Night of Pain

Red and White Camellia

In October of 2004,  I was living in a senor citizen apartment  in Jonesboro, Louisiana and it was inspection time.  I had to have a perfect score.  Any time I was to be graded on any thing I always had to have a high score.  My floor in that apartment was bad, whom ever lived there before me did not clean good, very stain.  I decided I had to have it cleaner, so I rinsed the floor with nothing but bleach, no water, did not rinse it off.  I had all the doors opened and the windows raised, however when I went to bed I closed. them, I lived alone.  The next day I went to visit my Grandson and his wife and little boy.  I stayed with them two maybe three days.  The last night I was there I woke up with a severe pain in my face.  I thought I had had a stroke.  I went to the bath room and looked in the mirror no  damage.  I thought that it was a nerve pain, because my cousin had it.  The next day I went home and went to the doctor.  My doctor was not in, so I went to another one that I knew.  He said I had a bad ear infection, he gave me an antibiotic.  I told him about the bleach and said his Mother had done the same thing once and had blisters on her lungs. He x- rayed-  my lungs and told me they were fine.  The doctor told me that was very dangerous.  I have never done that again.   I had the pain for about four or five months before it went away.  I can not use bleach at all now.  The pain came back again in  about a year.  I was treated with antibiotics again and it left again, however it was more severe.  In 2007 in August the pain returned, I had moved to Dermott and bought my house.  Carrel and I were dating at this time.  This time it was not just my face it went into my eye and fore head.  Really sharp, shooting lots more  severe.  I went to my doctor in Mcgehee Ar.  She was very concerned because it was not only in my face but in my eye.  I could not stand the sun at all, had to wear shades.  My eye had never hurt before, when the pain had returned.  The first thing  Dr. Connie did was to  send me to the hospital to have the blood vessels in my neck tested, to see if the blood flowed right.  Bill, the man who checked it said I had only good plaque, he wished his blood vessel were as open as mine.  Then she sent to eye doctor and he gave me every test he had.  I was told to go to a neurologist and  he suggested Dr. Ironside in Little Rock.  The medication Dr Ironside gave me after sending me to the clinic for an MRI and blood test, ruling out a tumor that may have returned in my ear, was Lyrica.  The medication really did not lessen the pain, but made me gain twenty five pounds.  I went back to Dr Connie told her I wanted her to change my medicine she gave me Gabapentin.  I don't think anything cures this, it is an inflamed nerve, the medication just makes it easier to bare.  After taking  Gabapentin for a while I noticed I have no leg pain, the doctor said I had restless legs.  I have been on Gabapentin since the fall of 2008, but a lighter dose.  When the pain came several months ago I increased it to four pills a day.  Sunday night I woke myself up four times screaming, I was sitting on the side of the bed holding my head.  Carrel was awaken and was patting me on the back.  The pain was very severe,  I hurt like that just before it stops, for a while.  I got up at 9:30 the pain came two more times.  The pain went away about 10:00 Monday morning.  The pain was back this morning January 31.  After an hour or so the pain was gone again.  Maybe I am going to have another rest for awhile.   I will have to stay inside and not get my face cold.  Cold air causes the muscle to contract, therefor the nerve ending hurt.   I will continue to take  four of these  pills of three hundred actavis for about a month, if no more pain I will cut down.  I pray I will have no pain tonight like I had Sunday night.   Thank you for reading this blog page.   I thank you for watching my garden grow and bloom and hope you will grow one of your own.  Happy gardening to you from me, Juanita 

Debutant Camellia

Happy Birthday Ben Evans

                              Grandchildren are a blessing and I have been bless with twenty one. 




