I'm glad you found a house for Jesse. Being close to Holy Souls and the church doesn't mean it's a totally safe place. It is no safer than other places. If she has a garage she needs to always pull her car into the garage and close the garage door behind her before getting out of her car. Lot's goes on in Hillcrest. More happens there than in my neighborhood.
We're getting ready to head down the coast in just a few minutes. It's just 9 here. We spent yesterday afternoon over in the wine country in Livermore which is just about 20 minutes from their house. Bee ate dinner at Wentre winery. It was really good.
March 2016, even if DG has the date wrong
Genna I have aged just reading your post!!! OMGosh!!! How do you keep that straight? Looks like you and Leigh are gonna need a motorhome to travel from kid to kid. LOL!!!
Too wet here to do anything. There is water standing from 2-3 inches all in what we call the back 40. That is where I walk Lucky so she wasn't a happy camper this morning.
This is a hard week for my family. We lost Joann 19 years ago on the 26th and tomorrow would have been Cameron's 24th BD. My mama died today in 2001. Our 39 year old 2nd cousin died Sunday on his mom & dad's 45th wedding anniversary. Then Ruth... My heart is broken and yet full of joy for the good times we all had and most of knowing that every last one was a Christian and is now celebrating in heaven.
Amen on going to Heaven, I can't wait to meet Joann, I feel like I know her anyway!
Genna, did you find what the bush was you sent me a picture of?
Jeri I know this is a really hard week for you all!!
Jeff, Kristi and I are having a somewhat kid free weekend. I got to spend some time with Jake Tues and We'd night. We are by ourselves today. Clint is coming down Fri afternoon. Justin needs to study a lot this weekend so he will mainly be going out to dinner with us. Clint knows a lot of Justin's friends so he will probably hang out with them during the day.
Today we had lunch at Rocky Corner. The food was great but the view was spectacular. We also walked around Carmel for a while. Also stopped at Julia Pheiffer national park. Then we stopped and watched the elephant seals. We had dinner at the Cracked Crab in Pismo Beach and we are spending the night in a 2 bedroom apartment at a house in Pismo. Off to Santa Barbara in the morning. It's a short drive. The first photo and s where we had lunch. The next 2 are at the park and the last is of the seals.
This message was edited Apr 28, 2016 10:05 PM
Gorgeous Charlotte. Those red geraniums (or they look like geraniums anyway) are just beautiful. And so many! Sometimes you just never want to leave a place.
Jeri, I know this must be a really hard week for you all. I think that's all you can do is focus on the good times and the good life they led and know they are in heaven and at peace.
Sandra, Genna sent me that picture from Birmingham too and I think it is a sweet shrub.
Absolutely gorgeous views!!! I remember how breath-taking it all is. Let me know what you think of Hearst Castle. Elaine it looks like geraniums to me also and they certainly pop!!!
Someone called the house phone at 7:30 AM this morning. I couldn't even move to answer it and now I have to look up the number and call them back. I hope I can be nice!!!
Yeah, I don't think there is such a thing as a totally safe place in LR. :( trying to get her to realize that is a different story.
Elaine, the house is close to downtown and very close to campus, but I have no idea how to tell you where! I believe it is in Glen Iris?? I will have to ask Kyle! Have you been to the area that has the circle that was like the first "home owners association" type thing? All the houses are built on this loop and they are incredible mansions? He is only a few blocks from that - but of course there are some not so gorgeous houses in between. But, the house is maybe a block from campus - although campus is huge and they will be about a mile from where they will work/go to school.
Jeri, so sorry that this is a bad week..... I am one who focuses on dates a lot so I understand. Big hugs to you my friend!
Charlotte those views are breathtaking!
Sandra, I sent you and Elaine that pic because I thought since ya'll were "somewhat" closer to that area that you might be familiar with it. There are bunches of them around that house. I had never seen a bloom like that and it was a deep magenta or burgundy type color.
I can't believe Kyle's last week of work is next week! The time has flown by. He will spend the next week trying to finish up his shadowing hours with various dentist/orthodontists and oral surgeons. Then they will be moving! They will have to have a temporary place of course since they won't close on the house until at least June, and then they have to have the bathroom redone before they move in because it only has one bath for now. We hope to add a second one. Thankfully they know two different couples that live down there, and they also have a lead on a possible room to rent. Have a couple of other people that are trying to help them find a garage apartment or something like that for short term.
