It's Christmas!

Sweet sugar at Black Rock Mountain State Park

We have just been living our best life this fall and now look, it's Christmas already!  

We went to the North Georgia mountains for Thanksgiving.  Had us a good old Waltons' mountain Thanksgiving, we did.  We rented a house in Tiger, Georgia and spent four amazing days in Clayton, Rabun Gap and Dillard.  We stopped on the way up at Tallulah Gorge and it was absolutely breathtaking.  Biggest hole we'd ever seen!  Of course, Larry had to go stand out on the edge and scare the mess out of me.  Of course he did.  

This is why they call 'em the Blue Ridge mountains.  Pic taken at Black Rock Mountain State Park, with its altitude of 3,640 feet.  Scared me half to death climbing that mountain!

The house we rented was in a holler, with mountain all around and it was just the cutest thing.  Fireplace, gorgeous kitchen, spa shower, wraparound deck with the most beautiful, peaceful little creek in the backyard.  We had our breakfast and coffee out there every morning, listening to that sweet little babbling brook.  We took Banjo and he was so happy running around in the yard and down by the creek with Daddy.

We had Thanksgiving dinner with about 3,000 other folks at The Dillard House and even though we stood in line and waited in the gift shop and out on the porch for two hours and then waited another half hour to get fed AND it was $60 for the both of us, it was so totally worth it.  They serve the food family style, where they bring bowls and platters of food to your table and you share with everyone sitting at your table.  Larry and I had our own table and we ate ham and turkey and pork loin with dressing, squash casserole, ambrosia, peas, green beans, rice and gravy, Silver Queen corn, rolls and pie until we were about to bust.  The restaurant is so pretty and so cozy and comfortable.  We were so happy that we went.  The ham was a big hit!  Best country ham we'd EVER had.  Alton Brown from The Food Network agrees!  

We did some Black Friday shopping at the antique stores and flea markets up there and there are hundreds!  We got to as many as we could and had so much fun finishing up our Christmas shopping.

And then Friday night, we went to a drive-in movie!  There's a drive-in there.  I was SOOOO excited to be able to go to the drive-in with Larry.  We were totally robbed of SO MUCH in our past and to be able to scratch this one off "the list" was amazing.  Such a wonderful surprise!  We saw "Ford v Ferrari" with Matt Damon and Christian Bale, surrounded by vintage cars, campers and Christmas lights.  It was the best.  And, OH THE POPCORN.  It was the most delicious popcorn I have ever had in my life.  I brought every kernel home in Ziploc bags and ate it for days.

Last weekend, we took the SAM Shortline Christmas train from Lake Blackshear to Plains and enjoyed the heck out of that.  The train was sloooow and it took about two hours to get there so we just sat and talked and looked out the window at trailer parks, abandoned tires, graffiti and the like.  Trains go through the worst of areas, I guess.  We made up a "12 Days of Christmas" song of the things we saw, only ours was more like "12 mobile homes, 11 broke-down cars, 10 old tires, 9 busted toilets, 8 fallen port-a-potties..."  Ha!  And ONE big old smilin' peaaaaanut!  President Carter isn't feeling well and had just gotten out of the hospital so he couldn't meet us at the train station but that's okay.  We just want him to get better.  Besides, we already met him!
  

We got to meet Santa, though, on the train and sit on his lap.  I was scared we'd break the poor man's leg!  I'd never seen Santa Claus with a ponytail but this one had one.  I mistakenly thought he was one of "us" but when he asked Larry what he wanted for Christmas and Larry said, "A new president", Santa actually bristled!  That was hilarious!  I'd never seen Santa Claus bristle before either and leave it to Larry to make him do it.  He just looked up at us and said he doesn't get into politics.  Probably a good thing, Santa.

We met up with my lifelong friend, Lisa, and her little girl, Bella, and then her nieces showed up, too!  What a wonderful little reunion!  It was a great day and we were happy-tired when we finally got back home.  

Larry spent two weekends getting the yard decorated and it's amazing!  We definitely have THE best yard in the neighborhood!!

And here's our tree.  The Super Fabulous Schneider Christmas Tree of 2019!

We're looking forward to having a quiet, peaceful Christmas at home this year.  2019 was a rough one for us and we are hoping that 2020 brings good health, happiness and even more love to our home.

And, oh yeah, a NEW PRESIDENT!

Time is just flying by!

