Thursday.. Three Things as Always... Birthdays.. Whats?..Photos and Poems..

"There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured with what is right in America." ~ William J. Clinton

"You can put wings on a pig, but you don't make it an eagle." ~ William J. Clinton

"If we all worked on the assumption that what is accepted as true is really true, there would be little hope of advance." ~ Orville Wright

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1:~ Birthdays.. Today is the birthday of at least two important people in American History.. I am sure there are many others born on this day who may have played a part but I think you will agree that these two men do deserve a Happy Birthday mention...

~ Orville Wright was Born August 19th- 1871 and is best known as the first person to successfully fly an airplane. This first flight was December 17, 1903 at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. This inaugural flight was soon to change the skies forever.

Known as "Bubs" to his family .. Orville started his own printing business when he was 15 years old and was running a weekly newspaper by his junior year of high school. His grades.. except for science.. were very low.. as his newspaper grew he lost interest in school and did not go back for his senior year. Even though he never finished high school.. Orville as well as his brother Wilbur earned a great many honorary graduate and post-graduate college degrees.

Orville Wright was active in the promotion of scouting and sat on the Dan Beard Council of the Boy Scouts of America. He was the scouting advisor for the Aviation Merit Badge.

He and Wilbur also won three separate prestigious awards...
Congressional Medal of Honor, awarded June 17, 1909
Legion of Honor, awarded June 20, 1909
Collier Trophy, awarded February 3, 1914

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~ William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton was born August 19th-1946.. He was the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. At 46 he was the third-youngest president...he served two terms..

Clinton plays both the tenor and soprano saxophone and demonstrated his abilities many times on the campaign trail. He also collects saxophones, both miniature and life-sized...In high school, Clinton played saxophone in a jazz trio... The three musicians wore dark glasses on stage and they called themselves "Three Blind Mice"
..He Graduated Georgetown University (1968)and Yale University Law School (1973)..

He is allergic to dust, mold, cats, pollen, beef, and dairy products.. he is said to have smoked marijuana once but said he did not inhale..

In 1998, as a result of issues arising from his personal indiscretions with a young woman White House intern.. Clinton became the second U.S. president to be impeached by the House of Representatives... He was tried in the Senate and found not guilty of the charges against him... He apologized to the nation for his actions and continued to hold the most popular approval ratings for his job as president..

In October 2002, Bill was given an honorary induction into the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame, becoming the first white person in the hall..

Bill Clinton is the first president to be a Rhodes Scholar...
His nickname as a child was Bubba...

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2-What is it??

... ~ today I am again asking you to take a look and see if you know what this is..? I am getting easier and easier here.. I am sure someone will know this one at first glance... keep in mind that I may have flipped.. or cropped the photo hoping to confuse you..... It however has NOT been altered in any other way.. it can be a common or a not so common item but I always expect someone to know what it is..
I feel sure that everyone will know this item with very little trouble.. you may have one just like this....I will even give a few clues this week.. to help everyone out..

~ UPDATE~ Yes I am a Mop.. Big Time.. Was the very first person to guess it .. followed by two other right answers.. Maybe this was too easy but it is actually hard to find a regular mop now.. everyone uses those steaming scrubbers or wet padded other expensive things..I do thank you all for playing.. I will be showing another what is it soon..

~ sometimes I am wet.. sometimes I am dry.. I can be found in the corner or on a nail.. almost every house has me.. those who don't are sure to need me.. what am I??? I will be giving a small prize to whoever gets this what is it right.. Do you know what it is.. you can't win unless you comment.. Have a great day!

Patsy

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3- Fear in ten words or less.. an AllPoetry.com contest...


I smell a Rat ~

quivering despair
heart throbbing ~ hair on end
eek! a mouse!

Written By: Patricia Sawyer
2-10-2010

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~ Bonus.. look at this poor little guy.. hanging on for dear life.. trying to stay dry as the rain drops fell.. I tried to get Emily to let him run up her arm and into the house where he would be safe from the storm... She had a fit.. shivered and shook as she slammed the door on the poor creature.. maybe she like lizards as much as I like mice...

A What is it Update.. Did You Guess?

"It is the nature of the strong heart, that like the palm tree it strives ever upwards when it is most burdened." ~ Philip Sidney

"The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way. Some see nature all ridicule and deformity... and some scarce see nature at all. But to the eyes of the man of imagination, nature is imagination itself." ~ William Blake

“To see a World in a Grain of Sand And a Heaven in a Wild Flower, Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand And Eternity in an hour.”
~ William Blake

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UPDATE~~

Thursday I posted a what is it.. Though you used to have to go for a drive down to the coast to find it they are now scattered around all over the place.. anyone can buy a few and turn their own yard in to a private oasis... I know a few people who either own one now or live close enough to one that I was sure they would know what it was... I was sure someone would know exactly what it was.. In fact I had a few people in mind that I was sure knew.. I guess I was wrong again.. Please take a look at the photos below and see if you recognize this thing.. Thanks for stopping by my blog today.. We have been enjoying the rain.. I hope that your day too was enjoyable.. I love comments!.. so feel free to leave me one.. Have a great Night!
Patsy

... this is the What id it Photo I posted on Thursday... only one guess was offered.. it really is innards of some kind I guess... just not upholstery innards.. but it was a very good guess... Maybe this next photo will help...

