Winter flowers

There are things I need to do on this computer that I have done before and I can't remember how to do them. It's driving me crazy and put me in a very bad mood. I don't know if the computer is the problem or me! Grrr. Every year I make and send out Christmas/New Years cards with family pictures. I do it only once a year of course so in the course of the year I have forgotten how! My computer is so old I'm afraid to download software that would make the whole process easier so I aggravate myself to distraction trying to understand Microsoft Word (and in the Japanese language, so you can multiply those frustrations ten-fold!) I was also trying to "chat" with Takumi but this computer for some reason no longer does chat so I can't get to him either.

My computer and I have a love/hate relationship. I caress the keys daily while blogging, looking for Internet information and e-mailing but sometimes I'd like to dump my coffee cup contents over its head (if I could find it.)

So, what do I have to report on today?

I went to the local nursery and bought some flowers to hopefully make our front yard a little more colorful during the winter months. Every year I think I ought to give up on flowers. I'm such a terrible gardener. I feel sorry for the poor plants that come to my home. I sort of dig a hole, stick them in and when they've wilted give them water. In the winter I'm afraid to even do that since I know that water will turn to ice. For yesterday's flowers I most stayed with habotan which I know is hardy enough to last most of the winter. Do you have these in other countries? I've never seen them in California. In the dictionary it says they are a type of kale! Wow! I wonder if you could eat them?

When I first came to Japan there seemed to be only one type that was big and looked very much like an over grown cabbage. I did not think everyone's houses looked so attractive with cabbages sitting around their yard but now that I'm a homeowner I realize it is about the only thing that will live through the winter. And nowadays there are so many types you can pick and choose. I chose ones that were smaller and a bit more floral.

All the other plants that I've been helping along throughout the summer months I have moved indoors, and now they only have to survive being ravaged by the cats!