Spooky Oct. is here!!!

Jeri, we cross posted. My Mom wouldn't eat fish or seafood of any kind except for canned tuna........ made into tuna salad. Jessica is exactly the same way. I don't think my sister eats fish either, and i know she won't eat any other seafood.............. odd, the rest of us love it!

I've never been a seafood person either but I think it is because I wasn't exposed to it when I was growing up. I do like shrimp (fried, although I have eaten shrimp cocktail) and when I went to Florida to see Sidney (sugarweed) in 2009, I ate some king crab legs and they were good! However, I still won't eat oysters nor will I eat any kind of creamy seafood soup.

Genna, even though I have heard Alex's story before, it still brings me to tears. God is good! I am a recipient of His healing power myself and I definitely believe in the power of prayer!

Sandra, so glad you and Pat had a good time and that the play was well received! I've enjoyed the photos both here and on FB.

It is very foggy this morning. Here it is 10 a.m. and the fog is still so thick that we can't even see the road out in front of our house.

Beautiful photos, Sandra, and so glad you and Pat had a wonderful time. Those are interesting stories about the Bellingraths. Loved the funny story about the Grandmother and the nap! It's been so long since I've been there I didn't recall any of the stories about how the azaleas were 'collected'. Yes, you are one of the few I've ever met who don't like seafood. Met a few who are allergic and can't eat it. I can't imagine being so afraid of water I can't get near it though!

Genna, that is an amazing story about Alex. I knew he had been burned but had never heard your recollection of his story and how it happened. You should write it all down and have it bound in a notebook with all the other stories that go along with it, including any photographs and his recollections as well and keep it for him. He has such a wonderful way of telling it himself too, it would be a wonderful keepsake for him as the years pass to hear your 'words' on paper as well as those of others.

Jeri, your 'black gold' in your beds is just awesome. I haven't been taking care of my mulch bin like I should. I need to feed it more often.

I grew up on fish! Like I've said before I had a grandfather that fished everyday in his older years. If you went to their house you had either fish or pork. My grandmother was the one that liked pork. My dad loved all kinds of fish and all kinds of seafood. Don't remember when I started eating shrimp but I remember buying some fresh shrimp for shrimp cocktail for myself (my ex-husband didn't eat seafood either) when Jeff was just a toddler. Barely eating real food. I gave him a taste of my shrimp and he wanted all of it!! I used to buy and cook fresh lobster when Jeff was growing up. He loves seafood as much as I do. I eat all seafood including raw oysters. Love clam chowder! Could live on seafood and chicken.

Charlotte, so could I! DH doesn't eat much fish. He will eat fried catfish and shrimp cooked most any way. But I can't get him to eat any other fish much. He grew up on an Ohio farm where red meat was grown and eaten almost every day. Meat and potatoes. His mother cooked for 5 growing boys plus Dad and they grew most everything they ate and nothing swam nearby.

My family on the other hand lived near the river (Tennessee) and had a place on the river so we fished from the time I could hold a pole so there was always catfish, crappie, or bream. And we took trips to the Gulf every year at least once. My Dad loved red snapper and I don't remember not loving seafood. I had one cousin who went with us and he was the oddball who only ordered a hamburger no matter where we went for dinner.

There was always some kind of water around where we lived. My dad wold take me swimmin in a swamp when I was 7 or 8. It was actually named the Loutre Bottom. I look at it now and can't believe he actually let me in the water there. Surely it wasn't as bad back then. Wouldn't 't put my big toe in there now.)

I am not a big meat eater of any kind, I ate some sliced turkey for lunch and put half of what I got out back,

I have been pulling up zinnias and edging the roadside bed, hard to believe another growing season is behind us now, seems like it was just spring yesterday! Guess I better get back out and work a little longer until time to quit and make supper, I have green beans simmering while I am out working and think I will make some carrots and either hamburger steak or a meatloaf, will decide when the time comes!

I was too tired to go look at the zinnias when we got home yesterday. But I'm sure they are toast after the temps down around 32 for a couple of nights. The frost probably got 'em. I took a nap for about an hour and a half after I unpacked and put everything away! That's really unusual for me. But it was dreary outside, chilly, and I curled up with a book and went right to sleep.

