Messages

271

Chit Chat / Re: Our house fire

« on: October 18, 2009, 08:16:15 PM »

Cath, I know that we live very far away, but if there is anything we can possibly do please count us in. Nebraska is very far from us, but if you need a good home for your pets while you rebuild, or anything else, we'd gladly provide a good home/help/support. I'm so glad you're OK!
Been there- it's awful sad. So sorry. 847-487-9175. Any time!

272

Chit Chat / Re: What did you do with your old vinyl records?

« on: October 15, 2009, 05:56:21 PM »

Our guilty little pleasure every Friday is that Kevin takes half a day at work, and we go eat at our favorite sandwich joint. One of the owners loves vinyl and has a huge extensive collection. He really knows his stuff, and I'm sure he would be interested in your stuff if it was the 'right' stuff. Vinyl collectors are very very very very picky! No scratches... and the album cover/artwork should be in pristine condition. Even when all that is considered, it's fair to pay less than 1.00 per album. .20 cents per album if there is any damage whatsoever. Obviously, rare undamaged vinyl gets a premium price. Every time a record is played, it's quality degrades. So if you have a record that has only been played 10-20 times or so, forget about it (unless it's a very rare specimen). Collectors want pristine stuff.
Which makes my 800+ collection virtually worthless- I played them too much. :'(

273

Chit Chat / Re: Old Ironsides

« on: October 15, 2009, 05:42:03 PM »

Well my latest model ship is done. This was a level three the most challenging The U.S.S. Constitution, "Old Ironsides.

...and 79,400 gallons of rum."

and 68,300 gallons of rum.

 and 64,300 gallons of Portuguese wine.

 Her landing party captured a whisky distillery and transferred 40,000 gallons of single malt Scotch aboard by dawn. Then she headed home.

The U. S. S. Constitution arrived in Boston on 20 February 1799, with no cannon shot, no food, no powder, no rum, no wine, no whisky, and 38,600 gallons of water.

 


WOW, That is MY kind of ship!!!  How they managed to do that is beyond amazing! I would a been dead...


Beautiful model, Bullfrog!

274

Chit Chat / Re: Pond And Corvette Pictures

« on: October 15, 2009, 05:34:32 PM »

it really bothers me that we have so much 'stuff' and i am so so unhappy .  i guess i should tell others '' don't be concerned with 'stuff' but find what makes you happy'' .

What makes YOU really happy?

I've been way busy lately, and not really up on this forum, so I'm sorry if I missed something.

It bothers me too (too much stuff). Why so unhappy, though? Kevin and I have a ton of hobbies, and I don't really think those hobbies make us "happy". We love ponds, old cars, old radios, Lego brand toys, old glass from the 30's, trains, music, and so much more. It's not the "thing" that brings happiness to us, it's the challenge. The challenge of keeping an old car (or the even greater challenge of restoring one), creating a filtration system for our pond that can withstand our climate (can't be done- but still trying!), or the challenge of rebuilding an old radio. Or the challenge of finding the missing parts from the classic yellow Lego castle. Or the challenge of the quadruple fugue. Or researching the mark on a piece of porcelain that's a couple hundred years old.

 It's all about the journey, not so much the destination. I have found that once I reach the destination in a hobby, the magic that brought me to it in the beginning is lacking. But it's really not, because it's about learning about new things and doing all the stuff you like before you die. We're all going to die... may as well enjoy the journey.

I do know about losing people, and between hubby & I, we've lost a lot of family. Maybe we're just trying to do all the stuff that they would have liked to do.

275

Pond Chat / Re: What should I do?

« on: October 05, 2009, 05:55:29 PM »

With that amount of lilies, I believe  I'd just put pot, lilie and all in a huge garbage bag. As long
as they stay damp they will be ok.  Florida and Ala. not that far apart, so probably you're talking
two days at the most.  That way will eliminate shock to the plant, you won't have to repot when
you arrive, saving your energy for the other 1000 things you will have to do. 

Locally, between my house and also a friend's and the local Botanic Garden, I've just set the whole
pot in the back of my pickup, they moved well that way, didn't know they had been moved.  But at
most they were out of the water maybe couple of hours.   Long as you keep them  damp, they will e
ok.

Marie

That's what I would do.

276

Pond Chat / Re: Need some lotus advice, I planted mine and some baby lilies

« on: October 05, 2009, 05:51:02 PM »

Yeah, I wouldn't worry at all about the stems- in a couple of days the pads will be at the surface. Full sun?

