Mosaic Mom

Got this email from Bernie today...

HEY! Warner Brown is reading his Opus Magnus tonite at the First Presbyterian Church in Mount Dora on Alexander and 6th St.


7pm. Be there! Bernie


P.S. It's the Centennial Ballad of the History of Mount Dora. 290 plus stanzas; over 1,000 lines. With musical interludes and a song at the end written by Warner Brown and sung by Ruth Blake, former proprietress of the Independent downtown bookstore which so graciously hosted many of our writers gatherings.


Sorry to say, PD and I had a prior comittment, but for Mt Dorans, this will be great.

Haven't had one of these Drabble stories in a long time, so Enjoy!
It's called Mr. K's Dream


Clark dashed through his house holding a brown paper sack.

“Whatcha doin’?” asked his dog.

“Writers group,” replied Clark stopping at a bookcase. “I’ll collect 4 items and swap with someone. Then we write stories off each other’s prompts.” He selected an out-of-date Rand McNally map and headed towards the kitchen junk drawer.

“Eureka!” Clark added a Cracker Jacks diamond ring and a key from a truck he’d traded years before. “Need a fourth,” he pondered.

“Take one of my biscuits?” offered dog.

At the meeting, Patty opened this sack and immediately composed: “Dogs love to ride. Enjoy the journey.”

Now the thing is this here...

About 2 weeks ago I signed up at the Purex website to get a sample of their new product.

It sounds good in theory...one sheet that is the soap and dryer softener combined. But I suspect that when I wash it with Plant Daddy's blue jeans and/or fishing clothes that this little sheet is going to shred bigger than a big dog. So I want to try it before I invest.
Well, it was 2 weeks and no free sample has arrived. Grrr. I'll remember that when I'm at Target picking up Tide next week. Grrr.

I re-applied today. They want a TON of personal information at their website and they want you to share the bounty on social networking...so OK! I am sharing.

BTW, I took a survey on a new product they want to sell called "Zout". I would not buy a product with such a bad name. Their survey never asked me about the name. "Zout" what is that? I don't want a bottle of that in my house. Re-name it.

Our gopher tortoise is back after his/her long winter's rest.

Man is he hungry. He scarffed 8 strawberries and one jalapeno pepper before waddling back to his turtle hole to digest.

This tortoise is very friendly. He does not hiss and dive into his shell when fed. We also have a smaller one that is wilder and not comfortable with our free veggie offerings. Our goal this year will be to get her to relax and eat.

Yesterday I sat in the chair and wrote till my butt hurt! I got a nice article turned out...775 words and 3 photos. Right on the money!

Today I have yellow squash that begs to be cooked. Yum! So I'll be in the kitchen all day if you need me.

The rain last night was fierce. It howled and thundered past 3:00AM. The lightning was legend. We didn't sleep too well.

This morning the new transplants of squash and sunflowers are beaten up but not broken. They'll pop back.

Once PD and I get a nap, we'll pop back too.

Five reasons to go to my high school reunion

1. It is being held at a farm where PD and I can fish.
2. It is being held at a farm where PD and I can see nursery stock.
3. It is being held at a farm with a petting zoo.
4. I could see my Mother and my sister while I’m in town.
5. Alcohol is involved.


Five reasons not to go to my high school reunion

1. Alcohol is involved.
2. Where is the West Point Road?
3. Could I even find the high school without a map?
4. The classmate I like who lives in Miami is not going (so far).
5. Do I really want to drive 8 hours to go to a BBQ?

This popped into my email this week!
(I feel old!)