Ben wife Ashley and Children



I think this is a beautiful family, Ben has been blessed to have such a wonderful wife and almost perfect children.  Happy Birthday Ben, hope you have a wonderful day.  For as long as Ben has been old enough he has been as harder working young man as I have ever know.  When I kept them he would follow me around asking  if he could help me.  When I lived in Shreveport I would spend the weekend with them and  help Ben do the dishes if it was his turn, I would wash he would dry.  I have never liked to dry dishes.  Ben is the son of Ken and Debbie Evans, the third child.  Ben is smart, kind, and most of all Ben is a Christian, I thought he would be a minister or maybe a politician, he has a gift of never meeting a stranger.   Ben does preach from time to time.  I went to visit Ben and Ashley in November and he took us to see the area, the leaves up there were beautiful.  Ben knew where the elk where grazing and I saw my first one in real life.  I had seen them on TV but not walking around about 100  feet away.  Ben and Ashley live in North Arkansas, as prettier place as there is in  USA.   If you have never seen it in the fall of the year you have missed a treat.  Ben is a wonderful host and Ashley is a great hostess.  Ben is the Edward Jones Agent in Fayetteville, and he is my agent, tries to take care of Grandmother's money, does a good job.  When he was young I thought Ben looked like the Evanses, then I thought he looked like his Uncle Steve, however now that he has grown up I think he looks more like our side. He has the receding hair line like the men in my family.  But no matter who Ben looks like I think he is a handsome man and I know he is a  wonderful man.  And his Grandmother loves him with all her heart. I am very proud of Ben and glad to be his Grandmother. Ben bring your wonderful family down to visit any time .   I hope you have enjoyed meeting another member of my family Ben Evans, grandson.  Thank you for watching my garden grow and bloom, and I hope you grow one of your own.  Happy gardening to you from me, Juanita.

Know your Camellia

"What a desolate place this would be, a world with out a flower!  It would be a face with out a smile, a feast with out a welcome. Are not flowers the stars of the earth,and are not our stars the flowers of the heaven."   A.J. Balfour

Debutant

Sasanqua Pink Snow

When I planted my Camellias I thought all Camellias bloomed in late November to early February, this is the time I need color.  My goal was to have something blooming at all time.   I bought six, three blooms November until, some are still blooming.  The Pink Snow Sasanqua is in the Camellia family, have just about stopped blooming.  The leaves and flowers on the Sasanqua are not as big as on the Camellia.  I have three red Camellia that will not bloom until late March.  I have bulbs and Azaleas that will be blooming then.  I was really disappointed  because the yard was bare of color.  But at least they are evergreen that does help.  I have a red and white variegated Camellia blooming now and it is bigger than the Debutant and the pink snow.   

Red Variegated Camellia




Twenty eight feet long and  four feet wide

The Camellia is a native plant in southern Japan in Shiakw Kyushu and many miner islands as far south as Okinawa.   In Japan they do not grow Camellias just for the beautiful flowers, after the blooms are gone they foam a nut, I have never seen one on mine.  The ones that grow in Japan are the original plants that may be the only ones to have the nut.   Japan harvests  the nuts to make medicine and an oil they use for cooking, also in some cosmetic.  I am going to pay close attention to see if mine foams any kind of nut, if they do I will take a photo and put on this blog later.  Japan does put the image of the Camellia on fabrics to make the dresses for the ladies.  A Christmas Camellia ( Sasanqua) called the Japan Rose blooms early in the winter.  I am going to buy two, I have found them on Internet in a three gallon pot for forty dollars, but first I am going to Willis farm in Ruston.  The double Camellias we have today came about because Lord Petre's gardener planted them in his garden.in 1739. After Lord Petre death in 1743  his gardener introduced the first Camellia to the public.  John Slater was responsible for the first double Camellia a white with red strips in 1792.   I am planning another room on  the East side of my yard.   With two twenty four foot beds around them, I hope to find winter bulbs.  I have already lined the outside two of two older  beds with yellow daffodils and planted pink Hyacinths.  I want all flowers in these to be evergreen but they must bare flowers in early spring or early winter.





I am hoping to convince my Carrel to build another long bed between my house and his. I will plant some winter and early spring blooming plants.  In this twenty eight foot bed I have two red Camellias, two tall pink Azaleas and two short pink Azaleas.  I have a black metal table and four chairs.  I want four green walls around the table and chairs.  I want Carrel to floor this room with concrete using the same mold we used making the path.  We will put the opening nest to the house, at the end of the new bed running East and west.