I can usually leave the meat too, Sandra. Occasionally I get in the mood for a really good filet or a burger, but that's about it. I could easily give it up.

I did have a good size slice of meatloaf for supper, it was pretty good, but the green beans were better !

I hope you are not getting sick Elaine, that is unusual for you.

I put the picture we didn't know on the I'd thread and they said it is this
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/52982/#b

This message was edited Oct 28, 2013 7:02 PM

Thanks, Sandra. I think I was just tired. Didn't sleep all that well since I wasn't in my own bed, the excitement of the all-day Saturday stuff, and then the drive home, and I was just tired after getting up fairly early 2 days in a row.

That's a pretty plant, but definitely something to grow indoors up here.

Yes, it was in the greenhouse there, they had it growing along the bottom in several places.

Back to the work outside today, so much to do in these last pretty days, I only like a little on one bed cleaning, then will be vacuuming the leaves for mulch for it.

Lots to do today also!! It's still cloudy here but the temperature is really nice. I've got to find time to get some more of my plants put away for the winter. I have a lot of brugs blooming right now. They are so pretty!

Elaine, I literally laughed out loud at your comment about your husband's growing up and nothing swimming by....... I grew up on a farm and most of our meat was fresh, but we also had a pond where we caught catfish or bass or bream on occasion. Didn't have it too often just because Momma didn't like fish. We also raised most of our veggies - and only bought bread, flour, salt, etc at town...... just the basics that we couldn't or didn't produce ourselves. We did buy potatoes while some of my friends' family raised their own, but I don't think my Mom liked digging potatoes either! LOL

Charlotte, I grew up with us swimming in our pond and other ponds in the community.............. I wouldn't do that now either! LOL..... but the bayou probably had a lot more critters in it than the ponds did. I remember one summer we went to a large pond at a guy's farm several times and every time we went swimming the little bream would nibble on us if we got too still !! Nothing critical just enough for us to squeal about.............. We also spent MANY a summer day playing in a ditch with a small spring fed creek in it on my parent's farm. In the hot summer time it would dry almost completely up except for where the spring was and it was under all these overgrown trees and vines. Can't tell you how many hours we spent playing up under all that. It is a wonder we didn't get snake bit..... I guess we always made enough noise to scare them off! Today's kids wouldn't know what to do if they had to just create something to do all summer!

Marilyn, sorry to hear you are having bad fog. That is the one thing that scares me the most about Leigh commuting so early in the mornings...........

Jeri, I am not repainting anything in my house - at least not on the front end, except for the porch posts that had to be repainted and the ones that had to be replaced. I just don't have it cleaned up enough for people to come thru and peruse the closets and cabinets. I have them in much better shape now, but unfortunately, I seem to make a bigger mess on the front end when I am cleaning and so I am in the process of finishing up a few rooms and then trying to get the main LR/DR/Kit area back in top shape. The last thing will be to try to use the Quick Shine floor cleaner, and then the Quick Shine floor finish on all my floors! That is a major undertaking with the majority of the house being hardwood (and mopping being one of the hardest things on my back) but I will get it done if I have to do it on my hands and knees. :(
Then it will be the battle to try to keep things picked up and clean. I have been fairly pleased that for the past two weeks, at least i have managed to keep the rooms that were finished in tip top shape (for instance our master bath) so that is progress. I have mentioned selling to a few people, but will probably post it on FB for the world to see very soon. I am not listing with a realtor on the front end, but may end up doing so in a few weeks if we don't have any good leads.

Good luck with selling your house, Genna! Trying to keep a house "show ready" is a real drag so I hope you sell it quickly!
The fog lasted until noon and then the sun came out and it was a beautiful afternoon yesterday. The good thing about us having fog is that we don't have to get up and go to work. :) Today has been overcast all day but we only got about 1/3 inch of rain. Parts of southern MO received 2-3 inches of rain today.

