Wednesday, April 25, 2018

How Does Your Hodgepodge Grow?



Well, I think we've finally turned the corner.
I can't tell you exactly when it happened but it seems like I went to sleep one night
 and when I woke up the next morning, SPRING HAD ARRIVED!
And along with spring's arrival, so did the rain.
But that's a good thing so you'll not hear me complain about it...
...and just at the perfect time too since I planted some flowers.


Nope, I just couldn't wait any longer so I made a trip to Lowe's over the weekend.
I always head to the back of the garden area first, to the 1/2 price (or less) racks.
It seems they never fail to put things out a bit too early and they get a little overexposed.
Bad for them but good for me!
I don't mind nursing those little imperfect babies back to health...
...especially when they are dirt cheap!
I did pay full price for about half of what I bought...
...but now I am waiting for the Boston ferns to go on sale...
I refuse to pay $13 each when I know they will be marking them down too.
I need four of them for the porch.
~
The sun isn't supposed to reappear until Saturday...
...just in time to plant the rest of my flowers and do a little manicuring.



As you can see, we have some work to do.
~
 Just for fun, I have decided to try my hand at growing a little vegetable garden in containers.
I always have cherry tomatoes but this year I want to try eggplant and few other things.
I read where eggplant was one of the best growers in patio containers and I really do like it.

source
Actually, this is the variety I am leaning towards planting...we'll see


I'm not sure how much luck I'll have growing my little garden
so I will still rely on this guy to keep me stocked up!
He didn't inherit his gardening and mechanical abilities from me, but from my dad.
So maybe there's hope for me after all!


So let's say we get on with the Hodgepodge...

...where Joyce asks the questions on her blog and we answer them on ours.
~
1. They say you learn something new every day. What did you learn yesterday?

I can't think at the moment what I learned yesterday, specifically, but what I have learned over the past several weeks is that I can actually enjoy exercising. Yes, you heard me right. Now I realize that many of have made exercise a part of your routine for years but not this chick. I finally made a decision, especially after starting to have these health issues, that I was going to do all I can to get a handle on things. I have had a rebounder (mini-trampoline) that has been gathering dust under my bed for years. I knew that rebounding was one of the best exercises that you can do...you can read for yourself right here. I started to just walk everyday but when I realized my hips were hurting and discouraging me, I got smart and decided to try "walking" on my rebounder. Walking turned into more like a slow jog and then I added some side-to-side movements as well and am now adding some hand weights. As the days passed, I was actually looking forward to it...I just put it in front of the TV and bounce like a fool! This morning I was up at about 4:30 and even got in about 20 minutes before breakfast! Who said you can't teach an old dog new tricks? {This is me, patting myself on the back....smile}

2. Have you ever had a now or never moment? Elaborate.

Did I ever tell you about the time when I started exercising???

3.  April 25th is National Telephone Day. Do you still have a land line or have you gone mobile only? 


We gave up our land line ages ago...it may have been 10 years by now. We were getting so many telemarketer calls that seemed to come right at dinner time or after and we made the decision then. This is not to say we still don't get a few of those calls even on our cell phones but not nearly like the land line. When you receive a text message do you respond immediately? Mostly, yes...this depends on the situation and/or if I am in ear shot. Last time you turned your phone off?  I rarely turn my phone off... here recently, my sorry phone had been turning itself off due to a waning battery. I do, however, turn it to vibrate often when it's not appropriate to hear a ringing phone. And speaking of that, I just received my new upgrade yesterday...in fact, I just returned from the Verizon store getting them switched over. In two or three sentences share with us a story/memory/incident from your childhood (or something current if that's too hard) where the telephone is featured. I don't have to think too hard about this one. At one point when I was a young teen, my family seemed to be bombarded with calls from someone selling something...it seemed like very other day or so. One evening when I happened to answer the call and while feeling particularly ornery, I turned the tables on the caller. It just so happened that this caller was selling light bulbs, of all things. So in the best old woman voice I could muster I gave this reply back the caller, "Honey, I don't need any of your light bulbs.....you are talking to a blind lady!" I don't remember getting another call from a light bulb salesman after that. :)

4. Close call, at someone's beck and call, call the shots, call a meeting, call it quits, call in sick, call on the carpet, wake up call...which call have you 'heard' recently?  Explain.


I'll let my answer to the first question help me answer this....wake up call. No explanation needed.  

5. What subject do you wish you'd paid more attention to in school?


It would probably be history since it is the subject that I got the worst grades in. The thing is, I really like history now. It must have been having to memorize all of those dates. 😒

6. Insert your own random thought here.


Enjoy the rest of your week!

32 comments:

  1. Yes, I agree 100% on that random. lol Your telephone story is too funny. Wish I could think that fast to answer like that.

