Vibrant Summer Flowers and Fruit

Poppy's Flower

       Lovely is unspoken beauty of flower. The sweet smell of its petals in your hand, as they grow like a miracle from there stems. A Precious gift from mother nature for many to admire...but for few to truly understand.

For the blossoming of there beauty is a miracle on a sunny spring day. Reaching higher and higher towards the sun as the grow more lovely.

But no know just how they grow or why they bloom...Like love within a persons heart.

craig moon

Goat Cheese and Watermelon Bites

Ingredients

• 1 small watermelon 
• 1 (4-oz.) goat cheese log, softened 
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• Garnishes: fresh basil and freshly ground pepper 
  
  Preparation

1. Cut half of watermelon into 1-inch-thick slices. Cut slices into 25 rounds, using a 2-inch round cutter. Scoop just enough melon from tops to form indentations, using a melon baller. Stir together goat cheese, 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil, salt, and 1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper. Spoon into indentations. Chill 1 to 2 hours. Garnish, if desired. Country Living Magazine

No teeth required!
Oh! I'm going to be a 
Nana in December!

Yay! Jennifer

Savoring A Day....

On a crisp Autumn day, it's not easy to awake. The air is chilled and the covers so very toasty. We snuggle and want to stay spooned under the cotton covers savoring our warmth. Blankets are on, layer upon layer. It's that time of year.

Mornings are such a treasure. We lay side by side and think about the day. The weather has a chill to it. We'll wear sweaters and scarves and jeans instead of summer clothes. Hot coffee and the scent of cinnamon will fill the kitchen when we finally drag ourselves out of bed. Warm spoonfuls of oatmeal, honey wheat toast with creamy butter. How lucky we are to have this day.

Warm showers are in order after breakfast and we'll decide how to spend our day. There's a smell in the air of leaves,rotting wood, the last lawns to be mowed.

Cozy can be with anyone you love or care about.

Cozy can be alone. It's about a fall or winter morning or night when you just want to cuddle under the covers. It's the appreciation of warmth and comfort. The enjoyment of being near another human being. Or sleeping in and staying up. Reading when you want to with your favorite blanket surrounding you in this protective case of fiber = your cocoon.

it's Mommy love...
it's Grandma's house...

it's "I want to be left alone."
But on that day set aside for you and me - I want to enjoy every cuddle, hear your heart beat, feel you near me. I want to give you my warmth and savor our closeness. Oh, to wake with someone you love ...what will we do my love? 

No Springs Attached! WINTER - Forget about YOU!

i'm soooo over it!

winter that is!

and these

and these too!

I want to revel at nature

see fresh new buds popping through the earth

plant flowers and watch them grow

breath deeply

blossoms, buds, blooms

and Oh, Dear Lord, the birds! 

On The Edge - God Only Knows

on the edge....a story

the story began in the garden....my garden.
Great plans were in Jennifer's vivid imagination for pots and herbs, posies and ferns. Tools were assembled for the extended weekend and the skies were blue. The copper colored Daschund gazed from her table perch pushing the tender summer screen shaping her pointed nose to find freedom. Thomas, the puppy's furry feline toyed with her emotions and temper under a nearby shrub. Elderly, somewhat dazed Spice lay panting under the dining room table not sure where she should be or who she was.
It was to be a day of joy and energy. A day of progress and toil.

 The gardener tilled and pulled and tugged and crawled, snipped and dug and planted. Pots were filled and blooms were lovingly placed. Somehow, through it all her husband slept peacfully,clueless to the excitement!
Manicures meant nothing! Full speed ahead, nature was at work.

Three kinds of hot peppers, cilantro, Thai basil, 2 kinds
of parsley, tomatoes of 4 varieties. Cell phone be damned!
Glass after glass of water was inhaled. Nature's milk.
Is this a little much?   Too bad it's MY STORY.

Jennifer felt as if she were on the edge - it was all coming together - getting so much done. The roses were blooming, yuccas shooting up to the clouds, honeysuckle fragrant to the bees buzzing. Loving it all. Pee breaks for the doggies. Autumn barking at air.
John gathering piles and piles of weeds weary and asking what he was supposed to do with it all. Exhausted after 10 hours of sleep.
Alas, the day is done. The grill is lit and all is well. Time for laundry, dishes and an ice cold shower for the garden fairy.
Ahhhh, feet go up and a smoky hot dog is consumed by the maker of mayonasy (word?) potato salad. Jennifer finishes her book with great satisfaction but a touch of sadness because she loves Jodi Piccoult as an author.

