MAPLE HELICOPTERS

As I swept the steps and porch at church this evening,they were covered with these.Maple Seed Helicopters, as I looked at these ,I said a prayer,thanking our creator for is ingenious ,magical,creations.
These helicopters are perfect examples of His creative wisdom. If you have a maple tree in your yard you know how huge the shade is under the limbs. God knew if the seeds just dropped straight down,there wouldn't be enough sunshine to produce more trees.
Thus the helicopter design to carry the seeds far away from the parent tree. Click on the photo and take a close look at the ridged shaped wing, especially made for the utmost lift and distance. They cling to the tree until they are dry and brittle enough to spin in the breeze to a new location and then break apart exposing the seed to water and soil.
I'll never understand how anyone can look at things like this and not think we have a masterful Creator.
When I got up this morning I was looking forward to a relaxing day with g-son. With the ringing of the telephone that changed shortly after I had the few cakes I had on my list to bake in the ovens. First a 1 caramel cake order, then a 10 caramel cake order,oh my!
After I picked g-son up from pre-school we headed to Walmart to get supplies to make 12 caramel cakes.
I baked cakes right through lunchtime and into the early afternoon,so much for the relaxation.
G-son took a nap while I moved all my potted plants back outside,maybe this will be the last time for that. I wanted to plant some more of the herbs and plants I bought Monday but forgot to get more potting soil.
After D-in-love picked up g-son,hubbie and I headed to church, then it was home to ice caramel cakes and wrap and label all my cakes.

I was surprised today to see these Iris's blooming already. All my azaleas haven't even bloomed yet and maybe I've never noticed before but I think these are a little early. But I've noticed a lot of things seem to be a bit out of sync this spring.
Gorgeous day today upper 70's ,sunny with a light breeze,doesn't get any better! Wish I could have spent more time outside.
That's one of the downsides to my business,there is no set schedule,but then again that is one of the upsides.
I got the orders filled and it is only 11:30.
Maybe some rain moving back in tomorrow,we need it already again. As April comes to a close I fell a little short of my goals for this month,but did get my back yard put back together after our construction. Didn't get any Dr's appointments made as I usually do in April and didn't get anything done in the front yard. No vacation weeks in May this year means it should be easy to add these to May's list,which I will publish tomorrow.
Thankful to God tonight for all His wonderful creative designs and for letting me see proof of His glory.Also praying for all the wildlife and people on the gulf coast where all that oil is coming ashore,looks like only God is going to be able to help them.
Good Night and God Bless.

NEW VISITORS

Market was slow again today, I made 2 towel angels and crocheted tops on 3 towels while I waited for customers. But I noticed we aren't the only business that is slow. There just isn't many people out shopping anywhere. As I ran errands after market, I didn't have to stand in line anywhere,most check-out clerks were waiting to check you out instead of you waiting to get checked out.
I made some Avon deliveries and also stopped at Staples to check out lap top computers they have on sale. Met a very informative,nice clerk who answered all my questions.Now I just have to decide which one I want.
Spotted my first Hummingbird in the azalea blooms today,I'll have to put out the feeders tomorrow. I couldn't get a picture before it moved on but I did catch these new visitors.This Grackle was one of several that I spotted ground feeding.Those irredescent feathers are sure pretty when the sun hits them but there's something sort of erie about their yellow eyes. I noticed that they are one of the few birds that stood up to the big Blue Jay when he came swooping in.The Grackles are large birds and this one actually jumped at the Jay before deciding to just ignore him.These large Crows have been sneaking in from time to time but have been hard to photograph because they are very jumpy and are gone at the slightest movement. This one seems to be checking me out before deciding to take off. When I was younger I always hunted for crow's nest ,I had the idea that if I could find a baby crow I could raise it as a pet. Nature had a way of keeping that from happening.

When Hubbie and I came back from working at church tonight I couldn't help but notice the moon. It was in a different place and looked so close and clear.Very thankful tonight for the love of my Lord and this beautiful earth He made for us.
Good Night and God Bless.

