Funny how a simple visit to the doctor for a cold can turn into receiving a new heart within a week.
A friend's husband from church went to the Dr last Friday (I think) about a cold that he couldn't seem to get better from. They ended up hospitalizing him due to a blood pressure concern... leading to bypass surgery, which he did not respond well to... which lead to him being rushed to a hospital in St Louis to be put on a heart and lung machine. It finally came down to an immediate need for a heart transplant.
The amazing thing is... a heart became available immediately, and it was a match. They completed the surgery today and we found out tonight that everything went well. They'll wake him up tomorrow and begin watching for any possible complications like rejection, stroke, pneumonia, etc.
Anyway.... it's what I've been thinking about a lot the last couple of days... What if this happened to me? What if it happened to Laurie? How would we be financially? What would life be like afterwards? How would I change after something like this?
Ok.... I have to go to bed. I'm tired from all work and no play.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Friday, May 25, 2007
Rainy day bloggin'
What a difference a few hours can make... yesterday it was 90, humid, hot, windy (VERY windy) and now just a few hours later, it's cold, cloudy, wet, slight breeze. If I could have a day in between that would be great!!
I can't complain, though... it's been a good spring for planting and such. A little too hot the last few days for this time of year for several annuals, though. And the wind... WOW... some of the gust had to have been over 50 MPH.
Feeling less stressed about getting everything done now, but I still have plenty to keep me busy over the next week. I have to have all of the annuals/tropicals done by May 31... My first goal is always by Memorial Day (going to miss that one)... but, that's ok. One year I was still planting annuals late June for someone (but, that wasn't all my fault).
Here are a few more pictures of arrangements I've done this past week. They need a couple of weeks to start filling out more... they always look so thin when they're first planted. I did a few more conainers at this same residence on Thursday of this week... was to have finished everything, but the wind kind of cut me back on what I could accomplish. More pictures to come in the next week or so.
Here comes the rain again... glad I'm inside and not outside :)
Kids are doing so well with their swimming lessons... Why we didn't do this earlier I have no idea. As much as Laurie and I love to be in/near water it was killing us knowing the kids didn't know how to swim. Andrew has come so far in putting his head under the water... but, he complains after swimming that his neck hurts. We figured it out that it's because when he's swimming his trying to hold his head above the water rather than putting his face down into the water. He's doing better, but he's got a ways to go still. We think he just has very sensitive eyes... he's always hated getting water in them and really rubs them when he does. Savannah... she'll dunk her head under with no problem at all. She's already talking about wanting to be on a swim team soon... Laurie LOVED that idea... she has some very good memories of her swimming days as a coach and lifeguard.
Ok... need to get some other things done... hopefully the rain will stop soon so I can get some things outside. Won't be able to do any in-ground planting, but can at least possibly do more containers.
I can't complain, though... it's been a good spring for planting and such. A little too hot the last few days for this time of year for several annuals, though. And the wind... WOW... some of the gust had to have been over 50 MPH.
Feeling less stressed about getting everything done now, but I still have plenty to keep me busy over the next week. I have to have all of the annuals/tropicals done by May 31... My first goal is always by Memorial Day (going to miss that one)... but, that's ok. One year I was still planting annuals late June for someone (but, that wasn't all my fault).
Here are a few more pictures of arrangements I've done this past week. They need a couple of weeks to start filling out more... they always look so thin when they're first planted. I did a few more conainers at this same residence on Thursday of this week... was to have finished everything, but the wind kind of cut me back on what I could accomplish. More pictures to come in the next week or so.
Here comes the rain again... glad I'm inside and not outside :)
Kids are doing so well with their swimming lessons... Why we didn't do this earlier I have no idea. As much as Laurie and I love to be in/near water it was killing us knowing the kids didn't know how to swim. Andrew has come so far in putting his head under the water... but, he complains after swimming that his neck hurts. We figured it out that it's because when he's swimming his trying to hold his head above the water rather than putting his face down into the water. He's doing better, but he's got a ways to go still. We think he just has very sensitive eyes... he's always hated getting water in them and really rubs them when he does. Savannah... she'll dunk her head under with no problem at all. She's already talking about wanting to be on a swim team soon... Laurie LOVED that idea... she has some very good memories of her swimming days as a coach and lifeguard.
