PICK YOUR FAVORITE- SPRING GARDEN-A SWITCH UP FROM THE PICK YOUR FAVORITE TABLE GAME

Well, I don't know about you 

but I have been  SO SICK 
of winter that I could fly...

and would if my broom 

weren't in the shop for repairs.

Seriously,

I am starting to feel like the 

Wicked Witch of the MidWEST.

I don't want to grow one more icicle

or cultivate one more snow drift
or have one more cold cloudy day!

I WANT A REAL SPRING.

So, here's the deal.
I am going to show you 
some gardens and you all

get a chance to vote on your favorite.

And, once again, I must remind 
some of you that  

YOU CAN'T SAY

ALL OF THEM.

Okay-Ready?

Here's the set up-

The house can be anything of your choice.

Behind your house you are given the budget 

to do any one

of these projects/yards.

WHICH ONE would YOU pick?

#1-Lush Living

A beautiful oasis with steps leading down into velvet greenness. 

#2-Step It Up

Flowers and plants among rocks and steps

#3- Feed The Fish

(the couple is an extra option and not included in the purchase price)

#4-Small & Sweet

A darling little corner of someone's world

#5-Water Lilies

A serene little informal oasis

#6-The Square Deal

A wonderful study in form and function

#7-A REAL Garden

Can you smell the "green growth" here?

Okay, folks!

Let's dream of 

GREEN & GROWING THINGS!

Which is YOUR dream garden?

Now- This 

IS NOT AN OPTION

-It is from the movie

OUT OF AFRICA.

As you can see-After a hot day in the

steamy outdoors you would have your

very own hairdresser.

Like I said-

NOT AN OPTION~ 

SORRY!

MOTHER'S DAY IS NOT ALWAYS A HAPPY DAY FOR SOME----

I have published this before but

I believe that someone new might

find comfort in the words written here.

You know Mother's Day is a special

day for many people.

However, 

not everyone was blessed to have

a wonderful mother.

To them, Mother's Day is a mockery,

an injustice because of

 all the hurts they

have suffered.

Blogging is not all sweetness

and light.

There are deep, dark pains

that hide beneath some of

the smiling faces...

aches that are too

deep to share with anyone.

Also- I want to acknowledge

that today is a sad day for

those dear women that wanted

desperately to be mothers

and were unable to conceive,

or lost their children in miscarriages,

and to those that made

a decision to not have children

and now regret it.

Also- to those whose children

have passed before them-

Unimaginable pain to bear----

I know there is a lot of pain

in all of our hearts and 

we all grieve with you.

I think this piece I wrote

addresses both types of 

MOTHERS

Mother's Day

Some of us have been blessed with wonderful Mothers.

Some of us have Mothers that were not quite so admirable.

Some of us have Mothers that praised us and adored us,

Some of us have Mothers that never said a kind word.

Some of us have Mothers that loved us unconditionally.

Some of us have Mothers that loved us only

if we met all her expectations,

and even that was not enough.

Some of us have Mothers that smiled readily.

Some of us have Mothers that never found much to smile about.

Some of us have Mothers that~

whatever we did~ it is more than they hoped for.

Some of us have Mothers that

no matter WHAT we did-it was never 

"quite right".

Some of us have Mothers that had a charmed childhood.

Some of us have Mothers that were raised in pain & shame.

Some of us have Mothers that

 need us & want us in their lives.

Some of us have Mothers that are needy

 and we seldom see them.

Some of us have Mothers that complete our lives.

Some of us have Mothers that

leave us aching, wanting and empty.

Some of us have Mothers that stand

on this side of the Great Beyond.

Some of us have Mothers that have passed

 over this earthly barrier.

Some of us will emulate our Mothers.

Some of us will vow to never be

anything like our Mothers.

Some of us are happy and fulfilled,

no matter what kind of Mother we had.

Some of us will never be happy

even if we were nurtured by an amazing Mother.

Today I am blessed to be a Mother.

My daughters are blessed to be Mothers, too.

Today I vow that I will be

the best mother (and grandmother) I can be.

Today I vow that I will love

as deeply as I can those that share my life.

Today I know that I am blessed indeed~

Today I hope that you find blessings

in your own life-

and love your Mother

even if it is just because she gave you life.

~Happy Mother's Day from Me to You~

©Nana Diana 

CRUSTLESS PIE? YES!!!! SPRING FOR KEY LIME CRUSTLESS PIE!!!!

Ladies & Gentlemen~

You are going to bow down and kiss my 

 pedicured unpedicured feet after you try this!

Seriously!

I was craving

KEY LIME PIE.

