Stayed Home Today

Didn't go anywhere at all today, just stayed home and mostly messed with my computer and read about Bridge.

Had a good HC dinner for lunch.

Spring Flowers

My first Iris of the season.

Houston's Spinach Dip

Went to Houston's for dinner last night.

Had Spinach Dip and Beef Noodle Thai Salad. The salad was very good. I would order it again.

And Apple Cobbler. I'm stuffed, but happy :)

Accidently Went Shopping

Penneys had a great sale today 50% off, $15 off of $75 purchase plus NO TAX!

Beef Stew

Made a new Beef Stew crock pot recipe tonight. It was so good to have dinner ready when I got home from talking to Don.

Dandelion Epidemic

Damn weed killer didn't work this Spring :(. I hate pulling out weeds!

A Place For Mother

Sandy and I went to begin the search for a place for Mother to stay when the time comes.

This is the Atria where Bob's mom was. We liked it a lot.

Saigon Mall

Went to the Saigon Mall today looking for ingredients for Pho

The grocery stores are usually surrounded by a strange assortment of stores.

Vietnamese Food Court-didn't recognize a thing

Seafood anyone?

Bean sprouts, lots of them.

CHRISTMAS FUN AT THE GAYLORD

Fun Day-Nuff Said

RECOVERING OLD MEMORIES

Here ends a recovering of an old Blog I had written several years ago.  It was more along the lines of a commentary on life, mine and others, things I was thinking at the time and doing and just general rambling.  It does not have many pictures.  When I wrote this getting pictures taken and transferred to the internet was a much more involved process than it is now and so you will notice that it is a lot different than what I am doing now.

I am unsure if it is maybe a little more interesting because in a way it provides more insight into me, but then I decided that with the change in technology and the times I was ready to go in a different direction, hence the change. 

So here it is:  The Rest of the Story............................................

TOTALLY HAIR RAISING

So, for a while now I have been lamenting the fact that I just am not as young as I was and thing (things on me) are changing.  Really, I mean it's not bad enough that gravity takes over all the body parts but you would think I could at least keep my hair.  Well, no not really.  

Thinning I am thinning, and I don't mean the body no it's the little hairs on my little head.  They seem to be jumping ship, slowly mind you, but still leaving like slow little rats abandoning the ship.  Not only that I'm a girl and the only one in the family that isn't absolutely running over with hair.  But such is life and such is getting older and no amount of dieting and hanging out with teenagers is going to change that.  So, I guess I have to.

That said, yesterday started the new thing, the new keep my hair and maybe grow more thing, my new try to do this twice a day thing.  Yep, Rogaine it is.  Started today.

It's a litte weird.  I mean it is a little embarressing because I don't know well just suffice to say I made my husband buy it so everyone would think it was for him.  But, that didn't last long because we picked up the one for guys and so I had to go back and get the girl one.  It is a little weaker, I guess because we girls are only supposed to be a little bald.  What?  I thought girls weren't supposed to have this problem.  But much as I hate this new routine I would hate being bald so here goes.

My plan is to keep this updated at least weekly with new pictures and stuff so I can keep track of any progress (assuming there is some). (UPDATE:  DIDN'T KEEP YOU UPDATED NOR DID I KEEP TRACK, IT GOT WORSE, I GOT EXTENSIONS, AND AM NOW DOING LASER TREATMENTS.  IT SEEMS TO BE WORKING AND THE EXTENSIONS ARE GORGEOUS, 9/10/10 :)

This is the first entry.  It itches and I have to let it dry without a hair dryer.  But so far it isn't as much trouble as I thought it would be.  I just have to make sure I wash my hands after using it, wouldn't want HAIRY PALMS!!!!!!!!!

IT'S A NEW YEAR, IS IT A NEW YOU?

Today is obviously the first day of the new year.  I don't tend to think of this as anything very special as a rule.  I feel as if it is just another day, but this year for some reason it seems to be trying to be something more.

