Boooooooo!

Happy Halloween!!!
I'll be out there with Linus and we'll keep looking and waiting...

Oh the power of coneflower

From www.plant-facts.com:

The purple coneflower, Echinacea angustifolia, was and still is the most widely used medicinal plant of the Plains Indians (Kindscher 1992). It was used as a painkiller and for a variety of ailments, including toothache, coughs, colds, sore throats, and snake bite. Echinacea angustifolia was used as an analgesic by the Cheyenne, the Dakota, the Fox, and the Winnebago (Moerman 1986). Purple coneflower is used as an antidote for poisonous conditions, snake bite, and other poisonous bites by the Winnebago, Ponca, Pawnee, Omaha, Dakota, and by most Montana tribes (Gilmore 1977). The root was used to relieve toothache by the Dakota, Omaha, Pawnee, Ponca, Teton Sioux, and Winnebago (Moerman 1986). The Cheyenne chewed the root to stimulate the flow of saliva, which was especially useful for Sun Dance participants as a thirst preventative (Hart 1981). A wash was used as a dressing for burns to relieve pain by the Dakota, Winnebago, Omaha, Pawnee, and Ponca.

The Fox used purple coneflower as an anti-convulsive and gastro-intestinal aid. The Kiowa chewed coneflower root for coughs and sore throats. The Omaha and Pawnee used a smoke treatment as a remedy for headache. A poultice of smashed roots were applied as an anesthetic to arms and hands by the Omaha, and a poultice was applied to enlarged glands as a treatment for diseases such as mumps by the Pawnee, Ponca, Dakota, and Winnebago. Purple coneflower was used to increase endurance in the sweat lodge ceremony by the Dakota, Pawnee, Ponca, and Winnebago. The Lakota ate the root and green fruit when they were thirsty or perspiring (Rogers 1980, Munson 1981). The Teton Sioux used coneflower to cure tonsillitis. The Omaha and Ponca used the plant as eyewash. When the roots were mixed with blazing star (Mentzelia laevicaulis) and boiled, the resulting tea was drunk for smallpox (Kindscher 1992). Purple coneflower roots mixed with puffball (Lycoperdon species) spores and skunk oil were used in the treatment of boils. The smoke from burning purple coneflower was used as a treatment for distemper in horses by the Ponca, Dakota, Pawnee, and Winnebago.

The Omaha, the Lakota, and the Ponca sometimes used the seed heads to comb their hair (Kindscher 1992). Purple coneflower stalks were used in play by Pawnee children. They would whirl two flower stalks one around the other, the two stalk touching by the flower heads.