YARD FULL OF SPRING PLANTS

Up early to bake cakes before picking up g-son. Did Yoga while the last oven full baked hoping it would give me some energy,but no luck today.
After picking him up,I discovered he didn't feel good either and was very ill tempered,that makes 2 of us today!
After some trial and error choices for lunch,he finally ate a piece of french toast,some snitched cupcakes from Aunt T's baking and I had a salad.
This is a beautiful day,bright sunshine but a little cool, we didn't get any freezing temps or frost last night thankfully,but tonight is suppose to be even colder. I'll cross my fingers and toes again. I left my pots inside and I'll just have to put my covers back on this evening.
This is another favorite azalea,it is the only double azalea I have.
Last winter the snow that slid off the roof hit this row of azaleas and damaged them,I was sure hoping this one would be okay and as you can see it mostly is.
More bloomers in my yard are this old fashion snowball bush,it's about 10 feet tall and is surrounded by baby bushes. I bought this several years ago from a neighbor at the curb market when it was the size of the babies that now are around it.
This Japanese Maple is not a bloomer but is an eye catching beauty with its red leaves.
These Hosta's are not showy bloomers either,but they are one of my favorite plants. In this Hosta bed there are 2 giant leaf Hostas and 3 variegated leaf ones. The curly variegated leaf is one of my favorites. I have a lot of hostas around as anyone will have because once you get them established,you have to divide them to keep them healthy.These are perfect plants for me as they love shade and I have plenty of shade around my house.

And of course we can't forget the veggies. We have tendergreens ready to pick and eat,the cabbage and onions are coming along,but the leaf lettuce is a bit slow coming up.
The fence has served its purpose well as not one rabbit bite has been taken out of anything. Something happened to the broccoli plants I sat out,I only have a couple left,might have been bad plants since nothing happened to any of the cabbage plants.

Here is daughters Lilys that she bought several weeks ago.
They are so pretty,I have them snuggly wrapped in a blanket tonight. She made this bed for them and hubbie has built her a larger raised bed for herbs and a few veggies ,he is finishing it up tonight so it will be ready for what she gets at the Herb Festival on Saturday.

I did paperwork and payed bills tonight before icing caramel and chocolate cakes. I made extra icing of both so daughter could ice some of her cupcakes with my icings.That way customers can get a cheap sample of my cakes. I have only 1 order for tomorrow but it is for 5 cakes. While g-son slept this afternoon I made 3 towel aprons,fixed some oven mitts with spoons and flowers and finished a Raggedy Ann doll and a baby quilt and pillow that have been laying around for quite awhile.
The towel aprons are made from bath towels cut in half with a waistband,ties and a pocket added. The baby quilt is 2 blocks bigger than the picture shows,it measures 45" X 36" .
The oven mitts make nice cheap ($3) gifts for pet sitters,etc. Craft sales seem to be picking up right now which is really strange,but then I've never been able to figure out buying patterns even with detail records from year to year it always changes no matter what I sell.
Daughter just finished her cupcakes and went to bed. It's 11:00,I'm watching the local news and them I'm outta here also. Hubbie just built a fire in the wood stove downstairs,
this cold weather just won't give up!!!
Praying for God's blessings on my family tomorrow and forever.
Good Night and God Bless.

TRIP DOWN THE MATERNAL MEMORY LANE

So glad I have a very computer literate daughter,who fixed the scanning/download problem from last night. For some reason my scanner is putting photos in TIF format and she showed me how to manually change them into JPEG, thank you honey!!!
So to continue with my trip down memory lane here we go.
This is my grandmother on my mothers side,Vinnie Laughter Ruff. She was born April 24,1893,that's a good day huh Amy, She had my mom,Goldie Jane, who was the oldest daughter on August 8,1914 at 21 years old. Then came my aunts,May 9,1918-Gertie Mae, October 19,1921-Carrie Lee,
August 31,1924- Hattie, September 10,1928-Mary.
Then tragedy struck a baby boy was born June 25,1931 and died,don't know any details,whether he was born dead or died after birth. He was not named so that leads me to believe the death was early. And to deepen the mystery Vinnie died a little over 3 months later on October 8,1931. I have no info on how she died either. She must have been about 40 years old at time of death.