I skipped September altogether!  I went back to work on the 3rd and spent the first month working in administration with absolutely NOTHING to do.  Made for very long days.  I moved back into my position as assistant to the Vehicle Control Officer and that's where I wanted and needed to be.  We went and "yard saled" at an F-15 building that's about to be turned over to C-130s and got everything I'd need for the new office.  A desk and chair from the flight chief's office and a filing cabinet from the planning office.  I am set now!  I love the job, I get along great with the VCO and since we've been working together for two years anyway, we hope to turn this into a permanent thing.

I'm still going to physical therapy on my foot twice a week.  They just extended my treatment for eight more weeks so that will be a total of four months' therapy.  I think it's helping.  My range of motion anyway.  They've taught me exercises to try and strengthen my muscles around my ankle to help me with stability, since I'm still wobbly as all get out.  They've suggested shoes (I got the Brooks Ghost 12s and I LOVE them!  Well, the right one, anyway.) and compression socks and we've done fluidotherapy with cellex (which is ground corn cobs that heats up really well) and they're going to cast me for custom orthotics.  I have extremely high arches and cannot find an orthotic that works well for me.  I do like my Vionic and Spenco shoes, though!  I'm supposed to start aquatic therapy (Larry and I LOVED the heated pool at the beach in August and I'm excited to see if I can do more with my foot in the water) later this month. 

Larry ran his very first 5K last Saturday and he did so good!!!  He finished in just over 40 minutes, with absolutely NO training, no practicing, he just got out there and started running.  That was just amazing to me.  It was to benefit the folks at the Georgia Arrhythmia Foundation, the same doctors who performed Larry's ablation in August.  We took Banjo and had a great time.  We even won a door prize!  A big box of Pyrex baking and food containers!  Oh, we thought that was HILARIOUS!!  But we'll sure use 'em!  We don't have much of the new Pyrex stuff, just leftover containers that I buy by the season.  I always have to get those Halloween and Christmas ones.

We went to the fair Wednesday night for a date night supper of corn dogs, hamburgers, black-eyed peas & cornbread and apple dumplings.  Ahhhh, fair food.  Larry had worked down there setting up his job's vending booth in the McGill Marketplace and he'd seen some really cute leopard tops and cardigans he thought I would like.  So we got one.  A lightweight cardigan that fits just right.  ALLTHELEOPARDTHINGS!!  I just love leopard stuff these days and my closet will confirm that fact.  A couple of weeks ago, I got me a pair of fleece leopard britches and I'm just waiting on that first cold snap.

We've made plans to go up to the mountains next month and we are so excited about that!  We rented a house in the woods with a creek and we're gonna enjoy the flea markets and antique stores and the lots of peace and quiet.  Banjo's going, too.  

I cannot wait.

A little island time

Finally!!  We spent three absolutely glorious days at Jekyll Island last weekend and it was just what the doctor(s) ordered for us!!  We rented a villa at Driftwood Beach and it was perfect.  Two stories (those stairs were a struggle!), two bedrooms, a fully-equipped kitchen and I think our upstairs balcony had the best view in the whole place!  

Sunrise, sunburn, sunset, repeat.  We saw that on a t-shirt in a shop there and this was true for us.  We both got a little burned, despite constantly spraying each other down with sunscreen.  The days were overcast with long periods of bright beautiful sun and it was so absolutely worth it.  Larry's immediately turned brown and mine has now.  Gone are my days of burning, peeling and turning white again.  Since menopause, my skin tans and my hair is curly.  I'm a totally different girl!

We love Driftwood Beach and since we were staying right there, we went there first.  

We think that's probably 5th most romantic beach in the country, but who's arguing?  It is romantic.

It's a beautiful place and the site of some Walking Dead scenes come fall!  They filmed there my birthday week.  Don't miss it!

I love this picture I took of Larry.  He was so tired. 

My poor foot's first dip in the ocean since she went to hell and came back.  BEST. FEELING. EVER.  !!!!!!!

Driftwood Beach is miles and miles of trees that were once part of a forest and now have become driftwood from years of the sea washing over them.  We see lots of photographers there and we've even been there when a wedding was taking place.  Yep.  Quite the romantic spot and the best place for us to go first. 

We can't go anywhere without a cat finding us!  This little girl was right outside our townhouse Saturday night.  (And Sunday morning.  And Sunday night.  And Monday morning.)  She has her ear notched, which means she's a Jekyll Feral and has been caught, spayed and returned to live her life out on the beach and eat tuna and chicken and ham and whatever else visitors give her.  Not a bad life at all.  Shoot, I'd love it!