The purple coneflower was the only native prairie plant popularized as a medicine by folk practitioners and doctors, and was used extensively as a folk remedy (Kindscher 1992). The use of the purple coneflower root was used by early settlers in Oklahoma as an aid in nearly every kind of sickness. If a cow or a horse did not eat well, people administered Echinacea in its feed.

~~~~~~~~~

Until next year...

The Union

I love it when two unexpected artists decide to collaborate on a project (sort of like Allison Krauss and Robert Plant), and so the news of Elton John doing an album with Leon Russell made me smile.

And, the icing on the cake is that we hear Leon will be accompanying Sir Elton when he comes to our area in November. From the review of their first concert, it should be amazing. I'll be giddy with excitement that evening and can't wait to soak in the history and talent of both these artists!

The magic of Lightroom3

Just to show you... here are the images below straight out of the camera. They were shot through the kitchen window. I did not even realize until I loaded them that I had included the end of the hook on the feeder in the frame. With the magic of Lightroom3, hubby was able to create the images below that I posted yesterday. (No, I still am not too sure how to fully use it yet.) Yes, my friends... anyone can take good photos with a little help in editing!

Windy enough for you?

Yesterday was one of the weirdest weather days ever. To start, it was 70 degrees at 6:00am and got up to 87-90 by the afternoon. The wind was blustery all day long, and we ended up having multiple storm cells in our area which were given tornado warnings due to their signatures. Our part of the county escaped the brunt of it, but many north of here were not so lucky.

At lunchtime, when it was so very blustery outside, I happened to look out and see this sweet female Cardinal doing her best to stay upright in the Crepe Myrtle. I kept shooting as the wind buffeted her, bending her tail, and making her have a very bad hair day! I hope she stayed safe through the evening rains.

Improved failure!

OK, so I've ranted enough about Sam having to take and pass the Georgia High School Graduation Test in order to get a diploma. For those of you have been wondering about his retake effort in September, we received the latest scores. We were tickled pink! Yes, we still failed, but our failure was vastly improved! Yahooo!

On the left are the scores from the Spring of this year and on the right, the scores for September's retake. You can click to see it larger. Granted his Language Arts score dropped a bit, but it was taken on a Monday and the passages are so long and it's rather hard for him to maintain focus. I know he'll do better next time. But, just look at the other scores! Math, his very hardest subject came up from 470 to 475, and Social Studies came up from 167 to 188! But the one we were really hooting over was Science, from 160 to 191!! Yay Sam!

We will have a third attempt the first week of November, and I am really curious to see how he does since the change in his meds a few weeks back. He seems so much more alert and engaged. Who knows? Maybe he'll surprise us all and end up passing this blame thing when it's all said and done. We'll just keep on trying! Wish him luck!

Sally the Mule meets Lightroom3

I posted earlier this summer about my tendency to be Sally the Mule when it comes to trying new things. I am not sure if it stems from my fear of possibly not being able to understand and master them, or what. I just know that it annoys me to no end that my first reaction is usually always one of trepidation and intimidation. I've had my HTC Droid for two months now and love it. Sure, I still tend to have issues with accidentally calling people and quickly having to hit the "end" button, but other than that, I love the Smart Keyboard for texting and the visual voice mail.

My latest mule episode started a few weeks ago when hubby happened to read a review of Adobe Lightroom3 (sighing and rolling eyes here) and decided to download a free 30 day trial of it. "Wow. Just look at what this program can do that Picasa can't," he said as he began tweaking my photos. Instantaneous dread filled my chest. "But I like Picasa. You are the one that turned me on to that when PhotoShop CS3 became so cumbersome and challenging for me that I wanted to cry," I said. Months and months ago I recalled him saying, "Oh, wow. Just look at how easy this Picasa program is." And I did, and it was, and I loved it. So, I've been using Picasa for some time now. Sure, it has it's limitations, but it's been fine. So, I did what I usually do... I ignored the Lightroom download and watched as he began to use it and extol its powers. Then, I had to agree. It really did make a good bit of difference in the sharpness, noise reduction, and such, and then there were all these really neat filter effects as well. Dagnabbit!

