Happy New Year to all of you.

Jeanne, so sorry for what you're going thru. Hope you're feeling better soon.

Weather...........Today we're expecting it to get to 77 degrees. Tomorrow afternoon, rain and possible tornados. The freezing weather about a week ago got most of my outside plants. I hope I saved some of my greens, but they are not looking good.

Happy New Year everyone!!!

Yesterday we had downpour rain late evening. We sure need the rain in our neck of the woods. Today temperature is 56 degrees and its lovely view after a night of rain.

Have a Healthy and Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year! Celebrating while visiting our daughter and her family in arizona. Flew in yesterday morning and thankfully had no flight issues with flying southwest.

Margo good to hear about no problems with your flight...Enjoy your family.

Jeanne thinking/praying for you. Hope you are getting better.

Happy New Year 2023 ladies.

A couple more "firsts" about my state on the 2nd.

1898 - Pepsi was invented and first served in New Bern.

1914 - Babe Ruth hit his first home run in Fayetteville on March 7, 1914.

Totally different weather for us over the New Year's weekend compared to Christmas. Went from far colder than usual to warmer than usual. I guess it's the same in many other places.

Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, was from Wapakoneta, Ohio.

Great "first", Margo.

I have some good news. Carole who has traded for some time on Houzz has asked to join our group and been approved. Her Houzz name is Mtprairiewinds. Feel free to join right in, Carole.

I will be first to welcome Carole!

welcome aboard Carole!!

Happy 4th day of January everyone!!

Another great first about Ohio, Ohio was the first state to enact laws protecting working women.

Heading back home tomorrow. So far there is no issue with our flight.

What new variety of plants are you all planning to grow?

Nicole, I'm so lost on what might do well here in NC. Nothing I planted last year was very successful. I think I need to get some more retaining walls and decent soil added to make some planting beds. Haven't tried pricing any of that yet or seeing how to get approval through my HOA. The soil here is rock hard and established things like the trees and shrubs seem to do okay but not seedlings or little plants, I have to use a pick ax to even dig down a few inches.

I planted some pansies in containers in the fall and they died after only a few weeks. They were on my screened porch to protect them from the squirrels. There are some irises that are well established in the ground here and those seem to continue to do okay. I thought about resorting to growing things in containers, but the squirrels dig in the containers all the time, removing soil and damaging the roots.. I saw a suggestion to wrap the top of the container in tulle and have been doing that. They still seem to get in after awhile. I guess my containers are the only soft surfaces for them to dig in.

Would love to hear what others are planting. I'm going to try some winter sowing this year. I did that last year, but lost almost everything that sprouted. I know there are successful gardens in the Raleigh area so I'm sure the soil is not like this everywhere.

I will be doing flowers in pots along with basils. The big plan is to devote my gardens to various varieties of gourds. I have started the hobby og crafting bird houses and other fun things with them. I did my first craft show last October and did well. We just got back from Arizona where we bought two suitcases full of dried gourds.

Margo, so happy you have two fantastic new family members!! Welcome Chewie and Louie!!

I have given no thought to what I am planning on planting....as Scarlet O'Hara said,"I will think about that tomorrow".....no, next week or the week after. I have to Wintersow my tomatoes and peppers for sure...always do that the third week of January.

,

Welcome Carole.

Nicole, I am going to try a new melon ( Ha'Ogen) that I've never tried before. Last time critters ate on every melon just as they were getting ripe. Hoping for better luck this time. I am going to try squash again. I bought seeds of North Georgia Candy Roaster.

Margo, good luck on the gourds. I can't seem to grow any type of squash. I guess it's the dreaded Squash vine borer. My vines just end up dying.

Cute fur babies. I'm so glad you gave them a home. Our last rescue was also from a bad home situation. It took her some time to adjust.

Our weather is beautiful and feels like spring. I guess we'll get winter in spring.

Thanks for the warm wishes everyone!

Stevensville is officially recognized as the first permanent settlement of non-indigenous peoples in the state of Montana. Forty-eight years before Montana became the nation's 41st state, Stevensville was settled by Jesuit Missionaries at the request of the Bitterroot Salish tribe.

_Wikipedia

How many members are there in this group?

Carole, welcome to our little group of FOTESSERS....a lovely group of ladies!!

Some CA FIRSTS....I was going to go down a different "fact" road but I no doubt would have been censored....oh my! I love my state of CA but it is flawed in many ways....many, many ways. So here are some facts that are safe!!