... I bet some of you are thinking...

..... I have seen this before Lets add another..

~ How about now?.. can you guess from this one.. I bet most of you can.. I flipped this one and almost used it for the game but decided to make it a little harder than that.. I wonder how many of you would have gotten it from this photo?..

.. I am sure you know what this is.....

Yes it's a palm tree... this one grows near our new baseball parks... but they actually grow all

over town.. ... and here they are in their natural state on Hunting Island .. I was lucky enough to catch these while they were still standing.. this favorite thinking spot of mine is an island under assault.. at erosion's mercy.. only a narrow strip of forest remains...

I hope you enjoyed the game.. I am sure some of you had an idea and maybe just didn't want to comment.. I wish you would leave a comment so that i will know rather anyone is interested in the what is it puzzles.. It's hard to believe I guess that the first photo.. the What is it?.. one.. is just a macro shot of a palm tree.. a close up shot ..

Thanks for stopping by my blog today.. I hope you will visit my world again.. Keep looking at things up close.. you never know what the next "what is it?" might be.. and yes.. I AM SNEAKY!.. But I am always willing to show you the real thing.. if You need me too .. and live close enough... Have a great Day!

Patsy

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Thursday.. Hot and dry.. but Perfect for Chicken Trading...

“A secret between two is God's secret, between three is all men's.”
~ Spanish Proverb

"Poetry: three mismatched shoes at the entrance of a dark alley."
~ Charles Simic

“Three quarters of the miseries and misunderstandings in the world would finish if people were to put on the shoes of their adversaries and understood their points of view” ~ Mahatma Gandhi

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- Rambles from the shambles.. of my weary old mind.. .. Welcome to my blog.. Today is Thursday and I always share three things with you on Thursdays.. Some times I even give you something extra.. a bonus I guess you could say... today we'll count the rambles as a bonus.. ~


Today has been hotter than blazes here in my world.. Dave and went on a wonderful Photography ride.. he even stopped dead still and waited patiently as I made photos of a few places.. I guess he wasn't afraid of being shot for photographing hay... I do admit to taking him into some sticky places looking for a photo.. He must love me a lot.. though it was hot as the dickens.. the afternoon passed quickly in the company of an old friend.. a new friend.. and a lively conversation about our chickens.. I hope your day was as much fun as mine... and Now on to three things...

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#1~ Haiku Heights Prompt -#3- Field...

~ The Field ~

pungent winter feed
graces the field with beauty~
a field mouse burrows

Written By: Patricia Sawyer
8-12-2010


* My first try at this new Meme.. I like haiku though.. so I know I will like this..

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#2- What Is IT??- I used to do what is it every Tuesday.. then people quit guessing and I thought everyone had grown tired of the game.. lately I have had a number of folks ask me when I was going to start it back.. The very last post of what is it only brought one comment here but I did have e-mails and face to face questions about it.. I have not posted the answer to that puzzle yet since I may use it again.. Please do comment if you have a guess..

~ What is IT..?? I am pretty sure someone out there knows what this is.. Is that someone you?? Though I haven't decided what.. yet and I can promise you it will be a small token.. I plan to begin giving a prize to the first person who gets the right answer.. I am sure many of you have seen this thing.. It is much more common than it used to be.. Please do comment with a guess.. even a wrong guess lets me know you are interested in the game.. I will be up-dating with the correct answer in a day or so.. or as soon as someone guesses it.. In the event that more than one person gets it right.. the first comment posted here will win the small prize... I can.. right off the top of my head think of at least two people who should recognize this... to comment here if you never have before.. just click on the word comment at the end of this post.. under the comment box it will ask who you wish to comment as.. you may choose anonymous.. if You choose.. that option.. please end the comment with your own name.. That way I will know who got it right!!.. Then check back to see if you won.. I know someone out there has already figured out exactly what this is.. Go ahead and Make your guess.... Good Luck!

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#3- an Etheree~



My Flock

Pink
plastic
flamingos
decorate yards.
Old ladies love them.
Children bubble with glee
and clap their hands at the sight.
I use them as markers for graves
where I plant my foes in my back yard.
My flamingo flock now twenty birds strong.
Beautiful flock in waves of bright pink plastic
growing by leaps and bounds as my foes disappear.

