February 2014 - another month of "Polar Vortexes".

I think Polar Vortex is another way of saying extremely cold! Spring is only a couple months away though!
Yeah GL they're still closing the operation that we currently do now. They're very tight-lipped about saying anything about stuff like that, believe me, people want to know more! The long-time employees there now are really interested in knowing when because their severances are tied to it.
In short, nobody knows anything more than in November when it came out that their closing up most of it, and most of the employees there too now.

I can't believe I still have grandparents at my age! I believe green said she has a grandmother as well, a little older than mine even. I hope I'm lucky enuff to live to be that age.

That ol' Time Warner temp job is going okay for the time being I suppose. I think what helps alot is my punctuality and attendance. I've only missed 1 day in 2 1/2 months and never been late, (except once when an 18 wheeler was blocking the entrance to my job because it kept trying to get up a hill on the ice, which it never got up, it only succeeded in making me 5 minutes late..lol). As far as temps go, I think that attendance is a rare feat. Now, my pay, well, it still sucks but I'm working on that. My co-workers are funny, they say I should ask the temp company for a dollar an hour or so raise and if their smart they'll give it to me they say too! I might do it but I don't know about a dollar. Actually, something good somewhat has came about in my favor in the last week or so there, they have extended my temp status for another 3 months, they've basically extended my "contract". I found that out last week, that could be a good thing for me, I could possibly be offered a "post" shutting down current operation and opening up a new operation job. I know that's a mouthful but unless I'm mistaken, (which I have been alot before) they want to reserve me for some decent job later is what I'm hoping. But "head temp", that's just a joke I say there..lol There's only 2 temps there now and I've been there 2 and a half months longer than the second one.

Think they might root better in water happ? I'll try it again, I'll go back up to walmart and get a few more cuttings! I'm sure they have loose stems from those plants laying around. I've built up a little savings, (even after Christmas and giving my roommate half), I'm thinking about breaking one off though and splurging on a high dollar, $40, heavy, glazed pot.
Oh, you can't beat free, free is good, (believe you me I know..lol). But with free comes a limit, a limit to your status. I tell you, when you reach that status of a nice pot you are what they call a big baller (basketball), a big dog on the porch, a concrete landscaper/gardener or a high roller of sorts!
Right now, indoor activities is the game and I have my Cedar vertical garden, (as well as other unnamed objects in the plant world)!
Will

This message was edited Feb 2, 2014 4:35 PM

I'm still watching and lurking about , this is still a really nice thread . Love the plants boxes , pots , and plant talk ,,
I just don't have much to add .. but I read on .
Winter gets some finance talk going in every category known to man .. Always there , .
I have, as many , looked at enough ice, snow and frozen types of rain , to wonder if winter ever ends ..
I want to go outside and garden , to play in the sun, and the dirt ... couple months to go here before that happens .

Spring fever is in full swing here too. I have customers coming in and browsing the grass seed and grills just waiting for spring.

I'm dealing with spring fever and I'm trying not to beat up my computer. lol. Having issues with doing a Java update and it not going thru. Typical for me. lol

I know I am so sick and tired of it being so cold here. Yesterday it melting the ice off the roof. So thats good it was only 26 and they were dripping. The winter can really make a person depressed. We did get out saturday. Out for lunch and to a couple store but the wind was so bad. Kinda dread leaving the house. Suppose to be a little nicer today. And on monday.

We're cold here today (around 20 F), but not extremely cold. Just a light dusting of snow with freezing drizzle underneath. I need to start working on my indoor sowing, but working on taxes right now.

Happy Groundhog Day! Longer daylight hours anyway.

Will, you are correct. My maternal grandmother was born on 08-28-1919 and still lives on her TN farm with my mom's surviving younger sister and brother and his family. My grandma (Imogene) has been a widow since 1975. Sadly, she has buried 4 sons. That's the tough part about living to be so old.