This is my grandfather on mom's side in his WWI uniform.
Jessie Garrison Ruff, always known as J.G., was born February 28,1891. He was a native of Polk county NC,the son of Jessie and Sarah Bailey. He was a woodworker by trade and it sure didn't take him long to find another wife to help with his 5 daughters ,Exactly 3 months to the day on January 8,1932 he married Stella Rhodes. I have no information if they had children. He was married a 3rd time at some point later he married Ora Burgess. In his obituary there is a step-daughter listed,but under her married name so I don't know who's she was. J.G. died June 7,1954 at the age of 63, unexpectedly at his home.I was born July 31,1954 ,but I was not his first grandchild. It is an interesting thing to start trying to piece together the puzzling life of ancestors. Listed in the Obituary was only 1 brother Larkin Ruff of Gerton,NC. But evidently back then they didn't put the names of the preceded in death,so I don't know if this is his only sibling.This is the picture hubbie joking said look like it was out of the Deliverance movie. This is my great uncle Larkin Ruff's family in all their glory. I am assuming he and his wife are the older people in the middle,but am not sure.
I ran across so many pictures that I wish had names on the back. Funny thing a lot of them have the date but no names.
Even though my mom was the oldest,she out lived all but 1 of her sisters. Hattie died of a stroke at age 35, not sure of the date or cause of Gertie Mae's death, the youngest Mary died in her early 40's with a heart attack. Mary, was my cousin's,who is looking for his
dad,mother,he was only 15 at the time of her death and he came to live with us. My dad enclosed a back porch and made him a bedroom. He was like another brother for several years,until we all grew up and moved out. Carrie out lived my mother by several years,she lived in Michigan all her married life and after her and my mom's death,Carrie's husband who's name was Bob Warner, became closer to me than they had been while they were married. He never remarried and he died last winter. They had 4 kids and they all still live in Michigan.

Okay back to the present!!! Had to make a couple of Avon deliveries this morning before housework and laundry started. Finished 4 loads of laundry and was just finishing up mopping kitchen floor when daughter and hubbie got home. I am pooped!
It is c-c-cold outside and they are putting out freeze warnings for the counties just north of us so I'm not taking chances. I carried my pots inside again and covered things up outside. I have my fingers and toes crossed that we don't get freezing temps because my plum trees that I have never had fruit from are absolutely loaded with plums. The temperature here is only supposed to get to 36 and it's 46 at 10:30 so your guess is as good as mine. I know it sure felt colder this evening with the wind blowing but now the wind has stopped and the clouds that brought a few showers during the day today are clearing out opening the door for low temperatures and frost.This is a picture of the wild blackberry and blueberry vines and bushes at Graveyard Fields. Daughter always goes berry picking there when they ripen. They are so good and we freeze them and make jam from them.

I'm so pooped tonight I'm waiting until morning to do my baking so daughter could bake some tonight. I don't have a lot to bake,business at market has been so slow and I don't want a bunch of leftovers to have to try to sell elsewhere. I also have a couple aprons cut out I needed to sew up, maybe tomorrow on those too. I had extra work today due to g-son being here last Tuesday and it amazes me how much more work it creates when I skip a week cleaning. I think my house is invaded with all these little munchkins that love to put dust and dirt all over everything,I know I don't bring all that dirt in here!
Thanking God for the strength He gives me everyday.
Good Night and God Bless.

NEW WEEDEATER WORKS FOR 5 MINUTES

Today started out to be a really nice but cool day. G-son arrived before 7 this morning as both mom and dad had early schedules today. Pawpaw took him to preschool while I delivered Avon all morning.
After lunch here we all went to Lowe's to pick up the things for the old house and took the clean curtains back and hung them up.
We stopped by Home Depot on the way home for some mulch for my front yard beds.
G-son went fast to sleep on the way home.
I bought an electric weed eater in Lowe's,so while he slept and hubbie mowed grass,I was trying out the weed eater. For the first 2 minutes it worked great,then it started making a rattling noise.I stopped hubbie to look at it to see if I had it together correctly. He said it was continually feeding line out and making the noise. I looked for trouble shooting guides in the manual but there weren't any. I decided to go ahead and finish the front trimming,then take it back and exchange it tomorrow,but the darn thing quit working shortly after I started it again. That means another trip to Lowe's tomorrow,grrrrr!!I have not seen any Robins at my feeders,but have seen them in the garden ,so they are here. Robin eggs are so pretty,it amazes me how and why God choose certain colors for certain things. We have a brown bird with a red breast who lays blue/green eggs, have you ever wondered about why things are as they are???
Cousin Mike came visiting tonight ,haven't seen him in about a month. Took a trip back down memory lane with him. He was born to my mothers youngest sister who was never married and he has never known who his father was. He is 50+ years old now and he is just now looking for him. I think it is too late now. We scoured through all the old family pics tonight and he took several pics of his mother in the company of men we didn't know.
Some of the pics of our great uncles family looked like they were straight out of the Deliverance movie according to hubbie.
Well I was going to put the pictures on here but they won't upload for some reason and it is getting late so I'll work on it and try again maybe tomorrow.
God is good all the time.
Good Night and God Bless.