Written By: Patricia Sawyer
9-20-2009

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Now.. in closing.. let me say that there are no bodies buried in my back yard.. I do have a few flamingos here and there but they aren't hiding any secrets.. that I know of anyway.. there could be a fat rat snake or a spider hiding there but that's not anything to do with me.. the bugs and snakes here do as they please... The Flock Poem was written from a prompt that we were given at a writers meeting.. after several people offered words it was decided that we were to write about pink flamingo markers... and my etheree just jumped right off of the end of my pen.. spilled itself right onto my paper.. I just know that I will get at least one message or e-mail about this poem.. so be assured that it is just a made up poem..

I thank you for visiting my world today.. I am so glad you stopped by my blog.. I hope that while you were here your interest was caught and that maybe you even smiled... and If you laughed.. well that was grand!! I am honored by your visit.. Please leave me a comment.. and do try to give the guessing game a try.. who knows.. you might win.. Have a wonderful day!
Patsy

Tuesday and What is this? Two things? Cool!

"Good advice is always certain to be ignored, but that's no reason not to give it."

"The happy people are failures because they are on such good terms with themselves that they don't give a damn."

"It is completely unimportant. That is why it is so interesting!"
All from Agatha Christie, ( born on this day- September 15Th) ~ 1890 - 1976



Today's Ten on Tuesday theme is things you think are cool.. I haven't tried this Meem before but I liked a lot of the past themes and thought to give it a try as something new and surprising for my faithful readers and I guess I am stubborn as well and will continue to put more than one thing a day on my blog..

Ten things I think are cool!

1-) antique school books...they are called primers.... I have a few from a one room school house.. some of the math problems deal with buckets of coal and cords of wood.. I love them..

2-) dolls.. I will always think they are cool..

3-) shot glasses... if I had drank a shot for all the glasses I have... I'd still be drunk.. I love them though..Dave and I share a collection of them.. someday I'd like to have them from all over the world.. wanna send me one?

4-) chickens.. I love my chickens and your chickens and metal chickens and glass chickens..and any chickens..

5-) coloring... I have loved to color for so long.. I always bought myself a coloring book when I bought one for my kids.. I don't like the fancy Barbie or other toy generated ones though.. I like the old timey big thick ones.. I even use the pictures for other projects like wood crafting or quilting..

6-) the ocean.. there isn't much that I find cooler than the sea.. I can sit in the sun for hours on a deserted beach and just watch and listen to the waves roll in.. a peanut-butter sandwich and a bottle of water.. and the peaceful sound of the ocean..

7-) blogging.. I wasn't sure I could do it.. I hoped and prayed I could.. I have been here a while now.. I am proud of my blog.. sometimes I don't do it like some people think I should.. I love other peoples blogs as much as I love mine... blogging is really way up there on my cool list right now!!

8-) writing.. I was a writer once.. a published writer in fact.. I have magazines and newspapers locked away safely to prove it.. then I quit.. I had other stuff going on... way too much other stuff..important stuff.. and writing slipped away.. I thought about it everyday and wrote poems and stories in my mind sometimes... I told stories to my kids and my siblings kids and the neighbors kids.. and my friends.. then one day I was sitting and a poem just rolled out of my mind.. I write everyday now.. something.. a poem.. a story..I am a writer.. writing is cool.. does that make me cool?

9-) Facebook.. I love being able to search for and to find people that I haven't seen in a while.. I have recently found a couple of folks from a long long time ago... also I connect with my kids and my grand-daughter there.. I can look at their pictures and be a nosy Mom.. and talk to high school friends and plant a garden and live on an island and play games and own a monkey.. How cool is that?

10-) Life.... life has not always been cool for me.. sometimes .. many times in fact it has been down right tough.. I am at a place with in my own self that I know my life has a purpose.. a plan.. God didn't make any junk!.. I will never be rich.. or skinny.. or drive a fancy car.. but I love my family and my friends .. and life is still the coolest thing I know!

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What is it???

I know Y'all would be disappointed if I didn't have a something or other for you to guess on here today.. I think I have people who come just to guess once a week.. I get comments here.. (Not as many as I'd like!) ... and comments on face book and emails and even sometimes a phone call about the what is it posts.. I have gotten calls from people who say just tell them.. and text messages saying it isn't fair that they think they know so if I'll just tell them and they were right.... I even once had a person who accidentally figured out a way to cheat.. of course she then told me and I fixed that right away.. Thanks PJ!.. so now.. take a look at this thing I found.. What in the world is it?


