Moving into a new home brings with it many challenges in the yard. The previous owners did little to take care of the yard, though I could tell, the property was loved at one time. I have been gradually changing some of the landscape to meet me, instead of leaving it the way it was. Most of the time, I am content with just about everything, but having hostas in full sun doesn't work for me. My garden bed along the south side of the house needed to be redone, and I decided this was the spring to begin the process. The hostas, which burned last year when the heat finally hit, had been there so long, they were in massive clumps that it took an entire day to extract. I finally got them out of the below holes and was planning on moving them all under the tree, but there were too many. I gave away a huge clump, as well as planted them in clumps, and still had enough to plant hostas about 15 feet along the retaining wall. I didn't expect to have so many, but it turned into quite a blessing. The next project was to thin out the plants to the left and split the Chinese … [Read more...]
Live every moment
We had a death in the family last week. A suicide. Unexpected deaths are always difficult for those left behind, but suicide takes on a whole new dimension. It is not accidental, nor is it unavoidable. It is a conscious choice that is often a permanent solution to a temporary problem. I believe suicide is very selfish, not taking into account how it will affect others. Even when someone feels others would be better off without him, moving away rather than killing himself would be better. Suicide affects others forever. No one knows exactly why this person made the decision to end his life, or what pain he was enduring that cemented the decision. That is what makes it so difficult for family and friends. Questions move from "why" to "what could I have done?" "If only" becomes part of the vocabulary, and a variety of scenarios fill the mind trying to make sense of it all. I am angry! Angry that he chose to put our families through this. And at the same time I am sad that he was in such pain that he felt death was the only solution. No one can truly understand the pain, physical or emotional, that someone else is enduring. We can empathize, sympathize and even have been in … [Read more...]
A most amazing day!
Spending time with family for me is one of the best parts of a holiday, and I made sure that opportunity would be there on Easter. I invited family over to our house, even though my husband would be working. What was I thinking? My work schedule did not allow much time for cleaning, so my guests had to deal with the house as it is. Plus, I put them to work. The day started with breakfast at the church and then services with my mom. The service was WONDERFUL and it was great to see everyone, hug so many people and wish everyone a happy Easter. At home, the basement had to be cleared before hand because my mother, who is in a wheelchair, cannot make it to the main level of the house. My son helped with that, and my husband vacuumed. On Easter, before we ate, my son set up the tables in the basement, another family member helped with preparing food and another took the trinkets I bought for the grandchildren and packed them into the baskets we would hide later. My daughter swept the kitchen floor, and my son-in-law went to pick up my mom. He had to jump-start her van because I left the lights on the last time I used it. And everyone brought food to share. I grilled three … [Read more...]
Spring’s here?
What a strange year! We didn't have much of a winter, and then spring is way too early!!! Tulips are up, crocus are blooming, I even have oregano coming up. People are planting, lilacs are budding, and this is only the middle of March. Though I am excited to see new life emerging through the inches of peat I put on my beds in the fall - I'm always excited in the spring - I'm nervous about putting anything out yet, except maybe peas, pansies or grass seed. I know the ground is warming up, but what happens if we get a freeze? Planting in Minnesota used to take place two months from now. Aslo, what is it going to be like in July and August? Are we going to turn into more of an arid state? How hot will it be, and how much watering will we have to do to keep plants alive? Weather aside, I decided to start seeds this year to help with my garden budget, and my seed starting adventure has been just that - an adventure. I've done some experimenting with starting seeds in egg shells and rolled newspaper starter pots. Mostly to save money. I want to be able to plant the pot with the plants, and purchasing enough peat pots would be costly. Both systems seem to work pretty well. To start … [Read more...]
Rambling
As I sit here writing, working on articles for a newspaper, the sun is beckoning me outside, teasing me with its perceived warmth, taunting me to abandon my current quest for the adventure of soul food. To further draw me away, I look above my computer, out the window, and see a magnificent cardinal perched on a branch in my backyard maple tree. I began talking with him, praising his beautiful colors and announcing the blessing of his visit. Though I'm sure he couldn't hear me, he turned to face me, nodding his head as if in conversation with me. This is February in Minnesota? Yes, I meant to add the question mark! The ground is brown and littered with leaves. There are spotty splashes of snow that light up the shadows behind trees and buildings. It seems more like spring than winter. February is supposed to be frigid with a foot of snow. Either that or warming, with water seeping out from under the snow. I was talking with someone at work about the snow blowers recently and I said I wish it would snow. "You like snow?" he said. "I could do without." "We need the snow," I said. "The ground needs the moisture." "It could rain instead," he said. To show how far removed from … [Read more...]