Our frost last week got my impatiens and pretty well did in the cannas but I still have gaillardia, Shasta daisies, gazanias and the Hot Lips and Blue Sapphire and raspberry salvia blooming and also the tall something-or-other that Sandra gave me last year. (can't think of what it is right now LOL). I will hate to see them go but it is inevitable. :(

If the tall something or other is blue, then it is asters--LOL
I think I have worked myself into a flare up, had a miserable night waking up freezing one minute and sweating the next ! Of course it could be the nasty weather coming instead of "overwork". I need to get one more wheelbarrow of shredded leaves to finish the part of the roadside bed I got cleaned out. I need to cook something today so probably won't work outside.
So far everything here still looks ok, except for the Hostas that got a bit of frost last week. The zinnias look bad because they got mildew, doesn't affect the blooms, but the foliage looks bad. I only pulled up the ones that were in the bed I cleaned out. I left them last year and had too many volunteers, they were way too crowded.
Genna, I didn't do anything inside yesterday except make a meatloaf sandwich for our supper and my house is a wreck--LOL--only 2 days of letting it slide--I did wash dishes the first day, but none yesterday!

Hope you haven't worked up a flare Sandra!

Exactly why my house is always a mess! Always a project going on. I spent yesterday working on the jewelry I merchandise. I was at Dillards and the store I was working in just finished a total remodel of their jewelry cases. Of course my company wants their lines to look exactly so but nothing was fitting right in the cases so I had to do my own improvising to make it work. Usually a fun thing to do but not yesterday!!! Ready to pull my hair out.

Today I'm headed to the antique mall to paint my new booth and then I have a guy coming over this afternoon to take all the stuff in my garage down there. Then the next several days will be spent arranging and redoing all my booths.

I did spend a little time late yesterday afternoon putting a few brugs in the greenhouse and cutting down some things around the koi pond so I can put a cover over it soon. I keep it covered from late fall until spring. Too hard to get all the pine needles and leaves out if I let them fall into it. I need to start putting some shredded leaves down too. I have 2 or 3 bags I've saved from last year I'm going to use. Also have about 6 bags of mulch I've have for a long time and it probably just compost at this point. Going to put it around my brugs I put in the ground. They actually need some more compost over the roots before I put leaves on them.

We haven't had a frost here yet. Everything is still alive. Hostas are getting ready to go dormant. They don't look very perky. Lots of brugs blooms so I hope the buds will get a chance to bloom out before frost.

Thanks Marilyn, I am sure it is going to take lots of prayers to get it to sell quickly! The economy in our area is the pits, about the only thing we have going for us is the school district - thank goodness we have that!

Charlotte, I didn't know that you merchandised jewelry too............. guess I missed that somewhere in all your activities.

Sandra, I hear ya! It is a constant battle for sure! I think mine is looking better then I see something that is cluttered up..... been so used to looking at if (for instance I have a basket where I keep address labels, note pads, pens, etc it is a catchall. ) hadn't even THOUGHT about it until last night, been cleaning AROUND it for weeks! So, tonight I hope to get it cleaned up and organized! My sister is a great house keeper....I guess she got all the family genes on that one, so I think when I think I have it together, I am going to ask her to come walk thru and see what I have missed. I hope that you haven't caused a flare up! Hope you are feeling better soon!

Felt horrible last night by the time I got off work - went home and laid down to take a nap, but never managed to get to sleep. That is something I NEVER do, but then I got up and mopped my laundry room floor because that is the only thing I lacked in there having that room finished! - so I marked it off my list! Then I mixed up a huge double batch of choc-oat chip cookies because I had promised to bake cookies for the eternity house cast tonight. I didn't feel like baking them so I got up early this morning and got most of them done. I will go home after work and bake the remaining two pans and deliver them then. I am really dragging..... hoping it is just allergies or sinuses and not the flu! Don't have time for it!! And they haven't given out our flu shots yet.....

My knockout roses are still blooming like crazy and even my hibiscus are blooming some.....and the salvias and butterfly bushes. That is about it. Hate to see it end, but I know its coming soon. It is back in the mid 70s today - they are calling for bad storms possibly tonight and then tomorrow.

I thought one of my Hostas looked pretty, had to take its picture

Yes Genna I've done the jewelry for probably 4 years. It's usually lots of fun but my corporate office was really getting uptight with the remodel. They had sent all new fixtures and some where just not working right. I finally just made some executive decisions and changed things so it would work. They haven't said anything so I guess they were alright with it. With Dillard's corporate office in LR they really want the LR stores to look good. I basically fluff the cases, make sure new lines are out, etc. I also handle an expensive line of handbags. Sometimes I feel I'm overdoing but don't want to give it up because it's not that easy to find this type part time job. It let's me use my creative side.
When I was in high school I wanted to go into fashion merchandising but my dad thought that was a strange way to make a living. So I refused to go to college at all. When I was older and finally decided to get my degree I was already working in banking so I decided to get a degree in finance!!!!!! Now in my older years I'm back to doing what I wanted to do as a teenager!

