TEA ROOM # 126

Okay, I'll dispel a few rumors here...

1. We did not get snow drifted in the Pennsylvania mountains.
2. We did not get run over by Justin Bieber's yellow Lamborghini in Miami Beach.
3. We did not fall off from the edge of the Northern Hemisphere yet, but we're getting close..

We are now in Key Largo, the first of the Florida islands south of the continent. We rented a flat here for a week's worth of sunshine. It surrounds a boating marina and shore area. Although I don't have a boat, we're having a nice warm vacation for a little while we await Spring in the north. The store photo is the famous Ron-Jon Surf Shop in Cocoa Beach. I've taken several more photos to show later.

Al

Good morning.

Its a lovely morning here as it usually is, but the heat will be coming in fast as the sun gets up more.

We are expected to be back to over 40C during the week, which I am not looking forward to.
I have to take hubby back to the hospital for the rest of his tests and I think thats a good place to stay with the aircon on...lol

Teresa, congrats to Sugar on getting her certificate. Now she can really show off.
Yes, the weasel suits her mischief making ways, but then she can be really as sweet as sugar...lol

Al, Florida looks like a place I would like during winter too.
Are you going to try out one of those surfboards ?
I think at the moment here, I would like a day or two of your snow.
Enjoy all that lovely weather but watch out for the alligators.
I read that they like to come up in those canals around the town.

Hello to anyone else looking in. I am off to water while its still nice and cool.
Take care everyone.

Cookies are at the back door for Charley, Charleen.

Heres something to nibble for morning tea....Coffee Cake.

Stay safe
Jean.

Happy Aussie day for yesterday..Flags! BBQ'S!, ,Lilies! Anthonys famous 'egg/bacon/cheese/ lettuce and worstershire rolls a nice bottle of shiraz and some Heinekin 'mini cans'-under the 'big umbrella' ..very hot!-----------------------the last pic is an 'Orchid Dahlia'-' Christie Starlett'

Hope all the Aussies had a great day :)

Anthony - I like the way you celebrate...

Put it this way ,Teresa..We get a day off!.. better than being at work in this heat..I think and please correct me , you have 'Wiatingi Day' 'remembered from an old calender!...It reached 34 here today[all seedlings in garage]- cold beer in fridge!

Hope you folks are having a great holiday weekend. Throw one on the BarBe for me, I'd be right over if I could... perhaps bring my Key Lime Pie. Regards to all!

Al

February 6th is Waitangi Day, my sister's birthday is the day before - her 3rd son was born on Waitangi Day 2 years ago.

makes it easy to remember :)

Hot Hot Hot!

Friday , baby , 'you beauty' !!!!!!!!!

It's Friday here, too, Anthony. We're right here in Margaritaville, according to Jimmy Buffet...
Enjoying my last, as we are on our way home after today.

This is a photo of Charley and me piloting the space shuttle Atlantis at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. My Charley icon is on the flight console to my right.

Al

Good morning everyone..
Its a lovely cool morning before another very hot day.
At least down in my corner of the country we do get a cool night and early morning most of the summer.
Just finished watering and enjoying all the birds coming around for their morning bath.
I always keep lots of containers of water around the garden for any visitors. ...bird or animal..

Most of the garden is toasted but will be green again come autumn / winter and spring.

Anthony, how are all your liliums going in the heat ?
I must admire my white Orientals as they have not wilted one bit and are in sun all day.
Love your pics and that dahlia is a pretty one.

Al, nice to see you taking Charley for a trip with you.
No wonder I havent seen him looking for cookies at the Tea Room for few days.
How fantastic to be aboard the space shuttle and to see Cape Canaveral up close.
Being a SciFi fan, I am often wishing I was born about 100 years into the future when maybe space travel would be a reality for everyone. Enjoy your trip home.

Teresa, how is Miss Mischief going ?
Hope all is well in your shaky corner of the world .

Hello Charleen, give Charley a cookie and tell him I have missed him around here.

Hello Dianne, Chrissy and anyone else out there.

Tome to get hubbys breakfast so I'll leave a nibble out for anyone popping in for a cuppa...

Hubby will see the doc in 2 weeks for test results and a date for the next big operation.

Hers a tasty treat...Chocolate Cream Cake

Stay safe
Jean.

that cake looks yummy!

I am a bit envious of Al - must show hubby the pic as he will be interested too...
we both like aviation & were sad to see the end of shuttle flights.

Miss Weasel is on the couch beside me, we start back at training tomorrow, I did some work last week before I took the 'domestic' class.
I love teaching the 5 week course but will make myself unavailable a bit more often this year as Sugar needs more work if we are ever to compete successfully.

Our first competition for the year is the 15th & 16th of this month.