I'm not sure why, perhaps it has something to do with how my past year went.  It was sometimes okay, I mean there was some good things about it.  All of my family got through it pretty much unscathed.  My pets are both okay and thriving.  We started a new aquarium  and it is good so far.  I enjoyed spending the year singing with the Jazz Ensemble at the local college, even though every day there was a big fat hairy reminder of just how damned old I'm getting.  

We went to lots of fancy restaurants, ate lots of fancy food.  I had surgery that went well and Bob seems to be in good health, at least he seems to be, as far as we know.  And to be perfectly honest well, we really don't know.  So, we assume that all is well, it feels good.  

But this past year was also a year of sadness, it was a year in which no matter how hard I tried or how hard she tried to deny that it was coming, my best friend Stephanie lost her long battle with cancer and left us. 

It's been particularly difficult for me because aside from losing my best friend I also had to deal with the fact that her family took her away just before she died.  They took her to be with them and to make it easier for them to care for her.  They thought nothing about the friends that she was leaving behind.  They thought nothing about the fact that there were people here that loved her and that she loved.  As much as she denied that she wanted to be there or needed them, in the end they were her familly and she called them to come and get her to take her home, even while she continued to pretend to believe that she was going to live and she would be back.  We all knew better.  It's been hard, very very hard, harder I think because I never got to say goodbye.  She just moved away and then was no more and I miss her.  I sometimes wonder if she really is gone.  I have no proof.

The new year will hopefully be good.  I plan to continue to sing at school and feel old  I plan to continue to be in good health and I also plan for Bob to be healthy.  I  plan to continue to eat lots of fancy food in fancy restaurants. 

And........I plan to find a new friend this year.  I plan to find them, I wonder if they are planning to find me?

TALES OF THE REEF

 ....Ok, So today is finally the day. Today is the day that the 150 gallon saltwater reef project becomes a reality. After many weeks of ordering, waiting, paying, returning, reordering, repaying, returning, reordering and repaying today everything is ready to be put together and it officially becomes a reef, my own little piece of the ocean, right her in my own living room. 

What, you don't think this is a big deal? Surely you don't think that you can just throw this oceanic wonder together with a shoestring budget, some water from the faucet and a few chlorine drops. Please let me enlighten you a little on the real world of saltwater reefkeeping. 

Steps to Building Your Reef:

The first thing you will need to do is to get out your wallet, (or your husband's wallet in my case). There are so many things that you simply must have to make the little salty occupants of this personal piece of reef not notice that they have actually left the ocean that I am unsure where to begin. 

Let me see, well you will obviously need a very large glass box. The large glass box will need something to sit on so you will also have to get a stand and since this enormous box is going to become the focal point of whatever room you place it in (because it is HUGE) you probably will want to have your stand custom built and made to match all the rest of your furniture. Now that the very large glass box has something to sit on it will also need a top because for some reason I guess even in the sea world the "grass always looks greener" somewhere else and without a top your sea creatures might jump totally out of their large glass box to their death and that sort of defeats the purpose of having this thing, so you will also need to have a nice custom top canopy made. This canopy piece will also house your little pets very own personal solar system and so next you will have to "let there be lights". But, not just any old aquarium lights, no you must have this huge fixture mounted under the canopy that has three large metal halide bulbs, two large blue actinic fixtures and ten "lunar" lights, around 750 watts of light all total. This will help your little swimmers and corally thingys to know when to sleep and when to wake up because you are going to also have several timers which will turn on the sun, turn it off and turn the moon on every day just like God intended.

Now that may not seem like much but we are just getting started. After you have the very large glass box and the stand and canopy and lights then you will still have many things to get. You will need two or three heaters, several power heads to circulate all this water, and somewhere around 150 pounds of "live sand" and 250 pounds of "live rocks". Live in this case means that there are probably a number of strange and unusual things living in the sand and rocks. Some of them you will see immediately upon starting up the system and many you may never see, but they will be there and they will come out sometimes at night when you are sleeping and stalk the other inhabitants in the large glass box. Okay well on with the list. Besides the aforementioned stuff you will need all manner of chemicals (you know to make the sea critters water seem NATURAL), also there will be a sorts of chemistry sets, I have one side of a very large walk in closet devoted to a chemistry lab of sorts, you must also have a UV sterilizer to kill any unwanted bacteria that come from God know where, a RO/DI unit to make sea water because heaven forbid you put water in this large box that isn't totally devoid of any type of anything but wet stuff and then you will also need a somewhat smaller version of the large version underneath this setup so that you will be able to grow all sorts of algaes, copepods and other microscopic entities to supply your wet pet with other nutrients.

