Poison Ivy update & Stella's turn at Grandma's....

First of all, if you've never taken Prednisone, don't. That's what my Dr. sent out so I just take things without seriously looking at side affects. My face got blistering hot and red as a beet. I had a headache and generally felt like my head was going to burst. So after using an ice bag on my face for an hour & taking Ibuprofen plus a Dr. Pepper and popcorn, I started feeling better. So today I've spread the pills out a little more. I'm showing signs of improvement although still a little scary looking.

This was Stella's day with Grandma and she decided to paint her stool. We got the closest color we could find to Grannie Smith apple green. I found 4 of these stools in a junk store that had been cut down and they fit perfectly under an old school table I bought so the kids can use it on the back porch. My plan is to paint them all the same green and they can each paint them the way they want on top of the green. You can see that she had paint all over including the tip of her nose.


This is Sage up in his tree. He loves climbing trees and if you can't find him these days, just check out the tree. He's driving Mom crazy these days -- he's such a boy. He's so excited that summer is finally here. Only 2 1/2 days & he's through. He's going to be on a swimming team this summer at their neighborhood pool so they're all geared up to spend their days at the pool.

I can still remember how it felt to walk out of school that last day and kicking your shoes off & rarely putting them back on until after Labor Day. My memories of summer are of catching lightening bugs at night & putting them in a glass jar, playing hide & seek until too dark then sleeping with the bedroom windows pushed up as high as they would go to try and stay cool. Our fun was all around home. My family grew watermelons and sometimes my brother would pick one & we'd sit in the yard & let the juice run down our bare bellys until the flys moved in and Mom would hose us down.

Our only vacations were when Mom & Dad packed us all in our station wagon and took us to western Kansas to visit our cousins. No air conditioning in the car & all the windows rolled down but did we ever have a good time! Have times ever changed!!!!

I've decided this summer I'm going to do more things that feel like summer. I'm getting my old White Mountain ice cream freezer out and making strawberry and peach ice cream. I'm buying lemons to make real lemonade with real sugar and throwing that fake stuff out. I'm eating BLT's at least a couple times a week & making wilted lettuce with real bacon grease. Who knows --I may even buy a bike.

Happy Summer!

Right of Spring -- poison ivy....

If you've never had poison ivy on your face consider yourself lucky. Somewhere out in my backyard I have come in contact with the dreaded weed. Man does it ever itch!!!! My doctor sent some medicine so maybe it won't last so long.

While I worked at Leola's yesterday, I took some pictures. We're doing some red, white & blue now with summer is upon us. We're planning a big tag sale in front of the shop for Saturday, June 6. Everyone is cleaning out their garages & getting rid of a lot of "stuff" so we can go buy more "stuff". Isn't that the game we play? So plan on coming on the 6th for some really great bargains.

I love, love, love this table. It's an old table with tin on top. How about that little bathtub?

This is some of Kristi's jewelry. She has some wonderful pieces in right now.

OK! Guess I'd better go put some medicine on before I start scratching again. Oh, misery!!! Pardon me while I feel sorry for myself. It might help too if it would quit raining and the sun would come out. Whine, whine, whine!!!!

Farmer's Market & my yard.....

I love the farmer's mkt. We're really blessed to have the choices we have in our part of the country. Lots of organic offerings too. We also have amazing flowers. One of the best is Donald. He's been at the market for as long as I've been going. Everyone (including my g'kids) know his name and he remembers everyone from year to year. If I need help with my flowers, he's the man I go to.

This is one of my zucchini plants I put in my front yard. The big yellow flower is great in a flower bed plus the fact that this dirt has never grown vegies.

This is my backyard garden. We've had a long, cool spring which is perfect for those early crops.

This is another workday so I'm off to Leola's. Monday was a big day for Lamberts so we had lots of people strolling (1 1/2 hr. wait for lunch) so hopefully, we'll have "real" shoppers today.

Happy Memorial Day!

It's been a nice, quiet day around my hacienda & it felt pretty good. I worked in my garden and got a few more things planted. The heirloom seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds in Mansfield MO that I've planted have done extremely well. I've already used some of the arugula & radishes and I would definitely use these seeds again. The spinach is coming along as are the snowpeas. Judy felt the same about her heirloom seeds. Allison started heirloom tomatoes and cucumbers and they're in the ground. I also planted some really different squash & a lemon cucumber (not because of it's taste but because of the shape & color). I have eggplant & squash in my front flower bed. They should look great with their big flowers.

