Sunday, May 31, 2009

Shiny Stars

Just think, if it wasn't for Karen's Shiny Star this amazing grand Victorian home would have been replaced by condo's!

Good Samaritans come to Pet's recuse and helped load a thousand pound butcher block.

Pet

In our last blog we talked about pests, so why not go with the antonym and highlight the shiny stars in our lives? We talked a bunch about insects, so that’s where we can start. We have a picture from last blog of two stars, the butterfly and the bee. These little guys are so essential to the natural cycle of life. Without them spreading the plants pollen they’d die out and we wouldn’t have the vibrant colors of summer in our lives. Yay bees and butterflies! Another favorite of mine is the tiny orange bugger with the black spots. They’re lady bugs and their favorite snacks are those nasty little aphids who love to devour rose bushes. Aside: do you know that ants, interesting but still mainly pests, herd the aphids and chase them to the rose bushes where they milk them just like we do the dairy cows? Bet you didn’t know that! My positive vibes are so overtaking me, I have animal, vegetable and mineral shiny stars I want to talk about. First, let’s hear about some of your stars shining in the metroplex.

Karen

I love ladybugs! They’re cute and they eat those yucky, sticky, nasty, aphids! Without them my parlor wouldn’t be flooded with roses right now.  Another one of my favorite insect shiny stars and in my opinion the most fascinating is the praying mantis. I used to love them in upstate NY but was so depressed not to see my favorites in California. That is until I moved to Pasadena. It’s praying mantis heaven! We have two kinds, the standard green and a molted brown version. The brown guys can get to be five inches long!!!! If I didn’t love them so much I’d be pretty scared when I faced one in the garden. But their giant size is a huge plus because these guys are serious about their stomachs. Seems I never see them when they aren’t munching on some pest. Got to love a shiny star with a big appetite!  

Pet

Hey how about we find some shiny stars who don’t kill little thingies, even though the thingies are pest thingies. We have our domestic animals like Herman who’s 16 years old…or 112 in dog years…and your adorable Amelia, then we have our delicious garden veggies, I have growing tomatoes, very early for the valley. Okay that covers animal and vegetables but what about minerals? Are diamonds still a girl’s best friend? I have an antique ring with a big rock in the setting but never had an urge to buy more. Shines all right, but let’s get right down to people. Last blog we had a human hero write us. Bill doesn’t think plant munching critters are garden pests. He plants a special garden for them. And since he’s an ex cop, he probably has a traffic system worked out guiding the critters to their garden, away from the people garden. Now he’s a hero! A human shiny star.

Karen

This blog post got me thinking about my own human shiny stars. Like many people, I’ve had several in my life. My latest hero is the woman who founded the historic landmark district where my Victorian resides. When she moved to the neighborhood it was at risk of having the lovely historic homes torn down to make room for town houses and condo’s. History is not always cherished in the big city, so this area had long been neglected. But she saw the wonderful old homes and the history of the place, well over a hundred years old, and wanted to turn the area back into a shiny star. So with shear determination, she worked diligently and won the support of the community to found the second historic landmark district in Pasadena. I always think of her and her amazing accomplishment when I stroll down my neighborhoods tree lined streets and gaze at the amazing historic houses that still stand so proudly for everyone to enjoy. Aprile Boettcher is living proof that one person can make a difference.  

Pet

Ms. Boettcher certainly deserves the shiny star nomination, but so do all of the residents who work so hard keeping their old homes looking gorgeous. I know you spend much time keeping yours up to your high standards. Pin a star on your shirt, girl! Here in the country we have many old buildings but they’re more functional than beautiful. Maybe that’s just in the eyes of the beholder since when brother visits from LA, he runs all over the county and beyond snapping pictures of the old barns. We even have a few ancient mills left standing. Then there are the local heroes who’ve refurbished the old buildings in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, the most visited national park in the country. The drive through Cades Cove is a ride into the past. So here’s a salute to these men and women, the volunteers and park rangers who work on a daily basis keeping this breath taking place both historically correct and scenically magnificent. Shiny Stars all!