Ok... need to get some other things done... hopefully the rain will stop soon so I can get some things outside. Won't be able to do any in-ground planting, but can at least possibly do more containers.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Sample Work
Here's part of what I worked on Thursday... petra crotons, variegated ginger, pink futurity canna, alocasia uprights... will be installing a few "fillers" on Friday in the open areas of each bed. I'll show more from this house in the near future. I do several large annual containers, tropical containers (all outside) and also upkeep their landscape. I also do a few other odds-n-ends as requested (usually not gardening related, but... oh well).
Savannah graduated from pre-school today... She was so excited about it. But, Laurie told me the other day that Savannah asked her, "Mommy, why can't I go to pre-school for two years like some of the other kids?" She's going to miss Miss Linda and the other teachers she had. But, she's so excited about Kindergarten... she got registered a few weeks ago. We're still hoping that she'll have the same teacher that Andrew had in K.
Laurie is all done with school... she finished up earlier this week. She's looking forward to being a stay-at-home mom from now thru mid-August. She's taught summer school the last two years, which took up her evenings a couple nights a week for about six weeks. She's got the kid's summers all planned out for them... they both are taking swimming lessons, Savannah has dance classes, Andrew has soccer, we'll have a family pass for the pools, and... I think Andrew has a science class of some type and Savannah has an art class.
Hopefully I'll have my planting done soon so I can begin enjoying the evenings with the kids and Laurie... I'm working late every night right now. But, probably only for another week.
So busy... no time to blog
It's been CRAZY the last two weeks... I haven't had much time to do anything except work. but, I think I'm beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Just a few more days of intense annual and tropical planting and then projects begin and daily maintenance of beds & containers. I can then begin to market my interior business more again. I haven't had any time to do that lately at all.
I'll be sharing pictures of what I've been doing soon... people ask a lot, "Just what do you do?" That's always a good question... so I'll show everyone on here in the next few days.
Off to work...
I'll be sharing pictures of what I've been doing soon... people ask a lot, "Just what do you do?" That's always a good question... so I'll show everyone on here in the next few days.
Off to work...
Sunday, May 13, 2007
30-Hours In A Day Needed
I sent Laurie voicemail this week asking her to PLEASE start praying to God for 30-hour days... I REALLY needed it this past week. I was (and still am a little) SO stressed out about getting everything done for work.
This past Tuesday all of my tropical plants (I still don't know exactly how many, but A LOT!) came into the garden center that I'm working out of, and I became overwhelmed, to say the least. I ordered more than last year and had to do more myself in getting them organized, delivered, unwrapped, verified and ready to go for planting. I was delivering until about 1 a.m. Tuesday night and then still brought home a 17' U-Haul truck load home with me to be delivered Wednesday-Saturday. Actually, I still have several plants sitting out along the sidewalk on the northside of our house to be delivered Monday-Wednesday. I haven't lost any yet, so that's what's important. By this coming Saturday (May 19) all plants should be at their location and either planted or ready to be planted by the first of the next week.
I didn't get as much for myself this year... except two coconut trees and (of course) some bananas). Oh wait... that doesn't include the annuals and perennials that we planted last weekend... designer salmon geraniums across the front of the yard in groups of three, low-grow phlox (for Laurie... she's been asking for some tucked in here and there in the front for about five years), lavender in front, snow-in-summer by the pond and a few other little things.
I'm doing my first post from my new laptop computer... After getting done with work last night I stopped by Circuit City and got a HP laptop... LOVE IT!! I've spent the afternoon today loading software (Office 2003) and downloading the updates. We won't switch to Office 2007 until it becomes available thru ISU this next school year. I'm trying to avoid having to buy any software... most can be used on up to three computers. We'll see how it all works out. I'm hoping to at least have all of my "My Documents" transferred over tonight and all of my accounting items transferred over. I want to be able to start using my laptop for email and all business related items ASAP. I just hope and pray I don't have any problems transferring over all of my information.
