Sunset

Sunrise and sunset are my favorite times of the day. I haven't been able to get much in the way of sunrises here but I do see some half way decent sunsets. Here are a few of the photos I have managed to get. These are nice but I don't think they are as nice as the ones I used to see in New Mexico.

Bed in a Bag

When we bought our house here in Kentucky we had a double bed which most people would think was enough for a man and wife couple. Well we tried it. But after almost 47 years of my sleeping nights because I worked days, and hubby sleeping days because he worked nights we have always found it hard to sleep in a double bed. Especially as hubby snores. I am sure I do, too, and he is to nice to say so. Anyway for those nights when I can't sleep we needed another bed. 

          I'm sure you are saying what is wrong with sleeping on the couch or sofa. Except we didn't move the one we had and that would have cost just as much. We did move our two old recliners and I can sleep in it when I need to.

             We went to several  mattress stores and were appalled at the prices. A single bed, just the mattress and the box to put it on was running about $300.00 with about $100 if we wanted it delivered. 

             So it was off to the internet. It was there that I first found out about a 'Bed in a Bag'. Seeing that these beds were considerably less in price (some were a good bit higher) I read and researched and read some more. I thought and considered and thought some more. It was an interesting concept.

Finally I talked to several people who had bought one. My nephew had one for one of his teenage boy and a couple of friends had one as well. I read lots of reviews from people who said they liked them. Of course, as always there were people that said they didn't like them.

       So I ordered one.

For $150.00 I got the bed in a bag and a frame to put it on. Since I was ordering that much it was free shipping. The bed came in 3 days and the frame in 5 days. Below are the photos I took as we put the bed up. First photo is of the frame. Some people said it needed to be put together but all we had to do was fold the legs down and lock them in place.  

The second photo is of what the bed looked like when I got it out of the box it came in. I was still really wondering if this rolled up piece of who knew what could become a bed. 

Next photo shows the rolled up bed after I first took the plastic wrap off of it. 

So I helped it lay out flat on the frame and still couldn't believe it would become a bed. It was only about and inch or so high to start with.

With in a few minutes the mattress began expanding. As always one of the cats was there to inspect what was going on as they do with anything we do. Over the next several hours it expanded and raised up until it was the 8 inches high the instructions said it would be. 

So there it was, just as stated on the internet. My bed in a bag had become a full size single mattress. And it didn't require the padded box that the mattress stores insist you have to have with their expensive mattresses. Like we had with the double bed. And this frame was high enough off the floor so I could put small boxes and items under it. (and the cats can play under it). The frame under the double bed is only about 3 inches off the floor.
      I have now slept on this bed for several months. And I like it. It is a bit firmer than I wanted. I ordered a medium firm one, and glad I didn't order a firm one. But I have no trouble sleeping on it.
   So - considering a new bed. You might want to try a bed in a bag.

Yucca Flowers

Having been born and raised in New Mexico I was well aware that the New Mexico state flower was the yucca. I had a couple in my yard and always went out on the desert to see them when they were blooming. What a surprise to fine yuccas in Kentucky. On researching yuccas on the internet I found that there was a type of wild, native yucca in Kentucky. I was very pleased to see a clump of what I thought were yucca in the yard of the property we bought. I waited many months to see what the clump of spikey leaves would look like when it bloomed. Here is a few of the photos I took of the yucca blossoms. The have been so pretty.  In comparing them to the wild yucca on the New Mexico desert I saw that these were more white, and the long leaves aren't quite as sharp pointed as the desert yucca. Oh, yes, they are still sharp but not so needle sharp. Knowing that they are in Kentucky I have now seen them in lots of yards in our area but have not seen any in the wild as mentioned on some web sites.

 Here are a couple of photos of the New Mexico desert yucca that I am so fond of. As you can see the leaves are thinner and sharper and the flowers more of an ivery color with darker, kind of a dark purple section in them. But still the same basic bell shaped blossom. The last photo is of some of the hard, dried seed pods from some desert yucca. It's the same bell shape but dried to a shade of brown almost like a thin wood. They look great in dried arrangements.

 

Petunia's

Petunia's have never been my favorite flower but here in Kentucky I see them everywhere. So the other day I decided I would try some. I had a hard time deciding what I was going to buy as I didn't realize that there were so many colors. Other places I have lived there were only a few colors to chose from. Here there seemed to be dozens and dozens of colors. Solid colors and striped colors. I was drawn to baskets of black and pink petunia's. Had to have one of those. After looking at a lot of others I chose one that seemed to be a pale yellow with red tips on the petals mixed with white petunias. Then there were the purple and white striped ones mixed with dark red in another basket.  My cousin came to visit and pointed out that the pale yellow ones with the red tips looked like they were red hearts. Then my aunt mentioned that the red and yellow were the colors in the New Mexico flag. Maybe that is why I picked that one out. The black ones looked like black velvet. Wonder if that is their official name as all flowers seem to have a name given to them by who ever developed that particular color. I know the rose growers have all kinds of contests to see what new verities have been bred each year. I would think all flower growers do. 

Visitors

Had some visitors today. My Aunt Wanda, who was visiting her daughter, Denise in Dayton, Ohio. They drove down for the day. It was so wonderful to see them. Several times Aunt Wanda came to see me when I lived in New Mexico. For those that don't know I am on the right, Denise on the left and Aunt Wanda in the middle.

It was a very humid, muggy day but we went to Point Park in Carrollton where the Kentucky and Ohio Rivers come together. Kentucky River on the left and Ohio on the right.

From there we drove through the old part of Carrollton and stopped at the Carroll County Courthouse. The small rock building to the left was the jail built about 1830. 

Then we went to General Butler State Park which is sort of in the middle of Carrollton. We went to the lookout at one of the highest places in Carroll County. It looks like an old ruin but was build about 1930 by the Butler family as a place to have outings, picnics and such. You can see the Ohio river from the lookout.

We saw a couple of deer in the park. They were right by the road and didn't pay us much attention as they see cars all the time.

What I Saw Today