Beautiful Fall Blooms

I cannot believe I still have Zinnias blooming - they have been gorgeous the entire summer. And that's not the best part - these were "volunteer" seedlings. I guess once the frost hit last fall and all the flowers died, some seeds fell and were buried underneath the bark that I had surrounding the flower beds.

And even better - two summers ago when I first planted these - it was just one pack of seeds that I picked up at the Family Dollar - 5 Pks for $1.....WOW - unbelievable - these are GIANT flowers - they are about 5 inches in diameter. I don't have a green thumb either - in fact I have been known to send a perfectly healthy hearty lovely plant or flower to an untimely death. The point I am making here is - get these for next year - they will grow themselves - you don't have to do anything - and you might get the added bonus of having some the following year. This is my kind of flower garden.

Fall Leaves & Roasted Marshmallows

Fall - my favorite time of year. Living in NC, I guess you know we have pine trees EVERYWHERE. They are beautiful in the forest, but extremely messy trees to have in your yard. But here, trust me, everybody has some. We have lots and lots of pinecones from the recent storms in our area. And, we'd probably have them even if there weren't any storms. You can rarely be in our yard without seeing at least one pinecone fall. They make wonderful firestarters though. My husband makes a game of cleaning these from our yard with our two older grandsons. Luie is 8, and Cameron is 5. The key here is to build on the excitement of when the buckets are full of the debris - they can then fill our outdoor fireplace, light the fire, and roast marshmallows. WOW - what a way to get them to work. I've learned you can get them to work, if there is "FUN" waiting at the end. (For those of you thinking the photo shows two little boys dangerously close to the fire - look closely - papa's foot is just to the left - he's right there monitoring everything). HAPPY FALL!!!!

BABY CAKE

Sometimes when your heart is heavy, you browse through family photographs for sweet memories and something to smile about again. This was the case with me last night. And I found one that really made me laugh.

I had to share this with you - it is what happens when you turn your back on a toddler - for even a moment. Lukas decided to just help himself to the cake. He is so-o-o-o adorable - how could anyone be upset with the "little angel". Fortunately this was at Nana's house, and I did not get upset. Instead, I grabbed my camera. One day he will laugh at this photo too.

And for a more recent update - his mommie called me this week laughing. Early in the day she had baked a chocolate sheet cake with chocolate icing (they love chocolate). She had put Lukas to bed, then she went to take her shower. After her shower, she was on her way downstairs, when she peeked into his room to check on him. He was in bed, but not asleep. Her first clue that something wasn't as it should be, was the strong sweet scent of choclolate. She switched the bedside lamp on, and to her surprise, there was chocolate all over his face, his pj's, and the bedding. She immediately asked him if he had gotten out of bed and been to the kitchen. He - so very innocently - said "no mommie, I didn't touch the cake". She took him to the mirror and asked what was all that stuff on his face. Amazingly, he did not own up to his mischief.

Kids - they are really something. This reminds me that we really have a huge responsibility in guilding them down the correct paths; holding them accountable for their actions. It can be a daunting task, but so very necessary in order to one day see the young men and women that we are so proud of. These life lessons will go a long way.

Ruby Red Amarilla's

I have over 50 of these beauties. They too, came from Grandma Ruby. She absolutely loved to "piddle" in her garden. She was given the bulbs by another family member many years ago. Every year she would dig them up after they bloomed, and separate the bulbs - they multiply like wild. After she died, we found a boxes of the bulbs in her gardening shed. My sister and I planted lots, and every spring and summer when they bloom, we remember Grandma Ruby.

This year, I am going to try to "force" bloom some indoors for Christmas. I'll let you know how they turn out. Hopefully they will be bright red, and have lots of blooms.