Off to the grocery store. Got to hurry to be back in time for church. The weather's been too bad to get out until this morning.

This message was edited Feb 3, 2014 7:35 PM

I got this red/purple Echeveria 'Echeveria' to put in the middle of my vertical gardening box.
After I planted it, it looked too big so I took it back out and trimmed it quite a bit, here it is now. - pic #1 Here are some more cuttings from Walmart, they were kind enuff to lay them out where I could get them. Only this time they are in water. I might go get in the trash can because I read Echeveria cuttings root real easy in water, and only leaves. The 4th pic is 2 of them before I read that but I can get about 20 more, I trimmed the heck out of that plant. Last but not least is the Echeveria before I trimmed it. - pic #5 Btw pepper, yesterday about 3:30 on my shopping foray I went to your work and you weren't there, I told a guy to tell you hi from me, I got the 4 - 8" clay pots from there, they were only $2.48 ea.
Will

My paternal grandmother only lived to be 87 and she outlived 2 of 4 of her kids.
Those kids didn't die from natural causes though, my Dad walked into a hospital here and left dead 2 days later and an Aunt had a brain tumor.

Well, I went shopping for all kinds of garden goodies. I went to 2 thrift stores and got numerous items.
But, I got a semi-nice pot for $18 from Walmart and those aforementioned cuttings too, (Pothos 'Marble Queen' and Golden Pothos). I still haven't got up the things to get a $40 pot. But the $18 one is pretty nice, it's a 16" resin light pot made to look like a fancy concrete pot but it's shiny too.
I figure I'm starting small and working my way up to a big, high class pot.

Before we know it there won't be anymore cold but about 80° during the day! : )

I got an overall photo of almost everything that I got yesterday. - pic #1 Those 4 saucers over on the right are a set of 4 Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn plates by Currier and Ives, they are neat.
Clay pots should fit right on them swimmingly. All kidding aside, I may get that Plant Chandelier that pepper suggested in which I'll need clay pots, lots of them. This little cactus I plan to be the centerpiece of a cactus dish I want to make. - pic #2 Here are the set of 4 saucers that I boast about. - pic #3 This is that big semi-fancy pot. - pic #4

I just edited to say that I went on Ebay and searched those Currier and Ives saucers, somebody is trying to sell them for $12.75! - http://www.ebay.com/itm/Currier-Ives-Americana-Saucers-the-4-seasons-set-of-4-/140943014295?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20d0dbb997 Funny though, those aren't exactly the same plates as mine, mine aren't chipped eitherr. Although, it looks like they aren't getting any takers yet and the auction is ending in 11 hrs. Wow, and nearly $8 for shipping. I got them for 99 cents apiece, I need to shop thrift stores more often. I like colorful or nicely painted saucers/plates and of course no chips anywhere.


This message was edited Feb 2, 2014 2:53 PM

Will, I was off at 2pm yesterday. lol. I was there til 2:30ish because my dad had some shopping to do. Missed me by just a narrow time frame.

Hope everyone is ready for the big storm. They are predicting, for now, just 3-5 inches around me but if the storm shifts south a bit then I could get alot more. Further north will get around 10 inches and those locations are only an hour or so from here.

Too much to catch up on again.

We managed to get a good two inches of snow the other day and I scooped while DH used the snow blower. He does the driveway but has it set a little high so he doesn't hit sidewalk cracks when he does them. So, we re-scoop the driveway. I'm glad for the exercise and fresh air. It was nice out. We bought new facemasks that aren't supposed to steam up your glasses. The steam on mine froze, so I took them off. Poor DH is so nearsighted he has to wear his. We were out about two hours after sunrise.

Then we had the DISH guy here putting in a new receiver. We were so excited we never thought about him hooking up the bedroom TV. So, DH rummaged around, found old wires and a splitter and set my TV up. For now I have satellite independent from what he watches, but it's in standard, not high definition. We still need the Hopper and Joey. I can wait till summer for that. It's too cold and we're too ''weighty'' to be running more wires. We really aren't ready as they wind all over just to get back to the bedroom.