Oh yes and you must set this up, which took approximately 8 hours for plumbing and everything. It has to set for at least a couple of weeks before you can begin to put in whatever very exotic and expensive inhabitants you have built the whole thing for.

Last but certainly not least in this initial undertaking, (if you are smart and want to protect this MAJOR MAJOR investment) you will have some type of generator system installed in your home because all of your work and money will be for nothing if the power were to go out for more than an hour or so.

But I must say, after all this I am so excited to be getting this process underway. It has been many months in the planning and I know it will all be worth it in the end. 

I'll keep you updated.

THE BEST LAID PLANS

Well, the best laid plans, as they say. Three days into the diet and the brother in law comes to town and wants to do nothing but eat, and eat at some of our favorite restaurants. So,,,,,,,,in the interest of being a good host guess what I did? Of course I took him to all the places that just happen to have my very favorite foods and what do you know, I ate everything in site. Throwing all caution to the winds I proceeded to go to The Cheesecake Factory, where with my very healthy salad and diet coke I had a large piece of their cheesecake, yum, it was great, especially after several days of no white food, no potatoes, no pasta, etc. But, as if that wasn't enough we also went to Carrabba's Italian that night, wine, wine, wine, pasta, and obviously nothing that was on the diet, (oh yeah I did skip the bread). The next day was BJ's for lunch, clam chowder and lettuce wraps, (lettuce is good for you) and then to Vincent's Seafood that night, wine, wine, wine, butter sauces, baked potato, crunchy croutons, and fish, (again fish is good for you) so that wasn't bad enough on to desert of carrot cake. Gained two pounds.

So, Saturday back to the diet. I actually did pretty good, I had a meal bar for breakfast, nothing else the rest of the day and then to Nedley's for Fried Mushrooms, ribs and potato salad.

You know I am beginning to think I need to rethink the Zone thing. Maybe I will look at going back to Weight Watchers. I had lots of success with it last time and didn't really feel like I was being told not to have something. That is just the worst thing you can do. I guess we will see, I haven't given up the ship. I still have to get in front of that camera.

You yeah, I did get a Total Gym today, maybe that will help............if I actually use it.

YOU GO GIRL

The closer it gets to the day that my new classes start and knowing that I have signed up for a film and television class (you know you look ten pounds heavier on film!) I have decided that the time is now for some serious weight loss. I shuddder to think how I am going to feel seeing myself on camera as my present "not so pleasingly plump" self. So today is the day. Today is the start of a brand new way of eating and slimming and fitting into the clothes that I want to wear, not the clothes I have to wear. Alright, you go girl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's on, it starts now and doesn't end until those size 6 Levi 515 jeans fit very comfortably all the way down to the shirt being tucked in and looking good. Really, I mean it this time.
Actually I have been in some sort of a fried food loop for a while now so this is exactly what I need to at least get away from that. I really don't know what the deal is but it seems like the last six months I just can't seem to have a meal that doesn't have some type of fried something or other.

Well, with "The Zone" or something like it I will have to stop that. It has to be better for me if nothing else, don't you think?
So, I figure if I have to document and live up to everything I plan for this I might have a better chance of success. So, ok,,,,so, ok,,,OK,OK,OK,,,,let's do this thing now!
Ready, set, go.................
Vital Statistics today:
Height 5'2"Weight 140.4 lbs.

Oh my God, I should have started a long time ago.
GOAL: 125 LBS.(That's as far as I am willing to commit at this time)
Tomorrow's is another day 

MAKING SURE THE WALLS STAY UP

These are the shelves in my very nice and large craft closet. They had no supports and so much stuff on them that they were sagging badly and probably ready to bring the walls down. This should hold an elephant, good thing too, I just might get one.