NEW FISHES

Wow!,got woke up several times last night by pouring rain pounding on the roof and the gulleys in the driveway are signs of how hard it rained. My new rain gauge only goes to 2" and it was running over this morning. I'll have to get a gauge that has more space than that one.
Had a very nice church service today,still working through the book of Romans.
Had salad,beef stew and corn bread for lunch,everyone made it today. After we ate the kids all helped set up #1 son's pop-up camper to make photos so they can list it for sale. They need a bigger one with air conditioning.

We have some new members of our pet menagerie (can fish really be pets?) anyway they do come swimming toward me when it is feeding time as though they recognize me.These are the fantail trio ,Calli the calico fantail, Goldie the gold fantail, and Blackie the Black Moor,original names,huh!! These 3 are very active as if they are so thankful to be in their own tank.This is Blueboy the Beta,I rescued (bought) him from a tiny cup with a plastic snap on lid that had 1 small slit in it. He is so pretty with his large tail that waves when he swims.This is Splash, he sometimes will hit the top of the water almost like he is trying to jump right out of his bowl. But his bowl has a lid on it so he will be safe whether he likes it or not.

Hubbie,bro and sis in law and I cleaned up the old house this afternoon. We got started about 3:00 and finished about 7:00 tonight. 4 people,4 hours, but it sure looks different than when we started. I brought curtains home to wash and a list of small things to buy tomorrow to pretty much finish the job.
Daughter worked on cleaning the place where she is going to put her large raised bed today while we were gone. The herb festival she always goes to is on Saturday,they have really good healthy plants.
I washed and dried the curtains and am getting ready for an early bedtime tonight. The last 2 nights have not been good for sleeping,maybe tonight will be!After all that rain yesterday the French Broad River was very high and muddy today.
Our creek wound up about 2 feet below flooding,whew! we were glad because we didn't put the cattle up in the upper pasture last night.
Thanking God for all His mercies and understanding tonight.
Good Night and God Bless.

D-IN-LOVE'S #28

Got an early,like 6 am, wake-up call, a dog with a very forlorn sounding continuous yelp. Hubbie looks at me and says ,you better go see if one of your dogs is caught in something in their lot. I got up and opened the back door to still dusky dark ,but I could see both Annie and Sadie and they were fine. The sound was coming from somewhere out through the pasture.I looked on the front porch for old man Willie and he wasn't there.
I got back in bed and told hubbie I couldn't tell where it was coming from exactly,but Willie wasn't on the porch in his regular spot. It was his turn to get up and he found Willie out in the middle of the pasture, down in his hind legs,not able to walk. He carried him back to the front porch and put him to bed. We can't figure why he went out into the pasture or how he even got through the fence. He is better tonight after some canine aspirin, I think the dampness made his arthritis flare up.
Another slow day at market, daughter's little sister showed up while her mother was furniture shopping. We found out after their recent move into a new apartment they do not have any furniture. Kate has been sleeping on a stack of blankets on the floor and her mother on a wicker couch. I had the mattress that I had recently taken off g-son's bed and daughter made a call to the church yard sale to see if they had any furniture left. They had a double bed,a desk and chair and small book shelf they would gladly donate.
I stopped at Aldi and Walmart on my way home ,it started pouring rain during these stops. It has been dreary all day and I was hoping to get home ahead of the hard rain,but didn't make it.
Hubbie was installing the new dishwasher when I got home.
I sat all my potted plants out in the rain to get a drink of good rainwater.
Daughter is pet sitting this weekend,and had to go take a test for her part time job today.
The church dropped the left over furniture off on #2 son's porch.
When daughter and Kate got here we loaded up everything in the van and daughter's jeep,stopped by the in-laws old house to pick up a twin bed frame and a couple more shelves and headed on over to their new apartment to unload.
I was surprised to see only a couple pieces of furniture in the whole place,all their belongings still in boxes,because they didn't have anywhere to put it to unpack.
The mother had spent the afternoon going from thrift shop to thrift shop to get some furniture and didn't find any help at all,excuse me but I thought that was part of these places purpose,I guess I was wrong.
As we were finishing up I got a call from d-in-love,they were going to El Paso for supper and wanted us to join them. I've never eaten there so it'll be a new treat.
The food was really good and the prices were great,g-son behaved and all was well!!
We got home with just enough daylight to do our chores.The rain has continued all evening,there is almost an inch in my new rain gauge tonight with more on the way.
HAPPY,HAPPY,HAPPY,HAPPY BIRTHDAY D-IN-LOVE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank God for all His wonderful blessings.
Good Night and God Bless.