I've had great restraint. Instead of watching TV ALL afternoon, I shut it off and came out to make my avocado and tomatoes and a big batch of oatmeal and applesauce for super and a couple of breakfasts. Then cleaned the kitchen and folded clothes :o)

Today I'm going to use up the quick cooking oatmeal and make cookies. I only buy it for the no bake cookies but they are so sweet I really can't stand to eat them anymore.

Everyone have a good Monday!!!

Here in the metro they are talking about up to 9 inches and it could snow for nearly 24 hours starting at 6am tomorrow. I use a splitter too but only to lengthen the cable to a new spot. Congrats on doing all that at your house bp, doing that splitter thing nowadays is a science with hdmi cables being used and high definition and all that.

Will you are the houseplant guru. Lol. I think I may buy a mother in laws tounge. They are pretty neat looking. Maybe something else? Not sure yet. Seems all are pretty busy with things and thats great. I just got done mopoing all the floors in the nouse. Really needed it with salt we have been needing to put down. So tired of this winter. Not bad when the sun is shining.

GL, here's a pic of the mil tongue on my desk at work.

Ready or not, "Nika" is on her way.

The houseplant guru?! Your much too kind, but thanks GL! I do like houseplants. But with deep pockets one can really appear to be a houseplant guru, I am sure there are some that could put me to bad shame.

Nice pics of your M-I-L-T, green.

Nika must be the name of the storm, I hear they name storms now.

M-I-L-T's propagate by cuttings, GL. I have a M-I-L-T GL, would you like me to make a start for you? Or I could simply mail you a cutting. That would have to wait til it gets warmer because it would die in the mail now. Either way, I don't mind a bit. Though they're cheap at Walmart and places for small ones, (usually about $3), they'd be fairly good-sized in a couple years even. I'm making one for juhur now, I can make one for you too if you'd like. I put mine outside in the Summer, it loves the heat and it's a succulent, I don't water it much.

I made a cactus planter tonite. I have the photographic evidence by god! - pics 1, 2, 3 and 4.
I will probably redo that one someday as I would like to have more sand, a deeper-planted cactus and less aquarium gravel in it.
Will


This message was edited Feb 3, 2014 9:34 PM

Here are my latest cutting tryouts from Walmart, they are some Echeveria 'Echeveria' cuttings.
According to what I read they propagate by leaf cuttings, so leaf cuttings in water it is! -
I don't drink coffee and there is lots of coffee cups here!

edited to say: On second thought, I may get those out of the cups of water and do like some instrux say, in soil. -
http://www.ehow.com/how_12230815_propagate-echeveria.html scroll down to step 7 which discusses leaf cuttings.

This message was edited Feb 3, 2014 9:07 PM

I'm ready for the storm!! lol. I plan on going sledding after both storms roll thru.

Good for you Pepper. I use to love sledding. I last went a few years ago with Nicole & Chloe. I was flying down this hill real fast & it about scared the life out of me. LOL I then decided that maybe I was too old for this stuff now. Ha! Ha!

LOL. I don't like steep and fast hills either but I do like the fact that in a sled I can just stick a foot out to slow down or stop. My yard has a nice slope to it and is perfect for sledding. Not too steep.

Viney plants do well rooting in water I am sorry Will if I mislead you, catus or thick leaved plants don't they do better in pots. Will what works for me is to not put them in a pot by themselves but with something else growing. My thought is thick leaved plants don't like cool wet soil and if the plant does not have roots it will take awhile for the moisture to leave the soil. So if you stick the leaf in a pot with a growing plant and you water. The growing plant will use up the moisture so the leaf doesn't just sit in cold wet soil. The first pic shows one of the thick leaves I put in a pot with another plant and you can see the new start if you look at the tip. I dusted off the dirt. The second picture I started these in a pot but with other plants. Third pic is another big leaf I am starting in that same pot and last is the big pot where things are growing and things are rooting. Anyway it works for me but I also have these in my solar room so it gets warm and what ever sun we happen to have. This is where a heating mat would come in handly if you don't have alot of warmth. Least in my opinion.

