Oh! My head!

Oooh. . . the pain of it all.  Why??

Head feels like it is an over-inflated basketball in a vice.  Squeeze. . . tap-tap-tap on the right temple then squeeeeeze.  Isn't that a western line dance?

Vision is blurry like I'm looking at things underwater.  Which, actually, I would *never-ever* do.  Go underwater OR open my eyes underwater.  Not happening!

Ears ringing ringing ringing.  Out of tune, I might add.

Stomach feels like a little kids firefly jar on a July night - flutter flutter flutter.

And so incredibly pass-out sleepy.

Wiiiiiindy Wednesday ~

Google may just have to change our position on their maps.  Yes.  It's that windy.  The first warm and sunny day we've had in awhile and wind has insisted on joining in.

Had plans to get my pepper and tomato plants in their pot-homes as I finallly have plenty of potting soil.  But it's just too windy to do anything like that.  Crossing my fingers for tomorrow. 

They are *ready* to put down roots

and give us lots and lots of fruits! 

Did you like how that rhymed?  I know a tomato is called a fruit - anybody know about peppers?

Menu Monday - Key Lime Meringue Pie

YUM!

If you're one of my Fans on FB, you already know the menu I'm going to share with you today. . . but if you're not - I've simply got to tell you!  It was THAT delicious:-)

Friday night the oven and grill aligned and we had a delicious meal:  Pork tenderloin carefully grilled by Hubster, sweet-potato fries baked by yours truly, and a keylime meringue pie that just miraculous appeared. . . well. . . not quite.  I whipped it up too!  The pie crust did seem to just appear. . . Hubster went to my stash of extra homemade pie crusts I keep in the freezer (my recipe makes four crusts) and TA-DA!  Piecrust all ready to be filled!

Everything's Coming Up Roses!

Well. . . Not quite.

Planted this one yesterday - a pretty pink-pink ruffly one that Hubster brought home for me.  CanNOT wait for it to bloom!  Doesn't look like much now - but I KNOW it'll be gorgeous later this summer:-)

And this one used to be a yellow one tipped in red.  But it changed it's mind and now it's a bringht pink and blooms and blooms and blooms.  I'm so glad it made it through winter!  I need to get out there and trim the dead wood off so it looks presentable again.

Have a good day - the GREEN way!

Putting GREEN food coloring in the water for my cut hydrangea. Yup. That was the white one from Easter. It's turning a lovely shade of green with dark blue little eyes.  Pretty!  Thank you J-girl:-)

Lighting seven GREEN candles.

It's Blooming Spring - HOORAY!

So I've been hard at work play planting all those beautiful plants from Arnold's Greenhouse.  And, lucky me- this past weekend found me at yet another greenhouse and, of course, I came home with a bit more.  You know, just to fill up the baskets and planters.  Necessary plants.  Of course.

In these barrels: 

*Coleus (Colissima Capri)

*Viola (Gem Plum Antique)

*Nemesia (Opal Innocence)

*Coleus (Redhead)

*Petunia (Debonair Lime Green)

*Lantana (Peach Sunrise)

*Hedera Helix (Gold Child Ivy)

*Petunia (Double Carnation Pink)

Foodie Friday - New Mexico Style

Hubster made this fabulous New Mexico style meal about a month ago.  I've been wanting to share it with you and since I've been craving it ever since we ran out of the leftovers. . . Lucky Me -Hubster's agreed to make it again this weekend.  YIPPEEEE!

What a great time to share the recipes so you can make it with us!

The tasty meal consisted of three components - a burrito-style filling wrapped in a flour tortilla, a spicy cheese sauce and a red chili sauce.  The first two 'yums' were our own creation, but the red chili sauce recipe was found on the internet - click on the recipe's title for some background about it and more recipes from the cook herself.

The Flower-Power Hookie Report

Yup.  Making a public announcement here (are you reading this one, boss?).  I PLAYED HOOKIE YESTERDAY!  And was it ever fun!

