This is My World

For those of you that don’t know, my middle name is Rose.  Mom said that when I was born I was her and Dad’s rose.  She also said they both particularly liked the song by Conway Twitty called “The Rose.”  It is a very beautiful song.  I also like Conway Twitty’s version better than Bette Midler’s.  Conway seems like he’s more telling a story than trying to show off vocals.  It’s a personal preference.

Anyway, most of my life I have heard how difficult it is to grow roses.  No one has ever been able to explain what’s so difficult about it.  They always say that you just have to have a “feel” for it. 

Well, earlier this spring, Wal-mart had rose bushes that were trimmed all the way down for $6.  So, I picked one and was determined to find out what was so difficult about growing rose bushes. 

First, I dug a hole slightly larger than the size of the soil that was in the bag.  Then, I placed the bush in the hole.  Since our soil around here is orange clay, I filled the remainder of the hole with a leftover bag of potting soil from last year.  After about a week I sprayed it and everything else around the house with “Ortho Ecosense Brand outdoor insect killer.”  Of course, I followed the directions on the bottle.  

Recently, I’ve had two roses bloom out bright and beautiful.  They were supposed to be red and white striped, but I’m fine with just red.  I couldn’t help but take pictures of them.  Obviously, getting them to bloom once is only half the work.  So, I’ll keep you updated on how my rose project grows.

 Of course if you have any tips or instructions on growing, maintaining, or caring for roses, please let me know.

I enjoy my blog being in the “Odds and Ends” category of Today.com for many reasons.  One of those reasons is that when I think I have exhausted one subject, I can write about something else.  Later, I can also revisit it. 

Lately, I’ve been thinking about a previous article that I wrote called, “Teaching a Preteen Responsibility.” Even though I wrote it almost a month ago, I still get a lot of hits on it.  So, I thought I would update it.

Today, I read a story about a woman in Evansville, Indiana who was arrested for handcuffing her 13-year-old daughter.  I’m sure she was at the end of her mental rope and didn’t know what else to do.  While I don’t think handcuffing your child would be a good idea, I understand how that lady must have felt.

Remember the 12-year-old boy that stays with us regularly?  Well, he’s out of school for the summer and visiting his dad.  That makes me nervous.  Previously, when he would be at his dad’s house for just a weekend then come back here, his attitude and aggression would get worse.  I’m not there, so I can’t pretend I know why.  All I know is every time he goes there, it’s two steps backwards with his attitude. 

Lately, he’s also been “permanently borrowing” things without permission.  I know most people call that stealing.  I’ve tried to explain the consequences if he were to get caught, but it doesn’t seem to sink in.  I fear he’s headed down a very bad path.  I’ve looked online for “expert” opinions.  ”Experts” just say you should give them every thing they want so they don’t think they have to steal to get it.  Things he has stolen include knives and a can of chew.  I don’t think I should give him those things.

I wish I had all the answers.  So far, if he has something that isn’t his and he didn’t have permission to get it, we’ve taken it away and explained that he can go to a juvenile detention center if the action were to be reported. The stealing activity has decreased some.  Recently, the majority of his video games disappeared after two of his friends stayed the night.  While I don’t appreciate that, he now knows how it feels to have something stolen from him.  Hopefully, that’ll have a positive impact in an odd sort of way.

I was listening to The Right Perspective tonight and through all the debating of the world’s most important issues, I heard one of them say that “Sometimes you just have to take a break from the news.” 

I think I’ll talk that to heart for a minute.  If you want to read my opinions on Obama and other politics, which has started to become well known (judging by the increase in traffic), please click on the link on the left under categories called, “Obama: My Opinion.”

Summertime is here.  Let me tell you a little about my garden.  I have 3 tomato plants full of tomatoes, some sweet banana peppers, three okra plants planted this year, and 3 okra plants popping up from last year’s seeds.

All of this in a simple “flower bed” that runs along the front of my trailer.  The garden is lined in the front by rocks that were dug out of the creek.  It looks rather professional when I have all the weeds out of it, but I did it last year when my back wasn’t that bad. 

With the economy like it is right now, it’s pretty well necessary to have your own garden if you have room for it.  Fresh fruits and vegetables are now ridiculously expensive. 

Does anyone else have one of those yards?  You know the ones.  They’re absolutely gorgeous until you get to looking a little closer to the woods. 

Back in the late 1990’s, my step-dad was using this riding lawn mower and it quit.  He was so mad that he just left it where it was.  It wasn’t in the main yard so he didn’t bother weed eating around it.  Well, as time went by things started growing up around it.  The tree line it quit near just sort of engulfed it. 

Later, my grandparents moved a trailer onto the property,  In 2005, I moved into that trailer.  So now, this lawn mower is in my back yard.  I think it makes a wonderful yard ornament and conversational piece.