SOME VERY SAD NEWS-MARY-MY DOGS MY GARDEN AND MARY

Yesterday, Sunday,

I felt compelled/driven

to make contact with my friend,

Mary F.

Her blog, 

My Dogs My Garden & Mary

has not been active

for a while.

I was in contact with her

at least once a week

until a few weeks ago.

She has had several health issues

in the past few years-

heart issues and COPD.

However, she was a bright spirit 

and full of life.

The last time I talked to her she was

scared because she was having

so much trouble breathing

and they wanted to do a procedure

on her heart.

Yesterday, I was determined to 

contact her.

Her phone was disconnected

and I left a message for her son

(I think I have the right number)

on his phone.

Lastly, I went to her FB page

and starting visiting contacts

that I thought looked her age.

I found one that had a picture of

herself with Mary.

I sent her a message.

This morning,

I heard from her.

Mary passed away YESTERDAY

while I was searching for her.

Do YOU think WE are not connected

by some force beyond this earth?

I will miss Mary----a lot.

I hope someone takes her two pups in

that she loved so much.

She also had a roommate and I am

sure the roommate is reeling

with all of this, too.

Please pray for her son, Shaun,

and her granddaughter, Kelly.

They were the most important

people in her life.

I am comforted knowing that she is

NO LONGER STRUGGLING

to breath.

Although my heart aches I 

know she is no longer in pain,

no longer anxious, and

no longer struggling.

"A death is not the extinguishing of a light

but the putting out of the lamp

because the dawn has come."

RIP, dear Mary, you are in my heart!

CHOCOLATE GRAVY???!!! YOU BET!!! CARB FREE!!!

Way back in the 

DARK AGES OF BLOGGING

we did a lot of fun things.

We shared projects,

we shared ideas,

we oohed and aahed over kids

and grandkids

AND 

some of us posted recipes.

I posted this recipe soon after I started blogging.
I think dear 

bj @ Sweet Nothings
thought she had died and gone to Heaven
when she made this the first time.

If you have never tried it-well-
you have missed a real treat.

Chocolate Gravy

is  really a Southern dish
and I live in the Midwest.
However, I think I am a

Dixie girl at heart

cuz I love all things South.

While living down there

 I developed a taste for

grits-ummm.hmmmm..

with lots of REAL butter

and salt and pepper please.

AND a taste for
CHOCOLATE GRAVY.

Now, if y'all want you can

go ahead and slave over

the biscuit part OR

you can buy Bisquick.

I choose the latter course.

I suppose you could even

lower yourself to buying those

biscuits in a tube...but I'm

not that far down yet!;>)

(sorry all you tube openers)

Anyway, bake yourself up

some biscuits.

and then stir up this...

And pour it over those
biscuits and you will have

a feast fit for a king..

or in my case,

a Queen...

Oh..enjoy..enjoy..

At least once!  And if you can

still do your zipper up you

can have some more

tomorrow~

You're welcome!

Did I mention that this

was always one of

SweetCheeks

very favorite recipes 

when she was little?

Go figure!

Here is Paula Deen's version:

Chocolate Gravy

1/3 stick butter

2/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/3 cup cocoa

2 cups whole milk

Heat butter in a cast iron skillet over low heat.

 Mix in sugar, flour and cocoa. 

Slowly pour 1 cup of milk into the skillet and 

whisk well to remove lumps.

 Whisk in remaining milk, stirring constantly, 

until mixture is thick,  being careful not to scorch. Serve hot over biscuits.

And, pluhleeeze- 

DO NOT let your kid

lick the plate

and put it back in the cupboard.

Let the dog do it.

source

I hope you all have a 

wonderful Sunday.

As for me,

I will be wearing my 

stretchy skirt so I can have

TWO helpings of 

CHOCOLATE GRAVY.

Oh- Yeah-
By the way---
I might have lied about the
CARB FREE PART.
Sorry 'bout that sucker!

I WANT A BRIDGE! AM I CRAZY?

Now I know that may sound

STRANGE to you...

but, after all, isn't a 

LOT of what I say

STRANGE?

I have always been fascinated

by old bridges.

I don't like going across them

BUT I do like

seeing them.

