busy, busy, busy day...

Well, I went to the flea market today, and found skanky clothes on the floor where somebody had stolen clothes and changed them in the middle of my booth. Now I should probably explain, that my booth includes floor to cieling windows on the street. So somebody stripped in front of a window, and switched their clothes, and left these seriously skanky clothes, I'm talking sweat pants with skid marks... eyuk...

so anyway, I finally got home, mowed the lawn and worked with my plants. Managed to calm down a little... it's just that sometimes people disgust you...

put together a new planter with a variagated agave I found, and did a flowerpot tree for encheverias ... but by the time I was finished, the sun was setting and I couldn't get a picture. And just as I was picking up all my tools... somebody driving by stoped to ask me about all my plants... and consequently restore my faith in humanity.

Anyway, I'll post a few pics later this week...

Winter Hardy Cactus

well, spring has arrived in Dallas Ft.Worth and I have put out a new little rock garden with my winter hardy cactus in it...

We're in Zone 7b... actually, literally straddling the line of zone 7 and 8, and quite a few cactus species can survive outside here. Of course, we get more rain than the dessert, so good drainage is essential.

here's some pics...

The rocks I found in an empty lot, where some contractor had dumped them... they're really nice rocks. Mica inclusions, so they glitter when the sun hits them...

and here's the pics of the plants...

Echinocactus texensis... AKA Texas Horse Crippler or Texas lace cactus... native more or less to this area... this is a very small plant that will eventually get about 8 inches across and 3 inches tall... more or less a spiny pancake. Each cluster of spines has a center spine that is hard as a nail and is quite capable of crippling a horse, and there are stories about them flattening tires and going through the sole of a boot. They present a certain amount of danger to cattle, and for this reason ranchers habitually kill them on sight. Consequently, they're more or less endangered in the wild. If you start at Ft. Worth, draw a line straight south, and another line straight west, that southwestern wedge is the native territory of the plant. This is a seed grown plant from the wonderful people at High Country Gardens, and is several years from being big enough to bloom...

Echinocereus reichenbachii v. baileyii Baileys Lace Cactus... got this little guy off ebay, since I planted him outside, he's started to develop buds... I'll be sure to post pics of the blooms, as they're bright pink and bigger around than the plant. Native to Oklahoma, there are reports of the plant being hardy up to zone 5. Easy to handle, the spines are actually soft, and you don't notice it too much in the pic, but the center new spines have a definite pinkish look.

Echinocereus triglochidiatus Claret Cup Cactus, White Sands Strain. This Claret Cup is evidently going to become much bigger than the normal plants, The guys at High Country Gardens say that it can reach 2 or 3 feet tall, and have small offsets to about 2 feet wide. Right now, it's about 2 inches tall, and I don't really expect to see any of the bright red blooms for at least a year, possibly longer. Hardy to zone 5... so it should do fine here.

Escobaria vivipara Behive Cactus... I've had this plant for about 5 years, and it always reliably blooms at least three times every summer, even better when I leave it outside all winter. It really appears to like a winter chill... This one is larger than most I've seen, most probably just older than most... the blooms are fuzzy and pink... I bought this plant origionally at an estate sale. I was there to buy stuff for my flea market stall, and as I was checking out, I looked out the patio and saw this neglegted little plant. I asked how much they wanted, and they said 50 cents. got it home, it was in a six inch nursery pot, and it appeared that all but 1 inch of the soil had washed out, repotted it, it bloomed almost immediately, and it's more than trippled it's size... I planted it so one of the heads is deeper than the other, as I wanted to see if that would encourage it to off set or pup... and maybe I'll get a nice clump. I'll of course post a pic when it blooms.








Escobaria missouriensis... Missouri behive cactus.... a rather common northern species, native all the way into North Dakota, and some reports of it being hardy into Canada. This has bright yellow blooms. I also aquired this from the great people at High Country Gardens, and it's small yet, less than an inch tall and a little more than that wide. They're rather quick gowers, usually not getting more than 3 inches tall, but making many pups to form mats of blooming spines... don't know if I'll get blooms this year, but it may start the offset sometime this summer.