I was out taking photos of the birds in the plum tree but wasn't quick enough to get any good shots.
Cheeky little wax eyes move too fast!
1 - not very well lit subject...blackbird was feasting on plums.
2 - sparrow with a bit of bread
3 - where's the birdie?
4 - thrush? or is that a juvenile blackbird?
5 - scruffy looking baby sparrow


This message was edited Feb 1, 2014 10:48 AM

quick search of the interwebs ;) & bird id's as juvenile Eurasian Blackbird

pics of young blackbird & a plum that has been feasted upon...

I think the birds get most of the plums, the dog gets the next amount & then I get what's left.

Thanks to NZ Gardener magazine I was able to identify the plums as Damsons...
they are quite tart but I like that.

Apparently they are great for jams & sauce.

I sat on the back deck for a while enjoying the sunshine & managed to get a few photos of the waxeyes feasting on the plums

Al ,Wastin' away in Margaritaville, ..down to the last shaker of salt..You are a lucky man.
Jean, the liliums are burning [no joke].. It is so hot, nothing is happening.. The garage is full of very expensive [to lose] seedlings and so is the annexe on the truck[I would normally have packed it away by this weekend, but the shade is valuable].. Ant attacks in bathroom and laundry and Mo's cage..''TAXING"..Teresa, I love those little birds, and they love me[waxeyes].. we call White eyes..they wait for me to water and dive into the trees for bathing!

they are cute wee things & also known as Silvereyes here...

http://www.doc.govt.nz/conservation/native-animals/birds/birds-a-z/silvereye-or-wax-eye/


hope it cools down for you Anthony, hate to think of you & the lilies cooking over there.

Al, that's a great pic of you and Charley....for a mule he does get around....
Sounds as though you had another wonderful trip.

Cute bird pics, Teresa....we call them Silvereyes too....
Hope it cools a bit for you Anthony, no respite here, I'm afraid...40+ Sat and Sun....
We were going to a Chinese Lunar festival at Sovereign Hill on the weekend...not now

Jean, we still have our fingers crossed for you and Robert, so take care in this heat....
Hi Charleen and moon, your Spring is just around the corner.....
Hi Colleen, it must have been terrible for you in that record heat.....
Hope all is well...
Dianne....

Love all the pictures. Al , you and Charley look great!!!
Charley is a well travelled mule.
Hugs and nuzzles to all...

Waitangi Day here in NZ so I have the day off work.

It is fine again so have washing on the line & decided to pull a few weeds from the stone mulch under the line...

well several hours later & I have filled the big green wheelie bin & am shattered.

Mum gave me her electric hedge clippers.
I have been trimming some over grown bushes.

They are looking a little bit scraggy now so hopefully they will recover - I know the Mexican orange blossom will as I have reduced it to a stump once before & it loved it.

pic 2 - - back in 2008 - I was a little over enthusiastic when I pruned....
pic 1 - remarkable powers of recovery, same shrub a few days ago
pic 3 - today
pic 4 - before
pic 5 - after :)

edited because DG changed the order of pic 1 & 2 when I hit send.


This message was edited Feb 6, 2014 12:18 PM

Hello everyone.
I am staying inside now, as the heat is very draining out there...
I have been busy getting pots moved and watered, plus potting on a few of my smaller clivias.
The clivias are all doing very well and I hope to see flowers on some of the Chinese ones over the next year or two. I grew them from imported seed .
I now have seed on some of my other clivias.
Most of the larger garden area looks like the Sahara but will green up during winter/spring.

Charleen, Charley looks very cheeky tripping around with Al, all over the place.
Here, he just sits on the fridge chatting to me as I pass. Ever hopeful of a cookie...lol

Dianne, thank you for the thoughts. Its going to be a bit of a wait for the next op . We wont know when it will be until next week when we see the surgeon.

Anthony, I hope things are a bit cooler down your way. The liliums will all be beautiful again this year despite the heat.
Keep cool with plenty of ice...

Al, you will be shivering by now, being back in the cold.
Take care and stay warm inside reading all the plant catalogues.

Teresa, you did a good job on the trimming etc.
Plants are resilient things even when we chop them to pieces.
How is Miss Mischief going ? Good luck with those comps coming up later in the month.

I am off to sit in the cool near the fan and enjoy a cold drink.
Hello to everybody I may have missed.

Heres a nice hot day treat, one of my favorites.... Banana Split...

Take care.
Jean

Jean .against all guidelines, I had a Mc ...Chocolate shake yesterday..Trip to the Peninsula needed it...Very hot here

Anthony, in this weather who cares what you eat or drink as long as you enjoy it...lol

Hubby and I have just been having icecream & fruit for tea on these hot days.

So we all gain a few pounds....it will keep us warm in winter...
Jean.

Like a Walrus.........

