howdy folks... just a quick post. I'm at a friends house, as my computer is seriously messed up. Actually, so messed up, that it got wiped... I'd sit around and reload carp tonight, but I have to sleep early because I have to drive to Oklahoma tomorrow.

Really, Just checking in, so that everybody will know that I'm not ignoring you!

Later.

Stapeliad finally blooming...

well, the darned thing finally bloomed, and I have to say it's about darned time.



And just for the record, it does smell like a pound of hamburger that's been left out in the sun, but only if you get close to it. Now, the thing is in a hanging basket, so I had to shoot the pic from underneath, but here it is...

It is attracting flies, and there was also one of those little fuzzy jumping spiders that look like miniature tarantulas there, I'm assuming that the spider was going after the fly... as you can see, there are quite a few more buds forming. It'll be interesting to see how many blooms I get, before I lose patience with the smell and just start pulling buds off... Right now, I think I should celebrate the bloom with a nice dinner, but after smelling the thing I think I'll opt for vegetarian tonight...

I've had an extremely buzy week... but that should, hopefully, translate into cash with the next Paycheck.

I was supposed to go into the Flea Market today, to straighten out my booth and see how sales were going. But I was just too tired to bother. They'll have to get along without me today. It's one of those stores where you set it up, and their employees take care of the money and sales tax and all that, the write me a check once a week.

Did finally venture out of the house take care of some errands, and ended up stopping at a whole bunch of yard sales on the way back... managed to find a few good buys. The disadvantage to getting out there late is that a lot of the stuff has been picked over. The advantage is that after about 11, those people are starting to get tired and they don't want to repack all that stuff up... they're willing to deal!

So, I came home with a few pieces of vintage jewelry, some snuffboxes, some tools, cowboy hats, cowboy boots and a set of margarita glasses, all of which I should be able to resell after I've done a little cleaning and such... Not bad.

My niece is moving back to Texas this weekend with her fiance', flying in tomorrow. Coming by plane because she sold everything. She said she had no interest in dragging all that crap halfway across the country, except for a few things which she packed up in a box to ship. Smart kid.

No pics today.

howdy.

Well, it's been a trying day.

Screwed up orders, orders that no one was willing to sign for, and the cherry on the cake of the day.... 4 gallons of paint dropped...

And then, when I get home, somebody had been downloading free games of the internet, and they're full of spyware.

And now the pop-up blocker is not working right...

I hate pop-ups.

So I spent a few hours updating everything and running spyware removers and I think everythings back but it was not a good day.

regardless, nothing really to say, just checking in more than anything else.



Oh, and as for the funky mushroom on the previous post... still can't find out what it was, and the wonderful gentleman at http://www.mushroomexpert.com/ couldn't figure out what it was from the pic except that it's probably some sort of bolette... anyway, I'll be adding the link to the right hand side of the screen, as it's an excellent site and a great resource if you're trying to find out what that thing in your yard is...

later folks.

well, mushrooms are coming up again...

well, look what I found in the parking lot of one of the local shopping centers... I have absolutely no idea what kind of mushroom this is, but it's kind of fun. And there's plenty more coming up, thanks to the recent rain... I like the woody, textured look of these. I picked the big one, as it appeared to be pretty much dried out already, and I'm going to see if I can dry it for a floral arrangement. Some you can, some you can't, but the only way to find out is to try...
tonight, I have to get the batteries charged on the old digital camera, as the stapeliad will be blooming tomorrow or the day after. Or it should be, I can't imaging that bud balloning up much bigger...

No real news today, It was a beautiful day to drive, got to the 70's today, which is so unusual in Texas, you started seeing long sleeves! We're acclimatized to 90 and above here...

later folks.

Well, Ike spare us...

Well, Ike spared us... most of the storm passed, or is currently passing just east of Dallas. I live west of Dallas, so we got about an inch of rain and it's been really icky outside, but we did OK. They say that most of Houston has no power... Yikes...

Don't have any pics today. The Stapeliad bud is getting huge... and there are definitely a dozen buds on the thing. Had some furniture that needed to go to the flea market stall... but with the weather that wasn't going to happen. So I took in some vintage jewelry to put in the showcase, and then put everything that wasn't in the showcase on 50% clearance... I want all that stuff gone... there's a big storage room that's full of stuff that needs to be sold.

Not much else to report.

Later...

Ikes on the way...

well, it looks like more storms today... followed by Ike making landfall on the Texas coast sometime Friday or Saturday, and then more storms coming through the DFW area after that. We're definitely getting our share of the weather this year.