Mammilaria meiacantha Pincushion cactus. This came to me from Home Depot. Tag said it Mammilaria 'species' and guaranteed to be hardy to 20 degrees farenheigh. I'm 99% sure that it's a meiacantha, and it should be hardy up to zone 6, but I'm waiting for the blooms to make sure... I know that it survived outside in a pot this winter, and since it's 5 inches in diameter, it's more than large enough to bloom this summer.



This came from Home Depot also, Echinopsis 'species' supposedly hardy to 20 degrees... This is really why I don't like buying from those large chains... you never really know what you're gonna end up with... don't even have a tentative idea of what the species is, so I'm waiting for a bloom, but it might be a hybrid. Again, it's big enough to bloom, so we'll watch it this summer.

well, I forgot all about this blog...

I'm sad to say that I did...

I got sidetracked by my space... went over there and opened a site because some friends of mine had a site, and just got utterly distracted.

I still have the job from hell, and I still want a new job...

Won't be listing on ebay this week, possibly longer, as they've put in some new fees... It starts out good... listing will be reduced, gallery will be free, but we're raising the final value fee... so, after you crunch the numbers, it turns out that you're actually paying more. That, and now the sellers can't leave negative feedback on buyers. Now, the only negatives I ever left were for people who bid and then didn't pay... but no more, now I just get to take it... Really, this is the most ridiculous pile of crap... anyway, there's a boycott going on, and I'm taking part in it, not because it'll change anything, but as a gesture to my fellow sellers...

I may be looking at selling on my own site, or on one of ebays competitors, which by the way are growing leaps and bounds...

Sometimes you wonder if life is worth it...

I'm feeling a little over-wrought today...

Mom is in the hospital with diverticulitis (SP?) and my sister is laying guilt trips on me because she evidently thinks I should be taking off work to go sit with her, even though I'm the only one in the house that currently has a job, and the job I do have is enough to make me want to spit, and this morning it would appear that I'm going to have to make deliveries in the rain, and I'm just feeling a little put upon.

Of course, that's life and the way life is. I'm certainly going to survive it. And, if you believe the new age PR, surviving it will make me stronger. As long as I get some sleep. Here it is Monday, the first day of the work week, and I'm already exhausted. Weekends are supposed to be when you recharge, at least, that's the theory. But, like most Americans, I tend to use the weekends to run all over hell and half of Canada getting everything done, and if I do have an hour free I watch something that's only vaugely amusing on television.

If you've made it through the post this far, you may realize that I'm having a challenging morning. Well, none of us can be "up" all the time. Ignore me, just ranting.

Later...

put some stuff on ebay, thought I'd post pics here. First up... Fitz & Floyd Florentine Fruit Teapot...

In the great tradition of F & F majolica! This stuff had 2 color variations, these blue scrolls on a white background, which I think I'd prefer, or white scrolls on a blue background. Most people mixed them together... Produced between 1997 and 2000

And next.... Omnibus teapot...


Omnibus is of course owned by F & F, and this is one of the sets they put out that looks very like a F & F line called Country Cottage. Sometime in the late 80's. Remarkably good condition...

Anyway, as allways, if you wish to look at these, or the other Items up for bid this week, go to

Me birthday is a comin...

well, it's about the old 43 year that I've been on this earth, and I'm really not sure how I feal about it.

If somebody had told me I'd be where I am now when I was 18, I'd have rolled on the floor laughing, but at the same time, I can honestly say that all the choices were mine and I don't have that many regrets...

I do wish I'd achieved more, but my stubborn streak is always in the way...

But this year has actually been pretty good for me.

there were some great flowers in the garden...


I've learned a few new things...

I've left a few things behind me, hopefully never to be seen again...

altogether not too bad. Not sure I could ask for more... unless, of course, somebody out there is handing out million dollar checks...

Hi Ho... Hi Ho... back to work I go...

Well, the clutch is fixed, so off to work I go. Actually, went... two days ago. Those few days of not working really helped a lot. I fealt so much better after I was rested up. And the lovely office I mentioned a few posts ago... they've finally, after at least three months that I know of, gotten rid of the dead office plant and replaced it with a silk tree... Now, I don't like fake plants, but it's better than the dead one!

Put a few more things on ebay. The Murano Glass squirrel is going HIGH priced. Surprising, I guess the gold flecking is rare.

