I am ready

 I am so ready for spring. More than I have been, I think in a very long time.

 I want to see my pink yarrow and the bumbly bees that love it.

 I want to decorate my yard and gardens.

 To sniff the herbs.

To cut bouquets. 

Sigh, I want to pull weeds even. Cause I love to pull weeds when I feel good. Sometimes even when I feel rotten. It is theraputic to me. But everything has a season I know. We have had so much more snow this season than in many years. That will be good for our soil. And the spring rains will be also. Patience. Patience. But I have a bad case of the I wants. :o)

I am blessed. ~Angela

Here I am

I haven't felt, well, very bloggy this past month. The pleurisy is gone but I still have a touch of pneumonia. Have been trying to keep the house up and do my crochet work for Farmer's Market. And the weeds from my flower gardens. They are really pretty easy to maintain. Just the stray ones here and there. We use a heavy compost/mulch each year to feed them and it really does the trick. This year they are gorgeous! Every year we are moving and changing things. Mark enjoys them thankfully. I would never have any of this if he didn't. The front is a mass planting. And as they self sow and increase, we divide and move them around. This is a pic of the front corner along the drive. You will notice we do not have a door mat. 1.) The wind blows it away each and every time and 2.) No one uses this door. We use the side door. 

 From left to right...cat mint, chives, pink yarrow and yellow cone flowers. The yarrow and cone flowers are new to this spot, so haven't filled in yet. Past the bunny is our blue Siberian iris's. Gorgeous purpley blue when they bloom. It got hot so quickly this year, they didn't have very long to perform. They are like a hedge to cover the house foundation.

 The two lovelies above are from Sarahbeth. My new sourdough starter. Alas, Charlotte Rose didn't make it. We tried, but it just wasn't meant to be. The rainy damp weather we had, was not a good time to make sourdough starter or sponge. She just didn't take. BUT Sarahbeth is doing very well. This is my second batch from her. Those are full size dinner plates. A nice texture with very little crumb. Delish

My mom has loaned me her camera. She hadn't used it for some time, so I have pics! It is just a borrow until I can buy one. Unforeseen expenses...Mark's truck repairs, lawn mower died and I need two front tires on Ladybug has sucked up our Market money. But there is still a lot of season left! :o) Man oh man, last Saturday was killer hot. I am thinking this Saturday will be even hotter! We have a canopy Praise The Lord! And are in a lovely spot. No complaints.

Here is an easy recipe for Italian Chicken. Cut your chicken breast into strips. Boil until tender. Drain well. Place Italian salad dressing into a bowl. It doesn't take alot. Add your chicken while hot. Coat the chicken well and let it set for 10 minutes. YUMMMM You can heat it up in the microwave or in a skillet (no need to oil it) or eat it as is. It will still be warm. We ate pieces of the sourdough bread with it and used the dressing as a dipping sauce.

Well, today I start chemo again. I thought I had better play catch up with you all today before I left. Not looking forward to it. But am thankful for the skills of man and the grace of God. The next 8 weeks or so will be over soon I keep telling myself.

Hope everyone is finding a cool spot and doing something they love.

I am blessed. ~Angela

Monday photos to make us smile

My mini daffodils at the door. They are the first bright lights of spring for me.

If you play hard, then you gotta take alot of rests. These two are hilarious together when they are not horrible together. :o) Timmy truly thinks he is a puppy. He is sitting up and begging for his good boy treats now. Besides chewing on rawhide bonies with Toby. 

Toby believes in "the family bed". He snuggled in like this himself. Not a photo op shot. 

Sweet Jaidyn (our greatniece) hiding. If she cannot see us...then we cannot see her. She is a funny lil' two year old. And as the shirts says, a cutie!

Happy thoughts and prayers are appreciated. I start a 4 week round (hopefully) of treatments tomorrow. Get'r done is the motto of the week!

Happy spring to you. It is cold and rainy here in Indiana. But that can change on a dime as the saying goes. It is the midwest you know. :o)

Backyard pics

Love my flower beds. They are a constant work in progress. This lil chippy painted goose was just gifted to me. I have wanted one for a long time. I am thinking on not repainting her. Just leaving her all worn out like me. LOL The white flowers beside her we have always called Goosie Lucy. The real name is Gooseneck something or other. :o) Like our name better.

This is post 295. Getting closer to that 300th post and give-a-way!

Love me some lilacs

These are in my bathroom.

These are in my kitchen. Added a couple of branches of the ornamental apple tree.

Happy faces

Look at these lil' viola faces. Aren't they the sweetest? My yearly gift from Penny. I came home from the hospital to these sitting on my bench. Mark potted them up for me. And this ole junky stepstool thingy, I love it. That rusty/tacky thing to the side of it is a metal twin size headboard I got from along side the road several years ago. LOL I do love my rust!

Then yesterday, I was gifted with this gorgeous pot from Penny's boss! Now how sweet is that? Mary is a wonderful person and she has been so good to Penny, but come on! Taking on the extended family? That is beyond the call of duty. And come to think of it, I don't even think she is technically Penny's fulltime boss now. Just a dear friend. They really made my day. I was feeling a bit of a pity party coming on and they snapped me right out of it! Who can be sad looking at so much beauty. Mark bought me the rockybunny this year at Lowes by the way. He said when he saw the quilt on it, I needed it. Was in the outdoor settythings section.

I hope I wrote back and thanked everyone for the encouragement for Monday. Not heard back from the dr yet. Do not really expect to til mid next week. Stuff takes time. It went much better than they predicted. I didn't bleed alot. Ewww I know. Had to stay 6 hours in bed at the hosptial after the procedure. The hospital has called every day since to check on me. That makes me feel both good and bad. Good they are on top of things and care, bad in that did they think I was going to have issues? LOL Just been totally wiped out is all. Not even crocheted. BUT I did watch my Survivor last night. Note to Beverly's dd Mary...yaya for March Maddness being over for us! :o)

"There is more to life than increasing it's speed." -Mahatma Gandhi

Wedding bells...

Or maybe it is just my high blood pressure? Either way probably. April 11th is getting closer and closer.

We got all the invitations for Heather's wedding completed and mailed today. Glad that is done. She is figuring out that weddings are alot more work than she EVER thought!!! I have got to get to the flowers and completing her veil now. A small amount of shopping needs to be done yet. I need new black shoes. I kid you not, my single pair of black shoes are 16 yrs old! And I love them, but yes. They are very outdated. Have a lil gold thingy on the top. But nice classic pumps. And I have worn them to death. The heals look great and so do the toes. I bought good when I bought these and they have been worth it. My mom told me to toss them as soon as I got my new black shoes. Cause she knew I would go back to them. LOL She is a shoes/clothes fanatic!!! Me, the polar opposite.

Prayers would be appreciated for my Aunt Geneva (late 70's). She is in critical care with pulmonary distress. A sweet woman, one of our favorites. Fighting for each breath must be so horrible. We love her and she is very close to our daddy. I know he must be hurting badly.

I am still dreaming of tulips and spring flowers. The picture is of the lil pile of mini daffodils by the back door. They always pop up first. They are the brightest yellow!

More of my gardens.

My flower gardens.