What on earth do you use it for? Dave and I found it

waiting for me at the recycling center.. Yes I do know that it was thrown away.. I also now know that it is an expensive item to buy.. I didn't have one.. now I do.. mine was free.. Standing there looking at it we wondered what is was.. I thought it was a tiki torch thingy.. Dave thought is was the springs out of something and that I was making him bring home junk again...do you know what it really is? We sat it one the table and looked it over while we ate lunch together.. we discussed it while we fed the chickens and dogs.. Our son David and his new girlfriend~ Tonya~ came by.. we showed it them but they were clueless.. then like a lightening bolt I had an idea and Dave being a good sport helped me try some things out.. they worked.. But to be fair I couldn't just say it was something because I thought it.. Do you have an idea of what this strange looking thing is? I do.. I searched and searched.. I am a smart person.. it is exactly what I thought.. Do you have an idea? Please leave me a comment if you know what it is.. make a guess.. you might be right! Check back tomorrow and I'll have an update to let you know what this item is... Someone out there knows and maybe today that someone is YOU!! Have a wonderful Day!
Patsy

Update~ This strange looking group of springs really is a 6 Bottle Wine tree.. I tried to get Dave to go buy me six expensive bottles of wine but he said not today.... so I had to show you with just some antique bottles I have been saving... Two people guessed right this week.. Lin from over at Duck and Wheel with String and my youngest sister Martha! Thanks to everyone who played my guessing game this week...
Patsy

Another Tuesday ~ Another what is it?

“For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream.” ~ Vincent Van Gogh

“What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow: Our life is the creation of our mind.”

~ Buddha

“There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are messengers of overwhelming grief...and unspeakable love.”

~ Washington Irving

I think I may actually have a plant this week that will be hard to guess.. I want to know what the plant is and what the fruit is used for... I am pretty sure you will be very surprised at what I have been growing.. The fact is that this fruit is believed by almost everyone to come from somewhere else.. Most people are not aware that it grows on a vine.. It is sold in specialty shops and many times cost a pretty penny.. I am rather fond of them and use them in several different spaces in my house and even outside in the back yard.. Can you guess what I am growing here?

The first picture is how these things look when they grow.. Their dark green leafy vines will reach for the sky.. climbing anything it can wrap a tendril around and hang on as it climbs over and under and around everything in it's path.. That is of course provided that it has plenty of water.... The vine will grow quickly up and over an old fence or even up into a tree.. Before long you will see hummingbirds swarming around the lemon yellow flowers that cover the tops of the vines.. Bees and butterflies will try to sneak a drink of the nectar but the hummingbirds will fight for every drop..chasing the bees and butterflies away every time they see one

anywhere near the vine.. The second picture is of two that I picked last year.. I saved these two for seeds.. I meant to plant them this year but at the beginning of the year I forgot about them.. I really think some of you may be surprised at just what these things are... I know I was when I was first given the seeds.. It sorta looks like zucchini squash doesn't it? I have been told that it is actually edible and quiet tasty.. Being that I now know what it really is.. I'll just pass on eating any of it.. you can have my portion..My friend Thoi does eat them.. she grows them for what they are and to eat.. The vines cover her small yard like a jungle...I will say that she eats them long before they get this big though.. The one in the first picture is quiet obviously being grown for what they become.. not for food... Can you guess what this strange plant is?

a few fast facts~

1~) the vines grow to at least twelve feet and many grow up twenty feet or even higher.
and will have dozens of fruit per vine.. the leaves and vines are crushed and used for an insect
repellent...

2~) the fruit is edible.. I googled it and their are even recipes on-line for it..
The flowers are also edible and are dampened then very lightly floured and fried for a delicious treat.

3~) It has large bright yellow flowers.. both male and female flowers.. the male flowers are found in clusters while the female flowers will stand alone..

4~) it is a fast-growing annual found wild in India and now cultivated in much of Asia.

5~) This warm season plant is sensitive to frost. It yields well in warm climates. The plant prefers deep well drained sandy loam soils, rich in organic matter with a pH ranging between 6.5 to 7.5. But it can also be grown on any good soil. The soil may be prepared well by adding organic matter or animal manure a few weeks before planting.

Did the fast facts help at all? I bet they didn't.. this is one of those things that either you know or you don't.. I'm thinking that a lot of you will be surprised when I tell you tomorrow exactly what I have growing in these pictures.. Some of you might even like to have a few seeds.. Please feel free to guess if you know or think you know the answer.. I love comments so you can comment just to say howdy if you want to too..

Have a wonderful day!
Patsy


Update~yes the plant is a loofah squash.. Or some people call it a gourd... Most people think that Loofah is a sponge that comes from deep within the ocean. It is often sold as a deep sea sponge.. especially by those people who set up shop in the center of the local mall and who also sell the salt they claim comes from the dead sea .. They have instructions on how to use it to cure every skin ailment known to mankind.. I have grown Loofah for a few years.. I got my first seeds as a gift from my Thailand friend; Thoi.. She eats hers.. I use mine to wash dishes and scrub pots and wash the car and the face and to wash vegetables.. They are pretty useful. They are also expensive to buy.. I saw a basket in one of the mall shops that had one thin slice of Loofah, a tiny vial of cleansing solution, and another tiny vial of dead sea replenishing gel.. The basket I could hold in the palm of my hand.. wrapped in Plastic and tied up with a green bow... the gift basket was $34... I wanted to come home and start seeds right then even though it was still cold outside.. These Squash get Long.. Really long.. as thin as that slice was... I could get rich if I could slice and sell mine like that.. Thanks to all who guessed!
Patsy

Today is Tuesday! Do you know what this is?

