Introverts Will Understand

My electrician dropped by last week and fixed some stuff and installed some stuff and generally moved wires and such around. So my doorbell is functional once more. Yay! In other news, damn, my doorbell works again.

The Ceiling Fan of My Dreams

At last, I have a ceiling fan in my bedroom! I love how it looks like a gigantic flower that twirls.

Even more fun! There's a remote!

Pure Evil

Until I knew better, I thought this was a pleasant little groundcover plant. There is nothing pleasant about this miserable, pervasive weed. Commonly referred to as goathead or puncture plant, its official name is Tribulus terrestris, and it's a nasty, evil little bugger.

Look! It gets a tiny, pretty yellow flower on it! But you want to catch the miserable bastard and yank it out by the root before the flower forms. I find it's also effective to use a hoe to scrape off the tiny plants before they flower and produce the hard, pointy seeds.

You can see the burrs beginning to form on the underside of the flowers. They start out green and then dry to a tan to brown color and become hard with several sharp points. I've heard that the seeds remain viable up to seven years and then germinate when conditions are right.

It's my goal to have a barefoot friendly patch of lawn in my backyard. Until this infestation of goathead is eradicated I'm definitely wearing shoes! My garden Crocs have a thick enough sole to protect my feet. There were so many burrs last summer the sole would be totally covered with them after working in the yard. I'd sit down with a pair of needle nose pliers and carefully remove them into the garbage. Don't compost them! They'll germinate and spread. Burning them is effective but I just make sure both the burrs and the plants go into the garbage. Also, please wear leather gloves when pulling them or removing them from your shoes to avoid ouchies. Weeds in general are a pain in the ass, but these miserable fuckers are a pain wherever they lodge.

Kitty Natal Day

To the left we have baby Newton and to the right we have baby Einstein. Today is their birthday, or at least it's the day I somewhat arbitrarily chose by counting back sevenish weeks from the day we adopted them. We lost Steinie nearly four years ago in July but Newt is still with us and is thirteen today. I'll give him a little extra trout feast at bedtime. He's a very good boy. Most of the time. As good as a cat can be, I suppose. I do adore him.

Sharpies Forever!

A friend recently found a Sharpie marker inside his bag of chips when he opened it up. Which reminds me of how much I adore Sharpies. And chips.

I have two containers full of Sharpies in many assorted colors. I also have two or three in my purse at all times. You never know when you might need a Sharpie.

The twin tip variety holds a special place in my heart. Giving you the choice of writing with the fine tip end or the ultra fine tip end in one brilliant color. 

The metallic ones are just plain cool. I actually repaired some scratches on the frame of an antique mirror and I defy you to see where the damage was! Sharpies. One of the best things ever.

Brown Thumb Notwithstanding

I have been potting today. Clearing out the old and putting in the new. Whilst clearing out the old for some new begonias, I found something alive under all the dried out crud from last year. Tiny new leaves and a flower bud ready to reach up to the sun! Remnants of the pink gerbera daisy that resided in that pot last summer and overwintered in the garage came back to life! Given the mostly mild temps last winter, it didn't freeze in my attached garage. Here I am, with a slightly greener brown thumb, delighted by the fact that an annual from last year survived. I guess that balances out the fact that close to ten established perennials did not make it. And one that did make it looks like crap and will soon be dug up and hauled to the compost corner. You'd think I enjoy getting filthy and exhausted.

Hello, June