This past Tuesday all of my tropical plants (I still don't know exactly how many, but A LOT!) came into the garden center that I'm working out of, and I became overwhelmed, to say the least. I ordered more than last year and had to do more myself in getting them organized, delivered, unwrapped, verified and ready to go for planting. I was delivering until about 1 a.m. Tuesday night and then still brought home a 17' U-Haul truck load home with me to be delivered Wednesday-Saturday. Actually, I still have several plants sitting out along the sidewalk on the northside of our house to be delivered Monday-Wednesday. I haven't lost any yet, so that's what's important. By this coming Saturday (May 19) all plants should be at their location and either planted or ready to be planted by the first of the next week.
I didn't get as much for myself this year... except two coconut trees and (of course) some bananas). Oh wait... that doesn't include the annuals and perennials that we planted last weekend... designer salmon geraniums across the front of the yard in groups of three, low-grow phlox (for Laurie... she's been asking for some tucked in here and there in the front for about five years), lavender in front, snow-in-summer by the pond and a few other little things.
I'm doing my first post from my new laptop computer... After getting done with work last night I stopped by Circuit City and got a HP laptop... LOVE IT!! I've spent the afternoon today loading software (Office 2003) and downloading the updates. We won't switch to Office 2007 until it becomes available thru ISU this next school year. I'm trying to avoid having to buy any software... most can be used on up to three computers. We'll see how it all works out. I'm hoping to at least have all of my "My Documents" transferred over tonight and all of my accounting items transferred over. I want to be able to start using my laptop for email and all business related items ASAP. I just hope and pray I don't have any problems transferring over all of my information.
Friday, May 04, 2007
Banana joy :-)
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Chickadee Bouncer
We've been having several gold finches visiting our thistle feeder the last couple of weeks... their color changes are complete to all yellow now. This morning I saw a gold finch eating peacefully at the feeder... after I walked away from the window I started hearing a lot of "yelling" by a bird. I looked out and saw Mr. Chickadee "chasing" the gold finch near the feeder... which is right near the house that the chickadees have been nesting. Mr Chickadee was NOT happy that the gold finch was so close to their house.
I've seen the gold finch back several times this morning since their little squable. But, I guess I need to find a new location for the thistle feeder... I dont want the chickadees to feel "crowded" and not come back to the house.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Interesting Cub Info
Cubs say Mark Prior will miss season
By Associated Press
CHICAGO — Oft-injured Cubs pitcher Mark Prior will miss the entire 2007 season after surgery on his right shoulder, the biggest setback yet in his once-promising career.
The 26-year-old Prior had surgery Tuesday by noted orthopedist Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala. Andrews also worked on Prior’s rotator cuff.Prior has been beset by injuries since his first full season in the majors in 2003, when he almost pitched Chicago into its first World Series since 1945.
Prior was not on the Cubs’ active roster to start the year and was optioned to Triple-A Iowa after a poor spring training. He instead went to extended spring training in Arizona, but pitched only two innings there April 12 before reporting discomfort in his shoulder.
The right-hander went to Dr. Lewis Yocum in California before going to see Andrews, who told Prior last October he had genetic looseness in his shoulder joints.
Prior is 42-29 with a 3.51 ERA in the majors. He made just nine starts last year for the Cubs after three trips to the disabled list and took a slight pay cut this season, from $3.65 million to $3.575 million.
Prior finished third in NL Cy Young voting in 2003, when he 18-6 with a 4.24 ERA and struck out 245 in 211 1-3 innings. He was the overall No. 2 pick in the 2001 draft by the Cubs.
------------------------
How much are they paying out to Prior and Woods combined to do... NOTHING!?!?!? And this is how many years in a row have they are being paid how much combined to do... NOTHING!?!?!?