    Hope you have a great day.

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  2. Good Morning, What a great post...I always visit the "hospital" plants at the nursery too! I get some great deals that way! I love your selection of flowers and best wishes with your little veggie garden. Good for you on enjoying the exercising and thanks for the link! Math was my worst subject in school. It did not help that I was very bashful and the big, loud male teacher loved to intimidate me! lol Like you, I am hoping the forecasters are correct and that we'll have a sunny weekend to work in the yard. Have a great day. xo

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  3. That was sure an interesting post, and good for you for getting on that rebounder! I followed the link and read the entire article on it. Is yours the Needak and do you like it? I can see that as a possibility in my future, especially with our notoriously long winters. (We still have bits of snow in the fields and my backyard pond still is one big ice cube). Have a wonderful rest of your week, Debby.

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  4. I totally love eggplant!
    Your answers are great. Love what you told the light bulb salesman!

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  5. I love your last pic. No truer words have been said! We can't start planting for another few weeks or so. I can't wait. Enjoy your week, Debby.

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  6. Hi Debby, as for exercise, my doctor says I can't until I have a stress test done. So hopefully I'll be joining you with exercising soon.

    Thanks for posting your beautiful plants. If I had a garden it wouldn't look like that. I just kill every plant I get. However, I have finally been able to keep an aloe plant and spider plant alive for a year. Go, me :)

    We have gotten a lot of rain since January. The sun is shining so far today.

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  7. You are indeed my from across the miles soul sister! I too hit that clearance or mark down section of plants. Even at Walmart I do that. I cannot tell you how many plants I have nursed back to life. Lost some, but most often they come back alive and well. I need 8 ferns for my front porch. Last time we bought ferns I bought from Lowes or Home Depot for $10 each and I could not believe it but those things lasted 18 months. I have got to make plans to get some as we enjoy them on the porch. Good for you girl with the exercise. I need to get back in the habit of doing SOMETHING. I used to walk some but have slacked on that too. GRR....I hope that you have a wonderful day my friend. Hugs and blessings, Cindy

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  8. I think the spam callers are getting smarter. I get a lot on my cell phone these days, used to be almost none. And they call from the area code of my cell phone I think to make me wonder if it's someone I know. They're always one step ahead! Enjoy your beautiful flowers. We've had loads of rain here this week, but a gorgeous day today. I haven't done any of my pots yet but hope to get a few planted by Mother's Day.

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  9. Oh Lord, in my early twenties, I hated exercise. Around 25, we joined a gym and I learned to enjoy the process. When I began running around age 30, I REALLY started to like the act of getting out and getting better.

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  10. I love going to Lowe's for flowers and plants, too, Debby! I did buy a Boston Fern, because I couldn't wait any longer. I did buy a Kimberly Fern at half price at a nursery. Have you ever grown them? They are pretty, too. Your last picture is oh, so true! Why doesn't it happen? LOL!

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  11. I grew eggplants the last two years and they came out great. So much better than the ones in the store.
    I'm sure you'll do fine with them.
    We can't plant anything here till June 1.
    Won't have a garden this year at the new house. Too much other stuff to do. Besides there are LOTS of deer and they will eat everything. : )

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  12. I love the colour of egg plants or aubergines as we call them down here. Those pretty flowers will soon forget their sad stories in the store and begin to shine for you. Wow....exercising at 4.30 am!! Good on you. Aren't trampolines the best. They certainly cushion the body. I wish I paid more attention to Maths at school....never, never could grasp the concept of Mathematics!

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  13. 🙂 Congrats on the exercise. You must be feeling better already to be looking forward to it. 🧗‍♀️ You’ll be mountain climbing next! (Rainy here, too.)

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  14. It's so nice to grow your own vegetables ... and your flowers look so colourful.
    Happy planting and happy growing.

    All the best Jan

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  15. Well, look at you, the Exercise Queeen! Good for you! We've been outside today planting more potted flowering plants and hopefully we are through. My husband goes a little crazy with plants. It's his love language for sure! Happy mid-week Debbie!

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  16. Your flowers look good already.I can't wait to see them in a few weeks, once they are settled in their new environment.You reply about being blind and not needing light bulbs reminded me of what I did ,not that many years ago.I got one of these call where they offer to reduce your credit card interest.I replied back in a ring/sobbing voice that I am an old lady sitting alone and waiting for someone to love me and all they cared about was my money.Needless to say the other person hung up rather quickly and I had a good laugh.

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  17. YOUR garden looks great . . . we are JUST now getting temps in the 50's and some 60's so it looks more like early March than late April here!