It’s time for our LHS Class of '70 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
40th Class Reunion 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

Saturday, June 12, 2010 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
Lamar & DJ McKeen’s Farm, December Place 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
Old West Point Road , LaGrange , GA 　

Directions:　 Go out West Point Road, 1.4　miles from Saw Mill ShoppingCenter.　 Turn left onto Old West　Point Road.　 Go about 2.5 miles.　Farm will be on your left after you pass Cannonville Road intersection.　　Look for balloons.　 Farm gates open at 10am if you want to come on outand fish, paddle boats, see the　animals or just chill out and visit.We’ll have snack foods and drinks.　 We will have kegs of light beerand　set-ups for the evening but please BYOB. 　 　　
Meet & Greet　　 5:00PM　　　*　　
BBQ Dinner: 6:30pm 　*　
Class Picture 7:30pm 　

*****SPECIAL ENTERTAINMENT*****
Some of our own classmates will perform with their group
JL McGee The Reasons Why
John McGee & wife Lalla Russ Everitt, Sam Thrower & band

We have a professional photographer that will be taking candid pictures and our class picture. 　A CD will be mailed to you　with all pictures onit for $10.00. 　 　　　　　
Cost for reunion:　 $25 per person　　 ($35 afterMay 8)　 Add $10.00 per CD 　
Make checks payable to: LHS Class of 70
Mail to:　 LHS Class of 70
c/o P. Patterson, 206 Fair Street, LaGrange,GA 30241

I have to admit I watch it.
I who have zero fashion sense when it comes to dressing myself...I love to watch Project Runway. It's like an art show, actually.

Anyway, my favorite contestant won.The Seth Aaron guy.
This is a cool suit? Yes?

Thanks to annebocciblogspot for the photo.

The Road workers are back...working the north lane now.

Today my teeth are chattering as the whacker packer soil compactor machine compresses all the sand. I keep watching to see if the swimming pool is going to crack or if my kitchen cabinets are going to shake right off the walls.

Here's the best thing tho...I can watch it all with my new glasses! I can finally see!

It's the 20th of the month. Time for the meter man to cruise on by.
As for the rest of the day:

The Good:
The Road Workers finished laying sod yesterday and then came a delicious rain to settle that grass down into its new home. Afternoon showers are predicted this afternoon, too. This bodes well for the new greened up look of our highway.

The Bad:
The Little White Sentra has blown a belt, the alternator belt to be more specific. It is not in a location which can be easily accessed and repaired by PD, so it looks like the Sentra will have to be hauled into the shop. Reminder to self: Pay the AAA bill!

The Ugly:
I do not like the nasty, pungent, old-lady smell of menthol and camphor muscle rub ointment. But it is all that is keeping me going today. That…and I’m on garden restriction.

The Anomaly:
On an average day, this blog gets about 25 visits. The volcano picture below has caused an exception. I had more than 600 visitors yesterday!

I stopped by Lowe’s on Saturday and got 2 hanging baskets.



Bougainvilla on the right and impatiens on the left.

We put them out hanging under the maple tree near the bird food zone to attract hummingbirds. I really wanted to get a Panda vine and a Lipstick vine, but no luck, so I settled for these. They’re lovely, but I’ll keep shopping.

In vegetable land today, I managed to put my back out planting another row of sweet potatoes. I’m not sure whether it was digging the holes, or pulling up the invasive torpedo grass along the edge of the bed, or bending too deep instead of kneeling in the wet soil when I planted the sets, but something got me. I went to take a photo, bent forward and I could not stand up.

I considered for a moment that it was nearly time for PD to get home from work. Perhaps I could lie down and wait to be found. But I knew the fire ants around here would chew holes in me if I tried that, so I inched back to the house.

Amateur chiropractor PD scrunched me; I went off like Orville Reddenbacher. He got me Advil and Icy Hot. Blech!

I am ticked off. This is one of those ‘It takes 3 to 4 days to heal’ events. Crap!

Also crap is that we discovered Erwinia Rot on one of the bell peppers tonight. One dead bell pepper, NBD, right? Wrong! This is a bacterial disease that can spread faster than the above mentioned fire ants on road kill.

PD removed the pepper plant, scrubbed his hands and now we will follow strict sanitation protocols in the garden. And pray it doesn't spread.

Here was my list of purchases at Target today:

Tide
Clorox
Diet Orange 2-liter soda
White vinegar
Hazelnut coffee syrup
Barbasol (4 cans)
Electrosol
Razor blades and
Cat food (12 cans)

At the checkout, the clerk said “We’re giving our customers one free bag today in honor of Earth Day on April 22!”

“Great!” I replied

But ONE bag was really all they were giving.

He proceeded to stuff all the above…ALL OF THE ABOVE into the one little Earth Bag.