In 2006 Wood was paid $12,000,000 and Prior was paid $3,650,000; Wood pitched in 4 games (19.2 innings) with a win-loss of 1-2 and Prior pitched in 9 games (43.2 innings) with a win-loss of 1-6. In 2005 Wood was paid $9,500,000 and Prior was paid $3,550,000; Wood pitched in 21 games (66 innings) with a win-loss of 3-4 and Prior pitched in 27 games (166.2 innings) with a win-loss of 11-7. In 2007 Wood is being paid $1,750,000 (strangely enough seems to be more appropriate compared to what he was paid previously) and Prior is being paid $3,575,000.
Does anyone really think these two are worth what they're being paid? What could the Cubs have gotten 2-3 years ago if they would have listened to fans (I'm not referring to myself here as a fan, though, just an interested baseball fan) and dumped these two for productive players?
By Associated Press
CHICAGO — Oft-injured Cubs pitcher Mark Prior will miss the entire 2007 season after surgery on his right shoulder, the biggest setback yet in his once-promising career.
The 26-year-old Prior had surgery Tuesday by noted orthopedist Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala. Andrews also worked on Prior’s rotator cuff.Prior has been beset by injuries since his first full season in the majors in 2003, when he almost pitched Chicago into its first World Series since 1945.
Prior was not on the Cubs’ active roster to start the year and was optioned to Triple-A Iowa after a poor spring training. He instead went to extended spring training in Arizona, but pitched only two innings there April 12 before reporting discomfort in his shoulder.
The right-hander went to Dr. Lewis Yocum in California before going to see Andrews, who told Prior last October he had genetic looseness in his shoulder joints.
Prior is 42-29 with a 3.51 ERA in the majors. He made just nine starts last year for the Cubs after three trips to the disabled list and took a slight pay cut this season, from $3.65 million to $3.575 million.
Prior finished third in NL Cy Young voting in 2003, when he 18-6 with a 4.24 ERA and struck out 245 in 211 1-3 innings. He was the overall No. 2 pick in the 2001 draft by the Cubs.
------------------------
How much are they paying out to Prior and Woods combined to do... NOTHING!?!?!? And this is how many years in a row have they are being paid how much combined to do... NOTHING!?!?!?
In 2006 Wood was paid $12,000,000 and Prior was paid $3,650,000; Wood pitched in 4 games (19.2 innings) with a win-loss of 1-2 and Prior pitched in 9 games (43.2 innings) with a win-loss of 1-6. In 2005 Wood was paid $9,500,000 and Prior was paid $3,550,000; Wood pitched in 21 games (66 innings) with a win-loss of 3-4 and Prior pitched in 27 games (166.2 innings) with a win-loss of 11-7. In 2007 Wood is being paid $1,750,000 (strangely enough seems to be more appropriate compared to what he was paid previously) and Prior is being paid $3,575,000.
Does anyone really think these two are worth what they're being paid? What could the Cubs have gotten 2-3 years ago if they would have listened to fans (I'm not referring to myself here as a fan, though, just an interested baseball fan) and dumped these two for productive players?
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Busy & Bella
Very little time to sit and blog lately - work is picking up (my regular gardening customers - getting ready for annual & container planting), helping a local garden center get ready for their spring open house this coming Saturday (all volunteer time, but hopefully I`ll see the payoffs by working there in their new tropical plant greenhouse at the open house - it looks great!), taxes (yes, I procrastinated this year), travel to my sister`s near Indy for Easter weekend, and... Bella.
I mention Bella last for a reason - on Friday, April 6, Laurie and I made a very difficult decision. After a lot of discussion and tears, we decided to have Bella put down. We knew the heartworm treatment would be difficult on her, and keeping her inactive for 6-8 weeks would be VERY difficult on her and on us. But, then with the added hookworm detected earlier that week - what were we to do?
After my parents had taken the kids on over to my sisters, Laurie and I sat down one last time to talk and weighed the options. We called the vet and made an appointment.
We took the time to take Bella on one last walk together - a couple of kids saw us and commented on how cute Bella was - I think we both almost burst into tears. It was such a long drive to the vet... When we arrived they took us straight into an exam room - it was suppose to be a short wait, but we sat there for about 30-minutes. When the Dr came in, she sat on the floor with Bella while we talked. She asked us a few questions, discussed her health and her future, talked thru the process - she was very supportive of our decision. After a few minutes she took Bella to another room - we cried - no, we sobbed. She returned after a short time with Bella wrapped in a blanket - she looked so peaceful, as if she were just sleeping. We said our final goodbyes.