We got up early Sunday morning, had our coffee on the balcony and watched the sun come up.  The breeze off the ocean was downright chilly at times and we were loving that!  Got home and it's 100 degrees again.  Ugh.  

We spent Sunday morning at Jekyll Beach and could not have asked for better weather!  We just sat and relaxed and fed the seagulls and took dips in the ocean and just enjoyed being together.  I've never attended a more beautiful Sunday service.  It was such a long time coming and we enjoyed every second.  Look at that sky.  

Georgia has the most beautiful coastline.  I'm not sure why everybody wants to go to Florida all the time.  Not a big deal at all.  More room for us!

We went out Sunday afternoon and shopped a little and had supper at Jekyll Island Seafood Company.  And I got to wear my new Lilly dress!  I was so scared I'd get shrimp and grits on it.  I bought it earlier this summer JUST to have when we went to the beach.  It did not disappoint.

We played 18 holes of miniature golf and Larry only beat me by two strokes, which was a straight miracle.  I suck at golf, miniature or otherwise.  It was so fun, though.

We spent some all-to-ourselves time in the pool Monday morning, had breakfast at the Jekyll Island Golf Club and went back to the beach for a while.  We always have to go and say "see ya later" to the ocean.  Ever since I was a tiny girl, I've had to do that.  Not goodbye, see ya later.  'Cause I will.

Larry feeding the seagulls again.  Popcorn this time.  We "met" one seagull, Hoppy, we called him, who only had one foot.  He was there Sunday and Monday.

Larry wrote this in the sand.

It sure was.

He's my heartbeat

Larry had his ablation Monday.  We got there at 6:00 AM and they took him back at 8:00 sharp. They had told us the procedure would last anywhere from two to four hours.  I went to the family waiting room with our overnight bag, my pillow and my new Nordstrom blanket and I laid down on a small couch in there, watched a little of the morning national news and snoozed a bit.  I had zero anxiety over this procedure.  I was completely at peace.  Oh, I prayed, don't get me wrong, but I just had peace about it.  I knew he'd be okay.  The patient rep lets you know what's going on every hour so at 8:17, she came and told me they had started, at 9:15, he was doing great and at 9:45, he was done!  I grabbed our stuff and went to the recovery room where they were bringing him back to.  He was coming off the anesthesia while I talked to the doctor and found out that everything went great, the area that was causing all the trouble was located and frozen and hopefully, there would be no more AFib.  Larry's had an irregular heartbeat as long as he can remember, since he was a little boy, but as he's gotten older, it's gotten worse and a recent monitoring session we did through the VA showed that he was in AFib 70% of the time.  No wonder he felt so bad!  He wasn't getting very much of that really good oxygen-filled blood flow.  We got to a room around 12:00 and we just spent the night.  My sweet friend, Debbie, came twice to check on the boys and let Banjo out to potty.  (I am so very grateful for my friends.  They have been amazing, through all that's gone on the past year, always there to help out and bring food and coffee or whatever.)  I took a few pictures while we were camping out in the "Heart Tower".  We got NO sleep.  You know you can't sleep in a hospital!  It wasn't bad at all, though.  I slept on a pullout sofa next to Larry's bed with my blanket and pillow.  He was in a lot of pain at first, chest pain from the procedure and having to lay flat for four hours. The AFib showed back up Tuesday morning and his heart rate zoomed to scary levels!  It brought all the nurses in our room.  They told us that was to be expected, though, at first, and it should calm down but they still monitored him very closely over the next several hours.  They put Larry on another med to help with that and sent us home around 2:00.  All in all, I think we both received excellent care at the Luce Heart Institute.  Couldn't ask for better!  They should add my mama's name to a wing in that heart center.  She had two open heart surgeries and countless heart caths and angioplasties there.  Long before the "Heart Tower" came to be.  

I posted this pic on Instagram and commented that I don't have any tattoos but if I was to get one someday, it'll be Larry's heartbeat over my left breast.  His heartbeat over mine.  There's no other tattoo I'd want.

This picture made me laugh so hard.  This boy was ready to GO!

Thank you, Lord, for modern medical technology, that allows doctors to know how to fix things and help us when our bodies fail.  

True love, homegrown tomatoes and sunflowers

We had a nice, long Memorial Day weekend at home, in the AC, binge watching stuff on TV.  It was just too hot to get outside and do anything.

