~*A Very Happy Mother's Day to All of You!*~

Hello my friends! I do hope you have all enjoyed a beautiful day full of family & friends... and that all my 'Mom' friends were SPOILED! Today felt extra-special for me. We got together with Tony's side of the family for a delicious lunch at a local lake where my in-laws have been camping all week. So my Mother-in-law could enjoy the day ~ we all did the cooking. One sister-in-law made pork loins, another made baked beans, and yet another made pasta salad. I made my usual chopped salad (An easy salad compliments of my Aunt's instruction.... just chop up a bag of salad along with a few other veggies ~ cucumber, tomatoes, broccoli, etc. ~ very fine. Because it is all minced so small, the salad takes on a new flavor. This is a favorite of my Father-in-law.) I also made FROM SCRATCH, a Texas Sheet Cake. Now, remember, I'm not much of a cook..... but this did taste pretty yummy. We all ate & chatted & enjoyed this beautiful Spring afternoon.

When we arrived home, it was time for mowing. In fact, as I type this post it is 9pm & my hubby is back on the mower trying to get a little bit more done before it is too dark. He took a break tonight to fix supper and clean the kitchen! He also gave me a beautiful card & a solar lantern for my flower garden (or gardens... maybe I will move it around from bed to bed). See, I was spoiled! (Oh, he knew I would post about this on my blog. He thought I would use this pic to bribe him. He also told me to say that I am too controlling in my kitchen. I was having a tough time letting him do the dishes.... because it all had to be done my way. LOL)



Trinity helped spoil Mom today too. He drew me a fine piece of artwork. It showed him playing soccer with Chuck E. Cheese. He also helped me mow.... walking along helping push the mower.

While supper was being made, I snapped a few other pics from our yard. Here is a photo of our fish pond.... still in progress. Trinity has been good about feeding his fish on a daily basis. My sweet sister-in-law, Robin, gifted me the water plants. There are iris and lily pads. The lilies are still trying to work themselves to the top of the water. I'm hoping to do a little more work on this garden tomorrow.



We have wild poppies all over the yard. I haven't let Tony mow any of them down & am being rewarded now for my persistence with that. They are blooming beautifully!



Happy Mother's Day... with lots of warm smiles,
Betty

~*Another Year Older*~

Yes, it is true. Sunday was my birthday and I am now another year older.... or as a dear friend said to me ~ another year wiser, happier, and just getting better all the time! We had the big birthday bash here on Sunday with much of our wonderful family. We ate & played all day! I was given many generous gifts.... but the biggest was just having them all here to share time with. The weather was tremendous & made the day even better! Tony and I had spent Saturday dressing up the yard & cleaning house.... even though we were beat by the end of the night, it was all so worth while.

Sunday events ~ We started the day off by gardening. My parents, sister, and cute-as-a-button niece showed up with a truck load of plants. We filled up that vacant spot in the front of our home! Yippee!!! It is looking fabulous now! We even have a Yoshino Flowering Cherry Tree! My Mom works wondering in the garden. She gave us many plants & put them all in the right spot. (My job yesterday was to put down mulch.... I quickly discovered I didn't buy enough. Off to market to get more.) Gardening left us pretty dirty for the rest of the day ~ nothing like having dirt under your finger nails, right? It didn't matter though..... we still had fun!



We had BBQ hamburgers, dogs, and chicken.... along with a wonderful selection of salads. (Have I ever mentioned that my sisters-in-laws and mother-in-law are the best cooks on the prairie?) We had both ice cream cake and strawberry shortcake to end the meal.

Trinity helped me open presents. My family was very generous. (Thank you all of you!)



Then, it was time for go karts!



I'm not sure how many showed up... but the sheriff stopped by. Oops... did we do something wrong? No, he only stopped because he and his son use to race karts. He might even bring him by sometime to race with the guys.

Like I said.... it was a FUN day!

Now, if I can get the dirt out from under my nails...... I WILL be cross stitching this week!

Smiles to you,
Betty

~*Happy May Day*~

Hello my friends! Happy May Day to you! Oh, I wish I could hang a basket of flowers on your door. One of my fondest childhood memories is May Day. I remember visiting Grandma with my cousin. She would help us make little paper cones & let us pick flowers from the yard to fill them. We then would deliver them to all her neighbors.... hang them on the door knob, ring the bell, and run to hide. Now, I have to be totally honest... I'm not sure what was the most fun ~ the crafting, picking flowers, or hiding after we rang the bell (it was fun to be a sneaky pest). Looking back now, it was all enjoyable.... and the memory is very dear to my heart.

Today is a very windy May Day & we are expecting strong storms tonight. The rain will help my garden grow though.... and maybe get me back in the house to do some stitching! Here are more photographs of my garden....

This is an olde metal box I found in the back pasture. I thought it would be nice to add a splash of color to the corner of our barn. These daisies are so cheerful!



Here is a closer picture of the flowers planted in that olde kitchen sink...



My patch of Sweet Annie is doing wonderful. I'm so proud of this! Last year I purchased a packet of seeds off Ebay & they have flourished! The larger plants are ones that came back from last year & the tiny ones are the ones that have over-seeded. It looks like I will have plenty to dry this year for decorating & crafting.



It is hard to believe that this tiny little thing (only about 1" tall right now) will grow to 10 to 12 feet! This is one of Trinity's massive sunflowers planted along the edge of the barn. After they bloom, they make wonderful bird seed.



I just love Zinnia! They are so super easy to start from seed too!



And lastly..... my favorite thing to say right now "I'm a Backyard gardener!" Here is the front of our home. The tiger lilies have been dug out, stumps from the Rose of Sharon and Yew bushes have been PULLED out, it has been tilled several times, and now is lined with rock (very back-breaking work). My Mom is the Front Yard gardener. She will be here Sunday to help get this all planted up. We are having a big birthday to-do that day.... with planting, go kart racing, and BBQ! It is sure to be a super day!



I've had fun sharing the garden progress with you & will be showing more after Sunday. Again, my friends, Happy May Day!

Have a beautiful, sunny day!

Smiles to you all!

Betty