Those were Geraniums. There were also lots of knock out roses but I don't think they were in the picture. There are always so many roses and the colors are outstanding. All the floweres just seem to have brighter colors than ours. We didn't stop at the Hearst Castle. I've been there twice before and they have also been there. It's quite an incredible place. I love the history of places.
Genna, Jessica had better learn to be cautious!! There are lots of car break in where she is. There was a pervert hanging around Mt Saint Mary's for a long time. They finally arrested him. Lots of people go through neighborhoods knocking on doors asking for work. Hillcrest has a lot of them. A very small amount are ligit. Most are scouting out the neighborhood to see what they can steal. The one thing she needs to learn is to NEVER go to the door for someone she doesn't know it is not expecting. You never talk to those people! Little Rock is not at all like living in a small town like Arkadelphia! You don't go to the mall at night, on and on. You have to become street smart. She should always lock her car even when she is putting gas in her car and standing right next to it. They will open the passenger side and steal your purse before you know it. It happens all the time and it doesn't matter where the station is located.
Yes, Genna, Glen Iris is near I-65 and is probably one of those older neighborhoods that is in flux with being so close to UAB. If I'm not mistaken it's not far from, or may be the same neighborhood, where our oldest son and his wife had a house they remodeled when they first got married. It had 1 bath and he enlarged the kitchen and put a half bath & laundry closet at the back. I'll have to ask him if it's the same area.
Even in my isolated area there is crime. I hear of houses being broken into all the time. It is everywhere and all of us need to practice being safe in our surroundings.
Jerry went to town yesterday to pick up some of his meds and I was working outside.
I sat down to rest and noticed it was almost 2pm, oh happy hour at Sonic ! I sent him a text and asked if he would bring me a drink. No answer, I figured he was already on his way home why he didn't answer. But no, he got here about 3
He had left his phone in the car, never checked it when he got back in, I got a good chance to fuss at him ! I have told him a million times to keep his phone in his pocket, why have one if you are going to lock it up in the car ? What if I was having a heart attack instead of a sonic drink attack ?? Men---
So if that shrub was a sweet shrub, you should have been able to smell it, did you get any fragrance of it, Genna ?
We are at our house for the next couple of nights.we're sitting outside waiting for the cleaning people to leave. The house has a really cute outstanding seating area. We are in the same area Ophra lives. I'm so enjoying all the fabulous plants.
Yes the world we live in today is not a safe one. I worked in downtown Little Rock for 28 years and learned to be very cautious as a result. I had to deal with street people everyday. It took me a long time but I finally got Richard to not answer the door to strangers. We had a neighbor for a few years that was from a small town and we had to talk to her all the time about some of her practices!! She also got burglared one day when she was only gone about an hour. The only one that I know of in our cul de sac that had been robbed. She would talk to anyone and tell them things she should not be saying. Like I'll have to talk to my husband but he's not here right now!!!
This message was edited Apr 29, 2016 4:21 PM
I saw a little older lady pushing a cart with her belongings in it while we were in Nashville last week end, so sad.
If you see Oprah, tell her hey from all of us
Charlotte, I just enlarged all the pics you posted and I had totally missed the seals the first time ! They are so cute laid out on the beach!
Yeah, she knows a lot of basic safety and I harp on it all the time, but I still worry. I know she will be really careful on the front end, but what I have tried to explain is that it is just like putting on your seatbelt - it is a mindset, and you have to practice it ALL the time. And, Sandra, you are right, it is happening everywhere! The woman that we went to Brazil with just told me today that someone pulled out a window unit in their home on Monday and went in sometime that morning - she found it when she went home for lunch! The took some cash, the tablet and her camera.... she was most upset about the camera because it had her Christmas pictures of family on it. It is just rampant..... people would rather steal from someone than work I guess. And they basically go unpunished - at least around here - so there is little motivation for them not to steal.
It has been dark and overcast all day - and parts of the area have had hail and lots of rain but we have only had about a 1/4" so far.