One of these beds will run East and West the other one North and South.  No grass will grow here, too much shade. One thing I have learned, Camellias will grow and bloom in sun or shade.  I have two that get a lot of sun and I have three that get very little sun.  If you know of any bulbs that blooms in  early winter let me know.  I hope you have enjoyed this page of my blog.  I hope  you have enjoyed watching my garden grow and bloom and you will grow one of your own.  Happy gardening to you from me, Juanita.





Red and white Camellia

I just had to pick this one first time I have had one on a stem, so I could put it in a vase.









Missy's gray sock sweater

Carrel took Missy to get a hair cut, the lady who cuts her hair knows two styles short and shorter.  Does not cut in the poodle style, just the puppy cut.  Carrel was holding her and she was so cold she was shaking, after all this is January.  Carrel ask me where her sock was that he made her last year.  I must have looked at him as if he crazy, now I am a person who has a place for everything and everything is in it's place, if I could only remember where that place for everything was.  So he thought it would be simpler to make her another one.  I did not know I was going to write a blog page on this or I would have taken a picture of the sock and him cutting it.  The sock is one of those gray wool socks with the red  band around the top.  Carrel cut the toe out and cut leg holes on each side of the heel for the legs to go through  The heel fits right over the chest.  When she was wearing it the holes began to run and get bigger. He dicided I needed to sew around the cuts he made.  While was looking at it I knew what I would do, instead of sewing around it I would crochet a single crochet around the places he cut.  Well as I said there is a place for everything and everythig in it's place my crochet is something I can always fine.  I have been here for five years and have  the bag has been in the closet all this time, and the hooks are in their case.  I used red bedspread ctton and a size 7 hook.  And while I had the hook and thread I made a basket to fit the plastic cup on my washing liquid bottle.

the basket made from bed spread cotton crochet thread

While I was looking in the bag , I found a baby cap I made with white and pink bed spread cotton. Will have to send it to Rose.  My granddaughter Bridgets little girl.  I had forgotten I made it.  I hope you have enjoyed reading about Carrel and I making Missy a sock sweater, so she can stay warm.  Thank you for watching my garden grow and bloom, hope you will grow one  of your own.  Happy gardening to you from me, Juanita.

                         



Just some of the creatures from my yard.   Next blog will show where my winter garden will be.   Charlotte and I are going to have to go to the farm over in Ruston and buy some more Sasanquas.   I did not know Camellias bloomed at different times



My hooks in the cace right where they belong. May be some day I can find the other sweater ringht where it belongs.

Let it Snow

A close friend is hard to find so hold on.  I bought this house because my friend Eve and I love to sew together.  We were making shirts and vests for each holiday.  Eva's daughter told us we needed to make purses to match our shirts.  It took me a while to figure how to lay our patterns on five yards of material to get two shirts and two purses now I can lay it easily.   Our theme for January is let it snow.  Eve was not satisfied with just making shirts for every holiday, she wanted to make curtains, table cloths, place mats and change all of this every month.  All blues are not the same color, it was hard to find one to match the fabric we used for curtains  for January.  We found this solid blue at the garment factory in McGee.  We had enough fabric  like my curtains to make everything but our tie backs.  Carrel likes the curtains tied back so I folded my solid  color napkins and made my tie backs.  My table does not look good with oval place mats,  so I took the microwave oven plate and made  a pattern for round place mats. We have a solid fabric for the round table cloth and one side of the place mats and made  a square to match the curtains.    We make two squares one in each color and reversible place mats, if any thing gets dirty we change it.  We use snow men as our mascots.  My hair dresser, Evon Jones, made my snow man out of a gourd.  I like my cowboy snow man.  I did not tell her how to dress him, except I wanted him in blue.