Next thing I knew, he had found a "really great video series on how to use it" and started watching all the lessons. "You really need to watch some of these," said the now enthralled tech junkie. I've played around in the basic settings, but have a good bit to learn about how to best use the program. I know I'll eventually watch some of the tutorials, but Sally can only be dragged so far so fast. Hopefully sooner than later, Sally's harness can be tied on the hitching post outside the Lightroom and another stubborn mule journey can end successfully. (Still sighing and rolling my eyes.)

Is it hot in here?

In honor of Menopause: The Musical which is playing at a nearby theater this week, the laugh lines in the newspaper had these jokes which gave me quite the chuckle...

What's the best way for a husband to predict the mood of his menopausal wife?

Assume it's bad, and occasionally you'll be wrong.

When is a man most likely to complain about his wife's mood swings during menopause?

When she's not present.

What's the best time of day to discuss a difference in opinion with a menopausal woman?

Any time of the day is fine -- about five years from now.

What can a man do while his wife is going through menopause?

Keep busy. If you're handy with tools, you can finish the basement or shed. When you're done, you'll have a place to live.

What's the quickest way for a man to end up sleeping on the couch?

By telling her menopause jokes.

AND, last but not least, my favorite!!!

How many women with menopause does it take to change a light bulb?

One! ONLY ONE! And do you know WHY? Because no one else in this damn house knows HOW to change a light bulb! They don't even know that the bulb is BURNED OUT! They would sit in the dark for THREE DAYS before they figured it out. And, once they'd figured it out, they wouldn't be able to find the light bulbs, despite the fact that they've been in the SAME CUPBORARD for the past 17 years! But if they did, by some miracle of God, actually find them, TWO DAYS LATER the chair they dragged to stand on to change the STUPID light bulb would STILL BE IN THE SAME SPOT!!! AND UNDERNEATH IT WOULD BE THE STUPID WRAPPER THE STUPID LIGHT BULBS COME IN! BECAUSE NO ONE EVER CARRIES OUT THE GARBAGE! IT'S A WONDER WE HAVEN'T ALL SUFFOCATED FROM THE PILES OF GARBAGE THAT ARE A FOOT DEEP THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE HOUSE! IT WOULD TAKE AN ARMY TO CLEAN THIS DAMN HOUSE! I'm sorry. What was the question?

Autumn bath

My sissy sent along these photos she got of a

bathing beauty at her house enjoying a fall dip!

You can see she really was into her bath with gusto!

"Boy, that felt good," her expression seems to say as she

stood on the edge of the birdbath drying her feathers in

the autumn breeze.

On the kitchen table

I love the selection of cut flowers this

time of the year, and using my fall colored ribbon

to accent adds even more color to the table.

Such a small thing that brings me much joy!

End of the season beauties

On Tuesday, I looked down into the garden and was

tickled to see two Gulf Fritillaries enjoying some of

the last blooms of the butterfly bush.

Their vivid orange glistened in the sunshine and I smiled.

Fall on Chickadee

The tree line and the yard are ablaze in color...

Fall has finally shown her colors on Chickadee!

One more sip

My sissy sent along this wonderful photo she took of

a chickadee visiting her small birdbath.
Oh, how I love these cheeky little birds!

Last blooms of summer

You didn't do so well planted the behind the swing...

For it was a really hot, hot summer and I could

not keep enough water on you.

So, you chose to wait until the cooler temps

and the morning dew made it possible for you to show your colors.

Oh, how I am enjoying your last show of summer.

Unexpected things...

... can make me smile.

I was walking in the yard when I looked over at the

spent and dried blooms of the Oakleaf Hydrangea.

I saw something out of place and as I walked towards it

I smiled. What an unexpected landing place for a feather

which had become part of the beauty of the autumn landscape.

Rebirth of blooming

The Cyclamen I got in February is starting to actively bloom again after having been rather dormant during the summer. It seems to like the window where it is on a plant stand with my two African Violets. I smiled the other day when I noticed a bloom stem and then smiled even more broadly when I saw the view above from underneath the foliage. It should be in full bloom within a week or so. What a lovely rebirth of the blooming for the fall!

Sam Day

For Fall Break week, I treated my best buddy to a "Sam Day" in which he got to choose whatever he wanted to do and wherever he wanted to go. I knew it would certainly involve trains as they are his love and passion. But first things first.... we had to stop at Red Lobster and get some of those tasty Cheddar Bay Biscuits. After we ate our weight in them, we headed to... the Chattanooga Choo Choo!

From their website: "The first Chattanooga Choo Choo Train was Cincinnati Southern Railroad's small wood burning steam locomotive that started its journey through history from Cincinnati, Ohio on March 5, 1880. Nearly all trains traveling to the South passed through Chattanooga. The wood-burning "Choo Choo" was the first to provide non-stop service.