Another fun day. We had lunch in downtown Santa Barbara and walked around for a while. Then we drove around the UC Santa Barbara campus. Where Justin goes to school. We also walked along the beach. I also got to go in Justin's apartment and see his room. The beach photos are at his college. The one with the red roofs is of downtown Santa Barbara. The house is the duplex where Justin lives. The boys are on the bottom and and the girls on top. The picture of the hallway is inside the court house. The duplex Justin is moving into in the fall is directly on the beach.
It is beautiful there. I can't imagine living and going to school on the beach. I was looking at an internet thing with historic photos and one was of the early 1900s with cows laying all over the beaches in southern California because it wasn't very populated...... hard to imagine now!
Elaine, I was mistaken about the neighborhood. They are actually buying in Southside, but they are basically at the border I think between Southside and Glen Iris. They are not positive exactly which street one stops and the other starts. Glen Iris Park is the place I was talking about with all the large old mansions in a "gated" community. I believe the sign said it was established in the 1880s but I might have the wrong date. I would have taken a photo of the sign, but the hedges were pretty tall around it and you couldn't even read all of it. There is also a little Italian restaurant across the street from the house that apparently has a huge reputation in Birmingham. They hope to close around June 1..... we will see if that works.
I have a feeling the next two - three months are going to be even more crazy! Jessica will graduate on May 14 and she has to be out of her apartment on campus by May 16 I believe, but we will probably finish moving everything home at least by the 15th. We have already brought home some small things and she will bring home a box of canvas's and decorations off her walls when she comes today. Then we hope to close on her house on May 20th, and Alex has a convocation ceremony that night where he will receive his doctorate gown and hood, the next afternoon is his graduation. Then Kyle and Maddie plan to move to Birmingham sometime that following week - and then will begin the work on their house just as soon as they close. They are trying to line up a roofer, electrician, and possibly someone to refinish the hardwoods before they ever move in. As soon as the bathroom is gutted and put back together, they can move in and live in one room and work in the others. They won't know if the hardwoods have to be refinished or just cleaned until they can pull up the carpet in the house. It would sure save a lot of work if they could just be cleaned good!
So if I disappear for a while - ya'll will know that I am just running around like a chicken with my head cut off !! :) I do PLAN to make it to Kathy Ann's in the midst of all this ....I sure hope it works out that I can! I am ready to see everyone!! I sure wish we could have a gathering where we could just all visit for a day or two and relax!
We had some pretty bad storms come thru early this morning - lots of high wind, lightening and some rain. I am hoping that the rain will hold off for the rest of the day and maybe I can get some weeds pulled and some more mulch out! Guess I really need to get busy on that! Ya'll have a great day!
Genna you still see cows on the beach in certain areas. I saw several places in Big Sur where cows were grazing right next to the beach. Justin has become quite the chef! Clint didn't get here until,almost 9 so Kristi picked up a steak to grill for him. Justin wanted to cook it. He brought his own spices to use. He has even started using grinder salt. Kids are so funny! We saw 2 boys sitting on the roof of a house in lawn chairs. They had the chairs straddling the hip of the roof. Justin said that's the thing to do! He said there is a ladder behind almost every house. We drove by the house he will be in next year and it has a balcony over looking the ocean so they want need to get on the roof! It's amazing how the college ended up with such a prime piece of property! And how all these college apartments ended up on the beach.
If Kyle and Maddie are going to need to hire an electrician they are getting into money. I've never had anything major done but what things I have had done was very expensive. Richard hired someone to put additional outlets in our garage and to have a some lights and outlets put behind our deck and it cost a lot just for that.
Having coffee and a bagel in the courtyard of the cottage we are staying in. So much more comfortable than a hotel room! We're in a 2 bedroom cottage. Clint slept on the sofa in the living area.
Genna, I do know about Glen Iris Park. And I was wrong too. Glen Iris was where the boys rented a house while they were in school. Not where Chris and Heather bought a house. I'll have to ask the, what street that was. Southaide is great too. I don't know exactly which Italian restaurant you're talking about, but Saw's Bbq is not far on Oxmoor Rs and is fabulous. You will wait in line for it. And there is Gianmarco's Italian not far away on Broadway in Homewood that is very good too.
