Washing and Drying and Stuff

Just in case you missed it this year, April 19 was National Hanging Out Day.  If you thought about celebrating it, I’ll bet you thought it was the day to get together with your buddies and just “hang”. 

Nope.  It is a day reserved to encourage people to learn about the benefits of using a clothesline for drying laundry.  Did you know??  That according to “experts that study these things” electric clothes dryers account for 6 to 10 percent of energy consumption.  Hanging out clothes (1) Is good for the environment; (2) Saves you money; (3) Therapeutic because you are outdoors in the fresh air.

To be completely honest, hanging clothes outside is something I had never done (after all, I grew up in a time then washers and dryers were the norm).  In fact, until we moved to the country house in Wharton, I’d never owned a house that had a clothesline.  And, then I didn’t use it for clothes until one day when the dryer died. 

So, just a few observations

Hanging clothes on a line isn’t bad.  Doesn’t take too long and as long as you start in the early AM, it’s not too hot out there.

Those authors that write about the wonderfulness of sun and breeze dried clothes, towels, sheets – how fresh and soft they are – don’t live here in the humid part of the universe.

  

Letting sheets dry on a clothesline is ok.  They are fresh and dry pretty nicely, abet wrinkled.  (Clotheslines, you know, were used daily in the world when everything was ironed, something I never learned how to do and besides why iron sheets – they’re just going to get wrinkled when you go to bed).

 

Anything else dries like a board – towels are almost impossible to fold and clothes are itchy.

And speaking of washers and dryers.  I’ve never used or had anything other than a normal washer/dryer set. 

However, when I was very young, my aunt who lived in East Texas, had one of the wringer types.  I remember she would roll it outside to the back porch and run it there.  It was fun to help her catch the wrung-out clothes after they were fed through the wringers.  Afterwards, they would be hung on a clothesline to dry.  I don’t think she thought it was as much fun.  I remember when she got a washer/dryer set (probably in the early 1960s) she was much happier.

Can you tell?  I’ve been finishing up laundry today and my mind is obviously wandering over curious things.

I do occasionally read my horoscope.  Today’s says –

“This is not a great day to make big decisions or purchases. Today would be best spent curled up with a good book.”

I have a new book so I think I’ll follow the horoscope advise.

Take care

Weather

The past many weeks have been very hot and, rain-wise, very dry.  We had such a lovely, nice, cool spring that everyone here at least, thought we’d have a nice mild summer. 

No such luck.  About the second week of May, we went from cool mornings and mild evenings with regular rain TO hot, dry but humid days and nights. 

This morning I was awakened by a 6am text asking for help identifying a flower.  No problem – the beep beep boop text alert interrupted a dream heading toward nightmare.  It was time to get up. 

And, by the way, I was semi-successful in identifying two flowers – one was a Protea

The other, the computer didn’t like any of the things I could come up with.  Oh well.

That done, I walked outside …………

Now, yesterday we had rain (yea!).  We haven’t had any rain in several weeks so everything was happy (me too).  We actually got about an inch of rain at my house.  I’d have been happier if we’d have gotten a couple or 3 inches but beggars and all that.  Anyway, by evening, it was actually pretty nice outside.  I hesitate to say cool but at least not sweltering hot. 

   ……. walked outside and walked into a hot wet blanket!  Ack!  It was so hot at 6:30am and so humid it was difficult to breathe.  You know I live in the gulf coast plains – I’m used to humidity but, honestly this morning it was like breathing hot water.  Awful!  I had to look at the calendar – yep, just June.  Just the middle of June, not even officially “summer” yet.  Sigh.  It’s going to be a hot time in the old town. 

So now I’m wondering what will attract the rain to us. 

Weather lore doesn’t help much when it comes to attracting rain.  It can tell us when it’s going to or not rain, like –

"When cows are lying down in a field, rain is on its way" 

“When the dew is on the grass, rain will never come to pass.”  Well hell, if that’s true we might not have rain again for a long time.  There is always dew on the grass here!

Oh – how about this one –

"St.Swithin's Day if thou be fair, 'Twill rain for forty days no mair; St. Swithin's Day if thou dost rain, For forty days it will remain.". 