The state's first and oldest chartered university is the University of the Pacific in Stockton. Originally named California Wesleyan College, it was chartered as California's first institution of higher learning in 1851.

Although its true inventor is unknown, the first skateboards emerged in the late 40s or early 50s. California surfers revamped their means of transportation and attached roller-skate wheels to the bottoms of wooden boxes or boards. As for the skateboards we use today, Larry Stevenson built the vtomery first surfboard-shaped skateboard in his garage in Santa Monica in 1963.

The beloved In-N-Out burger chain opened the first drive-through burger stand in California in 1948.

In-N-Out is not everywhere across the country, so many people are not familiar with it. Funny, my BIL from PA....never lived out here, only visits....that is where he wants go when he comes to SO CAL.

I have to pack....dreadful ....I despise packing. I am headed to Paso Robles wine country tomorrow for several days. If I am a good girl and pack quickly, I may be back on here here with more CA facts..... LUCKY YOU!!!!

Happy to see the "firsts" that you've posted.

I'll keep this short because I need to get out to look at cars (so not a favorite thing to do) but I don't like my rental very much and the rental won't go on forever. I'm finally starting to feel quite a bit better. I can concentrate more and less pain and in fewer places.Thanks for the prayers and positive thoughts.

Margo, Chewie and Louie are so cute! I'm so glad you have new pets in your life. How are they doing in their new home?

Carole, so happy to see you found us and posted. We are at 22 members right now. Some others we have not heard from for awhile so they are no longer on the list, but would certainly be eligible to rejoin if I hear from them. I'll write myself a note to send you the information for the members. It will likely come to you by email. I'll try to get that out this evening. Welcome!

Jeanne, the boys are doing awesome. i guess they never went on walks or in a car. They are learning what a leash is and not to freak out when they get in a car. They don’t bother the cats which is good but the indoor kitty has been sticking to herself upstairs. I’m hoping she gets it figured out that she doesn’t have to worry anout them. They are the sweetest boys and stick to each other like glue. We are very licky to have found them.

Welcome Carole.

Annie, have fun on your get away.

Sorry about two things, first of all I think Carol is without an "e" - not sure how I got that added. Also, Carol, yesterday was so busy that I didn't mail the membership list to you. I will get the membership list to you soon. I almost sent it last evening but a few of us have moved in the past 2 years so I wanted to make sure the addresses are all correct.

Here's another "first": L.D. Peeler created Cheerwine in 1917 in Salisbury, North Carolina amid a sugar shortage.

More California firsts........

**California became the first state to reach the trillion-dollar benchmark in gross state product in 1997.

**11-year-old Frank Epperson accidentally created the first popsicle in 1905. He forgot a mixture of sugar-filled soda powder and water on his patio overnight, along with its stirring stick on his patio. He decided to try it the next day and discovered it had transformed into a delicious treat.

**The first motion picture theatre, Tally's Electric Theatre, was opened by Thomas Tally in Los Angeles in 1902.

Sorry I haven't checked in every day. I wanted to get my car shopping completed because my time for getting the rental car with my insurance was running out. Mission completed!

It's quite cold here this weekend. I realized I still haven't planted my daffodil bulbs. Way too hard to dig in this soil so I will be potting them up this week and see if I waited too long. I've saved some jugs for winter sowing and should start to think about what to plant. Meanwhile, still taking down and packing up the Christmas things. The car accident and what that entailed have really taken up so much time. Hope things will get a bit more back to normal.

How is everyone doing? Storm or rain issues? My older daughter lives in CA and thankfully is doing okay. The pictures on the news look awful and then those storms in the south, too.

I was just asking about the car hunt over on OBF. Glad you found something you like.

I just planted some daffodils last week. Last year I planted some in a pot that I have gotten for Christmas and they didn't bloom for me. Maybe these will. My soil was hard to dig also so I'm sure they aren't deep enough.

It's been windy here but not too bad.

Yes, it does look bad in California. Glad your daughter is okay.

I was outside the other day and some of my daffodils are up and have buds on them. With the temps going up and down so crazy like, they are up was too early. We are going to be in the 50s three days this week. I just might be able to cut some and bring them in to bloom. Just crazy!

We are lucky enough to be leaving in a part of Ohio that gets more rain then snow. We had a lot of rain last week but I much prefer that. So far this year, it has been just a dusting.