I was in Dillards before Christmas of 2008 and found these little snow napkin holders.  I bought all they had Eva has two tables she decorates.  I found a  stuffed snow man in the dollar store.  I never throw any thing away that might be usable.  I bought new lights for my living room and hall.  They had long chains with  them the man that put them up for me cut off  what was not needed to hang the lights.  I kept what he did not use.  The left over chain made a good swing for our snow man in the  front door wreath.  Eva found the ribbon.  I made the back door hanging and embroidered on it with my new  Brothers 2500 machine.   



Yes, we also made two shirts and purses, I embroidered on them. I put two of the same pattern in two different directions on  the shirt fronts and the sleeves, only one around the purse.  We also decorate a tree each month.  We have all months made except May.  I am thinking of flowers and butterflies.






Purse

 















Shirts









Sleeve



Tree ornaments



I hope you have enjoyed my blog page about decorating our houses for January.  I thank you for following my blog and watching my garden grow and bloom.  Hope you will grow one of your own.  Happy gardening to you from me.  Juanita

Happy Birthday Charlotte

This was the first nice dress I ever made Charlotte.  I always rolled her hair before I took her any where.

Charlotte is one of my five daughter, lives with her husband Dow Crawley.  She has two daughters, a son and 4 grandchildren.  Charlotte taught school for 21years and decided to retire.  She did not stop working, Charlotte joined her husband in their remodeling business.  Charlotte has been on the school board for about 13 years.  At last Charlotte has gotten to stay home with babies, grand babies.  Charlotte has always been a determined person, learned to walk in one day, that was maybe me, I would pick her up when she sat down, and would not let her crawl.  Charlotte would have stayed at home with her children but they needed her to work.  Charlotte loved teaching, but missed a lot of what her children did.  Now Charlotte is enjoying children, grand children.  Little Rose stays with Grandma while Mother works.  During the Christmas break Grammy kept all three.  





Charlotte got her 1st sewing machine.



Charlotte was always interested in my sewing so I    bought her a little sewing machine.  I remember      Charlotte played with that little machine a long         time.   Below was her first,big bike.  We bought her one she was little, she wore it out. I will never forget Charlotte would run in to the kitchen and want me   to hold her bike so she could get on, she was so   tiny.  We had concret block holding our mail box I showed her how to get on her bike from there.      Again she did not stop until she learned to ride her bike, in one day.

 When we brought Charlotte home  from the hospital her daddy's best friend carried her in the house.  Burt Roper was his name.  When he got to the door he stopped and said "This is the tinest baby I have ever seen.  From then on to her daddy she was Tinsie Baby.  After she got in high school Charlotte did not want to be called Tinsie Baby anymore, but both Grand Mothers and Daddy still until they died never stopped.  When Charlotte got older she and I would ride up and down that road.  The house is gone, we built a new one, it burned.  The rode does not look the same.  There were only three house on that rode when we lived there, now there are houses every where, everything chances nothing stays the same. 



Charlotte's daughter bridget and family








Charlotte danceing with her son Paxton at is wedding

Charlotte's children are gone from home she is still busy.  Charlotte has goats, chickens, rabbits and dogs to  keep her busy.  So I know that she does not miss working.  Charlotte learn to sew while she was still home.  Has Charlotte's purses on face book, sells stuff on etsy, and writes a blog.www.charlotte'smenagarie.blogspot.com

 Hope you have enjoyed reading about my family from time to time.  Thank you for watching my garden grow and bloom and will grow one of your own.  Happy gardening to you from me. Juanita

Charlotte and two daughters Jacquieand Bridget

Family Christmas Party Dec 31, 2011

Have Happy new year and start your new garden.   

Charlotte, one of  five daughters, gave me the bench.  Now all I have to do is plan and plant, and my garden room will be complete.  Frank and Carolyn, my son and his lovely wife, gave us a round Fire Pit and cover plus a book.  Writing my blog I will need this to sound like I really do know something.  It was Frank and Carolyn's turn to host the party this year.  We have it at a different child,s house each year.  Carolyn made chili this year and I made the pies.  We really had a feed,  after so much dressing the chili really taste good and it is not so hard on the hostess.  This has become a custom with our family.  We were full as ticks I really wanted a nap, but some big mouth,and all of us have a big mouth along with a big behind, yelled Mama come out and bring your camera and take a picture of the kids.  I did, and every where I stood someone  was getting in my way.  I will not mention any names, one of the grand daughters kept trying to get me to take a picture of our famous behinds.  I told her to move over I did not want her behind, my darling husband said I would have to use the landscaping setting on my camera.  I could not believe that wonderful man would say that.  He was informed he was one hip breaking from the nursing home.  I thought she meant to do it.  The great grands loved the leaves.  Hope no ticks were hidden under them.    



