Cindy wanted me to repot one of her plants, you know a simple little job that only requires pulling a plant out of the old pot and chunking it into the bigger pot. Well first off you need a bigger pot, and no pulling or chunking is allowed.
We made a trip to the big box warehouse hardware store, and found a pot that actually matched two others that Cindy already had, and "While you are repotting that one, it will be good if you repot one more for me", so this means two pots that match the two others she already has, this was all that I needed to pick up, and of course to fill the pots I should pick up some dirt too.
Cindy wouldn't allow me to simply dig up some of the dirt from the pasture. You know right from that special spot where the horses add the necessary nutrients into the ground to make ideal growing conditions for plants, and also the ideal place for Dixie to roll and sometimes snack, and also where the chickens love to scratch. With all of this attention you know this dirt has to be good! Dirt with a little surprise in it.
But Noooo! Cindy's not going to have this, "I don't want my house smelling like horse sh*t!" so I had to pick up a couple bags of that magic dirt that continues to feed and grow your plants like a miracle, and of course since we are already here, she suggested that a new climbing arbor thingie would be good for the original plant that I was supposed to repot. Guess what they didn't have? Yes you guessed it, no climbing arbor thingies, that would work for Cindy's plant.
Since there were no climbing arbor thingies big enough for Cindy's plant I reached back into the creative recesses of my mind and drew up a plan. With a few tomato stakes, wire, and cutters, I then added in a little bit of "Southern Engineering" and Cindy got herself a new hand made climbing arbor thingie that she actually likes.
Anyways while I was cleaning up my mess I noticed something shiny in the bag of dirt.
Inside the bag of dirt I found an actual diamond, a real surprise in the dirt, a real life diamond...well it's real only if it's not fake, not fake in the sense that I imagined finding it, I suppose that I should have said, just in case it's not a genuine diamond, but this remains to be seen.
Yesterday the whole process started over again, Cindy found another plant that she wants repotted, so I headed back to the big box warehouse hardware store and bought yet another matching pot, and a bag of the diamond producing miracle dirt.
I had slipped the found diamond into my shirt pocket and stopped by our handy dandy jewelry store to get the jewelers opinion on my find.
First off I had to find the diamond in my pocket, I mean it's not like it was a huge diamond, and then I had to get my hand out of my pocket. I felt kind of like a monkey trying to pull a peanut out of a jar, I needed to open my hand to remove it but then I also wanted to complete the mission of having the valuable diamond appraised, even more so I wanted to get the diamond and my hand both out of my pocket.
Finally with my hand flat and the diamond between my index and middle finger I removed the diamond from my pocket, praying that it wouldn't go flying across the room. The jeweler had patiently waited for me to regain control of my hand, I think he was trying not to laugh as I dropped the diamond from between my fingers and into my palm.
He began his appraisal with "Well Jimmy what you have here is not a diamond!", "I wasn't sure so I figured you had better look at it." I said to him and added,"So what I have is a piece of plastic?", "No it's definitely not plastic, it's what you would call a rhinestone" he said, and for the final question that everyone is waiting to ask. "What's it worth?" Absolutely nothing he told me. I thanked him for his help and put the diamond back into my pocket...
As of now I have two plants doing well in the new pots that match the old pots we already had, a new climbing arbor thingie that didn't cost me anything more than time, a surprise in the dirt that is nice and shiny but not worth anything, a new pot and a bag of dirt to play in, and of course a blog post that takes up a few minutes of your time. I wonder if there will be any surprises in my new bag of dirt?
Have you ever found anything that you weren't expecting in an unusual place, or inside something you bought?
We made a trip to the big box warehouse hardware store, and found a pot that actually matched two others that Cindy already had, and "While you are repotting that one, it will be good if you repot one more for me", so this means two pots that match the two others she already has, this was all that I needed to pick up, and of course to fill the pots I should pick up some dirt too.
 |
| Mustang horse named Benji, one who adds some of the nutrients |
But Noooo! Cindy's not going to have this, "I don't want my house smelling like horse sh*t!" so I had to pick up a couple bags of that magic dirt that continues to feed and grow your plants like a miracle, and of course since we are already here, she suggested that a new climbing arbor thingie would be good for the original plant that I was supposed to repot. Guess what they didn't have? Yes you guessed it, no climbing arbor thingies, that would work for Cindy's plant.
Since there were no climbing arbor thingies big enough for Cindy's plant I reached back into the creative recesses of my mind and drew up a plan. With a few tomato stakes, wire, and cutters, I then added in a little bit of "Southern Engineering" and Cindy got herself a new hand made climbing arbor thingie that she actually likes.
 |
| Cindy's plant with the new handmade climbing arbor thingie. |
Inside the bag of dirt I found an actual diamond, a real surprise in the dirt, a real life diamond...well it's real only if it's not fake, not fake in the sense that I imagined finding it, I suppose that I should have said, just in case it's not a genuine diamond, but this remains to be seen.