I always thought it would be

fun to have a little 

Open Air Cafe on one.

A place for women to

come and sit,

relax for a moment,

share a cup of coffee,

 and chat.

I know-I know-

C-R-A-Z-Y.

I would make the sides 

of it look like this

bridge in Northport, Michigan.

Here's the other side.

Wouldn't that be fun?

And, maybe a little shop off

to the side like the one

next to the bridge in 

Northport.

Do you think I could convince

MyHero to BUY me a bridge?

Nah- Me neither...

BUT GUESS WHAT?

I found one that is 

FREE!

AND they will deliver it!
Yes-indeedy-they will.

Well, I know 

SOME OF YOU

out there are going to 

try and beat me to the punch.

I already have my name in,

thank you!

Hmmmm...do you suppose 

this is the bridge

Billy Jo McCallister

jumped off of?

(some of you chicks are

WAY too young to remember

that song).

Maybe THAT is why it's for 

sale-it's haunted!

(Just trying to scare you 

off so you don't bid!;>)

I'll let you know when

it gets delivered
so you can get your
seating reservation in early!
Have your umbrella 
at the ready
in case it rains.

Happy Sunday!

ODE TO THE HYDRANGEA

Do you love 

HYDRANGEAS

like I do?

If so-

you may enjoy this sweet 

little poem in their honor!

THE HYDRANGEA

Oh- Sweet Mop Head 

that bobs and sways,

holding court in the garden

for long warm days.

We watch you bloom

pristine and white,

You shimmer by day

and glow at night.

When Fall comes tramping

down the lane,

You feel your life

Has been in vain.

Your time is limited

that we know.

What choice do we have

but to let you go?

But wait, oh wait,

Oh dear, Oh dread,

SOMEONE somewhere

lopped off your head.

And here you sit

Without a shout

For dear old Nana

Has dried you out.

And the great queen shouted to those below her.

"OFF WITH THEIR HEADS"

~The End~

Come back again-if you dare-

Have a wonderful, blessed Sunday-

AND

watch out for the cranky old lady

with scissors in her hand!

A POEM I WROTE FOR THE FOURTH OF JULY-

Happy Fourth Of July!

She's a grand old flag,

She has passed the test.
She has stood strong,
Guarded by the best.

The best of the best,
Have served her well,
From the mountain of Victory
To the pit of Hell.

Our soldiers have banded
One and all.
To fight for our freedom,
When they heard the call.

 I thank you soldiers,
Each and every one,
From father, mother & brother,
To daughter and son.

You have given yourselves,
That we might be free.
A big "thank you so much"
from my family and me. 

God bless you all,
Happy Fourth Of July.
Remember our freedom
Caused someone to die.

Raise up the families
Of those that are gone,
And pray for their peace
Until they all come home.

Blessings-
©Diana Kosmoski

TESTING THE 'FIX' BLOGGER SAYS IS FIXED

SO-

Let's see if this is 

TRUE!!!!

Copying and pasting this.

Two people have sent me

this fix.
Debby Ray & Lisa D!

Here it is and let's hope it works!

If so-we are back in business!!!!

How to get comments made on your blog go to your email again.

Go into your design wall and on left hand side go into your settings and then click on email and then where you have your email address in the comment notification box,delete it and then save and then re enter your email address and save again.

Then you will get an email from blogger with a invitation to receive comment notification and then click on SUBSCRIBE and then your emails will start coming through to your email address. 

SO LEAVE ME A COMMENT 
AND LET'S SEE IF THIS WORKS~!
amen

ps- Make SURE you hit SAVE when you delete your old email address and then re-enter the address and save it again.  Fingers crossed it works!
I hope---I hope---I hope!

UPDATED TO ADD:
You will get an "invitation" in your email to 
subscribe to the comments.
As soon as you hit accept you are 
IN LIKE FLYNN!

This is from Lisa D:
Go to your blogger dashboard (where you have all the settings and stuff).
On the left click on Emails.
Delete your email and save.
Then put your email back in and hit save again.

You will get an email asking you to “subscribe” to getting emails. 

(Do this for any reader emails you might have listed too so they will get the notification “subscribe too” email)

They have just made it a privacy thing so people will not get emails they do not want. Which I guess is a good thing)!!

