How does your garden grow....

If the sun would come out the garden would grow like crazy. We just are having tons of rain. I haven't put any starter plants in the ground yet because of the heavy rains. I'm afraid they'll get beat down. According to several suggestions, I did plant an eggplant start & a zucchini start in one of my front flower beds. Instead of putting in annuals this year, I'm going to plant more veggies in my flower beds. Since the squash beetles usually get my zucchini in the garden, maybe they won't know they're out front & I'll have zucchini to do heaven knows what with.
These are onions peeking out & arugula is behind it. I've used old chair parts to mark different areas. There's also spinach & another variety of heirloom lettuce. I love going out and picking my salad for dinner.

This is one of my rhubarb plants. It's doing really well. As soon as it gets picking size, I'll post my zucchini cake recipe. I also love strawberry/rhubarb pie.

These fern get taller every year. They're nice to block the ugly chain-link fence.

Hopefully, I'll be able to work & get some weeds out tomorrow. I would just like a week of sunny days and warm temps.

Also, if anyone has a great way of composting, I'd love to know about it. My compost pile is so hard to manage.

Friend Jane's & son-in-law John's birthdays.

Saturday was my friend Jane's birthday so after going to the Russell's sale we all met at Spring Creek Tearoom for lunch. Jane and I have known each other since college but have been good friends for probably 20 years. We have been through so much together. I don't know what I'd do with out her. Below is Jane, Judy, Bev, Judy (my sister) & me.

Our plates were so pretty that I had to take a picture of them. They tasted even better then they looked.

Saturday was also my son-in-law John's birthday so we had a party tonight (Sunday) at my house. It was such a beautiful night & we got to eat on the porch. Our good friends, Katie & Mark Struckoff, came for dinner and they seemed to enjoy the craziness. John's Mom , Pam, made a scrumptious cheesecake for a birthday cake & a good time was had by all.

Mel's & Brian's sale -- The Seedbox!

Judy & I got up early this morning and drove to Chadwick to Mel's & Brian's sale. It was such a beautiful drive with all the flowering trees, the bright green hillsides and the blue sky. The Russell's house is a wonderful country house with a wrap-around porch that sets on a hill with an incredible view of the rolling hills. Believe me when I say they are out in the country -- way out in the country. Thought you might enjoy seeing these pictures.

Judy and Mel loading our purchases.

This cheesecloth hides their television.

Sorry but someone left their styrofoam cup on the table.

The dogwoods are in bloom!

The dogwoods are in bloom in the Ozarks. Our part of the country is alive with the blooms of Spring . I drove through Springfield yesterday and there's hardly a yard that doesn't have at least one dogwood tree. The hills in the countryside are full of pink and white dogwoods. It's truly a glorious time to be in the Ozarks.

The buses are back-- must be Spring!

This was one of my days to work. Luckily, the sun was shining and the front door was open all day. It's also the only weekday that Spring Creek Tearoom is closed so our new Lemondrop Tearoom gets really busy. Unfortunately, the buses landed at Lambert's (home of throwed rolls) so we had lots of sight-seers through. It's amazing how many people can walk through and never spend a penny. They're mainly killing time until they hear their name called on the loud-speaker that booms out over the neighborhood. Then they all make a run for Lambert's front door. We get lots of good customers from Lamberts but they don't often come by bus. We prefer those big ole' honkin' SUV's -- especially the one's pulling the big ole' boats.

These are a few pictures from the shop. It's looking so good right now.


Judy feels pretty sure that it's marijuana printed on the front of these dishes. Somehow I don't think so but one never knows -- does one!!!

This is an old metal cupola that Linda brought in. Wouldn't this be great in a garden area?

Tomorrow might hit 80 here so I'll be spending at least part of the day in the garden. I find myself running out to the garden a couple times a day to see if anything green is peeking through. My rhubarb is looking good so maybe son-in-law, John, will get rhubarb cake for his birthday.

A busy weekend....

It was a beautiful Saturday morning and I got a little more gardening done. Then in the afternoon it started raining. I've given up on getting the garden tilled so I'm just digging it up little by little. It's so different doing everything by yourself. Mike always did the heavy stuff & I did the rest. Now I have to devise methods to do the heavy stuff. Thank heavens I have wagons and I'm strong. Anyway, it's looking good and with this rain and the warm week it should really take off.

I did manage to get some buying done for Leola's. These spice cabinets are wonderful. I've decided to hang them on my walls at home for awhile and take something down.

This mirror was kind of grungy so I did a little work on it and added a coat of varnish. It totally changed. Can you believe the wonderful yellow ware sugar crock!!!! It's amazing. You can never have enough candlesticks.

This color is so not me but is so popular right now. Not sure who made the vase but it says USA on the bottom. The little silver cat will probably be the first thing that sells. Anything with an animal on it seems to sell immediately -- especially when it's under $10.

This weather brings everyone out looking for gardening things. It seems to be really popular to put garden areas in your front yard so this calls for all kinds of different things. I'm putting cane poles in a tent in a front garden and planting squash and then trying cherry tomatoes with them. It will be so much better to use the area for vegetables then having to buy annuals that will die in August.

Look who's turning five.....

