Blue Passion!

I just wanted to share a few pics of my Blue Passion flower...





To me, it looks more purple than blue! I just love this flower and it smells good too!

That Baby!

My Jon and I lovingly refer to our 18 month old niece as "That Baby!" We finally got to see her again this past weekend, it had been a month since her last visit. She is such a delightful little girl, she has so much personality. She definitely keeps us laughing and on the go! I thought I would share a few photos of her doing what she does best...

This is her wearing Uncle Jon's flip flops


Here she sneeks a drink of my sweet tea


She helps me pick tomatoes


And here she INSISTS that the tomatoes should be in the pool with her!



Lastly, she loves her swing!

We Beat It!

Ok so I have this Hibiscus, double, triple, quadruple, I still haven't figured that part out yet. But the flowers are just beautiful. Anyway, the bush, shrub or tree, haven't figured that part out yet either, is about 8' tall. Well, during early spring I noticed that something was munching down on the leaves and it didn't have any blooms on it yet (last year it had lots of blooms by this time). I had read something about lace worm or lace leaf, I can't remember exactly, but it said to disolve knotts gelatin in some water and pour around the base of the tree. I didn't have any gelatin so I just crossed my fingers in the hopes that whatever was snacking on it would just go away. I also read that epsom salt is a very good fertilizer so I tried it. I'm not sure if it was just a coincidence or what but that dang Hibiscus is going crazy! No more lacey looking leaves. Blooms and buds everywhere! Check it out...

I Did It!

I made bread for the very first time! And it was soooooooo good. While it was baking, it made the whole house smell heavenly. And then when I cut off that first end slice, and spread some real butter on there, Oh My Gosh! I ate 4 slices right then! I could eat this several times a day. I can't hardly imagine how good it's going to be after more experience. Well, I hope the whole process gets quicker. That's my only complaint is that it takes like 3 hours! I'll definitely be getting a Kitchen Aid mixer for the kneeding part. 10 minutes doesn't seem like a long time but 10 minutes of kneeding seems like forever! As for the rising, the dough has to rise for an hour, TWICE. Then it has to bake for like 45 minutes. The anticipation was about to kill me! BUT the end result was totally worth it! Ok so here are some pics. Tina, you really missed out.

After Kneeding


After 1st Rise



After 2nd Rise


Done!


Wanna a slice?

I'd like to thank Rhonda from Down To Earth, I hope someday my bread will be as beautiful as hers!

Happy Friday!

I love Friday because it means tomorrow is Saturday, my favorite day! I have beach plans for tomorrow, gotta get back in the salt water. Hunny mowed the front yard for me yesterday so I'll probably mow The Garden and back yard later tomorrow evening.



Sunday is supposed to be stormy so I plan to catch up on some much needed house work during the morning. I want to bake my first pan of bread and do some other cooking. Later in the afternoon I will curl up in my Lazy Boy and watch The Other Boleyn Girl and Fools Gold while I enjoy some popcorn and pickled green tomatoes! Hey Tina, wanna come over?

This is Misty, the squirrel eating dog. I know, gross.

$4.11

That's how much my gas is today. I Filled up on Monday and it was $4.o5. Depressing. But what's cool is that I've noticed that since I started to be a little more aware of how much gas I use, my usage has gone down. Imagine that! I drive about 30 miles a day going to and from work and so far this week, I've only used a quarter of a tank. Gosh, at that rate if I only drive to work and back everyday then I shouldn't have to fill up again for 3 more weeks!

So I took some new pics. yesterday, take a gander...

The new Hostas, Caladiums and Big Silly Turtle





These Okras aren't doing squat!



Neither is the Spinach!



Aloe Blossoms


Cucumbers are doing pretty good!

Salmonella Tomatoes

I don't know about yall but I'm REALLY glad I know how to grow my own tomatoes! I bet I get a few poeple coming to me asking for some. :0)

Walking Iris

This is my Walking Iris (Neomarica gracilis) or Apostle Plant. It bloomed in April. I love this plant, the flower is gorgeous and smells heavenly. It took me a long time to identify the plant. The plant started as one mother plant, last year it developed 2 flowers, which became plants themselves. This spring those 2 flowers developed 2 flowers each plus the mother plant developed 2 more flowers, so all together, I now have 9 plants! I plan to have these plants everywhere! Tomorrow I will add a photo of all the new baby plants.

Weekend Reflections

Saturday we worked. Hunny finally got the garage back in order, I got the atrium/storage room in order. I also planted some dwarf pampas grass, some hostas, some caladiums and some angelonias. I really wish I had planted lilly bulbs last fall. Oh well, this fall will be here before we know it, I'll have another opportunity then.


Sunday, we spent the day at the beach. The weather and water was absolutely perfect. There were lots of surfers but not many surfable waves. My skin loves the salt water!

Hunny on Bikini Patrol


Perfect Conditions


On Duty



On a not-so-happy note...
We miss our niece terribly, it's been a month since we last saw her. We hope to have her this coming weekend.