I missed doing the subscription thing on my first try!

TAKING A BREAK UNTIL BLOGGER GETS A FEW THINGS FIXED

In the beginning-

I used to love to blog.

I looked forward to writing a post.

I looked forward to getting comments.

I looked forward to replying to

EVERY COMMENT

if there was an email addy connected.

I rolled with the punches

when blogger changed things up

on us over the years.

I hung in there and learned the new ropes.

I made many friends and know 

so many of you on a personal level

but

I have to say

THIS IS CRAZY!!!~

I don't know what the forces behind

the blog platform are thinking....

or ARE they thinking?

Anyway,

I know time is precious for all of us...

and, that being said,

I am working full-time.

I still have grandkids to haul around,

soccer and volleyball games to watch,

a new home to find,

and way too many other things going on

 to even mention.

I don't have time right now

to gnash my teeth over these

new "restrictions".

To me there is not much sense

in answering your comments

on the blog itself.

I don't know about you but 

I NEVER 

go back to see if someone

has responded to my comment.

I NEVER re-visit a blog 

(unless there is new content)

to see if someone replied to the

comment I left.

So-I am taking a break.

IF they can get some of 

THE ISSUES 

resolved-I will be back with

bells on! 

(well, and clothes,too, cuz the 

alternative just ain't purty)!

Love you guys!

You KNOW I do!!!!

FOR THOSE THAT ARE LOOKING TO FIX THEIR EMAIL/BLOGGER PROBLEM

I can't take credit for this

but I can sure 

spread the word.

Let's hope it works for some of us anyway!

http://www.lifeinmyemptynest.com/2018/05/fix-to-blogger-comment-issue.html

Fix to Blogger Comment Issue

Housekeeping post today.

So, Blogger is having a bit of a hiccup at the moment. For some reason, comment notifications are not being sent to my email. Since this is the easiest way to reply to comments, it is a problem.

After some research, I found out three things: 1) This is a widespread problem 2) After no response on the Blogger Product Forum all day, one of the experts finally replied that Blogger is working on it 3) In the meantime, there is a fix that is working for me. At the bottom of your post's comment section, check the box that says notify me. This basically subscribes you to all comments on that post and they will show up in your email inbox. You will need to do this on every new post.

Hope this helps! And share this too :-)

LOVING MY LILACS & HONORING GRAND GRADUATES

I apologize for being so sporadic

in posting lately.

Working everyday puts me 

a little bit behind.

I wish it would GIVE me a 

little behind-but that's another story.

Our growing season is a 

LITTLE BEHIND

in Wisconsin this year.

My lilacs are finally in full bloom.

I don't know what kind they are

but they are highly scented.

A larger shot of the bush.

Aren't they just gorgeous?

There is another big bush next to that one.

I think it probably needs trimming

this Fall-pruned back a bit so it

produces more heavily.

Along the foundation under 

my bedroom window I have

Columbine blooming and

buds on the peonies.

I love the deep cornflower blue of the 

columbine.

I look around and talk to myself

a bit- Oh-How-Pretty!

Yep- I am pretty happy

except when I see this....

the picnic table we move from

area to area.
Right now it is under the trees...

Know what I say to myself about that?

OH! CRAP!

YUCK!!!

Hope YOU have a wonderful day...

as for me-this day is for the birds!

Next year these scenes will all belong

to my son and daughter-in-law.

It is kind of weird to think I won't be 

living here anymore....

but...such is life, right?!

I will tell you my son washed that table

and the patio set and all the seating

areas yesterday.  Good boy!!!

Kinda makes up for all the chores

he DIDN'T do as a kid....Kinda!!!!

Our Aleena had a

BIG GRADUATION PARTY

here yesterday.
She graduated from high school.

Isn't she a beauty?

I might be a tad biased....

I hope to get around to visit everyone

in the next couple of days.

Our Ria graduated from 
eighth grade and is off and running
towards high school....
where HAS the time gone?

I am so annoyed that 

BLOGGER has once again

changed the game...

Your comments no longer come through

to my email-which makes it much more

difficult to reply.

Just know that I do read and treasure

every one of your comments....

cuz I love you guys (or gals)..or....

Have a wonderful week!!!!!