“I can’t lift that,” I said politely.

“I’ll lift it into the cart for you,” says he.

“How will I lift it from the cart to my car?” sez I.

So he re-packs and I wind up with 4 plastic bags,

all the while he is glaring at me as if global warming is entirely my fault.

I done it!
I done got me a Double Down at KFC.

First off, it cost $6.99 plus tax! That’s $7.48 total which in Mom world is too much money to spend on lunch…but I was sharing with PD, so it was OK…only I ate all the fries before I got home and shared them. Ooops!

Second off, even at $7.48 they are losing money on this deal because of all the napkins they are handing out with it. They gave me 9 napkins. I used one on the fries, drove home, pressed a kitchen towel into service and stashed the other 8 paper napkins for a weeks supply for me and PD!

Besides 9 napkins, the Double Down was wrapped in a paper holder, then sealed in a paper bag lined with aluminum for warmth and put in a paper bag. The fries had a paper surround holder, and I had a paper cup. This all together represented a profit for Georgia-Pacific.

I slapped the Double Down onto a plate and sliced it in two so as to share with PD. This is solid meat. I cannot imagine how one individual can eat one of these. It is dense!
Man, you have to chew.

Salty. Salty. Salty.

I guess there was bacon on it. I saw bacon, but the whole thing was so salty that I could not distinguish it.

PD thought the cheese was really sticky, which was probably designed to hold the whole thing together, but which might best be described as salty cheese caulk.

Neither of us would say it was too greasy. We didn’t need the napkins or the kitchen towel to deal with greasy or drippy. Dry. Dense. Salty.

But, God Bless America, We did it!

(Man, I am thirsty! Get the garden hose!)

Plant Daddy was the first to point out that this National Geographic photograph of the Iceland volcano looks like an Oscar Bluemner painting! What do you think?

Long, long time ago, we had some hummingbirds hanging around. They were plain grey, but we were tickled pink when we spotted them. Haven't seen any since the hurricane.

Recently, PD hung this hummingbird feeder in hopes of attracting them back, if any are around.


I planted one yellow honeysuckle vine (Lonicera japonicum)and one red honeysuckle vine (Lonicera sempervirens) over on the west fence. We plan to put a Mandevilla up again too.
I have a yearning for a Panda Vine. I don't know if those are hummingbird attractants, but I might cruise the garden center and see what I can find this weekend.

Hey! How did this event sneak up on me?
Time flies!...by jet airline sometimes, I think.

Poetry Under the Oaks

Come and help celebrate the 12th anniversary of the W. T. Bland Public Library’s Poetry Under the Oaks – the annual celebration of poetry and poets – on Saturday, April 17 starting at 11:00am. Anyone may sign up to read their own poetry or their favorite poem. Remember to bring a lawn chair and your lunch and feed both your body and soul.

Celebrate national Poetry Month beneath the library’s oak trees. Enjoy the beauty of nature and the artistry of poets from Central Florida and beyond.
Bring your lunch.
Read a poem.
Hear others read “What oft was thought, but ne’er so well express’d.”

If you would like to read poem ‘Under the Oaks”, you may sign up to read either in person at the W. T. Bland Public Library or by calling 735-7180 option 5.

In case of rain or threatening weather, the poetry reading will take place in the Library’s Community Room.

Poetry Under the Oaks will be held at the W. T. Bland Public Library located at 1995 N. Donnelly Street in Mount Dora. All Library programs are free and open to the public. For additional information, call (352) 735-7180 option 5.Or visit here

I Want One!

This is the new KFC "Double Down" burger!
Instead of bread they hold the cheese, bacon and mayo in between 2 fried chicken breasts.
Read all about this delicious new creation here.

Time for Sod

A flatbed semi delivered pallets of bahaia grass sod along the road yesterday and the crew laid it down.


They worked till almost 7PM to get it all done.


There’s no sign of the crew or more pallets of sod or any more activity this morning…yet. But there’s about another mile and a half yet to go to lay grass on the rest of the construction zone on this side of the road. Then they can start on the other side of the street.

Are you thinking about Thanksgiving?
Turkey, gravy, corn casserole, Sweet potatoes?