Got my new booth painted today and all the furniture that was in garage moved into it. Now tomorrow I need to work with the small stuff and pictures and move some stuff around in the other booths.

I'm a workaholic and know it! Always have been and always will be.

I've been tearing my newspapers up into strips and saving. I think I'm going to put a bunch of the newspaper strips around my brugs, then put the old mulch (compost) over it and then the shredded leaves over that.

I've never seen a yellow hosta before, Sandra. :D The tall "something or other" is blue but it doesn't look like an aster bloom to me. I'll take a picture of it tomorrow. Whatever it is, it has bloomed all summer and is still blooming. The bees and butterflies love it!

Genna: I don't know if I ever mentioned it, but my first husband and I lived in Camden for about a year waaaaaay back in 1961 before we had any children. He worked for the state health dept. as a VD Investigator. He had to go out and interview people who had VD and get their contacts so the health dept. could call them in for treatment.(rolling eyes here) He hated that job and only kept it until he could find another one. Anyway, Camden was a depressed area back then. I guess it hasn't changed much.

Charlotte, I am going to be in central AR the weekend of Nov. 22nd and will try to get by to see your booth then. I'm coming down there for a baby shower for Michelle #2's daughter, Taylor, who got married last year. I have known Taylor since she was 15 months old and now she is expecting her own little girl in February. :)

The first picture is the gaillardia that Sandra gave me in September, 2012. I think this one is "Oranges and Lemons".
The second photo is a hollyhock that came up voluntarily. The leaves on this thing are absolutely HUGE. I have never seen a hollyhock with leaves this big. I can hardly wait till it blooms next spring.
the third photo shows my last Shasta Daisy bloom with a butterfly on it. I think the butterfly is a Red Admiral but I'm not certain. I took these photos yesterday.

Not an aster if it bloomed all summer, what about balloon plant?

I lived in ElDorado until 1968. We also considered Camden very depressed back then. ElDorado has lost ground population wise and oil industry wise but has done a good job of holding it's own. Downtown is a really neat place to spend an afternoon. Magnolia has also done a good job of holding it's own. Still a nice place to shop and the town seems fairly nice in general. I could live in ElDorado if I had to but would not want to move back there. Once I got away I found a lot more opportunities.
I also spent several weeks working in Camden in 2003 and found it very depressing!

Marilyn, is your plant Black and Blue salvia? What color are the leaves? I have lots of it and it may have been in something I gave you at the swap last year, lol! Mine are still blooming too.

Sandra, that is a very pretty hosta. I don't grow too many except near the house where I have a little shade. The deer munch on them.

