Saturday, September 27, 2008

BONSAI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Before
After
forest bonsai


I have always loved the art of bonsai! Bonsai, which literally means tree in pot, is a technique where you take a plant and give it the effect that it is very old but still keep it small. A few years ago we bought a bonsai, but we sadly killed it. They take a lot of special care and affection.

My grandpa and Mrs. Marion were going to a class in Mississippi and decided to surprise me and take me with them. I was REALLY exited. My parents also got to come. The really big surprise was that I got to pick out my own tree and start one at the class! I chose a Japanese maple. My dad decided to be ambitious and try two plants. And my mom, like me, got one! She got a crape myrtle.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

camera addict!

My camera broke about a month ago :-(
So I have been having camera withdrawals!
Well I finally got a new one! It is a Kodak and it is a light pinky purple.
It took me a couple of weeks to save for it. But with the hurricane leaving my grandpa’s yard a mess it was not that hard.
We put all the big stuff in piles, raked his 7 acre yard, then burned the piles. After that he paid me well.
I also saved up my allowance for a few weeks!


The camera has a lot of cool settings on it and has very good picture quality. I LOVE it!

Friday, September 5, 2008

Mom's turn: Life by candlelight

So that’s what those fireplace candelabras are for!!!!!! Hmmm, and I always thought it was just decoration! Who knew my house would be so utterly prepared for a blackout! Things would be very relaxing…if it weren’t for the 110% humidity making it very difficult to breath! I guess I better get used to the idea because Entergy informed us today that we live in the “grid expected to get electricity back in 14-21 days.” HUH!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!



Thursday, September 4, 2008

Mom's turn: C'est la vie!

We purchased a house to renovate and flip for an investment property to try and diversify our utility business…you know that old “don’t keep all your eggs in one basket” thing. WELL…Gustav had a different idea. We actually just got finished with the renovations and had it listed and ready to sell when Hurricane Gustav blew through. We really hadn’t thought about adding a skylight – but what a great idea!!!!!!!!!! A friend reminded me that “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” – Winston Churchill





Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Mom's turn: Hurricane Buffet

When you have no electricity and you’re hungry, you quickly adapt! So – the best thing in a blackout is a banana, honey, & peanut butter sandwich with apple chips & milk!! Lots of carbs for a quick energy boost and lots of protein to keep it going; needed for the neighborhood inspection and debris removal to follow!!

There are also some combos that you would never dream of if they weren’t forced! Like: wine, hamburgers, lima beans, Texas toast and chips. UHHHHHHH – just how many carbs DO you need for energy??? Anyway – we’re back to that “cooking it before it ruins” thing. When you have a freezer full of stuff it’s painful to watch it all melt and waste. We were lucky enough to have a gas stove, so we cooked a bunch and shared with the neighbors. They, in turn, shared their snacks. And as my very wise girlfriend pointed out, “you have plenty of candles and wine is good at room temperature, too.”

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Mom's turn: The difference between boys & girls

How boys and girls spend their time when there is no electricity:

BOY - take a nap

GIRL - cook all of the frozen food before it ruinsBOY - add a dog
GIRL - do your nails; make sure they match pachyderms on parade pajamas.
BOY - change positions.
GIRL - Exercise...why not.BOY - roll over.
GIRL - PASSOUT!!!!!!!!! Okay...perhaps the "exercise with no air" idea wasn't so great. Time for a nap!!

Monday, September 1, 2008

Mom's turn: Playing with Gustav

Okay – so I was wrong! We got hit by Hurricane Gustav harder than I thought we might…and by us living in East Baton Rouge Parrish, we got the worst of the worse :-/ That’s the pros and cons of living in a very old neighborhood in the very far South! We have some gorgeous ancient trees all around us: live oaks, magnolias, cow oaks, and crape myrtles. None of them enjoyed the 50 mph sustained winds we endured for four hours with gusts topping 90 mph! We were actually luckier than most; we suffered minor damage with some shingles lost, several limbs down around the house,
Travis was ready to begin cleanup as soon as possible!
The boys weren't happy with the new way the yard was rearranged!
and some window damage in Christina’s room. The biggest inconvenience is the loss of electricity, but hopefully that won’t be long. We walked around the neighborhood to survey the rest of the damage and offer our help where needed.
Hope you're good with directions if you visit - street signs are whacky in Louisiana!
We met some very interesting neighbors while we were out:

The crazy cat lady – who informed us, while we were helping cut tree limbs so she could evacuate since a tree smashed her house, that she had TWENTY cats INSIDE and 10 or more outside!!!!!!!!!!
The southern white trash – who played ON THE ROOF during the hurricane and, in the middle of the worst part, drank themselves into a stupor while perched in lawn chairs in the middle of street!!!!!!!!!!!
The curiously quiet – people who passed us in such a state of shock that they couldn’t even respond to the polite acknowledgement of hello but rather just stared like they were seeing a ghost or something.
We were also reminded, again, at how very lucky we really are as we saw tree after tree on all the neighbors houses and cars – poor Clara Belle even saw her best friend and neighbor smashed to pieces!!!!
NOT MINE!!!!!!!!!!
In all seriousness, this storm took the lives of several people and we will remember them and their families in our prayers tonight and thank God that we were spared.
Samsom STILL thought it was time to play! He even found this wonderful new ball that was blown into his yard!