Being completely honest here-

I did NOT have Key Limes nor did I have 

Key Lime juice.

So---I made this with one of those 

funny little squirt cans of

LIME JUICE.

So- I am calling this 

SPRING LIME PIE

So-ALL you need for this pie?

Egg yolks, Lime Juice & 

SWEETENED CONDENSED MILK

Heavily butter your pie dish

because there is NO crust.

Whisk all ingredients together and 

pour into pie pan.

Bake, Eat, Enjoy!

That's it!  That's all she wrote, folks.

Above is the 

PRETTY VERSION.

However, when it is served 

here it looks more like this!

We like a 

LITTLE PIE with our WHIPPED CREAM.

Here's the recipe:

3 INGREDIENT CRUSTLESS KEY LIME PIE

Preheat oven to 350.

Heavily BUTTER a glass pie dish.

3 egg yolks (or 3 eggs*)
1 can SWEETENED condensed milk
1/2 cup LIME juice.

Beat eggs yolks slightly (*If you use whole eggs you will get more of  a cheesecake consistency-which is also good)
Add sweetened condensed milk and lime juice.
Whisk or stir until well blended.  
Do NOT beat mixture.

Bake in preheated oven for about 30 minutes...then keep checking every 5 minutes until it is completely set and a knife inserted in center comes out clean.  The very outer top ridge will be just slightly brown.  Do not overbake.

This cuts and serves beautifully -
as if it had a crust!

Serve with whipped cream.

This is so good and so easy and you can substitute lemon juice for the lime if you like.
Perfect treat for Mother's Day~

Remember about kissing my feet?

Okay...

start kissing....

image

Have a MOTHER'S DAY and

EAT SOME PIE!

SPRING LIME PIE!

PRAYERS PLEASE FOR JETTIE'S SURGERY TOMORROW & TED UPDATE

This is not my usual prayer request.

I am usually crying when I write most of them.

However, this one is close to my heart.

This surgery has been a long time coming.

Jettie is the reason I am blogging today.

She started a blog called

Jettie's Ramblings 

where she blogged for books.

I had never heard of a BLOG before that.

I thought that was pretty cool and,

I thought I would blog for books, too.

(I never did because I got

sidetracked writing nonsense).

Anyway~

After emailing back and forth a whole lotta times,

she led me through the process of 

setting up my blog 

and here I am today-maybe paying

her back just a bit for all she has

done for me.

I hope she is down for a couple of days

cuz she is gonna kill me when she sees this picture.

Of course, I like THIS picture, too.

Now I am REALLY in for it.

But while I am on the subject-

Anyone else think her hubby 

looks like Conway Twitty?

Just sayin'

Jettie and I have shared laughs and sorrows,

ups and downs,

health scares and family problems

for about 15 years.

For the last few years she has been in constant pain.

She has had a hard time walking and

in the last year or so it has been 

REALLY BAD AGAIN!!!!
THIS IS HER 3RD SURGERY
TO FIX IT!

After agonizing over it and waiting "to see"

she decided to have hip surgery.

That was 5(?) years ago.

Fast forward-hip surgery was 

NOT SUCCESSFUL SO IT HAS TO BE REDONE!

I know hip surgery is pretty routine today

but it is still scary when it is happening to you.

Please say a prayer for her 

today and tomorrow.

Her surgery is happening tomorrow.

I am praying the doctor has a great morning

and is feeling good overall when he operates.

Thank you so much

for your prayers for a successful surgery,

no complications,

 and a quick recovery.

Jettie will read your comments here 

in a day or so.

Oh-Yeah-

pray for her critters,too.  

She has BO & CH...

both strays that she adopted.

Conway Her hubby 
has to take care of them and he

pretends he doesn't like 
"house critters"...

(although he has been known to pet them 

when he thinks no one is looking).

As always,

if you don't pray, 

please send

healing thoughts and well-wishes

Jettie's way.

Thanks so much-

Have a great day!

Ted Update:

Susie said yesterday that Ted was doing well.

He had his last chemo treatment yesterday

and, so far, is tolerating the

transplant nicely.

He has some rough days ahead of him

but yesterday was a good day.

Keep him and Susie in your

thoughts and prayers.

Off and running---

Question of the day:

When are you too old to stop running?

Answer:

I'll let you know-as soon as I get there!

FINALLY PICK YOUR FAVORITE MOTHER'S DAY TABLE RESULTS! (And Ted Update)

I know this is late coming!

I have been so busy

between office, home,

disposing of stuff for a friend,etc.

that I just haven't been able

to tally up the results.

