GARDENERS, PLEASE HELP/GARAGE SALE

Okay, there have to be some gardeners out there who read my posts. I really need some advice which I can apply to next year, providing I’m still here. I’ve always grown tomatoes on the deck, usually four big pots. Since the driveway now has only one car, I thought I would put the pots out there on the asphalt. I figured if I got a lot of tomatoes on the deck, I’d get bushels with the pots someplace that gets a lot of sun and asphalt heated by the sun.

Well, nope, that hasn’t happened. I have tomato plants that are actually scrawny. They all have tomatoes, but nothing like what I’m used to. And the squash. Sheesh. I figured I’d tie the vines to the fence as they grew. Well, I really don’t have much in the way of vines to tie up. I’m not going to have much in the way of squash and only one smallish pumpkin that’s already turning orange. Plus, the squash are all getting powdery mildew and that usually doesn’t show up until September.

So, here are my questions for you other gardeners or people who live with other gardeners.

1.     Do you think the asphalt got too hot and I’ve baked the roots?

2.    If I do the asphalt again, should I put the pots up on something so they aren’t resting right on the asphalt?

3.    Was this just a bad year for squash and tomatoes? I’ve seen plants in other places that look outstanding, so maybe not?

That’s it for the garden questions. I guess I am going to have a garage sale the weekend after Labor Day, unless the weather absolutely sucks. AJ and Haley and maybe Thor want to move ahead with it. AJ’s going to borrow ten tables on which we can put stuff. AJ said Haley could make the signs. I guess I need to get busy making signs that have prices, i.e., Everything on this Table = $1.00. I think that will be the easiest way to do the pricing, with the exception of bigger items that wouldn’t fit on the table or that might be worth a bigger asking price. And, of course, customers can always make an offer.

AJ says once this is done, I can call the Salvation Army and ask them to come pick up whatever’s left. I just may be able to park my car in the garage this winter for the first time ever. I figured we would have to wait for spring, but I’ll just wear a mask all day…or stay inside and watch. Also make a sign that says, no mask, don’t come in my driveway.

And, perhaps it’s not a good idea, but today it sounds wonderful. I want to leave this house and all the work it entails as quickly as I possibly can. I don’t want to have to deal with anything that requires a repair. I don’t want to have to deal with putting the garden to bed or waking it up next spring. And, perhaps I’m just having a bad day, but if I could put this house up for sale and include every single thing in it for an extra couple hundred thousand, that’s exactly what I’d do.

Since I have no idea about where I want to go, however, I guess I’d best be looking at that. What I’d really like is a quiet piece of property either on a lake or small stream from which I could launch a kayak. I’d get one of those sheds Costco had on sale last spring and have it turned into a little house with a bathroom, kitchen and loft bedroom. Ah, the dreams I have that will most likely not come to fruition.

Well, I said I was going to try not to whine and maybe this really isn’t a whine. I think it’s just one of those days where I feel like sitting down and having a good cry. I have no idea why I’m so teary today. It’s Xander’s birthday and I saw him, hugged him, got hugged back, gave him his card and present…it was soooooooo good to see and touch him. Maybe that’s why I’m feeling so teary…he’s six now and it won’t be long before he’ll add a one to that six, and I wish I could have him in my life on a more regular basis. Maybe I’ll stop this post and go have that good cry. A good cry really for no reason than I just feel like I need it…I guess.    

HAPPY BIRTHDAY XANDER LOUIE KARLBERG

           Since today is Xander’s sixth birthday, I think I’ll write a bit about him even though I’ve only seen him once since February. I will see him today because I’m going to drive to Snohomish to give him his birthday card and his present. When I talked to him on Monday, he told me he’s going to the mall and to the beach. I asked him what he was going to get at the mall. Was he going to get new underwear and he was appalled at the very idea. Still, he couldn’t tell me what he was going to get besides stuff he wants. His present from me is money, so he’ll be able to get even more stuff he wants. I just wish I could take him and we could go places together.

John and I had sort of come to the conclusion that Thor wasn’t going to be a daddy. He was with a woman who had two children, so when they announced they were expecting we were excited and delighted. Even more so when we found out it would be a boy…we’d have grandchildren of each gender.