I listed a shoe shine box, which dates to the 50's to 70's, almost impossible to tell for sure. It's one of those things that I really like, funky little pieces that actually have a use.



Not much else to say... a few little fitz & floyd pieces, a piece of Frankoma, stuff like that...

Did get a surprise in the yard today... there's this little orchid that my mother got for a present. One of those things you get at the florist, they usually die... Well I have friends who grow them, they always say, "Oh, they're easy to grow..." and then they start giving you this list of requirements that I have no time or patience for... anyway, mom gave me this thing, because I'm the one in the family that actually grows things, and as soon as the blooms died, I shoved it outside on the patio and forgot about it. Went out today, and the darned thing is putting up flower buds... It's nothing too special. A little Dendrobium, but I am impressed... as soon as it blooms, I'll get a pic.

back at ebay...

Well, the truck blew it's clutch, and it looks like I won't be courier driving for a few days. I'm trying to think of it as a little mini-vacation. To be blunt, I needed a break from it...

but I'm taking the opportunity to list some things on ebay...

things like this...



A little Murano glass squirrel... I've seen a few of them over the years, but this is the only one with those lines of bubbles in the glass, and gold flecks... most are silver. Or at least the ones I've seen...



And then we have to start getting the Christmas stuff going... after all, if you're ordering it through the mail, it's best to get it bought now... the weeks before actual Christmas are hideous for the post office. These are Fitz & Floyd, Damask Christmas, still in the origional box. Circa 1995...

That's just a couple of things... There's going to be a bunch more.

And I really should get back to listing...

random thoughts...

Got up at 4:30 AM, and couldn't get back to sleep, so here I am... figured I would drop in here.

Latest delivery story... can't tell you the name of anybody, that's client information, but there's this place I have to deliver too. They're accountants, they do the books for some of the biggest companies in the area. So once a week, all the paper work is delivered to them from the factories and production offices, then later all that paperwork is delivered back... Pretty standard for a courier, and no big deal.

So you get to this office with 15 file boxes that weigh about 50 pounds each. You put four on your 2-wheeler. You wrestle your way through the door that wants to slam shut on you.

You are immediately confronted with a reception desk that's covered with dust and has never been used. You look around, to your right is a big conference room that has never been used. To your left there is a chair and a plant. A dead plant. Three stalks sticking out of a pot, and a circle of brown leaves on the carpet. No one in sight.

You call out "Hello"

From a half open door, someone yells, "We're back here"

So you manuver your way around the inconvienently placed and totally useless desk and go through the door.

There's a rather sad looking office, with 8 women who've just stopped caring.

None of them under 200 pounds. None of them have done their hair or make-up. They're all wearing polyester stretch pants and old t-shirts.

One looks at you and says - "they go over there" and kind of motions with her head. you assume that she means the table against the wall, because that's the only table that doesn't have dust on it.

So you start hauling in boxes, despite doors that want to slam on you, and indifferent employees who certainly aren't going to go to any effort to be of assistance.

Then you ask... "who signs for this?"

All of the women look around at each other, totally silent mind you, until one rolls her eyes and actually stands up and just looks at you. So you walk across the office, because it's obvious she's not moving an inch, and she signs the ticket. Then you leave.

This is my job.

great, huh?

I've got to find something else soon...

Wow, I haven't kept up with this blog at all, have I?

Still selling on ebay, sporadically now, and still selling at Forrests Antiques and more... but I have a new job as an industrial courier, and that's really a full time job, so between all of them, I'm just too tired to blog!

Anyway, I don't much like the courier job, but it's cash, and ultimately it's a disposable job. I can quit it when I find something I like better. I have to use my own truck, and buy my own gas... so while the money at first looks good, when you figure in the wear and tear and the cost... you're not really doing that great. I have to find something better soon. And you're considered an independent contractor, so you have to pay this huge tax rate. The IRS doesn't seem to like people who aren't corporate drones...

The people I deliver to are nice sometimes, and total morons at other times... in other words, they're just people, and that's how people are.

Not much of a post, but I thought I'd check in... and I'm going to try to write more soon. Maybe tell some of my adventures... (I'm collecting lots of strange stories as I drive all over Dallas/Ft. Worth... )