This is the stuff that goes in the closet that was making the shelves fall down. Think there's room for that elephant

RAINBOW BRIDGE

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge. 

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. 
There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. 
There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable. 

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. 
The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind. 

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster. 

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart. 

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....

Author Unknown

SEE YOU ON RAINBOW BRIDGE

Yesterday was a very sad day at my house. I awoke to find my "monster under the bed", sleeping more gently than I have seen him sleep since he came to live with us. 

He was laying peacefully as if only sleeping, under my bed, directly below where my head was on my pillow. He was one to stick very very close to me, followed me anytime I moved where ever we were and I have chosen to think that he picked that particular spot under me and could feel my presence just above him. I feel better thinking this is true and that it gave him comfort knowing I was so close. 

Love and Loyalty, you could see it in his eyes. 

I would have loved for him to always slept that easily although I wouldn't have chosen for him to have gone to dreamland never to return, but that was the case. 

Sometime during the night his body gave out and his soul silently left this earth and started it's journey to the "Rainbow Bridge" finally at rest, to play and wait painlessly and fearlessly now, (he was so afraid of everything having been abused early in his life). He moved very slowly due to past injuries, illnesses we were treating and apparently illness we were unaware of.

We did everything we could to make all that better but he never really seemed to be completely comfortable. I will miss him terribly but now know that he was probably in much more pain than we had realized and so I am sure this is a better thing for him. 

Max loved his pack and we loved him too and so.......

To you Max, even though we can't see you under the bed or following along behind us patiently, painfully getting up and down as we move from room to room I know you are at the bridge watching and waiting till you can get your pack back together again. We love you.

EVERMORE WEEPING FOR YOUR COUSINS DEATH?

When classes finished this last semester I decided take a chance and enroll in a very intensive Shakespeare class. The school I go to offers a short short short two week semester in which you cram in absolutely everything you would normally get in a three month semester. Wow, this is truly an experience. I mean not only is all the information for the normal term in there but then throw Shakespeare into the mix and before you know it you are thinking that you just might be able to act this stuff.

I still consider myself a slow study, just the fact that I actually can learn the lines for this stuff with my old brain is such a surprise. I usually do better than I ever thought I could. Granted, we only had a three minute scene to do for this class with about 40 lines each, but we had them learned within a couple of days. I'm pretty impressed, if I do say so myself.

This class was especially interesting to me also because the director had come down from NYC where she had a theatre company called the "Judith Shakespeare Company" and was just a joy to work with. I was very happy to work with her since I am sure I will never get to go the NY myself.

Anyway, all in all, (expect for being away from my honey so much) I enjoyed this experience and feel pretty comfortable with Shakespeare now. I might even find myself auditioning for something Shakespeare in the future, that is if I ever see any parts for my particular age group.

FLYING SOLO? - OMG

Just noticed that it has been a long time since I have written. I have been so busy with my classes that I just haven't gotten around to it.

Wow, the classes, at least one is totally freaking me out. The Musical Theatre Ensemble class was already pretty spooky and a little strange with the music I am really not very familiar with, but a couple of weeks ago it got even spookier. David (the instructor) decided that I should do a solo of a Tori Amos song that I had never heard. I actually turned out to really like the song, but it has a note in it that is really difficult for me to sing, sometimes I totally miss it. I just feel like a have to strain to get there and I hate that, besides this solo thing is just so intimidating. On the one hand I want to do it, but on the other hand it is one of the hardest things I have ever contemplated doing. Fortunately I only have to get through it once.

I'm really so happy with the instructor though. He pushes me and that's nice, not at the time but it is what I need. I don't have forever to get to a point where I can use this stuff so I must be pushed and he definately is up for that. 

This semester is the weirdest thing though. It just keeps getting smaller and smaller classwise. I have dropped the Stage Movement class I just didn't like it and I have dropped the Stage Management class. I did like it, well all except the slave labor days, but I was about to have to do tons of paperwork and all for no reason since I don't intend to stage manage. 