The men who stood at the controls of these early steam locomotives were rugged individualists. They were men who were willing to withstand the hardships and personal sacrifices associated with this demanding profession. The Chattanooga Choo Choo train engine now on display at Terminal Station is the same kind of wood-burner used on that first run from Cincinnati to Chattanooga in 1880. Built at that time by Baldwin, it was last used in service by the Smoky Mountain Railroad between Knoxville and the Smoky Mountains in the 1940's. Completely refurbished, she is the only engine of her kind now in the city."

And, of course, we had to visit the Model Railroad Museum there as well!

"For train enthusiasts of all ages, the Model Railroad Museum, started in 1973 as a joint venture between the Chattanooga Area Model Railroad Club and the Chattanooga Choo Choo, is a definite stop when you visit the Choo Choo. One of the least expensive, yet most fun of the Chattanooga Attractions. Enter a miniature world portraying, in fact and fancy, Chattanooga and the Cumberland Mountain country. This model railroad was built in HO scale, which is 1:87 (87 model boxcars hooked together would equal the length of one real boxcar). Over 50,000 man-hours have been spent to make the layout what it is today, with a replacement value of nearly $1,000,000.

The Model Railroad is 174 feet long and 33 feet wide at its widest point. It includes over 3,000 feet of track, 320 structures, 150 switches, 120 locomotives of all types, 1000 freight cars, 80 passenger cars, three major yards, two small yards, and four passenger stations. This model railroad exhibit ranks as one of, if not the largest, in the world open to the public."

As he sat down in the lobby area before we departed, he had a wonderful

smile on his face and told me that he'd really enjoyed his special day.

Sing to the morning

I saw this little Carolina Wren on the deck rail the other morning, standing there in the morning sun, soaking in the warmth of a new day. As I watched him there, he began to put his head back and happily sing in the new morning. A good reminder to start each day fresh and full of praise for a new beginning.

A true, but sad, tale

(Image from the internet)

My husband is not one of those people who likes to be surprised. As a matter of fact, given his druthers, he'd always pick out his own birthday gifts and order them himself... weeks in advance of his birthday. Which is why I adore trying to surprise him! His birthday is coming up and I decided to really give him a great gift.... an iPad. He's talked about us getting one, but I kept saying we should wait a while longer as I knew it would be a great birthday surprise. But, I needed to get it ordered and delivered without his knowing about it. Hmmmmm....

I placed the order through the Apple Store and waited for my shipping confirmation. I was expecting it to possibly ship on one of my off days (Tues/Thurs), which would make it much easier to intercept when UPS came calling. But, drats! The estimated delivery date was on a Friday. The wheels in my head started spinning. If he were to come home for lunch and UPS had already run, it would be on the porch. I'd be busted. So, I decided to call a co-worker of his to get him to ask him to get hubby to have lunch out with him that day! Perfect! I then printed off and signed the authorization allowing UPS to leave the package at my door, as it was a signature required shipment. I had it all planned out. This time I was going to really surprise him!

Friday morning, I put the "pre-sign" authorization on the front door. Since hubby typically beats me home, I told Sam that as soon as he got home from school, he was to check the porch, and if there was a package, he was to take it upstairs and hide it from Dad. He grinned and told me, "Shhhhhh! It's a secret!" All my bases were covered. The day of the expected delivery, our afternoon at work was light and I heartily volunteered to be the one to leave early. Yippee! Now, I could make sure that the package was safely hidden away. I picked Sam up from school, which was a great surprise for him, and headed home.

Once home around 3:30, I quickly went to check the front porch. No delivery yet. Even better! I took down the delivery authorization since I'd be at home to sign for the package and smugly waited for my UPS man. I knew he'd arrive before husband gets home at 5:20 or so. Then, nightmare of nightmares... I heard his garage door open. It was 4PM and no package had been delivered. ACK, he was home early! He sat down to chat and catch up with my day and then was ready to sit down and watch some programming we'd recorded on the DVR. I stalled... "Uh, I can't watch yet. Uh, I'm waiting for UPS to deliver something." He said, "Well, he'll put it on the porch won't he?" Oh, heck! "Uh, it's something I have to sign for and so I'll just wait for him... you go ahead and start watching without me." Anything to get him out of the room and away from the front door!