I don't think it's going to be much fun this week-end.

really, just checking in, nothing really to post.

later folks!

Cereus hildmannianus bloom, part 2...

Well, it's 6:05 a.m. and I just took another pic of the 2nd nights bloom... The best pics I've taken of this plant blooming are about 1 am when I have the truck parked in front of the house, I turn on the headlights and take pics with that light instead of the flash. But I have to work today, so I wasn't getting up at 1 am, and the truck is parked in back and I didn't feel like moving it. So these will have to do...

Anyway, here we are...

Not been a great couple of days... It's been raining off and on and driving in storms has never been my idea of a good time. Nothing I can't deal with, just not much fun. Started yesterday with a flat tire, and thinking back, I don't think I've ever had a flat tire when it wasn't raining, but today should be a little easier to deal with.

Actually, I'm leaving the house with the determination that today WILL be a better day.

I don't want to be one of those people who go around looking for the worst, because I've found that if you expect the worst, you generally won't be dissapointed. So, today will be a better day. I know this, because I'm in charge of these things.

Now, if you have a bad day, it's somebody elses fault. Later...

Cereus hildmannianus bloom...

well, C. hildmannianus did bloom last night, this pic was taken about 6;15 am. The other bud shows every sign of opening tonight, and I'm hoping that I'll be able to get a better pic then. First bloom of the year, and tomorrows will probably be the last, I just hope I'll be able to have a better year next year.

Really quick post... on the way to work.

found these mushrooms growing on a rotted log in a city park in Garland... They're old, and starting to dry out, which will make them hard to ID, but they look a lot like a chanterelle, except those kind don't usually grow on wood, they grow out of the ground. Anyway, they were huge, about 8 inches across the top, and I really wish I'd been there when they were in their prime. Anyway, actually had a decent day, untill about 2:30 and I had to wait in the park for an hour.

Today I started picking up Aluminum cans, ended up with about 2 lbs worth of them... I'll throw them in my recycle bin. I probably won't get rich, but it gives me something to do in the warehouse districts between orders. It used to be real difficult to find aluminum for recycling, but for some reason the vagrants have stopped picking them up... and now there's certain parts of town where they pop up overnight like mushrooms after a summer rain.

It's raining right now, which figures, as it looks like my Cereus was going to actually open up one of it's buds tonight. I've gone out and took pics in the rain before, but I don't know if I'll be inclined this evening. If so, I'll be sure to post it... with any luck the rain will pass before midnight, when the blooms are usually fully opened...

well, I 've been threatening to post a pic of a sketch a couple of times, so I bit the bullet and did it... This is Charcoal Briquette Cat... The real problem with sharing your life with cats is that I'm always jealous of their ability to just curl up and take a nap anywhere...

how to make a tire planter...

When I was younger, in the midwest, a 10 year old could make a bit of spending money by finding abandoned tires by the side of the road, creatively cutting them, and turning them inside out. Of course now, almost all tires are steel belted, which makes turning them inside out a little more challenging, but heres how we did it...


You start by finding an abandoned tire. This is surprisingly easy, despite the fact that when you by new tires, you have to pay a $5.00 recycling fee... (at least in Texas you do) it's not uncommon for some unscrupulous tire sellers to take your $5.00 then dump the tire on the side of the road. There are literally piles of them by some rural roads... but reusing something IS recycling, so here's a viable use...

Take your tire and set it in the sun. This heats and softens the rubber and makes it a bit easier to cut and manipulate. (in the pic, please ignore the dry, dead grass. I obviously do...) The rubber will be warm within 15 minutes, but 30 minutes isn't gonna hurt...

Then, using a strong, sharp knife (one of those Ginzu knives work great) cut out the inside circle on one side... don't even try to cut through that thick, stiff inside rim. Just cut a slit in the side of the tire and cut from there... I'm using the white band as a guide, but if your tire doesn't have one, use a piece of chalk to make a guide line.

You're going to end up with something like this...


Then, all along the cut edge, make straight cuts, about 2 inches apart, down to the start of the tread...

