Happy Birthday Lisa!!
My friends and I threw a little party for you down here. Wish you were here!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY KARIN!!!
Cumpleaños Feliz
Te deseamos a ti.
Que tengas Karin
Cumpleaños Feliz!!!!
9/25
Being the typical brainiac that I am, I of course forgot to bring my cord to connect the camera to the computer. Luckily, in Nags Head, Al was smart enough to bring his, but unfortunately my parents cord doesn’t fit, so I haven’t been able to post. I’ve been having a wonderful time at home, and can’t wait to share with you all my stories and pics, but that will have to wait until I return to Chile. I’m sure you are all going into withdrawl, so I borrowed my parents camera so I can FINALLY post. My friends Cara and Joel and Joel’s younger brother Tim, came home for the weekend to hang out. We had a great time while they were here. On Saturday, we went to the Big E which is a big fair in Massachusettes (I have pics to share on my camera…), and on Sunday we particiapated in the local lupus walk, which I did bring my parents camera to. The four of us were a team “Lobsters for Lupus”, we wore our cool lobster hats we purchased at the fair (story about hats to come), and had a fun walk. I even think we may have been on TV, since the camera people followed us for a little while. We met our friend, Rocky the Rock Cat, who seemed to have the hots for Cara! I’m not only cool I may be famous too!!!
Lil’ Lisa, How Does Your Garden Grow???
or the State of the Yard Address
The yard at casa 22 has seen better years and Lisa and I are slowly trying to improve things. Three things have really contributed to the current state of things; 1) sort sort of disease attacked the wonderful hedges, 2) the powers that be cut down an enormous number of trees on the recinto, and 3) no one seems to have taken much care with the yard in many years.
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This a view of the south side of the house, Here you can see a portion of the hedge still in good condition and a palm type tree I like. The flowers around it can go, as far as I’m concerned. |  |
These are two “boogenvalias” or whatever they are called. Lisa got them too climb up and over the front door overhang. The one farthest from the house is doing well and has lots of new growth coming. The other one is a bit more touch and go at this point. |
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This little plot has Lisa’s peppermint flower plant in the center. It was once surrounded by nice little flowers. Then the evil bunny rabbits came and destroyed the plot and ate the flowers. I then put up this little fence and so far it has kept anything from getting in. Unfortunately, only two plants seemed to have survived this horrible coming of the bunnies. |  |
The real mystery is why this group of flowers remains untouched by the rabbits. They are right across from the other plot and have many of the same flowers. Whatever the reason, these are looking good. |
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This is much more typical of the rest of the yard. A real hodgepodge of plants, some nicer than others. |
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This is a close-up of one of the plants. I like this one since the petals emerge green and turn purple and white as the age. I have no idea what kind of plant this is. Any ideas? |
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This is view down the driveway. We haven’t decided what to put here yet but what is there already looks more like weeds than anything else. You can see some of the decimated hedge in the background. |
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This is the wall to the recinto that forms about 1/3 of our property line (our plot is a triangle). Obviously, we would like to do something to obscure this as much from view. |
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Lisa’s herb garden. This was seed a few weeks ago. |
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One of the nicer plants around this house. There are a bunch of these in the backyard. |
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Here a group of plants I really don’t like. These ‘spider shoots’ or whatever they are don’t look so good and just get in the way. I think they were an attempt to disguise the electric and gas meters. However, since people have to access them to read them, they are actually cleared there. I don’t foresee much future for these plants. The ground beneath them is covered in some sort of clover. |
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Here is a mystery plant. I thought this was a rose bush. Has rose-like leaves, stems, thorns and flower bud. Only when it opened, it was this flower. It even smells like a rose. Maybe this is a type of rose I’m unfamiliar with, Any clues? |
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Here is the sad state of affairs at the top of the property (the top point of the triangle). The hedge is wiped out, the trees are gone and there is pretty much dirt and weeds. Sad. |
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Here is why it is really sad. There is such a great view and potential at the top of the hill. |
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One last mystery. This is one of the plants/weeds growing at the top of the hill. It is covered with what appears to be dew drops over the entire surface of the plant. It isn’t water and they are some sort of protected bubbles of sap or something. I only touched it with a twig since I wasn’t sure if it was poisonous or not, and I have no desire to itch the night away. Does anybody know what kind of plant this is? What strikes me as especially odd is the fact that this is growing naturally (no special care from us) in arid environment. This seems like a particular waste of moisture in this type of environment. This plant is all over the hilltop and seems to be doing well. |
Well, I hoped you’ve enjoyed this tour of the yard. I’m sure as we get some work done and Lisa returns with the real camera (these are all from the camcorder), she’ll be sharing our progress. Until next time…
Upgrades Upgrades Upgrades
FYI, Chile con Lisa is currently being upgraded. Things may be a bit wacky while the upgrade process is going on. Let me know if you notice anything.
UPDATE[03:05PM]: The update appears to have gone smoothly. Let me know if you notice anything (you shouldn’t).
Feliz Cumpleaños Mom!!!
Happy Birthday Mom! Despite the fact you are getting older, I think you are looking better than ever!! See you soon!
Happy Birthday Aunt Pat!!!
Today is one of my favorite aunt’s birthdays! And luckily for me, I’m now in West Hartford and will hopefully get to see her. Happy Birthday Aunt Pat, I hope you have a wonderful day!
Fiestas Patrias
It is the big holiday weekend here in Chile and the celebrations are going on full time. The grocery store was packed with people getting prepared for the next few days. Its like Memorial Day, Labor Day and the 4th all put together. On Friday night we had our own Fiestas Patrias Celebration on the reciento. Food (empanadas, kebobs), drink (beer and wine) and performances, music and dancing! A good time was had by all (everybody kept asking how long it would be until Lisa gets back) and luckily I had my video camera. I’ve quickly thrown together a 13min film showcasing the festivities. Enjoy!
Click here for the movie.
45 MB in size. Right-click to save movie to disk.
