With This Many Crowns, I Should Be a Princess

The saga of dental difficulties relating to the replacement of the bad crown on one of my upper incisors is finally, mercifully, almost over!  

It all started in 2012 ... yes, five years ago.  (I told you about it at that time in THIS post.)  Summary of the saga is:  faulty crown extracted, bone grafts (twice) trying unsuccessfully to get a good substrate for dental implant, crown prep for three-tooth bridge with a not-so-awesome temporary, one gum graft, and a lot of healing time allotted in between procedures.  In addition these difficulties, last summer I left the dentist that has been caring for my teeth for 30+ years.  Her practice grew too large and impersonal, and I felt like a source of income instead of a patient.  It was time for me to move on.

Fast forward to October of last year:   Went to my periodontist for an evaluation and asked him for a recommendation for a new dentist.  Without hesitation he had a suggestion ... told me that he thought that it was a great match for my personality and that I would be happy there.  Turns out that I am happy ... very happy, as a matter of fact.

Dr. Dana Culda practices general dentistry, and specializes in prosthodontics and cosmetic dentistry.  She evaluated the condition of ALL of my teeth, and came up with an awesome plan.  In addition to finishing the bridge on the one side of my upper arch, she recommended that I crown the three teeth on the opposite side.  Her recommendation was based on the fact that those three teeth had decades-old composite fillings whose margins were failing, which led to decay in places that no amount of dental hygiene could prevent.  Doing all of this work at the same time would result in the best possible aesthetic outcome.  My husband and I talked it over, and we agreed to proceed with Dr. Culda's plan.

This is the model of what my teeth will look like when they're all finished.  Even though it's a lot of work, and expense, I'm really excited to get on with this.

Yesterday was the big day ... a VERY long appointment to prep my teeth for their new look!  Here is the bed-head, no make-up, unedited Before photo ... the first time I have showed this ... and the last look I had at that stained temporary bridge on the left and my natural teeth on the right.

This morning, my mouth is sore but fine.  Dr. Culda is a perfectionist, and she took incredible care to make sure that each tooth was prepared perfectly, that impressions were perfect, and that my temporary teeth are as perfect as possible.  Want to see?  (Scroll down and prepare yourself for another bed-head, no makeup selfie.)

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I love this more than I can adequately express in words ... even though my upper lip and nose are puffy and sore, it's an incredibly-huge improvement!!  

In three weeks, I have an appointment to try the final bridge and crowns.  I can't wait to finally be finished with this ... especially because having beautiful teeth again is going to be the amazing outcome!

In the Kitchen Window

I often stand at the kitchen sink, staring out at the view toward the back of our property.  From here, we see the Greenhouse, Shack, Garage, my trusty pick-up truck, and the Barn.  (I also see lots of soggy ground, because we got a whole bunch of rain yesterday.)  What I don't see, however, is much of the garden ... weird, I know.

Looking down onto the windowsill (which is 12" deep) is like my own private game of Seek & Find ... you know, those photos where the idea is to look for certain objects in a composition of lots and lots of items.

I see:  three orchids, a spiderplant, a vacuum-type wine stopper, two thermometers, a whole bunch of paintbrushes, a toothbrush, two paint stirrers, nail clippers, and a cactus.  This assortment appears to accurately represent the mess of stuff that also accumulates in my brain ... seemingly unrelated stuff that all has a common theme.  In this case, it's stuff that I use (paintbrushes, nail clippers, wine stopper) along with stuff that needs to be here (all of the plants).

(Notice that two of the orchids have flower spikes!!  They're Cymbidiums, impulse purchases from Trader Joes, and they reliably rebloom at this time each year ... despite my ignorance at how exactly to properly care for them.)

In winter, staring out the window is how I get most of my exposure to outdoors ... it's too cold most days to do as much outside as I would like to.  This window, and the one in the dining room further down this wall, have my favorite views.  

What's your favorite place to stand and stare out the window, and what do YOU see?

Winnie's Gotcha Day

Three years ago, a friend shared this photo on Facebook.  As soon as I saw it, I knew that this tiny, geriatric little dog was supposed to be ours.