At 5:30... yes, 5:30PM, I heard the truck rumbling towards our street. I went out on the sidewalk to meet my UPS man. "Where the heck have you been? This is a surprise package for my husband and now he's home," I laughed and said. I relayed that I had told my husband I was expecting some shoes. "Well, enjoy your shoes," he said with a wink as I signed for the iPad. I crept back towards the house, made sure he was in the family room, and hurried into the bedroom to hide the boxes. Thankfully, I really had ordered some new Danskos which husband had not yet seen and came prancing out of the bedroom in my new shoes the UPS man had (ahem) just delivered. Whew! I did it! The surprise iPad was delivered and it was all still a great secret! Ooooo... won't he be so surprised?

I was feeling like the cat that ate the canary and relayed this intricate story and planning to several people in the past few days. I'd finally be able to surprise him with something he's really wanted. I couldn't wait for November 6th to get here for I was so proud of my stealthiness...

Until yesterday....

I was on the computer when he came home and he was in the kitchen. We were chatting about our day when he said, "Uh, when I came home for lunch today, the phone rang. It was our Visa carrier and they wanted to confirm some recent charges...." I got up slowly and walked around the corner to the kitchen where I found him grinning like the dog that ate the cat. I spit out some feathers...

And THAT my friends is a true, but sad, tale.

Emerald eyes

I saw this bumblebee* on the last stems of the blooming Salvia in the garden and took some photos of him gathering pollen. When I loaded them, I was tickled to see his very cool marbled green eyes. I've never seen one with this variation!

*Update: My sissy posted this guy to the BugGuide forum and got the ID of a Male Eastern Carpenter Bee!

Carried by the wind

Sometimes we have to trust

that the wind will carry us

where we are meant to be planted.

So, our task is to learn to let go and enjoy the journey.

Mantis in da Sedum

When I went out to get the mail yesterday, I happened to look over at the Autumn Sedum, which has almost gone out of bloom. Suddenly I saw a bit of movement and realized there was something climbing on one of the stems. Upon closer inspection, I saw it was a Praying Mantis! He was so well camouflaged that had he not been moving, I never would have seen him.


I watched as he slowly crept upwards and then saw his unlucky victim just above him. A small bee was on the Sedum (you can see him at the top of this frame above) and as I was refocusing the lens, I watched him suddenly grab the bee in his arms and start enjoying a small snack, being careful to keep the stinger away from him. It was amazing!

Below, you can see he had one eye on the snack, and one eye on me! I left him to continue to enjoy his catch.

Fall Break

Can I just rant a bit? When I was a kid, school started, always started, the day after Labor Day. It was pretty much written in stone. Last day of school was usually the last Friday in May and our summer was three months, and a few days long. Remember how much everyone seemed to change at the beginning of the school year? Everyone seemed so much older! Friends matured and got new haircuts, seemed to grow several inches, and so, a new school year started.

When did we start school this year? August 5th. Yes, it may as well have been the end of July for that's what it feels like. WHY? How did kids lose an entire month of summer? The earlier it started, the more "half days" and breaks were built in. This coming week is "fall break" and then we'll have almost three ENTIRE weeks off for Christmas.

Call me a purist, but I like summer break being June/July/August and I don't need a fall break or weeks off in December. I am not sure how this all came to be, but it seems that year round school can't be far off the plan. Thankfully, Sam can now stay by himself, but I remember well how hard it was to plan for all the inservice days/half days and breaks when he could not be alone.

So, Tuesday is "Sam Day" and he's busy thinking up what he wants to do all day. I am off on Tuesday and Thursday but have a commitment on Thursday so I told him Tuesday is all his. I can't wait to hear what he comes up with to do with mom. Guess we'll make the best of this fall week off. Now, if only the temps weren't going to be in the high 80's... sigh.

New package... same drug

Two years ago, when puberty started really kicking in with Sam, we began to see real issues with anxiety, anger, and aggression. So much so that it was getting dicey to have him at school on any given day as we could never predict what might set him off. It was as if he could not control the escalation of his anger, and I was fearful I was going to get a call from the school resource officer telling me he was sitting on my handcuffed son. We'd been on Lexapro since 5th grade and it helped tremendously in terms of impulsivity and such, but I knew we needed something more. Thankfully, we got an appointment with Dr. S, a very wonderful child psychiatrist, and we discussed the options. I had read about some medications being used off label for anger and aggression, and knew that Clonidine and Tenex, two antihypertensives, had been used with good results in some kids. We decided on the Tenex and started Sam on 1/2 of a 1mg tab for a while, working up to 1mg. The change was nothing short of amazing. His aggressive behaviors all but stopped, and we found that it was much easier to help him de-escalate if he did become upset. It was truly a miraculous help to him, and us.