BUT FINALLY--

Here we go---

Table #1-Great Balls Of Flowers

Well, first off we have Willie!

If you don't know Willie you have

missed someone that is a whole lotta fun...

and craziness---just sayin'.

Also, sitting here is Sandy.  She was going to sit at Table 8 until she saw the birds' nests on the table.

Unsanitary she says- Dirty Bird, I say!

Kim is here -because of the cupcakes, not the company!  

Also, Debra, Laurel, Jeanie, Linda(ItsyBitsy), 

Dear LV-who loves simple the best, 

Kris surprise, surprise-no all white for her this time, 

Cristina-the wonder woman who can build, make, do anything- 

and last, but not least, 

Debbi-She is bringing her crystal ball AND glow in the dark bracelets AND sparklers....Let's hope she doesn't set her tablemates on fire (not that she has ever been accused of arson or murder).

TABLE #2-White On White

Whew!!!  Lots of people here!!!

Laurie(WhereTheSpruceTreesGrow-and because I didn't set rules she wants violets added to the table), Vee-seeking a calm table, Betsy, Sherry & Jack (my nomadic friends), 

Nonie-Wants to ask WHAT is being served, Listen, Nonie, let's not start whining before we are even seated!!

Ron-who will certainly mix cocktails for anyone that wants them, Nancy, Fabulous Fabby, Patty (who likes the padded seats-personally, I have enough padding of my own on my seat, Lorrie-Moving to Table 8 for dessert after she eats, Doris, Barbara, Cindy (looking for serenity and freshness), Phyllis-wants a piece of the coconut cake on Table 1, Sandie, Ellie, Billie Jo, Leena, Sugar and Connie
& Sweet Sylvia-that I missed!!!!!

TABLE #3-Faded Pastels

Theresa, Diane(bringing extra rose petals), 

Gay(bringing wine-no surprise there!), 

bobbie-ALSO wants wine (Gay will share!), Linda(LaCarte),Saimi-loves a girlie/girlie table, Rose, Racheld, Donna, Noreen, Terri & 

Katie Isabella (the cat-hope she brings her mom-after all it is for Mother's Day!)

TABLE #4-Punch Of Color

Kay (says she is a GA peach-ain't that just peachy keen?), 

Jettie (sitting here cuz there is not so much to knock over), 

Lisa-(does not want to sit next to Jettie in case she DOES knock something over), Terri D, Laurie(Heaven'sWalk), Dawn, Carla, Melanie, Carole & Cheri.

TABLE#5-Whisper Of Violet

Jenn, Moontides, Krishna, Carol H.,

Cindy & Lori

A small, sweet table!!!!

TABLE #6-Wine & Dine

Liz, Betty, Carolyn,  

Unknown(said she felt a connection to the table)...umm..Hello--would love to connect with you,too.  Name please!(smiling)

AND Anonymous!

Liz-Stand up and shout hello to the two 

unknowns and make them feel welcome!

TABLE #7-A Little Blue

Nellie, Pam (wants to table hop-will tie her to her seat once she is down--shhhhhh), Ann (stealing wine from another table-Ann--go to Table#3 and get some of Gay's so she doesn't drink too much again and make a spectacle of herself), 

Missy- (WAS seated at Table #2 but moved because the white plates did not match--hey--I don't make this stuff up, folks), 

J (yep-just J-could be Jane or Joyce or Janet or Jill or for all I know- Jacob)No offense J-when you come here you are subject to my wittisms.  and 

Cecilia (in honor of her mom that loved blue)-she is also bringing wine!  Great a table of lushes!

Table #8-Pinkly Pretty

Okay-last but not least we have-

MA, bj, Kitty, DebbyRay, Jan, 

Julie, Debora, Marilyn, Connie,

Susie S, Jacqueline & Karen/Happy One.

Not a single smart aleck comment from

any of them-surprising seeing as bj is in the mix.

Tom thought all the tables were "fancy"

so we will let him move from table to table-

Maybe some of the drunks gals will share a glass of wine with him.

OR he could sit with STACEY-

She said she could sit at any of the tables.

Personally, I think she is afraid of commitment.

Well, there you have it-

I hope I didn't forget anyone this time-

seems I always do!!!  Let me know if I dropped your name by mistake.

Update on Ted: Susie's hubby-

He tolerated the procedure in good shape,

but he will be experiencing all the side effects

that go along with a marrow transplant.

Please keep him AND Susie in your prayers.

These things are very tough on the caregivers

and loved ones of the patient.

I will be around as much as possible

in the upcoming days.

It's Crazy-Town where I live right now.