We're in the middle of a heatwave and I can't remember 100 degrees in May, ever.  But climate change is a joke.  Global warming is a hoax. Yeah, okay.  I'm not getting on my soapbox about it (but why not?  This is MY blog, right??) but climate change is real and global warming is real and I don't know exactly what we can do about it but doing virtually nothing sure isn't the fix.  Before I left Facebook, I used to see willful ignorance daily about this and that and climate change was one of the things I saw being made fun of, made light of.  And yet, tornadoes and hurricanes are getting stronger and coming more frequently, the seasons are pretty much nonexistent these days and it's 100 degrees in May in Georgia.  Kids graduated from college last week in Colorado in the snow and over 150 tornadoes hit the central part of our country.  And last night, three tornadoes hit Ohio.  This ain't just happening, y'all.  God gave us this beautiful planet to live on and we are destroying it.  And He knew we would all along.

We do what we can but we can do better.  No more plastic bags in this house!  There are shopping bags in the Jeep, bought specifically for that purpose.  We haven't used paper towels in over 10 years and we shop local when we can, pay our bills online, plant flowers to help the bees and the butterflies and y'all know we buy OLD and vintage whenever we can.  Instead of buying a new toaster, we just go get one at an estate sale.  We can still do better, though.  There's always more you can do.

I've been working really hard these past several days trying to keep everything hydrated outside.  Everything is looking good, despite the heat.

Larry planted these tomatoes, plants he bought from the local high school plant sale, at the end of March.  They are monsters now!  He had to extend the space they're in.  I cannot wait to have a sun-ripened, homegrown tomato on two slices of white bread with Duke's mayo and a little salt and pepper.  Shut yo' mouf.  That's what I lived on growing up in the summertime.  My daddy always planted the biggest gardens in the spring and we had tomatoes, squash, peas, okra and peppers all summer long.  I used to love to go out there first thing in the morning with the basket and pick everything that was ready.  I used to take baskets of squash down to Florida to Larry's folks when I'd go spend weeks with them in the summer.  Such wonderful memories...

We had to put netting over them to keep the birds and squirrels out because we feed them in the backyard, too, and they think anything you put out there is for them.

Georgia Peach Dianthus...

Squeeeee!!  My sunflowers, thanks to my amazing husband who planted these for me because I couldn't this year. 

And I'm working on two avocado trees, just to have a pretty little tree plant.  They won't make avocados for years, if at all.  I did this once before at the condo but it grew very spindly and died.  Hopefully, these two will do good! 

I'll be having surgery number four Thursday and I sure hope this is the last one.  I'm tired.  I know I have to do it because I can't walk without pain and the beach is calling my name SO loudly that I can't think sometimes.  This is my favorite picture of me and Larry, just a simple phone selfie at sunrise at Tybee.  

I need this girl back.

Y'all need to get you some of these sheets!

I am a sheet snob.  They either got to be high thread count or they got to be vintage.  I cannot just sleep on 200 TC sheets and be happy.  I'll fuss the whole time.

We recently bought a new mattress.  A Sealy-plush-pillowtop-expensive-as-all-get-out one that is also over a FOOT high.  Almost none of our sheets fit it.  One of my biggest irks is sheets that won't stay on the bed.  Another is a dang bed skirt.  HATE. THEM.

Anyway, so I was poking around on Amazon as I do pretty much constantly, and I found these sheets.

This is what they said about them:

King Size Sheet Set - 4 Piece Set - Hotel Luxury Bed Sheets - Extra Soft - Deep Pockets - Easy Fit - Breathable & Cooling - Wrinkle Free - Comfy – Light Gray Bed Sheets - King Sheets – 4 PC 

I read the reviews and they were pretty good.  So I decided to give them a try.

Y'all.  These are the BEST sheets I have ever slept on!!  They ARE hotel quality and soft and luxurious!  They are made of brushed microfiber.  What TC is that?  I don't know and I don't care.  They feel like 800+.  And the best part??  They have DEEEEEP pockets and they fit our bed!

And the more you wash 'em, the softer they get.  

• They are only $34!!  
• I got light gray but they come in 11 colors.  
• And if you have Prime, you can have them Sunday!  

Here's the link!

Larry and I both agree that the best sheets we ever slept on were in that cabin we stayed at in Helen.  Until now.  These ones here are.  

Here they are, freshly washed and looking all soft and comfy on our bed (along with some standard pillowcases we already had that match just fine and dandy).

