What's in Miss Jean's garden today....

Miss Jean is very busy this week. I feel like the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland. Much to do, much to do. I thought I would just leave you with a few pictures of what's in my garden today.

Have a lovely day.

Memorial Day....Lest we forget

IN FLANDERS FIELDS

In Flanders fields the poppies grow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead.

days ago we lived, felt dawn,

saw sunset glow,

Loved, and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe,

To you from failing hands

we throw the torch;

be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

— Lt.-Col. John McCrae (1872 - 1918)

whose body lies in Flanders Fields

My heart goes out to those who died serving our country. There is certainly a special place in heaven for these brave souls.

To those who have served or are currently serving our country on foreign soil or here at home I have such great admiration and gratitude. To my son Aaron who has served our nation for 18 years, you are my hero. Words cannot express the love and pride I have for you. For Jordan, may you rest in the arms of our Lord knowing that those left here love you and miss you so.

A Prayer for Animals

Hear our humble prayer, O God, for our friends the animals, especially for animals who are suffering;

for all that are overworked and underfed and cruelly treated; for all wistful creatures in captivity that beat against their bars;

for all that are in pain or dying; for all that must be put to death. We entreat for them all Thy mercy and pity.


Make us ourselves to be true friends to animals and to share the blessing of the merciful;


for the sake of Thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

*This beautiful prayer was on a treasured piece of ephemera that is owned by Sandi of The Green Pea Boutique. The puppies above, Maggie, Duhgall, Fiona, Connor, Buddy, Bonnie, Maude and Hank are members of families who love and treasure them. They are a blessing to our lives.

Tea for Two......or Five

This past week I went to my new friend Mumzie's house for tea. I met Mumzie through blogland and it turns out we live in the same little town. It was also a play day for our dogs, Maggie, Conner and Buddy. Maggie and Conner are Scottish Terriers and Buddy is a Jack Russell. We thought that Conner and Maggie should get acquainted. It turned out that all Conner could do was watch Maggie and Buddy, two little ADHD puppies running around all afternoon.


Conner is a big boy and is so sweet. He just wasn't quite sure about the "Buddy and Maggie thing". Much too hyper for him.

As you can see, Mumzie made us afternoon tea, complete with finger sandwiches, delightfull little lemon and chocolate muffins and wonderful tea. Mumzie and I had taken a tea class at the local junior college and she prepared two of the teas she had purchased there. It was a warm day, but we sat outside in her lovely covered patio and with a breeze, it was very restful. All in all, it was a great day.

I didn't get any really good pictures of Buddy and Maggie running around the yard. They were just too quick for my little camera.


Since it was a hot day, Mumzie got out the hose and showed me what Conner and Buddy like to do. We had no idea Conner could jump so high!


Buddy can do this all day. I'm talking all day! He brings you the ball but will he let go of it so you can throw it? No!

Who knew a wee lassie Scottish Terrier could wear out a Jack Russell Terrier!

I really cherish all of my friends. Those I've known for years as well as my new friends, including Mumzie. I thank God for bringing them into my life.

Thank you Mumzie for the wonderful day that Maggie and I had and for making us feel so special.

Girls Day Out

I had my good friend, Becky over the other day for lunch and a play day. We had lunch in the back yard, but sadly, I didn't take pictures. I know! Bad Blogger, Bad Blogger. I did make one thing for lunch that I managed to take a picture of, though. It was a Rhubarb-Apple Crisp that I saw in the April issue of Cuisine At Home Magazine. This is a seriously great cooking magazine and the recipes are doable for even someone as reluctant in the kitchen as I am. Since rhubarb is in the stores right now I thought I'd give it a try. Let me tell you. A person could get a swelled head making this recipe. Talk about beautiful! It looks so complicated and fancy but the secret is (sshhhh - don't tell anyone) it's so easy! Oh, and it is delicious!!!

What do you think? Looks like the one in the magazine, don't you think? You must try this. Now. Please. It will be good for your ego and good for your tummy!

Rhubarb-Apple Crisp

6 stalks sliced rhubarb (about 1 3/4 cups)

1 gala or fuji apple, cored and diced (about 1 cup)

2/3 cup granulated sugar

3 Tbsp. instant tapioca

2 Tbsp. orange juice

1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

6 - 8 sheets phyllo dough

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

6-8 tsp. granulated sugar

3 Tbsp. sliced almonds

2 Tbsp. turbinado or finishing sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine rhubarb, apple, 2/3 cup granulated sugar, tapioca, orange juice, and pie spice in large bowl. Mix well and let stand for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste filling; add a bit more sugar if it's too tart. Pour fruit into a 9-inch pie plate.

