blooms

I love these plants.  They are called Dusseldorf Pride and I have 19 of them lining my sidewalk.  They stayed green all winter and the little flowers dried up.  I have also read they are salt resistant.  They will be full of the little pink flowers pretty soon.  They are slow growers so they won't overtake everything. 

We purchased a couple of redbud trees last weekend and with the warm weather that we are having they have lots of blooms.  I am just thrilled to have these because they are so pretty in the springtime.

The Magnolia tree has lots of fat buds and it will be stunning when they get popping.  I like the little bit of pink on the blooms. 

fun decorating

When I was shopping in Columbus Ohio I found these really pretty pastel eggs.

                                                        Here they are in my little bunny bowl.   

 Then we found some pretty neutral colored eggs too.  Got a tall glass vase to put them in to display on the fireplace. 


Here is a very pretty wreath with just the right colores for my bedroom.  I loved the long tendrils.

I have it in the bedroom beside the bookcase.

These are glass wall vases that we hung on the wall in the master bathroom.  Just the right colores for the bathroom and with the red flowers it is just right. 

hope in a peat pot

Here they are, all ready for the warm sunshine and water to work their majic.

Won't it be fabulous if they all sprout.

Wish me luck.

UPDATE: This picture was taken on Sunday the 18th and on Wednesday the 21st the Zinnias had already sprouted.

Passable

I found this bunch of natural items at Michaels Crafts.

They also happen to have some nice aromas with them.

I wanted to fill my pottery vase with something tall, with lots of texture, and natural.  I had those sticks at first and they just looked like a bunch of sticks peeking out of the vase.  I realized I needed a foam "something or other".  I thought the cone shape would work well.

I just feel like I am a very bad at this kind of work.

Here it is.  I didn't want something too wide because of the television.  I love the texture and curliness of the green "whatevers", and they are just the right shade for the pottery. I love the Peacock Feather at the top. 

I won't be leaving my day job, but it works pretty well for what I had in mind. 

Recipe-Paula Deens' Courage Chili

I made Paula's Courage Chili today because I had all the ingredients on hand.

The reason she calls it Courage Chili is because....

"When I'm under stress and I sense that trouble's coming, I need to eat something hot, something substantial, and something that gives me what feels like strength and courage.  There's nothing' like dippin' into a bowlful of chili in such moments.  Chili's a nourishing rib-sticker;  you don't need no fancy food dishes when you need your strength.  Y'all need chili."

RECIPE

2 pounds lean ground beef

2 large onions, finely minced (about 2 cups)

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 1/2 tsp. salt

3 T. chili powder

1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. sugar

One 10 1/4 oz can condensed French onion soup

(I used dried onion soup mix and added water)

1 T. all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. Tabasco sauce

One 28 oz can chopped tomatoes with juice

( I used crushed tomatoes)

two 16 oz cans kidney beans drained

(I used 1 can of pinto beans and one can of  white kidney beans)

Brown the ground beef with 1 1/2 cups of onions.  Add the garlic powder, alt, chili powder, oregano, sugar, soup, flour, and Tabasco.  Mix well and simmer for 1 hour covered, stirring occasionally.  Add the tomatoes and beans.  sir and simmer cover for 20 min. longer. 

When this is done you can add Fritos corn chips, onions, cheese and sour cream on it if you like. 

This was very, very good. 

seed markers

I am getting ready to plant my seeds in the peat pots and made some markers.

Recipe-Pork Chops with Carolina Rub

I needed some new inspiration for cooking, so I pulled out this cookbook that I hadn't used yet.

I bookmarked some recipes that looked good.

The first that I tried the other day was Pork Chops with Carolina Rub.

I had all the ingredients for the rub on hand.

INGREDIENTS

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. sugar

1 tsp.paprika

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. ground black pepper

1/2 tsp. salt.

6 center cut pork chops (6 ounces each)

1/4 cup barbecue sauce

1.  Prepare a grill for cooking over medium-high heat.  First, oil the grill rack.  If using a charcoal grill, pre-pare a solid bed of medium-hot coals.  If using a gas grill, preheat to high and close the lid, then open the lid and lower the heat to medium-high (you can hold your hand 1 to 2 inches above the grill level only 3 to 4 seconds.).

2.  In a bowl, combine the garlic powder, onion powder, sugar, paprika, chili powder, pepper and salt.  Rinse the pork shops and pat dry with paper towels.  Rub the pork with the spice mixture and let stand for 10 minutes.

3.  Place the pork on the grill rack.  If using a gas grill close the lid.  Cook the chops for 4 minutes on the first side, then turn and cook on the other side for 2 minutes.  Brush each chop with 1 T. barbecue sauce and cook until still slightly pink in the center (cut to test), about 2 minutes longer.  Serve immediately. 

Family gave this recipe a two thumbs up.

It was very good!

Enjoy