“Rice Krispies happens to be one of my favorite junk foods, just as I regard Michener as superior among junk writers.” ~ Christopher Lehmann-Haupt

“A society that thinks the choice between ways of living is just a choice between equally eligible "lifestyles" turns universities into academic cafeterias offering junk food for the mind.”
~ George F. Will

“My body is a temple where junk food goes to worship”~ Unknown

What in the world is that thing? It sorta goes along with today being the crazy holiday known as National Junk Food Day! According to tradition, today is set aside to fill your belly with foods that are bad for you without a bit of guilt. I Personally will pass on that. My Tummy doesn't seem to like the oily fat that usually goes along with junk food.. I am also fat enough without adding any empty calories to my diet... even for one day! The photo is not food. Or at least not food to me though there may be something that would eat it.So my question to you today is what is this thing? And where would you find it? Then thirdly... yes I have a thirdly...
can you tell me at least three junk foods that can be found in the same place as the pictured item? You should have no trouble thinking of three since the last time I was there I ate four things that would be considered junk food and gained at least five pounds just from all the delightful smells. I'm pretty sure most people will guess what the picture is and where to find one..
From there they should have no trouble listing all the junk foods found there.

I would also like to add that today is actually a wild and wacky made up holiday.. Even so I have had three e-mails about it all with games to play today and new and exciting ways to cook foods that are considered bad for you.. Junk Food!

Junk food is generally high in fat, calories and cholesterol and is very often full of sugar and preservatives.. The list of junk foods includes Candies and chocolate; cookies and snack cakes; potato chips; Ice creams; carbonated and other bottled beverages; and almost all fast foods... In other words, junk food is all that sweet; salty or otherwise tasty stuff that the dietitians,
Doctors, and Mom, consider to be bad for us.

I guess if you simply can't resist the chance to splurge for just one day and you positively have to celebrate Junk food day.. then maybe just have a small amount of junk food.. you can always off-set it with a brisk walk around the neighborhood or a game of Jump rope with the children.

My concern is not really for those who will eat Junk food today.. My greater concern is for the children who live on a steady diet of Fast food.. Parents don't cook like they used to. My own children would rather eat out than cook at home.. Forty percent of meals are now eaten outside of the home... Every single day one out of every four Americans will eat from a fast food restaurant.. Americans spend $110 billion dollars a year on fast food... French fries are the most eaten vegetable in America.. and the only vegetable eaten by many children..sixty percent of all Americans are either overweight or obese.. One in three children born in the United States will develop Diabetes in their lifetime.. Do you see a pattern?

I try to eat lots of vegetables and fruits. I love tomatoes and cucumbers and eat them every day when I have them fresh in my back yard. I also love squash and string beans and peas and corn.. I try to grow as many of those every year as I can.... I love peaches and watermelon.. I also love candy and anything chocolate but don't keep it here.. because I'll be honest.. I would eat it every day if it was here and readily available for me to grab.. I don't buy chips and other treats unless I am planning a party.. Even then I try to offer both fresh fruits and vegetables and the more common chips and dip style treats..

Dave and I did celebrate Junk Food Day together just before he went to work.. I cooked us each a small hamburger and loaded it down with low fat pepper jack cheese and grilled onions and peppers.. he even had mayonnaise and mustard on his. We also had a pasta and vegetable salad made with fresh cucumbers and tomatoes with onions, bacon bits, hot peppers and pasta.. all stirred up with a small amount of ranch dressing.. I know it's not real junk food but if I pretend it is then I won't think about having a giant Chocolate Ice cream banana split pecan pie.. with whipped cream and a cherry on top!

Please leave me a comment if you know the answers to my three questions.. They were. 1:) what is the picture of?.. 2:) where can one of these be found?... and 3:) (yes.. Thirdly!) Name at least three junk foods found in the same place as this picture.. I'm thinking this weeks what is it will be a piece of cake for most of you!! Have a great day!!
Patsy

7-22-2009
Update!~ 1:)~ I guess this wasn't as easy as I thought.. Only one person guessed and she got it right.. Thanks ~Lashan~ The Picture was of a carousel Tiger.. Here he is being ridden by My niece Beth.. and her beautiful daughter Dorie Jean..

2:)~ Carousels can be found at amusement parks and carnivals; sometimes in large malls and of course at the Fair..

3:) I could name a great long list of junk food that can also be found in all of these places but I'll stick to my favorite three.. Cotton candy!..
French fries.. and Caramel apples!