Finally Friday!

Well I got The Garden mowed last night, it took me all of about 15 minutes to complete! I keep adding beds and walkways which happens to eliminate grass, which means less to mow. My sweet husband fashioned me an arch over the backyard gate so that the grape vines can grow over and look pretty. I brought a few more things around from the front. Tomorrow I'll be putting in the fountain grass and moving a plumb tree in preparation for my 2 hens that I'm getting soon! I also want to start on the shaded areas as well, that means I have to get some hostas and othe shade loving foliage.

I plan to make a few flower boxes and I think I'm going to put begonias in them. The flower fairy gifted me with a free begonia yesterday while I was at work. I was sitting out in the gazeebo looking at all the begonias around the oak tree and I happened to notice one laying on it's side, still in the pot. Obviously the landscapers forgot to plant it. So, I rescued it! It's really ironic because until a few days ago, I have never been attracted to begonias, I always thought they were kind of ugly. But I noticed how full they were getting in their beds since they had been planted a few weeks ago, that's when I started to think they were kind of pretty.

Hubby will work on cleaning up the garage, it's in a horrible state of disgrace right now.

This is my other brother Darrell. I think he's been having too much fun!

A Tribute To My Hunny

WARNING! If you don't like a bunch of mushy stuff, you may want to skip reading this post.

At this very moment I am inspired to brag on my sweet, sweet husband.
My Jon is the best husband in the world! He's perfect for me. He's big and strong, very good looking, very handy, very effectionate and very passionate. He's never said an ugly word to me, he's never made me feel inadequate. He's playful. He wakes me up every morning with kisses and coffee. He's a fantastic cook and a decent housekeeper. He laughs a lot. It's rare for him to be angry or grumpy. He's very manly. He has given me everything I have ever asked for. He's sensitive. He's smart. He's caring. He loves me completely.

I'm so glad he's mine!

Happy Hump Day!

Today marks the downside of the week and that alone makes it a happy hump day! Someone picked me as a fav on Blotanical! Thanks Wickedgardener!

Unfortunately The Garden looks like crap right now. The stroms have made an ugly mess, scattering limbs and sticks all over the place. I resolved not to mow the grass for 2 whole weeks as I'm giving the grass roots an opportunity to grow deeper. Luckily, tomorrow marks the end of the 2 week period. It has almost killed me to not mow. So today when I get home, I will clean everything up in preparation for one of my favorive gardening tasks, mowing!

I think I have finally decided where to plant the Allamanda Bush. I was so confused as to where to put it b/c the tag says it's a bush but the planting instructions describe it as a climbing vine. It doesn't look like a vine at all, it looks just like a bush! So after further research, I learn that it is indeed a bush and does not require a trellis. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna plant it right smack dab in the middle of the front yard. It will look very nice there and get plenty of sun.




I've decided where to start with a semi shade area that is in desperate need of plants. I'm gonna put fountain grass in the back. That's as far as I've gotten. Maybe knock-out roses in front of that and then maybe various lantanas. I can't wait to get started!
Uh-oh. I resolved to not buy anymore plants, didn't I? What if I got them at a really good deal? I don't have any of these items that I can propagate from. Well, I do have some lantanas but I just planted them, can you even propagate from lantana? This may not turn out well...stay tuned.

Oh, I forgot to mention something. I think my corn plants are in for. They grew fast, got about 4 feet tall and then started tasseling out. They haven't gotten any bigger in weeks and the tassels are turning brown, doesn't that generally mean that the corn is ready to be harvested? The corns are small, I don't think they should be ready yet. My B-I-L told me that I should have side dressed them with nitrogen a while back. Lesson learned. I guess I'll go ahead and see if anything is worth keeping and pull it all up. Wonder what I should plant in it's place???

Crazy Storms!

We've had some crazy storms the last couple of days. Now I have sticks, leaves and limbs all over the place. I'm not going to clean the mess up yet cus we'll probably get some more tonight.
Oh, and I changed my mind aobut posting the pics. of the completed projects. I want to wait until I paint the trim around the front door.
Welp! Gotta go now, I have an ortho appointment!
later!

Project Filled Weekend!

What a weekend! We got 3 whole projects completed, can you believe it? Remember how I said I was getting a gate and a walkway in The Garden? Well, both of those, done! Here are some in the process pics. I'll post completed pics tomorrow (I forgot to take them!).

Project Garden Gate - This provides entry into the back yard from The Garden.



Project Walkway





Guess what else I got? A new front door! Yea! Finally! Here's an in the process pic of that job...


I gotta say, Hubby has really worked hard on all these things he has done for me lately! The reward system seems to be working pretty well! ;0)

Ok so I made my way around the yards and snapped some shots of what's growing right now...

Green Bean!


Baby Cukes!


Creamy Rose


Fox Glove


Pretty Petunia


And I did get around to making my tomato sauce, Doesn't it look delicious!


Lastly, I had a surprise visit from my baby brother on Friday evening, It was so good to see him!