New Year’s Resolutions
This is February already! What am I doing writing about New Year's resolutions? I've been so busy, I haven't even made any resolutions yet. This year, I've decided to start a new system: Since most of us break our resolutions within the first three weeks of January, I decided to wait until February to begin work on the new year! What are New Year resolutions anyway? When I was younger, they were a thoughtful look at the past year to choose new and better goals for the next. As the years rolled by, I found I chose many of the same goals for the next year, building on what I already accomplished. The problem is life gets in the way. Often personal goals are relegated to the back burner as other needs fill the pots in the front. Maybe instead of annually looking at goals, or resolutions, we should break them into smaller segments and look at them monthly. That would help keep us focused and moving forward. But the first thing I need to do is spend more time on personal goals and let some of the other needs go. What are you doing this year? Are you still on track for your resolutions? If you are, I applaud you! … [Read more...]
Leveling the playing field
My last blog stimulated some GREAT conversation. One of the interesting subjects has been "sharing the wealth," or more accurately "leveling the playing field" financially. When I have asked if we should raid bank accounts of people like Bill Gates or Steve Jobs people have agreed that is not appropriate, but leveling the playing field a little is important. My question is: How do we level the playing field and keep our capitalistic economy, and where does the money come from to level the playing field? … [Read more...]
Occupy Wall Street?
You know, I have been trying to figure out what the Occupy Wall Street movement is trying to accomplish. From what I can tell, the main complaints are corporate greed, the unbelievable salaries of some of the Wall Street executives and the disparity of the “Haves” and the “Have nots” in our country. How can a protest of this kind affect that? I can understand the frustration of unemployment, under-employment and insecure employment. My family has been dealing with all three of those, and I believe those are some of the real reasons people are protesting. But what do they expect the government to do to solve that? And how do they expect the protest to effect change? Are people looking for more government regulations on corporate salaries? Or are they looking for a spread-the-wealth plan? I'm not sure, but I don't believe either would solve our problems. I also believe the financial market salaries and corporate salaries should be separated. People like Bill Gates or Steve Jobs have changed the world with their creativity and work. Should we raid their bank accounts to solve our financial problems? Definitely not! Market capitalism is part of … [Read more...]
Counting blessings
I know this sounds a little trite, but I am truly blessed... Not because I am working more than full time, but because I have the work. Not because I have two jobs, but because I love both jobs. Plants and words have been a huge part of my sanity my entire life. Not because my body argues with me on a regular basis, but because I have a functional body to argue with. Not because I have nine grandchildren, but because I am building relationships with them and feel loved by them. Not because I have been married to my husband for 31 years, but because we like each other after all this time. Not because I own a house, but because I have a home. Even though I feel overwhelmed at times, and it seems like there is never enough time (or money) to do what I want, my life has so many blessings. As I write this, I am sitting at my desk looking over my laptop out a northwest window at a gorgeous maple clinging to its few remaining yellow leaves, attempting to prolong the summer. A dry crinkled leaf drifts past my window, and then another, and another. Farther out is a tall pinwheel weather vane calmly spinning its red-tipped white blades in the cool fall breeze. All of … [Read more...]
Collecting seeds
It seems like all I can talk about is gardening. That's not the case, but I'm going to do one more blog about gardening before I move on to other things. This wonderful fall weather has made it easy to gradually ready the yard for winter, rather than breeze through like a whirling dervish to complete everything over one weekend. It also has allowed for me to collect seeds from the various annuals I planted. One of the most interesting vines I planted this year was the Egyptian pea vine. The seed is a very interesting black pea with white tips, and the vine is spectacular, shooting tall branches into the air with purple flowers littering the top. I planted it around the mailbox and in the corner of the chain link fence, which added beauty and grace to the yard. The seeds were easy to collect, with large pea pods containing three or four seeds each. The pods were purple when forming, and turned a shiny brown as they dried. I have many more seeds than I can use. Maybe I will try to sell some of them... Another plant I am collecting seed from is morning glories. I know it's not necessary because the morning glories reseed themselves like weeds, but I really like them. The … [Read more...]