Wow.. I would love to have a big caramel apple and ride a carousel right now! Have a great night!
Patsy

It's Tuesday!.... Do you know what it is?

"Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed, there are many rewards; if you disgrace yourself, you can always write a book." - Ronald Reagan


"No arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is as formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women."- Ronald Reagan


"If we ever forget that we're one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under."
- Ronald Reagan

Welcome to a quick what is it Tuesday post.. Look at the picture below and tell me what you think this plant is. It is a pretty plant that prefers rich moist soil and partial shade . It can tolerate direct sunlight but plants grown in shade tend to be larger and more succulent. It is related to mint in appearance, but it is not as invasive and easier to control. A clump-forming herbaceous perennial with heart shaped, deeply veined leaves that are covered with stiff hairs, it grows up to 1-2 feet high. Bluish-white or yellow flowers grow from the axils of the leaves and bloom from May to October. After pollination, long oval brown seeds appear. The leaves should be harvested before the flowering for optimum flavour and fragrance. The plant should be cut back in the fall. Any Ideas yet? The Amish people use this in a lot of their medicines. I have personally used their Ear ache drops made with this and found it to be very soothing and helpful..

This plant is a native to southern Europe and northern Africa and has been cultivated for over 2000 years. It has a long history as a healing herb and was also part of a drink that ensured longevity. The branches were strewn on floors to freshen a room, as mentioned by Shakespeare in "The Merry Wives of Windsor".
The Arabs introduced it as medicinal herb, a tea that was taken for anxiety and depression. It is still known in France today as a remedy for fatigue and headaches. The leaves were rubbed onto beehives to prevent swarming and to encourage the bees to return to the hives. I know the bees love it.. The honey bees here are fat with the nectar they suck from this plant every day.. a big garden spider builds his web from the edge of the planter to the nearest tree every night only to have me knock it down the next day to get to the water sprinkler. The Greek physician Dioscorides wrote about it being used for scorpions stings and insect and dog bites.

Wow.. I sure am glad I grow this plant in my bucket garden.. You can't tell from the picture but these plants are spilling out of a raised box made from four old shelves that were headed for a land fill... I love recycling things into containers for my gardens.. I even have stuff growing in a pair of Dave's old boots...

Let me know you were here by leaving me a comment.. please try and figure out what this plant is that grows so well in my gardens.. Maybe you have an idea for a unique planter for me to make? Maybe I can make it and fill it with this mystery plant.. take a guess if you don't know.. I bet someone out there knows.. is it YOU?! Have a great night!
Patsy

Happy Tuesday!! .. Who knows what we have here???

"If you can't stand the heat you better get out of the kitchen." ~ Harry S Truman

"I hope we can get back to what I call the kitchen table. Everyday issues that people are really worried about and focused on." ~ Dick Gephardt

"Everyone is kneaded out of the same dough but not baked in the same oven."
~Yiddish Proverb

"What's a soup kitchen?" ~ Paris Hilton


Hello and Happy Tuesday to everyone! Are you ready to play along in the "What is it?" game? This week I am taking it easy on you all I will tell you that everything here is considered a kitchen item... I think most people will know what everything here is and even if you might not know what it's called you can probably make a pretty good guess as to what it was used for. How many of today's items can you identify?


1:) This first one doesn't actually belong to me.. It belongs to My oldest sister Trudy.. She also collects all the vintage kitchenware and has had this wonder for a very long time.. We have often taken guesses as to what it is and how we would use it....this item consists of a small metal basket on the bottom. It looks like a tin can filled with holes.. The top piece is a disk and when you hold it by the handles and squeeze the two together the disk goes down inside the basket.. first of all do you know what it is called and secondly.. what did the old timers use it for?



2:) I personally have always thought this was a cheese slicer and a pie crust edge maker.. I was wrong.... This vintage kitchen tool actually had two uses. Do you know what they were? Dave and I had the whole bucket out looking them over this morning.. Yes I have a bucket of old kitchen ware.... and we finally decided that we better look them all up.. I would hate to steer anyone in the wrong direction in the important matter of vintage kitchen ware. I mean what if I had you slicing something with an edger..




3:) This one is pretty easy I think.. I knew what this one was.. It has two metal parts that fit together and slide into the handle.. one can be removed but the other can not. If I had to guess I'd say that was for cleaning purposes.. After all one does have to clean their kitchen ware at times. What would you use this for? I can think of a few things it could be used for even in today's times.. But what is it really?

4:) let me tell you that this one isn't quiet as old as the others. In fact I drew this shape and My Dear Husband cut it out for me.. Mine is made of wood.. I had seen one in an old magazine and I wanted one of my own. I painted it to look like the old one I had seen. I use it quiet a lot while cooking.. It has a small eye so that it can hang close to where it will be used... What in the world is it? what is it used for?



