Hatiora salicornioides

Common Names:  Drunkard's Dream or Dancing Bones.

This plant is well over 60 years old.  My mother  remembered seeing at her parents house in the mid 1940's.  Grandma moved in with Mom around 1975 and brought the plant with her.  Mom came to live with us in 2008 and again, the plant came too. 
I transplanted it soon afterward and because we have a milder climate it became on outdoor plant.  It is thriving.

It now measures about three feet from top to bottom and a little over two feet across.

I have been cutting it back to get new starts and will share them with family members who want them.  (We will be taking a road trip in September, so let me know if you want one.)

   

 I loved how the first "start" looked in a vase that I had, so began looking for more pots and vases in thrift stores.  I now have a small collection.

Here are some that I have planted over the past year that seem to be doing very well. 

And another
batch that I
planted today.   

Plus the ones in
water waiting for
roots to appear. 

Sisters - Part 2

Here we are just a little bit older.  

 
Sally, Dianne, Patsy
probably 1954 

 


Sally, Dianne, Patsy
Summer 1958

 

Sally, Dianne, Patsy 
Christmas 1958

Patsy, Sally, Dianne
Summer 1959

 

Dianne, Sally, Patsy

With Mom (Wanda)
and brother Bruce
1960

Sally, Patsy, Dianne
(and Bruce) 1961

The quality of some are quite poor, but at least we have something.

A good start...

We have been working on our front courtyard patio.  In May we power-washed it and realized how badly it needed to be spruced up.  So, we have swept it; scrubbed it (and then rinsed & rinsed & rinsed it); stained it (two coats) and finally this morning we sealed it.  It looks wonderful....but now we've started something.  The rest of the hard-scape in our yard suffers in comparison.  And we have a LOT of it.  Here is what we have done:  

This is for comparison - before (right side) & after





And the finished product.

And now for the daunting task ahead.

 
We have this (medium sized river rock in cement) in the front plus another 60 feet of walkway not showing.  It all needs to be cleaned & sealed

Side yard, same as
the front patio, size
is about 15' x 20',
plus 90' of sidewalk
going around the
back of the house.

Patio along the back of the house is 10' x 45' and a completely different kind of cement 

That patio is bordered by the sidewalk mentioned above and across from it is another patio made of flagstone.

And we have about 75 square feet of that.


Sigh, I don't know how long it will take, but at least we have a start and a little bit of experience.  







We have no idea why the former owner used so many different styles of hard-scape, but we do love our yard.  

 

Oh, and in case four kinds of stone/cement weren't enough, along the driveway we have this.  


Which reminds me, the driveway could use some attention as well. 

Sisters - Part 1

I really enjoyed doing the series a photos of my Grandmother, so I thought I'd try again.  I have two sisters and we are very close in age.  I have a few photos of us together over the years (with some big gaps in between) and thought this would be a good project. 

Here are the first few, no promises that the next post will contain more, but I will get to them over the next few weeks.  

 Patricia (Patsy / Pat) Dianne, Sally -  1950

 

 

Patsy, Sally, Dianne Christmas 1950

 Patsy, Dianne, Sally -  February 1952

  

Sally, Dianne, Patsy 
Summer 1952   
(note we are wearing the
same dresses as above)

Dianne, Patsy, Sally 
we won a ribbon in this parade - again in 1952

Hydrangea

 

I love the hydrangeas growing in our yard.  Because the heat was taking its toll on them and in hopes that more will bloom, I cut a bouquet for the house.

Grandma Creger part 3

These were taken on Grandma's 99th birthday, just three months before she passed away. (10 years ago)
She was amazing.    

with her daughters Avis, Wanda and Irene

 Christmas dinner in the early 1980's

and Trip to Santa Barbara in 1970  

I'm not sure on the dates of these,
one in the late 70's or early 80's and the other in the 1990's. 

I will update if I get more accurate dates. 

 SIBLINGS...

 

At Daisy's 90th birthday party, 1985.

with her brothers
Foster and Ralph.

   Foster, Daisy, Ralph, Ethel 

Also in this picture are Ralph's wife and Daisy's daughter.

Grandma Creger part 2

These are probably all from about 1965 to 1985

 





Grandma & Grandpa  in front of their home outside of Haines, Oregon around 1966  (also see photo at the bottom of this page)





 


(below)Wanda, Ethel, Irene - I don't know the year.

(above) Avis, Irene, Ethel, Wanda, Lyle In the kitchen at the ranch-1967 I believe.

(left) In Portland around 1970.      

mid 1980's with a great grandchild.

Grandma Creger

Saturday was my grandmother's birthday.  Her name was Ethel (Lyle) Creger; she was born in 1901 and died in October of 2000 at 99 years of age.  I will be posting some pictures throughout the week.. 

With her mother, Anna (MaGill) Lyle, and her extended family, 1940.

(above)Grandpa, Grandma and their children Avis, Lyle, Irene, Wanda (around 1939) . 

(right)with Avis & Lyle late 1948.

Amos & Ethel fall of 1945

A Fair day in Pleasanton

We went to the Alameda County Fair a last weekend.  The attractions are Horse Racing for Mike & the quilt exhibit for me.  It is a fun tradition, with one difference, we didn't eat much fair food (unlike last year).