Friday, October 22, 2010

Fertilizer Friday, October 22

  I want to thank everyone for being so polite on my last post about my wringer washer; not even one person said they thought I was a total loony tune!

Well, after washing all of the bedding yesterday morning and hanging it out to dry in the sunshine, I was feeling pretty good about my progress for the day.  I took two of the bedspreads up to Mom's to dry on her lines since mine were full.  I felt confident everything would dry with the clear, blue weather we'd been having, until I talked to Carl at lunchtime from his job.

"You washed all the blankets today?  Didn't you hear it's going to rain?" he said.  "Check the radar online."

"No, it's not supposed to rain," I argued.  "I saw the weather forecast last night and they didn't mention anything about rain."

But when I navigated to the weather site, sure enough, there was a band of showers headed directly for us.  Ok, there's an argument to be had for owning a dryer, you've all got me there.  I forgot to mention too, that in the winter, I hang all the laundry in the basement since it doesn't do much good to hang wet clothes outside on the washline and then bring them back in, frozen solid, unless you enjoy setting up amusing scenes with your clothing standing around with no one in them. (Yes, I've done that in the past; when the boys were little they used to get such a kick out of seeing their jeans propped up against the wall until they defrosted.  Hey, I was a stay-at-home mom, and it's cheap entertainment.)

So, there I was on Wednesday, with my washlines full of all the blankets we own from all three bedrooms and when I looked out the window, the western horizon was white with approaching rain.  What's there to do?  Nothing.  I left everything outside for another rinse cycle, courtesy of Mother Nature.  Joel slept in his sleeping bag on top of his bed last night and the rest of us found random afghans to cover up with.  We survived.

I wanted to show off something else Mom has made for us over the years; when she was around 70 years old, Mom's late friend, Beatrice, taught her how to crochet.  Mom was so taken with the hobby and only learned two stitches? (is that what they call them?  Sorry, I never learned to crochet, either..but anyway, shortly after she learned how, she set to making bedspreads for us as keepsakes.  The one she crocheted for our bed was a queen size and was meant to be a birthday surprise for me.  She worked on it for months and thought she  was done until Carl saw it one day and told her she should make it a bit bigger so it would hang down to the floor on our bed.  I still don't know how she did it, but she managed to add on width and lengrh to make the bedspread well over king-sized.  She and I both wish she hadn't listened to Carl.

Though I love the bedspread very much, it is huge and very difficult to wash, not to mention cram through a wringer.  When I took it up there yesterday, Mom insisted on helping me hoist it over the washlines and I almost knocked her down when she tried to catch her end.  She gasped and then started to giggle, "I can see the headlines now, 'Elderly Woman Killed By Bedspread'."  (Now you know where I get my sense of humor from!)

I walked up to get a tractor again today and took a picture of the two bedspreads on Mom's washlines:


Just look at the color---I love blue!
This bedspread is over 20 years old already and is the warmest, most cozy cover ever, we just love it.  Mom said, "You'll probably be glad when this thing wears out, so you can get rid of it," but I assured her, I hope it NEVER wears out.  Every stitch was done with love.

When Joel was little, he loved bright colors, so Mom made him a keepsake bedspread too:


 Our youngest son, Dave, hasn't got one yet, and I hope Mom does make one for him, too.  She always pooh-poohs her talent at crocheting, supposedly (according to her) this stitch is a beginner's stitch and not that big of a deal.  Well, they are to us!


Mom even made chair cushions (which she insists on putting down on the floor for Pudding and Teddy gets his cushion up on his special window seat when they visit Grandma's house with me-those dogs are so spoiled by her!) 

 Teddy on his cushion
And I'm happy to report that today (Thursday) every bit of the bedding dried wonderfully and we all have nice 'Autumn Fresh' beds.

It's getting late again, and approaching midnight, it's time to flaunt for Tootsie's Fertilizer Friday.  I am afraid this will be way too long for most people, and also afraid tonight will be the end of my annuals as it is supposed to be in the low 30's.  I debated covering things again, but it is nearing the end of October, so though I hate to give up, it's time for Nature to take it's course.  

So here's the last hurrah :
 Knockout Roses
Thuja occidentalis 'Yellow Ribbon' with Chrysanthemums in distance

 'Indian Summer' rudbeckia volunteer--the foliage looks better on this one than on most of them from earlier in the season.
Mums with morning dew
Waterlilies in Quarry Pond
Screech and the Rudbeckias (Sounds like a band.)


Yes, the cat follows me all over the yard, he is a total ham.
Looking east from the dome.

Hello, it's me again.



I liked the reflection in the pink granite (my 'gravestone', some of you may recall)



Ok, just got back from an unplanned, early (1AM!) trip to the hospital again, but not for me, this time it was Joel.  He volunteers at a haunted house, his 'job' is to scare people in the woods.  (More about that in a upcoming post!) So, on his way out of the woods, Joel walked into a tree branch and jammed a part of the  stick in his eye.  OUCH, indeed!  He said after hitting the branch, he fell backward over a split-rail fence.  Then he had to stand up and pull the end of the twig out of his eye.  He said it hurt tremendously but he thought he was ok (sort of)  until he was on his way home and the pain started to get worse. 

