I thought we could have a little “Winter Holiday” in the Garden … whatever you feel like sharing. It’s dish to pass. There’s fruit juice at the bar. If you want something racier, bring a flask. 🙂
At Casa Hyphen we made like the Old Farts we are, going to bed early on New Year’s Eve, then sleeping late and lounging around all day. Engaged in a rousing game of SCRABBLE … which ended in a tie 285 to 285. That hardly ever happens! I’m renewing the same resolution I’ve been using for the past three years … to finish all my unfinished quilts.
I got the poos to sit still for exactly ONE photo with their Christmas toys. They’re so sweet and cute and funny, but I can’t seem to take a photo that doesn’t make them look all zombie weird. The glowing eyes don’t help! LOL But it’s not just that. Daisey (left) is the timid one; she goes all apprehensive in front of a camera. Dewey (right) is the naturally dominant personality who makes periodic bids for supremacy whenever he thinks I’m having a weak moment. Look at his mouth. Is that disgust or is that disgust? When my kids made that face, we called it “The Curly Lip.”
polination.blog 
This is a picture my teenager drew a while ago. It looks like Hoot and her family having their New Year’s celebration. 🙂
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Oh, that is beautiful! Captured Mr. Hoot perfectly. Of course Mrs. Hoot was the life of the party and Littlest Hoot was wondering when are the parents going to grow up! Captured us beautifully.
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(and looks great as my desktop wallpaper.)
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Excellent choice, Hoot! I wonder if the original is for sale. It would look great framed in your office.
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😀
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Your dd is so talented! This is wonderful!! Every bit of body language is so rich and expressive. I esp love the little brown steam coming out of Junior Hoot’s head !!
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Yeah, I wasn’t sure what that was all about, until Hoot explained it.
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How is she with monkeys? I would love to maybe swap some jewelry and/or essential oil blends with her for a painting like this of Mama, Daddy and Baby Monkey. Well, not exactly like this, since Baby Monkey isn’t even born yet, so maybe something more new parent new baby oriented?
D’you think a custom necklace to her specs would be a fair swap? I’m serious about this. I LOVE her work and the Monkeys are really really into the monkey thing.
They’ve always called each other “Monkey” as their pet name and I’m pretty sure she’s doing up the nursery in a jungle theme. The shower invites are monkey themed and Mama Buzz just found some darling monkey fabric for a blankie. A framed family photo by your dd would be SO perfect.
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I’ll talk to her about it. A lot of her drawings seem to involve owls and frogs, two animals she’s very partial to… but I’ll make the monkey suggestion and see what happens.
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Mama Buzz is NUTS for frogs. I’d like to see scans of any frog pics she would be willing to sell.
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Here’s one I love:
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Wow, what a talent! How old is she??
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Seventeen.
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Really amazing work from the dd there, Bob! What is that martini Mrs. Hoot is flying around with? Looks like a Cosmopolitan. Possibly a strawberry margarita, though.
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You’ll have to ask her; I’m not much of an expert on these matters. (Strawberry margarita sure sounds good, though!)
When the teenager was a little girl, she used to take miniature Coke glasses, fill them with water, skewer a grape on a toothpick and throw that in and call it a martini. She even tried setting up a little business where she sold her martinis to other family members for a nickel or something (don’t remember the exact price — it was a long time ago).
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Reminds me of the time Mama Buzz and I were in a play and the cast went to a bar after rehearsal. One of the gals asked if it bothered me my toddler was already a bar fly LOL. Yours was a bartender! LOL
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Yeah, I’m not sure where she got her idea of what constituted a martini!
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Those are both cute stories. Our only daughter ended up being a professional bartender. And while that’s not too embarrassing by itself, especially since it’s been in fairly respectable establishments, she has a modestly well-known drink (in Colorado, anyway) that’s named after her, and my wife forbids us to name it. That’s a little embarrassing. 😳
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Well, I have had a drink named after me! Years ago I used to parade/shop around Whole Foods with a bunch of kids and when we were all done I would stop at the juice bar for a “drink” for the drive home. I don’t even remember what was in it but I requested a special mix up for my frozen latte/shakie/thingie. One day they asked me what this special concoction was called and I threw a name out. Well, the gang one time announced over the speakers. when I was in the checkout, “The Fertility Chocolate Bomber” is now being prepared at the bar for your journey home — a bunch of ladies ran over to get! (Being a ‘health store’ they thought it might be something worth trying, I suppose?) The thing was delicious.
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Hah! That’s a good story. And it sounds tasty.
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ROFLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
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I love it! I could have used one of those back when I was struggling with infertility. Hell, I could use one right now, even though I’m too old to reproduce. It sounds fabulous!
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It had espresso, and brownie, and ice cream, and what else I can’t remember. It was like a milkshake.
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Mmmm… sounds heavenly.