Yesterday the whole process started over again, Cindy found another plant that she wants repotted, so I headed back to the big box warehouse hardware store and bought yet another matching pot, and a bag of the diamond producing miracle dirt.
I had slipped the found diamond into my shirt pocket and stopped by our handy dandy jewelry store to get the jewelers opinion on my find.
First off I had to find the diamond in my pocket, I mean it's not like it was a huge diamond, and then I had to get my hand out of my pocket. I felt kind of like a monkey trying to pull a peanut out of a jar, I needed to open my hand to remove it but then I also wanted to complete the mission of having the valuable diamond appraised, even more so I wanted to get the diamond and my hand both out of my pocket.
Finally with my hand flat and the diamond between my index and middle finger I removed the diamond from my pocket, praying that it wouldn't go flying across the room. The jeweler had patiently waited for me to regain control of my hand, I think he was trying not to laugh as I dropped the diamond from between my fingers and into my palm.
 |
| The Genuine diamond rhinestone that I found. |
As of now I have two plants doing well in the new pots that match the old pots we already had, a new climbing arbor thingie that didn't cost me anything more than time, a surprise in the dirt that is nice and shiny but not worth anything, a new pot and a bag of dirt to play in, and of course a blog post that takes up a few minutes of your time. I wonder if there will be any surprises in my new bag of dirt?
Have you ever found anything that you weren't expecting in an unusual place, or inside something you bought?
Well, that was an exciting discovery if only for a little while. And it actually could have turned out to be real. People lose diamonds out of their rings all the time.
ReplyDeleteThe plants look great. You did a great job on the trellis.
That was really fun finding something like this in a bag of garden soil, we figured it was nothing real but like you said it could have been. Thank you Jean I was happy with how the trellis turned out.
DeleteYears ago, my husband found an envelope with $500 cash in it at a hotel. He let the front desk know he had it, gave his number and whoever thought they lost $$$ they had to tell him in what denominations it was in. No one ever called or claimed the cash
ReplyDeleteThat was a very smart thing for you husband to have done, otherwise everyone but the true owner would have claimed it.
DeleteWell that was a fun find right until you got the appraisal. Oh well, you did a great job on the plant.
ReplyDeleteHave a fabulous day. ☺
Thank you Sandee, I even had fun going to get the appraisal. Have a great weekend my friend.
DeleteYou got a lot of mileage out of that bag of dirt Jimmie....I hope the next bag has the 'real deal' in it.
ReplyDeleteDelores, I like it when a bag of dirt works out this well, I'll be opening the new one tomorrow, maybe something good will be there if not at least my repotting chores will be done.
DeleteSee there? You wouldn't have found such an intriguing treasure in a bucket of horse dirt! What a great adventure. I think your hand made climbing arbor thingie looks great.
ReplyDeleteThe only things I've found have NOT been pleasant. A bone that I bit down on from canned chicken. A nut shell that I bit down on in a slice of storebought cheesecake. And a giant pair of olive green tighty-greenies under a mattress in the hotel room my friends and I stayed in on our senior trip to Daytona Beach.
Oh man a giant pair of tighty-greenies! That's kind of scary, you'd definitely need a pair of gloves for that...
DeleteWouldn't it have been lovely if that had been an actual diamond! But you did make a fine blog post from it :)
ReplyDeleteI really like the climbing arbor thingie and I think I like the name of it just as much as the actual item. Cindy's plants look great in their new pots, too. Job well done, you two!
The only thing I can think of that I found in an unexpected place was a small silver stud earring I lost in the bathroom a week ago. I checked under and behind everything on the counter top and the floor, through some towels that had been in the bathroom at the time, and finally through the trash can, which was sort of comparable to using pasture dirt in a houseplant. A few days later I picked up my fingernail clippers to use them and there was the earring, wedged into the clippers. I bet I was happier than you were after you took the genuine diamond rhinestone to get appraised :) lol
Thank you Jenny, Cindy's plants are doing really good, so good I need to get another table for her.
DeleteI bet you were happy finding your earring stuck in the fingernail clippers, it would have had to fall just right to end up there, lucky that it did.
Well, that's crazy! But exciting! I like your handmade trellis.
ReplyDeleteThank you Bijoux, I like making useful items like that.
DeleteHave I ever..? yes, but not nearly as exciting as a rhinestone. Usually it's hair in baked goods which is why I so often prefer to make my own.
ReplyDeleteI like your climbing arbor thingy, a trellis as Bijoux says, that's a very resourceful way to use found around the house objects. I have a whole bunch of wire trellises in my shed, most only about 8 inches tall, a few about 18 inches and one almost four feet. None of them look strong enough to support anything sturdy though. Cindy's philodendron is doing well climbing up and around.
River, I wouldn't want a hair in any of the food I buy either, at least when you bake your own you eliminate strange finds like that. Your wire trellis assortment will come in handy for something when you least expect it.