Not quite sure about the 11 hrs of sun. I wouldn't think that it would be troublesome with temps in the upper 70's, but I do suspect that we don't really know the importance of sunlight cues- I (opinion) think the sunlight cues are much more important than we give them credit for.
It's not like your lotus has to store tons of nutrients in the tuber for winter since there really isn't any winter there, so to speak, it's more like a temporary slowdown. So I'd expect a slowdown until spring, then a big growth phase.

Don't even listen to me, I've never lived or gardened in a tropical place.  I have no credentials. 

Your rocks & pond are gorgeous!

277

Pond Chat / Re: blooming today

« on: October 05, 2009, 05:38:57 PM »

Well that was nice- seeing a foxfire amongst a sea of water lettuce leaves. Unexpected, but really pretty!

Gorgeous orchids. There was a greenhouse near me that had a giant hanging basket of orchid that looked just like that (epiphylum? something like that). I hemmed and hawed about it, but when I went back it was gone.

278

Pond Chat / Re: My art was accepted for the Festival!

« on: October 05, 2009, 05:33:44 PM »

If these photos make me look fat and old, its only because I'm fat and old. 

[snip]
As you will see, the head is too small because I learned all those lessons too late.

Ditto that fat and old thing.  I think your endeavor is totally cool! I also painfully understand what happens when the lessons are learned too late. Are you making the body smaller to compensate? Or just going with the flow?

One word of warning- don't try to compensate too much. I've been there many times before. I try to adjust the one half because I made a mistake, then over do it. So then have to make the other half smaller. Repeat until there is nothing left! Ouch, that hurts.

279

Pond Chat / Re: A little off topic. Mary Travers of Peter, Paul and Mary passes on.

« on: September 17, 2009, 08:30:18 PM »

She looks pretty good in your photos. So sad that she is gone. I wonder how she could perform with that oxygen thing. My mom has that oxygen thing on all the time, and it's a constant "poof"..."poof"... "poof". It seems that if she were able to perform with that constant "poof" of oxygen going off every few seconds, that it would interfere with the natural beat of the music. Obviously, that would make her performance much more of a feat than a person not requiring the oxygen poofs. The oxy poofs are sort of "computerized", meaning that they come excruciatingly timed to the second. Music, on the other hand, is not timed that way. It's really incredible that she was able to tune out the "poof" and do that performance.

280

Chit Chat / Re: Wireless pet containment system

« on: September 17, 2009, 08:11:26 PM »

We tried to get a dog from Save A Pet, and they declined us. Why? Because we said we'd use the underground electronic fence thingie. They said that the device is inhumane! If the dog runs through the fence, the dog would not return home (because of said fence), and proceed to get lost. They gave us all kinds of articles that insinuated that the devices are not acceptable to them if we want to adopt a dog, even though we have a wonderful property for a dog.

The thing is, my neighbor has one of these things and her dogs have NEVER gone through. Yes, she trained them very well with the flags (every day, 2X/day for two weeks minimum). But she has been using this device for at least 12 years and has never lost either of her two dogs. Not the same two dogs, either. Her original dogs died from old age, and now she has two newer dogs that are completely trained to avoid the lines.

I wonder if Save A Pet is getting their information from people who don't bother training their dogs?

281

Chit Chat / Re: Pizza Casserole

« on: September 17, 2009, 07:58:32 PM »

jw, I am a long time low carber and have never really found a good replacement for pasta. You can try zucchini (the green squash, grated or peeled into "noodles" or "zoodles", so to speak), or the spaghetti squash (all split/pulled up with a fork), but there is really no substitute for pasta.

HOWEVER (!), If you are OK with ingesting large amounts of fiber (I can't do it- potty nightmare), there is a product out there called "Dreamfield's Pasta" that legitimately claims only 5g of digestible carbs. It tastes just like regular pasta and doesn't taste at all like that "whole grain" nightmare stuff. If you can handle that fiber, it's pretty good and will keep you full for hours. Netrition (dot com) carries it.

The Campbell's soup, though, is tricksy. They say it's only 7 grams of carb per serving (depending on what type of "cream" soup it is), but there are lots of chemicals and frankenfood ingredients in that stuff. I'll use it if I'm in a pinch, but every time I read the ingredients I'm flabbergasted at the sheer amount of man made chemicals in it.

When I read Esther's original post (recipe), I had a pork shoulder roast slowly cooking in a 225* oven. I used it to make a low carb BBQ pulled pork... but now I'm thinking what's to stop me from subbing the pulled pork for the pasta? Pulled pork, plus all those other ingredients... double yum. 

