Fun-Filled Sister Visit and Gathering Lavendar

Sug came to play with me yesterday afternoon, and as is ALWAYS the case with the two of us, there was far too much to share with each other than there was time in the afternoon to get it all said, done, shown, etc. :) Of course, we had to nibble something, right? So I , quick, called her and asked her to pick up some biscuits to bake because, you see, I just happened to have........TaDa......some fresh, right-off-of-the-plant, homegrown---yes, I said HOMEGROWN!!--tomatoes, and wouldn't they be DELICIOUS on biscuits????? YESSSS! And she brought me a couple of really awesome surprises---fresh black raspberries, right off of HER vines, that she and my BBIL had picked JUST FOR ME :D---oh my goodness, they are SCRUMPTIOUS! It really was all quite delicious and delightful! Then, in the 90+ heat and humidity, I had to give her a quick 'gorilla garden' tour. Yeah, I know, my pictures that I post here make it look like I have Southern Living gardens, but I don't. That's the beauty of these modern day cameras---you can just show what you want to. ;) Then I HAD to take her for her first ride on my 'haulin ass Nellie' clubcar! We picked fresh RED raspberries right off of the vines growing along the roadside on our journey :), and made another road-side discovery! Well, who knew that Coral Bell flowers grew wild...in rock cliffs???? Well, we do now! And of course we had to 'borrow' a couple to see if we can get them to grow at our houses. Seriously, did you guys know that Coral Bells grow in really big rocks-- cliffs---wild---? Back to the surprises she brought me; she also brought me my 'Christmas past' gift which is the most BEAUTIFUL coffee cup!!! It is the most perfect cup!!! I adore it!! As you can see from the picture above, I'm having my coffee in it this a.m. As a matter of fact, as soon as I opened it yesterday, I washed it and poured me a cup of coffee. Perfect!! Thank you bunches, Sug! I truly do love it!! :) Is it not just GORGEOUS??? AND she also shared some of the plants/trees that our sister, Flan, had potted up for her. Aren't sisters just the best buddies???? :D This morning was such a relief and delight from the tropical humid mornings that we have had here in Northeast Tennessee this last week that I decided to let the pups run where they wanted while I harvested some Lavendar. My Lavendar plants have just exploded this Spring. I'm hoping to make some little Lavendar sachets --- soon? Well, anyway, sometime in the near (hopefully :D) future. Had to post a couple of photos, also, to prove that I really truly have been doing some needle-and-thread hand work. :) (I'm thinking I need to take some of the yellow centers off of the round flowers.)

Imagine That

Can we come in now, Mom? Beautiful wildflowers Healthiest tomato plants at Ships Landing---growing out of the compost bin First home-grown tomato of the season It has been hotter than blazes here---yesterday was supposed to be a high of 88 deg. It hit 96 and felt like 113. First time I've ever seen that for this area. Hibernation is underway, so I did a bit of sewing. Imagine that!! :)

My Friend's Sister

I just spent the afternoon with my friend, Flannie, and her sister. This was the first time I had met Norma. What a delightful woman! I felt an immediate bond with her---and unlike her sister, my dear friend Flannie, Norma has started quilting within the last three years!!! What fun, to actually have another 'quilter' in the house. They called this a.m. I was in the midst of hauling loads of old hay from the barn on my 'haulin' ass buggy :D' to cover an area that I want to plant lavendar in. Hot, sweatie (and it was only 8:30 a.m. for goodness sake!), filthy, and they want to know can they come pick me up and go to lunch in RogVegas. Absolutely!! Just give me enough time to grab a shower! Not to worry, it would be 12:00 or 12:30 before they got to my house. Okay, great...I can finish the hay-haulin and get my sticks (read with a hopeful voice 'trees') watered. Lunch at O'Henry's was scrumptious!! We were all three in the mood for a cheeseburger and fries, and oh my, was it good....and so were the fried dill pickles and fried mac'n'cheese. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was a 'low-calorie', good-for-you kinda lunch. :D We were strolling leisurely back to the truck, laughing like the crazies that we are, and here comes Hannah Rose and Maggie Mae in their gold Caddy! And Hannah Rose was sportin' lavendar bangs!!!!! :D What a hoot!!!! She is definitely 'stylin' now, girlfriends!! :D It was wonderful to see them both! Now that Hannah has officially retired from teaching, we will definitely be seeing more of each other, right, Hannah? :) What a sweet, soft-spoken delightful woman Norma is!!! She is one of those souls that I feel like I've known all of my life. We could have spent days, weeks.......talking fabric, quilt patterns, how to crochet rag rugs, etc. I actually felt kind of bad for Flannie cause Norma and I got so caught up (lost would be more accurate!) in my 'quilt stewdio' that she ended up on the porch by herself with coffee and the pups. ;) And of course, they both HAD to see the Flowbee (my hair cutting device that attaches to the vacuum cleaner :D, for those of you unfamiliar with the Flowbee). The afternoon literally flew by. It was such a sweet simple pleasure. A spontaneous afternoon delight :) The only 'bad' thing was that I missed a call from MY sister, Nita. I'll call you tomorrow, Nita! :)