Happy Birthday Baby Boy

Baby Monkey is nine years old today. Hard to believe. The time goes by so fast.

Mac&Cheese with a Twist

As some of y'all may know, I am under the weather. Well, really under the bus. I have bronchitis exacerbating my asthma. My breathing sounds a little like my Daddy Jake's old tractor all rattling and back firing. When I answer the phone the person on the other end automatically says "your sound terrible." Thanks y'all. I am so obviously sick that I am being tag team checked on by several of the sisters, Meme, and Mamala.

To help me out, or maybe because the just wanted to, Manly Man and Middle Monkey took over dinner last night. Manly Man commandeered the grill and made blackened chicken. Middle Monkey made mac & cheese and corn. He was the cutest thing ever standing on a step stool belly up to the stove. My contribution was wandering out into the garden and picking a bowl of mescalin mix lettuce.

There is nothing much nicer that having my man cook for me. There is absolutely nothing sweeter than watching him teach his ten-year-old son how to cook. I tried to help, but was banished from the kitchen. Apparently, they did not want me to contaminate the area.

The food was good. Middle Monkey put butter in the mac & cheese and corn. He has already figured out that butter is the way to a southerner's heart. My man's blackened chicken is absolutely the best. It was the very first thing he cooked for me when we were dating. This pretty much sealed the deal for me. One winter evening, he tried making it on the stove top in the house. Very, very bad idea. The smoke detector went off and we had to open the doors and windows in thirty degree weather to air out the place. Dixie and Allie, our cats at that time, were miffed for days.

Early this morning, I woke up from my codeine cough syrup induced sleep very hungry. Blackened chicken makes a wonderful sandwich with mayo and garden fresh lettuce. I added a little basil to the mac and cheese and reheated it - heaven in a bowl.

I hope nobody else wanted left overs. I think this is a sign of recovery and the reason I will never be skinny.

Thank You VP for the E.

VP of Veg Plotting honored me with the E for excellence blog award. How sweet she is. Please be sure to visit her blog. How to give a cat a pill is quite priceless. In accepting this award I have to pass it on to ten other blogs. Here are my choices. I know some of you have already received this, but it's my turn and I am doing it my way - Imagine that.


First to Just Jack My sister's boy and the cutest baby ever. Dee at Red Dirt Ramblings For getting me into this mess. Dee encouraged me to join Blotanical. I have had so much fun and cyber met so many other bloggers. Her site is beautiful. Sherry at Sherry's Zoo and Garden because I love a zoo. Joy at GardenJoy4Me I know you already have this, but I had to share again. You crack me up. Anna at Flower Garden Girl One of the nicest ladies you will ever read. She also has some of the prettiest designs and collages that I like to copy. Matt and Jen at Our First Garden A sweet couple with lady bugs all over their blog. It has been fun watching as they create their new garden. All those at Tomato Casual this blog is obsessed with or dedicated to tomatoes. Ourfriendben, Silence Dogood, and Richard at Poor Richards Almanac Always a great read. Sometimes funny, sometimes smart, sometime a little sad, often about one of my favorite subjects, food. Curmudgeon and Wing Nut at Weed Wackin Wenches Two ladies with a wicked sense of humor, great plant stuff and a raccoon. Finally, VP at Veg Plotting I had to tag back, I love your blog.

Thanks again VP. This has been fun.

My Passion for Passion Flowers

Look what I found this afternoon. My Passion Flower has already started to bloom. This is Passiflora incarnata or Maypop. This vine is about 25 feet long covering a corner of our chain link fence. It blooms almost all season. In my area it is almost evergreen. It is also the larval food for Gulf Fritillary butterflies. In a few weeks we should have caterpillars having an feast. As soon as they show up, I will post a picture.

According to Wikipedia, Passion flower is native to all areas of the world, excluding Europe and Antarctica. There are nine species native to the U.S. The structure of the flower requires a large bee or humming bird for pollination. We will see humming birds, bumble bees, and caterpillars all over this all summer. It is a happening place.

I am a pretty happy gardener right now.

I Hope They Found What They Were Looking For

Have you ever played around with your site meter? Every once in a while, I like to go check out what search words brought people to my blog through google. Sometimes it's pretty straight forward, sometimes it's scary, and sometimes it is funny.

Here are a few examples:

Fracus plant - I am pretty sure that is what my Logan's hardy lemon tree is. Every time I back into it and get poked in the bohiny there is a fracus.

i killed green worm in container plant - My worms are red. If I found a green worm I would definitely be here braggin' and trying to figure out what it was. Unfortunately, I think the inquirer may have killed a little garden snake.

Dandelions in compost - I feed my dandelions to the bunnies. They eventually make it to the compost after being converted into rabbit pills.

Blog block of the month - I bet out there someplace there are quilting bloggers who do this. I am afraid to go look because I might not make it back here. Picture me staring at the computer screen whispering "look at all the pretty colors."

Is sauerkraut good for my pet - I don't know. What I do know is that if we were to feed Abby sauerkraut, we would all have to leave the house because of the noxious gas.

Yarn Monster - Yes we have a yarn monster. Here she is.

Composting on a patio - Yes, absolutely, compost on your patio. I will show you how it's done.

Amish rabbit hutch - Now I don't know exactly what that is, but I am absolutely sure I want one. Here are our bunnies Starr and, um, (uncomfortable silence) Mario. Mario only answers to the name Lucy.

Hope they found what they were looking for.

Really Horrible Herbal Tea.

I have been trying to get sick and finally succeeded. I don't know what it is, but my throat hurts, my nose is stopped up and I am coughing like crazy. All of this has set my asthma off badly. This morning at 5:00 am I woke up wheezing and thought I was going to have to go to the ER. Cold water made it worse. A warm bath made it better. After the bath, I reason that a good cup of herbal tea should really sooth things. I had some fennel I cut yesterday. Smells like licorice should taste nice and feel good. NO, DO NOT DO THIS. Fennel tea tastes like grass and dirt. How do I know what grass and dirt taste like? I am a gardener - I know exactly what grass and dirt taste like. I know some of you will tell me that a little dirt is good for you. Might be so, but I still don't enjoy it. I do like the taste of our little annual winter rye grass and I love wheat grass. This taste, however, was some kind of skunk weed and should never be ingested by a person. As soon as it gets light outside, I am going to go find some chocolate mint. I know that will make good tea.

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day

Here is Duchess de Brabant an 1857 tea rose. This was a favorite of Teddy Roosevelt. He often wore a bud as a boutonniere.

This Madam Joseph Schwartz 1880. This rose is a sport of Duchess de Brabant.

These are two of my antique roses. I have about fifteen varieties now. If I had room, I would have more.

Here is a terrible picture of the two blooms together. I tried and tried to take a clear shot, but my camera just wouldn't do it. I need photography lessons.

Happy Garden Bloggers Bloom Day.