St. Swithins Day is July 15 so we’ll have to wait on this one.  Actually, I don’t like either choice – 40 days with no rain - ick – we’ll dry up and blow away.  Forty days of rain just might find us all watching for the Ark.

No help there.  Wait!  I have a rainstick!

    is made from any of several species of cactus. The cacti, which are hollow, are dried in the sun. The spines are removed, then driven into the cactus like nails. Pebbles are placed inside the rainstick, and the ends are sealed. A sound like falling water is made when the rainstick has its direction changed to a vertical position in the belief it could bring about rainstorms.

You know there’s something else that attracts rain.  Leaving the car windows down.  I’m pretty sure that’s what caused the rain yesterday!

Take care

Jatropha podagrica; Homalocladium platycladum

This past May, when the garden club held its annual plant sale, I was determined to come home empty handed.  Well, actually if that had been the absolute truth, I would have left my wallet at home.  As it was, I was pretty good and brought home only a few new plants.  And since my flowerbeds were and are full to overflowing, the new ones are now members of the horde of potted plants sitting around my yard.  This, of course, means I will have to bring them inside (along with the many, many others) come fall.  I shall probably complain to high heaven then.

When I buy plants, it is because of (1) I am already familiar with it and want one; (2) something about the plant catches my attention; or (3) I just like the name.

This one – I just liked the name – Buddha Belly (Jatropha podagrica) or Bottle Plant or Gout Plant.

Yes, yes – I got two of them
but they are slightly different
from one another

Buddha belly plants are succulents and native to dry or semi-moist tropical climates.  Ok, that’s good – it’s semi-moist here (all the damn time!).  Usually they’re grown as a container plant but in warm climates they can be planted outdoors.  In a perfect world, they can grow to upwards of 5’ tall but mostly they get to be 2-3 feet tall.  They have a swollen lower trunk (thus the name Buddha Belly or Gout Plant), green leaves that look similar to maple leaves, and coral colored flowers.  Like many succulents, they don’t require a great deal of maintenance.  Their flowers attract butterflies.  Oh, and don’t lick it – the sap is poisonous. 

This plant likes full to partial sun (here, I’m going with partial – our full sun is HOT!!)  Water plants deeply once or twice each week and allow the soil to dry out in between waterings. Come fall, the plant will drop its leaves and become dormant. Stop watering all together – then start up again in the spring.  Fertilize each month during spring and summer.  It can be prone to scale and mealy bugs.  If that happens, spray with insecticidal soap, available at most garden centers or make your own - mix 1 tablespoon of liquid dish detergent with 1 quart of water and put the mixture in a spray bottle.  Buddha Belly is cold sensitive so you will need to protect it if planted in the ground or bring it inside if in a container.

This is my first time to grow Buddha Belly so I’ll try to post another picture of it one day when it’s grown up to (hopefully) look like this.

Another of the plant sale plants I got is Homalocladium platycladum or Ribbon Plant.  I didn’t just refer to it by the common name because there are a great big bunch of plants out there with the common name of Ribbon Plant.  It’s also called Tapeworm Plant (ick, don’t care for that at all) or Centipede Plant (better, but I’m going with Ribbon). 

This is a member of the Knotweed family and is from the Solomon Islands.  It is an evergreen shrub with flat green stems and really no leaves.  Well, it does make little leaves at the joint but they turn into the flat stem.  It grows both like a shrub and a climber, has tiny, short-lived flowers that come out in late spring, and grows really a lot depending on where it is. 

It grows best in partial shade, although I did read it also likes full sun.  However, you want to keep the soil moist and here, that’s really difficult in full sun.  I’m keeping mine in bright shade.  It will grow in most any soil from a sandy loam to moderate clay.  Ribbon Plant will suffer drought poorly and will go limp and bedraggled easily.  One of the facts I read says it will dieback at the tips in drier climates so keep the humidity at least 50% (hahahahaha – oh, no problems there). Fertilize it monthly during the growing season.

I had one of these plants long years ago.  It didn’t survive the move to Colorado.  I am more hopeful for the new one.