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  18. You go girl!! I'm patting you on the back too, congratulations!
    You are sweet to rescue those early plants that need some tender lovin. In no time they will be lovely gracing your beautiful garden.
    We too have all of a sudden reached spring. I was out raking yesterday and it felt wonderful to begin playing in the yard. Yard work is therapeutic for me and during these next few months you will find me out side enjoying all the beauty that God affords us.
    Great telephone story and I loved your cartoon at the end. :-)

    Enjoy your day~

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  19. Hope your gardening adventure goes well, we grew a lot in containers at our last home and had some amazing results. We are just trying to get a herb garden established using some old tyres found in the outbuilding. Glad to hear Spring has finally made an appearance.

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  20. We removed our land line for the same reason several years ago. Haven't missed it at all, except I catch myself looking for the answering machine when I come into the house sometime. Great idea to shop the discount plants first. I have planted several pots of veggies and herbs this year, but hadn't thought about eggplant. Good idea!

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  21. Oh, my goodness! I LOVE that funny quote at the end!! How very true! If that were the case, I would be skin and bones!!!! LOL! Wouldn't we all? How hilarious! Oh, my, the view from your gate is just stunning...I couldn't even see where you had any neglect at all! You have such a wonderful way with making things look so homey and inviting. You are a precious gift to this world, and you bless me every time I come here. Thank you for being you, sweet friend. Have a wonderful day in Jesus!

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  22. Hello Debby!
    Wow...good for you for your workouts on the rebounder. We used to have one. I remember walking on it when our second born was colicky every night. Glad you feel good about your progress. I'm still in modified blogging mode. Hope you are having a good week.

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  23. Enjoyed! And good for you for exercising. They say it takes three weeks to get into a habit and you may be there. The garden we took over the years we lived in Africa had eggplants in it and you couldn't kill them. I used them in all kinds of ways and have learned more ways in later years. One thing I did with them (a real stretch) was to chop and sauté with garlic to use with beef stroganoff (think: faux mushrooms!) May your garden and flowers flourish!

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  24. Hey, I will join you in patting you on the back!! Go, you . . . getting up at o'dark thirty and exercising! I will also pat you on the back for nursing those (bargain) plants back to health! (I have the opposite effect on plants. Oh dear.)

    Laughing at your "random thought." :D

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  25. I always enjoy reading your answers...and the blind lady is sooo funny.
    I love your overlay header...gotta learn to do that.

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  26. I am so glad you are finally getting some Spring weather, Debbie, and your bounty of pretty plants look lovely! I think we may have had our two weeks of Spring and are now hurdling into Summer.....see me kicking and screaming all the way! Parts of Phoenix hit the "century" mark yesterday, but we were only 98...woohoo!

    Oh, those telemarketers can really drive you crazy, can't they? We do have a landline phone, because our alarm system is connected through that line. But we get the telemarketing calls on both the landline and the cell phones. I don't think our last name is difficult to pronounce but apparently it is to those "phone" people. If a caller doesn't say it exactly right, I say "no one here by that name," and hang up! What makes me really mad are the scams, like the IRS ones, and how there are still so many people who fall for them.

    Getting older is difficult at best, but you're ahead of the game when you participate in your health. We joined a small gym about six years ago that Medicare actually pays part of the membership. It's only about five minutes from our home, and has more people in our age bracket than the "pretty young things" wanting to show off the svelte! We go four to five times a week and feel very good about that. I'm using up two days a week right now in physical therapy, but I'm looking forward to getting back to the gym full-time.

    Hope you are having a beautiful Spring weekend!
    Hugs,
    Carol

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  27. It has been a long winter and finally like you it does seem like Spring has finally come. But our weather doesn't let me put out annuals before the 3rd week in May and then I still risk a freeze. We gave up our phone 2 months ago and wondered why we waited so long. I hate excersiing but I do love to walk..so Ginger and I have been heading outdoors everyday. Once I start gardenig I lose some weight. Your photo of your yard is so pretty...very nice camera work! I like the hodgepod series since we get to "know" you more.

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  28. Your photos are beautiful. Now I am feeling inspired to switch from walking to using our little trampoline. The past few years the kids have used it, but now maybe it's my turn! I don't think I knew about the 1/2 price at Lowe's, so thanks for the tip. . Just noticed today you have a Memories blog. I'm going to check that out because I love sharing about memories.

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  29. You have a beautiful yard and I think spring has finally arrived here also! Nancy

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  30. It's nice to hear that you're growing eggplant. My dad had a garden across the street from our house growing up, and the eggplant always grew nicely. My mom would then fry it up with a batter, and it was Yummy. Wow, your garden looks wonderful, Debby. Love those sunflowers. : ) That quote is so funny hehehehe.

    ~Sheri

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  31. I am with you on history...I was always interested in The Civil War, but wish I had retained more of it.

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Thank you for stopping by today! Your sweet comments are such an encouragement to me.