In which I try desperately to prove I'm not an eighty year old woman

[stoney321]

So for those who are curious about my field trip and chocolate:

So there were no angels (although there was potential, more on that in a moment) and no chocolate to be found at Chocolate Angel, my lunch destination yesterday. There were a) many many ladies of the tea and doilies set hence the potential for angels (OH YES I DID.) There were also b) many sandwich and salad options and lots and lots of tea. I saw NO CHOCOLATE on the menu, which... time to rename your venue.

Lunch was: a grilled pimento, jalapeño and applewood bacon sandwich on sourdough which was FANTASTIC. Also, chicken salad, wee greens, and fresh strawberries. Again: NO CHOCOLATE at CHOCOLATE ANGEL. I liked a2zmom's thought process that expected a chocolate-coated David Boreanaz, because I would eat that. ON A STICK.

Field Trip: Gunter's Greenhouse, and he's a champion orchid grower. And he remembered us from the MG meeting in January and gave us a private tour of his hybridization garden. I know, I know, you don't care. I WAS LIKE A KID IN A CANDY STORE, oh my god. All the delicate babies!! *sighs happily*

You know how great it feels to come here on LJ and talk about your geekiest fandom ideas that you can't talk to your RL friends about? How good that feels to have people know how important it is to feel the same about Connor? (_insert your character choice here_) Joanne, my buddy, squeed publicly with me over the new growth and buds on bare stalks, because she gets how exciting flower potential is to me. Hahahaha. I am going to go knit several square-patterned afghans amongst my many cats now. Hee!

Gunter has a vanilla plant (it's an orchid, if you didn't know) and it was EIGHTY FEET LONG. You have to work hard to make it produce vanilla pods (nerd info: the flowers last for one day, and it's a host specific pollinator. Those bugs don't live here in Texas, so Gunter has to use a paint brush to catch the pollen and brush it onto the anthers to try and get it to produce the fruit. THAT is why vanilla is so expensive - labor intesive and low chance of production.) He is going to sell me a few feet of his vanilla plant when I get back from FLAHrida this weekend, EEEEEE!!! The roots were in a four inch pot. THE PLANT WAS EIGHTY FEET LONG. I took a picture on my camera phone, but it sucks. Here's a link to what they look like in the wild:

[ETA] Oooh, I think I got it so you can see:



To give you some perspective, the leaves are the length of my entire forearm. (!!!)

Okay., Nerd attack over.

Today I am going to finish ripping out all of the ugly shrubs (dwarf yaupon holly) in my front beds and replace them with Lorapetalums, aka Chinese Fringe Flower. I'll finish them out with Spanish lavender (Otto Quast), some annual bluebonnets and alyssum. All of my daylillies are poking their heads up out of the ground, as well as the lilies. YAY SPRING! Almost here....

So all of this outside time (it's been in the 70s all week and BLUE skies, ahhh) I've not done much of anything inside, and I want to write. I WANT TO LIIIIIIVE! Mr. S is off doing his own thing today, so I won't be glued to his side like Quatto. (two... three... four... *crickets*) Confidential to dancetomato and chrisleeoctaves: it's that baddirtywrong story. Be prepared to defriend me - it's... Well. Heh.

HELLO EVERYONE!!! February is almost over, it's almost MARCH which means warmer temps, sunnier days, pretty things popping up out of the ground, and TWITTERPATION! *buzzes like a bee around everyone*

Comments

[julia-here.livejournal.com]

It's snowing here.

But I saw EAGLES yesterday, close up.

Julia, and I will go nursery shopping for campanulas this weekend bar a blizzard

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

SNOW. I do not envy you. Julia, I am so itchy to have a garden to work in, I can barely sit still. EAGELS! What kind? Is that in your morning's post? *zooms!*

The red tailed hawks are training their babies to hunt at night now, so we're keeping the cats in. YEESH! (But seriously cool.) I also added the pic of my friend Joanne standing next to the vanilla plant above!

[dwivian]

Dude! Vanilla!

Of course, drying the pods takes forever....

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

I bet y'all could grow vanilla out there like it was NOTHING! All that humidity? Gunter has his in the greenhouse, where it's very humid, so he doesn't have to water it.

Oooh, I don't know anything about drying the pods! Have you tried it? That's seriously cool. VANILLA. I love how in real life, it's incredibly exotic, but in discussion, it means BORE. ING. Hahaha.

[lynnenne]

Does the cow come with the bluebonnets? 'Cause then you could have a farm in your yard.