Doggone, wish I could send some of our weather to you all. It is nice but could still share some of the wintery weather. They are calling for snow over the next 2-3 days. It will close Atlanta, Ga. down. They can't take winter conditions.
Charley standing out in pasture with his rump up against the fir trees, he does it to keep cool in summer and this winter stands on other side of trees to keep warm. He ain't no dummy!!!! :)
Robert 's little Wounds are all healing up and he is feeling about a 100% better. He did go out to pick up some tree limbs but discovered he still was too weak to be doing that....
Charley, the donkeys and all my critters send you all much love and nuzzles...

Hello everyone. Its a lovely morning but will get very hot later.
Nice to enjoy being outside in the early morning. I do all my watering etc then and check on all the plants.
Hubby is resting and sleeps a lot, but I dont blame him in the heat.

Charleen, I hope your Robert soon heals. Its frustrating when you want to do things and cant.
Love to Charley and friends. i always leave his cookies out , so he wont be hungry...lol

Anthony, how are things down your way ?
I hope you are getting these lovely cool mornings too. Helps one bear the heat.
Hope your feathered friends are keeping cool.

Al, I bet you are feeling extra cold now after that lovely trip south. It will soon be Spring there.

Hello Teresa, Dianne and Moon.
Hope you are all doing well and keeping warm or cool whichever your weather.
Time I put something tasty out for morning tea then moved myself. More doctors visits today.

Keep safe ... enjoy this Coconut Cake...
Jean.

Cocky's worn out, yesterday ,Gum Limbs were mine for the pickin'[after the storms] I grabbed a monster limb for Cocky and 2 smaller for Mo and Sweety.. Well , Cocky ripped every knot , burl and split that he could see. I stopped in for a look after midday and his 8ft cage looked as if a stump grinder had been in there...Not much talk or action outta the little bloke tonight..Mornins not the coolest yet Jean.. usually kicks in late March! I threw most of these 'pictured 'Tiger Edition' lilies away , due to disease [Tesselarrs].so look away, because you may never see it again here . Angers me , that a grower can sell diseased stock and send it all over Aussie.. 22 Bunnings lilies went in the bin as well...The other is a famous Robert Greisbach 'Tricolour' Trumpet , -from seed... no chance of disease here!

they are so pretty. Love lilies...
Been working on dog ornaments for a friend. got one more to do.Have you a group of pictures. this is friends dog, I still have to do. this is Dusty. Isn't it beautiful??? then I wanted to show you all the Brugmansia I have with buds forming on it. It is in a bucket of water. I was so surprised..
then I have this cute little Kalacno that has been blooming a couple of weeks. lastly gourd's other two Furkids I have made for her....
You all take care
Love and nuzzles
Charleen and Critters

Well, we make it back alive and are now watching the Olympics like everyone else around the world. We actually have a couple of locals in the Sochi competition, one on snowboard and one in ski racing. Fun just to be there I suppose, wouldn't it be nice to win a medal, or even just make the run for one.

Vacation is over, but we still returned to a good deal of snow. Driving was downright treacherous through the mountains, we were held over for an extra day in Williamsport due to the closure of the pass by State officials for snow clearing. Opened up much better the next day, and we made it through just fine.

We had some eventful times though. This is a picture of me after drinking three Mai Tais in Cape Canaveral. I also got to meet a real mermaid at an aquatic show at Weeki Wachi Springs.

Al

Good morning everyone.
Its lovely here at the moment. Nice & cool with a bit of mist on the hills.
It will be hot later like yesterday, but maybe only around 37C instead of over 40C.

Al, I''m glad you came back down to Earth so you were able to meet that pretty mermaid...lol
I hear you can find lots of interesting creatures in the waters around Florida...
I guess the mermaids look after the manatees down there.
It would have been an interesting and scenic trip through the mountains. Glad you arrived home safely..

Anthony, what a darn shame about all those liliums.
Its so hard when people sell plants & bulbs with diseases.
The trouble is you dont know until the plants grow , which is then probably too late to get your money back.
I hope all your others are okay .
I bet Cocky had a ball with the tree limbs. They do love to chew things to pieces.
We are lucky here as the large mobs of white cockies that are always around the area, tend to like being around the town and dont bother us here on the hill.
We sometimes get some young ones left in the trees during the day but they usually just sit all day and dont do any damage.
We have a large stick to hit the tin fence with and it sounds like a gun. This is enough to discourage any that look like wanting to stay around.

Charleen, beautiful dog and you do a lovely job with those ornaments.
Hope you are getting a bit of nice weather there. It will soon be Spring ..
Tell, Charley I left a bag of cookies at the Tea Room for him. I havent seen him for a few days.

Hello to anyone else looking in.
Heres something yummy for morning tea.....Berry Shortcake.

Stay safe
Jean.