Place a sheet of phyllo on a flat surface (cover other sheets with a damp paper towel to keep them from drying). Lightly brush phyllo sheet with butter and sprinkle with 1 tsp granulated sugar. Roll phyllo into a loose tube about 2 inches in diameter. Repeat with remaining phyllo sheets. Starting at outer edge of pie, lightly place phyllo tubes end to end in spiral or concentric pattern. Drizzle any remaining butter over phyllo and sprinkle with almonds and finishing sugar.

Bake until crisp is golden brown about 1 hour. Let crisp cool for 15 minutes before serving.

I told you it was easy. The only thing I did differently was I added fresh whipped cream to the top when I served it. Just makin' sure I get my daily servings of dairy in there. Whipping cream is like milk isn't it?

After lunch we waddled over went to our local antique store, The Green Pea. The owner is Sandi and she's a great gal and has a wonderful shop. After that we went to another little antique shop in town and then tried to go to the Lavender Hollow Farm but, sadly, they were closed. After that we went to our local little nursery. You don't have to be big to be mighty. It's a great nursery with lots of great ideas.

All in all it was a fun day and it gave us a chance to catch up. I highly recommend a day out with a friend. So fun and so relaxing.

I have to go now and get my beauty sleep. I'm taking my BFF Nikki to Sacramento tomorrow to turn in her retirement papers so she can retire the end of June. Yea!!!!!!!! Boy are we going to have fun after that. We are already planning on weekly sewing days and who knows what else we'll dream up.

Nighty Night!

Happy Mother's Day

I would like to honor the women in my life who are exceptional Mothers. They are all unique in their own way. My heart, my love and my admiration go out to the following:

First and foremost, to my Mom, Doris. I love her so very much and am proud to be her daughter.

To my Grandma Somers who gave me her love for gardening.

To Dory, my daughter, a strong and independent woman and mother of my grandchildren.

To Nikki, my friend of 25+ years who didn't want to be a grandmother, but who has embrased it with a vengeance.

And to Becky. For although her mother's heart is broken, she looks to the Lord for his comfort and shelter. She is a true inspiration to me and to those around her.

To all of you out there who are mothers, may you have a blessed day knowing that you have been called to the most important task of all, raising children.

My Hero!

We had an exciting evening last week. Sweety was having his monthly movie night with his friends. They were watching Lord of the Rings on our big television in our family room which is upstairs in our house. I was babysitting grandson #2, Samuel.

Isn't he the cutest thing?

I got out the Jiffy Pop for Samuel and I to snack on while we watched a movie downstairs. Now I have grown up on Jiffy Pop and I in no way hold them responsible for what happened. I don't want any of you writing them letters, the following was totally my fault.

Do you see the paper ring around the foil? It's there for a purpose people. It holds things in place. I tore ours off as the entire lid wasn't coming off like it should.

No problem, right? Wrong!

As the it started to pop the popcorn started coming out around the edges and falling on the stove.

No problem, right? Wrong!

Did you know that popcorn can catch fire rather QUICKLY! So what do I do? Blow on the flames. Duh! Stupid me! Yes, I have a box of baking soda right by the stove. Did I pour it on the fire? No.

I yell for Sweety and then I yell for Barry but I don't think they could hear me. All the time forgetting about Samuel and the dog and most everything except the fire. I was panicking as by then the flames were about 18" high. Then suddenly I had five guys in the kitchen and with their help the fire was put out by smothering it with pan lids. How did they know to rush down to my rescue? Samuel (refer to cute little fella above) on his own rushed upstairs, "Guys, there's a fire in Grandma's kitchen!" Samuel gets an A+ in fire safety while Grandma Jean gets an F-.

Needless to say, the next morning I went down and bought a fire extinguisher for the kitchen.


Ugly!

Ugly!

Ugly!

Everything cleaned up just fine and the smoke smell was gone the next day. I took the pictures mainly for the insurance company in case the stove was damaged. And no, I didn't take any pictures of the flames! I may be dumb, but I'm not stupid! Te He!!

Next time I'm making microwave popcorn.

Almost..........

Wow! It seems like forever since I've done a decent post. A lot has happened in and around Miss Jean's Garden since my last pre-computer problem post. Most importantly, I have my computer back - all de-cootie-fied! Now Sweetie has to contact AT&T to get it re-connected with the internet. Then I can get busy catching up. 

Thanks for being patient and I hope you'll stop by and say hi.  At least I hope you're out there waiting for me.  I miss you all!!!!!

"Hello!  Is anybody out there?"