I am so jealous of your warm weather! We still have snow.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

Hahaha, I love that picture of the cow!! Oh, I'd LOVE a farm. We've seriously talked about moving ten minutes north to the ranch land and having several acres where I could have horses and goats (no chickens, because they are filthy bastards, eww) and REAL ACREAGE to grow many many things. Siiiiiigh.

But then, remember we'll have triple digits (40 C+) in July and August. (But for me, that just means hit the swimming pool!) LYNNE!!! I'm so filled with joy today, I can barely STAND IT. *hugs and squishes you to PIECES*

[lettered.livejournal.com]

many ladies of the tea and doilies set hence the potential for angels (OH YES I DID.)

This is why I love you. *prays to Lord Jesus for salvation*

I liked a2zmom's thought process that expected a chocolate-coated David Boreanaz, because I would eat that. ON A STICK.

On whose stick though? I like him more toppy, I think.

Is this why vanilla beans cost so much?

I can't believe you're writing that Anna Nicole Smith thing. *Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus! Baby Christ! (on a stick.)*

I thought Quatto was that guy on Total Recall. That Total Recall guy in that guys stomach, which, ew!!!!!!! Though the three breasted woman totally fascinated me in the days of my youth. I just had a dream about a baby with six penises. And no one liked him; it was sad. I heard they were going to make a sequel of Total Recall, but maybe I made that up.

Twitterpation should belong to the English language.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

ON HIS OWN STICK, JOY. I went there. You should too, because the visual is AWESOME. Hahahaha.

Yeah - vanillas are tetchy little things outside of their environment, not to mention the loooooong time for the pods to grow, the processing, etc. How freaking cool would it be to grow your own??? Just me? Okay. :D

I AM WRITING that fic. I am. I can't stop writing it in my head, so I need to write it on paper and GET. IT. OUT.

And Total Recall is one of my favorite Schwartzenegarian films (haha) of all time. QUATTO. I love you for knowing what I was talking about. I had a dream about Jim from The Office and he was doing me while Pam watched, and I was sad when I woke up. TMI?

In conclusion: HELLO. *hugs you to bits*

[brandil.livejournal.com]

TOTAL RECALL

AIN'T NO CRICKETS HERE BEEE-YATCH

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

I LOVE YOU. Quatto. That's a common reference with Mr. S and I, ahhaha.

<3!!!!

[harmonyfb.livejournal.com]

Ooooo. I want to grow vanilla orchids!

Of course, I'd have to employ gardners, because I'm nearly too lazy to see to my little herb patch (which is why our ginger has TAKEN OVER).

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

Ha!!! Apparently, if you have a humid, bright place in your house, you don't need to do much of anything with the plant. (unless you want the pods, then you have to do all the rigermarole with the brush, etc.)

GINGER! Oooh, isn't that flower the most wonderful scent? I'll take ALL OF IT off your hands. Or whatever you can bear to part with. :D

[entrenous88.livejournal.com]

PLAAAAAANTT!!! Look how huge that is!

That's totally wrong, no chocolate at Chocolate Angel. They oughtta be ashamed!

So I was totally meandering about what to write today, looking at this and that, tra la laaaaaaa. But I forgot that I have to write my picfor1000 story, oh, today. *stares at picture in hope of getting inspiration*

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

I KNOW!! Joanne and I started singing songs from Little Shop of Horrors!! hahahaha. (I'm such a plant nerd.)

NO CHOCOLATE. Maybe they have tea cakes that aren't on the menu? But the waiter didn't bring any by, so.... Harumph, I say.

Oooh, fic! Which picture you gonna use? The crazy vanilla plant pic? Or your icon of the fun pink goggle swimmer under water? (I love that icon. It makes me think EntreNous!)

[coercion88.livejournal.com]

Sue them! Sue!! There must be chocolate somewhere on the premises, surely?
I was thinking of you the other day when I was in the supermarket (dull - the shop, not you) and saw a DVD for that anime I was blathering on about. Space Sentinels! He-man like hero, naughty dark-haired guy who obviously likes taking it up the jacksie from He-man - and an afro-girl - quite daring for the 70s! Hubbie mocked me for wanting to buy it, so alas, it's still on the shelf, waiting for someone else to turn it into bad slash fanfic.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

THERE SHOULD HAVE BEEN CHOCOLATE. I had to come home and bake cookies to get my fix. *frowns*

SPACE SENTINELS! Oh my god, I've never even heard of it! I will check that out, ASAP!! (I'll just stare at my Battle of the Planets pics on my hard drive to get inspiration for anime slashfic... THE WORLD NEEDS MORE!)