Lately however, I've noticed more somnolence in the mornings after he takes it, and Ms E, his parapro has reported his being very sleepy all through first block. And, we've had a few more hiccups behaviorally as well. Lo and behold, I found out that there is a "new" medication for kids with impulsivity/anger/oppositional behavior issues called Intuniv. What is it? A sustained release version of Tenex! We saw Dr. S on Tuesday and discussed all of the above and agreed that since we know it works for Sam, we'd try this sustained release version to see if we can keep him from being so very sleepy after a single loading dose, and to have it in his system longer in the day. We'll do 1mg for four days, 2mg for four days, and then go to 3mg which seems to be the therapeutic dose. I am curious to see if it levels things out a bit more and decreases the side effect of the sleepiness. Keeping my fingers crossed!

Question Mark

My sissy sent along these gorgeous photos she took of a Question Mark Butterfly eating on the fruit plate she has on an outside table. Isn't it just beautiful? Many species of butterflies that you won't normally find on flowering plants, can't resist the pull of fruit and she has had many visitors to this mushy plate of aromatic overripe fruit!

Kenzie cuteness!

I've written on this blog before about how much of a devotee of Dansko shoes I am! I got my first pair in 2002, and have been a convert ever since. I even wear Dansko sandals in the summer, and now, they have come out with this very cute new clog called Kenzie. I ordered a charcoal pair from OnLineShoes.com and can't wait for them to come so I can enjoy them this fall and winter (and many fall and winters to come). I swear, these wonderfully comfortable shoes are virtually indestructible and I still have the pair I purchased in 2002 and use them as my garden clogs. If you've never owned a pair, I will tell you this... if you wear them for a week, they will own you for life!

Happy 53rd Anniversary!

You sacrificed so much so that we might have.

You raised two daughters who appreciate all you've done.

Your love has endured.

53 years...

and that, is saying a lot.

Happy Anniversary to my Mom and Dad!

The Awakening

Our choir anthem from yesterday... The Awakening... quite a piece to sing with a small choir!
(And yes, created with some of my photos from Ireland.)

Sweet Phoebe

I saw this sweet immature Phoebe perched on my shepherd's hook by the feeders, but as soon as I tried to sneak out on the deck, she flew way up into the tree line and landed on a old pine branch. The bright sun was shining on her, so she's a bit bright, but I loved how I could see the faint yellow on her lower belly. I enjoyed watching her perched there for a bit looking for some potential lunch flying by!

Sir Elton

Seriously... was this not one of the quintessential albums of all time in the 70's? I could still sing every single song on this "double album" which was an anomaly at the time. Elton at his best in my opinion. Love the much older stuff too, especially Honkey Chateau, but this album was the first one I really remember connecting to in a huge way. Why all the reminiscing?

Because HE'S COMING HERE!!!! Yes, on Novemer 19th, Elton John is playing at our local arena and doing a show of greatest hits. And, he's bringing along Davey Johnstone and Nigel Olsson with him... wow. Tickets go on sale in... an hour and 20 minutes? So, you know where I'll be at 10am! I've never seen him and am so excited at the chance to see him come November in Chattanooga.

**Update: 10:43... I waited on-line in the que to be able to purchase my tickets, which were not in the optimal area I wanted, but it sure beats lining up at the box office. I went to hubby and said, "Here are our tickets!" as I held up the freshly printed off tickets to the concert. I said to him, "They are not the ideal seats I would have wanted, but it's been forever since we went to a concert together. When WAS the last time we went to a concert?" He looked up from his Sodoku and said, "Dan Folgelberg?" and I said, "Gosh, when was that?" to which he said, deadpan... "When he was still alive?" Yes, it's why I keep him around.

~~~~~~

As an aside, my procedures went well and were normal.

The GI doc did find a definitive diagnosis of GERD, as we suspected.

And, he took biopsies around the duodenum, so I am hoping something

shows up to explain all the symptoms I am having. If not, we'll go from

there to try and figure out what is going on in my tummy.

Thanks to everyone for all the good wishes.

Migrating visitor!

Yesterday afternoon, as I was sitting at the kitchen table thoroughly enjoying my colonoscopy prep (ahem), I noticed a large brown bird at the feeder. I got my binocs and sure enough, it was finally a migrating visitor!

A juvenile male Rose-breasted Grosbeak was enjoying some sunflower seeds. I did not see one male the entire spring or summer, so it was a treat to see this young guy come by Chickadee on his way south. Eat all you want my man.