So it's out of here also, but I still intend to go to some of the classes, just won't have the pressure I would have had.

CONTROLLED YELLING

I've been sick. Actually everybody I know has been sick. There is some kind of germ thingy going around this area and absolutely everybody is getting it. Fortunately I've just about got it whipped. I was beginning to think this was going to be a pretty miserable semester if I was going to have to sing with this coughing and sniffing going on. 

Speaking of singing. HAPPY DAY, I did end up getting the voice instructor I wanted, begging works. At this point I have only had two sessions with him but I am very very excited to be working with this particular teacher and feel like I will make more progress than I have ever been able to. It is strange though. We are trying to develop a style for me, that of a "belter". I seem to have a rather low voice for a female (basically contralto). So with that and my age and my desire to do theatre in mind this is what I should be doing. It's weird though, it feels like I am not singing but basically yelling. I mentioned this to the instructor and he says "Yes, that is pretty much what real singing is, sort of a controlled yelling. Not what I am used to, but it is proving to be interesting. I really don't know why but I just really do trust what he is telling me and with me that is half the battle. Trust is an issue I need to work on. 

I heard another weird thing today. I heard that I might be surprised at how successful I could be with my singing and theatre pursuits and that I needed to think about that. Hmmm, what do you make of that? I'm thinking a lot about that. 

Bad news though, alas, I have had to drop a class. The stage movement class turned out not to be what I needed to do at this time. It just didn't seem to be working for me and since it came immediately before the ensemble class I was having no time to warm up to prepare for it so a choice had to be made and the music won out. Good choice for now though I am sure. 

There really hasn't been a whole lot of other things going on, not that there has been any time for anything else. I am staying pretty busy with these classes. 

We do have a couple of new restaurants I want to tell you about. For now though I do have just one quick review. Here it is: 

"DON'T EAT AT THE "BIG EASY" IN PLANO JUST OFF HWY 75, IT SUCKS!!!!!!!! 

SAME STORY - THIRD VERSE

My classes started back today. Third semester, you would think this would be old stuff by now. I didn't sleep much more than a wink or two all last night, decided I must have been either nervous or anxious about the new classes since I took not one but two sleeping pills and was still awake at 5 am. Funny, because I really didn't feel nervous, but I guess the unknown factor was having some kind of effect on me. 

It was really an okay day. I mean other than the fact that I didn't get the voice instructor I had been hoping for the classes seem like they are going to be fine. I still haven't given up on the instructor either, I went into begging mode today and he did say there was one more tiny bit of hope and he would let me know tomorrow. I really will be surprised if anything comes of that but he said in class that he wasn't above begging if he wanted to work with someone, so I thought I would try it. If this doesn't work I intend to offer money next. Surely that will work. 
So that class is just a wait and see at this point. 

I do think that I will have to work on getting my nerves under control though. It occurs to me that if I intend to seriously do anything with this in the time I have left and considering the money and time I am spending I really ought to get over it already. Anybody with any suggestions for a way to do that? I'm open for suggestions, lots of suggestions. 
The stage movement class should be interesting also. I was very happy to see that several of the kids from the improvisation class are there and that really should help a lot. For some reason I became very comfortable working with them and so I know that should help with this class too. There are a lot of people in there and so there are a lot of people I have to meet and convince that I "totally fucking rock" as Audra so delicately put it last year. I am at least 25 to 30 years older than all of them and so I have to get them to not think of me as their mother. Hell, I have to get myself to a point where I don't think of me as their mother. At least this isn't an improvisation class so I don't have that to deal with. Yippy! 

So tomorrow is the Guitar class, actually it is more like lessons because I am auditing the class and so there is no pressure or grades. Haven't decided yet if I am going to take the tests or not. It seems like I should at least play them so that the instructor can see where I am, but even then there is no pressure since there is not grade. I think though that it would be good to be able to be absent on test days too. So we'll see. 