THE PRESIDENT PAYS A VISIT

This morning was beautiful,sunny and warm with a clear sky so far.

The rain so far according to the weatherman has slowed a bit but is still on it's way,I hope so. This is my most favorite azalea,it is planted at the corner of the front porch and as you can see has grown almost to the roof. When it is in full bloom it looks like a giant purple cloud. The blooms are the bigger ones with a blush on the inside,very pretty.

There is a small white azalea growing right beside it,with the same type of bloom.I'm trying to pet this one a little and get it to begin to do as good as the purple one. My tractor tire bed of spearmint made it through the cold winter and is really showing itself this spring,and smells absolutely yummy! Speaking of yummy I baked cakes all morning and finished just in time for lunch.

After a BLT for lunch I spent the entire afternoon outside planting the herbs I bought last week and planting my new blackberry bed. I ordered 12 Triple Crown plants from a nursery in Georgia and finally got them Wednesday. I wanted to get them in the ground before the rain. I tasted these berries last summer from a friend and they were so sweet and good. The ones I have now are nice big berries,but are sour to taste,they make nice blackberry jam and bread though. These new ones won't bare this year, but should next season if all goes well.
This is a pic of the new dog lot roof that hubbie designed and we put up yesterday. It looks so much better than the tarp that covered them all fall and winter. Sadie and Annie have a house of their own inside the lot.They are always put up at night and they seem not to mind at all. At least I know where my dogs are when things go bump in the night!!
Hubbie and I went over to the elementary school where daughter works for a fundraiser hotdog supper tonight.The PTO got all the food donated and got all kinds of things donated to fill gift baskets that they sold tickets on for $1. I like this way of raising money,it is much better than selling all that overpriced crap my kids used to have to sell when they were in school.The food was good and we saw a lot of neighbors there.
After we ate we went to finish cleaning church,hubbie doesn't feel well,he thinks he probably has what g-son had,maybe his will be all better in the morning!!!
Back at home I iced cakes early and did 2 dishwasher loads so we can unhook the old dishwasher and have it ready for pick-up when they bring the new one tomorrow.
Well watching the news tonight I was reminded that the President is in the next town. I guess this is a historic event,but to stand out in this heat all day with your babies hoping to just get a glimpse of the man, no, you won't find me there,you wouldn't find me there even if it was a president I liked!
Here is some pics I got off the local TV website,this is as close as I need to be,uhumm!!The Mrs. does not look happy to be here!!!!Sure glad I wasn't on the interstate trying to get past Asheville today,they closed it down for the motorcade.My favorite picture!
I have a dishwasher sitting out in my back yard tonight,does that mean I'm a redneck??!!
I'm so glad that God is in charge!!!
Good Night and God Bless.

