End of April...

 

That beautiful little head vase..:) 

A little while ago..

An order arrived at the door and I had not ordered anything.So I brought the box to J.. he had not either..

Inside that box was a gift note.. That beautiful little vase..and two moss purse vases.

The first blooms finally appeared ..Pulmonaria..So I filled  Little Linda with those.

She is charming:)

A few days later after a storm.. I was able to fill one of her purses..

Forsythia..some daffodils,pachysandra(Invasive)..and hung my mother's white leather gloves on it.

My mom.. was class. Never wealthy at all.. never.

But she had some lovely evening bags..and fine leather gloves.I think they must have been gifts from my very wealthy uncle.

I have some of them..

Inside the white leather gloves..proof of quality..made in France:) the store ? Simpson's.No longer in existence..A beautiful store..

All this to say..I have always loved putting blooms in purses..For a garden contest in our tiny town once many yrs ago..and now.

So I am saying a huge thank you to Linda..

This is not the first time I have thanked her..

My blog still exists because of her.

She was instrumental in reviving it when I was ready to walk away.

Thank you again..Linda.

 We had our Easter celebration one week late..

Some of my offerings above;)

Later I made a pie for J..

It's actually a small one.. 8 inches maybe..

In the gardens..not much yet..

But beware of anyone who tells you if your forsythia has not bloomed in yr three..it never will..Hohoho..Liar liar pants on fire.

Hellebores are one of my great loves..and at long last love..

Just a few so far,they start off mauvy-pink end up creamy yellow and last so long..weeks..I never noticed that in this prise-de-vue.. they can look like a variety of clematis..

I am still painting people..I still LOVE doing this..

See that book? Gardening in Eden..Arlene gave me that 100 yrs ago and I still love it.

That pie keeper..lol circa 1981 made by me who dotted her i's with flowers.My girls were 4 and 6..I was 27..

I wish you health..happiness..and blooms.

Good food,a warm cozy home..

Good books.. 

And a loving family.

Bonjour to you..

Spring ..is slow this year..But definitely starting to show it's very pretty face..

Indoor tulips ..mine are just poking out of the earth,these were a sweet gift.. 

My garlic always thrills me..The first to show up for the garden party..

I started my over wintered dahlia tubers indoors..not all. but a few..

Below these are in my sunroom..LOL I could move all the furniture out and start all my dahlias..as it is I have many plants in there..so not much room for dahlias..

But in my atelier/craft room I have two good above ground windows..I am only using half of one..I may do the other half..

AS it works well this method in bags..

So that's pretty much what we have been up to..getting the gardens cleaned up yet again.. staring seedlings indoors..going to a CoOp to by Dietomaceous earth for  pest control in the gardens..

We are celebrating Easter and two son-in-laws birthdays this coming weekend..

I did bake J a small vanilla cake ..most of the baking will be this weekend..

Sowed Sweet Peas..(Fingers crossed Susan:) )

 Do you watch this most delightful show?

I love..loved it so much ..all seasons..but perhaps this latest was my favorite.

Connor..Georgie..

Madison,Tyler..

Pari..

ETC..

Their families.. all the other couples.HEARTWARMING.

I watched this series on my own.I have watched all 3 seasons through the years.

Their lives continue on Tik Tok I just happened to find them as James spoke out against Mr Kennedy and his stance on autism.

We also watched..

This is not for the faint of heart.It is a hard series to watch.The graphic depictions of mercenaries being so very cruel to POWs are extremely hard to watch.

Acting is great,story also.But be warned.It is dark.

Our favorite Call The Midwife is back,as charming and tenderhearted as ever.

Always a disappointment to see some go..But new ones grace our screens in the cast.

I love the friendships..the stand by me..the faithful..Every single episode..For years.

An affair of the heart.

Have a lovely upcoming weekend..

Take care..

Best always,Me.

I have to add this..

Unbroken..Netflix..the story of a family of 7 that survived the holocaust.

...You're kidding right?

  I guess not..April 8th...Yesterday I was tidying gardens...April Fools was last week.. Come on Mother nature...

Iffy on and off weather here..

I do absolutely love this bread recipe at  this blog..I used the recipe for the bunny bread.