282

Pond Chat / Re: I made a movie of a Molly pedicure

« on: September 17, 2009, 06:33:42 PM »

What a cute video! I think sticking your feet in the sand at the beach makes for a 200.00 spa treatment... never would have thought that fishies could do the same thing. LOL!

283

Chit Chat / Re: What are spiders?

« on: September 14, 2009, 08:03:52 PM »

Spiders are good...

284

Chit Chat / Re: Need Help With Craft Idea

« on: September 11, 2009, 08:42:52 PM »

Rubber bands!  I like the ones from clumps of veggies. They come in all colors and are really thick. I've seen them attached to carabiner clips so that the bottle can be attached to belt loops on jeans. Very cool.

That stretchy jewelry cord that Kittyzee mentioned is a lot more stylish, though. You could add beads and fun stuff.

285

Chit Chat / Re: Will you remember just for a moment?

« on: September 11, 2009, 08:36:09 PM »

I think about it every day, not just on the 11th. I think about it when I drive across the Verrazano bridge and I look over there and those giant towers are gone. It pisses me off to no end. I think about the thousands of Americans who got killed.

Another thing that really blows my mind is that my smallest child wasn't even born yet, yet he wants to join the military at only 7 years old to fight terrorists. I'm really proud of him for that and will support him if he does.

I also think about how the media does everything they can to disparage our soldiers. They accuse them of torture, then say they support our troops. It is disgusting.  If the shoe were on the other foot, so to speak, they would cut off our heads (as they've been known to do).  Yet, somehow, Some Americans treat these animals as if they deserve our respect and admiration, then accuse our own people of torture. That bothers me because those people don't wear uniforms. They dressed as we do, infiltrated as they did, and caused the death of thousands. Does the Geneva Convention apply there?

Another thing (sorry) is our firefighters and police. While the military works on our peripheral, keeping the country safe; the firefighters and police work among us doing the same thing. I have more contempt for arsonists and criminals than ever and I don't know why.

We just got back from a football game where they had a nice 9/11 ceremony, and the high school and middle school bands played the Star Spangled Banner and a Brigadier General was there to speak, and all the people in the bleachers went nuts with applause. So I guess I'm a tad pumped up- so I do appologise in advance if I've offended anyone.

One interesting story that the Brigadier General told was the story about the "taste of a policeman". So, what does a policeman taste like?

286

Chit Chat / Re: Stuff happens, Sorry Craig!

« on: September 03, 2009, 06:38:07 PM »

I'm back from my trip!  Never thought that when Sean threatened to send members to DisneyWorld I'd be the first to go....or at least I figured they'd be others I knew when I got there.<g>

DisneyWorld.... I know that place. 

287

Chit Chat / Re: The Grinch lives

« on: September 03, 2009, 06:32:08 PM »

That is so mean. He should go to jail for that. Assaulting a child like that is reprehensible. A parent has the choice as to whether they will use corporal punishment for bad behavior (kid bad, spanking... I got spanked as a kid)... but spanking someone else's kid?!

But the strange thing is- what if the mother of this kid was truly a moron? Maybe it was the Mom that should have been chastised. What if the kid was grabbing every toy and saying "I want this!" and the mother was totally exasperated? Maybe she was a single mom (or any other kind of mom- as if it matters) who was unable to control the child's tantrums? What if the real story was not reported as actually happened? (Red Flag) We all know that stories like this are inaccurately reported. Maybe the mother thought she could file a lawsuit by accusing the ugly man who asked her to control her offspring?

I have my own Wal Mart story. When my son was 2, we were at Wal Mart and we had a great time shopping for sundries. It was really cold outside and when we were done at the checkout, my son refused his coat. I spent a good twenty minutes trying go get him to put his coat on to no avail. He flat-out refused. There was nothing I could do to get that coat on my boy. I am sure that at least 20 Wal Mart employees witnessed my attempts to get that coat on. We were hot, sweaty, and tired. I figured this would be a good learning moment (don't want the coat? then be cold), so I proceeded to go outside with my cart (heavy) and my kid (un coat-ed).
We weren't outside more than 5 seconds when people driving by started yelling at me. "Oh my God... put a coat on that poor child!", and "Put an effing coat on that thing!!!", and "what kind of mother are you?". Hello, I had just spent 20 minutes trying to put a coat on him already!

It only took me about 20 seconds to get to the car. And, 30 degree weather is not going to kill a child in the 20 seconds it takes to get to the car. He was fine. Not even cold, actually, since we were so hot to begin with. The cold air was refreshing. He was perfectly happy without a coat.