Winnie's appearance has changed a lot since then.

Day one with us.

A recent photo.

What hasn't changed is her feisty attitude, and amazing spirit.

Barking at the doorbell.

Surveying her yard.

Reluctantly modeling her Christmas sweater.

I credit these changes to good food, lots of love, and giving her the chance behave like a dog.

Leaving the spot that I swept for her, to go poop in the snow.

Barking, again.

Walking at Hollywood Cemetery.  "Stop taking pictures and come on, Mom."

Rolling on something 'fragrant'.

I never saw myself as the type of person who could have a little dog.  Winnie changed this, with her big dog personality in that little dog body.

Happy Gotcha Day, Winnie!

(As I was gathering these photos, I was amazed at number of sweaters in Winnie's wardrobe.  All of these are knit from a pattern that I designed, available for free HERE.)

2016 ... In the Rear-View

It seems appropriate, on this last day of 2016, to look back and remind myself of things that happened during the year.  Truthfully, I did this about a month ago when I was writing our annual Christmas letter.  I enjoy sifting through our calendar, condensing an entire year's worth of days and happenings into a single page to include in our Christmas cards.

This is what I wrote (with some additions and edits, because I always do that whenever I revisit anything that I write.)

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Welcome to our annual recap, where we try to remember and

relate to you some of the things that happened around here in 2016.

We did a fair bit of traveling in 2016, with Connie making more trips than Steve did this year.  Connie’s travel always has a plant theme, mostly related to her work with and love of roses.  This year, she had various trips around the country to rose speaking engagements, board meetings for the Heritage Rose Foundation, and some just-for-fun-trips.  One of those fun trips was a long weekend with her mom in April to Charleston, South Carolina, with the Southern Garden History Society. 

Mrs. Whaley's Garden in Charleston

In August, we had long-weekend working vacation at a greyhound conference in Wheeling, West Virginia ... the same conference that we attended in 2015.  We again shared a cabin with our friends Kim, Andy, Gale, and Chris.  The highlight of the trip was a visit to the racetrack to watch the greyhounds run and an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the racing operations with the track veterinarian!

Petting pups at a greyhound farm.

Our annual Thanksgiving week getaway this year was a trip to Las Vegas with our friends, Andy and Kim.  The weather was a little chilly, but perfect for visiting the desert and seeing the sights.  We went hiking in Red Rock Canyon to see petroglyphs, saw a couple of awesome shows (Cirque du Soleil’s Mystère and impressionist Terry Fator from America’s Got Talent), and spent time with Vegas friends and visited the Ethel M Cactus Garden decorated for Christmas.  The death-defying part of our trip was the “Slotzilla” zip line.  You launch from 10 stories up (114 feet) and fly face first all the way down Fremont Street (1,750 feet).  It was terrifying and amazingly fun at the same time!

Pausing for a photo while hiking at Red Rock Canyon.

The nervous smile of one who has survived what felt like a near-death experience.

  

July saw the passing of Maggie, our oldest cat, at age 15.   She was our miracle kitty that spent her life surviving and thriving with one should-have-been-terminal condition after another.  She ruled our household with her velvet paws, greeted all houseguests and insisted that they pet her, and was a huge presence in our lives.  She is greatly missed.

Maggie was just as beautiful on the inside as she was on the outside.

Renovation projects continue as usual and there is never a shortage of items to take care of here at The Manor.  There’s always something to repair or restore when one lives in an old house!  Projects included continuing to transform one of our outbuildings into a studio, repairing the concrete fence around our front yard, and refining and expanding our gardens. 

The concrete fence around the front is an important feature of our property.  About 1/3 of it is now repaired and repainted.

The neglected, weed-filled Rose Field is well on its way to being beautiful again, as we clear weeds, redesign beds, and replant roses.

We hope that you have a very Merry Christmas, and we wish you health, happiness and the very best in 2017.

Winnie, Ruby, and me, captured by my trail camera, while on a walk back by our barn.

With love,

Steve and Connie

(and Alice, Dorothy, Ruby, and Winnie … the furry members of our family)

A Few Days of R & R

My husband and I are off having fun for the next few days.  This was the scene outside our window, right before the sun rose this morning.

