The other morning while walking, I found myself listening to Bette Midler. I have  always  enjoyed her voice so much and she was   singing one of my favorite songs of days gone by.  When I got home I just had to take a few pictures of my red roses from Valentines day- The Rose "Some say Love, it is a river, that drowns the tender reed    Some say Love, it is a razor, that leaves your soul to bleed                               Some say Love, it is a hunger, an endless aching need                            I say Love, is a flower, and you, its only a seed                                                                  It's the heart afraid of breaking, that never learns to dance               It's the dream afraid of waking, that never takes the chance                                                                          It's the one who won't be taken, the one who can't seem to give                                   And the soul afraid of dying, that neve

Thank you all for sharing your gardening stories with me on how you handle  challenging plants,  unpredictable Weather, climate changes and poor  gardening soil. I so enjoyed reading each  and every comment and found  them  very helpful-so  please keep them coming! We live in North Texas where  gardening soil is not great, space is limited,  we  are on constant water  restrictions and our weather is erratic and hot  in  the  Summer.  To help out with the conditions which Mother Nature has given us- we have  purchased  a  small,  very reasonable  priced and  functional Hobby  Greenhouse .  I ordered my Greenhouse online and it arrived in a box.  Can you believe it began in such a  simple manner and blossomed into such a  nifty structure? (Big thanks to my dear Husband!) A few things which I have learned about purchasing a Greenhouse- 1.Make sure it comes  with shelves or at least provides a link on where to  order  them. Can you believe my  Greenhouse had nary a shelf-hum... It did

Happy Friday and welcome weekend-you know it is going to be a  good day when the sun is shining and the wind is not blowing. We  had winds up to 27 miles per hour yesterday and they were a  bit  brutal.                                                  Source I did spend a few hours in my greenhouse-I have planted various vegetables and flowers from seed and now the waiting begins. Of course, there aren't many flowers blooming in my garden except for my sweet pansies.  The daffodils and tulips seem to be a bit  slower this year-no pretty  blooms from them yet.                                             Source A few ranunculus, but not nearly enough to make this stunning arrangement, so I will be going to the market to see what I can find. In the meantime, I am using my Pinterest board , for inspiration on how to put together some springtime arrangements.                                             Source Don't we all adore hydrangeas?  What bothers me is that I am  unable to gr

As I step out my front door this overcast February day, to see if I want to go for my morning walk,  this is what  Winter looks like in  my neck of the  woods.  Not much color...but mild, so I put on a  jacket and head out.                  I heard several birds singing this morning and try as I might to  capture a photo of them in flight,  I didn't.  However, as I was  walking I did capture a few photos of these wise cranes and their feathered friends. We do not have the glorious wonder of pristine and beautiful white  snow, we have various shades of brown, with a tad of green. I suppose that is to tease us just a bit to believe that Spring is  nearing.     That tease works for me, just seeing a smidgen of green brings me  joy . Joy is so much different than happiness, it resides deep in the soul  and comes from what is, not what one wants.   It is seeing beauty in the mundane, ordinary and humdrum aspects of life. Glorious displays of pansies precisely  planted in late Fall. The

Just one year ago Molly Emma Wheeler was born in  Shreveport Louisiana.  It was indeed a joyous and emotionally  charged day for us all.  It has been a year of joy to watch this little miss grow into a thriving one year old.   We celebrated her Birthday last week. She is sugar and spice and everything nice-even when she loses her temper.  At least in my mind she is...one of the many perks of being a  Grandparent... This is the family of three now- this is their story- One year ago . Molly loved her smash cake a total therapeutic delight!  Nothing like  a good hand massage in creamy frosting and moist chocolate cake. The cake before serving. Rebecca chose to do a Minnie Mouse theme party complete with  activities for children of all ages.  Decorating Minnie Mouse sugar  cookies was a huge hit. Handmade Pom poms from Molly's baby shower have been saved  and were  used as decorations for her Birthday party-I love these  little invites too.   Minnie Mouse cupcakes-these just tickle me-

Fashion Friday just happens to fall on  Valentine's Day so, naturally we must dress accordingly or at least dream and have a little fun. Picture perfect table setting, dancing shoes and hearts. Such feminine sweetness. Perfectly red, perfectly girly and perfectly yummy cake... Snow, no problem just add a red umbrella to your wardrobe... White roses, kisses, heels and hearts " Love is the only answer to every question.  It is the only thing that will serve you in every situation.  It is the route and the destination.  It is medication and liberation..."  ~ Rasheed Ogunlaru~ Happy Valentines Day My Dear Friends, wishing you true joy and much love always~ Please Join Me~ Dedicated House Common Ground

Each Winter my Kitchen windowsill welcomes a winter garden . It  all begins like this. I make my pilgrimage to our local garden center.  Somewhere  between December and February and  while most  of  the  garden  center is a ghost town there are always a  few  stragglers  who  refused  to leave in late Fall. Like this reluctant lavender and white pansy who was shivering and nearly alone on a weathered wooden shelf. I am fairly certain  there had been many opportunities to leave, but  she stubbornly  stayed behind. You know, I am so glad that she did... Lucky for her and her sunshiny yellow friend that I came along-  I saved them from a random snow storm. Lucky for me, they were  happy to join us in our home- it was a  win , win for us all. Who could resist a deal of under two dollars- for this bright and sun  loving Kalanchoe-she has such a great  attitude  no matter what time of the year. I nestled her between these two anthuriums- which refuse to quit blooming no matter where I p