Tag: Sometimes

hit the jackpot: my former closet

This and That

Guess what I found this morning while going through my closet? My old clothes from a couple of decades ago. These were my “good” work clothing that I wore to teach. Nice skirts and blazers, a decent dress or two.

I thought I shipped all this stuff off to the Goodwill long ago. It actually is like hitting the jackpot, finding my old wardrobe that (believe it or not) still in style. Truth be told, these outfits have likely been in and out of style several times over the years. In fact, my style-bible is still a current clothing catalog.

I know what they are going to say: “you’re wearing that again!?” My standard answer: “I’m old, I wear what I want.”

three petals and counting

This and That

Cee’s Challenge for the week: flowers with three petals. This Daylily from last season really has the requisite six petals, but she posed as a trio for the occasion. I can’t wait for Daylily Season 2022. I saved seeds last fall from all of the twelve (or so) plants that I have. We’ll see what develops.

I searched my photo archives looking for a three-petal flower. I have thousands of images, and didn’t turn up a three-petal specimen for this post.

This is Sister…do you like Color or B&W best?

Cats & Animals, Cee's Photography, My Place, photography, photos, Sometimes, This and That, Writing and Blogging

I like this Color photo of Sister, who is a true Calico Cat.   But I also like the black and white rendition, mainly because the B&W allows both the green and the blue patches to be removed.     I could remove the color patches from the color shot, or I can go with the grayscale version.  

What do you all think?  Does the removal of color affect the quality of the picture?   

One thing I really like about pet pictures is the sharpness and detail of whiskers and fur gradations.    I did not attempt any enhancement or special tricks, the photo is the original color shot with the removal of color.  Since I like to play around with filters and the like, I plan to take the Sister Shot through the paces and see what it does.   

I’d like to have some input into this…color or black & white?      

(©Patricia Dreger, Sometimes, 2021)

my tawdry tale of the run-away toilet

This and That

One of the really big news items in my rather quiet daily event calendar, on Tuesday, was the arrival and installation of a new and higher toilet. The plumbers (family friends) did a great job of replacing the 20-year-old “facility” with the sleek new state-of-the-art inexpensive toilet from Home Depot. Their clean-up work ethics are very high, and the toilet was promptly removed to a location near the front walk.

No matter how grown-up, or nonchalant we as adults may be, a toilet outside of its natural habitat, There is no way that toilet can be made to be esthetically correct. It is stark white, for one thing. simple but ugly in its countenance. A toilet is a toilet, and there are no adjectives to make it sound attractive or versatile in purpose. One just cannot ignore a toilet in the front yard. Some pointed complaining caused the thing to be removed from the middle of the front flower bed, but it still was perched on its temporary wheels in all its glory in front of the garage. A slight improvement…but still I wanted it gone.

So DIY was my only immediate option.

Now, I am somewhat infamous in close circles for making a spectacle of myself, making me look completely ridiculous. I didn’t even consider any side effects or untoward shenanigans. The toilet was still sitting on the flat, roll-away dolly and I felt comfortable in just giving the toilet and its apparatus a slight shove in the right direction, and roll it over to a secluded spot near the turn-around. How hard could it be?

The effect was just what I expected….except that the wheels were facing the opposite direction of where I wanted the thing to go. Its started to move, but it was just out of my reach, and I could not grab it soon enough to steer it away from the side of the car, which was like a magnet calling the ceramic monster toward the freshly washed side of the car.

I had my red steel walking cane in my hand, and I attempted to use it to divert the path. That worked, and the missile veered off, away from the car. However, there is a massive concrete apron which allowed the thing to roll about thirty feet to the grassy front lawn. I, as gracefully as possible, chased after it with my cane in my hand waving wildly at the break-away toilet on its wheels…more in the fashion of a weapon than a guide.

Fortunately, the edge of the concrete at the grass of the yard stopped the motion, and the toilet did not fall off of the dolly (all the way) and I was able to right the thing and push it back in the opposite direction to park it by the turn-around, out of sight.