This Little one,tough as a boot, kept falling over this log.  I finally decided he liked the attention he was getting and enjoying being the stunt guy.  Even if he is one of mine, I think he was a doll.  A real little boy!

Some of these Big Boy are married and have children of their own.

Could leave the girls out.  Two of my lovely Grand daughters.  Then we went inside, to open our gifts.

I played Santa to the little ones.  My daughter Debbie and her husband shopped for me after Christmas and saved me some money, on their wedding anniversary.  You do not meet many like those two. She loves to shop and does a great job.  She bought movie tickets for all adults, Mama and Daddies need a night out, put them in popcorn bags with a drink, bag of corn, a bar of candy and a small new testaments.  We must not forget God at this time.  All I did was wrote a check.  Thank you Debbie.  The children got bible coloring book and colors.  If they wanted to they could swap out candy.  Of course Grandmas have to baby sit.

This jacket still had the price tag I asked Debbie, she gave it to me, if she knew she left it on.  Sure I wanted you to see what it would have cost,  before Christmas.  One hundred eighteen dollars, Debbie loves Dullards, she only paid nineteen dollars for it. Love that jacket.  Debbie and Tafta, her daughter go together and buy me a Christmas sweater every year.  Carrel wanted me to wear the jacket to the beauty shop, when I got my hair done on Thursday.  I tried to tell you do not wear Christmas clothing after Christmas, He said they left the decoration up, that made it alright.  Well of course I wore it and Evon loved it.



January is theme is "Let it snow" so I can wear this one through January.  That was not all this girl bought, here is one more.  This was the first gift she bought, she had to make another trip through Dillard's that is when she found the jacket and red shirt.  Thank you Debbie, Ken, Tafta, and Matt.  Lenora gave me a gown she made and Carrel  pajama pants, Lenora they fit perfect, he loves them.  So much time goes into a hand made gift.  Joe and his lovely wife gave us a new Bible,  Ben and Ashley gave a cut glass tray.  Thank you children for coming to our yearly get together it is about the only time all of us get together.  We missed Elizabeth and Sandy's families, hope they can make it next year.  Debbie mailed their Christmas to them.  We also missed Bridget's family all but little Rose, They had a science project to finish.  Jacquie and her husband and their little Caroline were not there, I believe this was her first year to miss.  Paxton and his lovely wife from Dallas could not be there we missed you all.  Samantha, is a midwife and had to be on duty in Austin hope she and I can get together soon.  I am just throwing in some more pictures.



Stacy Evans



Stacy is one of three lovely daughters-in-law of Ken's and Debbie's, Johnathan's wife.  They have two well mannered boys and two sweet little girls.  Wish I had gotten families together, hind sight.  Below is Joe's wife, Cassondra and a daughter.  They have two lovely girls, Carrel thinks they can do no wrong, wonder what Mom thinks.  They are expecting another one.  We really can not have too many little ones.   Before all of them are finished, We may have to take out a mortgage on the homestead, just to buy Christmas.   Ben and his sweet wife Ashley have two boys and two girls.  They came the farthermost, Fayetteville Ar.  Max is going to mulch the leaves.  I hope you enjoyed my blog and Christmas party.  Thank you for watching my garden grow and boom hope you will grow one of your own.  Happy gardening to you from me.  I have the  gardening book of questions and answers so ask me.  Have a very good 2012.  Juanita. 





Jordon, Ben, Joe, Jonathan, Steven, Jeremy and David





Dream  Come True is still blooming.



Max