Minor correction

I'd stated previously that out of the 100 gladiola I'd planted (minus the approximately 5 those damn tree rats got) I had the potential for a bloom off of only one.
Well, in doing my usual daily check of the gardens, I made the happy discovery of another glad that might be blooming. I say "might" only because when you plant 100 of something and only get 2 to bloom, it's better to err on the side of caution. (Additional note, the first one I found that should bloom shortly is going to be a rich purple color...I'll post a picture of it when it blooms)
That being said, the picture I have of the two sunflower seedlings is all that remains of them.
It seems that sunflower sprouts are apparently a delicacy with chipmunks. That being the case, one of those little ground rats nabbed both the sprouts.
So I'm back to the drawing board with them, although I do have one growing in a pot about 3 feet off the ground, and a couple more hopefully safely hidden in the side yard garden.
I had signed on with the Sunflower Project to monitor bee activity in my area, and they sent a number of sunflower seeds also. Now I understand why I didn't get a single sprout off those.
Apparently I've been running something of a buffet for rodents and they've been having a field day.
Only time will tell about the side yard though - I've been carefully monitoring, and as of today they're still there. I won't make any guarantee about tomorrow though.
I won't be transplanting the one in the pot into the yard until it's beyond anything a chipmunk or squirrel or any other rodent can nip off.
Blessed Litha, little darling!

Front yard garden pics

Trumpet lilies, from the front gardens. Last year,
when I planted them, there was only one flower stalk on each plant. Now, each has at least two, and in some cases three.

Dwarf cannas, from the front garden. The gladiola in the back is the only one out of a hundred bulbs planted that is giving any indication of producing flowers this year.

In between the dwarf cannas, (there are 6 total) I have a couple of variety of hosta and some gladiolas. The glads are a big dissapointment, to be honest with you. As I said, I've only got the potential for a bloom off one plant so far out of a hundred bulbs. I'll be experimenting with other plants next spring, I assure you.

The full size canna I planted in the front are still establishing, so there's nothing to show off there. I did want to show off the beginnings of the blooms from the dwarf canna though.

Side yard garden June 2008

These are calla lilies - I planted 4 stands of them last year, however only this one came back this year. I believe this variety is called "Picasso" but I'm not sure. The only thing I know for sure is that it's a calla lily. The plant in back of it is my hibiscus, however it hasn't started blooming yet.
I planted 4 of those last year too, one on each side of the side yard garden, and two in the back, but only the one in back of the calla came back this year.

The orange day lily is the common or wild variety.

The lovely pink specimen with the yellow throat is from my side yard garden.

This is a picture of the side yard from the front, June 2008.

This is the side yard garden, in a long shot.

Garden June 2008 pics back yard

Here are some pictures from the back yard garden, June 2008. I hope you enjoy them.

This is Tuscan rosemary, with a hosta in front, and an iris in back. I really worried about it last year when I planted it, as it acted as though it wasn't happy, and looked like it was barely hanging on.
What a difference a year makes. It's obviously decided it's happy, and is really taking off.

This is my stand of mint and in front of them is my patch of thyme. Both are doing very well - I'll be harvesting some of that mint in a week or so and enjoying fresh mint tea. They're next to the lily bed.

These are the moonflower I got from your Aunt Sheba - as you can see, they're already starting to climb the trellis. I have 2 out of the pot that have reached the trellis as of this point, and I expect the other 3 to reach the trellis in a couple of days. Once they realize it's there, they'll really start taking off. I can't wait to get some pictures of them when they hit their stride and start producing flowers.

These are my "trumpet" lilies and the Oriental lily.

The Oriental hasn't started blooming yet, however it should in about a week or so. Behind it are the pink lilies (I can't remember their real name, so pink lily will have to do), just as I can't remember the real name for the "trumpet" lily either - oh well, blame it on my age. All I know is they're happy and growing and blooming and that's all I can ask for.

These are sunflower seedlings - the variety is called "Mammoth" because they're supposed to reach a height of 12 feet. I can't wait. I had more but those damn chipmunks got to them.

This is a side by side of the "standard" elephant ear and the Gigantus variety. Audrey, as I've said before, is a Gigantus. To refresh your memory, the reason I call her Audrey is a reference to "Little Shop of Horrors", the Broadway musical and film and the original black and white movie from the 1960's. Technically then, she'd be Audrey 3, since the plant in "Little Shop" was Audrey 2.

This is Audrey 3 - June 2008

Winter Storm 2008 part 2

Okay, it's a crappy picture, however what's to be expected from a cellphone camera?

