Bed Saga

I told you I never learn.  After the bed of my dreams was shipped back, I have gone without one.  Until I saw this one at Soft Surroundings.  The 'Burgundy' headboard would solve the mattress and box springs problem and was a better deal.  Or, so I thought.  I've been a long time customer of SS and love them.  

So, I ordered and waited for the second shipping company to deal with.  They brought it, but would not bring it in the house, unlike the full set up by Anthropologie.  This weighed 111 lbs and the box was HUGE.  My husband and I dragged it in the house.  I moved everything and took down the pictures etc. and pulled the bed away from the wall.  Put it all back in place and left for awhile.

Upon return, the entire house reeked with the most horrendous petroleum, chemical smell.  I was worried there might have even been pesticide emitting toxic fumes.  WTF?  For the next four days I had to leave my outside bedroom door open, even at night.  My sister came to visit and narrowed it down to the stain on the decoration on the headboard.

Throughout the next several days, I was on the phone and computer with the Customer Care and Quality Assurance people.  Was this made in China, I asked (no, Indonesia).  They had never heard of such a thing. I tried and tried to explain to several different reps about this; that I was worried about the toxicity to me and my weenies who sleep with me.  Something that strong and chemical smelling must not be healthy.  I kid you not: I have never smelled anything this strong.  I could smell it in other rooms.

One guy said he'd credit me $30. back to my account.  No!  Another said $175. No!  I finally said to send another bed (that does't stink) and take this one back when they deliver the new one.  The next day, a lady from CC called and said she'd credit back more.  Because of all the hassle, I agreed - that and during all this my husband held a t-bar while his friend hammered it in the ground.  Yes he did - smashed his finger with a sledge hammer.  Bones were sticking out and pulverized and he won't be able to do much for a long while, but that's another story. 

 I am going to use a matte varnish to paint over the stained part to hopefully cover the smell, which has lessened, but is still there.  Especially since my head is next to it when sleeping.  

Anyway...  This princess needs to stick peas up her nose when she goes to bed.

City Doings

I've been at the city house.  Planting and pulling weeds.  Many flowers blooming.  

The goslings are growing.  Seven remain and their parents are diligent.  They even chased Emmy, the weenie, but Sister, brave weenie, chased them back into the water.  Many different water fowl are trying to find nesting places in our backyard, but weenies keeping after them.  I fear several might start laying when we leave.  Anyway...

There are many large clumps of iris; both bearded and these single ones.  I have never seen these or planted this kind before.  The greenery is much more plentiful and they are covered in blooms.  Peonies, roses, freesia, iris and geraniums - too many to name, are bursting forth.  It is gorgeous.

After losing her eggs to varmints, the little mallard had a clutch of 12 babies hatch.  She is rearing them alone and not as diligent as the geese with her offspring.  Seven remain.  

Besides gardening and tending to my booth, Nonna has been tending to her grand babies.  Penny Lane is drawing on the patio with chalk and very proud of  it.

Bella and Ollie stayed the night and are washing all the dirt off in Nonna's bath.  Bubbles everywhere.  They loved it.

But, here comes trouble.  Dangerous series of weather events setting up this evening for a large tornado outbreak and baseball sized hail.  My flowers will be decimated.  My truck and husband's car can't both fit in the garage (don't ask), so as his car is smaller and newer,  it will go in the garage.  

Schools have closed in the event of a large tornado supercell. They don't want everyone out driving which is dangerous when the traffic backs up (aka sitting ducks).  All conditions are ripe for a bad day.  I have seen some storm chaser trucks with radar, etc. out driving or parked, waiting to go.  I just hope it happens before dark if it is coming.  Keeping fingers crossed for everyone and every thing in its path.  I have never known anyone whose house has been hit by a tornado, but have known those with damage to their roof from hail.

I'm Turning Japanese

As the song says...  I love oriental pottery.  Japanese, Korean and Chinese are personal favs with such a long, rich history.  How did they come up with the glazes and techniques so long ago?  

Anyway.  It's your head tilted not my picture.  I was rummaging through boxes of old pottery that I have not previously sold and has been packed away so long, I forgot it was there.  I came across this large vase with markings on the bottom, the only one I could make out was Nippon.  The Nippon (Japan's name) mark was used from 1891 - 1921.

I love this vase and have decided to keep it.  Fuji is a favorite of mine and the landscape goes around the entire vase.  The other vases are old and marked cheaply - some English, Spanish and I don't know what.  Pottery is kind of like jewelry and silver; there are just too many marks to look up.  I hope they sell as they are all very old and in good condition.

Not For All The Tea In...

Kansas?  I was going through boxes looking for stuff to sell and came across this basket.

Seems that the Green Tea that has been all the rage for the past few years was also popular at the turn of the century.  The label says extra fancy green tea, produced and packaged in Japan for the H. D. Lee Mercantile Co.

It holds about 8 ounces and has 35 cents written in pencil on it.  Can't believe the basket, grosgrain ribbon and label plus the tea for 35 cents which must have been a lot in its day.

All the way from Japan, up the mighty Mississippi River to Kansas.  Who knew?

