...just a quick post before we head out for my sweet sissie's house for the weekend...so looking forward to that visit...

...but earlier we put up the halloween decorations... ...we got the Halloween decorations down from the attic...our first time unrolling the nifty dangly light storage...it worked beautifully...perfectly NON-tangled lights... ...we put the two ceramic pumpkins that actually use candles for light down at the bottom of the steps and the row of solar-light-up pumpkins down the sidewalk... ...and the 20+ year old happy/sweet witchie on the post...and the two old-but-still-working electric/foam pumpkins by the doorway where they can be plugged in... ...and the flame lights in the overhead lights...and we were done... ...spooky... ...in preparations for the trip where we'll be celebrating Sissie's birthday...long overdue...I made her a cake... ...vegan...just like Mom's orange one from last month... ...it turned out great... ...I used my pretty fluted pan... ...and I packed a sammie for the 3+ hour trip... ...a cross section...I'm already looking forward to eating this... ...with a Poppi...of course... ...and I packed my bag...(over-packed probably)... ...and on the way to the car...I snapped a couple of photos of the greens we'd planted in the winter garden... ...kind of surprised that they're already up...but thrilled...

~Wishing you a lovely start to your weekend!

...a little more birthday goodness that wasn't included in the weekend post... ...the Man made me a sweet cup of coffee on my birthday...and topped it with vegan whipped cream...it was a treat... ...and then he went to the grocery store to get the ingredients for one of his recipes and he got me this watermelon slice for a treat... ...it was delicious...I stood right there at the counter and ate the entire thing... ...and then when I got down close to the rind...I used a scoop to scrape off the remaining pink fruit... ...and I put that into a jar... ...with some lime juice and a little bit of stevia... ...and gave it a quick blend... ...and I had a delicious watermelon aqua fresca to sip on all afternoon...

...and now for a couple (or a few) of sweet birthday presents I didn't show you in the birthday post... ...the kiddos sent these adorable solar lanterns...they're pretty in the daytime... ...but right at dusk the little lights inside them come on... ....and they are so pretty... ...we put one on each side of the back porch... ...look at the pretty pattern the light makes on the wall and concrete... ...and Mom got us a new cooker for our outdoor kitchen...YAY! ...it's a little bit different from the one we have...but pretty simple to use as well...I love it... ...and the Man wanted me to have a pink toboggan for the trip to Alaska...and the only way he could get it was in a set of four... ...so now I have 4 new toboggans...they're really nice though and I'm pretty sure they'll fit under my helmet for winter rides... ...and I went to my new LYS...aka Stuff-Mart...and got the yarn for Our Airman's Wife's Minecraft vest... ...I've stowed it in my laundry/craft room cubbie for now as I won't start that project until I finish the Porcelain sweater...soon though...

...and...I'm not super sure of the colours...they both seem too bright for this vintage-look sweater vest... ...and you can apparently purchase one ready made...how funny is that?...

~Wishing you a lovely start to your weekend!

...my anniversary bouquet is still gorgeous... ...our gardenias and Easter lillies are blooming prolifically... ...we still have an abundance of birds...they sit on the fence and wait their turn at the feeder...which we're still filling up weekly... ...and I know you're wondering what we did with all the fruit and veg we got last weekend...we've just been eating it all...of course... ...we've had strawberries plain...and sprinkled with sugar...and topped with coconut cream...and stirred into vegan yogurt and as a topping for cold cereal...that's really just the Man...he eats them with corn flakes...and cheerios...and y'all know I only eat bananas on cheerios...haha... ...that super early corn was not the best...so we decided to cut it off the cob and make creamed corn with it...I just set the pot down in the sink to minimize the mess... ...and we got a good quart of that...and a gallon bag of 'slabs' of corn kernals that I'll freeze and use for pickled beans later when we have fresh green beans from our little square foot garden... ...we've had a few plates of cucumbers and tomatoes too... ...a whole dinners made up of fresh veg...

~Have a lovely day!

...and a link to previous photo-less post 4.4 Friday Update

...we had gorgeous weather in the morning and storms in the afternoon... ...so we spent some time looking through old photos... ...it was so much fun... ...this is Mommaw (as a teenager) with her brothers... ...and Kitten was being her usual lovable self...

~Have a lovely day!

...almost to the end of March with the previously photo-less posts...3.28...Friday Update...

...I've been enjoying this ginger tea at night...it doesn't have caffeine... ...and I'd dropped some salsa on one of my favorite striped shirts...so I made a little batch of bleach gel an dabbed it onto the white stripes just where the stains were...and it worked perfectly...

...I've posted about it before...I don't keep this gel...but just make some whenever I need it...

Bleach Gel

1/4 Cup water 1 Tbsp cornstarch 2 Tbsp bleach

...and here's a link to a previously photo-less post...3.15...Dinner and a Movie...

~Have a lovely day!