Back again...for good!

Back again.  So much has happened!  I retired in 2018.  I lost my only sister in 2019 and my beloved dog, Bobbie Lee, in 2019.  My younger daughter was diagnosed with a heart condition and I spent some time with her taking care of her.  Also in 2019.  It was a bad year!

Then Covid hit us and I had a bad case in 2021.

I just recently got my computer set up so I hope I can put up some entertaining stuff!

Watch for my cooking posts.  I'm a southern cook so they can be quite disturbing!

Follow along and share when you can!

SG

Back again....after a loooong time!

I can't believe I haven't posted to this blog in 5 years! 
I am closer to retirement, 7 months and 4 days to be precise!  I can't wait to enter this new phase of my life and hope to be blogging more often about the world of the non-working.
The grandkids are growing up way too fast.  Christopher is 13, Olivia is 11 and Sawyer will be 6 on Halloween.  He was the kindergarten escort in homecoming in their small town this year.  It was an all day affair and I went to all of it. I had to miss going to an annual convention, but I wouldn't have missed this for the world!

 

 

Sop my first plans for retirement include re-do on the bathroom, maybe the kitchen floor and countertops, and cleaning out the junkrooms.  Maybe then my children will quit calling me a hoarder! pics will follow....if I am brave enough!

 



We went to Panama City Beach  this summer for vaca.  I will post about it later.

Fall is coming, so get in the Fall mood and put out some pumpkins!  Porch decorating in progress.

Stay sweet,

SG

TheEagle has landed..

Neil Armstrong died today. He was 82 years old, but in my mind he will always be that clean cut, all-American young man who did something that was completely unbelievable, and then lived out his life in anonynmity.  I will never forget that wonderous day July 20th, 1969 when we all sat and watched a very brave man who exhibited vision and bravery, step out of the safety of a capsule, and walk on the moon. His words will never be forgotten. "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Who among us to witness that moment can ever forget it?

It was his destiny. We all have our destiny-some are destined for greatness, some for quiet lives . His was one of a kind. And then he went home and lived a quiet life of quality and giving to others. In spite of the reports he had trouble handling the after effects, who among us wouldn't have some adjustments to that? Buzz Aldrin did the fame circuit, Neil Armstrong went on with his life, being an engineer, a educator and a farmer. A remarkable man in what some would call an unremarkable life. Maybe we should call him a true American. This surely, is what we are made of. This is a true American, not the rappers and the actors and the politicians....but the builders of dreams, the purveyors of vision, the demonstrators of bravery. Dreams are not built on money, dreams are built on accomplishments, achievements, hard work and effort.

So RIP Mr. Armstrong, you lived the good life, and left us with the dreams and the vision, and the wonderful memories, and a great quote.

So long, The Eagle has landed...

Hot Springs and Outdoor Wednesday

This past weekend we went to Hot Springs, AR to go to the Races.  It was Rebel Stakes weekend and that is my favorite weekend to go. Secret Circle took home the purse and I hit the late Daily Double with her!

Sunday we went downtown and spent the morning, had lunch, then drove around and came home.  I took a lot of pictures with my new camera and got some nice shots of dogwood and redbud blooming.

I think this is oleander. You can see the buds if you look really close.

This is where one of the springs is open and you can stick your hand in.
It comes out of the ground at 143 degrees!

Dogwood

See more great outdoor shots over at :

http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/

This is Spring Break week so its quiet around here! I think I'll take off tomorrow and spend it with the grandkids!

Enjoy your spring - Hope you dont get in the floods this year!

SG

Time flies by

Wow, its been a busy few months, and time has flown!  Halloween brought us a new addition - my new grandson Sawyer Reagan. He came 5 weeks early and stayed in the NICU for 3 weeks, but he is doing great and enjoyed his first Christmas.

He started out like this....

Now he looks like this at 2 months...

And this is what he does when you don't hold him...he is a very cute and cuddly baby!

Christopher turned 8 in January, hard to believe he is that old!

Olivia came and spent a day with me at work, and had her dance recital in December...she is beginning to look like a little ballerina!

They also went to Big Brother-Big Sister class to prepare for Baby Sawyer's coming...Olivia wore her getup all over the hospital..but Big C was too cool for that...

Christmas was a sick time, I was sick and missed the whole thing, my youngest had to go to the emergency room and had a kidney stone, UTI and pneumonia, and the older one had to have surgery to help her incision from the C-Section heal...

Maybe we are all over that now and can look forward to a great new year..after all, it has started off with a bang...at the Cotton Bowl!

Later...