Several people have asked for my chicken salad recipe. It's a summer favorite around here so thought I'd post it now so you can make it all summer. I usually use a roasted chicken from the grocery store rather then cook breasts. Last week when I fed about 24 people, I only used 2 chickens & I don't use the darker meet. Just the thighs with all the white meat & I tear the meat rather then cut it. I just don't like little cut chunks.


Flying Farmer Chicken Salad

5 cups cooked chicken
2 tablespoons salad oil
2 tablespoons orange juice
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 tsp. salt
Combine these ingredients & let stand while preparing remaining salad ingredients. (Can be refrigerated overnight.)

3 cups cooked rice (let cool to at least room temp.)
1 1/2 cups small green grapes (or red -- seedless)
1 1/2 cups sliced celery
1 (13 1/2 oz.) can pineapple tidbits (drained well)
1 (11 oz.) can mandarin oranges (drained well)
1 cup toasted slivered almonds
1 1/2 cup mayonnaise (I prefer Hellmans)
Combine all ingredients and mix well.
Serves 12

Leola's will be open tomorrow so I'll be working on Memorial Day. It looks like it's suppose to rain so we could be busy. Hope so, anyway. It's getting to the end of the month & we're all trying to sell like crazy so we'll have money for our trip. If anyone has a suggestion for where we could stay near Walnut, Iowa, wish they would let us know.

Graduation day & an amazing yard......

This was Stella's & Phoebe's graduation day from pre-kindergarten. They were so cute and acted so grown-up. I don't know where 5 yrs. have gone but they have flown. We'll not be going to Kingsway anymore to pick up kids from school. Next year they'll be in public school with Sage. Kingswood has been the most wonderful place for my grandchildren. It became like a second home. They know everyone's name and everyone knows theirs. In a world that can be so scary for children, these children have been so blessed.

After I left the festivities, I went by a friend's house to check out his yard & take some pictures. I can't tell you how many times I drive by just to look at his yard -- I'm sure the neighbors think I'm a stalker. It's just an amazing yard. Check out the front porch. He has hung plates & a shelf with terra cotta pots on it and twig furniture.

This is one of several succulent wreath that he wintered over. They are so amazing. I purchased everything to make one so if I get it done, I'll take a picture & post it.

Here's another shot of the front porch. Everything is so unexpected but looks so homey.

Have a wonderful Memorial Weekend. I'm so ready to feel like it's summertime. My sisters & I are planning a trip soon that will coincide with the big sale on Father's Day weekend in Walnut , Iowa. I am sooooo ready to get on the road.

Happy Birthday, Judy!

Yesterday was Judy's birthday. It was a beautiful day for a party and we had a great one. Below is a picture of Judy and me -- she's the tall one. It's the short space of time where she's actually bigger then me. We were the 6th & 7th of 8 children and have always been very close. No matter what happens, I know I can depend on her. She's always there. Happy Birthday, Judy!

A busy Saturday at Leola's...

We went into Leola's to leave some things and lucky we did because Kenda was slammed. The last few Saturdays have been really busy--thankfully. I think it's getting to the place where we're going to have 2 people on weekends. That's a good place to be.

I'm having a birthday party Tuesday night for Judy. Wish I didn't work tomorrow because I really have a lot of work to do but I always end up getting it done. I got the screened -in porch cleaned but I still have to put the clean covers on all the wicker furniture. Thank heaven for staple guns. We're having my world famous chicken salad, Annie's stuffed cherry tomatoes & mini-pizzas, angel food cake with strawberries and Bev's really excellent chocolate covered strawberries. We'll actually be able to eat on the porch.

Judy found this vintage plastic raincoat in Pam's area and it fit her perfectly. I don't know why she didn't wear the scarf.

Jean and Kay took a little break on Linda's wicker sofa.This is one of Pam's new styles. It's black & it's so cute.

This is one of her new projects. She did a slipcover on this wingback with a little ruffle around the bottom. I would love to take this home.

Judy did this cute table arrangement. Don't you love the place cards?

This was an adorable pink shelf that a young woman bought for her apartment. It matched the peonies exactly.

Hope everyone has a great week. The sun is suppose to shine all week -- yea!!!

I forgot......

Sorry, I forgot to tell everyone that I tagged that you're suppose to link to my blog and then tag 6 other bloggers. I think that's everything. I'm really not very good at this but it's my maiden voyage in tagging. Thanks.

I've been tagged!

This is my first time being tagged so I'm giving it a try. David , from Student of Life http://snakelover61.blogspot.com/ tagged me so I'm suppose to list 6 things that perhaps you wouldn't know about me.

Step 1: Things about me:
1. My big dream is to spend a summer on Nantucket.
2. I'm happiest with my hands in the dirt.
3. My favorite concert of all-time was James Taylor.
4. My greatest accomplishment is the excellent job I did raising my daughter.
5. The biggest surprise of my life is how much I love my grandchildren.
6. I'm much stronger then most people think.

