Welcoming the birds

Welcoming the birds

A few weeks ago we went to visit  friend Sally and Joe at their country cottage. While we were there I happen to glance out of their window at their patio. What a delightful scene I saw! They had grouped their bird feeders together under a large tree, clustered around a bird bath and there were maybe different kinds of birds having a bath or eating from the many feeders. Sally said they spend many hours just looking at the birds enjoying themselves.

Now we have bird feeders too at our house and also two bird baths and we do see many kinds of birds but they are in different parts of the garden and yard. So we decided that it would be very pleasant to have a set of feeders and maybe a bath or a dribbler all in one spot just outside our garden room window so that we could see them from inside the house.  We went out and bought three new feeders, (different kinds} and a couple of poles to hang the feeders on. We still have to find a source for water in that area. Then we bought some different kinds of feed to put in the feeders and set everything up.

So far it has been just delightful. After only one day we started getting all kinds of birds visiting the feeders, some we had never seen before. There were the usual birds the Cardinals, the nuthatches the sparrows and some unknown to me. Today a mourning dove visited and spent a good time picking up feed that had blown on the floor.

The area has also been visited by an armadillo (during the day). Usually the armadillos only come out during the evening. Then there was a rabbit and of course the dreaded squirrels!
So far the squirrels have not figured out how to jump from the trees onto the feeders. They cannot climb the poles although they've really tried! Bud the dog has almost figured out if he creeps around he just might catch the squirrels. Strangely enough Breanna, the only cat that goes out for any time in the yard, seems to have no interest in all these birds but sits on the bench and watches.
Let's hope it stays that way!

Best Kept Secret by Jeffrey Archer

Best Kept Secret by Jeffrey Archer

I read this book about two weeks ago and I realized soon after I started reading that it was the third book in a trilogy," The Clifton Chronicles". I hadn't realized this when I have selected the book at the library. This is not something you should do if you can help it because you do not understand completely the characters and their past history sufficiently unless you start with book 1.

Nevertheless I kept reading the book as it covered the the time in England shortly after World War II (1947 on) and usually I'm very interested in that time and period. The book is the continuing saga of the Clifton and Barrington families. The Barrington's are upper-class( nobility) and the Cliftons are lower class (tradespeople) . The main characters of each family are firm friends and both families are very much intertwined in obviously all three books. This book covers politics, the difference in class standing, crime and international intrigue. It reminded me somewhat of the television series of Downton Abbey.

It is well written by a well-known author who  himself has had a very checkered career. He was once a MP until some kind of scandal had him leave office and work on his novelist career. He fairly soon he became best selling novelist and wealthy. Later he became the leader of the conservative party in England and then later on an Earl.

I found the plot of the novel to be very weak in as much that you could tell really what was about to happen. It didn't take much imagination. The author is now writing a fourth book but I do not think I will read it.

Geraniums

Geraniums

Photo by Mike

Lovely red geraniums and beautiful green foliage can not be beaten for outside decoration. I usually do not buy geraniums because they do not do well in the hot Texas summer but this year was an exception as I needed two plants to fill a space in the front garden which has shade for part of the day.I thought I’d give it a try.

When I went to the store all I could see that was big enough for the pots I had were hanging flower plants so I ended up buying two of those . I put those two plants into the larger flower pots and cut off the hangars so they have been there ever since and are doing very well.

I have tried to remember to keep them well watered and to take off the head of the dead blooms. I read somewhere that if you do that they will produce more flowers which  of course is what we want

Photo by MIke

Now I know these are actually grown as annuals but hopefully if I take the geraniums inside in the fall I will be able to overwinter them and that's why I kept them in the pots

. Now all we have to worry about are the dreaded grasshoppers which are getting bigger every day. So far they seem to be ignoring the geraniums but that may be because the smell is not very pleasant.

Beautiful blooms but unpleasant scent.

Thoughts on Hospitals

Thoughts on Hospitals

Very spacious rooms.

I guess like a lot of other things hospitals have changed a lot over the years. I have been very fortunate in that I have not had to stay in a  hospital that I can remember during my 76 years. I am sure I was in hospital quite a while when I was a baby as I was born prematurely. I have visited hospitals from time to time to see various people that have been ill but until recently had not noticed the changes that have occurred.

In England I remember going to a hospital and visiting in a long room which must have had about 20 beds, a ward, and a great many nurses wandering about talking to people, making beds and doing nursing, and it was  mainly very quiet and seemed like a very calm, orderly place.

There were  special times to visit and those were kept very short. Talk inside the hospital  was kept very subdued and only so many visitors were allowed in at one time. It was frightening in a strange way as the nurses and doctors had complete control over the patient and the system was very set.Patients were woken up at strange times, with emphasis on a strict routine for diet and medication and visitation.You didn’t think to question any decisions as is done now.

In Texas the hospitals are newer and at first we noticed that the nursing and routine was similar to those we were used to in Canada. 

Recently we have noticed a great change in the hospitals especially around where we live. Instead of having one or two major hospitals in the major cities, hospitals are springing up everywhere in the new suburban areas and the older hospitals are being redesigned and rebuilt. They are very spacious with many private rooms and different areas to accommodate different specialties. They resemble to a great degree very pleasant hotels with numerous staff,an  open aspect, pleasant artwork and are designed to make the stay of the patient a very nice experience.

We also noted when Mike spent three days at Baylor hospital which had recently been renovated, instead of seeing one or two nurses, the patient nowadays gets to see a multiple series of nurses as they are constantly changing shifts and each different tasks has a different  nursing.staff. Add to that the various people that visit, guests and friends and relatives plus the housekeeping staff, the doctors and medical professionals plus all the volunteers, there are people constantly in and out of the private rooms. Everyone that is patient gets their own television, the room telephone. a PA system and even gets to order room service for food for themselves and also their guests. There seems to be no special set visiting hours but probably if the person is very sick there are different rules.