5:) This one everyone should get.. it is so very easy.. this one was used back in the day when we couldn't buy fancy packaged food. Frozen foods were unheard of back then.. Ladies worked very hard to make their food stand out.. all well equipped kitchens had one of these.. What is it for? What is it called?




6:)This is my newest of all of my Kitchen items collection. Dave found this wonder at the Flea Market Saturday when I had to work.. He knew I would like it and he paid a few cents for it and proudly brought it home to me.. Of course I looked at him and said.. "What is it?" and of course he didn't know. It has a tip that has to be on a solid surface for it to work. When it is stood on the tip and you press down on the handle the little wire hoops spin around and around as the handle slides down the braided handle.. I love it.. Now that I know what it is for I love it even more... I have already used it.. It is perfect for what it was made for.. Do you know what it is?

I hope you will all make some guesses about today's vintage kitchenware items.. I have quiet a collection of them. Many of them we just look at and wonder what they could be for.. A few years ago I looked the whole town over for a corer so I could use it in canning pears.. My mama assured me that it would make my job easier.. I wasn't even sure what they looked like so after looking them up I just got down my bucket and got one from the old junk collection.. She was right.. with my old corer I was able to quickly get the cores out of my pears and was proud when they looked as good as the pears we eat from a can.

I will warn you though that the Internet says we should not use vintage kitchen ware because we cannot know what was used in the paint or what alloys were used in the metal parts. I always wash mine in a bleach solution prior too and after I use them since wood can harbor bacteria... I use mine very rarely because I~ like most women~ own all the new fangled fancy kitchen items.. But I will always love and collect the vintage kitchenware too. Have a great Tuesday!!
Patsy

What did you say that was? Oh Another Tuesday!

"The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread." ~Anatole France

"The greatest and most amiable privilege which the rich enjoy over the poor is that which they exercise the least - the privilege of making others happy." ~Charles Caleb Colton

"I have found out in later years [that] we were very poor, but the glory of America is that we didn't know it then." ~ Dwight D. Eisenhower

"The difference between a rich man and a poor man is this - the former eats when he pleases, and the latter when he can get it." ~Walter Ralegh

"I've been rich and I've been poor. Rich is better." ~ Sophie Tucker

Welcome to my blog.. It is Tuesday and today we do have another what is it? I think someone will get this one pretty easy. But I have been wrong at least once in my life so far.. Maybe I'll be wrong again someday.. Take a good look at this and then give me a comment if you think you know what it is. Give me a comment even if you don't have a clue or could care less. Some of you who have lived on a farm or just out in the country have probably grown this before yourself. Maybe you knew someone who grew them in the past. My daddy grew them as did my Aunt Lucy and my Grandma. The first one I ever saw was at Grandma's little house in the woods. They are really kinda ugly aren't they? Believe me it's just from this angle that they are ugly. Everyone wants seeds for these from my yard. They make a beautiful exotic plant.Everyone used to have this plant on their farm... now they are very hard to find... They have no close relatives in the plant world..

It is native only to Africa but has been carried around the world. By people who thought them to be beautiful. They also have a special purpose that if you recognize the plant you should also know what their purpose was or is...

In tropical areas it grows as a shrub or a tree that can reach 40 feet in height along streams and rivers and on bottom lands with well-drained, nutrient rich soils. In temperate areas,they are grown as annuals. Up North they are grown as ornamentals and can be directly sown into gardens in late spring, or started earlier indoors and transplanted outdoors when the weather warms. I personally have never had luck with moving one or transplanting one.. These plants grow at an amazingly fast rate, if they are situated in full sun and provided with ample fertilizer and water. Ten-foot tall plants are not uncommon by late summer. I often have clumps of the huge trees by the end of summer each year. The leaves are giants.. Dave always says he could make an umbrella from just one leaf... They will often drop their seeds and will come up the following year in bigger and bigger clumps. They hate cold though and die as soon as the temperature drops below 32^oF.

Do you know what this plant is called? Do you know why the old time farmers grew it? .. have you ever grown it? Give it a guess. Who knows you might be right..