Trouble In Paradise

GIVE ME EVERY LAST STINKING CENT YOU HAVE!!!!!

As tax day draws nigh, those of us whom support the masses, get our tax forms - books really as there are more than 6500 tax codes - ready to send our hard earned money to an unfair and gluttonous, tax wasting government that is in free fall if you've been following the upcoming election spectacle.

No wonder the nuts have come out.  People are sick and tired of the waste and supporting all those whom would rather live off the handouts than work.  Generations have been spawned that live off the taxpayers/government.

And, here is something for thought.  Your entire working career, your check is taxed, insurance withdrawn, social security deducted, etc.  There usually isn't enough left of that check to live on so more and more people work more than one job to make ends meet.

Naive that we were, we didn't know that once you start getting your social security check that you've payed toward your entire working life,  the government taxes it again and deducts their cut and it is the same with Medicare.  They tax it and take a cut of it and in our state, they are going to cut benefits even more.  By 25%.  Most doctors won't be able to accept Medicare anymore and they are talking about hospitals and nursing homes closing.  Child services will be slashed.

I can't think of anything sadder than the elderly having to work two jobs to be able to live off the paltry check they end up with.  But, don't let the government know you are working extra jobs as they'll deduct even more from Social Security checks. And good luck finding a doctor that will accept Medicare as payment.

What is to come of it all?

Spring In The City

I was sitting on my bench next to the bottle tree, when what swam up to me?  I was shocked - didn't expect it.  Cutest ever.  I tossed them some bread and pellets and Mom and Dad showed the goslings how to eat it.  I always feed the water fowl, turtles and fish when I am here at the city house 

and they all come for the feast.

Mom and Dad both cared for the littles and one scolded the weenies barking at them.  My grandkids will be by soon and I can't wait to let the geese swim up and surprise them. They'll be tickled.  But, oh no!  Here comes trouble. A loud splash. A huge fish.  Now what am I going to do?  Jump in and wrestle the disgusting leviathan???

Couldn't get this little whale to pose so I did what I could.  A huge catfish showed up, mouth gaping, skimming the water for pellets.  If you've never seen one, they are ugly with large whiskers/feelers - look like an alien and can grow to more than 100 lbs.

Here is a rear shot of the head and barbed whiskers of this submariner.  It made a large splash and wake and my heart stopped as I thought it grabbed a gosling.  I quickly did a head count and Mom and Dad were keeping the babies between them pretty close.  I even saw one of the parents peck at the catfish which quickly disappeared under the water.  It wasn't going to miss out on its feeding though and after the geese swam off, the turtles and catfish cleaned up the rest of the meal.

Oh nature, do I now have to worry about the turtles and catfish eating the babies while they feed?

Now what?  Oh no.  Miss Runner Duck has come ashore in the bottom yard with her new mate.  The weenies won't allow it and thankfully didn't notice.  

She is looking for a place to nest while her drake waits in the foreground beside the tulips. 

The little mallard nest full of blue eggs has disappeared.  I can only surmise that a snake ate the eggs. 

 Wish Miss Runner would find another plot to build her nest.  She has nested here previously; this was her home before it was mine.  I just don't want the drama of duck versus weenies, turtles, snakes and catfish.

Spring At The Farm

Or, maybe the title should be just pooting around the farm, trying to find ways to keep from doing what I should be doing.  Like cleaning up antiques.  Antiques are dirty business - stored away in the barn and covered in dirt and dust. Add pricing to that and ugh...

So I decided to go looking for morel mushrooms.  They are only around for a week or two at Easter.  Every year I traipse through our fifty acre wood, right where they are supposed to grow - amongst the Mayapples growing by downed and decaying trees.  

I have never found one.  Nada. The deer or other animals must get to them first.  I did see a patch of grass neatly cropped off by a set of teeth and little holes dug in the dirt.  And I got two ticks on my thigh for my trouble.

Mayapples begin their growth in February, not May.  They stand about 12 inches high off the woodland floor.

They produce a flower with a sort of mild citrusy honeysuckle scent.

Then comes the apple.  It will grow to about nickel size.  I watched a program where three young men were on a campout.  They gathered the fruit from Mayapples, cut them up and along with sugar and cream, they put the mixture in a can.  They put that can inside a larger coffee can with salt and ice and taped the whole thing up.  After playing kick the can for a while, they opened it all up and voila, Mayapple ice cream.  I thought that was very clever.

Though I found no morels, I picked up these tree galls.  Wasps sting trees and the tree produces galls. I don't know what for.  Interesting part is that the galls used to be made into a sepia colored ink that was used by Abraham Lincoln and many others.  In the Outlander books, the author talked of making ink from tree galls.

Beside the Mayapples, this tiny flower, about the size of forget-me-nots covers the lawns here first thing in spring.  And since I am wont to do so, here is one of my favorite stanzas from a poem by Wordsworth - Ode.  And sorry to him for explaining in parentheses one of his words.

"Thanks to the human heart by which we live,

Thanks to its tenderness, its joys and fears,

To me the meanest (smallest) flower that blows can give

Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears."

I can do many things trying not to do that which I should be doing.