Take care

Letters

I have an ongoing project.  Somehow, I’ve acquired a variety of letters and I’ve been transcribing them.  Partly because they’re part of my family history.  Partly because I am fearful the paper letters will be destroyed or damaged or lost.  And, partly because they show us a different time and place and thought process and person. 

Letters written (1908) to and from my great aunt and uncle.  My Great Uncle T (Terrell) wrote love letters to my Great Aunt K (Callie) before they were married.  He worked for the railroad and was some distance from her.  They were sweet, tender letters telling her how much he cared and missed her. 

“Sweetheart I wish I could tell you just how dearly I love you but I caint.  I will just say that you are the dearest one on earth to me and I am only waiting for the time to come where I can take you in my armes and call you my one dear sweet wife my life long companion.” 

Her letters back were full of concern and insecurity.

“You are so good & generous.  I know you will spoil me.  I don’t know how it is Dear that you can love so well a little old whimsical bony ugly girl like me but you said for me to please not grumble at myself.  I wont no more but you know I don’t wont to deceive you dear & I think I have got the best sweetheart in the whole world.”

Letters written (1939-1950) to my Mother by her English pen pal. 

“I saw your name in the pen-pal page of the Famous Funnies so I thought I would write to you.  Over here we get American comics two months later than you do.  We have to pay 2 pennies for them that is 4 cents.  The latest movies that have come round here are Mickey Rooney in Huckleberry Fin and Men with Wings.  My favorite hobby is model airplane building.  Could you tell me what “candy” really is, we keep on hearing it on the movies that we wonder what it is.” 

Letters written (1944) to my great aunt from a nephew POW during WWII. (He was a POW from 1942 to 1945 but was not able to contact family until 1944.)

“The Japanese authorities have been kind enough to grant the War Prisoners permission to write letters to the United Sates so I take this opportunity to let you and the folks know that I am alive and well.”

And letters from complete strangers (1944) that heard over the radio that this man was alive and a prisoner of war, in case his family didn’t know.  There were many dozens of those letters, notes, postcards.

“I picked up a message over my radio on April 9, 1944 from …..”

Letters written (1942-1946) to my Father by his buddies during World War II. 

“You may not receive this for some time but I’ll start you a few lines anyway just to keep in touch.  As you can see, I have finally begun that long awaited journey across the ocean and believe me brother there is plenty of water in these parts!  I didn’t know it was possible to ride so long and see nothing but water!”

In addition to showing a different time and place, these letters show a side of individuals I had never seen.  For instance, my great aunt and uncle were always old to me.  Yet their letters revel a young romantic side to both.  My father was ….. well, my father.  The letters from his buddies show they were young and capable of getting into all sorts of mischief.  The letters written during the war were all similar in that they very seldom mentioned the actual act of waring.  Mother’s pen pal, a young boy of 12 or 13 was already living in war-torn England but he writes about the kind of music he likes (jazz) or things happening in school and comments briefly that the bombings “aren’t so bad”.  My relative that was a POW wrote about people at home. 

I find it sad that letter “writing” is something we no longer do.  We can call just about anywhere, skype, or email.  Not the same.  Pretty handwriting has gone by the wayside.  Too bad. 

And, I’m as guilty as the next person.  I used to write letters to greats and grands and parents, aunts and uncles but with the advent of the internet, I never actually use paper and pen.  I do still write the occasional letter but they magically zip from my computer to another but not the same.  Ah well. 

I worry a bit there will be no written record and that my great grandchildren won’t know who I was.

Take care.

Epilogue

So, you may remember my post of several days ago –

 29 May, “For the love of fishing”.  Previously:  Two enthusiastic fishermen, while exploring, found a small lake with fishing possibilities.  It was somewhat secluded (good thing) but located on private property (not so good) plus the water inside the lake was private – owned by a 2^nd party (also not so good).  The only problem with this lovely gem besides being owned by others, was the lack of a boat ramp.  These two eager individuals decided to build one (for the private lake with private water) themselves.  In the process, they managed to get a large trackhoe stuck in the mud and then ….. it sunk in the mud in the private lake filled with private water.  At last they decided to 1. Get a bulldozer – a really big bulldozer; 2. Hire a diver to attach cables; 3. Pull the trackhoe out of the water. 