[going-not-gone.livejournal.com]

I think your gardening-nerd side is so cute, especially because it goes so well with your porn-loving side. You're just all about the pollination, you!

Also, a place called Chocolate Angel that has no chocolate on the menu? JUST. PLAIN. WRONG.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

HEEEEE!!! Now I'm humming "where does the pollen go?" from Grease 2. Don't judge me... Hahahaha.

I really REALLY don't understand where the name comes from. And when we walked in, Joanne said, "I think you just lowered the median age by 30 by being in here." Very fluffy and chintzy place, but my sandwich was TERRIFIC!!

[anelith.livejournal.com]

No chocolate? NONE? There's a name for that -- I think it's called bait and switch.

many many ladies of the tea and doilies set hence the potential for angels

heh heh

I didn't get the Quatto reference! Until I saw the comments. *hangs head in shame* Ron probably would have, though. One of his favorite movies.

Your visit with Gunter sounds like you had so much fun! Where are you going to keep your vanilla plant?

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

Anne. NO CHOCOLATE!!! Oh! I thought of you the day before yesterday. There's a new shop that opened up on the Square (remember me taking you to the old downtown McKinney square?) that has the most wonderful salads and sandwiches, and is all based on Texana. Hee! Next door is an old-fashioned candy shop, and while I'd carefully steer you past the handmade chocolates, the popcorn! The salt-water taffy! (I'm not a fan, but maybe you are?) all the delectables!!

I had a BLAST yesterday - I meant to reply yesterday with a link to today, but I knew you'd find me. *g* I'm going to grow it in my master bath - bright and light and humid. Perfect! It will make the bath feel more tropical, which is a plus in my book. :D

[pernickety.livejournal.com]

gave us a private tour of his hybridization garden I bet he did. *winkwink*

I heart the Spanish lavender. I'll have to try to chase one down so my mom can add it to her "purple and/or herbs" section of the garden.

hahahah - your icon winked at me.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

hahahaa EWW. He's like, 80 and resembled SANTA CLAUS so no. :D

I love Spanish lavender. We have a variety that's native here (from the Spanish settlers) and the flowers look like purple bees! They're the size of two knuckles! That's the only kind that grows well in my area - hot and dry is what it prefers. I love how English and FRench lavender look, but they melt here.

Can you grow creeping rosemary there? It puts out beautiful purple flowers, too! And elvish thyme - pale purple (almost pink) flowers all over it in spring. I have a tiny patch in my herb bed.

[dancetomato.livejournal.com]

Be prepared to defriend me

Stoney, why is LJ so CRUEL???? I want to refriend you over and over and over again eleventy billionty times, and it won't let me! *pouts*

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

*LOVES TIMES A MILLIONITY*

DT. Srsly. It's WRONG to write this fic. Mommas shouldn't bone their babies. (But ... he likes to lie across her with his face between her full breasts and she just keeps encouraging him...)

Why yes I DO have a first-class ticket to hell, why did you ask?

*smooooooooch*

[a2zmom.livejournal.com]

I am still disappointed that "Chocolate Angels" did not include any choco-covered Dave.

Here's a little story on where I would happily do Choco-Dave.

I would do him in a box.
I would do him wearing socks.
I would do him in a house.
But maybe not if there's a mouse.
I would do him here or there.
I would do him anywhere.
Yes, I lust after choco-Dave
I would make my tasty choco-slave.

(many apologies to Dr. Seuss)

I am very impressed by the size of that vanilla plant. That's a lot of (potential) beans.

I love alyssum, but mine tends to fry in the August heat & humidity every year.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

Mmmm chocolate handsome man. Tastes DELICIOUS.

That plant was MASSIVE. You can't really get the full picture from my cell photo, but man. Shoo-eee! I don't know how alyssum is treated up north, but here it's a spring annual. It'll thrive until late May then crap out. And that's when I replace it with verbena or somesuch. Same with snapdragons. We can only grow them for a short period of time while we wait for our "real" plants to come in.

[petzipellepingo.livejournal.com]

She who has iron hard ground covered with ice will make no comment on spring planting "curse, curse" however... we thought this (http://www.clickondetroit.com/politics/11136827/detail.html) might amuse you.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

Ha, that was in my paper today, too! And for that cursing... just remember we hit triple digits come summer, and you most likely do not. So you have that. :D

[winterlive.livejournal.com]

HI STONEY.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

HI WINTER!! I'm writing porn! How about you??

*hands you chocolates*