Darkness comes. Sleep is pleasant. Morning arrives.
Time to harvest the chives for winter. They are snipped,

cleaned, chopped and frozen. Oregano and basil - the same!  More weeds to pull. John is catching his 10 hour zzzzz's. It should be said by this author that he works a 70 hour 6 day week. Not a whimp by any means.
He smokes ribs, hot dogs and hamburgers are grilled.
Crispy corn is cooked. More weeds are pulled while the dogs gaze panting from their special grassy spots.

There was a brief period when Jennifer was taking her life for granted and sweating the small stuff. Not putting her faith in God and letting HIM handle her worries the way she usually would. Then a Hemmorrroid appeared - she saw the pain in it's pain and presence and had a conversation with God. It went like this "OK Lord, I get it - I see that things CAN be worse and I will come to YOU in prayer as I need to. " and she smiled. Things CAN be worse.

 LIFE continued, the garden bloomed.
Somehow in the busy times of work, school, LIFE - it was fast approaching the 1 year mark of Jennifer's CT Scan for her Kidney Cancer recheck. A Ct Scan every 3 months - not fun. She forgot her conversation with GOD, momentarily. She worried on her own.

she was on the edge
This woman of faith had spent a great deal of her glorious weekend fretting about her upcoming CT Scan instead of truly enjoy 3 days of furries, hubby and God's gifts. KAPOW! Scratch, scratch, itch, itch, itch.
POISON IVY! Even on her, well, on her...well...um, ahhh...hoo hoo.

   Jennifer looked in the mirror at her bubbling neck and her blooming arms and chest and just couldn't believe what was happening to her! She called her husband in to the bathroom and said "Is this what I THINK it is!!??!!". And he said "Poison Ivy?" as he stepped back in fear. This was new. This was different.
"Oh God, you do have the best sense of humor!" Jennifer said. She wasn't quite sure if others saw it that way. But HE knows her so well. I'm sure the radiologist will find it amusing to hear about the poison ivy story. Jennifer does not think the two huge bottles of white icky stuff she has to drink is very funny but then she talked God about it several times and they're at peace with it. No discussion of private parts or hoo hoos were brought up.

I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much. ~Mother Teresa

P.S. Yesterday was Ct Scan day and Jennifer arrived a little stressed for her appointment. Not because of her concerns, but because of the 32 oz. of Barium she was told she had to drink. She had questioned this procedure through several phone calls because in the course of 1 year - this was new. "Yes Mrs. Ingram, yes, this is correct - drink it!" So, Alice drank the magic potion.... Later in the day Jennifer was brought to the Ct Scan area - to be greeted by the two lovely techs that had been there for her during her last year of the "waiting game". "Hi Jennifer, did you drink your WATER?" - "No, Barium" - "Why, we always have you drink WATER" .... we move along to the waiting game. Thank you Lord for my sense of humor. Who invented that white stuff!

GOD BLESS YOU

Between the Bubbles My Way! God's Fingerprints and Fabulous Friends!

MY CUP IS HALF FULL!

I am soooo excited about it being Friday, after working a full-time job, getting ready to close the Health Room for the summer, fighting with our union to keep our hours and not get them cut (WE WON!), working part-time helping my friend de-clutter and reorganize and pack up her home for a final move to Texas, planting my gardens, training Autumn, reclaiming my house from HUGE dust bunnies and well... you understand.  So - I was thinking about bubble baths and taking one!

but then my mind wandered

ooops

so then I though about all the gardening things I have to do

and began to let my my wander to books ...

   gardening
    
    weeding


      planting

    more weeding

   margarita  

brie and crackers

spending time with my honey bunny

so no posts for the weekend ... I just plan to be me -

in Woodbine Maryland - with my pets, my yard,

 a new born calf in the neighborhood,

buying a neighbor's fresh eggs, JUST ME ...THANKS TO YOU!

THE END

God's Fingerprints - that I have a hubby, furry companions,

friends, bubble baths, blogging buddies, a home, a job, can be myself and create,

and HE loves me for who I am and always will.

Through HIS grace. Amen  Jennifer

Monday - Marvelous Weekend... All The Chores Did NOT Get Done!

HAPPY MONDAY!!!

it's ok, i say it's alright

no house work for me this weekend!

because....I transplanted

hostas   black-eyed susans

ferns

peonies and basil too

how, what, where, why?

well, my friend Ann said I could have some ferns,

I transplanted some hostas and black-eyed susans to a new location,

my friend Pauline gave me about a dozen peony plants

that were growing in her woods and never bloomed along with

about 100 daffodil bulbs that needed to be separated,

and I love basil!

my husband was the digger of holes - my savior!

yes, Autumn ran away...

 and spent most of the day watching from indoors

My Mom is doing well - thank you for your prayers.

It's supposed to rain most of the week -

Thank you Lord for watering my gardens!

JENNIFER

P.S. Black-eyed Susans are Maryland's State Flower