Solidago Fireworks.....

This is another fall favorite. I bought this plant in Springfield, it is a few years old now. It has nice foliage all summer . It begins to slowly show color and every day gets brighter. It will bloom several weeks.

I made this picture in the rain, looks like it was glittered. I found a baby bush today with a tiny little bloom.

I have been moving plants around today. I hope my neighbors aren't alarmed as I am moving so much from the back to the front. I can't grow grass anyhow.

Happy Wednesday all.

Stella's Mats......

I am in love with these little mats, they add a bit to ordinary things around the house.

They are made by my friend, Stella, (age 98 years young). I have written about her before, she makes beautiful afghans to sell at Town Peddler Craft and Antique Mall and recently she has been making these mini-mats that I like so much.

Stella doesn't let any grass grow under her feet. Her crochet needle is always in over-drive. If you are in this area, visit her at Booth NO 3.

Happy Saturday everyone.

New Seeds....

I am a bit early starting my 2012 garden. But I am probably not the first one to order seeds. I like the name on this one and they promise to dance.


I try a different zucchini every year hoping to get one that doesn't hog up the whole garden. I thought these would be fun to try.

Pumpkins at The Farm and more...

These pumpkins were so pretty I didn't want anyone to miss seeing them. The embroidery is pretty too. Gail at The Farm makes those beautiful pumpkins every year with her dried flowers. The picture is from The Farm blog.

This one from an email from Mary. Are they onions, squash or pumpkins?? I surely don't know.

But these funny fellows are egg-a-plants! Happy Tuesday. It's Ray's birthday (my son) but he said he didn't want to hear about it. Those who know him will understand.

mon-day-ne nonsense....

Avast thar, me hearties, today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day. (It's an original concept created in a moment of temporary insanity according to John and Mark's website www.talklikeapirate.com.) People will be having office parties today I'm sure.

Mary sent me an email with this picture of pirate marshmallows.

Have fun with the light side of a pirate but never forget.....never trust a pirate!

Gail's Zinnias

Gail is my next door neighbor and this is the second year she has had zinnias along the side of the house.

She just collects the seeds and scatters them in May.

I have to say I have been sneaking over and cutting a few. Zinnias are so beautiful this time of year. And I think I will try her method next year. Happy Saturday evening.

Liberty Ladies....

These ladies are made from a pattern by Hill Kountry Krafts, a very old one but is still available online. I made them last month.

It is a beautiful chilly morning with bright sunshine for my garden. I counted the blooms on the Goldy Honey Bear this morning and there were 27, mostly large ones. I guess you wish I would shut up about the sunflower.

Happy day to everyone.

Pretty Much Picasso....

About two weeks ago this was a straggly petunia with no blooms. I gave it a buzz cut and a dose of plant food and here it is, prettier than ever.

Thanks everyone for all the good wishes for Jeff and his surgery. He is doing fine and home the same day.

I made salsa today and my recipe is on the blog if you use the search. I listened to "The Postmistress" on CD while I worked. I would rather actually read but haven't figured out how to read and use my hands at the same time. Happy Wednesday.

Goldy Honey Bear Sunflower....

It seems to get bigger and brighter every day. It is larger than the "Teddy Bear" variety, flowers are nearly pollenless and it has a stalk as large as a hoe-handle so it doesn't fall over. I love it.

I bought these seed at English Gardens but you can look for them online. I also have some in pots that are beautiful also but a little smaller plant.

I'm cleaning up my garden now, it has been a strange year (my green beans took 90 days) and some things died out early in spite of a lot of rain. The squirrels are eating the best of my tomatoes since I didn't plant them any corn. Flowers are at their best, zinnias, sunflowers, four o'clocks and cosmos. How's your garden?

Jeff has his day planned with some knee surgery. We are counting on it going well and it helping him. A beautiful Tuesday to you.

(And thanks everyone for being on the look-out for my missing gnome!)

Missing...

Last seen, Sept. 1, 2011.

Colors......