One last thing you know those glazed pots are nice but during the winter they are cold, even mine in the solar room right now is cold. I think the pot you bought is better. Just weight alone.

One other thing I know it is a long drive but not as bad as you might think Will they are hiring at the Cameron Correctional Facility. I think they pay well and have good benefits. Just a thought

Hi everyone else.... ;) sorry this is so long.

You never misled me, happ. The ones you said root in water are still in water, the 4 or 5 Pothos cuttings I got. I looked at them yesterday, they still look good. I still have the previous ones that are in soil, they look pretty bad, I think they're on the way out. I thought it would be okay to root the Echeveria in water as well, but the instrux I read were pretty firm against the water contact. They'd only been in water for a day or so, last nite I plucked them out to dry them out. The instrux say to let them callous over so I may do that too for a few days. I'd never blame anybody else for anything I tried not working out, alot of people have more experience with plants than I do. I always appreciate tips and advice from anybody willing to give them. I'd never tell anybody, "that so and so did me wrong!". I know guys can be kinda insensitive about little things like that, but I try not to be.
I see in the pics, you have the same Echeveria there, happ, a big one and a little one, nice work with all the starts. Oh, that last pic is very similar to my vertical garden that I'm making and also the picture on that when I bought it, here's a photo of it. - These pics are about a week old, I hadn't yet put the Echeveria in the middle like the 3rd pic. - I know that Echeveria looks all cut up but it must be okay with it, yesterday I noticed it had a nice white flower blooming on it. That's a good idea to grow with other plants but all my other plants are in the garage, it's about 10 to 15 degrees colder down there. I might be compromising cuttings with the temperature. I'd like to get a warmer mat or mats, but I haven't got them yet, I need to remember them when I go again for garden stuff.

Just starting another post, mine tend to get real long. I'm up late because I've already called in.
Yeah those nice glazed pots are HEAVY! And I can see where they'd get real cold. They're just so colorful and shiny though! I was thinking about keeping one of those permanently inside, moving it as seldom as possible..lol Thanks, I like that resin pot too, there is one bigger one left in that collection that I haven't got, it may be next.

The Cameron Correctional facility eh? I always thought I'd be a good correctional officer. If it's like a firefighter, (it's also a physical occupation) they pretty much don't hire people over 35, (a firefighter cousin told me that when I inquired about being a firefighter). I'd drive a ways if it meant having a decent job for once. Thanks for thinking of me, boy I'd sure like a decent job someday.


This message was edited Feb 4, 2014 10:32 AM

I'm just taking pics of the snow today. lol. Gonna take an updated pic every hour to see how much of a difference there is.

Took these about 20 mins ago. Have an inch or so on ground now.

Will I think the correctional facility hires older than that. A friend of mine retired from the federal government and then went to work at the correctional facility right after that. He said it wasn't a physically hard job.

Everytime a piece of my plant gets knocked off which seems to be alot because of the dog hitting it (the pot is on the floor) I just stick that piece back in the pot and after a while they seem to root. But I think warmth is a key factor.

Well it is really white outside today....wowzer and really windy. I put seed in the feeder and then put feed down on the concrete out of the wind and all the birdies are gathered in the shelter area eating. If I had been a little faster all of a sudden all the birds took off in a panic and low and behold right in front of the solar room glass a hawk lands in the tree right in front of me and sit there for quite a while. He finally took off but it took a l o n g time for the little birds to come back and feed. I have a ton of cardinals showing up to feed. So pretty since I don't have to get out and drive in it.

Here's my snowfall as of a few minutes ago. Slowly building up.

