I'm A Patsy - Gotta Problem With That?

Friday, June 20, 2008


Last year I wrote about Audrey III several times. Audrey was the tomato plant I was growing right beside me here in my computer room. She grew over 15 feet tall, and I had to fasten her to the walls to keep her standing upright. I artificially inseminated the blossoms as I don’t allow bees in my house, and there were no bees around anyway due to “Colony Collapse Disorder” which hit the bee population. I eventually had about 12 tomatoes on Audrey which was extremely exciting for me. They looked like mutants, not shaped like the store-bought ones I usually eat, but I ate every one of them. When I eventually took her down when she was withering, I decided not to do it again this year. I even felt like I was withering after the work of taking her down. But when I saw an ad a few months ago in the “Parade” magazine, I couldn’t resist and ordered another one. So they sent me a few seeds and I planted two of them. Now I have two plants covering one of my windows right beside me. I cut the tops off as I wasn’t going to let them get like they were last year. Just yesterday I noticed some blossoms, so I did my thing with the AI and hopefully Audrey IV will produce. This is very exciting for me!

I’ve become very interested in growing some of my own food. What I would really like to grow is gasoline to put into my Volvo which doesn’t get the best mileage around, but I haven’t figured out how to do that yet, so I’ll stick with vegetables. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be able to grow your own food right where you live? But since I live in a condo, they don’t allow vegetable gardens in the manicured areas surrounding each condo. Don’t they remember Victory gardens? They’re in style again. Anyway, I decided to grow some carrots in a pot next to the tomato. So I planted a bunch of organic seeds but neglected to thin them as they came up. So I had a huge mess of carrots that I eventually pulled up and ate, but they were very small . . . I mean very, very small! But they tasted wonderful. I had some seeds left over, so I did another planting. This time I tried to put some space between the tiny seeds which turned out quite well as I now have a bunch of carrots growing that may produce real carrots. I also have chives planted in the same windows that I cut up on baked potatoes regularly.

But I wasn’t satisfied with that, so I decided to plant potatoes on my back deck in a big pot. I’ve never done that before except when my dad and I planted them on our farm. I used the same picture that I used on a posting about a year ago because that’s the only picture I have of my dad and me planting potatoes, and I love it, so I used it again. I didn’t really remember how to plant potatoes, but I cut up some potatoes with eyes in them and planted those in my pot. And guess what? I now have about 6 big potato plants growing! I don’t know when I’m supposed to dig to see if I have potatoes, but maybe there’ll be blooms and then it will be time. In the meantime, they are growing and growing – they’re very tall and just keep on, but with no blooms. They look gigantic out there! I hope they’ll give me a sign when it’s time to dig. I can hardly wait to see what’s under all the growth!

Thursday, June 12, 2008


These pictures were taken during one of our neighborhood 4th of July celebrations we had every year when our kids were young. Teri was 10 and Cindy was 6. Teri won first price for her portrayal of George Washington in the annual parade. Cindy was Martha, but no prize. Possibly that’s why she’s pouting. They were on our front lawn, and I have no idea what all that stuff was hanging behind the girls. Something relevant to the occasion, I hope. We had a very unique neighborhood. We lived on a cul-de-sac for about 15 years and everyone was friendly with everyone else. We had neighborhood parties celebrating New Year’s Eve, 4th of July, Thanksgiving . . . whatever. The men all disappeared during the day to their work stations, and the women would stay home and do what was necessary in the house. I’ve forgotten what all that was – I never liked housework. But we women always had time for coffee or a glass of wine together. I don’t think there are any of those cul-de-sacs like ours left in this day and age which is a pity. We weren’t like “Desperate Housewives” or “Swingtown” – at least I wasn’t aware of it if we were.