Karen

I’m a huge fan of people who respect and honor America’s history. We may not be that old as a country, but I think that makes our history even more precious. You mentioned the faceless hero’s that do good work every day. In the city I find I cherish even the most simple act of kindness. I have what you would call day hero’s. In the crowed crazy city of LA, it’s pretty dog eat dog so when an unknown stranger takes it upon themselves to help someone they don’t know, they are a shiny star to me. If it’s rush hour and the freeway is jammed, you can sit forever trying to get on the damn thing. So when someone actually stops traffic to let me get on the freeway they are my hero. I always wave and smile to let them know how much I appreciate their simple act of kindness. Unfortunately most hardened city slickers thinks their act of kindness makes them a sucker. Another simple act that I’m eternally grateful for is when someone holds a door open for me when I’m obliviously loaded down with bags. This simple courtesy that used to happen thousands of times everyday has gone the way of the dinosaur in the big city.  So on the rare occasion that someone holds the door open for me I’m always overflowing with gratitude. My usual parting phrase is, “Thank you so much. You’re not from LA are you.” : )   

Pet

Ha, ha! Your last sentence reminds me of when I was trying to get a bag into the compartment on a plane and had a hard time lifting it. One gentleman, and only one came to my aid. I said to him, “You’re from Tennessee, aren’t you?” Yes he was, and bless his heart as we say around here. The other local saying comes when an act of unkindness happens, like someone cutting you off on the highway. “He’s a so and so,” you say followed by “God love him!” That shows how friendly folks around here are. When outside, everyone waves from their car at whoever isn’t in a car, and often at other cars. Hey, I tried this the last time I was in LA and everyone thought me crazy. 

Karen

Well, politeness and LA don’t really go together. : ) That’s why you can spot a transplant a mile away! But there is one thing that local’s do that I think deserves a mention, they throw one heck of a pool party. I’ve never been to as many aquatic parties as I have in LA. And if you have a party disaster someone will be happy to help you out to keep the party going. At one of my friend’s parties, disaster struck when the spa broke down. You would think a 8.0 earthquake hit by the sear panic that swept over the guests. But it only took fifteen minutes to track down a pool guy to come to the rescue. I think there is one on almost every corner in our fair city. To everyone at the party he was like Superman to the rescue. To my friend this guy was the shiny star that kept her party from being a totally failure.

Pet

Another act of neighborly kindness comes to mind when I cut up on the antique butcher block sitting in the middle of the kitchen. Not very good with sharp knives this is a wonderful addition, doubles the counter space. We found the genuine antique on a relative’s porch and we were gifted with the much-needed piece of furniture. Family and friends gathered around to help get the huge, heavy hunk of wood onto the pickup. Sons and son-in-laws, grandsons, some of the girls, everyone who happened to be around, rushed to assist with the lift. Took much lifting and pushing, heavy breathing, moans and groans to place the solid wood on the pickup. Once home we called on our neighbors. Our farmer friends came over between milking with a front-end loader. Push, push, and upsy daisy, the block is soon transported from the back of the truck to kitchen door. Humans only got it inside, and there she sits. All of the helpers, even the front-end loader, are heroes, shiny stars for sure.

Karen

Nothing like come-to-the-rescue neighbors!!!!!! When my hubby and I first moved to Pasadena we bought a cute little bungalow with beautiful woodwork and a narrow steep staircase. No way could we shove our queen-sized bed up the stairs to our master bedroom. We were dead tired, as we did most of the moving ourselves, and stood scratching our heads out on the front lawn wondering if we were going to have to put the mattress on the living room floor to sleep, when neighbors across the street came over to introduce themselves. The father joked that he didn’t want us to start our new life in the neighborhood by sleeping under the stars. He came up with the brilliant idea of pushing the mattress through the very large casement picture window in the master. In a matter of minutes two ladders appeared and the father and son were nudging the mattress up the ladders. We ran upstairs and managed to pull it through. Next came the much less flexible box spring. Luckily we had used two singles and they squeezed through the window with a giant shove from the father and son team. That night when we finally went to bed we were grateful for our wonderful new neighbors. Shiny stars for sure. So do you have any shiny stars in your life? Please share them with us.     

2 comments:

Fran said...

What a nice blog! yes, we are fortunate to have those "stars" in our lives.... and we should all try to be a bit more corteous in our lives... it does seem to spread. You ladies sure come up with some diverse and interesting topics.

BILL NEALIS said...

Petrina, my garden is 2 weeks behind.cool and wet spring is the culpret.So much fun reading your blogs, you know me im a garden nut too. I HAVE 40 TOMATO PLANTS,20 PEPERS, 16 EGGPLATNS,CUCUMBERS, SQUACH,ZUCS,AND EVERY SPICES U WANT. i LOVE THE LADY BUGS AND MANTIS THEY ARE GREAT FOR THE GARDEN THAT IS WHY I USE NO INSCENTIDES.GO BUGS!WE LOVE YOU GUYS!