Good music on the radio, warm sun in the sky, and petal. . . ummmm. . . pedal to the metal all the way to Leroy, Kansas to a little (not so much) place called Arnold's Greenhouse.  This is a trip that was delayed for entirely too long and now I can't wait to go back!  Not sure why I never trekked the 45 minutes before.  Is an easy drive on good roads and most definitely worth the trip.

I took lots of pics of the trip (No.  I don't text and drive - that's too dangerous!) and the outside of the garden center.  Come with me!

Nesting Part 2. . . Around the House

Ready for a mini-staccato tour of all the nesty-things I have around the house.?

 Now, mind you - this isn't everything 'birdy'.  I still haven't traded out some of my Easter-y things for my 'normal' summer-fall decorations.  But my nests go from Easter to Summer to Christmas with a simple flick of a fuzzy chick or a piece of star garland at the ready.  HA!

Let's start at the front door.  Now, the egg wreath in the middle is replaced with a vintagey-Christmas one during winter.  I do adore the subtle green, blue, cream, and tan speckled hued eggs.  Wish it would have shown better in this photos.  But it's quite striking against my navy door with the deep green evergreen wreath around it.   Kind of sets the stage for my favorite colors inside the house - Welcome!

Nesting All The Way

Ahhhh. . . . Spring.  Sigh.  Wonderful!  Isn't Spring wonderful?

Warmer temperatures mean open windows which means I get to hear the birds chirping.  I LOVE that!  My office / studio is on the second floor of our home and the west window looks directly out into a mostrous walnut tree - it's almost like being in a treehouse!  I get to watch birds come and go and the squirrels chase each other around and around the massive trunk.  Maybe it's because of my name, but I have a real affinity to birds (not just robins, hehehe) and LOVE all the beautiful 'nature' stuff that goes with them. 

Dishes, Dishes, Dishes

The hardest thing I've ever done?!?!?! No. . . well. . . maybe. . . can't be. Shouldn't be. Well, it is!
Looking for dinner plates to go with my dishes. That's all. Those birdy dishes I showed you in a previous post started something. They inspired me to get all of my dinnerware coordinated and updated. You can just get a glimpse of my square luncheon plates in a milky cream stoneware with a 'beaded edge' under one of the bird plates. This shouldn't be too hard. No, not at all.

Let's Do Cheese - CAKE, That Is!

I promised another recipe. . . and yes, I know, I went missing yesterday.  The Easter Afterglow finally caught up with me.  No, of course not, it had nothing to do with all the Easter cupcakes and cookies I ate.  Nothing at all.  Ahem.

I had *real* cheesecake for the first time as a young adult in a restaurant.  I was in love!  The restaurant was in no easy proximity of my home to have cheesecake regularly - and no restaurants within easy distance to get *real* cheesecake - so I went (quite sadly and literally) years without another taste of cheesecake. 

Easter After-glow. . . so sweet it is!

OH!  How I do love Easter!  If you follow me on Facebook, you can tell this by my posts throughout the weekend.  We certainly had a lovely one this year - despite the windy-winds.  Sunny and warm with flowers blooming in the gardens as well as on the table (thanks J-girl and C-girl) - aren't those gorgeous hydrangea and lilies?!?!

We had tons of great food and beautiful cupcakes (thanks A-niece and K-girl) and cookies - yum!  Hubster most certainly outdid himself this year on the prime rib.  Delish!  Oh yes, there are leftovers - but not because anybody went hungry - because there was just more tasty food than what our tum-tums could handle.

With that, I will leave you with some photos to gaze upon.  I am going through Easter withdrawal and basking in the sun-glow of it's aftermath.  Can't wait til next year!

Cooking up some Easter

HEY!  Let's dive right in with a recipe, shall we? 

Remember the menu?   Menu Monday blog

And I just made:

Spicy-Lime Cranberry Sauce

12 oz fresh or frozen (thawed) cranberries
8 oz pineapple tidbits (juice-packed) undrained
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup water
1 fresh jalepeno, seeded and finely minced
2 tsp finely shredded fresh lime peel
1/8 tsp cinnamon