THOUGHT FOR TODAY

“Be soft. Do not let the world make you hard. Do not let pain make you hate. Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness. Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree, you still believe it to be a beautiful place.”

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (1922-2007

I found this in my inbox this morning and it made me think of several “friends,” folks who let their greed make them miserable when life doesn’t give them all they want, and they are hateful to others… and right now I have to work with a guy who is so mad that Obama was elected, he slams and bangs and snarls at everyone. Most everyone tries to find work in another room when he is around. We have had to make a rule that politics will not be discussed at this place… had to do this months ago.

It hurts me to see people acting hateful towards others when they don’t get their way, and there seems to be so much of it these days. If something doesn’t go my way, I try to move on and not make a public spectacle of my disappointment.

The world is filled with such beauty if we but open our eyes to it. OK, I am blessed – you know the beauty I can see right outside my window… some days I have to do a gratitude list to get myself back on track, and just the ability to be able to see that beauty outside makes me stop and think. Illigitimi non carborundum. If I let my disappointments blind me, they win, I lose. I don’t have to lose today.

Sorry, I guess I just needed to share this.

MORE COLORS, END OF FALL

AS THE FALL SEASON COMES TO AN END, the camellias are just getting into full bloom. Some grow up – these are about 12 feet tall, This is Yule Tide, 10 feet tall, 12 feet across. And this pink one grows outward, again about 12 feet across.  The azaleas are winding down, and the leaves are piling up on the ground. If you keep an eye out, you can see an occasional magic moment when the color is just right as it lasts for only a day. This (blue) hosta went thru a day of serious beauty… today it looks terrible! Who’d believe these leaves were once blue?     The Peace roses are singing their last song – imagine fresh roses for Thanksgiving! And the bushes are full of berries! Today it turned cold – no problem for the berries or the camellias unless we have a serious freeze. They don’t even mind a little snow on them – but I hope it will be a long while before we see any of that!  

     

BUILDING PROJECT

OR MORE OF WHAT KEEPS ME SO BUSY… Sadly I have slowed down to a crawl lately. The Lyme's has been in its mean, bad , and nasty cycle… which means not just a lot of pain, but it means my muscles have been locking up when I try to do certain things – like bend over… reach over my head… sigh. So, it has really slowed me down. Somehow I thought I would have a lot of time to get things done before it got too cold to work outside – but today is the last of the warmer days, and so much has not gotten done. Cold is an enemy of Lyme's.  I did get my addition to my greenhouse finished… got the heat lamps installed yesterday. It is also painted since it is not made with pressure treated (called salt treated around here) wood and there is an added roof of 2 rug samples and a half inch piece of plywood that goes on it when the sun is not shining to keep it a bit warmer – and to keep the cats from scratching the quarter inch Plexiglas. That sheet of Plexiglas for the roof cost a small fortune… double what I paid the last time I had any 1/4th inch cut for me. The rest of the Plexiglas is only 1/8th inch – some of it scrap, most of the wood is scrap, too. It seems I just get more and more plants somehow… and then, I take cuttings of Strobilanthus and coleus – some of them make it, some do not. I am trying to winter over some begonias this year. The Mini-greenhouse will come apart come spring as it is held together with only 4 screws and several corner braces. The floor is brick, for retaining heat. It is amazing how many plants one can cram in a space 4 feet long and 2 feet wide. 

The heated cat box is on top of the larger greenhouse… and is already well occupied on chilly days and nights.

MAKE A JOYFUL NOISE!

Make a Joyful Noise!

A Community Christmas Caroling

            Saturday, Dec. 15th, 2012          

Come join the Town of Onley for Christmas Caroling.

We will be leaving the Onley Fire Hall at 6 pm sharp.

If you know of anyone in Onley who could use a visit or cheering up, please call Jan  or John

Please bring some cookies to share!

This is a non-denominational gathering sponsored by Neighborhood Watch.

OK, I did remove the phone numbers from the blog….. but if you are in our area, you know how to contact us! Note: the title covers what used to be called singing when I was younger, LOL! But old age has really done a number on my vocal chords… The point is COMMUNITY… being together, doing something that is fun…

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER – Building update

OK, SHAME ON ME - BUT, I have been soooo very busy, you just would not believe. The guys have done some amazing work down at the station... so I will catch you up on that, quickly... then do another post on what we are really all about - besides saving this building.

First - the building's progress report. I will spare you pictures of packing insulation into the walls and ceiling... and go right to some major repair work. Several storms ago - the one where they thought we might get an inch or so and we ended up with 9 inches of rain, we got to see how badly some of the old boards had been damaged over time. After all, these boards were put in place 127 years ago, and some of them have split here, cracked there... holes had been drilled to put in electricity (what an invention!) and then even a telephone line (who'd a thunk it?) and, well, the rain came in through these cracks and holes. So, we finally got around to removing the old boards and putting up new ones. Here is the strange thing... I can barely lift ONE of the old 1x12's. OK, they are 16 feet long, but still... I can pick up 3 of the NEW 1x12 x 16'. What does that tell you about the stuff that lasted for 127 years? And does that make you wonder how long the new stuff will last?

Another great invention – we rented a “man-lift” and used it to replace the old wood, and do as much painting as we had time for in 2 days.  So the building is partly painted... some battens still have to be replaced, but we wanted to get as much done as we could before the Santa Train came this year.

MORE CAMELLIAS, MORE COLORS

JUST SHARING a bit more of what I see out my windows, walking around in the yard... The colors have been blowing me away this year, for some reason. I am not taking them for granted as I have perhaps in the past. It still amazes me when folks come up to me in the PO or the grocery store and tell me how much they like driving by my yard.

The camellia at the front door.

Just to give you an idea of the size of some of my camellias. This is the one that usually starts to bloom on my birthday. It reaches well above roof level.

The morning sun on the camellia Yule Tide and the Maple tree out front. Yule Tide is over 10 feet tall and almost reaches the power lines. Note the azaleas behind the maple tree.

On the northern side of the house is another huge camellia. Its diameter is over 10 feet and it is also about 10 feet in heighth. I just thought the mixture of colors was breath-taking yesterday morning as I was "rearranging" the leaves in the yard.

CATCHING UP

 Life has been busy, more than busy, and I just have not had time to be on here. Sometimes "life' happens. And then Sandy happened, and even tho I did not have any more damage than one downed tree, still, as an old friend of mine used to say, my tempest fugited! Where has the time gone? 

Many of the leaves are down, camellias are in serious bloom, and the colors are fantastic. It seems the frost we had killed the daisies, but they were awesome for a while and covered with butterflies. I had so many more plants this year, I had to build an extention onto my little greenhouse! Enjoy the pics!

Who would believe I have had to turn the heat on in these little greenhouses already! Frost is predicted for the morning... yesterday, we were working out in the yard in T-shirts. Oh, well, It is that time of year.

If you are interested, the greenhouses are made out of plexiglass. The "roof" part is 1/4 inch plexi, the sides are just 1/8th inch. Most of the wood is scrap stuff left over from other projects. The plexiglas is held in place with corner braces so it can slide out if I need to get inside to do something. It all comes apart by removing 4 screws.

Veterans Day

Amen.