Well, compared to 1961, Camden is a ghost town now........... :( Of course, I wasn't here in 61, was born here in 63, but I know when we moved to Camden in 1985, it still had several things going for it (at least for South Arkansas). But, in 1988-90 we lost over 2,500 manufacturing jobs! All in the defense industry and very good paying jobs. Unemployment hit 19% in Ouachita County and stayed in double digits for well over a decade. We lost so many good people during that time period. I was not working in defense, but was laid off from my job in early 1990 while unemployment was pushing 20% and there were NO jobs to be had. I literally could make more money drawing unemployment than I could working. Alex was a toddler and the going rate of pay for ANY job was 5.00/hr. I applied for a counter job at a dry cleaners once and there were over 400 people who applied! I also applied for a job with an accountant - and it was almost the same senario. I got an interview both times, but was offered 5 bucks for either job. With a toddler at home, I couldn't pay the baby sitter and make it. We already had a screenprinting/embroidery business we were running on the side, so I had to start coming up with creative ways to pay the bills. We started doing a lot of shows - livestock shows, sporting shows, camper shows, etc in order to get out of this area to pull in business. I didn't go back to work in the job market until late 1996. By then, I had Kyle and Jessica and I only did so then because we were trying to purchase a house in Harmony Grove and we needed to be able to show a second stable income. Since then, the paper mill has gone down too - which because I used to work in timber, I know how huge the ripple effect of that was to all the logging crews, chip truck drivers, etc even down to the tire service people in town who was used to servicing all those trucks. Since then it has seen an even more rapid decline. :( It is so sad really because there are some really good people here - but as our population declines we end up with a larger and larger percentage of uneducated/untrained people because all the ones who leave to get an education can't return here to get a job. We started to leave in probably 1995 or so...........maybe a few years later, and the kids were SOOOO upset. ESPECIALLY Alex. But, he would NEVER live in Camden now....LOL..... I tell him all the time, yep you had us stay so you could leave us here! LOL..... So, in many ways, I think this move is God forcing us to finally leave. I may be wrong, and I guess if our house doesn't sell and we are commuting long distance long term, I will get the hint that I am wrong. I have been SO very torn about whether to go or whether to ride it out here........ but I have not seen ANY sign that we are supposed to stay. Although, I will admit I have no specific sign that we are supposed to go either - other than the offer of a job at a another facility. But, I am stepping out in faith and praying that if this is what God wants from us then He will send us the right buyer..................... Leigh went to Jonesboro at the end of last week and he said it was almost as extreme as being in another country because there was so much business and activity and construction. I know it is the same in NW Ar as well. Funny thing about it was that my Dad grew up in NW AR and left in order to make a living - there was NOTHING there................now it is booming. I think in many ways we kept thinking the tide would eventually turn here - but there are a few people in power in Camden that have refused to let things progress. Murphy Oil has almost exclusively carried El Dorado as well - they pour a tremendous amount of money in to El Dorado and surrounding areas in addition to the El Dorado promise and have had for decades. I think Magnolia does so well because of the college and all the money that it pumps into the economy......but then I look at Arkadelphia, and if that was the case it should be exploding with two colleges, the nearby lake, and the interstate.........but it is struggling too. I guess it hinges a lot on city leadership - not sure.

Marilyn, I love those shasta daisys but I can't seem to keep mine alive! I had one that made it thru one summer and the next summer the middle of the plant was completely dead and I had a "ring" of leaves where it had expanded out. I only got a few blooms that summer and then it was completely gone. Not sure why.

My blue salvia has been blooming most of the summer but in the last month it has really gotten to be a brillent dark blue - and is really pretty. I guess the sun hasn't been as bright to fade it out maybe??

Sandra that hosta is pretty. I haven't been able to have many hostas either because the deer eat them up!

Marilyn asked me to let you all know that her internet is down for a few days and they will be getting a new modem. So she'll be out of pocket for a few days.

The Murphy's have poured a lot of money into El Dorado. They have a big investment there. However, it was actually not the Murphy's that got the downtown area revitalized. A gentleman named Richard Mason was primarily responsible. He grew up in Smackover. His mom was Burney Wilson's (owner of the El Dorado House) right hand person and buyer. Later she opened her own ladies dress shop. Richard is an engineer. Moved somewhere out west after college and did quite well for himself. When he retired he decided to come back to El Dorado. He started buying up all the property around the square and offering lots of incentives for folks to open businesses. Don't think there is a vacant building around the square. I think one of the main problems with south AR is the lack of interstates. Too hard to get to and from.
Genna you seem to always come to LR but when I lived in El Dorado I always went to Monroe or Shreveport for shopping, special dinner, etc. I guess I was used to going to LA. However, when my parents moved back after living in Houston they also always shopped in Monroe and Shreveport. Seems that most of the growth is in that area. Both right on I10.

My dad had lived in North LA or El Dorado all his life until they moved to Dickinson (a suburb of Houston). In the 10 years they were gone he had really gotten used to the faster paced Houston life. He really didn't want to move back but did so because he had promised mother they would come back. He complained all the time about how slow every body moved!!! Driving around drove him crazy. He got so upset with the bank one time. He went through the drive through to cash a check. They didn't ask him for any ID and that really upset him!!!! LOL He said anybody could have been cashing one of his checks for they knew!! He liked the way they did business in Houston! He was used to driving the interstates in Houston and then came back to North West Ave!

I think Camden is sorta like Pine Bluff. Don't think there is any hope for Pine Bluff - it's too far gone.