Step 2: Tag, you're it:
1.Ragamuffin Gal
2. Moonlight Hollow Musings
3. Wish on a Whisker
4. Sweet Repose
5. Serendipity Antiques
6. Polka Dot Barn

I'll say what David told us -- If you don't feel like doing this, it's ok. I just thought it was nice to be tagged. Have fun!!!

Work day at Leola's....

It was my work day at Leola's and they kept me hopping. It was one of those beautiful late Spring days like we haven't had many of. The doors could be open and people seemed happy to be out -- thankfully!

Brenda came in to work and we found the perfect hat for her outfit. Some people can wear anything. We had lunch in the tearoom next door. We had a roast beef sandwich with cold mango soup -- yummy! I hope they do well. They're such nice people and work so hard. Anyway, Brenda worked so hard and her area looks incredible.

This is my area with drawers stacked with tin backs. I gave some to Sage to put on top of his desk for some of his art supplies and small stuff.

This is Kelli's chair she put the seat in with an old feed bag. The flowers are Brenda's. I brought one home for my bathroom since I have no natural light in there. Usually I prefer fresh but sometimes they don't do well inside.

This is Brenda's chair that is also covered with an old feedsack. It is the greatest chair & there's another picture that has a stool that she covered with a feedsack also.

This is the stool. The cute rack with hooks on it she made out of old door fronts. They would be so great in a bathroom for wet towels or at the back door for wet swimsuits.

I love these flashcards. You can use them so many ways.

Happy Mother's Day!

This is my Mom -- and June's, Jean's, Bud's, Andy's, Linda's, Judy's and Mary's. She didn't have an easy childhood. Her parents died when she was only 12 and left her and her siblings orphans. Although she seldom talked about her childhood, we knew that was the reason she was so determined that her children's lives would be different. She and our dad allowed us to grow up in a safe and secure environment.

For many years Mom made most of our clothes, always had a hot meal on the table, and did everything she knew to do to give us a good sense of ourselves. She never had a drivers license but she made sure we all got to where we needed to be.

She loved us all dearly and when we started having our own children, she loved them and made them all feel like they were her favorite.

I'm so grateful to the dear Lord for giving me my Mom.

My good friend, Barbara, suggested I post these pictures. This was the girls' Mother's Day tea at school and I was lucky enough to get to go. We had a terrible storm in the morning so they had to have it without electricity. It was wonderful. I'm so grateful for all the things I'm able to do with Allison and her children. I'm a lucky Grandma.

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms. Hope your son-in-law is fixing you lunch.

Life is good!

It's so good to hear good news. Finally, the media is bringing us some hope about the economy and we can open our doors and take the masks off cause swine flu isn't the threat originally thought. To top it all off, I got my tomatoes in the ground. Life is good! I find myself being afraid of what "may" happen tomorrow and forgetting to appreciate all the good that I'm experiencing today.

Today is my day to work at Leola's. Kelli was really busy yesterday so I'm sure there will be some cleaning to do. So far, May has been an excellent month and with all the new things the women are bringing in, it's certain to last.

Tomorrow is Mother's Day tea at Stella's and Phoebe's school and I've been invited to attend. Can't believe that the end of school is so near. They are so excited about summer and all the good things that come with it. Hopefully, they can have some of those lazy days where they just hang out and do mostly nothing. I hope that mostly for Allison. It's hard keeping up with 3 kids, a house, a job, church, & all the other things life throws at you. Happy Mother's Day and summer vacation my dear Allison!

Mindy & David came for a visit.....

We had visitors at Leola's on Sunday. Primitiques 'n Poetry Mindy & David from http://snakelover61.blogspot.com came to visit us on Sunday after a meal at Lambert's (home of throwed rolls). They only had to wait an hour. Lucky for them that Ozark is an antiquer's dream. I loved meeting them after all these weeks of talking to each other through our blogs. It was hard to stop talking long enough for them to get any shopping done but they managed a little. We also got to wish David a "happy birthday".
We've worked so hard the last few days at the shop. We sold lots of furniture last week so on Sunday we worked inside bringing in new pieces so today we finished inside then worked on our front porch. Judy and Linda planted ferns and flowers in the urns (I swept the sidewalks). It looks so good and springy. We were told it needed to be "feminined up" out front so we think we did it. Nothing makes Judy angrier then for a guy to come in looking for NASCAR collectibles.

Allison and the girls came to visit and the girls decided to try on Carol Ussery's hats. She carries hats and lots of vintage millinery flowers. Aren't they adorable?