Hola Tomatoes!

So excited. I actually have baby tomatoes on the vine. I hope I can keep these plants alive long enough to actually eat one. I am disgusted with grocery store tomatoes. They are waxy and have no taste. I am growing a few plants in a pot. It gets pretty hot here in Arizona so I need to watch them carefully and be sure they get enough water.

I noticed a lizard hanging around my little garden. I'm hoping he does not get the first taste.

Our backyard cactus had it's first bloom. It is about years old and looks like it is going to really put on a show. The blooms don't last long so I am taking photos almost every day.

A close-up photo of an ocotillo cactus flower. These blooms won't be around long either.

Happy spring everybody!

Spring in Arizona

It's spring in Arizona when the Ocotillo cactus bloom. I'm loving the color and the birds are too. I thought I would share a few photos from this week.

Hummer Happy Hour

It's April in Arizona. I had noticed lately that my hummingbird feeders were draining quicker than usual.

Gee, I wonder why? I think the word is out that it's Happy Hour at Cornflake Girl's house.

I think the migration has started. My friends in the Midwest are anxiously awaiting their first sightings.

By the way, I LOVE the feeder in my photos. It is plastic and comes apart easily for a good cleaning. If you feed hummingbirds do not let your feeders get moldy as this can harm the birds.

I also make my own syrup. Here is a recipe and some tips for feeding hummingbirds.

Boil four cups of water.
Remove water from the heat.
Stir in one cup of white sugar.
Cool the syrup before filling feeder.
NOTE: Do not use honey, which can cause a fatal fungal infection on the birds' tongues.
NOTE: Do not add food coloring to the solution. It's not necessary, and it may be harmful. Even a small spot of red on the feeder will attract hummingbirds.
You can store the extra syrup in the refrigerator for a week.
Hang the feeder where you can see it from a window.
Clean the feeder at least once a week. In warm weather, you may need to change the syrup and wash out the feeder every day. Don't let the syrup turn cloudy in the feeder — that's mold. It will make hummingbirds avoid your feeder, and it may make them sick.
If ants discover the feeder, discourage them by applying petroleum jelly to the wire that suspends the feeder.

Dad's Old Socks

Yes, I'm back at it again. Trying to tackle the organization of my home office /studio. Again, totally distracted. Of course now I "find" a 1944 McCall's magazine. Had to stop and look through it. Excellent wartime edition.

So, I find this article of some new uses for old socks. I remember tying my hair in strips of cloth when I was a kid but I never knew about using socks.

I'm glad that I can afford curlers now.

Here's the directions incase you are inclined to try it. (Send photos please)

Diary of a Box-a-holic

OK, I'm so having an organizational problem at home and at work. I have been struggling with my home office / studio and keeping it looking like an actual functional room. Same at the work office.

I wish that reading organizational books would "poof" make my office clean and tidy. My problem is that I hate to get rid of anything. I hold a monetary value or a sentimental value to most things. Here is my thinking...someone gave it to me as a gift and therefore I can never get rid of it. It would be a sin. Or it's paid for and instead of donating it to a charity I could sell it and make a few bucks. (Who wants to buy some wine corks?)

I recently picked up the book Organizing for the Spirit - Making the Details of Your Life Meaningful and Manageable. The author is Sunny Schlenger. I must admit I am not very far in the book. (pg.14)

One of the first discussions is about playing detective with yourself to see what your decor says about your style and interests. OK, I'm looking around....HOW MANY F-ING BOXES DO I OWN. I'm scared. The photo above is the tip of the iceberg. Why do I love boxes so? I don't use half of them but I am so attracted to them.

I know people like my Mom and one of her sisters who were obsessed with dolls. They did not have dolls as children and as adults went almost overboard with dolls. Not cool collectible dolls on the shelves but crazy beat up dolls that they would rescue from garage sales and flea markets. My Mom had a giant box of dolls in the spare bedroom of her house. She said they were "for the kids" but I know they were for her. My sister once commented that she could not sleep well in that room with all of those orphan dolls staring at her.

With that said, I'm back to wondering what my connection is to boxes. It's not like I was deprived of boxes as a kid. I do like the old Lane Cedar Chest jewelry boxes that once upon a time they gave to girls graduating from high school. I love these because they normally have a city name printed inside the box. I'd probably die if I ever found one with a key. I have a hard time not "rescuing" these when I go to flea markets. I'm thinking this might be one of my "connections" to boxes. I never had one of these boxe as a teen. Also my Uncle gave my sister, his god-daughter, a full sized cedar chest for her birthday once when we were kids. I lusted over that chest forever. (Thou shalt not covet - but I did)

I also like Polish wooden boxes. You can see a few in the photo. This is a connection to my Polish heritage. They just make me feel good.

I'm going to work through the exercises in the Organizing for the Spirit book and see if I come to any other conclusions about my boxes and clutter issues. I will keep you posted. I am just hoping that someday I am not featured on that show hoarders.

Help me Jesus.

Is It Just Me?...

My morning routine goes something like this.

4 a.m. Have a hot flash. Wake up. Try to go back to sleep.

5 a.m. Husbands alarm goes off. I finally fall asleep.

5:30 My alarm goes off. I hit the snooze for two more minutes of pillow hugging goodness.

5:32 I turn on the remote from my bed to listen to the news. I get out of bed and get ready for work. (All that brushing, washing, blow drying, stand in the closet and stare at my clothes and what not.)

It used to be that I would listen to the news, get some important world information and then head to work.

My husband likes CNN Headline news. I used to like HLN .... until YouTube.

Is it just me or has the news gotten really immature? Are we really this stupid that news has become what's on YouTube and what happened on television shows the night before? Wow, "late breaking". I watch The Soup for that sort of information.

If it weren't for Robin Mead's good looks I think I could talk my husband into another news channel in the morning. Bosom power. Damn you Robin.

6:00 am Get in my car for my hour long commute to work. Turn on N.P.R.

P.S. Note to news centers. I can read the newspaper all by myself.

Who Dat!