Just More Stuff

Last week, the maternal unit went to Arkansas to visit her sister. Every time we called, we were interrupting them from the same thing.

Shopping.

Shopping, shopping, shopping.

The maternal unit and the aunt are consummate shoppers. They look for and find wonderful bargains. These few days were no different.

What did they find, you ask? Stuff.

Just. More. Stuff.

More. Stuff. that would go in the yard.

More. Stuff. that would one day fill a garage sale.

More. Stuff. that we would have to move around to mow. Except the maternal unit actually has placed all the More. Stuff. around the fence, so it won't interfere with the mowing.

Of course, all the More. Stuff. has been relocated four or five times this week.

Now... I give you...

More. Stuff. (In no particular order)

This is some sort of iron butterfly. (Not the 70s rock group... they are a completely different topic for a completely different time) I am not sure what the purpose is for the iron butterfly sculpture thingy... except that it makes the maternal unit happy.

See that bird feeder in the background? That is another item. It has been relocated many a time and many a different height. The evil squirrels in my yard love it too. But again... another story for another time.

Look here. These are solar paneled lights. They come on after dark. They glow. They are all over the yard.

This is what they look like when they are glowing...





This is a gazing ball. It's green and made of glass.


It bears only slight resemblance to this gazing ball, which is silver. At least they are both round. They are not located in the same place in the yard.





This is a pretty and colorful banner. I don't mind it so much because I love cardinals (the bird... not the sports team from Kentucky... there is only one sports team from Kentucky, and it is more fearsome than a cardinal. But that is another story for another time.)


Cardinals remind me of my maternal grandfather. He used to paint pictures of them. He painted pictures of robins and blue jays too... but the cardinals were his best and my favorite.




Look!! A birdbath. We have like three or four of them throughout the yard.

Look... another one. There is one in the front yard too. I don't mind birdbaths so much. Mostly because I enjoy watching the birds frolick in the water. They are cute when they are flapping around in there.

The maternal unit paid a dollar for this piece of art. Why? Because it is broken. She probably hot glued that thing back together.

Iron bird house.

Look here... it's another sculpture. Isn't it precious? (Not to be mistaken for the Lord of the Rings reference to The Ring - although Golum might be lurking about the yard and we'd never see him. He's probably hiding in that concrete Japanese temple/house thing we have.)

Here's a cardinal. It is red. It did not come to us red. It came to us in its basest concrete form. However, the maternal unit hit it with a can of red spray paint.

And then, there was this little fellow... No yard would be complete without a frog on a mushroom. Or is this a toad on a toadstool? I cannot tell.

One little frog/toad would be lonely. So, apparently, he needed a friend. Apparently his friend needed a hat. Maybe this frog/toad is a girl. I kinda hope so. I would hate to see a boy frog/toad hanging out in the yard in this get up without any reason for it.


No yard would be complete without a planter in the shape of the female form.

Or a male one...

We are a patriotic family. We have the solar powered lights to prove it.

See... they glow after dark too.

I actually like these wire artsy things. We have three of them. This is elongated...

And this is more rounded.

You'd think we were a "green" family for all the solar operated stuff we now have in the yard. We aren't though. We just throw our garbage out with little heed to where it ends up. However, we do have this solar paneled flower. We have three or four of them. This is what they look like in the daylight.

This is the evening look. Everyone ooh and ahh or there may be heck to pay!!

Birds. Birds who are seeing no evil, hearing no evil and speaking no evil. I always thought it was monkeys who did that, but what do I know?

Forget welcome mats! We just go for welcome rocks!! (Complete with butterfly)

The final solar powered item... acrylic butterflies. We have three of them. They are not JUST solar powered... they are LED and change colors. I am not posting the different colors here... you will just have to trust me on that one.

Well. That's it for now. I'm sure I will be adding additional gems as they come about.

Scrubbing Bubbles

I don’t usually endorse products, but for the sake of a fun story, I will endorse this one. I am a fan of the Scrubbing Bubbles Toilet Cleaning Gel.