So, I drove Joel in and the doctor worked for a long time fishing debris out of Joel's eye.  The doc said he should be fine, but he has to follow up with a specialist tomorrow.  So this post is kind of goofed up again, due to me being really, really tired.
 Thank goodness for smart doctors!
  Hope you have a great weekend!

16 comments:

Darla said...

My mom made blankets with that same stitch, they are warm. Lovely blooms as usual....glad Joel will be okay..

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

I loved this post. Your mother is such a wonderful inspiration. It just goes to show that we are never too old to learn new things. I think she did a fantastic job. I've made a few of those blankets with that ripple stitch over the years myself.

Your gardens are lovely as always and I enjoyed yet another stroll through them, especially in the company of yourself and your feline.

I'm so sorry to hear about Joel and hope his eye heals quickly.

Hope your day is a good one.

Hugs ~ FlowerLady

Gardening in a Sandbox said...

Gosh..so much to comment on here. The bedspreads are so colourful. I can imagine your beds looks so nice. The garden is holding up beautifullly. I was in shock to hear of Joel's eye. I do hope that it okay. Dangerous things...twigs in the dark.

Granny Lyn's Garden said...

Yup ,my mom made the same blankets,only afghan size. When one of her grandsons brought a girlfriend to Christmas dinner she would give them an afghan,( she had extras always ready for a quick gift) It became a family joke cause it seems if they got one from grandma they would break up(the kids ,not the afghans ) before the next Christmas. She learned to wait till they were engaged.lol

Hope Joel's eye is better real soon.

God Bless,Lynda

Anonymous said...

Made my morning for sure with your humor. Your mom is talented, so I see where you get your creativity.

I have been there with the frozen laundry. My mom would always send me out to get it.

The garden photos are lovely. Such color and the one with the veronica or salvia?, grass plumes and birch tree-that photo is gorgeous.

Michelle Clay said...

Ack! I hope Joel's eye feels better today! Your blankets are lovely.

Ginny said...

What a blessing your mother is! I crocheted a similar afghan for my son when he went off to college - and one of a different style when my daughter went off to school. I still "owe" my other daughter an afghan.
As always your posts are entertaining and your photos are beautiful.
Hope that eye heals quickly!

Alison said...

I love that I can almost always count on your posts to get both a laugh and an "aaaarrgghh!" Your mom is such a treasure and I love her sense of humor. My sister made me an afghan with that same stitch, I had it forever, it was so cozy.

Glad Joel's eye will be ok.

Beth said...

Karen, Your flowers are absolutely stunning! So colorful. Love the blankets too and I enjoyed reading about your wringer washer. My mother-in-law and my grandmother both used wringer washers. Hope all is well with Joel's eye. That is a scary thing!
Blessings, Beth

Jennifer@threedogsinagarden said...

Lovely photos. Your cat looks perfectly colored for a "shadow" who follows you. My dogs do the same.

Shirley said...

Great variety here! I was going to say I love the quarry pond photo but then I saw the view from the dome, the mums, your rose, so I just have to say I love them all! Your yard is so amazing!

xinex said...

Ouch! I hope Joel is ok. Karen, your rock garden with the pond is gorgeous. I would love to have a garden like that. The flowers are so colorful and so beautiful. And I must say your mom is very talented. The crocheted bedspreads are really pretty and I can just imagine the time she spent working on them...Christine

deb said...

There's nothing like linens dried on the line! My Grandmother made afgans with that same stitch ♥ Love the photos with them hanging on the line. In the winter my Mom would lay all the laundry all over the house to dry it...we didn't have a dryer. My sisters friend said it looked like a Chinese Laundry! LOL

Your gardens are lovely as usual..really gorgeous!

I hope all goes well with Joels eye! WOW what a dangerous thing to happen. Glad it wasn't worse.

*hugs*deb

Karen said...

Thank you all for your kind comments on the gardens and Mom's afghans...(I will make sure to tell Mom, she still thinks she's not talented.)

Joel's eye is still very sore, but the specialist said it looks like it should heal without a problem, thank goodness!

Lisa Sall - Sall's Country Life said...

Karen, thank you for leaving a comment on my blog. I probably would've never found you in blog world otherwise! Love your blog and your wit! My sisters still gripe about how they had to do the family laundry in the wringer washer. God Bless ya for hangin in there! I do agree about the fresh smell of laundry from the clothesline, but I enjoy the ease of the automatic washer. Your yard is spectacular, the photos are beautiful, Mom's afghans are charming. I'll be visiting often...I like a good chuckle. Thanks Again.
Lisa

Corner Gardener Sue said...

I enjoyed seeing the bedspreads and such your mom crocheted. My grandma made lots of afghans and other crafts.

I hope your son's eye is healing well. Our son walked into a branch of some kind at a lake, and got poked in the eye, too. My husband took him to the emergency room, and I'm thinking the swelling was from an infection. Ouch!