Meme's Creamed Lettuce

our garden lettuce is coming in and so delicious and abundant. in trying to use it up, i'd been trying to think beyond the regular garden salad and remembered meme gamby's creamed lettuce.  she made it often for thanksgiving and christmas and always used this hand beater. 

 
it is one of my precious belongings, simply because it was hers. it always conjures up a picture of her making her sour cream dressing and having my dad taste it to make sure it was right.

i made some this weekend...a simple recipe and just as good as i remembered.

3 T. vinegar
3 T. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup sour cream

beat with love in an old glass hand mixer and serve over lettuce.

National Pike Festival

be still my heart. about 7-8 miles of yard sales and 2 beautiful days. this weekend was the national pike festival in my area. i haven't been yard saling for a long time. i took friday morning and hit almost every one. then hubby and i went out again saturday morning and there were even more yard sales set up. found a few neat things and good buys. here's my loot.

 *a very nice quality artificial winter wreath which i will tweak when the time comes ($4)

*a like new heavy duty tote which will be used for toting craft supplies ($3)
*a handled divided glass serving platter ($2)
*a lidded glass cracker jar ($2)

 

  
*6 etched glasses ($1)

*glass doorknobs (i have a few ideas) ($3)
*a yellow fiesta style bowl for my sister-in-law ($1)
*dollhouse furniture for my daughter (50 cents)

*silverplate utensils (50 cents)
*a mesh organizer tray (50 cents)

*old christmas ornaments ($3)

*a glass decanter ($1)

*4 oneida salad plates ($7)

 
i love these whimsical plates. they will look great mixed with my black and white.  the pattern is called "chefs to go".

*small vase ($1)

not pictured...
*a brand new decorative outdoor flag ($5)
*a starter spider plant ($1)
*a large clay flower pot ($1)

...for a grand total of $36.50.  when you consider that the brand new large stillinthesealedbag flag that i got for $5 normally sells for $20, i did pretty well.

the elderly woman i bought this from called it a "cracker jar". it's extremely heavy. here it is cleaned and filled with pretzels for now.  it has endless possibilities...cookies or crackers, soaps in the bathroom, etc....

i love having pretty serving platters. this will be great filled with different kinds of pickles and olives. 

love these etched glasses. aren't they pretty all cleaned up?

a great weekend!

Playing In the Dirt

there are not too many things i love to do more than gardening. i love being outside. i love being surrounded by beautiful growing things. i love watching the transformation from bare to lush. i love the feel of working in the dirt. (i hate wearing gloves, so i will never have pretty nails. i had them once... for my wedding. i wanted the traditional hands and rings photo.) i love coming in at night tired and dirty. and i am by no means a workaholic. you should see my house right now. but if it's nice outside, there's where i want to be. 
besides the beds, i've been filling every pot i can find with flowers or herbs. they are a little easier to control and maintain, especially if you have a dry season. 

pots have been filled with pansies....

'penny mickey' violas...
 

cats and kittens (or hens and chicks)....

and 'contessa burgandy bicolor' ivy geraniums.

i planted my three patio urns with spikes, bacopa and 'aloha purple sky' calibrachoa (my new favorite flower). i love how full it is and it grows like crazy. i'm anxious to see how it does throughout the season. 

the hanging basket, which i got for $5 at a yard sale (which i think was actually part of a light fixture), is planted with 'lanai upright purple mosaic' verbena and proven winners 'supertunia bordeaux' petunias.

the large pots at either side of the side door have spike plants, 'vintage mix' stock, 'sophistica antique shades' petunias, 'blush' euphorbia, and 'blackie' sweet potatoe vine.

i bought this galvinized metal carrier(?) at a flea market last year for $3, and had been just using it to hold garden tools, etc.

this spring i decided to plant it with 'dahlinova lisa white' dahlias and 'plum vein' calibrachoa.

i have to tell you a bacopa story. i could never remember whether it was pronounced 'bacopa' or 'bocapa'.  so one year we were at ashcombes, one of my sisters (i think it was jan) said..."you know deb"...(and the rest is sung to barry manilow's song copa cabana)..."at ba-co-pa, co-pa ca-ba-na, the hottest spot north of ha-va-na."   
i still have to sing that song every single time i see that flower, but now i pronounce it correctly.

Getting in Shape

i was afraid i'd have to forgo gardening this spring because of my hip surgery, but the flower beds look better than they ever have. thank you, Lord.
some then and now shots....

 april 5

may 13

i love these pink diascia. they are considered perennials in the south, but not here. however, we had such a mild winter this year that they came up by themselves this spring.

before weeding and cleaning...

and after.

this one has a long way to go, but it's a start.

some of the other beds...

more to come. sorry.