Wow loving all this houseplant talk. Will thanks very much for the offer of starting a m I l tounge for me. Very nice of you. I think I will just wait and get one from a friend they have a huge one or get one at walmart or somewhere. Thanks again. I would not even know what to do with a cutting! Lol. Yeap we do not have enough snow here inmichiagan they think we need about 4 more inches tonight. Gggrrr. Belive me we do have enough snow here. Well wednesday is the surgery for my dad at noon. I will be at the hospital waiting for the surgery to be done.

I wonder what kind of training one has to complete to be a correctional officer. I have a clean record, I'm sure that would be a requisite. Actually, I'd have a red light ticket from a camera about a mo. ago, it went off as I was coasting thru an intersection, I saw the flash. But, they aren't being enforced in Kansas City right now, (people have complained about them alot lately) lucky for me!

The snow is coming on down today! I have shoveled twice, even though it's covered right back up. It is less snow buildup than if it were never done, (and one never knows when something might pop up and you need a vehicle). I too have put out ALOT of birdseed today, probably around 20 lbs. of it.
Birdbaths make nice birdfeeders when the water is frozen up! pic #1 Crows have taken a shine to the birdseed! pic #2 See the squirrel gorging on another one? You can tell Crows are smart, they use their big beak to sift thru the seed to get the seeds they want. I remember as a small boy, my Dad climbed up a tree to get some Crow babies and he played a tape recorder trying to get them to talk, I don't think that turned out favorably though. Pic #3 is just another photo of a crow.
It's kinda a rare visitor. The 2 crows didn't scare away any birds but one ran off a Bluejay, I think the Bluejay came right back but to a different feeder, there is 5 to choose from. There was no Robins that I saw out there so that doesn't bode well for Spring soon!

Cool story about your doggy plants, happ! I'd like to get a photo of my Echeveria in bloom but a friend is in that room today, she is staying for a couple days. She works close and rather than drive all the way home in this weather, she stays here, we enjoy her company.

Yeah, that snow is slowly building up here too, pepper, it's good sledding snow, have fun!

Your welcome, GL, you'll love the Mother-In-Law's-Tongue, it's a neat plant. I hope your Dad's surgery turns out good and works good.

Here is my car and the street, it's a deadend street. - pic #1 Their priority to clear it must not be too high.

Here is a gold tipped Leyland Cypress that I shook all the snow out of. I did that to all the evergreens here, I don't like to see them all weighed down. pic #2

Hello garden buddies!

To avoid saying a four-letter word that begins with an "s", we got some white frozen precipitation today. Probably a couple of inches and still coming down.

I've been on the library's waiting list (started around #170) for the movie "The Butler". After waiting for weeks, it came in today. How perfect! I'm getting ready to watch it now with the family.

Good night and sweet dreams of sunshine & lollipops & rainbows & everything wonderful. : )

Snow indeed! And lots of it! I got out and shoveled til I was blue in the face earlier today.
My tactics are a bit different on shoveling as some as I throw some of the snow-plow piled up snow that is stymying us back out in the street. My friend here says that isn't very classy, but being classy hasn't ever really done anything for me..lol I'm just kidding, I don't pick my nose in front of others or anything.

Nice pics, green, I'm guessing you saw a show of some sort featuring folks of an asian descent?

Dreams of lollipops and such?! How about dreams of falling off a ladder while I'm cleaning the gutters or being driven off a bridge into the Missouri River?! Then there's always the precious one of me soiling my pants in the grocery store.