Also tomorrow is the Stage Management class. This is the one that will take all the time I think. I am really anxious to get there tomorrow and see how many people there are and what this thing is all about. I can see where it could be interesting and where it could be too demanding, especially if I intend to do any shows at all during the semester. 

Well, time to get back to the routine. Man I wish I had done this when I was lots younger, had more energy and looked better. 

At least I still totally rock.

PAINTED PARK

.

This is "Painted Park". I took this in the park next to my house last winter. It is very unusual that it snows around here so I went to the park to see the most snow I could in one spot. This is a wooded area to the side of the park and I thought this was a pretty scene. 

PAINTED PARK

This is "Painted Park". I took this in the park next to my house last winter. It is very unusual that it snows around here so I went to the park to see the most snow I could in one spot. This is a wooded area to the side of the park and I thought this was a pretty scene. 

10:11 PM - A NEW SPIRIT

One of my very best friends died today.  It was really pretty sudden.  She had a stroke a couple of days ago and today she went away. 

I'm not dancing on rainbows today but I hope she is.  She was the one who would have been telling me today how this was best, she was happy and she had gone to be with God.  She was the one who would be saying for me to remember that her time was past and not to be sad because she isn't now.

I always marveled at that about her.  When she would lose friends to God she would always say, "No I'm not sad, they had a wonderful long and full life".  She did.  She had a wonderful husband who loved her dearly.  He was her soul mate and she was his.  They were the couple I always looked at and said, "Wow, if you want to know what a great love affair is, just look at them". 

I don't know exactly how long they had been married.  I do know that they were together during the Korean War, so it has been a very very long time.  I just know that when they found each other, their world's were completed and they never looked back. 

I know she is in heaven and I know she is as happy as she can be without him.  I know I will miss her tremendously, but I just can't imagine how much he will miss her or how much she misses him already.

I don't think she's dancing on any rainbows yet, but one day she will be.  That will be the day they come together again........................................ I really think they will.

ACHY BREAKY FINGERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You may have noticed that it has been a while since my last post. Well, I decided that I wasn't stressed out enough so I should go ahead and tackle a summer Guitar class. I don't know if I mentioned that I got a great new custom left handed guitar for Christmas last year. Up until this point I had been trying to teach myself to play this thing with very little luck. So I figured that a class was what I needed for a good start. I was afraid that I might be developing some bad habits that would be too hard to break later so it was off to school.

Okay, I don't know about you but I have never before taken a summer class. I vaguely knew that it would be more condensed than if I had taken it in a regular semester, I mean you are trying to get five months of learning into six weeks of classes. But I sorely underestimated the pace at which they throw things at you. Now in most types of classes this would not be such a problem as you listen, read, etc. But in guitar this is not the case. Basically, we are getting a week's worth of classes per day, which means a new weeks worth of hand, eye, and brain coordination each day. Probably not such a daunting undertaking if you have a young fresh brain that is not crammed packed with many many years of useless information, but for me, well let's just say, my brain in not so young and fresh. In addition my fingers and their coordination and ability to develop new ways of moving? Yeah, I am sure they are having to forge totally new trails through an extremely overgrown and sometimes neglected jungle of brain cells.

That said though, I am having a great time with this class. I am learning to play this thing, in fact I am learning classical guitar which is more than I had hoped to be able to do in the beginning. I was going to be happy with knowing a few chords, this is so much better. On my part the going is slow, but I'm thinking in the end it's going to be worth it.

SCARY BUSINESS

Today I'm taking a friend to the hospital for yet another surgery to remove a lump (probably cancerous) from her breast. This is by my best recall the fourth time she has undergone this procedure in the last two years. This is SCARY BUSINESS!

Now most would think that she is a very unlucky, sick little girl and I must admit I would be feeling exactly that same way if this unhappy chain of events had befallen me. I would be scared, depressed and feeling so down. She doesn't see it this way. She is one of those people that believes that everything that happens to her happens for a reason, that they are things sent her way to work out things from her past lives and to make her learn to overcome them. A karma sort of thing I think. So, unless she is quite an actress my friend is none of those down, scared, depressed things. She obviously is not happy about the whole thing, but if a positive attitude will save a person then this female will be with us for many many years to come. During this whole ordeal I have only once seen her down for even the least amount of time and that was after two weeks of some type of chemotherapy and then something as small as cooked rice got her back up on her feet.