I used to spend a lot of time in Jonesboro. It's been growing by leaps and bounds since the 70's. It's the hub of northeast AR. They finally got a interstate all the way in to Jonesboro from Little Rock and then there are good roads over to I55. Farming is still a big industry in that part of the state. Big farmers with thousands of acres.

Yeah, the only big farmers left in this area are the timber farmers..........and even then most of the timber land was owned by large corporations like IP and Deltic,GP, etc. But even they are selling land in this area because the timber industry is so depressed currently. Timber prices are a LOT lower now than they were 25 yrs ago when I worked in that industry - that has only fueled the depression in south Arkansas because in the past the timber turned a lot of money in the economies around here.

I have heard Mr. Mason's name, but I didn't know who he was. We have a woman here in Camden who has bought a LOT of property in downtown Camden and she is trying very hard to revitalize the town. Not sure how successful she will be, but she is sure not sparing any money trying to do so. She has purchased several buildings and totally redid them, but she redid the old post office in downtown camden and opened the Postmaster's Grill..... a very upscale restaurant. A friend of mine did the initial insurance inspection and said they spared no expense in the remodeling or in the equipment - said everything was top of the line. A lot of people thought it would fold because they didn't think Camden would support such an upscale restaurant, but they seem to be doing well. The upstairs is the full scale menu, then the lower level is a bar and more normal priced meals. They have a large patio area out to the side and usually have bands perform on the weekend in the summers.

I bet it was a big adjustment to go from living in Houston to back to El Dorado.... my niece and her husband have lived in Australia and Singapore and recently relocated back to El Dorado. They are used to jet setting all over the world and seeing all kinds of sights that most of us will only see on tv or the computer - they have been to Hawaii, Italy, China, India, Malaysia, and numerous other places some I am not even sure WHERE they were located... LOL........I suspect they are having a hard time re-adjusting to El Dorado life as well. Pretty boring after all that jet setting abroad.

Gotta head to bed........need to have a really productive day tomorrow and I desperately need some sleep! I only got about 2.5 hrs last night and i have a hard time functioning without it. Hope tonight is better!

They are calling for nice weather.......hope everyone has a great weekend!

Yes I'm also familiar with the timber industry. My family has always owned some timberland. I don't have a lot but I still have some. Mine is in LA. Deltic and some other companies own a lot in the area mine is in but there are still a lot of individuals that have a lot of timberland in Union Parish. Most of the ones with lots of land are families that settled there in the 1800's and have kept the land in the family. My mother's family land is still in the family. It is owned by my great uncle who still lives on it. Over time he bought all my mother's brothers and sisters out. He was in the timber business. He was a forester. There is lots of oil activity going on right now in the area where my land is. They have 7 wells going now. I keep hoping they will strike it big!! Wouldn't that be nice! My cousins husband (he is a forestry manager) manages my land and he sent me an email several weeks ago and someone wanted to buy my land. I didn't find out any particulars because I don't want to sell. Don't know if it was one of the big companies or an individual.

It would be wonderful if you hit it big--we will all load up on the truck with you and go to Beverly Hills, I will sit in the rocker on top !!!!!

Yes and instead of the moonshine jug, Sandra would have a jug of Vanilla. LOL!!! I can see it now!!!

What a sight we would be!!!! I'm not holding my breath!! I have several relatives with land in the same area. One cousin keeps up with everything that's happening. She's the one that keeps me in the know. Otherwise I wouldn't have a clue - don't attempt to keep up with it. Figure it would just be a nice surprise if I happen to get a piece of the action!

Jeri we did a cross post!!! Yes I can see Sandra with that big jug of vanilla sitting in the rocker!!

What fun ! Isn't it nice to be able to enjoy each other and not have to worry about hurting feelings, I just love you all !
Seriously though Charlotte, I would be very happy for you !

Looks like another beautiful fall day, I worked outside again most of the day yesterday, everywhere I look it seems there is another project that should be tackled !
I have a lily that needs to be moved it is in too much shade. I was wondering if I should wait until the top dies back before I move it? Do any of you know. It is about 4 feet tall and being under the trees the frost has not hit it yet.