Where does the time go? Seems these two were just born and here they are turning five years old. They are the dearest g'daughters any g'mother ever had. They bring me such joy. Sometimes I get so scared when I think of the world they're growing up in. What can you do to protect them. In all reality I know there's no way to protect them from everything but I'll sure give it one heck of a try. One thing for sure they will grow up knowing they're loved by lots of people and the security of knowing they have a Mom and Dad who will always love and take care of them and a couple of Grandmothers who will always be there for them. They also have a belief in God that is so simple and pure and a church family that has promised to always be there for support and love. We sure can't forget they have a great big brother who will hopefully be there to keep all those boys under control.

Happy Birthday, Stella and Phoebe, and may your 5th year be full of joy .

Back to work at Leola's.....

What a good big brother! He's reading their new "Fancy Nancy" book to them. We had a really good Easter. We mostly just have bad coughs left from the virus. If we could just have a couple of sunny, warm days maybe we would all feel better.

I'm going back to work today at Leola's. It will be my first regular day back since Mike died. I just want to get back to some normalcy in my life and hopefully, this will help. It's been hard to regain the enthusiasm but this week there's a big antique sale & next week Melanie and Brian from the Seedbox are having one at their place near Chadwick so maybe I'll get some projects started. And a little dose of Spring would definitely help.

By the way, if you're in Ozark this week, try out our new tearoom "The Lemondrop", We had their cinnamon rolls this week and they were yummy. Hopefully, I can use a little self-control.

Have a great week!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter to everyone. Hope we all have a wonderful, peaceful day. We will go to church and then come here for lunch. It's suppose to rain so eggs might have to be hidden on the back porch. The little ones still have coughs so we'll try to keep it a calm day. Maybe if we could have 2 days in a row with sunshine and warmth we could all get well.

.This was the bread I made today. It was really yummy and without a doubt the easiest bread I've ever made. It doesn't have to be kneaded and you store it in the fridge and just cut off what you need and let it rest for about an hour before it goes into the oven . It tastes like real Italian bread.

Love the free form shape of it too.

Have a great Sunday.

Still waiting for Spring!

These are some dishes I purchased recently. They are that wonderful weathered white color.

It was a cold and dismal day in the Ozarks. It was one of those days when you need the lights on & the heat. Just wish Spring would stay around for a few days straight. I haven't been able to even get my garden tilled. What's the deal with this weather? So many people are sick, including Allison & the g'kids. If I had lots of money, I'd pack us all up & go somewhere warm. Guess that's not going to happen!

Since I didn't want to get out today, I decided to do a little more bread experimenting. Recently I purchased the book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day because it had been mentioned repeatedly on the blogs. You make a large batch of dough that will make several loaves and then keep it in the fridge for up to 14 days. There's no kneading. I used my mixer with dough hooks just until everything is combined. It rose beautifully and then it was placed in the fridge. Can't wait to bake some. I'll let you know how it turns out.

I'm fixing Easter dinner for my little family and John's Mom on Sunday. Sometimes it's just too much trying to get everyone together and I thought the little ones weren't up to a big crowd. We'll just have the usual ham/deviled eggs fare but I bought beautiful strawberries to dip in chocolate. My friend, Annie, brought these over one night and there's no going back. They're every one's favorite.

Check out some prices at Leola's....

Shad, Judy's son, is visiting from Chicago (soon to be St. Louis) with his dog, Lucie. Lucie is undoubtedly the most adorable dog I've ever seen. Shad & his friend Rob adopted 2 siblings & Lucie became Shad's. You wouldn't believe how these dogs looked when they got them & the amazing transformation that love and tender care have made in these dogs. They're 2 lucky dogs and 2 lucky guys.

I took some pictures at the shop after reading some blogs on how expensive things were in Texas this year. Thought it might encourage people to try Ozark, Missouri, for a little antiquing trip. The little wood tool box was priced at $14.00. The large oval wood framed mirror is $49.50 & the brown wicker chair in front of it is $48.00.

T his yellow velvet french style chair is marked $195.00 & the white Adirondack chair is marked $80.00. The dark cabinet is so cool. It has been converted into a wine cabinet with slated shelves that slide out & is a bargain at $179.00. The next little french provincial style chair is only $110.00. The upholstery on both of these chairs is in really good shape.

This is an adorable white chest that is only $185.00 & the amazing french stuffed dress form is $165.00.

This is a really small selection of our inventory but thought it would be interesting to show some of the prices. We feel like our area has some of the best places to antique and our prices are really competitive. If you're ever interested in coming, just contact us & we'll head you in the right direction.

Business at Leola's

I think I've decided to put wood floors in my hearth room and hallway. Eventually I'll do the bedrooms too but I'll save my money & do one bedroom at a time. We've lived here for 25 years & some of the carpet was already in the house so it's time. I'm so excited! Maybe they'll be done by Easter.

Went to Leola's today to check things out & I couldn't believe how bare my space looks. I have to get to work. We've been very busy the last couple of weeks & the merchandise is rolling out. People are starting to travel to Branson again plus we have lots of good customers that just keep coming back (bless their hearts). Now we're getting a new tearoom next door & that will certainly be good for business. It's called the Lemondrop Tearoom & it opens tomorrow. It will be so nice to have someplace for people to eat besides Lamberts. We have Spring Creek Tearoom in downtown Ozark but it's always packed & some people don't have time to wait.

Tomorrow, Linda, Judy & myself are taking a little buying trip. Hopefully, we'll find a few things. I have to pick up ivy for the shop. I sell fresh ivy & I'm completely out so I'm on the road.

We'll see what happens. Later.