Lyman and tomatoes

This is Lyman Gore, possibly the only person you'll ever see who can replace a swimming pool with something even more expensive and troublesome to run.

Hey there, Sugar!

parade2

Marchers crossing the bridge on their way to Natchez National Cemetery on Memorial Day, 2006.

This parade has a long tradition here.

IMAG0118

Stayin' aliiiive!

Not likely, little mudbug.

But you are a valiant critter.

Charlie now styles himself "Sweet Birdie Boy."

Lucy is sitting eggs again, one of hers and a dummy.

Dear In the Swim,

Will you PLEASE stop sending your catalogs to this address?

It is a waste of your resources and the Earth's.

I enclose this photo to convince you that I am not interested in purchasing your products.

Thank you,

Janis Gore

UPDATE: Like, well, yeah. It's not like a $100 bucket of chlorine tablets will be an impulse purchase.

UPDATE II: This time I sent an e-mail to customer relations rather than calling the desk. A nice gentleman wrote back to tell us that he had removed us from the database.

summer popsicle lantana

Being a thorough neurotic, nay, a mutant, I can't gather my design appeals into one scheme.

I would be happy in a formal Georgian landscape, an Italian one, a tropical one, or a country one.

This is "Summer Popsicle" lantana, planted in the low bed right in front of the greenhouse.

Isn't it cheerful?

Part of good citizenship is giving thanks and praise where it is due.

Today, I'll send both to two companies who have lived up to their guarantees.

We use this Bunn coffeemaker. It does not make gourmet coffee, but it serves fine in this household.

When the maker began to dribble, Lyman tried cleaning it. He couldn't even get a little stem used for cleaning into the workings. He called the company, and the woman at the desk told him something was wrong. She said she'd send a new pot in the box, and we could pack up the defective one and send it back, with a prepaid return label.

They were efficient and friendly. And we had a new pot in good time, considering it had to be rafted down the Mississippi. (Turnaround was four days.)

We also have some Calphalon cookware.

We bought a Commercial Nonstick set several years ago -- just after we finished remodeling the kitchen. The lining of a 2-1/2 quart saucepan bubbled from the bottom from the very first use. We continued to use it until the lining started coming off in strips a few months ago. They have a lifetime guarantee.

The woman at the desk told us to pack off the pot to them and send a note explaining the problem.

When we came home from the coast a spanking new Calphalon One pot was waiting for us.

It did cost the shipping out, but they didn't ask for proof of purchase, or otherwise hassle us.

So thanks, y'all.

Midnight Louise found a funny video of brothers posted for Mother's Day.

Medpundit is giving up her blog.

Thank you, ma'am, for the insights into the practice, the lovely Christmas cards, and all the interesting pointers.

I'll miss you.

I'll leave the blog in the index (if she leaves it up) as a gateway to other medical bloggers.

Now, I know I'm out of the market, but this pick-up line works for me:

"What you doing, cutie birdie?"

Wouldn't some sunflowers, 5 or 6 feet tall, look cheerful against the greenhouse?

There is a narrow bed in front of it.

Raised beds

The raised beds are larger and better-looking than I had hoped.

I foresee lots of lettuces, mesclun, herbs and flowers. And whatever else I might like.

They are close to the house and supplied with water. Convenient for an old and lazy girl like me.

Hey.

Our candidates won. But what? The damage is done.

They can try to change the culture.

Happy day, you moms out there!

It's been a while.

Which means there are things to fix and replace here, which always puts me in an unpleasant temper.

How did you knick the finish on the stove again?

Was that blind in the bedroom such a trouble that you had to pull the whole cord out?

Who knocked over the heron sculpture and broke its beak?

And why did you drape Mardi Gras beads around its base?

Couldn't you have told us about the broken handle on the sliding door?

om mani padme hum

UPDATE: Oh, Janis, quit being such a ole biddy. Nothing's major, and the weather is fine.

Rats and 14X rats.

Though not unexpected, Lucy laid another egg last night. Remember, Eclectus lay in clutches of two.

We are preparing for the trip to the owners' meeting at the coast this weekend.

I can't say that I'm looking forward to it, but it will be good to get it behind us.

I'd like to take Lucy with us, but it isn't a good time for that. We'll be busy and away from the condo most of our time there.

Lyman's son will take care of Lucy and Charlie while we're away.

My BIG brother posited in an e-mail that we should hold a family get-together in our towns in the near future.

I have spoken to the lovely Patricia, and the urbane Charles, and we are thinking of the spring.

And there it is, pretty as a picture. Another egg. 21 grams.

Lucy seems fine.

Now what?

Now here's something interesting.

Charlie will imitate himself when listening to the tape below.

I've read that Dr. Irene Pepperberg uses birds to teach other birds.

Anyone who thinks that a paralyzing array of choices is a new cultural problem hasn't spent much time looking at gardening catalogs.

Try The Cook's Garden, for instance. It's just a small, specialized catalog.

Hmmm.

We have a nice stand of garlic chives in a patio pot. A chopped handful in a pot of stewed potatoes makes a favorite side dish here.

UPDATE: Flat leaf parsley is a go. We find only curly leaf in the stores here, and half of what we buys wastes in the refrigerator.

Coriander is a go. Again, half of what we buy wastes.

Heat-tolerant cut-and-come-again lettuces and mesclun mix are a yes.

A corn salat looks good. Spinach always looks good to me, though we've never grown a decent patch.

Hmmm.

Much better, but isn't the garbage can in the background attractive?

At the top of our shopping list is a tripod for the little camera. That will help filming immensely.

But I did manage to get pictures into the camera, out of the camera, into an editing program, edited from 5 minutes to 26 seconds, into a documents file, onto the Internet, and into this blog in one evening.

There's plenty more to learn.

And today is the 46th day that has passed without Lucy laying an egg.