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Random thoughts and comments since the forum has been offered:
* Wondering if anyone in the garden have adult liberal children or maybe leaning conservative but have the behaviors of libs?
*Watched the ball drop on tv and was perplexed by the crowd. they were so ho-hum and lacking the enthusiam for wackery that was their in years past. It seemed like ho-hum obligatory fun.
*Entire family disgusted, not so much disgusted by the two guys kissing, but more from the fact that the producers were so blatently trying to agendize The Hoots and other viewers. Then the youngest (out of the mouths of Babes) points out that the two men were, he thought, ‘normal’ and just acting lovebirds to brainwash us it is normal. He said our minds won’t accept goofy girlie stuff in the men but normal guys will make it seem normal to kiss each other. Wow.
*Worried we are going to lose our doctor, not from Ocare but because he will die on us. He is close to ninety! Please put the word out we need a replacement for him. He only does walkins, five and a half days a week. Everything is done in the office, stitches, bones set, ingrown toenails, mole removal. No having to go every which way to every specialist for stuff that used to be done by the family doctor. He is an icon in the community and still does all the sports medicine at the local schools. The best thing is he knows his drugs and has never merely relied on drug reps for the info. If you are sick, he kills it. If you know any doctors in midlife looking for a change from urban life and wants to ‘train’ in true family care, please have him contact Dr. Abel Wakarusa IN. He owns another practice of three or four doctors and they all wanted to do things the modern way with appointments and no weekend hours and sending patients to specialists per the hospital network requirements, so he bowed out (but still owns it some way) and moved to new space with an actual pharmacy in the office as well. We need someone in place before Doc dies!! There is nothing else like it around here. Here is an example: Last week my husband went in and since it was busy he waited about an hour and 15 minutes. He had my son with him who was pretty sick. They got there at nine. By 11:30 two ingrown toenails had been removed without shots as doc froze the toes instead. Son was checked over and was pretty sick (must be for us to take him). Son left with three precriptions and had a shot as well. Aggressive, yes but better than what the other doc we had would have done — sent him to the hospital for x-rays and maybe even iv. Husband also was given antiboitic for toes that still had infection. All by 11:30am! Another thing, if any doctors just starting out or looking for changes with the coming of government medicine, you may want to consider contacting Dr. Abel and learn how he runs his business; you will then be prepared to work around the changes and mandates..
*I am hoping for at least one big snow storm this winter. I love the shut in feeling of a snow storm. The best thing about city living, which I miss, is a big snow storm. Everyone is out shoveling together, walking to the stores, sharing coffee and hot cocoa in the streets, and shoveling the snow just the right way so the kids have mountains.
*Watched a Netflix movie recently “A Beautiful Life” which was Chinese and had subtitles. It was such a wonderful love story and is gonna have to be in my favorite movies list.
*Happy New Year and may you all see blessings around you during the upcoming tumultuous year and know you are not in this alone. Love, prayers, and blessings.
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Your doctor sounds like a peach — I hope he lasts a while longer and doesn’t check out on you before finding a suitable replacement!
I love snow storms, too. We had one really good blizzard back at the beginning of December — I meant to post photographs at the time, but maybe I’ll do it now, since the pictures are still sitting on my desktop reminding me that I haven’t posted them yet. The snow was just wet enough to be sticky, and there was no wind to blow it around, so it stayed right where it fell and was just beautiful. My husband took these pictures.
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These are beautiful photos your hub took, Bob. But, once again, we are left to wonder about the contrast between the photo assignments you send your husband on, while seem fairly safe, and the dangerous missions you send your youngest daughter on. These are all photos of harmless berries and snow on the deck. Very nice. But your daughter gets the union thugs, vicious wild turkeys and wild-eyed jungle cats looking out windows with nothing but a bit of screen and some marigolds to protect her. Are you sure you’re not subconsciously subjecting her to danger because you’re worried ALL of her sketches might become public? I’ve heard some of her drawings show the Bluebird in a less-than-favorable light. Is this true? Should we be worried? 😉
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Hey, she’s almost 18, she’s taller than I am, stronger than I am, and 40 years younger than I am — you think I can control what she does anymore? Young folks think they’re invincible; union thugs and wild turkeys just don’t strike terror in their hearts. They laugh in the face of danger.
Old geezers like the hubs and me, we’re more cautious. He goes on long walks with his camera and takes lovely photos of non-threatening things; I sit in front of the computer posting silly pictures and jokes and cartoons and sardonic commentary — under a pseudonym, no less. When you’re elderly like us, you just don’t take foolish risks like you did back in your teens.
And as for those secret drawings, well, the less said about them, the better.
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Of course! 😀
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Okay, here’s one that’s not too bad.
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😀
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Our back yard looks like these pics. Thanks for sparing me the hassle of getting photos to share. LOL
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Haha! Found a picture of one of Hoot’s kids playing a practical joke on one of the neighbors.