~~ And now for a small bonus.. On this day in 1572 the English Poor Law, the first known welfare legislation, was adopted under the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Local churches were responsible for distributing food; clothes and very rarely money; to those who couldn't work... this included the very old.. mothers of babies.. orphan children.. the blind or crippled... and in some cases widows... public jobs were created for the able-bodied and if they refused work they could be beaten or jailed.... healthy unemployed persons were considered vagrants and were punished... Many were jailed.. You could be cast out of your neighborhood if they thought you were simply lazy.. others in the neighborhood could whip you if they caught you being lazy and getting welfare when you were able to work.... They had people chosen to watch over the welfare receivers.. Of course it was much easier then when they weren't as many people to watch and it was all handled by Churches.. I personally think the welfare system that we have now is unfair.. I went through the system many years ago and if I hadn't grown a lot of our food we would have starved.. Now I hear young and yes, able bodied women talk about how they get over a thousand dollars a month in just food stamps... that is not to mention that they get help on their housing and electric bills.... plus a check for their children... Most don't work because to get a job would cut their assistance.. What I'd I'd like to know is if I can go under the old law and beat them????? What do you think? I wouldn't really beat them.... (or would I????) Maybe we should go back to the public jobs for public assistance... I am in favor of giving to the elderly and the mothers of the very young children.. How-ever I do think they should have to do something .. anything.. to get their money! Maybe the Old widowed Grandma's can babysit the babies for the Mother's to do some kind of work... I know that many will disagree with me and that is OK... I do have my own opinion.. And I am sure you have your opinion too.. Thanks for reading about mine! I will be glad to read about yours if you care to leave me a comment!

Don't forget to make a guess on the plant! Have a great day!
Patsy

It's Tuesday!.... Do you know what it is?

"Our lives are like a candle in the wind."~ Carl Sandburg

"The weather-cock on the church spire, though made of iron, would soon be broken by the storm-wind if it ... did not understand the noble art of turning to every wind."
~ Heinrich Heine

"A certain amount of opposition is a great help to a man. Kites rise against, not with the wind"
~ John Neal

What IS IT??

Can you guess? Do you know? Have you ever seen one before? Do you know what I am? Someone knows. Someone can guess. Who will that someone be this week?
I almost bet that you have at the very least seen one of these... Some of you may have even touched one... I have! I love them. I have chosen the quotes on wind today because one of my favorite things is to see this blowing in the wind. If you know what this is or even if you just want to offer a guess.. Please leave a comment. Tomorrow I will tell you the answer with a comment of my own. It's fun to guess and you might get it right.. I will even give you a few hints..

1:) I have been around since the beginning of time.

2:) I come in a great range of different colors and sizes.

3:) I am used in the making of fabric and jewelry.

4:) I am also used in the drying of malt and hops over a furnace during the brewing of beer.

5:)Itzhak Perlman would be nowhere without me; as would Yo-Yo Ma.

6:) You will find me in both the country and city settings.

I'm sure that someone will take just one look and know what this is. I have been told that this is also quiet tasty but I have never eaten it.. I think it would be on my personal list of Non-food items. I am sure that someone out there will know what this is with just one look. You can never tell though... I hope everyone enjoys trying to figure out what this photo is.. Please comment with your own guess. I enjoy the guesses.. I love the comments. I will be looking at the world with a whole different "eye" from now on; as I attempt to find things to post on Tuesday Blogs. Look closely at the world around you.. Enjoy the wonderful world that God created for us to enjoy! So many things and such a great circle of life. Each thing however tiny holding a special place with uses unique to that one thing... It makes me feel very small when I think of the grandness of this world! Have a great day!
Patsy




Up Date~ It is indeed the mane of a horse. A couple of you got it right.. thanks to all who visited! I decided to add the new Photo since a horses mane looks like so many other things! Have a wonderful day!
Patsy

What is it Tuesday?

"He spoke with a certain what-is-it in his voice, and I could see that, if not actually disgruntled, he was far from being gruntled." ~ Plum

“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”~ Mary Oliver

Today I am showing you a picture. Do you know what it is? I wonder who might recognize this blossom. I will even give you a few hints. If you know what this is please leave me a comment. Even if you don't know you could offer a guess.. I'm willing to bet that someone knows. Someone can guess.. Is that someone you?

As you can see from the photo, this is a bloom. It is growing in my bucket garden. It's a beauty. It gives off a very pungent smell as I brush against it while pulling grass for the chickens. Just from the bloom you would never guess that this is food. Yes, I eat it almost every day. I eat it on bread sometimes but most of the time I use it in other dishes. I am told that the blossom is quiet tasty but I have never eaten the blossom myself. This wonderful smelly bloom will turn to seeds in a few days. They will fall to the dirt and start new plants of this wonderful healthy food.

a few facts about this plant~

1:) Known as the stinking rose.

2:) matches well with beans, beef, beets, cabbage, chicken, eggplant, fish, lamb, lentils, mushrooms, pasta, pork, potatoes, rice, shellfish, spinach, tomatoes, zucchini

3:) can be used as an antiseptic

4:) Americans alone consume more than 250 million pounds of this food each year.

5:)It is said to be an aphrodisiac..

Have I given you enough hints? Can you guess what this is? Did you already know? Have you ever grown this easy to grow food? Maybe now that you have seen mine in bloom you will plant some for your self. I won't tell you today what it is but be sure to check the comments section tomorrow to see if your guess was right. I will post the answer tomorrow as a comment. Give it a try. Make a guess. Someone out there knows what this is! Have a great day!
Patsy