The cottage looks nice Charlotte. It is hard to believe the university and all the apartments are on the beach! I bet the rent is pretty steep there! And, yes, they have been told it will take around 5K to rewire the house by two different people ( the realtor who flips houses and the inspector), I had actually guessed a little higher. They are waiting on some estimates for the major work now.
Elaine, the name of the restaurant is Giuseppe's and it is literally right across the street. Doesn't look like much driving by, but apparently it has a big reputation. The house is on the corner of 9th Court South and 8th. Kyle says the Court streets are odd in Birmingham and don't seem to correspond to the other street numbers. I think 10th court (or the next street) might be the dividing line between Southside and Glen Iris, but not positive. It is hard for me to get used to because in LR you want to go North and West..... in Birmingham, you want to go South and East.... LOL
I worked for almost 7 hours solid yesterday out in my beds. It was SO muggy I seemed to move at a snail's pace and only accomplished about half of what I had hoped, but I managed to get a large area weeded and then put out all the shredded paper I had, covered with newspaper and then put down mulch. I had hoped to finish a large section at the end of my foundation bed, but I didn't make it. Only got it mulched maybe somewhere between a 1/3 and half. Maybe I can get a little further today.
One of our dogs, Abby, woke me up about 1:30 shaking the bed she was shivering so hard. I pulled her under the covers with me and warmed her up thinking she had just gotten down under the fan and gotten too cold. At 2, she work me up shivering like crazy again and I got up trying to find my thermometer for the dogs. She got sick at her stomach several times while I was looking and I ended up spending the rest of the night either on the couch or outside with her. Needless to say, neither of us got much sleep. I had payroll this morning, so Leigh took her to the vet for me as soon as they opened. Come to find out, Doc was late coming in because he was there at 1 with someone else - if I had known that I would have taken her on in then! I may go to bed very early tonight! :)
I have several iris blooming and I actually had one of the peonies that I planted last year bloomed. One of the others had buds on it early and I covered them constantly at night if it was cool, but the buds on the second one turned dark and I am pretty sure they are dead, but I don't know why. I have several others that the foliage looks good, but not a single bud. Is there a secret to getting them to actually bloom?? And, I just mulched that bed, so do I pull the mulch completely off the peonies?? I know they don't like to be buried.......I tried to put it over the tuber in a single layer basically....
Another question about peonies - since they take so long to get established and happy..... would it be possible you think to put them in pots? I had thought about getting Jess a couple for her new house, but since they are so slow to get established and bloom, I wondered about putting in big pots so she could take with her when she moves again.
Lots of the area had really bad storms again last night. Hope everyone is safe!
If your peonies were small plants it can take a few years for them to bloom. Yes you can grow peonies in a pot. Here is a link. http://www.wikihow.com/Grow-a-Peony-in-a-Pot While you can grow them in a pot I don't think they do well. I have 2 tree peonies in large pots and they have just not done well. I put them in pots so I move them around to sunny locations. However since they have not done well I'm going to put them in the ground this year.
I spent the afternoon pruning my azaleas in the back. I got the front done a couple of weeks ago. I have stuff everywhere!! The big job is hauling all the stuff I've trimmed to the front. I still have more to go but got most of it done this afternoon. One of those pruning things you don't have a big window for.
Thanks for the article Charlotte. I did just plant mine last year, but maybe it didn't get cold long enough for them to bloom? According to that they need a cold spell and we didn't have much cold this winter.
I have SO much that needs to be done in the beds. Went to Arkadelphia last night to bring home a load of stuff out of Jessica's apartment. So, I will need to unload the suburban tonight, then maybe I will have some time to work in the yard. The weather is wonderful.... makes me want to play hookey from work! :)
Also note Genna that the crown should only be covered with 1 to 2 inches of dirt. That's not much dirt over them. Being buried too deep is another reason they will not bloom. If that is the case they need to be dug up and reburied.
Yeah, my original one that I got from my MIL several years ago has never bloomed. I dug it up year before last and raised it much higher and also moved it. It grows foliage every year but not a single bloom. I guess if it doesn't bloom next year, I am going to have to relocate it again! I can remember my Mom telling neighbors that it would take 3 years for their peonies to bloom when she would share them - so maybe I am lucky I at least had one new plant to bloom this year!
I had my first DL bloom yesterday - Happy Returns!! It was a pleasant surprise!
It's time for a new thread......
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1423753/