Baylor hospital Grapevine

So some things have changed for the better. One thing we did notice was that security was very lax especially with everybody just wandering in. We passed the nurses station but no one even inquired who we were.

So this was a new experience for us and I expect most hospitals here are very similar . It seems a much better experience for the patient than in past days but even so hospital is a place to visit rather than to be in! I think most people would agree.

We are glad that Mike is home again, recuperating and will soon be his old self.

A different kind of painting

A different kind of painting

Mike's new rockers

Every year in the spring time there seems the need to smarten up the outside of the house and the yard. This year we were a little late starting. On our deck we have some tables and chairs that Mike made from wood a while back. When I looked at them I could see they they were in need of a good staining. The winter had taken its toll. We could also see that the two odd chairs we had, actually two that we had bought probably 12 years ago, were in need of basic repair as well.

Ready to use

"Why don't you build two new rockers?", I said to Mike. The two rocking chairs that he had previously made still looked very good except for a new paint job or rather a new staining. He thought about it for a while and decided that he could do that. He's set to, found the plans, went to the store and bought the wood that he needed. It took a while but fairly soon we had two new rocking chairs.

So now I was ready to get the stain and start on all the furniture. There was the glider, two side tables, two garden benches and the four rocking chairs. So I had my work cut out for me. Fortunately the weather cooperated. It was fairly cool in the early morning so I left breakfast out, started as early as I could get there. Mike prepared the stain and the brushes, I found my old radio (a necessary item when you are painting in my mind) and I was ready to go. The stain was a semi transparent stain and as such was very thin. That means it would  cover quickly but it would also dribble so I had to take care to watch carefully. The best part of it was that it dried quickly.

Soon everything was new and shiny although it didn't stay this way as when it dried it lost the shine but that was fine everything looked new again.
So now we have to buy new cushions for all the chairs to finish the deck.
Then we will be ready for guests.
Time to find the drinks recipes!!


Written with the help of little Dragon Puff.

Welcome little Dragon

Welcome to the Dragon.

Meet Puff my new pet

I have never been a good typist. So when a friend told me that I could get the Dragon to help me, I jumped at the idea! How did that work I wanted to know? Well it's quite simple he said. First you send money to an excellent company called Nuance. They will send you a little Dragon in a box. You give it a home in your computer then you train it just like you would at pet dog or cat to listen to your voice and then you give it commands. When your little Dragon is fully trained, you can sit at your computer and talk to it, and the little Dragon will put your words onto the computer just as if you had typed it.

It sounded too good to be true. My typing is very poor. I had never learned to type using all my fingers so I often get the keys mixed up. Over the years I have become fast but the spelling that appeared on the page was often pretty poor. So at the end of every typing of every page or email, I would have to do lots of spelling words correctly again. I watched my friend using his little Dragon and it it seems so easy!

Well now I have my own little Dragon. I am tempted to call him "P U FF. You will probably remember the song "Puff the Magic Dragon lived by the sea, and frolicked in the evening mist in the land called Honalee". So I am presently trying to train little PUFF. This is not an easy task. I did read all the directions that came in the box that came with the Dragon and there are a great many things to learn during training time. However, like training a new puppy it will take patience and time and understanding and soon Puff will understand my voice and will type the words in the manner that will be correct. At the present time I would say about 75% of the words are correct without me having to repeat myself or delete words or phrases which are just nonsense.

I find that with whole sentences little Puff often puts down just what he thinks he would like to say and not what I said. It will make often make complete sense but isn't what I meant. Quite funny really!!

Like working with the new puppy it is fun to do as long as you are patient and realize that in the end practice makes perfect.

At least I hope so!

Orange Rose Challenge Painting

2nd painting 

Orange Rose Challenge Painting

The challenge painting this month on "Paint and Draw Together" was a beautiful orange/red rose. It was not a common rose more like a country or field rose and indeed a challenge. I decided I would do an acrylic painting but was very disappointed in not only the color I mixed but the heaviness of the whole painting.

first painting- too heavy

So I set to on some mat board I have and used the acrylic paint in a different color combination and used it as you do with water color paints, putting lots of water on the paper and puddling the paint on. I liked the look and color of the petals but controlling the shape was hopeless. So rather than give up altogether  I made it into a design rather than a copy of the original.

Original photo for challenge

Still not totally happy with
the end result but that is what these challenges are supposed to do- Challenge!!

The Lilies of the Field

photo by Mike

If you remember my blog from last year in the spring, you will remember the lovely photos of lilies that bloomed that year. They were all colors and were truly magnificent.
This year from February onward I checked the patch of ground where they were planted but there was no sign of anything growing. I had almost given up when through the ground little green shoots started appearing. I hoped they were lilies but couldn't be sure.
We had a very bad year for growing plants this year and the frost was especially bad. Some of the new little green shoots just didn't make it. We were left with about five plants that actually were growing. I kept my eye on them and decided they were actually lilies.
Then came the bugs! Lilies must be their favorite food although I never actually saw a bug on the plants so it may have been the little gray rabbit I saw popping in and out of the flower bed. Within days only two of the plants were left. Each had a bud on the top but it had been nibbled so I didn't hold out much hope for a flower to bloom. So it was a lovely surprise when one morning I looked out the front door and then in the middle of the flower patch were two lovely lilies. I was very happy to see them and Mike rushed out and took photographs as I was not sure how long they would last.

They are not so beautiful as they were last year but I am glad they came back. I hope the others that are in the ground will return next year. 
We shall see!!