Anyway, I guess I am rambling, but this has been on my mind. Even if she doesn't worry, I do. This is my friend, she is very important to me and I can't help but worry about her. She is pursuing very few of the conventional therapies and lot of alternative stuff and I guess I am just not as positive about their ability to keep her safe as she is. Again, there's that positive attitude thing.

But, as I said she is my friend and very important to me and so I will support her and be there for her in whatever she feels is the best course for her personally.

Either way, I'll say my own prayers for her recovery and be there for her. That's what friends do.

WAR OF THE ROSES - 300 CASUALTIES

There is a war going on in my backyard. Yes, that's right, at least it feels like a war and so far there have been 300 casualties.

Let me explain.

I consider myself a gardener. I actually consider myself a pretty good gardener. I have turned most of my backyard into flowerbeds full of wonderful blooming gorgeous perennials and annuals and about twenty rose bushes complete with winding trail, soothing fountains and comfortable places to just hang out and be peaceful. I plant mostly with an eye to providing everything I need to "get away" and everything the butterflies need to live all the cycles of their lives right here in my back yard.

So, in that pursuit I have spent the past several years trying to learn what it takes to maintain this type of garden, like how much to water (I usually water too much), how much to feed the little bloomers and how to keep them healthy. Here's the rub. I love the flowers and so do the butterflies, but in order to keep the butterflies I have to also be as organic as possible so they don't croak when they nectar on my flowers. Also, I believe that a person should try as much as possible not to use harsh chemicals if they can help it just because it's not good for our environment. So, after many years of fine tuning and getting everything just right, especially for these very finicky roses, this year was looking like a banner year for them. I had finally figured out the water thing and my bushes were looking great. No black spot and they were absolutely covered in buds. Covered, absolutely covered. I was so excited.

But, then the other day I noticed that the flowers were not looking so good and some weren't opening and if they did they were deformed. I was afraid to look. Finally I did and I found just what I had been afraid of. These bushes were in the midst of a fight for their life with the ugliest of the ugly critters that love to attack them-------thrips!

Dammit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thrips have to be one of the worst buggers out there on flowers because they get into the bud and do their damage sight unseen. They burrow into the bud and so they are very hard to get rid of because you can't get to them. The worst part is that the best shot you have at getting rid of them is to remove the buds they have invaded and then you really need to spray them to kill the ones that are about to invade.

So, yesterday I spent about an hour in my garden, DEBLOOMING  my rose bushes. I had to remove at least 300 fetal blooms. It was awful and just the saddest thing I have done in a long time. I actually felt like crying. I mean I have been babying these bushes along for at least three years and it just killed me to have to do this to them when I finally had these gorgeous bushes full of baby buds.

I was so sad. It affected the total rest of my day.

Today I am feeling mostly better. I went out just a while ago to spray everything with water just in case I could knock off a few of the remaining rose sucking monsters. It is still sad. My bushes look like they have been robbed. They look like sometime during the night, when they were fast asleep, a rose thief just came along and took away their babies and their beauty. I know they will come back and I know that it had to be done, but I know they must be sad and I am sad for them.

At the bottom of this post is a link for comments, please feel free to share with me some of your thoughts on what you just read. 

EVEN MORE FRIENDS

 

Recently I wrote about one of my new (new being one that began in adulthood) friendships and how important it was to me and it got me to thinking. I don't just have one friend I definitely have several.

Actually, I have developed a number of very important friendships in the past few years. Aside from my husband who is not just my true love but my best friend of the male persuasion and my sister who obviously will always be my closest friend of the female persuasion, I can think of at least three additional people that I have met recently that I count as true friends. All in the past say ten years. Heck of a deal.

This strikes me as a little strange though since I had the same one friend all through my formative years. Really just the one that meant anything. I think maybe I was a little too comfortable in that relationship because I don't remember any room for others. For the most part there really just wasn't a need.

