May 16

The garden is slowly--very slowly--filling in. The black-eyed Susans and snake beans were done in by a sudden night at 30F. I plan to put in seeds to replace them. I told Mom that five year ago my planters would have been filled already but this year I won't see that until well into June. Just as well I decided to go mostly with flowers and herbs. Yesterday was beautiful and I transplanted the pots of rosemary I started from cuttings. I had intended to give one to my niece but she has serious health problems so I expect I will keep it. I also transplanted the basil and spearmint into the pots for the season. Since it was so nice we decided to go to the local garden/home improvement centers to get the potting soil and soil additives I needed and scan the available plants. Picked up lemongrass and peppermint. I wanted lemongrass last year but thought the only ones I saw overpriced for not terribly attractive plants. My favorite herbal tea is a lemongrass/lavender mix which I hope to be able to mix up myself.

We expect bouts of rain for later today (the clouds are moving in already) and through Sunday. Most of the gardener bloggers I follow have the same complaints: season has been too wet and too cold. One is a little older than I am (70) and feels the way I do: gardening in the rain and cold is no fun, especially at our age.

I have a new doily about half a round from the finish so hopefully I will soon have a picture of it washed, stretched and starched. I haven't taken many pictures of late. I wasn't sure I would be posting any new photos because we had to replace our old lap tops that were all set up for the camera. The new ones needed different connections and I wasn't sure the soft ware would be compatible. Well, Those problems are fixed so new pictures should be up soon.

We change technology reluctantly even when the new product is from a company we have already dealt with. Learning to use the new stuff is always frustrating. And more and more often we find ourselves opting for the lower end technology because we simply don't need all the bells and whistles. We simply don't believe that newer is necessarily better.