Epilogue

 The trackhoe is still in the lake (possibly to become a permanent fixture – Lake Art).  The diver went down to check the situation and it seems the trackhoe is deeply stuck, wedged, fixed, trapped, caught, jammed in the mud.  Bulldozer is not getting it out.

“O, woe is me, To have seen what I have seen, see what I see!”

William Shakespeare

What to do ….. what to do…….

 Or

Or

Leave the galaxy, I say.

Take care

You NEVER KNOW what works!

In the book I’m currently reading, one of the characters is very learned in the use of magic and magical items – like crystals, gemstones, and such.

This sparked my curiosity and so – Did you know ....

 Amber is regarded as one of the luckiest gemstones.  According to legend, amber originated as the tears of the sisters of the dead Greek hero Meleager (a hero respected in Calydon. He was famed as the host of the Calydonian boar hunt and was one of the Argonauts).  Amber has been worn in amulets since ancient times in the belief that it bestows medicinal benefits and offers protection against witchcraft and nightmares.  It has also believed to prevent plague, whooping cough and asthma.

 Amethyst was thought to have particular significance in relation to strong drink.  For instance, drinking liquor from an amethyst cup was thought to prevent drunkenness and carrying an amulet would cure alcoholism.  It’s was also thought to cure headache, toothache, gout, protect against nightmares, locusts, thieves, storms, and infidelity.

In the book I’m reading, the gemstone in question is a yellow Topaz.  Topazes come in a variety of colors but the most recognized is yellow to light brown.  It is supposed to bring good fortune in finance matters, attract friends and suitors, make the wearer courageous and wise.  Plus, it gives a certain amount of control over wild animals.  (In my book, it is of great importance in asserting control over animals and humans.)

 It was believed that Peridot had the power to dissolve enchantments and to drive evil spirits away. It was able to strengthen the power of any medicine drunk from goblets carved from the gemstone. When used as protection against the wiles of evil spirits, peridot was pierced and then strung on the hair of a donkey and attached to the left arm. Powdered, it was used as a remedy for asthma. When held under the tongue, it was believed to lessen the thirst in fever.

Pearls have been long known as the "Queen of Gems". In China, pearls were thought to be raindrops swallowed by oysters. The Chinese associated dragons and pearls together, since they believed dragons fighting in the clouds caused pearls to drop from the sky in the form of rain. During the Dark Ages, gallant knights often wore pearls onto the battlefield to protect them from harm. The ancient Greeks believed that wearing pearls would promote harmony in a marriage and prevent newlyweds from shedding tears.

When crushed to powder, Hematite has a deep red color.  Early Romans would crush the mineral and rub the red powder onto their bodies, believing this would bestow courage, strength, and a general invulnerability.  It is believed to be a healing and grounding stone, strengthening the body and lessening life’s stresses.  Hematite will also boost  self-esteem, confidence, and willpower, and help to overcome compulsions and  addictions.

 In ancient times it was believed that the Tourmaline is found in all colors because it traveled along a rainbow and gathered all the rainbow's colors.  It is believed to strengthen the body and spirit, especially the nervous system, blood, and lymphs. It is also thought to inspire creativity and was used extensively as a tailsman by artists and writers.  Also, if rubbed or heated, it will develop a static charge that attracts lightweight particles to its surface.

 

While Emerald is the birthstone for May, it is also the birthstone for the Zodiac signs of Cancer.  It will give the wearer the ability to foresee the future and be protected against evil spells. It was also believed to cure diseases like cholera and malaria. Wearing an emerald will make one an eloquent speaker, improve memory, and refresh vision. 

Jade is said to bless whatever it touches, serving mankind across the globe for nearly 6,000 years. For primitive peoples in the British Isles, its toughness, and ability to polish and sharpen made it a favored stone for axe heads, knives and weapons. Indigenous tribes of Mexico, Central and South America, and New Zealand carved it into deity masks and ritual artifacts. Jade has been the most highly esteemed stone in China throughout recorded history and was valued for its beauty and powers of healing and protection.  And, according to some, if you take a hammer and hit a diamond, the diamond will shatter into a dozen pieces. Hit a piece of quartz and it’ll split in two. However, if you hit a piece of jade, it’ll ring like a bell!