Okay. Actually, I am a fan of anything Scrubbing Bubbles. It started with the commercials first came out on television and I wanted my very own happy bubbles scurrying around my bathtub, toilet and bath sink. Those bubbles were just so darned cute!


Much better than thinking there was a little man in a rowboat hanging out in my toilet tank. Ick.




Anyway, I have been using the Scrubbing Bubbles for years now to clean my bathroom. So, when their new product came out, toilet cleaning gel, I was intrigued. On one of my forays to Wal-Mart to purchase household items, I grabbed one of these to try it out.

I loved it.

Not so much because it was really keeping my toilet bowl any cleaner than normal, but it did leave a wonderfully fresh and clean smell in my bathroom.

I think clean smelling bathrooms are essential.

I just bought my second gel stick and applied it to the toilet bowl… and learned a great lesson.

If one applies said gel mixture too close to the rim where the water flows into the toilet bowl when one flushes… one will be treated to dancing waters that would make the Bellagio in Vegas proud.

Or perhaps, one would have a custom made bidet.

Regardless… water will spurt right up out of the toilet bowl. I am happy to say I did not learn about this until after standing up… or I would have had quite the surprise!!

Thank you Scrubbing Bubbles. I feel so European now!

Have I ever mentioned....

... the close resemblance my family has to the Clampett family from the Beverly Hillbilles? No?

Well, okay. We don't have millions in the bank. We haven't struck oil on any property we own. We don't even live in Beverly Hills.

So, I don't know exactly what we are.

Perhaps we are just ingenious. I think that is what my mother thinks more times than not.

Case in point, this:

This is what happens to wrought iron after years and years and YEARS of dog pee. Do you notice how there should be three legs to the post? There are only two. One entire leg has rotted away.

Makes everyone say ick. GO ahead. Say it. I don't mind.

The cost to replace the five separate wrought iron posts is more than we want to spend at this time. However, we also don't want the carport fiberglass roof to fall down and smack us in the noggins. So, my ever inventive maternal unit came up with this idea:

It's concrete. Its a concrete footing for the post. This particular post is actually the railing leading into the house. That is the main entrance for everyone... so it HAD to be fixed.

Thank you, makers of Quik-rete. You have saved the day.

Well... you and the maternal unit and apparently a plastic Solo cup.

Fear not, dear readers... take a look back at that first picture, and you will notice that once the concrete dries up, we'll paint it green to match the decor.

We do have our standards, you know.

Just Catching Up...

Life is just peachy here in middle Tennessee. Well, not really peachy. More like hot. Extremely hot. HELL hot. The humidity is so high that when I walk out the back door to get in my car to go to work (all of about ten feet) I am sweating by the time I arrive to the car.

Ick.

Hot and sticky. Two things that I am not excited about. Especially since it is only June. There is still July and August to get through.

Ick again.

Then, out of the blue, my nephew turned 15. Okay, it wasn't completely out of the blue. We've seen it coming for a while. He's been counting down the days. He is taller than I am now. That is slightly humiliating. He shaves too. What is that about? This baby to whom I fed his Very. First. Bottle. Ever while the sister-in-law was recovering from C section number three, now shaves and has a driver's permit.

I am looking for a nice walker.

Here is a picture of the 15 year old when he was only 14 (last week) playing ball.

This is him talking with the first base coach

And this is him batting.

For his birthday, I got him a commemorative UK2K basketball and took him to see the movie The A-Team. It was a great movie. Really! From beginning to end, it did not disappoint. Afterwards, I let him drive my car. Yes. I am the best aunt ever!!

The other thing I did last week was take my eldest brother (he really is an elder!!) out to Lantern Lane Farm in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee. He wanted to meet the owners and the horses too. Here is Earl with Dolly, the walking horse.

Dolly is not in some sort of undercover secret op group. She's just recovering from an eye infection. She wears this mesh "mask" to keep the dirt and flies out while she is in treatment. She's getting eye drops to clear up the infection.

Now... this week? I will be working out at Lantern Lane Farm getting things a little more organized. Fun, fun, fun!!!