NEW FISH, SUNNING TURTLES

Market day went slowly again today. I picked up my Avon order on the way there and bagged my orders, read the newspaper and sorted my coupons,does that say what kind of day it was!
Although the large sewing order I have worked on all week was picked up so I had a pretty good day thanks to that.
Ran errands after market,went by Lowes and bought a new dishwasher. We have needed one for awhile but were waiting on this government cash for clunker appliances deal. They will deliver the new and pick up the old sometime Saturday.
I also restocked my fish tanks,hopefully these will live at least as long as the previous ones did. I got 2 Betas, 2 fantail calico goldfish and 1 black moor,they all are active and act like they are enjoying their new homes.
Hubbie and I finished the top over the dog lot, we made it out of metal roofing scrap pieces left over from our house roof.
We watched Survivor and went to clean church.
These turtles seem to be sparing for position on this log in the pond. I'm sure after the long cold winter the warm sunshine is a welcome relief for these little guys.
By listening to the weathermen tonight I don't think we will be enjoying much sunshine for several days now as a big front approaches from the west bringing much needed rain. I just hope it doesn't all come at once!!
I am very tired tonight, a slow day at market makes me tireder than working all day.
God is good all the time.
Good Night and God Bless.

FROGS, SNAILS AND PUPPY DOG TAILS

After my Yoga exercise this morning the busy day didn't seem so bad. Sometimes it amazes me how energized yoga makes me.
While waiting on g-son I started icing caramel cakes,he came right as the icing started to boil and his mom had to stay until it was finished because once it starts to boil it has to be stirred continuously or it will stick and burn.
For breakfast g-son had a toaster pastry covered in caramel icing,his favorite! He is feeling much better today and is hardly coughing, he brought his little jar of honey just in case the cough came back!
After lunch he wanted to play outside,so we played hide and seek until he got tired and came in for a snack and a rest.
He played in his room and watched Spongebob while I sewed some on my order. 4 baby bonnets,4 medium bonnets,these are for a 3 year old and g-son was not happy when I made him try 1 on to make sure it would fit a 3 year old! I also made 4 of these little aprons with toy kitchen utensils in them. I rarely have these aprons because the little toy utensils are very hard to find. Whew!, this has been a job,but I got them done later this evening when daughter came in and played with g-son.
After we all ate supper we moved our dog lot to it's new location and now we just need to put a cover on it and the back yard will be finished,yaaaa!!!!
Daughter did her baking while I payed bills and did paperwork tonight. I iced my chocolate cakes and wrapped and labeled everything.
All I can say about this picture is.......
FROGS , SNAILS, AND PUPPY DOG TAILS
THAT'S WHAT LITTLE BOYS ARE MADE OF!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Look at that face full of wonderment,oh and Strawberry jam!!!!!!
Thanking God tonight for all the blessings he keeps heaping on me,I am so grateful!!
Good Night and God Bless.

VIOLET DREAMS

Took Dolly to the groomer this morning. She hates these days,I have been grooming her all winter just to keep her from getting so upset,but she needs to have a professional job periodically.When she looks up at me shivering with those big ole eyes,it's all I can do to leave her.
When I got back #1 son brought g-son over and left him,he does not feel good today and has a really bad cough.
I did laundry and some housecleaning around him while he layed in the recliner watching cartoons. Other grandma is out of town today so that's why he's here on Tuesday.
D-in-love came after him early and they went home to rest.
I moved my fish aquarium since all my fish died and I'm starting over,I was going to get some new fish today at a pet shop in town. When I got there, algae was growing in all the tanks and the Beta fish bowls had nasty looking skims on the water so I didn't buy any fish there.
I stopped by Ace Hardware and picked up a rain gauge,then picked up a beautiful Dolly. As much as she hates going I think she knows she looks nice when she comes homes as she prances around. I'll admit she sure doesn't look like this when I groom her!
I did some more sewing tonight,I finished 3 more baby bonnets and 2 medium bonnets and then baked cakes.
Today has been dreary,but with little rain, the dust is just barely sprinkled on here and now the cars are spotted and all the dust shows up on them.
The temperature has been a cool 60 degrees with plenty dark clouds.
Violets , you know those pretty little purple flowers that you step on when you take a walk through the woods or pasture. They are an interesting ,fragrant ,edible herb! No surprise they are members of the pansy family,look at that face! Have you ever smelled a violet,they are very fragrant. The leaves are so tasty they are eaten alone and in green salads.
You can steep leaves and flowers in water until it becomes fragrant,pour into ice cube trays ,freeze and use for fragrant ice cubes that give tea a wonderful new flavor.
They also have medicinal value,they have expectorant qualities and have an asprin-like substance in them.
One man claimed eating violet leaves cured his colon cancer, but he ate a 1600 sq.ft. bed of the leaves,wow, thats a lot of leaves!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And of course there is magic in them thar flowers!!!!!
A strong love potion can be made by mixing violet flowers and lavender.
Carrying violet flowers will bring good luck.
A dream about violets means your life is about to change for the better!
Never ceases to amaze me what you can do with a plant that most of us think of as a weed. I always wonder how all these uses were discovered and how many people died of poisoning when things didn't go as they should.
God provides for our every need,we just don't recognize it everytime.
Good Night and God Bless. May you dream of violets tonight!