We drove on over to my sisters - we waited to tell the kids until the next day - we didn`t go into detail, we just told them that we took Bella to the vets and while we were there she died. They had a hard time, but they did well. It was so hard to tell them... Andrew still thanks God for Bella every night during prayers, "even though she`s already dead" he says (it`s so cute!).
Monday, April 02, 2007
Thursday, March 29, 2007
First Interior Installation
I will be installing my first interior plants tomorrow (Friday) at a restaurant here in Bloomington. It took a little longer than expected to get all the plants potted up tonight... and of course there were a couple little "problems" (Isn't there always?). My containers and sub-irrigation kits came in yesterday and I failed to verify every little piece that should have been included... five of my sub-irrigation kits were missing pieces:( I called a friend who also has an interiorscape business and he is checking first thing in the morning to see if he has the pieces that I need.
But, aside from the little issues to be worked out... I'm pleased with the plants and containers. I purchased several new containers and will be using a few of theirs. I'll hopefully convince them to replace the remaining containers over the next couple of months.
Exterior work will start to really pick up next week... I got rained out Wednesday, but hopefully will be able to make up the time on Saturday. I'm going to be making a bid in the next week on a renovation of a small in-home atrium. It's something out of the ordinary, which is why I'm attracted to it. The home was built about 25-years ago and the atrium was original with the house... it's kind of the centerpiece of the home, I guess you could say. The current homeowners purchased the house about 6-months ago... they've put some work into other areas of the home and now want to restore the atrium to more of a lush tropical look it probably once had.
TAXES ARE DUE IN TWO WEEKS!! Guess I should finish them up and see how bad it looks for us :( I'll probably work on them this weekend. HOW FUN!!
But, aside from the little issues to be worked out... I'm pleased with the plants and containers. I purchased several new containers and will be using a few of theirs. I'll hopefully convince them to replace the remaining containers over the next couple of months.
Exterior work will start to really pick up next week... I got rained out Wednesday, but hopefully will be able to make up the time on Saturday. I'm going to be making a bid in the next week on a renovation of a small in-home atrium. It's something out of the ordinary, which is why I'm attracted to it. The home was built about 25-years ago and the atrium was original with the house... it's kind of the centerpiece of the home, I guess you could say. The current homeowners purchased the house about 6-months ago... they've put some work into other areas of the home and now want to restore the atrium to more of a lush tropical look it probably once had.
TAXES ARE DUE IN TWO WEEKS!! Guess I should finish them up and see how bad it looks for us :( I'll probably work on them this weekend. HOW FUN!!
Chickadees Nesting!!
All winter we've had a Chickadee "couple" that would come and go in our backyard. I had heard them in the past in some bushes along a neighbor's yard, but had rarely seen them. They're probably my favorite bird, reminding me of the house I grew up in that was built next to a wooded area. I remember seeing them a lot and always loved hearing them and seeing how they were always in pairs.
Yesterday (Wednesday) I was looking out our kitchen window and I saw them around the pond again, which is where they are usually. I saw a clump of debris in the beak of one of them, then he worked his way up our lilac like he was hopping up stairs then leaped into a wren box that I made about 3 years ago. We've never had an "occupant" in that house and I'm THRILLED that Chickadees are getting use out of it.
I quickly went and got Savannah because that house was made for her. Andrew's house, on the other side of the backyard, has had house wrens nesting in it each year since I put it out three years ago. However, last year they didn't choose it as their summer home. The male put a lot of work into preparing the house, but the female chose another location instead.
As I'm typing this post the male chickadee has started working again... the female sits in the lilac bush watching as he makes several trips in and out with nesting material. Every once in awhile I'll see her dart into the house to check out his progress.
I just looked out and now I have a thrush working around under the lilac... good year for birding in our backyard so far!! Warblers will be arriving soon :) I've promised Andrew and Savannah that I would take each of them (separately) bird watching with me this spring... I've shown them pictures of the more common migrating birds I've seen in years past and they're excited about maybe seeing them.
