Chain Reaction 6

 

You may remember the Cracked Pot in our front yard. When I went to Home Depot to buy the house plant, they had gorgeous Purslane and portulaca every where. I bought none and got home and thought, Idiot, they would be good in the cracked pot. The next day during Walmart Seniors Only Early shopping, I checked there garden shop and they had them too.  I had the flowered pot that was also empty.

I planted tiny pieces in the crack of the pot, and will show you those as soon as they root and look good. 

While planting the plants that I call Moss Rose, I saw three empty pots in the back yard by the pool.

I have a label full of these HERE and have grown these for years. Sun or Shade and grow all by themselves.

Aha! I will pull up the ferns that are growing 4 feet tall and plant them in the pots.. They are all over our back yard and easy to yank up. 

I can tell you it took me a couple of hours and my back and hands and shoulders sent me to bed with my pal Asperin.

These ferns are called Macho Fern Nephrolepis biserrata. they are a big and bold fern and are also referred to as Giant Sword Fern. they grow about 3 feet tall and are native to Florida and spread like weeds. Ours are 4 feet tall in some places. 

Drought resistant and only need a few sprinkles here and there to survive.

The chain reaction from buying 4 valances for the Living Room Window ended with 5 days of hard labor when I planted these ferns.   There are two more closets and one cabinet to go. Maybe during the Next Pandemic.

 

Chain Reaction 5

This is the spot where I dug up the children of Philomena, to put in the green vases, to sit on table and counter. 

Side note: The ugly frog, was made by my Other Mother that raised me, Daddy's sister Helen, and 

given to my mother about 60 years ago. He guards our front door.

Of course, I digress....

Philomena is doing well, she has about 6 new leaves

We had Philomena's sister hanging on the porch and I think that is how her children 

ended up by the frog.

Who knows and no one cares.

The thing Is, Digging those up and loving the one on the side table,

 sent me to Home Depot for a plant for the other table.

For some reason, I who toses every thing, had the green planter that is from 1990, given to me when my mother died. The little plants that were in it, now are taking over our back yard.. 

This adorable plant has heart shaped leaves just like Philomena, but teeny tiny. 

Alva is an exotic angel plant, Creeping Fig, ficus pumila  and comes to us from South East Asia

I named her Alva after my grandmother and took her portrait in front of Philomena's child, now named Helen, after my Aunt. And she is living on my kitchen counter.

Philomena's other child is Lucille, after my mother and living in the living room HA HA

as you wait with bated breath, YES, there is a Chain Reaction 6 coming soon 

I hope you are remembering all of these names because someday I will need help remembering what I named them. There may be a TEST

Chain Reactions part 4

 

Continue from yesterday...

I continued to race from space to space, each thing leading to another.

I opened the linen closet across from the newly organized storage closet 

to add one small light bulb, the tiny one for the fixture over the kitchen stove.

There was ZERO room to put a tiny bulb. I moved kitchen chair, both desk chairs into the hall and started dragging stuff out.

This was the next day, I went to bed with closet exhaustion. 

Three Hours Later I had this view

NOTE no photo of the Way It WAS

Both beds were covered in sheets, and more sheets. I called Bob and said LOOK AT THIS, he said 

What is all that? I said Sheets that we have had for 32 years. This yellowed one is 37 years old.

He says Why am I looking at this?

I said, Do you think I need to keep sheets we have not used in 30 years?

He said NO get rid of them. 

I said What if one of us gets sick and throws up during the night and we need extra sheets,

He said, You have two new sets, and we have a washer.

I said what if we are too sick to wash clothes?

The bulging closet bulges no more!

Sheets are tossed

Things are washed and refolded and the closet was EMPTY!

Actually for the first time in YEARS.

We have 2 good sets and 1 soo set.

I did not tell Bob, but I did keep 5 flat sheets, for you know,

Just In Case! 

We might need to cover the furniture when we PAINT. he he he 

I also kept 4 ancient rugs in case a hurricane comes and we need to stop up the sliding glass door.

you know, for JUST IN CASE!

I dragged Bob into the computer room, open a drawer and said 

Remember This! I moved all the lightbulbs to this drawer.

They have been in the linen closet for 32 years, and I know when you go to get one you will say where are the light bulbs and if we both know, MAYBE one of us will remember where I moved them.

I said to him Guess how many little bulbs we have for the over the stove thingy?

SIX and they are good for a year. At our age, we may have a lifetime supply.

I said, we only have one lightbulb for a lamp. 

He said when is the last time we turned on a lamp?

The answer is we can't remember. 

WE are Good!

I am exhausted...

Chain reaction 3

 

While hanging curtains and shifting plants, Our OTC order came. Our insurance gives us 60 dollars each once a quarter to be used ordering Over The Counter things Old People Need.

Above would have cost me over 200.00 if I purchased at Walmart. We got it FREE.

Delivered to our door.

IT ARRIVED

 the cabinet I store things like this in was bulging from C-19 spree buying overload.

I took everything out of the cabinet

everything out of the closet

Shifted and Shaped and Stashed and Stuffed

 and Put it all back in different places.

Four hours, removing, tossing, organizing.

even agonizing.

We need everything in the THREE boxes of First Aid, because Bob is on blood thinners and bleed daily.

I could probably pass the RN test if I tried.

I spent an entire four hours of my morning removing and tossing and organizing. 

color me shocked at the number of bottles of alcohol and 

peroxide.

and when I counted 5 cans of Lysol, I truly sighed.