So, here we are now at age 7. He has learned (wow what a concept) that when he needs a coat, he needs a coat. He is occasionally swerved by the high school kids who insist that they don't need a coat when it's -18 F, but for the most part he chooses to wear a coat if it's really cold. I was so emotionally damaged by all those people yelling at me- but in the end my kid has become the ultimate decider of whether he would like a coat. How simple, how independent. It's the thing I strive for.  

288

Pond Chat / Re: AP will be here for the next 3 years, for sure!

« on: September 02, 2009, 08:14:15 PM »

just send a #$@$$ check amigo!  They do have them in Mexico don't they.
Or send Tequilla

The tequila might be bad. You should send it to me first, so I can test it.

 

289

Pond Chat / Re: Victoria Longwood

« on: September 02, 2009, 08:12:03 PM »

Amazing, isn't it?!  Our summer was so cool, my Vics never had a chance   Maybe next year...

Seriously! We got one week of summer. Now it's fall.

I think the Chicago Botanic Garden was dis budding, their pads were absolutely huge last year. Haven't seen this years growth though.

I hope you're enjoying the fragrance.

290

Pond Chat / Re: Louis Belloisy's Nymphaea 'Silver Moon' 2nd Place People's Choice Award

« on: September 02, 2009, 08:06:36 PM »

Congrats, Louis. What a pretty lily!

291

Pond Chat / Re: Introducing the Queen in her hot tub!

« on: September 02, 2009, 08:05:20 PM »

That looks nice. Every time I see a hot tub (on sale, or at a home center), I think of what to grow in it. I was in a hot tub once and hated it. The water was too hot and I could feel my blood pressure dropping to a very uncomfortable level. Definitely not for me. Add some plants to that sucker and I love it.

All you need is to dress up the leaves with some tea cups and pastries (anyone remember that famous photo?). In my case it'd be a steak. 

292

Pond Chat / Re: Raccoon in greenhouse.

« on: September 01, 2009, 05:38:05 PM »

Take a look at your teeth, specifically numbers six and eleven (Your incissors).  They are the mark of a MEAT EATING MAMMAL!  Nuff said.  As I indicated before in another thread, we all have to walk our own road.

Take a look at our digestive tract as well. We have much more in common with a dog (obligate carnivore) than we do sheep or cows (ruminant herbivore).
The grass grows because of the sun, the ruminants transfer that energy into protein by eating the grass, and we eat the ruminants. We are eating the energy from the sun.

Some vegetarians insist that since we have molars (grinders), we evolved to eat veggies. This is not true. We evolved molars because we started cooking and smoking meat. 

Strange, but I have a family of feral cats living in my yard, and if I put out a piece of meat they can eat the entire thing, know which bones they can eat, and leave the rest. The only thing left of a mouse is the intestines. Fur, bones, muscle, and organs are all eaten expertly. Their fur is amazingly shiny and they're the picture of health. My neighbor is feeding her cats and dogs Purina (wheat/corn/soy)and they all have diabetes. Go figgur.

293

Pond Chat / Re: overwintering hardies in northern climes

« on: September 01, 2009, 10:16:25 AM »

Hardies are pretty darn resilient. All my hardies in my raised pond, only 15" deep, survived last winter even though it was very cold. -18F was the coldest temp recorded in my back yard. I thought for sure they'd die.

You should do an experiment to find out once and for all. Leave one outside and bring one in.

Which varieties do you have? I wouldn't do that experiment if you have expensive ones, but if they're more common ones it would be a good experiment. If you can't do it this year, then next year when it's time to divide and repot, you can make experimental pots.

294

Pond Chat / Re: Raccoon in greenhouse.

« on: September 01, 2009, 10:08:14 AM »

There actually was a time that if  I didn’t shoot something to eat, I did not eat that day. We were very poor and I ate doves when I was lucky. When there were no doves I shot and ate blackbirds and Field Larks. Squirrels, rabbits and coons were table fare for me and my lunch. I needed the protein and if not for a few rabbits or raccoons I would go hungry.

Coon is good when it is slow cooked smothered in sweet potatoes, believe me.

That is a testament to the way humans should eat to remain healthy. If a child knows this instinctively, and even hunts his own food, that's pretty compelling evidence.

Sweet potatoes might be nice on the side, but ya can't live on them.

Sorry about your shredded plants, LeeAnne!

295

Pond Chat / Re: From pygmy to giant...