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The weasel looks pretty tense! Very well done. I like the dandelions and tall grass.
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And here’s one of Hoot Jr. entertaining the family dog.
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I love this one!!!
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Where have all those doctors gone???
Sadly, most doctors are so afraid of making a dx, and being wrong, that they dare not without all kinds of stupid tests.
My doctor insisted I have a stress test before surgery. I was balking because I could walk and bike for miles with no problems, but since I had been having rib pain for several years, she insisted. So I had the stupid test and did not even get my heartrate up. What a waste of time and money. Then I went through the surgery, and after I recovered, I still had the same chest pain that I had been having for years. I kept telling my doctors that I knew it was a result of inhaling chlorine when I cleaning the mold in the bathroom. She kept just giving me more tests, that proved nothing. She had never heard of detoxing of course.
Finally, after the whole cancer thing, I went to a Chinese Chiro and told him about this nagging pain. He told me I had costalcondritis, an inflammatory condition from a injury or toxic exposure. DUH! After a few teatments, the whole thing was finally cleared up. I had wasted 5 years dealing with this!
Then I learned that chronic inflammation is a purcursor to cancer. The fact that this soreness was an inch from my tumor, is not coincidental!
If my stupid former GP had been a real doctor maybe I would have never ended up with a tumor to begin with.
Moral of the story-Shop for a good doctor and trust your instincts.
I hope you can find a replacement for the amazing Dr. Able. Maybe we can clone him?
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Good doctors are very hard to find. It’s frustrating.
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Happy new year, everyone! I’m just starting to get over a nasty cold/flu thing that kept me down for 5 days, and made New Years Eve a real snore for my poor husband (who is taking very good care of me). The crud is definitely going around. Hope everyone in the garden is happy and healthy these days!
Also, an essential oils question for Chrissy (apologies in advance if this question is a little gross): we dont have a bathroom fan, which is pretty frustrating (1920-built house, original bathroom) I’ve been basically flushing money down the toilet, using expensive essential oil blends to help with some of the more unpleasant bathroom odors. Cool trick: if you sprinkle essential oils in the toilet bowl before going…uh, #2, the smell is pretty much eliminated. The only problem is that it’s an expensive solution, considering I just spent $15 on a tiny bottle that won’t last more than a month. I’d like to find a cheaper blend for this purpose, maybe using eucalyptus as the main fragrance. Any recommendations?
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When I was growing up a friend’s bathroom had a jar of finely crushed Eucalyptus leaves and a sign above the toilet had a little poem, which I don’t remember, about taking a pinch of the stuff and putting in bowl before #2.
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Ooh, I’ve never heard of that, but I might just have to give it a try!
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I think oils work because the turds go beneath the oil and the scent in on top….
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Have you tried a diffuser, instead of putting it in the water? I think you would use less this way and the oils would last longer. I haven’t done this with a bathroom, as I didn’t know about essential oils all the years I lived in houses with no bathroom exhaust fan, but I have used it successfully in my house’s particular problem spot — the cupboard under the kitchen sink, where the garbage can is. This was one of those intractable and extremely annoying problems that I had tried all the usual home remedies for, and I wasted lots of money on various commercial room deodorizing products that also didn’t work… Then I tried a few drops of Purification on a makeshift diffuser (i.e., a wadded-up paper coffee filter in a glass jar), and I was amazed at how well it worked. Purification is a blend of citronella, rosemary, lemongrass, lavender, tea tree, and myrtle, but you could experiment with different blends, and I certainly think eucalyptus would be a good ingredient (in fact I’m a little surprised that Purification doesn’t include it). I’m sure Chrissy, who has lots more experience with these things than I do (I’m new to essential oils), can give you some good suggestions — she’s our resident expert.
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Also, burning a candle in the bathroom to eliminate odors works pretty well. I still do this even though I now (finally) live in a house where the bathroom has an exhaust fan — partly because it works, partly because I’m just kind of pyromaniac at heart and I love candles.
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We definitely use candles (I love them too), but I pour them myself, and haven’t been able to get the fragrance strong enough to really do the job. Maybe I could hide a diffuser on the floor near the toilet! I will definitely give that a shot! The cool thing about sprinkling oils in the water, though, is that it seems to make a magical barrier so the odors never even get a chance to escape the bowl! I’ve never found a better method for getting rid of odors in such a tiny space…it really is an awesome trick!
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I believe it. I wish the oils weren’t so pricey, so we could afford to be more profligate with them…. but I have to be stingy with them, at least the most expensive ones. I got a little carried away with a bottle of frankincense that someone gave me — it’s really good for your skin, as well as other uses — and before I knew it the bottle was empty. I went online to look for a replacement bottle and nearly fainted when I saw the price. Ouch!