Take care

Spring being a tough act to follow, God created June.

OK, time to mark your calendar with June’s special days ---

   month

Adopt-A-Cat Month  American Humane celebrates Adopt-A-Cat Month® each June – a month that also marks the height of “kitten season,” when millions of kittens are born and often end up in animal shelters.  And, as it turns out --- I have kittens that will soon need a forever home.  Our neighborhood is overrun with feral cats and in the last 10 days or so, one has had kittens in my shed.  She seldom leaves her babies but I’ve managed to get to them once or twice.  There are 4 and they are very cute. 

Beautiful in Your Skin Month  It’s the largest organ of your body and perhaps it is the most wonderful as well. Your skin covers your entire body and acts as a shield from the elements, it bends with ease, warns you when something is too hot or too cold, repairs itself when broken, and plays a huge part in your appearance. There is a lot that contributes to having healthy skin but feeling beautiful in your skin is more of a reflection of the mind than the mirror.  So, take care if your skin!

National Oceans Month  Covering 71 percent of the Earth’s surface, the oceans affect everyone from their climate and weather to their food and agriculture. Get involved with National Oceans Month to raise awareness and preserve the beauty of Earth’s aquatic environment.

World Naked Bike Ride Month (Northern Hemisphere)  This is an international clothing-optional bike ride in which participants plan, meet and ride together en masse on human-powered transport (the vast majority on bicycles, but some on skateboards and inline skates), to "deliver a vision of a cleaner, safer, body-positive world." 

 ... and week

International Clothesline Week: 2-9  Was created to encourage people to save energy by hanging their clothes to dry instead of using electricity or gas.

National Hermit Week: 13-20  A time to promote opportunities best pursued quietly and alone such as resting, reading, writing, thinking, meditating, appreciating, etc.

Watermelon Seed Spitting Week: 24-30 Select a large, heavy seed. Center the seed on your tongue. Roll your tongue to make a barrel for your seed bullet. Inhale deeply through the nose (no one wants to perform the Heimlich). Lean back to achieve maximum force for propelling the seed. Abandoning all decorum, quickly expel your gathered breath through your rolled tongue.

 ... and day

Yell "Fudge" at the Cobras in North America Day: 2   Anywhere north of the Panama Canal. In order to keep poisonous cobra snakes out of North America, all citizens are asked to go outdoors at noon local time and yell “fudge!” Fudge makes cobras gag, and the mere mention of it makes them skeedaddle.

Wonder Woman Day: 3  “At last, in a world torn by the hatred and wars of men, appears a woman to whom the problems and feats of men are mere child's play. A woman whose identity is known to none, but whose sensational feats are outstanding in a fast-moving world. With a hundred times the agility and strength of our best male athletes and strongest wrestlers, she appears as though from nowhere to avenge an injustice or right a wrong! As lovely as Aphrodite- as wise as Athena- with the speed of mercury and the strength of Hercules - She is known only as Wonder Woman, but who she is, or whence she came from, nobody knows!”

International Bath Day: 14  Legend has it that on June 14th (around 260 BC) Greek mathematician, scientist and scholar, Archimedes, discovered while taking a bath that an object’s volume could be accurately measured by being submerged in water! Unable to contain his excitement over this discovery, Archimedes lept out of the bathtub and yelling “Eureka, Eureka!” as he ran through the streets of Syracuse, Greece.

Litha: 21  or Midsummer is a celebration of the Summer Solstice by the lighting of bonfires in honor of the sun which is at its strongest point.

International Fairy Day: 24  a day for fairy believers young and old to celebrate the stories, magic, and history of the Fair Folk.  "She's going to die unless we do something. Clap your hands! Clap your hands and say, 'I believe in fairies!'"   Peter Pan, JM Barrie.  Are you clapping your hands now???

  

Take care