'Round here this weekend

Yesterday was a day full of storms -- thunder, lightning, wind, hail, heavy rain, no satellite signal, you name it, we had it.  Today, it was like it never happened (except for all the mess left behind on the deck).  I've been sick all weekend, starting with a bad sore throat on Friday.  We went to see "Little Boy" Friday afternoon and enjoyed it so much!!  We both cried like our hearts were broken.  So if you go see it (and I hope you do!), take some tissue with you.  It's a wonderful story of a little boy who will do anything to bring his daddy home from the war.  The faith of a mustard seed.  That's all it takes.

Since I was sick, Larry went shopping on his own this weekend and he picked up some treasures for me Friday.  A Copper Filigree platter, an Old Town Blue butter dish and a blue striped bowl.  We'd never even seen a Pyrex platter before and I was so happy to get it!
  

And he got me this sweet vintage Indian doll at an estate sale today.  I had one very much like her when I was a kid. 

At that same estate sale today, there was this thing and Larry had no idea what it was, he just knew he liked it.  It was kinda like a bandana, kinda like a wrap but it was very small.  There was a very nice tag sewn inside that read "Corky Gauger Original".  He got it and brought it home.  I couldn't figure it out either.  So I Googled "Corky Gauger" and found out she was a local lady from Perry who was an AKC Dog Show judge for many years.  And she made clothes for dogs!  So here's Banjo modeling the thing.  Ha!  I loved it a whole lot more than Banjo did.

Larry wasn't satisfied with the first clothesline he made so he built me another one on the opposite side of the backyard.  Weather-treated wood, posts in the ground, four lines across.  He was not playing.  :)  I just love it.  With all that blue and green, you'd never know we had such bad weather yesterday!

 My big pot of calendula is coming along!

Our sweet Tabbie Hoffman enjoying the shade of the palm tree.  

We found this toady frog in our garden shed. 

Larry put him in the bird bath.  He seemed to like it.  :)

Our little garden is growing!

The cherry tomatoes and basil have a little catching up to do!

Larry ran out in the cold rain yesterday afternoon and moved all my flower pots closer to the house where they'd be safe from the wind.  This morning, while I slept, he put them all back, setting my pot of daisies right outside the kitchen window.  I can't think of a more perfect spot.

Sunday morning

After I made my first ever frittata for Larry for breakfast this morning and quickly decided that I need some sort of frittata pan (like this one!) so that his future frittatas don't look like scrambled eggs trying to be omelets, I got ready for church and tended my growing family of flower babies.  I just love spring!  I love growing flowers and this year, I'm so excited about our vegetables and herbs.  I never had much luck at the condo growing things so I have really high hopes of having a bountiful harvest all summer!

The cucumbers are the biggest in the pot!  We haven't had to water a single thing in days.  Lots and lots of rain.  April showers, right??  We should have some beauties come May!!

Here I am pruning my petunias.  :)

They are really growing!  And I'm still loving that pink flower pot!

I took this picture of Larry and Banjo with Tabbie Hoffman totally photobombing at the front door!  Ha!  I love all three of my boys!  And isn't Larry SO handsome??  Oh my!!

I am absolutely bringin' booty back in my tie-dyed skirt but y'all ain't heard that from me.  ;)

We got a new living room rug!  I just love it. 

Larry wrote this message for me when he started pressure washing the house.  It's been raining so much he hasn't been able to finish but if we get a sunny day this coming week, he will and I thought I'd better get a picture of it before it's gone.

Sweetness!

Weekend finds!

We found this 1960's J&G Meakin Maori coffee set at a yard sale for $5!  There's a set right now on eBay that would cost you $65 to get from England.  I just loved it.  It was covered in pollen and dirt and in a box in their garage.  It cleaned up nice!  :)

Larry got this set of fun vintage TV trays for $5 at a moving sale yesterday.  We love eating on TV trays!  Reminds us of our childhoods.

He got this jumbo pinwheel for FREE at that same moving sale.  I put it in our little garden to act as a scarecrow.  All this rain we've had this week has really made our peppers and squash grow.  The grass, too.  Ha!

 I just loved this little kitty garden flag.

We got a late start this morning because I was super tired and I slept in but I still managed to find a few things!  I will put those flower pots to good use!  And I was happy to find another baby planter to add to my collection.