I get a feeling now for it as to when it is ideal to score etc..much like a sourdough..But no sourdough taste.I feel that sourdough is too involved for me .I see people ace through ten loaves at once...I am impressed.A loaf last us a long time:) Just two of us and we eat everything in a lot of moderation.

But we like home made everything.

And I like to be a wanna be baker/ cook.

It depends on your lives..and how busy you are.

I was very busy for many yrs.

I have settled into the sounds of silence very well.:)

Watching things grow..bake..the dance of the paintbrushes..along the beautiful papers.I am lucky I know it.

Not in everything..:)

But I think some things sit better with me inside myself.

I love being inspired..

Jeanie posted this NYTimes shrimp and orzo one skillet dish..I had everything.It is easy it is very good.I added parm cheese..and baked longer..and hot pepper flakes.. Jeanie has her blog here..The Marmalade Gypsy. 

Thank you Jeanie.

I made those peanut butter cookies again..

For some reason I thought I had posted before with the link..Ill work on finding it..

And I played w/ macaron shells..

Combining recipes and tips..

As long as I see fee I am happy.

Probably practiced Easter fare the macarons..

I hope you all have a good week..I was encouraged cleaning gardens( Fall and Spring here) yesterday and checking on my seedlings..so the snow pics were not in my horizon..We knew a dusting..not this.

Good news is this goes fast.

Sayonara March...

 

Tried some new Hot Cross buns and they are divoon:)You can find her recipe here..

They are made in a snap.I made 1/2 recipe.. Fresh they are sinful..the next day 10 seconds in the micro..equally as sinful.Keeper.!

I made the viral bunny bread ..Use the recipe you like.I liked this recipe as it was a firmer dough..It is my sweet young friend Vanessa's recipe..You can find it here..

I found my shaping method on TikTok..Reels abound..

Jacques thought it was a chicken at first glance:)

I have been painting more peeps inventing more stories..all on IG..I've included a photo ..of what I inspire myself with..For my Riviera people..

Geni..from here..Is my inspo!!

She takes hundreds of photos of the backs of people and we play together.

I am grateful to her.

Birthday desserts..

The choux out of the oven..Ipad pic lol

We celebrated my husband's bday ..and my daughters flashed their phones..Oy horrible light lol what other excuses can I find:)

Any way Sweet balloons.. delicious food..best company in my whole wide world.

So I wanted to recommend these two desserts..

I made choux..w/ craquelin on top filled with a coffee creme pat:)

The choux..Lesley Chesterman recipe I have been making for yrs but I adopted Kathleen Meisinger's technique..Bravo to her..Craquelin..Serious Eats..crème pat ,,chocolate..Sur La Table recipe..

That cheesecake was voted 5 stars..

It's a crème brûlée cheesecake.

I agree best ever.

The recipe is here..

Choux had to be filled right before we left and the topping of the cheesecake at the table.

These carry things were so handy! Came with lids ..last Mother's day on our trip.

Happy Birthday Young Man...

Our chef..had grilled everyone beautiful steaks.. 10! J and I rarely if ever have steak..This was a treat:) Salad,small potatoes,asparagus..Perfect evening.

Have a good week,,we are having freezing rain...

It's warming up..Snow is receding..:)

 Wuthering Heights

Just a few days ago.. and then the sun came out and things have started to melt because it is so warm here..

So nice to put my winter boots..coats..snowshoes away..I like them all but it is time:)

In quite a few areas of our gardens..no snow but in many still a lot.

The roof..metal..makes the snow slide..so close to the periphery of our home..still feet:) But that path I kept shovelling..is grass..Jacques' paths..grass.

 Savannah..in the peony bed..is just keeping her head above after being buried most of the winter.

I garden indoors..;). Surprised a small fuschia   is on rebloom all winter..

A few of my floor plants are getting so big..Not sure what to do with a jade.. my fern..I will replace tjis Spring..Still on point but not the beauty it was.

We eat in daylight now..all winter..in the dark..Jacques makes delish pizzas..Friday nights..

This meal is on repeat here.The air fryer is perfect for it..

Bang Bang Chicken skewers..air fryer..

Recipe is here...

Have a lovely weekend..