Monday, August 31, 2009

Stand and Dance not Sit and Spin

I am not much of a garage sale person. I don't really have a need to aquire "things" anymore. But with the way babies grow out of the things they need, (and the things you just "have" to get them) some times you just have to go there.

Such was the case for a "sit and spin". we talked about getting one for Kennedy for a while now and I have been on the look out for a sale. Just noticed a yard sale one sunday morning with kid stuff and stopped off to look. ( for once I was not in a hurry to get someplace). I scored an umbrella stroller for grandma's baby stash and a brand new Sit n Spin still in the box . I put it together and eagerly awaited an opportunity to be with Kennedy again. That opportunity recently arrived and we pulled out the sit n spin much to Kennedy's delight.

However, she does not sit or spin on this device. It has lites and music if you push the top buttons wonderful upbeat music plays and lites flash off and on. She adores it. She will crawl over to the sit n spin and pull herself up to a standing position and dance to the music.

When we sent it to Kennedy's house, Katie say she does this several times a day and says "happy,happy,happy!" while dancing to the music. I think I have earned my "Grandma Card"

Friday, August 28, 2009

Look for the crawlers!

Here in the Victor Valley it is the right time to treat for late summer crawlers. You may first notice it as sticky drips under a woody shrub or tree. You look up and see little white specks in the branches. A closer look shows the white stuff looks like it is fuzzy with little ridges kind of like a shell. To see a picture from UC Davis's IPM website go here. Some people get this little creep mixed up with a mealybug but this is cottony cushiony scale a soft bodied scale. If you see little brown bugs nearby, this is the immature bug and they are the crawlers and are mobile. Eventually the female attaches herself to a leaf and begins to give off a waxy substance to protect her and her eggs. The waxy substance protects her from the typical pesticide so the best time is to treat the invasion is during the crawler stage every 7 to 10 days for 2 to 3 weeks.

The time to act is now!

Monday, August 24, 2009

Really Irritated!

People who know us know that we rarely take time off of " the business". Even weekends are spent catching up on paperwork, bids, marketing, etc. After a rare evening off playing with baby Kennedy over friday night so Katie and Shawn could go to the show, we spend Saturday on major clean up from Fleas the cats got. (more on that later).

We decided to go to the movies on Sunday at the Mall in Victorville. There were two movies we wanted to see. Potter and District 9. (me not so much District 9). According to the newspaper, both were showing at around the same time. So off we go get in the car and drive the 12 miles to the theatre, stand in line to buy the tickets. While in line, we duked it out which movie to see. Go to buy the tickets and the girl says the movie doesnt start for 90 minutes! Whoa! How bout the other one? It just started! Seems the good ol Daily Press movie times have been off for the whole weekend. Not wanting to waste 90 minutes waiting, we just went home to WORK some more. Bummer.

By coincidence, the paper had an article the same day that theatres are not advertising in the print media so much anymore due the the fact that people check the times on line! News to me. I guess I will be checking on line too. Seems that the newspaper is their own worst enemy!

Sunday, August 23, 2009

The Coolest Pool!

OK, I just read about the coolest thing! Part of my job is to help people design the scenery of their lives. I take the various wants and needs of the the property owner and weave it into a fabulous design that will mesh with their lifestyle and create the perfect compliment to their home and lives.

Often pools are a part of that equation. I just read about the neatest pool in the Watershapes August 2009 issue. this pool was designed specifically to convert a solid deck to a 5 and a half foot deep pool in a matter of 2 minutes! It's called a Hidden Water Pool and was designed by inventor Stefan Kanetis of San Diego for his mother who needed to exercise but was unable to lower herself into and out of a pool by herself due to arthritis.

Think of it! Want to go swimming or exercising in the pool but have limited ability to climb in and out of the pool? Just walk to the deck and push a button and wait for the floor to lower you into the water and up when you are done!

Want a cooling water feature to play in but worried about the baby falling into the water? When done swimming or exercising, push a button and no standing water to worry about because the floor of the pool rises to the level of the deck. You can even vary the depth of the pool to accomodate different ages or abilities. AMAZING!!!

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Tomato Worms and Koi


I'm really enjoying my tomato and pepper plants. Every year, I say I am going to grow a veggie garden, and every year, I just don't make time for it. This year I started small with a few tomatos and green peppers.

The taste of freshly picked tomato or pepper is not able to be duplicated from the grocery store. Every time I walk by the plants, the aroma is intoxicating and makes me want to be more creative in the kitchen. A new interest that my husband is thrilled with.

One of the things that I don't like is the tomato worms. I was doing great for a few months, but recently started noticing some bare branches on the tomatos. Sure enough, there they were.
Those big, fat ,green, ugly guys snacking on my matos! Even though I am a licensed pesticide applicator, it just isn't necessary to spray them with chemicals. Don't get me wrong, chemicals have their place, it just isn't on my plate!

It does, however give me great satisfaction to pluck those little buggers off the plants and toss them in the pond. My koi LOVE them.