Sunday Prayers

Posted on February 17, 2008 by Donalyn

Yesterday we had the sad task of attending Larry’s uncle’s funeral. He is the second husband Aunt Rose has lost after a long illness and he was truly a special person, so it was quite difficult. On the other hand, his funeral was a celebration of the fact that he knew his Lord intimately and put Him first in his life. Today is his first Lord’s Day in heaven and I am sure he is rejoicing. Aunt Rose chose this scripture to open his memorial service:

13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.[b]
15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words. 1Thessalonians 4:13-18

Posted in Sunday | 7 Comments

I love Daylilies Part 4

Posted on February 16, 2008 by Donalyn

What else can I possibly have left to say about Daylilies? Oh please – I have barely scratched the surface! I could go on and on about how easy they are to take care of, how they increase year after year so you can pass your extras along to friends, how they can keep your gardens full of color from the earliest part of summer to the latest part of fall, how you can always find another gorgeous cultivar that you just gotta have.

This on is called Erin Farmer – a beautiful bi-tone that has shades of pink, gold and peach and it even smells good.

This is one of my favorites – it is called Long Stocking and it is a spider form. For someone who abhors actual spiders, I am very attached to spider form daylilies – they are my new obsession within an obsession.

This is Pink Embers – a very popular “landscaper’s” plant because it blooms early and then puts out a second flush of bloom in the late fall. It also increases really fast and I am pretty sure it takes the overall prize for most blooms in a year – in my garden anyway.

This is one that I have had for a long time and I never get tired of it. It is called Sombrero Way and this one also reblooms very late if we don’t get an early frost.

Another spider form and yellow to boot – a definitely favorite of mine. It is called Spider Miracle and it is also one of the biggest ones I have at around 8.5 to 9 inches across.

This last one is not a great photo since I took it with my camera phone. Two days before Ellyn went in the hospital to have Anna, she and I spent a lovely day in the gardens of a grower in Virginia [I would love to tell you her name and location, but it is not on the invoice. Ellyn, if you look in here and remember – leave it in the comments, ok?] and these are some of the beauties I snagged. They are all mixed together here, since I had not potted them yet, but I think there are some Tom Wise in there as well as Mary’s Gold and maybe Open Hearth. I got 7 new ones in all and one of the best parts of gardening for me is seeing the newbies come into bloom right here at my place. I will try to remember to take some pics of these guys for y’all.

And I just may be passing my obsession on to the next generation!

Posted in garden | 7 Comments

You heard it here first

Posted on February 15, 2008 by Donalyn

It is our intention to help you, our devoted readers, save time by including updates on recent events, so that you don’t have to search all over the internet for essential tidbits of news.

During an unscheduled campaign stop over the weekend, Hillary Clinton auctioned off her husband, former President Bill Clinton. It was unclear whether the action was an effort to raise additional campaign funds, or simply to shut him up. And despite the former President’s protests, she insisted that he must indeed go with the winner. In all fairness, the winner, who claimed he thought he was bidding on Clinton’s Oval Office chair, did not seem all that thrilled with his victory.

In possibly the strangest public announcement ever made, Dolly Parton canceled her upcoming tour due to back pain brought on by her large breasts. “I know I have been breaking my neck and bending over backwards trying to get my new Backwoods Barbie CD and world tour together, but I didn’t mean to hurt myself doing it! But hey, you try wagging these puppies around a while and see if you don’t have back problems. Seriously though, the doctors said I will be good as new in a few weeks, and I can’t wait to get back out there. See you soon, Dolly.“

One time kidnap victim, Patty Hearst, who later did time in prison for joining her captors, the Symbionese Liberation Army, in a bank robbery has apparently traded in her automatic weapon for a French Bulldog. Seen here at this week’s Westminster Dog Show, she demonstrates that it is much more difficult to aim a French Bulldog.

Posted in current events | 9 Comments

Love is in the air

Posted on February 14, 2008 by Donalyn

So, Valentines Day, right? What do we do here in the bloggy world? Ignore Valentines Day and blog about the same old thing? Just be your normal silly, drivel-ey self? Or, because you have been married for going on 32 years, do you gush and rhapsodize about the wonders of true love and being fortunate enough to find someone who can tolerate you early in your formative years? [cause, I was like 10 when we got married 32 years ago – a lot of people don’t realize that there are child brides here in Upstate NY, but it is a dirty little secret and I am a victim.]

I just can’t decide. There are a few facets to this blog. We have recipes, so I could put in a recipe for Larry’s favorite food on earth, which is apple pie. But I can’t do that, because he was supposed to stop at the store and get the apples for me, and he forgot. So the Valentine’s Day pie will be a day late, making it the post-Valentine’s Day pie. Which means I can’t blog about it today.

I talk about gardens and flowers a lot so I could blog about Larry digging uncounted big holes all over our yard for the larger plant material I drag home. Stuff he doesn’t really care about and in fact would not have growing out there at all if he had his druthers. Larry’s idea of a good yard would be a golf course, but without the holes. With his dream yard, you can fire up that riding mower and let it rip from one end to the other, never having to dodge trees or veer around beds of daylilies. There would be no decor at all and no big rocks placed artfully here and there. There would be a driveway and grass and nothing else. Oh, except there would be a truck. But he digs the holes with good grace because I love growing things.

I put up a lot of photographs that I have taken so we could talk about his total acceptance of an interest that is almost guaranteed to reduce our bank accounts, not to mention the amount of time I spend on taking photos of weeds, stumps, rusty junk and anything else that catches my fancy. Not only acceptance, but encouragement in the form of telling me about cool stuff I should go take pics of and in his admiration of the pics I take.

And what would my blog be without these stories about life in the country? Or his willingness to pose for a bunch of silly pictures, instead of just cutting down a Christmas tree in an efficient and timely manner? Or a bumper crop of squash for which I must make up tons of recipes? Clearly, my blog would be nothing without his assistance. And he is awfully cute.

Happy Valentine’s Day hon – I love ya!

Posted in family | 14 Comments

Never at a loss for words Wednesday

Posted on February 13, 2008 by Donalyn

Don’t you feel like you have to explain your photos? Though I guess if I were a real photographer, I would not have to explain. I would post fabulous photos and everyone would take one look, understand the meaning of the universe and go read some other blog.

You know it is really winter when your squirrels have snow on them:

Remember that nice, serene water-over-the-rocks photo from last Wednesday? This is the same general spot after a couple days of rain and snow melt:

Some ice:

I don’t know what it is that I love so much about these two little apple trees. They are growing wild at the edge of field across the valley and I look at them every day. They look like best friends don’t they?

You have to love what a thaw does for tree branches:

Posted in photos, Wordless Wednesday | 26 Comments