Today is Thursday, August 7. This is the 220th day of the year with 146 days remaining in 2008.

According to my daily Feng Shui report (to which I subscribe), August is known to be one of the ‘lucky’ months on the calendar. Supposedly it holds great potential and possibilities for any and all of us to take advantage of the promising energies which swirl around us.

To capture and some of that good fortune, the message suggests that we try the following age-old dictates that promise success during the month. Anytime you see bubbles on the surface of your morning coffee or tea, catch them with your spoon and drink them before they break, all the while thinking of a favored wish or dream.

Catching a falling leaf will bring that same intention to life. Tying a red string in a circle and keeping that in your wallet is said to bring abundance along with it, and looking at the New Moon while holding silver coins in your hands guarantees same. Now, I don’t really believe these things can produce good fortune, but I figure it can’t hurt!

I’ll take this guy’s power bill any day!

As I sat drinking my coffee this morning I began to contemplate my plans to expand the size of my 19th century bungalow. Do I really need to heat and cool 200 more square feet of space? (more…)

Today is Thursday, July 10. It is the 192nd day of 2008 with 174 days remaining in the year. On this day in 1913, the highest temperature ever recorded in the continental United States topped out at 134 degrees! The oppressive heat melted thermometers across Death Valley, California. Oh boy! And I thought Mississippi heat was bad! (more…)

Old Glory flying over beautiful Lake Travis in Austin, Texas

As Americans, we celebrate our independence from the British on this day. July 4th commemorates the approval of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. No it wasn’t signed on this day - just approved. The actual signing didn’t take place until a month later. (more…)

Today is Friday, June 20. This is the 172nd day of the year with 194 days remaining in 2008. Later today, summer will descend on us, providing us with the longest day of the year. The first day of summer is timed with the summer solstice which for most of the United States, occurs today. In Europe it’s June 21. In Australia it’s six months later, on December 21. In the U. S. the exact moment is 6:59 CST in case you want to celebrate.

This is a great time to begin a small flower garden. You can turn an unwanted section of lawn into a bed of flowers. As a “lazy gardener”, I’m doing it the easy way. Simply cover the area you want to convert with old newspapers or plastic bags. Cover with composted wood chips for a tidy look. This will cause the turf underneath to bake in the hot summer sun and kill every single weed and blade of grass. In a few months you will have a wonderful space for planting colorful mums or cabbages and pansies for the fall and winter.

I also use the lazy gardeners way of planting. I remove the plastic (if that’s what I’m using) and dump a 40-pound bag of topsoil over the new bed. It’s now ready for your pretties.