« on: September 01, 2009, 10:00:19 AM »

V
I know how toxic this entire plant is, but what I do not understand is... why do so many lip balm companies use ricin in their ingredients?  I have 3 here that I did not allow my daughter to use - it says right on the back of the card they come in... "WARNINGS: NOT TO BE EATEN - USE ONLY AS DIRECTED - FOR EXTERNAL USE ONLY - (etc)

So ok - lip balm goes on the LIPS, right?  And if one is wearing it while eating, SOME of it is going to be ingested, right?  And some people lick their lips when they are feeling a bit dry...  I just don't understand why so many companies use this ingredient?  These particular ones are made by the tootsie company - they are Junior Mint flavored, and some other candy flavors.

That's a new one. Wow. My daughter was given a package of lip gloss that has a big lead warning on it, but it was a no-name brand. I wouldn't expect that from Tootsie.

I grew Castor bean plants for a few years and saved the seeds. Last spring I walked into my garage and found my son jumping up and down on the ziploc bag with the seeds.  That was it for me.

I made him go take a bath, washed the shoes, and threw the bag away.

296

Pond Chat / Re: A makeover , thanks to the water shortage

« on: September 01, 2009, 09:51:47 AM »

I'm getting quite agitated with our county planning dept. because they are not restricting the amount of lawn, etc. that people can put in. Some of the wealthy people move in here, build their huge houses and plant these enormous lawns. They shouldn't be letting them do that.

Funny how things are so different from place to place. My neighbor built a house in the woods, and the county wouldn't give him a certificate of occupancy until he planted a lawn. They made him plant grass seeds... in the woods!

We got 4 inches of rain from wed to fri last week- split all my tomatoes.  Lucky I brought a few in beforehand.

Jerry your plants look really nice! Must be challenging to garden in Cali... earthquakes, fires, no water. Yikes.

297

Chit Chat / Re: What makes a thief a thief?

« on: September 01, 2009, 08:55:53 AM »

Johns that was brilliant.

Understanding the tribe mentality helps a lot when trying to understand politics, fashion, sports, religion, even science. Voltaire said "Every man is the creature of the age in which he lives; very few are able to raise themselves above the ideas of the time." That is just as true for south side Chicago poor folks as it is for Harvard scientists, as it is for D.C. politicians; all groups in their own "tribe". No one can be confused by the facts when their mind is already made up. South side Chicago residents often resort to crime because they feel trapped, with no opportunity for success (opposite from the facts), Harvard scientists think they've got it right (when they couldn't have it more wrong), D.C. politicians doom America (more votes). All because all groups must do as the tribe dictates for self preservation.

My Dad used to have his buddies over for a friendly game of poker in the basement, they used loose change to bet with. I'd sneak down there early in the morning when my Dad was still asleep upstairs, and steal from his pile of change. It wasn't much, enough to buy a bag of chips or a candy bar at the school store. In my little mind it was payment earned for serving drinks & food the night before.

298

Chit Chat / Re: Laundry Qu: Getting Tomato Sauce Out of Blue Jeans

« on: September 01, 2009, 08:02:32 AM »

There's also a rub on stick that works wonders for me. (Spary & Wash makes one, but other brands do too)

YUP!!! The Spray 'n Wash Stain Stick with "Resolve power" is the best. Treat Now, Wash Later! 

It is especially effective on anything tomato (sauce, ketchup, salsa, etc). I think it's because it has enzymes that attack and "eat" stains. I've tried many different products but always come back to that one.

299

Chit Chat / Re: Where is EagleEye?

« on: August 19, 2009, 09:54:27 AM »

I haven't heard from him, either. Last I knew, he had purchased a new motorcycle and was visiting bike forums.
He's such a nice guy. He even offered his house to us when we were planning a trip to Wisconsin. Unfortunately my little Matthew broke his leg and we couldn't go.
He did visit us last year and brought us some yummy bluegill.

300

Pond Chat / Re: Little baby red eared slider

« on: August 16, 2009, 08:27:01 PM »

Since it showed up on it's own I figure it's there because it likes it.  Make sure he has a place to climb up a rock or board to sun himself or he will leave.   
         Put some caned salmon bones on the rock and he will find them and drag them to the water and eat them. Meat too.           Call him when you give him food and soon he will come when you call and maybe eat from your hand if he's not to shy.

Would this hold true for a little painted turtle as well? I've got plenty of places for it to bask, but I'm wondering if my overgrown mini pond is just too overgrown for it. Haven't seen it for awhile.