There was only one witness to my fiasco, that I know of, and that was a guy on a motorcycle cruising by on the road. I’d love to hear his comment to his wife: “today I saw an old lady with a stick chasing after a toilet on wheels that was rolling down a driveway.” I don’t think he could have heard me yelling at the toilet over the noise of his engine. You don’t see something like that every day.

ever wonder what it’s like inside a daylily bud? (me neither, until now…)

My Place, Nature, photos, Sometimes
  • A scape getting a head start on the world of Daylilies.
  • These guys are fast: I didn’t even see them yesterday.
  • Five scapes vying for position.
  • Here’s the package that presents the Lilies.

I believe we had six Daylilies several years ago when we bought the first plants. Each is a different color and has its own features. Up until recently I knew completely nothing about Daylilies, now I know a few things, but I am not yet comfortable in discussing the subject. Stay tuned and we will see where this new interest goes. (All photos on this page © Sometimes, 2021.)

The faded tulips exit gracefully; then came the “picker” trees (Locust) that volunteered widely in My Place.

This and That
The last Tulip of the Spring, experiencing life as long as possible. The mild weather allowed the tulips to hang on longer than usual this year. This bloom is one of the variety that reminds me of shiny candy apples.
Here is another pretty veteran Tulip, a bit battered but still a unique beauty. (Photos ©Sometimes,2021)
I call this a “pricker tree,” it arrived one spring in a builder’s load of fill-dirt from another site, and now they are everywhere. The trees are very fast growing, prolific, and very beautiful—but have wicked thorns. I had not seen any of the blossoms up close before; I think they are quite lovely. Anyone know what kind of tree this is? A quick search tells me that this is a Locust Tree, I don’t know the variety. The internet tells me that there are numerous types of Locust Trees, with flowering varieties profuse in flowers of many colors. (©Sometimes, 2021.)

more newcomers

This and That
  • This little guy is a volunteer Million Bells Calibrachoa plant from last year. It wintered over in the hanging pot and Hello! I didn’t see it until it was in full flower. (©Sometimes, 2021)
a beautiful newcomer yesterday….a Knockout Rose, promises to live up to its gorgeous reputation. (©Somcetimes,2021)
In the process of blooming…smelling wonderful. Lilac by the back corner of my house.

A Knockout!

lost thing found, again

My Place, Photographs

A few days ago I lost my red metal cane. Only recently have been making an effort to walk with my cane, but it isn’t always to be found where I left it. It stands alone, although it falls down easily and has in fact pounded a quarter-dollar size spot into the crook…when it falls forward it smacks against the surface hard enough to make a resounding crack! and has started to wear the baked red paint away.

The past several days have been perfect for looking around the place, and trimming trees damaged by snow damage earlier this year, and to feed my lust for fresh subjects for my camera. Everything is overgrown here on “the farm” and I recognize the chores…but I don’t have what it takes to keep on top of the challenge. My flower beds are unruly and unpredictable, and are lucky if they get a lick and a promise of proper tending. There is an abundance of ground-covering, especially Myrtle, which is lush and tall enough to hide things that fall into its clutches.

After a long walk around the yard, down the lanes into the back 40 where tree and plant debris hangs out along the fences to deteriorate, ranging from grass clippings to good size tree branches that came down during windstorms or wet snow loads. I had a hunch that my Red Cane may have ended up in a pile of debris and hauled off to the outer limits to be buried.

No luck in the debris piles. By time I got back up to the house, checked the Lil Kim Lilacs and flowering trees that I had worked on the other day, tired and ready to sit down…I was about to go in the house, when on another hunch decided to check the maze area and under the beginning Clematis. Sure enough, a streak of red and a glimpse of the vinyl stand, there was my cane.

We did a little victory dance. 🙂

Here are some random shots I took of the general area. (All photos are ©Sometimes, 2021)

Myrtle blossom.
The Western side yard. The original Japanese Cherry Host-tree and offshoots. Shrubs in mid-photo are Red Holly, they bloomed and berried profusely this year.

Money Plants, these thing volunteered all over the place, and they are so pretty they may stay.

Dandelion.