Try the diffuser thing and tell me if it works for you. I’m guessing it won’t be quite the panacea that putting the oils directly in the water is, but if it works reasonably well and saves you some $$$ it might be worth it. It’s worked so well for my under-sink cabinet (which used to smell like a landfill) that I’m going to try it out in the corner of the laundry room where the kitty latrine is located. That’s another place where I’ve wasted lots of money on remedies that didn’t work. (If I had back all the $$$ I’ve wasted, I could buy several bottles of Purification!)
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We went to see the movie version of Les Miz.
I have seen the stage version so many times I lost count, so I was a bit reluctant to go because I think the stage version is just magic.
But DH wanted to go, so we did.
I was ready to walk out after about 5 minutes. Why do they insist on picking actors to sing musicals? I was so disgusted at the way they avoided the best parts of the songs, with the hardest notes to hit, by speaking them. Of course, they will all get oscars for their roles, even though their singing was from bad to mediocre, but hollywood is all about hollywood, not about us folks paying to see them.
The advantage of a movie over the stage is that movies can do things with special effects and make it all grander. But in this case, they did the opposite. They put the camera in the actors face to the point I had to close my eyes. Who wants to look at all those awful fake teeth, and blotches on their skin. I could almost smell the bad breath. yuck
I admit, I cannot stand demwits like Anne Hathaway so I had a hard time getting past her face. She did manage to pull off the finale better.
They did do a great job with the barricade scene. It was an example of how the cinema can make a stage show bigger and with more action. Too bad they did not do this with rest of the film.
my vote is two thumbs and 7 fingers down. I will give them one pinkie up for the barricade scene.
This was the first time we went to a movie in ages. We could not even remember the last one we saw. lol
If you are huge fan of Les Miz, skip the movie version. If you have never seen the stage show. DO IT! If you just want to hear what it is all about, just check out the youtube videos.
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I haven’t seen it, but oldest son went with his theater crowd and they were not impressed with the singing. Hugh Jackman was a disappointment, especially, at least in the singing, but that’s to be expected when actors are cast without much regard for musical ability. I suspect it was a mistake, at the very least, to attempt to record the actors’ voices on set, rather than in the studio where they may have had a chance to be coached through it. Who knows? Otherwise, they loved the production.
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If your New Year’s resolution is to get healthy and lose weight, check out the videos I have highlighted this month on my website.
http://preventcanswers.ning.com/video/video
And if you want any personalized inspiration or motivation, contact me.
This month marks my 5th year, cancer free. I have never felt better in my life, and I have been able to lose weight and keep it off by understanding insulin resistance.
Have a Happy and HEALTHY year in the garden!
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CONGRATS on 5 years cancer-free!
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Ditto!!
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Good deal, GP! May you have many healthy decades more.
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Thank you for the information, GP. I have to hit the sack now, but I’m saving this link and will watch the videos when I can give them my full attention.
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Well, I have been flitting about town and ran into Bob several times.
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The one in the upper right is too good-looking to be Bob. It might be Bob’s brother Otto, however. Otto made out a lot better in the bitter bluebird gene pool than Bob did.
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The one on the lower right is the adopted kid who just found out about his birth family.
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Tee-hee… I was thinking it’s the way I look when I first wake up the a.m.! 😀
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And who would have imagined Hoots running into Chrissy-the-hypenated?
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Nice! I’m sending that to the off-spring as-soon-as-possible! Mama Buzz will esp like the bottom one. For our Christmas card the year was one, I got shirts made with his bachelor last name for Dearest, my maiden last name for me and a little shirt that said HYPHEN on it for her. We posed in the proper order in front of the Christmas tree.
The next summer, I found a great use for that shirt. She was wearing it when she did one of her Houdini disappearing acts. I raced frantically through the crowded mall yelling, “Have you a seen a HYPHEN?!” People got it immediately and pointed toward a table in the cafe square where a kindhearted gentleman had coaxed her to sit on a chair at his table until the wild-eyed Hyphenated-Mother had time to catch up.
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I love this story!
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Hey, is this the day for reunions or what!?? Found Pete gathering his ‘irons’ for the upcoming voluntary gun confiscation. (the ones on the sides stay)
Pete’s side job.
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Pete really gets around!
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You know how it is, the guys from IL know where all the best hangouts are in Menomonie. I remember going there with a whole gang of friends in college. Everyone got drunk except me. (I was never a drinker). But we sat around one night listening to Shawn Phillips. It was so magical. I still love his music so much. He has to be the most underrated musician of all time.
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Feel free to put my pics from playing papparazi around town up instead of the links. (yeah, that is a hint. it gets sort of lonesome the only one being exposed)
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I’m going to put up the pics later today, unless someone else does it first. I’d do it now, but the little girl I babysit is due to arrive at any minute and I have to quickly childproof the place before she gets here!
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🙂
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