I was really happy to find this 1950's Hazel Atlas Green Ivy bowl at the antique store today!!  They are having their annual spring sale this weekend and they're giving away a gorgeous vintage English hall tree tomorrow that I so hope we win!!

And this vintage kid's carousel drinking glass was just too cute to leave behind!

Inch by inch, row by row...

...we're gonna make this garden grow!

Larry and I planted our little garden this afternoon.  We are so proud!  We have tomatoes, squash, bell peppers, banana peppers, rosemary and lavender in a little plot...



 
 



...and basil, cilantro, spinach, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes and sweet peppers in a huge pot.  Rhiana gave me some Miracle-Gro Gro-ables seed pods for Easter and I picked up a few more.  We planted them all in a pot to transplant later. 

We're so excited!!  :)






My calendula didn't do so hot in the egg shells but as soon as I put them down in a pot and set it out on the deck, they really started to take off!  I hope to have some blooms by my birthday!

So I planted the rest of the pack in a pot and set it out on the deck.  

Calendula Dreams, the sequel.  :)

Our Easter

My favorite picture of my Uncle Jack -- grilling chicken at Easter circa 1980

We had a beautiful Easter weekend!  The weather was gorgeous (but that wind, tho!) and the company was wonderful.  Juan, Rhiana, Elizabeth and Emma arrived Saturday afternoon and stayed with us through welcoming The Easter Bunny and a family reunion at my parents' house.  My cousins, my sister and I planned an old-fashioned Easter with Daddy's side of the family, like Easters of days gone by and I am happy to report that we were able to pull it off!  Nearly 50 of us showed up.  We used to get the whole family together at Aunt Carol and Uncle Jack's and Uncle Jack would get up early and start grilling chicken for everybody.  We lost him in February after a long bout with Alzheimer's.  He was too young to get it, too young to go, and we grieve him deeply.  Yesterday was for Uncle Jack.  We all brought chicken!  Chicken and whatever else we wanted to bring and we had a feast!  Just like the old days.

Here's the whole gang!

I so enjoyed having the kids with us again.  The girls and I dyed Easter eggs Saturday afternoon...

...and then we hopped (get it?) in the hot tub for some giggles and splashes.  Lots of splashes!

The Easter Bunny came and left baskets of goodies.  He even left me one full of garden stuff and seed pods!  I can't wait to get started on our garden.  Hopefully, we'll get the bed done this week and can plant some stuff this coming weekend.  We planted two rose bushes out by the mailbox today.  A pink one and a red one to go with the yellow one that's already there.  I'm excited to see them all blooming at the same time!  We got those pretty chair cushions from Ami and Brian and they are perfect for our porch rockers!  

Larry got me this adorable turtle basket and filled it with stuff only he could.  :)  I got him a basket with a stuffed bunny, a huge solid chocolate bunny and a bunch of candy inside.  Banjo and Tabbie Hoffman got extra treats.  Banjo's were apple, bacon and peanut butter and Tabbie got cheesy ones.  They were happy.  :)  They are so spoiled completely rotten that every day is a holiday for them.

The girls enjoyed TWO egg hunts yesterday.  One here with us yesterday morning...

...and then one in the afternoon at the reunion.  

Elizabeth and Olivia became fast friends! 

Lizzy was SO happy to find that gold egg!

I love this picture of Emma, with her "lellow" egg, 

windblown hair and chocolate on her face.  So sweet.

And how precious is this one of Elizabeth and Larry 

walking across the field hand in hand??

It was a wonderful day.  I hope we made Uncle Jack proud.

Eggstra Special Good Friday!

I took the day off and slept in while my sweet husband boiled eggs for us to dye with our Elizabeth and Emma tomorrow.  He created this little Good Friday egg cartoon and I just had to share it!!  He is so creative and smart and pretty much the coolest person I've ever known.  From the moment we met, I knew.  I knew he was the one for me.  That day and every day we had to live apart up to this amazing, beautiful life we have now.  We are truly blessed.  Hope you enjoy this as much as I did!!

Of course the little brown egg between us is Banjo.  :)

Happy Good Friday, y'all!!  It was the saddest day in earth's history but it led to the best thing that ever happened to us.  They put Him in that grave but He didn't stay there!