I bought a little Schefflera for $2.86 recently, (yesterday). I think they make fine houseplants when they get some size. This one has several shoots. I think tonite I might try to separate some of them and make multiple plants. I put it in with the Parlor Palm for the time being. - pics 1, 2, and 3

Here is some shoveling of snow! See my car in the house next door's driveway? pic #1I wanted to get it off the street. A little car would be easy to bury for a snow-plow. I dug out my friend's black car from the street and shoveled out some snow behind my car and also our driveway so our friend could park her black car in it. Here's how you dig a car out of the street! pic #2
Pic #3 looks like about 8 to 10 inches of the white stuff. Pic #4 is after I shoveled and brushed off the gold SUV and that black car had previously been plowed in by snow-plow. The last pic is the backyard and quite a lot of piled up snow. -
Will

We had a friend plow our drive for us today. Too long to shovel by hand. lol

The snow is so fine that my dad used the leaf blower on the deck to blow the snow off. Worked great!! lol

Will, I know what you mean about the dreams. I often wake up with my covers off the bed or all twisted up from tossing & turning, I guess. The photos are from one of the annual Chinese Festivals at Missouri Botanical Garden. My family loves attending this event. I hope that it doesn't conflict with the Roundup?

Try to take it easy everyone in this snow. I had a neighbor drop dead once from shoveling. Seriously!

Yep, behind again

Green,
My theory on dying from shoveling is people breath shallowly. I've caught myself doing it one day. So, I either stop and breath or try to be concious of it while I'm working.

Pepper,
Yes, the leaf blower works!!

Will,
How do you get those plants home without them croaking in the cold air outside the store? Those look good!

Garden,
Prayers for a full recovery for your Dad.

We got about 3'' of the light snow too but mostly had deeper spots from drifting. I'm glad to see the snow cover tho!

Have a good day all!

we got about 11 inches and hate to guess what the drifts are, could probably give the skiing a try...rofl. Like you Pepper a neighbor came over and cleaned thee majority of our drive way which we are grateful for to say the least. The drifts are above the hood of my ford focus!

Too darn cold even tho the sun is shining.

Oh, those old dreams, I'm glad most of them aren't real!
I thought that Schefflera was a goner for that very reason actually. When I went to Walmart to get it, it fell on the parking lot, (in the snow) Monday nite. It fell on the driver's side when I loaded the stuff up into the car, it had fallen on the ground. I had gone around to the other side to put away the shopping cart and when I came back there it was on the ground! Needless to say, I wanted to keep the receipt handy.

Oh man I do not need to see any snow pictures atall. I have plenty of the white stuff around here. Lol. We got prolly about another eight or more inches the last couple days. So windy again today. My dads surgery went well he was so funny. We went to see him after surgery he was in the bed of course. He said his butt was in a hole. "Have you ever heard of a butt hole?" I was laughing at him. He was very uncomfortable. He is doing good today my brother said. I am not feeling the greatest so am not going up to see him. Have a wonderful night all. Stay warm.

Hope you get better so you can go see your Dad, smart not to visit when you feel a tad off. Glad he is doing good.

I posted these pictures on another spot but wanted to share them with you.

gl, I'm glad that your father is doing well. That's funny about the "bootie" hole. lol

hg, I like your flower pics. That's what I'd rather see too!

bp, From the looks of the weather map, I thought you'd have more snow in IA. Do you have an accumulation, or had the previous snow melted?

Our white frozen precipitation here in Madison looks pretty much like yours pepper & will.

Here's a link to the Chinese Culture Days. I looks like it should fall mid May, so I'll be able to attend.

http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/things-to-do/events/signature-events/chinese-culture-days.aspx

hi to juhur who's probably lurking. lol

Roads are still messy around here. Mine was down to one lane at the end where they cleared the trees out but I passed to county truck on my way in to work so knew it was gonna get hit. Came home to a full road. lol. Now if the trash man would pick up trash every week I would be extremely happy!! Second time since two local companies merged that we haven't had trash picked up. They won't do it in bad weather.

Our recyclables dumpster was emptied this morning. Good thing because they only pick up first Thursday of the month and it was full. Trash got picked up on Tuesday, so I can't complain. Of course, it would be worse in the heat of the summer to wait another week. That would not be good.

I'm looking at shrubs again to plant along the driveway. Though I had already picked out a boxwood, I've decided to look at other options since I have more time before ordering.