But then a few years ago, well at this point it has been more than a few years, my one friend left me for a man. Shocked? Don't be we were "just friends" and heterosexual to boot. So when the man of her dreams appeared and lived in San Francisco she moved away. At the time I didn't have what I would really call any other true friends.

But I do now.

Happy Days, Good Friends, Life is Good!

Oh, just in case you are wondering or trying to identify yourself: One of my new friends is very spiritual and the best car/house sales person I know, one is actually one and is part of a "couple" of friends that make me hope I will always be as close to my love as they are to each other (to me the perfect example of what a marriage should be) and the other is a very "ethereal" personality and has provided friendship and presents that will always keep me warm, especially on my birthday. Other than those if you don't recognize yourself, well what can I say, maybe you're on that other list 

I'm a lucky lucky girl.................................................................very lucky

By the way, if you're family you're on the list by default.

At the bottom of this post is a link for comments, please feel free to share with me some of your thoughts on what you just read. 

ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST

There are too many good restaurants in the Dallas area to settle for anything that doesn't measure up. I mean in a city this big with this many excellent places to eat you have to live up to quite a high standard if you intend to survive. Last night I had dinner at one of the area eateries that I can't possible see lasting very long. NOT IN THIS MARKET!

Dinner last night was at Mignon, a restaurant on Preston Road in far north Dallas, in far HIGH RENT district Dallas. By the looks of the place you are led to believe that you are in for an excellent dining experience. The decor is upscale and quite nicely appointed. However, that is the only thing that I can say was nicely done.

I guess we should have gotten a clue when on a Wednesday night this restaurant was very sparsely populated. Normally Wednesday is a big night for locals to go out, but you wouldn't have been able to prove that by the number of customers in this place.

What at first promised (from the name and decor) to be an enjoyable dining experience quickly turned out not to be as immediately the service was sub-standard. We were never told about the specials the chef was offering and so ordered strictly from the offerings on the menu which I felt were pretty limited. The service in general was unimpressive and slow as we later found out.

To start we decided on the appetizer of grilled quail served atop a pretty bland polenta with a sauce of some sort. Most every bite of the quail that I had was so fatty that I quickly gave up and allowed my dinner companion to gnaw on most of it. Next we ordered a Bibb lettuce salad with a vinegarette dressing, blue cheese slivers, granny smith apples and pecans. The salad wasn't that bad, but the lettuce was a bit limp. We mostly ate the apples, pecans and cheese. We also ordered a bowl of the Tomato Basil soup. It was okay, but I am still looking for the basil. Our entree was a $36.00 strip steak with roasted potatoes. I was extrememly disappointed with the steak, it was very tough, not only to try to chew but even cutting it was a chore. I will say that it was cooked to the medium rare we had ordered, but that didn't help. Along with the steak we ordered a side of sauteed mushrooms, very much overcooked.

Dessert was a White Chocolate Bread pudding with a praline ice cream on top. This was absolutely the worst version of bread puddling I have ever had. Not only was it not any type of Bread Pudding I have ever eaten, it was dry and hard and I never found the white chocolate. The ice cream was this dessert's only salvation, we ate it.

The wine list was extensive and very pricey. A glass of Pinot Noir of average label and vintage was seemingly overpriced at $8.50 for a small glass.

The ticket for this meal came to $95.00 without the tip, this for one appetizer, one salad, one bowl of soup and one steak entree with one dessert. Basically $95.00 for one person if not sharing and the servings weren't overly generous.

I give this restaurant two out of five stars and definitely do not recommend it and will not be returning, not with all the other choices I have here in the metroplex.

Oh yeah, I am not a Restaurant Critic by trade, just by nature (I don't even play one on TV). I live in a city with more great restaurants than you can "shake a stick at", and I eat out at least eight to ten times a week so I've been in a lot of them and know what I like. It's just my opinion, OK?

At the bottom of this post is a link for comments, please feel free to share with me some of your thoughts on what you just read.