My Stephanotis seed pod has matured! It seemed to be all yellow, so i picked it and put it on the Laundry windowsill about a week ago. It must have popped this morning! They have fluffy attachments which would normally be caught by the wind already starting to stick out.

I cannot Photograph it as I whacked Trev with the el cheapo camera last week and broke it! It was in it's padded carry case, I hasten to add, which doesn't say much for the quality. We won't go into the whys and wherefores!

I will see if I can scan it and get back to you all. Anybody like some seeds???

Gabi

Can you add pictures to an edit? Couldn't see anthing that says you can - just checking?

At any rate, here is the newborn! Pops open so neatly all by itself!

it was muggy today & now it is cold & bucketing down with rain.
Good thing hubby took the weasel for her run before the weather changed.

I took her to training last night & she was such a good girl.
I set her up - put a soft toy out where I was going to throw her dumb bell.
She ran toward the toy but each time veered back on track & did her retrieve.
Really happy with that as resisting temptation has been her main downfall so far.

Charleen - that is a very sweet looking Goldie.
One of my favourite breeds :)

We had an ice storm. but Thank God, it is over.
Poor old Charley didn't like it. It was a mess til it thawed.
things are good now. Hubby went back to work and will even work on Saturday since he missed 2 days of work this week...
have a safe one, My friends
Love and nuzzles....
thank you....

Good morning . Just a quick pop in to see whats going on around the place.
I am busy watering and moving plants . Its hard to keep them out of the heat but most are doing okay.
The main garden is toast because its just not worth wasting water there. It will green up later when it rains.

Charleen, snow & ice always looks pretty, but it causes so many problems. I hope you are okay there now and no more ice storms are headed your way.
Charley and friends dont look happy.
I bet poor little Abigail and her friends were hiding from all that ice.
Nice to hear your hubby is back at work. Mine is asleep which is why I grabbed the time to come on and say hello.

Teresa, lovely to hear that the Weasel is being more ladylike now. I hope she does very well in her upcoming trials.
I hope your weather is behaving itself.

Hello Al, Anthony, Dianne, Moon and anyone else looking in .

I had better leave out a snack for morning tea.....Lemon Cake.

Saya safe
Jean.

well Jean - Miss weasel was a very good girl today.
She competed in Novice & scored 94/100 in the morning.
She was a bit tired in the afternoon - we all were feeling the heat...
she scored 81/100 but 10 points of that were lost when she started to lie down just as we were commanded to 'leave your dogs' in the sit stay.
I reached down & lifted her back to a sit & she stayed perfectly after that.
She would have lost the 10 points had I left her alone so I felt it was worth losing them to handler error ( not allowed to touch your dog at that stage) so that she learned that lying down is not an option even if it is hot.

Well, massive storms happenin here , since about 5pm. hope it brings some relief for the wild animals.. The rains r here. Ive been on these bloody Nexium tablets now for 2+ weeks and not really impressed, Ive got no energy/muscle power..back to the Main Man -Thursday.Rains , really blasting now.. and as I type, getting stronger, with Thunder /Litnin". Checking today amongst the pots, and turfed about 20. But accidently turfed 1, where the seedling had sank below my beliefs.As the clump smashed on the other side of the fence, Bulbs appeared.not your average bulbs , but seedling bulbs of RO Backhouse. So I had to get a ladder and get over the neighbors fence, where cramps and pains set in,over and getting back over.. Im still alive, so that's a bonus!.. Needing to make room for winters firewood,, sure I can fit in about 6 ton now

well Sunday was another warm one here, 27C.
Sugar was a good girl, we only scored 88.5/100 but 6 points were lost for her 'mouthing' my hand.
She has never been pinged for that before & if I lift my hand a bit higher she won't be able to do it again so not too worried...
& if you discount the mouthing she would have been on 94.5 so not a bad effort.
Several dogs lay down in the sit stay, it was after lunch by then & very warm out in the sun.
I expected to turn around & see her sprawled out but she was one of the few still sitting bolt upright :)

hopefully the warmer weather predicted for the next couple of days will give my tomatoes the boost they need to ripen!

Nothin better than home picked tomatos Teresa...Very quiet amongst the ranks!... Amazingly , for the first time in years I have nearly everything in order here.. and ready for the Dahlia Show in March and all the mini daffs have been weeded and fertilised.. Cmon September.. I should do the Chipmunk and hibernate til then!...........I hate winter

got to at least 30C today...
I have a large plastic bag over one of my Arctic Plenty tomato plants & noticed the largest fruit is colouring up...
yay!

I'll have to find another big bag at work to put over the other plants - might get enough ripened for a tomato sandwich :)

Heres the Lily I paid Highly for[as a bulb] , last year.. Do you think I lost money?...SAD , I don't have an upload button , -BACK LATER!..23 minutes later, still nothing.. PRETTY SAD

This message was edited Feb 19, 2014 3:56 AM