Headed back home after a weekend in Knoxville for our 9 year old grandsons hockey tournament. We have had a great weekend.

Enjoy your Martin Luther King day.

Stopping in to say hello. The temperatures sure have been up and down this week with a little rain thrown in, too. My granddaughters were here for a short while over the weekend and planted my daffodil bulbs. They had fun doing it and glad to have that completed. Some had green sprouts so we'll see what they do.

I really want to try some winter sowing this year so I should look through my seeds next week and decide on which ones to try. My potted plants on the screened porch sure look rough right now. Those really cold nights have them 99% done in!

Jeanne I am worried about my dahlias, elephant ears and amaryllis during that cold spell. I'm afraid I lost all 3 of those. I had them climatized to the winter and they would always come

back but never been as cold as it was during that awful cold spell. 1 degree is not good. I have daffodils and lenten roses up 1-3 inches.

More California FIRSTS......

The first wetsuit was invented in CA specifically for U.S. Navy divers. It was made of canvas and weighed 30 lbs.

In 1873, Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis invented the first blue jeans in San Francisco, CA..

The first ever U.S. rock festival was held in Marin County (Northern CA) on June 10 and 11, 1967. This was 2 years prior to Woodstock. The Doors, Jefferson Starship and The Byrds performed for thousands of people.....considered a jumpstart for the Summer Of Love movement which began in San Francisco's Haight Ashbury in 1967.

Thanks for posting some more firsts, Annie. I should look for some more firsts for my area before the month closes out. Weather here has been so up and down. I did check the few daffodils that I have in the ground and it looks like they survived from last year and are starting to come up. Thankfully the critters don't like the taste of them. They are calling for a rainy day tomorrow so we'll see. Of course, nothing like the rain that fell in CA.

More CALIFORNIA FIRSTS.......

In June, 2022, CALIFORNIA became the FIRST state to guarantee FREE HEALTH CARE for

all low-income immigrants living in the country illegally.

CALIFORNIA is the FIRST and ONLY state to host both the Winter and Summer Olympics.

The FIRST hot-fudge sundae was invented in CALIFORNIA in 1906 at C. C. Browns ice cream parlor on Hollywood Blvd, in Los Angeles, CA.

I wondered why a NC license plate reads "First in Freedom" - now I know.

The "First in Freedom" plate design recognizes two important events: the signing of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence on May 20, 1775, and the Halifax Resolves on April 12, 1776.
These two events are also commemorated on the North Carolina state flag and are regarded as the first steps toward independence from Great Britain during the early stages of the American Revolution.

(CA invented the hot fudge sundae - sure didn't know that and I love them!)

More CALIFORNIA FIRSTS......

CALIFORNIA created the FIRST French Dip Sandwich. Los Angeles restaurants Phillipe The Original and Cole's each claim to have created this delicious sandwich.....Phillipe's in 1918 and Cole's in 1908. I have been to Phillipe's many times....delicious but have never been to Cole's.

The FIRST hula hoop was created in CALIFORNIA in 1958. 25 million hula-hoops were sold in the first four months.....patented in 1963.

I still have a hula hoop. Does anyone else? I used it to train my horse that I had in South Carolina. I used pool noodles and all kinds of things to work with her.

This month is almost over. Remember I will draw the name of someone who posted "firsts" this month and send them a prize.

I certainly will appreciate it if a few more people can sign up to be the hostess this year. Right now there are months with no one signed up and although I try to fill in as much as I can, I can't be hostess that many times this year. Of course, with no one being hostess I can continue to post each month and we can share information and pictures, but the theme for the month and the games are sure fun to have.

Our member who wins a prize for posting "firsts" about her state is Annie. Congratulations, Annie! Thanks for participating. I planted a milk jug with mixed seeds yesterday so I'll be keeping an eye on it. I didn't think I would be ordering any seeds this spring, but Park Seed had a special on shipping so I ordered a few. They came really fast and shipped in a box.

Someone did sign up to be hostess in February but I sent a reminder and haven't gotten a message back. We'll see if there is a February heading or not. I can't say for sure right now.

Annie, I mailed your prize from the January game. Thanks for playing. Sorry to be so slow. After the car accident I was staying in a lot both from being sore and from not particularly wanting to drive.

Jeanne, 

Received my wonderful prize..to darn cute!!

Thank you very much!