March 31st

I hope everyone has had a wonderful

Easter with family.

Mine was quiet, so I spent most

of the day immersed in a book.

I love the written word.

Books, Ebooks, Newspapers,

cereal boxes, shampoo bottles, paperbacks,

you name it, and I'll read it!

I also love bookstores and libraries.

The smell of the paper and ink is wonderous.

I'll run my hand over the covers

and flip through the pages just to feel them.

I can spend hours lost in that world.

There's never been a time in my memory

that I didn't like to read.

I remember a summer reading program

when I was in grade school, that

if you read 10 books,

you'd get a certificate.

Well, after I reached that goal,

I didn't stop. I read 30 books that summer.

I don't think I've stopped since ...

Books are my education, vacations, 

escape and comfort.

I've wondered how many

books I have read so 

far in my life - not enough I'd guess!

😊

****************************

The spring weather is doing 

wonders for the herbs and veggies,

here's a few pictures of them.

Cherry Tomatoes.

We have about 8 bushes

and they've started to blossom.

Tomato flowers

and

2 green tomatoes.

Potatoes

Purple leaf lettuce

We also have Artichokes, Eggplants 

and Bell Peppers.

*****

Thai Basil

Tarragon

French Thyme

Sage

Parsley

Purple Leaf and Sweet Basil

English Thyme

Cilantro

Camomile and Mint

Onion flower

Lemon Bee Bush

*******************

White Pansy

Amaryllis

Peppermint Amaryllis

Amaryllis buds

Gardenia buds.

Our bush is covered with them.

Blue Louisiana Iris

Blue Louisiana Iris

Yellow Louisiana Iris

Echeverria with a rain drop.

Buds on the Bay Laurel bush.

*********************

Front door bunny butt wreath.

We couldn't find Minew the other day.

After looking high and low,

she was snoozing in a flower pot!

A few days later,

here she is in the

English Ivy.

Cats are weird.

Following me all over 

while I was weeding.

Silly cat!

************************

Found this guy on the fence.

Its' an American Bird Grasshopper.

It's about 2 1/2 inches long!

And don't forget...

(just don't look at it with the naked eye)

I've taken a picture of an eclipse

with my phone on "selfie" mode

pointed toward the sky.

*****************

💚💙💗

In the words of a great orator...

"Today me will live in the moment,

unless it's unpleasant,

in which case me will eat cookie!"

Cookie Monster

 

February 28th

Although it's kind of early for a 

Happy St Patrick's Day wish,

(not till March 17th)

it's the next holiday on the calendar.

I've got a few green decorations

that I break out to celebrate my 1/4 

Irish ancestry.

😃 

My maternal grandmother was Irish.

My maternal grandfather, whom I 

never knew, was German.

On the paternal side, my grandfather

was French and my grandmother

was Italian.

So, with this kinda lineage,

I classify as a Mutt.

😆

I can also reliably choose to

celebrate any of the days for 

those countries

and living in New Orleans,

celebrations are life!

And

this February has an

extra day!

Yay, Leap Year!!

***********************

This is the "surprise" lettuce

that survived the freeze.

We've eaten the other one.

It was great in salads and on sandwiches!

One of the blueberry bushes

that is trying to come back.

a few of the others aren't 

looking so well.

Cherry tomato.

We've planted several so far.

Asparagus

Onions

These will be re-planted in the

larger bed soon.

Lemon Verbena

French Thyme

Italian Oregano

Thyme

Rosemary

in Mary's garden.

Prep work in the raised beds.

***************************

Gardenias showing new foliage.

White Pansy.

Another "surprise" survivor

from last spring.

Variegated English Ivy

Chrysanthemums from last season

making an appearance.

Dianthus

Paper Whites.

I hope many bloom this year.

**********************************

The Supervisor, Minew

🐱

***************************

Here's a DIY

Homemade Scented Laundry Crystals

I love using this stuff, but it's too 

expensive to buy and has some

weird ingredients too.

That's why I decided to make my own.

All the ingredients are super cheap,

so you can make a lot of it!

3 cups of Epsom Salts

1 cup Baking Soda

30 drops of scented oil

(If you buy the pre-scented 

Epsom Salts, just skip this step)

Mix well and store in 

an airtight container.

I use about 2 tablespoons per load

because I rarely have a small load.

No, 

there's not enough oil

in a couple tablespoons

to leech onto your clothes.

Here's another tip to stop

using dryer sheets or

liquid fabric softener.

add 1 cup of distilled white vinegar

to a full load rinse cycle.

It naturally softens your clothes

without chemicals, it can remove

soap buildup and stubborn odors,

it keeps the washer drum

clean and prevents

that oily build up on the lint filter

when using dryer fabric softener sheets,

that is due to oils in the chemicals.

💓💚💙

Thanks!

😊

 

January 31th 2024

The CEO gave me these beauties!!

Jeez!

January is almost done and February

is knocking at the door.

This winter has been the usual

ups and downs of temperatures.

We've had it dip to the high teens

and then into the high 60's,

with rain and fog mixed in for good measure.

Typical for southern Louisiana.

😆

The morning I took this picture,

it was 19 degrees!

It had been misty rain for most of

the night, but by the morning,

there was a layer of ice over everything.

Brrrr!

These are amaryllis, that were left out

but we put them near the house.

The layer of ice didn't seem to bother them.

And, 

it seems the plants that didn't die are starting 

to come alive.

None of the veggies in the big garden 

survived the cold.

This is the remains of the okra.

The onions did survive because,

being a root vegetable,

the ground didn't freeze.

In total, there are 6 large pots, full of starter

onions, that we plan to re-plant in the big garden.

Some of the herbs survived too

because of their woody stems.

English Thyme

French Thyme

Greek Oregano

Peppermint

Rosemary

Bay Laurel

and a small surprise!

Walking around assessing the

cold damage,

we found a small but mighty little

lettuce plant tucked under the planting table.

We plan to move this little guy to the big

garden soon too.

Minew the supervisor.

🐱

We miss our chicken girls.

😥

*******************************

A few of my indoor succulents.

****************************

Happy Mardi Gras,

and 

Happy St. Valentine's Day

Or,

as us Catholics know it....

Ash Wednesday.

😊

***********************

I'm usually not a person that

recommends weird things

I've seen on Instagram,

but...

this one reel really got my attention.

My car is almost 20 years old 

and the headlights are yellowed

and cloudy.

I've tried other "fixes" that

have never worked.

Some were: shaving cream, toothpaste,

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser

and baking soda with vinegar.

NONE worked.

But when I saw this oddity

I figured I'd give it a try.

This man squirted insect spray

directly onto the headlight.

Then he wiped it off with 

a paper towel.

The headlight looked like it was new.

He said in the reel that you may

have to repeat the process to 

get them to become clear again.

So, I figured, why not give it a try

and this morning I did.

There's no before picture because

I honestly thought it wouldn't work.

This picture is after one application

and I am astonished how well it actually did work!!

Amazing!!

The kicker is,

this works with any kind of insect spray,

I used 

RAID (ant and roach killer).

Try it!

I thought I'd share a couple pictures

of my Paternal Grandparents.

Madelene

1892 - 1922

Stanley

1888 - 1961

💚💙💗