Baldur

We are having an impromptu birthday bbq this Satyrday for Robert here at Boughbreak.
One would think Baldur would have put some serious planning into this event but I'm 'winging it'.
the menu looks like
chips & dip
hamburgers
hot dogs
veggie burgers
stuffed qhahogs
potato salad
Birthday cake
Ice Cream

Baldur

Zhondu (Beijing) is captured by Genghis Khan (1215)
Anne Boleyn is crowned (1533)
Mary Dyer defies the Massachusetts Bay Colony's ban on Quakers and is duly hung (1660)
Brigham Young is born (1801)
Frank Morgan is born (1890)
Nelson Riddle is born (1921)
Marilyn Monroe is born (1926)
Helen Keller dies (1968)
The procedure for using the Heimlich Maneuver is first published (1974)
CNN begins broadcasting (1980)
Yves Saint Laurent dies (2008)

Happy International Children's Day!

Baldur

Vandals sack Rome (455)
Bridget Bishop is the first person to go on trial for witchcraft in Salem (1692)
Martha Washington is born (1731)
P.T Barnum and his circus start their first US tour (1835)
Marconi applies for a patent for the radio (1896)
Lou Gehrig dies (1941)
Queen Elizabeth II is crowned (1953)
Andres Segovia dies (1987)
Sir Rex Harrison dies (1990)
Imogene Coca dies (2001)
Ken Jennings wins his first game of a 74 game streak on Jeopardy (2004)
Bo Diddley dies (2008)

Happy National Donut Day!

Hazer

Happy Birthday, Robert! I hope you all have a lovely day, Baldur.

The menu looks good, but I have no idea what stuffed qhahogs are!

Normal

Didn't know you could stuff a quahog! Have fun - best wishes to Robert!

sheftali52

Only Baldur would consider the party today "winging it"--it sounds wonderful, and stuffed quahogs indeed!!! All the best to Robert.

Hazer

Hard shelled clams...........maybe this is something I could try when I go on my cruise up the New England coast this fall.

Baldur

Happy Birthday to jmdx3mom!

Dragon

Just stopping in briefly from work (which I'm not supposed to do shhh!) to let you know my internet is down at home for the moment. Hope to have it up again soon but try not to be too interesting while I'm away ok, I'd hate to miss the good stuff. hehehe

Baldur

Baldur just purchased and planted a floribunda rose in his vegetable garden here at Boughbreak. I often plant flowers among the vegetables, and vegetables among the flowers.
The variety is called 'Gingersnap'

Here is an image of the variety from online:
http://shadycreekomak.com/2012/02/24/roses-2012/

Dragon

Yay, Internet is back up and running again! Feel free to be interesting again. I see Baldur already has- lovely roses, I'm not sure I've ever seen them in that orange colour before.

Dragon

My strawberry plant is doing well, we'll have a couple of berries to eat tonight I think. I'm considering what to do with the baby plants. I'm thinking of putting them in the ground between the house and gravel walkway. It's not a very wide spot but it gets good sun there and I thought maybe the small space would help me keep control of them and not let them run rampant.
We are very much looking forward to putting the sod down in the next little while and are also trying to figure out what kind of tree to put in the front. We were pleased to find out we get a free tree from our developer and we are not sure which to get. I really love the flowering varieties but I don't want a bunch of fruit to have to clean up. I'm quite fond of the trees with the purple/red leaves that put out masses of pale pink flowers in the spring, I believe they are an ornamental plum but naturally, these aren't on the list of free ones to choose from. Anyone have any suggestions?

Baldur

The Pink Kousa (Korean) Dogwood doesn't have purple leaves but the flowers are spectacular.
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=pink+kousa+dogwood&hl=en&biw=990&bih=571&gbv=2& amp;tbm=isch&tbnid=CqC5uu-s5Qa4sM:&imgrefurl=http://www.westonnurseries.com/index.cfm%3 Ffuseaction%3Dplants.plantDetail%26plant_id%3D192&docid=bJpwZfFXqTlFkM&imgurl=http://ww w.westonnurseries.com/_ccLib/image/plants/DETA-192.jpg&w=300&h=310&ei=-4XOT6OBIMGRg QfOwvli&zoom=1

Baldur

the Kousa is a neater tree than the standard Dogwood, and blooms a bit later in the season.

Dragon

Oooo, that's quite a beauty. I'll have to see if they have any.

Baldur

It's been home decor week at Boughbreak, and when isn't it?
Browsing at a local second hand store I found a framed, beveled glass mirror for a mere $9.99 USD.
The dimensions are 26" by 26". Someone had painted (quite sloppily) the frame in a pale lavendar.
Baldur removed the glass, sanded the frame and added 3 coats of Moroccan Red. Tomorrow the glass will go back in.
The hanging location is still undecided. It could go in the pine needle brown guest room, the living room, the Coke bottle green bathroom or even the stairwell.
What to do?
Beyond the mirror Baldur added a couple Arabic brass trays and some silkscreened linen table napkins from the 1970s.
None of these had been planned, but things do have a knack of finding their way here.

Baldur

Yesterday during the small break in the monsoon Baldur planted an Elberta peach tree in his mini-orchard.
The garden continues to creep forward a little but at a time.
Beans will be beans, the rattlesnake variety has begun to entwine itself into the trellis.
Still no sign of shoots coming up from the 'King of the Garden' Lima Beans that were put in a couple weeks ago, but the replacement row of 'Jack Rabbit' Lima Beans that Baldur planted last week are starting to emerge. These were taken from the supply in a cannister in my larder and had been destined for a soup.
The 'Long Island Cheese' Pumpkins are also finally up.
Those seeds were about 3 years old, it didn't look like they'd make it.

Baldur

Dinner last night was a cauldronette of homemade Vegetarian Split Pea Soup.
It seemed a good choice for a day that wobbled between hot with blinding sun, cold with drenching rain and warm with mothball-sized hailstones.

Dragon

Well the tree decision is made. We decided on one from our freebie list since we wouldn't have to pay extra and all the ones on that list are suited for our zone.
We went for a Toba Hawthorn which gets lovely pale pink blossoms in late spring. As it grows the trunk twists so it will keep getting more interesting as it gets bigger. I've added a link to some pictures and there's a good pic of how the trunk looks 3 or 4 images down.
http://eastgwillimburywow.blogspot.ca/2008/06/toba-hawthorn-sky-watch.html

Hazer

Excellent choice, Dragon!