Perhaps they are not stars, but rather openings in Heaven where the love of our lost ones pours through and shines down upon us to let us know they are happy. Eskimo proverb

Our HoMe

Pennys, Towels, & Rolling pin Covers..I do custom work..made to order :>)

I don't have an attitude,
I have a personality you can't handle.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Our GloRiiOus BeaUtiFuL WeEkeNd...


Well we had a totally glorious weekend..so we started off with going to breakfast at our next door neighbors house..we had "Salmon Bilinis" oh my gosh are these ever good...it is buckwheat pancakes that are about the size of a sand dollar..and you ad fresh smoked salmon the kind that looks raw and then on top of that you add egg salad and then another pancake then cavier...Now I never thought I would eat cavier in my life but I have had these twice now and they are just sooooo dang good..they are so gourmet..she found em in a magazine...tasty, tasty is all I can say...then on to home we went and hubby got a truckload of bark and off I went...we do this every year cause it really helps keep the weed population down to a low roar and it just looks soooo good and it makes the plants pop..I hope you all aren't getting tired of seeing the yard..but I am the one that takes care of the landscaping unless something big needs to be taken out of it..I do the weeding and the watering..and it takes hours..we started it at 11am and I finished for the night at about 6 or 7pm...I have a weed burner that I love..and that alone took 3 hours of my time and then taking bucket after bucket to the various spots in the yard to lay down..Hubby helped load the buckets for me..and that really helped me so I just do the laying down part..he worked in the veggie garden weeding out the plants as they were too close together and now it looks so much better and everthing is doing great...the view above is the front yard with that glorious flowering crab apple tree...oh these photos don't do any of it or the yard justice...it looks so pretty...if i do say so myself...

a view from the road of the front..

a view from the front looking to the backyard..this is one of my favorites of the little shed peeking through...Mike (DH) laid that little walkway for me a couple of years ago with one of those little molds and cement..the cracks and crevices are filled in with ornament strawberry ground cover...

I love these little purple flowers that are blooming and a sign that says: Drive slow, old cats, young cats and one very spoiled cat at play..:)


the front arbor and shamrock ground cover that is quickly taking over..it is so tall this year...will have to weed it out this fall...I have clematis that is growing on either side of the trellis..I hope it keeps going and up over the trellis with vibrant color..haven't had luck with it so far and bought new plants..so keeping my fingers crossed that they take off this year..so far so good...

more front yard and the poppies that grow here...they are native to our state..big yellow ones..along with ferns, bleeding hearts etc..I have iris's there, and primroses, a rhodie that has pretty purple blooms that will be blooming in another month or so...

another view of the same portion of the garden..I also have a bazillion columbine here and they have started blooming as well..when we purchased our home it didn't have any landscaping whatsoever..none, natta, zilch..so we became friends with a wonderful lady down the street from us and she would weed out her garden and gave us all of these plants you see in our front yard including the 3 rhodies you see..we purchased the crab apple and the rest has been given either as gifts or weeding out etc...so we of course give away all of what we weed out too..so this truly is a garden of love...I have planted and divided this for 15 years...We have also gotten "garden of the month twice now...once in 1999 and again last year..hoping to get it again this year...they put a sign in your yard for a month...I love it...makes what I do worth it..cause it is back breaking work as most of you know...now if I could just convince the neighbors to do theirs..(yes it is a big deal of contention) here as I spend hours trying to maintain mine and it is in the maintenance stage but seems like it should only take a few minutes to maintain..but when you have neighbors that only do yard work once a month or so..I have to be diligent about keeping up on mine or it will be a disaster and I am not going to let that happen as I have worked way too hard to let it go to pot..so I have to do theirs as well...should I ? NO, I don't think I should but they are blind to what I do to keep mine looking good..does anyone else have this problem with a neighbor/s that are allergic to yard work? and have you said something to them? or do you quietly go into their yard and take care of it? which is what I will be doing today...in 2 yards..across the street the dandilions have all gone to seed..so am taking my weed torch and burning all the heads...before it rains and they all wash away...to make more...I should at the very least be paid for my time and effort if I am going to take care of their gardens..but again...not happening...so if anyone has a solution I am open to it..cause this gal is getting to old to be doing everyone elses plus my own..I love doing my own but with these two neighbors they have easily added about 5 hours on to my own..I could be doing better things with my time..but can't if I don't want my yard looking like theirs and I refuse...:) off my soap box now..:)

I hung to hanging baskets that were on the front porch and not looking to good out on my clothesline...I love this now..really added a lot to the porch/deck..the other two are in the veggie garden
here is my eclectic succulent garden with pots and pans and whatever I could find to put them in along with my forget me nots!..I love these little blue flowers and again this photo does not do them justice...they make me smile...:)

aaahhh!!! the veggie garden..this area has become my favorite space to sit and stare at...we put bark behind it up to the fence line..we took out our photenia bushes and am sooooo glad we did..we just extended our garden area and now it is thriving and is so much easier to work it etc...I love the whimsy that our garden has..and we have already harvested lettuce from it, that you will see below and see what we had for dinner along with the recipe...We are also having some maples taken out of our yard this year too...I love the shade they provide but they are a crap tree and cause so much work for us in the spring and especially the fall...and they will give our garden more sun longer in the day too...and no more back breaking work...we so want to finish the back portion of our yard into a nice shade natural landscaped look and it will never happen as long as we have these trees..the neighbors are getting theirs taken care of too...cause again we are the ones taking care of all the leaves that fall into our yard..always have, always will..just wish we could convince them to take out the one in the front yard...because you guessed it..we are the ones that get to take care of that mess in the front yard...and we have NO maples in our front yard..but are surrounded with em on all 3 sides...so you know they make me a happy camper..NOT...

the kids garden/veggie garden

view to the front yard taken from the back...remember this was all dirt when we moved in 15 years ago...