With much glee I can tell you that 3 of those boxes are empty inside.

but Wait There is even MORE!

to be continued in episode Four

Chain Reaction Part 2

 

 I moved the curtains from living room to bedroom to block the sun, and we both LOVE them. I had intended to use them for the time the suns comes in this time of year, but now they Belong There.

Time frame above was from 6:30 to 7, you can see the subtle changes.

Above shows left to right, 6:30 AM, 6:40, 7 AM open and closed blinds.

the blast of  a heat furnace blast comes much later in they day. 

Ribbons are tied on when we wake up, easy to drop them when needed.

Since I liked both windows so much, it started another chain reaction 

I moved the rooted pieces of Philomena from kitchen counter to front window.

The kitchen counter was bare, I moved the 2nd empty green vase to the counter and added Philodendron from the front yard.

Which left 2  bottles on the shelf  and a blank spot on the kitchen wall.

With the living room looking like it had a spotlight shining on it, 

I started a flurry of cleaning and dusting because NOW I can SEE what is there.

The shiny table by the ancient ugly rocker, now needs a plant, but I have no suitable height container which mean I will have to shop for one.

to fill the space on the shelf, I simply moved the bottle further apart and added to pieces of Philomena into the larger bottle until I can decided what to do.

I cut off the bottom of the photo because I hate the wooden Bow that is on it. I want Bob to cut off the bow, but well, You Know!

I despise the shelf  put there 32 years ago.

(new chain reaction on the way)

As I took all the photos, I said to Bob what I have said dozens of times. 

That  rocker is killing my back and looks awful because it is covered in two towels so the cracked leather doesn't cut my legs, instead of of him saying it looks fine to me, 

he said 'I think your right'.

I bought that chair back in the 90's from a USED furniture store.

It is OLD and NOT an antique.

Are you picking up what I am putting down?

But wait there is more..... to be continued.

Chain Reaction Part 1

 

photo borrowed from Beau's blog because I needed to show the curtains

The Sun in Florida at this time of year is deadly and bright and right on top of our heads. This is the time of the year it comes in the bedroom and bathroom windows. You may have seen in the past I have used cardboard and beach towels to drape on the curtains to block the sun.

I decided I wanted black out curtains on one window in our Master. Since they would only hang there for 3 or 4 months, I was reluctant to buy them.

While watching a movie I sat looking at those burgundy curtains and thought I have hated them since the day I hung them a few years ago. The sun never comes in that window.

BINGO!

Use them to black out the bedroom sun. Buy new sheer valances because we loved it when they were up there for many years, and now reside in the kitchen window.

Ding Dong! Amazon is Here.

OH MY WORD!  you might think two adults could simply lift the rods down, remove the red ugly stuff and add the white pretty stuff! 

NOTHING IS SIMPLE here

Bob living in his World of Television, saw me drag the stool over to the curtain closest to the TV and step up and FAIL to lift down the rod.

It is 108 inches long, hooked in the middle and has not been moved since they day I hung them.

He remarks What are you doing?

OMW! what did he think I was doing, did he not wonder what came from Amazon?

I say I bought new sheers, that is what just came from Amazon. He says what's wrong with those?

Remember he said that until the end of the tale.

He says get down I can do it.

HOLD your end he says

I AM holding my end, it is hung on the middle support hook, he is holding the other end, The Dog can't unhook the middle, one of us has to move to the middle, I move and can't reach the hook. I drag the stool to the middle, climb up and unhook and yell, Wait give me time to get back to the other end as I fell over the ottoman getting there.

We finally get the thing down and it is STUCK together and will not come apart. I drag/carry it to the kitchen bar stools and hang it across, the red curtains caused HBO words because they were seeminly glued to the rod.

they are sheers and there are three to thread on the 108 inch rod. 

We then hang it up, with both of us using WORDS loudly, because I am 2 inches to short to do my end and have to drag that stool around.

Its UP.

Now we have Wide Screen View of not only the house of 7 cars, but 4 other houses.

Its up. We brought the outside inside and We both love it, he says I hated those curtains, (remember he said what is wrong with those) 

I said I hated them since I bought them.  

Every time we sit down or walk through the room, we both say over and over, 

Look how bright it is. The room is wider and longer. What a difference, We should have done this long ago. WE??? 

Problem 1. We still have to hang the curtains in the bedroom

Problem 2. He doesn't know I have ordered one more valance because it needs more fullness.

Problem 3. today the valance comes and we start over adding another one 

Problem 4. NOW I can see the dust OMW!

😛

to be continued

Twin Plants From Different Mothers

Meet Philomena, my now repotted Philodendron of the heart shaped leaves.

Philomena. Filomena is a form of the Greek female given name Philomena. It means "friend of strength" (φιλος (philos) "friend, lover" and μενος (menos) "mind, purpose, strength, courage") or "loved one" (φιλουμενη (philoumene) meaning "loved").

I do hope the two plants will be come friends of strength and once more have glorious leaves that cover the light switch, as it did  before. 

I trimmed the old plant back to the bottom of the pot.

Hacked the root ball to a 2 inch deep size.

Filled new pot with Miracle Grow Soil, pushed the old rootball down on new soil,

added the two tiny pots received in mail from Amazon.

Watered the whole thing and The Man Hung Her up for me.

  

Philomena, My Ugly duckling that I hope will turn into a beautiful

Princess of a Plant, and grow long beautiful tresses that will fill the empty corner.

For now the space is a hat rack

The Punch line is... after all the ordering of new plants I found pieces of Philomena growing in our font yard. I COULD have just dug them up and added them to her half.

 Pothos and Philodendron: Twin Plants From Different Mothers | Costa Farms