I was fortunate enough to be invited to the birthing and while I didn’t do much beyond keep out of the way, I was thrilled to see Thor hold his son for the first time and take their picture as I had done with his older brother when he had his child. There’s nothing as special as a grandchild regardless of whether it’s a boy or a girl.

At the time, Thor and Amber and their family lived in Lynnwood and I tried not to make a pest of myself, but managed to get out there at a minimum of once a week. I have so many photos of Xander in his first year, and beyond for that matter, that I can look back and recall what we were doing and what was going on.

Amber had great milk and Xander soon became a little bit chubby, but he was such a happy baby and we all delighted as he developed each new ability even though that meant he was growing. I don’t remember quite when we reached the point where Xander would come here one day a week and spend it with me and Grandpa John. John was thrilled with Xander’s hair because it had a lot of red and John had been a redhead when he was small. I wonder if Xander will grow into freckles like John did…so far not.

From Buy Nothing, I obtained a car seat which allowed me to pick up and deliver and take Xander various places. I have so many great memories of all the things we did whether they were here at the house or out and about. When he was just a baby, I could take and hold him and sing him a little song very quietly. He always immediately calmed and went to sleep.

“Hush little Xander, close your eyes,

“Nana’s going to sing you a lullaby,

“Hush little Xander, go to sleep,

“Nana’s here and she will keep,”

“La la la la la la la la.”

I would simply repeat those lines over and over and in no time, his eyes would be closed and he’d be sound asleep. For most of the time I had him once a week, he took a nap and we always cuddled up in the big chair and I would sing. I didn’t call it a nap, but our “la la” time because after repeating the lines a few times, I’d go to the la la and just repeat softly over and over. There were times in that chair when Nana took a little snooze too. That was the best time, holding that little warm body and watching him sleep.

We had lots of adventures together, sometimes just the two of us, sometimes we included his sister if there wasn’t any school, and sometimes with Nana’s friends. Amazingly, Nana’s friends didn’t mind the little tagalong because he was always so good. I remember going to Alderwood when they had the Lego exhibit there. Xander walked up and down the mall and came when it was time to move on and even let my friend hold him for a photo.

Another time we went to the Japanese Garden and Xander ran up and down the paths, but never strayed too far from the three (Claudia and Maryanne) of us. When we left the Garden, we went to a brewery/restaurant in University Village. Xander sat beside me on the bench and his behavior was excellent. When he’d had enough, he told me he wanted to go. I told my friends to finish their beers because I wanted to change him before putting him in his car seat…he’d be asleep before we left the parking lot.

Last spring, we drove to Greenwood Avenue North and caught a bus to the zoo. That was so exciting for him and we had so much fun at the zoo that, of course, he fell asleep on the return trip. I was able to wake him so I didn’t have to carry him to the car. 

Last year for Xander’s birthday, Nana gave him a ride from Kenmore to Lake Union in a float plane…so exciting. The pilot offered to let him sit in the co-pilot chair, but Xander said, “No thank you.”, and the pilot said he probably wouldn’t be able to see as well from there anyway.

This year has, of course, been quite different because of the pandemic. Not only did I lose John last year, but I pretty much lost Thor and his family this year. Since I have immune system problems, I cannot just go hang out there or have them here to hang out or even go places. I think the car seat can come out of my car now because I’m sure Xander is too big for it now…it barely fit the last time.

Anyway, sooner or later, this craziness has to end. Meanwhile, here are a few of my favorite photos of Xander.

First photo with Grandpa

First birthday

Our little Viking.

Look at that Man Bun.

At the Zoo.

My favorite photo of us.

Look at that gorgeous hair.

Xander's first haircut this last February...really looks like a little boy now. 

CHINA, THE END

         Well, the trip was over. From Shanghai, after the rest of the party returned, we flew from there to Narita Airport in Japan and then on home. John and I hadn’t made any arrangements to get from Sea-Tac to home. John sprung for a taxi which was about $45 back then. Didn’t matter, we were tired, we wanted to be home and in our very own house and bed.