Any guesses as to where we are?

(Want to follow along?  I'm on Instagram as Hartwood Roses.)

As Gardening Season Winds Down

Fall is officially here, and winter will soon bring freezing temps and an end to outdoor gardening.  What's a rose gardener to do?  Bring the garden indoors, of course.  

In my last post (which was WAY too long ago) I showed you how I brought a bit of light and cheer into my greenhouse.  Next thing on my list was to finish preparing the area where the baby roses will spend the winter.

Instead of heating the whole building to keep the little pots from freezing, using a TON of propane in the process, I'm going to use a propagation heat mat underneath the pots.  I put two layers of insulation on the bench (one piece of solid foam and a layer foil bubble insulation, topped with the heat mat.

The mat is connected to a thermostat with a probe, to monitor and control the temperature of the pots.  So far, it's working really well.

The read-out on the thermostat shows the temperature of the pot that contains the probe.

The sun warms the greenhouse during the day, and the mat should only be needed during really cold nights.

In the house, things are going gang-busters in the propagation area in my basement workshop.  

I planted these cuttings at various times in October, and some of them are already showing awesome roots!  (I attribute this to some good luck, careful attention, and a little bit of help from bottom heat provided by the fluorescent light on the shelf below the cuttings.)   Roots usually show in four to eight weeks.  It looks like these little baby cuttings are VERY anxious to grow up and become real plants.  

Allow me introduce you to ...

"Haywood Hall"  A Noisette rose that was found at Haywood Hall in Raleigh, North Carolina.  It is one of the best Noisettes in my garden and very few people know about it.  Because of this, I want to share it around to make sure that it doesn't disappear.

Spray of "Haywood Hall" in my garden last month.

Tag, showing the date that I planted the cuttings.

Growing roots like this after only three weeks!

'Pink Poodle' (a miniature rose from 1991) is very rare and, again, needs to be propagated and spread around to insure its survival.

'Pink Poodle' showing some deeper-than-normal color in cooler autumn weather.

Cuttings didn't even drop one leaf.

Visible roots in three weeks!

"Talcott White Noisette" grows in Hollywood Cemetery.  It is a very old, very large plant, in an out-of-the-way location.  As far as I know, no one has ever propagated it.  

Visible roots in four weeks!

While I was in Harrisonburg, Virginia, last month, I visited Woodbine Cemetery.  I always have my tools with me, and I took a few cuttings of the roses that I saw there.  One of them was an incredibly fragrant Noisette-type rose.

The flowers on the cuttings perfumed my whole car.

The plant at the cemetery is 7-8 feet tall.

Visible roots in three weeks!

While the outdoor garden is slowing down, you can see that things are just getting started indoors.  Soon, the basement rose babies will be potted up, and they will join their buddies to spend the winter in the greenhouse ... gonna have to tidy up some more to make space on the bench for them.

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To learn the method that I use to root roses, click HERE.

Sunday Snapshot: Lights in the Greenhouse

You know that I'm all about doing projects with as much of what I already have as possible.  Adding lights to the greenhouse last week is another example of this.

Two strings of icicle Christmas lights hung on cup hooks along the top of the south wall.  It's so cute!

I already had the cup hooks and lights.  All I had to buy was a remote wall switch to control them.

This is the handiest thing ever for adding a light switch anywhere you need one.

You can find it HERE.

The greenhouse itself is a mess, with lots of stored building materials and project items taking up most of the 12' x 20' space.  I have cleared a bit of sanity space on the south bench to over-winter the baby roses that I rooted last summer, and I'm doing what I can to make order out of the rest of the space ... sorting, purging, and figuring out what to do with items I really love and will use.

This will be a great space to work in during the winter, as the temperature in the building on a sunny day is easily twenty or more degrees above the outside temperature.  It can be cold and wintry outside, shirt-sleeve weather inside ... just what my little sunshine-loving self needs!

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Sunday Snapshots are posts devoted to moments in time that represent glimpses into real, everyday life in Hartwood, or wherever else I happen to be at the time.