DeletePlaying with dirt..I don't recall the last time I did that. There still about 6 inches of snow in my yard.
ReplyDeleteCoffee is on
Dora, your snow definitely puts a damper on working out in the yard, but it won't be long before Springtime will be here.
DeleteToo bad it wasn't a diamond
ReplyDeleteAdam, that would have been really something if that was really a diamond.
DeleteLooks like a diamond to me. I would have been very excited. Once I found a real diamond ring in a purse bought in an auction box at an estate sale.
ReplyDeleteThat diamond ring in the purse was an exciting find, very nice!
DeleteNice job on the trellis, it looks great!
ReplyDeleteI've never found anything other than dirt in the bag of potting soil ~ but then I wasn't looking for anything else either!
Thank you so much.
DeleteThis was a first for me, like you all I ever found before was dirt.
I gave up on indoor plants a long time ago. Either I killed them with kindess/stupidity (i.e., too much water), or damned little bugs found them and I didn't want to go the pesticide route indoors.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it funny how quickly that you can kill a plant by over watering them but then you can place a cutting in a glass of water and it'll grow roots.
DeleteSmart not to use the horse poop. I did that once in my garden and found poop contains a bunch of fertile weed or oat seeds. That "diamond" was a delightful find and for a while anyway, you had enjoyed a happy bonanza. Well done with the trellis.
ReplyDeletePatti, I also made the mistake of covering grass seed in the yard with it, oh Lordy did I have weeds growing faster than grass ha ha.
DeleteThe diamond was pretty exciting for a bit but the trellis turned out better than it did. Thank you my friend.
Damn shame it wasn't a diamond!
ReplyDeleteWhat you call a bag of dirt we Brits call compost, and it costs an arm and a leg!
The only surprise thing I've ever found is a hair in a piece of cake. Not nice.
It would have really been something if it were a real diamond.
DeleteA strand of hair in your cake is one thing if it is your own but an unknown hair sure makes you not want to finish eating it.
I was digging in the yard dirt a couple years ago and found an old old Cherrywine bottle. Thats about it. After I pulled it out of the dirt, the label faded withing 2 hours. I thought it was the coolest thing ever. But I bet some cowgirl is out there looking for her rhinestone she lost wile bagging that dirt. You did a great job on that thingy you made.
ReplyDeleteLisa
Lisa I sure do like Cheerwine but they don't sell it here. Did you hold onto that old bottle? I bet that was an exciting find.
DeleteYep there is a Cowgirl somewhere one rhinestone short ha ha.
I once, at a New. Year’s Eve oyster roost, found a black pearl. I don’t know what happened to iit. For a while I thought I might have jewelry made out of it for the woman I was wiht that night, but that relationship didn’t go anywhere...
ReplyDeleteThat black pearl would have made a nice piece of jewelry, too bad that it came up missing.
DeleteIf you dig over the spot where the horse and chickens deposit the nutrients, then fence it off, by next year it will be perfect for planting in and won't smell anything like manure.
ReplyDeleteThank you River, it works really well in my garden area.
DeleteIsn't it great to start all these neat projects and find unexpected treats? Even if it doesn't work out quite how expected, it's a great adventure, and those plants look pretty cool! Hugs...RO
ReplyDeleteI like pleasant surprises like this, even though there is no monetary value, it is still a treat.
DeleteThank you RO, I have one more to go and then my repotting will be done...for now.
But the excitement of almost finding a diamond made it worth it! I think you and my husband would get on well. Both have to cope with wives who have 'good ideas'.
ReplyDeleteWe once bought a roll of carpet and found notes inside it. Money notes that is not 'Help, I am being held captive in a carpet shop' notes.
Yes Liz almost finding a real diamond was worth it for sure, not as good as finding money in a roll of carpet but still worth it.
DeleteI've a new website: Comedy Plus
ReplyDeleteHave a great day. ☺
Thanks Sandee, I'll check it out.
DeleteI lie your creativity with the trellis!
ReplyDeletelike, der ...
DeleteThank you Sharon, I appreciate it.
Deletereminded me my mom who used to gather the natural fertilizes brought them in house buried them for few months and when she dug they were just mixed with soil without any kind of smell
ReplyDeletein cities we too use artificial fertilizers for plants
hubby often changes soil in pots and fresh soil with fertilizer goes into the pot with new plants he just did this it month ago but he did not find any diamond like jewel
The way your mom buried the soil mixing it with natural fertilizers sounds like a very smart way to make your own potting soil, very creative.
DeleteThis was the first time that I have found anything in potting soil, and most likely the last. Ha ha
What an exciting find! Well, exciting for a little while. The most exciting thing I ever found was $20 in my winter coat, but it was MY winter coat, and MY $20.
ReplyDeleteLol but finding the $20 was good even though it was in your coat and your $20, it was about 20 bucks more valuable than my find.
Delete