The other night, on my nightly walk with Bella, we were walking through Illinois Wesleyan's campus and I saw something in a tree just over where we were walking... as I focused in I realized it was a brown screech owl (much smaller than I was expecting). It was no more than 4 to 5-feet from me staring at Bella and I. He seemed satisfied to just sit and watch us. I was hoping to get another look at him when we came back around the quad, but he was gone.
I did some pond work on Tuesday... I installed a skimmer to house the pump/filter. I had been wanting to get it out of the pond to allow for better water circulation and give the fish more room in the deep end of the pond where the waterfall is. However, in the process of this I lost my larger fish... I had to reduce the pond level down quite low and I stirred up the "yuck" at the bottom of the pond. I'm sure the oxygen level dropped considerably... I saw the fish surfacing quite often to "grab" some good air. I lost two of my larger ones that night and three more Wednesday (plus a couple of small ones). The water has now cleared and appears to have stabilized. We had several fish, so it's not a great loss, but I just hate to be the cause of their fatality.
We already had sitings of our frog this week, too. He appeared on Monday (I think). With the warmer weather we've been having I assumed he would appear soon. He's probably not very happy with me, though. In moving the waterfall pump I had to take apart some of the waterfall... his "hiding place" was behind the rocks of the waterfall. I put it back together, but there isn't a hiding place anymore since the pump/tubing is gone. Hopefully he won't go to our neighbor's pond in disgust.
Yesterday (Wednesday) I was looking out our kitchen window and I saw them around the pond again, which is where they are usually. I saw a clump of debris in the beak of one of them, then he worked his way up our lilac like he was hopping up stairs then leaped into a wren box that I made about 3 years ago. We've never had an "occupant" in that house and I'm THRILLED that Chickadees are getting use out of it.
I quickly went and got Savannah because that house was made for her. Andrew's house, on the other side of the backyard, has had house wrens nesting in it each year since I put it out three years ago. However, last year they didn't choose it as their summer home. The male put a lot of work into preparing the house, but the female chose another location instead.
As I'm typing this post the male chickadee has started working again... the female sits in the lilac bush watching as he makes several trips in and out with nesting material. Every once in awhile I'll see her dart into the house to check out his progress.
I just looked out and now I have a thrush working around under the lilac... good year for birding in our backyard so far!! Warblers will be arriving soon :) I've promised Andrew and Savannah that I would take each of them (separately) bird watching with me this spring... I've shown them pictures of the more common migrating birds I've seen in years past and they're excited about maybe seeing them.
The other night, on my nightly walk with Bella, we were walking through Illinois Wesleyan's campus and I saw something in a tree just over where we were walking... as I focused in I realized it was a brown screech owl (much smaller than I was expecting). It was no more than 4 to 5-feet from me staring at Bella and I. He seemed satisfied to just sit and watch us. I was hoping to get another look at him when we came back around the quad, but he was gone.
I did some pond work on Tuesday... I installed a skimmer to house the pump/filter. I had been wanting to get it out of the pond to allow for better water circulation and give the fish more room in the deep end of the pond where the waterfall is. However, in the process of this I lost my larger fish... I had to reduce the pond level down quite low and I stirred up the "yuck" at the bottom of the pond. I'm sure the oxygen level dropped considerably... I saw the fish surfacing quite often to "grab" some good air. I lost two of my larger ones that night and three more Wednesday (plus a couple of small ones). The water has now cleared and appears to have stabilized. We had several fish, so it's not a great loss, but I just hate to be the cause of their fatality.
We already had sitings of our frog this week, too. He appeared on Monday (I think). With the warmer weather we've been having I assumed he would appear soon. He's probably not very happy with me, though. In moving the waterfall pump I had to take apart some of the waterfall... his "hiding place" was behind the rocks of the waterfall. I put it back together, but there isn't a hiding place anymore since the pump/tubing is gone. Hopefully he won't go to our neighbor's pond in disgust.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)