Here is Pody licous out in a portable kennel on the porch..she loves it in here...our neighbors let us borrow it for the dog..he hates it..he is at the terrible two's stage..so they also let us borrow their shock collar..he is a smart stinky puppy..but needs to know his boundrys and where he is in our Pack...any one who has dogs knows this one...

Our Sun E bunny doing what she loves to do best..sunbathe...and sit on mama's lap of course...she is sitting here as I write this, giving me googly, lovey eyes and purring..she sits here and tilts her head looking at me till I give her sweet kisses on her head and baby talk her...she is mama's pretty girl...she also loves to hop in our pajama bottoms if I sit down on the toilet to go potty...do any of yours do this..she did this last night..got all comfy and I had to convince her to get out so I could go to bed..she complied...:) she is the only one that does this...our kittys love bathroom time...not sure why..but they do...Pody loves to play with the toilet paper when she is on your lap..so we have to move it otherwise she will unroll the whole thing...you know reading on the pot used to be a good thing..now loving the babys on the pot is what we do...:) I know alot of you out there are agreeing with me on this too....:)

Silly Millie taking a break from the great outdoors..this is her favorite spot on the couch now..used to be my lap..but she loves the arm rest..

This is my George Forman Rotisseire grill..I love this thing..My best friend had one and love my chicken this way..so had to have one..this is about 2 years old now..and if you love to buy those chickens at the store all cooked and ready to go...you can do it yourself with this one too...this size will do a 5 lb chicken or smaller..so last night was Chinese Chicken salad..A favorite in the Cooper household..recipe to follow..

here is a big bowl of green yummy goodeness..DH harvested and washed all the baby lettuce by hand and we only hit the tip of this iceburg...and there is chives and arugula from the garden too..I love to go out and water the garden and nibble too...

these are big bowls too.. filled with lettuce...

the sauce that goes over this glorious salad..

and the finished product..Its whats for dinner...:)I have had this recipe since my 26th birthday..that is over 20 years ago..okay now I am depressed...:)

Chinese Chicken Salad...

2 heads of lettuce or 2 bags of store bought or picked fresh from your garden
green onions, I use the whole bunch that you get at the store. I use the whole onion, greens and all.
sliced or slivered almonds about 2/3 cup (optional) I love the crunch
The Sauce:
juice of one lemon
3 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons vinegar, I use applecider but you can use the white
1 teaspoon accent (its like salt)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper..(I add more because we love pepper)
whisk this all together and put over the top of the salad and toss..
on the chicken I use the breast meat (the whole center portion) and save the legs and wings for another meal. depending on how many you are feeding..we usually eat this as our dinner..it is very filling..so we use 1 breast per person..toss it all together and serve...I like my chicken to be warm..but you can certainly use it cold..this makes a great dish all by it self or as a side dish..this is great all year round too..I always cook up a whole chicken and make this on another night...
Well I apologize for this being a long post..but I hope you enjoyed your visit...I will be posting more this week and not so long...Have a wonderful week and if you try this recipe..let me know what you think..and if you have any questions let me know...:)

7 comments:

  1. I did enjoy my visit, love your yard! What's a weed burner?

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  2. Gina, that isn't a yard, it's far too big to be a yard. Over here in the UK yards are tiny little things, anything bigger is a garden and the next size up is a park and yours is definately a park. Love it to bits. Pam xx

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  3. Gina~ your gardens look awesome, and I LOVE forget me nots!!!! I've tried growing them several times over the years and just can't get them to grow! That chicken salad looks good too, the bunnies would love your lettuces:)

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  4. Hi Gina...love your yard and garden! You've been hard at work! Sure wish I had the space you have! Hasn't Mother Nature been SO kind to us lately!! But then, we definitely deserve it, after the winters here! Love your kitties! Oh...I have one of those routisseries...I use mine as a bread keeper! LOL ~~Annie

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  5. The yard looks glorious! I love to put fresh mulch down too--it just makes the flowers pop right out! I am very interested in your weed burner. I never heard of that! I just pull them the old fashioned way. The kitties are darling as usual~I bet they love to go outside and play in the garden and experience all the different smells!

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  6. That Crabapple tree caught my eye, & you have Clemantis? I love that. I pray that you get the garden of the month again. You have so much to see in your garden. It is beautiful!!! I got to try that salad.

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  7. Hi there!

    Thanks for writing on our other blog... the funky junk sisters! I do live in Indianola on Kingston St Ne =) I have to say your place looks soooo nice! We have lived here for about a year and LOVE it =) Prims are my fav too! We will have to chat more later!~
    xoxo
    Dixie

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