Well, I am!
Here are the first 36 Sweet Potatoe plants, out in the field, growing bigger already!


What’s that white blob in the background?
Well, the sun is so bright this time of year that my bell peppers scald. Last year we put black shade cloth over them. This year we had a scrap of cloud cloth, so that will let in the light without allowing sunburn.

I was planning on waiting till May to blog about Writers Conferences and Workshops, but this morning I checked out a workshop in Oregon that I have been waiting for. The conference is in August and the hotel is already sold out.

Therefore I am going to post these links now in case you want more information on these local events.

Anhinga Writers Workshop ought to be stellar...they are having a session on Self-Publishing and Rob Morris has always been one of my favorite local writers.
Besides, the commute to Gainesville won't be as expensive as a commute to Portland!

Check out Anhinga here

Plant Daddy went fishing at 5AM. I got up at 8:00. It was quiet. No road work. Ah...silence is golden. I sat at the computer and started to write...

Nine hours later, I had cranked out three 100 word stories for competetion and a fourth which is in the final stages of editing. I have to find a polite way of saying the guy's genitals disintegrate. Yeah, yeah, yeah, go write your own story!

I did manage to water the newly transplanted corn and eggplant, feed Zeus and do a load of wash. I fixed a lamb curry...yum. I am now blogging, finding chores, anything not to have to go wash the shrimpy smelling fishing outfit.

Road Work at our doorstep...

Poor Plant Daddy couldn’t get out of the driveway to go to work this morning.


He had to wait for the sweeper driver to climb down and direct traffic around the cones for him.

(Please note the crust of oak pollen on the hood of the truck! It’s a miserable pollen season this year.)

While Helen was home, she enjoyed the sun and fun and nice warm weather.

"Wear sunscreen," I cautioned her.

I should have taken my own advice. While I was planting corn and eggplants in the garden this afternoon, I forgot the sunscreen and I am fried. Bright red sunburn! Ouch!

Poor Helen returned to the land of cold today...rainy and 36 degrees with snow predicted! Well, at least no chance of sunburn.

I went to the bank today. They would not take a DEPOSIT without my ID. My bank,not a strange bank, not asking for any cash back, I just want to put 2 checks in and they want ID! Sheesh! What's up with that!

So I go to Penney's Optical to pick up the new glasses. The bifocal line is too high even after I specifically said "put it lower"! So now the glasses are sent back for a re-do.

The sink died under the stress of so much Easter cooking. I went to Lowe's with the rusted out part. I couldn't find the matching part on the plumbing supply aisle, so I rang the Help button. A guy appeared. He hunted for less than a minute and said "All we got is too small". Three feet up I happened to stumble on the right size. Why does he work at a hardware store?

For therapy after my outing, I went into the garden and harvested peas. Plant Daddy and I feasted (again) on mashed potatoes and peas and fish sticks. In all, that's a happy day.

The yellow ones are sweet and ready to eat. The cold weather delayed the crop so we'll enjoy them for weeks as these green ones ripen.

Happy Easter Everybody.

The loquats are almost one month late, but the wait was worth it. The long cool spring has made the fruit extra sweet. We sit out under the tree and eat our fill, several times a day. Great fruit snack.

It smells really good there too because the red navel orange tree is in full bloom right next to the loquat. It's heavenly.

What a nice surprize. Cliff dropped by yesterday. He has relocated to Alaska! He was sunburned on his week visit to the warmth.

Aunt Karin sent delicious cookies for our Easter feast tomorrow, Yum! South Dakota kid and friend will be coming over for grilled chicken...and can snack on loquats while the bricquettes heat up.

The road contractors have a web site…Visit here and you can figure out what D.A.B. stands for!


Here they are waiting for the next dump truck load of asphalt to show up and pour into the shoulder forming machine…

Here is the machine that paves a shoulder onto the side of the road. A dumptruck with a load of asphalt backs up to the hopper then the machine lays down the desired width. A steam roller comes along afterward to pack it down.

The guy with the shoulders in the photo reached up into our loquat tree and enjoyed a fresh picked snack. He said he likes to ferment them and make loquat wine. Also eats them green with salt and vinegar.