Then turn the tire over, put your knee against the tread on the uncut side, and yank the cut edge over... This really takes two hands, but I was taking pics with one...

after a little bit of wrestling, you'll end up with something like this:

Now, look around and make sure that nobody is looking because this could get a little embarassing. Also, make sure that there are no hard rocks laying around, because there's a pretty good chance that you're gonna fall flat on your derierre... It was impossibe to photograph this, because you're gonna be using both hands and possibly both feet... but what you need to do is stand the tire kinda up on the unflipped end. Get your feet on top of the cut edge to hold it steady and then reach through the center of the tire and take a very firm hold on the inside rim. Then push with your feet and pull with your arms until the thing suddenly pops through... (this is the moment that you're likely to lose your balance,) It may take a little wrestling and repositioning, and I've found that muttering a constant stream of obscenities helps for some reason, but eventually, it'll pop through and you'll end up with something like this...

Now, scrub it down with soapy water to remove all traces of road oil (dishwashing soap works great!) Then get a can of spray paint to coat the outside and at least part of the inside, where the soil won't be and will be visible. I've found that if I paint them with that red-orange primer paint, everybody always stops and asks me where I got that great terra-cotta pot... but green is a classic choice as is white. Those are the most traditional choices, but there's no reason you can't go haywire and be as creative as you want...

Fill with dirt, and flowers of your choice. Or, they're becoming very popular to store garden hoses in, the hoses just coiling up inside like a snake-charmers cobra in it's basket.

Now, if you notice, the interior of this tire was textured with diagonal lines... most tires aren't. But this gives a little more surface texture, and I kind of like it.

placed outside and planted, the tire will last indefinitely, I've had one here for over 10 years. It needs repainted, but otherwise, it's still solid. Another lasted for 12 years, and would still be there if an agave hadn't poked it's way through the side.

finally, some pics....

Finally got a few minutes to go outside with the camera and see what there is to take pics of.

Well, It's confirmed... the Stapeliad is definitely forming buds... The plant hangs on the edge of the lathe-house, and the buds are all forming on the shaded side of the plant, at least nine but possibly as many as a dozen! I'm hoping that the thing doesn't put out 4 or 5 at once and make the neighbors look at me like I'm strange, the smell may get overwhelming... Having never had this one bloom for me, I have no idea how long before the buds develop, but I'll be keeping an eye on it.

Unlike Pudgeduck, I don't have a Turr Tull in the yard to keep me amused, I guess I'll have to settle for a plastic one. This is actually from that lot of garden art and flower pots I have for the flea market. I may keep him, but it's far more likely that I'll sell him off next spring... cute garden statues aren't really my style.
But Lil' Gothic Bob is enjoying him...

he was trying to get the thing to give him a ride like those giant tortoises you see at the zoo, but the thing just wouldn't cooperate!

well, the rain never came yesterday, most of it seemed to go east of us. All we got out of Gustav is a whole bunch of wind, and the temperature dropping to below 80... I'm not complaining. Anything that drops the temps is fine with me.

Got the truck inspected and oil & filters changed, and of course the mechanic came up with a whole list of things that need done - don't they always? - so I'll have to talk to my regular mechanic and see what really needs done versus what this guy said needed done to get extra money. The only reason I went to this new guy is that my regular guy doesn't do inspections and was far too busy.

Also got all my flower pots together. I've been getting a collection of large flower pots, planters and yard art for the flea market next spring. There's no one else in the market dealing in that sort of thing, so I thought I'd take some in. Of course, that means that 1) I have to store the darned things until I can sell them, and 2) Not USE them... I have a big weekness for flowerpots and planters. I hate to see them empty...

Anyway, another big day today... gonna be up to my waist in more stuff to do... later

Howdy folks... not working the rest of this week, as I have a whole list of things that need done, nobody else to do them, and no time to do them other than now. Of course, the fact that the weather my be turning nasty on me today doesn't help, but there we are. It looks like the disturbance caused by Hurricane Gustav will be lighting in to us soon... then there's the other two storms that should be moving into the coast over the next week.

Right now, I'm not even at my own computer. A friend of the family went to the hospital over the holiday weekend for an emergency appendectomy, so I came out last night to visit and ended up spending the night on the couch... will be heading out in a few minutes.

They live out in the country a little... so I spent the morning coffee sitting on the front porch watching the hummingbirds come in for their morning breakfast, then the turkey vultures do a patrol around the area... watching them glide around is really quite fascinating. It's really amazing that such an unattractive bird is capable of such graceful and effortless flight. I understand that a few people down the road were trying to chase them off their property, but the vultures provide a necessary, albeit unattractive, function in the ecosystem. They're really better off left alone.

Will try to check in later...

kitty in a kaleidascope.

Well, I didn't have anything else to do.

The cats name is Phennig, just so you know.