....of love and pride on this day.... and love to you from a primitive plot...

Let's pray...

It's a beautiful day here in Michigan, we had several days of nice rain and now the sun has come out and the butterflies are everywhere.

Not so for many, Kathleen of Eggs in my Pocket, asks us for prayer for the dire situation in Texas because of the drought. Please go here. It is so much more serious than I realized.

On the other hand, Laura Lynn and the folks in Pennsylvania have had flooding and here is her story.

This makes us wish that we could, maybe just for one day, be in charge of the weather. Probably a good thing we aren't. These are days for lots of thoughts for each other.
Love from Michigan.

Old Books

This is a treasure that I picked up when we visited The Farm. I never intended to actually read it, but opened it up to look and then sat there and read the whole book.

It was published in 1931, which was probably the reason I bought it. When I find anything older than I am I like to have it around .

Just a story of a Jewish man who just wanted a simple life and since I found it at The Farm it is even more special.

PJ has finished The Help so I'm going back to the Kindle now. While she had it I read an old Anne Tyler book," Earthly Possessions". I'm thinking of re-reading "The Patchwork Planet" also.

Sometimes the books I enjoy most come from suggestions by bloggers so I would really like to hear about your favorite books and authors.

Crafts and salsa tomorrow....rain now for two days, I feel guilty because other parts of the country need it so badly too. Good Thursday, y'all.

From the wholesale craft catalog.....

This is a page from a recent wholesale catalog I receive. See the little tree with the dots on a stick. In 2007 I decided to make a little tree every year and this one is identical to the very first one I made and sold at holiday craft shows. Maybe I should be flattered that someone thought my little idea was worth mass producing.

You can buy 6 for $3.75. I sold mine for $6.00. It says it is "New". Maybe new to them but I have elaborated on them every year. I haven't decided how they will look this year, but mine will be handmade .



This was my 2008 tree.
and 2009 had a peat pot base.....
I went all out in 2010 and added pips and jingle rusty bells. And some words!

Well, that's the way it goes in the crafts world, nothing is safe as far as ideas, so you might as well laugh about it. I just think they could have changed it just a wee bit. It's good that I won't find out they made a ton of money on my tree- on- a- stick.

Some years back, I saw a sign at Pelham and Outer Drive in Dearborn. It said "Originality is the art of concealing your source." LOL

Hot Peppers

I picked up these plants at Bob's Market in Southgate, not knowing anything about them except they had a clever name.

They have done really well and when we went to Springfield I took some to Mark who likes hot peppers, still hadn't tried them then. When I finally had the courage to try them I was sorry I had shared them because they were way beyond hot.

Then, I looked them up and they are one of the hottest peppers grown. There is a measurement for the capsaicin in a chili pepper, named after the pharmacist who created it, it is called Scoville Units.

The Scoville Units in a Jalepeno are 2500-8000. But in these little guys it is 100,000-350,000. Sorry Mark. I was able to use them though, I made some Cowboy Candy for myself and Lisa. If you want to make some go here. If you don't know her, you will really like Pickles and Cheese. She has some really goood recipes.

I hope your holiday is going well. It is so cool and breezy here, I was able to open the door for the first time this summer.

Thank you, Miss Barbara......

I love my new books! Thank you!!!

Joseph, Reuben, Family, Friends.....

I am the last one to post pictures since the Facebook people always do theirs asap. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat was the play, and this guy is our Jeff, who played Reuben. He was cute and funny and sings great.

Friends and Family...Dave, Renee, Jake, Jeff and Skyler.......

This lady is singing to Joseph. Probably "We're so happy you came our way, we would have perished without you."
This is Joseph, played by Cory Shorter, who sings beautifully. And everyone in the play did a wonderful job, every one can be a star.

As it is in any play, the children always steal the show. Especially this one. I didn't know any personally but feel they belong to all of us.

For me, I would never get tired of seeing Joseph. Until it comes again, we can all read and learn from the story we have been given and it is truly Amazing.