It was another early morning here.  2:45AM!  I am thinking reaction to the Prednisone....but my arms and hands are well....
It was much warmer this morning, 50° but will be another windy day.  Deer season starts this morning so I will not be outside much...I could hear the neighbors shooting out yesterday afternoon.  That always scares me.

I wanted to report that I made the pumpkin cake from Denim's recipe.  I love recipes that make small cakes since it is just the two of us.  I was very surprised at how light and fluffy the cake was.  I thought because of the pumpkin it would be pretty dense but not so.  It is all gone but two pieces now.


I have added some really good new recipes from blogging friends which is just another plus from enjoying  reading the blogs.

A gardening friend recommended these new toys because of my hand issues.  I got them 'free' with points on my credit card which was a real plus!  I have just used them a few minutes to test and know I will love them.  The loppers cut through some smaller saplings like butter.  They are recommened by the Arthritis Foundation.
Bless Amazon's corporate heart, I found them there.  They haven't failed me yet!  Amazon that is.



Some time ago I mentioned that I made a 'new' DIY laundry soap recommended on my favorite cow blog.
I am still in the testing it mode, but washed a set of flannel sheets yesterday and they came out fluffy and soft and slightly fragrant.  We haven't been using a rinse with Tide and the towels have been pretty stiff.  DH washed a load with jeans last evening but they weren't really soiled and he liked how they came out.  I am tentatively thinking it will be the one we use.....more to come later when I test some really soiled clothes.
 I have now tried a liquid and a granular and we didn't like either.....this one may be a keeper recipe.  I haven't figured the costs yet but it has to be minimal compared to Tide at $14 a box!

A little fall color:

This is what I call the 'Grace' bed for the smoke tree that is the star.  It has two crepe myrtles on the right and a red barberry on the left with a very dark red mum in front.  Nothing is spectacular this year because of our hot and dry summer.

More rain - new stringtrimmer

We have been having rain daily since I posted last. I think about three inches total.
Nothing has been done outside lately. I still have plants on the patio but it is way too wet. It looks like next week is going to be dry.....and hot, 80's and 90's.

We have both been having trouble with equipment. DH with his chain saw and me with my Stihl trimmer. We have lost confidence in the local repair center so went back to Bolivar with both of them. The serviceman started both of them pretty easily!
We were embarrassed! I owe an apology to our local service center. He did think I was having to pull too hard on the Stihl and suggested I try the E-Z pull Echo...did and was sold! We bought it and will have the old one as a backup. I hate getting all set to do a job and the equipment fails me (or I fail it!). Because of the wet, I haven't tried it out yet.

The yard is beginning to look like a jungle. I have let weeds overtake some beds that I will now just mow the centers down.

I got a real surprise on one of my morning walks around the house. This azalea has been planted for years and has never bloomed or grown. It must be a dwarf of some kind. I bought it at Lowe's on sale. It how has a few very large apple-blossom pink blossoms!. Of course it is pretty much hidden by other plants now since I didn't think it would ever do anything.

From gardening Spring 2011

My first early daylily is in bloom. I bought it unnamed but think it is Buckeye.
I need to relocate it to another spot. I don't like it with the baby pink rose behind.


The cistern planter on the patio was in full glory.....until a heavy rain and some hail.

I think this rose is Marie Daly. It is a polyantha, has few thorns , is fragrant, and is disease resistant, all I ask for in a rose. It is one of Chamblees Roses in Tyler, Texas' Earthkind roses (they have been tested for several features above). Most of my roses came from them.



The blue flax was a gift from a passing bird! The sedum was a piece I accidentally broke off the mother plant. Coming up around the rose will be some bulbs I bought from the neighbor boy and a lavender I had left in a flat. This is my normal way to plant!

I save the biggest for last. This is a great shrub rose, William Baffin. I believe it is a Canadian rose. It has one heavy spring bloom and then blooms sporadically for me. Unfortunately, no scent, but a very large and healthy shrub.