Only when I am outraged

Breast Cancer Survivors Foundation - sounded like a really good cause when they called me.  Somehow, though, when I got the letter and the "pledge" to send 35 dollars by August 1, I just wondered.  So, I did what I should have done to begin with and looked up their ratings.  94% of the money these folks receive goes to "administrative" costs...meaning marketing.  How much money are these people collecting that could be going to an organization that will actually use it for the purpose it was given?  I know it won't do any good, but I mailed my pledge back to them (sans money) with BIG letters saying to take me off their list and SHAME ON YOU!

My 83 year old mom and 92 year old dad, living on social security, are bombarded with requests for money all of the time.  Dad especially takes it hard that he has so little to give.  Damn it.  I tell him that he should consider the percentage of his income that he gives to the church and compare THAT to the percentage that others with money give.  Preying on the elderly.  How low can this society go?

Those of you who are not yet retired...make sure you have caller ID on your phone before the big day.  When I am here I get a minimum of 2-3 calls per hour that say "UNAVAILABLE" as the ID.  Why should these people be ashamed to show their names?  Don't answer them.

I know this is not the most interesting post I've done, but I am just so pissed.

Not yet one year from retirement and I am already becoming a curmudgeon.

My retirement project

The "garden" before I started

Besides trying to lure song birds to my backyard, I've been creating a masterpiece in my yard.  Where once there was only a ditch and "grass" - I say that with quotation marks because as you can see from the picture, it wasn't that great- I now have a wonderland.  I'm not sure how long all of this will last, but over the years I suppose I'll learn what plants REALLY mean they need sun and which ones can sort of lumber along with just a little bit of sun.

I started by extending the stones that our community's landscapers had installed (See first picture) into a dry river.  I foolishly thought I could just use the stones that were there!  Fifteen 50 pound bags of marble chips and pebble stones hand carried by me and Friend (thank god for those Body Pump Classes) later, and I had the beginnings of a garden with a dry river.

Then 10 hours of cutting out roots as big as a tree limb --- my husband and a friend had cleared out the soil on the right.  It was a real nightmare and would have stopped me in my tracks but we had gone too far to stop.

Next was hauling in soil, mulch (50 bags of it), amenities, and plants until we had the beginnings of a wonderful garden.



We aren't finished because as I am learning if a plant wants full sun, you'd better give it to her.  And we don't have full sun.  So, this is the beginning of a journey to see what lives, flourishes, and gives us a wonderland in the future.  I think it was well worth it.

2013

2013

While I was doing this, hubby was completely re-designing our patio.  What was once a falling down wooden fence is now a beautiful brick wall complete with flower boxes.  It is still a work in progress because of the heat, but I think the 90% solution already looks terrific.

And of course, Chapi had to get into the picture.

So I think you can understand why this blog has suffered.  I will be updating the photos of the garden and patio as they change.

The right equipment

Yes, the right equipment is crucial for any job you're going to do.

This makes me question what I am doing right now.  Could it be the equipment?   

I've become enamored of song birds since a house finch built a nest in my flowers on the front door.  Since I had the thrill of watching the eggs turn into nestlings and then fledglings and finally SAW two of the babies hopping around my driveway, I've been besotted.  So I bought a book on luring song birds to your yard.  Since reading the book, I now have three bird houses, a bird feeder at my kitchen window and just hung up a suet feeder in our front tree.  I've set out strawberries and hung up half a banana on a post....all tips from the book.  NOTHING.  NOT A NIBBLE (if you don't count the squirrel who was hanging from it by one paw and feeding with the other).  

Now I am digging a shallow hole in the garden, which I will fill with concrete to make a natural bird bath (also from the book).  But I am losing hope.  Maybe I don't have the right equipment or maybe I am just impatient.  

I'm holding out hope for hummingbirds. 

Jersey Girl - Notice how I slipped in Bucky and Satchel to this conversation?