Recovery

Today is ten days since my ankle surgery.  Except for the horrible burning nerve pain that I'm still feeling, my foot really feels no different than before.  The pain at night is so bad that I can't sleep and only muscle relaxers knock me out.  My doctor in Columbus told me going in that there were no guarantees but I still had to try.  I had to TRY. 

During the procedure, he discovered the cause for my nerve pain.  Two layers of scar tissue was crushing it so he clamped the nerve out of the way while he scraped the scar tissue off and he also repaired the two torn ligaments and reattached a severed tendon (that we didn't know about) with anchors, sewed me up and then a couple of male nurses picked me up and body slammed me to the floor.

The first four days after my surgery were pure hell.  I had this unbearable muscle pain in my stomach, neck and shoulders from the anesthesia.  All I did was cry.  I took just about all of my Percocet but they didn't even help.  It was misery.  I couldn't move.  Mama and Daddy came to stay with us the Monday before my surgery and I don't know what I would have done without them and Larry taking such good care of me.  Larry helped me with my baths and Mama cooked and cleaned and did laundry and helped us take care of our boys.  Banjo loved going outside with Paw Paw!  

This is me before my surgery.  All fresh-faced and full of hope.  

This is me after.  Coming off of Propofol and ready to fight.

Ain't that the stuff that killed Michael Jackson??!!

The boys have kept me company and Kizzi is starting to find his place in our family.  And in our Christmas tree!  Tabbie Hoffman never touched a tree.  Kizzi has been up close and personal six times.  He's so much different from Tabbie.  Tabbie Hoffman is laidback and cool, just like his namesake.  Kizzi is a hurricane.  Climbing and biting and scratching and tearing up the place.  I feel like somebody just put him out in the country where Larry found him.  They couldn't deal with his bad little self.  He just needs to learn the rules.  Mama will teach him.

He better be glad he's so dang cute.

The boys and I have been binge watching "Game of Thrones", too.  Larry watched it earlier this year but I didn't so now I'm watching.  I'm getting hooked!  I want to freakin' kill that Joffrey punk, though.  Or at least take a good old-fashioned switch to him.  He's what??  13??  I'd beat his ass.

I go back to the doctor Monday to get the stitches taken out and I guess they'll put me in a boot of some sort.  It is extremely hard to be non-weightbearing for two weeks and I've done the best I could.  I was using a walker at first but I got my knee scooter yesterday so I'm more mobile and can get around the house.  It feels SO GOOD to be out of bed and in my kitchen again.  

Dear readers, please pray for healing for me.  Pray this nerve will calm down and I'll have a normal life again.  

Kizzi

We welcomed a new member into our family yesterday!  

Larry found this sweet baby at a job site.  All alone, starving and scared to death.  He sent me a pic and then called me.  I said, "bring that baby home!"

After stopping to get the little feller something to eat (which he devoured!), that's exactly what Larry did.  We gave him a flea bath and then made him comfy in the garage last night but today, we moved him to one of our bathrooms to acclimate.

We named him Kismet Rain Schneider.  It was a rainy day when Larry found him and kismet that he found Larry.  

We're head over heels already!

Life right now

So here we are, in the middle of October already.

So much is going on around here!!  We did make it to the beach late last month for four absolutely glorious days to celebrate our 30th "gotcha" anniversary.  Sometimes it feels like a lifetime ago that I met Larry and started that long journey with him, sometimes it feels like it was just ten or so years ago and then sometimes it feels like that life never happened.  But it did.  And we have the memories (and the ongoing nightmares!) to prove it.  God has blessed us beyond anything we could have imagined and we are so grateful for every single blessing.  Every. One.

We go Monday to my foot doctor over in Columbus to discuss surgery on my left ankle.  I'm finally having complete ankle reconstruction, ligament reconstruction and he's going to see what can be done with my sural sensory nerve, the one that's causing me so much pain.  I've have horrible nerve pain in my foot since December 2016 and once I got to the Hughston Clinic, they got to the bottom of it.  They did a nerve study in August and discovered that my sural nerve was not responsive.  It's either severed or trapped.  My foot feels like it's on fire ALL THE TIME.  When we were at the beach, I could not tell if my foot was getting too much sun because it feels sunburned all the time so I made sure to keep it covered in sunblock and sand.  No sunburns on my foot or anywhere else either!  That spray sunblock really works!  So, anyway, I'll have surgery on my foot, finally, after six long painful years, and hopefully, I can get back to some sort of normal life.  We postponed our mountain trip until spring, so I can HIKE!