WASSAIL BLEND LIKE NO OTHER

G-son arrived at 7 this morning,hubbie got up with him. I might as well have gotten up since he was intent on having me up as well. I didn't sleep well last night,my back hurt from lifting all those potted plants inside!
While hubbie took him to pre-school I got ready to run a couple errands in Asheville. That is not my favorite place to go but these were on the outskirts and I had put them off long enough. The first stop was none other than the Biltmore House,this is tulip blooming time and although I didn't go all the way inside,there were some pretty ones at the little store I went to. They have a wassail spice blend that I use in my green tea that is truly wonderful. If you are there you have to try some. I have been out of this for some time so I've had 2 cups this afternoon,soooo goood!!!!
I also went to a neat little store located in an old manufacturing plant that is called Amazing Savings,they have very good deals. I usually find baking supplies for a fraction of the cost,but didn't have any luck in that area today. I did get some other things that were truly a good deal and some things I probably should have passed on,like that box of cinnamon toast that I have almost eaten the entire box today!!! YUUMMMM!!! But not good for my weight loss effort!
I also stopped by a hardware store where we always get our garden plants and picked up 2 cherry tomato plants to put in hanging baskets,I may as well have 2 more pots to carry in and out!
I met hubbie and g-son at Sam's Club to pick up some things and feed g-son lunch,he loves their pizza slices.
He was asleep by the time we got home,poor thing he had an early morning.
While he slept hubbie mowed the lawn and I transplanted some houseplants and fixed my tomato hanging basket,carried all the plants back outside so they can get a drink from the rain we are supposed to get tomorrow.
It's the red's time to shine,these are 2 red azaleas above my house in full bloom.I love how the different colors are taking turns blooming this year,the next will be the light purple ones you can see in the right picture.I think azaleas are some of the prettiest flowering plants there are and I'm glad I have them all around my place.
Now there are 2, quails that is, once there were 3, hopefully the other hen found another mate and just moved away. I see 1 female who obliged me for a picture this evening, her mate was far too nervous to stand still long enough for a photoshoot.
These 2 are regular guest in the late evenings after the dogs are fed and put up for the night,they will dart in and out picking spilled seed up off the ground. I hope they start a family here on our farm,I love to hear the "bob white" call. Hubbie still has a hen left from the ones he raised from day old chicks and she loves to talk to these 2 when they come around.
I set up my sewing machine in my office tonight and started sewing some bonnets and aprons for a large order that needs to be delivered Thursday.My back would only allow me to sew for a short period of time. I got 1 baby bonnet finished and parts of 3 others done so all I need is the lace on the brims and putting them together.
Thankful tonight for safe travel this morning and the love of a bright beautiful little 3 year old.
Good Night and God Bless.

PERFECT SUNDAY

God sure gave us a beautiful Sabbath today! The clear blue sky with not a cloud in sight made the church steeple take on a blue hue.
After church we had lunch and then I sat outside and just relaxed with my girls,sooo nice!! G-son played outside and inside all afternoon,then talked his pawpaw into riding him on the lawn mower around the driveway,he never mows while g-son is on there,but they just ride.(is he spoiled or what!!!)
D-in love took g-son home so he could see his dad before he had to go back to work tonight. This will be his 3rd, 12 hour night shift in a row,but he gets a couple days off after tonight.
#2 son came for supper and helped hubbie move the quail cage to a new spot,so we can move the dog lot and finish the backyard. I'd really like to get the yards fixed by the end of the month.
I spent time carrying my plants back inside tonight,as we are under a freeze warning.My inside garden has grown since the last time and the ghost figures in the yard have also multiplied as more plants have came up and are tender. Hopefully it won't get cold enough to damage the azalea blooms,they are so pretty this year.
Thankful for a perfect Sunday and for my loving family.
Good Night and God Bless.