Anyway, when I posted the previous entry, the only snow coming down was a flurry - and from all accounts, it was turning to rain and sleet with no chance of accumulation. So, I thought no biggie, rainy ride home and it'll be okay.

Then, I went outside during my dinner break to have a smoke and saw this. My heart sank. I honestly don't mind snow when I'm at home and don't have to go anywhere or do anything, however being at work when something like this happens is well and truly a nightmare in the making.

What a difference a few hours makes - by 10:30 pm, it had indeed all changed to rain, and the majority of the danger had passed, although with the temperature hovering just above freezing, bridges and overpasses still posed the potential for issues. My relief did show up, so I managed to make it home relatively on time. This doesn't change my position on snow though. I still hate the stuff.

Stopping smoking the Chantix way and other medical news

I have decided that 34 years of smoking is enough, and I have started on Chantix. This is the latest in my attempts to quit smoking, having tried the patch (a couple of times), nicotine gum (nasty nasty stuff), cold turkey, and Wellbutrin.

This round of treatment is also the single most costly attempt I've made - the "starter" pack cost over $100, and the first month's supply of pills cost around $140. Quite the out of pocket investment, so I'm obviously determined to make this work. My plan is to do this regimen for at least 2 months and then go back on Wellbutrin for a couple of months, until I've managed to break the psychological addiction of smoking.
That's usually ended up being my downfall...I can deal with ending the physical addiction, however inevitably, something happens that triggers me to start smoking again.

Anyway, as of this post, I've been on Chantix for 2 days now. I'll write more about this after I've put down the smokes for the last time, and continue detailing the effort.
(Side note to Andrea: if I **EVER** catch you smoking young lady, you won't be able to sit down for at least a month. I don't care what your mother says, I'll kick your ass.)

The regimen starts with a half dose for the first 3 days (ie 1 pill instead of 2) , then a pill in the morning and a pill in the evening. Apparently, I'm also the guinea pig for the family, since Sheba, Bobby and Grandpa Don are all waiting to see how this works out before they commit to trying it.


On another front, I'm scheduled for an MRI of my shoulder on Thursday the 17th. After undergoing a few months of Chiropractic treatment abetted by massage therapy and still having limited mobility of my left arm (the condition is known as "frozen shoulder"), I went to the Doctor and got a couple of shots in the shoulder - they didn't do much good, so he's now sending me to have the MRI so we can get a better picture of what we're dealing with. I'm honestly not looking forward to a surgical solution to this issue, however I believe that will end up as a last resort.
I'm still on 10 units of subcutaneous insulin daily, however I've lost 11 more pounds - based on what Doctor Springer said when I started the insulin, I've only got about 40 more to go and I should be able to come off the insulin and manage the diabetes through diet alone.

That's all I have for now... you're being stubborn and haven't made your appearance yet, (Grandpa Don was wrong about that, quelle suprise) but I'm still holding out for the 21st/22nd. We'll see.

Vices (if you can call reading a vice)

One of the things you'll notice about me Andrea, is that I read. A lot.

It's a habit that Sam and Faye encouraged while I was growing up, taking us to the local library for their reading programs during the summer (back then, libraries gave out certificates for reading a set number of books over summer vacation, and both Jolene and I managed to astound more than a few librarians when we'd get 2 and 3 certificates over the summer) and it's a habit that I've never outgrown, or quite frankly, ever seen the need to outgrow. Of course, looking back, it also worked as a way to keep us quiet and out of their hair most of the time.

My taste in literature goes pretty much all over the map (as you'll see when you look over my library), however while there's a decided trend towards SciFi/Fantasy/Horror, I do have other genres I collect as well - but those tend to be author driven rather than content driven.

To cite an example, I don't usually like Mystery/Crime novels, however there are definitely exceptions to that - for example, I happen to enjoy the "Prey" series by John Sandford and have made an effort to collect all of them, as well as a series of novels involving a character named Alex Cross, by James Patterson, and I also enjoy the occasional Ann Rule "true crime" novel.
However, I must confess that of all the books in my collection, there is one author I've been collecting the longest, and that's Chelsea Quinn Yarbro.
I was introduced to her work in 1979, and have been an avid fan ever since.

I hope that you'll be interested in reading as well (I honestly look forward to telling you bedtime stories when you visit) and as you grow older, I'm hoping you learn to look at reading as the joy that it is, not as a chore to be endured. I know your Grandpa Don will agree with that statement.