Hurricane Michael came through here this week via the Florida Panhandle and we got a night of crazy wind and much needed rain.  We never lost power and I sat up until 4:00 am watching our beloved weather guy in Macon do his thang and keep us all safe.  The yard and porches were a mess but thankfully, I was off the next day to get everything all tidied up.

One of our little wild outside kitties that we feed (Fiona, who is no more than six months old!) gave birth to a stillborn baby and left it on the porch right where I would find it, under the bench on the rug that I put out there for them to nap on.  Poor little thing.  No bigger than a mouse.  Broke my heart.  Larry buried him today out in a flower bed.  And made a cross for him with his name, Mike, since he was born during the hurricane.  Nature is so sad sometimes.

We went to see "A Star Is Born" Monday and LOVEDED it!!!  What an amazing movie.  If you haven't seen it, GO!  Take tissue.  Like a whole box.  Seriously, Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper were phenomenal in this movie.  Their acting, their musical performances, they even wrote most of the songs themselves.  I didn't even know BC could sing.  He sho' can.  

We're looking forward to the end of the year, the holidays, my recovery and that blue wave that's coming next month!  Lord, hear our prayer.  

Happy Birthday to me!

Your homegirl is 51 today.  Another year on this old planet.  A fun year, a sad year, an unbelievably stressful year.  Things don't always go the way you want them to or even the way that they should go but somehow, you have to keep on keepin' on, keep getting up to welcome the sun every morning, keep reminding yourself that even the bad is not that bad.

Larry made my birthday super special, with our trip today up to Senoia, to get up close and personal with our favorite TV show, The Walking Dead.  We had such a fun day.

This morning, he woke me up with this vintage Pyrex Happy Birthday mug, that I'd never even seen in the wild, only online.  It debuted in 1967, just like me!  I love it!!  

And he had waiting for me this delicious chocolate ganache cake and cards from him and our boys.

Yesterday, I opened this gift from him.  A vintage Pyrex promotional casserole dish in Blue Willow!  Another treasure I have never seen in the wild.  Well, I did see it once, in about a zillion pieces in the bottom of a box my sweet friend, Brandy, sent me.  It didn't make the trip from Virginia.  Dang US mail!  But the lid did and until she reminded me, I'd forgotten all about it! 

51 feels pretty good already.  Now if I could just STOP worrying about things I have no control over, 52 might be even better.

The Easter Bunny still comes to see me...

The Easter Bunny came to see all of us!  Larry and I got baskets of candy and goodies and I got a giant Easter Minnie Mouse and Mickey and Minnie POPs!

Banjo and Tabbie Hoffman got a new water fountain to share (Tabbie drinks out of Banjo's water bowl anyway AND eats his food...oy), Banjo got some new chew bones and Tabbie got some silver vine sticks.  They both got new toys, too.  Yay for the Easter Bunny!!

Easter weekend

Easter is here again!  We had the best time this morning with our little egg hunt, courtesy of Pawsome Southern Rescue, a wonderful animal rescue here in town.  They would hide 2 dozen plastic, candy-filled eggs in your yard for a $20 donation.  We were so excited when we woke up and saw all the eggs in our front yard this morning!

Tabbie Hoffman wasn't interested in no egg hunt.  He just wanted to roll around on the porch.

Yesterday, we worked in the yard nearly all day long and I got my first sunburn of the year.  I got SO much done, though!  I planted flowers out by the mailbox.  Snapdragons, African and English daisies, lavender, tickweed and candytuft.  I'm really happy with the way it turned out!

I planted my sunflower seeds, too, and doused 'em good with Texas Pete.  That's my "secret" to beautiful, giant sunflowers.  That and Tabbie Hoffman pee.  Works every summer!  This year, we're going to have mammoth sunflowers, "incredible" sunflowers that grow to 20 feet (!) and teddy bear sunflowers.  All mixed up together by the fence.  I'm so excited to see them!!

I also planted calendula, marigolds, larkspur and Shasta daisies in beds in the backyard.  

I've got tomatoes and peppers and wildflowers yet to plant.  Next weekend.  Today is a rest day.  Hope everybody has a wonderful Easter Sunday and never lose sight of the true meaning of Easter.  What joy, what a blessing we have with the TRUTH that Jesus is ALIVE and was resurrected from the dead.  We have a life worth living because HE LIVES!!