One topic I did not address was the traffic. You know how we mark our roads and there are lanes and you stay in your lane? Well, they may mark their roads, but no one stays in any one lane. If you are in the center, then you can usually go the fastest. Then there are however many lanes can fit between there and the group of motorbike riders. Sometimes those are several bikes wide. Then, you have the bicycle riders, lots and lots of them, who are several or more bikes adjacent each other. I would no more try driving in China than I would jump off a building and expect to fly. Of course, there is a sidewalk for the walkers, but I’m not sure I’d feel too terribly safe. One afternoon, I swear the only way our bus was able to move was that the driver had smeared Crisco down both sides…that’s actually how close were on each side. Absolutely amazing…and scary.

Then, there’s the fact Beijing was preparing for the Olympics in 2008. Lots of building going on. We say the “nest” building which I think is where the opening and closing ceremonies were. We were also told they would build in the space of the next two years three subways to move people about…THREE…3…, and we can’t even get a fast train here in a reasonable amount of time. 

Now there are some things I left out of the previous posts, either because I didn’t remember where and exactly when. So, I’m looking back at the photos today and posting either the photos I really liked or photos of whatever it was I forgot.

            I loved this rocking chair. It was on top of a roof in Lijiang…made me chuckle.

          In Lijiang, they don’t remove the trees, they just build around them.

            Notice the painting, rockwork—no mortar, window screens and roof.  Someone’s home.

           This is a photo of the work I requested. In Naxi it is supposed to say something like Haley Autumn, beloved granddaughter. I thought I put the meaning on the back of the frame, but it seems to have disappeared.

            I chose this photo of one of the couples on the trip, mainly so you could see all the food on the lazy Susan.

           Everyone in China has a job. This woman was sweeping the side of the freeway with a homemade broom. We were also told not to provide beggars with any money whatsoever. The government takes care of them and they don’t need it. Let me tell you, there were some sights I’ll never forget…what appeared to be a father holding a severely crippled child and begging. I wanted to empty out my bag. It wasn’t the only instance of begging with children and I wondered sometimes if the parent, if that’s who it was, had deliberately injured or taught the child to look so horrible…only word for it. Our guides made sure we kept to the rules.

           These are tree stumps that an artisan(s) carved and changed to create what looks like either a turkey or a peacock in the first photo.  There’s a bird’s head in the low middle of the second photo, but I couldn’t decide if it was a peacock or something else.

           I loved some of the people we saw and took photos when possible.

           Shanghai and the Pearl Tower from the Bund.

           Building in Shanghai…no tools like here. John and Buck couldn’t believe the scaffolding was bamboo and the building was many stories high.

           Electricity is very expensive, so you see sights like this all over Shanghai. Clothes are washed using a washer and then hung outside your apartment on a line until dry. We saw all kinds of clothing.

Needs no explanation.

Chinese language translated into English often made me/us laugh. The ones that caught my fancy are here.

And, there you have it, a 17-day trip to China with two of those days spent travelling to and from. And, may I say the International Date Line still confuses the hell out of me. I know it’s supposed to make sense and probably does, but it’s just really hard to wrap my head around the fact that in one second, it’s Tuesday and the next it’s Wednesday or whatever days it happens to be when you pass over.

I’d also like to add a few more comments about the trip. It was the best trip ever…the trip of a lifetime. All 16 people were agreeable and fun and I believe we all enjoyed each other. There were also banquets and I mentioned a couple of them. We only had to dress up for the last one which was in Shanghai. In addition, the Chinese give you stuff. I have a couple of dishes hanging on my wall which were gifts. Each night, in most hotels, there were papercuts on our pillows. I framed five of them and they hang on my wall...just noticed the multiple colored ones have faded. We also bought money cats. Supposedly if you put one of these by your entrance, you’ll receive money…still waiting!!! (photos below)

So, that’s it, as much of it as I can remember. I’m sure there are many more files housed in this old 286, but they haven’t managed to rise up to the surface so I can access. Maybe I’ll have to do an addendum if something really interesting comes up. And, if you want to spend time with my scrapbooks and photos, let me know.