stamps and personally licking them, granted him an 'allowance' and, later, a retroactive pension of $25,000 per year.

When offered corporate positions at large salaries, he declined, stating,

'You don't want me. You want the office of the president, and that doesn't belong to me. It belongs to the American people and it's not for sale.'

Even later, on May 6, 1971, when Congress was preparing to award him the Medal of Honor on his 87th birthday, he refused to accept it, writing,

'I don't consider that I have done anything which should be the reason for any award, Congressional or otherwise.'

We now see that other past presidents, have found a new level of success in cashing in on the presidency, resulting in untold wealth. Today, many in Congress also have found a way to become quite wealthy while enjoying the fruits of their offices. Political offices are now for sale.

Was good old Harry Truman correct when he observed,

'My choice early in life was either to be a piano player in a whorehouse or a politician. And to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference. I, for one, believe the piano player job to be much more honorable than current politicians.'

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Finished



The Banjo Clock is finished and hanging on the wall. And isn't it lovely! DH spent lots of time in my work room with the doors open because of the sanding and sealing, staining and finishing. But all was well worth it... The caring and joy he puts into his clocks simply ooze back out and make you happy just looking at them.

And now the monster has been created...lol Another clock kit arrived at the door yesterday... This one will be more difficult and have many more pieces... I think he has found his niche.


Remember this?
This is the crazy quilt block that I started 2 years ago to commemorate the wedding of our son to his partner of 11 years. I wanted it to be so perfect that I felt that whatever I did to it was never quite good enough, so it finally found itself a place and just stayed hid out in my workroom. I came across it day before yesterday and after not seeing it for a while, I realized it was quite lovely... and finished it! The only thing that may be added is some stitching around the border.
I finally broke down and turned on the air conditioner in my work room. There are just too many things that I want to do out there. ;o)
Had my 18th molar pulled a couple of weeks ago. Thought it would never stop bleeding..but found out one thing for sure. The wet tea bag did stop the bleeding. I was amazed. Back to the dentist yesterday and we're back to the old anesthetic and deep scaling and scraping. YUK!

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Home Again


It seems that we plan and look forward to trips, then as soon as we leave the city limits we're ready to be back home...lol We had to make a quick run to Bull Shoals, AR and on the way back stopped in Eureka Springs. Thought we might go a show, visit some of the caves and ride the trolley around for the tour. We slept, got up and decided we were just too ready to be home.

On the way back, we stopped at a couple of the many antique stores on the side of the highway and while I didn't find any old spindles, we did find a few treasures.

DH found a couple of clocks that he will be able to fix and put new workings inside. Talk about tickled..lol And we have been looking forever for a creamer that actually has a lid on it.. look around on your next trip to town and see what a futile search that turns out to be...well, we finally found one.

A while back I had to darn the holes in the socks that I knitted for DH. I had to use a light bulb for the darning egg... well not any more! There were actually three to choose from, but the other two (while they may have been older) had a kind of ceramic feel glaze to them that had been pitted and worn. I was afraid this would make working with the socks more difficult, so this black wooden one was my choice.

We have been watching Midsomer Murders for quite a while, renting them through Blockbuster and watching the series as many times as we like. That turns out to be many times..grin Anyway, the series is based on books written by Caroline Graham and the first book she wrote was The Killings at Badger's Drift ... and look what we found...

All in all, it was a good trip...even if it was quick. The company and the scenery were great!

Saturday, July 12, 2008

It's Too Hot to Work!



Summer is finally here and has made it into my work room. The garage, hall and my room run around 92 degrees these days... so to keep the costs of the air conditioner down, I have been gathering stuff up and trashing the kitchen and living room...sigh


At some point in the near future I will turn on the air conditioner out there, but haven't had the nerve to spend that money... saving for gasoline! Can you believe the cost of that stuff?! I agree with Newt Gingrich... the govt. should dump half of our reserve on the market and flood it...causing speculators to think twice about betting against America...


Anyway...won't go there..lol It's too hot to get all worked up... lol

I've not figured out what my next project will be. I've been trying to learn the nalbinding knit/tarim stitch and seem to be finally "getting" it.. I finished the homespun green wool tarim/knit stitch bag that was practicing on... still need to use the lucet and make the cord to use for closure. This work done by Alix at Alix's Nalbinding Page is what I am shooting for... Isn't that amazing work!


My small weaving loom that my wonderful DH made for me has been seeing some action. Using wool yarns that were spun a while back, I put together these two small pieces. They will be made into small bags. I find that I love, love,love the purple that I thought I would have to re-dye.

And one more thing... Hi, Patty. We're doing good. Missing the son that is moving to Phoenix because of a job change. Things will definitely be a little different around here. Not much news... The only doctor's visits these days are for the infinite number of check ups and returns that they all seem to be able to come up with...lol Hugs to Pat and puppies..grin



Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Hello, Again

I can't imagine where the month went.


My tiny antique spinning wheel arrived 3 days ago. It was found in an online marketplace for a reasonable price and after emailing back and forth with the owners (who we found were exceptionally nice folks), we bought it. I put pictures up on the Kromski yahoo group and found out that it was most likely made in the early 1800s and is possibly older than that.



There is a small amount of work (besides the careful cleaning and oiling) that needs to be done to it for me to use it, but that will have to wait for a few days.






The new banjo clock kit is my DHs new project. It's cherry wood and is turning out really nice. I had no idea that many of the parts on clocks are now glued. It's some seriously good glue..lol Once you put that piece down, don't expect to move it around after about 3 seconds! ;o)

He usually comes up with his own design and builds his own clocks, but decided this time to warm up with a couple of wall clock kits and then go to the big time with a grandfather clock!