I'm not sure about the lily Sandra. I've got to get serious about getting my plants inside! I still have not brought in my houseplants! The next week it's not supposed to get below 40 so I have time to do it slowly. But goodness I do have to get them inside! It's November! I know what you mean about something that needs to be done everywhere you look! I stopped by my garden spot yesterday to leave some boxes to put on the ground around the box and was shocked to find all kind of green beans that needed to be picked! The last time I was down which was several weeks ago the vine looked very pitiful. I guess all the rain and cooler weather kicked it back into growing. I picked a whole box of beans and 7 or 8 bell peppers. There are tons of banana peppers that need to be picked but I left them for another day! I have never seen one plant produce so many peppers! I've picked them all summer long and really don't know what to do with them.

I spent all day yesterday (from 11:30 until 8:00 pm) at an auction. I bought quite a bit of stuff. I had just finished rearranging my booths but will start over again as soon as I can get my guy to pick up the big pieces I bought. I needed some big pieces of furniture that could hold china and ended up buying 3 pieces like that. Two big hutches with open shelves at the top and one breakfront with glass at the top. I brought home a whole truck load of stuff myself last night and need to go back this afternoon and pick up another load of smaller stuff I can handle. Good thing I got all the stuff out of my garage last week! But I didn't buy anything I plan to paint. Going to sell it as it is. But need to sort through it price, etc.

Wow, I envy you having a "guy". Jerry took off work yesterday to work on the roof, he went up Friday afternoon thinking it would be a quick fix, but saw it wasn't, so he called in and worked all day on the roof ! Lets hope it doesn't cost him his job, it will depend on what his boss does with his call. He can say he let him off and it won't count against him, but if he doesn't it will count points against him. He is not sure how many points send you home, but he did get some while I was at Caylas for being late and then he got one late when I was gone to Tommy's last weekend. He is still on 7 days a week, it is crazy, no time at home for anything, not to mention no energy. They told them last week they are hoping to give them a long week end at Thanksgiving, but to not count on it yet. So I need a " guy" too !
Folks will really be looking at those furniture pieces with the holidays ahead so they may move very quickly !

Well I do have to pay my "guy"! But he is reasonable - he knows I'll give him repeat business.

Jerry's schedule is crazy!!! They should be glad is is willing to work 7 days a week all the time. There are some things that can't be done from 8 pm to 6 am!!!!

He said the only thing his boss said was, I got your message. He had left voice mail in his phone, then called in before 7am also. If you don't call in before 7 they give you a point for being tardy, how silly is that ?

Now Sandra you know that was with love. A little laughter at the image but totally with love!!!

I DON'T like it getting dark so early. I did get a few things done around the yard this afternoon. When I went out this morning the koi pond totally covered in small bubbles and I had 2 dead fish! The water had gotten totally out of balance. After I got all that corrected decided it was time to cover it up for the winter before too much debris falls into it. I have two big pieces of plastic window screen I have sewn together and nothing will fall through it. I had already dug all my caladium bulbs and finally got all the foliage clipped off them so I can finish drying them and put away for the winter. Put a few more things in the greenhouse. Dug up my alocasias to store the way Kenny does. I had been just putting the pot with the plant in the garage but have too many of them now and also need my garage space for painting. Little by little I'm going to get there.

Sure I did Jeri, I love having fun with all of you !!!!!!!! I should have added a LOL or something, it is so easy to misread something typed. I can picture me up there too !!!! But I wouldn't be all frowned up like Granny was---I would be yelling YAHOOOOOOOO. !

Got to get to town sometime today and get my flu shot, I usually get it in Oct but for some reason Oct has slipped by and here it is Nov---Marilyn has her new moden now, thought she would get here and show us some of her beautiful changing seasons pictures for Nov thread.
If she doesn't show up soon, I will do a new one. I am thinking that most of us that visit here have hi speed Internet now, if not I hope everyone gets it soon. They were talking on Memphis news about the city providing free Internet through their new smart meters from Memphis light, gas, and water. Have any of you heard anything like that?
Jeri, I was watching Shelby the Swamp man yesterday--he seems to be friends with the owner of that restaurant you like, Middendorf, or something like that. The eposide I watched was where he went deep sea fishing with the owner, then he went to help out at the restaurant to " pay back the favor". Do you know this man?