Cindy had a buddy, Randy, who lived down a few houses. He’s in the other picture dressed as I’m not sure what . . . possibly a sailor? I don’t know if he got any prize or not. I’ve written about him before and always call him “the doctor” as he and Cindy played with my used syringes when I was giving myself allergy shots. They played with the ones I used when I practiced on an orange; they shot up a rubber doll that later turned black and very ugly. Randy had a big brother, Tim, and a big sister, Janis. Bob and Ruth are their parents, and we became very good friends. Bob made homemade ice cream every 4th of July for all the parade watchers – he’d crank the handle for hours and the ice cream was out of this world good! Some of the men would drink too much beer, so after everything was over, the women would drive up to an all-night restaurant with the half-awake men. We’d all go in and have breakfast. The women would eat and have a good time, and the men would usually fall asleep in their chairs. What a goofy bunch we were, but we had fun.

When Teri graduated from high school and I was divorced, Cindy and I moved away from the neighborhood to an apartment, but I always kept in touch with Ruth and Bob. You don’t let go of good friends like that. I don’t see their kids anymore as they live in different cities as do my daughters. But last weekend I went across town to visit with Ruth, and all of her kids were there – Tim, Janis and Randy (the doctor) with their spouses. Randy doesn’t have a spouse right now, but I hear he has a very nice girlfriend. It was so good to see them after all this time. They all looked just great.

I miss those times when the girls were growing up around their friends there, and I’ll never forget the cul-de-sac living. You meet many people during your life, and not everyone stays with you. But during that time, we met Bob and Ruth who are very special and continue to be a couple of my closest friends. That will never change.

Thursday, June 05, 2008


I grew up in a family with a good work ethic. My dad was a farmer who worked hard all his life to support his family. He never let up from the daily chores on the farm, and he never got drunk and couldn’t get up in the morning for the early morning milking or whatever it is farmers do in the early morning. There’s no way he could have gotten drunk as my mom didn’t allow liquor in the house. There may have been a bottle in the barn for special occasions such as when Mr. Bendler brought his bull over for a “date” with Alice, our cow, which, in time, would produce a calf. That definitely would have been an occasion for a good stiff drink for everyone! So when Darrell and I married and had kids, we wanted them to grow up with a good work ethic that we both had had.

When Teri was three years old, we bought her a little cardboard play store for her to practice working on customer relations, selling products that people requested and learning phone skills which she is demonstrating in the above picture. She became quite proficient in all those skills, and as she grew older, she moved on to KFC, Pizza Hut and like establishments. She had a good thing going through high school with those part-time jobs, and I thought possibly she had found her calling and maybe she’d stick around the family and become head cashier someplace and we’d all live happily ever after. But no! Teri wanted to go to college, so off she went . . . never to come home again. In fact, she moved to Wash DC after graduating. And even after all that time and effort we had put in to keep her here at Pizza Hut close to us. I’m really just kidding. Teri did exactly as I had done when I was her age. I went to college, and after graduation moved to Wash DC. Teri now has a good career, but if times get bad, she can always come home and put her skills to work at Subway or Pizza Hut.

When Cindy came along, we wanted to instill in her the same work ethic that had carried Teri through her younger years. We couldn’t get her going at the early age of two as shown in the above picture as all she cared about was dressing up in anything that was handy. Could she have been wearing a plastic bag? I know we didn’t have much money for dress-up clothes at that time, but really . . . a plastic bag? She apparently never got it on over her head because if she had, I wouldn’t have that picture . . . or Cindy, for that matter. Cindy worked all through high school at restaurants as a waitress. She would sing and do cheers that she performed with her rally squad at her high school. She made very good tips! But upon graduation, she was off to college just like her sister had done. But she left college early to marry and move to Washington – the state not the city. She fell back on her waitressing skills when times were hard at first but now has a good career going that doesn’t require any restaurant work.

My daughters seem to have followed in my footsteps which was not a bad thing. I guess my two apples didn’t fall far from the tree! They are both doing well now, but they know that they can return to their homeland and the compound anytime and pick up where they left off at Pizza Hut or KFC. And I will welcome them home with open arms.