SG

 

Outdoor Wednesday

This week I have been spending with the grandchildren. Their mother, my oldest daughter, went back to school, not studying, but teaching, andhas no one to keep the kids now that they are school age.
On Monday, we went out to the Inn at the Mill and looked  around and took some pictures.  It's a beautiful place, although no longer "in the country" as growth and progress knocks on its door.  Christopher wanted to look at the old wheel and the grindstones, which are all still in place. 

We took a few pictures.  Then a couple of days later, it rained, thank goodness, and the heat wave has abated.
To see other Outdoor Wednesday shots, visit
http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/

The big wheel.

Waterfall from the spring into the pond.  This mill was owned by the Johnson family.  When it operated as a mill, the spring fed the wheel  to keep it turning.


Inside the lobby area which is the old mill part.

Christopher and Olivia check out one of the Remingtons.

And check out the Indian out front. 
If you are ever in the Northwest Arkansas area this is a great place to stay and has an excellent resturant on the hill above it.

Enjoy ! And thanks for the rain!!!

SG

Crafty days

I attended a wedding on Sunday last. It was a wonderful wedding of friends and I wish them much happiness because they just deserve it!

My gift was a gift card so I did a fancy wrapping...I had no idea what her colors were, so I used pink because I have a lot of pink....I just like pink...
I made crepe paper flowers and a custom handmade tag for this.  I wrapped the envelope in a layer of pink lace, gauzy ribbon and crepe paper, then attached three flowers with double stick tape so they could be removed easily...here is the result...

Here is the tag.  The little top tag on this one has a small copy of their wedding invitation on the back...

And the flip side is a vintage picture of a wedding dress pattern....

This was super easy and made a card look nicer!

Stay cool...

Love,

SG

Fresh Pesto

Yesterday I made my first ever batch of fresh pesto using the basil I am growing in my garden.  It is so hot that most of my garden is just burning up in spite of it getting late afternoon shade and my watering efforts. 
I planted 2 basil plants which are doing pretty well, and I am keeping the blossoms pinched off of them.  I went out and harvested 2 big handfuls and made Pesto, which I didn't take any pictures of. This is a stock photo of basil...

I first put 4 cloves of garlic and a handful of walnuts in the food processor and ground them up. ( used walnuts because they are about $2 a pound and pine nuts are $30 a pound!)
Then I added the 2 handfuls of basil with a small sprig of fresh oregano I also grew in my garden. Then I threw in 2 big handfuls of fresh  spinach and processed it until it made a paste.  Then I added about 1/3 cup of parmesan, and with the processor running, I streamed in olive oil until it became the consistency I wanted, not too thick, not too runny.  I also added some sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.

I tossed this with some hot angel hair pasta, and garnished it with chopped fresh tomato and some more parm.

It was yum!  The spinach kept it from getting so strong, and the walnuts added a nutty taste.  All that planting and watering was worth it! If I had to buy the basil, the cost would be just too much.

Hope you are keeping cool today!

SG

Just a little something I made

I found this idea over at one of the blogs, but since my computer was re-vamped, I have lost the link.  She first made these for a tablescape in February and then re-did it for July.  She used illusion for the "whipped cream" but I decided to try a white crepe paper flower, smooshed down.  I also substituted the truffle she used for the cherry with a red cinnamon candy my husband had in his office. I'll keep looking for this lovely blog, and maybe she will see it and let me know!
UPDATE!!!  I found it at Between naps on the Porch.
Check out this great blog at:
http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/2011/06/4th-of-july-craft-or-party-favor.html


 My sorority group has its annual weenie roast tonight and the gift theme is 4th of July so I had to do this for my gift to share.  It's supposed to be a $5 limit, but I kind of exceeded that!  I hope whoever gets this likes it!

I took this with my phone and left my messy work area in it!  The tools I needed were a sewing maching and hot glue gun.  The hardest part was pushing those pins through the candy wrappers!

Happy 4th!  (it's my birthday also!)

SG

Outdoor Wednesday

Last weekend we visited Garvan Woodland Gardens in Hot Springs.  We did not go to the regular garden walk, but instead visitied the gardens and chapel they have there for weddings and such.

Enjoy the pictures and visit Susan at Southern Daydreamer for more!

If this looks familiar, its because the buildings were designed by Fay Jones' firm. They are in the style of Thorncrown.

Dogwoods



Ornamental Cherry







Garven is owned by the University of Arkansas and there is always something in bloom there.  If you are in Hot Springs, go out to see it!  Next time we will take the regular tour.

It was a nice outing on the first day of Spring!  What did you do that day?

Love,

SG